mikelink45

Sano - Arcia - Vargas - Park seems like a full cupboard to me, if only we could move that big box of Sugar Coated Minnesotan out of the way.

As a small Hall advocate I find a number of recurring themes which do not deserve all the angst that they receive; Will someone get 100% of the votes - this is a big who cares item for me. Do they post the stats on the plaques? If someone is making a statement who cares, that statement only gets aired because some writer is looking for a column in the doldrums of Winter.Will the PEDS get in? Again, who cares. I am not for their induction and I do not feel that the Hall suffers from their absences. In fact, until Rose came along, Shoeless Joe Jackson got the continuing poor guy press, then Rose who has become boring, and now it is the PEDS. They get more publicity for not being in. Look at the list of ridiculous inclusions in the hall - most of which we cannot list without research - Mary Marion comes to mind, but there are many more. The HOF is getting the 10 is not enough treatment, but we have not put in more than 5 in any year of my life so obviously the congestion, if it were truly memorable could have been fixed with a couple 10 player inductions, but the fact is, most of these guys are only good - a player like Raines was an all-star, but if he does not get into the Hall will anyone care in 10 years? And Schilling - is good in the off season, this is not a post season HOF, he was good, but there are many good pitchers like Tommy John, Jim Kaat, Jack Morris who are not in and Schilling is just another very good pitcher, like Catfish Hunter and Jim Bunning, who should visit, but not be on the wall. I have visited the Hall and I really enjoyed it, but I liked the exhibits - who reads all those plaques? The best thing about the elections is not who gets in, but the conversations and memories that surround the voting.Which leads to my last point - the indignation of people like Buster Olney become really boring. Vote or don't vote. I do not care.

I like the projected lineup - except I would drop Mauer Lower (won't happen because it would create too much angst). The Danny Santana candidate for 2016 could be Rosario, I think everyone is expecting it. But I fear that Sano gets that swing flying and SOs piling up and he could be the Vargas candidate. I hope not. I really liked both of these last year, but the year before I was excited by Danny Santana. And I do expect the Hicks turn around candidate will be Buxton. Speed does not diminish unless there is injury and speed will be the weapon that pushes Buxton to the forefront. Potential in this lineup is great - but it would be amazing for all these parts to come together in 2016 - I think it will be 2017 before it moves on all cylinders, but that does not mean 2016 will not count. Now put an analysis together for defense. We know what we have on the mound and someone needs to corral all those hit balls.

Earl Weaver was the believer in the three run home run and set this model early, with success, but that success was predicated on having four 20 game winners in the rotation and outstanding defense with Belanger, Brooks Robinson, and Paul Blair made them strong up the middle. I am worried that defense does not seem to be a concern in the roster and, of course, our starting pitchers are not up to the Earl Weaver Standards. We have ignored the KC model, but we are flawed in our pursuit of the Earl Weaver model too.

The Twins are in the middle here - look at the pitching staff and we are old, look on the field and we are young. But then the Twins are seldom in line with the rest of the league. What I am waiting to see is when we reach the point where teams learn to stop giving long term high price contracts to players who have passed their prime. I look at the angels paying for what Pujols did with the Cards because they were smart enough to know that he was only going to go downhill. The Cards made the right decision, but I am looking at these contracts that are out there now and it makes no sense in light of what these charts show.

Yes - I have given up on Nolasco. Not because he mighty not have a nice mediocre season left but because he does not have any great seasons left. Move on.

Amazing - it is like picking at the bones of a holiday dinner. We have no meat to roast on our hot stove so we keep making soup out of the trimmings that float our way. And now we will have a left handed relief pitcher to talk about as well. Toss another kleenex on the fire!

I agree with all these players and the potential for Regression, but what about our half season players - Dozier and Perkins. How will they handle putting them together for a full 162?

We know that one pitcher will get hurt, most likely more, but who is not easy to guess. Berrios needs to be next and if no one gets hurt or Duffey regresses Berrios has to be next. I am still bitter about last years season ending and the possibility that Berrios like Duffey might have made the difference, but moving on - if there is no injury and Berrios pitches like expected and the dumb service time rule is past - Milone to long relief becomes the best option. May, Duffey and Berrios in the rotation is my wish, but even a happy new year is not going to make that come true in 2016.

A nice diversion since nothing is happening on the MLB level. Good luck to all of them, but if they make the opening day roster we will not be as strong as we should be.

The only conclusion this gives me is that we have a lot of arms and our crisis in the bullpen is a crisis of trust. TR likes the vets and the Cards win with young arms. Anyone able to give TR a wakeup call?

As I continue to reflect on the failure of Terry Ryan to be the kind of general manager who can move a team in todays market I read this article http://baseball-players.pointafter.com/stories/8852/ranking-mlb-catchers-worst-best-2015?utm_medium=cm&utm_source=outbrain&utm_campaign=ao.cm.ob.dt.8852&utm_term=dt&utm_content=2787525#8-Kurt-Suzuki-Minnesota-Twins and saw AJ ranked 29 to Suzuki's 22 and think of how AJ was on his list to improve this position. And then I wonder what would have been the rank if Mauer had found a way to stay behind the plate.

Perhaps better wording would have been in order, but then again I think about running around with old Cy Young and swapping stories about the old days.

That's right, I was a sophomore in High School.

When I said I was 70 and usher for the 1961 season I should have shared the starting lineup - just looking at the names brings back great memories. Bob Allison Earl Battey Reno Bertoia Billy Gardner Lenny Green Jim Lemon Don Mincher Camilo Pascual Zoilo Versalles

Invest yes - keep - NO. But we got the most out of Kirby and I hope this will be the same with Buxton.

Nice article, but I am 70 and ushered for the Twins in their first season at Met Stadium, memory lane is a long avenue.

What I keep looking for is one of the Twins Daily bloggers to examine TR's tendencies and history. In my mind I remember him making quick moves and then seldom making moves around the owners meetings, and finally picking up a left over near time for camp. Is my memory faulty? Because he is doing what he always does. Even trading a centerfielder has become a Twins trade mark - Torii when he was a centerfielder, Span, Revere, Hicks, Gomez! Has any other team traded so many center fielders during this time period? Of course, if an ex-Twin becomes available that will be his next move. That is why he went for A J first in his catcher search. I believe your analyzers will see more trends than I am listing.

I just through San Diego out there because they seem clueless the last two years. Of course I disagree with your conclusion on Vargas, but we can only speculate.

They are young, they will not cost a lot and we seem to have made a decision that they are not wanted. I would scoop them up if I was another team. Plouffe should have trade value, but recent trades do not make ok third basemen a valuable commodity and the Twins seem to have no inclination to trade him.

Isn't this the TR history. When did we last make news at the meetings? In fact, TR does his shopping early and then watches. What he picks up late is often what we wish we could get rid of later. He is not a mover or a shaker - although I suspect that he does shake his head in disbelief at the other events.

SP is not the exception. We pick from the dust bin and then wonder why we have so many long term contracts and so little talent.

Buxton in center is the only option, we need his glove, especially if we do not have excellent fielders in the corners. I have heard talk that Plouffe is actually slower than Sano and therefore less ready for OF conversion. I expect to see Rosario, Buxton, Sano in the outfield and I think it will be fine. It is not Plouffe who creates the log jam - it is Mauer as we have known for two years and will see for two more. The losers are none of these current players but rather Vargas and Arcia who actually might have more trade value than Plouffe, especially when paired with Milone and Nolasco - CALLING SAN DIEGO!!

So we lose only one player - I suspect we will not notice - even though I agree with an early posting, we had players who could have been moved if we saw a future for Jones.

I do not see anything here that will impact the Twins - they have a strong minor league right now so we should see some fringe players who cannot make it on to the team. Levi Michaels is better served moving on - I do not see him becoming a player that we could not replace.