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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    These are both legitimate points. There is another factor too. I absolutely love Target Field and know it is fit into a tiny piece of land, but some type of Dome that disappeared when pulled back would have been a huge plus. The facility could have been used much more often and people would know that it would not be crazy in April or October (although recently our Octobers have been beautiful). Alas, it would have cost twice as much. I'm not loving games when the temperatures are cold.
  2. tony&rodney
    The facts are that Calvin struggled to juggle his money in the early 1970s. He was never a rich man in the sense of the average owner today. He was a different dude. You could sit down and talk baseball with him for an hour. The Vikings and the NFL solidified their TV contracts and began to become hugely popular around the same time as the Twins teams declined (early 1970s). The North Stars were a hot ticket in the state of hockey. There were a few teams that kindled a flame in fans and the 1987 & 1991 teams brought out big crowds, for sure. Thereafter, attendance declined and I think it is not unfair to suggest that the Twins are 3rd or 4th in popularity among professional sports in Minnesota. I reread your comment I think we are saying the same thing. Minnesota loves football, hockey, and basketball before baseball. What I was getting at with "media" was that the local folks dote on the Vikings and the Twins have had a rough go getting decent TV money and a like amount of exposure. It is certainly possible that this is because the Twins do not do well managing their product. I'll leave that to the experts.
  3. tony&rodney
    None of us like it.
  4. tony&rodney
    Ok, I accept that you believe Gimenez has little value and include Rosario as well .... fine. The conversation wasn't really about WAR or actually players though. I guess i could have used the KC-CIN trade to show a similar manner to accomplish goals for next season. There are many who dislike those players as well. I will merely reiterate that all businesses need to function within their own individual financial realities. Cleveland seems to do that based on their won-loss record. The Twins? They are faced with a few challenges this offseason.
  5. tony&rodney
    Stated too often .... payroll reductions must occur before any additions and a catcher must be identified before a catcher can be dealt. If the above issues are solved, which should be easily enough accomplished, we can proceed to add players. Depending on the amount of payroll available, Jose Iglesias and Austin Hays seem like sound choices. However, I expect at least $4M for JI and $7M for Hays. The 3 most oft-mentioned names, Vazquez, Paddack, and Castro reduce payroll by $23.7M, but it is unlikely all of CV's contract is picked up. Adding JI, AH, and a rookie costs around $12M. The budget of $130M and current number of around $140M makes these moves tight but possible depending on Vazquez. I liked the tone and upbeat nature of this article but Rosario looked a little sad last year.
  6. tony&rodney
    Wait? You are suggesting that a player with 16.7 WAR in the last three years is similar to a player with 1.6 WAR? I actually like Vazquez but maybe you meant to highlight the inability of the Toronto front office to recognize useful players for their team. I'm confused by this comparison, but my initial point was that teams need to adjust to their own individual realities.
  7. tony&rodney
    The intention is that reality exists and one must live within it. Tampa Bay and other teams have hard realities (money) to contend with on an annual basis. I'm not suggesting they are model franchises at all. The reality of money does not stop these teams from being proactive. They hit and miss on moves but continue to adjust every year because they must in order to keep the numbers where instructed. Cleveland just traded Andres Gimenez. I don't believe the club has tossed a white flag. The trade was made in order to shift resources in a manner that keeps the team in a good place or improves a position of need for their club. If Cleveland could have a $130 million payroll, Gimenez might still be a Guardian. They move pieces to remain competitive. No doubt Cleveland has concerns about their 2025 and 2026 seasons and make decisions accordingly based on their own reality. I'm not happy that the Twins are sliding backwards a bit in payroll, but if this is what is required the front office must adjust. The front office has a job to do and they earn more than the MLB minimum. So, yes, I expect the team with the largest payroll in their division to make hard decisions in an attempt to improve the team. Now if Falvey & Sons believe they have a championship club right now, by all means the Twins should just stand pat.
  8. tony&rodney
    The owners of the Twins have given and taken away. I can't think of a time where I was a fan of the current ownership, even a little bit. I'm a fan of baseball. There can be no argument that a budget restricts the options for the front office in building a roster. However, it remains a reality for a number of teams. The Twins have the highest payroll in their division and their expenditures also eclipse that of their friendly neighbors next door, the Milwaukee Brewers. I wish the Twins had a $160-180 million 26 person roster payroll, but they don't. It seems understandable to me that many people want the Twins to keep the players they currently have in their organization, even if I may want some change. It seems there are opportunities to compete within the budget set, whether that is $110M (a number mentioned yesterday by a person on a different site who said they have heard blah, blah, blah) or the most common number, $130M. As disappointed as I may be with the turn last offseason regarding payroll, hate is never a good emotion.
  9. tony&rodney
    In a fashion this was covered by an article in the past that questioned how many people were diehard Twins fans. The Twins had among the top attendance and payroll numbers at times in the 1960s. However, free agency and modern media changed the financial realities. Calvin carried numerous family members and eventually could not compete with corporate entities. The Vikings and North Stars/Wild are well supported even when their teams are mediocre. Even the Timberwolves have been supported reasonable well considering their woeful history. Baseball in Minnesota is just not that important to very many people. The Twin Cities area is large enough for the team to draw 20,000 fans per game but they don't push above 30,000 unless they are winning with good teams. If the Twins go into a spin, the attendance could easily fall below 20,000 per game. Twins Daily is a baseball site. I wonder what a poll would show (of readers/members regarding their specific order of loyalties towards the Twins) when faced with choosing between the Vikings, Wild, Wolves, and Twins. I'm guessing it would be in the order of the last sentence. This reality forces the Twins to work for the money.
  10. tony&rodney
    It is at least marginally interesting to me how Tampa Bay and Cleveland manage to complete trades and push in small ways in hopes of putting a better team on the field in 2025, but the Twins seem frozen. Every article, seemingly, includes an arrow of scorn towards ownership which then excuses any attempts at dealing with reality. I guess that will be the offseason more or less. There are two distinct positions: 1. The team as currently rostered is perfectly fine and no changes are needed other than a tweak or two on the margins. This due to the limits of the budget; and 2. There are opportunities for change which would require some challenging deals. I'm not sure I understand the direction of the Twins or see a plan, but I don't need to know either because I'm just a fan. It just seems like there should be a direction of some sort. If the plan is to roll it back, perhaps Falvey & Sons could have success selling that direction aggressively. I wonder how people see all of the Guardians, Tigers, and Royals as falling back next season while the White Sox continue on in their chaotic position, leaving the Twins to be left as AL Central winners by default because our guys will all stay healthy and rebound. I hope this view is correct.
  11. tony&rodney
    Could there be a salary cap and floor. Yes. From 1940-1963 the highest marginal tax rates were above 80% peaking at 94%. This was beneficial to the country. The U. S. would benefit from 94% tax rates today and caps on incomes as well in the same manner that MLB could see positive results from such action. Possible? Sure. However, we also know that the trend currently is quickly going in the other direction. Folks should read the comment above from FargoFanMan to remind themselves of where the U. S. is at this point in time. MLB is right where the powers that be want it to be.
  12. tony&rodney
    Rosario? Sure, he is better than the others on the list.
  13. tony&rodney
    Correa is a shortstop. Arenado plays third base. St. Louis has a shortstop and Carlos could play third base, but that leaves the Twins without a shortstop. Michael Helman might be the best shortstop in the system. He is not a shortstop either. Brooks Lee might be a pretty good third baseman, but he is not a shortstop. We all saw how hard Castro worked last season filling in for Correa. Castro is not a shortstop. I guess that is why I disagree.
  14. tony&rodney
    Several people have mentioned that the uncertain ownership financial situation precludes signing large long term contracts at this point and others have responded with a thumbs down. The thumbs down has always been mysterious to me, particularly when a comment is vanilla. Perhaps a short response would make more sense .... in this case something as simple as .... "No, I believe management will sign long term contracts".
  15. tony&rodney
    Polanco was traded to reduce salary and yes, he had a poor season. Does this mean a trade of Correa for pretty much no return or same for Pablo is judged as the right move based on how they perform next year? Ownership sets the budget and we live with how F & S balance the roster near the number.
  16. tony&rodney
    2028 is so far away.
  17. tony&rodney
    I'm in favor of keeping Paddack as an option in the bullpen if the roster budget allows that to occur. I do believe he may be a reasonable option this year alongside Michael Tonkin. Chris Paddack has never thrown 150 innings in a year at any level in his life. He has been hit pretty hard since 2019. If he were to successfully pitch more than 100 innings in 2025 it would be pretty much a miracle. Hopefully, the Twins decide that $140 million is an ok 26 person roster budget and we see Paddack be good in the bullpen. I believe that is a reasonable expectation for his ceiling.
  18. tony&rodney
    The discussions about trading a pitcher like Pablo Lopez and/or a shortstop like Carlos Correa cause me some concern in regards to the unknown directives coming from ownership. If there is a move to further reduce the roster expenses, will the Twins be able to extract any value from a trade when teams may view the transaction as more or less obligatory? This seems to be what occurred last offseason with Polanco and it already seems like Paddack needs to be moved for financial purposes alone. Perhaps given the view of roster expenses shifting rather markedly an unfortunate loss of a key player or two should not surprise us this offseason. I hope good decisions are made but I'm not very confident about outcomes as of today.
  19. tony&rodney
    We disagree on Falvey.
  20. tony&rodney
    I just noticed the second sentence in the heading and wondered, Does anyone have any remote idea of a plan that the Twins are using or following?
  21. tony&rodney
    Naps or interviews with vague comments containing strong belief in all the players we already have. That's it.
  22. tony&rodney
    Thank you for the heads up. I liked Teel. Looks like the only option now is Jarren Duran. i don't much interest in the others.
  23. tony&rodney
    I'm not in favor of trading Pablo Lopez but can live with a trade that brings back a player who can make a difference. I'm not as keen on Baltimore's prospects as many. Coby and Basallo are ok but somewhat limited defensively. Other than those two, who Baltimore has been not listening on, the rest of their guys are not worth discussing for Lopez. Boston has some talent though. Even in a deal with Boston, I want Duran. I do get that Pablo's value is high for possible returns and that his salary also gives the Pohlads more money to bank. I would not, necessarily expect that money to go back into salaries for players.
  24. tony&rodney
    In 2019 I wanted the Twins to make an attempt to acquire Paddack. 2019 was quite a while ago though. People need to put The Sherrif in the same bucket as Nelson Cruz - good memories of a time now in the past.
  25. tony&rodney
    I agree with this statement. If a trade makes the team better any player should be available to deal. If we are talking about Chris Paddack, please explain how he is established any more than Randy Dobnak or just by himself and not as a comparison to RD.
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