diehardtwinsfan

But it will be due to Phil Cuzzi calling a foul ball fair.

Since I saw the wings picture on the next page... There's a bar up in Fort Wayne, IN called Checkerz that has some of the best wings I've ever tasted... Probably order those on death row.

So where are you at Fredrickton or something?

Changing out windows isn't difficult... just an FYI.

So in other words, just about when the Twins are going to be consistently good, Perkins is most likely to start dropping off. I realize that it isn't exact science, but it goes into what I think a few are pointing out, when the Twins will likely need that shut down closer, the odds are good that Perkins won't be it. I do hope I'm wrong.

Minier with another HR. Lewis Thorpe... 3 2/3s innings 5ks, 1 run, not earned. On the season now, he has 25Ks in 16 2/3 innings and only 2 walks and 15 hits to go with it.

This is the big reason. Whether it's easy or not, the one thing the Twins have shown over the years is the ability to build a good bullpen. I do agree with Levi in that having 6 or 7 lights out guys is what you ideally want, and I think we are all spoiled on that given what the Twins had at the beginning of the 2000s with Hawkins, Balfour, Nathan, Romero, and Rincoln. That said, that is one thing that I think the Twins did address with last year's draft. Most of the guys they took were hard throwing relievers that the were going to convert to starters. That may fail (and for most it likely will), but these guys all had very good offspeed pitch to go with a the mid 90s fastball, and as a result, many will likely return to the pen and be effective at the ML level. Couple that with some of the existing relief prospects that they have, and I think the pen will be in decent shape for the next wave... if it isn't decent relievers can be found relatively cheap.

Everyone is saying this. I don't think anyone is saying this.

You'll have to forgive me, but I don't remember ever hearing Marquis complain openly about the Twins trying to change him. Likewise, missing all of ST and then getting thrust immediately into the rotation certainly had something to do with it too. Your point with Liriano may be a bit better. He clearly wasn't going to succeed in Minnesota.

I wholeheartedly agree, though some people seem to think that's what is being said. I think they should be listening, and if a bidding war errupts, smile when you are walking home with a couple top 100 prospects.

I think your premise here that it's far from a sure thing that he's gone is quite accurate. He's a hometown guy that seems to like it here. I'm sure he'd stay around if the Twins offered him an extension. Here's the real crux of the problem though: 1) He's 30 years old, and he will be entering his decline phase in 2017, quite possibly before that. 2) Closers tend to be overvalued by many. He'll pitch 60 some innings this year. I get that they are all high leverage, and I get the fact that he's incredibly good as well. 3) He's an elite closer being paid at non-elite rates. If he was FA tomorrow, he'd be getting 10M a year. 4) Relievers in general have shown a history of wearing down quickly, especially after they get past 30. This may or may not happen to Perkins. No one knows, but the Soria story should give everyone who says "keep him/extend him" good reason to reconsider. I agree with you that trading for the sake of trading is silly. I would be asking for 2 top 100 prospects or a top 50 guy plus one or two high ceiling players at a lower level at positions of need, and in this market, Ryan might get that.

I don't see Plouffe as something to trade unless the return is great. The reason is pretty simple. Plouffe is a useful piece now who is young enough and cost controlled enough to be a part of the next wave. He's versatile enough to play any infield position, so if someone falters, he can come in and at worst put up average production for the position. For Perkins, I tend to agree with you. One top 50 guy (a pitcher or a SS) with another high ceiling guy. Boston is a really good match in that they could use help there and have the prospects worth dealing. They have 3 guys in their AA rotation that would fit that mold (Ranaudo, Barnes, and Webster) as well as middle infield help in Bogarts (probably untouchable) and Marrero. They have the pieces, the question is whether they'd bite. The Morneau trade is underwhelming, but that's about what you'd likely get for him. Not sure I'd target a catcher given that the Twins have a decent prospect in Pinto who will be there next year.

Might be a fun change of pace. Guessing what they will do, not necessarily what I want. I'm guessing they don't go heavy into free agency, with their only real splash being a mid-level contract for Phil Hughes. I think Perkins, Doumit, and Correia are all traded. Pelfrey is either traded at the deadline or not resigned. Morneau does not return, nor does Carol. The team also decides to go young. In AAA, they will have Pinto, Sano, Rosario, Meyer, and May also waiting in the wings. Willingham will likely be moved near the deadline, and over the course of the season, the other AAA prospects will be rotated in as people falter. LF- Willingham CF - Hicks RF - Arcia 3B - Plouffe SS - Beresford 2B - Dozier 1B - Parmelee C - Mauer DH - Colobello SP - Gibson, Darnell, Phil Hughes, Worley, Deduno RP - Tonkin, Fein, Burton, Theilbar, Diamond, Rule 5 guy BN - Clete Thomas, Florimon, Maestro, Hermsen, Escobar.

Please continue to post. It's always nice seeing the perspective of people close to the players.

He's fresh out of highschool and doing quite well in the GCL against competition that is on average older than him. That is a great sign. If Gonslaves, Stewart, and Thorpe keep this up, here's to hoping they get some Appy league exposure yet this year. All three of those kids have looked really good thus far.

I seem to remember her promising to screw the entire roster/staff of some mlb team if he cheated on her... wonder if she fulfilled that promise.

I wouldn't have minded them extending him, but I get the distinct impression that Liriano needed a change of scenery more than anything else. Saw an article on him a month or two ago talking about how he made some minor adjustments to his pitching techniques as well.

Did you expect anything else for the AL east? I predicted 7 wins, and sadly I don't see them sniffing that mark.

I'm afraid to ask what your Sunday sermon notes will look like.

Gonsalves picks up his first win pitching 3 hitless innings with 1 walk and 3Ks.

Bring them up when they are ready. Otherwise, the window of competition for this team just shrank significantly.

Well, I assume they come from the same place the rest of us do. There's a mommy and a daddy. They spend a little time together and 9 months later a baby manager shows up.

Don't see Willingham traded as they'd be better off rolling the dice on him bouncing back and trading him next season... especially if Buxton is forcing things. I hope Doumit is traded, as I think some NL teams would value him, but to get Colabello up, you'd need to trade Doumit and Morneau. Parmelee gets squeezed otherwise... Lest we forget, he put up better numbers than the big Italian at a younger age.

I'd be careful using Badler's rankings... if for no other reason than I doubt he's scouted these kids like he has rule 4 guys... That said, I'd bet a decent amount of money that the Twins got the guy they had number 1 on their list. They out bid for Diaz by quite a bit, and for the money they spent on him, they could have picked up other international guys... They clearly wanted Diaz.

You are right, I crossed up the NFL and MLB teams. You know what else? Most people reading this recognize that it doesn't change my point one bit. Feel free to quibble over this, but it completely misses my point. In a way, it's a crap shoot during all rounds, the difference being that the odds favor you far more during the earlier picks than the later. The international signing is just as much of a crap shoot. Some of those kids make it, many don't. Of course if it is just a crap shoot as you suggest, then wouldn't it make more sense to sign as many guys as you can to spread out the odds of hitting one? I think their strategy of going after the one guy the really wanted and then getting 6 or so guys at the 500k mark isn't a bad one. All of these guys have high ceilings. I don't get the consternation here. Truth be told, I'd be fine signing 3 guys at 1.3M/per guy or 8 guys at 500k/guy, and when several teams bid up the markets on a few guys, that's going to leave lots of other high ceiling guys available for lower prices because no one is left to spend money on them. I'll be more upset if they don't spend their alotments, or if they fail to trade it for prospects. I'm also more conerned that they haven't targed anything for the middle infield (which the international market seems to excel at and the Twins happen to need), but not knowing enough about it, it's quite possible that none of the SS propsects look to end up at SS... Who knows. But as I said previously, being upset because they didn't go after 3 higher profile guys in favor of 6-10 guys is throwing a fit for the sake of throwing a fit. Yes. Again, I don't understand this statement. They have identified talent, and they have taken on risk to lock down said talent. They traded 2 centerfielders this offseason, remember? They picked up two high ceiling pitchers and a third that could eventually be a mid rotation starter. That's risk to lock down high-ceiling guys at glaring positions of need. They drafted a high school pitcher with the 4th overall pick. That carried far more risk than grabbing a guy like Frazier (who Sickles chose in his mock) or a lower risk/lower reward hometown hero like Chris Anderson. As a matter of fact, they grabbed three more guys in the same draft that originally looked like they might first rounders (Eades, Navarreto, and Gonsalves), all of which have higher upsides at glaring positions of need. That's risk to lock down high-ceiling guys at glaring positions of need. The problem is with the "other side" to use your terms is that they want the Twins to follow their exact perscription (which I'm guessing they wouldn't agree on if they all sat down together and came up with a plan) and excoriate management any time they deviate from this plan. Just because they don't do it your way doesn't mean that they aren't doing what you suggest.