SwainZag

And what's your point? The staff is better, the lineup is better, there is more young players trying to make an impression and had a one-up for a starting job next year and if they play at the same clip they have all season, they finish with 73 wins, almost an 11% increase on last season. You might see a similiar product than last year, but I see a younger team with a better staff and a much more fun to watch product.

To me this year at this point is a lot more "cheery" than of last season. We have players like Santana, Arcia, Vargas, May, etc to look forward to getting playing time. Much, much more to look forward to, take a look. Last year's starting lineup on 8/17 Dozier Mauer Willingham Doumit WIlkin Ramirez Plouffe Hermann Clete Thomas Floriman SP Albers. 8/17 this year: Santana Dozier Mauer Vargas Arcia Suzuki Parmalee Escobar Schaefer SP Milone

Meh. I believe it's more of Twins management over "Mauer and his agent." The majority of the time he has missed since 2011 has been late in the season when the Twins were far, far out of a playoff race and there was simply no need to rush him into the lineup. I truly believe if the Twins were in the thick of a playoff race down the stretch the past couple years we would have seen Mauer activated and back on the field a lot sooner than he had been. People, especially on this board, love to criticize Mauer's approach at the plate. The approach that has him at a career split of: .320/.401/.461. An OPS+ of 133 and even this year, one of his worst statistically he sits at 101+, still above average. His carer with RISP: .328/.451/.474 in 1497 PA. He has driven in 541 runs in those situations. His numbers are even better with RISP and 2 outs. Blame his lack of RBI on simply not getting the AB's with runners on. Joe gets a lot of criticism for not swinging at the first pitch. Though for his career when he does swing at the 1st pitch he is hitting .434. That tells me his being very selective has paid off very well. Yes, he is having a down year and only has half a season worth of AB right now. but give me the selective hitter that is going to get on base 42-45% of the time and is statistically better when runners are on base. 2009 and 2011 though very different, really put a hamper on Joe's career. He was simply too good in 2009, he was 26, probably the peak of his athletic ability and had a great year, but he set the bar too high for some people. With his injury riddled 2011 season to go along with his big contract just allowed people to doubt and criticize him. 2012 he led the league in OBP, played in 147 games and knocked in 85 runs, but you don't hear much about that season. Even last season, which was a lost one from the get go for the Twins, Joe quietly put .324/.404/.476. Over career averages across the board, but there was just more criticism because he was shut down and missed half of August and September of meaningless games where the Twins were so far out of 1st it wouldn't even matter. It's obvious I'm a Mauer supporter. Yes, I do think it's a shame that injuries have cost him a lot of time, but I really think people overlook and take for granted the numbers he has put up while he has been in a Twins uniform.

You need to learn about paragraphs my friend As much as a middle of the order hitter would be great to have, if the team isn't contending next year I don't think signing a veteran just to have someone hit there is needed. Both Arcia and Vargas both seem to have budding power, and Arcia can play the OF. As much as I'd like to see Morneau back in a Twins uniform, with Mauer manning 1B and Vargas DH'ing...we really don't have a slot for him.

Why are there so many options that include Mauer just casually moving to the OF? This seems as realistic to me as the Twins signing Lester and Cruz in the off season.

To me it's a risk not worth taking. I don't see any way the Twins are truly competitive next year. Better than this year? Yes, but not a contender quite yet. To sign Shields I would guess it would take 12-15M per or so. Like you said he has been a workhorse over his career. Career ERA of 3.74, career FIP of 3.78 and to me anyways he is in no way an "ace." Why pay him ace money? His K/9 is the lowest it's been in 5 years, which for a pitcher soon to be in his mid-30's with a lot of miles on his arm.....I would think hard about offering that kind of coin.

Besides Scherzer and Lester who are your ace options? Shields is there and will be 33 next season, you really want to give him a 5 year contract? What's the realistic chances they give out over 100M contract to bring in Lester of Scherzer? I would say the chances are slim to none.

How about we wait and see what the guy actually signs for before throwing TR under a bus.....again.

Why would Hicks be soon gone? The kid isn't even 25 yet. There is absolutely no reason to sell low or get rid of him anytime soon, he still has a ton of talent.

Susuki is dealt to Baltimore day of the deadline for a handful prospects we will all argue about as being good enough. WIllingham won't be dealt before the deadline, but will be in August to Seattle after they strike out in obtaining a RH hitting OF at the deadline. Correia will also be dealt in August to St. Louis for cash considerations of a PTBNL. With too many relievers out there on the block, Duensing, Fien and Burton stay put. Though Burton's overall numbers are down, he has been as sharp as ever in his last 17 appearances. 15 IP, 8H, 2ER, 4BB, 13K. I do think Gardy and Ryan will stay put and be in the same positions next season. I also think we will see May and Meyer in August.

Per MLBtraderumors he will work out at SS and CF. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/latest-on-rusney-castillo.html Workout is tomorrow, will be interesting to see what comes out of it. Probably a longshot, but them even going to the workout has to be good news.

Not exactly sure what you meant by this. Scored 7 runs in 3 games against Sabathia, Pettite and Hughes while the bullpen, which was the team's strong point, blew game 1.

] If they trade him now, Pinto can be promoted and be the primary starter for the rest of the season. With the team not looking at the playoffs it would be valuable experience and would give the team a very good look at if they would need to find a veteran or not to start in 2015.

So, let's say you replace the GM this off-season. How much credit are you going to give the new GM when the Twins are the in contention in 2016-2017 and on with all the players that the current GM has brought in over the past 3-5 seasons?

Of course some prospects will flame out, that's the natural of baseball. I really don't think it's fair to compare the Twins system with the Royals system of the past because they are two entirely different programs with entirely different players. A lot of teams with great systems have gone on to produce a slew of quality MLB players. You can look at the injury riddled team of 2011 with a fairly weak farm system and in the midst of several bust filled drafts and then look at the 2014 team who will produce a similiar record and more than likely better record, with a lower payroll and a great system and see the progress, unless you are one of those people who only look simply at win totals.

Be honest with yourself, did any expect the Twins to beat the Yankees in the 2010 series? The playoff record for Gardy isn't good, I won't deny that. Were the Twins ever the favorites to win any of those series? How many were against a stacked Yankees team? How much of the 2011 team are you going to blame on Gardy? How many of those injuries were his fault? 2 regulars played more than 100 games. Incompetent ownership, incompetent managers....blah, blah, blah. You hear it everyday on this board. They have been rebuilding since the deadline of the 2011 season. 3 years later they have the 2nd best system in baseball and. Some people have serious wildly outrageous expectations.

Interesting. Maybe I was just thinking of the 40 man pay bump. I think I was thinking once a player made the 40 man roster he was automatically awarded the minimum salary which I believe is around 500K. I didn't know they pro-rate it at which level they are currently at.

I don't think that's true. Once he was promoted to the Big League club his salary should have become guaranteed for the year. I might be wrong......but I don't think I am.

Why does Dozier keep coming up in these discussions? 27 year old All-Star at a very shallow position still under team control. These are the type of players you build around, not trade away. Susuki on the other hand...31 year old on a 1 year deal who is performing over his all time highs. These are the type of players you trade.

Why would it be a stretch at all? A veteran with an expiring contract on a team out of contention and he for all intents and purposes he has pitched better as of late. I would almost say I think it would be a stretch to think he will finish this year on the team.

I'm not buying into him yet. He has started 4 games for Pittsburgh. While his numbers on the outside look good, and his K's are up, his BABIP is a tiny .210. Still good for a FIP of 3.87 which is more than 1.5 better than last year, but still much higher than his 2.28 ERA he is sporting this year. Let's also not forget he moved to the NL and has already come and out said he was not 100% last year. I'll give him another 5-6 starts before counting him as a rebound success story.

Why even risk paying him $15M in a QO? He will be 36, he has had injury concerns the last two seasons, his defense will just keep dwindling and if they were ever going to get anything for him in a trade, the time is now. This is the type of player you deal at the deadline if you are a team like the Twins.

I don't mean for the rest of the year. I mean for the next 2-3 years with this big money extension talk. He would have to tank pretty hard to get his numbers to career norms at this point, but what does that say about next year and the years after that? This is the same guy who hit .235/.276/.328 just two short seasons ago. I know this board unrealistically heavy on the "what have you done for me lately" wagon, and I have enjoyed what Suzuki has done this year, but come on......look at the BABIP, look at career averages......very few players just turn around their career at 30 after 3000 AB. Signing extensions at the absolute high point is just dumb, at least in my opinion.

Maybe he's busting out of it? Last 29 AB: 12/29, .414, 5 2B and 9 RBI. He has only walked once and K'd 5 times, but he looks more aggressive at the plate and the hits are falling.

So if there is such a shortage of catchers, especially hitting the market, why are teams so reluctant to give up anything more than a C prospect for him? To the right team who is making a run and needs a hitter, I certainly could see a solid B prospect. While he could stay around 270 or 280 what happens when his BABIP falls to career levels? A .325 BABIP is not sustainable, especially for a player with his speed, that's 50 points higher than his career average. How valuable is he if he falls down to .255-.310-.375? In limted AB's Pinto was .222-.323-.407 with a measly .245 BABIP. The 3 players you named are not fair comparisons. They are all OF, not catchers, and all 3 weren't retained for different reasons. Cuddyer arguably had his best season in his last year as a Twin. He was not retained because the Twins were losing and couldn't afford a 8+M 33 year OF. I think everyone here still thought Justin had lingering concussion symptoms, which would be anyone's guess to if they would ever go away. They seem to and his $5M contract seems like a good one for Colorado. Hunter much like Cuddy, had a giant last season as a Twin. The contract he got from Anaheim was ridiculous in terms of Twins standards. If they are going to invest $7.5M a season for Susuki, I highly doubt he is going to split time with Pinto. That's starting money. If they aren't in contention what's the harm of letting Pinto come up and catch IF Suzuki is traded? Maybe I'm too high on Pinto? IDK. The "current" best hitter. Let's just call me a skeptic when a 30 year old with 3000+ AB is having his best season hitting of his career in the first half of the season.