Darius

I hope you're being sarcastic. But, if not, I think your issue may be watching the NBA like its a real sport, and not some bizarro soap opera with constant whining.

Well, I'm pretty sure the player has to agree to go to Asia. They certainly tried to talk him into it. Making the Pohlads sound like financial martyrs is just a tad rich (no pun intended).

We all know the answer to these questions. If I could, I'd post a .gif of Scrooge McDuck backstroking thought his vault.

All of the things on that list are valid, but couldn't really be controlled or changed. There were some things, however, that could've been, and in my opinion are the top 3 with a bullet: 1) Ryan's reluctance to bring in BP help. There isn't really an excuse for how that played out (at least, not a valid one). He eventually did, but not soon enough. 2) Ryan's relucatance to call up Sano sooner. I'm not saying he should have opened the seaon with the club, but the best player on the team, and future face of the franchise, spent half the year playing for another team. You can try to convince yourself otherwise, but it had everything to do with service time, and nothing else. You can say hindsight is 20/20....but it doesn't take Billy Beane to see that the lineup needed Sano. 3) Perkins' collapse. I don't know what his deal is, and I don't know everything that went on behind the scenes. But, the facts that have been made known and observed: He's come into camp out of shape two years in a row, and crumbled down the stretch two years in a row. I'm not going to come and out and call him lazy. Its entirely possible there is something else going on. But, if it walks and quacks like a duck....there's a good chance its a duck. Funny that his late season melt downs seem coincide with signing his $20M+ contract. If any one of those things go the other way, and all three were controllable situations that should have, the chances of a playoff birth go up in a major way. I can live with Mauer getting old, and certain players lacking requisite talent or getting injured. I can't live with incompetence and/or laziness costing the team wins. The fans who fill, and have partially financed, that state-of-the-art stadium deserve better, and people should be held accountable (not just the player with the $23M/yr contract).

If I were making the deisions, I wouldn't be overly worried about losing Michael. If he gets passed over, great. If he gets selected, oh well. The only logical replacement on that list would probably be Goodrum, and I can't see him getting selected. So, maybe he sneaks on there purely because of a lack of alternatives, not because he has any significant projected value to the team in the future.

Yes, Sano maybe should have/could have won the award. But, unfortunately he was stuck in minors while Correa was accumulating stats. You also have to factor in that those two players play a premium position (SS), while Sano played nearly no defense. But, if all three have the exact same number of ABs, I think Sano wins based on flashier power/rbi/ops numbers. It's also entirely possible that Sano doesn't perform as well in those incremental at-bats. But, we'll never know. Put Correa in the Twins system, and he doesn't win the award, becuase he loses a month of his season, and probably hits lower in the BA. Likewise, Sano probably wins it if he played for a team with a looser philosophy on service time and hits 35 HRs with 100+ RBI. (Coincidentally, the Astros called their stud prospect up a few weeks earlier, and edged the Twins for a playoff spot as well).

I agree. I think that would be a bad personnel decision (neither of these guys should be OFers, especially Sano). But, this FO (the Terry Ryan Country Club) has been making bad personnel decisions since 1994, eventally getting bailed by a stacked farm system in the early 2000s (despite his better efforts to prevent that by taking Travis Lee - who he never even signed, BJ Garbe, Ryan Mills, and Adam Johnson with top 5 picks from '96-'00), which probably saved his career in the knick of time. Even in those good years, he would never make the requisite moves to get them over the hump (the "hump" was typically the first round of the playoffs/the yankees). So, yeah, it'll probably happen that way. Think of the worst possibly starting 9 you could possibly assemble from the current 40 man roster, and that will probably be fielded on opening day, though the first month of the season. Then, they'll miss the playoffs by 2-3 games.

I don't care how rich you already are....nobody is walking away from $50M. I think its more likely that he plays out his contract and signs another, cheaper, deal with the Twins, than anything. My guess: he's not going anywhere until he catches Puckett as the Twins all-time hits leader (Senators notwithstanding) at 2300. He needs about 600 hits, which will probably take 4-5 more years, assuming he functions like he did last year.

This is how it should be. Sentimentality, shampoo commercials, and contracts be damned. It couldn't be any more obvious that this guy can't handle a full season workload, and hasn't been able to for some time now. Will it actually be the case? Not a chance. There are still too many 20-something women in love with him, and too many 20-something million dollars per year left on his contract. When he strikes out that many times, and he barely breaks the league avg. BA, alarm bells should go off. But, they'll likely ride that $23M/yr horse into the ground before the All-Star break. Since he wont see the bench for any significant amount of time, I'm hoping these moves at least mean he DHs much more. I keep hearing this, and it doesn't make sense. The trade was made to free up the Center Field spot for Buxton, but he's not ready to play Center Field for the Twins. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'd much rather have Hicks while the Twins iron out Buxton's approach at the plate and service time issues (or, lets try the Danny Santana experiment for the fourth time since he's been a relevant player in '14....brilliant!). You're forgetting the paramount reason why Kepler will see limited time with the Twins this year: Service time. He's better than Danny Santana today. Heck, he was better than Santana last June. But, they'll keep him down there too long, even if costs the team wins (Sano/Berrios circa '15). People try to tell me this isn't the case. OK, maybe not with every player. But, when they have someone that they can project to be a real high-impact player, they milk that clock for everything its worth (not saying its the right or wrong approach, but its still happening, as much as some want to talk themselves out of it with a few college arms or mid-tier prospects). Buxton (aside from college arms/marginal guys) was an exception (sort of...the recurring theme of June applies) for one reason only: ticket sales. His hype had reached a level that people would line up to see his first game in the majors. Are you starting to see a common thread, here? Rarely in this organization are decisions made to make the team better now. They are made to play contracts, defer service time, and milk dollars and cents. The Pohlads, Ryan, and their media mouthpieces can give that all of the lip service they want. I'll believe it when I see it. Its kind of like Sasquatch, for me. There are an army of believers who swear by it, because they've heard about it from someone else, or caught a glimpse out of the corner of their eye when they were really sleepy. For me to be certain, I need to see a body. At this point, the Twins putting winning first, and being serious about making a run, is still just a rumor floating around the countryside.

Interesting, I wouldn't have guessed Chargois is that far along (but I haven't been paying close attention, either). I expect Meyer to have a good year (just gut feeling), and make a meaningful impact out of the pen at some point. He has to realize his career has gone from "future ace," to "AAAA code red" in a matter of months. If that doesn't make you go after your offseason like a Beserker, I don't know what possibly could. It makes me want to go to the gym just thinking about it (on second thought, a couple fingers of Glenlivet and a Rocky Patel sound much, much better. I think I get how its tough, now). Should be fun to watch unfold. Already looking forward to those minor league reports!

To be fair, he's done it more than most over a longer period of time. In a typical year, those are the only kinds of signings he makes (low cost). There probably aren't many other teams in the MLB that have signed 4 ILers within the last couple of years, let alone any that had rosters bad enough for them all to see the active 25-man. With that kind of volume over two decades of awful teams (give or take a couple first round playoff exits in the aughts), you're bound to blindly stumble into a serviceable player every once in a while. Honestly, on this topic about this player, I'm not saying that it says positive or negative things about about TR. It could end up being an excellent signing (I like it a lot, actually. Sounds like he's got a new lease on baseball life). But, the fact remains: 30 year old players from the independent league just aren't going to get a shot on an average-to-good team (guys like Albers, etc.). When you're resorting to multiple ILers on an annual basis, you probably haven't done the rest of your job very well (drafting, MLB free agents, international free agents, etc.), as those guys are in the ILs, and cheap, for a reason. I'm glad he exhausting all resources to fill out the best roster possible (with the tight budgets he is given), but I'd rather see him start hitting on some more pitchers in the draft and free agency so its not necessary every year.

Agree. Its nice to have that guy who can come in with a runner on 3rd with less than two outs, in a tie game in the 7th, for example, and give you a real shot at sitting down a quality big league hitter.

Not disagreeing with the sentiment at all, in fact, I agree with you completely that its a crap shoot. But, Sipp is curious case because he always had a better than average repertoire (including a heavy fastball, a splitter, slider, and sinker) from the left side. Sometimes, just having the ability to get the ball over the plate with your left arm gets you paid (Duensing). He's always had high K/9, and has strung together two very impressive seasons of FIP and WHIP. I don't think its overly strange for him to get a nice contract. But, in sticking with the theme of the thread, and your sentiment, I wouldn't be surprised to see him struggle again, as you mentioned. I'm curious as to your opinion on the current, possible high-end, relievers in the Twins system (Burdi, Reed, Jones, Cederoth, Melotakis, Peterson - is Chagrois still around? - possibly Meyer, etc), and how that relates to the upcoming season. Any chance any of these guys crack the bullpen in 2016, so the Twins don't have to participate in the RP free-agency roulette for a few years? Any guys in particular that you like? It seems like Burdi, considering where he was drafted as a pure reliever, should be progressing a little faster. Any opinions on how he's coming along, now that his first full year as a pro is over?

Are you sure you aren't wrong in regards to the timeline?

I don't understand this "log jam" in the outfield, business. Its just not the case, IMO. The way i see it as it currently stands: Miguel Sano isn't an outfielder, and probably shouldn't be (he'll just get moved again in a year or two, why not just develop him at his permanent spot?). I know its not terribly difficult, but he hasn't stepped foot on outfield grass in his life (warning: hyperbole), and RF in TF is one of the trickier to play with that overhang. I've seen first hand that he has a great arm, but is it accurate from 300 ft? A lot of questions there. It doesn't sound like Buxton is going to start the year with the big club. Of course, he may never figure out major league pitching and be a mendoza line guy with no power (which I don't think will be the case, but its a contingency). I'd prefer not to anoint him the 15 year starter at CF quite yet, at least until he shows me something more at the MLB level. Even if Kepler were ready now, I don't see the Twins bringing him up before rosters expand, let alone before they can clear a service time hurdle. Arcia shouldn't be counted on for anything at this point, and his defense approaches Willingham status. He can't hit breaking balls. I doubt he'll even be with the organization in '17. You're left with Rosario, who has less than 500 ABs in the majors, and Danny Santana, who is always one mistake away from mentally unraveling (it seems) into an 0-50 slump and error spree. Those are your only competent defensive outfielders to start the season. Thats just asking for trouble, especially in Target Field. Even if they bring in a free agent to start the year in center (who will more than likely be a bargain bin, below replacement level player, if history tells us anything), they're still short on depth, in my estimation. Of course, this is all operates under the assumption that Park can hit major league pitching, which is a total unknown at this point, and probably a coin flip. If it comes up tails, Sano is still the full time DH and we're signing another Eric Komatsu.

First off, you gave absolutely zero support for your "theory," but demand support for mine? D'ohk. Second, I did give support, you must have missed it. You said starting pitching had very little to do with why they won. In 18 of their 22 playoff victories they gave up 3 runs or less, and against some pretty darn good offensive clubs. What did I "cherry pick?" I didn't leave out any of their victories. The losses don't really matter, they won enough games to reach the World Series in '14, and win the World Series in '15, which is the whole point of this, right? Continue to follow: They do have a very dominant bullpen, you're right, so I'll assume that they gave up zero runs in those 22 games (which isn't true, further enforcing my point), and the starters "only" went 6 innings in every game (again, not true). That comes out to 18 quality starts (a statistic) in the playoffs in the last two years, buddy, following your 7th-9th shutdown theory (give or take 1 if I miscounted). Not too shabby for "middle of the road" guys. Ok, your turn to show me how their "agressive base running and hitting" won the World Series (and, yes, I single that one out because I'm not sure it actually means anything).

Apologies for any offense. I just don't understand how people fail to see that this trade has a high probability of making the Twins a worse baseball team in 2016 (relative to keeping Hicks for a few months). That is, unless the FO bucks the trend and starts Buxton in CF or signs a quality OF free agent (which...come on...we know how TR opperates). Just like the incompetence last year that cost the fans a wild-card game. We're going to look back on this and say, "if only we would've had a center fielder to start the season, instead of [insert 35 year old AAAA retread here]."

His current lack of trade value is the very reason why many think he was more valuable on the team, than dumping him for almost nothing, at least until Buxton is ready. Also, he was EVENTUALLY going to a 4th outfielder HERE. But, he's a starting caliber CF. To start the year here, he would be starting the CF. When you're saying "we traded a 4th outfielder," its just wrong. The Yankees got a starting CF. Hicks has steadily gotten better and more consistent over a roller-coaster of production over 2-3 years years. He already extrapolates to roughly a 20/20 with very good defense given the plate appearances. Why is it any more reasonable to think that his value would decrease, rather than increase, with more playing time? I don't think the guys who like this trade understand this, or just refuse to see its merit: It's not the fact that they traded him. I WANT to trade him eventually. If they were to get the same return later, fine with me. But, do it when he's actually expendable, not when his defense and speed will likely be needed to open the season with a respectable outfield defense (assuming they don't bring in a free agent). Don't just do it for the sake of doing it, because there is a perceived "log jam" (which there isn't! Two of the four players in the "jam" aren't ready for the majors, according the GM himself!) It just boggles my mind that people think this move was 100% necessary, given there are about 3-4 free agents that would give the Twins solid defense at catcher, in a back-up role, for a few million bucks or less (Soto, Mathis, Navarro, Ianetta, Pena). Did you see Murphy's offensive numbers while playing in that slow-pitch softball stadium in New York? Are you expecting that to translate well to TF? Because I see his offensive upside being sold around here. Realistically, he wont add any more value offensively than any of said free agents. The difference: Murphy is under team control longer, and is .5-1 MIL cheaper. That's worth a potential 20/20 Center Fielder who was top 5 in Range/Game in 2015 according to Baseball Reference? That defies all things rational, IMO. It reeks of desperation. I don't care if Babe Ruth himself comes back from the grave to tell me that's the case, I'll never believe that it was beneficial to do it now, for that player. In hindsight, it may be a great trade, or an awful one. I don't really care about that right now. What I do care about, is winning some games in April and May so we're not looking 5-10 games up at the Royals and Indians by the time this "log jam" comes to fruition.

Going back to '14, the Royals have won 22 playoff games, in 18 of those wins they allowed 3 runs or less over 9 innings. In their four victories over the Blue Jays, they allowed 8 runs. Just to give you an idea of how impressive that is: the Blue Jays scored 5.5 per game during the regular season. Whether or not they were "household names," they've gotten excellent starting pitching in the playoffs, and that's why they're winning playoff series. Not "agressive hitting and baserunning." How would you explain the Giants and Cardials winning 4 of the last 6 World Series (the other two being KC, which we've established, and Boston)?

Considering this club's track record over the last 5 years, probably something like: Plouffe, Gonsalves, and Amaurys Minier to Oakland for Sean Nolin and Craig Gentry. Nolin is attractive to TR because he is younger and cheaper than Plouffe, and under team control through 2017. No brainer. The trade sets off an unbelievable chain of events: Craig Gentry is released in August after being handed the starting CF job and lead-off spot through the end of June, when Buxton makes his first appearance. After falling 15 games back of the Royals and Indians, Park is traded at the deadline to the Astros for prospects, and goes on to hit 32 HRs after the All-Star break. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are furious and both demand trades at the conclusion of the season. Ryan, in his final move before retirment, refuses to grant them, instead selling their contracts to the Yomiuri Giants for record amounts, and neither is ever seen in the MLB again (but go down as Japanese baseball legends). Bill Pohlad is then named GM, returning from Hollywood. Flash forward to 2022: Gonsalves and Minier are the first teammates in history to win the Cy Young, Triple Crown, and a World Series title in the same year, while the A's win a record 135 games. The Twins franchise is moved to Albuquerque, NM, after Target Field mysteriously collapses, and investigators find that the Pohlads had half of the structural steal removed and sold as scrap in 2021, under the cover of darkness (Thank God there were no fans in the stands), to open a chain of Hot Yoga studios nationwide. The team is taken from the Pohlads, headed by a statutorily formed committee of representatives from the MLB and Federal Government, to be sold to the highest bidder. The Albuquerque Twins are World Champions in 2024 under Owner/GM/Manager Joe Mauer, who calls it a "pretty neat little deal," in his post-game press conference. In all seriousness: I don't think they make another trade. At least not before the season starts.

True, but he was traded for a guy who was the consensus number 1 prospect in a strong system, at one point, and a consensus top 50 talent MiLB-wide on nearly every scout's list, for multiple years. Cherry picking scout rankings the other way can make it look even worse, if you really want to use those outdated projections to try and shed a positive light.

Hicks 2015 numbers extrapolate to 17 HR and 20 SB over 550 PA. He'll be a 20/20 guy unless he unravels, regardless of any improvement against RHP. Baseball-Ref has him ranked as the 5th highest CF in Range Factor/Game for 2015, behind only Cain, Pillar, Kiermaier, and Trout.

I will not be shocked when Buxton starts in AAA. Kepler is starting in AAA. We'll be lucky if we see him before September, the way this club operates. If Arcia is part of any plan after his year last year, Ryan has to have full onset dementia. You know, confusing total strangers with his long-dead mother, taking his pants off and peeing on an end-cap at the grocery store, and that kind of thing. Sano should not be playing outfield. I don't know how the FO can think that's a good idea. Just let the kid hit, play first, and don't mess around. How many years before he's Miguel Cabrera/Prince Fielder-esque physically, and moves to first anyway? Two or Three? Everyone is an athlete when they're 21 with a steam-engine metabolism. I think we're all mistaken if we think that will last. He's just too big. Has there ever been a 300 lb outfielder? That leaves..... nothing. There has to be plans to sign somebody. Not saying its anyone big, but they have to be planning on an outsider coming in.

I'm not as worried about this trade 2-3 years from now, as I am looking at the first month of the 2016 season. They have to be bringing in another outfielder. I really can't see them opening up with any of Arcia, Kepler, Ortiz, or Sano starting in the OF. There really aren't another other options at the corners.

I also really like the thought of Rosario/Buxton/Kepler. I want that to be the outfield of 2017. But, what does the outfield look like if Buxton and Kepler start in AAA? How about when Buxton gets hurt again (you know its coming)? The first two months of the season count in the standings as much as the last two. The Darren Mastrionis and Clete Thomases of the world, which they always end up plugging in to avoid service time and whatever else, will have this team buried in the division before those guys get the chance to see the field. What good is bringing in Murphy over Hermann, then? Is it wrong to trade Hicks? No, absolutely not. It probably has to be done eventually. Is it wrong to trade Hicks right now, for this guy? Yes, absolutely in my opinion. I can't figure out how meh-hitting back-up catcher with marginal defense = above average defensive CF with a little pop and speed on the bases. I think they overpaid.