mikelink45

Thanks for this winter wakeup posting. I have seen my posts suggesting this attacked so I could imagine that your bigger audience would have a strong reaction. I am for this as it opens the obvious logjam. But it also raises another question - what is a SS now? I knew a SS in the past and could envision him on the left side of the field. Now the SS might even be on the right side of second. With the emphasis on flyballs the SS must get fewer chances and certainly fewer DPs. How many chances to they have now compared to the past. I could not find out these things, but I continue to be puzzled over which positions are the most important now compared to the past. CF is always important, C is always important. Those two did not change, but now the 2B sometimes plays on the SS side, the 3B is often in the SS hole. Very confusing. So the question is Polanco or ??? I am fine with Polanco.

Wonderful to learn about this Minnesota baseball man - I do remember him pitching for the Twins. Nostalgia is our antidote to the lock out.

For now he is just a name (an interesting one) but I have no expectations. He will be in training (spring or summer) and we will see. But at his age he should have established something besides question marks. Good luck to him and the Twins. Now we need baseball to do something that we can really dig into.

I think Donaldson is a good player, but I think this article overstates his case. I like him, but I do not see him as a superstar which his salary would suggest. There were games where he was wonderful and others where he was just another player on the field. The question I would pose is this - what would our record have been if Donaldson was not a Twin and Arraez, Polanco, Miranda took turns at 3B the last two years? Did he move the bar? Did he keep us from sinking further (if possible)? I like him, but I would rather have Berrios or another really good pitcher (not a rebound candidate). Conclusion - a very good player, but I would not hesitate to trade him for a good return.

I believe your last paragraph is found in a placer called Shangri-La.

Let us hope that we have finally drafted a SS that will stay at SS.

Give Carew the shifts that are used now and he would also hit 400. You have an interesting take, but all players reflect their stadiums. Mel Ott does not get all his HRs if he has a different home field. Coors field provides benefits, but again, it is their stadium and if they take advantage of that they should not be thought of as less of a player. Does the Green Monster diminish Red Sox players? SI stadiums ranked.

I am not following these negotiations with the same details that you are, but the owners have set themselves up for this. They never really addressed the competitive balance like the NFL has. And they won't. The tax is simply a self enforced salary cap. There needs to be some real work on competitive balance and it is not in the language of the current or the projected CBAs

Nice article - I hate the topic, I hate the opener, and I hope this does not happen.

I loved Carew and would hate to choose between them, but the thing that sets them apart was Kirby's determination to win. His attitude was infectious, he did carry the team. I was at all the Atlanta Brave games in the WS and Puckett was the center of attention in games six and seven. So I take clutch Kirby, but not taking Carew hurts!

Like all of you, I am trying to keep baseball in a positive place while angry with Manfred and the owners - 90% of the blame goes to them for me. They did not even need to wait until the end of the season to negotiate, but then to wait for more than a month to put out an offer they knew would be rejected is inexcusable. I had to write a forum today about when baseball was King, because the league seems to be determined to drop the sport to fourth place - just look at ESPN's banner NBA, college basketball and football, NHL, NFL then you have to do the drop down to find MLB between Cricket and NBA G league.

Canterino is the one that I think should and needs to make the Twins Rotation at some point this year - spring would be best if we actually play ball again this spring. Duran is proof that it is not just Rice that impacts young arms. I really want to see him in Minnesota. If Lewis is not going to be a SS he is the least important on this list. He is not a slugger, he does not hit for high average, he needs SS to be valuable, otherwise the number of non-SS Twins is getting crowded and 2B and 3B seem well filled with 2 - 3 good players in line at each. As far as OF is concerned only CF would give him value since the corners are usually covered by people with power.

I think they are right and MLB needs to figure out how to negotiate or Lewis will have another lost or limited year and that is a lot to make up for. I question his ranking with the Twins - as pointed out in the article his fielding has been questioned, his hitting in the minors was not what we expected. No baseball, no tweaks, adjustments, coaching. I am fine seeing him still ranked as one of our top ten prospects, maybe even top five, but not the top anymore and with the new influx of draft choices it is reasonable that the national rankings drop his ratings. If, as Nick suggests, he comes back and makes the ratings look silly no one will be upset and a lot of us will be delighted.

I am delighted, all three really deserve to be in. Tovar was one of my favorite players in an era that was rich with good players. He was the first of the ultimate utility men who played all over and did well at every position. He was a favorite of Billy Martin and an excellent base runner. It is about time! Gardy was the face of the Twins for a long time, a great personality and longevity as well as a winning record makes him a good choice. Gladden will now be introduced as Twins Hall of Famer on the radio broadcasts which is where most of his recognition is now, but he had a really fun career with two Twins championships and a Japanese championship too. I loved his hustle. He and Tovar make a good pair.

As much as I dislike Manfred - he is the same toady we have had all my life - Ford Frick had been a writer and a teacher, He helped establish the HOF, He was there for the expansion of the leagues, but was criticized for his hands off and inaction work. Eckert knew nothing about baseball He admitted he had not attended a game in the previous decade. In fact, he did not know the Dodgers had moved to LA, but the owners were tired of a strong leader. Marvin Miller was then hired by the union and he was too formidable for Eckert. He also mishandled baseball response to the Kennedy assassination. Bowie Kuhn was terrible and a racist, He lost the reserve clause which was a boon to players, but owners hated it. He had a seven week strike in 1981. When he was let go by the owners in 1983, Hank Aaron applied for the job and said, "“I’m not saying I’m the one who should get the job — maybe I’m not — but I do think we need a baseball man. A baseball man would be more conscious of what is good for the fans. When I interviewed with the search committee for the job, they told me that baseball has grown so much we need a commissioner who understands finance and marketing. If that’s what they want, fine. But I think a baseball man knows more about marketing our game — about bringing players into our game and fans into our stadiums — than someone who doesn’t know anything about the game.” Ueberroth settled an umpire strike, and also ended a one day player strike and most importantly for the game got big TV contracts, but most importantly he was an Olympics guy, Giamatti was the exception, but only lived another year, Fay Vincent was also a good man, Selig who had lots of mixed moments, and the all star game kerfuffle was a signature moment finally the ultimate corporate man and gunslinger for the owners - Manfred.

I vote none - it is time we started getting pitchers who do not need to bounce back or comeback. I am much more intrigued with the young arms. I looked at the Bundy record and was not sure where the optimism comes from. Maeda was great in 2020 too - it was a half season and those performances do not give us a true look. In 2019 7 - 14 with a 4.79 ERA, in 2018 8 - 16 with a 5.45. Baltimore thought he was going to be a difference maker and do not have enough talent to give away potentially good pitchers. Dobnak is another mirage. I really like his story and I would love to meet him because he seems like a great guy, but I know a lot of great guys and that is not the quality that makes a great pitcher - look at Schilling and Carlton. Randy is a career -1.3 WAR. His era progression is 1.59 - 4.05 - 7.64. Yes he is not a relief pitcher, but if he is a good pitcher he should get someone out. Jharel has the following eras 2.15 - 5.58 - 3.52 but there are no stats for 2018, 2019,2020. That is a big absence. Except for his year with Oakland he has pitched 60 innings. Texas needs pitchers why didn't they keep him? He is the mystery of these three. A good article on Cotton is from Off The Bench - "In case you missed it, Jharel Cotton is back in the Major Leagues and is pitching out of the Texas Rangers’ bullpen. Jharel Cotton is an easy player to root for; he was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2012 draft out of East Carolina University. In the summer of 2016 in need of a pitcher and an outfielder, the Dodgers sent Cotton and Frankie Montas to Oakland in a trade for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick. " About his injury the post adds, "In the time since that fateful elbow pop, Cotton jumped from the frying pan into the fire. While recovering from his elbow surgery, he suffered a hamstring tear which also required surgery. " At age 30 with a lot to prove he is still the best of these three.

The points against extension are Age Injury history DH already has a number of options and Catcher is where he has value Points for extension are Lack of belief in Jeffers It makes a stronger trade case and gets us a better return.

The dreaded Tommy John is always lurking for big armed pitchers. Let's hope he can somehow avoid it. The comp of Hunter Green is good, but Green missed 2019 for TJ surgery and is now 22. Will he make it this year? He and Royce Lewis were 1-2 in the draft that year. Who makes it first? Both have missed a year for injury and a year for covid. For that high a draft pick it is time to move up. If we look at it without the TJ he would have already been locked in for the Reds at 21. If Petty stays healthy that is the earliest I would think we could look for him - if he lives up to his scouting potential.

We lost the trade, so we move on. Yes I want Alcala and Celestino on the team, but what Pressly did for the champion Astros is not something we can match unless we also get into the WS and win playoff games. Otherwise they are good players on an okay team and do not raise the bar. Pressly has been everything that the Astros wanted and they have been winning - good job Astros. Let's see what you got Twins.

I spent my life as a wilderness guide and I have degenerative knee issues. It is not something you cure and it is really debilitating for the kind of quick reactions that a 2B or hitter needs. The fact that it has already caused so much problems at his young age is a significant issue.

I am the outlier - this year we should see which pitchers can start and which will be in the BP from our own prospects. Let's not trade our relievers for someone else's relievers

He was the future for us. It was so exciting to think of Johann, Francisco and Brad as the top three. Not that the Twins would have afforded all three, but for a couple seasons I think we would have dominated the league. To go from Liriano to Bonser was going over the cliff.

The year that ended in injury was electric. We all thought he was the new Ace. He had so much stuff we thought we have another Santana, but alas, the fairy tale ended. Good luck Francisco.

I am a fan and I say trade him. I made a statement that someone disagreed with on another thread - he is our Tony Oliva - not that he hits like Tony, but he has the bat control of Tony and the bad knees of Tony. We saw what happened to Oliva as his knees gave out and he went to DH. Luis does not have enough power for DH. I see him as a trade chip, but don't other teams know the same things we do? His value is not going to be high. As for Gordon, I do not see him as a Twin in three years. The prospects will knock him out. Then there is the question of who wants these players? The Orioles need everything and the once again bargain basement A's will need players too and they seem to know how to get more out of ex-Twins. Pittsburgh needs lots of help and the Reds are all about going cheap. Maybe there is a market, but then those teams are bad because they lack what we want back in a trade.

Thanks for the update. I am not sure I have an feelings about these Twins being in the hall. Nathan has the best case, but his career is pretty unusual and he did not pitch in New York or LA. Tough for him, but it would be a shame if he did not stay on the ballot a few years.