neboo

I'm going to go against the popular opinion here. I am in favor of signing LeMahieu. He has always been a better home hitter (show me what Rockies player hasn't), but he hasn't been awful away from Coors, except for an outlier season or two. Last year his average away from Coors was down, but his power was up. Is he changing things, buying into the power/launch angle rhetoric? The park factor drop off from Coors to Target field isn't as drastic as other places, especially when it comes to 2B, which is his greatest power threat. At the end of the day, he could be a nice top of the order addition, batting somewhere .290/.340/.410 and playing gold glove defense at 30 years old. 2B is flooded, maybe that will bring his price down? I'd love to see a breakdown vs. other available 2b, including Jorge Polanco if he moved over.

My list is small, but here goes: 1. PNC Park- Just an unbelievable experience. A very intimate experience as well. They did a great job of making the park feel small and it is a great time. Not to mention, tickets are easy to come by and super cheap. The river, the bridge, the atmosphere, it was all great. 2. Target Field- Basically PNC without the river and not as intimate of a feel. 3. Busch Stadium (New)- It is a very nice place, but does feel a bit large and "distant" from the action. 4. Miller Park - Feels like a dome. It would be a cool football field... 5. Metrodome - Yuck

I was at the game yesterday. Boyd was a mess. His control was awful, but his demeanor was even worse. Every time he would throw a bad pitch he would glance at the dugout and roll his eyes. It was tough to watch him labor through 5 innings. Hopefully he can get it together. Watching that team was incredible. Lots of talent at the plate. I was excited to catch Buxton before he was promoted. Watching him go from home plate to 3rd base is special. I can't wait to see him in a Twins uniform.

I know the Twins bullpen is not a major weakness at this point, when it comes to depth at least, but what about taking a shot with Brian Wilson on a low base, high incentives contract? This could be a great buy low, sell high opportunity. I feel that the Minnesota fans would also love his antics and he could possibly sell some tickets. This is all dependent on him being realistic and realizing he is not going to make top closer money though, which is why it probably isn't a possibility. The Twins don't have a ton of money sitting around to throw at a closer, but this move could realistically maximize the value of other pitchers in the bullpen by moving them back an inning. Putting Wilson at closer moves Burton and Perkins into more comfortable roles and really makes the back end of the bullpen rock solid if Wilson produces. If anything, it takes some of the workload off of Burton and Perkins, because this pen is looking like it is going to get a ton of work again this year.

For some reason I picture TR sitting in a room with Ben Revere fielding highlights playing on a large screen behind him while the Phillies brass walks in. Using it as distraction to pull off the deal.

I know that pitching is the #1 priority for the Twins this offseason, but a hitter that is very intriguing is Cody Ross. He reminds me a lot of Willingham. It is pretty obvious that TF plays to right hand power hitters' advantage. If Span or Revere is dealt, Ross could be a great RH power addition to the lineup. It would depend on his asking price obviously, but I think there is value to be had with Ross.

Ok, I love Josh Willingham. He has come in and been exactly what the Twins needed, he seems like a great guy, and he likes it here. The problem is, by the time the twins are actually contenders, Willingham will be past his prime and on the way out. The twins are in position to bring in the biggest haul at the deadline. With Willingham being arguably the best rh power hitter available, and with more teams in contention at the deadline than ever, this makes so much sense. Willingham also has value in that he is under team control for a few years. Gone are the days of renting a player and still getting draft compensation for them. While I agree that the move doesn't look the best from a PR perspective, it has to be done. Good FA's will not look away from Minnesota in the future because of this, they more likely will be attracted to the team, considering they will be in better position to contend. I would like to hear others' opinions on this.

Revere is obviously the cf of the future. Look at that smile!

Apparently the AL Central doesn't know what home field advantage is.