MarshalltheIrish

As one who's conditioned to the 2015-2017 mindset, I still agree with plenty here. Except for retaining Gardy. Like him or not, I think there's more than enough of a case for him leaving and bringing in a new manager to inject new ways of thinking. Preferably from the outside. Dave Martinez, Chip Hale, and Matt Williams are my top three choices. But even then it wouldn't matter as much if they don't take some chances with free agency.

Couldn't disagree more, time to move on without him. Not to dump on him solely, but the Twins absolutely need a fresh start roster-wise next year and it's time to either demote or let go of a good number of players and I think he's definitely one. Hendriks has had his chances and he's just been a disappointment. With the need for a much stronger pitching staff next year stronger than ever, there just isn't any room to have him in the rotation. Like others have said above, if he can hone his skills in the bullpen or even find his role there like Duensing and Swarzak have, that would be fantastic. Only then will he deserve another chance. The ideal 2014 rotation in my opinion would be three free agent starters (admittedly optimistic, but still), Correia, and perhaps Deduno if he's healthy.

I not only hope with everything in my soul that Gardy isn't retained, but that the Twins would just bring in someone from the outside for once. If they did, I think Tampa Bay Rays coach Dave Martinez would be a fantastic choice. After that, I'd go for Chip Hale or Matt Williams. Of the internal candidates, Glynn would be best. I was once a Molitor advocate and god knows he'd be better than Gardy, but I have my doubts.

There's no question Gardy should go. As if three straight losing seasons of this caliber weren't bad enough, let's not forget he has a hideous 12-game playoff losing streak under his belt as well. The team has failed in every way under his tenure, even with the some successes like the division titles. If they truly want to rebuild I think they'd benefit not only from a new manager next year, but one from the outside. My top pick is Dave Martinez, the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. He's been on the staff for all these great and resourceful Rays teams, and age and career-wise I think he'd be poised to take on a managerial job. In any case, it's time for Gardy to walk.

Of these four, I think we should go for Lincecum. Giants don't want him back, and he would not only easily be the best pitcher on our staff, but would excite fans and give them something to at least hope to enjoy in the starting rotation. I'd say four years for anywhere from $44 to $52 million. In any case, this is a pretty meager FA market. Given those circumstances and weighing the few options we have, though, I think Timmy would be the best choice.

My favorite of the current crop of Twins rookies. Have loved watching him rack up power numbers, and while I by no means have given up on Hicks and Gibson, Arcia's command is refreshing to witness.

I'm torn on Deduno. I love seeing him do well, plus I have a personal soft spot for him as he was one of the few Twins to hang around for autographs at the Twins/Angels game I went to recently (Got his signature for me and my little sister!). But my enthusiasm for him is kind of mitigated by his age, as well as his known control issues. If he keeps improving, by all means I'd like to see more of him. For some reason I've considered him as a good candidate for a long/middle reliever, although as a late bloomer as a starter I doubt he'd want to make that transition, whereas Duensing and Swarzak did so badly as starters that they needed the second wind of bullpen work. All the same, good write-up Nick!

Nick, I agree wholeheartedly. Trust me, I love Perkins in every way too, and 9 seasons out of 10 I think he stays. But this is that one season where he just has to go. The Twins have had so many bad trades and missed years where they could have been sellers, and they desperately need to sell what they can now so they can commit to a rebuilding process. Even if they move Morneau, Perkins is by far the best chip available. Ideally, I think they should offer him to Los Angeles and Arizona, who are both in a division race, have had major bullpen issues, and would have plenty of great prospects and/or current players to deal for him. Also, spot-on about the Soria bit. I had heard someone else mention that as well as a cautionary tale.

I'll be disappointed if the Twins don't make Perkins available. As much as I love him, he'd be a fantastic trade chip. If they did, though, I think it would be best if they offered him to the Dodgers, who desperately need a closer especially now that they're getting into contention for their division. Even though I do follow LA, I'll admit I don't know their farm system inside-out, so I think a piece on the Dodgers as a fellow trade partner would be a great idea. Good piece on Philly though!

I don't have a Twins or baseball blog in general, but I do have an official website for a set of trading cards and other fun stuff for my own creation, Presidents Baseball. Is there any way I could share a link to that or have it promoted?

Of course, it would be just one component for the Twins to advance in the playoffs. First order is great starting pitching and a strong infield, for sure.

I completely agree! I too have strongly believed for awhile that the Twins need a change in attitude. It doesn't need to be radical, just a little more fire here and there would do. Their constant losses to the Yankees in the ALDS are a perfect example. There were times watching those (especially 2010) that it looked like the Twins just rolled over, and the Yankees just KNEW they would win in the end. I think overall this is an organizational problem, and while I believe the Twins should be overhauled pretty much from top to bottom (ownership, front office, coaching staff, pitching staff), it would be great to see someone at any level introduce that "spark."

I'd say it'd be worth it to have Harper instead, but this only comes with 100% hindsight. I was totally jazzed about the 2010 season as our best chance to win a World Series, especially to christen the new stadium. If they had failed in the regular season I would have been pretty sour on it, and they had such a good nucleus built from the 2009 season that I don't think they were going to fail period. But I couldn't care less about them just making the playoffs that year. We had already won a ton of division titles, and were promised that the new stadium and higher payroll would make for a team that would go deep into the playoffs. Instead, they were embarrassed by the Yankees yet again, and now have a historic 12-game playoff losing streak to break when they return to the postseason. That being said, I still do savor the memories of Thome's stint with the Twins, especially his walk-off against the White Sox. That was fantastic.

Nick, I agree 100%, but there's no way the front office will push for it. It's bad enough they're as awful and underwhelming as they are when the new stadium was supposed to open up greater potential, but worse that they won't even try to go for it all in Mauer's prime. I've always believed they should win at least one title with Mauer and Morneau, and even after the (excruciating) disappointment of 2006 I figured they would have a good share of opportunities. I think when they blew it in 2010 that was a huge setback, and then the utter disaster of 2011 and Bill Smith's litany of bad moves threatened to kill the team for a long time. This year they've managed to find some life with the offense and bullpen, and Mauer's turnaround in particular is an important component of that. All they need to do in the offseason to compete is add at least two solid FA starters, maybe a weapon or two more in the bullpen, and shore up the infield if necessary (hoping the best for Plouffe in the long run). A WS run would probably require a little more, but I wouldn't object to making the effort. Ryan's offseason acquisitions (aside from Marquis) have worked out fine, so him ruling out free agency after this year doesn't make any sense. That said, I think the team's likely headed for another stretch akin to the early 80's and late 90's. At least in the case of the former they were growing the foundation for the 87/91 teams, and the latter were just bad teams to begin with. A dry spell like that now would indeed be an injustice to the fans.

In addition to turning around drafting philosophy (which they've already started this year, at last!), all the Twins really need to do to a dramatic extent right now is just improve the starting pitching. It drives me crazy to think how much better they'd be standing-wise right now if they had a good or great pitching staff. And as far as trading this summer, I absolutely do not want to see Willingham, Morneau, Doumit, or Span traded. Liriano is our best piece.

Good read, and thanks for sharing. I've felt this way not only this season, but since we lost in the 2010 playoffs. It's frustrating to think how much better we'd be right now if we had a good or great pitching staff. I hope they splash for a good free agent starter or two this upcoming offseason.