RodneyKline

There are so many more arm and shoulder injuries since they started babying pitchers with this arbitrary 100 pitch limit and now the 140 inning limit on young guys. Every pitcher is different so it is so silly to say 100 is this magical number. They never even consider how many warm up pitches they throw but when they throw 100 pitches they automatically have to be pulled. It is so silly! They should be starting pitchers out with less pitches at the beginning of the season but they should be getting stronger as the build up their arm strength. Some guys might only be able to throw 80 pitches or less and some guys could easily throw 120 or more. They should be evaluating each pitcher every start without needing to know the number of pitches if they are a good pitching coach. Why are the injuries so much higher than when we were kids if this pitch count is so good?

Doesn't all this talk of "the Gibson era" really just show how desperate we are for better starters? Is he really going to be the ace that this team has been lacking since Johan went to New York or is he going to be a middle of the rotation guy at best. He would not get this much attention if he was in any other system would he? Price, Strasburg, Verlander, Grienke etc are the type of dominating pitchers that other teams get excited about when they get their first call up. I hope he is in their class but I have a feeling that he is not that dominating starter that we need at the top of the rotation. I am just really tired of not having a real #1 or #2 starter and I don't see Gibson or anyone else in our system that can fill those empty spots. I really hope I am wrong!

I would rather see Buxton. That kid is a future superstar. There are a lot of things that have to go right for Sano. Can he play defense? Will he strike out too much? Can he hit Major league pitching? Can he hit the breaking balls that Arcia is also having trouble with? Buxton's questions are when will he be old enough for them to let him come up north and that's about it. I would love for them to break all their rules and let him play up here now. We need a CFer and it will not hurt him one bit. Let him play until Hicks comes back. I know he has to be on the 40 and the 25 but that's ok too. I believe this kid is a future superstar. I hope Sano is too but if I had to bet...

I really hope you are right but I see Parmalee getting put on waivers next year and Hicks getting replaced by Buxton. Florimon is the only nice surprise of the young kids. I hope this puts things into perspective for everyone who has projected all the minor leaguers as future major league stars. Parmalee lit up the minors! Buxton is the one guy that I am very confident with for some reason. Sano scares me for some reason but he could be good. The guy TR traded Span for is all hype and will not amount to much in my opinion. The Revere trade was better. Just my $.02

Really? I say it is pretty much three horrible teams in a row. Terrible job by Terry Ryan! I will give him credit for Correia being better than I thought he would be but all other decisions were bad ones so far.

He is one of two good hitters we have. There is no option not to sign him for at least next year and hopefully more.

Terry Ryan not even trying to put a competitive team on the field is the problem. The only thing I blame Gardy for is allowing them to not give him a major league competitive team. This team doesn't need that much to be competitive. A real number 1 starter, a proven middle infielder and a CFer/leadoff hitter. He left about $40 million in potential payroll in the bank, so in my view, he never even tried when he has Mauer and Morneau in their prime. Two MVPs in their prime. Most teams push on the accelerator when they have two former MVP/Cy Young players in their prime but not Terry the cheapskate. I do not blame the Pohlad's. Everything I have seen, the Pohlad's will spend money if sold that they will have a winning team. They just don't want to spend money and lose and I don't blame them. Billy Smith was clueless but you have to hand it to him that he pushed the Pohlad's to spend $115m in 2010. We need a GM with TRs baseball IQ and BSs aggressiveness. He made horrible trades and horrible decisions but at least he was trying to win. TR seems to just want to spend the least amount per win.

I was thrilled for him and his big day but he better finish out the year over .250 as a hitter or he is not going to make it here with Byron Buxton ready next year. Buxton is way ahead of Hicks so far. We have to realize that Hicks only had one minor league season that was above average until he had that great spring training. Hicks is also one guy that we shouldn't look at his OB% so far this year. That is a huge negative as far as I see because he has been afraid to swing for most of the year. I really hope he turns it around but I am super excited to see what Buxton can do also. I think Buxton is the real deal. Not that Hicks can't be great also but Buxton looks really special. Like MVP special. If Hicks gets above .250 this season then I will be excited about him too. We need three outfield spots filled the last time I checked so I really hope Hicks is great too. He sure is exciting when he does do great like he did tonight.

You are seeing something I am not seeing. Are you sure that it is not wishful thinking?

His walks are not an encouraging thing. He is afraid up there at the plate and that is resulting in some walks. He does not seem to have a plan besides trying not to fail. I hope I am wrong but this is not a slump. It is a complete lack of confidence. They think they are helping him but the longer they do this to him, the harder it will be to get his confidence back in the minors. I think he could use going back to AA and see more fastballs until he wants to hit every one that is thrown. Right now even a fastball down the pipe does not look appetizing to him.

He is not in a slump. He is overmatched and has lost his confidence. He has no plan up at the plate. He needs to go to AAA to get his head together and build some confidence back. He can't even hit a fast ball any longer. He will eventually be a good hitter if they get him out of there and let him get his confidence back before he comes back. This happens to most young players. Span had issues. Carlos Gomez had big issues. It just happened to Ben Revere last year. Revere had to go back down a couple times before he was up to stay.

The bottom line is that the Twins need an ace for their staff now and not a pipe dream of a prospect that might get there. Grienke is gone but we still need a leader bad. A guy that can bring up the level of the whole staff and the whole team. We are the only team in baseball that does not have a starting pitcher that would be above a #4 or 5 starter on any other MLB team. Try to think of a team that does not have a #1 or #2 caliber starter on their staff. The Twins might be the only team outside of Houston that has this bad of a starting staff. The Twins are one ace away from contending in my opinion. That is all I ask of the people that demanded a stadium. I just want to have a chance every year. To believe that if everything goes our way, we could win the division at least.

Doesn't Mauer batting second feel so much better? If you are like me, it makes the frustration I have that he does not drive the ball to RF almost completely go away. I now think of him as a Rod Carew type #2 hitter and not an Albert Pulhols or Miguel Cabrera type hitter that can carry the team on his back. I could never understand why Gardy wanted him in the #3 slot. Now I can finally appreciate him for who he is and not be annoyed that he is not the hitter he was the year before he signed his big contract (28 HRs). Somewhat off the subject, Why do opposing managers, not do a reverse shift on Mauer? They should play him like a slow pitch softball team with a short fielder in LF. I guess the problem is what position do you leave open. When he does pull the ball, it is usually a ground ball to second for a tailor made double play. No RFer would be scary but that is probably the place he never hits the ball. If he gets the ball up in the air to right, it is a HR. Maybe I am not ready to be a MLB manager...

Doesn't Mauer batting second feel so much better? If you are like me, it makes the frustration I have that he does not drive the ball to RF almost completely go away. I now think of him as a Rod Carew type #2 hitter and not an Albert Pulhols or Miguel Cabrera type hitter that can carry the team on his back. I could never understand why Gardy wanted him in the #3 slot. Now I can finally appreciate him for who he is and not be annoyed that he is not the hitter he was the year before he signed his big contract (28 HRs). Somewhat off the subject, Why do opposing managers, not do a reverse shift on Mauer? They should play him like a slow pitch softball team with a short fielder in LF. I guess the problem is what position do you leave open. When he does pull the ball, it is usually a ground ball to second for a tailor made double play. No RFer would be scary but that is probably the place he never hits the ball. If he gets the ball up in the air to right, it is a HR. Maybe I am not ready to be a MLB manager...

I agree that the farm system looks better and Terry Ryan did a nice job on that but I don't get why everyone thinks that 2015 and beyond looks so great. These are still long shot prospects and TR has proven that he is too cheap to fill in the gaps with good free agents and/or pay to keep the young guys that do beat the odds. Until TR realizes that you get what you pay for and stops the 100% dumpster dive strategy, the team will not be competitive again.

Why wouldn't the Twins sign him? He loved playing here and he is not looking to make a bunch f money. Have him DH when he can and PH in the other games. We need something to entertain us besides this 90 loss team that Terry Ryan has built for us again.

That was very funny. All these baseball boards are usually made up of 49.99% people who played less baseball then you, 49.99% posers who never played at any advanced level but say they have and maybe one guy that played above high school who would never bother posting, because he knows the rest of us are tools... so you are OK to post away!!! Funny side story...I coached a lot of Little League and I always had Dads that told me that they played pro or college ball so I would say "Oh that's great Mr Jeter, I will definitely want you out on the field to help me". I would then roll a ball to them and immediately see that they never even played t-ball. Hahaha!!! They played a few years of beer ball and they think that they can carry off that lie. So funny... It ranks right up there with when big stupid meatheads who may or may not have been in the Navy or the Army for a couple years, says "oh yeah, I was a Navy Seal (or Army Ranger)". I almost burst out laughing because I know that they don't want big physical guys in the elite forces and I know they make those guys commit to 10 years minimum because of the millions they spend training them, so I know immediately that they are lying. The only "muscle" that they are looking for in those guys is the one between their ears. I am not saying that those guys are not in good shape but that is not what they are looking for in potential recruits. They want the brilliant guys. I don't know why I went off the subject of baseball there. Sorry about that...Ever since I had to leave my pro baseball career to join Team six of the Navy Seals and I was tortured by the Viet Cong at the Hanoi Hilton, I go off subject easily like this sometimes...anyway Semper Fi to all my fellow sixers! Uh rah! (That's what we say all the time on team six...wait, I am so embarrassed, that was not in the Navy Seals that we said Semper Fi...we said that when I was the starting shortstop at Miami when I played D1 baseball before I joined the Army Rangers...I mean team six when we shot Obama bin Laden. Semper Fi meant "hey check out those hot cheerleaders". I would have you hit me some ground balls and show you or kill you with one finger but you know all that torture and stuff...

TR is a cheap skate. He will never pay a good player if he can get a deal on an injured or undervalued "deal". Forget about the prospects too because he will let them go as soon as they deserve a big pay check and can leave. Billy Smith was the worst GM in history not named Mchale but he was at least not cheap like TR. No matter what anyone thinks of the over blown player salaries, they are what they are. Terry either needs to evolve or get out of the job. The problem is no longer the Pohlad family. The kids will spend money to have a winner but they will not just spend money to spend money. We need an aggressive GM like Billy Smith with the baseball mind of Terry Ryan to show the Pohlad's what their best return on their investment will be. Side note, am I the only one that was shocked by TR saying that he was looking forward to seeing the kid we traded Span for from the Nationals A level affiliate? He said that he made the deal based on what the scouts told him and did not look at any film or see him pitch live. He has to realize how rare a quality proven Major League CFer is that can leadoff. I thought the value of TR is that he can see minor league talent and see who the best bets are. If we just take guys based on where Baseball America or some scout ranks them, then I can do his job. If we have to put up with his cheapness, I was hoping that he at least could find us some diamonds in the rough like the trade that got him Nathan, Bonzer and Liriano for Priezinski. I am starting to feel that he was just lucky on that one and had some scouts tell him to take those guys. These trades that gave away our two best major league CFers (and both #1 draft picks too) on the depth charts for these prospects I would have done a heck of a lot of research on these kids and find tape of them singing in the Kindergarten spring play if I had to before pulling the trigger on this deal. I know this is a seperate point but I am just getting more and more worried that our GM is in way over his head AGAIN!

Anyone who drafts for needs and doesn't take the best player on the board in any sport is making a mistake most of the time. In baseball, where so many draft picks are traded, take years to surface at the mlb level and are far from sure things no matter who you draft, is making a mistake every time! You would be stupid not to take the player you believe has the best odds of being an impact MLB player regardless of the position the pro level needs. Putting more emphasis on the position they play is OK. In other words a SS, LHP starter, CF, or C would be OK to consider over a corner outfielder, corner infielder or a RH relief pitcher for example if they are equal odds to be an impact player but what the team needs in 4 or 5 years will likely change and that player could always be traded for a King's ransom if it turns out that the unlikely result is that you have two superstars at the same position. Just land the superstar. You never know what your team will look like when this player is ready. Just take the best player when everything is considered except for your MLB needs.

Is it only me or are some of these 10 "small market teams" out of place. The Cardinals are a small market team? The Diamondbacks??? Phoenix, (where I am right now), itself has 1.4 million people and the Phoenix metropolitan area has 4.4 million people (the 13th largest in the country) The Brewers and the Orioles were mentioned with the Cards as borderline in this post. The Brewer's make sense as being a small market but the other two???. The Indians are sure not spending like a small market team either. The Reds are small market??? The Twins are not in a small market but Terry Ryan sure acts like they are! Sorry, I couldn't resist! It seems to me that the criteria for being one of the 10 small markets must be messed up for them to come up with this list. It should be calculated over time and not change year to year based on attendance or something. If a team has the population but they can't generate enough excitement to bring out fans, that is their issue and not the competitive landscape. Look at Tampa Bay. They can't draw fans even when they had a super exciting team. They are a small market team but getting an extra draft pick is not going to fix that. Adding draft picks to small market teams is just a really bad idea. They need to do more revenue sharing like the NFL or do more with salary caps like the NBA or come up with a better idea but don't throw 6 supplemental draft picks at a list of 10 teams that may or may not be small market teams and think that they did something. Besides, the Twins were considered so small market by Bud Selig that he made a deal to contract them with the Expos and now we do not even qualify for the bottom 10! He was either a liar then or now right? Or did I miss that the twin cities get a couple million more potential fans move in during the last 10 years or so? Somehow we got to be a mid market team and it definitely wasn't extra draft picks that got us there!

MY BROTHER, I completely agree...wait, I think I just called you a retard/idiot and I didn't mean to! Ha!

Stupid comment Spirit Vodka...If I said this every time I thought it, I would have as many posts as you do. Amazing whenever a putz behind a computer thinks it is interesting to just say someone else's thread is stupid. If you have a more interesting post then post it, if not stop being a faux bully.

What do you mean too big to play 3B? I would put Shaq at third if he could field the position. Who cares how big Sano is! Playing 1B and 3B are pretty much the same skills needed. Give the kid some time to get better at third. There are many examples of kids that were poor defensively at third in the minors and they learn to play great defense (Adrian Beltre for example), but there are no examples of kids that can't hit, learning how to be a great hitter. This kid can hit and he needs to get better defensively. He is only 19, so give him a chance to get better in the field. Having a great hitter that can play third is a much more valuable thing than another guy who can hit but has to play 1B, RF or DH.

I honestly do not understand what Terry Ryan is thinking. I want to support him and his vision but he is doing nothing to help us believe. He has a project at 2B, SS and 3B in the infield and in two of the three outfield positions. He is saying he wants to be competitive but his actions say that he is rebuilding when he has two superstars in their prime. Everything I have been hearing is that Mauer and Morneau are ready to have great years this year and it will be wasted because he missed the opportunity to surround them with a team that can compete. He has a brand new stadium with two MVPs in their prime and he supports them with a third 90+ loss supporting cast! Any other GM that has two MVPs in their prime would be making sure that they surround them with a World Series caliber team but he chooses to cut payroll. If he were to go get a quality short stop or second baseman and an ace to anchor the rotation with the $30 million he is down in payroll vs. the first year at Target field and we are competitive with any team in baseball when Mauer and Morneau have a huge year that I bet they have. What a waste! He didn't even try to land Grienke or any of the top starters and I didn't hear any rumors of him talking to any middle infielders. He has improved the farm system but by the time those players can help, then Mauer will be declining and Morneau will be gone. There is no guarantee that any of these farm hands will be the next Mauer or Morneau or the next ace pitcher and even if they are, he will let them go to another team once the get to their prime and/or not surround them with the talent needed to win. This is just not a smart financial plan in my opinion. He is going to save $30 million or more in payroll and lose three times that in lost revenue at. It will be 30 years or more before they have another new stadium also. He is wasting a huge opportunity to take the Twins to the next level. Having a new stadium and two MVPs is not something that comes around very often and he is blowing it. TR could be a great GM if he could somehow learn to not be such a cheapskate. They will lose so much money this year with a third season in a row where we are the worst team in the AL and it didn't have to be this way. He just needed to think big but I don't think he is capable of thinking big or understanding that you get what you pay for and dumpster diving may net you a couple good surprises but we need about six miracles (no pun intended) to happen to not be in last place again.

All I expect for buying them a new stadium is for them to put a team on the field that looks like it can win the division every year. So to answer the question someone threw out there, yes I would be happy if I was a fan of the Angels in 2012. Angel management did everything they could (actually way more than they needed to) to field a winner. TR is not even trying to field a winner because he is way too cheap. I do not blame the Pohlads because unless they are saying things behind the scenes that they are not saying in public, I believe that they will pay what it takes to field a winner. They are just not being asked to do it since Billy Smith asked them to go to $115m in 2010. They did it without hesitation.