John Bonnes

I can't think of an offseason where the Twins have been rumored nationally to be anywhere near this aggressive, especially with bigger names. Ryan isn't afraid to be aggressive early in the free agent period for pieces he thinks he needs - overpaying Jamey Carroll before 2012 comes to mind - but never with players of this caliber and price tag. Literally just a week ago, I would've said that the chances that the Twins sign any pitcher for more than $10M/year were less than 5%. Now I feel its probable. There are just too many rumors and discussions with some of the better names on this market. I don't know why the change in direction and philosophy, but whatever the reason, I'll take it.

Fox Sports North broadcast a video of Dick Bremer interviewing Joe Mauer about the move to 1B. It was good seeing him talk in person about it. He seemed very at peace with it based on his body language. You can find the video here. Bremer asked him about why he has always wanted to be a catcher. I found lots about his answer interesting: 1. I hadn't thought about how he always wanted that "captain on the field" position in all sports. 2. I find it interesting that he made an analysis in high school that led him towards catcher. 3. I love that he said he "fell in love" with being a catcher. I think it's worth watching, just for the body language. A lot has been said about who drove this decision. I don't find any evidence that Mauer is not totally invested in this decision.

I wonder if there is something they know about Doumit that we don't yet ? He and AJ seem like awfully similar players. And while ole I would be very interested in AJ in the broadcast booth, I'd be even more interested in him coaching at the end of his playing career.

Good lord - I'm going to need to learn how to spell his name again? First Mientkiewicz, now this?

It's a fair point, but I also think the concerns about how much he played were always overstated, and that was especially true over the last couple of years, when cutting back on his time behind the plate kept him in the lineup a lot more. Before the concussion, which cost him almost 1/4 of the year, he had 500+ plate appearances already. Last year he had 641 PAs. That's a lot of PAs. There isn't more than a couple of players per team that get 650 PAs. I just looked up Morneau's totals, who really prided himself on being out there everyday. He had 3 seasons where he exceeded that level - 711, 668, 661. We'll need to see, I guess. I hope he can get 660 plate appearances and above.

From the story.... I wonder if Mauer doesn't reconsider this at some point. Maybe not this offseason, but maybe next. I wonder if, as the concussion effects fade, he'll start to doubt the move. I could see him having a tougher time walking away than he originally thought.

The Gardenhire-Bartlett thing was bizarre. From the outside (and we were all outside at that point in their history) it sure seemed like Gardenhire just didn't trust Bartlett and he had some quotes about "wanting him to take charge of the infield" and such that gave the opinion that there was something vague and indeterminate about it. If I remember correctly, Bartlett didn't get to play regularly until Ryan actually traded Castro away. But from the moment the Young/Garza-Bartlett trade was made, Gardenhire let everyone know that he really liked Bartlett. Was he showing tough love early? Was he trying to get a laid back kid to be more assertive? Was he just too enamored with veterans? Or was there something else we didn't know about? I have no idea. But I think we misread that situation originally. I don't think the "about-face" his a manipulation. I just don't know why he didn't play Bartlett over Castro more often.

Also from this story.... I would think if the Twins signed another catcher, it would be limited to a one-year deal, and Saltalamachia is going to get a multi-year deal. But I'm OK with the Twins not wanting Pinto to get more AB before they trust him too much. He only had 75 plate appearances in both AAA and the majors.

Thanks for posting this link snepp. It's a good story, if anyone wants to click ver. If Joe thinks it's the right thing to do, then it's necessary and the right thing to do. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking this is a positive development for the team or for Mauer professionally. This year at catcher, Mauer's 880 OPS ranked 1st. At first base it ranked 6th. At catcher, Mauer is a Hall-of-Famer. At first base, it's not totally clear he's an All-Star. I'm not worried about the money or the contract - I don't see any evidence that if the Twins had an extra $10M that they would spend it anyway. But that catcher position suddenly has a lot of eggs in Josmil Pinto's basket. If he and Doumit don't thrive, that position could become an absolute sinkhole. One year from now, I can foresee a tremendous amount of angst on these boards directed towards how we're going to fix the catcher spot if Pinto needs more time than the 151 AB he's had over Double-A ball.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2464-Gleeman-and-the-Geek-Episode-119-Live-From-Mom-s-Basement

No, it doesn't, and here's how I know that.... Have any other left-handed hitting corner OF types been mentioned in relation to the Twins? No. And that's because they don't really need one. But invariably, fans and the media and even Twins Daily needs to wonder about some of their favorites returning, no matter whether it makes sense or not. And for the record, I like Kubel and I think he's going to be a savvy pickup this offseason. But the Twins are awash with guys like this and Kubel never really embraced Target Field and there are younger (albeit probably not better) options. Not only do I think this shouldnt happen, I can't imagine Terry Ryan doing it, not with someone like Rosario playing OF in the AFL. I'm not rippping Cody for writing about it. And I promoted it, because people want to consider it. But really, it just doesn't make any sense. I wonder if this thought also shouldn't be applied to Johan Santana somewhat. THere are a lot of injured starting pitchers on the market, and we'll likely crucify the Twins for signing any of them - unless that someone is Santana, in which case choirs will sing and doves will fly.

Just to see what I could see, I tried Justin Morneau. I got to say, I didn't see much didfference in the charts between his 2012 & 2013 season. That surprised me considering that the statistical results seemed so much worse in 2013.

I like the addition of Feldman & Kazmir. Personally, that would be enough to get me excited about 2014. It's really not that outlandish.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2449-Gleeman-and-the-Geek-Episode-118-Free-Agent-Pitching-Options

Seth, I've got a general question about your rankings, driven by Rogers being in the top 20.... How much weight do you give to strikeout rates? Rogers is 22 years old and posted 83K in 123 IP in HIgh A, in a pitcher's league. To me, that seems like a guy who almost no chance of having any meaningful career in MLB, not even as a reliever. Now, maybe at this number, none of these guys have much hope of a MLB career, but I would think Goodrum would, and relievers that are lower on this list might too. So is there something you know about Roger that we don't - like he's an extreme groundball guy or something - or do you discount strikeout rate, which I notice you often don't include if it's not impressive. Thanks.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2433-Gleeman-and-the-Geek-Episode-117-Coach-Molitor-Recapping-Ryan-Interview

I find it interesting that Bill Smith still being in the organization is such a smoking gun in some minds. He was bumped to a business side job primarily overseeing the development of the new sports complex in Florida. There is no way he's a distraction. He was respected enough to be named GM - I don't know why he wouldn't be respected enough to do that now. But back to the groupthink vs innovation debate: I don't think I emphasized my point enough and I don't think I stated the philosophy. The philosophy is this: when you have a need (or a job opening) you first look internally to see if someone can handle it. If you can't, then you look externally, like for an Alex Meyer. The advantage is that everyone internal knows that performance and results are rewarded and not overlooked for greener grass on the other side of the fence. And that has a real long-term impact. It's also hard to see from the outside, but from personal experience I find it much more powerful than big announcements or changes in direction that start loud and quickly wither. The disadvantage is that over time, an organization can be slow to react to new ideas.

One of the criticisms raised of Ryan, especially after rehiring Gardy and bringing Molitor on board: the Twins are too enamored with GroupThink, too inbred, limit their promotions to internal people and are resistant to external ideas/people. This is one of the debates that came up in the Terry Ryan interview thread, and I think it deserves it's own thread. There is a balance there, no doubt. But I think it's worth mentioning that there are risks both ways. One of Ryan's core philosophies - one that is clear over and over in the full TD Offseason Handbook interview - is that there is more to be benefited organization-wide by focusing on rewarding your people or holding them accountable, than by focusing outside of the organization and possibly overlooking them. If you haven't read the whole thing (personally, I think it's worth the $5 just for it) you come away with the impression that above all, Terry Ryan believes in MANAGING. He believes that if everyone is vested then the scouts scout better, the coaches coach better and the players play better. And I can tell you from people I know within the organization that the perception is that Bill Smith - far more than any decision he made - wasn't able to make sure that the whole organization was doing its job. And I'll note another place this paradigm makes sense: the seeming disdain for free agents. Free agents get in the way of people within the organization, and they encourage a quick fix mentality that problems can be bought away. I've stated several times that the Twins reliance on their minor leagues isn't just out of financial necessity - it is a core philosophy. The Twins don't just develop minor leaguers to play at the majors - they play at the majors to develop minor leaguers. It's that important. But after reading and listening to that interview, I wonder if even that view wasn't too narrow. That philosophy is part of an even larger one, and it extends to people in the front office and the coaching staff and the scouting department. Ryan wants people who really care, because it's impossible to manage that many people who don't. If you care and do a good job, they'll find a place upstairs for you. And they do that by focusing internally.

I think MLB approved it before last season, but neede it to be approved by the MLBPA. It was enacted in April sometime and the Twins waited until after the season to add the extra guy.