Comments on: Will Quantity Lead to Quality for Twins?

By: JB_Iowa

JB_Iowa — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:51:37 +0000

Didn’t they try this same experiment last year?

Ugh.

By: TT

TT — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:41:27 +0000

The Twins have four guys pretty much set in the bullpen. Capps, Perkins, Swarzak and Duensing. That leaves something like 23 guys to compete for 3 spots. And its not like the candidates lack talent. They have some very talented players that lack experience. They have some talented guys coming off injuries. And they have some talented guys who have not been able to be consistent in the big leagues.

Hoey was always a huge gamble, like a lot of guys who throw hard but can’t find the plate. Its not like he cost a lot. They got him for a guy (Hardy) they were going to let walk while dumping the salary of another guy (Harris). That isn’t much more value than your average waiver claim. Maybe less.

By: mark

mark — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:31:12 +0000

The key to a great Twins Spring Training experience is to NOT stay in Ft. Myers. The Twins and the Bloody Red Sux outdraw every Spring Training city my a country mile. Even worse this year as the Red Sux will open a new facility that will make Hammond Stadium look like a Little League park.

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:52:39 +0000

AW, I’m probably overly jaded at this point. I had such high hopes for Hoey after I watched him strike out the side in a ST game last year, with each pitch seemingly 1 mph faster on the speedgun than the last.

I also have to mention that while everyone is talking about Perkins being the best of the returning bullpen arms, just a year ago most of us were wondering why the Twins even were keeping him around. Point is, it’s not like even Perkins should be heavily relied upon. He’s just as likely to flame out as he is to have another good season. In fact, I’d almost count Duensing as the most likely to at least be a reliable ‘pen arm throughout the season (and I still believe he’ll spend much of the season back in the rotation).

Bottom line… the bullpen, at the moment anyway, looks like a timebomb waiting to blow up and, as you alluded to, the Twins are likely going to need to use it a lot.

By: AW

AW — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:39:20 +0000

I guess if there’s any one area where you could compile 15 guys and try to find 1 guy to take up a roster spot, and produce a little bit, it’s probably in the bullpen. But then again, it’s not like they’ve been very successful lately finding guys when they have specifically tried (Jim Hoey, for example).

But this is a serious job. It’s not as if the Twins are 1 arm away from having a great bullpen. Perkins, Duensing, Capps, perhaps in that order, are about the only “sure things.” (Use of quotes was dubious, there, with respect to Capps anyawy). And with this starting rotation, they might get a lot of work in.