jokin

Willingham also will be in that mix of jammed logs of DHs for 2013. 25 games at DH last year. Given his health history, it's very possible he will need to be playing more than that number at DH going forward. I've always loved Thome, even when he was on the enemy team, but it makes no sense to bring him back unless someone could demonstrate that he brings some intangible mentoring-value in coaching up the young up-and-comers in raising their power quotient in that allegedly "pitcher-friendly" Target Field.

I know if I was pitching I'd feel a lot better, but what are the odds, though, that all 3, + Parmelee, will make it on the roster? Doumit was just extended for an additional $7M (48 games as DH). Would the Twins be satisfied with him playing in 60 games solely as a catcher, as he did in Pittsburgh in 2011 and PHing? Morneau is certainly going to play every day at 1B or DH (34 games @ DH). Counting Mauer in the mix for 30-40 games (he DHd in 42 games in 2012) and Willingham (25 DH games in 2012), that would be 5 guys looking to log in DH time, a Cola/Thome bench addition scenario that is current being bandied about would make 6 DHs, including Parmelee. I would think that Doumit, Morneau and Willingham still have to be on schedule to play a lot in 2013 (130+ games on prorated 162 game schedule), just to maintain their potential trade value.

Want more evidence? Besides picking up Martinez, despite carrying All-Star Weiters, I didn't get beaten up as much on Todd Redmond, but this one fits also. The Orioles have 3 potential #1 starters coming up through the pipeline on the fast track, as their #1, 2 and 3 prospects are Bundy, Gausman and Rodriguez . Their current SP is still very good in comparison to the Twins (They finished with a 4.42 SP ERA compared to the Twins 5.40 SP ERA in 2012). They also have Randy Wolf coming back in 2014. This didn't stop them from picking up Redmond, who apparently never even got a courtesy phone call from the Twins, despite the obvious Twins need and Redmond hoping for the opportunity.

Bringing in Perez as potentially a SP replacement smacks of desperation. This makes the 1-year contract to Pelfrey without a team option all the more curious. If not Pelfrey, who is left to start out in April without a question mark when camp breaks? Kevin Correia. Our very own Ace Ventura, who unfortunately also has chiroptophobia (fear of bats). Parker, I hope you can find more encouraging health news about the other acquisitions and Diamond. IE, Any news on Worley and his arm problems, yet?

Your work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated, Jeremy. Getting things done all the way down to the DSL this early is truly above and beyond.

I'm all for shaking things up. Clete and Erik were a disaster last year, they finally found an acceptable 4th OF in Mastro when diving in the dumpster. They found a decent RP in the offseason off the reclamation pile, toxic to virtually every other organization. Why not continue on that path with nothing to lose and something, at least incrementally, to gain? Why? Because "In Terry We Trust". It's still a family organization with an emphasis on legacy and seniority promotions, with no sense of urgency to change from their "small market" management style, despite their promises to the community to the contrary. It appears that with the mid-season acquisitions last year for Flori and Esco, they felt like they'd done their work with the position players and turned their full attention to acquiring a "pretty darned good starting pitcher" and begin half-measures in the rebuild mode. Having players at the talent level of Butera still around sends the wrong message, as much as retaining Andy, Ullger and Vavra.

I would hope that we all would think that Doumit would become immediately expendable if an attractive enough offer comes around. Shhh!, Remember? We're in stealth rebuild mode.... Butera lifetime AAA SLG of .308/ .220 BA, Martinez AAA SLG in 2011 & 12: .409./ .295 BA. No one on this team should be feeling comfortable after the last 2 seasons, particularly Butera, who should have been more properly challenged for the spot on the team (as they presumably did with JR Towles in 2012) and it cost them virtually nothing to find out, the 2 AAA signees, the alleged "competition" that the Twins brought in, instead of someone more legit, would be lucky to catch their own urine specimen in a bottle, let alone lightning.

No. You read my scenario wrong, Doumit was always a part of my original hypothesis. Eventually, to reiterate, the Twins will have to return to a 2-catcher configuration. If Doumit becomes attractive to another team this year in ST or before the deadline, they need someone that hits better than Butera to be the #2. The number 3 becomes (already is?) superfluous. (Hopefully, #2 eventually becomes Hermann, but there is little evidence that he would be ready for that pure #2 role before 2014). Your quote on Martinez ML OPS is classic SSS. Besides that, go and read my original post, it was more intent on Twins inertia than the player in question himself. My statement clearly says signing "someone like Martinez", who at least has demonstrated that he at least "might" hit better than Butera's career .497 OPS. That the Twins are satisfied with this crazy 3-catcher scenario and unnecessary love affair with Butera and his raise to $700K, with an already incredibly weak bench, is another sign that the Twins need to try harder and expect more

Do you see any talent correlation between the Tigers and Angels at one end and the Astros and Twins at the other? No? Neither does Vegas. Vegas is pretty good at finding a median ground of where a team ultimately ends up- in conjunction with finding enough bettors on both sides of their odds-setting. If the Twins suddenly drop to 13-4, I will have to assume that either Arnold Rothstein has come back to life or that every Twins optimist is a multi-billionaire with money to burn.

Yeah, but they wait for the suckers who ride the emotional train to put the odds more heavily in their favor.

1) The Indians retained their top pick. Giving up a top 40 pick is far less risky than giving up a top 10 pick. That's smart baseball if you're trying to win and make a media splash and impact the fan interest sooner rather than later, which obviously is the intention of Francona and ownership. 2) Your screed reads much more like wishful thinking than objective analysis. Most, if not virtually every objective person that knows anything about baseball and followed this offseason's developments , didn't "choose to believe it", they just made objective comparisons of on-paper superiority in talent acquisition relative to the money available (of which, the Indians were in the same position as the Twins).

Did you get your M&M boys mixed up? We'd all be sorely disappointed if the guy they have tabbed for future ace, Meyer, turns out to be the likely bullpen arm of the two.

Plus they have someone like Francona at the helm to shake the "Indians Way" culture and continued tendency to keep shooting themselves in the foot.

I was kind of surprised by the Vegas odds, as well. Ken Rosenthal is positively giddy about all the moves the Indians have made: Addition of Michael Bourn ? along with newcomers Nick Swisher and manager Terry Francona ? is more evidence Cleveland Indians will matter in 2013 - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN. It turns out there was a big media deal that freed up a ton of cash and further explains why Francona wanted to tackle this job. We can only hope that the Indians continue to find ways to screw up their on-paper superiority.

I just wish they would make it more "clear" why they're feeling so "comfortable". Given that UI Carroll retires or is gone by the end of 2014, the rest all project as UI candidates at best ( with a faint hope for better from Dozier). It still remains fuzzy to me, but probably only one, if that, makes it over that bridge to the future.

Potentially multi-million dollar investments tied up in 25 rostered end-of-season pitchers amd position players. It's absolutely foolhardy to think that the Twins and every other club in baseball aren't doing their medical due diligence, and on position players, too. It's that darned "application part" that the Twins medical staff still can't quite get the hang of getting right.

According to Rob St Antony and Dave St Vodka, those numbers make him a prime starting candidate. He's continued to lose a ton of velocity in the last few years and has been begun relying heavily on one pitch the last two, apparently resulting in his arm to begin to breakdown. Okay, then, let's give iron man the ball every 5th day., then.

I'm guessing the fact of Perez not having his tires kicked since November AND being a lefty, means the Twins got him for realllly cheap. The Twins have 2 legit lefty BP options- unfortuantely, one is the Closer and the other they continue to have wet dreams about returning to the rotation. The current third option still has a lot to prove if his upside is anything other than a LOOGY. While this is clearly a move from weakness rather than strength- If Perez gives 50% worth of Burton's production in 2012 (0.9 WAR) then TR successfully repolished a tarnished gem, certainly worth finding out.

I don't think that's what Mike and others are saying. You can help yourself short-term and possibly flip for long-term benefit on 1-2 year deals paying up for legit talent. Out of 34 SP FA signings in 2013 offseason: One or Two year deals: 31 Three years or more: 3 (Greinke, Jackson, Guthrie)

Las Vegas begs to differ: [TABLE=class: data] [TH=class: first, colspan: 6]Baseball Futures[/TH] [TH=colspan: 2]Odds[/TH] [TH=colspan: 3]Status[/TH] [TR=class: time] [TD=colspan: 11]2/14/2013 - 2013 American League Pennant - Odds to Win [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Detroit Tigers[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]13-4[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Los Angeles Angels[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]13-4[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Toronto Blue Jays[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]5-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]New York Yankees[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]7-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Tampa Bay Rays[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]9-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Texas Rangers[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]10-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Oakland Athletics[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]15-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Boston Red Sox[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]15-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Kansas City Royals[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]20-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Chicago White Sox[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]20-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Baltimore Orioles[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]25-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Seattle Mariners[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]30-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Minnesota Twins[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]40-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team even] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Cleveland Indians[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]40-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: team odd] [TD=class: name, colspan: 6]Houston Astros[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]50-1[/TD] [TD=colspan: 3]In Progress[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

And yet, you somehow still found a way to comment. In addition, nice response to the facts presented in reply to your assertion about Perez being a "potentially good SP". Sky color in your world, again?

Careful there, you might join us mouthbreathers with that kind of talk:roll:

I concur. Also better than a fighting chance at having the worst bench in baseball. Proof that both the biggest homer and biggest critic of their favorite team are seeing the same data sets and demanding different approaches and levels of acceptance in the velocity-of-urgency and mindset-approach at addressing these glaring deficiencies.

Obsess much? Please cite the evidence that Perez is a "potentially good SP". Perhaps his 0.92 IP/Appearance since 2008? Or the last time he actually started a game?- 7 starts in AAA in 2007. Or maybe the fact that he went 60-day DL and pitched all of 7.2 innings last year because of the damage done to his arm by throwing 60% sliders the last 2 years when he had to rely heavily on another pitch to stay in the league- given that he has lost nearly 5MPH on his fastball. Or maybe not having any viable offer since he was DFAd in November? I'll give the Twins this, they maintained their pattern of low-risk/high reward signings- along with the accompanying pie in the sky PR hyperbole. Coming back to reality and crossing of fingers, there's a fighting chance he could be serviceable as a RP, Burton came in last year with lower expectations than Perez. Going back to the Catcher/MI ongoing debacle, at least Ryan signed JR Towles (,770 AAA OPS) to give some semblance of embarrassment and urgency about carrying a bench player with a career .497 OPS. This year? Not so much.

Sadly, since they won't move Mauer up or risk experimenting with Parmelee there, last year's 39 year-old, 9-hole hitter is the club's best and only logical option for promotion to the 2-spot.