Riverbrian

For those who have an off-season game thread Jones, we are going to pin this up and let it roll until baseball actually returns. For those of you who are actually named Jones… the reference has nothing to do with you and I bet you think this song is bout you… don’t you… don’t you. I have no idea why Carly Simon just jumped into my head but she probably weighs less than the Counting Crows so I’m grateful. When it comes to the Twins off-season… we got a couple of new leaders who can hopefully help us believe… believe in anything… ‘cause I want to be someone who believes. OK… the Counting Crows were in my head, too. Turns out… I have room for them all in there. All game threads are meant to be fun… no offense should be given or taken. The spirit of all responses is to enjoy yourself. It’s easy… just don’t take yourself seriously and you will fit right in. All are welcome and encouraged to participate… serious thoughts and goofy thoughts and anything in between. The game thread analogy is a bunch of people sitting in the left field bleachers having a good time talking about anything. The one and only rule: No Bad Moods… don’t feel bad or make others feel bad. Have Fun! Here are some things to think about: 1. Snow – In Minnesota… snow is a seasonal reality, but truth be told, the cold in Minnesota trumps the snow we get. For example… Buffalo, New York averages 93 inches annually while Buffalo, Minnesota averages 46 inches. I guess the point is… it could be worse. Now last week… none of that mattered as a system just sat over my house and kept dropping snow. It snowed for so long… I just left the snow blower running for 3 days straight. The snow amount was perplexing but I figured it out. We had simply become trapped in a snow globe sitting on the desk of a space giant. 2. Agents – The off-season is when our thoughts turn to the Twins front office but very rarely do we think about the other side of it. The off-season is when the agents also go to work striking the best deal for their clients. It’s a tough job… A good friend of mine is a sports agent and I was having lunch with him one day. He looked out the window and he noticed one of his clients walking across the street and this pained look of disgust came across his face and he said… “Do you see that guy walking across the street… that jerk takes 90% of my money.” 3. The Winter Solstice – Wednesday, December 21st is the day of the 2016 Winter Solstice. It will be the longest night of the year. Actually… the second longest night of the year. I’m pretty sure the night I innocently told my wife that I thought her sister was kinda hot was the longest night of the year. 4. Halloween – Maybe it’s my advancing age but Halloween just doesn’t scare me anymore. People in costumes, haunted houses, piped-in ghost sounds… none of it frightens me anymore. However… the first Tuesday after Halloween… completely scares me to the bone. 5. Ice Cream – I have just one more thought for all of you... to Hell with winter. Yes, that was me walking out of the Cold Stone Creamery eating and enjoying the Banana Caramel Crunch with the temp at -3 F. I can’t be stopped. Click here to view the article

Very Shocking and Very Sad News. I hurt for his loved ones

I get the Eaton value. I think the Nationals got a good player but for that price... I'm surprised that the Nationals couldn't have gotten Robertson along with Eaton in the deal. The Nats need some back end of the bullpen work.

Rumors being floated that 4 or 5 teams are in on Brian Dozier. Rumors being floated that the Dodgers are looking at Solarte for 2nd Base. Both Rumors probably floated by the Twins and the Dodgers to get each other's attention... So... I assume the Dodgers are still the front runner. It's my logic and it holds no value.

Washington is cornering the market on pitchers that start with S

A 3 way trade could also be considered. Include the Rays in the deal. Rays could get Dodgers offensive pieces and the Twins could get one of those Tampa Arms.

Land a SP who will pair with Berrios or walk away.

I think the question is legit and it fits the topic of this thread. My thoughts... I was never interested in catchers period. Not Enough Bang for a very large buck in my opinion. No matter my opinion on catchers... I will give the new guys every opportunity to complete the off season so I can look at it all in total. Ultimately... The pitching will be my primary personal interest. Thad Levine was talking about the Twins scouts and office staff and saying that the goal was to give them the tools to succeed and then evaluate them.I liked that statement as solid thinking. Maybe Castro fits that mold. Maybe Castro with his pitch framing will give the pitchers a better chance at succeeding for better evaluation. So... I Guess... I'm thinking it's possible that Castro as a priority will ultimately improve my primary interest... pitching... despite my previous lack of interest in catching.

I'm not a huge pitch framing guy. I totally understand that a stolen strike here and there can be absolutely huge in a match up and depending on the situation... the game... but... I'm still not a huge pitch framing guy. If Castro is one of the top pitch framers in all of baseball and he just might be. Shouldn't it translate more obviously to Catcher ERA? If pitch framing is producing the results that people say. X Runs Saved... Shouldn't Castro have a better Catcher ERA than Evan Gattis does? Or does the higher CERA suggest that despite ungodly pitch framing skills he minimizes that important skill with poor game and pitch management? I wouldn't have spent money on the Catcher Position this year or any year for that matter but that's just my opinion and these are just questions that I have since pitch framing seems to be his best feature. . I still pledge open minded support for Derek and Thad no matter what I type here.

The Super Reliever has now been created. Smart Managers and General Managers had to take note. I'm glad Falvey was a part of it. Makes me think that the Twins could modernize a bit. Is May that guy? Could Be... but he has to pitch much much better first.

Kinda disappointed about Walker but I'v never seen him play so that disappointment isn't rooted in solid ground. I've no legs for standing on the issue. Trevor Plouffe I've seen play and he didn't earn the security. I sincerely wish him the best and I sincerely thank him for his efforts representing my team... THE MINNESOTA TWINS. No matter what... he was one of us.

If you want maximum flip... Go after the bullpen arms. Every contending team is going to look at improving bullpens at the deadline. Go get Chapman... and then be willing to eat some salary at the deadline when teams come calling. After the Royals and Indians showed what they can do with a bullpen. Teams are gonna be thinking about stacking that pen from here on out. Bullpen is the rising baseball stock. Go after players like Hudson... Bullpen Arms who were once starters and could be again... like Drew Pomeranz. Get creative... stay away from the expensive average to below average starters on the market and load up that bullpen. Build it backwards

Flood it Bring them in by the bunches and compete for the position. 2nd and 3rd place can set up. We don't just need a closer. We need a complete rebuild.

Justin Morneau hit the majors in 2003... the first year of Ortiz in Boston. Morneau consideration certainly could have been part of the decision. Dougie M was the everyday 1st baseman. I remember it like it was 14 years ago.

My Choice would be starting utility. He plays whatever position we need that day. Give him the chance to perform... Have an option ready in case he doesn't perform.

If they like Chacin... go get him. If they think they can fix Latos... go get him. It's the Fister 4 year deal out of desperation that I think they should avoid. But if you go get Chacin or Latos or whoever. They compete for a job. Mr. Gibson... Meet Mr. Chacin...Meet Mr. Phelps... Good luck to the threee of ya

I don't like the FA SP Class at all. Signing FA's this year would be like signing Nolasco back then. That was Terry Ryan's form of aggressiveness. A desperate aggressiveness and it didn't work. The sad thing is that was about the only aggressiveness that TR showed us. Otherwise it was year after year of "I sure hope this average pitcher has an above average year. It's 5 years later (Longer actually) and we are sitting with a pile of plus 5 ERA's and it's time for a whole new thought process. Get aggressive when it comes to the acquisition of upside arms. Trade Dozier... Take a big run at International Guys who can get people out like the dude from Japan. Roll the dice on bullpen guys who could convert to starter. TRADE for them... MAKE TRADES... Big Ones... Little Ones... In between Ones.Go aggressively after Phelps or Montgomery or any pitcher that I haven't thought of that gets people out in the bullpen and stretch them. I've seen enough examples of successful conversion to consider this a viable solution to provide some competition in the rotation. How did the Indians build that rotation Mr. Falvey? TRADES... Kluber was a Padre... Carrasco was a Phillie... Salazar was an International Signing. Bauer was a D-Back... McAllister was a Yankee... That's what I mean by getting aggressive. In the end... in 2017... I want multiple options from the sources listed above and I want actual performance on the mound to determine who gets the ball. No more sitting and waiting for Gibson to get right. But... don't get FA desperate and end up signing that tier two average guy to a 4 year deal because he's what's available like you did in Nolasco. If you want to sign a FA pitcher... Go for the top of the pile... It's a low pile this year.

The ball leaves his bat at 279 MPH. Let him swing it If you do... The rest is up to him.

I get and I can't argue with your plan... I totally get it... But Right Now... That rotation looks like this to me: 8.02 5.27 5.58 7.71 5.07

Yeah a total washing out would be near impossible. I just hope that I don't hear Falvey say something like this: I'm excited about 2017... We got Gibson and some other arms that should have bounce back years. Gibson gets a uniform... fine... that doesn't mean he can't throw out of the bullpen while the Twins try new acquisition A B or C. Trade Dozier... Sign Bullpen arms and convert them ala Pomeranz, Duffy, Montgomery or Phelps... Go get that guy from Japan... Give May a shot... Bring 8 other starters into camp along with Gibson and ask them to compete for the job. Look anywhere and let me read "Twins" once a day in MLB Traderumors on any and all possibilities. I'd like Falvey to get aggressive in search of pitching and it doesn't matter to me who gets tossed over board after the pitching performances of 2016 and I don't want him to wait and I don't want him to try and time it. I want to hear Falvey say that pitching is priority A... B... C and D and then go out and do some general managing that suggests that pitching is priority A... B... C and D. Terry Ryan used to say it every year... Pitching is certainly our top priority and then he did next to nothing about it. I want Falvey to say it loudly and then do it loudly. I'm tired of watching pitchers throw every 5 days with ERA in the 5's. Start tossing them aside instead of tossing them on the mound and that means they must bring in a bunch of flexible options.

I wasn't planning parades but I fully admit thinking and typing. I don't care if 2015 was a fluke. The team did what they did... now you show them that you have their back. I don't believe that Terry Ryan supported the surprising success. With Ryan out and Falvey in. I'm gonna sit here wishing and hoping that Falvey is the aggressive sort. We've done non-aggressive for years under Ryan and it didn't work. I want Falvey to come in and let it be known that no pitcher with an ERA over 5 gets his name on the big grease board behind his desk and then I'd like to see him aggressively find replacements from every single source imaginable.

This has to be as bad as it gets. If I didn't believe this was rock bottom... There'd be little reason to look up.

That's usually what people say to people who show up late. You smashed right through that wall

Love the grasping at positive straws.