Jump to content
Our free agent ranking is up to 100 names, and now you can filter by player position! Click here to check it out! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Unwinder

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    768

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Unwinder

  1. Unwinder
    I don't think this raises Donaldson's stock too much. If anyone is going to want to take on his contract, I think it's more likely that they want him to play third base so they can shuffle their own defensively-limited Miguel Sano-type to DH.
  2. Unwinder
    I guess, but only four teams out of thirty can win a playoff series every year. That may give Minnesota the disadvantage behind a team that's won a playoff series in the last couple of years, and MAAAAAYBE a free agent is going to think we're under some sort of playoff curse, but recently making the playoffs a few years in a row is still much better than all but a handful of teams can claim.
  3. Unwinder
    It's very beautiful to me that the ownership and the players have been able to reach common ground on the famously contentious issue of the universal DH. With the elephant out of the room, figuring out service time and salary changes will be a snap!
  4. Unwinder
    I'm 35, and I know dozens of people my age or younger who have moved to Minnesota from other states because they heard good things, or because they saw an opportunity here that they liked. Baseball players are in a higher tax bracket than anyone I know, which makes a big difference, but I just don't think that guys in that stage of life weigh that too much when they're looking for a place to live. I can think of only two people I know under the age of forty who I've ever heard even mention Minnesota's taxes, and I don't think it's a coincidence that they also happen to be the two most conservative guys I know.
  5. Unwinder
    Tell that to Barry Bonds
  6. Unwinder
    OK but how good is Bauer now without sticky stuff? As I recall, his suspension happened shortly after they started enforcing.
  7. Unwinder
    Hey, isn't this the sort of numbers game that baseball fans are supposed to be able to easily quantify? Someone who knows how to do this stuff, pull up some similar-market teams in the South and on the coasts, find the ones with the most similar spending habits, and compare their luck with free agents. It seems like this question should have a verifiable answer.
  8. Unwinder
    Buck is the protagonist of the Twins and everyone else is a supporting player. He's a hero to the Twins and a hero to this state, and his loyalty to the Twins deserves to be rewarded with a World Series ring.
  9. Unwinder
    It's a cold state, but only in the offseason. I don't think most players hang around for the offseason anyway. I think some free agents would rather be in a larger city, or on the coast, but I have a hard time believing that the problem isn't mostly money, particularly reluctance to offer long contracts.
  10. Unwinder
    Winder is another good example of why I'm not too concerned about national prospect lists largely writing off our pitchers. I don't want to give the front office too much credit until we see more results, but it really feels like they've been able to spot and tap a lot of hidden potential in deeper draft picks.
  11. Unwinder
    Me too. Also. if it didn't mean less money for him, I'd love to see him on a minor-league contract playing for the Saints for pretty much all eternity. EDIT: Oh yeah, also, sorry, but there already kind of is another one: https://www.milb.com/player/wilfred-astudillo-672555 Need to trade for this guy immediately. He even played for the Daytona Tortugas last year.
  12. Unwinder
    I feel like Ryan's impulsiveness could make him a fan-favorite character, remember when he got clipped in the hand with a comebacker and just walked off the field without waiting for anyone to look at it? Boneheaded move, but it showed personality.
  13. Unwinder
    Extremely true, most people I know just watch a few baseball games when they hear the Twins are doing well, and maybe go to a game every couple of years because their employer gave them tickets. There may be a theoretical sliver of the fanbase in a sweet spot where they're following closely enough to know about the CBA negotiations, but their interest is fragile enough that they're ready to walk away from baseball if those negotiations seem too greedy, but I don't think it's a significant demographic.
  14. Unwinder
    Yeah, I miss this guy, he's the only player whose name my wife knows. We had a blast following him at Target Field and CHS last year. I'm kind of wondering who the big personalities on the team are going to be next year. Astudillo's gone. The electric Arraez looks like a trade chip. everyone WANTS the fiery Donaldson to be a trade chip. Lovable goofball Dobnak feels like he's on the bubble if he can't turn things around (despite his great contract). Sano was mostly a fun personality for his bromance with Nelson Cruz. Obviously we have lots of actual talent coming up, and that's strictly better than having a bunch of lovable misfits, but still, who are the lovable misfits for 2022 and 2023?
  15. Unwinder
    I think this only matters to people who care enough about the sport that they're probably going to keep reluctantly following it anyway. I've talked to several friends who are only casually interested in baseball, and they don't even know it's happening. It also does not seem to have affected their interest in joining me for a ballgame if and when there are ballgames to attend this summer.
  16. Unwinder

    I'm SICK of the MLB lockout, and will ABSOLUTELY stop watching and supporting MLB as SOON as there is another baseball league of equal or greater size and talent level that has a team in my town! Not bluffing.

  17. Unwinder
    I agree, I haven't done the math or anything, but if, say, a top-100 prospect has a 50% chance of making it in the big leagues, and a top 200 guy has a 25% chance, you're still making out better. Pitching prospects are sort of a crapshoot anyway, who saw Bailey Ober coming?
  18. Unwinder
    It seems like the vibe here is pretty amicable and cooperative? I'm beginning to feel some faint optimism.
  19. Unwinder
    It doesn't balance the league out at all. What it increases is the ability of teams to compete for players' services. I'm a bit torn on this issue. Obviously it's not good for the sport for large-market teams' advantage to increase, but the players are absolutely right to resent a system that prevents them being paid what unrestricted supply and demand would pay them. If I were a free agent, I'd really hate waiting until just before spring training to accept a lowball offer when the large-market teams would be happy to make me a better one if not for the luxury tax. I wish there were some way to ensure that players get paid the absolute most that any team is willing to pay them without allowing big-spending teams to hoard free agents. Maybe a salary floor is the closest we can get.
  20. Unwinder
    Baseball savvy is just analytics we haven't figured out how to measure yet.
  21. Unwinder
    Good, we can use a lot of bullpen arms if our starters are going to be going <5 innings for the foreseeable future.
  22. Unwinder
    Polanco might not be the best defensive shortstop, but I'm really skeptical of the idea that something inherent about playing shortstop will injure his ankles or make him worse offensively. I think it's a reasonable solution, possibly the most reasonable solution.
  23. Unwinder
    I think the "decline" of baseball is just a parallel to the general dissolving of American monoculture. Sure, it's become more niche over time, but so has every form of entertainment aside from maybe superhero movies. What's the last book that everyone you know read? What's the last TV show that everyone you know followed? What's the last band that everyone you know listened to? When's the last time everyone you know was getting their news from the same sources? What's the last board game that everyone you knew had in their closet? Sure, football and basketball are more popular than baseball today, but today I know more people who don't follow sports at all than I know who follow football. Baseball isn't king anymore, but being "king," for a sport, means much less than it ever has. Americans love having choices and hate rallying around one big thing. I think it would take a huge cultural shift for Americans to HAVE a national pastime again. I predict that the future will see further fragmenting, with the big four sports all losing some ground, and more people taking interest in soccer and (shudder) e-sports. Baseball isn't going the way of boxing, it's going the way of Superman. Sure, you can point to Batman or Spider-Man edging him out as the most popular superhero, but what's really turned him into a niche character is dozens and dozens of other niche characters.
  24. Unwinder
    Easily the pitchers. I'm very interested in plenty of position player prospects (Miranda, Lewis, Martin, Celestino, Wallner, etc.) but my expectation for our position player prospects is that they keep the team stocked at a talent level pretty similar to what we've already got at the MLB level right now. The pitching prospects look like something new that could improve an area that's been shaky for a long time.
  25. Unwinder
    I think the drop is reasonable. He still has a lot of potential, but there are a lot of competitive prospects out there and even a small change in expectations should be enough for him to get leapfrogged in the rankings by 75+ guys. Royce's outlook is a little bit worse after the last two years. I have a lot of faith that he can still be a very good baseball player, but I don't blame any prospect ranking for deciding that a whole lot of other prospects look closer to being a sure thing right now.
×
×
  • Create New...