Thread: Dave St. Peter: We'll be competetive

If they actually believe that in the organization, when they lose 95 games.....everyone should be losing their jobs, no questions asked.

Originally Posted by righty8383

Except Dave St Peter

No.

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

If he really does believe that, what does that say about his baseball knowledge vs nearly every expert?

It says that he is a salesman. We are going to get the company line from him, and the company line does not include an effort to get people fired up about young players who will be battling for a future with the Minnesota Twins.

I am under no illusion that I know more about baseball than Dave St. Peter.
But it makes me wonder what kinds of questions are worth asking Twins baseball executives.

Jim Leyland always gets in trouble for saying what he really thinks. And Ozzie...

I doubt anyone involved with the team privately thinks they'll be any good.

66-96 in 2012.

Tack on 16 more wins out of 162 games and the team is 82-80

Being on pace for 82-80 means that the roster can be augmented at the trade deadline and meaningful games in August and September are not of the question.

16 wins out of 162... That's one more win every ten games.

One more win out of ten games is not impossible. One less game with a starter on the mound with a 7 plus ERA and it seems quite possible.

If they lose 162 games by one run they would be competitive in each game. The games they play in August or September may be meaningful to keep the other team from winning the division as they play half of their games at that time against division opponents. If you want to twist negative, there you go.

My question is not what should he say.....it is, what if he really does think that? I am not sure why people keep saying he does not believe it...we so no know what he believes. Him believing it would explain their lack of moves.....

Here are the Wild Card standings from August 15th last year

Wild Card Teams	W	L	PCT	WCGB
Baltimore Orioles	64	53	0.547	1
Tampa Bay Rays	63	54	0.538	-
Detroit Tigers	63	55	0.534	0.5
Oakland Athletics	61	55	0.526	1.5
Los Angeles Angels	62	56	0.525	1.5
Boston Red Sox	57	61	0.483	6.5
Toronto Blue Jays	55	62	0.47	8
Seattle Mariners	55	64	0.462	9
Cleveland Indians	54	64	0.458	9.5
Kansas City Royals	51	65	0.44	11.5
Minnesota Twins	50	67	0.427	13

I would consider the Twins as playing meaningful games if they are right around where the Red Sox and Blue Jays were which is only a 5-7 win improvement at that time, a little over 1 win per month. For St. Peter to state that he expects that his team is one the the 5-6 worst teams in the league instead of saying they are the worst team in the league is not that much of a stretch.

Maybe, by competitive means that they will still lose but they will be close tight games.

I went to 5 games last year and they lost all 5. 3 of the games were so bad that I left early as they weren't fun to watch. It was the 1st time that I've ever left early.

Dave St. Peter and Paul Molitor spoke at our ticket draft earlier this month and I thought St. Peter was overly optimistic. He really highlighted the signings of Corriea, Harden, and Pelfrey. Pretty much what he said in the article was what he said to us. I know he was impressed with the reports of the younger players progressing. He also said the the season ticket sales were a sign that the fan base was optimistic. I wanted to tell him that some of the season ticket holders are hanging on thru next year because of the all star game.

Personally, I just don't see the roster improvement that would warrent that type of optimism. I know it is his job to sell the good points and be optimistic, but I am thinking a lot of people aren't buying it.

Never look a gift-horse in the mouth! I'd jump all over that 64.5 with the over!!

Originally Posted by Willihammer

I think the Twins primary goal entering this offseason was to field a team decent enough to avoid the late-season attendance collapse last year. That is why they wanted "MLB-ready" pitching for Willingham this winter. If the Twins are out of contention by the deadline, I think the Twins will loosen on their asking price for Willingham. I don't think it would take more than a mediocre prospect or two to get a deal done, similar to the Delmon and Liriano trades.

Then why trade? The sort of "talent" received from those trades can easily be found in the 8th round of the amateur draft.

Originally Posted by Kwak

Then why trade?

Save the cash

Save the cash for what? They've been saving cash the last couple of years.

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

My question is not what should he say.....it is, what if he really does think that? I am not sure why people keep saying he does not believe it...we so no know what he believes. Him believing it would explain their lack of moves.....

Actually, if he believes it, it'd make their lack of moves all the more inexplicable, IMO. If they think they'll be playing meaningful games late in the season, why not spend more the available money and get better players, so as to improve their chances of winning those games and being in a better position to begin with?

I use an ignore button when it comes to anything Dave St. Peter says. I don't care for the smell of manure.

Originally Posted by DJ Smith

Save the cash for what?

Their pockets.

I'm spouting my opinion about the FOs *real* plan, based on their recent moves and talking points. I think DSP hopes the games are competitive in August and September because that seems to have been their goal going into the offseason. To push back that mathematical elimination date a few weeks and avoid all the empty seats we saw last year and make more money from operations while fielding a team on the cheap.

edit: So if they put up another 6-16 April, it would hardly be worth paying Morneau/Willingham anymore since the seats are going to be empty regardless come August and Sept.

I will admit to being optimistic, maybe foolishly so, but I do think the Twins will be "more" competitive this year than the last two. If for no other reason than the additions of Pelfrey, Worley and Gibson should at least keep us in more games till the bull pen takes over. Meaningful games in August and September, well we'll see.

I do expect the individual games to be closer and more watchable....but I still expect them to win in the low-mid 70s. Just losing by giving up only 4 or 5 runs a game, instead of 6 or 7.

Meaningful?? Meaningful, in my estimation, is defined as a chance to win the Central Division, or at least a Wild Card. The MN Walleye Opener is May 11th this year. My idea of fun is trolling for walleyes and listening to a "meaningful" Twins game on the radio. That hasn't happened since May 2010.