Lurkers and rookies please post here

[glunn]

No they don't have something resembling TD though the local newspaper has a mostly unmoderated fan forum.

 

The Cardinals rebuilt their minor league system while maintaining a quality product on the field after the 2006 WS win. After 2006, the Cardinals had to rebuild their farm system since it had been ranked among the lowest in baseball. The Twins couldn't quite do this.

 

Now the Cards have 8 or 9 mostly young pitchers who could start so some pitchers have to be in the bullpen. Reasonable contracts to their catcher and ace Wainwright. Holliday has produced after signing a 7 year contract. Signed a PED user at SS to solve that problem.

 

Next year, the glut in SP may cause the Cards to have to trade someone. But, there are always injuries. Several of the young pitchers are cost-controlled.

 

Can you shed any light on how the Cardinals have been able to build such a strong group of young pitchers?

[thetank]

Can you shed any light on how the Cardinals have been able to build such a strong group of young pitchers?

First the Cards were lucky to have their ace, Wainwright, come back from surgery. Second they did a great job identifying young pitchers for the draft. Then of course developing them in the minor leagues. Getting Michael Wacha out of college as compensation for Pujols justified not paying $200 million for an aging veteran.

 

The Cards have a great catcher who is one of the best all around at his position. His catchers ERA is a point lower when he is catching. Looking at the starting pitching of the Twins one can see why they are bad. Minnesota has a larger population than St. Louis so they should generate more revenue. I could see the Twins losing 90 a few more seasons if the new pitchers flop.

[eLee612]

It's hard to remember a time in my history when I wasn't a Twins fan. It started somewhere in the early 90s, eating Kemp's Old Fashioned Maple Nut (not to be confused with Butter Pecan) ice cream with my grandparents. While my grandpa certainly had his passionate opinions on how the Twins were playing (and the FO was operating), I was always impressed with the way my grandma could hold her own. She knew the player stats, where they came from, and had eerily accurate predictions about where they were going. I simply would lie on the floor in silence, patiently waiting for the play, the perfect degree of melt on my Maple Nut, and my grandpa's still-impressive vertical jump when the slide was safe at home.

 

Fast forward a few years later and I'm fairly sure I was in love with Mr. Jacque Dewayne Jones. A product of Minneapolis Park & Rec softball, I frequently made the pre-game loop around the track at the Metrodome. We would always sit in left, and due to proximity he easily entered my top 5 players list. Plus, when a "real baseball player!!" throws you a ball and you're 10 with a pony-tail and a team jersey that goes down to your knees, your heart is easily won.

 

If I were still operating under the same standards, I would be infatuated with Scott Ullger, as the last three balls I've gotten have come from him. (Section 3 FTW!) Ullger is great, but in reality I'm a huge fan of Pedro Florimon. No doubt, he has some room to improve at bat, but fielding… he's like a real life Henry Skrimshander (***minus the big choke, no jinxing things!***).

 

Outside of (and within) the Twins, I closely follow two things: Dominican ball, and injuries. And actually, that amounts to a fairly representative pie chart of my 'real life' - baseball, latin america, and sports medicine. The Twins have also been huge for me on a personal level, as I've worked through injury (or something like that…) and 5 surgeries in the last 5 years; I've watched a lot of baseball Ü

 

I'm not sure if I'll post much or just watch the game and eat my maple nut in silence, with the occasional chuckle or snake eye thrown towards the screen. But I will be at the Meltdown… bold move for a rookie, I know… so perhaps I will see some of you there!

[USNMCPO]

I too have great memories of Twins baseball. My first game was with my Dad at the old Met watching the Twins in a Sunday double header against the "California" Angels. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run to left that I almost snagged. The second game went in to extra innings (19 I think) so we couldn't stay for the end. My Mom and I had to catch a train back up North. Twins baseball gets into your blood and is a lifetime of joys and heartbreaks.

[biggentleben]

No they don't have something resembling TD though the local newspaper has a mostly unmoderated fan forum.

 

The Cardinals rebuilt their minor league system while maintaining a quality product on the field after the 2006 WS win. After 2006, the Cardinals had to rebuild their farm system since it had been ranked among the lowest in baseball. The Twins couldn't quite do this.

 

Now the Cards have 8 or 9 mostly young pitchers who could start so some pitchers have to be in the bullpen. Reasonable contracts to their catcher and ace Wainwright. Holliday has produced after signing a 7 year contract. Signed a PED user at SS to solve that problem.

 

Next year, the glut in SP may cause the Cards to have to trade someone. But, there are always injuries. Several of the young pitchers are cost-controlled.

 

There is a really active and fun Cardinals community on huzzah.co, a forum started similarly to how the old BYTO started with exiles from the ESPN boards for the Braves, Dodgers, and Cardinals all creating one board together. I think you'd enjoy the back and forth there, and let me know if you're looking for a few good folks to bring you in the fold over there.

[biggentleben]

Just another Twins fan from South Dakota. I have been lurking for at least two years. I have learned so much about how a baseball team is put together from this site. So I wanted to thank all the writers and insightful posters. Hopefully I will have some intelligent insight soon. THANKS AGAIN.

 

I think every Twins fan in South Dakota has now posted. Surprised how many fellow SoDakians are around here.

[JB_Iowa]

I think every Twins fan in South Dakota has now posted. Surprised how many fellow SoDakians are around here.

 

Geographically I'm closer to many of the SoDak posters than to most of my fellow Iowans. Watched a lot of Twins games on Sx Falls stations while growing up. (Have some recollection that they were mostly on channel 13 but I'm not sure that's right).

[biggentleben]

Geographically I'm closer to many of the SoDak posters than to most of my fellow Iowans. Watched a lot of Twins games on Sx Falls stations while growing up. (Have some recollection that they were mostly on channel 13 but I'm not sure that's right).

 

I'm mid South Dakota, so basically the middle of nowhere as far as TV goes. In fact, with the change to digital signals, I only get NBC at my place now. The CBS, ABC, and Fox signals all fall short of hitting me.

[oldguy10]

elee612, wonderful post you gave us here. As you point out clearly it is really all about love for the game and the romance of it on the field.

[glunn]

It's hard to remember a time in my history when I wasn't a Twins fan. It started somewhere in the early 90s, eating Kemp's Old Fashioned Maple Nut (not to be confused with Butter Pecan) ice cream with my grandparents. While my grandpa certainly had his passionate opinions on how the Twins were playing (and the FO was operating), I was always impressed with the way my grandma could hold her own. She knew the player stats, where they came from, and had eerily accurate predictions about where they were going. I simply would lie on the floor in silence, patiently waiting for the play, the perfect degree of melt on my Maple Nut, and my grandpa's still-impressive vertical jump when the slide was safe at home.

 

Fast forward a few years later and I'm fairly sure I was in love with Mr. Jacque Dewayne Jones. A product of Minneapolis Park & Rec softball, I frequently made the pre-game loop around the track at the Metrodome. We would always sit in left, and due to proximity he easily entered my top 5 players list. Plus, when a "real baseball player!!" throws you a ball and you're 10 with a pony-tail and a team jersey that goes down to your knees, your heart is easily won.

 

If I were still operating under the same standards, I would be infatuated with Scott Ullger, as the last three balls I've gotten have come from him. (Section 3 FTW!) Ullger is great, but in reality I'm a huge fan of Pedro Florimon. No doubt, he has some room to improve at bat, but fielding… he's like a real life Henry Skrimshander (***minus the big choke, no jinxing things!***).

 

Outside of (and within) the Twins, I closely follow two things: Dominican ball, and injuries. And actually, that amounts to a fairly representative pie chart of my 'real life' - baseball, latin america, and sports medicine. The Twins have also been huge for me on a personal level, as I've worked through injury (or something like that…) and 5 surgeries in the last 5 years; I've watched a lot of baseball Ü

 

I'm not sure if I'll post much or just watch the game and eat my maple nut in silence, with the occasional chuckle or snake eye thrown towards the screen. But I will be at the Meltdown… bold move for a rookie, I know… so perhaps I will see some of you there!

 

Great post Rookie. I hope to see more of you, especially in the game threads when next season starts -- we will be serving free virtual ice cream.

[glunn]

I too have great memories of Twins baseball. My first game was with my Dad at the old Met watching the Twins in a Sunday double header against the "California" Angels. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run to left that I almost snagged. The second game went in to extra innings (19 I think) so we couldn't stay for the end. My Mom and I had to catch a train back up North. Twins baseball gets into your blood and is a lifetime of joys and heartbreaks.

 

Excellent post, Rookie -- I hope that you keep posting.

[MNfan34]

I've been a Twins fan since 1986. I was age 5 and 9 for the two championships, and while they left an impression, I would say I'm a product of the Kirby era. I felt like every time he came to the plate something was going to happen. I'm sure now I would a more cynical me might get frustrated with the strikeouts, but if there ever was a case for a player being "clutch" it was that man. Throughout the 90's, I listened to every minute of Twins baseball I could on 1240am in Saint Cloud. That signal was not always the clearest (screech!) Herb Carneal was awesome obviously. "Touch em all."

 

So when people say watching baseball is boring, I tend to disagree. I really came to appreciate the deeper complexity and strategy of the game once I was able to watch the Twins regularly. It's a beautiful sport, and at the MLB level, I feel like the talent required for success is simply amazing.

 

I could never get aboard the Mauer contract whining bandwagon, his offensive polish is unrivaled as far as I am concerned. It's not my money, and far from the worst money spent by the club. I am still very happy he is a Twin for now and for years to come.

 

Offseason is great too, especially now that the Twins do things other than just losing established players . . . that's what I grew up with. We lost everyone eventually except basically Puckett and Hrbek.

 

I will be happy to see the Twins return to respectable ball in the coming years. It's hard not to enjoy a good pennant race. Titles are great, but I will have no complaints with another run like we had in the previous decade. Two seasons with game 163? One game playoff. Awesome. Just get to the postseason, anything can happen.

 

I used to post on the ESPN boards under the same account name.

 

What do I still want with this offseason? One more starter. I want Garza, and the money doesn't bother me given the current roster configuration. None of the up and coming studs will really need to get that money before his contract would be over. Sano and Buxton aren't going to be FA before 2019. I'm fine with Pelfrey, so long as the put an incentive in his contract that he needs to deliver the ball in under 30 seconds.

 

Offensively, we need to acquire a table setter. One option: sign another starter and offer the Yankees a Worley, Deduno, or Correa (or 2 of those 3) for Gardner. I think they would be intrigued by Deduno for Gardner.

 

Anyway, I've been watching this site for offseason updates. Seems like an impressive core of knowledgeable people.

[biggentleben]

Offensively, we need to acquire a table setter. One option: sign another starter and offer the Yankees a Worley, Deduno, or Correa (or 2 of those 3) for Gardner. I think they would be intrigued by Deduno for Gardner.

 

I think you will be blown away the level of pitcher they expect to get from Gardner. They asked the Braves for Teheran, per reports from Braves beat guys. That's about as untouchable in Atlanta as they come, basically like saying we'd like Sano AND Buxton for Gardner.

 

Great first post, btw, and welcome!

[glunn]

I've been a Twins fan since 1986. I was age 5 and 9 for the two championships, and while they left an impression, I would say I'm a product of the Kirby era. I felt like every time he came to the plate something was going to happen. I'm sure now I would a more cynical me might get frustrated with the strikeouts, but if there ever was a case for a player being "clutch" it was that man. Throughout the 90's, I listened to every minute of Twins baseball I could on 1240am in Saint Cloud. That signal was not always the clearest (screech!) Herb Carneal was awesome obviously. "Touch em all."

 

So when people say watching baseball is boring, I tend to disagree. I really came to appreciate the deeper complexity and strategy of the game once I was able to watch the Twins regularly. It's a beautiful sport, and at the MLB level, I feel like the talent required for success is simply amazing.

 

I could never get aboard the Mauer contract whining bandwagon, his offensive polish is unrivaled as far as I am concerned. It's not my money, and far from the worst money spent by the club. I am still very happy he is a Twin for now and for years to come.

 

Offseason is great too, especially now that the Twins do things other than just losing established players . . . that's what I grew up with. We lost everyone eventually except basically Puckett and Hrbek.

 

I will be happy to see the Twins return to respectable ball in the coming years. It's hard not to enjoy a good pennant race. Titles are great, but I will have no complaints with another run like we had in the previous decade. Two seasons with game 163? One game playoff. Awesome. Just get to the postseason, anything can happen.

 

I used to post on the ESPN boards under the same account name.

 

What do I still want with this offseason? One more starter. I want Garza, and the money doesn't bother me given the current roster configuration. None of the up and coming studs will really need to get that money before his contract would be over. Sano and Buxton aren't going to be FA before 2019. I'm fine with Pelfrey, so long as the put an incentive in his contract that he needs to deliver the ball in under 30 seconds.

 

Offensively, we need to acquire a table setter. One option: sign another starter and offer the Yankees a Worley, Deduno, or Correa (or 2 of those 3) for Gardner. I think they would be intrigued by Deduno for Gardner.

 

Anyway, I've been watching this site for offseason updates. Seems like an impressive core of knowledgeable people.

 

Welcome, Rookie. A very good first post.

[MNfan34]

I think you will be blown away the level of pitcher they expect to get from Gardner. They asked the Braves for Teheran, per reports from Braves beat guys. That's about as untouchable in Atlanta as they come, basically like saying we'd like Sano AND Buxton for Gardner.

 

You are right. They view him as better than Span a year ago for sure (and he probably is). We would have been pretty disappointed in getting Worley and Deduno for Span. Still, he's 30 year old who's biggest strength is speed so he's not that valuable to me.

[rubbernecker]

Love the Twins. Love the site. "Rubbernecker" get it? I like to watch all the car crash threads. I really would have loved to have seen Lincecum as a Twin, but I guess he can be my National League crush. I like the moves so far...

[JB_Iowa]

Love the Twins. Love the site. "Rubbernecker" get it? I like to watch all the car crash threads. I really would have loved to have seen Lincecum as a Twin, but I guess he can be my National League crush. I like the moves so far...

 

Welcome to the forum. It's okay to be a rubbernecker ... that's usually what I'm doing on the car crash threads. Most of the time I get so lost in them that all I can do is gawk.

 

And I'm definitely a rubbernecker on Twitter ... although I usually call myself a "Twitter Voyeur". Never have sent a single tweet. So I applaud your willingness to post here and hope that now that you've "broken the ice", you'll add your comments on some other threads as well.

[glunn]

Love the Twins. Love the site. "Rubbernecker" get it? I like to watch all the car crash threads. I really would have loved to have seen Lincecum as a Twin, but I guess he can be my National League crush. I like the moves so far...

 

Welcome, Rookie. Please feel free to post more.

[maars]

Minneapolis native and long-time lurker on these forums here. I've been thinking about the Pelfrey signing a bit, and the most sense that I can make out of it is that the front office is going to trade Correia at some point this season. Tommy John aside, Pelfrey has been good for more innings per season than Correia and has a similar career ERA, FIP, xFIP and SIERA. With that in mind, the Pelfrey signing is essentially a one year extension for Correia and a trip back four years in a time machine, plus whatever today's version of Correia can net us in a trade. At least that's what I'm hoping. The two are too similar for the Twins to carry both of them on their roster for too long, especially with the likes of Alex Meyer and Trevor May starting the year at AAA.

 

On a similar note, given the fact that Logan Darnell, Pat Dean, and AJ Achter seem to have earned a chance at the AAA level, I wonder if the Twins aren't at least trying to see what the market is for Samuel Deduno and Andrew Albers. That would leave Diamond, Worley and Gibson to fight it out for the final spot in the starting rotation. Even after the horror show they all produced last season, I'm betting that one or two of them can put it back together well enough to produce around a 4.40 ERA out of that fifth spot.

 

Even packaging Correia, Deduno and Albers together wouldn't likely net the Twins a prospect that would crack the organization's top 20, but between them I would expect the Twins to be able to net two or three C/C+ prospects. Not too impressive, but being able to add another of the likes of Daniel Santana, Miguel Sulbaran, or Niko Goodrum would be good return for any of these players as the Twins continue their rebuilding process.

[thetank]

I have to re-iterate that this is a well-moderated forum. Thanks for the service.

[DaNutz]

I have been lurking on this forum since day one and have really enjoyed the forum. Been a Twins fan since I was a little kid growing up in Colorado (parents from Minnesota). I am now raising my own little empire of Twins fans in Colorado. We have followed the Twins via MLB Extra Innings or MLB TV over the years. Additionally because of work travel I am able to watch a few games live every years.

 

I know the last few years have been rough, but I see a very bright future for the franchise in the coming years. How bright will ultimately depend on the development of young starting pitching. I am excited about the coming year as it should be a transition year from terrible to average. Or at least that is the hope. We should also get to see a lot of the young talent we have heard about over the past few years.

 

Thanks for the warm welcoming.

[Kevin]

Well, here goes. For those who think Deduno might start the season not on the DL, here is a discussion about recovery for pitchers from the rotator cuff portion of the surgery Deduno had in September. Granted, this was the state of the art in 2007, but still.

 

On top of this, he also had repair of the tearing of the cartilaginous labrum. The prognosis for most pitchers with this injury is not good.

 

One of the two people talking optimistically about this is his agent (he might be biased) and the other is Terry Ryan, similarly optimistic. One wonders how the surgeon views the chances of ultimate 100% recovery and the odds of his patient being ready for spring training.

 

I wish Deduno well.

[glunn]

Minneapolis native and long-time lurker on these forums here. I've been thinking about the Pelfrey signing a bit, and the most sense that I can make out of it is that the front office is going to trade Correia at some point this season. Tommy John aside, Pelfrey has been good for more innings per season than Correia and has a similar career ERA, FIP, xFIP and SIERA. With that in mind, the Pelfrey signing is essentially a one year extension for Correia and a trip back four years in a time machine, plus whatever today's version of Correia can net us in a trade. At least that's what I'm hoping. The two are too similar for the Twins to carry both of them on their roster for too long, especially with the likes of Alex Meyer and Trevor May starting the year at AAA.

 

On a similar note, given the fact that Logan Darnell, Pat Dean, and AJ Achter seem to have earned a chance at the AAA level, I wonder if the Twins aren't at least trying to see what the market is for Samuel Deduno and Andrew Albers. That would leave Diamond, Worley and Gibson to fight it out for the final spot in the starting rotation. Even after the horror show they all produced last season, I'm betting that one or two of them can put it back together well enough to produce around a 4.40 ERA out of that fifth spot.

 

Even packaging Correia, Deduno and Albers together wouldn't likely net the Twins a prospect that would crack the organization's top 20, but between them I would expect the Twins to be able to net two or three C/C+ prospects. Not too impressive, but being able to add another of the likes of Daniel Santana, Miguel Sulbaran, or Niko Goodrum would be good return for any of these players as the Twins continue their rebuilding process.

 

Welcome, Rookie. This is an excellent post.

[glunn]

I have been lurking on this forum since day one and have really enjoyed the forum. Been a Twins fan since I was a little kid growing up in Colorado (parents from Minnesota). I am now raising my own little empire of Twins fans in Colorado. We have followed the Twins via MLB Extra Innings or MLB TV over the years. Additionally because of work travel I am able to watch a few games live every years.

 

I know the last few years have been rough, but I see a very bright future for the franchise in the coming years. How bright will ultimately depend on the development of young starting pitching. I am excited about the coming year as it should be a transition year from terrible to average. Or at least that is the hope. We should also get to see a lot of the young talent we have heard about over the past few years.

 

Thanks for the warm welcoming.

 

It's great to have you on board.

[glunn]

Well, here goes. For those who think Deduno might start the season not on the DL, here is a discussion about recovery for pitchers from the rotator cuff portion of the surgery Deduno had in September. Granted, this was the state of the art in 2007, but still.

 

On top of this, he also had repair of the tearing of the cartilaginous labrum. The prognosis for most pitchers with this injury is not good.

 

One of the two people talking optimistically about this is his agent (he might be biased) and the other is Terry Ryan, similarly optimistic. One wonders how the surgeon views the chances of ultimate 100% recovery and the odds of his patient being ready for spring training.

 

I wish Deduno well.

 

Nice post. Please keep those interesting links coming.

[glunn]

Bump.

[AWOLNATION_11]

Looks like I'm a few days behind everyone else, but here goes anyway. Signed up because my wife is sick of me telling her about what I read.

Been a fan of the site for a while now.

Couple initial thoughts.

 

Garza - I say if Ryan can get him for the 3 years $54 million I believe Wolfson tweeted. Go for it. Bring in the pitching and let everything work itself out in the spring.

 

3B - I know the Twins want guys that can play everyday and they may not want to block Sano, but anyone have any thoughts on potentially bringing in a platoon partner for Plouffe? Wilson Betemit is a free agent with a noticeable split favoring his left side. He isn't much of a defender, but neither is Plouffe. Just seems like a bit of a waste to bring in the pitching and not at least look for a little bit of an offense upgrade. Plouffe definitely has more success vs. lefties and Betemit isn't the kind of commitment that would block Sano once he is ready.

 

40-man implications on both Garza and Betmit, but there are options there in my opinion.

[Jim Crikket]

Good first post.

 

I agree that adding Garza would be good if he can be had for 3 years. In fact, I'm probably among the few around here who would consider something longer or maybe vesting years if he stays healthy those 3 years.

 

As for 3B, I agree that exploring a platoon partner for Plouffe would be worth exploring. Part of the problem, though, is that FA 3Bs and their agents know that Miguel Sano is on the Twins doorstep and not many of them will be anxious to sign on to be part of a platoon in April that may well not exist when Sano shows up in July and they want him playing against all pitching. Maybe a trade for a part time 3B if it doesn't cost much?

[glunn]

Looks like I'm a few days behind everyone else, but here goes anyway. Signed up because my wife is sick of me telling her about what I read.

Been a fan of the site for a while now.

Couple initial thoughts.

 

Garza - I say if Ryan can get him for the 3 years $54 million I believe Wolfson tweeted. Go for it. Bring in the pitching and let everything work itself out in the spring.

 

3B - I know the Twins want guys that can play everyday and they may not want to block Sano, but anyone have any thoughts on potentially bringing in a platoon partner for Plouffe? Wilson Betemit is a free agent with a noticeable split favoring his left side. He isn't much of a defender, but neither is Plouffe. Just seems like a bit of a waste to bring in the pitching and not at least look for a little bit of an offense upgrade. Plouffe definitely has more success vs. lefties and Betemit isn't the kind of commitment that would block Sano once he is ready.

 

40-man implications on both Garza and Betmit, but there are options there in my opinion.

 

Welcome to TD (as a poster). I hope to see many more posts from you.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I still think that the Twins have not yet hit rock bottom, though.

Good point. It's still a pretty veteran team (crappy, but veteran). The quality will go down when the youth movement goes full swing.