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Much like several others, I think the payroll shell game is not being honest with the public. I also wonder if the whole organization is stuck in a system that worked a decade ago, but might not be successful any more. I pass very little blame to Gardenhire and don't think Mauer is the problem except that it is very tough for the face of the franchise to be a catcher.
I have been a fan since i was little boy and lived through up and downs with the Twins. The things that frustrate me most is when management won't just tell the truth that they are rebuilding and tell how they are going to do it. Don't come out say one thing like last fall with the impression they were going to add talent by free agency to help compete until good young talent coming up is here and basically do nothing but fill in with bottom tier of talent and not even address thier middle infielder depth. I like the young talent Twins have and i hope Hicks can be big star this year will mean the Twins will have better year than expected. I like what Cubs management said one night on MLB that they were rebuilding but were adding pitching depth in case this group played better than expected and they would have chance to compete. I think Terry Ryan can rebuild this team but i get frustrated at pace he does it and i think the new school of sabermetrics could help them do it quicker. Gardy i think is still one of better managers if he has talent to make the moves he likes in the game but you cann't be very good manager if your starting pitching gives up 4 to 5 runs before the 5 th inning. Joe Mauer is still elite player in the game of baseball and his drop in power i think is soley because of Target field. Target Field takes away power Twins had in Metrodome and makes hitters adjust to hitting differently. I saw analysis of Mauers home runs when he was in Metrodome and compared to Target field more than half would have been fly balls in target field. I think i am like a lot of Twins fans frustrated would like to hear how Twins are going to get competitive again and
how Twins are achieving these goal because if there not spending it on talent now are they increasing their spending to get player in minor league system etc.
Like Reusse, Chief, and quite a few of you, I'm a 50-year fan. These categories don't fit me and my friends. Over the decades, I've been dissappointed and disagreed with many decisions, and sometimes I'm even proven wrong. Like about 90% of the time. I like hearing criticism from knowledgable and passionate fans.
My only complaint is against commenters who hide behing their anonymity and take personal pot-shots at people who are not able to defend themselves. The "victims" of those personal insults tend to be wealthy and in the public eye, but that doesn't make them fair game.
I'm a Reusse fan. He's got heart. And I love it that he's taking a shot at the behavior of constantly negative, mean-spirited know-it-alls.
I guess when you hate on the Twins you have to fall into a category. Put me in the category that has paid attention to how other teams have been winning and criticize the Twins are making blatantly obvious poor decisions. Its pieces like this I can't stand. The Twins deserve to get blasted when they finish with over 90 losses in back-to-back season, they deserve to get blasted for their complete disregard of the FA while slashing payroll to almost metrodome level. When writers like Reusse put things like this up it makes fans think they don't have a right to be critical, which is completely wrong. Right now Twins fans shouldn't be happy, their team sucks after a decade of mild success.
I agree with Badsmerf, why would we not be criticizing them at this point? I'm confused....
At the end of the day, I want to see the Twins succeed. I don't just want them to make the playoffs, I want them to win in the playoffs. Some may call me a hater for my stances on this team. Like all of you, I call myself a passionate fan.
I'm not angry about any of those things, in reality teams like the Twins go through good stretches and bad stretches (in all sports really). It is smart to rebuild now and go for another 7-8 year window of winning like the Twins just came off of.
I am a little frustrated with the Pohlads, but that is what it is, everyone hates sports owners.
I love the Wilfs. They went into debt to fix the practice facilities, they put up a ton of money for the stadium, they spend most of the salary cap every year. The year they were good, they brought in free agents to try to get over the top. so not everyone hates sports' owners....
Those four states were taken directly from a thread yesterday. I'm glad you're not down on Hicks. Several people were. Those who weren't emphasized the need to send him down to stop his clock for another year. Only a couple of people in a 145-comment thread thought he should come north.
Big fan of Leopold tooQuote:
Originally Posted by mike wants wins
I just read through that entire thread and one person said Hicks might fail because he strikes out too often.Quote:
Originally Posted by cmathewson
Well, it's true. He might fail because he strikes out too often. He strikes out a lot. Other than that, the vast majority fell into the "I'm not sure he's ready but I have high hopes for him" camp.
Don't you see that people wanting Hicks to get a little more seasoning are actually high on him as a player? If they were down on him, they wouldn't care if his clock started yesterday.
You're calling blind optimism "courageous" and reasoned restraint "negative". It makes no sense. Some of the biggest Hicks supporters are the ones who want to see him handled carefully because they like his future so much that they want to see the Twins get the absolute most they can out of the kid. Just because they're not standing up and screaming about how much they just addddooooooooore Hicks and his three Spring Training dingers doesn't mean they aren't excited about his future with the team. It's the exact opposite, actually.
You're really stretching things here to support that horse you've climbed up on.Quote:
Originally Posted by cmathewson
My dissatisfaction with the Twins probably includes something from each of those elements (not much of #4, though) but overall, my major complaint is just that they seem stuck in a rut to me. Even with the changes in the coaching staff, I have no faith that TR will ever take enough risks (or risk enough money) to really build a team that can contend with the very best in the league. And while I believe that Gardenhire's even keel philosophy has been very beneficial in the regular season, I find it impossible to see him as a good post-season motivator or leader. And maybe that ties into my Mauer complaint as well, I'm just not sure that if this is "Joe Mauer's team" they'll ever have that post-season success (his personality works for him - I'm just not sure his leadership works for the team). Overall, these probably aren't factors to worry about for the next couple of years anyway but I just don't have any faith that this leadership can ever build or lead a team that truly has prospects of post-season success. (As for the money thing, it makes me angry that they cut the budget as much as they did this year -- even though I don't see the team competing, they do seem to owe it to the fans and taxpayers to put the best team they can afford on the field -- and from everything we've seen, they can afford more than $75-$80 million).
I love the Pohlads. They bought the team from Calvin. They put up a ton of money for the stadium, They spent their entire draft and international allottments. And now that the stadium revenue is in place and the strategy of building from within is about to pay huge dividends, as evidenced by their fabulous pipeline of prospects, they'll have the budget to get over the top. so not everyone hates sports' owners....Quote:
Originally Posted by mike wants wins
But hey, Mr. Wilf. It's meaningless to just get to the playoffs, you know. You have to aspire for more than mediocrity.
I have never said it is meaningless to get to the playoffs, never. Here I tried to post a positive thought, and it gets turned around with negativity. Maybe Reusse is right after all.
I just drew a positive analogy, mike. Nothing negative about that.
By one person...who is apparently a staunch defender of the Pohlads...what with them so spending SO much for a ballpark for their own team (not even the majority of the cost) and them threating to move the team (oh, wait, they NEVER would have done that, would they?) Offering up the team for contraction (oh wait, that must not have happened. Pohalds wouldn't do that) and them spending so much in the draft even though their allotment was the highest due to the amount of high picks they had...shocking they'd spend more than anyone else in that situation...shocking! :-).Quote:
Originally Posted by mike wants wins
They are the model owners. Pay homage and don't put any owner above them...sounds like one of the Commandments :-)
I must have totally misinterpreted the point of your last sentence then, because it sure sounded negative when I read it.Quote:
Originally Posted by birdwatcher
It's exactly how it sounded...Quote:
Originally Posted by mike wants wins
Point of clarification, did they spend their draft allotment last year? I thought they did not. Not that it mattered, I don't think. I think nothing they did would have changed had they decided to spend it, just curious about the facts, that's all. I don't think, for example, they would have taken a different player later on, that needed more money....