Riverbrian

Cell Phones and I haven't quite found our stride yet.

I’m not counting on MayvorcRogers either. So yeah... bring in those arms.

This is where I have to trust the front office and I do. They could hire the Maytag repairman and I'll trust that they did their homework and got the guy they wanted. Now if they try to hire me as executive chef. I have enough information to complain about that.

The Twins were chosen for the nickname in the end. But, the Drunken Sailors was a real close 2nd as a reflection of their spending habits.

The very nature of free agency is to pay more than the other teams are willing to pay to acquire the baseball player. Once this process takes place. The Players already costs in salary more than the other teams are willing to pay. If Arizona is truly thinking about a rebuild. They want the money back so they have the financial flexibility to add different pieces in the future. Sure they would like a team to give them Royce Lewis in exchange plus take on the financial responsibility for that contract in addition but that isn't going to happen. What would take to get Greinke? Take the contract and throw in a 40th round draft pick to get the deal done. Now the Twins have the contract that is already higher than any other team was willing to pay for a pitcher that is much older than when the contract was originally signed. The Twins are not going to do that. So... The Twins are going to talk to Arizona about taking on some of that financial responsibility. That's when I can't answer the question anymore because the answer will be dependent on the dollar value of Royce Lewis and the Dollar Value of Lewis Thorpe and the Dollar Value of Jake Odorizzi and the Dollar Value of Travis Blankenhorn for examples. If the Twins threw in Blankenhorn for example... how much would Arizona eat in Greinke salary for Blankenhorn? If the Twins threw in Lewis Thorpe how much now? If the Twins threw in Odrizzi with his one year contract and factor in the value of that one year before FA... How much value is that worth to Arizona will become a number that they will contribute to the Twins to pay off the rest of Greinke's contract. And of course... this same game is going to played with the Yankees and Astros or any team that is looking for a sensible solution to upgrading the rotation. And then you factor in James Paxton being available with a much better contract and Kluber possibly being available and DeGrom or whoever, plus the FA's and now supply and demand works against Arizona. You can couple that with the fact that he is already making more than anybody was comfortable paying and then you start reaching the point where the return is so low that Arizona doesn't trade him because the numbers he might produce might be more than the return. I guess... I'm saying... I don't think it would take much at all. Just a willingness to take on more of the salary than other teams are.

Just for clarification. I've known you long enough to make the assumption that you grasp nuance, blind squirrels and the such so I hope I'm not making any such inferences. The debate I'm participating in is: 1. Does the Roster have to resemble Boston's or Houston's on paper before the go-button is pressed? 2. Does it matter if you make the playoffs with a roster that doesn't look like Boston's or Houston's on paper. My answer to both of those questions is: 1. The Roster doesn't have to resemble Boston's or Houston's before the go-button is pressed? Hitting the go button is how you get there. 2. Putting a team together that makes the playoffs should be the exclusive immediate goal every off-season unless the team is tearing it down. If you succeed and find the team in contention, regardless if the roster resembles Boston's or Houston's, you should supplement the team at the trade deadline and support whatever is happening on the field. (Nuance Alert: This doesn't mean trading Royce Lewis for a support piece).

I did. I can guarentee it wasn't me. We spell our names completely different.

I suppose I have to pause and consider the possibility that there was some sort of plot conceived by random fans who don't know each other to pick on this guy they don't know unfairly at random times over a period of years. OK... I have paused and considered it. Not only should be banned from Target Field. I think the state of Minnesota should ban him from Minnesota and force him to live in Wisconsin where that type of behavior is more routine.

No GM should look at the Red Sox and say we can't compete. GM's have to compete against all 30 teams.

It's Ok... Harp away. I appreciate the honest discussion. As long as you don't respond with "I suppose you think Edina High School could go 12-8" I'm with ya. The Royals may have done it once but it only has to happen once... at the right time. The odds won't matter because we are talking about a small sample size. Are the teams trying harder in October then they are in June... Absolutely, without question they are and that goes for both sides. Do I place my money on the team with the best paper roster... I do. But... the bottom line is that baseball is a game with small game of inches type margins and there is absolutely no breathing room for anyone come sudden death playoff time... no matter how strong they make their roster. This is because sudden death means that you can't make up for a bad May with a fantastic June. You improve your roster at the trade deadlines to improve your chances but you can never improve them enough to guarantee yourself a walk through the park even if the Twins and A's managed to sneak in some how. That's the why the goal every off-season should be to build a roster strong enough to get you through the long grind of the 162 game schedule and into the playoffs and the goal of every trade deadline should be to improve any contending team in preparation for the small sample size dogfight that they earned the right to participate in. In that small sample size dogfight... teams are going to take on a new shape... such as using Chris Sale or Clayton Kershaw in the ninth... with again... no guarantee that Sale or Kershaw won't give up a 3 run home run to lose 6 to 5. A little inside out bloop to RF can rip the guts out of the powerful team, A bad call by the home plate umpire (See Didi Gregorius 1st Inning - Twins Vs Yankees WC 2017). It's a game of inches on the field and that is why the stat people haven't nailed it down yet. And I am 100% behind analytics. It's a bad year to make these points because the Red Sox pretty much went wire to wire as the top team but this is a very rare thing. Every year... people look at the Dodgers and go... they got Kershaw who is going to pitch Games 1,4 and 7 and just shut the other team down and often times you check the aftermath stats and find out that Kershaw was average to below average at the wrong time. If you look at what happened this year... It was Arcia who stepped up for the Brewers while Milwaukee wondered what happened to Yelich. The Brewers completely shut down the Rockies talented offense with Chacin and Miley and a bullpen and they did it when every single expert on the planet was saying that the Brewers didn't have enough pitching to compete in the playoffs. There is no way a GM or Fan or a spreadsheet with an automated algorithm can identify that happening during the small sample size that is the playoffs and this gives the Royals hope that they can perfectly time a 12-8 record at the absolute right time but the Royals will not be given the opportunity unless they get through the 162 game grind to qualify for the playoffs. If the Indians dismantle at all this season. The Central is wide open and avoiding the sudden death wild card gives a chip and a chair and a chance and just maybe Max Kepler decides to go 15 for 20 at the right as we stun the Yankees.

The area where we agree is the answer. You don't have to sign Machado (I wouldn't object to signing Machado) but you can sign three Moustakas types for the same price and plug the holes. On the probability of several stepping up or everybody working out... I'll raise your "very low" to my "extremely" low. It isn't going to happen... so fill your 25 man roster up and don't let it kill you. Strength in numbers, safety nets, don't hand anyone a job come hell or high water. 40 Man depth is starting to land on the page so we don't have the "We have to play Morrison because we have Motter excuse" anymore. We have the cash and the prospects to complete the 25 man roster with players who can contribute. I know we look miles away after last year but the A's looked miles away after 2017 and the Twins looked miles away after 2016. I'm not predicting an unpredictable A's or Twins like "how'd this happen" return to Glory. I'm saying if Sano and Buxton hit, things will look real different real quick. We've all heard the phrase "So Close but yet so Far". The Twins are the opposite in my opinion. "So Far but yet so Close". On the strength of Boston, New York and Houston on paper. Doesn't matter to me. Every year there is going to be a Boston, New York and Houston on paper. Can the Twins collect a roster of players similar to them?. Yes we can but it guarantees us nothing once we do. Making the playoffs is the hard part... once that happens, it's a whole new small sample size season where your performance during the season doesn't matter anymore. Any team in baseball can go 12-8 over 20 games and win a World Series. Any team can do it. The hard part is the 162 games, keeping players focused and productive over the long run. It can't be done with 9 guys and crap on the bench and Manny Machado can't carry a team over 162 games by himself. Find 25 competent players... add that to the 40 man depth coming from behind and let the players decide who leads us forward. Make Sano and Buxton earn playing time and give them the playing time if they earn it. And then add some help at the trade deadline. I'm not asking for much.

Honestly, I believe the Twins can simultaneously make a run at this year and build for the future. We agree on a lot of things but one place where we may have different viewpoints is: Just how close the Twins are. We have money and prospects during a time when FA's are under-valued and prospects are over-valued. That combo's nicely with a young core who could turn it on collectively at anytime. Impressive starting pitching depth, a new manager from an organization who threw out the old rules successfully and offensive 40 man depth that is hitting the 40 man roster behind the scenes which will keep the Motter's and Petit's off the 40 man. Plus the option of adding more talent at the deadline. And I've stated this many times... we don't have to compare to the Red Sox on paper. And of course... it can all go horribly wrong even with honest effort but I think we can build for today and tomorrow at the same time.

Both

I'm not sure if this quote from you is getting proper consideration but it should. The Indians are about to lose, Allen, Miller, Chisenhall, Perez, Davis and Tomlin to Free Agency. They are floating rumors about considering the possible trading Kluber, Encarnacion, Carrasco, Gomes and Kipnis. Once they trade Kluber and they will get interesting offers to entice them, that will be the start of the rebuild. Also... If they trade Kluber... They have now taken the starting rotation strength that they have and marginalized to the point where an injury to Carrasco or Bauer makes it rather questionable and beatable. We know the Indians are not going to spend money in FA and we know that the farm system has been drained enough that they need to consider trading Kluber to replenish. Consider the Royals and Tigers are complete mess and the White Sox are still extremely young even if they convince Bryce Harper to sign a 10 year deal. The window is open right now. Don't wait on Buxton and Sano... Go make something happen. See if Buxton and Sano can get motivated enough to join whatever you make happen and make it even better.

Until you watch them suck down a worm.

I have a chain? It's right though... If everyone was doing it... you'd have to start looking elsewhere for the next competitive advantage. This could even mean reverting back to what you moved away from.

Bingo Necessity is the mother of invention. Trying to lure professionals to North Dakota is harder than you can imagine. I'd be on the phone talking with some unemployed talented professional from Charlotte, North Carolina and offering him a job that pays decently and certainly a lot more than the nothing he is making now and he just wouldn't come to North Dakota. Other times I would hire someone from San Diego, watch them move all their stuff to North Dakota in August and then watch them move all their stuff back to San Diego without a job in November because the temperature got down below 10 degrees for a week. Meanwhile, the need was still there so we had to create our own. Hire someone without experience, train them and give them the experience to see what they blossom into. It didn't take long to discover, that building your own easily produced better results and longer term employees. Some didn't work out but most did and a handful ended up advancing farther than I ever did. If you can't find it... Build your own!!!

http://media.tumblr.com/10430abfede9cebe9776f7de26e302e4/tumblr_inline_mjzgvrh7Uv1qz4rgp.gif

Not from me. In my mind... there are only two paths to take. A. Consistently improve your team from top to bottom at every opportunity using every possible acquisitions path. B. Tear it down to the studs, start over and then immediately after tearing it down go back to Path A. There should be no such thing as treading water. Waiting for Buxton and Sano is treading water and we've been treading water for so long that I'm wrinkled and developing gills on both sides of my neck.

I'm usually the guy who cautions over and over again that quotes, tweets or any posting can be easily misunderstood so I'm willing to see how it plays out because it is what I preach over and over again. However... This quote... I'm having a hard time trying to understand how it could be misunderstood. Other than... We won't be spending money until these two provide something that justifies it. They haven't consulted with me yet either. Sometimes I wonder if they lost my phone number.

Exactly! I see no other way to do it. Sano and Buxton being affordable and still considered "incredible potential" is a gift that shouldn't be squandered. They are the same price as Adrianaza. Think of them like Adrianaza and go staff your roster around them like they are Adrianaza and when they turn out to be way way way better than Adrianaza... you got yourself a baseball team.

It could be... But, Wow... if that is the context. I'm still not very happy. It's basically saying... "we had and have everything invested and riding on these two. There is no diversification to protect ourselves at all... it's these two period. It's like a text was sent to me: Riverbrian, your Twins enjoyment depends Buxton and Sano.

I have no idea what kind of health issues we are dealing with behind the plate. Castro (Knees) Garver (Head) If there is any doubt at all... I applaud any conversation with any catcher under 4 million a year.

I really hope that the context is: If Buxton and Sano would have been "strong contributors" we might have gone hard after Bryce Harper. Since they were not "strong contributors" we will probably sign "Marwin Gonzalez" instead. That is better but I'm still not comfortable with the message being sent. I didn't sleep much last night... thinking about this.