Brad Swanson

If that increase in strikeout rate actually correlates with the pitch framing, then I could see the 50 runs saved.

Hey everyone! I took a look at what each of the 4 other teams in the AL Central were up to this off-season. Once completed, the 4 previews consisted of a lot of words. Really, too many words. Therefore, I split each one up and posted them individually at my blog, Kevin Slowey was Framed!. I thought I would just provide links to each of the 4 previews here, for any who are interested. I swear this was not a ploy to get more pageviews, it was a simple ploy to continue to be lazy even though it is just copy and pasting. I really want to go take a nap. Anyway, here they are, in order of how I think they will finish. I'm leaving the Twins out due to sadness. Please don't be turned off by the first sentence in each preview. I don't really talk like that. K, brahs? Thx. Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

Hey everyone! I took a look at what each of the 4 other teams in the AL Central were up to this off-season. Once completed, the 4 previews consisted of a lot of words. Really, too many words. Therefore, I split each one up and posted them individually at my blog, Kevin Slowey was Framed!. I thought I would just provide links to each of the 4 previews here, for any who are interested. I swear this was not a ploy to get more pageviews, it was a simple ploy to continue to be lazy even though it is just copy and pasting. I really want to go take a nap. Anyway, here they are, in order of how I think they will finish. I'm leaving the Twins out due to sadness. Please don't be turned off by the first sentence in each preview. I don't really talk like that. K, brahs? Thx. Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I just came across this. What an amazing resource, thanks for putting it all together!

Rumor has it Matt Capps is also willing to eat for the Twins in 2013.

Thanks, I really appreciate that!

Hello Twins Daily! I haven't posted here in a long time, and I'll be honest, I miss it here. Also, I am not at TwinsFest today like seemingly everyone else, so I started to feel sad and nostalgic. I decided to create a top 10 favorite Twins list. But, that seemed kind of boring, so I added a little twist. (originally published at Kevin Slowey was Framed!) I have received two complaints in my entire life. 1. You don't illustrate enough. 2. You haven't made your 10 favorite Twins of all time clear enough. I plan to take care of both of those complaints in one fell swoop. I have drawn representative images of each of my 10 favorite Twins, using Paint. Each image portrays the player as I remember them. Some are portraits, some are scenes and some are more conceptual. I'll analyze the image and discuss the player as we count down from 10 to 1. I have only been a fan since about 1986, due to my inability to have been born and then form memories prior to that. Blame science if your favorite player is not on my list. 10. Jacque Jones [ATTACH=CONFIG]3131[/ATTACH] The image is a bit unsettling to me for some reason. My favorite Jacque Jones quirk happened only every so often, but it was great when it happened. He would get a ball in the outfield, rear back and then just rifle the ball straight into the ground. This is my artist's representation of that phenomenon. I always hoped the ball would burrow into the ground, but it usually just bounced off the Metrodome turf. This is probably one of the best images you are going to see in the series, so get settled in. Jones was miscast as a lead-off hitter, but certainly had his moments. Whenever he would hit a home run Torii Hunter would seem to come up and swing out of his shoes trying to hit one too. Jones never walked much, but hit for high averages during his early years. He had a really great 2002, posting a 3.7 rWAR and helping the Twins make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. I always liked him because he was smaller, he played hard and he seemed to enjoy himself. That is really all it takes for me. 9. Brad Radke [ATTACH=CONFIG]3132[/ATTACH] Oh dear, there is a lot to discuss here. This is a strike zone chart, I guess. I am trying to illustrate Radke's pinpoint control. See, the joke is that he only threw two balls his whole career! He did paint the corners, much as I did in this image. Now, Radke did not pitch only to strange alien-like creatures with extremely tiny arms and faces that look like they are being blown in a hurricane-strength wind. In fact, most of the hitters he faced did not have thinning hair. If he had, he may have been even better. As it were, Radke was an underrated pitcher during a hitters' heyday. His career ERA+ was 113, so he was statistically above-average. His final game was pitched on my 24th birthday. I celebrated the one-year anniversary of that event by renting a car. There are 8 more players and 8 more truly terrible drawings. To see the rest of the list, please visit me at Kevin Slowey was Framed! It's a link, I promise it will be a short visit.

lol.

Just for fun, here is a list of players drafted from the same college as Puckett. Triton College Only 4 made the Bigs and 3 played for the Twins.

Kash Beauchamp and Troy Afenir. Only 3 other guys from that 1st round played in the MLB and they combined for 120 games played. Shows what a long shot Puckett really was. Reference

Oh snap! When Terry Ryan does his daily comb through these forums and reads that barb, he'll probably fall out of his chair.

I should say that the deal isn't really unfair, it just doesn't make a lot of sense for Texas. If they really want to trade Olt, they probably can get a better deal. Olt also could just play first for Texas.

There are no defensive concerns with Olt. Scouting Report: Mike Olt (3B) | Baseball Prospect Nation No chance Texas would make this trade.

Gross. At least he'll be gone in two years. ERA+ of 68, 78, 88 the last three years. An impressive pattern, but terrible regardless.

Who's to say the Twins wouldn't pay that price? Maybe, just maybe, all these pitchers would rather play for teams that haven't finished last in two straight years.

This could be both good and bad. I think you could argue that Shaun Marcum isn't that much more valuable than McCarthy. Perhaps the Twins could still get him for 2/18.

I think that everything that needs to be said on this topic has likely been said, so I want to move this thread in another direction. I really liked that John stated that he wanted to get something up quickly for the TD community to discuss. To me, this shows that the leaders of TD really want this to be a community, and not simply a place to display their great articles. The community aspect makes it a lot more fun for me. I like being able to see some gut reactions from time to time, as they can be very entertaining, and often the most honest. The wide variety of opinions is one of the most interesting and enjoyable parts of this community. The fact that we all feel empowered to express our opinions is what makes this a fun place to visit on a daily basis. Being able to interact with writers that I have read for years is a really great idea. Also, just seeing what other people think on a variety of topics and reading various member blogs is really enjoyable for me. So kudos to John, and the whole TD staff for providing this forum and this site for us to use and enjoy.

I say this with love: you should change the name of this podcast to "Gettin' wrapped up in semantics, with John and Aaron!" That being said, I was happy to hear John fight back and try clarify his position. Of course, this is just a D level comment, so what do I know?

I'm not sure there is much need to extend Revere. His stats aren't the type of stats that earn large arbitration figures. Probably best to go year to year with him, especially with all the outfield prospects in the system.

I agree with all 4 of your points to some extent. I do think that hitters like Joe Mauer and Denard Span, who have high OBPs and good doubles power can thrive in at Target Field. I also don't believe in compounding mistakes. Trading for Delmon was a mistake, but keeping Willingham just to justify the mindset that created that move would be compounding the mistake and making it worse. Plus, all four of your points were true last year, Willingham had a monster year, and the Twins still lost 96 games. If we could preserve Willingham in a jar for a couple years so that he doesn't age and his contract doesn't run out, he might be worth keeping. Looking at the roster built around him, it doesn't seem likely that the Twins improve enough to make it worthwhile. The deal he signed was awesome, and a huge bargain. He was a stud last year. None of that changes the team outlook for 2013 and possibly 2014. The only way to turn Willingham's deal into a regrettable one would be to waste the asset with a rotten team around him and then get nothing in return for his value. Signing Willingham was not a mistake (obviously) but letting him play out his contract without exploring what he could bring in return would be a huge mistake. I agree that he is hard to replace, but that is also not a reason to pass on a good deal. I think the last statement you made is the reality. Trading Span makes this team worse for the next couple years and trading all the valuable pieces for young assets seems to be the way the team needs to go. It will be painful for a couple years, but could pay off huge by 2015. Patience is virtue. By 2015, there could be right handed power bats available to sign or trade for as well. This can all change with some key additions in the off-season, so I reserve the right to change my mind. If the team feels they can contend next year, then they are justified in keeping him. Personally, I need more data and I would like to see how things play out. This is how I feel right now, based on what has already happened.

The Twins would have to get FOUR legit prospects for Mauer or three prospects and an MLB starter. Then, you could get Anibal Sanchez ($15 million) and another $8 million a year starter for the dollars. Or, you could get Edwin Jackson ($12 million) and another $11 million pitcher (or two $5.5 million pitchers). Normally, I'd agree that 4 good prospects and more would be mandatory in a Mauer trade. Normally, I hate making up fake trades. BUT... I love the Red Sox farm system. Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Rubby de la Rosa and Blake Swihart. The Twins would consider that. Two young power arms, a future corner power bat (who Jason Parks stated on Twitter earlier today has 70 power/70 hit potential) and a potential starting catcher down the road. It would never happen. Both teams' fans would lose their collective minds. BUT, this makes this thread more fun.