mikelink45

Amazing - so unpredictable. Wisler was never on any projections I read. I would have been less surprised if Taylor Rogers had been released.

Since I am 75 I make it in your age requirements and there is not doubt that during the sixties there was not a team in the league that would not have drooled over the prospect of having Tony on their team.

If only I had the time to challenge all those assertions. Let's just say I am not among the Kepler lovers.

I am constantly amazed that Eddie gets the attention he does, but Kepler does not get the criticism he deserves.

If I was Eddie I would move on. Clubs like the Indians and Orioles can sure use his bat. I am anxious to see all the names that will be talked about today. Good article and lots to stoke the hot stove

Seventy five for a seventy five year old Okay, it is my birthday and I love life and all my ex-students, friends, participants in the guided tours, neighbors and family. So I am reflective and that means I have to think of 75 memories – there are many more. But here are 75 Twin memories. 1. Ushering during season one 2. Mudcat Grant – you want colorful – this is it. 3. Vic Power taking over first base in a way I have never seen anywhere else. 4. Jim Kaat just delivering and delivering and delivering. 5. Harmon Killebrew with a swing that seemed to cut the night air into pieces. 6. Rod Carew just toying with the fielders. 7. Sandy Koufax showing us what HOF means – despite out loss it was great. 8. Tony Oliva doing everything and then those knees just radiated pain. 9. Joe Mauer being so Minnesota that everyone in MN complained he was too plain. 10. Tovar playing everywhere and playing so good. 11. Everyday Eddie coming in day after day and giving us ulcers everytime. 12. Calvin Griffith reminding us that owning a team did not make a man into a good man. 13. Sid Hartman telling us everything MN was great even when it wasn’t. 14. Metropolitan Stadium, a dream for all of us with erector sets. 15. The dome collapsing like a big pimple. 16. 1987 Twins being champions when they looked like a below average team 17. 1965 Twins being the best team in our history, but losing to a historic event 18. Hrbek doing his wrestling move on first base – I am still laughing 19. Sitting in the upper upper deck of the metrodome at game 7 1991 20. Jack Morris refusing to quit – HOF for no other reason 21. Kirby Puckett showing that determination can change an outcome 22. Dan Gladden a non-star who gave us grit 23. Herb Carneal giving us a transistor seat at all the games 24. Halsey Hall so outrageous that we loved him even if we did not know what he was talking about 25. Cool nights with a breeze from right field in the sixties 26. Lousy hot dogs that still were satisfying in the early decades 27. Bob Allison looking so fit and intimidating 28. Nelson Cruz reminding us old guys that old does not mean feeble 29. Kirby Puckett taking over game six 30. Hrbek’s WS grand slam 31. Knoblauch at second base 32. Knoblauch returning to a shower of boos and hotdogs 33. Jim Perry 1970 Cy Young 34. Tom Kelly blowing it with Ortiz 35. Zoilo Versalles 1965 MVP 36. Byron Buxton in Centerfield 37. Torii Hunter robs Barry Bonds in All Star game 38. Frank Viola Cy Young 1988 39. Harmon Killebrew MVP 1969 40. Billy Martin and the marshmallow salesman 41. Johann Santana Cy Young award 2004 42. John Castino – rookie of the year 1979 43. Seeing Carew leave 44. Johann Santana Cy Young 2006 45. Paul Molitor at DH 1996 46. Dean Chance No-hitter 47. Joe Mauer 2009 – major league player of the year 48. Camilo Pascual’s curveball 49. The collapse of the Metrodome 50. Marty Cordova Rookie of the year 1995 (or last rookie of the year) 51. Justin Morneau MVP 2006 52. Mitch Garver in 2019 53. The Turtle running the bases 54. Bob Allison’s sliding catch 55. Randy Bush pinch hitter with 13 hits in one year 56. Gene Larkin’s walk off pinch hit 57. Puckett to the HOF 58. Harmon Killebrew’s 520-foot Home Run June 1967 59. The last playoff game won by the Twins 2004 60. 18 game post season losing streak 2020 61. 1984 Dave Kingman hits a 208 foot double – straight up and into the metrodome roof 62. Tony Oliva wins batting title in 1964 and 1965 63. 1971 Rod Carew Rookie of the Year 64. Lyman Bostock and Larry Hisle came together for one great year 65. 1977 Rod Carew batted 388 66. 1969 Harmon Killebrew hit 49 HRs 67. Billy Martin gets in fight with his own 20 game winner – Dave Boswell 68. 2016 Twins lose record 103 games 69. 1987 home team wins all the games in WS and we have four home games 70. Watching the famous Hrbek game in Sierra Vista AZ bar as the only Twins fan in the place 71. Killebrew in the HOF 72. Rod Carew in the HOF 73. 2002 Pohlads agree to contraction – we almost lost the team 74. 2006, the year of the Piranhas 75. Bert Blyleven in the HOF

I can see the convenience, but I hope St Paul is happy. With a AAA affiliation the local team cannot control its own roster.

Yes - his problem is that he was not HOF worthy at 1B and that is what many will remember since it was most recent. But Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat will still rank 1 and 2 as the best that did not get in.

All I can say is Rooker, Kiriloff, Larnach

I understand the limitations of fantasy ratings, but I still find it instructive to see how others view our players no matter what lens they use. Thanks for a good posting - I do have to admit I am still a Rosario fan.

I want Balazovic, Kiriloff, Larnach, Rooker, Lewis, Duran on the team by the end of 2021. The players listed would not block them and I hope no one does. We have to have upside if we are going to get to be more than division champs. Wacha is the most interesting for me, although Pillar can play CF and we need a reserve OF who can handle that position. I am hoping that Gordon and Blankenhorn can be utility players.

The last four years he has won 6,8,11,2 games - I would not call that dependable. Suspensions and injuries. What are we paying for? Would I extend him - yes for no more than two years and for a very team friendly contract - he owes the team more than they owe him. By the way I know people don't like wins anymore, but a starting pitcher should still reach double figures with some regularity.

I join the consensus here - why would you do that. Very few pitchers are really good after 35 and the contracts for a 35 year old free agent are likely to be pretty reasonable.

Nice reflection even if I disagree with some points, like the OF. Where is the second CFer? When Buxton is down we have corner OFers filling in. Second - Rocco is good, not great. I just can't get excited about the 5 inning starter. Third - put Jeffers in the bright future and hopefully Balazovic too. We need a home grown pitcher again who is more than a filler (sorry Dobnak). I would add a thanks to Cruz who gave us the Ortiz DH that we have sought for so long. I know he is probably gone, but boy was he good. Then I would add Maeda who showed us what a really good pitcher does and can do. Finally a thanks to Bert who was so easy to criticize, but never stopped giving us something to react to.

Whether Buxton is kept or traded the Twins need another CF with fielding skills. Kepler does not want to play there and shouldn't. Cave and Wade lower the bar too much. With Buxton's health and probably a need to rest him when he is healthy one of our two bench OFs should play CF more than competently.

Berrios - 6' according to the web - he does not seem that tall Maeda - 6' 1" Odorizzi - 6' 2" Balzovic - 6' 5" Duran - 6' 5" It looks like the prospects will be pushing the scale - But then the under 6 foot pitchers of the past include: Smokey Joe Wood 5' 11" Fernando Valenzuela 5' 11" Ron Guidry 5' 11" Billy Wagner 5' 10" Whitey Ford 5' 10" Pedro Martinez 5' 11" Just give me a good pitcher - height is nice, but the Timberwolves have proven that is not enough without talent.

Another excellent job, but somehow the Twins video events need to avoid Monday and Thursday night football. In this stay at home covid time it is hard to ignore the FB games. This was an excellent look at the man and not just the athlete. Thanks again.

How does an old fan who is on social security speculate in this land of fun money? I keep dropping the last three zeros when I read about this contracts. But, yes, we should extend him. Then we should get Balazovic into the rotation and start our next good home grown starter.

As I said in my previous blog posting I am watching to see where the current Twins rank in ratings outside the Twin Cities. It is always suggestive to read a less biased - less connected view of our own team. So here is the ESPN Roto rankings for 2021 - https://www.espn.com/fantasy/baseball/story/_/id/28285423/fantasy-baseball-2021-rankings-roto-rotisserie Catcher Garver is rated #7 (between Will Smith and Gary Sanchez) Jeffers 34 (between Romine and Torrens Avila is 47 between Trevino and Knapp Of course Realmuto is 1, followed by Grandal and Perez, but I am surprised Garver stays this high. And I am surprised Jeffers is so low. Avila is in the right place and the Turtle is not rated. 1B Sano 13 between Guerrero Jr and Cronenworth Alex Kiriloff makes this list too at 35 between Moreland and Aguilar Freeman is the leader with Bellinger and LaMehieu next. Interesting that they put Kiriloff as our second 1B - I would have expected Rooker. 2B Arraez 43 between Diaz and Garcia Merrifield and Albies head the list, but Arraez is really low on the list. I have to remember this is fantasy so his bat does not play as well here as it does in our lineup. 3B Josh Donaldson in #17 between Urshela and Seager That is a very low ranking for our big purchase. Is it because they do not see him staying healthy? SS Polanco is #15 between Villar and Gregorius Royce Lewis is #40 between Simmons and Garcia Gordon makes the list at #49 between Chang and Mercer Like so many of our players Polanco is middle of the pack among starters. They do not have Ehire, but they put in Lewis and Gordon - they obviously expect some changes. OF Eddie Rosario #17 between Judge and Conforto Max Kepler #19 between Conforto and Meadows Byron Buxton #48 between Canha and Happ Alex Kiriloff is $93 between Margot and Taveras Betts, Acuna and Soto are their top three. Where is Rooker? Designated Hitters They only list three and Cruz is number one. No questions there. Starting pitchers Kenta Maeda is our top pitcher at #24 Jose Berrios is #34 Rich Hill #62 Michael Pineda #80 Jake Odorizzi #105 Randy Dobnak #114 Jordan Balazovic #121 deGrom, Cole and Bieber are the top three (of course) and I am most shocked that they would have Hill as our number three pitcher by these rankings. Our rotation is complete which is great, middle of the pack like our position players. Relief Pitchers Taylor Rogers #10 Sergio Romo #66 Caleb Thielbar #75 No Duffey, no May in their top 75. Hendriks, Hader and Chapman were the big three. They also rank the top 300 regardless of position so pitchers and all positions are mixed. Here are our top 300 players: 33. Nelson Cruz 57. Eddie Rosario 66. Max Kepler 96. Kenta Maeda 109. Josh Donaldson 115. Jorge Polanco 116. Miguel Sano 131. Jose Berrios 148. Taylor Rogers 178. Byron Buxton 227. Rich Hill 229. Mitch Garver That is 12 in the top 300 - with even distribution the teams would all have 10 and we have 10 in the top 200. When I look at these lists I have a lot of questions: Should we sign Cruz - he is our number one ranked player? Eddie Rosario keeps getting ranked higher than anyone not named Cruz and yet TD keeps putting out that he will be DFA's, should be DFA'd. Why? Taylor Rogers keeps getting love in these rankings and so does Garver. What did I miss? Where is Michael Pineda? Was Rich Hill really better than him?

If Cruz is gone, if a decent salary is negotiated I put Rosario at DH. That allows one of our young group a place to play in LF.

I do agree about the young talent - they are going to be restless and dissappointed in they are back in whatever is the minor leagues this year.

I prefer Seth - I am a prospect person too. Grossman is a step backwards. Ramirez is not much better than Larnach for DH. Bauer is not someone I could rely on. Snell for Kiriloff would be a good trade, but I do not believe the Rays would do it.

Nice essay. What changed? I don't think a different hitting coach would have that drastic a difference. Was part of it the ball? Were they unable to adjust? If it was just facing relievers the rest of the league should have had the same result.

I am so pleased with your interviews. I cannot always catch them live, but I really enjoy them.

Wonderful post. Full of great takes - one thing stuck out - Ortiz. What if Eddie was a DH and we did not talk fielding? Would he be a star?