Article: Twins Trying to Sustain Excellence

[howieramone2]

 

Mike brings this one up regularly, but so far hasn't... honestly I'm a little disappointed.... How does one sustain anything when there are no payroll commitments past 2019 or 2020? Roster turnover of 30% when you lose 100 games is good. Roster turnover of 30% when you win 85 games... well...

Don't confuse payroll commitments with player availability. We have one of the top farm systems in all of baseball and 3 or 4 players who are reasonably close. Why don't you ask Mike how much he wants to spend blocking our future stars? As I recall, he also wanted to trade current players, for those with 3,4, or 5 years control. Obviously he wasn't paying attention during the trade deadline.

[jorgenswest]

Thanks for the article.

 

I trust the front office’s goal is a path of sustained success. To get there they definitely need to develop the talent of the 27 and below talent.

 

It is year 3 now and this is their team and their manager. They need results this year. I would set the bar this year as buyers at the deadline. If they can’t make that bar, it is time to look elsewhere for leadership.

[ashbury]

Did you know they were the first team in the history of baseball to go from losing 100 games, to making the playoffs?

Then that makes them the only team to go from 100 losses to playoffs to irrelevance in 3 consecutive seasons.

[h2oface]

 

LoMo ≠ Cruz

Totally agree.

 

But the sad thing is... 

 

LoMo = Cron

 

and that is who they signed.

[h2oface]

 

Did you know they were the first team in the history of baseball to go from losing 100 games, to making the playoffs?

 

.....with one of the worst records to make the playoffs all time in 2017, and wouldn't have come close with the same record this year. Not really a big deal in my book, especially since, arguably, with a better manager, they wouldn't have lost 103 the year before after winning 83 in 2015. That kind of graph does not indicate anything sustained to me. Kind of a novelty..... even though a team can and has won the World Series with only 85 regular season wins....... (and one with only 83 wins!) And even though the one game wild card game is called a playoff game...... it is really more like a play-in game to get into the playoffs. 

 

Personally, I am not impressed or enamored by it, since they never should have been so bad in 2016.

Edited December 15, 2018 by h2oface

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Don't confuse payroll commitments with player availability. We have one of the top farm systems in all of baseball and 3 or 4 players who are reasonably close. Why don't you ask Mike how much he wants to spend blocking our future stars? As I recall, he also wanted to trade current players, for those with 3,4, or 5 years control. Obviously he wasn't paying attention during the trade deadline.

Top farm system gets you what exactly? Having high end players 26-40 on the 40 man roster is critical, but won’t win a World Series.

 

“Blocking future stars” is just another way is saying that the prospects aren’t better than a decrepit washed up old has-beens.

 

Polanco and Buxton are fantastic examples of the old regime’s mismanagement of the farm. You’ve got 6 years to graduate a player to the bigs. Buxton is an example of getting promoted too quickly and trading away the incumbent before the heir apparent is ready. Polanco on the other was left too long in the rookie leagues, before he made it to double A, they had to add him to the 40 man and desperation put him on the active roster to sit and rot. Both put in terrible positions due to inadequate free agent signings.

 

Rather than spend the money for a replacement level player, Polanco languished on the bench.

 

I get trading big leaguers for pitching prospects but rather than spend the money on a good CF or 4th outfielder they were committed to Buxton flailing away in the bigs. We saw how Buxtons service time got mismanaged with the shenanigan Falvey pulled in Sept.

[ewen21]

 

Problem is, there are plenty of concerns whether the Twins are building around players who won't take this organization to the next level.

Wouldn't now be the best time to extend them?

[ChrisKnutson]

I know Cave had a nice (rookie) year, while Kepler’s was a frustrating one, but are you really gonna crown someone who didn’t even amass 300 at-bats the starting LFer?? While I agree with the premise of the article that Kep’s one of the building block for the future, I don’t necessarily have a problem with having him facing some competition in 2019, throw him at 1B if you have to, but at the end of the day I believe that Kepler’s gonna be a cornerstone in the Twins OF for years to come, and none of Cave, Wade, or even Kirilloff (move Rosie to DH) is gonna change that (unless he gets traded). All the tools are there, we just have to be patient. and eventually we’ll be rewarded with player somewhere in between Yasiel Puig (at worst) and Christian Yelich (at best).

[howieramone2]

 

Top farm system gets you what exactly? Having high end players 26-40 on the 40 man roster is critical, but won’t win a World Series.

“Blocking future stars” is just another way is saying that the prospects aren’t better than a decrepit washed up old has-beens.

Polanco and Buxton are fantastic examples of the old regime’s mismanagement of the farm. You’ve got 6 years to graduate a player to the bigs. Buxton is an example of getting promoted too quickly and trading away the incumbent before the heir apparent is ready. Polanco on the other was left too long in the rookie leagues, before he made it to double A, they had to add him to the 40 man and desperation put him on the active roster to sit and rot. Both put in terrible positions due to inadequate free agent signings.

Rather than spend the money for a replacement level player, Polanco languished on the bench.

I get trading big leaguers for pitching prospects but rather than spend the money on a good CF or 4th outfielder they were committed to Buxton flailing away in the bigs. We saw how Buxtons service time got mismanaged with the shenanigan Falvey pulled in Sept.

No, No, and No.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

No, No, and No.

how does this advance the conversation? Where do we go from here? Is sustained excellence 75 wins with a roster comprised entirely of homegrown talent still in arbitration or earlier? Edited December 22, 2018 by Sconnie