AL Central - 2014/2015

[trader t]

trader t, who is really really smart, unlike Terry Ryan, will be unable to give us an example of a small market team that has made the playoffs or come very close to making them every year.

 

I will give Mr. Ryan his due. He is the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum!!! He is quoted last spring as saying he expected the twins to compete for the central division title. Now as for those incredible central division titles that we did win , remember how strong and mighty our division was. The twins would have been in last place in the eastern division.!! That makes Mr. Ryan a genious? Look at the studs he brought in last year. Jason Marquis. He sure put the fear in opposing batters. A part timer in Doumit? A shortstop who was ready for the baseball nursing home in Carrol? He did get some power from Willingham, but look at his batting average. Pitching and defense win championships!!! Where are they? We had the highest era in the al. we were tied for last in home runs in the al. We had a below average team batting average in the al. I almost forgot about our Japanese star,but then his performance was quite forgetable. Do I need to go on any further about Mr. Ryans genius?

[70charger]

trader t, who is really really smart, unlike Terry Ryan, will be unable to give us an example of a small market team that has made the playoffs or come very close to making them every year.

 

I will give Mr. Ryan his due. He is the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum!!! He is quoted last spring as saying he expected the twins to compete for the central division title. Now as for those incredible central division titles that we did win , remember how strong and mighty our division was. The twins would have been in last place in the eastern division.!! That makes Mr. Ryan a genious? Look at the studs he brought in last year. Jason Marquis. He sure put the fear in opposing batters. A part timer in Doumit? A shortstop who was ready for the baseball nursing home in Carrol? He did get some power from Willingham, but look at his batting average. Pitching and defense win championships!!! Where are they? We had the highest era in the al. we were tied for last in home runs in the al. We had a below average team batting average in the al. I almost forgot about our Japanese star,but then his performance was quite forgetable. Do I need to go on any further about Mr. Ryans genius?

 

You suck at life.

[beckmt]

trader t, who is really really smart, unlike Terry Ryan, will be unable to give us an example of a small market team that has made the playoffs or come very close to making them every year.

 

I will give Mr. Ryan his due. He is the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum!!! He is quoted last spring as saying he expected the twins to compete for the central division title. Now as for those incredible central division titles that we did win , remember how strong and mighty our division was. The twins would have been in last place in the eastern division.!! That makes Mr. Ryan a genious? Look at the studs he brought in last year. Jason Marquis. He sure put the fear in opposing batters. A part timer in Doumit? A shortstop who was ready for the baseball nursing home in Carrol? He did get some power from Willingham, but look at his batting average. Pitching and defense win championships!!! Where are they? We had the highest era in the al. we were tied for last in home runs in the al. We had a below average team batting average in the al. I almost forgot about our Japanese star,but then his performance was quite forgetable. Do I need to go on any further about Mr. Ryans genius?

Doumit, WIllingham, Burton, and Carroll were all relitivly successful signings. Marquis and Zumaya were not. That seems to be a positive success ratio. Pitching staff takes longer to fix. Trader t must realize that not everything works out well. At least TR has a successful track record, look no further than Kansas City if you want a failure. That is what not having a plan does. I have seem on other websites the fact that most of Kansas Cities good hitters are on the trading block. Looking for pitching no doubt. Pitching is sometimes luck or a great scouting department that does not miss(Tampa Bay). Twins are better than most in scouting. Give it some time. Problem with people like trader t is that they alway think the job is easy and they can do it. Almost all of them cannot.

[bird]

Brock, I agree with you 100% that for 2013, we need a trade for a #2-3 starter, which means bye bye to Morneau and/or Span most likely: we need a surprise FA signing of a Marcum-type, and we need a trash heap sucess story or a Deduno shocker to go with Gibson, Diamond, and Hendriks.

 

My post about the farm system was in response to the frequent comments that the system has absolutely NO pitching help available in the next 2-3 years. It's true that the system is very thin in high ceiling pitching prospects above low A. But at the lower levels, people are going to be very pleasantly surprised by two years from now at the promise of a number of pitching prospects.

 

My argument has been that we can fix the current shortcomings enough to compete almost immediately via outside additions, and then rely on a wave of talent, pitching included, from the farm system in 2-3 years and beyond.

[roger]

trader t, who is really really smart, unlike Terry Ryan, will be unable to give us an example of a small market team that has made the playoffs or come very close to making them every year.

 

I will give Mr. Ryan his due. He is the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum!!! He is quoted last spring as saying he expected the twins to compete for the central division title. Now as for those incredible central division titles that we did win , remember how strong and mighty our division was. The twins would have been in last place in the eastern division.!! That makes Mr. Ryan a genious? Look at the studs he brought in last year. Jason Marquis. He sure put the fear in opposing batters. A part timer in Doumit? A shortstop who was ready for the baseball nursing home in Carrol? He did get some power from Willingham, but look at his batting average. Pitching and defense win championships!!! Where are they? We had the highest era in the al. we were tied for last in home runs in the al. We had a below average team batting average in the al. I almost forgot about our Japanese star,but then his performance was quite forgetable. Do I need to go on any further about Mr. Ryans genius?

 

Trader T, I am waiting for your apology to Mr. Ryan. He has earned our respect. Whether or not we agree with every move he makes, your comment about him was unrespectful and in poor taste. Step up and do the right thing!

[Riverbrian]

trader t, who is really really smart, unlike Terry Ryan, will be unable to give us an example of a small market team that has made the playoffs or come very close to making them every year.

 

I will give Mr. Ryan his due. He is the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum!!! He is quoted last spring as saying he expected the twins to compete for the central division title. Now as for those incredible central division titles that we did win , remember how strong and mighty our division was. The twins would have been in last place in the eastern division.!! That makes Mr. Ryan a genious? Look at the studs he brought in last year. Jason Marquis. He sure put the fear in opposing batters. A part timer in Doumit? A shortstop who was ready for the baseball nursing home in Carrol? He did get some power from Willingham, but look at his batting average. Pitching and defense win championships!!! Where are they? We had the highest era in the al. we were tied for last in home runs in the al. We had a below average team batting average in the al. I almost forgot about our Japanese star,but then his performance was quite forgetable. Do I need to go on any further about Mr. Ryans genius?

 

The worst Generation is something I've been hearing. I'm not sure what to think when I hear "Worst Generation" because I am part of it. As a Generation X'er.. i am right in the middle of it.

 

Is the worst Generation... the Baby Boomer? X? Y? Right now we all go hand in hand.

 

There are individuals that I know who can make me shrug the comment off and say nothing wrong with this generation Y or X at all. Im an optimist.. I believe in people.

 

Just when I feel all optimistic about our Generation...

 

The Twin Towers come down and instead of bringing us together it actually divides us as the majority of our attention is turned toward a different part of the world with more oil.

 

We live through a time where everyone is entitled to a house I guess and everyone gets a house I guess. Not only does everyone get a house but with sheer greed added to it all... Profit was made on those sub prime mortgages down the line as Investment Agencies not only sold that debt to buyers two three times over... They also paid credit rating agencies to take the sub out of sub prime and the credit rating agencies did the deed and took the money. These Investment Agencies whose greed brought the world to the Financial edge... where it still sits today... were punished severely by being forced to take billions of our tax dollars. Our politicians are just as guilty in the financial mess because they live in the pocket of the investment banks. Our Politicians are severely punished by the incumbent re-election rate dropping from 94 to 85 percent.

 

While deciding what to do about it... Very few decisions are made because it appears that all Parties have put Party in front of Country and the filibuster has increased from rare to common. You don't even have to stand for hours and hours anymore reading a phone book from cover to cover. The entitled Generation is entitled to an easy and even less effective filibuster!!! Filibuster reform will just be filibustered.

 

Meanwhile... The guitar solo is gone from music and reality TV is making those Neilson Boxes ring and I'm complaining because my cell phone isn't downloading fast enough.

 

I start to pull myself out of this negative "kids these days" "worst generation" thinking. All Generations have problems... Brokaws Greatest Generation was born out of necessity because things got really bad with a depression and Hitler. Maybe Generation Y will be a great generation out of Necessity as well... Maybe Generation X... because things are getting bad again. You won't know until Generation Y gets a turn at power and a chance to lead.

 

Yeah.. That's right... I'm optimistic again... We've been in a hole before... We can get out of holes again...

 

Then I read the post from trader t... WE ARE the WORST GENERATION!!!

[old nurse]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

[trader t]

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect example of the success of Mr. P.T. Barnum jr. Where did I say that the gm's job was easy and that I could do it? It's not easy at all and I wouldn't want it. The twins are not just in competition with other teams in the cent. div. It's the whole al. And when small market teams have to butt heads with the money teams, they need to have a little luck, but more importantly they need the best gm money can buy. I really cannot understand your argument. Pitching and defense wins championships!!!! The twins pitching and defense speak for themselves, which falls on the head of guess who.

[roger]

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect example of the success of Mr. P.T. Barnum jr. Where did I say that the gm's job was easy and that I could do it? It's not easy at all and I wouldn't want it. The twins are not just in competition with other teams in the cent. div. It's the whole al. And when small market teams have to butt heads with the money teams, they need to have a little luck, but more importantly they need the best gm money can buy. I really cannot understand your argument. Pitching and defense wins championships!!!! The twins pitching and defense speak for themselves, which falls on the head of guess who.

 

Where is your apology for what you called Mr. Ryan?

[twinsnorth49]

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect example of the success of Mr. P.T. Barnum jr. Where did I say that the gm's job was easy and that I could do it? It's not easy at all and I wouldn't want it. The twins are not just in competition with other teams in the cent. div. It's the whole al. And when small market teams have to butt heads with the money teams, they need to have a little luck, but more importantly they need the best gm money can buy. I really cannot understand your argument. Pitching and defense wins championships!!!! The twins pitching and defense speak for themselves, which falls on the head of guess who.

 

Joe Mauer?

[Riverbrian]

which falls on the head of guess who.

 

Burton Cummings?

Nikola Tesla?

Louie Anderson?

 

Are any of those 3 correct?

[Siehbiscuit]

First point, pitching and defense does win championships. But if you look at Terry Ryans's track record, I believe the teams he has assembled in the past have won several AL Central titles. We may not always agree with him, but he is probably better at that job than any of us would be.

 

Secondly, I am one fan that thinks the Twins can have their cake and eat it too. If the Twins keep re-building and re-building, and trade off veterans we will have a poor MLB product for a while. Then in 2015 or so when our farm system bears its fruit to the MLB we will will have several years of cheap (potentially good, some growing pains) labor, but what happens when all of this young talent becomes arbitration eligible or ready for their FA pay day? If the re-building isn't a blend of veterans AND youth the Twins will be in this same cycle again. Around 2016-2020, the Twins could be winning the division again and be drafting in the mid to upper 20's year after year and missing out on the elite talent again. Doesn't this sound familiar?

 

Signing one solid starting pitcher via FA (Sanchez is my personal choice) for approximately 5 years is the first move I would make. Also, trading Span as his value is very high and his departure doesn't cripple the big league team for the best pitcher, regardless if its a Trevor Bauer (prospect) or James Shields (All-Star), period. Pitching at all levels is essential. Make a trade that involves Morneau and prospects for the best available middle infielder, either prospect or MLB-ready. Depth here is atrocious at all levels. The Twins need talent. If the Twins go the side of trading for prospects, then as fans we better be ready for some Jason Marquis/Sidney Ponson-type signings. BUT the as bad as the Twins have been, the team's luck has been pretty awful. Maybe the Twins catch some lightning in a bottle and sign the next RA Dickey (or at least at the right time) and the Twins get lucky and see WImmers, Salcedo and other pitching prospects start to get really healthy and dominate in the minors and advance to AA or higher by the end of the year.

 

AND maybe Anthony Slama gets a chance to prove he can get some outs in the Majors. Maybe, just maybe.

[jorgenswest]

It dumbfounds me that people think it must be either one OR the other. That the Twins can't make moves for pitchers that will both improve the product on the field this year AND be around a couple of years from now when the next wave of top position players arrive. You're going to want some kind of veteran presence on the team when those young guys get to Target Field beyond just Joe Mauer.

 

---Yeah the win-now or build-for-tomorrow is a false dichotomy that's thrown out way too often. It doesn't have to be an either/or. The Twins should always be looking to improve themselves now and beyond.

 

IMO, when you start to concede seasons because you've got some grand plan to start winning 3 or 4 years down the road, you're sending the message that it doesn't matter whether you win now or not because you're not trying or expecting to win, and that breeds a culture of losing.

 

Look at the Royals and Pirates who have been trying to "rebuild" under these multi-year schemes for 2 decades now. I view "we're rebuilding" as nothing more than a euphemism for "we suck".

 

Looking at the Royals and Pirates is probably deserving of an article.

 

In short, the Royals spent most of the 2000s trying to do both. Look at the ages of their rosters over the last several years. It isn't until 2011 that you can look at their roster and the clear direction was their intention to rebuild. The 2011 roster was their youngest since the expansion season of 1969. They had two players over 30. The average batter age dropped three years from 2010. They stayed young in 2012. Now after two years they are trying to take their new rebuilt foundation and add pieces. Will they begin to see a payoff this year? Are they adding pieces a year too early?

 

How about the Pirates? They 2009 Pirates were relatively young... particularly the pitchers. No pitchers were over 30. They also didn't stick with the plan. They signed a bunch of over 30 pitchers for the bullpen entering 2010. Last year they had most of their innings come from the over 30 crowd. It is not a surprise that they have languished in mediocrity for two decades.

 

Rebuild or patch? It doesn't work to do both. The Pirates and Royals are an example.

[Top Gun]

Rockies signed RHP Jeff Manship to a minor league contract.

 

Manship was limited to 12 games with the Twins last season, but posted a 2.91 ERA in 80-plus innings at the Triple-A level. The deal is expected to include an invite to spring training.

[trader t]

I'm sorry Roger, but he is who he is. When he said that the twins would compete for the central division, I thought at the time that there was no possible way they could contend based on the results the previous year and the below average players they signed for 2011. Based on the facts, he is either a con man or an out n out liar. Either way he should be replaced!!! and by the way, I will agree that he is dedicated....... to losing

[roger]

I'm sorry Roger, but he is who he is. When he said that the twins would compete for the central division, I thought at the time that there was no possible way they could contend based on the results the previous year and the below average players they signed for 2011. Based on the facts, he is either a con man or an out n out liar. Either way he should be replaced!!! and by the way, I will agree that he is dedicated....... to losing

 

With comments like this, calling Mr. Ryan a con man or liar, I respectfully request that Seth and the others here restrict you from access to their site.

 

And what is more telling about your comments above, Mr. Ryan wasn't the general manager before and during the 2011 season.

[trader t]

I messed up .I meant 2012

. Either way you can't change what he has done or hasn't done. Do what you have to do

[trader t]

loved it twinsnorth49, I don't have to take my blood pressure now

[Mike Sixel]

I think we actually agree, they should sign 2 pitchers this year, and deal for one. We agree Gibson is likely to be good. We agree Hendricks could he good, and should be given time. Diamond is a number 3. But Wimmers is at least 2 away. I do not think Hermsann is likely to be successful (more accurately, I think it highly unlikely both of the above are successful). I do jot think anyone else is less than 3 years away from being a starter, if they even work out. We likely agree more than disagree.

[Kwak]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

 

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

 

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion.

 

You need access to users' IP addresses.

 

I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style.

[kab21]

I cannot comprehend how the Royals signing guthrie means that the Twins should alter their plans at all. As a matter of fact the Twins current problem has nothing to do with who is in the AL Central. They can't beat anyone. The Twins don't need to do a complete slash and burn rebuild but they do need to avoid any ridiculous FA contracts that can cripple the team in the future. Anyone that thinks the Twins are going to magically turn this around by spending their way out of this mess is setting themselves up for a long run of ineptitude.

[ScottyB]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

 

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion.

 

You need access to users' IP addresses.

 

I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style.

 

Separate devices, seperate networks and a new identity would allow dakota to bypass his banning. Seems strange that trader t starts up after dakota's 3rd banning. It must be tough for him to occasionally use the shift key.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

You need access to users' IP addresses.

 

I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style.

 

nothing an IP anonymizer cannot solve...

[old nurse]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

 

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion.

 

You need access to users' IP addresses.

 

I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style.

 

Separate devices, seperate networks and a new identity would allow dakota to bypass his banning. Seems strange that trader t starts up after dakota's 3rd banning. It must be tough for him to occasionally use the shift key.

 

I thought dakota was probably using a mobile device, thus easier not to use caps.

[beckmt]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

 

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion.

 

You need access to users' IP addresses.

 

I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style.

 

Separate devices, seperate networks and a new identity would allow dakota to bypass his banning. Seems strange that trader t starts up after dakota's 3rd banning. It must be tough for him to occasionally use the shift key.

 

I thought dakota was probably using a mobile device, thus easier not to use caps.

 

Pairing writing style with techincal proficincy is a dangerous connection. I am probably an example of being reletivly bright and not being able to write well. Or having friends that could do this for you. Anyway this is probably a more offline discussion(if you wish).

Twins still need to identify and sign a couple of FA pitchers who will upgrade the talent level and give us a chance to compete. Trading Span for prospects is also likely to happen as the Twins have a glut of high level minor league talent in that area and it is not that far away from the major league level.

Trading a Joe Benson or a Chris Parmalee could also help bring talent back to the Twins when paired with a Span or a Morneau to a team that watches their payroll. Twins should treat themselves as a mid market team not a small market at this time.

Biggest issue is to evaluate the talent and make the correct decisions, not everything TR does is going to work. He just needs to be better than 50% on the bigger side.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Fat Beer = johnny dakota = trader t. IP adressed moved to confuse Brock's monitoring

 

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion.

 

You need access to users' IP addresses.

 

I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style.

 

Separate devices, seperate networks and a new identity would allow dakota to bypass his banning. Seems strange that trader t starts up after dakota's 3rd banning. It must be tough for him to occasionally use the shift key.

 

There's more to it than that. You have to use the correct kind of proxy for me not to know that it's a proxy. Also, the locations are wildly different.

 

Not impossible, but highly unlikely.

[ScottyB]

I'll take your word for it Pig