John Bonnes

That is something I think you can get used to, especially after years of being watched. In my experience, real stress sneaks up on you. Worrying that your kid needs to move from his friends ( or be raised by an absentee father). Worrying your wife is alone or that her support network is in jeapordy or that her parents are going to call her worrying about the latest rumors & whether that means the grand kids are moving away. Ths is the stuff that hits you when you aren't looking, that you can't control. That doesnt mean they need our pity, and that's not what the story was saying. It just men's it's silly to think this stuff means NOTHING to them. It probably does, and they likely can't help but have it affect them.

CIN doesn't give up Hamilton straight up or Span & Perk, IMHO, let alone add the other two.

I'd take a B pitching prospect for him. I might take a c+ pitching prospect. You can find relievers when our team sucks.

James Shields. I don't think you mentioned James Shields. That throw-in of the A's at the bottom was interesting. I can see Billy Beane getting aggressive and going for Frankie, especially if he thinks the rest of the market is afraid of him. They might be worth a team profile story.

From Danny Knobler (link): I wonder if the Dodgers get shut out by the Cubs, if the Twins could swing a deal for Liriano where the Dodgers also have to take Morneau and the Twins still get a couple of decent (not great) pitching prospects. I'd be OK with that deal.

My favorite line in that story is: The more I see these stories, the more excited I get about the possible market for Liriano. I say "possible" because he needs to have a big game on Sunday. But if he does, once Greinke signs, he is the perfect option for teams: talented, but his current team has no incentive to hang onto him. For all the talk about Johnson and Shields, I really wonder if their current teams are ready to let go of them.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/163962346.html There isn't anything revolutionary in this story, but it's well written. Burton sounds like he's happy and fitting in well. I'll add one thing that isn't in the story: I'm a little surprised there isn't more talk about trading him. He's only under control for one more year. He isn't pitching back to back game very often. His history suggests a long-term deal isn't a great idea. And there are teams looking for a really good reliever.

I was asked this morning on KFAN where I thought Liriano would end up. I replied Atlanta; I don't think they'll get Greinke (the Rangers will) and they'll turn to Liriano. But there are literally another 10 choices: Red Sox Angels Rangers Blue Jays Dodgers Orioles Nationals Mets Blue Jays and of course, the Twins. If you have to pick a team, who would it be?

Since he had "forearm cramping" a week ago, I kind of suspected we would see this. Once it became clear he wasn't going to start before the deadline, it seemed inevitable. Forearm pain is WAY too often the first symptom of elbow issues.

At this point, I almost don't care who they trade him too, so long as its soon. It feels like the whole market has ground to a stop until this as been decided.

I liked.... - that it sounds like the Twins explored re-signing Liriano - that Ryan intimated Liriano just plain wants to try free agency - that Ryan is thinking long-term when it comes to prospects.

Perdomo's problem has usually been control, but he's been MUCH better his year - 18BB in 51 IP and just TWO in 18 IP in AAA. I can be optimistic about this.

Yeah, I don't think the Orioles do it either, which is a little weird considering the Twins are sending their most tradeable asset AND 20 MILLION DOLLARS. But I don't think the Orioles would do it.

Am I crazy? I'm rooting for the White Sox to get Greinke? The White Sox are apparently very aggressive for Greinke. I'm not sure if they have the horses to make it work, but I'm also wondering if I want them to make it work. On the one hand, I can see them re-signing him if they get him. On the other, if they don't re-sign him it costs them some farm players AND it means Greinke goes to a team that the Twins likely wouldn't trade Liriano to anyway. I think I'm rooting for Kenny Williams. I feel dirty.

I wrote earlier this year that I was in no hurry to see Morneau traded, just because I wanted to be there for the big finish. And I think he's exceeded expectations and I think he'll be even better next year. But if another team was willing to grab him and pay all of his salary, I'd trade him for lint. I want that $14M and I'll risk Parmelee's production at 1B. It's a no-brainer in my mind.

The lead off hitters for the Reds combined have an OBP of around .250. That is not a typo. Span would be a huge upgrade for them.

Let me switch this up a bit. What if the Twins traded Liriano, Burton and Morneau, but not Willingham. And what if the Giants had to pay all of Morneau's salary. Then what would it take? (I gotta be honest - the Giants farm system seems really weak. It's hard to find a good package here.)

Would getting Gary Brown change things? Or are there any young arms that would help?

http://espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office This is insider only, unfortunately, so tread lightly on pulling passages. But you can see the proposed deal for free at the top of the story: Crick was mentioned by Nick in today's Trade Target Team Series.

My wife is a Phils fan, so we heard the Phillies announcers laughing about this during the game. We both cracked up. It's just such a GoGo moment.

Yep, this was the #1 requirement for both Brock and the rest of us. You have a choice now. I go back and forth. You can change it at the bottom of the front page.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jon-heyman/19660930/orioles-looking-into-colon-liriano-headley-and-hitters-who-can-get-on-base I don't get the sense the Orioles are willing to overpay for Frankie. IN fact, that's why his name has come up with them - they think his cost will be more reasonable. Also, a couple of weeks ago Seth wrote up the profile for the Orioles including some names about whom the Twins might ask, if you're interested.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/163787206.html Sid interviewed manager Ron Gardenhire about the tough year but Gardenhire made it clear he doesn't plan on leaving. I thought the community might like to react to that story here as opposed to the Strib's comment section. ~~~ (BTW, if anyone else comes across local or national news regarding the Twins and thinks it might make a good topic, you might want to try this yourself. Just... 1. Title it "Source: Summary" 2. Include the link. 3. Do NOT copy the entire story into the post, though you may want to pull a passage or two. I thought that might be something we try since sometimes some of those sites have very few comments or have comment sections that might not be particularly rewarding.)

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?836-Evaluating-Francisco-Liriano’s-Trade-Market

Two big pitching trades have been made this week and several more have been close. With all that activity, could it be that Terry Ryan has missed his chance to maximize his return on Francisco Liriano? I don’t think so, but I also doubt we’ll see a move soon. Still Lots Of Interest The Tigers acquired Anibal Sanchez on Monday and the Pirates traded for Wandy Rodriguez on Tuesday. Both are top notch pitchers that could be viewed as comparable (or better) than Liriano. Furthermore, yesterday Dan Gladden revealed that the Twins had long talks with the Pirates before they walked away and the Pirates worked out a deal with Houston for Rodriguez. It also appears that the Dodgers are in a standoff with the Cubs for Ryan Dempster, a standoff they’re likely to win since Dempster has already vetoed a trade to the Braves. That’s three “buyers” likely gone for Ryan. But it appears that there are still plenty left. Within the past month, the Red Sox, Angels, Rangers, Braves and Blue Jays have all been rumored to be interested in Liriano. Plus, the Orioles, Nationals, Mets, White Sox and Cardinals have all demonstrated they are interested in adding starting pitching. That is ten teams, albeit with varying level of interest. Still Lots Of Uncertainty But things are still moving slowly because nobody is sure exactly which pitchers are going to be available. Cole Hamels is out because he just signed an extension with Philadelphia. Matt Garza might be out, because “forearm pain” is often the first sign of an elbow ligament tear, so teams want to see him pitch again, and the Cubs say he might not. Rumors have been flying about the Marlins Josh Johnson, but the Marlins now say they would need to be blown away to trade him. On the other hand, Zach Greinke is almost certainly available. He’ll almost certainly be moved to teams before Liriano, because most GMs will try for Greinke first and turn to Liriano as the backup choice. It’s not clear if some other huge names like the Phillies Cliff Lee or the Rays James Shields are available because they aren’t “rental” players, so any trade would require major prospects. The buyers are going to want to explore all these options, looking for the best deal. The Waiting Game So it appears we’re going to need to wait a bit longer. Liriano hasn’t been consistent enough to make anyone overpay for him before others have signed. But it also appears that ultimately, there are going to be more teams looking for top-tier pitchers than there will be top-tier pitchers. If that stays true, it playing the waiting game is still the best hope for maximizing Liriano’s value.