Han Joelo

And now, a holiday time metaphor…the ghosts of Christmas past Park reminds me of the time I got a set of Brix Blox (or was it Brics Blocs?) for Christmas, instead of the set of Legos I really wanted. Brix Blox were the Sears Brand version of Legos; they worked the same, but they didn't quite fit with Legos, and they didn't have the familiar brand name look. I suppose I might have subconsciously known that they were some how metaphorical symbols of our lack of affluence, or perhaps my parents cheapness--if they just hadn't wasted money on those socks they'd bought me (and I didn't think I needed) for my birthday, they could have afforded the Legos! Murphy reminds me of getting, once again, Sears Brand Levis. They were exactly the same as regular Levis, except they had a little orange tag instead of a red one. Just as tough and durable, and uncomfortable, but less expensive. Amazing how much the subtle difference in shading of that tiny little tag mattered to me as a 12 year old. Parachute pants were "cool" at the time, but they were hard to find, expensive, and they wore out really fast. Just like good offense catchers. And May is like that Ford Mustang LX I had in high school. The LX looked everything like a GT, except under the hood. No amount of tinkering could change that V6 to a V8. But, to stretch the analogy far enough to suit my purposes--that automatic V-6 could beat a V-8 standard in a short race. I just had to accept that car for what it was, rather than pretend it was something it wasn't. God knows it was a lot cooler than the '76 Buick Electra I'd been driving, although ask me now which car I could have and it would be a different story. Looking back at it now, with the perspective of being a 'responsible parent' myself, I am amazed my parents were able to do what they WERE able to do. As cheesy as it sounds, not being given exactly everything I wanted truly did build character; it forced me to adapt and overcome. I see a lot of people clamoring for "accountability," i.e., they think TR and others should be fired for their lack of winning. I see it the opposite way--the fact they know they are accountable keeps them from doing stupid, half-cocked things, like blowing the credit card on stuff I don't really need. Although I probably wished my parents would've been fired at times, and my mysterious cool Uncle would have raised me instead, I'm certainly glad now they weren't. This post sponsored by Hallmark.

Nice to hear these updates. I'd love to walk in these guys shoes for a little bit. What an adventure. I got to work overseas years ago, Antarctica, actually. Probably would be less culture shock there than in Venezuela for the American players. There were a few early washouts in Antarctica, mainly from the altitude at the South Pole. Makes me wonder about Baxendale. What was his story? Did he pay his way down there? Two game checks would hardly cover that. Did he feel a twinge in his arm and decide to come home? Not being critical, just curious. Cool to see people chase their dreams.

Actually, I don't even know what I was trying to say. I guess I was trying to say a lot of times we talk about a stat line and seem to reduce these living human beings into abstract mathematical concepts that can be manipulated like stocks on a financial market. (Or numbers on a bottom line) Its nice to see the gifs, and be reminded these are actual people we're talking about. And I probably need that reminder. Due to geographic, financial, and lifestyle choices, 90% of my baseball "consumption" comes via the written (or spoken on radio) word.

I'll take May in the bullpen. I like the mismatched band of merry misfits narrative more than I like the perfectly well-oiled fine tuned death machine metaphor. And yeah, I'm going to Star Wars in an hour. I'm mean seriously, Porkins in a Y-Wing? We all new how that was going to end.

Thanks for this analysis. I always feel like I learn something from these articles. Informative to see something concrete, rather than an endless stream of abstract slash lines.

--Buxton running into anyone at full speed--Sano, Adam Brett Walker III, Max Kepler, or my grandmother--will result in an injury. --I for one am a fan of people, not just numbers. I like a good narrative better than cold, hard statistical "facts." I am hoping for an aging Mauer to have a renaissance season, and then retiring on top. Cuddyer showed the way. --I don't like the Sano to the outfield idea, but it is the most strategic way to field the best possible lineup while at the same time preserving some viable depth at third base. There just isn't anyone waiting to play third base at a decent level behind Plouffe and Sano.

Great stuff. Impressive young man. Starting to think of him as a real blue-chipper.

I get where the horrible roster management comments come from, especially when I think of what May COULD be in the rotation vs. the less-than-sexy options we'll end up seeing. On the other hand, if the Twins had gone out and acquired Ken Giles to fix their bullpen, at the cost of 5 prospects (somebody else will have to fill in those blanks for me), I'd be happy in the short term, but lamenting the long-term cost. May in bullpen--can be as good as Ken Giles, imo, THIS YEAR. Cost--a few starts from Nolasco, before Berrios takes that spot. No prospects lost, no long-term contracts to pitchers on the wrong side of 30. May in rotation--at this point in his career, are we just wasting those proverbial 95 mph bullets on an up and down starter?

Check that. Just read the Twins signed LH pitcher...Buddy Boshers. I hope that is Buddy from the movie "Elf". He throws a wicked snowball.

Tom, I was kind of thinking the same. Neil Cotts/Tyler Jay vs Bastardo?

I've been quite the flip-flopper on what I think the Twins should be doing this offseason. Looking at that list makes me think not signing any relievers to long contracts makes sense. I'm probably overly optimistic, but I'd almost just leave a bullpen slot open and make it a revolving door for these guys to get their feet wet. And hopefully it wouldn't revolve too much. When you look at what Giles and Kimbrel cost, it makes you appreciate how valuable these guys are.

Let me see what I have gotten out of this thread. --It's kind of silly to worry this much about a player, or players, this far down the depth chart. But we're fans, so we care, and it is kind of fun. Is fun the right word? We differ in our fandom. We're all unique people with 900 unique perspectives, and boiling us down into a couple-three categories is unfair and reductive. But I'll do it anyway. Some folks, like me, have an implicit trust in management in a case like this. Doesn't mean we are all loyal sheep who blindly nod yes to every decision TR and company make, but it does mean we (ok, "I"--just speaking for myself here) have to trust the actual paid professionals in this case. The crazy thing is I end up picking a 'side,' which leads to me disparaging Zach Jones ("he'll never make it") and supporting Dean ("he's left-handed.") Truth is, I have no idea, other than it kind of makes slightly more sense to me to protect the more refined guy who could probably hit the strike zone for four or five innings in an emergency vs. the guy who has a very high likelihood of either throwing 12 straight balls or grooving a 95 mph fastball down the middle in the off-chance he leapfrogs 8 or 9 pitchers on the RHRP depth chart. But there I did it again--made predictive assumptions about something of which I am totally unqualified to judge. Many of you here are probably more in the know than me. There might be some here for whom this is more of an isolated judgement--they really like Zach Jones, or at least hard-throwing strikeout guys, and/or they really dislike Dean, or LH control pitchers. Years of being tormented by Mark Buerhle will do that to you. And then there are those who implicitly DON'T trust the front office to ever do anything right, and use every decision as a platform from which to try and justify that belief. Two categories: 1. "The FO just doesn't know how to manage the 40 man roster. Losing ANYONE for nothing is inexcusable." To which I say, they didn't lose Jones for nothing, they got $50,000 for him. And if the Brewers really like him, maybe they will trade something for him. Remember when the Twins traded Billy Bullock for Scott Diamond? Maybe the Twins will get a non-40 man player for Jones. Not bad management, if you ask me. Although I freely admit that choosing Dean over Jones is a pretty good analogy for picking Diamond over Bullock…but then again, Diamond did have a more useful big league career... 2. "I would've protected Jones. Dean would've not been taken, and even if he was, I wouldn't care. We could've just signed Virgil Vasquez (am I remembering that right?) to take his spot." To which I have no rebuttal. It's an imaginary world, and one I am skeptical exists. If Jones is protected and no one is taken, these 12 pages of FO angst would have been filled with something else, which is fine, really! This is fun. Once upon a time, I was a Miami Dolphins fan--Shula, Marino, the Perfect Season. I am relieved I have no geographical or other ties that force me to remain a fan of the current "dumpster fire," in internet parlance, that is the management of the Dolphins. To those of you who see the Twins as equally incompetent, I feel for you, but I applaud you. I cut and ran a long time ago. The Dolphins no longer reflect a single thing I value in a sports franchise, and I have cowardly chosen to abandon them. And if Dean HAD been taken, he'd already be the next Sean Gilmartin.

Great read. Reaffirms why I choose to be a Twins fan. Love reading about the bottom to top culture. And I can relate at this point in life to what he says about leaving my dreams behind to be with my kids as they start chasing theirs. Looked through his photo article as well, also excellent.

One of my favorite all-timers. Man, I'm turning 42 in a few days. Really feels like an end of an era in many ways for me, seeing not just my favorite Twins, but a few other "peers" hit retirement age. I'm kind of fully embracing the next chapter in my life as well. At a time when free-agents are signing for dollars I can't even conceive of, kind of cool to see someone walk away from the money for more important reasons--family, honor, integrity? (I'm sure there is probably some buyout, but still.)

Haven't we seen an elite defensive corner outfielder who doesn't hit for power sign a huge contract in recent history? Crawford and Epstein. Well, this will be interesting to watch play out, especially if they try to make him a center fielder. I know it's not apples to apples, but there are some similarities. While it does still qualify as rebuilding, Epstein seems to be throwing cash at it now, rather than wait (and hope) for any more prospects to pan out.

Emulating anything the Padres do would be as polar opposite as you can get to the Twins. The Padres seem to be trying to hit on the next big market inefficiency, only they are a step behind and trying to do them all at once. RH power? Outfield defense is overrated? Lockdown backend of the bullpen? Rule V picks? Catchers with recognizable names? Check, check, check. They are the 76ers of MLB. It looked good on paper... Not to mention, if Atlanta is selling, I'm not buying. The Twins have already been active in "mediocre, back-up" catcher market this winter. They netted an interesting outfielder at Dave Stewarts Prospect Haus for Chris Hermann. I guess it is all in perception. The Twins got john "not Gary Sanchez" murphy, when they could've gotten FORMER TOP PROSPECT CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT! Of course, then we would have a thread going decrying the loss of Felix Jorge and Levi Michael, or whomever it would have taken to get Bethancourt.

You're totally right, of course. But then again, the Twins haven't had a whole lot of success developing any pitching the last ten years. However, I was just (trying) to point out that a lot of teams seem to be emulating the Royals Ultra-Lockdown Bullpen (RULBing, if you will,) but missing the fact that the Royals didn't build that bullpen by shopping for free agents. I don't really know Herrera or Holland's history as starters, but Wade Davis was a converted starter, as was Hochevar, and Madson was a cheap, bargain-bin pickup. Having said that, wouldn't some here agree that the Twins may be on the cusp of a wave of converted-starter relief help? May, Rogers, Meyer, et al? Do we really need to be paying Tony Sipp $7 Million dollars for his age 35 season?

I respect your analysis, but count me as a shoulder shrugger--for now. I don't shop on Black Friday because I know there are plenty of deals to be had later; some even better. I don't actually need a bigger TV, even though they won't be available later at the same price--maybe. Nor do I think the Twins need to join in the copycat bullpen bolstering bonanza of 2015. I'd swear it wasn't that long ago when Brandon League's three year contract was being mocked with disdain. If I recall correctly, the Royals bullpen (not the current one) that everyone is emulating was actually built in-house with minor leaguers, failed starters, and post-injury fliers like Madson.

The same front office that gave up on Ortiz unearthed Santana. The same front office that unearthed Chris Collabello also gave up(?) on him too soon. The same front office rule V drafted and then traded Billy Bullock for Scott Diamond (where are they now.) JR Graham for Sean Gilmartin…oh wait, depending on your perspective, it was Wheeler for Gilmartin. The point being, I accept this front office isn't, and never will be perfect. I also accept the fact some people will always aspire for a "perfect" front office. I just hope there is room (a lot of room) on the scale between "perfect" and "utterly incompetent as proven by the decision to protect Pat Dean over Zach Zones."

I agree totally--way too quick and simple. On another note, the Padres have FOUR Rule V players now. Without debating the relative merits of protecting Jones vs. Player X, I'm thankful the Twins are Rule V sellers, and not shoppers. With the Yankees losing 7 players combined in both portions, is that a reflection of signing a lot of young international players that need protection early? Just curious.

Let me try some quick mental math: 21 teams (+Milwaukee in the 1st round) didn't take Zach Jones when they could have. 21*40+36=896 We are lamenting the loss of the 896th (at best) most highly regarded (by all of the actual MLB front offices) 40-man roster player. The loss of Zach Jones (if he sticks) goes in the same category as losing Billy Bullock and Eduardo Morlan. Baseball Blog Posters Dig Hard-Throwing Relievers and Hate Back-up Catchers. Actual front offices trade real assets for guys like Drew Butera and Chris Hermann. I think the Twins brilliant 40 man roster management just yielded an easy $25,000-50,000. That should be enough to hire three or four more beer guys at Target field.

Yeah, I admit I found that odd. I got the impression he isn't a Twins fan and somehow didn't know anything about Sano--he was just writing an article highlighting the past two decades of near-futility at the position. At any rate, Plouffe provides short-term depth and experience. Unless his trade value is sky-high, might as well keep him, imo.

Makeup not great? Interesting. I don't know Rosario personally in any way. He has the suspension, of course. I for one love watching him play--everything that "makes up" his body language screams intense competitor to me. Remind me to never apply for a job with The Klaw. He'd probably take one look at my misdemeanor DUI from 17 years ago and apply that one youthful mistake to all the intervening years of 'clean' living.

After reading this article: http://www.hardballtimes.com/positional-case-study-minnesota-twins-third-basemen/ I am strongly in favor of maintaining depth (keep Plouffe). Organizational depth at third base goes Plouffe, Sano...Nunez...Escobar............???? I like the win now mentality. The Twins "getaway" day lineup will be just as good as the regular. With Polanco, Kepler, and Vargas as depth, the injury depleted lineup won't look bad either.

Like all lists I read, I focus on the relative location of the players over the actual number. Debates about whether #8 is a better prospect than #9 aren't that interesting to me, but viewing the lists in a big picture idea helps me to get a better idea of what I'm really looking at. One that sticks out on this list is Eades at #18. Does that mean he is that much higher on him than Seth, or that much lower on guys like Romero and Jorge? Probably a bit of both, I guess. The comments section is the real gold.