Fanatic Jack

The Willingham experiment will be a disaster in right field. Just watch him get injured. You people need to start thinking with your head instead of your hearts. Not everything the Twins do is what's best for the team. The decision to put Willingham in right field is only good for one player and that's Denard Span. Everyone else is in a position to fail.

Wow what a tremendous bullpen!! Sure glad we did not go out and get a dependable veteran reliever. Bulger got rocked off career minor leaguer players.

I have said since October Lucas Giolito is the best pitcher in the 2012 MLB draft. He is a future ace pitcher and is very sound mechanically. However, the Twins don’t have any desire to draft a pitcher without college experience. They prefer #3 and #4 pitchers with little upside like Kevin Slowey and Alex Wimmers. Giolito would decide to go to UCLA if he is drafted by the Twins anyways. If you were the best prospect in all of MLB would you want to come to Minnesota and work with our coaching staff. It would make about as much sense as me giving vehicle designs to Lee Iacocca. They would tell him to “pitch to contact” and destroy his confidence just like they did to Liriano. Houston would be out of their minds to pass on Giolito and probably won’t. We need to hope Mark Appel is still available at #2 when the Twins draft. Appel is clearly not a #1 or #2 pitcher but will fit into our organization well.

Fenway Park is unbelievable. They have remodeled several areas inside to make it even nicer. I have been three times and it's jaw dropping when you first walk inside it. Some honorable mentions are the New Bush Stadium (St. Louis), Camden Yard (Baltimore), and for sure PNC Park (Pittsburgh). Next on my list is Safeco Field and The Ballpark in Arlington.

Right now for me it's Safeco Field or The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.

John , How did the Delmon Young experiment work out for the Twins? Young was a 22 year old athletic kid and he was unable to make the transition to left field. Willingham is 33, has struggled with injuries, and Gardenhire is going to move him to a brand new position. The best outfield alignment is Willingham/Revere/Span and it’s really not even close. However, Gardenhire is more concerned about how Span will react to the switch then what’s best for the team. Several reporters have commented on how stupid this move is, but Gardenhire is smarter than everyone. He is the worst manager in MLB. Willigham was terrible yesterday in right field by the way!!

Seth, This whole idea of a veteran deserving a spot just because he has been there before is crazy. Span is a decent center fielder defensively and Revere is an outstanding center fielder. Span can play right field and Willingham only knows left. Why would you mess with past success. The reason why is because Gardenhire could screw up a wet dream. As a manager you make decisions based on what is best for your 25-man roster. You don't make decisions based on how one player is going to react to it. Gardenhire is scared to death of his players. He is the only manager in the history of the game to walk into a clubhouse and talk to each player before he makes a lineup card. He basically gives each player an opportunity to talk himself out of being in the lineup. The bottom line Gardenhire is afraid of hurting Span's feelings. Hey Gardenhire go work at the YMCA if your worried about hurting your players feelings. I'm quite certain you can coach a kid's basketball team and make sure everyone plays equally. However, your attitude here is all wrong. Gardenhire has had the most talented players in Twins history and he has lost 12 straight playoff games. You think he would have learned something from moving Delmon Young to left field but apparently not. He is smarter than everyone else!!

My favorite ballpark is without question Fenway Park (Boston). I have visted there three times and it's really amazing. They have remodeled many areas of the ballpark and it's unreal. Some honorable mentions are New Bush Stadium (St. Louis), PNC Park (Pittsburgh), Camden Yard (Baltimore). The worst stadium was Old Shea Stadium (Queens, New York). What a garbage pit.

Nick, I really question why the front office did not at the very least upgrade the bullpen. However, the negative comments about the Twins Centric (Nelson, Bonnes, Stohs, and Hagerman) is uncalled for and just flat out wrong. I love the new web site and would pay to read the posts. Keep up the great work!!

Cody, Your answer is a perfect example of why Gardenhire is a TERRIBLE manager. Do what's best for the team and don't worry about if the players like you.

Ben Revere made a big impact on the field for the Minnesota Twins in 2011. We keep hearing about players who need more time in the minor leagues to develop and Revere is no different. He played in only 126 games between New Britain and Rochester before being called up in May at the young age of 23. He played 117 games for the Twins and hit .267/.310/.309. He also set a new team record with 34 stolen bases. Truthfully Revere is ahead of where Hunter and Span were at their age. However, nobody is going to compare Revere to Hunter and Span because that is crazy talk. Revere has many obvious flaws like no power, low OBP, and probably the weakest arm ever. Revere worked on his arm strength this winter playing long toss football with his family and reports are his throws look better. So the question is where is Revere most valuable? Revere is more valuable right now hitting towards the bottom of the lineup until he can learn to draw more walks, bunt, and get on base at a much higher clip. Revere will slide over to left field to make room for Denard Span in center. This is a big mistake made by the coaching staff and here are the reasons why. Revere runs down everything in center field and plays the position with absolutely no fear. The same argument cannot be made of Span especially after suffering from a concussion last year. Revere saved the Twins 10 runs in center field in 2011 and was clearly one of the elite outfielders defensively in MLB. He also cost the team 5 runs because of his terrible arm. If Revere managed to improve his arm strength and can get rid of the baseball quicker, having him patrol center field should be a no brainer. Revere has always played center field and might not be as good defensively in a corner position. You can't say the same thing about Span who is an elite defender in either left or right field. I forgot to mention Willingham has played his entire career in left field and moving him at 33 makes zero sense. I believe these moves are made because our great manager does not want to ask Span to switch positions. Gardenhire tried the same thing with Delmon Young (career right fielder) in 2008 because he refused to move his precious Cuddyer. Does anybody remember how well that worked out? Revere is most valuable in centerfield and it's not even close. Please tell me what you think.

Jim, Perhaps you should look at the numbers before calling me an idiot. Johan Santana was the most dominant pitcher in MLB from 2003-2007 before he left as a free agent. He won the Cy Young Award twice (2004 and 2006) and was basically unhittable. Name one other pitcher in the history of the Twins that even comes close to doing what he did in a 5-year period. Frank Viola was awesome in 1987 and 1988 but that is only two years. It's only fitting the last playoff game the Twins won was in 2004 when Santana blanked the Yankees 1-0 in the Bronx. Torii Hunter is not Harmon Killebrew or Bob Allison so it's crazy to even get into that conversation with you. However, both were signed and drafted by the Washington Senators before they moved to Minnesota in 1961. Torii Hunter was one of the best all around (offense and defense) outfielders in MLB from 2001-2007. He hit between .270-275, 192 HRs, 709 RBIs, won 7 Gold Gloves, great clubhouse leader, and made 2 All-Star games in his career with Minnesota. If he would of stayed with the Twins his numbers would even be better. There is one Twins player in franchise history with better numbers over a 7-year period and that is of course Kirby Pucket. There is no question about it Johan Santana and Torii Hunter are players that come along "Once a Century" for the Minnesota Twins. You can research all you want, but you won't find players with better numbers during a 5-7 stretch. Maybe it's hard for you to admit this considering the Twins gave them both away for nothing. However, you can't take away from their tremendous accomplishments.

The Twins need two of the above pitchers to step up and that is indeed asking a lot considering the injury problems and lack of experience. My hopes are Kyle Waldrop finally gets a serious look. He was a #1 draft pick in 2004 (25th Overall) and has a 60% groundball rate in the minors. He has been slowed down by injuries and could really be a nice replacement for Matt Guerrier. My best guess is Jared Burton and Jason Bulger make the team out of spring training. They both have good stuff, a nice track record, but can they stay healthy? I'm not very high on Terry Doyle at all. Alex Burnett and Lester Oliveros need more seasoning in the minors before contributing at the Major League Level.

Seth, I agree with the Once a Century label. I should of said Once a Century Minnesota Twin. The team does not have players like Santana and Hunter move through the system very often. We were lucky to see it, and it might never happen again in our lifetime. However, I do really like Benson, Parmelee, and Gibson.

Seth, If Hunter and Santana can so easily be replaced. Name two players who compare to them in production, health, and leadership since they departed. Young, Thome, Cuddyer, Kubel, Benson, Pavano, Gibson, Hendriks, ect, ect, ect. The truth is nobody has come even close since these two left. They are two players that come along Once a Century and the front office gave them away for scrap metal. I don't care what the two have done since they left Minnesota, they were awesome when here. To compare Span vs Hunter is hilarious!! Hunter has more power, RBIs, better in clutch, better defensively even now, better arm, better base stealer, better leader, and will play hurt. They key difference is Hunter goes in head first to take out the catcher and Span goes in feet first. The answer is obvious and so was the desired result. Span is valuable but can be replaced and Revere will be a better player once he improves his OBP.

Seth, I think we should release all our good players and give the young guys in New Britain a shot. They deserve it and payroll is not important anyways. Do you work for the Twins?

Jim, The whole point to this thread was to point out how Twins fans never see the reality of any situation. The reality in November 2007 was the Twins lost two players that come along once a century (Santana & Hunter) for basically nothing. The team has not even come close to replacing an ace in the starting rotation and the leadership and production of Hunter. They spent some money in 2010 but at the trade deadline chose to trade a good prospect for an average relief pitcher. This looks like a bad trade and that is reality. They lost four good relief pitchers before (Fuentes, Guerrier, Crain, and Rauch) 2011 and promised the bullpen would be just fine. Well guess what it did not work out for them that is reality. This winter they lost the nucleus (Cuddyer, Kubel, Nathan) and replaced them with decent stabilizers. However, it’s unknown how it will work out and that is again reality. Going into the season with the same rotation and a makeshift bullpen in 2012 is a very risky idea. This again is reality. There is nothing wrong with being optimistic about the Twins. I can be optimistic about being wealthy, but if I’m lazy it’s probably not going to happen. Just remember if this was NY, LA, Chicago, or Philly and they cut payroll by $15 million after losing 99 games, reporters would run ownership out of town and that is reality. These rose colored glasses everybody wears in this town is really something. I believe as a fan it's your responsibility to call out the front office when they won’t spend money like other clubs. The difference between Zygi Wilf and the Pohlad family is he is always willing to spend the extra dough to take a shot at winning it all. See Brett Farve paid $20 million a season for more.

Luke Hughes needs to make the roster because he is out of options. I like the potential and he is pretty solid at 2B. If they try to send him back to Rochester another team will scoop him up. I like Hughes more than Nishioka, Casilla, and Carroll.

Absolutely!! It was shocking to me as a season ticket holder ownership slashed payroll by $15 million after drawing 3.2 million fans in year two of Target Field (Financed by tax payers). They will be under a ton of pressure in 2013 to spend some loot after they lose 90-95 games this year.

I agree the Pohlad family is tighter than a Cuban cigar. However, I have complete faith in GM Terry Ryan moving forward. Despite a small payroll he will find a way to make the Twins a winner. It sure as hell won't be in 2012 that is for sure.

The truth is if they could have signed Wheeler, Coffey, Linebrook, or taken a chance on Wuertz for almost nothing. Either way they would not have to trade for anybody. I want to see Waldrop and if they cut the over-hyped Burnett there is enough room for both. The front office told season ticket holders and fans they were trying to win. Were they lying??

Best movie is The Natural. The worst for me is Major League 3.

I believe the Twins would win more games with another solid, dependable RH reliever they can use in the 8th inning. The goal is to win as many games as possible. Most of you are missing the point. It also takes pressure off young pitchers like Burnett, Swarzak, and Duensing. They are more effective and confident with each successful outing.

Keep up the great work. I plan to call-in over the next week and confront Anderson on it. He only has a job because the best baseball guy around Matt Thomas went to Texas. He takes the typical kiss-ass approach and agrees with every decision the front office makes. I listen to KFAN anyways.

I agree with Nick Nelson and believe Terry Ryan is making a tremendous mistake by not trading for a proven reliever. The Twins tried the same thing last year and it failed miserably. It almost appears as if the team wants to lose because they are not good enough to compete in the A.L. Central Division. Name the last team to draw 3.2 million fans to a new ballpark, cut payroll by $15 million, lose 99 games, let three of their best players leave, and tell people they were going to compete. There is nothing wrong with loving this team but there is a difference between optimisms and reality. Please tell me what you think.