twinslover

I'm not sure if I agree that things would need to deteriorate quickly with the Marlins for that to happen. That franchise, for some reason, seems very adept at identifying talented young managers who do find success. The problem for the Marlins is that most them find success after being chewed up and spit out by the Marlins. Girardi's successor only lasted a little over three years before getting the boot too. I'm guessing Redmond lasts 2-3 years. Time will only tell, but I think he'll be a very good manager and eventually will come back and manage the Twins.

I wonder if Mike Redmond will ultimately follow the path of Joe Girardi. Both are former catchers who got their first MLB manager gigs with recently gutted and very young Marlin teams. Girardi bolted to the Yankees after only a year with the Marlins that saw his team exceed expectations with an incredibly young and inexperienced roster. Perhaps Redmond will find similar success in getting through to young players and last only a year or two in Miami before he takes over as manager of another team he once played for. SMELL 'EM

I wonder if Mike Redmond will ultimately follow the path of Joe Girardi. Both are former catchers who got their first MLB manager gigs with recently gutted and very young Marlin teams. Girardi bolted to the Yankees after only a year with the Marlins that saw his team exceed expectations with an incredibly young and inexperienced roster. Perhaps Redmond will find similar success in getting through to young players and last only a year or two in Miami before he takes over as manager of another team he once played for. SMELL 'EM

Does anyone else remember Terry Ryan's press conference last offseason? I may be mistaken, but I recall him stating that the medical staff was going to be evaluated after a disappointing 2011 season in which injuries and diagnosis' were an issue. To my knowledge, no changes were made, but similar issues have occurred again this year, including the Scott Baker debacle, waiting to have Wimmers go through TJ surgery for some odd reason, etc. It makes me wonder if that evaluation is ongoing or if the medical staff is also on a "scholarship."

Does anyone else remember Terry Ryan's press conference last offseason? I may be mistaken, but I recall him stating that the medical staff was going to be evaluated after a disappointing 2011 season in which injuries and diagnosis' were an issue. To my knowledge, no changes were made, but similar issues have occurred again this year, including the Scott Baker debacle, waiting to have Wimmers go through TJ surgery for some odd reason, etc. It makes me wonder if that evaluation is ongoing or if the medical staff is also on a "scholarship."

That's pretty much my point, the complete lack of depth in this organization is pathetic and I get that the team is going nowhere this season, but like Herm Edwards once said, "Hello, you play to win the game." I just don't understand how promoting Nishioka or bringing back Plouffe before he might be ready helps the team win. Everybody keeps talking about the future and next year or 2014, but there are still games to be played this season and the purpose of every team in major league baseball is to win games. The rest of this season still matters to fans, players, coaches, and other employees of this franchise.

Is it just me or does it seem like Plouffe could have used a longer rehab stint. He's now 0 for 12 with 4 K's since coming back after going 0 for 8 with 2 K's at Rochester. It seems pretty obvious to me that he could have used more time in Rochester to get his timing back but was rushed as a result of Nishioka's "performance."

Is it just me or does it seem like Plouffe could have used a longer rehab stint. He's now 0 for 12 with 4 K's since coming back after going 0 for 8 with 2 K's at Rochester. It seems pretty obvious to me that he could have used more time in Rochester to get his timing back but was rushed as a result of Nishioka's "performance."

So who is going to be in the starting rotation for 2013? Seems like this question has been beat to death, but I honestlly haven't read many concrete suggestions. What I see after Diamond is a pile of hot Chicago garbage. DeVries has been a revelation and if he continues to pitch well he should get a shot next year, but I still don't trust him with his high home run rate. Blackburn should be cut, Deduno is not a long term starter, but has been fun to watch at times. Duensing belongs in the pen, especially if Perk is the closer next year. Henricks continues to dominate in the minors, but doesn't look any more prepared to get major league outs. Pavano should be allowed to walk. Baker's option should be declined and as everyone has said, an incentive laden contract offered but I wouldn't depend on him being a starter opening day. This brings us to Gibson, who should be healthy and in the rotation to start next year. At this point the rotation is Diamond, Gibson, and DeVries. The free agent market should have a multitude of viable options, but the likes of Greinke and Shields are not realistic for this franchise. The three guys I see as the best fits in terms of salary and ability are Colby Lewis, Shawn Marcum, and Edwin Jackson. All three should be in demand and command decent salaries, but they are affordable if the Twins keep their payroll at or close to $100 million. Of the three, I prefer Lewis and Jackson as they have proven pretty durable over their careers, despite Lewis' recent injury. What that gives you is a rotation of Lewis, Jackson, Diamond, Gibson, and DeVries, with Baker working his way back from Tommy John surgery. This is what I think the front office should do. In reality though, the front office will probably keep Blackburn and sign someone like Joe Blanton.

So who is going to be in the starting rotation for 2013? Seems like this question has been beat to death, but I honestlly haven't read many concrete suggestions. What I see after Diamond is a pile of hot Chicago garbage. DeVries has been a revelation and if he continues to pitch well he should get a shot next year, but I still don't trust him with his high home run rate. Blackburn should be cut, Deduno is not a long term starter, but has been fun to watch at times. Duensing belongs in the pen, especially if Perk is the closer next year. Henricks continues to dominate in the minors, but doesn't look any more prepared to get major league outs. Pavano should be allowed to walk. Baker's option should be declined and as everyone has said, an incentive laden contract offered but I wouldn't depend on him being a starter opening day. This brings us to Gibson, who should be healthy and in the rotation to start next year. At this point the rotation is Diamond, Gibson, and DeVries. The free agent market should have a multitude of viable options, but the likes of Greinke and Shields are not realistic for this franchise. The three guys I see as the best fits in terms of salary and ability are Colby Lewis, Shawn Marcum, and Edwin Jackson. All three should be in demand and command decent salaries, but they are affordable if the Twins keep their payroll at or close to $100 million. Of the three, I prefer Lewis and Jackson as they have proven pretty durable over their careers, despite Lewis' recent injury. What that gives you is a rotation of Lewis, Jackson, Diamond, Gibson, and DeVries, with Baker working his way back from Tommy John surgery. This is what I think the front office should do. In reality though, the front office will probably keep Blackburn and sign someone like Joe Blanton.

I must be missing something because I'm not aware of any offers for Capps in May and as far as questioning Ryan's decisions, I'm inclined to trust his judgment much more than the author of this post. Ryan's focus is building an organization that is able to sustain success long term, as it should be.

The payroll for '13 is to about 70 million if you assume 8 or so players not yet eligible for arbitration are on the team opening day and the twins don't offer arbitration to anyone or pick up any options. The non arb eligible players I would think make it are dozier, plouffe, revere, swarzak, burnett, gray, hendriks, parmelee and gibson probably will be if healthy. I'm really not sure about valencia, waldrop, butera, manship, or slama so I'll leave them off. The pre arbitration average used by baseball reference isn't accurate for the guys I've listed either, so with 8 - 10 pre arb players on the roster the team is around 70mil in payroll and would have 8 - 10 roster spots open. Of the 4 arbitration eligible players, I'd guess they offer to Duensing and Burton if they don't just sign them. I don't think they'll offer to casilla or burroughs. The only free agent I can see them maybe bringing back is doumit at the right price. I'm guessing they will pick up Capps option if he is still here. If you add in capps and the two arb players I think they'll bring back the payroll is going to be around 80 mil at that point and there will still be 5 -7 roster spots open. My guess is they fill most of those with cheap free agents and non arb eligible players and the payroll ends up around 85 - 90 mil.