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minn55441

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Everything posted by minn55441

  1. minn55441
    Another variable is that the regular season is very long. It starts in April and runs through September if not later. Although the same season, you may have a different team in October than you did in April or May. Each of the wins counts the same, but as a group of players, a team, they will progress as a unit or regress as a unit, they won't stay the same. I'm not even talking about additions to the team at the trade deadline. There were several discussions about team chemistry last summer and much of it devoted to the fact that the team with the most talent wins. I consistently argued against that thesis. It helps to have talent, but the best team wins not the team with the best players. Oakland, Baltimore and others are prime examples. Through the season, teams evolve and change. Some change for the better, some change for the worse. I wonder if a better predictor is how many wins a team has after the all star break? Of course first taking into account teams that have things locked up with a week or two to go and then coast into the postseason. Great topic. John
  2. minn55441
    who has been signed by another team that you felt we missed? If TR spends all of his money in November, everyone will complain that he overpaid. He's been around the block a few times. He knows how the process works. Wait until he actually signs someone to the 40 man roster or misses out on a good player before you start to criticize his roster moves.
  3. minn55441
    Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall told reporters Bauer admitted he made mistakes and has even reached out to some veteran teammates, including closer J.J. Putz. And though there had been some whispers the D-Backs might trade Bauer this offseason, Hall told the reporters that this wouldn't be happening. This quote is from Friday. We were maybe just getting our hopes up.
  4. minn55441
    I guess he wanted to start his opening negotiation price a little on the high side. I can't imagine a team offering even close to that in years or dollars.
  5. minn55441
  6. minn55441
  7. minn55441
    I wouldn't be surprised to see a MI as a "throw in" included in our major trade to acquire a starting pitcher. It doesn't even sound right typing that. Our one major trade for a starting pitcher. I feel the need to knock on wood. Maybe we have one trade this off season, maybe we have two trades for starting pitching this off season, but I have a feeling that we will see a MI come with in one of these trades. It would be nice if that player could step in quickly at the major league level, but probably just another career utility player that will be given a chance to compete.
  8. minn55441
    The Twins haven't seemed to let anyone skip AAA lately. Which means Sano could be looking at 3 more years in the minors before he gets a full season in the majors. Both Benson and Parmelee skipped AAA in Sept of 2011. It was a good call up for both, however both went different directions in 2012.
  9. minn55441
    Good point. If we spend money on MI will that take away money that would have been spent on Pitching? Probably.
  10. minn55441
    I agree that both Harper and Sano are elite level talent, but from there we have two different players. 1) Harper is as equally advanced in the field as he is at the plate. Sano if promoted too quickly now, would end up being a career DH. He needs a chance to advance as a fielder. It will only hurt him in the long run to slot him into a DH only position. 2) Harper grew up in the US and speaks english. As much as learning the game, Sano has had to learn about life in the US and adjust what a ballplayers life is like away from the diamond. We would be setting him up for failure to stick him on a huge stage before he has the maturity to deal with it. 3) Sano has specific things to work on even at the low A level in terms of both field and hitting. You can learn from success and failure. He is seeing both at his current level in the organization. Would I like to see him play at Hi-A to start next year and finish the season at AA? sure, but he will need to earn it by cutting down on his strikeouts and improving his fielding.
  11. minn55441
    How shocked would we all be to see the Hammer traded instead? I agree we have to trade value to get value. Are more teams looking for defense and a lead off hitter or power from a corner outfield position? I think it is obvious that we have more and better replacements for Spans skills, but what is more valued by the teams we will be potentially trading with? Again, I want to see us trade our way into some quality pitching, however in my view it is more likely that Span will improve on his 2012 totals at the plate then Willingham. I feel that Span will continue to improve his numbers as he distances himself from his concussion. I think we just saw the best Willingham has to offer this past season. It still is a tough call when you take into account that we can not replace Willingham's power and the impact that it had last season when he batted between Mauer and Morneau.
  12. minn55441
    It's money. Pure and simple. We can talk about weather, stadium chance of making the series and all of the other garbage, but in the end it is who makes the best offer. Not every player gets an offer from 30 teams. In fact I would guess that most FA's get legitimate offers from only 4 or 5 clubs. They don't get to pick between all of the major league cities, only those locations that have teams that want to pay the price. Do you really think Prince wanted to play in Detroit above all other locations? Do you think Yoenis Cespedes wanted to move to Oakland for 4 years? In both cases they made the best offer. I think we were all surprised by it, I know I was in both cases. There will always be the Greinke's that may place a larger importance on other factors but I think we will find in the end, if Terry Ryan offers the most money to a pitcher this off season, he will be pitching for the Twins next season. It remains to be seen if in fact TR is the biggest spender in any negotiation.
  13. minn55441
    I would love to get Shields. I'm of the belief that if we fix the starting Pitching problem, we have a chance. Shields is a step in the right direction and a great step at that. He will be 31 next season and has averaged at least 200 innings for 6 consecutive years. All the while giving up less than one hit per inning during that span. The real question is what does Tampa want in return? I think they will trade Shields this off season. It fits their MO. Span is working on a very friendly contract, which should add value to the transaction. Who else will we need to throw in? Do we throw in a better prospect and they give us a lesser prospect in return? During the TR interview, he mentioned that we would see some action early. I wonder if he had a trade in mind or a FA signing? I know some have downplayed the value of Shields in past threads, but I would not mind if we overpaid to land him. I wonder if Span and Benson would be enough to get it done?
  14. minn55441
    I heard that we also had to throw in Joe and eat $50 million of his remaining salary, in addition to the players listed above. Must have been a different source.
  15. minn55441
    I think we are looking at this wrong. TR said in the interview that the bullpen is the second priority. He also said that he will bring in competition for third base. He has the huge list of players on his wall. I think he knows exactly who his options are at third and the bullpen. For some reason, I think the competition for Plouffe and also the MI addition will be through rule 5 and through trades. The additional arms will come in the form of FA signings. I think there a bunch of arms out there that they have identified as good additions to the pen and they will go get them. The position player additions might be throw-in's executed during a trade for a pitcher. It may just be a case where TR knows the RP he wants and they will be early signings. The pitching will be addressed first, It is the number one and number two priorities.
  16. minn55441
    Great job on the Handbook guys. I spent the entire world series with my laptop, reading as the innings rolled on. It was good timing, as I have been rooting for the Tigers and found I had more time to read since there really haven't been too many chances to watch tigers running around the bases. You really have exceeded my expectations with the quality of the piece.
  17. minn55441
    that really was unbelievable. How did he stay in the game? I wonder how big the lump is today.
  18. minn55441
    I don't think that's a fair request. It's hard to find two starters, much less four (which is essentially what they would need to have Baker/Gibson waiting in the wings). I'm not saying we need to find four Greinke's, but I don't think it would be unrealistic to expect Ryan to go out and get two legitimate FA starters, trade for another and then sign a bunch of "down on your luck guys coming off an injury" ala Burton, willing to sign a one year deal to prove themselves. Much like last year, invite 60 guys to camp and have them fight for that last starting spot. that fifth spot should go to the pitcher that has the best spring among Devries, Deduno, Hendricks, potential rule 5 guy, the 2013 version of a Jared Burton. If we do that and have Gibson and Baker waiting in the wings, how excited would you be for the season to begin. I'm not saying we make the playoff, but at least we have a fighting chance. If guys play well and we avoid injury we could be in contention in September. If we start the season counting on Baker or Burton to pick up a start every 5 days we will be looking forward to 2014 before we hit the allstar break.
  19. minn55441
    It would be nice to go into 2013 with five starters that don't include Baker or Gibson. I'm all for signing Baker, just not counting on him to contribute until later in the season. Not sure it will work out that way, but it would be a nice luxury to have these guys waiting in the wings ready to fill in when one of our 5 legitimate starters goes on the DL or needs to be pulled because of performance. Is it realistic to think we could stick with 5 guys through April and May before calling on either Baker or Gibson to fill a spot in the rotation? Is it asking too much to find 4 starters in addition to Diamond without counting on Baker or Gibson. I'll admit, I'm an optimist, but you have to go into every season thinking you have a shot to win.
  20. minn55441
    So John, do we have to wait for the Handbook to find out which questions you actually asked? Or are you going to give us a teaser and at least provide us with the questions, if not his responses?
  21. minn55441
    Thanks for posting the link. I hope we will look back on the 2012 draft and view it as a great success with all of the arms we picked up after Buxton.
  22. minn55441
    I was really high on Greinke when he played for the Royals, but I just don't see him as that dominant guy anymore. Maybe my expectations are just too high for a #1 starter, but with all of the issues he has had over the last three seasons I'm not sure he is worth the gamble. If we have the option of picking up one $100 million starter, would this be our choice? Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to criticize the trade if we do get him, I just don't think that is the direction I would go. For the same money, I think there is the option of spreading the money over two starting pitchers each with an equal chance of long term success. When he moved to the national league, I thought he would dominate. Although he had stretches of some quality innings, I don't think he has the mental makeup to ultimately lead our pitching staff and that is what I would want from our number one.
  23. minn55441
    Good Article John, thanks for sharing.
  24. minn55441
    I'm pretty sure they were saying the same thing about Billy Beane prior to the start of this season. They had averaged 76 wins the previous 5 seasons (only once finishing at .500). This past off season, he traded away all of his best players and by most accounts, didn't get much in return. I'm pretty sure they are glad that they didn't have some knee-jerk reaction and blow everything up. If you believe and have faith, things tend to work out.
  25. minn55441

    :-(

    minn55441 replied to kydoty's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk

    The highest of highs and the lowest of lows, really makes you appreciate the good things you have and not take them for granted. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Neshek family.
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