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After reading this from mlb.com I'm convinced Falvey won't be able to resist the Spin It to Win It ability of Tyler Chatwood

This is just the first move that makes Falvine the leading candidates for Front Office of the Year next year It's no coincidence that the Twins negotiated this deal with the Ham Fighters Next you will see Vargas sold to them for 20 roundtrip tickets from MSP to HNA Then Yu know what's next and finally Some Helpful Outsider, Happily Ending Inefficient Outcomes of a Twins Ace Near Indefinitely

Wait no longer for O'Rourke...Giminez also outrighted today according to Mike Berardino

Prefer to ask the question Why Not? Coming off first playoff game since 2010 Glaring need for top of rotation arms to compete at the playoff level (can't believe the Organization can't see this) Continually falling short of 50% payroll promise(?) can't continue Spending dollars doesn't mortgage the organizations future ability to compete by trading away young controllable assets Plus what good Minnesota Fan doesn't have unrealistic expectations before a season starts each year

This works perfect...WS performance cast shadow of doubt...lowering cost and raising Darvish's drive to succeed Win Win or the Twins!

After watching these two handle their bullpens...complaints about Molitor's bullpen use should be off limits

Now it's Hinch's turn to play musical relievers I'm thinking Otani would want to play for either of these guys Throw a pitch...move to RF for a pitch...come in to throw a pitch...move to LF

It's time to unleash Liriano...can't be any worse than the overused guys trying to get outs

Thanks to Dave Roberts, I'm taking Brandon Morrow off the relievers the Twins should sign this winter...over used and damaged psyche Maybe Liriano comes on to close for the Astros??

Thanks for this...distracted me from watching Viking offense 2.0 otherwise known as the Cleveland Browns At the risk of being persistent...throwing a 2 yard pass on 3rd and 4 seems to be the definition of...failure?

Hope I wasn't that confusing...my point isn't to wait on prospects rather to Spend $$$ not players on the missing link (#1 Starter) as a win-win should the prospects surprise and over perform current projections Spend dollars on what you don't currently have...not more of the same The time is now to make a NEW kind of move

That my friend, much like the story, is totally up to you to interpret as you wish

Seems to me there are few camps in the debate over what the Twins should do about the Starting Pitching: 1) Sign a FA (or 2) that fit the budget and is hopefully better than last years starters 2) Trade for a young, controllable, established Ace with prospects of unknown potential, but fair to high rankings in the minors, along with a MLB starter or 2 3) Roll with the young prospects and continue wishing and hoping they are more than the Real Deal 4) Sign (not just attempt) a Free Agent that has shown shutdown, Cy Young performance in the past These all have been, and will continue to be discussed, debated and moderated until next April ad nauseam So, having gathered all the firewood I'll need for at least the next couple of days...here's some thoughts on each approach Sign a FA pitcher the will fit the Budget To me, and Mr. Einstein, this is the definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Sure there have been some good hits along the way...one year of Phil Hughes, Big Erv's rejuvenation...as well as far to many misses that I won't list here (too hard on my own psyche) Can we please Stop the Insanity! Or maybe this is a good thing for Twins Daily, it will provide pages of consternation and veiled accusations questioning the intelligence of each poster (as in person who posts) and the wisdom of the FO. This approach does keep expectations down and is the safest route to 81 wins of the bunch...UGH! Trade for an young Ace One can only guess what the Rays would find acceptable for Chris Archer, but by most accounts it'll be a load. Does it really make the Twins better to send Rosario/Kepler, Gonsalves, Gordon and Enlow to the Rays for a guy who, while dominant, was worth 1.2 WAR last year and would directly affect 34-36 games next year? To me that's just too much potential for too much uncertainty...Gerrit Cole, while an awesome add, would cost as much or more in trade and is headed for higher salary through arbitration than Archer is under contract for If you're willing to trade away a chunk of the present along with the future for a young, controllable Ace, you're putting an awful lot of stress on one guys elbow Roll with the Prospects Being good Minnesotan's, or at least fans of the local 9, we all have hope born into us...hope that sooner or later the snow will melt...hope that it's not the heat it's the humidity...hope that the Vikings will make it to the Super Bowl knowing that they will only disappoint us once again and hope that all the good things written and said about the Twins prospects will come to fruition and the negatives, well they are just outsiders dismissing our peeps because of their East/West coast bias I believe that Gonsalves is and will be a good MLB "Pitcher", he may not light up the gun with triple digits, but I don't recall Sweet Music or Johan doing that either...pitchers pitch, throwers throw guys who do both are so rare that's why they are already making $30M/year...My point here is, no one knows who will become the next Kershaw or Verlander but their teams held on to them (until they got too expensive) and grew with them but it's a crap shoot, DBacks traded a young Max Scherzer for Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson probably not a win for them Given the choice, I'd spend monetary resources before I'd spend talent resources to acquire an Ace.... What if we took Van Hagar's advice and had the "Best of Both Worlds" Buy an Ace...spend the money that's been promised or at least suggested, on a proven, but older, #1 starter. The Twins can keep the young prospects that might grow into stars who will provide us joy and happiness for the foreseeable future (or 3-6 years depending on arbitration). Best of Both Worlds, have your cake and eat it too. Ace pitcher for a couple of years to mentor younger pitchers and it shows the whole team the FO recognizes the time is now to make a leap (you can only use the "FO gave up on us" motivation once a generation) and go for more than competing for a Wildcard spot It's never a good time to spend more money in any business but there is a right time...visionary leadership plans for the right time and when they see it on the horizon they seize the opportunity and reap the rewards in the future Invest in the present while not mortgaging the future We now return to the Twins Daily version of "Waiting for Godot" (credit to Thrylos for the awesome correlation)

Appreciate the work on this series Ted...couple summary thoughts on all 5 guys in my order of not preference but more of a "If we have to sign one of these guys" order: Chatwood - He's a fit with GB rate and I thought he was known for spinning it a little Cobb - Just because he destroy's the Twins doesn't make him an All-Star (see JRM) Lynn - Appears he's pretty proud of himself and looking for 4/$80M...not worth that much cheese Cashner - Should sprint to the bank if he gets a QO and only if he falls through the cracks Chacin - Seems too much like more of the same attempts Twins have made in the past...would rather ride with current young arms

A guy can dream...well at least a SF Twins Fan can dream There's room as I pointed out in the Rosario/Kepler topic and it's time to put up some $$$ for a change Do Anything Realistic Via Incremental Salary Hikes!

Maybe this wasn't just another California Dream? MLBTR Chat from earlier today Papa Chad 3:19 Twins trade one of their Young outfielders for starting pitching Jeffrey Todd 3:20 It could be an ok time for a FA signing, actually. Have some guys on the come. Berrios and Ervin holding it down. None of the OFs that you'd be comfortable trading would really bring back what you'd want to get, so perhaps better to let those guys keep sorting things out and go spend a little money on the staff?

At some point you gotta trust that they are gonna pan out...nothing ventured nothing gained

I wonder if recent global events may sway players feelings about signing an extension This would be an opportune time for the Twins to show how much they care about their players well being by extending an offer to those who could use it the most right now in light of the natural disasters several players families are dealing with I am not advocating this as a sound strategy/practice in general, but they are people and there is a humanitarian side to taking care of employees...it could play a part

I had never heard of him at all but somehow the name rang a bell So, I did a little research Headed over to ancestry.com and yep sure enough right there on the first page I saw Great-great Grandad - Walter Alston Drafted by Old-time Twin connection Bob Gebhard Congrats and Welcome to Minnesota

We don't know what the players situation is...does his family need money, a new house for Granny...I would GUESS that of the Young Core (Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Polanco, Rosario, Kepler) 2 of them would take a team friendly deal that nets them some long-term financial stability. Be that shorter years or smaller in AAV If I were betting Seth's collection of Christian Brothers Vintage Hockey Sticks I'd say Polanco, Kepler and Rosario will take team friendly deals

in the post above where I ramble on about the Forbes info and just what 52% of revenue could mean...I've chosen to let Kepler get paid through arbitration each year Super-2 makes it a little more expensive, but hey you can always extend after the first year or two I could see Polanco being an arbitration only candidate as well

Somewhere there has to be a breaking point with extensions...or does there?? Using information gleamed from Forbes Baseball Team Values 2017 (linked below) I could see where the Core group can be Twins for 6 years of fun at Target Field along with your favorite $25M/year starter The Twins, with Revenue of $249M from 2016 and an opening day payroll of $104.8M, spent 42.09% of Revenue on Salaries (even if you use the end of season payroll of $108M it's still just 43.37%) This is a long way from the often mentioned 50-52% of Revenue spent on salaries we've heard mentioned So where should the 2018 Opening Day Payroll be? Minor attendance bump (88,000 over last year) aside, let's assume Revenue stayed the same in 2017 $249M x 52% = $129.5M Opening Day Payroll for 2018 Using my favorite Japanese Connection Model of the Twins Payroll Tool and a little reverse Algebra here's what the future payroll could look like with Revenue needed to support it as well what 3% Inflation over prior year revenue would be --------Payroll-----------------------------------Needed Revenue----3% Inflation 2018 - $133.6M ($17.9M Dead Pool Money) ----- $256.9M--------$256.5M 2019 - $132.3M ($16M Dead Pool Money)-------- $254.4M--------$264.2M 2020 - $128.3M ($0.5M Dead Pool Money)------- $246.7M--------$272.1M 2021 - $148.7M ------------------------------------- $286.0M--------$280.3M 2022 - $165.4M ------------------------------------- $318.1M--------$288.7M 2023 - $173.4M ---New TV Deal this year??------ $333.5M--------$297.3M Factor in added revenue from a couple home playoff games along the way and there you have the same lovable team for the next 6 years Source of Revenue Numbers and Opening Day Payroll - Forbes

Hmmmm...who could that be?

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