RodneyKline

Funny...so many of us have been complaining that Mauer should be #2 and not 3rd for this exact reason but we are slammed for being Mauer haters. I actually think he should be a lead off hitter because he normally gets on base, he can't hit into a double play in his first at bat as he likes to do a lot and he is not that slow to clog up the bases.

What Ryan has failed on is that he has let all the Twins good players leave to star on other teams and play in the All Star game with another teams hat on. Teams that are perennial contenders like the Braves make sure to have a great farm system and to keep their good players until they have a better player to take their place. They don't let their good players leave and hope that a prospect might take over like Ryan did with CF last year for example.

Replace the horrible GM and then let the new aggressive GM bring in his manager. It is not Gardenhires fault. This team has been horrible the last three years. Terry Ryan is too cheap to ever build a winner again in this modern game. He is old school and baseball has passed him up. Successful franchises do not let their entire team go to be all stars at other teams. He actually felt he had a competitive team this year. That alone should take his job away!

I would not trade Buxton because I think he is the real deal but I think Sano will not live up to his hype. He has a lot of raw power but will strike out a ton and not hit for average. The highest odds are that he will be more like Adam Dunn than Miguel Cabrera in my opinion. I think you could get a huge ransom for Sano.

In the land of blind men, the one eyed man is King. Dozier is not a good hitter. He is a .240 hitter with a little power. He is OK if we don't have another replacement but Rosario could be a great hitter that can play second just as well. The Twins have the least errors in baseball and one of the best defensive teams in MLB this year. They are also a last place team. Defense is a nice thing to have but if the players can't hit, the defense will not win.

It is not Gardenhire's fault because he was not given good players and he didn't decide to spend only $70m on payroll. Injuries were not that big of an issue this year like it was last year. The failure is 100% on the GM. The team that was sold to us as competitive was a 90 loss team all along and almost all of us knew that. Shame on the fans for buying so many tickets to see this fraud.

...and how about making him the teams full time third baseman. He is very athletic and I think he would be great at third. Very agile and an amazing arm. It would be such a waste to put him at 1B. Sign Morneau back and put Mauer at a more valuable position. 1B is for a big power hitter or an aging guy that can't contribute anywhere else on the field. Play him there regularly and by mid season he is a gold glover over there. Plus make him the starting Quarterback for the Vikes!

Rosario seems more ready than Sano but both are not ready for September call ups.

Sano is not ready yet. He can't hit .250 at AA but he is ready for the majors? I don't think so. Hicks hit .280 at AA last season. Prediction: Byron Buxton is the next Rookie of the Year for the Twins.

What people just do not understand when people like me complain about him making $23m is that it is not the $23m that is the issue. There is no question he is worth $23m to a team that has him the 3rd or 4th highest paid player on the team. The problem comes when 25% of your team's payroll is tied up on a singles hitter that cannot hit a 3 run homer even with 2 men on base! He is a great player like Rod Carew or Ichiro were to their teams but players like this can't lead a team to the World Series unless they are a supporting cast member and not the only attraction. Miguel Cabrera or Kirby Puckett type players can throw their team on their backs and lead them. Joe can't do it except for his MVP year at the Metrodome where he had 28 HRs after missing all of April. No one would ever complain if he kept those numbers going.

One of two guys that can hit on this team and people want to dump him. So crazy! Sign him to a three year deal and build around the M&M boys with the prospects in the wings. Normally, 2 or 3 of these prospects will end up being the real deal but everyone seems to forget this and they have everyone being MVPs in 2015. Plus none of the prospects are going to play 1B.

I said this was a bad trade even if it was only Bartlett for Young. When do you ever trade a proven Shortstop who can hit .300 for a corner outfielder. How tough is it to find a corner outfielder? Maybe Bonds fully juiced in his prime...maybe but not generally a smart move. Then you add in the loss of one of two pitchers that had the ability to be a #1 or #2 starter that the team still needs all these years later (Liriano is the other BTW). Besides if the team really needed an outfielder then sign Hunter to an extension. He would have signed for half of what he eventually signed for with the Angels. Another cheapskate move that we have become too familiar with in Minnesota. Also short sighted. Having Hunter finish out his career as a Twin would have eventually landed a statue of him climbing the wall to rob Bonds or someone else next to Herbie's! He would be at least as popular as every other player with a statue. OK maybe not Harmon...

OK, I'll say it then...We should have kept Liriano. He had more swing and misses than any other starter in MLB last year. Shame on our coaching staff (and the White Sox too) for not figuring how to have a guy with his stuff help the team somehow. I would rather see guys like Liriano and Deduno pitch that can miss bats than all of these hit to contact guys. Boring!

I said it when the didn't sign Liriano and I say it again. Any team that can not get a pitcher like Liriano, that missed more bats in 2012 than any other MLB pitcher, has a horrible coaching staff. I would love to see a rotation full of Liriano, Deduno and even Baker that don't pitch to contact. They make the games they are in exciting ay least.

We need to be realistic. No way is Duensing = Thornton. Actually 2X Duensing < Thornton