YourHouseIsMyHouse

So Collabello has more power potential than either Morneau or Parmelee correct? Anyone know how his glove his?

Rubbish. He competed in a division where you win 95 games and cross your fingers for a wildcard berth, and won his second World Series at age 33. The only team he was competing with for the successful part of his tenure was the Yankees who won it 9 straight years: 98-06. The rest of the division was really pathetic and easy wins for them. Then there is the random playoff winner/World Series that follows.

Theo Epstein is very likely smarter than anyone we have in our upper management...I have little doubt he'll turn that mess around He did sign Lackey and Crawford .... Yup, and he put together two W Series champions as well...in a town that hadn't had one in how many years? Crawford wasn't forseeable...anyone who says he saw that coming is a straight up liar. Now name all the good signings...and drafts...like Pedroia, for example. How many times did the Twins pass on Pedroia again? 6 times? He spent a lot of money and had a great manager. Not saying he didn't do a good job, but he isn't some sort of wizard. I've held on to my doubts about him turning the Cubs around.

Theo Epstein is very likely smarter than anyone we have in our upper management...I have little doubt he'll turn that mess around He did sign Lackey and Crawford .... and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Evidently the Cubs didn't check with thrylos98's source. I heard talks broke down when Baker got wind of thrylos leaking inside information. Seriously though, I'm bummed to hear that Baker left and even more bummed to hear that this is the going rate for pitching. I don't think this is going to be the conventional thing we'll see. One has to think the Cubs overpaid quite a bit to pry him away from the Twins, seeing as how much he liked it here. I really don't mind losing him. He's a huge question mark after TJ and the Twins are not in a position to gamble rotation wise.

Well, this is a little disappointing. I hope he does well with the Cubs. There are plenty of other pitching options available, so no harm. I think the Twins should offer a similar deal to Rich Harden. But, you know of course for less money and more "incentives"!

In other news, Gerald Laird looking for 5 years/50 million.

Arizona could be interested in Span, correct? Gerado Parra isn't much of a player so I think that would be someplace we could move Denard. Arizona is my favorite NL team and if Span had to go anywhere I'd chose there. He could play alongside Kubes! This enough, too much, or too little? Span, Rosario, Harrison, Herrmann I'm really resilient on trading Hicks, but I LOVE Bauer's upside. If the prior wasn't enough, maybe this? Hicks, Rosario, Harrison, Herrmann I'd really like some input and thoughts please.

Below average at best? Plenty of those players are perfectly fine players and possibly a better gamble if you believe Span is somehow going to land you a gem. That kind of pricetag is going to quickly steer people to Gomez, Bourjos, Gutierrez, etc that have bargain written all over them as buy-low options. We're exaggerating a bit here to believe that Span is somehow a shining beacon of value among this group. He should be in the upper half but hold your horses if you think you're going to put the screws to anyone over him. You can hope to push a bidding war, but that's only going to go so far given the problems with Span. (Concussions, lack of impactful speed, limited home run power) He's got plenty of pluses to his game, but he's not a star. He's a roleplayer, let's keep our expectations sane here. Span is a role player? lol He posted a 4 WAR last season, that is a little better then role player. I never said he is going to bring back some top tier prospect package or whatever, but with his history, contract and ability he should be able to bring back a very attractive package. Or you can always roll the dice with Carlos Gomez I suppose, let me know how that works out for the next team to sign that disaster. Actually 4.8 so even better. 5 WAR is all star caliber, so Span is borderline in that respect. He is just short of a star in terms of performance. Definitely not a role player. A role player comes off the bench to pinch hit, as a defensive sub, or pinch run in my opinion. My personal view is that Span has a lot of value and we should keep him if the deal isn't right. Even more so if the rumors surrounding Revere become a reality.

Cozart cannot draw walks and that's a very important part of a batter. Didi is 22 and not an old guy like Dozier. His glove REALLY worries me though. Revere for Gregorius as a trade foundation to work from could really be beneficial for the Twins. This is a very good and creative way to get a potential good short on the cheap that the Twins should definitely look into! Although, I'm not sold on either of the shortstops so good scouting is completely necessary and I wouldn't mind if the Twins didn't finish a deal.

Those were the two that made it a no-go in my book actually. Like I said earlier, consider the source on the article you posted. The Braves have actually refused him media credentials in the past, despite having one of the 2-3 longest running Braves blogs/forums on the internet. Multiple blogs that have started up in the last two years have received those same credentials. The Braves still value Hanson fairly high, and all reports from inside and outside the organization is that there is a lot of high-level interest in him. Ahmed is probably not going to achieve MLB status until he's 25ish, but he's someone that the organization regards very highly. According to rumors, he was part of the reason for backing out of one deadline deal this year. He's what would seem like a perfect future utility guy, and it's highly doubtful that the Braves will consider moving him until he fails a level. He made a big jump (2 levels) this year and held his own. I'd wager he'll go up step by step from here, but he's very highly regarded by the organization, so he's going to be tough to get involved in a deal. I guess from the upside/downside for both players, I've thought Hanson/Span makes way too much sense for both teams for it not to get done. Fair enough, appreciate the response. That's why I specifically asked you. You obviously follow the Braves, so you'd have a better grasp of what they'd be willing to do. I just didn't appreciate the posts that made it seem like a completely unreasonable trade without thought. Especially from people I didn't ask, nor have a grasp of Atlanta's needs as a team. This is a public thread that you didn't start so what did you expect? Everyone has a right to say something. There is a direct message option available with the site if you want to talk privately to a user. But, now I know never to reply to your posts/blogs because you probably won't 'appreciate' criticism from someone as you implied being stupid. It's pretty snooty of you to think people that don't follow the Braves don't understand what they need and how trade value works. The Twins and Braves have been linked for the past year in many trade talks and most of the users here are familiar with their needs, the Rangers needs, and the Rays team needs.

So we give them a bunch a guys we signed last offseason and Span? Seems a little crooked and the Braves would hang up quick.

Uggla and Youkilis should be the two the Twins target. Both are great power hitters. Since they are both right handed, Target Field may be just the place where each could rebound. Contract wise, it should be one or the other. Uggla has had two below average seasons in a row and Youk has had one. Otherwise, both have been excellent career players. This is a good example on how to buy low for a high reward, yet it's risky because of the money. I've been advocating Youkilis for a while; although, if the Braves want to salary dump Uggla onto the Twins for little added return as part of a package deal, I'd be for that.

I think that if the Twins decide to accept an offer for Revere instead of Span, Terry Ryan is really backing up his claims of being competitive in 2013. Revere is a good player, but he can't be any better than he is. The Twins need HRs and not speed in a corner outfield spot. I'd be extremely excited and happy since this a huge thing I wanted for this offseason. Hold on to proven value like Span and ship off a question mark like Revere who may have just shown his peak.

I don't know what I am more surprised about. Mauer not winning the award or Willingham winning the award?

1. Johan Santana 2. Jim Kaat 3. Bert Blyleven 4. Brad Radke 5. Joe Nathan 6. Jim Perry 7. Frank Viola 8. Rick Aguilera 9. Camilo Pascual 10. Dave Goltz

Wow, this is great news that the Twins can get value for Ben Revere. I really hope this works out!!!!

I really dislike the idea to trade Hicks. Vargas, Kepler, Wimmers, and Rosario are all prospects I wouldn't mind traded. Put Revere/Span out there too and maybe something could get worked through? Sano, Berrios, Buxton, Hicks, and Arcia hands off.

Rosario is the odd prospect out. No one seems to think he'll stay at 2nd and I think the other outfielders all overmatch him.

That's a great idea gg. Uggla+a young pitcher

Or have 2 years and 440 innings of very good pitching, then throw him a qualifying offer at the end... Or just resign him...like right away... Ding ding ding! Maybe if Shields' agent was the anti-Boras.

Good grief, give the 20 game winner stuff a break. You could easily have a pitcher win 20 and have an ERA close to 5 and does that make him a good pitcher?. I think that would be pretty difficult to do.

Yeah, that simply isn't true. I said the Twins have the chance to compete in 2013 if they fix the rotation, adding Shields, Baker and Gibson IMO gives them enough of a chance to compete in a weak AL Central. Also there is zero reason why with Ryan at the helm they can't compete in 2014. I admit I was wrong in my prediction for 2012 when I said they would win 78-84 games, but that wasn't exactly me predicting 10 world series. You need to lay off the hyperbole, champ. Adding one really good pitcher turns a 90+ loss team to a ~75 loss one? Baker is coming off Tommy John and Kyle Gibson will be a rookie. There is not enough depth behind them in the case something goes wrong either. You can't expect a rotation with that many question marks to put the Twins into contention, especially with a below average offense (without Span). The chances would be slightly less slim than last year's, but are still not significant. The Twins need to do much more to compete in 2013. Say we trade Span for Shields, as the majority of people here including yourself seem intent on for some reason, the Twins need at least 2 more quality pitchers and a power bat to even think about contending with the Tigers. Can you really see them winning 88 again next year? God knows that team underachieved until the post-season.

I can't believe he likes Arcia more than we do at TD.

The only two I'd want back are Waldrop and Bromberg. Otherwise, the rest may be re-signed for roster fillers.