diehardtwinsfan

they make you a moderator and you go on some power trip... I see how it is

I think most of us would agree with this.

I doubt they were upset about the comment... While it may be true, your last statement hit the nail on the head. No need having him waste service time holding his own in a struggle when he can develop his talent and hit the bigs by storm. People forget that the fact he even started in cedar rapids was pretty impressive. The fact he's likely going to finish in Fort Meyer, a year after graduating highschool, is even more impressive.

Speaking of statements that need to be sourced. I've see nothing linked here that indicates this. I've read guys like Sickles who indicate it will happen at one point, but the I'm missing the free Buxton slogans... I'd like to see one GM that's said it, much less a whole host of scouts and other officials from competing organizations... Go ahead, source this one please.

You'll never be able to keep money out, the issue becomes leveling the playing field. Contrary to what the politicians will tell you, it's pretty much setup to allow a handful of elites to control the playing field. They get to do so through PACs to which the corporations/elite can give a nearly unlimited amount of dollars. The easiest way to keep money out is to say that there's a limit (say $2500) on what each person or corporation can give to any part of the political process as well as limit a PAC to that same donation to a politician. Right now, you may as well as them to wear sponsor patches like NASCAR drivers. Back to the topic at hand though, if what Snowden is saying is true, he should not be prosecuted. It won't happen though. We've come to the day where telling the truth is equivalent to treason.

Why not get a hot spot. You could a use a service like log me in to access devices on the other part of the home? As Brock said, you'll need to log on to the device to adjust a few settings to make it a true repeater.

I'm not sure I'd call Colabello or Romero top prospects... noteable perhaps. But they aren't cracking many lists.

No, he's right. W/L stats for a pitcher are something they do not have nearly as much control over as you'd like. A guy can go out and throw 9 innings of 1 run ball and get the loss because his team got shut out. 5 days later, he can give up 5 runs in 6 innings and get a win because his team put up 13. It's really a lousy metric to determine a pitcher's success.

Yes, I'm sure that's it. Ryan is sitting up in his office eating bon bons and generally doing nothing while those rookies toil away down in the low minors waiting to impress him. Are we really arguing this? I said it recently and Kab just did as well. It isn't as simple as buying him a plane ticket. Other moves have to be made, because for every move up, someone else either goes up or goes out.

I asked this once before and I'll ask this again. When Benson was at his highest value, the Twins were on their way to a 99 loss season and he had just had his breakout season in AA, while the centerfielder of the future posted a disappointing .723 OPS in A+. Explain to me again exactly what Ryan was supposed to trade him for? Help at the major league squad? You do realize that prospect for prospect trades are incredibly rare... and for very good reason. You say all you want that Ryan should have traded Benson back in 2011, but unless he sold low, there would have been no takers.

Hmm... AJ for Boof, Liriano, Nathan Buchanan for Bartlett Revere for Worley, May Milton for Silva, Punto JC Romero for Casilla Boyer and Tyler for Castillo $25000 for Santana I'm not sure what blindspot you are referencing Jokin. Ryan has proven over and over again that he can sell high and buy low. I won't argue with you that he's missed the boat from time to time, but part of being able to sell high and buy low is saying No to a trade that doesn't maximize value... something I might add that Bill Smith never did. Otherwise, you never get that value. I haven't heard much as to what was being offered last year for Willingham and Morneau, but my guess was not much.

I don't see Plouffe getting traded unless Ryan gets blown away, and honestly that is how it should be. Parmelee has little to no value right now, and unfortunately we still find ourselves in a place where we don't know what we have with him because he gets no consistent PT. That too is frustrating to say the least. I don't think you should be purposely excluding guys on the top 10 lists of teams. For most teams, only the top 2 or 3 guys in the system will be in the MLB top 100, so purposely looking for guys in the 11-30 range isn't likely the best move unless you are targeting very high ceiling guys in rookie ball/low A with some serious question marks. It's not unreasonable to think that you can get a top 5 to 10 prospect on a team when you are trading something of value.

I can tell you your definition of a prospect differs from most. John Sickles over at minorleagueball.com gives out a grand total of about 30 A/A- grades over the course of the season. Buxton and Meyer were both B+ prospects (though both should be in the A category this season when he regrades). You won't get that quality of a prospect for KC. You might get lucky and get a B/B- graded prospect for him, which is still a pretty decent prospect. Plenty of quality major league players can be found in the B range, and many C guys are Cs simply because of how far they are from the show. They too can get better as they move up. I get that KC is doing well now, and I'll go farther and state that he's far exceeded my and most everyone else's expectations. That said, he's not going to be here for the next wave and his value is at an all time high. If a team is willing to part ways with something decent for him, you take it.

Just the name alone is a good reason to keep him around.

As a person whose done some fair amount of traveling, I can tell you personally that some people don't adapt well to it. That's quite a drop off, and could be SSS, as I don't think it's a stadium effect. Perhaps he has a difficult time adjusting to time on the road.

I'm actually very curious about this too. He wasn't this good in college, though he did have a higher K/9 one year. Has he picked up a tick or two in velocity? Are his pitches just better? Did he develop a 3rd or 4th pitch that complement what he already has?

1) Ryan visits the minor league affiliates every year. I don't see how it's a bad thing. If I remember right, this isn't even his first trip to CR. 2) Gibson gets called up when one of the rotation gets hurt, traded, or utterly implodes. The deadline is not far away, and I full expect someone to give a C+ prospect for one of our starters.

He had a very nice season in AA two years ago, and got sent directly to MLB and predictably struggled. Sound familiar? I tend to agree he's a stop gap, but if he pans out offensively, they can move him back to SS if needed. They can do the same with Plouffe too. Honestly, if both pan out, I see Dozier getting traded for something of decent value once Rosario is knocking on the door.

A couple of things to comment on: 1) To answer the thread title question. Is this his best year? No. Apparently we've forgotten about 2009 where he hit nearly 30 home runs, won a batting title, and MVP, and for a while was flirting with a .400 BA. 2) As others have said, his value is at catcher. He would be an above average 1B no doubt, but if he had seasons like this from here on out, he wouldn't be worth 23M. He's worth 23M if he finishes that contract at C and continues to have years like this or perhaps another 2009. 3) Mauer is going to need some games at DH/1B to save some wear on those knees. I do get that. The trick for Gardy is going to be to make sure he's not benching someone else as deserving. Right now, that's not really an issue, but it could be when Sano and company are up, who knows. 4) At this point, Mauer is a first ballot hall of famer. I really don't understand why some people don't like him. He isn't perfect, no one is, but minus Pujols he might be the best pure hitter of our generation.

BABIP is kind of weird because it excludes home runs and strike outs. This stems from the idea that these values are under a pitchers control and nothing else is. I'm not quite sure it tells the whole story.

The thing frustrates me about Parmelee is that while this was supposed to be his year to get consistent MLB at bats to prove himself, the one thing he hasn't gotten is consistent MLB at bats. He hasn't had more than a 2 or 3 week stretch of playing every day before he gets benched for Arcia, and while I really like Arcia, the Twins know what they have in Oswaldo and need to find out what they have in Chris. This one, to me, falls on Gardy and TR. I know that Gardy really likes Arcia, but Ryan keeps giving him to Gardy, and Parmelee is the one that suffers for this. I don't see how demoting him is going to do that. For one, his options are dwindling. Second, he destroyed AAA last year after destroying AA the year prior. I don't think he has much to prove in the minors. Third, he does take a pretty patient approach to hitting, which is something that will serve him well. Fourth, to answer someone else's comment, he has little trade value and won't have any until he can produce some MLB results, which is pretty difficult for him given the environment he's playing in. I get that this is the time of the year to showcase the tradable assets, but if that's the case, Arcia should still be in AAA. As soon as Morneau, Willingham, or Doumit is moved, Arcia can be up to stay.

I'm not sure you know what "my side" stands for. I think you are arguing against an argument that you think I'm trying to make. I have no doubt Buxton gets promoted, and I expect it, but worrying that hasn't happened today or tomorrow doesn't bother me b/c I know it will happen soon. It has nothing to do with defensive liabilities and what not. And in April, he had no business being promoted... same with May. There's this thing called a sample size, and if you've forgotten, he struggled a bit in May as the league adjusted. He clearly adjusted again himself, but that's a part of what this is about. I suggest you spend some time reading up on minorleague ball and other sites. Lots of minor league players compare favorably to hall of famers as they come up... and then the year after, people compare the next round favorably to the HOF guys or that hot prospect from the year before. If you are advocating promoting him based on comparison, there's something seriously wrong with your approach. I get that he's a 5 tool guy, and again, if you look around the minors you'll find that being 5 tool isn't exactly rare. They flame out all the time, one good example is some guy named Benson that seems rather famous around these parts. You said centerfield depth. I listed 3 guys with a potential future and noted that two of the three were pretty decent prospects (and I'll give you a hint, but Morales wasn't who I was thinking about, it was Buxton and Kepler)... and added that the guy in the bigs right now is a prospect as well. Morales is exactly what you say this team is lacking... depth. He's still young enough to have the potential to be a prospect, and in AA right now, could factor as someone to help out next year should this recent improvement stick. And that's with me forgetting about Derek Rodriguez, who is also a CF. This team doesn't have a problem with CF depth in the minors, it has a problem with CF depth in AAA. There's a big big big big big difference. And when I consider other organizations, I see some that take their time bringing up prospects, and others like the Mets who rush them as you would suggest... How did that work out for Carlos Gomez again? He's on his 3rd team and finally this year having a sort of break out season, and for every Gomez, there's a guy like Delmon who was rushed and amounted to nothing. He'd have been much better served spending more time in the minors learning his trade. As for the Twins' progression, you ignore history... Remember that elite kid named Mauer? He got up pretty quick. Garza? It happened. You forget that at the end of Ryan's tenure, they had a bad couple of drafts and had no one worth rushing.

So seriously, what exactly are you doing in Bismark? Doesn't quite sound like an exciting place to go to, and on a Friday night, not exactly business.

except that for whatever reason, Parmelee never seems to get the PT.

Not sure I want either... Unless Melissa can magically split into Vera and Olivia.