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

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.

It's Christmas time in Twins Territory and what does GM Terry Ryan have to show for it after another 95 loss season in 2012. He made two good trades bringing in power arms Alex Meyer and Trevor May to a depleted farm system. He added a solid middle of the rotation starter in Vance Worley. However, he then disappointed everybody by signing free agent pitcher Kevin Correia to a terrible 2-year, $10 million deal. He signed pitcher Mike Pelfrey to a 1-year, $4 million deal with incentives. Pelfrey had TJ surgery in May and is trying to make it back for the start of the 2013 season. Rich Harden was inked to a minor league deal but he has suffered from injuries his entire career and missed all of 2012. It was Tweeted by Charley Walters this morning the Twins are expected to have a payroll of around $83 million. So if this is true the fans really got scrooged. Jim Pohlad is a real life version of Ebeneezer Scrooge caring more about profit than winning baseball games. Here is what the other teams in the A.L. Central have done. 1. Detroit Tigers- Owner Mike Ilitch has opened up his wallet again to sign outfielder Torii Hunter and starter Anibal Sanchez. 2. Cleveland Indians​- They hired Terry Francona and signed free agents Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher. Traded Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Donald, Tony Sipp, and Lars Anderson for Trevor Bauer, Drew Stubbs, Bryan Shaw, and Matt Albers. Signed LH pitcher Scott Kazmir to a minor league deal. 3. Chicago White Sox- They re-signed ace Jake Peavy to a 2-year deal and brought back pitcher Gavin Floyd. Signed infielder Jeff Keppinger and added Angel Sanchez in the Rule 5 draft. Signed outfielder Dewayne Wise to a 1-year deal. 4. Kansas City Royals- Signed pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a 3-year, $25 million deal. Traded four very good prospects to TB for stud James Shields and pitcher Wade Davis. The division has gotten much stronger, tougher, and more competitive. I'm pretty sure not even the most optimistic Twins fan can find positives in what has been a very questionable and CHEAP off-season. Nobody expects the front office to increase payroll after another bad season, but it's certainly fair to ask them not to reduce it either. As of right now the Twins have cut payroll by $33 million in two years since Target Field opened. I'm sorry if nobody else will admit it, but this is just not acceptable. Feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me.

It's Christmas time in Twins Territory and what does GM Terry Ryan have to show for it after another 95 loss season in 2012. He made two good trades bringing in power arms Alex Meyer and Trevor May to a depleted farm system. He added a solid middle of the rotation starter in Vance Worley. However, he then disappointed everybody by signing free agent pitcher Kevin Correia to a terrible 2-year, $10 million deal. He signed pitcher Mike Pelfrey to a 1-year, $4 million deal with incentives. Pelfrey had TJ surgery in May and is trying to make it back for the start of the 2013 season. Rich Harden was inked to a minor league deal but he has suffered from injuries his entire career and missed all of 2012. It was Tweeted by Charley Walters this morning the Twins are expected to have a payroll of around $83 million. So if this is true the fans really got scrooged. Jim Pohlad is a real life version of Ebeneezer Scrooge caring more about profit than winning baseball games. Here is what the other teams in the A.L. Central have done. 1. Detroit Tigers- Owner Mike Ilitch has opened up his wallet again to sign outfielder Torii Hunter and starter Anibal Sanchez. 2. Cleveland Indians​- They hired Terry Francona and signed free agents Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher. Traded Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Donald, Tony Sipp, and Lars Anderson for Trevor Bauer, Drew Stubbs, Bryan Shaw, and Matt Albers. Signed LH pitcher Scott Kazmir to a minor league deal. 3. Chicago White Sox- They re-signed ace Jake Peavy to a 2-year deal and brought back pitcher Gavin Floyd. Signed infielder Jeff Keppinger and added Angel Sanchez in the Rule 5 draft. Signed outfielder Dewayne Wise to a 1-year deal. 4. Kansas City Royals- Signed pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a 3-year, $25 million deal. Traded four very good prospects to TB for stud James Shields and pitcher Wade Davis. The division has gotten much stronger, tougher, and more competitive. I'm pretty sure not even the most optimistic Twins fan can find positives in what has been a very questionable and CHEAP off-season. Nobody expects the front office to increase payroll after another bad season, but it's certainly fair to ask them not to reduce it either. As of right now the Twins have cut payroll by $33 million in two years since Target Field opened. I'm sorry if nobody else will admit it, but this is just not acceptable. Feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me.

Old Nurse, Are you serious it happens more than you think. This idea that nobody wants to come to Minnesota and play in Target Field is a complete lie spun up by people who defend the cheap Pohlad family. Maybe that was true in the Metrodome era but not now with the M & M boys here. Twins biggest free agent signing in club history is Josh Willingham. Until this Kmart shopping attitude changes the Twins will continue to be at the bottom of the cellar in the A.L. Central.

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 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.

The front office surprised Twins fans earlier this week by trading outfielder Denard Span to the Washington Nationals for pitching prospect Alex Meyer. Span is an excellent leadoff hitter, solid player on both sides of the diamond, and has a dirt cheap contract for another two seasons. He also has a $9 million team option for 2015. Most people expected the Twins to trade Span for an experienced pitcher or at the very least a major league ready one. Meyer looks like a very intriguing prospect. He was selected in the 1st round (23rd overall) and is a hard thrower. He made it up to High A this year and looked good until he hit his limit on innings pitched. Most fans have fallen in love with this trade and have went out of their way to compliment the front office. I remain skeptical because Meyer is only a prospect and was traded for a proven commodity. Meyer is 6-9, 220 lbs, and throws a fastball clocked between 93-98 MPH on the radar gun. Sorry to insult people but this is just not that impressive! Now if it were the 1990's this would mean more to me, but today most starting pitchers have an average fastball speed of 93-94 MPH. Meyer only has two quality pitches which are his fastball and slider. His changeup is considered by many to be a work in progress. If for whatever reason Meyer is unable to establish a third pitch he instantly becomes a reliever instead of a starter. Maybe Storen/Bernadina for Span would have been a good trade? Meyer has been competing against younger players (18-20) in the minors and we will know more after seeing him play in New Britain or Rochester. Meyer is a tall lanky pitcher who has struggled with his command in the past. He does not throw over the top like most pitchers his size but instead at a three-quarters delivery. This has Tommy John surgery written all over it. My last point is 90% of all signed players ever make it to the big leagues. The Twins should of demanded a second, more accomplished player in return for the trade to work for me. However, I absolutely love that the front office is trying something different and thinking outside the box.

The front office surprised Twins fans earlier this week by trading outfielder Denard Span to the Washington Nationals for pitching prospect Alex Meyer. Span is an excellent leadoff hitter, solid player on both sides of the diamond, and has a dirt cheap contract for another two seasons. He also has a $9 million team option for 2015. Most people expected the Twins to trade Span for an experienced pitcher or at the very least a major league ready one. Meyer looks like a very intriguing prospect. He was selected in the 1st round (23rd overall) and is a hard thrower. He made it up to High A this year and looked good until he hit his limit on innings pitched. Most fans have fallen in love with this trade and have went out of their way to compliment the front office. I remain skeptical because Meyer is only a prospect and was traded for a proven commodity. Meyer is 6-9, 220 lbs, and throws a fastball clocked between 93-98 MPH on the radar gun. Sorry to insult people but this is just not that impressive! Now if it were the 1990's this would mean more to me, but today most starting pitchers have an average fastball speed of 93-94 MPH. Meyer only has two quality pitches which are his fastball and slider. His changeup is considered by many to be a work in progress. If for whatever reason Meyer is unable to establish a third pitch he instantly becomes a reliever instead of a starter. Maybe Storen/Bernadina for Span would have been a good trade? Meyer has been competing against younger players (18-20) in the minors and we will know more after seeing him play in New Britain or Rochester. Meyer is a tall lanky pitcher who has struggled with his command in the past. He does not throw over the top like most pitchers his size but instead at a three-quarters delivery. This has Tommy John surgery written all over it. My last point is 90% of all signed players ever make it to the big leagues. The Twins should of demanded a second, more accomplished player in return for the trade to work for me. However, I absolutely love that the front office is trying something different and thinking outside the box.

I don’t think anybody expected to see the Minnesota Twins fall to such a low level after a terrific inaugural year at Target Field in 2010. Since losing three straight playoff games to the Evil Empire, the Twins have combined to go 129-195 over the last two years. The 2011 season was blamed on an enormous amount of injuries and the front office went out of their way to tell fans things would improve. Terry Ryan returned as the GM in November 2011 and wasted no time getting back in the groove of things. He let three aging veterans (Cuddyer, Nathan, and Kubel) leave for more money and signed some quality free agents like Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham for less dough. He also found a few good bargains like Jared Burton, Casey Fien, and Pedro Florimon. Hard throwing reliever Joel Zumaya was a risky signing but one that did not cost the team a lot of guaranteed money. Ryan’s one major flaw was signing pitcher Jason Marquis to fill out his starting rotation. Marquis ended up being released near the end of May and looked like a reincarnated version of Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson, or Livan Hernandez. The 2012 season was a disaster from the start of spring training. Scott Baker and Zumaya went down with season ending arm injuries and the team just never recovered. There was not enough depth in the minors to pick up the slack for injuries to Baker and Pavano and the inconsistency of Liriano, Blackburn, and Marquis. The Twins were forced to start unproven pitchers like Duensing, Swarzak, Diamond, Vasquez, Deduno, Walters, Hendriks, and De Vries. The depth in the minors can be blamed exclusively on scouts who continue to prefer “pitch to contact” guys and former GM Bill Smith. The Twins did have a good draft in June and this could help to solve some of their depth issues. The front office has once again promised to correct the situation saying that losing is not acceptable. However, action truly speaks louder than words!! This might be the most important winter in recent memory for the Twins organization and they have done N-O-T-H-I-N-G yet. Last year at this time the Twins had already signed Carroll and Doumit. Any loyal fan out there waiting for the team to pull the trigger on a big free agent signing or a trade might be waiting for a long, long time. My two biggest concerns are Ryan overvalues his trade bait (Span, Morneau, and Willingham) and the market might put all quality free agent pitchers out of the Twins price range. Ryan is trying to do what Bill Smith did with Johan Santana and we all know how well that worked out. This will enable Ryan to say “we tried but it just did not work out” and go back to the scrap pile/dumpster diving mentality that never works. The Twins off-seasons are like a Charlie Brown cartoon special. Charlie Brown always gets suckered in to thinking he is going to kick the football, only to have Lucy pull it away from him in the end. Fans are like Charlie Brown hoping and believing anything is possible and the front office is like Lucy telling us everything will get better only to disappoint us again. I am officially back and can be found @FanaticJack on Twitter.

I don’t think anybody expected to see the Minnesota Twins fall to such a low level after a terrific inaugural year at Target Field in 2010. Since losing three straight playoff games to the Evil Empire, the Twins have combined to go 129-195 over the last two years. The 2011 season was blamed on an enormous amount of injuries and the front office went out of their way to tell fans things would improve. Terry Ryan returned as the GM in November 2011 and wasted no time getting back in the groove of things. He let three aging veterans (Cuddyer, Nathan, and Kubel) leave for more money and signed some quality free agents like Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham for less dough. He also found a few good bargains like Jared Burton, Casey Fien, and Pedro Florimon. Hard throwing reliever Joel Zumaya was a risky signing but one that did not cost the team a lot of guaranteed money. Ryan’s one major flaw was signing pitcher Jason Marquis to fill out his starting rotation. Marquis ended up being released near the end of May and looked like a reincarnated version of Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson, or Livan Hernandez. The 2012 season was a disaster from the start of spring training. Scott Baker and Zumaya went down with season ending arm injuries and the team just never recovered. There was not enough depth in the minors to pick up the slack for injuries to Baker and Pavano and the inconsistency of Liriano, Blackburn, and Marquis. The Twins were forced to start unproven pitchers like Duensing, Swarzak, Diamond, Vasquez, Deduno, Walters, Hendriks, and De Vries. The depth in the minors can be blamed exclusively on scouts who continue to prefer “pitch to contact” guys and former GM Bill Smith. The Twins did have a good draft in June and this could help to solve some of their depth issues. The front office has once again promised to correct the situation saying that losing is not acceptable. However, action truly speaks louder than words!! This might be the most important winter in recent memory for the Twins organization and they have done N-O-T-H-I-N-G yet. Last year at this time the Twins had already signed Carroll and Doumit. Any loyal fan out there waiting for the team to pull the trigger on a big free agent signing or a trade might be waiting for a long, long time. My two biggest concerns are Ryan overvalues his trade bait (Span, Morneau, and Willingham) and the market might put all quality free agent pitchers out of the Twins price range. Ryan is trying to do what Bill Smith did with Johan Santana and we all know how well that worked out. This will enable Ryan to say “we tried but it just did not work out” and go back to the scrap pile/dumpster diving mentality that never works. The Twins off-seasons are like a Charlie Brown cartoon special. Charlie Brown always gets suckered in to thinking he is going to kick the football, only to have Lucy pull it away from him in the end. Fans are like Charlie Brown hoping and believing anything is possible and the front office is like Lucy telling us everything will get better only to disappoint us again. I am officially back and can be found @FanaticJack on Twitter.

I was bouncing off the walls and smiling with delight back in early November when it was announced Terry Ryan was returning to be the Twins General Manager again. Bill Smith is a very nice man but clearly made some very bad decisions affecting the future of the organization. I honestly believed at the time Smith was replaced because of his inability to evaluate talent but clearly it was more than that. I’m starting to play devil’s advocate and think the main reason was all about MONEY. I think Pohlad, St. Peter, and the boys met with Smith and asked him about his off-season plan to turn a team around that had lost 99 games. My belief is Smith looked at them and said he wanted to resign Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan to deals. Smith also indicated he planned on signing 1-2 free agents on the market as well. Smith told them the only way he could do this is if the team increased payroll by about $10-15 million. This is where the conversation ended immediately. Pohlad knew he wanted to cut payroll but nobody could of imagined it would be by $20 million. What has Terry Ryan done with his limited payroll? He let Cuddyer leave and replaced him with a cheaper more powerful Josh Willingham. He let Nathan and Kubel leave as free agents and both were All-Stars this year with their new clubs. He signed free agents Jamey Carroll, Ryan Doumit, Matt Capps, Jason Marquis, and Joel Zumaya. Right now only Willingham and Doumit look like quality signings. Carroll has been solid but is hitting .242 and at times really shown his age. Capps, Marquis, and Zumaya were all just terrible deals. The trade deadline is approaching fast and Ryan appears to have missed his opportunity to deal players at their peak value. The Twins refuse to trade Morneau or Willingham for some unknown reason. Span was hitting over .300 in May and now his average is down to .280. He has suffered with some dizziness and has dropped several fly balls for no reason. Liriano should have been dealt before the game in Chicago tonight but instead he was allowed to pitch. The end result is he was shelled and gave up 7 runs, 3 HRs, in 2.2 IP. The bottom line is the team can’t give Liriano away after his latest clunker and he could turn into the next Delmon Young. Last year Young was given away to Detroit in August for two career minor leaguers Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros. Capps should have been traded in May when he was racking up saves but instead Ryan waited and now he is on the disabled list. The Twins look to be heading into a trade deadline heartache and Ryan needs to be held accountable for the massive mistake of holding on to players for too long.

I was bouncing off the walls and smiling with delight back in early November when it was announced Terry Ryan was returning to be the Twins General Manager again. Bill Smith is a very nice man but clearly made some very bad decisions affecting the future of the organization. I honestly believed at the time Smith was replaced because of his inability to evaluate talent but clearly it was more than that. I’m starting to play devil’s advocate and think the main reason was all about MONEY. I think Pohlad, St. Peter, and the boys met with Smith and asked him about his off-season plan to turn a team around that had lost 99 games. My belief is Smith looked at them and said he wanted to resign Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan to deals. Smith also indicated he planned on signing 1-2 free agents on the market as well. Smith told them the only way he could do this is if the team increased payroll by about $10-15 million. This is where the conversation ended immediately. Pohlad knew he wanted to cut payroll but nobody could of imagined it would be by $20 million. What has Terry Ryan done with his limited payroll? He let Cuddyer leave and replaced him with a cheaper more powerful Josh Willingham. He let Nathan and Kubel leave as free agents and both were All-Stars this year with their new clubs. He signed free agents Jamey Carroll, Ryan Doumit, Matt Capps, Jason Marquis, and Joel Zumaya. Right now only Willingham and Doumit look like quality signings. Carroll has been solid but is hitting .242 and at times really shown his age. Capps, Marquis, and Zumaya were all just terrible deals. The trade deadline is approaching fast and Ryan appears to have missed his opportunity to deal players at their peak value. The Twins refuse to trade Morneau or Willingham for some unknown reason. Span was hitting over .300 in May and now his average is down to .280. He has suffered with some dizziness and has dropped several fly balls for no reason. Liriano should have been dealt before the game in Chicago tonight but instead he was allowed to pitch. The end result is he was shelled and gave up 7 runs, 3 HRs, in 2.2 IP. The bottom line is the team can’t give Liriano away after his latest clunker and he could turn into the next Delmon Young. Last year Young was given away to Detroit in August for two career minor leaguers Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros. Capps should have been traded in May when he was racking up saves but instead Ryan waited and now he is on the disabled list. The Twins look to be heading into a trade deadline heartache and Ryan needs to be held accountable for the massive mistake of holding on to players for too long.

The worst farm system in MLB without question. Not one impact pitcher among the bunch. Oh well we have Scott Diamond and Brian Duensing we should be fine.

Cody, Thanks for the update. I love Dozier's makeup and think he will be a good clubhouse leader and player for the Twins.

Very encouraging. I hope Wimmers moves up fast the Twins really need the help. Thanks for the update.

No you are right Casilla is terrible and should be traded in July.

Travis, I was wrong to make the comment about you not supporting the Twins. You are a huge supporter and I do appreciate your optimisum. Just sick of watching this team fail miserably vs teams in the AL East year after year.

Travis, I find your post funny and very predictable. Have you ever criticized the braintrust of this team? We were promised by President Dave St. Peter (who was on Twitter everyday in the winter and now is completely absent) things would be so much better. The team picked up right where they left off in 2011 and nothing has changed. The Pohlad family has promised for years to spend money and has never even come close since we the tax payers built Target Field for them. This team is a joke and we are living the 90's all over again. Why can't you stop being such a HOMER and realize what has taken place. We have been tricked again and finally fans are upset and have every right to be. You live in Texas and don't contribute anything to this regime. I paid $3,200.00 for this crap. You should be ashamed of yourself for always defending the greed of the front office. I pose this question to you. Name the last MLB team that lost 99 games, year 3 of a new ballpark, ranked 4th in attendence in MLB in 2011, had a 95% renewal rate, and cut payroll by $15 million. My guess is you will never find a professional organization that has done so. NEVER!! The Pohlad family is taken advantage of Twins fans by peddaling this horrible product out and telling us they will be competitive. Nothing has changed and even new players don't want to play hard for Gardenhire. I would love to be a door salesman and come to your house. You have bought this gimmick hook, line, and sinker.

What were the cops supposed to do come into the house with an autograph pad? They received a burglary alarm call from dispatch and responded it to it like it was a crime in progress. Here is a tip learn how to turn you alarm off when you enter your house or have the alarm company contact you before sending police.

The Twins announced today catcher Drew Butera and infielder Michael Hollimon were optioned to Rochester leaving only 31 active players left in camp. Opening day in Baltimore is only six days away and more roster decisions will be made soon. It appears reliever Alex Burnett could find himself on the roster again because of injuries. Perhaps no other player in recent memory has job security like that of Burnett. Critics keep telling us he is young (24), has great stuff, but just needs to work on some things. There is no question Burnett has the talent to be a big league reliever. However, for some reason it does not translate into results on the field. Here is a quick look at the statistics compiled by Burnett; 2010. A 2-2 record with a 5.29 ERA in 47.2 IP. Encouraging 7.0 K/9 ratio. 2011. A 2-5 record with a 5.51 ERA in 50.2 IP. Dissapointing 5.9 K/9 ratio. 2012 (Spring Training). A 0-0 record with a 7.00 ERA in 9 IP. If the Twins decide not to send Burnett down to Rochester it would be a miscarriage of justice to his development. He needs to locate his pitches better and concentrate on getting out of jams before the inning implodes. One year in Rochester is all Burnett really needs to make the necessary in game adjustments to be successful. It appears to me Burnett will make the roster and not get that chance. I'm quite certain most Americans wish they had the great job security of Alex Burnett.

The Twins announced today catcher Drew Butera and infielder Michael Hollimon were optioned to Rochester leaving only 31 active players left in camp. Opening day in Baltimore is only six days away and more roster decisions will be made soon. It appears reliever Alex Burnett could find himself on the roster again because of injuries. Perhaps no other player in recent memory has job security like that of Burnett. Critics keep telling us he is young (24), has great stuff, but just needs to work on some things. There is no question Burnett has the talent to be a big league reliever. However, for some reason it does not translate into results on the field. Here is a quick look at the statistics compiled by Burnett; 2010. A 2-2 record with a 5.29 ERA in 47.2 IP. Encouraging 7.0 K/9 ratio. 2011. A 2-5 record with a 5.51 ERA in 50.2 IP. Dissapointing 5.9 K/9 ratio. 2012 (Spring Training). A 0-0 record with a 7.00 ERA in 9 IP. If the Twins decide not to send Burnett down to Rochester it would be a miscarriage of justice to his development. He needs to locate his pitches better and concentrate on getting out of jams before the inning implodes. One year in Rochester is all Burnett really needs to make the necessary in game adjustments to be successful. It appears to me Burnett will make the roster and not get that chance. I'm quite certain most Americans wish they had the great job security of Alex Burnett.

I believe it's pretty much a lock that Chris Parmelee makes the roster now. He will play mostly 1B, some right field, and an occasional DH. This will ensure his bat is in the lineup everyday.

One question not addressed by most writers is if first baseman Chris Parmelee will make the big league roster. It has just been assumed by everybody including myself, that Parmelee starts the year at Rochester for more at bats and experience. Obviously there was no rush to get Parmelee in Minnesota because Justin Morneau occupies his position at first base. However, things have changed a lot in the last couple weeks at spring training in Fort Myers, Florida. Morneau has not played a game in the field since March 13 and continues to struggle at the plate. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but one has to wonder how the Twins could go into the regular season without an everyday first baseman. I would not be surprised to see Parmelee penciled in as the starting first baseman and Morneau as the regular DH. The one benefit of this happening is it brings a lot more thump into a lineup that really needs it. The Twins would not loose a lot defensively as Parmelee has worked hard on his defense and continues to improve. The one looming issue in all of this is where and how often would Ryan Doumit play. My guess is Doumit would be the regular backup catcher with Butera left in Rochester where he belongs. If the team does not carry three catchers they can bring Parmelee and a utility player north when camp breaks. Doumit could potentially also see time in the outfield as well. You really have to get excited about a lineup with the middle of the order Mauer/Morneau/Willingham/Parmelee/Doumit. Terry Ryan has praised Parmelee for his strong work ethic and his impressive spring training. In other spring training news the battle for the bullpen is starting to come into focus. The automatic locks in the bullpen are Capps, Perkins, Duensing, and Swarzak. My best guess is Matt Maloney, Jared Burton, and Kyle Waldrop are the other three that make the roster. Manship was in the running, but had a bad outing against the Yankees this afternoon where he surrenderd 4 runs. More concerning was the velocity of his pitches were down to 84-86 MPH. I have no idea who the Twins go with for the final bench spot. I would love to see them go with Michael Hollimon but not sure the coaching staff is thrilled with his overall defense. Please feel free to leave any comments and tell me whay you think.