Fanatic Jack

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.

Parker, Great article!! It's your turn Kyle Waldrop. Let's hope the idiot manager does not screw it up by deciding to go with Burnett or Doyle. The way he plays favorites is something that at least has to be considered.

Hicks is just another #1 first round bust by Deron Johnson our great scouting director. Hicks in 2008, Gibson in 2009, Wimmers in 20120, and Michael in 2012. We need Mike Radcliff back in charge of the scouting department.

Please cut Terry Doyle and send Alex Burnett back to Rochester. This year Kyle Waldrop and Carlos Gutierrez should make the roster out of spring training along with Jared Burton. My fear is these two guys never even get given a chance.

ScrapTheNickname, Don't worry my friend soon Target Field will be deserted like a ghost town. This team will lose 90 plus games easily and trying to sell a winning product to fans has been tough for the front office after 2011. I love Terry Ryan but just bringing him back is not enough. Give him a decent payroll to work with so he can get some pitching help. The Twins were 4th in MLB in ticket sales and attendance. This will soon change after 2012. There is nothing wrong with being optimistic but also be realistic.

No doubt Ryan inherited a mess but to not upgrade the pitching staff with at least one quality pitcher is flat out naïve. He is very smart and has to know that Marquis does not help the club at all. The bullpen was the worst in MLB last season and their best reliever (Nathan) is gone. Signing Zumaya after his injury history is like playing the lottery. People called me negative when I predicted he would not make it through spring training. So now they need two guys to step up instead of one. Jared Burton has been a surprise, and Bulger and Burnett disappointments.

I have been smiling from ear to ear since the Twins announced Terry Ryan was coming back as the general manager to replace Bill Smith. I believe it will take Ryan four years to rebuild this organization into an A.L. Central powerhouse like he did a decade ago. Smith is an affable guy but clearly was in over his head as the GM of the Twins. He decimated the depth of the team with some very bad trades. I really like the additions of Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham to provide more offense to a club that struggled to score runs in 2011. There is no doubt Ryan took the moneyball approach when he evaluated these players because all three of them get on base at a very high clip. He also let aging veterans like Nathan, Cuddyer,and Kubel leave as free agents by refusing to give them new contracts. The trouble with Ryan is he forgot to improve the pitching staff! The pitching staff had a 4.58 team ERA and ranked 29th out of 30 teams in MLB. The starting rotation is questionable even if everybody stays healthy and the bullpen has more holes than last season. This philosophy players will come out of nowhere to step up is a very dangerous proposition. There is no doubt Ryan is under tight budget restraints by the front office to keep player payroll at or around $100 million. However, he wasted $3 million on starting pitcher Jason Marquis and spent $400.000 on the often injured reliever Joel Zumaya. He was unable to make it through two days of spring training before he tore his UCL. Meanwhile, Ryan passed on dependable relief pitchers like Wheeler, Coffey, and Linebrook and they will all chew up more innings in the bullpen than Zumaya. What’s most surprising is Zumaya is still on the 40-man roster and they agreed to pay for his T.J surgery with Dr. Andrews. There is no question Ryan needs to be held accountable for not upgrading the pitching staff if the Twins go into another tailspin like 2011

I have been smiling from ear to ear since the Twins announced Terry Ryan was coming back as the general manager to replace Bill Smith. I believe it will take Ryan four years to rebuild this organization into an A.L. Central powerhouse like he did a decade ago. Smith is an affable guy but clearly was in over his head as the GM of the Twins. He decimated the depth of the team with some very bad trades. I really like the additions of Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham to provide more offense to a club that struggled to score runs in 2011. There is no doubt Ryan took the moneyball approach when he evaluated these players because all three of them get on base at a very high clip. He also let aging veterans like Nathan, Cuddyer,and Kubel leave as free agents by refusing to give them new contracts. The trouble with Ryan is he forgot to improve the pitching staff! The pitching staff had a 4.58 team ERA and ranked 29th out of 30 teams in MLB. The starting rotation is questionable even if everybody stays healthy and the bullpen has more holes than last season. This philosophy players will come out of nowhere to step up is a very dangerous proposition. There is no doubt Ryan is under tight budget restraints by the front office to keep player payroll at or around $100 million. However, he wasted $3 million on starting pitcher Jason Marquis and spent $400.000 on the often injured reliever Joel Zumaya. He was unable to make it through two days of spring training before he tore his UCL. Meanwhile, Ryan passed on dependable relief pitchers like Wheeler, Coffey, and Linebrook and they will all chew up more innings in the bullpen than Zumaya. What’s most surprising is Zumaya is still on the 40-man roster and they agreed to pay for his T.J surgery with Dr. Andrews. There is no question Ryan needs to be held accountable for not upgrading the pitching staff if the Twins go into another tailspin like 2011

Cody, Sombody needs to explain why Zumaya is still on the Twins 40-man roster and they would agree to pay for his TJ surgery? The procedure with Dr. Andrews can't be cheap and he won't be coming back to Minnesota. The team has a guranteeed $450.000 lost on a guy who did not make it through two days of spring training. They have treated Zumaya better than some players like Lew Ford. The Twins passed on dependable relievers like Wheeler, Coffey, and Linebrook to sign a injury prone player who has not pitched in 2 1/2 years. This is really perplexing!!

I would undue the Young trade, taken Red Sox offer of Crisp, Lowrie, Masterson, and Lester for Santana, never trade Ramos for Capps, and unloaded Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan at trade deadline last year. We might actually have a pretty good team if these moves were undone. No doubt Bill Smith did some serious damage to this organization for the next five years. It will take time for GM Terry Ryan to get them back on track.

If it does not make sense the Twins will do it.

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?

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.

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.

The Twins are coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history and the hope for 2012 is things will improve. I was excited in November when the quiet genius Terry Ryan returned as GM for an organization desperate for leadership. I believe he will transform this organization into a winner again, but it won’t be without some speed bumps along the way. It also will be done without the help of large payrolls. Ryan will rebuild this club through solid drafts, wise spending, player accountability, and some shrewd trades. The overall philosophy is to make smart roster decisions and look towards the future. Ryan had a pretty good winter despite payroll being reduced by $15 million. I like the additions of Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham to a lineup that had trouble scoring runs in 2011. I believe re-signing Capps was the right move even if it made some people cringe. Watching veterans like Kubel, Cuddyer, and Nathan leave as free agents was tough to swallow but it makes sense moving forward. I really don’t understand the signings of Marquis and Zumaya other than they were cheap. The starting rotation might improve be a little better but the bullpen looks like a mess right now. Ryan for some reason has adopted the same failed strategy as Smith did last year regarding the bullpen. It’s possible he might find more success but it seems highly implausible. Spring training has not got off to a good start like everyone expected. The first day of camp Morneau tells the press he might have to retire if concussion symptoms return. The second day of camp Zumaya hrts his right elbow after throwing sixteen pitches in a bullpen session. What is in store for day three Mauer tears his ACL? The team and fans might have to endure more speed bumps in 2012 and beyond before winning baseball returns to Minnesota. Please feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me.

The Twins are coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history and the hope for 2012 is things will improve. I was excited in November when the quiet genius Terry Ryan returned as GM for an organization desperate for leadership. I believe he will transform this organization into a winner again, but it won’t be without some speed bumps along the way. It also will be done without the help of large payrolls. Ryan will rebuild this club through solid drafts, wise spending, player accountability, and some shrewd trades. The overall philosophy is to make smart roster decisions and look towards the future. Ryan had a pretty good winter despite payroll being reduced by $15 million. I like the additions of Carroll, Doumit, and Willingham to a lineup that had trouble scoring runs in 2011. I believe re-signing Capps was the right move even if it made some people cringe. Watching veterans like Kubel, Cuddyer, and Nathan leave as free agents was tough to swallow but it makes sense moving forward. I really don’t understand the signings of Marquis and Zumaya other than they were cheap. The starting rotation might improve be a little better but the bullpen looks like a mess right now. Ryan for some reason has adopted the same failed strategy as Smith did last year regarding the bullpen. It’s possible he might find more success but it seems highly implausible. Spring training has not got off to a good start like everyone expected. The first day of camp Morneau tells the press he might have to retire if concussion symptoms return. The second day of camp Zumaya hrts his right elbow after throwing sixteen pitches in a bullpen session. What is in store for day three Mauer tears his ACL? The team and fans might have to endure more speed bumps in 2012 and beyond before winning baseball returns to Minnesota. Please feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me.

Not me get ready for another 90 loss season. Worst starting rotation and bullpen in MLB.

Pavano was a great pickup and re-signing him looks pretty smart right now. This was the best move GM Bill Smith made in his four years as GM. He needs to stay healthy in 2012 for the rotation to have at shot being successful. Any chance they re-sign him if he has another good season??

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 with other clubs for next to nothing 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 went up to 4.31 in 39.2 IP for 2010 and 6.68 in 33.2 IP for 2011. Wuertz did have a remarkable 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 in 414.1 IP. The Twins have a little money to spare but Wuertz would make an excellent low cost addition to a bullpen that needs strikeout pitchers. He would also help to sell some tickets because he is hometown kid coming home to play for the Twins. Please feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me.

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 with other clubs for next to nothing 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 went up to 4.31 in 39.2 IP for 2010 and 6.68 in 33.2 IP for 2011. Wuertz did have a remarkable 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 in 414.1 IP. The Twins have a little money to spare but Wuertz would make an excellent low cost addition to a bullpen that needs strikeout pitchers. He would also help to sell some tickets because he is hometown kid coming home to play for the Twins. Please feel free to leave me any comments because your opinion matters to me.