Fanatic Jack

The Twins are one week away from the start of spring training when pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Florida. The team is eagar to put behind one of the worst seasons in franchise history. There has been quite a shakeup this winter to an organization that lost 99 games in 2011. Bill Smith was fired as GM in November and Terry Ryan was brought back. The Twins lost fan favorites Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan to free agency. Those players were replaced by solid clubhouse guys Josh Willingham, Ryan Doumit, and Matt Capps. They also added Jamey Carroll, Jason Marquis, and Joel Zumaya to strengthen their pitching and defense. The roster appears to be set as the club is near the expected $100 million dollar payroll. It is possible the Twins could make one more move before spring training. The obvious place to upgrade would be the bullpen. The front office has about $1 to 1.5 million left to spend before reaching the magical threshold. The signing of Joel Zumaya to a major league deal might prevent the team from bringing in anybody else. However, Zumaya has not pitched since May 2009 and struggled to stay healthy before his elbow injury. Fans have seen dependable veteran relievers like Wheeler, Coffey, and Linebrook sign cheap deals with other clubs over the last few weeks while the Twins have done nothing. There is one intriguing name left on the board and it's Austin native Michael Wuertz. Wuertz (33) was released by Oakland on October 25th and has been on the market for over 3 1/2 months. There are health concerns regarding Wuertz and this is the reason he has not been signed yet. He dealt with tendinitis in his right shoulder during 2010 and hand/wrist injuries for most of 2011. His ERA spiked up to 4.31 for 2010 and 6.68 for 2011. Wuertz had a terrific 2009 season, going 6-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 78.2 IP. He has a devastating slider with a career 9.6 K/9 ratio and a 3.71 ERA. The Twins have a little money to spare and Wuertz would make an excellent low cost addition to a bullpen that needs strikeout pitchers. It would also help to sell some tickets because Wuertz is a hometown kid. Please feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me. Click here to view the article

It sure seems like I'm in the minority here, but I really like this move. All this talk about how great Pedro Florimon is defensively, but the truth is he struggles to make the routine plays as well. Eduardo Nunez can at least hit and working daily will Paul Molitor should help his game defensively. He will be brought to MN to play on a regular basis. He will eventually become the everyday starting SS. The only issue I have with this move is WHY the team refuses to give Escobar a chance to play on a regular basis. Escobar is a much better all around player than Florimon. Bartlett is most likely gone. However, I would DFA Florimon before Escobar and it's not even close.

Terrific article Seth!! I have my doubts about Hicks being a consistent everyday player but there is no doubt he has the talent. I think a fair comparison would be Joe Benson. He showed signs of greatness in a few games too and was released. However, Hicks will be given plenty of time to put it all together. If he does the Twins will have their LF for the next 5-7 years.

Pretty impressive the following Twins Daily has received since it's existence 1 1/2 years ago. I would like to take the opportunity to say thanks to the four (John, Seth, Nick, and Parker) for this great web site. We disagree on a lot of things (probably not Mike Pelfrey right John) but this web site was set up for Twins Fans. I would most likely pay a monthly fee to read the articles written here. I quit blogging because anytime I want to voice my opinion it can be done here. I do miss the podcasts but they Seth & John even have that covered with their own shows. Well Done!!

Aledmys Diaz

Jeremy, You called it. Pretty close on the numbers too. Seth could not agree more EXCITED. And I'm very negative. Question to both of you who's next? I really want Navarro and one more pitcher? Salty does not seem to make sense.

Do you believe the Twins offered Mike Pelfrey a 2-year deal? If they did why??

Do you guys think catcher Dioner Navarro will sign here.

Nice article!! Truth is this organization is doomed as long as GM Terry Ryan is in charge! Nobody sang the praises of Terry Ryan higher than me. I debated everybody while Bill Smith was in the GM chair that we just needed to bring back the genius and things would get back to normal in Twins Territory. I have no problem admitting how wrong I was. There is no doubt in my mind that Ryan is responsible for all those bad years (2007-2011) while Bill Smith was in charge. Not only did Ryan recommend Smith for the job, but probably had the final say in most trades that took place. Young, Santana, Hardy, and Ramos just to name a few. These deals basically transformed the Twins entire organization. I'm convinced now that Smith wanted to spend money to re-sign Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan after 2011. He was replaced with somebody who would be conservative at best and in the process make the Pohlad family millions while at Target Field. What has Ryan done to improve this organization. As of today absolutely nothing!! He signed Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham in his first year back. He waited too long to deal Liriano and was essentially fleeced by Kenny Williams and company. He just gave Carroll away and refused to trade Morneau and Willingham at their peak value. I understand the Twins had to trade Morneau because they were not going to re-sign him. However, once again why not last winter? The reason why is because Ryan thought he was smarter than everyone else. He thought Willingham and Morneau would have monster first half's and he would unload them for top notch prospects. He traded Morneau for absolutely nothing and refused to re-sign him for less. He refused to trade Willingham last year and demanded the Orioles top pitching prospect yesterday. He instead chose to hold on to a 35 year old, injury prone, DH at best, player who is owed $7 million next season. Not to mention Willingham will be taking away at bats from younger players. I guess if it were me, Willingham would have been dealt for nothing and Morneau would have at the very least stayed until the end of the year. However, there is no loyalty in MLB and Morneau took the path well traveled by former Twins superstars. It's really unfortunate that every star player in the last 15-20 players has been traded except for the wonderful singles hitter who is injured yet again. The Twins front office keeps talking about Sano & Buxton. Fans need to remember if they become stars, they will be traded away to save money just like every other big name to come through this town. Last winter every writer kept saying "Why would any good free agent pitcher want to come here when they can pitch for a contender." I guess they were in fact right!! However, the latest Ryan embarrassment is not going to help attract anybody either. The Twins Way used to be respected and admired around MLB, but now it has turned into a punchline. Well Done Terry Ryan!!

Really good article!! I have been very impressed with Florimon all year. He is in a tremendous slump right now, but will get better as he gets more plate appearances. Hell Greg Gagne only had a lifetime batting average of .254. He is terrific defensively, good base stealer, and some pop in his bat. Florimon and Dozier have been real good this year. Pitching still the huge issue with this club. Remember this comment is coming from Mr. Negative.

Darren, Is the best and most honest reporter in the State of Minnesota. KFAN was out of their minds to let him go and KSTP and ESPN 1500 were smart enough to hire him. We the fans are lucky to have him. Most reporters won't report anything negative regarding team moves, but many times he has disagreed with the front office. You just don't see that very often these days. If he said the Twins did not offer Marcum contract, it's a fact, they didn't.

I like Joe Saunders as well but doubt the Twins will pony up the dough necessary to sign him to a multi-year deal. I sure hope so.

I wrote this article back on 12-14-12 and am posting it again for all the positive people who kept saying "more moves are coming." There is a difference between being positive and realistic. I just wish fans would stop defending ownership. The Pohlad family blackmailed us for years about how they needed a new ballpark to compete with the big market teams. There is no doubt action speaks louder than words. I think what people should realize is making money is more important to the Pohlad family than winning. Lucky for teams like Detroit, Boston, New York, or even Toronto because their owners don't think that way. Once again to reiterate, I am not asking the Twins to increase payroll but please don't cut it dramatically. $33 million in two years is out of control. I had a bad feeling going into this off-season the Twins would just shuffle their deck of cards and not really make any legitimate moves to strengthen their biggest weakness starting pitching. I was ambivalent after Denard Span was traded and did not know what to think. Trading a solid leadoff hitter, with a team friendly contract, for a talented but unproven prospect like Alex Meyer seemed very risky to me. I knew it was the right move but would of felt more comfortable getting a major league ready player in return. When the Twins traded Ben Revere on the last day of the winter meetings for Vance Worley and Trevor May it was bittersweet. I use the term bittersweet because Revere was my favorite player on the team, but the overall trade looked like another magnificent fleecing we have seen in past years by the genius Terry Ryan. The off-season looked very promising as the Twins made two very good trades. It was time to turn our attention to the free agent market to shore up the rest of the rotation. Now for whatever reason GM Ryan has struggled with signing quality free agent starting pitchers in the past. Washed up veterans like Tewksbury, Ortiz, Ponson, Hernandez, and Marquis have created bigger problems than helped. Not sure if it's hesitation to spend big money on a free agent or the ownership reminding him about payroll. Either way this year sure appeared to be different than others. The front office said all the right things to convince fans and of course we believed them like always. Diehard fanatics want something to believe in so badly they will ignore the warning signs even if it's staring them directly in the face. Earlier this week the Twins signed pitcher Kevin Correia to a 2-year, $10 million deal. Ryan said Correia is projected to be their #4 starter this year. Not sure what is scarier, Correia being a #4 starter or the Twins having someone worse than him to be the #5 pitcher in the rotation. This might end up being the worst free agent signing in team history. I think realization is starting to set in for most fans we have been fooled again! The Twins did not make any contract offers to Ryan Dempster or Brandon McCarthy before signing and they have not even nibbled at Edwin Jackson or Shawn Marcum either. The only pitchers Twins have been linked to lately are Blanton, Saunders, Myers, and Brandon Webb. Yes the same Webb who has not thrown a pitch since 2009. It's quite obvious to me Ryan will sign one more cheap free agent pitcher and call it a winter. I have said it before fans are like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football and the front office is like Lucy pulling it away at the last moment.

I wrote this article back on 12-14-12 and am posting it again for all the positive people who kept saying "more moves are coming." There is a difference between being positive and realistic. I just wish fans would stop defending ownership. The Pohlad family blackmailed us for years about how they needed a new ballpark to compete with the big market teams. There is no doubt action speaks louder than words. I think what people should realize is making money is more important to the Pohlad family than winning. Lucky for teams like Detroit, Boston, New York, or even Toronto because their owners don't think that way. Once again to reiterate, I am not asking the Twins to increase payroll but please don't cut it dramatically. $33 million in two years is out of control. I had a bad feeling going into this off-season the Twins would just shuffle their deck of cards and not really make any legitimate moves to strengthen their biggest weakness starting pitching. I was ambivalent after Denard Span was traded and did not know what to think. Trading a solid leadoff hitter, with a team friendly contract, for a talented but unproven prospect like Alex Meyer seemed very risky to me. I knew it was the right move but would of felt more comfortable getting a major league ready player in return. When the Twins traded Ben Revere on the last day of the winter meetings for Vance Worley and Trevor May it was bittersweet. I use the term bittersweet because Revere was my favorite player on the team, but the overall trade looked like another magnificent fleecing we have seen in past years by the genius Terry Ryan. The off-season looked very promising as the Twins made two very good trades. It was time to turn our attention to the free agent market to shore up the rest of the rotation. Now for whatever reason GM Ryan has struggled with signing quality free agent starting pitchers in the past. Washed up veterans like Tewksbury, Ortiz, Ponson, Hernandez, and Marquis have created bigger problems than helped. Not sure if it's hesitation to spend big money on a free agent or the ownership reminding him about payroll. Either way this year sure appeared to be different than others. The front office said all the right things to convince fans and of course we believed them like always. Diehard fanatics want something to believe in so badly they will ignore the warning signs even if it's staring them directly in the face. Earlier this week the Twins signed pitcher Kevin Correia to a 2-year, $10 million deal. Ryan said Correia is projected to be their #4 starter this year. Not sure what is scarier, Correia being a #4 starter or the Twins having someone worse than him to be the #5 pitcher in the rotation. This might end up being the worst free agent signing in team history. I think realization is starting to set in for most fans we have been fooled again! The Twins did not make any contract offers to Ryan Dempster or Brandon McCarthy before signing and they have not even nibbled at Edwin Jackson or Shawn Marcum either. The only pitchers Twins have been linked to lately are Blanton, Saunders, Myers, and Brandon Webb. Yes the same Webb who has not thrown a pitch since 2009. It's quite obvious to me Ryan will sign one more cheap free agent pitcher and call it a winter. I have said it before fans are like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football and the front office is like Lucy pulling it away at the last moment.

Nick, Great argument. I spent $3,200 to renew my season tickets based on the fan forum and what was being said by GM Terry Ryan. I always believed he was a straight shooter but was obviously wrong. Twins will probably be worse than last year. Fans were fooled again.