mikelink45
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Everything posted by mikelink45
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Rumor: Bogaerts has gone to San Diego
mikelink45 replied to Doctor Gast's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
Ask Angel fans if Pujols contract impacted their team. -
Rumor: Bogaerts has gone to San Diego
mikelink45 replied to Doctor Gast's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
That is a big interpretive stretch. Perhaps make tickets cheaper and payback the fans. Help the minors. Help college ball. Spread the money throughout the team. There are more ways to spend than one magastar contract. -
Rumor: Ken Rosenthal update on Carlos Correa
mikelink45 replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
He didn't start to hit and be the Correa we expected until we started to go downhill. -
Rumor: Bogaerts has gone to San Diego
mikelink45 replied to Doctor Gast's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
No No No Lets get Lewis or Lee to be the new Pena. Don't commit the future to someone who is just going to be an anchor on the team payroll and roster in 3 - 5 years. I hate this. It is owner ego not realistic team planning. SD has been signing big names for how many years and no WS to show for it. -
Rumor: Ken Rosenthal update on Carlos Correa
mikelink45 replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
I keep wondering what the league knows - last year there was the first wave of "great" SS and he took our offer because he could not get what he thought he should. Now we are in year two of the "Great" SS and we are seeing the teams signing Turner, Bogaerts is close to a deal with Boston and if that happens we have Swanson - first FA year and Correa - second FA year. Offer him another opt out contract and get him for one more year - next year there will not be the SS crowd. Of move on. And by the way Contreras signed with the Cardinals who know catching is essential. -
Rumor: Ken Rosenthal update on Carlos Correa
mikelink45 replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
I am still mystified - we finished under 500 with Correa getting the highest salary in 2022. Now we want to make sure he keeps getting a high salary, but we have done nothing to make the team around him better so we think that having one overpaid superstar on the team will make a difference - check on the Angels. -
I hate to say this, but I feel sorry for the really lousy teams who fall down like the A's, Reds, Royals. But since that is the system I am always delighted when our team wins out and now let's get someone and not trade them. I am still sorry about Petty and want to hold on to Lee. Let's build the pipeline.
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Minnesota’s 3 Most Tradeable Prospects
mikelink45 replied to Cody Christie's topic in Twins Minor League Talk
I don't trade them. Look at the youth that is taking over baseball. Players coming up at 19 - 21 and doing it well. Prospects are not as suspect as they used to be and the trades for players like Lopez and Pagan leave me shuddering! Yikes. How do we really value and evaluate players. We have teams falling all over themselves to sign rich contracts - will that make the Cubs or Rangers into winners? The Yankees are holding out for their own icon and the Dodgers are sitting back. Houston signed one player - Abreu and not for $300,000,000. The Braves have not gone crazy and so far St Louis has not either. These are the winning teams. There are lessons here.- 21 replies
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- brooks lee
- simeon woods richardson
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NO. Just sign the best players available and if we run out of money before the Boras show down so be it. Fix the team - we have enough needs. I am glad you said it was an internal deadline because trying to hold out against Boras and play hardball does not work. Just tell him to call when he is getting close to having Correa sign and if we still have the money we can jump in. Just remember that Correa was a wonderful and highly overpaid player next year who did not even lead us to 500. We can sign him again and still be 500 if we do not construct the entire roster correctly.
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Twins Winter Meetings Preview
mikelink45 replied to Seth Stohs's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Thanks for the note and the excellent recap. I appreciated seeing all the pieces in one place. The winter meetings have disappointed more than they have met expectations. Let's see what Boras and his waiting game does to the timing of FA signings. Personally I am not interested in any of the top dollar guys. Just build a strong overall team. I have commented in many threads that one great player does not make a great team. Houston built its team from within and most of us had never heard of their players before they appeared on the ASTROS. We need to continue to build our own pitchers up to meet the challenge and hold on to promising prospects. The real question is - will the FO be able to do something during this time that will give us some new articles on TD?- 37 replies
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- derek falvey
- thad levine
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Right now, I am working on the other side of Florida on the St John's and Tolomato Rivers and we too have to adjust to damage from Ian. It is hard to explain how big and damaging that storm was. Thank you for remembering those who stepped up - there are so many who deserve to be thanked. Good luck to the team getting this done and moving on.
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Where Should the Minnesota Twins Payroll Be in 2023?
mikelink45 replied to Ted Schwerzler 's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I don't care what the figure is - what I want is a complete team - we will not have DeGrom and Judge and probably not Verlander and Correa, but that does not mean that we will not have a good team. California can't win with Trout, Rendon and Ohtani. Yankees have not won the Series with Cole, Judge and Stanton. The Dodger have the best season record but did not get to the Series. The Braves were NL champions for over a decade, but only one a single WS title. It is about getting an all around team and working as a team. That is not money - Scherzer did not bring the Mets a championship. Correa did not win a championship for us. Stop thinking about writing a big check and think about fielding, hitting, pitching, managing. Think about the bench and the bullpen, the minor league support system. It is about an organization! The Braves might have only won a single series in the decade but they were always there. St Louis has consistently been a winning team, but other than Nolan they did not spend wildly. They traded and they stayed with their system. Its not moneyball anymore, its finding the right parts.- 26 replies
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- carlos correa
- byron buxton
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The Argument for Trading Jorge Polanco
mikelink45 replied to Matt Braun's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I wanted to move him in prior years. I think he has peaked but others might still want him, but who. When we have other good options a trade can address other needs or build the minors. -
Minnesota's Recent Rule 5 Draft History is Mixed
mikelink45 replied to Cody Christie's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Of course you should try RULE V! Why not? Here are the best choices in the last decade - https://www.mlb.com/news/best-rule-5-draft-picks-past-10-years- 34 replies
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- ryan pressly
- tyler wells
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Will the Real Joe Ryan Please Stand Up
mikelink45 replied to Ted Schwerzler 's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I have great hope for Ryan, but he is not the ACE or number 2. Realistic expectations are essential.- 14 replies
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- joe ryan
- nelson cruz
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Ronny Henriquez Has Earned a Shot
mikelink45 replied to Cody Pirkl's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I have not seen enough of him to agree with this essay. A short stint at the end of the season has had a lot of players look good only to be exposed in a full season. I hope you are right, but for now he is one of many we hope might give us one really good RP.- 21 replies
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- ronny henriquez
- joe smith
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The Twins Have a Corner Outfield Conundrum
mikelink45 replied to Cody Christie's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
This is not as glamorous a list as the title would imply. Let's see Buxton got in 92 games - only 58 in CF the rest DH. Larnach had 51 games - 13 of the DH or PH. 33 LF 11 RF. Kiriloff got in 45 games, 5 DH or PH. 18 at 1B and 28 in the OF. Add up the games in the OF for all three - 120 games in the OF - we did not even get a full season from the three combined. Garlick and Contreras are not starting quality. Wallner had a late season call up and had 16 games in the OF - still not a full season. Gordon had 140 OF games - more than all the prospects and star had combined. Celestino had 141 OF games. So we have Gordon in LF, Celestino in CF, Kiriloff, Wallner, Larnach, Buxton filling the third OF position and Contreras and Garlick on the bench. Not really crowded. We need to revisit this article next September.- 33 replies
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- max kepler
- trevor larnach
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Is a Healthy Tyler Mahle an Ace?
mikelink45 replied to Ted Schwerzler 's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
No. There are not many true Aces - and Mahle has to be healthy and he has to perform before we can make any assessment of where he is in a rotation let alone in judging him for ACE status.- 28 replies
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- tyler mahle
- sonny gray
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It is about time that the team has a real Rookie of the Year. Here are our winners - including the Senator days: 1958 – Albie Pearson 1959 – Bob Allison 1964 – Tony Oliva 1967 – Rod Carew 1979 – John Castino (shared with Alfredo Griffin) 1991 – Chuck Knoblauch 1995 – Marty Cordova Are any of the players in this speculation good enough to rise above team ROY?
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- louis varland
- simeon woods richardson
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Spencer Steer is my choice. But I am open to a surprise. Wouldn't it be nice to see Lee tell the team to forget about all the minor league assignments and force his way on to the team? He can join a group of young 21 year olds who have jumped up before they were expected. Varland would mean that one of the expected rotation is injured - bad news. Wallner looks good only if Kepler is gone or he plays DH. Julien would be a good choice, but where do you play him. I will stick with one of our traded players.
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- louis varland
- simeon woods richardson
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How Big is the Twins Catching Problem?
mikelink45 replied to Ted Schwerzler 's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Battey, Wynegar, Laudner, Mauer, Pierzynski, Harper, Suzuki, Mitterwald, Borgman, Steinback, Rosboro, Butera, Walbeck, That is not a list of greatness from top to bottom, but 5 - 6 of them are top catchers. Where does Jeffers fit into this list? He is the only catcher which has to change, but his performance so far has him outside the rank of good (not great) catchers, and the Great Mauer, Battey, Pierzynski, Harper group at the top is a long way from anything we have now.- 62 replies
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- ryan jeffers
- sandy leon
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Andrew Heaney is the Best the Twins Can Do
mikelink45 replied to Matt Braun's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Maybe it is the wind howling outside, but as I read your essay I was wondering if this was fact or speculation. Did we actually sign him? If we did it would be consistent. Someone who underperformed (because we can always fix a pitcher), someone who is an injury risk (we can fix them), and someone who tops out as a #3.. I realize now we did not sign him, a sigh of relief.- 34 replies
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- andrew heaney
- sonny gray
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What Defines Success for Byron Buxton in 2023?
mikelink45 replied to Ted Schwerzler 's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Not sure anymore. We have had this question every year and every year an injury happens. His value is more in CF than DH - He needs to get his average up, he needs to be in the field. I do not wish him to steal bases anymore. Every base is another nick in his physical being. I just don't have any expectations, I would like to be pleasantly surprised. -
Minnesota Twins Extension Candidate: Joe Ryan
mikelink45 replied to Cody Christie's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Not sure he will age that well. I would wait before doing the extension.

