Wow. First post ever. I've been waiting for this moment for so long, this must be what it's like for a stalker to finally confront the object of his/her affections. Anyway, here is what I have to say: It seems apparent to me that the Twins are on the verge of a renaissance similar to the one we had the privilege to enjoy from 2002-2010. Sure, they didn't do much in terms of playoff victory over that span, but as I believe we have all learned from the last three years, making the playoffs and getting swept is a hell of a lot better than losing 90+ games in a season. We all know how epic some of the prospects coming up will be; Buxton has a Willy Mays-esque ceiling; Sano will pound out 40 homers a year, Meyer will be the right handed version of Randy Johnson and Mauer will be the wily vet whose experience and still elite level of play will be the lighthouse that guides the team to a world championship before he rides off into the sunset as an all-time great Twin. Maybe I'm getting carried away, but you get the point. It would be so amazing if, for the first time in my entire life, the Twins went aggressive, and made moves with the interest of winning this year. Would starting the season off as the starting center fielder really be too much for Buxton? We all have heard about how fantastic his makeup and desire-no, need-to be great is. He is also an extremely gifted physical specimen. How badly does he need one more year of seasoning in the minors? We know he is the future, and the faster he is up in the bigs, the faster this bright future can begin. The same goes for Sano. Even if he only bats .220 and strikes out 200 times, it's still a safe bet he would homer 20-25 times, and any experience he can get can only help him in the long run. With ultra-talented prospects like those two, it's obvious that they have the ability to compete at the major league level, so what is the point of letting them dominate the minors, when they could be getting valuable major league experience in a year that most people don't expect the Twins to be competitive anyway? For all we know, they could come up and play at a high level, and be the boost this team has needed for three years. But having Buxton and Sano up this year does nothing for the "starting rotation" the Twins have been trotting out for the last 291 losses. So, taking into consideration the fact that they have about $40-$60 million dollars to spend, it's time to go out and get at least two, if not three, above-replacement-level starting pitches. My three would be Garza, Hughes and Johan. Johan may or may not be above replacement level, but he would come very cheaply and mostly would just satisfy my pipe dream of him coming back to us that I've had since he was traded. Garza would be a great get for the Twins. He is everything that the current rotation is not: a sometimes dominant pitcher with a decent k/9 and a bit of an attitude (allegedly) who can lead the rotation until Meyer is ready. Also, I like Hughes a lot as a guy who can be a solid 3/4 guy down the road. I also wouldn't mind signing AJ to a one or two year deal either, to split time with Pinto. So, here would be my batting order and rotation for next year: CF- Buxton 2B- Dozier 1B- Mauer 3B- Sano LF- Willingham C- AJ/ Pinto RF- Arcia DH- Doumit SS- Florimon Bench: AJ/Pinto, Presley, Escobar, Plouffe Rotation: Garza Hughes Meyer Santana Gibson Now, in all honesty, I don't really expect any of this to happen, buuuuuut I would be absolutely ecstatic if TR realized that he's getting old and YOLO. If things play out well, these moves could lead to a playoff push next year, and if the youngsters struggle, then that was to be expected, and they get a valuable year of major league experience. I know that I'm not taking into consideration their arbitration clocks, but if these players pan out like we hope and think they will, what difference does one year make when you will be having to sign these guys to multi year, 100+ million dollar deals? Thanks for sticking with this post, thoughts and criticisms are highly appreciated
