mikelink45

You present a challenging idea. But I like it if we do not sign any of the final free agents to more than a one year contract. Otherwise I would love a Glasnow, Ryan, Ober, Balazovic, Winder rotation in 2023.

I am a Wallner fan, but not Sabato. When I look at prospect rankings I see 22/23 as the older end. With players like Sano and Rooker does a bat first 1B make sense? Wasn't there a pitcher we could have taken? I hope Sabato makes the majors and does well. I think the issue is not that we are giving up on Sabato, he has some talent, its just that he does not look like a top prospect nationally or locally.

We know that the FO will make something happen - it is their MO to move late in the off season, but I fear the loss of a young pitcher who might be better in the long run than what we get. I get a laugh out of going for a pitcher with two years of control. We panicked when Berrios had only two years left.

I have a different take - I am looking at Miranda needing playing time. I prefer Donaldson at DH with Sano getting some reps, but I do not trust him to produce. I want players to get on base, I want more consistent production and I would love to trade Sano to a NL team for their DH.

After reading the comments I have to add another posting. Is Donaldson the Twins Cousins? Two big contracts, lots of expectations and then lots of blame. It does not matter that the FO in both cases has not put the rest of the team together. Donaldson has no pitching, Cousins has no offensive line. But it is their fault. Baldelli has all the surrounding coaches he can get, but are they doing their jobs well - who knows. Zimmer put his son and the son of his friend in charge of defense and calling plays - how did that work? As I said in my earlier post it is a total team from FO down that wins championships.

Donaldson is exactly what we should have expected, but baseball is the true team game. One player does not make a team win - look at Mike Trout. He has such gushing support from writers who make him into the greatest player in the game - maybe all time. So what is the record of the Angels since he has been there? 2,3,3,1,3, 4, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4 in their division. One player does not make a team succeed. They can only catch what is hit to them and have 4/5 opportunities at bat. The SP pitcher and catcher have much more influence on the team. But even then Steve Carlton in 1972 won 27 games for a last place team. Yes wins mattered when pitchers were not pulled after 4 innings. But as great as his record was the Phillies only won 59 games! He has not let the team down, the team just is not as good as we all hoped.

I like your take - Smoltz fits your description since he was excellent in both, both you are right to question the RPs in the hall. I feel the same way.

What worries me is psychological. Did Larnach lose faith in himself? I don't know, but that is always the fear because he has the talent.

Good topic. Santana's short career during a time when wins counted leaves him short in my mind no matter how good he was in his short peak. Nathan's longevity makes he a better choice, but I am not really a big supporter of RP in the Hall. That said, now that the voters have taken DH and reliever into the hall I would have to say that Nathan is the one I would vote for if we had to choose one over the other.

Nice article. Boy are those names filled with expectations. I had a lot of hope for many of them. Thanks for the reminder that promise does not always get fulfilled.

Note that Lofton has more WAR than Jones. Most (except Hunter) are very close, but Lofton is the only one that rises enough for me. I am not upset if none get in.

A filler for when the minor leaguers we now have get moved up.

I am not a fan of either Andrew Jones or Torii Hunter getting in. I would support Lofton but would put Edmunds and WIlliams into the not quite good enough category.

September rosters being limited as of last year changes the equation. I think MLB made a mistake there and should have at least let teams add 5 players in September. If we are out of it like many of us expect at this time our rookie pitchers will be at their inning limit and he would be fine to stretch out and show that he is back.

I agree, I wondered if there would be a familiarity with Perkins among fans. He seemed to connect with the fan base more than Nathan on a personal level. But you are right Nathan was the bullpen ace. Glen had 8.9 WAR and 120 saves, Nathan had 26.7 WAR and 377 saves. We could use both of them right now!

So we just sit back and enjoy all the ink and emotions which amount to nothing. The Twins will still need starting pitchers and Bowie Kuhn and Bud Selig will still have their plaques even though neither deserves one.

Four more who will not make it. But this raises the big question - Glen Perkins or Joe Nathan????

Elmer Valo was with us for half of 1961 - he actually played 20 years and had 28.5 WAR I suspect you can take half the 1961 roster and get a "who is he?' for them. Or 1963 when Vic Wertz finished with the Twins. He is the guy that hit the ball that Willie Mays made his famous catch on. This was a wonderful article - you can do one for every year of the franchise.

The HOF is not officially MLB. It is a museum and it is fun. You remember the old saying the only bad publicity is no publicity. All the angst and debate keeps the hall in the news and in our discussions. In reality the hall does not matter. It does not change the numbers and results. Bonds still has the 73 HR record (although I keep forgetting and going back to Maris and Ruth) and I had to look up that he had 762 total HRs, I still remember Ruth and Aaron's numbers. Baseball has changed in many ways and I am not pleased with many things, but the hall is less important than pace of game. When I went to the Braves games in Milwaukee that last 90 - 100 minutes and there was still time for the zoo in the afternoon, Baseball needs to work on its image and maybe MLB should be talking to the hall. But as I have said in many posts Bonds, Clemens, Shoeless Joe, and Pete Rose have gotten a lot more publicity by not getting in than they would have if they were installed. It is fascinating that Palmeiro, McGwire, Sosa have been passed on and no real controversy. Of course now we have Rodriguez and Manny to fill the columns with indignation.

Like the FO I have to wait and see. So far I am not excited by their work, but I am excited to see the young arms if they are really going to let them loose.

obviously many feel different than you do and I suspect that they know more details and any of us. Don't worry, they will get there, but i shed no tears for them.

Congratulations to Ortiz. No matter what numbers are presented - he had the look and feel of the HOF. Bonds and Clemens will get in on committee votes. That is appropriate.

I am not interested in honoring the sterioders, but at the same time, this is the 15th year since Clemens and Bonds have retired that they have gotten massive publicity. Like Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose there is a tendency to keep writing about the injustices instead of the players inducted. Put them and and they disappear - here are the inductees since Clemens and Bonds and Shilling retired - how many of them have been written about over that period except for their election? Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons, Larry Walker (Note: The 2020 induction ceremony was canceled due to COVID-19 and rescheduled for 2021). 2019 Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith 2018 Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell 2017 Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez, John Schuerholz, Bud Selig 2016 Mike Piazza, Ken Griffey Jr. 2015 Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz 2014 Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Tony La Russa, Frank Thomas, Joe Torre 2013 Hank O'Day, Jacob Ruppert, Deacon White 2012 Barry Larkin, Ron Santo 2011 Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, Pat Gillick 2010 Andre Dawson, Doug Harvey, Whitey Herzog 2009 Joe Gordon, Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice 2008 Barney Dreyfuss, Goose Gossage, Bowie Kuhn, Walter O'Malley, Billy Southworth, Dick Williams After this we will continue to hear about the poor guys who ruined the record book, the men who changed the game so that we no longer revere the records. And of course now we start the Alex Rodriguez ten year count down and the continuation of Manny Ramirez. I really do not care about any of them. I celebrate who does get in and Ortiz will make it. To your other statement about Selig. He does not belong and neither does Bowie Kuhn. This is a travesty just like the owners who kept the black players out. Executives, managers, umpires - I do not want any of them, but Kuhn and Selig are both travesties. But you see that you do not mention Kuhn because he was already in for a while so we forget and move on.

Interesting list - I am glad to see some hesitation on Lewis - he has missed so much and MLB is doing all it can to mess up a third year. Rodriguez looks like he should jump three spots based on his production and those above him. What I see from all the lists and they are everywhere, but what else do you do when there is no action to report, is that the Twins have come to a point where so many prospects are getting to the point of needing to be on the 40 man that we should start making trades or Rule V will be a mess for us.

I want to see them all. I want them to rotate the minor leaguers and see what we really have. I do not want them to be too quick to the bullpen, although I see Vallimont as a BP candidate along with Strotman. I keep hoping Duran is a SP, but if he breaks down again the pen might need to be his place. Canterino has to start. This is the most exciting thing the Twins have going and picking up a mediocre free agent is something I really do not want to have happen.