The Greatest Poster Alive

people browse the chive?

On the left, you see Kirby Puckett in his age 35 season. On the right, you see Paul Molitor in his age 35 season. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2282[/ATTACH] It's not hard to see why one doesn't believe that Puckett was going to age gracefully into his age 40 season and why Molitor did just that. Oh, and Puckett wasn't a better hitter than Molitor. Their career OPS+ are 122 and 124. They were basically the same hitter (though as an overall player, Molitor was far more valuable over the course of his career than Puckett, sporting a WAR of 72.5 to Puckett's 48.5). puckett had just developed a layer of padding that worked like bubble wrap to keep him protected from injuries. He could have played to 50 with that physique.

Aaron Hicks. Definitely overlooked Hicks. He has actually come along pretty nicely now that I checked his stats this year in AA. His MLB ETA would coincide pretty nicely with the end of Denard's contract. Still don't understand the rush to trade this guy unless a legitimate piece to the future is offered. Trading him for a B or lower prospect just doesn't make sense to me.

Well put. Revere is not a lead off hitter. He's definitely shown more talent than i expected him to, but that still doesn't erase the fact that he can't lead off. The Twins would be lacking a leadoff hitter for the future if they got rid of span. Who anywhere in this organization has a leadoff skill set? I don't see it outside of Span. Some people want to de-emphasize the impact of lineup position on production, but in the case of hitting leadoff, there is a specific skill set that you need to have to succeed at the top of a lineup.

I agree that based on the terrible performance of the rest of this roster, there's no point in keeping him in AAA... let him have his one shot. That being said... I am curious about the success rate of relievers that throw <89 MPH... off the top of my head i can't think of many that started their careers with this little "stuff." It's one thing for a veteran reliever to hold on as his velocity dims... but to start a career with a noodle like this? I doubt it's very effective (again, don't get my skepticism about Slama's abilities with a belief that he shouldn't get a chance to pitch at the MLB level)

I find it pretty amusing that personality is even relevant to this discussion... Maybe if denard smiled more he'd get some respect around here.

By clearing waivers Mauer could be traded to any team in baseball at any time. If a team claims him on the first time a player is sent through waivers you either work out a trade with the team that claimed him, let the team that claim him have the player for no compensation, or the team that put him on waivers can pull him back.

Nobody has any comments? What we'd really like is your opinion on the JJ Hardy trade... or perhaps the deal that sent Ramos to the Nats for some reliever...

Really why would we want Grienke if he would come here? It would show he has no competitive spirit, and can't handle pressure if he chose to go to a team in our situation.

A lot of this relies on how Gibson responds. He's gonna be able to get a lot of good rehab between the end of the AAA season and the AFL. If he can get himself healthy he could really solidify the back end of this rotation, and potentially become the #2 or #3 pitcher this team really needs. If Gibson isn't rotation ready... the Twins have a low-end #2 and a bunch of #5 options in house right now. Next to impossible to fill 3/5ths of a rotation in one offseason.

I'm with you Bird. If you do the math... Terry Ryan has to take a run at one decent free agent starter. I don't know if a Free Agent Starter will sign with the Twins but Terry Ryan pretty much has to take a run at good one. Too much money coming off the books and too glaring a need to ignore the free agent pool this off season. I don't care about past track record. The past was the past and this is now. As for Morneau... There is the off season and the next trade deadline. No reason to move him unless it's for a pitcher and a good one. I'd also like to register a vote for death to the Rollover Pop Ups. I certainly understand the right to make money. Advertise away and more power to ya... But something less intrusive please. I second the motion on the Popup Rollover thingies--they are a big pain in the butt and make navigating this site almost impossible. Please stop considering Edwin Jackson an ACE pitcher. I live in Washington suburbs. The Nats have THREE ACE pitchers, Strasberg, Zimmerman and Gio. Edwin Jackson is not an ACE--he is Carl Pavano or Nick Blackburn or Scott Baker on their good days. I would not give Jackson $10million--not even sure if I would give him 5million. I would actually take Detwieler off the Nats staff before Jackson--Detweiler has more up side. Again, we have no idea what Ryan was offered for Justin. I am anxious to trade him and get the 14 million and move Parmalee to first. Justin is one concussion from retirement--which other teams know. His value will never be higher. Morneau has reached peak value? Finishing the season healthy, and continuing to improve will make him more valuable in an offseason trade. Also, in an offseason trade all teams are theoretically an option, not just the current contenders. There's no difference between a salary dump midseason and a salary dump in the following off-season. Do you really think the team is going to go, hey we saved 2 million in salary let's roll that over to next year? No. A mid-season salary dump is salvaging profitability off a season that is going in the tank, not about future payroll flexibility. Twins will get more value for Morneau in a trade in the off-season as long as he doesn't get another concussion, a risk the Twins should be willing to take.

in this thread; A Bunch of people who have no idea what the twins were offered acting like they know . I've said it before, i'll say it again. You have ZERO idea what happens in a MLB front office.

Yeah, the doumit extension makes this an even better move. He is a great inexpensive piece to have around. I agree that his health issues are best served in the AL where he can DH.

My #1 was the thread about how the Twins don't keep minorities around.

By choosing to play professional sports you willingly enter a system where you are a product to be bought and sold. Calling an athlete the property of a team is no stretch, and comparing this concept of ownership to the ownership of slaves is asinine. This is a non issue and we're on the 2nd 50 post thread on the subject...

So i clicked the OP's blog... and he also harassed multiple members of the Twins org on twitter over this egregious offense.

This thread? Yeah.

In the case of Appel/Buxton, I wouldn't have faulted the Twins for going either way. Just speaking more in generalities about not taking the BPA. The fact that Buxton signed and Appel turned down an overslot to go back to college is good enough reason for me to agree with the twins decision not to draft him.

In practice. Lee going through waivers is so he can be traded. The Twins claim him, the Phils pull him back.

Been working all weekend but i wanted to nit pick on 2. 1) Liriano's trade value decreases with every start. Because there is a finite amount of starts a pitcher can make in a year so every start he makes as a twin decreases his value 2) You don't know what offers they had. Period. I hate it when people say they could have gotten X for player Y. You don't ****ing know.

http://i.imgur.com/bMtqO.jpg

wasn't last year all about Rene Rivera "fixing" liriano... because he could whisper sweet nothings in spanish into frankie's ear?

Honestly I'd rather give liriano 12 million for one year... than twice that for 3 years. I still don't trust him yet. He has the talent... but he's had the talent since 2006... Also... his pitching has improved since he switched back to violent mechanics... he's well on his way to another tommy john. if the Twins don't trade liriano... don't re-sign him... and don't offer him enough money to net a draft pick... **** that would be stupid.

#1 Grienke #2 Hamels #3 Dempster #4 Jackson #5 Liriano Superbowl homeboy.

if they can get him to the AAA team then go for it. The way this roster looks he'd be an upgrade over most of the pitching staff if he figured it out... It's not like he'd be stealing a roster spot from anyone in AAA.