How far have we come?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

By "we" I'm talking about Twins Daily commenters ... There were a few mentions of "I feel like I read this same thing last year" on some of the early off-season threads that are active today, it got me wondering... What did we read last year? 

 

One post entitled "A Year From Now" was made on 8/26/2013 - it had a very interesting projected lineup, including Mauer as the catcher and Justin Morneau batting 3rd, along with both Buxton and Sano in the starting 9..

 

Another post from 9/2/2013 asks if the Twins are realistic contenders for 2015 or 2016 - suggests signing Phil Hughes! (and Tanaka, trading Deduno for a SS, and signing a 3rd pitcher via FA or Trade)

 

Here's one with a lot of discussion on adding a FA outfielder   - Ellsbury and David Murphy get mentions, but no Kubel?

 

The big theme was the starting rotation, and with good reason. There was some talk about trying to sign Jose Abreu, and Tanaka, but it was still in that tone of "TR won't do it, but it would be nice if he tried!"

 

No one mentioned Kurt Suzuki, though a few threads talked about Mauer moving away from catching and some reservations about giving the job to Pinto. Even with the reservations, it was almost unanimous that Doumit should be traded. 

 

No one mentioned Nolasco in the threads I read, lots of talk about Josh Johnson though... and people were shaking their heads about the prospect of Pelfrey's last contract...

 

So, what do I take away? It seems like there were a few surprises this past offseason from Terry Ryan, though the exact names were a bit off from the Twins Daily wishlist. Does it give me hope that any combo of Yasmani Tomas, Melky Cabrera, Jon Lester, James Shields, or Max Scherzer will be wearing a TC on their hat next spring? Not really, but hey, we've been surprised before...  

 

 

 

[Craig Arko]

The shandy sounds like a good idea still.

[old nurse]

Maybe the should sign Johnson to a minor league contract this winter.  He fits the profile.