mikelink45

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.

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.