twins/mlb

Is there any truth to the rumor that one reason Cuddy wanted out is because he hated Valencia so much?

I like Valelencia a lot more than Gardy's buddy Drew. Gardy's fatal flaw is his bias for humble little skill players that are like he was as a player. It's kind of sad.

Valencia's going to be okay. I don't think he will be a golden glover, but I do think he will end up being one of the better third baseman. My reason is simply that he is teachable. He wants to learn and he recognizes that he has an opportunity here that few people have. Go get em Danny!

fwallen: I like Valelencia a lot more than Gardy's buddy Drew. Gardy's fatal flaw is his bias for humble little skill players that are like he was as a player. It's kind of sad. BALLFOUR: Managers want to win, and reality is that if you look around the leagues all managers can find more "little skill players" than there can Michael Cuddyers, let alone the Albert Pujols of the world, because players with a couple of skills are abundant and players with many skills are few. Even Valencia's mom knows that, hence her quote: "And in my opinion, men pretty much care about how you perform between the lines." Drew Butera is a catcher who can call a game and can throw - two vital skills for his position. He just not only can't hit, he is not good at advancing runners using outs. If he could add the latter ability he'd have a big-league back-up job that would get him 150 ABs a year, mostly against the right matchups. He'd hit .220 with a little gap power and be raking in big-league meal money again.

Valencia can flat out hit the ball. We need him even more with Delmon Young Gone, Who by the way leads the Tigers in spring training hits.

@mullenschult...probably because Valencia wouldn't watch his magic tricks in the clubhouse. I doubt there is any truth to the rumor, but if there is, I like Valencia even more!!

Nice story Joe, I like the kid better already. Gardy seemed to use Valencia as a whipping boy last season. He beat on him because he couldn't whip the guy he really wanted to... a certain guy who plays catcher. And whipping Nishi would appear cruel, and be pointless anyway. Sounds like Danny addressed his shortcomings from last season, I think good things are in store!

Is anyone else getting tired of these kinds of pieces on Valencia? Whenever they write aabout him it's always about his 'brashness' and how he was fined in kanagroo court, etc...etc...If I have seen a dozen of these articles on him I might not have seen them all. I am not a big fan of Valencia, but don't have a problem with attitude. If he is abrasive in the Twins clubhouse then so what? Maybe there needs to be more players who speak their minds? We could have used a few of those last year. THere are 25 personalities in a major league clubhouse. Do the Twins seriously believe they can sanitize it to the point where they have 25 men walking in lock step 24/7? A manager is supposed to manage personalities. Seems to me Gardy had a lot of trouble getting players to listen to him last season. I'd like to see an equal amount of time on that please because it seems to me it's a two way street.

Danny will be just fine at 3rd base. And I have a feeling he will become the face of the Twins. If not the Twins P.R. people need to be revamped! He treats his fans well, he answers most questions asked him on twitter and he seems to be enjoying everything that comes along with being in the big league. The Twins need a few more like him who show how much they love this game by showing up both on and off the field. I continue to see him as one of the few bright spots on this team. I hope he has a great year.

Good job this spring DannyV. Looks ands sounds better defensively. And he's gone back to his 2010 form taking pitches the other way and using the big part of the field. That's how he'll be successful. And by doing so, his power numbers will be there towards the end of the season. Go Twins!