TwinsGuy55422

This is an interesting post. Besides helping individual players improve their performances, I could see a sports psychologist helping with team chemistry issues in the locker room through out the season. Did your research reveal any other MLB teams having a sports psychologist on staff or were they pretty much just used as consultants?

Agreed. A more productive season from Valencia would be huge. I doubt he'll ever lose his swagger, but if he is able to check it at the door when he comes to the baseball field I think he can harness more of his talent.

I tend to agree that we didn't do enough to address the pitching staff, but I am willing to see how things play out before passing judgment. I am intrigued by guys like Doyle, Gutierrez, Oliveros, Hendriks, etc. and am hoping that some of these guys can take the next step.

I agree that overall he has done a good job so far given the salary constraints that have been put on him. I think it is going to take some tough, sometimes unpopular decisions to overcome the mess that we have created over the past couple of years. I believe we need to let things play out before passing judgment on Ryan.

You do have to feel for the guy. If he does decide to retire, hopefully he has been conservative with his money over the years.

Great analysis. I would also like to mention the possibility for in-season moves if things are going reasonably well. That could lead to some runs created and/or runs prevented.

This has to be extremely frustrating for Zumaya. Hopefully it is nothing serious. This could be a tough break for a guy that has been struggling for so long to get his career back on track. You gotta feel for the guy.

Great points. Couldn't agree with you more. The integrity of the game is important but being a good citizen is what truly counts!

I have been extremely impressed with the site as well. So far, I have seen nothing but intelligent, constructive conversation.

I agree with you that two catchers should be the route we go. I just don't think we can justify having Butera take up a bench spot for another year. Plus, you could always have someone else dabble with the position as an emergencies-only third catcher just in case Gardy's nightmare ever comes true. On a side note, I am getting so sick of this personal catcher stuff with Pavano. If you are going to demand a personal catcher, then you better dang well be one of the top pitchers in the game. Pavano's performance does not justify having a catcher who otherwise doesn't belong in the major leagues being on the roster. That's just my two cents.

Good points. This is why I liked the Jamey Carroll signing whereas so many people thought the Twins were just being cheap. Although Carroll is entering the twilight of his career, he will be a huge upgrade over what we got offensively and defenisively from the shortstop position last year. He will provide a veteran presence and will help the team while holding down the position until one of these two prospects is ready. Hopefully, Dozier and Michael will push each other in the minors and maybe sooner rather than later we will have the problem of having two major league ready shortstop prospects. It would be so nice to finally have that position solidified for a while.

I think this is a great posting and consistent with the frustrations I have been having with a lot of Twins fans I know. So many casual fans don't seem to realize that just because we have a lot more revenue with Target Field we cannot and should not just blindly spend money. It seems that I hear three catch phrases over and over: 1) How can they reduce payroll when they have a nice new ballpark and all this revenue?, 2) They told us if we build them a new ballpark they would have the money to prevent their free agents from walking, and 3) How can they not spend the money to keep a guy like Cuddy since he was the best thing they had going last year. I think people fail to realize that when the payroll was at about $115 million it was actually more than what was promised when Target Field was built, so as Twinsarmchairgm already stated, it makes sense not to make a lot of significant financial commitments going into a year where there are so many question marks. I think a lot of people forget that there is the possibility to make in-season moves if the season is going well. As far as people complaining about letting Nathan, Cuddyer, and Kubel walk, that does not mean the Twins are cheap. Would anyone have seriously wanted us to outbid the Rangers to keep a 37 year old reliever coming off TJ surgery who hasn't shown that he is going to regain his old form? People complaining about not signing Cuddyer probably frustrate me the most. People have gotten so endeared with him over small stretches of success that they overlook how extremely average he is. The offer the Twins made to him was extremely fair and maybe on the edge of over paying, so if he didn't want to take it then you just wish him well. You just don't over pay a fan-favorite who is an extremely average player when you are trying to recover from some of the stupid decisions that have been made in recent years. As far as the Mauer bashing goes, I am mainly frustrated with Jim Souhan. In at least two separate articles (one this past summer and one more recently) he has made bold accusations that there are a large number of anonymous teammates and employees within the organization that roll their eyes behind Mauer's back and cannot stand him. To me, that is just classless reporting. He is either exaggerating or if the claims are true but the people giving Souhan this information want to remain anonymous then you just don't report it. If you are going to attack a guy's character to that degree, then you better be able to name some names. I know this is kind of a long rant. I just get frustrated with people that want to throw an organization under the bus that has been successful for so long. Don't get me wrong, I think true fans will often criticize their team but it needs to be done intelligently, constructively, and without blindly accepting as fact assumptions that are thrown out in the media.