phalvorson

So I'm obviously not a major league manager -- at least I don't think I've missed any of Terry Ryan's calls to see if I'm available to replace Gardy -- but if you've got a long reliever (Duensing) with an ERA over 5, and you've got a couple of "starters" who throw 4-5 awesome shutout innings before completely collapsing (in the 6th inning), wouldn't you demote (or DFA) the non-relieving long-reliever and move one of the supposed starters into long relief? I know, I know -- too simplistic of an approach, right? It just seems like the trend is right there in front of everybody when you look at the box score.

If I'm Terry Ryan, this is the scenario that I hope plays out: Tell Morneau that you're trading him for prospects (or a middle infielder), but you hope he'll consider signing with the Twins at the end of the season when he's a free agent. Morneau has been a team player and will understand TR's need to do this to rebuild the team. This also gives TR a couple of months to have Gardy plug potential 1B replacements (Parmalee, Doumit, Ramirez, Mauer) into the lineup and see if they can outperform what Morneau was giving them. (Maybe Parmalee back at his natural position becomes more at ease at the plate?) Then if the 1B experiment doesn't work out, TR can weigh the production he got from the replacements against what he had been getting from Morneau (pre-trade) and weigh that against the market price for free agent first basemen. Morneau loves the Twins, is best friends with Mauer, and would come back in a heartbeat (and maybe, just maybe with a hometown discount) unless Toronto or someone blew his socks off with an offer he couldn't refuse for his final contract (i.e. 6+ years and over $10M per yr). If I'm the GM, this is how I've got to be thinking right now. After making the trade, I'd even plant the seeds in the press that it was a tough move but we hope he re-signs with the Twins after the season ends. This placates the fans too.

The Astros had the worst record last year, but switched from NL to AL. So do they have preference since they are in the AL now? Or does their bad record last year in the NL mean Borbon has to clear all of last year's AL teams first? My head hurts after typing that.

He's about to be traded to Seattle... Mariners Close To Acquiring Aaron Harang: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com Per the article, they're waiting on Commish approval since cash is involved (plus a minor leaguer).

Blue Jays Designate Alex Burnett For Assignment: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com "The Blue Jays announced that they have designated right-hander Alex Burnett for assignment, the team announced in a press release. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for Casper Wells, who was claimed on waivers earlier this afternoon."

Per Darren Woolfson of ESPN1500: Twins Kicking Tires On Julio Borbon: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com "Borbon, 27, was designated for assignment by the Rangers yesterday...Borbon hit .304/.349/.433 in 584 Triple-A plate appearances last year."

Today's article in the Strib more accurately, I think, sums up what TR is going for: "The Twins, said Terry Ryan, "need competition. We need numbers and we need choices."" So if he can't get quality, he's going for quantity -- and hoping that someone will rise above mediocrity. Correia expected to offer stability to Twins' staff | StarTribune.com

My guess is that Revere would go in a package. As the sole piece in a trade, he wouldn't bring much value back. Revere & Morneau for a #1 or #2 starting pitcher? Revere & Gray for a back-end rotation guy or a high-upside prospect? I think that's the way we need to look at it.

So admittedly, I'm as itchy as everyone else on these forums waiting to see the Twins do something about their starting rotation. Obviously, nothing has happened. We hear continuously that they "are interested" in this pitcher or that pitcher, but no signings have occurred (yet). Most of us realize that the Twins' "interest" is akin to one of us saying that we "are interested" in Heidi Klum or Katy Perry. IOW, it ain't gonna happen because there needs to be mutual interest from both parties. And most of the (good) starting pitchers available on the market aren't willing to play for the Twins at some cut rate price and on a team that (for now) is a non-contender in 2013. So I had this dreaded realization -- and premature, I certainly realize -- that Terry Ryan and the rest of the Twins braintrust might have already come to the realization that they really aren't in on any of the good quality starting pitchers who are available on the market. They don't stand a chance, either because they don't want to spend the dollars, or there just isn't mutual interest from the pitchers who are out there. So maybe all of this spurned interest has forced TR & Co. to move on to the fallback plan. I certainly hope not, but I can see them sitting in their offices already trying to convince themselves that the following rotation for 2013 will be good enough to get the job done: 1. Scott Diamond 2. Kyle Gibson 3. Liam Hendriks 4. Sam Deduno (or Cole Devries or P.J. Walters) 5. Innings eater street free agent 1. We know Diamond is a lock. Most people agree that he would be a #3 or #4 guy on any other team, but on the Twins he will be their Opening Day starter. Lock it down now, people! 2. Kyle is having a great season in the AFL. Seems fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. He might not start the season in the rotation, but it definitely won't take him long to fall into one of their open slots. The Twins might just try to rush him into the majors -- and yet limit his innings -- if no other options present themselves. 3. TR says (and yes, I'm making this up): "He got better the more we threw him out there. Had some good starts towards the end of the season. Once he got that first win, it seemed to relieve some of the mental pressure on him, and he pitched better. So we'll start the season with him penciled in to the rotation and go from there." (End of made up quote.) 4. Cole is still on the 40-man roster, so maybe he should be listed first. But my point here is that for all three of these guys -- Sam, Cole, or P.J. -- it was their first year as regular starters in the majors. The bright lights might have scared them a little. They might have taken awhile to find their groove. And by the time they did, the rigors of a full season might have started to wear on their arms/bodies a little bit. Maybe there was too much pressure on them in their first year. A 2nd year will give them time to settle in a little more. To be a bit more comfortable from the get-go in the starting rotation. That first year of seasoning will do wonders for them. They all had ERA's under 5, right, once you take out a few shaky starts and look at how they produced once they had settled in and weren't battling injuries? If we can get one of these guys -- whoever looks the best coming out of spring training -- to eat innings and hold an ERA in the low to mid 4.00 range, then with our firepower we can put enough runs up on the board to get a win more often than not. (Again, sounds like I'm quoting TR, but I'm just trying to think like him.) 5. And this slot would be reserved for the perennial bargain bin street free agent. The "gamble" or reclamation project made by the front office that we see every year, or more appropriately, the "innings eater" with a 4.54 career ERA who just might thrive in the friendly confines of Target Field. In the past it was Jason Marquis.... Carl Pavano (when they re-signed him).... Livian Hernandez... R.A. Dickey (yes, this 2012 Cy Young winner was on the Twins once, and signed as a reclamation project from Seattle).... Ramon Ortiz... and, let us not forget...Sidney Ponson. Unfortunately, as we all know (and I just realized yet again as I typed that list), this is "The Twins Way" and someone in this category WILL be signed before spring training begins. So who will be this year's lucky winner for the #5 spot? Will it be the devil you know -- someone who has been on the Twins before, like Kevin Slowey (yes, the Indians released him and he's out there), Carl Pavano (who is now fully recovered and willing to sign a "prove it" incentive-laden deal), Francisco Liriano (who despite his inconsistency, COULD at times be very good)? Or will it be the devil you don't know, like Joe Saunders, or Jeremy Guthrie (who just re-signed with KC), or Shaun Marcum, or Joe Blanton, or Roy Oswalt, or ???? But my point is made. The Twins can easily (I'm afraid) justify going into 2013 with a rotation that looks pretty close to what you see above. I suspect they will make a trade -- no, I HOPE they will make a trade -- and bring in a quality starter in exchange for one of their Outfielders or Justin Morneau, but I think TR tends to overvalue his trade pieces. So even if he makes that trade, I wouldn't be surprised if he trades one of his major pieces for a bunch of prospects (aka a magic bag of beans) that aren't Major League ready with the hope that he can get by for another year with the 5-man rotation noted above while those prospects gain some seasoning in AAA until they're ready in 2014. I'm rambling at this point. I'll stop. But I felt the need to vent a little frustration at the lack of activity and at the continued following of "The Twins Way" when it comes to filling in holes with unproven gambles or retreads. I know that I should have hope. And I still do. And I hope that I'm proven wrong. I really do. Maybe 2013 will have a rotation of Scott Diamond and four shiny new pitchers who will stay healthy and lead the charge back to playoff contention. We'll see!

In addition to Roenicke, they've claimed weak-hitting infielder Thomas Field, also from the Rockies: The Twins claimed reliever Josh Roenicke and infielder Thomas Field off of waivers from the Rockies, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (Twitter links). Neither player has become arbitration eligible yet.Roenicke made 63 relief appearances for the Rockies this past season, completing 88 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old posted a career-best 3.25 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 50.2% ground ball rate with Colorado. His average fastball checks in at 92.3 mph and he generated swinging strikes with 8.8% of his offerings. Field, 25, appeared in two games with the Rockies this past season. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a .246/.315/.400 batting line in 494 plate appearances as the team's primary shortstop. Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#uhvK4fQoIoSdt11a.99

According to Darren "Doogie" Wolfson (sports guy for 5 Eyewitness News) in his "The Scoops" article today on 1500ESPN.com, the Twins were in on Ervin Santana up until the last minute. From the article: Additional notes from the article: • It sounds like the Twins will non-tender Casilla if they have to offer him arbitration. • The Twins have inquired about pitcher Randy Messenger who is pitching in Japan, supposedly through next year. With Hanshin last year, he went 10-11 in 196.2 IP in 2012 with 166 strikeouts, 65 walks and a 2.52 ERA. The link to the full article is here: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/The_Scoops_Desperate_for_pitching_Twins_made_a_run_at_Ervin_Santana110212

If they bring up Brunansky or Gene Glynn (AAA Manager), or bring back Molitor full-time as a bench coach, my guess would be that this new person would be viewed as the eventual replacement for Gardenhire. If the team is doing poorly again next year, and it's the last year of Gardenhire's contract, and you want to increase flagging ticket sales, you bring in someone with name recognition (Bruno or Molitor) to generate excitement or promote someone with a proven record of success (Glynn). If they don't fire Gardy mid-season next year, he might instead make a graceful "retirement" (ala Tom Kelly) at the end of 2013. And the new manager will already be on the team, having assessed the roster for a full season.

What happened to Sean Burroughs? I thought he was the veteran/backup 3B option. Did the Twins give up on him completely?

Remember that if Carroll gets 401 PA's next season he has a PLAYER option for 2014 when he will be 40 years old. Would you still rather have Carroll? Yes. If I'm the Twins I'm not thinking about $2 million for Carroll in 2014, I'm trying to put my best players out there. I really don't want Carroll there either, but I'd rather give him 401 PAs next year than give Florimon 401 PAs, option or not. If Florimon gets 401 at bats next year... It will mean that he got better at some things and is doing a job. Therefore no problem... If he continues to struggle... He won't see 401 at bats in 2013. If Carroll gets 401 at bats next year... It will mean that Florimon and Escobar and Dozier or a new MI didnt get the job done and we needed Carroll to hold down the fort. Im hoping Carroll doesn't get 401 at bats for that reason. There you go. Are you confident that the Twins will have all of 2B, shortstop, and 3B locked down for an entire season next year? It hasn't happened recently. And look at the guys you named - I'd even add Plouffe to the list - how many do you think will be able to stick without needing to be replaced? Like I said before, it looks to me like Carroll will get enough PAs anyway. I am not confident at all. I think Plouffe is the guy at third and I dont believe the Twins will be looking for a 3B. The hot streak he had this year was stunning. Once you display a streak like that... the Twins would be foolish to not keep him in place in case he does it again. Go ahead and write Plouffes name down and etch it in stone. SS and 2B are huge question marks and so is the overall depth. The Twins have multiple holes to plug and itll be hard tp plug them all... I don't expect a big hitting SS or 2b to show up. Im not going to worry about .240 or .210 at the plate. The difference will mean very little. I'm gonna try and be reasonable and say simply... Give me someone who can gobble up the routine stuff and make the near impossible play every once in awhile. Florimon looks like he could be that guy but he has to nail down the routine stuff or he won't be given the chance to make the big play. He will lose the job to Escobar or Dozier or Carroll. Drew is not the answer. Please God no... Pitching is the priority so let's surround those pitchers with players who can get the ball up the middle. Florimon has done nothing to prove he is the long term answer so far... He's just shown flashes of ability that suggest he could be at the very least... A guy who will support the pitching and the pitching will need all the support it can get. Its all about opportunity and Florimon is getting his right now. It's up to him to grab it. He may not. Let's see... Too soon to say right now. I'm specifically replying to this quote: "Im not going to worry about .240 or .210 at the plate. The difference will mean very little. I'm gonna try and be reasonable and say simply... Give me someone who can gobble up the routine stuff and make the near impossible play every once in awhile." Did you just EXACTLY describe Nick Punto, who everyone wanted gone for years? He hit below Mendoza, handled the routine plays, and occasionally made the impossible. Those are some pretty low expectations for a new Twins starting SS, huh?

I'll leave the pitching discussion to you guys for now... In the OF, I think Span is shut down for the season. He might make a token appearrance right before the end, just to show that he's healthy, so he can be used as trade bait in the off-season for starting pitching. I don't think that Morneau is going to be traded to make room for Parmalee, like everyone seems to assume. I think the Parmalee experiment right now in RF is what TR hopes to make the permanent solution, then Span is the one he really wants to trade. Revere moves to CF. Mastroianni (sp?) is the 4th OF next year. And that's how it stays, with Willingham in LF. I do, however, think that Morneau will be traded next season near the trade deadline, or allowed to leave at the end of 2013 for draft pick compensation. At that point, Mauer and Doumit and Parmalee will take turns rotating between 1B, RF, & Catcher (except Parmalee at the latter position, obviously). It's the ideal platoon scenario for TR, to save Mauer's knees and give everybody at-bats and playing time.

How come nobody ever advocates that the Twins re-sign Liriano at the end of the season, assuming that the White Sox don't sign him to an extension? Unless Frankie goes lights out (and he hasn't so far) in the next month, he ought to be available for under $10M/yr and be serviceable rotation filler. If the Twins couldn't get much back in trade for him due to lack of interest at the trade deadline, surely there won't be much of a market for him in free agency either for the Twins to compete against. And you know how they like to re-sign the known quantities (ironically, in Liriano's case, being his inconsistency) over going after another team's unknown (to them) players.