Tweet from Joe Schmidt...

<<<Twins GM Terry Ryan told me that Brian Dozier will definitely be with big club sometime this year. He has impressed everyone here.>>>

Good to hear.

Impressed everyone as in he's hitting the ball all over the field and making great plays or impressed as in he gets after it and smiles a lot?

...and an interview with TK mentioned he would have a hard time making the team...to much to work on and especially his consistency in the field.

Yeah TK dfinitely doesn't sugar coat. He says Dozier has been yelled at a few times for taking bad angles at the ball and not being consistant with his throwing motion. That kind of stuff is not a tough fix though, just some repitition.

Well I don't want anyone to make the roster this season unless they prove they can play like a ML at the ML level.

Revere is already guaranteed to make the roster, even with his noodle arm.

Dozier has been yelled at for taking bad routes to the ball, but Revere and Span have both done similar things and never been yelled at. Do the Twins ever complain about Revere's noodle arm?

When you compare Dozier's poor route selection and Revere's lack of arm strength, thye both result in the same thing, the opponent getting an extra base.

No you don't, not with Dozier. And a bad route is totally different in the infield and outfield.

Yeah that's not apples and oranges. Dozier takes a bad angle at a ball in the infield and it gets by him the majority of the time or puts him in danger of making a bad throw. Revere and Span take bad angles to balls and are still quick enough to make a play quite often.

I don't like the preferential treatment either, but Revere's arm is what it is. I'm not sure there's a "fix" to it. I surely like him in LF rather than anywhere else. And he is fast enough to cover ground out there and make up for his weak arm somewhat.

Now . . . if Revere makes routine bad plays in the OF and if his arm costs us lots of runs once the season starts, then I hope he would get yelled at too and the Twins try other guys out there, like Benson and Plouffe.

But as it is, yelling at Dozier about taking a better route to a ground ball is different than yelling at Revere to get a stronger arm. Dozier can correct his mistake. And should. I'm not sure Revere can.

I am not sure he is guaranteed anything.

I'm more likely to side with the evalutions of TK than Terry Ryan

1500 espn let the cat outta the bag. Players staying behind tommorrow, 4, Mauer, Morneau, Willingham and Span to take bp. Hmmmmmmm...........wonder if anyone but me will be there.

you should get a nice closeup of some bp if you're one of the few who are there.
have fun Jack!

B game tommorrow, 9am. Be there or be square!

It's still pretty early, but some guys are stepping up and others not doing so much to impress. The minor league camp opens thursday. Look for cuts to begin soon afterwards.

Some of these pitching battles are impressing me with names I hardly, if ever, heard of. That's a good thing, as we really need some help. This won't be a high scoring team.

Ran into a Mn. friend for the first time this year, and as we watched one player take bp, he stated if he was TR, that guy would be gone in a nano-second. Got me thinking I just might agree with that, as I don't see much there, either. And he played for us last year, which I think was over his head. And he's getting praise for possibly taking an outfield spot this year. Just the thought of him in left field for us drains me of any optimism that's been slowly building.

Jack are you going to be square or be there??

Thanks btw for the info on Anthony Slama...wonder how he'll do this year.

I guess that is a good sign maybe we'll have a surprise or two on the staff this year.

Hmmmm Jack who could you be referring to ;-)
From what you have seen who have you been impressed with or who do you think is just doggin' it?

Jack

Just realized the person you were referring to may not be who I'm thinkin of - is it RT???

No, not Tosoni. Played infield last year, so that makes it easy.

I have no issues with Plouffe being given a shot to make a starting job. He has power potential (8 HR in half a season's worth of PAs) and he can throw, which gives him a leg up on the person he's supposedly battling for an OF starting job.

Either way, he's making the team.

Terry Ryan said something interesting...he acknowledged it wasn't just about injuries...that the team had issues no matter what.

Bert was trying to put last year's woes almost exclusively on injuries...

In response Ryan said he never wants to lead the fans astray...some of the problems were injuries some weren't. He said he never wants to pretend that if everyone was healthy they would have reverted back to 94 wins...but it helps go towards that direction.

ahhh - I just re-read your post! Really what makes your buddy say that?
I never paid too much attention to his at bats- just his horrendous fielding...........