Riverbrian

My chagrin isn't over Curtiss. It's over Belisle. I have no choice but to trust the organization to do their very best with the miles of data they have to make the right decisions with Curtiss and everyone. I fully understand that every organization has to make razor thin calls on players like Curtiss every year and sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong and most times it simply doesn't matter. I'm only saying that if the Angels get something out of Curtiss... I'm gonna look at Belisle and say he was clearly opportunity denied for Curtiss or anybody else and the end result was no value remaining from Belisle. However... I'm at the point where I have no choice but to NOT trust the organization when it comes to overall asset management. If it was just Belisle I could laugh it off but it's not... I've looked at the end result of every rosterer'd player since 2011. We either exhaust our assets/players from average to nothing left or our assets/players are denied opportunity to increase in value so we can exhaust our assets/players from average to no value left and this has been happening since 2011. I have no idea if Curtiss is worth anything but the Angels just might give him a shot and if they do... it will be a shot that we didn't give him... Belisle... he got a shot though. No more extended run outs for 38 year old players with an ERA over 8 please. Especially in a lost season. BTW... Hildy... I agree with you. He pitched himself back to AAA in my opinion. He still has the chance to increase in value but he has 3 options left so it's not like we have to throw him away. They kept giving him the ball. Which takes his value and nosedives it. Players increase in value when they perform well enough to increase in value. If a player isn't performing... try someone else.

At this point no but before he reaches free agency. His trade value better be a major consideration in the justification of gaining the extra year of control.

2017 has nothing to do with 2018. We ran with Belisle last year in a lost season instead of Curtiss or anybody else who could possibly increase in value. Belisle is then predictably not resigned and the return on the investment is zero and Curtiss is Taken off the 40 man leading to a trade of questionable return. No value from Belisle and Minimum value from Curtiss and back into the pile you go with absolutely no ground gained. It was a lost season with selling at the trade deadline. Curtiss is the one who could increase in value. Belisle would not increase in value. They gave MLB work to the wrong guy. Multiply Belisle times all the other players who we’ve let go with exhausted value for a decade or longer and the hindsight kinda hits you right between the eyes.

Agreed and it isn’t just the young guys. Who the Twins give playing time to has been the biggest roadblock by far. Bigger than money spent by far. Increasing the value of as many players as possible not only increases what you get on the field but also in increases what you get back in future trades. Where are our superstars? The organization can’t run like I buy my cars. I buy used and run it into the ground and buy used again... run it into the ground and buy used again. I spent a lot of time last summer looking at what happened to our assets after they left the organization. What we got in return for assets traded. What we have developed for assets. It isn’t pretty and it’s why we are still waiting.

I have no opinion of John Curtiss. I'm gonna trust the front office because they should know more than I do and the margins are really thin on these type of decisions. I've seen him throw some fairly non-impressive innings in the bigs but not many innings and a small sample size isn't really fair to the player in my opinion. This simply has me wondering... how would he have looked with some more innings? Did he get a chance to get the nerves out of his system? And that makes me wonder why Matt Belisle got innings last year instead. The season plug was pulled and then we took a long look at Belisle instead of Curtiss... This type of thing has to stop. If Curtiss performs decently for the Angels... the memory of Belisle in 2018 will not keep me warm.

Could Austin play OF? Cave has options.

When it comes to these decisions. The margins are razor thin. All teams have to make them and all teams make mistakes making them from time to time. That's why... I'm Ok with the team picking up the occasional player off what other term the "Scrap Heap". Ultimately... I'd like to see my Twins get better at this so they come out on the winning end of the deal more often then they don't.

I don't understand how Cuddyer has become questionable in any light. I hope I get a chance to shake his hand and if I get that chance... I will proudly do so. For 11 Years he competed for my team. He is one of us. He has my full respect.

Defense is huge. The difference between extra outs and outs taken away play huge roles in crooked numbers and crooked numbers play huge roles in wins and losses. Defense is huge. However... there are some amazing defensive CF'er's on the beach because they can't hit enough to out play the average defensive CF. Buxton has to hit.

if you want someone... you go get him. That's how I think it should work. Waiting for a bargain doesn't do much for me.

If he rebounds he will by-pass the 12 million needed with room to spare. Another year like this one and the other players who play 2B will drown him. Regardless... This was his year. It didn’t happen.

You are right

The same number he got from Arbitration last year. (I'm wrong)

Amen

They are shedding all over the place. Cleveland hair in clumps on the furniture. No new immediate hair growing back.

Escobar got 21 million. Dozier gets 9. Nobody would have predicted that in 2017.

It’s gonna be a Holey War!

With each passing year. Our demographic will and should matter less and less. With each passing year there will be less and less of our demographic and the replacement numbers are currently not there. In other words... they won’t be here when we are no longer here so change is necessary. However... I admit that there is a strong possibility that Baseball will carry on unchanged like global warming. I won’t be around when the ice caps melt so I’m cool.

I'd let him do cartwheels. IMO... Baseball needs this type of atmosphere to help reach new audience.

Blue Jays, Orioles, Tigers, Royals, White Sox, Rangers, Mariners and Angels all have serious question marks. A’s and Rays are not slam dunks to repeat last years success. Indians are currently a significant downgrade on paper from last year. That’s 11 teams with holes. Lots of teams are going to lose. Somebody has to pick up wins on the other side. I see no reason it can’t be the Twins.

It was a mistake to make that stupid statement. If it was me. I’d say “Byron, I’ll give you a roster spot. The rest is up to you”. I’ve got playing time here and a minor league option over here. I’m prepared for both. I’ve been on record of saying “I wanted the year back”. But how can you go from sent home in September to named the starting CF before the snow flies. If the Twins feel they gotta make it up to him now by naming him a starter. It goes from understandable to a bad decision.

If you need to write a hit song. You sit down one night and you write a song. Months later you find out if you wrote a hit song or failed. It takes time before you find out if that night of writing was worth it. By the time you find out that you have failed, that window is closed, time and sweat equity is lost. You must try again, repeat the process over and over again until you write a hit... one song at a time. Each attempt taking up precious time and space. Smart songwriters... instead of banking on one song becoming a hit and waiting for the results, will write two songs or more to increase the odds that at least one of those songs becomes a hit. If they end up with two hits... fantastic. For the past decade... probably longer. The Twins have done it one song at a time (Logan Morrison, Plouffe, Casilla get all the reps and this approach has yet to produce a hit. Miguel Sano is not a hit song yet. We don't know if Miguel Sano is going to be a hit song yet. I'd bring in someone else with the potential to be a hit song at 3B. Then... you pray that you end up with two hit songs, be happy with at least one hit or fire everyone if you end up with none. If the front office believes that Adrianza is a hit song... Fine. Give him the chance to be that and you'll have my support. If the front office doesn't believe he is... find someone who has the potential and cut Adrianza adrift. This is why the rebuild is taking as long as it has. Attempting, Waiting, Failing, Attempting, Waiting, Failing... one player at a time. Utilize every single roster spot to the fullest potential.

TD has a "Blake" and a "Parker" contributing to this website. I like both of them so I'm sure this signing will be just fine.

Well said.

Most times they don't even release them after 6 starts. Competition is a good thing. Handing someone with a 5 plus ERA the ball over and over again isn't competition.