Not argueing against ya Pig, just continueing my own arguement, but defintately thought about the fact that MN contended over that decade...but were they the only club to contend & not develop young players??
On Delmon....in 05/06 he played 147 AAA gms & hit .303/.325/.476 AFTER bein promoted in 05 from AA were in 84gms he hit .336/.386/.582. What more did he have to do in the minors??? He hit .290 that first yr in MN (.284 & .298 next 2)....I think he is what he is....but others say it was the MN system that stopped his power development. He played RF in Tampa (pretty good org) & never an inning there here to see if he was more confortable???
They thought so little of their own 23 yr old Denard Span that in 07, they didnt promote him in Sept of that year (was on 40 man roster already), dealt for another CF that winter but found out he was the better player all along. WHY...cause they dont give their own young guys a chance.
IF anyone is criticizing DET/CHI for rushing prospects, those 2 are the role models of teams in this division this past decade, not MN, as they've also made multiple playoff appearances & ***gasp****World Series appearances. They have contended and won & also had young players, that stuck, make a difference....(Avila, Zumaya, Porcello, AJackson for DET) (Danks, Bekcham, Sale, Reed, Quintana for Sox)