Dave St. Peter: We'll be competetive

[John Bonnes]

Tyler Mason interviews Twins President Dave St. Peter, mostly about off-the-field stuff, but ends with some talk about this year's team.

 

"I really like our chances to surprise some people. I fully expect us to be competitive and, to be honest with you, it's my strong belief that we'll be playing some meaningful baseball games here in August and September."

 

Good news Dave....you can still jump on that 64.5 over/under in Vegas.

 

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/02/23/13/St-Peter-I-fully-expect-us-to-be-competi/landing_twins.html?blockID=868973&feedID=3546

[righty8383]

I'm shocked! I totally expected Dave to say the Twins are rebuilding and he doesn't expect the team to go very far this year.

[Badsmerf]

Define..... meaningful.

[glunn]

I'm shocked! I totally expected Dave to say the Twins are rebuilding and he doesn't expect the team to go very far this year.

 

You make a good point. Part of his job is inspiring ticket sales, so he needs to be positive. But maybe he is hearing positive evaluations from the coaches and scouts about some of the younger players, and this is inspiring optimism.

[Oxtung]

Define..... meaningful.

 

Not exhibition. They will count towards our final record.

[Shane Wahl]

The Twins will likely surprise this year, but only in the +8-10 range. So 74-76 wins is my prediction right now. This would be contingent a bit upon how the trade deadline works, but there is enough talent that would come up at that point will make up for the loss of Morneau, Willingham, and perhaps Burton and Duensing. Hopefully the Twins are smart and Gibson still has 30+ innings to pitch in September. Hopefully Harden is still healthy by that time too. I would expect Hicks, Benson, Arcia, Herrmann, and Colabello to be contributing offensively, and in a substantially way at the end of the year.

[twinsnorth49]

Define..... meaningful.

 

 

It will be August and then September, meaning they will be playing games

[Mike Sixel]

If he really does believe that, what does that say about his baseball knowledge vs nearly every expert?

[Nick Nelson]

If he really does believe that, what does that say about his baseball knowledge vs nearly every expert?

 

I'm no expert but I, for one, think there's a perfectly legit chance he could be right. A record approaching .500 is not completely unrealistic. And I personally appreciate the fact that he's trying to be realistic. Notice that he's not talking about winning the division or contending for a championship.

[Mike Sixel]

Maybe he means they will be playing other teams fighting for the playoffs, that would be meaningful.

 

nick, I also am no expert, but the over under is 64.....is it realistic to have a strong belief they will be competitive? If he thinks this pitching staff really is good, how likely is it they will try to get better? That might be the issue, they actually do believe they are good now.

[Guest USAFChief]

A record approaching .500 is not completely unrealistic.

Quite the lofty goal. Inspiring even.

[twinsnorth49]

Seriously, what do you expect him to say? He's entitled to maintain a positive outlook and as the senior executive you would expect nothing less. St. Peter will leave the realism to the critics, his job is to make sure the sun shines every day.

 

It scares me a little to think that the FO could believe this team is good enough, the trades with Span and Revere and the bizarre reluctance to sign a decent pitcher to a one or two year deal lead me to believe otherwise though. It's their way of saying "it's about the future". The real indication to me however will be based on what they end up doing with Willingham and Morneau.

[twinsnorth49]

Notice that he's not talking about winning the division or contending for a championship.

 

But that's never been the goal for this FO, don't you remember? http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/winks/b-wink.gif

[ThePuck]

Define..... meaningful.

 

Meaningful to the teams we're playing against that are in playoff contention...

[Mike Sixel]

I expect him to say that....my question was does he really strongly believe this is a good team, that does not need to add much talent to be a serious contender?

[ThePuck]

I expect him to say that....my question was does he really strongly believe this is a good team, that does not need to add much talent to be a serious contender?

 

We'll never know what he truly believes...

[beckmt]

That will be true, but there has to be a buyer for Willingham and Morneau that will pay a reasonable price for them. That may or may not happen, most clubs will not give decent AAA or AA pitchers for a rental player. That means either the Twins have to take suspects or hope the season brings an offer of some A pitchers that have a high upside(and also risk). It also means Willingham will probably be here this year unless the twins are overwhelmed by an offer. Morneau will be whether Parmelee makes it and if the Twins can get a decent offer.

[Willihammer]

I think the Twins primary goal entering this offseason was to field a team decent enough to avoid the late-season attendance collapse last year. That is why they wanted "MLB-ready" pitching for Willingham this winter. If the Twins are out of contention by the deadline, I think the Twins will loosen on their asking price for Willingham. I don't think it would take more than a mediocre prospect or two to get a deal done, similar to the Delmon and Liriano trades.

[Nick Nelson]

Quite the lofty goal. Inspiring even.

 

It is what it is. This is a bridge year. No one's hiding that anymore.

[righty8383]

It is what it is. This is a bridge year. No one's hiding that anymore.

 

Except Dave St Peter

[greengoblinrulz]

If they actually believe that in the organization, when they lose 95 games.....everyone should be losing their jobs, no questions asked.

[Nick Nelson]

Except Dave St Peter

 

No.

[Oldgoat_MN]

If he really does believe that, what does that say about his baseball knowledge vs nearly every expert?

It says that he is a salesman. We are going to get the company line from him, and the company line does not include an effort to get people fired up about young players who will be battling for a future with the Minnesota Twins.

 

I am under no illusion that I know more about baseball than Dave St. Peter.

But it makes me wonder what kinds of questions are worth asking Twins baseball executives.

 

Jim Leyland always gets in trouble for saying what he really thinks. And Ozzie...

[Ben B]

I doubt anyone involved with the team privately thinks they'll be any good.

[Riverbrian]

66-96 in 2012.

 

Tack on 16 more wins out of 162 games and the team is 82-80

 

Being on pace for 82-80 means that the roster can be augmented at the trade deadline and meaningful games in August and September are not of the question.

 

16 wins out of 162... That's one more win every ten games.

 

One more win out of ten games is not impossible. One less game with a starter on the mound with a 7 plus ERA and it seems quite possible.

[old nurse]

If they lose 162 games by one run they would be competitive in each game. The games they play in August or September may be meaningful to keep the other team from winning the division as they play half of their games at that time against division opponents. If you want to twist negative, there you go.

[Mike Sixel]

My question is not what should he say.....it is, what if he really does think that? I am not sure why people keep saying he does not believe it...we so no know what he believes. Him believing it would explain their lack of moves.....

[jharaldson]

Here are the Wild Card standings from August 15th last year

 

[TABLE=width: 403]

Wild Card Teams

W

L

PCT

WCGB

Baltimore Orioles

[TD=align: right]64[/TD]

[TD=align: right]53[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.547[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1[/TD]

Tampa Bay Rays

[TD=align: right]63[/TD]

[TD=align: right]54[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.538[/TD]

-

Detroit Tigers

[TD=align: right]63[/TD]

[TD=align: right]55[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.534[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.5[/TD]

Oakland Athletics

[TD=align: right]61[/TD]

[TD=align: right]55[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.526[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1.5[/TD]

Los Angeles Angels

[TD=align: right]62[/TD]

[TD=align: right]56[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.525[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1.5[/TD]

Boston Red Sox

[TD=align: right]57[/TD]

[TD=align: right]61[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.483[/TD]

[TD=align: right]6.5[/TD]

Toronto Blue Jays

[TD=align: right]55[/TD]

[TD=align: right]62[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.47[/TD]

[TD=align: right]8[/TD]

Seattle Mariners

[TD=align: right]55[/TD]

[TD=align: right]64[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.462[/TD]

[TD=align: right]9[/TD]

Cleveland Indians

[TD=align: right]54[/TD]

[TD=align: right]64[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.458[/TD]

[TD=align: right]9.5[/TD]

Kansas City Royals

[TD=align: right]51[/TD]

[TD=align: right]65[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.44[/TD]

[TD=align: right]11.5[/TD]

Minnesota Twins

[TD=align: right]50[/TD]

[TD=align: right]67[/TD]

[TD=align: right]0.427[/TD]

[TD=align: right]13[/TD]

[/TABLE]

 

I would consider the Twins as playing meaningful games if they are right around where the Red Sox and Blue Jays were which is only a 5-7 win improvement at that time, a little over 1 win per month. For St. Peter to state that he expects that his team is one the the 5-6 worst teams in the league instead of saying they are the worst team in the league is not that much of a stretch.

[SweetOne69]

Maybe, by competitive means that they will still lose but they will be close tight games.

 

I went to 5 games last year and they lost all 5. 3 of the games were so bad that I left early as they weren't fun to watch. It was the 1st time that I've ever left early.

[zenser]

Dave St. Peter and Paul Molitor spoke at our ticket draft earlier this month and I thought St. Peter was overly optimistic. He really highlighted the signings of Corriea, Harden, and Pelfrey. Pretty much what he said in the article was what he said to us. I know he was impressed with the reports of the younger players progressing. He also said the the season ticket sales were a sign that the fan base was optimistic. I wanted to tell him that some of the season ticket holders are hanging on thru next year because of the all star game.

 

Personally, I just don't see the roster improvement that would warrent that type of optimism. I know it is his job to sell the good points and be optimistic, but I am thinking a lot of people aren't buying it.