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Alex Boxwell

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Blog Entries posted by Alex Boxwell

  1. Alex Boxwell

    Gopher Preview (Week 3)

    By Alex Boxwell,


    Gophers
    The Gophers are back playing baseball in Minnesota today. The first pitch is at 6 PM on B1G+, and for those of you looking to take in a baseball game in person, they will be at Zigi's house, US Bank stadium.

    The mid-week tilt will be against UW Milwaukee, who comes to town with a 4-2 record. The Panthers are paced offensively by Luke Seidel, who is 6-6 on stolen bases in as many games. He also boasts a .824 OPS as he holds down left field and the leadoff spot for UW Milwaukee.
     
    The Gophers limp into US Bank for their first home game after taking some tough losses to St Louis in Fort Myers last weekend. The Gophers are looking to bounce back with some home cooking against Wisconsin’s only Division-I baseball team by giving the ball to Eden Prairie’s own Ben Shepard. A right-hander that has pitched in a limited role so far this year but has seized his opportunities, and the University of Minnesota Duluth transfer will look to shut down the Panthers.
    On offense, the player I would like to highlight this week as your player to watch is Ike Mezzenga. The younger brother of Ben Mezzenga, a teammate of mine from 2016-2018, Ben was a fantastic leadoff-type bat who had incredible quickness (I did beat him in the 60, I want that on record). (Editor's note: @Alex Boxwell, you are the author, you can put it on the record. I won't research it!)  While Ben was a relatively easy prospect to identify with his bat-to-ball skill and great speed and quickness, Ike has a different journey, making him potentially even more exciting follow than his brother.
     
    Ike did not jump off the page as a high-school prospect, not to mention his senior season was washed due to the COVID pandemic. He bet on himself and attended the nationally-renowned developmental junior college Northern Iowa Area Community College (NIACC). As a freshman at NIACC, Mezzenga saw few opportunities and struggled in his 40 at-bats. However, continuing to develop as a ball player and an athlete, he burst onto the scene as a sophomore and quickly put himself on the radar of four-year schools.
    As a sophomore, he had a three/four/five season, which has become the measure of having an outstanding offensive season. A three/four/five season refers to the slash line of .300/.400/.500 or better. Ike had an impressive .345/.423/.565 season, with 15 home runs in 53 games at NIACC.
    Mezzenga had a long road to becoming a Gopher but has shown that he can adjust to the level early this season, hitting fifth in the order and playing multiple positions while holding a .391/.462/.565 slash line going into play on Wednesday. 
    He is a player I’m excited to follow because there’s no reason for his development to stop now. Limited recruiting interest out of high school, not playing well as a freshman at NIACC, he has shown the most important quality you need as a high-level hitter, and that is when he gets knocked down, he gets back up. 
    Look for Ike to provide some pop in the middle of the Gopher order this season and continue refining his game into being a professional prospect.

    The Gophers will continue to improve throughout this season as this group learns how to succeed at this level of play. They will also be tested this weekend with #7 Vanderbilt and #4 Ole Miss matchups this weekend. Big measuring stick weekend is coming. If you want to play college baseball, it doesn’t get any better than that. If you want to watch some college baseball, head to US Bank Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 
    Go Gophers
  2. Alex Boxwell
    The storied University of Minnesota baseball program is the only sports topic nearer and dearer to my heart than Twins baseball. I’m a Gopher baseball alum from 2015-2018 and had the honor of playing for John Anderson, Rob Fornasiere, Todd Oakes, Pat Casey, and Ty McDevitt. 
    There was some turnover with our pitching coach during my time. If you want a feel for why this program is important, check out some of TO’s story, “Hearts, Guts, Balls.” He was one of the best human beings I have come across in my life, and I was incredibly blessed to know him for the short time he was with us.
    TO's other mantra is displayed on this poker chip he gave each of us. Everywhere I have went in life this has come with me, something I always try and live by.

    Gopher baseball has been knocked down and beaten to its knees in the last few years. It’s the worst it’s ever been in John Anderson’s 40-plus years as head coach. The constant with 14 (Anderson), on paper, appears to be the wins. Suppose you look up his career at Minnesota. In that case, it’s 1,347 wins, 11 Big Ten regular season titles, nine Big Ten tournament championships, 18 NCAA tournament appearances, eight-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, and in 2008 an ABCA Hall of Fame induction.
    With such an impressive resume, it’s easy to say he’s maybe lost his touch or look at the rough 0-4 start to the season and say, “it’s over.” In 2015 and again in 2016, it was the same headlines and storylines- the program is outdated, out of touch, and just flat-out no good anymore. 
    In my freshman season, we put together, at the time, the worst season in 14’s tenure. It felt like the sky was falling, but our steady leader John Anderson righted the ship. We won the Big Ten and made it to a Regional final against Texas A&M and parlayed that into one of the most successful, three-year stretches in program history.
    The naked eye says rock-solid winning seasons, year after year, are the legacy of this program. It’s not. What Gopher baseball is and has always been under the tenure of John Anderson is resiliant. This program has been through it all in his legendary tenure, on and off the field. The constant is the battle-tested Iron Ranger has always led the Gophers to the other side of difficult times.
     
    Judging this 2023 team on one tough weekend after coming out of their igloos to play top 15 competition is less than fair. The Gophers are running out a talented lineup worth a watch this weekend as they head down to Fort Myers to play Saint Louis on Friday and Saturday at 1:00 PM and Noon on Sunday.
    A player to watch is Brett Bateman. He’s my favorite bat we have had since Terrin Vavra. He has a similar left-handed bat that walks more than he strikes out and runs well, with 47 stolen bases between Minnesota and the Wilmar Stingers in 2022. Bateman patrols centerfield well but profiles better as a left fielder in pro ball. With elite bat-to-ball skills and excellent foot speed, he’s a pleasure to watch in the leadoff spot.

    With much of the same leadership, John Anderson and Pat Casey will get this going in the right direction. In 2018, we lost a close ball game to Joey Bart’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to start the year, swept Kennesaw State in a doubleheader with one game being a barn burner, and then lost to Georgia State. 
    We started 2-2, easily could have been 1-4 to start the year, and we hosted and won a Regional and then lost to the National Champion Oregon State Beavers in a Super Regional. Thankfully, we didn’t punt on the season after four baseball games. I know 2023 started on a rough note for my Gophers, but they are worth a watch online or if you’re lucky enough to be down at Spring Training. They have talented players and a coaching staff that does WAY more than win ball games.

     
    Go Gophers!
  3. Alex Boxwell
    A major pitfall of human beings is eulogizing people once they are gone. The nicest comments you’ll ever hear about another person is when they are, sadly, no longer with us. Isn’t that depressing? We can’t appreciate people while they are here or to quote The Office “I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them”. As Twins fans we bring this unfortunate reflex to our fanhood aggressively and without question. Some examples Joe Mauer, our current Front Office, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa… we’ve done it to them all. 
    The fanbase’s criticism of the front office is natural. We were supposed to be good last year, blew it, and now we’ve done little to rectify the depth issues. However, I’d like to open the hood on the front offices moves a bit more. Remember where we’ve come from Twins fans, and we will love this front office when they are gone…
    Rather than acquiring contracts like Ricky Nolasco or Nathan Eovaldi, this front office has turned towards the trade market rather than bending the knee to an overpriced pitching market. They have acquired Kenta Maeda who when we last saw in a full season, granted it was 2020, was receiving Cy Young votes in a Twins uniform. We traded away Nelson Cruz for Joe Ryan and rather than pay Berrios we shipped him off for (at the time) a fantastic haul. Berrios is on the verge of losing a spot in that Blue Jays rotation don’t forget. All these arms, Chris Paddock included, would have cost 15-20 Million annually on the open market. That’s just the fact of the free agent pitching climate. 
    I understand that the dollar signs point to a lack of effort but don’t lose sight of where we have come from. The arms we have brought in are good and have saved the organization hundreds of millions of dollars rather than getting equivalent arms in free agency. This year is no different. We are clearly close to being legit contenders and we want to lose sight of the process and chase the finish line by blowing money on pitchers that make no sense. Stay the course, something is coming, we’ve made creative moves every off-season and I don’t see why this year will be any different.
    Don’t forget where we have come from, appreciate what we have, be hopeful for the future. If you don’t like it, we can go back to getting guys like Adam Everette at shortstop, trading Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps and getting guys like Mike Pelfrey to hold down the rotation. None of them are bad players but we saw how moves like that didn’t move the needle or were way too short-sighted. We will miss them when they are gone.
    The pinnacle of we will love you when you’re gone is Joe Mauer. Besides with Kirk Cousins this year, I’ve never seen the average fan swing so wildly with their opinion on a player. I get it was an emotional deal seeing Mauer regress, he was and is still OUR guy. Minnesota born and raised, three batting titles, MVP, Gold Glove catcher, he was OUR guy. Battered with injury he came out from behind the dish and Joe Mauer was the target of everyone’s frustration because his body couldn’t do what it used to. He was still a productive player, and the contract was not bad enough to keep the old regime from trying to acquire and lock up talent. We as a fan base hated him for it anyways.
    Almost as if we lifted a curse, as Mauer strapped on the gear one last time in his last game it was like the angst of the Minnesota Twins fan evaporated into thin air. An outpouring of love and pounding the table for first ballot hall of fame induction. It is some of the strangest behavior I have ever seen. Even when he was wining batting titles, it was- “he should hit more home runs". “he doesn’t catch enough”, “he never swings at the first pitch”. Now that we’ll never see him play again, we all have taken a running leap back onto the band wagon and for no reason other than we will love you when you’re gone...
    I do not think the front office or any of the players are perfect as players, executives, or people. I just firmly believe they can do better and will do better. We can also do better as fans and people. Take a step back and appreciate what you have in front of you as much as you can. Whether it’s Buxton patrolling centerfield, the front office making a trade for a controllable starting pitcher, or if it’s someone or something in your everyday life. Love people while they are here, not when they are gone. What makes us great as a community is we get to choose.
     Go Twins, love you all.
  4. Alex Boxwell

    My Way, The Highway, and Breakfast.

    By Alex Boxwell,


    Baseball, Analytics, Twins
    Anyone that’s been around baseball recently has heard some variation of “Old School” vs. “New School” baseball. It’s like asking someone to pick between bacon or sausage. Both are good, and you can like one more than the other, but you don’t have to hate someone or the meat over it. Makes no sense. The difference is people identify baseball as a part of who they are and baseball isn’t high in cholesterol.
    The “old” vs. the “new” is an incredibly broad generalization that has split baseball fans, coaches, and even players almost directly down the middle. Whether it’s the application of analytics, showing excess emotion on the field, how to swing, how to throw, throwing at guys, and the (ever-present) how you wear your uniform. The issue with all these things is not one act or another but the application of each “school”. Neither camp, believe it or not, is rooted in evil.
    Social media has taken these arguments on play styles into everyone’s living room. I have coached baseball and specifically hitters at the travel ball, high school, and collegiate levels. You best bring your boxing gloves if you want to talk about teaching a kid how to hit. If you spend a minute on Twitter, you’ll come across one grey-haired dude or another speaking in absolutes saying swing up (new school) or swing down (old school). The fact of the matter is they are both right and they are both wrong.
    As a baseball community, we have regressed into a kindergarten level of thinking where everything is so “black and white”. I’m not sure if it’s laziness or an odd compulsion to never change because “this worked back in my day”. Regardless of the topic, we do each other a great disservice by not taking the time to evaluate things on an individual basis. We want to generalize and then slide something to the left or right, alienating a huge portion of our community that needs us to do better.
    Baseball is so beautiful because so much is based on feel and rhythm. For so many great players the game is almost a dance. The game moves slower and it’s such a pleasure to watch. Many guys I have played with fall into this category and think “I need to swing down and be quick”. This is not the result you get at the end but it’s about the feel. If someone pinned these guys in a corner and told them they had to swing uphill or else they’re wrong… you may have been deprived of some of the better talents the game has ever seen. Some examples of “swing down” guys are Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Joe Mauer, and Mike Trout. Nice group of “idiots” that didn’t know how to hit right?
    On the other hand, there is a more technical way to teach baseball. There are so many players that have revamped their swings to find more power and reach new potential by elevating the ball more. The biomechanical truth of the swing is that elite hitters have a slight uphill swing, that is a fact. To match the plane of the pitch and open your timing window as a hitter, you must have that slight uphill path. Some people get sensitive about how to achieve this. Some great hitters I’ve heard speak from this more literal approach to hitting are- Ted Williams, J.D. Martinez, Aaron Judge, and Joey Votto. Another phenomenal group of “dummies”.
    The fact of the matter is always application. They are both right and wrong equally. You must approach the individual and not be lazy. The same goes for throwing at someone. If someone goes spike up on your star shortstop and that guy gets a fastball off the butt cheek- that’s even Steven. Brush it off and get back to the game (now if that pitch creeps up by the shoulders we start to have problems).
    When it comes to players “pimping” homers or pitchers pounding their chests, that’s a simple application of the golden rule- don’t do it if you don’t want someone to do it back. It’s a part of the game that makes it great. If everyone played like robots then it would look like no one cares and if no one cares about winning or their performance, then the World Series wouldn’t matter. No one would watch. If something is too over the top guys look like idiots anyways, isn’t that punishment enough? If someone hits a homer and slides into home plate, they’re going to get eaten alive in the clubhouse. A lot of these things police themselves but we turn them into stories because we don’t see what happens behind closed doors.
    The duality of baseball is just another thing that makes the game so unique and so available for everyone. We need to leave sweeping generalizations at the door for this game to reach its potential and its audience. We need electric players like Fernando Tatis Jr. just as much as we need players like Paul Goldschmidt. Both are fantastic talents but some might be more reserved with their emotions on the field, most of the time you get more consistent performance from those who are consistent with their emotions.
    Old School vs. New School came into play a ton with the Minnesota Twins last year. Many argued that the decisions came from an iPad and perhaps they did. I truly don’t know or care. What I do know is that the two times through the order cap on Archer and Bundy spoiled a postseason trip. Our bullpen was good in the second half. Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan had more stress put on them than Bartolo Colon’s belt buckle. The best-case scenario this year was five innings from Archer and Bundy, then cashing the pen. What happens to your horses at the top? If they are less than great, they give the ball to a worn-out bullpen. High-end starting pitchers love that...
    The statistics don’t lie, the back of the rotation stunk the third time through the order, and that's ok but you must build a pitching staff to match. Either you have swing guys in the bullpen who are available for two-three good innings, or you have to have starting pitchers you trust to go three times through the lineup. We saw the current build of the pitching staff wasn’t sustainable for 162 and we paid for it by coughing up a division crown in the second half.
    Analytics don’t lie or tell truths; they are data points and you’re a fool if you don’t look at the data available to you. What seems to be the disconnect is applying these numbers and the forward-thinking to building the roster. We saw that disconnect with the Twins staff last year, you get a jumbled mess and everyone is mad at everyone. To have a great baseball team you need old school and new school. They both are good when applied properly, so you don’t have to pick sides. When someone asks, “bacon or sausage?” you just say yes.
  5. Alex Boxwell
    Alright, Twins fans... time to put your money where your mouth is. If it's all about spending money, if it's all about pushing the budget where it "should be", if it's all about signing a pitcher, once he receives his imminent release, it's time to sign Trevor Bauer.
    You're sick and tired of the low-risk pitching signings with no ceiling? Here ya go. An arm with ace-type stuff, a wild amount of baggage, and every player I know has hated him more than getting leftover concessions for the post-game spread. 
    On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that an arbitrator reduced the suspension of Trevor Bauer, which has placed the Dodgers in an uncomfortable position that will force their hand sooner rather than later; likely his release. The Dodgers have until January 6th to add him to the 40-man roster, trade him or release him. Happy Holidays to the Dodgers front office... They have been tight-lipped on his future likely in hopes of acquiring a piece in a trade for Bauer. 
    We have seen this play out in a similar fashion in the NFL with the more than cringe-worthy Deshaun Watson scenario. Media backlash and less than stellar performance from a player with layers of rust. I wanted nothing to do with Trevor Bauer before the suspension and I want even less to do with him and his vlog now.
    For all our fans slamming the table for we need pitching or we need an ace... here's your opportunity, do you really just want pitching that bad? Or does it actually matter where the money goes and who walks into the clubhouse? As a lifelong Twins fan, if it takes bringing in a guy like this, I'd rather not win and honestly, we'd be better off with less talent and a better clubhouse. We live in a world where everything has turned into WWE. It doesn't matter how you make people feel anymore, you're just rewarded for making people feel something.
    In my experience playing with guys who have been 1st round picks, played in The Show, or never saw the field in college, one of my favorite things about baseball players is when people ask- "What was playing with 'insert players name' like?" The first thing people say is either "Great dude" or "Eh... kinda sucks to be around". People that didn't play always want to know how good people were and then ballplayers tell you what kind of guy they are. It's fascinating. For whatever reason, when you're in the clubhouse with guys it's almost subconscious, your first instinct is 'How does this person make you feel?' and I love that about baseball.
    Maybe it's my Holiday spirit showing through but I want to see us get back to being remembered for the right reasons. Hold a door open for someone, tell someone you love them, and brush the snow off your neighbor's car. These are the things that make humans great. We can consciously make decisions for the better and we can choose to do right. I had the honor of playing for the winningest coach in Big Ten history, and an even better human being than a coach- John Anderson (go gophers). The quote he beat into us that will stick with me forever- "No one will remember your batting average, your ERA, or how many awards you won. Your teammates will remember how you made them feel and the relationships you built here." Let's take a step back from the "notice me" culture we have built and get back to putting others before ourselves.
    This winter, be a good person and say no to Trevor Bauer. He can make $10,000 a month playing in Mexico, that's still a nice living.
     
     
  6. Alex Boxwell
    To say Joey Gallo was bad last year would be like saying a turd isn't particularly tasty... it hardly describes the full truth. He hit .160 with 19 homers and a .638 OPS. Not to mention the 163 punch-outs in 410 plate appearances, that's just shy of a 40% strike-out rate. Absurd. His defense took a step back as well last year but inconsistent playing time can do that to an outfielder in terms of in-game jumps. On the surface, this sign makes little to no sense with the roster in its current state and if you don't believe in Joey Gallo as a player, the fact that he could improve, and if deployed properly that he is a productive player. HOWEVER, I would now like to present to you the Max Kepler situation
    I love Max Kepler, as a young player I thought he was a candidate to grow into a player to hit .275-.300, threaten 30 jacks a year and play very good defense. You can't use a scouting report from 2014 to evaluate your talent, you can't think emotionally as a front office. You have to call a spade a spade. Max Kepler has had a combined OPS of .692 over the last two seasons (936 plate appearances) that's below the league average even for last year in a historically terrible year for offense (in '21 league average was .728). OPS is the easiest way to see how good a hitter is, if you want one statistic to rule them all... that is it. Kepler does not lift the ball well and that is fine but it has seriously limited his offensive ceiling and disbanding the shift is not going to be the sole reason to raise his batting average, he flat-out has to play better. The bottom line is he is a player that had an outlier season and has yet to improve in 8 seasons. 
    Between Gallo and Kepler if you look at OPS, advantage Gallo. Even with Kepler having a clunker season last year Gallo was not far behind (.638 vs .666). I get Gallo strikes out way more than anyone in the world at the pro level but he could be a great fit. A lineup can only suffer so many Ks before it becomes wildly unproductive and frustrating regardless of OPS or whatever positive statistic they can provide. It's also a one-year deal, if the guy stinks they aren't going to play him there is hardly any risk. The people that say 'Wallner could do what Gallo does', it's a fair point but do you honestly think the scouting department didn't have that conversation? They clearly grade Gallo as a better player at this moment and that's fine. It's one year and Wallner could win the job and Gallo can ride pine all year, we are not married to him in any way shape, or form.
    All this being said, with the addition of Gallo I become very hesitant to trade Arraez. With a guy like Gallo, the protection you need in the lineup for him is a player like Arraez. Strikeouts are bad, I hate seeing a guy punch out with less than two outs and a guy on 3rd more than anyone. I truly believe a lineup has a breaking point for how many strikeouts it can take before it becomes unproductive but I'll let some guy who has never played baseball find that statistic. A lineup can still be elite with Joey Gallo in it but other hitters in the lineup need to have some bat-to-ball skill. 
    It's a long walk for a short drink of water but I lean towards liking the Gallo signing, we will have to use our personnel properly or he needs to improve dramatically. You will need to scheme your lineup around him, having Gallo hit 9th and Arraez hit leadoff would be how you would have to write it. Gallo and Kepler were both terrible last year, both will likely not be Twins in '24. I think the lineup has more potential with Gallo but if you have potential that just means you haven't done s**t yet. Regardless if your rightfielder is Kepler or Gallo they both need to take a considerable step forward from their recent performance. I think everyone is well within their right to be critical of this signing but you can't honestly say this signing isn't steeped in short-term potential. Sadly, more potential than it would've had with my guy Max Kepler.
  7. Alex Boxwell
    Seems like the dumbest question ever but it’s a great place to start. What does the World Series champion do that we don’t? 
     
    Something I love to reference when it comes to the Twins is the “dark years”. It was those years that ruined the pinstripe cream uniforms. I can’t look at those uniforms without thinking about how much of a disaster this organization was from 2011-2016. We are feeling the effects of those decisions right now, bad scouting, and a lukewarm feeling toward competing or rebuilding. There was no clear plan- we showed up to the offseason/winter meetings like I show up to Taco Bell at 2 am: Unprepared, unorganized, and hoping someone else makes the decision for me. 
     
    In that ‘11-’16 window, we signed Ricky Nolasco, ByungHo Park, Carl Pavano, Ryan Doumit, Josh Willingham, Jamey Carroll, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia, Kurt Suzuki, Mike Pelfrey, and Torii Hunter. As you can see some of these contracts were more productive than others. I highlight these signings because it shows how insanely random the old regime was. Are we rebuilding? Are we signing proven veterans to compete? I don’t think anyone knew. Pair that with poor scouting and bringing in first-round picks- Alex Wimmers, Levi Michael, Travis Harrison (supplemental- didn’t sign), Hudson Boyd (supplemental- didn’t sign), Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios, Luke Bard, Kohl Stewart, Nick Gordon, Tyler Jay. Of those 10 picks (4 being top 5 picks), it is obvious which 3 of those picks have even scratched the surface of their ability in that time.  Hindsight is always 20/20 but it’s a tough look.
     
    Let us look at the Houston Astros who had a very similar window of poor talent and some high picks, but they committed to being terrible for a couple of years. There was no doubt from 2010-2014 the Astros were bought in on a rebuild and getting young talent in the door. The greatest separator between these two teams is organizational direction and development. That’s it. Over those drafts, their 1st round picks were Delino DeShields Jr., Mike Foltynewicz, Michael Kvasnicka (go gophers), George Springer, Carlos Correa, Mark Appel, Brady Aiken, and Alex Bregman. They had 5 of 8 first-round picks become players of value at the MLB level even for a flash in the pan. Foltynewicz got them Evan Gattis who was a big-time offensive producer as a catcher and a key piece in their clubhouse for the ’17 World Series run. Brady Aiken and Mark Appel were well known… no need to feed a fed horse. DeShields was let go in the rule 5 and was then part of the Emmanuel Clase to Cleveland trade that netted the Rangers Corey Kluber… whoops.  
     
    We all can see the Astros are flush with talent in 2022 but their decisions as a front office didn’t always seem like a slam dunk. They offered Correa what was a fair contract at the time and said OK bye when he declined. They shed one tear for their franchise shortstop and in their next breath, won a World Series. They paid Altuve and Verlander a combined 54 million and after that their next highest-paid player was McCullers at just shy of 16 million. The Altuve contract is 7 years 163 million, which expires in 2024 at his age 34 season. Right when most players start dramatically losing value, especially as a middle infielder. Alex Bregman's salary was 11 million and will bump up starting this year to 28.5 million for this year and next then he is also a free agent at 32. The money that is spent is calculated and our front office follows a similar model. The moves the Twins are making may not be popular but they will likely prove to be wise. The substantial difference is how we operated 10-12 years ago. We did not commit to being terrible or great, we wavered between bad and decent, with poor player development.   
     
    The extreme end of the spectrum is the Dodgers. They have been riding a huge payroll and trading for and locking up every team’s team’s favorite player for what feels like the last decade. People love to call this BS that they just go and buy the best players. That’s not entirely true, they scout and identify talent better than any other team in the league. They have the freedom with their budget, but they typically trade for players using the internal talent they have acquired in the draft or internationally. The Angels throw money around and have given out comical contracts, remember the Marlins in 2012 Marlins? AKA- Jose Reyes and the boys. We all thought they bought and sold their way to being relevant again and that was a disaster. You can’t just throw money at organizations and expect the roster to get better because those players are the best at that time. You must scout active players better than that and that’s why the Dodgers are different and will continue to be different. 
     
    It was not that long ago the Twins were lost. We have a palatable direction now. We trust in what our scouting department is giving us. We are not going to mortgage our future on panic-signing dudes just to meet some ambiguous spending quota. I’m guilty as anyone of thinking the roster stinks but that is an illusion created by the 2022 second half. The MLB roster is good, this roster will challenge Cleveland in its current state. The roster was comically beaten down by injury. Our IL last year could have competed for the Central, remember that conversation?  
     
    Paying a free agent, specifically a shortstop, for 10+ years is one of the stupidest things you can do. We have seen, hammer pants, trickle-down economics, Twix declaring to have a left and a right, people taking Elon Musk seriously, and even friends and family ordering a large french fry with a diet coke… Paying a shortstop 30 million when he’s 40 years old is dumber than all those things. There are much better uses of the US dollar for every franchise. Not many teams are winning titles with those contracts on their roster from the FA market. Our biggest problem is licking our wounds from the previous regime. I’m far from ready to call for anyone’s head in the front office. The bandwagon has bucked some people off, but I would encourage everyone to hang on because the Twins are headed in the right direction. We are just behind on the timeline of other well-run organizations but not too far to where we can’t compete.
     
  8. Alex Boxwell
    As the offseason has unfolded I’ve been softening my stance on the Twins making a push for Dansby Swanson. As a shortstop and leader in the clubhouse, sometimes the best ability is availability. He has missed two games in the last three years which is WILD with how players are managed in Major League Baseball. 
     
    Statistically, with Correa landing in potentially the worst hitter’s yard in baseball I would put money on Dansby having a better offensive season than Carlos Correa. Correa is the best defensive shortstop in baseball until proven otherwise. Dansby Swanson is an excellent defender, and it would be the slightest drop off in comparison to Correa. If you just look at the back of their baseball cards, over the last three years you can make the argument Swanson is the pick with more RBI and homers. Now, the OPS and career WAR tell us Correa is a better hitter and player overall, but the argument can be had.
     
    When you factor in that Swanson could be snatched up for less than 20 million… now I’m listening. If you can bump down the years compared to the other shortstops, then boost the average annual value (AAV), 7 years at 145 million you get a proven shortstop leaning towards elite defense, 25-28 HR pop, .260-.275 average, championship pedigree, and potentially the best head of hair in baseball. 
     
    He’s not Correa and he will not bring the electricity, but not many do. He will hurt the wallet much less but the gap between Correa and Swanson is much smaller than we think. What he lacks in flair and big-name draw he makes up for in being the most reliable shortstop in baseball over the last three years. If ownership is not willing to break out of its budget shell, then this contract and this player makes a ton of sense. Rodon does not want to play in Minnesota, but we can push AAV on him because of a deal like this with Swanson and make it competitive. I was totally averse to signing Swanson at the beginning of the off-season, but I think he makes a ton of sense for a team that can’t stay healthy and doesn’t want to bend the knee on AAV or years.
  9. Alex Boxwell
    Some of the best advice you will ever get- just because you can doesn't mean you should. Is it disappointing to see a great talent go elsewhere ABSOLUTELY. For the the long term health of the franchise is it for the best? Probably. A Shortstop whose value primarily comes from his defense will not age well. Paying Carlos Correa 27+ Million in 2032 is going to leave an ache similar to me taking down 7 cups of eggnog at the company holiday party.
    A huge piece no one seems to want to ever mention about Carlos Correa is that he has played a limited amount of baseball for someone to feel comfortable about his longevity. He has played more than 110 games three times in 7 attempts (not including COVID year). That number is not going to improve with age. I'm not overly heartbroken over this. The money will not evaporate, there are other more responsible ways to acquire talent. Prime Correa has a handful of good/great years to come and his offense will suffer in the coming years, only Barry Lamar can stroke even 30 big boys at AT&T (this is the correct name of that field, I won't hear otherwise). 
    All I would like to do is to urge our Twins faithful to not be so shortsighted. We will pivot, we will compete. Like all our wise elders have told us... Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Buying a Ferrari and having to park it outside is stupid- we need more talent on the roster and this regime has proven it will spend, it will develop and it will be creative. It's a tough night in the Twin Cities but we will be ok, we swam with the sharks and survived and I'm confident we will do it again.
     
     
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