gunnarthor

well, he's affordable, I suppose.

That's a fair point.

Yeah, that pissed me off. I knew he was gonna hit a HR after he didn't get run up. But it is what it is. I remember a Vikings playoff game years ago - 1990? - where we were on the road at SF and driving. Wade Wilson threw a pass for a huge gain or maybe even a touchdown but the refs called it back saying Wilson was "in the grasp" of the defensive player, who was literally only holding his foot. It was an egregious call. And the Vikings ended up punting, SF scored and the entire game changed and I was positive that that call changed the entire game. I was probably wrong but I still remember it. So, anyway, the Yankees were the better team and that means that the little things have to go our way. When they don't, it's a lot harder to upset them.

I'm not suggesting both Gonsalves and Romero, just one + Gordon to headline the trade. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I do think the Twins could make a package around Rosario as well and that might be more acceptable to other teams.

I think the reason you trade Nola (if you're Philly) is you trade him if you think this is a good sell high time and/or you're worried about his durability in the longterm. If they did trade him, I don't think Gordon/Gonslaves would actually be enough. The Phillies SN team discussed moving him at the deadline and basically wanted to be blown away. Which is the right view for them to take. But if we think Nola moves the needle for us, do we blow them away (I don't think Gonsalves/Gordon is enough). As for the A's, who knows. They're just moving pieces for no reason until they get funding. Manaea's not exactly an ace so a package like that looks good for a soft tossing lefty. Agreed on Bumgarner but he's a great pitcher on the second worst team. I should have mentioned Matt Moore as a real possibility. Had a horrible season but two more option years and is still young. Do you want to gamble on a guy like him? I think Archer and Stroman aren't likely since both teams probably feel that they can make a jump - hell, the 100 loss Twins did it! I think DeGrom is the most likely name on that list but I'm not sure how I feel about him.

Yep, exactly. Because of Molitor's friendship with Pohlad, I do think he'll stay in the org in some capacity but not as manager. He's very smart and players liked him. I don't think he was a good in-game manager but if the FO can figure out how to use the best parts of him, he can still be useful to the org. Maybe as a roving instructor?

So, just looking around the league a quick bit. Would a package of, say, Gordon (top 30 on most prospect lists) and Gonsalves/Romero (top 100 on most prospect lists) + 2 top 20 system prospects (Wade? Littel?) be enough for any of these guys? These guys had good seasons on teams that should probably rebuild - Mets Jacob DeGrom - 3 years left - 30 years old next year. NL pitcher who has topped 200 just once (this year). 5 WAR pitcher last year. Phillies Aaron Nola - 4 years left - 25 next year - NL pitcher - 168ip is max so far. 4 WAR pitcher last year. Some injury history. Pirates Gerrit Cole - 2 years left - 27 next year - NL pitcher - 200ip twice - 3 WAR guy last year - ace of Pirates pitching staff and huge former prospect. Never quite lived up to prospect billing but good starter. Giants Madison Bumgarner - 2 years left at 12/year - stud pitcher with great reputation. Probably not likely to be moved as is arguably face of franchise and WS hero. Blue Jays Marcus Stroman - legit ace this year - 6 WAR pitching in AL East. 3 years control left. Only 27 next year. Topped 200 twice. Short pitcher same issues you heard about with Berrios. Not sure Toronto is going to go full rebuild. Out pitched his fip, if you care. A's Sean Manaea - 5 years of control. Not as good as the rest of these guys. Plays in Oakland which helps pitchers incredibly. Lowish k-totals. Former top 100 prospect. A's always looking to trade guys. Tampa Archer - I don't think Tampa would move him, they aren't that far away. If they did, he's probably #1 on most lists and Twins would probably have to up their offer. These guys had bad seasons on teams that should probably rebuild but are still young enough and were highly regarded prospects or older but might still have something. Phillies Vince Velasquez - lots of strike outs, lots of walks. 26 next year. Kevin Gausman - uber prospect, three years of control left. Has all the stuff, never quite put it together for a full season. Reds Robert Stephenson - former top pitching prospect. Tons of walks, control issues. Not sure if starter or bullpen. Their Buxton prospect for years. Only 25 with lots of control years left but hasn't really figured it out for a while. Probably a better Alex Meyer type at this point. Seattle - King Felix - bad season for him. Injured. Owed tons of money over next two years. Seattle would probably move him but he can veto a trade. 32 next year.

The Twins will hire a new manager but I have no idea who. Probably someone with connections to one of Falvine. As for FA, they'll probably sign a guy like Jaime Garcia for 4/48 or so and maybe a bullpen arm like Belisle. This team doesn't have the payroll to do much more than that.

Man, that loss hurt more than I thought it would. But good season.

I will say, here and now, that if Molitor orders a sac bunt in the first three innings of the game tonight, I'm gonna ****ing explode.

Harper said that the Yankees were his favorite team growing up, his LH power swing is made for that park, they can pay him more than anyone else, he'll be the most famous person in the most famous town and he'll be in the postseason every year. Yeah, he'll give up his beard for that. It's such a lock, I wish I could bet real money on it. As for future Twins, I expect Falvey to continue the small market payroll we had under Ryan. It's why he was hired. We might extend one of our young stars by getting a year of FA in a deal like Ryan used to do but we won't be giving out any more Mauer deals. Our payroll will probably stay static at around 110-120 for the next decade or so unless MLB revenue continues to spike. If it goes down, so will payroll.

Twins aren't going to take on Stanton's salary. He'll be a Red Sox and the Yankees will sign Harper and Machado.

The second amendment isn't really a problem for serious gun legislation. Despite the Heller decision, courts have upheld every single challenge to gun controls post-Heller. A completely ban of guns won't fly but pretty much anything else would be constitutional. Congress is using Heller as a cop out that they shouldn't be allowed to use.

Agreed.

Can't listen to it at work but if Punto actually said that, God bless him!

I don't know what the answer is. I'm not that smart. But when you see the documentaries on these kids living down there where they'll inject anything into their bodies to make it, where they are sexually abused by trainers and scouts and where they are using forged documents all just to try and get a better life for their families, I hope someone smart tries to improve their lives.

I would really like that. Anything that could help these kids be better treated is fine with me.

Was this link posted yet? https://sports.yahoo.com/john-coppolellas-resignation-just-start-atlanta-braves-problems-230643724.html "While the long-term fallout of Coppolella’s actions remains unclear, the focus of MLB’s investigation narrowed in recent days to the bundling of international amateur signing bonuses to circumvent spending restrictions, according to sources. The scope of the Braves’ scheme remains unclear, but a source familiar with it deemed it “significantly bigger” than a similar one employed by the Boston Red Sox in the 2015-16 signing period. To skirt rules that limited them to signing players for a maximum $300,000 bonus, Boston overpaid for bonuses on lesser players represented by the same buscon, or trainer, of more highly regarded players, to whom extra money was funneled. The five players signed in the scheme were declared free agents, and the Red Sox were banned from signing any international players for a year." Sounds like MLB thinks it's bigger than the Red Sox scandal. Apparently mlb is looking at bundling (the same practice done by the Red Sox, under the table benefits and pre-draft deals "struck months in advance." That last one could open a pretty big hornets nest if they were really to look into it.

https://twitter.com/tompetty/status/915072929120972801/photo/1 One of the few artists whose music I always liked no matter my age.

Twin fans deserve some karma. We got bounced year after year by PED loaded teams. We're due for a nice win that ****s over Yankee fans and to do that behind a pitcher with a PED suspension on his sheet would be perfect.

Player's drop, every year. Buehler, Hudson, Gibson, Alec Hanson, Kendell, Romero are just a few names that have been linked as top 10 draft guys who fell past 20 in recent drafts. The key is finding and developing a guy.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/10/mlb-investigating-braves-kevin-maitan-signing.html Sounds like the Braves might lose Maitan (who would keep his bonus just like the Red Sox guys a year ago). If released, Maitan, a top 75 prospect, would be a free agent.

I think so too but it's just a way to ignore people who you don't want to deal with. "Oh, the ACLU is suing Trump over immigrant rights again? They're just SJW. **** em."

Hope Gardy gets another shot to manage.

After Sandy Hook, I'm pretty sure nothing will let us decide that guns are part of the problem. If that didn't do it, nothing can.