Mid-spring Notes

We got our first two looks at the '08 Twins this week, and I'm sure, like me, you were reminded of what a tremendous letdown spring training games are.

You've been waiting all winter for baseball, you're so excited to watch a game, and then you remember how boring spring training games are.
It's not so much that the starters don't play all the time, it's just that the games don't mean anything, so it's hard to get too worked up.

Having said that, a few thoughts.

*Francisco Liriano made this first start in a year and a half, and looked kind of fat. His fastball started out around 88-89, but moved into the 91-92 range in his second inning. Apparently his changeup, which he used to fan Manny Ramirez, was outstanding. That's good news.
His slider is a long ways away. That's to be expected, and the bigger question is probably not when the slider comes back, but what kind of toll it will take on his elbow when it does.
The Twins are working with him to lessen the recoil on his delivery (so his butt isn't facing the plate when he finishes), and they say they want him to throw around 10 sliders a game, as opposed to 30 or so.
That's fine for this year, but eventually he'll have to be able to throw more than 10 a game. He won't be as effective as he was if he's only throwing his best pitch once or twice an inning.

I'll say it again. The Twins aren't likely to compete this year, so no reason to push him. Skip his turn in the ro' once a month, or limit him to 75 pitches a game. The goal should be to have him ready for a full workload next year.

*Boof Light's results Sunday weren't great, but I liked what I saw. He seemed much more able to finish his pitches, which seemed to give him a good downward plane on his pitches that should mean he's better able to keep the ball down.

*Ron Gardenhire seems committed to batting Joe Mauer 2nd, and that makes me very, very happy. Mauer is an on-base guy, not a run producer (yet).
Michael Cuddyer will bat third, and while he's not an ideal 3-hole hitter, he has the right mixture of skills - a good OBP and some decent pop. Plus, it sets up a L-R-L-R-L with Mauer, Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, Delmon Young and either Mike Lamb or Jason Kubel.

*On the other hand, Gardy seems unconcerned with the free-swinging ways of Carlos Gomez and Young, saying this week he wants them to be aggressive at the plate.
Aggressive is fine, but swinging at everything only works if you're Kirby Puckett, Vlad Guerrero or Ichiro Suzuki.
If Young develops into a Vlad-style ripper, than I could care less if he ever walks. But if he never becomes more than a .280-25 homer guy, he wouldn't be that valuable with a .315 OBP.
And if Gomez is going to bat leadoff, it'd be nice if he could get on base at least 35 percent of the time. (Then again, the Twins won two World Series' with Dan Gladden OBP'ing about .305 in the leadoff spot. Go figure.)
On a related note, much-maligned Denard Span walked four times Sunday. He's been running his mouth all spring about how everyone is underestimating him, and so far no one seems to buy it. But if he can truly develop his on-base skills, maybe he still has a shot to be a quality major leaguer.

*Doug Mientkiewicz has already played 3B and RF for the Pirates this spring. So apparently the Pirates liked my idea of turning him into a utility guy. Also looks like Luis Rivas is going to make that team.

*The Brewers say they're going to bat their pitchers 8th this year, and have catcher Jason Kendall bat 9th. Their stat-heads ran some formulas and believe it will create another 25-30 runs over the course of the year. They say it's like having two leadoff hitters hitting in a row, and with pitchers usually making an out, I guess that sort of makes sense. But what if the 7 and 8 hitters both single with two outs? Now you have the pitcher up instead of Jason Kendall.
I'll be interested to see how it works out. Tony LaRussa did the same thing with the Cardinals a few years ago and eventually went back to hitting his pitcher last.

*For some seriously in-depth analysis of the Twins top prospects, check out Aaron Gleeman's list here.
Gives you a good idea of where the Twins organizational depth lies.