TheLeviathan

Don't worry! In the other thread I was assured that it's fine! The Ishbias were never serious about it! Which, obviously, should be very reassuring. Or so I'm told.....

I know I have a lot of people disagreeing with me in this thread, but I'm not sure why. This is objectively terrible news for the Twins. The White Sox end the Reinsdorf era and a billionaire with flair takes over in Chicago with a division rival. On top of that, the ownership group many in the media thought were the lead buyers bow out at the last minute. It's possible this won't be anything more than the Pohalds chose another buyer. It's also possible we look back at this as the start of an ugly process we aren't happy with at the end.

Why on earth would we be happy the Reinsdorf era is ending?

If that's the case, then a lot of people in this market (including the Twins by many reports) got duped at a seriously high level. What you say may absolutely be true, but if it is then I have even more skepticism on how this sale works out.

Because depending upon what that is....it could be the Pohlads to blame. And if that's the case, public pressure for them not to change their minds is imperative. This is the sort of clown show outcome that was feared. It doesn't mean we can't expect some good things to still come out of this, but it should cause your skepticism to flare.

The articles on The Athletic all seem to be dancing around some important truths about why this fell apart. I hope the beat writers are digging furiously right now.

I bet Apple is who sweeps in and buys up the rest. I also bet it won't be for $550M a season.

It is. Like....4th round will be full of guys worth taking shots at in those position groups. It's stupid good.

Their recent comments seem to indicate we have France and Castro on the right side. Yeah...that's a concern.

Which is totally reasonable...but I don't see the big play threat out of him. And I worry his injury issues (which preceded his stay in MN) are only going to continue. I'd rather have a tightend who can block the hell out of the running game or looks like he's damn near a WR. Hockenson seems like he's ok to good at both, but not dynamic. And he's paid like he's dynamic.

My biggest takeaway from this is that it cements the idea that the team is down on Brooks Lee and he's not even getting a real shot to win a spot in the lineup. Combine that with the red carpet they rolled out for France and I'm less than encouraged with the mindset we're walking into ST with.

Absolutely not. He's the team's 4th starter. Others are battling for 5.

That depends on a lot of factors. And even then he's only 24, hardly time to hit the panic button. This is too much, too soon. And we do this too often to our prospects.

I totally get that. This draft is loaded at TE and I love a bunch of dudes that will be available in the 3rd round. So...honestly, if I were running the Vikings - I'd extend Oliver and trade Hockenson. Oliver is easy to get for like a 4M cap hit and he's well worth that. He can start at TE and the team will be just fine. Downside is this is a lowpoint in Hockenson's value, so it's not likely to be a wise move.

So Pro Football Network now has a mock draft simulator and offseason simulator! https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-offseason-salary-cap-free-agency-manager Restructures/Cuts: Restructure O'Neill for 3 years, save 8.2M, Extend Oliver save 5M, Extend Metellus save 4M, Cut Ingram and save 3M, Extend Van Ginkel save 4M. Cap room 87M Resigns: Harrison Smith Retires, Slap Darnold with franchise tag, we found out at the combine that Vegas will give us 73 and 218 for him. WR Powell 2 years 1.5M, RB Cam Akers 1 year 1.5M, Dan Feeney 2 years 1.5M, DT Jalen Redmond 2 years 2M, DT Jerry Tillery 1 year 2M, TE Johnny Mundt 1 year 1.5M, S Theo Jackson 3 years 2.5M, CB Murphy Jr. 4 years 19M Cap Room 50M Free Agency: QB Carson Wentz 2 years 2.5M, OG James Daniels 2 years 8M, OG Will Fries 3 years 8M, Jevon Holland 4 years 17M, LB Devin White 1 year 2M, OT Cody Ford 1 year 2M Cap Room 7.5M Draft: (24, 73, 97, 140, 161, 218): Enter the draft looking to add DTs and RBs from a historic class. At 24: WR Golden falls, Washington calls to trade up offering 29 and 61 for 24 and 140. Snatch that. At 29: DT Kenneth Grant and Nolen are on the board, we take the zero technique in Grant. At 61: We have our choice of the Ohio St. Running backs - take Trayveon Henderson. At 73: CB Denzel Burke continues the Big 10 run at the draft. At 97: Giants offers us 104 and 134 for 97 and 161. Bills then offer us 107 and 171 for 104. So we take that too. At 107: CB Cobee Bryant At 134: WR Pat Bryant At 171: RB RJ Harvey At 218: OL Jacob Gideon Final Roster: QB: McCarthy, Wentz, Rypien RB: Henderson, Akers, Harvey, Chandler, Ham WR: Jefferson, Addison, Nailor, Powell, Bryant TE: Hock, Oliver, Mundt T - Darrisaw, O'Neill, Ford G - Daniels, Fries, Brandel, Feeney, Gideon C - Bradbury, Jurgens DL - Grant, Phillips, Redmond, LDR, Tillery, Taimani Edge - Gink, Greenard, Turner, Murphy, Richter ILB - Pace, Cashman, White, Asamoah CB - Murphy, Blackmon, Bryant, Burke, McGlothern S - Holland, Jackson, Metellus, Ward IMO, the line is better and deeper on offense. Harvey and Henderson are awesome backs. Bryant is a fun upside reciever. This caters well to the young QB. The cost of that is much less depth in the defensive front and a much younger secondary.

I appreciate the article much more than the title. 23 year olds definitely shouldn't feel like this is their make or break year. Even characterizing him as "former top prospect" feels weird. Dude has 185 plate appearances....the hell are we doing here?

I really liked his mock offseason, though a few things should be pointed out: 1) That OL would be a dream but Booker ain't making it to 23 much less 43. That trade-down effectively takes us out of the mix for the high end DTs. (Though I love Phillips) Henderson is a nice scoop. 2) The secondary would be Theo Jackson, Metellus, Holland, Samuel, Blackmon, and the rookie he took. The DL would be Milton Williams, Harrison Phillips, and the two rookies he took. So the offset of signing those guys is those two areas of the defense are a little shaky. You can fill it out with Jerry Tillery types, but it's shaky. 3) Man I hope that Darnold trade is an option. Being able to net a pick in the 70s of this draft is going to land us a good player.

Maybe with less investment, but they weren't going to shop at the big boy table and that's just a fact I've had beaten into me since Terry Ryan. It is what it is. We're 100% on the same page about France. And I keep hoping to see that Vazquez trade happen.

Woof, I understand wanting to be positive and boost your players up....it's another thing to basically give him the 1B job. I hate everything about this.

KOC was pretty clear he wants him back too. I really hope that's not for more than 5M. Jones was good for us, but he looked old/hurt too often down the stretch.

Martin playing CF with a fly ball pitching staff is absolutely a major problem for this team. That day in/day out defensive issue would cost this team significantly depending upon how long it's required. If we can't agree to that, then it circles back to the fact that posters simply aren't putting enough value on the role of defense at a critical position. To put it simply - Castro and Martin's 60 starts in CF were absolutely a contributing reason why we missed the playoffs. Whoever the RH hitting OF is, is going to get played. That's what the current FO believes in, without Bader those at-bats were going to be Martin. Now, if they are Martin, it's because we're several levels down the depth chart. As it should be.

That was me on Kamara, so trust me on Skattebo too. :) (Also, check out harvey. Dude is a gasher like Gibbs) If we didn't have 20 open roster spots I could see pushing more at guard, but I don't think our resources will allow for that. I want one of the stud DTs and 1-2 RBs in this draft, but with our entire secondary in disarray I just dont think we can do more than splash for one guard. That or we are starting 2-3 Shaq Griffin level players at DB to pay for that extra guard.

So, we don't want 350 pound, Eagles SB champion Mechi Becton because he sucks? We aren't signing three IOL in FA. It's simply not happening. So anyone sitting here as a Vikings fan thinking "three IOL or bust" this offseason, prepare for disappointment. This team has almost an entire secondary, DL, and running back room to replace. They won't be using half their available payroll on the line. It's not possible. It's not wise even if it was. Also, these two thoughts are not totally in alignment. A slasher, high flyer is a good way to blow those 3rd and 2s also. The Vikings need to change their rushing culture. The Chandler types aren't what wins in this offense. You need someone you can rely on to move the ball forward and force teams to respect your play action. That set you up for 3rd and 4. 2nd and 3. I get you don't like Skattebo, but you're underselling his athleticism. He isn't Bettis. He's a better pass catching version of David Montgomery. Gibbs gets all the attention, but I guarantee you that Montgomery is a critical cog in making it all work.

Cool, show me the last small market dynasty in baseball. Show me the last team in baseball that had a 5-10 year competition window that wasn't New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, or Houston. We're at a point that in order for you to continue your argument you have to ignore my points. You ignored how misguided your Braves example was and you're ignoring the difference between the sports. You know why the Chiefs, Lightning, and Warriors were able to keep competing? Because, at the end of the day, when the players they drafted and developed were ready for larger contracts.....they were on even footing with all of their peers to retain them. The New York Giants don't have triple the payroll of the Chiefs. The Los Angeles Kings don't have quadruple (I'm underselling it by a ton) the budget of the Lightning. The Warriors aren't worried about the Knicks tripling the terms of their extension. They all play by the same rules. Your suggestions, which are fine, are prayers for cancer. Sure, they may make you feel good. Cancer DGAF.