Thread: Article: How Good Are the Twins?

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The Twins have been fairly lucky this year in terms of avoiding injuries (other than the total loss of Scott Baker). And there is not a lot of bench depth. I will be happy with some solid, watchable baseball.

I am realistic enough to know that the starting pitching isn't good enough for the Twins to truly contend. However, as mentioned previously, I would definitely take some overall competitive baseball while seeing some progess from guys who will be part of the future of Twins baseball. I think will have a summer of interesting baseball ahead of us.

Why do you have to throw water on good baseball. who knows if this can continue but can't we just enjoy the good baseball instead of saying they can't do this or do that. Just bothers me that instead of enjoying good baseball we feel the need to be skeptical if it continues just doesn't make sense to me.

Short term and long term, the Twins need to rebuild their rotation. It looks like they may have found one starter this year (Diamond), but there are vacancies for several more. The schedule favors the Twins for the remainder of the month. If they can get close to .500 and no one runs away, I suppose they have to hang on to their productive players. If they stay 6+ back and stay well below .500, they have pieces to sell.

This is still a 90+ loss team just like they have been the last 2 years.

Originally Posted by twinswon1991

This is still a 90+ loss team just like they have been the last 2 years.

Agreed, the biggest reason for the "turnaround" is the fact that they are playing other teams that are just as bad as they are. Once they start playing more contenders, reality will return..

If the pitching goes from a 6 plus ERA to a 4 plus ERA than we could be contending for the AL Central title. That's a huge if, though. This kind of reminds me of 2000. Terrible team, but you see some signs of life from a few young guys and terrible pitching. Let's hope that 2013 reminds us of 2001. I really don't think we are as far away as most people on the site say we are (based on gut feeling)

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

I'm content to watch. If by some chance they can win at that .600 clip, it will make for a more enjoyable summer of watching baseball.

BUT -- and this is a huge BUT for me -- I do not want them to be caught up in that "neverland" that THEY thought they were in last summer at the trade deadline.

Fortunately there is a lot of time before decisions have to be made. Let's revisit this discussion in another month.

I agree that we should enjoy the good baseball and we have to stay humble per travistwinstalk. Last week Gleeman said our runs/game had gone up by 2 during this successful stretch. Likely that will take a hit when we go back to playing better squads. And, the trade deadline is approaching and moves need to be made. Can anybody say who our pitching staff will be in one year? Please don’t say Gibson like that is a lock. He has been throwing from the mound for one week; there are no guarantees. Even with him, there are still many holes. I think we are still preparing for 2014 and beyond. Randy Bush joined the radio broadcast yesterday for an inning. Talking about his Cubs he said they need to look at every short-term option and looking trading them for long-term options and so they will entertain all discussions on that topic. I hope our team is thinking the same way.

One extra comment- Joe Benson’s performance and injury makes me sad. I would very much like to see him get a handle on things, get healthy and turn it around.

Still a 90 loss team, agreed. They should 100% still be sellers. Howard has a nice blog post this am about this very topic.

Originally Posted by travistwinstalk

Why do you have to throw water on good baseball. who knows if this can continue but can't we just enjoy the good baseball instead of saying they can't do this or do that. Just bothers me that instead of enjoying good baseball we feel the need to be skeptical if it continues just doesn't make sense to me.

Go read a Sid column if you're looking for fellatious drivel.

I haven't run the stats from strength of schedule, but my memory is that the pre-June schedule was not as tough as this year's. They had games against the diamond backs and mariners that were replaced with some tougher teams, like the rangers. In essence, this year's team has done about the same as last year's against a little tougher schedule. While there will be a drop-off, especially after they sell off whatever assets they can around the trade deadline, I think this year's team is a little better than last year's. Morneau and Mauer seem to be healthier, and that takes pressure off of others. If Diamond can mature and stay reasonably solid and they get another pitcher out of Hendricks, Gibson or Waters - then they have two pitchers they can build around.

My wish list:
1. The team is NEVER a buyer, and ALWAYS a seller.
2. Selling is for prospects ONLY.
3. Sales happen ONLY when a team will overpay.
4. Every player is ALWAYS on the trading block.

The Phillies may be a better test of this team--but yes, we always do well during the June interleague schedule (this is last year for that with 2 15 team leagues starting 2013). The lineup shows potential--the pitching staff not much. We need to sell off pieces (my choice Span or Revere and Morneau) and pick up A level pitching prospects to go with Hendrix, Diamond and maybe Gibson in 2014.

"Go read a Sid column if you're looking for fellatious drivel."

Not sure if this is a typo or not. But it sure paints an interesting picture. And gave me a nice chuckle that I appreciate.

My problem with selling is that often the Twins just sell to sell. Use the Denard Span trade talk for example, why trade a very good leadoff hitter and Center Fielder who is under contract for two more seasons and is still young and very much a part of this team's future for some mid-tier prospects they are likely to get in return. The only way the Twins should trade a guy like Span is if his replacement is ready to at the Major League level, and at this point that guy is not ready.

Originally Posted by Loosey

My problem with selling is that often the Twins just sell to sell. Use the Denard Span trade talk for example, why trade a very good leadoff hitter and Center Fielder who is under contract for two more seasons and is still young and very much a part of this team's future for some mid-tier prospects they are likely to get in return. The only way the Twins should trade a guy like Span is if his replacement is ready to at the Major League level, and at this point that guy is not ready.

It seems like General Managing 101. Only sell guys who are free agents at the end of the year (Capps) or guys who have value but not close to their salary (Morneau, Mauer) and keep productive guys under team control for reasonable money (Span, Willingham). Unfortunately I never have thought the Twins front office knows anything about what it takes to manage a roster properly. I'm not confident this trade deadline will be much different than the past few. They probably sit on their hands to avoid getting fleeced.

Originally Posted by savvyspy

I'm not confident this trade deadline will be much different than the past few. They probably sit on their hands to avoid getting fleeced.

I guess I'd rather have them sit on their hands...with the exception of our Capital C Closer for any potential pitching prospect.

I don't consider anyone to be off limits, per se, but I am admittedly a little nervous about the front office's ability to bring back sufficient talent in a trade. Dealing away a one-year guy like Capps or Doumit carries little downside, but when you're talking about getting rid of a quality player under contract for multiple years at a reasonable price, the pressure to bring back useful pieces increases dramatically. Considering their talent evaluation in recent years, can we trust the Twins to make a Span trade worthwhile?