jctwins

It seems that many forget that the last time this club rebuilt themselves into a successful organization they brought in Andy McPhail as a young outsider, who brought in Tom Kelly as a young outsider. The notion of them "taking care of their own", the "Twins Way", and all of those other "traditions" really just began in the late 90's, well after TK and McPhail made a lot of good decisions and rebuilt the culture into what worked at the time. TK pissed a lot of people off along the way. The nostalgia for those days blinds people as to what it really represented, and the harsh realities that go into a true rebuild and culture change.

If the new regime is realistic, they know that outside of catching lightning in a bottle, they still have a 2-3 year process ahead of them. They were forced into extending Molly now, but can continue to rebuild the lower levels of the system as needed, and get through two more years and then just fire him in year three and get who they want.

The Wall Street Journal even did a full page on the lopsided playoff record, and pointed out that Mauer and Perkins are th eonly guys remaining from the last time they played in the postseason. A pretty fair article.

This bullpen makes me appreciate how good the 2010 bullpen crew was, at times in spite of Jesse Crain.

At least this club is proving my point that they are not one #4 starter away from being relevent.

So...the fat guy is going to retire if tonight doesn't go well, right?

Maybe it's my bias toward negativity, but I'm pretty hard pressed to be convinced that any move to improve this team now is a bite on the future, and the present isn't bright enough to make it worth investing much in the way of resources. That said, they didn't give much up other than money, which there is plenty of to go around. Put me in the camp of the only way I'm really excited is if they trade win-now assets for really highly valued future assets. An anomoly I know.

Here is to hoping one day we shall again return to discussing "gold glove calibur" Orlando Hudson, the concession guy with giant glasses, and people that chewed out someone sitting in their section but then realized they were in the wrong section.

I'm surprised this hasn't been posted yet: http://www.startribune.com/mauer-says-he-s-healthy-again-molitor-wonders-if-less-is-better/410547275/ Most notable: “I feel great,” the Twins’ first baseman said Thursday, at a press conference to announce that Billy Joel will play Target Field in July. “I knew it would take time, and it did, but I’m back to where I should be — getting ready to play.” Mauer ended the season on the bench, suffering from a quad injury that kept getting worse as he tried to keep playing. He appeared in only one game over the season’s final two weeks, and admitted during the final homestand that “I feel terrible. I’ve been feeling terrible for awhile.” How wonderful to get this news even before Spring Training when we usually do. Full text because it's short: Three months of rest and treatment have Joe Mauer optimistic again. “I feel great,” the Twins’ first baseman said Thursday, at a press conference to announce that Billy Joel will play Target Field in July. “I knew it would take time, and it did, but I’m back to where I should be — getting ready to play.” Mauer ended the season on the bench, suffering from a quad injury that kept getting worse as he tried to keep playing. He appeared in only one game over the season’s final two weeks, and admitted during the final homestand that “I feel terrible. I’ve been feeling terrible for awhile.” He embarked on a treatment program once the season ended that involved regular stretching, a few treatments from trainers, and lots of rest. “I feel real good about where I am now,” Mauer said. “This offseason has been very productive for me.” Mauer said he will be fit and ready for the start of training camp in four weeks, and hopeful of bouncing back from a terrible season, both for him and his team. Mauer started the 2016 season strong, playing in each of the Twins’ first 42 games, and he was hitting above .300 through the first week of May. But injuries and an increasing problem hitting lefthanders — just a .224 average and a .291 on-base percentage, both career-lows — plagued him the rest of the season. As the injury worsened, Mauer went into a tailspin, batting just .146 (12 for 82) from Aug. 18 on. Those problems have given manager Paul Molitor something to think about. Mauer sat out only eight games of the Twins’ first 125, and the manager wonders if the 33-year-old's up-and-down season had something to do with it. “I think the catching takes its toll, even thought he’s not in that position any more. I’m going to try to gauge where he’s at a little bit more,” Molitor said. “I haven’t had a lot of specific conversations with Joe, but … maybe a little less might be a little better.” One thing that could help, Molitor said: The Twins’ new front office has already invested in new medical equipment to help evaluate their players. “We’re an experimental team,” Molitor joked.

Good point. I have nothing to refute that. I certainly don't feel strongly enough about any of it to justify more pages in this thread. There is just way too much emphasis being pinned on both Dozier, and the trade itself.

Here we go; this. Certainly not worth arguing over. I read it as an elite, power hitting middle infielder. Again, no matter what, I just don't think he's earned the term "elite". Lead a team to something that matters and then I'll call you elite.

It's a little early to tag him as "elite".

Let's pump the brakes just a bit here.

I believe you are making this as a statement of fact. This might be true, but I believe the propenderance of statements made that year to year comparisons aren't really the priority right now, and building a team with a long term plan is. That does not necessarily represent any immediate improvement in the record, just better decision making with player development and rebuilding the system in mind.

At the end of this deal is about as soon as you can expect this team to be competitive, so it's really just filling a gap until they know what they have overall. Then you extend him or go get someone that really matters.

The opportunity cost is that this club is not a home for former players anymore, it's a place for young talent that might be able to make a meaningful contribution in 3-5 years.

Thankfully the new PBO and GM don't care about familiar faces, and won't waste time on projects like Santana because they are familiar faces.

Nice way to work Mauer into this thread, too. LOL

I had intended to put some of the numbers together, but this season has made clear that the debate about Target Field being a black hole for home runs has clearly been resolved. Notice the talk of moving the fences in has completely gone away.

Serious question...is it possibility this ownership/management group is isolated at the owners' meetings because they are just plain hard to talk to? I seriously wonder if they are engaged in the game as a whole, or if they are just known as the "weird dudes from Minnesota that have a cute little club."

Sadly there is little question that St. Peter's job is completely safe as well. As the voice of the team, he should be going out the door with the General Manager.

Guilt by association is life in professional sports. Anyone in the business that doesn't have a couple of years' of income set aside is playing with fire.

Is this no longer just a place to waste time on the internet? Just checking

Fixed

THIS THIS THIS. Quoting this so that anyone that didn't get it the first time can get another chance. I just wish I would have posted it myself.