JB_Iowa

Does anyone know why he didn't sign a pro contract until he was 20 (or almost 20)?

Thanks for the mini-scouting report Thrylos.

I don't have a problem with the move -- Valencia's days in Minnesota were numbered anyway. Hopefully Pineda has enough potential upside to justify trading away someone who, at best, might be a ML journeyman but it sounds like that is "iffy" (not to mention the whole question of whether Pineda is really 21 playing in an 18 and 19 years old dominated league or whether he may be more like 22 or 23 playing there -- I'm so skeptical about everyone from the Dominican). I DO have a problem with Dick-Bert talking like the prospect is the 2nd coming and failing to mention (at least as far as heard) just how many steps away from the bigs the GCL is.

Didn't really matter though ... pretty sure that home run would have been over every left fielders head.

Wow, from that list they just showed on FSN, one can only conclude that there is great pitching in the A.L. Central ...blech.

Thank you for taking out the trash. Didn't know that Friday was garbage day!

I wasn't listening to Robbie Incmakowski but I assumed that she was the NESN counterpart to the FSN girls. Gotta cross-promote everything. I think they did the same thing during the Rangers series.

Unbelievable futility for the Red Sox there. Good job bullpen cleanup.

Justin just killing it.

Wow, I wish I hadn't gone and looked outside this thread.

You gotta feel sorry for Duensing this inning ... c'mon you can get out of your teammates errors.

Bert: If, if, if, if, if

I always enjoy your road trip reports -- thanks so much. But your food line-up sounds like you may need to keep a cardiologist on speed dial -- be careful out there!

I have asked myself that question as well but I do think its hard to compare expenses at TF to the Dome. Are the deals the same in terms of who provides operating personnel, maintenance, etc.? Did the Twins add personnel to provide a better "fan experience" (per Mr. St. Peter's characterization)? Even such things as power, water, etc. -- how does payment compare? Oh, and then we have the whole debt service question (regardless of how you feel about it) -- how much is allocated to paying off the Twins "contribution" to TF? Then there's the whole revenue sharing question (paying in rather than getting a payout). There is just so much secrecy regarding baseball finances. The Forbes estimates are just that - an estimate. They are the best we have -- and I trust them more than what the Twins say -- but they are still just estimating.

Baker AND Gibson AND Hendriks the first part of next year? The Twins will be fortunate if one of them is pitching at Major League level before June. This pitching staff is going to need a boost from a FA (or 2); patchwork for a period of time; prayer for speedy and solid recoveries; and for everybody to stay off the DL.

I actually tried keeping a spreadsheet on the Twins payroll earlier in the season. It gets very difficult because of the people they've cut loose and promoting minor leaguers, etc. I don't think ANY of us can accurately predict what payroll will be next year. I tend to think that this year's final tally will end up somewhere around $97 million BUT I don't think that will be Terry Ryan's starting point for next year. Taking Ryan's comments into account along with Pohlads and trying to reconcile the two, my guess is that Ryan will target a payroll around $90-93 million -- similar to his starting point this year. Even if he has authority above that, he'll want to leave room in case he has to correct any problems, has long DL stints, has to cut loose players, etc. If anything, I get the impression that Terry Ryan is more fiscally conservative than Jim Pohlad. I simply don't see him starting out toward his "maximum budget" UNLESS he thinks he is really getting a deal. It is much more likely that he is going to take a conservative route somewhere in the low 90's.

Congrtulations to you all.

Good grief .... take me back to basic math, please.

They can't afford to punt. But they are in a bit of a tough spot on the timing. They have to somehow convince season ticket holders that they will be "competitive" next year (or at least respectable) but most of their moves probably can't/won't be made until after the date by which they normally ask season ticket holders to make those decisions. It puts ticketholders in a bad spot as well. I really look for a giant spin machine -- and a number of promotions for season ticketholders -- to try to drive that traffic early. Then I think they will budget in the range of $90 million (maybe a little more). So assuming that the $76 million estimate is right on current players that probably leaves about $24 million (or thereabouts) for whatever additions they may make. As Nick said, certainly enough to sign one mid-tier free agent pitcher (look for them to overpay a little to reduce the length to 2 years if possible and no more than 3); plus a higher risk/higher reward plus "tinkering" money to fill some other holes. Overall, it leaves me pretty blah -- but then I've been calling for them to remake this team since October 2010 (despite the 94 wins).

But you always have to remember that it is "all about the money" Span: 2013 - $4.75 million; 2014 - $6.5 million; 2015 - $9 million club option ($.5 million buyout) Revere: I don't think he becomes eligible for arbitration until after next year and then still 3 years of arbitration (still likely to keep him significantly cheaper than Span) Seems to me the Twins are more likely to trade Span with the possibility still being there to trade BOTH Span and Revere depending on what some of the minor leaguers do. Part of the formula for success for small or mid-market teams is to keep replacing more expensive players with younger, cheaper models.

Okay, this isn't really a defense of Gardenhire because as most of you know, I believe that the Twins need some significant changes on and off the field, but here's my take: I believe that the reason Gardenhire and the Twins were able to win the Central fairly regularly over the last 10 years was that he took a "long view" at the season. More than most managers, he epitomizes "keeping an even keel". It is frequently evident in his comments (we'll get 'em next time and we battled our tails off and there's another game tomorrow). It is evident in his lineup construction (please remember the frustration many fans have had when he has failed to move "hot hitters" up in the line-up). It is evident in his BP usage (relievers have a slotted "spot" and he doesn't like to vary from that). And for the most part it has worked in the regular season. Even now, for those of you who are optimistic and refer to the improvements you've seen this season, I think a large part of it is Gardenhire's willingness to stick with his methods even in the face of defeat. But while it has generally made him a successful regular season manager, I've always believed that it contributed to (note I didn't say it was the reason for), the Twins downfall in the playoffs. Then, there ISN'T always another game (or at least not many). Success takes on a new urgency in the post-season and sometimes you have to be creative about what you are doing as a manager and the team needs to be able to shift gears (of course, some power pitching wouldn't hurt). Gardenhire's use of Gray last night really wasn't anything new. And it wasn't anything different from his pattern in years past. With a little better quality BP, he may have "gotten away with it" a little more often but there were plenty of frustrating moments then, too. Gardenhire isn't going to change ,,, the question is whether the Twins need to make one.

I fully expect the Dave St. Peter spin machine to go into full effect now. I also found this statement fascinating: "We had all kinds of money this year and we didn't get it done." Ryan anticipating a significant decrease next year ? Or is it just that Ryan LIKES being the "little engine that could" -- not appreciating that fans' expectations have changed significantly with TF?

Wasn't he injured in both 2010 and 2011 or did the inner ear thing go back to 2009? While not as scary as Morneau's history, it seems to me that there are red flags about Span, too. I jsut hope that the Twins can keep both Morneau and Span on the field so that there's some chance of increasing their value. Everybody else, too. I've been holding my breath on the injury front.

I could understand this move if they were testing Gray to see if he should be replaced on the roster ... but that's about the only way it makes sense. And if Mr. Gardenhire doesn't care whether this team wins, why should the rest of us give a rat's a** about them?

there's one very important point to keep in mind: no trade is better than a bad trade. When there's nothing good to talk about, I guess we can always resort to platitudes .... and while this is correct, it's not much comfort.