tony&rodney

The Twins top three look pretty good this year and we are hopeful they remain healthy and have excellent seasons. While I appreciate the positive energy towards the rotation, it is always a good idea to avoid superlatives unless we are talking about Mike Trout or Sandy Koufax. The Twins fielded superior rotations during the mid 1960s to 1970. While it is really almost impossible to compare players from fifty years ago to now, pitchers like Mudcat Grant, Camilio Pascual, Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Dave Boswell, Jim Merritt, Dean Chance, and a few others, like Bert Blyleven, were outstanding. The team seems to be building some future with Duran, Balazovic, Canterino, Winder, and more to supplement in time those current pitchers like Maeda, Berrios, Dobnak, and Thorpe, but a ton will need to go right before the Twins feature a staff as proficient as those staffs of a half century past. I'm as excited to go to a game again as anyone and am hoping for a big year by our Twins but there is going to be some testing of the rotation this summer.

Old timer is correct and the math checks out quite easily. Simple really. Anyone who spent any amount of time at 1B would have countless examples where using your foot on the edges of the bag on throws right or left would be familiar with the scenarios. Fifteen inches (the bag) doesn't seem like much unless you miss by a foot on a throw to the outfield side and your foot is on the infield (wrong) side of the bag. The common error of planting a foot in the middle of the bag costs just a few inches and will result in several throwing errors being charged to the infielders, because of a mistake at first base. The one that puzzles me is when we see the foot of a first baseman actually on top of the bag, in the middle, where the potential for injury is obvious. Hmm? The nuances at 1B take some time and Sano is a work in progress. Miguel is athletic and accomplished at picking balls from playing on the right side of the infield. He did fine last year and I expect improvement this year.

It is Spring Training, but the clips serve as a reminder of exactly how good Joe Mauer was at 1B. Each of those plays was totally routine without any effort displayed when Mauer was at the bag. This is not a dig at Sano, but a reminder of how talented and valuable Mauer was to the Twins.

It was apparent, very apparent, that Jorge was suffering from a leg injury of some type. Like others, I'm hoping he is an all star second baseman, but i think it is important to remember that his peers and coaches felt he was the best representative at shortstop quite recently. Love to watch Jorge and hope he can avoid the injuries this season.

Thank you for the wonderfully written essay.

Baseball had total control of all players until Curt Flood led to change. Clearly, it seems from the obvious manipulation of the current system by baseball management, a new form of change is now near. What that looks like will be up to the next CBA. The game is negatively impacted when a team uses a lesser player in championship competition due to an ability to extend years of control for a player's years of service. Individual careers are also affected. Baseball owners and management would be stupid to not seek a continuation of the current system and would be even more pleased with a return to the good old days. The union has to see that there must be some changes. A compromise of sorts will need to be worked out between the players and owners that each can live with going forward after this season. We, the fans, will live with that system in the same manner as other changes that have occurred down through the decades. A question that keeps coming back to me is how can people see a person's choice of employment, regarding location and working conditions, as reasonably tied down for a period of a decade. Why? There must be some parallels in different careers or jobs, but I cannot think of a job where one is tied to an owner who picks them and then controls their destiny for a decade or much more. Keep in mind that baseball is a closed system. I appreciate that owners deserve to make money like anyone else and repeatedly tell young people that they better hope that their employment offers some financial gain for their employer or they will soon be out of a job; no mon, no fun. However, I would expect to see a reduction in those service years in the next CBA. We can be certain baseball will survive no matter how radical a change. It is almost impossible to understand where the union will make a stand. If I had to draw an arbitrary line as the post discusses, a quick pick would be an age - free agency at 24/25. Then again, perhaps the union prefers arbitration years. Sure to be interesting.

Does anyone believe that service time, as it currently exists, will survive the next cba? The Twins need to field their best team, whatever that looks like, from Day 1. Rosario was cut loose to apportion funds elsewhere and open a spot for competition amongst a slew of solid players. May the best player or platoon system prevail.

Sano is athletic, but his simple fundamentals at the bag are lacking; look at the photo. His size and experience work against him but his glove work at digging grounders on the left side are useful at first base for scooping low throws. I hope he can make significant improvements this season. I love to watch him hit and am greedily wishing for 40 bombs, 100 walks, and a .275 average.

Well, they are doing a fairly decent job at this time. The time to reflect on the efficacy of their work is after the teams the front offices put together make a sustained run at competing for the league championships. The Twins have had a few runs: the 1960s, the late '80s/early '90s, and the first decade of the current century. Time will tell if the current team and those to follow come close to those competitive runs. I sure hope so and I am always hopeful for the Twins. The current front office has a ways to go before their reputations match their predecessors in the eyes of national judgment but currently their story is an open book. Like i said, I am very hopeful of a sustained run. The Dodgers are on a run right now.

Mike, we are about the same age. If you enjoy baseball you can find pleasure watching grade school, VFW, Legion, college, amateur, and minor league ball as well as relaxing while watching the Twins or other MLB teams. I'm sure you can do that. For example, Dundas and Miesville have wonderful parks and teams and it is a fun place to watch or play baseball. The money is irrelevant in most ways once the players are at the top level except for its undefined affect on the minor leagues. The complaints against Mauer's contract were 100% off base except as an idea that players should earn closer to a common salary, like a teacher, but ignoring that Mauer may have made triple his salary or more in business. Baseball is totally corporate and thus financially driven. The special exception status has created the game we watch today. If you haven't already done so, watch The Battered Bastards of Baseball. Despite the total manipulation of the product by MLB and all of its ridiculous faults (not setting rules a minimum of a year in advance being just one of many), baseball is still enjoyable to watch. Turn off the sound, which is almost exclusively advertising in one form or another, and let your mind wander. Bauer is fun to watch and that is enough. His salary has zero affect on our ability to enjoy the competition.

Perhaps these pitchers may be available and I'm down for any of the four, but what is the cost? Will they be available? I'm interested in what people think is a trade each of these clubs will look at and say "ok".

Right on. Garver could really snap back into prime time and the article excellently identifies the difficulties of last season for Garver. Nothing went right last year and now a fresh start brings a world of possibilities.

I share your optimism for the Twins for this coming season. The roster looks promising and the divisional competition will be the strongest it has been in some time. I always appreciate your articles. One small quibble - there isn't any need nor use to mention excellent baseball people such as Terry Ryan or Bill Smith in any fashion but a positive light. Dave St. Peter and the Pohlads would agree. Change happens. The return of fans to stadiums with the smells, sounds, and sights is a positive turn that brings a smile just thinking about it.

Hopefully everyone understands this is for the 21st century only even though there is wording about franchise history. Right?

".... Perhaps its easier to understand if you personalize it. If your income goes down substantially in 2021, will you spend $10K more than your normal budget?" by mlr Yes. My 10-30k v. Pohlad's 10-30 million, same same and both of us will blow by our budgets when we feel it is prudent to do so. Keep an eye on the future because you took care of the past to live in the now. But should he? I don't know, that's his call. But he can if he wants to and so can I. We planned all along the way. The path is fraught with danger, injuries and poor performance in this case (baseball). Cruz seems like a friendly gamble. I wouldn't sign Marcell Ozuno for $12 million, but I would pay Cruz $14 million. It's just personal preference and whim. Win some and lose some and hope the Twins win in 2021.

The Twins were really, really good from 1962-1970 and benefited from solid trades. Despite the lack of a WS win in that period, I would place those teams above the squads from 1987-1992 or 2001-2010. The current era has a long, long way to go to be considered in the same breath as those three runs of success.

Kyle, the hobble, Schwarber got more. Go figure.

Count me among those who is excited to see Alex Kirilloff hitting line drives and understanding of the shift to youth and a balance of resources across the roster. However, nobody should be surprised in the least if Eddie Rosario outperforms any player on the Twins team in 2021. Rosario is an athlete with considerable skills and still capable of improved performance. I wish him well.

Well, we are at the end of January and all of the winter tribulations will be settled soon enough, just in time to see the speculations begin about the potential in-season trades and pickups of released players. Nelson Cruz will not be signing for $10 million and his performance for the past two years support him. While salary is increasingly directed at future performance, Cruz is a clear example of the fears of age. I don't follow football at all, but isn't there an older quarterback that plays for Tampa who earns a high salary? Baseball has an interesting year ahead of it. So much anxiety by common people over the financials of their team and resource allocation and divergent examples of possibilities: Cleveland, Minnesota, St. Louis, and San Diego all being interesting stories that conflict on many fronts. The Twins need Cruz more than he needs them, and his performance this season on the Twins team will be critical. So, yes, the Twins need to sign up Nelson Cruz to hold serve in the AL Central. What a wonderful thing it would be to see Garver repeat 2019, and have Donaldson return to a full injury-free season at MVP form along with each of Buxton, Kepler, Arraez, Sano, Polanco, and Kepler meeting their considerable potential. Minnesota better sign Cruz for insurance though, just in case.

Eddie Rosario makes Cleveland a better ball club. Cleveland still has Francona at the helm and he has a word or two to say on the lineup. It's as simple as that. The AL Central will be much tougher than in recent years. Two years ago, there were three very weak rosters. not so this year. The separation between teams is less.

The Twins need a hitter. The youngsters are there and Garver could return, but the loss of both Rosario and Cruz would be a difficult hill to climb. There is talent and a successful run in '21 will need all of Garver, Sano, Polanco, Donaldson, Buxton, and Kepler producing at peak form while Jeffers and Arraez repeat their success. I think the AL Central will be much improved this year. So, yes, the team could use Nelson Cruz to return and pick up his team again.

Let's have fun. Twins trade Luis Arraez, Miguel Sano, and Michael Pineda to Colorado for German Marquez, Trevor Story, and Nolan Arrenado plus $20 million. LOL. Wait ... .... those are three of my favorite players to watch: Arraez with his twirls, head shakes, and slashing style; Sano as he squeezes the bat like a sponge and drives the ball so hard and then lumbers around the bases; and Pineda with all of his gyrations that caused another team's announcer, who was unfamiliar with Michael, to repeatedly question why the Twins pitching coach and trainer were not coming out to the mound and checking on him until three batters later someone slipped the dull announcer a note clueing him in to Pineda antics. I would never make that trade and besides now we have a new shortstop with bad ankles and quirks to watch.

You might need to check the years where the Twins won or competed for the World Series or American League championships. The current FO are adored on TD, which is fine, but the Twins still haven't won a postseason game or presented themselves as a serious threat. For now, they are well back. Maybe in 2021?

Last October my first version of the 2021 roster included Simmons, so I am delighted to see his addition to the Twins field. Shortly thereafter, however, my thinking switched away from Simmons. At the time my changed rationale was related to leg injuries. Sano, Arraez, Donaldson, and Polanco have all missed significant time due to leg injuries and their performance suffered when they played through or returned from their bouts. Clearly, the physical health of the infield was a concern for management as they approached decisions this winter. The loss of Rosario and Cruz, with questions about Garver's return, also clouded the direction for player choices. It seemed prudent to look for options if the Twins were concerned about the middle infield going forward, and while I felt a healthy Polanco was fine at shortstop in consideration of his past performance, the idea of adding a shortstop if not convinced of a full-on season by Polanco was understandable. My main worry about Simmons is that the Angels, who have vast quantities of resources, deemed him unworthy to return to their team. Simmons did himself no favors, perhaps, by withdrawing at the end of the year, but he has suffered a series of bad ankle injuries as well. It is quite a gamble to sign a player who has been sidelined repeatedly by ankle injuries when your own team has a multitude of leg problems to consider. As a Twins fan I hope this results in a World Series appearance but it does raise questions about issues we all know nothing about: player health, viewpoint and strategy towards winning, and team budget. I did consider that Twins Daily readers do not believe Simmons presents any high degree of risks based on the comments, but wondered how easily many TD readers dismissed Kluber, a player who also clearly carries some semblance of risk and reward status. Let's hope the shenanigans that apparently are a part of Simmons personality, which I had never heard of until today, are all resolved and flushed away so that baseball is what we see from him. Simmons, potentially, could be quite a signing. Finally, a number of TD folks have rightly identified the offense as the culprit in many past playoff losses (that is, unless one maintains that all playoff games should be managed toward a 1-0 or 2-1 finish ala Black Jack). So how does Minnesota resolve the loss of Rosario and Cruz? Since October, this has been my biggest concern for 2021. While I love the idea of looking forward to the opportunity to see Kirilloff, Rooker, and Larnach smash baseball in major league stadiums, I wonder if their heroics will match Eddie and Nelson this coming summer. So there is likely another signing yet to occur, soon.

Sure. Rosenthal, Soria, and Clippard would cost @$14 million. Oh, and the Twins just signed Happ, hopefully for $2 million. Still time to add players.