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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    The Rockies, Pirates, White Sox lead the most disappointing list, San Diego was always going to beat the Dodgers, but always came up frustratingly short. As another commentator said - NY is always disappointed in results especially when they do spend big. But none of that takes away from the premise of this essay. Yes we have been so disappointed and the reason is that as fans we feel so strongly that one or two moves in any of these years might have been the difference. Our disappointment has to begin off the field - owners and Front Office. Then it is on the field where we were too smart for the rest of MLB and got Correa after two other teams looked at his physicals and said no thanks. Our prospects always seem so shiny. Lewis came up looking like the next Juan Soto, Wallner flashed 40 HR power, Lee was a man with high BB IQ and lineage. Vasquez was going to give us $10m per year value behind the plate. Each new coach was going to unlock what the last ones couldn't. Yes, I am disappointed, but then that is baseball.
  2. mikelink45
    Too Soon. A lot needs to happen and more will happen. I will just wait and see.
  3. mikelink45
    Too soon
  4. mikelink45
    Keaschall has had a magic season and I would love to see it continue, but I felt the same with Lewis' beginning. I just keep marveling at his enthusiasm and his ability so far. He has the potential to be really great. The energy of this team has really changed. The BP is a problem and will continue to be, but still it is fun and I hope they continue to be loose and play with joy.
  5. mikelink45
    No to all of them - keep working to produce a young and fast SS. I have no idea if the two prospects will pan out - the past expectations certainly have not.
  6. mikelink45
    Compare Lee to Castro and utility looks like a stretch - but maybe he will find instruction this winter and surprise and please us all in the future.
  7. mikelink45
    I am 80, I have been a Twins fan since ushering in year one. They have now been here 64 years. How many of those years were hope years? How many times were we saying, wait till next year or until the next wave of prospects comes up. Hope is good, better than the Rockies and Pirates, but come on, just two years our hope was about now - not the future.
  8. mikelink45
    True - I hope he becomes the Hrbek of the next iteration.
  9. mikelink45
    No - Winfield, Morris and Molitor were short term good pickups. Varland is showing potential to be a closer and has 5 years left of service time. We just emptied the BP. So you are welcome to lose your mind, but I think he is the biggest loss of the trade season.
  10. mikelink45
    It is fun to see all the reactions. I don't know what the grades should be. I do think that in this era of BP being so essential we had enough youth in pen that we should have kept Varland and one of Duran or Jax. I see us moving forward and suddenly desperate for BP help. We could have been better off in the future with a little more strategic thought. Like everyone I think Castro was a steal. I am sorry to see him go.
  11. mikelink45
    For the same reason I applaud Buxton for staying where he wants to be I have to think about Curt Flood and his stance against a trade that he did not want to participate in. No matter the callous and objective look at the players as chattel that can be moved and traded whenever and wherever I do think the Varland trade was bad for a team that needs fan loyalty and also needs a shut down arm in the pen. We brought Winfield, Morris, Molitor here to finish their careers because of their hometown appeal. We had Hrbek and then Mauer to keep the local connection. I do think it adds to the team if the players are, in fact, good and productive.
  12. mikelink45
    And so the bar measuring hope for the fans just rose a few notches. We need that. Twins playing with some spirit, new additions making excellent debuts.
  13. mikelink45
    They have nothing to really play for and they are loose and having fun. I love it. Ohl is not showing he is ready, but getting good experience. Love Keaschall. Julien was a player I used to love - not so much anymore. Detroit on the other hand is up tight. Since All-Star game they have not been good. Glad we took them down another notch.
  14. mikelink45
    All we can ask is for energy and some fun in the games that are left. This was a good one, but it also showed why CF is so important and Martin is not the answer there.
  15. mikelink45
    Yes - it is a total teardown - I cannot accept the premise in this essay. Kepler last year, Polanco before him . Alcala, Hennriquez need to be added from last year. Those four plus ten this year is a tear down. Not that they shouldn't have gotten rid of them, But are they done? We don't have a BP, Ryan and Lopez have been in multiple trade talk posts on this site. And Vasquez should have gone but no one wanted him. I hope we will be better but the dissatisfaction is from the downward trend that began the day we finally won a playoff series. Fan enthusiasm was high, where is it now? At 80 years old I do not want to hear that we should be better in five years when we could have been better last year and this one. In an era where the BP is more important than the rotation - at least MLB teams are valuing BP the highest ever, we just dismantled ours to a point where Tonkin and Funderburk and Davis are the fodder we put out.
  16. mikelink45
    I understand Byron's choice of quality of life versus disruption and moving. I applaud him for knowing what he wants and sticking with it. Have the Twins failed him? No more than they have failed the fans.
  17. mikelink45
    We will see a lot of fringe players - its like we have this lazy Susan filled with AAAA players who need a moment in the sun and we want to be Minnesota Nice.
  18. mikelink45
    I thought that last game and here he is continuing to show how smart we are at grabbing loose arms.
  19. mikelink45
    Julien has Keaschall to push him and I wish K was up instead. He just plateaued and never looked like he was about to come back. Miranda really flopped - I think his time is over. Martin looks good for these last few games, but it is wait and see with all of them. I just wish we would give others the same chance to see who might actually rise above league average or replacement level.
  20. mikelink45
    This made me curious - which teams actually are good at developing pitchers? On the web I could not find anything that ranked us beyond middle of the pack. Maybe if we changed team philosophy we could teach more than sweeper and spin. The future needs to start soon. Bring up all the young arms - have an 8 - 10 man rotation with BP in between. Let's see these players and give us some entertainment value for the rest of the season.
  21. mikelink45
    Poor Pohlads - how can they compete when they are only midrange rich among owner Jim Pohlad Team: Minnesota Twins Net worth: $3.6 billion (source) Inheriting the role after his father Carl's death in 2009, Jim Pohlad has been at the helm of the Minnesota Twins as chairman and part-owner. The Pohlad family, who made their fortune in banking and real estate, purchased the Twins in the 1980s. Under Jim's leadership, the franchise has thrived, achieving a valuation of $1.39 billion by 2023. In November 2022, he passed daily operations to his nephew Joe Pohlad, ensuring the team's future remains in family hands. https://www.ranker.com/list/richest-mlb-owners/david-de-la-riva Wait a minute - I might need to revise my statement - Bleacher Reports listed the 18 richest owners in Baseball and has Pohlands #4! in 2022 https://sports.yahoo.com/18-richest-mlb-owners-2023-175352774.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAB0Sfy0swP5j-DBKMW2kD_k3VVUYbCSU31aiWlS-H8CWmZG5NlefU4_bXdnovTiBM6syK2zi67ImQMEAYzykIG3QOfYGN192f5wYCtfIqc81TXuloERwGHPMjMGKK7OmmteQ79s5YckyTX5iXRATFyvRv7I2d6ymN_IQw7IssyeM The list has to be adjusted and they will drop down the list, but not so far that we need to worry about them as the losses of the Twins operations. If they lose money it is from their public relations and decisions and I thought Calvin Griffith was bad!
  22. mikelink45
    Imagine if you were not limited in size and space - you could have written that Bailey Ober is still not ready to be the SP that we expected and I would shut him down and let other arms debut this year. Ober seems to need a major reset. In a league and time when BP is even more important than a full rotation we sold off the future and did not get enough back. I was anticipating Varland being the new closer (maybe he will be, but not for us). How long does Lee hold SS with Culpepper hopefully rising quickly. Roden does not look like a major league hitter and Trevor Larnach is replacement level and Outman lives up to his name. Buxton's ribs might hurt, but his psyche probably hurts worse. Keaschall must be wondering why he is not up to Minneapolis. The one we most needed to move is still here - Vasquez. No one else could see his value. Like Correa we buy and immediately have buyers remorse. If I were looking to buy the Twins I would say they just took the value down and I would lowball them with an offer. How did the Pohlads luck into becoming billionaires? Their business management of this team is horrible. Which coaches and front office people would we like to retain? The list of issues is as big as the sales price.
  23. mikelink45
    I want him up too - Julien and Gaspar and Clemens are not the 2B of our future.
  24. mikelink45
    I believe that you can find franchises that do care about winning and maximizing their opportunities. I think there are organizations who want to fulfill their fans wishes. I am sorry if you think otherwise.
  25. mikelink45
    Ober is not the answer but the who are they line up produced more than we are used to.
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