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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Same
  2. tony&rodney
    Harmon retired as the American League leader in home runs from the right side. Tony Oliva was my favorite player but Killebrew was easily the greatest player to ever wear a Twins uniform, including Steve Carlton.
  3. tony&rodney
    I like the idea too. My concern - do you or does anyone still believe that the 2022 roster budget will be $130+ million?
  4. tony&rodney
    Bats are good to have. My first iteration included Starling Marte, Trevor Story, and a few free agent pitchers as well a couple of trades for pitchers. In early October a budget of $130 million was largely assumed by many on Twins Daily and many of us pushed the limit upwards towards $140 million. I changed my mind in mid November. Two bats would bring the roster cost to $130+ million. That could be fun but I'm thinking the actual budget is more or less $110 million. The shift in numbers moves what players are available and while I believe Conforto and Story would be huge additions, the numbers might not allow it.
  5. tony&rodney
    Cleveland traded for Bauer, Carrasco, Miller, Kluber to name a few. Yes, I believe they do develop their pitchers but we need to understand that trades are an important part of building a team. "During Falvey's time in Cleveland's front office, the team has acquired star-caliber talent through almost every avenue: free agency, trades, draft, international market." - from Twins Daily, October 18, 2016 by Nick Nelson The Twins need to complete two trades; it's the right time.
  6. tony&rodney
    When Detroit, Houston, and other teams tanked their rosters were bereft of talent up and down the roster. These teams then turned to accepting woeful results in hopes that top draft choices would pay off. Correa, Bregman, Mize, and Manning are examples. The Twins have talent up and down their roster. They need a couple experienced starting pitchers to complement their talent. The current state of the teams starting pitching may have promise in prospects for the near future, but only the other AL Central teams could be happy with the rotation noted in the post. There isn't a legitimate MLB rotation right now on our roster. Bundy could be a fair depth piece and we hope he does well. Dobnak, Ober, and Ryan are potentially solid mid to back end pitchers. Our prospects provide potential additions as opportunities arise, which always happens every year. This leaves a notable problem however. Who fills the top two or three spots? Without somebody pitching on those days, all discussion of depth becomes moot.
  7. tony&rodney
    When you find yourself stressed about the Twins possibly trading two of their top starting pitching prospects just insert a few names to help you relax. Alex Meyer, Kohl Stewart, Lewis Thorpe, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Jay, Fernando Romero, & Edwar Colina. Does that help? Now the names thrown out to be received in trade, Bassitt, Montas, etc., could also tank horribly but are experienced talented pitchers. There is always risk. The Twins need pitchers and it is down to a very risky Rodon or Greinke (he is not interested) and trades.
  8. tony&rodney
    Someone should put up a poll. It sure seems like many of the comments oppose a trade of top twenty prospects, especially if the return is for less than three years. No free agent signings unless players like Bundy. No trades for good pitchers due to cost. Are the Twins backed into a corner with a dozen prospects who many want to see? Last season, many of these prospects were injured and are unlikely to throw many innings. Only one is ranked in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, Balazovic at #81. The bulk of the prospects are seen nationally as good mid to back of the rotation starting pitchers potentially or ultimately relievers. Where are Romero, Thorpe, Jay, and other missing top five Twins starting pitching prospects from the last half dozen years? A 40 person crunch will come next season, made worse if the Twins trade a pile of their current more expensive players. Some have mentioned Tampa Bay, but we do not have their team of management nor their deep roster and the Rays need to operate in the manner they do because they have pathetic support. The Twins have better financial resources to use. $110-130 million should be a reasonable budget. We can hope, but without some changes in early 2022 the season may be really rough.
  9. tony&rodney
    "Never lost"
  10. tony&rodney
    Steamer, ZIPS, etc. all say the same thing - the Twins have bats and need pitching. When you look at at national baseball sites such as The Athletic, there is a real degree of confusion to why the Twins stood around in November and a near unanimous expectation that the team will add significant starting pitchers through trades. ZIPS says the same.
  11. tony&rodney
    The comments are an interesting take on prospects versus experienced players. Would any one here be willing to trade Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, and Nick Gordon for Frankie Montas? What about a trade of Wander Javier for Chris Bassitt? Those were four of the Twins top five prospects in 2018. No, I am not advocating a trade of a host of prospects. The players are assets and need to be evaluated and moved occasionally, sometimes with risks. I am excited to see how a few of our prospects pan out this coming year. In fact, in numerous comments on posts, my protective tendencies with the Twins prospects has me holding back the vast number of young players I am willing to let go of via trades. Last season I found myself watching every pitch when Bailey Ober was on the mound because he seemed to be making adjustments from start to start and even within the games. Ryan was fun to watch as well. I get the interest in prospects but established players gained via trade(s) must be a part of any solution that hopes to see the Twins be a competitive team both in 2022 and through the remainder of this decade. Trades may be risky but they seem less risky than free agents. The 40 person roster as presently constituted does not present a reasonable team for 2022 and adding just a Michael Pineda and a Danny Duffy will not materially improve the team. There have been numerous solid trade suggestions from writers (Nash) and many members on this site, although we are in the dark as to what other teams are requiring for their players. Falvey will be the one who makes it happen. Trades are the best option at this time for the Twins.
  12. tony&rodney
    The glass is half full and there is never any better time than the present because the best of our youth is the only hope for the future. AAPL is still going just fine - buy.
  13. tony&rodney
    Jose Berrios, Tyler Jay, Stephen Gonsalves, Taylor Rogers, Nick Burdi, Kohl Stewart, Alex Meyer, J. T. Chargois, Lewis Thorpe, Jake Reed. This is the list from 2016. Rogers and Thorpe are still on the roster. It was impressive to read about and see all of those top flight prospects in 2016. I wonder who will still be on a Twins roster from the current group in 2027. Prospects are fun to ponder.
  14. tony&rodney
    A team loses their top slugger and two best pitchers and finishes in last place, yet the suggestion is to stand pat. Ok, that's an option. The question for those who want the team to play the hand they have today is this - Will you support the Twins with your time and dollars towards the 2022 team to the same extent you did to the 2019 team? I cannot quibble with those whose support in games attended, watched, and so forth continues through losing seasons, I'm just wondering how people who do not want any change would react.
  15. tony&rodney
    The hitting talent displayed last year across the board, especially the low K numbers, provide an answer. Miranda should get every chance to play five times per week next year. I'm a big fan of outstanding defensive players and wondered if there was any possibility to add Starling Marte to the team, but understand why he was not feasible. The Twins have put some pretty stiff defenders on the field and Miranda should be equal to the task in the field. A bat that equals Steamer projections would be solid. Miranda should be on the roster Opening Day and see significant at bats (20+ per week) during the season.
  16. tony&rodney
    Prospects are judged on their perceived talent ceilings until they prove differently. Cory Kluber is an example of a pitcher who rose above early predictions. Most of the top pitchers were given decent reviews as prospects. There can be additions to the dozen Twins noted, Jax and Raya to name two. The Twins do not have any prospects currently rated to predict above mid rotation starters. I believe a couple will rise above their write-ups. This becomes another reason to add experienced good pitchers and the sheer number of prospects should tell us that it is ok to trade few arms. One of the issues that returns again and again is the perception of the Twins as a small market team that must work with a smaller budget. Are we all adjusting how a team is collected based on an accepted notion? Was Twins Daily number of a $130 budget million excessive? A base of $90 million, as many seem to suggest, may be necessary. This moves the discussion quite a bit from a month past. A lower figure requires more use of prospects. We are agreeing that the prospects need mound time. We wonder if the new reality means an only prospects staff. The goalposts are being moved.
  17. tony&rodney
    "Ideally, they'll add at least one more moderately good free agent starter and another impact arm via trade, so as to improve their odds and lessen the total reliance on unknowns. But as a general course of action, I don't hate the idea of letting the pipeline produce." - Nick Nelson Nick, you write a good justification for the young starters getting their chance as support for the inaction of the Twins front office thus far this offseason. The idea of letting the prospects pitch is widely accepted, by most, seemingly. There are twelve waiting their turn: Dobnak, Ober, Ryan, Duran, Winder, Balazovic, Woods-Richardson, Strotman, Sands, Canterino, Vallimont, and Varland. It is a good group. Maybe three do well, three go to the bullpen, three fail, and three get traded. There is really not much pitching left as free agents and if the budget needs to be near $100 million, signings costs more than trades. I'm excited to see a few of these guys get acclimated, but I'm in favor of adding two pitchers to the top of the rotation via trade. The Twins have a decent core of everyday players and a smoother transition into MLB is possible with pitchers like Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas leading the way. Let the pipeline fill out the rest of the rotation. It's a gamble but I don't hate that at all.
  18. tony&rodney
    There are many readers who do not see either Ryan or Ober as "locks". These two are merely the only starting pitchers who are currently on the roster who pitched at all for a few decent innings last year in MLB. It is a pretty low bar. This restriction reduces opportunities to gain experienced decent pitchers who would serve as models for the prospects who begin their education at the MLB level. A Chris Bassitt addition would be akin to adding Nelson Cruz several years ago, except we give up a player to gain the SP. Bassitt contributes, leads, and may stay if we gain his interest. There aren't many promising free agents as December fades, thus one either hopes for significant trades, which have been reasonable proposed ad nauseam, or supports a prospect takeover. When we hand the ball to an all prospect staff, we spend too much energy looking for two-four Doc Goodens and eventually accept 90-110+ losses for a couple of years even as we hope the prospects' brains stay intact from the beating they watch and then receive day after day with an occasional spectacularly pitched game. My one question is: will all of those people who want to see all prospects buy tickets to watch them pitch, tune in to the same number of games, and follow the team as carefully as they did in 2019? I will, for sure. But I'm still hoping to add four pitchers via trade and a free agent signing.
  19. tony&rodney
    The Twins were sitting on their hands while Miami was looking for a catcher but the Marlins still need bats and they still have excess pitchers. The only way to pry away a Meyer and/or Cabrera is to satisfy the Marlins. This only happens if they see a clear benefit for their team now. This is also risky from the Twins side and both Meyer and Cabrera may be totally off limits making the exercise mute. Nevertheless, I see both Meyer and Cabrera as superior in present talent to any of the Twins pitching prospects and am willing to make the reach in an attempt to see if Miami is interested in a trade. I'm not exactly sure what Miami wants but Kepler, Jeffers, and a MLB ready player like Dobnak might be a start. Hopefully a conversation can take place, at the very least. Miami would be unlikely to trade Lopez for anything less than a massacre for the other team (think Lewis, Martin, Jeffers, and Duran) and Alcantara and Rogers are definitely off limits. Hernandez, Sanchez, and Luzardo hold little appeal due to their combination of price and risk versus what the Twins need which is a small degree of certainty. Oakland remains the site to shop for pitchers.
  20. tony&rodney
    Cool that you added Cesar. He was such an exciting player and can easily be left off of an all time team and utility players have always been critical components of great teams. Tovar belongs, for sure.
  21. tony&rodney
    Nash, I appreciate your (and others) efforts to keep the content going on Twins Daily; the posts are admirable in the face of the disappointing lack of moves by Falvey. I find it increasingly difficult to engage. The Baltimore Orioles have much better pitching prospects than the Minnesota Twins at this time. Do we wish to emulate the Orioles? The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City have blended in a number of pitchers in the last few years, all of whom were much more highly rated than any of the Twins pitching prospects. The Tigers did not put forth their prospects solo. It is quite confusing how anyone can believe that using just our pitching prospects can bring a positive result. Currently, the Twins have only Dylan Bundy slated for their starting rotation. Can anyone point to a rotation that had anything resembling this and managed to avoid 90-110+ losses? Not to be a downer, but the Pohlad family has made a fortune on the Twins alone, and I don't care about that except if they abuse the public trust made when Target Field was built with tax dollars. A budget of less than $120-160 million is an abuse of that trust. This leaves a single option for after the entire CBA debacle is settled. The Twins will need to frantically find a way to sign and trade for three starting pitchers, a shortstop, and a relief pitcher. The names mentioned all work for less than the money available: Story, Rodon, Pineda, etc. via the free agent market and some folks like Bassitt, Manaea, Montas, etc. via the trades. Some combination of players (some unnamed) will need to be added to fill the holes. A rebuild isn't necessary for financial reasons by any calculus and a rebuild due to a failure to sign or trade any decent players would be be nothing short of illuminating an epic weakness in management. I remain hopeful and supportive that the FO will be able to accomplish the moves needed to roster a competitive team and hope everyone has a positive holidays as we all wait for the renewal of the conversations needed to negotiate an end to the impasse between MLB owners and the MLBPA.
  22. tony&rodney
    Ok, you don't like Buxton or his new contract. Ok, no problem. Now, I think you need to specifically tell the readers of this post what you believe the team's budget will be for 2022. Will you use $75 M? $100 M? $150 M? What do you think? Subsequently, show us what players, specifically, make up your roster. Who exactly will you sign? This will help others, like myself, try to understand your views. Until you put forth a specific roster it is really hard to see your point. Perhaps the Twins go with a $80 million or lower roster next year and beyond and then everyone else who believes in Buxton would need to reconsider how their rosters were composed. Put your roster out for us.
  23. tony&rodney
    This makes sense if the "resources" referred to limit the Twins to a budget of $100 M. A number of comments have seen a contract for Story as limiting the team's options and/or restricting a future for Lewis/Martin. This is confusing to me unless those making these arguments are thinking the budget is near $100 M. I totally understand the reticence if $100 M is the team limit. The argument concerning a block for Lewis/Martin makes little sense. No team ever blocks a superior player; there is always room in any lineup for a player who displays the skills. Again, if those who oppose any signing of Story believe he is not a viable starting shortstop, then i can accept their point. It never hurts to have too much talent, but some will question whether Story is worthwhile at any price. The entire decision boils down to a judgment on talent and then a knowledge of the actual budget ceiling. No money = no interest or there is money but the talent is not worthy. In any event, we wait.
  24. tony&rodney
    So happy. One of the most kind people to walk the planet. In 1967 he came with a rookie, Rod Carew, to our school and he was funny and said what an honor it was to be around school age kids. I met him when I sold beer at the Metrodome and he was even more impressive as he aged. My parents and many of their friends took in Cuba families fleeing Castro's regime and Tony Oliva was a legend among their community. If you never saw him play, it would be hard to explain what an amazing hitter he was for his too brief career. There were polls of pitchers in the 1960s and early 1970s (maybe there still are polls - I don't know) and Tony O was always amongst the top five most feared and respected hitters by pitchers in the American League. Congratulations to the only hero I ever had outside of family. Tony Oliva - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame sounds perfect.
  25. tony&rodney
    Why not? Do you think the budget will be near $110 M? Read the comments by TopGun#22. You are correct if the budget is $90-110 M. A lower budget throws nearly every move suggested and discussed on Twins Daily away. Falvey specifically stated that the Twins would be competitive next season. A budget from $90- 100 M will not put a competitive team on the field. I would use "competitive" to mean 80 or more wins in a season. Naturally, there could be other limits used for the term. Again, many on TD want a few years of letting prospects learn on the job, so there are differences of opinion about a direction forward (1-5 years) for the Twins. There does seem to be an idea that adding pitching via trade of players who have 1-2 years left as only a short term plan, but that is not correct as experienced pitchers allow younger pitchers to mentor them, serve as examples, and release the pressures of being the main pitcher.
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