diehardtwinsfan

Sulbaran had his question marks, but at the time of the trade, I think it was Law that said it was an overpay, as they guy has potential. The Twins turned and flipped him for Nunez (I think), which hasn't been a bad return either. The thing about Suzuki, is that he should net better than Sulbaran. Sulbaran was putting up better numbers than Berrios in the MWL last year, but was poorly though of b/c of the speed of his pitches and a few other issues that aren't being exposed in A ball. I'd imagine if they targeted an A ball pitcher, they'd be looking at someone with similar results and a few less (but not all) question marks (i.e. someone in the 70-150 range).

I'd take this a step further. Would Ryan and Gardy be out of jobs long if they were to be handed their walking papers? I think it's a fair question. Honestly, I think both would be employed again in 2015, and rather quickly. That tells me that the industry is not in agreement with us fans. Personally, I'll reiterate that I don't think Gardy is the right man for the job RIGHT NOW. With Ryan, I think he's got another year or two, at which point the job description is going to change out of his strengths (scouting, rebuilding, etc) into an area where he has not been historically as good (namely trading prospects for vets and plugging holes via FA). I realize there were budget issues in his past with some of this, so it's possible he'd still be the right guy, but that's where I sit.

I'll address this, and if other mods/owners want to chime in, please do... However, I think I'm speaking for all of us: No one saying you cannot come down hard on ownership and management. This particular thread is certainly appropriate for it given the context, so that there's no issue here with hijacking it. Likewise, as you can see, there's plenty of agreement that ownership/mgmt has some responsibility, though there seems to be quite a bit of disagreement over who owns some/all of it. That all is fine. THAT SAID, we are saying that this discussion can be done in a professional manner like what would be expected of us in most of our workplaces. There's no need to assail other posters, call them out, refer to their opinions as clueless, insane, stupid, whatever adjective you prefer. There's no need to bicker. Having the last word is not a requirement, especially once it's real clear you aren't going to be changing anyone's mind and that problem is not that a communicatiosn issue. Say what you want to say, but when you find yourself constantly re-saying it or getting frustrated, it's probably time to just bury the dead horse. At the end of the day, this type of behavior will tend to drive a lot of people away, and for those that came from BYTO, that site is a great case study for this. But when people are leaving (or not joining), ad revenue disappears, and when that happens there will be no more TwinsDaily. Please keep that in mind.

August trades are a bit more complicated. The player needs to pass through waivers to be traded to anyone. If the player is claimed, only one team can be traded with or the Twins could choose to give the guy away. I'd put the over/under on 2.1 players getting traded by the Twins. For all the talk about trading, seeing tons of guys move just doesn't happen. There's contracts as well as logistics to get scouts out there to look at potential targets. The one big advantage the Twins have this year is that they have veterans who aren't in the long term plans playing well at some positions of need. That said, pulling off trades can be somewhat difficult and Ryan, to his credit, isn't going to trade just for making a trade.... the only real exception to that which I see would be KC given that there's some AAA guys making a case for a roster spot.

the middle box is telling me all about how Katie Holmes is going topless for her next spread... Glad I'm not at work.

Yeah, we could put them all on an island and... /oh nevermind.

like cheap beer?

I actually liked that stuff.

Have you already forgotten last season?

That just sounds gross, but from someone who hates coconut.... give me a cheesecake any day.

That may be so, but he really doesn't fit the list of needs that this team right now. I'd be more interested if he was a corner OF with a plus bat and plus power. A fast CF is something we have plenty of in the high minors, and he's not going to take a 1 year deal, so a stop gap to Buxton doesn't fit either. I wont' complain if they get him, but I don't see him being a good fit here.

So back to teh Vikings... Do we need to nuke them?

I suspect Hammer will be an August move personally... But yeah, I dont think I'd trade him for an AAAA guy. I'd want some upside, even if it's a high risk rookie baller.

Moderator note: settle down everyone. Thank you.

I'd argue that he is.

Most of the top 5 should be up by then baring injury. Stewart would be the only exception to that rule, but in principle, I'd have to disagree. I don't think you want them taking up roster spots while they struggle because they were promoted too rapidly.

BP had a debate on Buxton vs. Correa in their debate for number 1 overall. Good read. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24070

Let's keep this conversation civil. I've removed the combative post and ask that people remain civil. Thanks.

Unfortunately, I can provide plenty of frustrating examples of how Gardy handled rookies poorly. Cuddy was a good example, so was Kubel, Bartlett, and Neshek. More recently, Plouffe, Parmelee, and Hicks. His biggest flaw has been the double standard between mediocre vets and rookies. The new guys have a lot less wiggle room and end up in the dog house far too quickly... add the publicly calling them out for things that others get a mulligan for, and I think there's enough of a pattern.

How do we get there?

The other thing that I keep coming back to is good faith in negotiations. The lawyers of the world could address this more, but I have a tough time believing the Astros have been operating in good faith. The problem with anti-trust is basically this. If Aiken were a free agent, someone is going to give him more than the 6.5M that the Astros agreed on. As it is, his value is suppressed. The Astros tried and failed to squeeze him for more.

yes, I suspect he goes up to FTM in the near future. They are going to be in the playoffs as well. They'd have need for Mr. Burdi.

4-1 already. Back to chores I guess. At least something good will come out of today.

Agreed, something needs to be said for patience. Most prospects struggle a bit at the ML level before they figure things out... Look at Dozier. It took him a little over a year for things to click. Arcia, Hicks, and Gibson are all in the same boat. It takes time, and a rebuilding team is going to have to get it to them. Meyer and May will come up soon, and they will probably struggle too. It's rare for a guy to come up and just flat out dominate. If those are the expectations people want, the Twins will end up like KC of the last decade.

I tend to be more with Levi here. I'm pretty convinced that Ryan should be the guy in the near term, as he has a track record of doing good rebuilding work and appears to be on the same track with the current version of this product. I'm not as convinced long term, given his track record in free agency; however, this last offseason is making me rethink that to a point. That said, I don't think Ryan will be around much longer for health reasons, so much of this will be a moot point. I have not presently seen much in Anthony that makes me comfortable with the idea that he will make for a good GM. Perhaps he's strong in scouting, but he needs to take a course or two in PR, especially when it comes to how he handles his players in public. Gardy on the other hand, I think has to go. I was very surprised it didn't happen during the offseason. I don't agree with Levi that the position is unimportant. I think managers need to be graded on the same WAR scale everyone else is, as I think they can put a team I in position add a few wins over the course of the season, and I think they can put a team in position to add a couple extra losses too. I think good management will do more than balance out. Gardy has some strange axioms that he sticks to sometimes that drive me nuts, as it puts a team to be in position to lose games. I agree that he hasn't always had the talent to work with, but I don't think he maximizes the talent he's been given, and that's been a pretty consistent critique I've had of him for years now. I'll add though that one of his strengths has been managing a clubhouse. That's another piece that's very underrated. I agree that winning can cure a number of problems, but just look what has happened in Boston, where a team that was a consensus World Series contender at the beginning of the season is only a half game better than us. While winning can certainly help cure those personality differences, I do think that a healthy clubhouse can also encourage winning... It's a two way thing. I do think Gardy does this well, and there are plenty of MLB examples that can back this up. That said, my main concern is his ability to deal with rookies. I've seen plenty of cases where it's clear he doesn't handle rookies as well as he could. Some of this is on them, I won't argue with that, but this team has a bevy of young talent coming up through the pipeline, and Gardy is going to have to deal with a young team. I've seen little indication that he's the guy for this job. I don't think you can dismiss this easily. There's a long track record that goes with it. I'd first and foremost look for a manager that fits that criteria, whether that's Molitor, Dougie M, or a Joe Maddon type outside the org. The next manager of the Twins is going to need to deal with a bunch of mid 20s guys and a few older vets. I don't see Gardy as that guy.