-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'll try to find middle ground here. There has been a giant failure for two years--players let go that should have been kept, players brought in that don't belong in MLB, and I think the Twins acknowledge this. I was OK with putting a few bandages on in 2012 and they mostly worked, at least among the position players (Willingham, Doumit, and Carroll), but the pitching hasn't been addressed satisfactorily from outside the organization. I am not confident that Ryan has bought into the new proposition that values live arms above almost anything else, so much so that guys like Sabathia, Kershaw, Price etc. get huge long-term contracts. Many big contracts fail, but many work out. Ryan has been unwilling to pay what it takes to acquire top-tier (or even middle tier) major league pitching. Eliminating that avenue puts more pressure on developing good pitchers and lately, for whatever reason, the Twins haven't done well there either. As evidenced by the 2012 offseason, I think Ryan can patch the holes in the lineup. The Twins have the resources to get better pitching, without trading any blue chips.