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JB_Iowa

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Everything posted by JB_Iowa

  1. JB_Iowa
    To me, there is a difference between trying to buy a team or rotation (free agency isn't the route to long-term success) AND bottom feeding in the guys you DO acquire especially when you have a staff that was in as dire of shape as this one was last year. They had plenty of money available. They might have had to overpay especially if they wanted someone on a reasonably short deal (e.g. 1-3 years) but a young staff could desperately use some veteran, quality pitching to lead it. While I agree that the route to long-term success is developing pitching from within, that should not be a reason to TOTALLY IGNORE acquiring some quality pitching through FA.
  2. JB_Iowa
    If they jawing was after the 2nd ... it obviously worked. Nice 3rd for him.
  3. JB_Iowa
    I think a lot of casual fans remember 2 90+ loss seasons and aren't/won't be happy if they realize that this one is heading in the same direction. Even casual fans know that the Twins pitching has not been good for years -- this current group isn't doing anything to change that impression. And being lied to by management is worse than if they had just shut up or told the truth.
  4. JB_Iowa
    I was searching through the channel's for the game going: "What time do the Twins lose today?" Not a good sign.
  5. JB_Iowa
    End before June????
  6. JB_Iowa
    I understand that is the way it SHOULD be. But this is where I run into a bit of a problem with some of the logic on the board. If a pitcher isn't responsible for wins, he also shouldn't be responsible for losses. (Now that I think about it, we hear the same argument about the manager). And yet, most people on this board (me included) seem to have the thinking that the 1st inning holes being dug by the current Twins' pitchers are contribute substantially to the recent losses. Couple that with the lack of quality starts and you have statements like Brock's the other day that the "bats had gone silent in response" to the pitching woes. Do wins ALONE tell you all you need to know about a pitcher? Of course not. BUt that doesn't necessarily mean that they are a meaningless statistic -- especially if you have a morass like this current Twins team. Should wins be determinative of, for example, the Cy Young winner? No. But does that mean that you totally ignore the pitcher's win count? I can't buy that.
  7. JB_Iowa
    I'm not 100% convinced about that. For example, we can all see how a pitcher who takes forever between pitches often affects the fielding behind him (they become unfocused, slow to react, etc.). And that sometimes the fielders take that same luggish/unfocused mentality into the dugout and batters box with them. In that case, I would say that the pitcher is affecting things that he doesn't necessarily control.
  8. JB_Iowa
    Corollary to how long before they get rid of Rick Anderson: How long before they bring Drew Butera back to the Twins?
  9. JB_Iowa
    The WBC seems like a lifetime ago. I am looking forward to seeing Gibson one of these days. But I had almost forgotton how much I enjoyed watching the WBC and seeing Deduno's sucess there. At that time I was curious to see what he might be able to do with the Twins this year so I hope he is now fully recovered.
  10. JB_Iowa
    These are the kinds of stories that make enduring the last few years of Twins baseball worthwhile. Looking forward to seeing Colabello the bigs. And to the re-appearance of Sam Deduno.
  11. JB_Iowa
    No. And that's why a lot of my baseball viewing no longer takes place on Fox Sports North. I've been a Twins fan since 1965 but I'll admit that my allegiance has ebbed at times (mostly due to events in my life, less due to the team). I can endure bad teams but I had problems with the "Back to the Future" approach of reinstating Terry Ryan as GM and was hoping the "interim" title was truly that. I don't know how much I can endure of the present culture of Twins management. The spring breezes have been blowing hard here. I wish they would blow through the Twins organization and do some spring cleaning (okay, I'll take fall cleaning -- its always breezy then, too).
  12. JB_Iowa
    I'm very glad I clicked on this article. Great photos and story. Thanks.
  13. JB_Iowa
    Very true. The thing is that the OP picked a logical point - 1/4 of the season. But yes, the end result could change dramatically one way or another. e.g. take 2011, 40 games in they were 13-27 (on pace for 109 losses); by 81 games in, they were at 35-46 (on pace for 92 losses); after 120 games, they were at 53-67 (90-91 loss pace) and, of course, they finished at 63-99. I guess we'll see if they played "above their heads" a little earlier in the season or if the current streak is more indicative of what they can do. I'm sure there will be a number of peaks and valleys throughout the course of the season. I don't think any of us can project with true accuracy -- the guys they brought over from the NL may find more (or less) success as the season goes on; injuries and weariness may or may not take their toll; some of the younger guys may hit their strides; trades may be made, etc. It's pretty much all just a guess.
  14. JB_Iowa
    As someone in the same age group as Gardenhire, I understand how he could be frustrated with some of the younger players ... until you reach a similar age, its hard to understand some of the frustration that your parents and grandparents felt with younger generations. (Unfortunately by the time you do understand, its too late to go back and undo some of the things you did). The problem is that Gardenhire is in a business where he has to deal with young players; and they are the future of the franchise (perhaps even more so than Mauer). While many of them are fungible some of them may be pretty important to the long-term future of the club. I honestly think both Gardenhire and the club would benefit from a change -- either because Gardenhire assumes a different role with the Twins or because he accepts a managerial position with a different club. I don't necessarily think that the managerial game has passed him by just that his style and persona have gotten stale in Minnesota.
  15. JB_Iowa
    I also think that things will look really bad a month from now. I'm not so sure about finishing with less than 90 losses though, especially with the OP's original projected pace of 89 losses (sorry, I've been in a dark hole for the last month and hadn't looked at the numbers). I suspect they will finish with less losses than the last 2 years -- somewhere in the low 90's. The thing we will need to judge is the progress (or lack thereof) they have made toward re-shaping this team to be more competitive in future years.
  16. JB_Iowa
    Maybe the bats need to try leading the pitchers out of the depths instead of "responding" to the pitchers' troubles by going silent. It has always been my assumption that leadership on this team would have to come from the line-up not from the pitching staff. It's time to see that in action.
  17. JB_Iowa
    Perhaps not but it just seems like in other years, there's no way we would see some of these youngsters (despite injuries, etc. on the major league club).
  18. JB_Iowa
    The only conclusion I can draw is that the Twins have decided that they aren't going to play the service clock game this year. Excited to see Arcia.
  19. JB_Iowa
    Wasn't it just a few years ago when there were several articles about the Twins having more African-Americans on their team than many other teams? I think it was when Torii Hunter (after he went to the Angels) made some comments about racism -- and the Twins had Denard Span, Delmon Young and Orlando Hudson on the major league roster. I'm concerned about the lack of minority players in baseball in general because it means that the sport is missing out on some of the best talent but I'm not sure that it is a problem the Twins can solve. I have more concern over the "0 coaches, 0 support staff figure". I am not accusing the Twins of racism. My concern is actually broader than that. It just seems like the Twins are very much an "old boys club" -- and that tends to lead to the promotion of people who are "like you". I appreciate that Deron Johnson has moved up in the organization and the presence of coaches Watkins and Ingram (and there may be other African-Americans of whom I am not aware) but overall, despite the coaching changes (and minor league management changes) made this off-season, I continue to see the Twins as "stale". Yes, you want to reward people who are loyal to your organization but opening up the organization to new talent and ideas -- even at the highest levels -- keeps an organization from becoming moribund. (And a nice benefit of doing so is that it provides expanded opportunities for minority hiring).
  20. JB_Iowa
    Mets are probably disappointed that today's game was cancelled ... .just in case the Twins turn into a real ball club before August.
  21. JB_Iowa
    Thanks Seth. Glad you enjoyed your trip to CR. Really interesting to read about the other JM's thought processes. (Or is that the 3rd JM's thought processes?) P.S. If you take another trip to CR later in the season, see if you can get another shot of the bulletin board or maybe Jim Crikket can do so. I'm betting a lot of those extra push pins are in use by then).
  22. JB_Iowa
    So many great things already listed so I'll add something mundane. From a TV perspective, one thing I love about baseball is that it starts about when most TV programming is going into reruns. For many years, it was virtually the only "new" programming on the air in the summer months. It's a little different now with the plethora of cable stations and internet options but despite hundreds of stations, baseball games are often still the freshest programming on the air.
  23. JB_Iowa
    I continue to hope that Mr. Gardenhire and Mr. Ryan have a game plan for Gardenhire's graceful exit from the manager's role after the season. That could be either Gardenhire going to another team as manager (I think it would rejuvenate him) or it could be a different role with the Twins. I really wanted this to happen last summer with Gardenhire announcing he was stepping down after the season and allowing for a nice "farewell tour" of the Central. But since it didn't happen then, I'll continue to hope it happens this year. I don't want to see it come to a situation where the Twins fire Gardenhire or say they won't renew him -- I'd much rather it be Gardenhire's choice to leave the Twins' manager job. But I also think that a change in manager would be good for this team (and that a new job would be good for Gardenhire).
  24. JB_Iowa
    Pretty cool of them to allow all the photos. And some very nice touches. The kitchen floor is too busy for me but the layout looks good -- and the floor may not be as busy in person as it photographs. Lots of fun things that look great for a young family.
  25. JB_Iowa
    Forbes does have to estimate -- but I'm assuming that they use the same model for estimating for every team. Some teams may be better able to "hide" revenues and maybe there are flaws in Forbes' formula but it is still the best data available to us. And I do think it allows us to compare teams to each other. Maybe the Twins aren't quite as honorable as I stated above. If one assumes an $81 million opening day payroll, that would have put them right along with the Rockies with the 23rd highest salary based on last year's numbers. Even though the Marlins will also drop significantly going into 2013, it seemed like some other teams were already spending the anticipated $25 million in extra TV revenues. So my guess is that the Twins payroll this year will be about the 22-24 position on payroll -- a pretty significant drop from #12. And, if payroll is at $81 million, revenue will have to drop from $214 million to about $173 million to stay at 47% of revenue devoted to payroll. Time will tell. I never thought they'd go this low with the opening day payroll. I always believed it would be $91-$94 million. I should never underestimate TR's conservatism.
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