Twins GFP

I understand the premise: he has pitched his way into trouble, give him the freedom to pitch his way out. There are some flaws with this: - Liriano rarely goes 7 innings, even on his good days. Considering he is usually at 100 pitches in the 5th or 6th, that could be an issue. - Liriano's mental issues are due to him letting the small things get to him. One hit turns into 6 runs. Unlike Radke, who always gave up a couple of runs in the first, then settled down to throw 7-8 good innings, Liriano does not know how to right the ship while it is sinking. Letting him sink may make is mental makeup worse. - Twins fans are so fed up with him, one good game will not stop the skepticism or the booing. Neither would one good month. THe bottom line is that Liriano needs a fresh start somewhere else. He may turn it around and become a solid pitcher but (like Kyle Lohse) it won't be here.

With all of the blogs, threads, and comments about blowing up the Twins and promoting all prospects to the big club, I would like to remind you of a few things: 1) Calling players up starts the clock on these individuals toward arbitration and higher salaries. Even the Harpers and Trouts of the world where kept in the minors for periods of time to slow down their service time. 2) Calling players up before they are ready can have a negative effect on their development. Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young were both rushed through the minors only to find they were not adequately prepared. Neither of them has, or probably will, reach their full potential. You can say the same about Revere and Parmalee not quite being ready for the show, but being pressed into service. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to improve. 3) The minors are set up more for teaching. Yes, they play to win, but there is more emphasis on learning and improving on specific things in game situations. There is less opportunity for that in the majors. Everybody needs to slow down and stop overreacting to the Twins current predicament. Pushing up prospects when they are not ready is neither the short term or long term answer.

With all of the blogs, threads, and comments about blowing up the Twins and promoting all prospects to the big club, I would like to remind you of a few things: 1) Calling players up starts the clock on these individuals toward arbitration and higher salaries. Even the Harpers and Trouts of the world where kept in the minors for periods of time to slow down their service time. 2) Calling players up before they are ready can have a negative effect on their development. Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young were both rushed through the minors only to find they were not adequately prepared. Neither of them has, or probably will, reach their full potential. You can say the same about Revere and Parmalee not quite being ready for the show, but being pressed into service. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to improve. 3) The minors are set up more for teaching. Yes, they play to win, but there is more emphasis on learning and improving on specific things in game situations. There is less opportunity for that in the majors. Everybody needs to slow down and stop overreacting to the Twins current predicament. Pushing up prospects when they are not ready is neither the short term or long term answer.

Say what you will about Wrigley, but the atmosphere there is unlike any other. The park is very intimate, and the people were great.

Wonder if Casilla will keep up the offense all year?

For those of you completely sold on this being a rebuilding year: 1) Trade Justin Morneau to any team that will take him with his salary in full for pitching prospects (poor as they will probably be). The same for Pavano, Liriano, Marquis, Carroll, and any reliever except Perkins. 2) Resist the urge to call up any prospect until they are ready. Let them earn their chops in the minors without wasting service time in the majors. Fill all holes with cheap, replacement level players. 3) Take out a full page ad in the papers reminding all Twins fans what Gardy and Ryan have done for the Twins during their time here. Tell the fans to lay off Gardy and Ryan for at least 18-24 months to see if they can re-right the ship. Also remind them that any regime change will still be bound by the rules the Pohlads lay out, and if Ryan/Gardy are replaced, it might be Bill Smith all over again (or worse).

There is a nice little article today on ESPN about MLB players and their nicknames. I saw Josh "The Hammer" Willingham mentioned, but did not see any other current Twins mentioned. That being said, I thought I would give it a try: Matt "I need a night" Capps Ryan "Just" Doumit Ben "Don't call me Paul" Revere Justin "Less yes" Morneau Denard "Spic and" Span Alex Burnett "Burn it all" And lastly Dan "I'll be" Gladden "he's fired" (couldn't resist)

There is a nice little article today on ESPN about MLB players and their nicknames. I saw Josh "The Hammer" Willingham mentioned, but did not see any other current Twins mentioned. That being said, I thought I would give it a try: Matt "I need a night" Capps Ryan "Just" Doumit Ben "Don't call me Paul" Revere Justin "Less yes" Morneau Denard "Spic and" Span Alex Burnett "Burn it all" And lastly Dan "I'll be" Gladden "he's fired" (couldn't resist)

There is a good chance he won't be hit by lightning while standing on the mound. Sorry, that's the best I got.

Ahh, my favorite subject... First, I would like to say that Provus is doing a fine job. He does a fine job describing the situation and brings the right level of excitement to each play. Dan Gladden is awful. Plain and simple. I could easily spend the next 1000 words talking about the poor job he does, his poor language, and his inability to know or care about what is happening on the field, let alone adequately describe it to the listening audience. But, I don't want to do that. I have two questions I would like to get serious responses to: Is there anybody out there that actually likes the job Gladden does? With what I know is an overwhelmingly negative response, why is he still on the radio? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

The minor league systems are also not only about promoting and pushing through prospects. The lack of infield depth has been a concern for the Twins over the last few years. The Twins may look at Thurston as an upgrade (even a slight one) over what is currently available. As Seth mentions, you also need to have a mix of veterans to go with the prospects. The veterans can lead by example and help to teach just as much as the actual coaches. Giving the younger prospects a challenge is not such a bad thing either. They see that the team brings in a veteran to fill a slot that could be theirs, so it can push them to be better. Signing veterans to these minor league deals also gives the Twins more flexability. They can call them up in a pinch wihout burning valuable option years ion prospects who are not quite ready for the show. They may also get some surprises on individuals who can make the roster (see Sean Burroughs, their are countless examples of other teams signing players to minor league contracts only to see them make the team). Lastly, AAA teams do not want to be the whipping child of the major league team. Rochester wants to see wins just as much as the Twins do. The Rochester teams have been horrible the last few years. The Twins need to maintain a good relationship with the team or they could ultimately lose them (remember, the Twins do not own the Rochester franchise, they are just affiliated with them). This isn't just about pushing through prospects, their are many other dynamics at play.

Nothing wrong with having some farm depth. The Twins have historically been slow to promote and having a quality AAA player to help them win some games is a good thing.

I wonder what his issues are...

Throw a ball further than Ben Revere, win a coupon for $1.00 off a Twins Dog. (Have to keep the good prizes for the hard contests)

Sounds like an Arena Football game

If you put any value in what the GM says for public consumption, I feel sorry for you.

Love em or hate em, the Pohlads aren't going anywhere. The issue that people forget is that the Pohlads have always looked at the Twins as a business, not a hobby. I am sure every fan base would love to have a Mark Cuban or George Steinbrenner owning their team. Where they prefer to be known not for how they acquired their fortune, but rather as the owner of a prosperus franchise. The Twins have always worked under a budget. Everybody knows that. The budget has fluctuated up and down as the Twins attendance and other revenue streams have changed. Terry Ryan is in his job because his teams have historically outporformed the budget. Terry has also said publicly (many times) that the Pohlads have always been willing to go over budget if the right situation comes up. I believe you have to accept these parameters if you want to be a long-haul Twins fan. Be careful what you wish for; a change in regime could be worse...

The bandwagon has stopped for repairs. Anybody feeling like the no longer want to ride, please feel free to exit at this time.

This should not be a major surprise. It is extremely common for starters who get moved to the pen to gain 2-3 MPH on their fastball. When they know they are only going to throw 10-15 pitches, they don't have to worry about pacing themselves. The big surprise with Perkins last year was his ability to do it consistantly, espicially considering his reputation for being "difficult".

Mauer making a statement is only part of this. Of course you want a top tier offensive player in the lineup as much as possible. Gardy is doing what he can to ensure he is in the lineup every day. Looking at the flexibility of the bench is a key component to this.

Over the last few weeks, many people have posted about the Twins lack of wins. The poor record last year, along with the slow start this year has people calling for everything from blowing up the team, to firing the manager and front office, to increasing the payroll 20% in an effort to bring in more talent. I suppose a strong amount of emotion helps to show the strength of the fan base. Over the offseason, the Twins did not blowup the team. Rather they patched up holes with some established, relatively low cost veterans, and invested a great amount into the hope that the injuries from last year would rectify themselves this year, and the Mauer, Morneau, Span, Baker, etc. would all return to previous levels of production. I would classify this as hedging their bets. If the team is in the hunt come July, then everything worked according to plan and they can make moves for improement. If they are faltering, they can claim that the moves and recoveries did not go as expected. Essentially giving them something to tell the fan base regardless of the record. We all hope that it works, and the team returns to it's winning ways. But if it doesn't in the short term, what comes next? As a fan, what do you want the team to do? I think your wants comes down to what type of fan are you: Do you enjoy the ride or the glory. If you enjoy the ride, then you have enjoyed the last 10 years of Twins baseball. Watching a team that was always good, but rarely great (2006, what a shame). Knowing that the Twins would never trade any prospects, never trade for big name rentals or big dollar contracts. Rather they would be content knowing that they had a shot to win it all within their constrants, but understanding their chances of winning it all were relatively low. If you enjoy the glory, these last 10 years must have driven you out your mind. Knowing that the team was "this close" to winning it all, but unwilling to pull the trigger to bring in 1-2 high dollar free-agents or trade away the future for today. Enjoying the glory means you are willing to accept the wild cycles of wins and loses, knowing that you may have to accept 5-7 years of horrible baseball for a 2 year window where you may be the best team in baseball. After the 2 year window, you dump all of your good, close-to-free-agent players for a new cache of prospects, and the cycle starts again. It's really tough to have it both ways. Personally, I enjoy the ride. Give me competitive baseball year in and year out any time. But that's me. What about you, the ride or the glory?

Over the last few weeks, many people have posted about the Twins lack of wins. The poor record last year, along with the slow start this year has people calling for everything from blowing up the team, to firing the manager and front office, to increasing the payroll 20% in an effort to bring in more talent. I suppose a strong amount of emotion helps to show the strength of the fan base. Over the offseason, the Twins did not blowup the team. Rather they patched up holes with some established, relatively low cost veterans, and invested a great amount into the hope that the injuries from last year would rectify themselves this year, and the Mauer, Morneau, Span, Baker, etc. would all return to previous levels of production. I would classify this as hedging their bets. If the team is in the hunt come July, then everything worked according to plan and they can make moves for improement. If they are faltering, they can claim that the moves and recoveries did not go as expected. Essentially giving them something to tell the fan base regardless of the record. We all hope that it works, and the team returns to it's winning ways. But if it doesn't in the short term, what comes next? As a fan, what do you want the team to do? I think your wants comes down to what type of fan are you: Do you enjoy the ride or the glory. If you enjoy the ride, then you have enjoyed the last 10 years of Twins baseball. Watching a team that was always good, but rarely great (2006, what a shame). Knowing that the Twins would never trade any prospects, never trade for big name rentals or big dollar contracts. Rather they would be content knowing that they had a shot to win it all within their constrants, but understanding their chances of winning it all were relatively low. If you enjoy the glory, these last 10 years must have driven you out your mind. Knowing that the team was "this close" to winning it all, but unwilling to pull the trigger to bring in 1-2 high dollar free-agents or trade away the future for today. Enjoying the glory means you are willing to accept the wild cycles of wins and loses, knowing that you may have to accept 5-7 years of horrible baseball for a 2 year window where you may be the best team in baseball. After the 2 year window, you dump all of your good, close-to-free-agent players for a new cache of prospects, and the cycle starts again. It's really tough to have it both ways. Personally, I enjoy the ride. Give me competitive baseball year in and year out any time. But that's me. What about you, the ride or the glory?

Why not bring in that kid from "Little Big League"? He seemed to have a good grasp of the Twins way in that movie...

Submit a 200 word essay on how scrappy you are. Winning essay wins a major league contract with the Twins as a middle infielder (with unlimited starting potential!).

Medically prove you've had more concussions than the Twins team, get a free CAT Scan