Platoon

Well the skeptic in me figures he would have left as soon as he was a FA. . But the bigger question is: Why is Brian Dozier driving that Gator in the parade?

And you probably aren't "Mr. Big Stuff"!

To expand a little on Jimbo's take. My lifelong neighbor was a very good amateur catcher and later a very good plate umpire. He always told me pulling the glove is useless. It's too obvious. But turning your body in to the plate, and catching the corners with the glove turned in shows the umpire the baseball. As does getting low and ease of movement. While I know that the line between balls and strikes in MLB is much finer, the principles are the same. In some of the frames shown Castro seems to be blatantly pulling the ball. On that point, as an umpire, when my friend heard a catcher question a non strike call after the catcher had pulled the ball over the plate he would ask the guy, "if it was so good, why did you have to pull it"? That was generally the end of the discussion. That said, I know that there are MLB catchers that are better than others at framing. The seemingly recent discover surprises me though. But then you read the Gladden comment, and wonder how Danno got a job as an analyst having not noticed something that I taught my kids

Dangle Darvish. Sign Miley. I don't know about baseball, but in retail I think that's called bait and switch? .

My top three would be P. Jones, B. Smith, and D. Toles. Now some may question whether these names appear on either the Twins MiLB or MLB payrolls. I have no idea, but with the spelling Police out in full force, I considered this much safer than someone like Hosae Berriohs .

So we are simply left to accept your eye test of the Radish as fact? It's well documented that personalities affect the perception of a Radishes worth. Old line FO types in the Radish league are getting very hard to find. It's a new era. Show us the facts.

I know RF is considered tougher at Target Field than left, but I sure would prefer that arm of his was in RF vs LF. Especially when Robbie G. Is in RF!

I don't think Rosario ever ran exceptional routes to a baseball. But what he did do was throw the ball with velocity and accuracy better than most. That certainly impacts the eye test in evaluating his defense. Some of those throwing opportunities are now gone, the extra base ones where there was a reasonable chance to get an out. Players seem to have quit taking the dare. One other question, or point. Did Rosario spend more time this year shuttling around the OF filling in for Kepler, or some time spent in CF? Or is that simply my perception.

I won't even begin to try and put numbers on a Buxton extension. But as a general point, if I was going to extend anyone, maybe anyone in MLB, it would be him. His ceiling is stratospheric. And his floor is only going to be determined with an injury, which is unforseeable. His defense is already elite, as is his speed and baserunning. His hitting may not end up elite, but I bet there will be a lot of guys on the stat sheets looking up at him. As for whom, Buxton or Sano to tie down first? I don't see that as much of a decision. Injuries and other issues have riddled Sano with question marks. He, not Buxton would be the one I let settle in for a year. Btw, I totally agree with the poster that said without some more quality pitching, this whole conversation may be irrelevant.

So? In other words you operate just like everyone else on here, myself included. :)

You had me until you said "market deal". Perhaps I am jaded by years of MN sports history, but when one lists the Twins, Astros, and Cubs in the hunt, it doesn't seem a market deal will suffice.

I am nowhere near a metrics guy. But this one seems so flawed by its inability to consider location. Pitching is like real estate, location, location, location. While this seems a good tool to measure "stuff", it would sure seem to ignore control. While I am sure there are far better examples, Samuel Deduno comes to mind. Electric "stuff", but couldn't hit a barn door with it.

Baseball is an entertainment business. As such it relies disproportionately on the fans perception of their products likeability, unlike say a plumber. Their product is a sum of its parts, players and staff. This makes Sano's alleged behavior(s) part and parcel of his value. The relationship is inescapable. This would apply whether the act was as alleged, or if it was shoplifting, armed robbery, or a DUI. For each act there would be consequences to the player. Civil, criminal, and MLB related. From there on it is also unavoidable that each FO, field staff member, advertiser, and fan would form their own opinion of how they would proceed with not only their perception of the player, but in some cases his continued financial value to them, be it on the field or as a trade piece. These considerations are inescapable. I don't know whether Sano did what he was accused of, nor do I know what MLB will do in regards to it. But there will be fans who do not go to games because of it, and fans who do not care. That is to each their own decision. I don't live in their world, nor do I have to approve of their values. FO's types will use a far more calculating metric on the moralities of his alleged actions. Each has different types of constituencies to consider. And those groups will impact Sanos value to that GM when he considers whether it's feasible to put the teams uniform on his back. Like it or not, the recent allegations about Miguel Sano will remain intrinsic to his value for a long time, if not the entirety of his career.

While I disagree that there is a 50/50 chance on Darvish coming here I liked the rest of your comments. The place where something like WAR gets over emphasized is when specific needs are ignored. This is such a case. Gordon's rankings and future seems to be going downhill lately, and I cannot believe that with the exception of his really cool name Zach Granite is quite easily replaceable. Jay would be a concern, but one has to give up something to get anything. To me, and I would imagine many others, the Twins need for SP is so desperate, that while not throwing caution to the winds, it certainly impacts their leverage in trade considerations. While that is not a best case scenario, it is what it is.

If I could find a trade partner whose team is in a market that could overlook recent issues that have surfaced, and those teams do exist, then I would trade Sano if I could get some reasonable return in the starting pitching department. There are so many flags here, both on and off the field. And that's a shame, I was very much looking forward to his career with the Twins. I thought he would end up something special. I am not sure that will ever happen.

None of the numbers seem overwhelming, but one seems underwhelming. Buxtons BA. I think it will be north of .270. That's the good news. But Sano is the bad news. I doubt that suspension or not he will be ready to play effectively this spring. For years he was, and I thought he would be, a cornerstone of the offense. I am not so sure that is still a given.

One more thought before I move on with my life. I am sure JP does make an attempt to make the Twins more appealing, on or off field. He is a businessman and knows the need to market. But all businesses also decide whether money's spent on improving the product get a desired return. Some fans think Pohlad should spend some of his "own" money to bring in high end FA simply because as an owner he should also be a fan. There are a few owners like that. JP is not one of them. Therefore while I would liker to see a legitimate big name signing, I won't be disappointed when it doesn't happen. Nor would I bash Pohlad. It simply is what it is.

While I commented about Pohlad and his ownership, I don't have an "issue" with him. He does all the things you mention. Which is why I find it so interesting that so many Twins fans believe there is a modicum of truth in the annual FO pronouncements that JP will allow the Fao to spend whatever necessary to improve the club. That's just the FO falling on their sword. I would imagine that JP enjoys the status that owning a MLB franchise provides. I would doubt he revels in it. A true Twins fan and JP both have large investments in the team. But they are likely of a far different nature, with a far different accounting at the end of the season.

Baseball, as noted is a business. A franchise business, like Burger King.It has always been my contention that simple fact is often ignored. We, the fan, think that Jim Pohlad will spend his own money for the sake of winning a WS or two. Several owners have, for some, Yankees, it's worked. For some, Detroit, not as well. I seriously doubt JP falls into that category. He is most likely a spreadsheet guy. Ryan often expressed how willing JP would be to spend the money to land a big fish. And while Mauer could be considered one example, I think the new stadium and the home town boy made the numbers work versus the backlash. Remember less payroll, less deferred money, less high paid managerial talent = less operating costs. And with a lot of income from tv and radio fixed, and season ticket sales, I would not be surprised that the bottom line is almost or likely more attractive in Pohlads current business model than if he went chasing the ring full bore every year. And if one doesn't think JP is a bottom line guy, one hasn't paid attention to how that family operates.

This may be hard to describe but here goes. Some of the most interesting discussions about baseball have often been caused by the opinions, even speculations of the beholder. Killebrew sucked! No he didn't! Etc, etc, etc. For example I made mention on another blog site, that I thought Dozier was the king of the short home run. The next day I was inundated with fly ball stats, distance stats, and balls caught v balls left the yard. Turns out Edwin Encarnacion is the short HR champ. Now I have nothing against facts whatsoever. Nor was I offended. But the discussion about baseball, or any other topic is much more lively when opinions are personal. Look at the old "the world is flat" argument. Columbus ruined that one. It's much more fun to argue whether Harmon actually sucked, than it is to argue about whether his OBP was more important than his slugging percentage, or vice versa. There is absolutely a place and a need for metrics. But there is no doubt that the efficiency and accuracy of those same metrics has diminished the intensity and entertainment value which have always been the heart and soul of sports discourse. The foregoing isn't an argument in favor of ignorance. Its simply a conjecture that one of the casualties of metrics just might be passion.

The Twins are in a tough place. I cannot believe they will pay the price, plus the premium to get Darvish to come to the tundra. So that leaves trades. I thought they were of the right mindset trying to trade Dozier, and can't believe they could not get someone to give them enough to pull the pin. You can win a lot of games with a core of 2-3 level pitching and good defense. That is where the Twins need to concentrate. It's not flashy, but it can lead to legitimate competitiveness. Add to that draft, development, and flexibility and you can run a very nice orginisation within their budget "constraints". Hopefully the resulting playoff appearances will result in an occasional WS participation.

I don't know much about the content of the blogs as I am more of a front page guy, if it looks interesting I read it. Meaning the headings are important. When I open TD the blogs are buried, maybe that's just my setting. But click bait is a fact of life. As to the less intense version of content in the last year (seemingly), I think some of is due to the lack of serious player movement. Signing Zack Duke may have some intrinsic value to Pau Molitor in the 7th inning, but it's hard to comment on a blog or forum while yawning. Same for game threads, the gallows humor displayed by many of the regulars for several years was inspiring and in some instances side splitting. TD is driven I am sure by Twins passion. The passion can be driven by different emotions, but it's got to exist. Currently it seems to me that the team may be stuck in a sort of neutral. Too good to be bad, but not good enough to be great. Controversy, pro or con drives interest. It's currently lacking.

I had no idea that their was an opportunity to cash in writing on TD. Not that it would have made a difference. I have written a few forum pieces, none of which were memorable, and have done a few GT openers. To an extent I enjoy both. TD is somewhat of a safe haven in which to express ones opinion. Comments made are generally respectful, even in disagreement. It's one reason I would hope that negative forums or blogs dont start appearing. While I am not inclined to kiss the FO posterior, and have had issues with field management, it's a fine line between critiscim and abject negativity. I don't have a solution for the blog issue, but I would say that the biggest obstacle for me in the GT openers is the lineups. The window is small and I don't want to be tied to my electronics in some cases. Nevertheless, I check this site daily, have for several years, and hope to be able to for many more.

Mildly being the operative word in this sentence!