Dr. Evil

The net value of a starter vs a reliever can also be looked at relative to the strengths and weaknesses of the current staff. If his replacement in the rotation is 10% worse than him and he is 50% better than the next late innings pen option(Fein or Duensing as examples) then I would say it is a net gain for the staff in it's entirety if he is in the pen. Especially when you consider he would be in high leverage situations late in games out of the pen.

Either way, I hope next year we have a solid pen. The value of a solid closer/setup combination seems to get understated at times(not pointing fingers at anyone here). If you can consistently shorten the game to 7 innings there is a lot of value in that. We have more options at starting pitcher than we do quality pen arms. Some of our pen arms are more suited for mop up duty. This imbalance can't continue. If that means May as the setup guy and Berrios or Duffy in the rotation next year, I see it as a net overall gain for the team in it's entirety. If a guy like Meyer suddenly emerges and figures things out while becoming a flame thrower in the pen too, I have no problem with that either.

Hope he is better than what we got

People wouldn't be as sensitive to issues like this if the norm was to move these players along through the system in a slightly more aggressive manner with a focus on players with high ceiling potential. There seems at times to be a willingness to stand by whatever "gem" has been pulled off the scrap pile via rule 5 or free agency or throw-in's as part of a trade, often times an older player. To me this is very annoying and when a guy like Buxton is sent down I feel like, "here we go again." It has to be frustrating for guys trying to make the leap to the bigs. Or, guys that get sent to the pen in favor of a veteran guy etc.... I am bored with the current MO.

The twins win!

K!

I vote keep our Trevors and put our Miguel at first and our Joe on the bench

Let's go Perkins!

I would. Fifty games in the majors this year helps him for next year.

If you go to a game and the guy next to you is struggling with "Gas," can you get a discount on your next ticket purchase or at least get a free corn dog or something? Thanks in advance for your feedback. Sincerely, Smart Feller

The Twins will not make the playoffs IMHO. I commented in the offseason about the need to improve the bullpen and the comment was made by someone that Mr. Ryan had a history of building a pen "on the cheap." Soon after that someone else commented that yes, he has got a history of building a pen on the cheap.......albeit a bad pen. So I'm not really surprised that Fein is unreliable. He never seems to change speeds and his stuff is flat. Duensing.....not even going to comment. So, here we are in the thick of the race and that is terrific. But no way do we have the pen to get us to the playoffs. As for Tullo, he is an elite shortstop offensively and defensively. I would love to see him on the Twins even if it meant handing over a couple of prospects. He is a foundation type guy and those are tough to come by. I wouldn't hesitate to give up Plouffe right now either while his value is high. Let Sano learn on the job for the remainder of the year. An infield of Tullo, Dozier, Sano, and Mauer for next year sounds pretty decent to me. If you can add a good pen arm for Plouffe now and another in the offseason to go with Perkins, we would have a pen with a fighting chance.

This team is not better than they were when they started kicking out 90 plus loss seasons. Not even slightly better. All we have is more prospects in the system. That's not because we develope them better. That's because we are better at sucking. Yea, I am pissed.

I'm one who was excited about signing Santana and when this news came out I found myself feeling very mad. I figured he would stabilize the top end of the rotation and that would have a trickle down effect on all areas of the team. But, then I got to thinking more about it and concluded that part of my anger stemmed from already having been kind of frustrated over my perception that the gm did not do much to address some of the teams glaring holes in the offseason. So, when this announcement came out, I think I was already feeling negative and this sort of gave me something to vent at. I'm wondering if any of you kinda see the same thing in how you may be feeling. Now I ask myself, what things can I get excited about regarding this team? What areas can I look to for hope? Well, Our young and developing core of players that need to evolve in order for us to make our next serious run at a World Series is still in tact. Also, I feel good about the new coaching staff and I am thinking that they can get more out of the players through teaching and through a different attitude and culture. Losing a veteran pitcher right out of the gate really stinks. But, I think I can get over it and set my frustrations aside so that I can relax and watch or listen to the games this spring and summer like I always do. I love baseball and I really can't force myself to cheer for a team other than the one I grew up with. My 2 cents..........

I wonder if this is the kind of drug that is an ingredient in any legal supplements, prescription medications or herbal medicines that could mistakenly be taken? Or, if it is something that there is no way it could be taken by mistake. Anybody know?

The thing that sucks he got hurt and had to change positions. How valuable would he be this year if he were still a catcher? Then all this stuff with pitch framing and handeling pitchers we been seeing posted would not even be an issue.

I like this post youngpadawan.

I imagine a meeting where ownership sits down with the gm and says, so we have been horrible for several years. Let's review what you did to improve the team this offseason. Defense, offense, starting pitchers, bullpen, coaching, etc.......... Now let's look at this position by position, catcher, center field etc.......... You would think ownership would be a little unimpressed.

I would love to pose this question to joe Mauer.

Jay is at a level of writing that borders on gifted and I'm afraid my poor reading skills may have had me misrepresenting. Not my intent.

Regarding my above post, I could have misinterpreted what was being said in my response. Sorry if I did. No disrespect.

I just think.........folks are leaning towards this front office as inept. Poor results followed by the same old same is becoming valid through repeatability.

Very tough to keep the arm motion and the release point close to that of a fast ball in order to fool the batter. Those that can conceal it tend to be filthy.

Its preseason for the kids too so the probably need to be afforded just as much if not more chance and benefit of the doubt than the vets due as far as being allowed excusable performances as they tune up for the season. Don't excuse the vets or say they were just workin on something and then send a high end prospect down for not being perfect.

Seems like when we pick up a Mlb experienced guy in trade or rule 5 or a free agent he is afforded a world of chances. Yet, when it comes to moving through our system each player must show a perfect storm of results at every level and even then they only come up out of necessity. Now, dont tare me up with examples to the contrary. My point is, these acquisitions are for filler type caliber players. They seem to be treated more like guys the prospects gotta beat out to get to the show. I don't thinks that's right. Ryan is trying to turn too much coal in to diamonds. It's a fundamental difference of theory that I have with him. Of course, I respectfully offer this opinion.

I'm not a Ryan fan either.