Mike Sixel

Did you intentionally not read the second line, about replay and making it seem like there is action when there isn't? "An NFL game can be filled with replay (which distracts you from inaction), a baseball game is filled with dead air." Where, anywhere, did I say there is more actual action in football?

Like Vance Worley? The point people are making, I believe, is that there was no reason to do this. Why do it? And, I'd hardly call 1.5 pages a lot of energy around here.

That is a one liner in a post about how you can't win with a bunch of guys that are at best average, while still carrying several players that aren't good at all. I don't necessarily agree or disagree with the poster, but it seems unfair to the post to pick on a nit in a long post. YMMV, of course.

Uh, the ranking is how someone did, not a prospect ranking. Age is not relevant. The future is not relevant. It is a "who did the best at hitting" ranking...... that said, I kind of like Garver's numbers better, what with the ridiculous OBP.

No, I think I was pretty clear, they aren't going to eat that much money. That wasn't clear in my statements?

I'm am a much more casual fan than you all are.....I like talking about the game more than watching it right now.......here are my thoughts (which probably aren't worth much.....): 1. Interleague play is great. Getting to see great players in person is one reason I would still go. I have no idea how keeping people from seeing half the players in person is a good idea. 2. There are 162 games. It isn't just the percent of games where your team has no hope, but the weeks/months of no hope. In baseball, you can go 3 or more months knowing your team is terrible. The whole NFL and NCAA season barely last that long...... 3. Related to the above, I would blow up the regular and post seasons. It will never happen.......but I would: a: Cut the season by a couple of weeks b: Make every team make the post season, yes, every team. c: the best teams would get buys, the worst teams would play 1 or 3 game series to advance I have the details on this idea someplace, but basically, it makes it almost (but not totally) impossible for a bad team to make it past round 1 or 2....and no team that makes the playoffs today would be in jeopardy until round 3 or 4..... 4. It isn't about how long the game lasts, it is about the lack of action during the game. An NFL game can be filled with replay (which distracts you from inaction), a baseball game is filled with dead air. 5. The snobishness of baseball coverage seems like a turn off. Caring about unwritten rules, caring about the history of the game as much as the current game, talking about all kinds of stuff that isn't really about the game. The game should be about the game (if you want new fans), not about a bunch of other stuff. Old skewl baseball players on sports coverage that constantly rip on the current game.....how is that good for marketing? 6. Lack of stars and marketing of stars. This gets to the whole "you have to earn it, this isn't the NFL, this is a team game, no one is bigger than the game, if someone celebrates I'll throw a ball at them" stuff that is prevalent in the MLB. They do everything they can to kill joy and fun from the game, and to kill celebrity. It might or might not be good for a team to do this, but it is terrible for marketing the game.

But since the Twins have no changes to make on offense. ..... not sure how the defense improves.

Ryan was on the radio two weeks ago saying santana is a SS long term.

I agree that using old guys without options had been a problem here for several years now. Why do we think that will change? We have all seen it as part of the problem, but nothing has changed.

Lifetime Healthcare is so huge. It frees you up to take a job and to move around......so huge.

How many years in a row have they gone to 13 pitchers? I'd suggest you should probably assume they'll do that again next year.

I think counting on Buxton or Sano is a bit premature. Neither can even play baseball right now. Meyer? Ryan basically said again he's not ready. Gibson looks like a 3/4. Nolasco is terrible. Hughes is a nice pitcher. Then there are a bunch of question marks. There are at least 2, if not three, holes there. The Twins can choose to eat Nolasco's money, or trot him out there. We know what they will do there. The SP is not good, despite signing three free agents and graduating the one guy most ready to pitch. No idea why anyone should feel good about this group at all. The bullpen is filled with old guys w/o options, leaving the team with no roster flexibility. There are surely 3 holes there. CF is manned by a guy the GM says is a SS long term. LF....black hole. RF.....he's ok, but not good right now. There might not be "room" to add many players, but that is a function of what is available in FA, their willingness to spend money or not, the lack of SP ready in the minors (or OF ready)......not a function of this being a good team at all that has no holes. What it is, is a team likely to lose more than 85 games again next year, unless there are changes.

Only one hole to fill on this roster.....

Um.....hmmmm. That is unexpected. Not sure how to feel about the twins apparently caring more about Rochester's record than Minnesota's.

No, they traded Revere for nothing, apparently

Ben Revere for May and Worley......sigh.

Could any team handle how they talk about their superstar worse? But if true, super sad.

Agreed, birdwatcher.....

Are you saying it isn't true, and he was obfuscating? that the pohlads did turn him down, that he wanted to spend more, but couldn't?

What I remember is Ryan always saying this: "the Pohlads have never turned me down when I asked to spend money" or something like that...... I think it is presumptuous to believe we know what the budget was, or what the owners said he could or could not do. either way, the point is, the guys he signed during those years were bad. really. bad. I'm done with this, though. It isn't going anywhere. brock and I agree, others agree differently, no one is likely to change their mind.

McPhail signed the largest FA signing at the time in MLB history in the dome......do we know Ryan's hands were tied? We don't know. All we can know is how the signings turned out.

birdwacher's best post ever. he should probably retire right now, seriously, I agree with every word here. Every. Single. Word.

I don't care who he didn't sign, for the sake of this discussion......look at every FA he signed in the 2000s, when his job was to close the gap, and tell me if you think they were good signings or not more often than bad signings......I agree with Brock, I don't think he did a good job. Since I don't know what limits were or were not placed on him, I can only judge outcomes of guys like tony bautista and others.....

Agree with Seth.....improving the bottom of your roster makes the team better (even the 25th man is important.......), but he's probably not a good starter. He might be an ok starter, but I don' think it likely he's a key player on a great team. But, Seth is right, upgrading the team from top to bottom is helpful.

if it takes 4 years for a player to make the majors......and in Smith's time there weren't enough minor leaguers to call up....who was the GM when those guys were drafted, Smith, or Ryan? this isn't actualyl a hard question to answer. Ryan was.