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mazeville

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Everything posted by mazeville

  1. mazeville
    I will never get this "they have more value to the Twins than they would in a trade" stuff. No, that's not true. First, the free agent pitching market is thin, meaning Santana could fetch a decent return in a trade scenario - and teams have indeed been calling. And what value does Dozier have for the Twins right now? By the time the Twins start winning, he hits free agency. He is precisely the type of player a rebuilding team like the Twins needs to trade. In addition, the Twins lost 103 games -- 103 games! -- and have lost at least 90 games in five of six years. There is nobody on this team who is not a trade candidate. Nobody.
  2. mazeville
    These guys are doing exactly what I'd do: Take the gig, then refrain from major changes until you can see how the organization works and is run. In most cases, new CEOs of companies don't overhaul staff right away. But over the following months you start seeing resignations from top management, etc. I'd imagine that some of the top people in the Twins FO will ultimately leave simply because it'll be different management. In this case, my guess is that Falvine (Falvey + Levine) did not decide to dump Bruno but went on the recommendations of Molitor and Antony. This is the right idea, IMO. They don't know enough about the organization yet to make major changes, I think. And as long as Molitor is going to be the coach one more year he might as well have major say on the coaches. And they'll have their hands full building front office staff.
  3. mazeville
    I like the general thought here. Lots of bold moves. Love the Dozier trade idea, in particular. Don't know I sign Gomez but in theory if the Twins could afford to pay Wieters for three years then why not GoGo? And why not just keep Santiago rather than sign Brett Anderson? Don't quite get why Santiago is a non-tender candidate at this point. I think you tender him and hope he improves this year.
  4. mazeville
    Why keep Plouffe at $9 million? Everything else seems good to me. I like the Stephen Drew signing in particular. But I'm still wondering about a potential Santana trade. Then again, you could trade Ervin Santana at the trade deadline for a lot more than you could in the offseason. Yet given the lack of arms on the free agent market, I think you investigate that and see what people offer.
  5. mazeville
    But that's just obvious. I don't want them to hire a bunch of janitors and nobody else does. The whole point is that they're beefing up their front office staff. Anybody who works in business understands that, by hiring and adding people, you generate more excitement among your employees and you attract better workers. The fact that the Twins are getting a pair of highly regarded baseball men at the top and are intent on increasing the size of the front office staff is a very, very key element in their rebuilding. OF COURSE they have to hire the right staff. But they have to hire the right staff whether the front office is 10 people or 50. Go look at the Chicago Cubs front office and compare it to the Twins front office and tell me size doesn't matter.
  6. mazeville
    From the article:
  7. mazeville
    I think you have to give them some credit -- while also poking them for operating on a lower budget for too long. I believe Pohlad thought that he could rehire Terry Ryan as the GM, and that Ryan would wave his magic wand and all would be well. And in 2015, it sure seemed like it was going to be a success: The Twins had one of the top two or three farm systems in baseball, and the team was in the playoff race all season long. That turned out to be a false positive. The team plunged in 2016. And Pohlad took steps necessary to fix things. So I'll give them some credit, while also saying this: You cannot simply adhere to the old ways of doing things. Teams have to evolve and change to keep pace with competitors and the Twins did not do that -- as the size of their front office staff demonstrates. It took them six bad years for them to figure it out, but at least they did.
  8. mazeville
    Um ... right. But it STARTS with having a large enough staff to do the job. This comment makes no sense.
  9. mazeville
    You could take the minimum salary of one major league ball player and spend it on 5+ well paid guys in suits analyzing numbers.
  10. mazeville
    I don't think this story in the Star Tribune about the Twins' new front office is getting enough attention: http://www.startribune.com/twins-new-front-office-leaders-can-inject-life-into-a-broken-system/400146161/ Let me quote from the piece, if I may: LaVelle went on to talk about how the size of the Twins' front office is smaller than that of many other teams, and that one big priority under the new regime will be to change that. This is the best news we've heard in years when it comes to the Twins — more important, even, than the decision to let go of Terry Ryan. I'm not huge on demanding that the Twins spend big money on free agent signings because it's difficult to build a winner that way, and certainly not a consistent winner. BUT, it is important that this team take the money they're making at the baseball stadium taxpayers helped fund, and invest in resources that will allow them to make proper decisions in building a winning team. That they'd been operating with a smaller staff despite the addition of Target Field is far more bothersome than any player payroll decision. The fact that they'd been operating with a smaller staff than their competitors for years helps explain why the front office appears to have been operating from behind during this entire rebuilding process. So I applaud ownership's recognition of the need to bolster the front office not just by hiring a new head of baseball operations and a general manager, but by adding staff who can help those guys make the right decisions.
  11. mazeville
    On the list of Twins problems of the past couple of decades, this one isn't even in the top five. They've had strong offenses aplenty over that time. It's not like their offense was bad last year.
  12. mazeville
    I've watched both games and 1991 was the better game. I really don't think that should be in question. 0-0 heading into the 10th. Winning pitcher pitches 10 innings. 10 innings! Both teams worst-to-first. I mean ... come on. The Cubs-Indians game was sloppy and over-managed. Kyle Hendricks taken out in the fourth inning. Chapman less effective after pitching nearly 100 pitches in three games. Kluber not striking out a batter. Bunch of errors. To me, there's no question that 1991 was the better game. That said, certain elements made the 2016 Game 7 a higher stakes game and added to the intensity. It was a more entertaining game for the general public because of the amount of scoring. Offense is more fun. Yet the fact that you had two teams with title droughts lasting 70 and 100 years facing off in game 7 to end their respective curses made the stakes that much higher in this contest. So if you're judging the game on the baseball quality, you have to give it to the 1991 game. If you're judging on total entertainment value, 2016 probably wins out.
  13. mazeville
    I generally would avoid the free agent market and focus more on trades and building from within next year. None of these names gets me truly excited. That said, maybe the Twins could sign Jose Bautista. Playing in Target Field full time he'd probably hit like 80 homers. In all seriousness, as others have mentioned this just emphasizes the point that the Twins could be in a decent position when it comes to trading assets like Dozier and, especially, Ervin Santana. My hope is that the Twins make enough improvement next year that they could invest in a free agent or two next offseason to take another step. But they have to prove able to take that step first ...
  14. mazeville
    Late on this topic, but I'll say this: If I'm the Twins I don't do that trade without at least another significant piece. But maybe that's just me. Either way, I'm not all that sure either team makes the deal. But, I WOULD like to see the Twins make a bold stroke. Most of us look at the roster and consider some combination of deals involving Brian Dozier and Ervin Santana. But teams that lose 100 games and at least 90 games in five of six years should not be too closed minded when it comes to making trades.
  15. mazeville
    You know that the Twins lost over 100 games despite Dozier's career year, right? And that the Twins have someone who could step in and play second base? So I don't buy the idea that Dozier has more value to the Twins than they could get in a trade.
  16. mazeville
    I was thinking the same thing. Actually, I was thinking that much of the series was over managed. But particularly Maddon. Taking Hendricks out early. Pitching Chapman in a 7-2 win ...
  17. mazeville
    One rather important correction to this post: Jason Bartlett was traded to the Rays in 2007. So I'm not entirely sure how he was the shortstop in 2009 ... I will go to my grave believing that the Twins' problems began in 2007 in part because the team traded away Bartlett. The Twins traded him away without any logical successor. That was stupid. More stupid, in fact, than assuming Delmon Young would turn into a stud corner outfielder. Young had a solid rookie season the year before and so it's only logical to assume he'd be better the next year. But you never, ever trade away from a position -- especially shortstop -- when you do not have someone ready to take over the job. The Twins didn't. And Bartlett was a good fielder. The team hasn't been the same since. They made a smart move in 2010 by bringing in JJ Hardy. But then traded him a year later because Gardenhire was annoyed by his injuries and apparent lack of speed. If I'm the Twins, I keep Escobar at short next year, assuming Dozier is traded and Polanco is at second. And then I hope that Vielma or Gordon can man the position in the coming years. But I most definitely keep drafting shortstops in the hopes that one of them will stick at some point. Because man, this position has been cursed ...
  18. mazeville
    I agree with a lot of this, but for the notion that the Twins should not trade Santana -- and this is the reason. No, the Twins should definitely not go into the FA market unless there's a low-risk, high-reward type option who would be willing to go on a build-his-value one-year deal. Yet the lack of FA options at starter make it an absolute must that the Twins explore the idea of trading Ervin Santana. It doesn't mean they have to trade him. But they should definitely look to trade him and open a spot for Trevor May, who belongs on the starting staff. The Twins are not contending next year. Not by a long shot. By the time the team is in contention, Santana should be starting his decline. So they should strike now while the iron is hot. OR, they could do so at the deadline next year. But I contend that this is the best time to do that and eliminates the risk that Santana's arm falls off or something.
  19. mazeville
    And so it begins ...
  20. mazeville
    Don't spend big on a closer. Develop one. Spend big on a closer when it will help you get over the hump. And in any event, the playoffs demonstrate why "closer" is antiquated and that teams should use their top relievers for the most stressful in-game situations.
  21. mazeville
    Yeah, the problem with this is that the regime at Target Field is changing. So any alleged showcase could be dismissed with the presence of Derek Falvey. Personally, I think the trade Brian Dozier scenario is the most likely given where the Twins are at and what they need. You trade Jorge Polanco when you need to trade for a veteran because you're close to contention. You trade Brian Dozier when you need prospects to help your team improve. This team is definitely in the latter category.
  22. mazeville
    I think Kennys Vargas should go into next year as the starting DH. Kid had an .830 OPS in 2016. He struck out a lot yes, but he drew a few walks and provided some nice pop in the middle of the lineup. You could also platoon Vargas at first with Joe Mauer, who should not play every day next year, anyway. Mauer wasn't very good with lefties this year. Vargas destroyed lefthanded pitching. Mauer had a .793 OPS v. righthanded pitching.
  23. mazeville
    That's not true. He jumped on Nolasco and Phil Hughes early. His free agent pitching signings were bad. But they weren't late.
  24. mazeville
    Boy I do not get this. 1. The Twins have a ton -- TON -- of players best suited to DH. If they are going to occupy the DH spot full time by one of Sano or Plouffe, then they're basically giving up on players like Kennys Vargas, given the presence of the unmovable Joe Mauer. 2. Sano needs to keep learning in the field. People have been awfully quick to write off his defense. And granted, it's not good. But you have to give this kid more time to play that position, given his recent injury history and the fact that the Twins had him DH in 2015. Sano needs to play third base full time next year. 3. Third base is an easy position to fill, relative to other positions. The Twins can make trades for or sign cheap free agent third basemen if it becomes abundantly clear that Sano is not going to make it at third. 4. Plouffe has no future on this team beyond next year. He BARELY had any trade value last offseason, when he was coming off a strong season. Even if the Twins keep him until the trade deadline and he performs well, he's still not going to fetch much in a trade scenario. AND, the team would have spent $4 million to $5 million while blocking younger players from more playing time. For the love of all that is holy, stop it with this keep-Plouffe stuff. He needs to be non-tendered. If the team can find someone willing to throw a low-level prospect at us for him, all the better. But this team needs to play young players and shed itself of guys who have little or no chance of being here in 2018. Period.
  25. mazeville
    I like a lot of this comment but this in particular. This sentiment should color everything the Twins do this offseason. The reality is the Twins will not contend in 2017, whether anybody likes it or not. That should keep them away from the free agent market unless said free agent is young and will help the team for years to come. It's also why you trade guys like Dozier and Ervin Santana and non-tender guys like Trevor Plouffe. Personally, I have hopes this team can rebuild quickly because of the cache of young talent. But this team needs too many players, especially pitchers, to be truly competitive.
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