Today's Strib article/Gomez.

[jokin]

I've always had the impression that the Twins were like the woman in a relationship and the player the man....The Twins search and search for that perfect fit...and step one is to set about how to change that man...you dont go shopping for sedans...so you can turn it into a camaro...and you don't go lookng for camaros and try to turn them into sedans...you found exactly what you were looking for...Im all for polishing up a diamond in the rough...but sometimes it seems the twins overestimate thier ailities and the player's ability to change

 

 

 

and in response to someones post above (too lazy to look up who)...the Twins have had management change at all levels...BUT..the philosophy has NEVER changed...and even when the GM stepped down...he was still there...this organization has thought the exactly same way for decades...and that is a problem for any type of business...whether you are playing baseball or selling widgets.

 

Excellent 2nd post.

[jokin]

I just wish the Twins had at least waited till David Ortiz had gotten expensive before parting ways, instead of releasing him at 26 because he liked to wrap his pinky under the handle.

 

LOL. Stop it hammer, you stats guys aren't supposed to be funny, too!

[drjim]

I just wish the Twins had at least waited till David Ortiz had gotten expensive before parting ways, instead of releasing him at 26 because he liked to wrap his pinky under the handle.

 

As disastrous as the Twins decision was I'm still stunned that no other team jumped in for more. Twins were on the hook for about $2.5 mil in arbitration. They non-tendered and he got $1.25 mil. Do in a sense the Twins did value Ortiz properly at the time.

[drjim]

I have occassionally given into being negative week after week after week. Sometimes you get caught up in an emotion, and a direction to your thoughts. As I've had people tell me I do that, I've learned a lot about myself and how my mind can cause my own unhappiness. As I've read some Buddhist writings, and a lot of yoga stuff, I've learned a lot about taking a break from a negative train of thought. Just. Stop. For awhile. If you can learn to take a break, you can stop your mind from creating a self-feeding loop of unhappiness. I'm not perfect at it, I've ranted here a few times and looked back and thought "wth was I thinking". Hopefully I've decreased that over time.......

 

Other people, I hope they learn to take a breath every once in a while, and to see both the good and the bad in life/twins/whatever they are thinking about. Really, none of this matters to me in the real world, but sometimes I forget that, and actually do get worked up about the Twins, or posters' thoughts. Eventually I catch myself, and breathe again.......I'm hoping this week is one of those where I am catching myself and stopping.

 

*edit....this was in response to the comment from jim not understanding how people can be negative all the time. I understand how it happens, that's all this post was. nothing more or less than that.

 

Good post. Thanks for sharing.

[TheLeviathan]

I also think the idea there are two "camps" here is extremely simplistic. There are certain issues/topics that split people in all sorts of ways. Part of what makes the discussion interesting.

 

It is, I think the vast majority fall in between, didn't mean to imply otherwise. Issues like this have plenty of room for range of opinion.

[Mr. Brooks]

Gomez was with the Twins for 2 years. After 3 seasons in Milwaukee with basically the same stats as he had in Minnesota, he suddenly, at age 27, puts together the start of what could be a career year. Now all of his struggles for the past 5 years are the Twins' fault? Maybe he was still doing things the Mets way.

 

He started to put it together last year, as a 26 year old.

To put that into perspective, Kyle Gibson is 25 years old, and he still hasn't thrown a pitch in the MLB because the Twins want to be patient with him.

Where was the patience with Gomez?

The Twins gave him 1 full season, as a 22 year old when most people thought he should be in AAA, then Gardy yanked him all over the place in limited action his second season.

Combine that with his comments (he's not the first ex player to make those comments), and I think it becomes a valid question.

[Mr. Brooks]

I think there's some merit to complaints about the Twins' philosophy of "going the other way".

 

On the other hand, I think many of those complaints are outdated, especially in the case of Ortiz. He left the team a decade ago and we've seen management changes at every level of the system.

 

On the third hand(?), if Gomez only broke out because he left the Twins, why'd it take him over two seasons to turn into a decent hitter and three seasons to turn into an above-average hitter?

 

Methinks it has a lot more to do physical maturation and how Gomez was rushed by the Mets and later, the Twins, than it does any failing in the Twins' approach (which absolutely has its flaws, I just think this is a pretty bad example).

 

In my opinion, it all boils down to JJ Hardy.

 

I don't think anyone is suggesting that it's the only reason. I think its a fair question to ask if it played a part though.

[drjim]

He started to put it together last year, as a 26 year old.

To put that into perspective, Kyle Gibson is 25 years old, and he still hasn't thrown a pitch in the MLB because the Twins want to be patient with him.

Where was the patience with Gomez?

The Twins gave him 1 full season, as a 22 year old when most people thought he should be in AAA, then Gardy yanked him all over the place in limited action his second season.

Combine that with his comments (he's not the first ex player to make those comments), and I think it becomes a valid question.

 

The handling of Gomez is probably one the top five blunders of the Smith administration - and there are many contenders.

 

The worst part is that much of it was likely pr driven. A true recipe for disaster.

[big dog]

The handling of Gomez is probably one the top five blunders of the Smith administration - and there are many contenders.

 

The worst part is that much of it was likely pr driven. A true recipe for disaster.

 

I think part of the reason is that since the Mets had brought him up the previous year, the Twins felt like it would be demoralizing for him to be placed back in AAA. It's not hard to imagine also wanting to show a major league player as part of the return for Santana, even if that didn't actually happen to be true.

 

That said, I wonder if minor league coaches would have had much impact on Go-Go. He might just be one of those guys who just has to figure things out himself. Whatever happened, I'm glad he's doing well (and that he's not with the White Sox).