To-do list for the Twins

[mike morris]

1. Send Boof Bonser down to Rochestor.

2. Switch things up in the bullpen. Replace Rincon or Crain with Bobby Korecky. Call up a lefty from Rochestor to replace Reyes. Our current guys just aren't getting the job done.

3. Get Delmon Young away from Joe Mauer. Seriously, this guy needs to start hitting for power. We didn't trade for his 6-3, 220 lb. body frame to hit singles.

4. Hit Gomez 9th. Sure, Carlos has been good lately. But he just doesn't have the eye or the patience at the plate to be a leadoff hitter. That will probably come with experience, but for now with his wild free-swinging bat, he should learn how to hit in the 8 or 9 hole. It wouldn't hurt to have that speed at the bottom of the order anyway.

That's all I got for now... Add on if you wish!

[SledNeck]

I kind of like Tolbert in the leadoff spot when he comes back.

Man we are going to have serious issues when Span gets healthy. What do we do with him? He could really be a solid player in the future.

[huntnfishsd]

I guess I don't mind Gomez leading off. I have seen more patience from him lately compared to the beginning of the year and I love the thought of having him on the basepaths when Mauer and Morneau come to the plate.

You are right, we need to send Boof, Rincon, and Crain to Rochester.

[riverrat56]

Learn to play good defence.....get back to fundamental baseball.

[UdeLakeTom]

Span in left field in place of Young...Rincon is out of options and if we put him on waivers, somebody will grab him, he could go by the July trade deadline, because everybody needs arms....I am almost ready for Kubel in left to let Young figure out how to hit. The sophomore jinx has hit him bigtime...275 average with nothing to show for it. Crain should be the 6th inning guy in a blow out until his arm gets back...remember he was out almost as lomg as Lariano. What I don't get is all you hear on the broadcast is they need to pitch inside from Blackjack and Bert, and the only one to make them move their feet was Perkins today.

[SledNeck]

Cuddy is way worse than Young and you wanna replace young? Cuddyer needs to be benched until he starts earning a paycheck.

[UdeLakeTom]

I could live with that too!

[Scott K]

Cuddy is way worse than Young and you wanna replace young? Cuddyer needs to be benched until he starts earning a paycheck.

How does he earn a paycheck on the bench?

[SledNeck]

Do what Kubel does, come off the bench and launch em over the fence.

[bassislife]

Cuddyer has to start doing something different and start earning his pay. His hitting and defense are both horrible. I never though he was that great anyway, average at best. Why not give Monroe a shot? At least he could catch a ball.

Bonser also needs try something. If you ask me, he should have stayed fat!

As for the bullpen, I too think Koreky should be swapped for Rincon or Crain. Rincon IMO has never been that great, way overrated.

[Walleye Guy]

My mid-season Twins answers....

Send Boof down. He needs to be sent a message.

More Korecky? Are you kidding me? His best pitch is a hanging slider!!

Keep Gomez in the lead-off spot. Yeah he's quirky but he keep the pitcher nervous when he is on base.

Play Tolbert more once he returns. He is great in the Dome, So-so on the road.

Keep Cuddy in right and keep the Kubel/Young LF/DH rotation going.

Play Lamb only when you have to.... We need a third baseman!!!

[SledNeck]

Cuddyer is 29 years old

He has below avg fielding skills, with a great throwing arm.

Hes batting .225 and he has less than avg speed.

Delmon Young is 22 years old

He has above avg fielding skills and a great throwing arm

Hes batting .270 and has above avg speed.

Young is a younger talented guy learning the game.

Cuddyer should be in the prime of his career.

If anything Cuddyer is hurting the team more than Young is.

[blue_healer_guy]

But when your option is Pohlad, who are you gonna get? They do just enuff to keep us interested and thats it. Why spend a buck when you can make a buck five.

[huntnfishsd]

How does he earn a paycheck on the bench?

He could earn it in Rochester as far as I'm concerned. Cuddy hasn't shown me a thing all year...

[mike morris]

My mid-season Twins answers....

Send Boof down. He needs to be sent a message.

More Korecky? Are you kidding me? His best pitch is a hanging slider!!

Keep Gomez in the lead-off spot. Yeah he's quirky but he keep the pitcher nervous when he is on base.

Play Tolbert more once he returns. He is great in the Dome, So-so on the road.

Keep Cuddy in right and keep the Kubel/Young LF/DH rotation going.

Play Lamb only when you have to.... We need a third baseman!!!

Korecky is better than you think. He was a closer in AAA, he wouldn't have been that successful with a "hanging slider".

Gomez makes the pitcher nervous, but that's hardly even a third of the time. His OBP is awful. He can make the pitcher nervous in the #9 hole.

[CrappiesNCats]

1. Bonser is out of options and would never clear waivers.

2.Delmon isnt known for power. he needed 600+ at bats to hit 13 homers in tampa

3.Who hits first? he's our only legit option. his walks are on the increase lately and he hasn't been swinging bad.

what we need to do is go back to the successful bat gomez first and mauer 2nd. casilla is not going to keep up this hot streak for long.

boof will probably land on the DL with a fake injury so he can rehab in roch, he cant be sent because his potential will have somebody swipe him in the waiver process. he will end up in the pen for awhile.

the problem with boof is he IS the most talented pitcher with potential we have not named liriano. he needs to put it together

[Jarrod32]

To do list, position by position…keeping in mind that this team was not built for 2008. The Twins have the core – including the young starting pitching – to be a very, very good team in 2009, and for the new stadium in 2010. That is what this team is built for. So, with that in mind:

Outfield:

Delmon Young…let him play…he’s only 22 years old (the power will come), and is a key component of this team’s future. He will go through ups and downs, but let him go through them at the major league level…he will be a stud within a year or a year and a half. Be patient here. Although I would like to see a batting order that has him between Mauer and Morneau…that would give him some good pitches to hit.

Carlos Gomez…same thing. 22 years old. Let him play. This guy could be one of the great leadoff hitters in baseball in a couple of years. Move him down to 9th now, and get him to work on taking more pitches and on pitch selection. Give him time…more patience.

Cuddyer…Stick with him. He has a track record of success. He is the starting right fielder, and he will get his RBI’s before the season is out. Don’t bail on him.

Backups in the OF…Kubel and Monroe are adequate backups, getting their AB’s at DH as well.

Infield:

Morneau is set at first.

Middle infield…I like the combination of Harris and Casilla. If you prefer Tolbert, fine…Harris and Tolbert then. Or Tolbert and Casilla. Keep Punto around as the bench player…his position versatility and speed is a valuable asset off the bench (but not as a starter). Tolbert or Casilla (or Harris) become expendable…

Third base…go with Lamb for now, but before next year they need to get a third baseman. More on this later…but Lamb is hitting around .290 in May…still a reasonable stopgap.

Catcher is set…Mauer is one of the best in the majors, and Redmond may be one of the best backups.

Bullpen…Nathan is one of the best, if not the best. Korecky is getting his chances…he will earn his way into a more prominent role if he deserves it. Rincon and Crain are not that bad. Reyes is a very good situational lefty, and Bass is a good long-relief option. They could use some bullpen help, but not as desperately as they need a third baseman. Don't expect Neshek to ever be the same again.

Starting rotation:

Baker…very good. A fixture in the rotation for the next several years. He has developed nicely. At 27 years old, he needs to perform NOW.

Livan…the veteran innings-eater that every young rotation needs.

Slowey…At 24 years old, developing nicely…could be a solid starter for the foreseeable future.

Blackburn…better than I expected…at 26, like Baker, needs to pitch well NOW. But a decent back-of-the rotation guy.

Perkins…the jury is still out. He’s 25, and has done well in limited playing time in the majors. He has probably earned an extended shot. Probably a little better than 50/50 that he can be a good major league starting pitcher. Could also turn into a reasonable bullpen option, though.

Liriano...slowly improving in the minors. Going longer into games, and pitching better as of late. Take it slow with him...no need to rush him back this year. Work him back slowly and have him ready for next year. Still a chance of being the opening day starter in the new ballpark.

Bonser…too inconsistent. At 26, he should be moving beyond this inconsistency. But with some run support, he could easily be 4-4…and his baserunners per inning (1.39) is not awful (better than Blackburn at 1.41, in fact)…and he has a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. But he has a very good outing, then an awful outing, then another good outing, then another awful outing.

So…you have a couple options with Bonser. Crappiesncats is right…there is talent there…just need to get it harnessed. You can keep him in the rotation, and try to work that inconsistency out…if you can get more consistency out of him, he could be a very good middle of the rotation guy. Or, you can trade him…there is enough good there, and enough upside, that he could bring good value in trade.

Package Bonser, one of the infielders (Tolbert or Casilla or Harris, whichever one you don’t want to keep), and Denard Span together and go out and get a third baseman for next year. Adrian Beltre, anyone?

I’ve said this before…this is a very young team, and they are developing at the major league level. Young, Gomez, Blackburn, Slowey; even Bonser and maybe Perkins; you could even include Tolbert/Casilla in that grouping. There will be great inconsistency with these young players. But what they most need at this point is an extended shot – at the major league level - to develop and show what they can do. But it will require patience through the ups and downs this year.

[mike morris]

3.Who hits first? he's our only legit option. his walks are on the increase lately and he hasn't been swinging bad.

the problem with boof is he IS the most talented pitcher with potential we have not named liriano. he needs to put it together

Mauer would be an excellent lead-off man. He has a great OBP, and he has decent speed.

Boof? The most potential we have? Blackburn, Baker, Perkins and Slowey have more potential than that piece of [PoorWordUsage].

[Cicada]

ya'. like Jarrod32 said. My only question iswhere did this ripping Cuddyer's defense come from? Last I heard, his only error this season came in the game he played first base.

[CrappiesNCats]

read the scouting on boof he profiles to john lackey as a very solid 2 with what he has. every other pitcher on that list profiles as a 4-5 starter. Boof has by far the best stuff in that group. granted thats not everything. blackburn hardly has any "stuff" but he's been effective. none of them though have Boof's ceiling.

ps John Lackey was average (at best) his first 3 years, then he broke out.

[SledNeck]

liriano got shelled his last outing

[zamboni]

liriano got shelled his last outing

People that think because he has 5 or even 20 awesome starts in the minors need to realize that he is in pitching against players in the minors, sounds redundant, but its the truth. I would say he will probably end up in the pen the rest of his career, however I dont think that's viable, either. He will get shelled coming out of the pen at the Majors level as well.

The experts are saying when Baker returns from the DL, Bonser will be sent down- he will need a spot and there's no way he gets Livians, Blackburn, Perkins spots. Bonser will go.

Adam Everrett, geesh people complain about Punto, Everrett is even worse, and isn't a switch hitter, plus he is on his second trip to the DL, Punto is on it right now as well, but he has been virtually injury free since joining the Twins years ago. Send Everrett packing when Punto comes back and keep Casilla.

Gomez, he has a TON of potential, but my goodness, he needs to spend a TON more time learning how to bunt. He either bunts it straight to the pitcher, foul, or kicks it as he leaves the box. He learns how to bunt effectively, he would be a serious threat like Guzman was when he was here (remember the bunt HR he had? OK, there was a couple errors, but still)

[CrappiesNCats]

bonser wont and cant be sent down. out of options. bass or korecky go.

punto has been oft injured as a twin. only his poor last season had him in relative health. he played quite a bit but management had been really frustrated with him with all his minor nagging injuries.

[SledNeck]

even better. release bonser.

Everett makes Punto look good. Punto was playing much better this year. The guy has a solid glove and a rocket arm. Hes fast and maybe more of his hits will be dropping in unlike last year. Its time to admit picking up Everett was a huge mistake.

[bassislife]

I agree. I was impressed with how Punto was playing before he was injured. I would much rather see him than Everett.