The few assets they should be willing to trade are decline phase players still playing well. Willingham and Morneau may be the only two chips that can return real starting pitching prospects. There are possible LF and DH solutions in the minors for next year. There are no starting pitching solutions. Those positions are also easier to acquire in free agents. Ticket sales will be down.
Trade Willingham and Morneau? How many people will buy tickets to see this product.
I agree, the Twins can not expect anything back for Pavano, Marquis and Carroll. Given their current level of play, they all have contracts that exceed their value. If they can get a team to take the contract. Great. If they include a minor leaguer similar to those the Twins received for Delmon. Better. I suggest that the Twins invest the playing time in players who could be part of the solution... even if it leads to additional losses in 2012.
Who would you trade for Pavano, Marquis, and Carroll? Nobody so that is what you will get! We need inning eaters and inf help, power bats they have all left for nottin. Nate, Young, Kubel, Cuddyer, Thome Ect. You just can't replace these players with minor leaguers, you have get something back.
Guerra moved to AAA today. Let's see him in July also.
Id like to see Benon master AAA before he takes on pitchers with MLB control.
better yet try to predict the off-season 40-man, who will be around from present company to start 2013. I doubt that anyone will bring a top-notch prospect...probably a possible overpaid aribitration player.
I'm willing to wait on Parm, but I'm not sure Plouffe will ever be even league average as an OF. Dozier should be league-average or better at SS and projects to be a mainstay in the Twins lineup for years to come, I'm excited. I know that a lot of the big organizations have the Twins in the lower half of MLB organizations as far as prospects go, and while we may not have very many STAR caliber players at the top level of our system, it's just as important to push out league average guys to sustain your team and the Twins are doing that, even some guys who will be all-stars down the road. -P
So is Gibson in Ft. Meyers when he starts playing games? That was my guess.
Ultima Ratio, Gibson will be returning to MiLB late in July-August and making several starts, and all indications are that he is healing well, with the hope that he makes a push to enter the rotation next year. I, contrary to Ultima Ratio, believe that Baker is the one to worry about, as he is a fairly-good number 2 guy in a rotation if he could ever figure out these arm problems. Marquis, while yes having to adjust is in all appearances healthy
BTW where is Gibson supposed to be this year and how's he healing/progressing from TJ?
That's one nice thing about having former SP in your BP. I'd prefer Duensing to make spot start early on if need be since he's the least removed from doing so. I doubt both Marquis and Baker will be unavailable for their first starts, which is not to say that either will be effective. I'm less worried about Baker than Marquis (new team, mind on his daughter[understandably], 5th man in the rotation). With just under two weeks left, Baker still has time to stretch out and increase his velocity. Twins starting pitching will determine what kind season this will be. I think this is true most years but especially this year.
I would like to believe that the Twins do not use spring data as any measure. I do hope that they go by what they see and have to trust that the coaching staff is very skilled at assessing talent, ability and readiness to contribute.
Small Sample size or not, players make the roster based on a. their ST stats and b. on their capabilities (and previous records) For example. If a pitcher does not walk anyone in ST, it will be a good think to assume that he has pretty good control (because if you cannot find the plate, the opponent does not matter). The opposite is not always the case.
ScrapTheNickname, Don't worry my friend soon Target Field will be deserted like a ghost town. This team will lose 90 plus games easily and trying to sell a winning product to fans has been tough for the front office after 2011. I love Terry Ryan but just bringing him back is not enough. Give him a decent payroll to work with so he can get some pitching help. The Twins were 4th in MLB in ticket sales and attendance. This will soon change after 2012. There is nothing wrong with being optimistic but also be realistic.
Being a bad team has its upside, kind of. I used to like to going to the hateful Dome during those lean years in the 90s where I could be alone among the blue seats with no one blocking my view. (I live in California now, have never been to the new park.)
I just don't see the competitive team this year. I don't think they are 10 million away. I would have not signed some that they did, cutting the budget further. I wouldn't have done it for the purpose of cutting he budget. I would have done it for the development of younger players with an eye on the next playoff win. The signed the players they did to appease fans. They couldn't justify cutting the budget further as a means of development. John is right. We can trade players in the summer. Trades are not that easy, though. Little can be expected in return for our investment. Look at the bounty we received for Delmon Young and Jim Thome.
I think they'll put their best foot forward into July, but if things fall apart, I wouldn't be shocked if you see a lot of those veterans traded and a lot of the youngsters with a lot more time, especially Parmelee, Benson, Dozier and some of the pitchers.
In the vain of this article - are the Twins approaching a cycle of mediocrity, I fear that may be the case. I don't think it's been pre-destined that will happen, but I think ownership with their tight budget may force it to happen. They lowered the budget this year because they project lower revenue as a result of how horrible they were last year. The key word is PROJECT. In my mind it kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when you don't spend the necessary dollars to compete. If they Twins had invested another $10 million this year to make the bullpen better and provide another quality bat or SP we would all be rightfully excited about where this team was headed. However, cutting the payroll makes the team worse, meaning less fans show up this year, they cut again next year and we are back to the dome days, despite "investing" hundreds of millions of taxes so the Twins didn't cry poverty every year. The fact that this is happening just 2 years after the new stadium has opened really angers me.
The core of this team is pretty much the same as it was in 2010 with Doumit replacing Kubel (and Thome), Willingham replacing Cuddyer, Carroll replacing Hardy and Revere/Plouffe replacing Young. If Morneau stays healthy and performs (he did not in 2010) then this team might actually be better, with Casilla and Span a year closer to their primes than before their primes. The only change from the 2010 team as far as the rotation goes is that they have a full year of Pavano instead of a combination of Pavano/Perkins and that Marquis replaced Slowey. In the pen, the changes from 2010 is that Perkins replaced Rauch (Duensing and Capps were there), Swarzak replaced Mahay and still looking for the replacements to Guerrier, Crain and Mijares. If 2-3 pitchers step up, this can be a good pen And the 2010 team was a 94 win team. They just need to be and stay healthy
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