MLB: Minnesota Twins Whatnot: May 21

Andrade: Between Harris, Everett, and Casilla, the Twins have the middle infield covered for the time being. Bringing in another soft-hitting, mediocre-glove-man is the sort of hysterical panicky behavior the Twins should see a therapist over.  Here are the infielders (minus Redmond and Morneau) that Gardy has at his disposal (with their current OPS in parenthesis):

Everett (.514)

Lamb (.636)

Harris (.656)

Casilla (.600 [minors])

Clark (.753 [minors]) 

That's pathetic. 

Here are some players the Twins could have added: 

Denard Span (1.031)

Darnell McDonald (.992)

Brian Buscher (.898)

Steven Tolleson (.915) 

(Luke Hughes would also be mentioned but he's not 100 percent.) 

There are some bats in the system, but it's looking like they're bats in the outfield, which the Twins don't need. Still, considering the Twins are ranked 12th in the AL in OPS, I'd start sacrificing defense to start putting some more runs on the board. Buscher should have been brought up, or Tolleson. Clark just won't add anything to the Twins team. I will say this though, nothing about this situation is ideal.

Hakes: Clark is definately the right guy. He deserves to be brought up. Hopefully it'll be his chance to shine. With utility infielders such as Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert on the DL, the injury plagued Twins are having to deal with difficult desicions. Batting averages also have something to do with this. Everett is not producing as the Twins had hoped. Howie Clark might give the Twins what they need from an unexpected place.

Grilz: Sorry, but I'm going to say it: Nick Punto. Sure his bat is crap, but so is all but four of our starters. His glove is pure gold, and we need the added skill to make up for all the mistakes that our team has been making.

Wade: If there is one thing the Twins do better than anyone, it is protecting prospects. They go overboard in making sure guys are ready for every aspect of the major leagues, sometimes to the point of holding some guys back when they are probably ready to go. That’s why it was Clark who got the call-up. He played well enough to help the team, and they knew they didn’t have to groom him.

Clark isn’t the third baseman of the future, he can’t be, he’s in his mid-30s. Who knows how much longer he’ll even play. Guys like Romero and Valencia are looking more and more like real prospects, especially Valencia. He’s the guy I’ll tip for 3B of the future, but a lot can happen between now and then.

Kneeland: Clark is the right guy for this year, and possibly next year. He is in his mid-30s, though, and isn't the third baseman of the future. Minnesota's minor league system has a few guys who would fit the hole.

Valencia, Buscher, Romero all would be great options in the next five years. Nick Punto isn't a bad defensive option at all, but his bat stinks.

Once everyone is healthy again, who should be in the starting rotation?

Andrade: I'm assuming this year, so I would have Blackburn, Baker, Slowey, Bonser, Perkins.

I would trade Hernandez before the clock strikes midnight, Liriano needs some AAA time, and I would consider Duensing my first backup.

Hakes: We all know Scott Baker is a catalyst here in Minnesota. Granted his health track record hasn't been that good this year: from the flu to a pulled groin muscle, Baker just can't keep healthy to get his numbers.

Grilz: I don't think it really matters anymore. I really just can't say that it is our pitching that is the issue. We are just too inconsistent. Either our bats are good or our pitching is good. Or both are good, but we make fielding mistakes. Or our fielding and pitching is good, but we can't make contact with the ball.

I think that we have turned into one of the few teams in the majors that doesn't have to worry half as much about pitching as they do with just being a consistent, solid team that we have shown we can be.

Wade: Liriano, Baker, Hernandez, Bonser, Mulvey (Unless Slowey continues to improve, then Slowey).

Kneeland: Liriano, Hernandez, Slowey, Baker, Perkins. I would like nothing more than to get rid of Bonser, and Perkins has been solid in the few starts that he has had.

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