Mike Sixel

The Twins have now "fixed" 40% of their rotation. Last year, they were as far from being top 5 in runs allowed as they were runs scored. In other words, it wasn't just the pitching that held them back....and even TR has said this several times. Right now, you have no CF or LF (assuming Willingham is the DH, if he's the LF, good luck with your new fly ball pitching staff....) that appears to be able to hit at all. Can you even name the OFers other than Willingham and Arcia at this point? The SS can't hit. The 3B can't be counted on to hit (Sano won't be up right away, imo, and even is he is, do you think he'll be great right away). The catcher, not sure we can name him for sure yet. Doumit isn't good. Basically, they are average or better at 1B and 2B (assuming Dozier is 2nd half Dozier) and maybe RF. That's it on offense. That doesn't take into account defense. Some have said, well, just wait until Buxton is up. I doubt he's up in 2014. Some have said Hicks will hit this time. I'm not sure he'll ever hit righties, even his good AA year was driven by his ability to walk, an ability he wont' have in the majors if he can't even make contact. And who is the other OF, because if Willingham is the DH, I shudder to think about the O produced with Hicks and Pressley as your OF. Me? I think the next signing should be an OF that can hit some. I'd settle for a DH, frankly, since Willingham won't be here past 2014 probably. I don't see a SS they can sign, and I'm not sure how they'd trade for a good SS prospect right now. They have options at SP now, but they have almost no good options at OF/DH/SS/C/3B that we can feel confident in their ability to hit and field. thoughts?

Garza would be a nice add, but how does the team score any runs if you blow the budget this year on pitching (which I've raised in another thread)? Or are we just writing off 2014?

How is it an overpay, if it does not stop the Yankees from signing other players? As long as they are willing to keep spending, it doesn't matter if they pay $5 for a win, or $100MM for a win.

Oops, should have read the whole thread......

Except pro athletes only pay the income tax for their home games....so half that number. But that is still a real number. I agree with the poster earlier, they NEED OF help. Badly. Even when Buxton comes up, they have no LF. This year, they have no LF or CF, assuming Willingham is the DH. Ugh.

If Willingham is the DH, who the heck if the LF and CF? ugly. But I do share the other parts of your optimism.

On topic, this is a lot better attempt at fixing the rotation than last year. Gotta be happy that they are trying to get better, rather than just trying to get by. I don't get the disdain for Gibson. He dominated AAA, and imo, they waited too long to bring him up and he wore out. He has more upside than most of their other options. Not sure why you'd not trot him out there this year. It's not like he is 22 years old. I'd prefer two FAs, KC, Gibson, Deduno be the starters, with Worley as a RP until someone is hurt/fails, with Meyer in AAA until the next guy is hurt/fails. My guess is that guy is Deduno or KC, frankly, but it could be Gibson. I don't care all that much if they lose Hendriks or Diamond at this point.

Hitting, hitting, hitting. They have already "fixed" 40% of the rotation, but have added no offense. Indeed, we are looking at a CF that can't hit at all, again. There is no DH. The 3B can't be counted on to hit. The SS can't hit. The LF might hit, but can't field, if he can stay healthy. The catcher is an unknown. They were as far from being in the top 5 in runs scored, as they were in runs allowed. Of course, the best run producing FA not named Cano is now off the market.....and they aren't signing Cano. Choo is a RF, but you could put him or Arcia at DH, but I'd bet they don't sign him. Frankly, the real difference makers are either off the market, or not coming here probably. So, ya, they could sign another pitcher, but they aren't likely to score enough runs for it to matter this year at all.

Ha! We probably agree more than we admit/realize.

What makes a contract bad? 1. The money could be used better elsewhere, but remember, you can only have 24 guys. 2. The money keeps them from signing another player. We know, probably, this is not the case for the Yankees. 3. The team keeps playing a player that is bad because he makes money. No idea if this will happen if Jacoby becomes bad or not. Is he worth that much to a team where the money creates opportunity costs? I think that is debatable, but for the Yankees? It creats no opportunity cost at all probably. Not all wins are equal, and not all payroll situations are equal. He's one of the best players in baseball the last few years. If he gets them over the top and in the playoffs, that's worth a lot to them. the Yankees were 16th in runs scored last year. It is easier to fix that in FA than it is to fix pitching. In a vacuum, for other teams, it might or might not be a good deal. For a team that really does not have budget constraints, I don't get how this can be considered a bad deal.

Oft injured? He is the safest FA this year, though seven years is one more than I would have done.

Great, maybe now they'll go get a legit OF or DH or both instead......

Why give up Tonkin for a guy taht has not pitched more than 50 innings in a year in a ML uniform since 2011? This is an injured guy, that hasn't been good/healthy since 2010. If you give something up, it is nothing of value at all, just to take the money off their hands (and even that seems like paying too much for me). Why Worley? He is much more likely to be healthy. I'm baffled at the love.

As long as Pinto gets a legit shot, I don't really care....but I think JP will continue to be bad at his job, and I'd rather they look elsewhere for help (like OF or DH).

"earn it" meaning what? Being good in the minors, and great in his audtion, or something else? I worry that signing a guy like him makes him the starter, and Pinto the backup, at least with this organization. As for "plan B"....it doesn't matter if your starting CF is Pressly, your starting 3B is Plouffe, your DH is Doumit, and your SS is Floriman. That offense isn't competing w/o some changes. This offense was awful last year, and so far all they've done is hope for a healthier Mauer and Willingham. IF you sign a legit OF or DH, then maybe worry about catcher plan B. Otherwise, Pinto is plan A, with your best defensive C as plan B, and Herrman as plan C and /RF/DH/PH.

He's awful at his job. I don't understand why people are so afraid of giving a rookie a shot. Unless you think they'll compete next year, in which case you go sign a good catcher, not an awful one.

Just curious, if KC is bad this year, and others he could have signed last year are good, will you all come back and say he was wrong? I really don't care, it's water under the bridge, but people do seem to have some need to point out when he's right or wrong.

Why leave Gibson down, again? I don't get the love of Diamond and Johnson by them (if it goes down like you say). It's not like Kyle is young. Move Diamond to long relief. Put Gibson in the rotation day one, and have Diamond/Worley/Hendriks/random guy as your plan B/C/D. Oh, and Meyer in the middle of the year.

I want to be more clear.....in a vacuum, it was value for what they paid. In context, what good did it really do last year?

Sure, he gave them value. But, so did Pedro Floriman. Doesn't mean you build a team around them. The issue was that he was THE signing. Using him as your 4th or 5th best pitcher makes sense....so sure, he was worth the money they paid him. But that doesn't mean it was a good signing, since it helped neither the present or the future.

Give me 3-5 starters that can usually get 2-3 runs given up in 5-6 innings....that is a HUGE improvement over last year. But, this offense still needs a lot of help, imo.

Jacoby Ellsbury......CF for 1.5 years, followed by LF. Great defensive OF, high OBP guy.....really solidifies the lineup for the next 4 to 6 years. Imagine Ellsbury, Mauer, Buxton, Sano, Arcia as your first five hitters....... as for pitching, Meyer is in the rotation this year, with Stewart in 2-3 years. Get lucky on Gibson being good, and the two they just signed.....you are covered for a few years.

Now sign Ellsburry, and my blueprint pretty much comes true. No idea if either pitcher will work out, but they went out and tried to get better. That is a good thing.

Not sure why the money matters, if they have the budget.

Not my personal first choice, but it does show they are serious this year about getting better. I guess keeping my hopes up was ok after all.