Rosterman

Stop complainng about Sano at third. Give him the rest of the season. He's still a talented work-in-progress. He SHOULD get better. He needs to stay comfortable, which he seems in the field as long as we all stop harping about the mistakes. He does seem to be working on them...as well as his ability to not strikeout. Slow, but will happen. Remember, August 1 is not the end of the trade deadline. Trades can still be made in August where players go on waivers, teams claim them, and you try to work out a deal in Round #1 (if you run them thru a second time, you lose them if someone claims). A player can be put on waivers anytime in the month. So things might still happen regarding Dozier, Plouffe and...Nolasco. If something happens to Escobar, we have Danny Santana to play shortstop!

At this point, since he is on the 40-man, no reason to NOT bring him up in September, even just to throw a couple of innings out of the pen. Again, when you have a losing team, use September to give guys a taste of the Big Leagues so they know what to work towards in the off-season. 23-year-old left-handed possible starter not named MILONE.

All the names mentioned should be up in September and added to the 40-man. These are the future. Except for Reed, they all need to be added to the 40-man, I believe...correct me if I am wrong. Give them a taste of major league life and action and turn them loose to improve in the off-season. There will be some bumps, but you have more leeway in the bullpen. Moving Taylor to the bullpen was a smart choice. Almost think Duffey should be moved there, too. And then we still have Burdi and Bard in the wings. And I do think the Twins should take a long look at Wimmers. He might be coming into his own. Imagine a bullpen next year of Reed, Jones, Wimmers, Chargolis, Rogers and any holdovers from Tonkin, Pressly, O'Rourke, Boshers, Kintzler with Hildenberger in reserve and possibly Burdi and Bard. Short steps towards getting better.

Okay, let's keep everyone under contract for 2017. Nolasco Santana Hughes Gibson arbitrate Perkins Kintzler arbitrate Abad arbitrate Milone arbitrate Mauer Nunez arbitrate Escobar arbitrate Plouffe arbitrate Dozier Park Look at that. 14 guys WE NEED to keep around because of contracts to go with Anthony, Molitor and whomever.

Two questions: What spaces do the Twins need for 40-man adds in the off-season? And, who will actually play for the Twins in 2017. Itdidn't take long for the Twins to not do anything significant with Aaron Thompson, Carlos QUentin, John Hicks, Murphy and Sweeney, DeLa Cruz, Runzler. And they managed to jettison Arcia, Mastro, Graham, Ramirez, Strong, O'Rourke, Fien, Jepsen from the 40-man already this season, with arguments made about keeping Graham, Fien and possibly Strong and losing (temporaily, Jones). Okay...Rotation. Santana (great contract, people should be fighting to add him to the back of your roster. A keeper veteran presence, but... Nolasco...you have a failed investment and might want to squeeze more out of him or see if he can get any sort of value next season, but gone by 2018. Milone, you probably could've avoided arbitration last fall, and don't need to arbitrate this fall. Hughes is a long-term hope that he will produce in the next three seasons. Duffey is struggling. Always felt he might be a candidate for long relief. Or is he the one-year-wonder of Scott Diamond or Albers or Kris Johnson. Gibson...if he can get on track, will have trade value but don't see the need to the Twins going to year 3 arbitration or free agency. Sit on the sidelines and see if they can get a deal when another team passes on him. Pat Dean is Pat Dean. I truly wanna know who would've grabbed him in last year's Rule 5. CATCHER. You don't keep Suzuki. He will be a free agent. If he can't find a $2 million job next year, maybe you consider. Murphy is what we have, go with it. Centeno and Paulino are replacement players. Garver needs to be added and might be the future. Turner needs to get some major league experience. INFIELD: If someone wants Park, you eat the signing portion and move on. Can Vargas play first? Should Sano play first? Can Mauer play anywhere but first? Dozier is still reasonable, and Polanco is the future. Is he the future in 2017 or 2018. He will be playing full seasons and going towards arbitration. We can take a looong look. Escobar IS NOT the shortstop of the future. Pure placesetter. Nunez is a nice backup if he keeps hitting and would rather see him at third than Escobar if... Sano goes down. Sano is showing life. He is the current third baseman. Plouffe will jsut be too expensive. If you want to keep Plouffe, you should've signed him long term. Let him walk in August and if you want him back, offer him something in the offseason. I would rather see Plouffe at first than Mauer, but not at $11 million a year. Our future outfield is Rosario, Kepler, Buxton. Between Grossman or Santana as backup, I go with Grossman. Walker may have been passed by Palka. Harrison and Michael are moot. Are Meyer or May closrs of starters? I don't see Kintzler as being nothing but luck. Tonkin and Pressly and Rogers can all be replaced by Burdi, Reed, Jones, Hildenberger, whatever...the question is when. Sooner rather than later, I say. But the truth is...what the Twins have is trade pieces are not in demand. And if the Twins don't want them, why would someone else really care. Those that might see playing time elsewhere are so on the fringe, you ask yourself "do I trade with the Twins or elevate a prospect...or jsut watch the waiver wire...the Twins do...." The Twins WILL NEED to clear roster space...5, 6, 7 names in the least. Who will go, who will get a look, who will stay, who will be added. Maybe the offseason will be exciting. But some of these moves CAN be made in the interim and not wait for a new Director of Player Operations and GM.

Man, I shake my head that Anthony feels he can be competitive in 2017. Maybe he can, but it would be a fluke and having no system failure. Right now, prospects are being delayed, you have a bunch of overpaid starters not producing, the Joe Mauer problem, and something isn't going right on the field,. No, you won't give away Santana. If he was a free agent this winter, he could possibly get the same as owed him by the Twins. You do move Suzuki. Unless you wish to resign him. But try try try to get something and then worry about resigning him. Dump Plouffe. If you do, he becomes another teams arbitration problem. Unless you wish to pay him $10 million in 2017. And then you might as well sign him long term. Figure out what to do with Mauer. At this point, I would ALMOST rather have three more years of Plouffe playing first, or happily have multi years of Vargas and even Park and wish I could go back and get Arcia. He was the face of the franchise, but no more. If someone, anyone would offer him a home...do it. I will admit that he is hitting pretty darn good if it is an eye issue. But putting him at the top of the order and his production pop compared to others isn't working out. You need 40-man roster spots this off-season. If they aren't going to be there come November, no need to have them here this September!

I do find it curious as to what does happen to the millions spent on draft picks, some of those millions going to a few players who never pan out. Amazing what major league baseball spends on the possibility of hitting it bigtime and giving money to players that never see the light of day. The above numbers should also be palced in the context of when a team drafts, with all those high draftpicks the Twins got for half-a-decade. Looking back on past Twins drafts, the number of players that made it to the majors with the Twins (or with other teams) or those that even made it to AA/AAA ball can be rather pathetic, at times. Especially for an organization that doesn't play the free agent market and would be the perfect place for drafted and developed players to rise and shine. And that is the crutch of Twins drafting. This year, 31 players have signed and are in the system. But let's look a few years away (say 2020) and how many of those will have lasted more than three years in the system and how many make it to the big leagues, and how does the international draftees work into the mix, and would a team just do better "grabbing" players from other teams as their minor league careers progress. In the real world, prospects replace players eligible for free agency on a cycle in which the organization constantly drafts for need vs. depth for best-all-around. But how soon does that best-all-around turn into fluff.

Kintzler is one of those guys.....no team is going to grab him to be a closer. They would grab him for depth, which is what the Twins did. Before trading, they would weigh their own minor league options. So the chances are good that Kintzler will remain a Twin going into the of season and join the notorious group of Guerrier, Burton, Boyer, Fien and others that the Twins have stashed on their major league roster and we can't rpedict where they will eventually end up or how much wear we can get out of them. Even a team seeking a lefty might punt for Abad. Maybe not. Face it...the Twins really don't have a lot of guys that teams will fight over. More so, tems will wait to see what direction the Twins do take and what they do with their pieces (don't offer arbitration to Plouffe in off-season, for example, or just release Nolasco and eat his salary next year). More and more I don't see the Twins eating salary if they don't have to. But I see them parting ways with a player (i.e. Plouffe) rather than overpay. So unless a few prospects don't fit into future plans (perhaps Polanco or Walker) and they can be packaged with a salary, we may have to wait to see if some guys can peak out and create interest in their arms, fer sure, in 2017 before that trade deadline, assuming the Twins aren't in the playoff hunt.

Good point. Yes, if anything, he seemed to be groomed for the future Twins job. In the scheme of things, how many people in the Twins organization have moved onto other General Manager or even front office jobs? Krivsky? Gebhard? Is that it? 50+ years!

Money-wise, two things spring to mind. In the scheme of things, WHY do you still want the same worthless players collecting a salary next year. Especially if there is a smidgen of an opportunity to move them and shed all or some salary, and still get a possible viable player option back in return. Even with waiver-August, if another team will absorb a contract, is it better to part company with said player for less than nothing, or to keep that salary (and possible position_ tied up next season. You should have a pretty good idea of what a player will do for your team (Nolasco, Santana, even Mauer) next season. Now you just decide if you want to pay for that, and if keeping said player will continue to make you a better team in the longrun. The problem with shredding payroll today, and not spending it next year too, is that monies seem not to carry over (like would the Twins go from, say, a $70 million payroll in 2017 to a $180 million payroll in 2019, because they saved money for two years or so.) Somehow, it doesn't work that way. And if us fans force the front office to spend by complaining about the lining-of-the-pockets of ownership, then we get what we deserve, i.e. $178 million spent on a rotation of Nolasco, Hughes, Pelfrey, Santana who are solid vets, but didn't really bring anything to the team except our sense that ownership was willing to spend money on free agents. Anthony IS auditioning for the job. But then someone has to take his place, too. A General Manager is not the guy who does everything anymore. It is a multiple person job. You have to have a strong overall presence and manage people well. You might also be reporting to a president of baseball operations. What are the different titles that Pohlad is seeing in this media guides: President of On-Field Operation, General Manager, Director of Player Personnel, Minor League Coordinator, Assistant General Manager in charge of contracts, Assistant General Manager of player development, Assistant General Manager in charge of assistant general managers. You look for someone who has a vision (that might agree with ownership) and can manage the different pieces to pull it all together. The actual field manager has gone from a coaching staff of four to upwards of 7 and 8, all doing certain duties that the manager pulls together into one big picture. Minor league staffs have increased from an average of three guys to numerous roving instructors, the people who oversee the entire coaching direction of the team in the minors, and even trainers and strength-and-conditioning coaches at the minor league levels. So many teams do have former players helping out (from Oliva making the rounds, to Carew working on bunts/base-running, to Hrbek showing how to lift a runner off the base, to Tom Kelly and even Gardy making the rounds of the teams and offering advice, via the fieldstaff, to players.) But back to money. What happens in the next days will tell us alot about the Twins. Are they afraid of eating salary? Do they hope to squeeze every dollar paid, and to be paid, out of their current players. What kind of return are they happy with if they do trade. Who advances and to where? Who gets a looksee in September. Who sits and who plays. So many of us will be sad if the Twins hold and the roster is still full of Nolasco, Santana, Plouffe, Suzuki next year. If payroll stays the same. If prospects are shoved aside by players making monies that management feels justified in putting on the field. Already, we go into 2017 knowing we will have Hughes and Perkins on payroll but not necessarily starting the season on the field. We have Joe Mauer not producing and blocking players who MIGHT put up equal numbers at a fraction of the cost. We have players like Suzuki having another career moment. We have solid players eating up salary and questionable if we can do better keeping them or letting them go elsewhere (Dozier, Plouffe). I'm not sure how much a new vision will be taken by management from an outside candidate, how long it would take them to bring in their own structure and work with the ownership to absorb all those longtime employees that can't find work elsewhere, and the whole question of the field staff...and then going forwards with x-amount of dollars ("55% of revenue is what you get to spend" - "Okay JP, then rest assured that people will only come to see what that revenue will buy for the field...you have to be flexible and take some hits and try some things.")T he Twins also need to work harder than ever in the community. They will be fighting the Vikings and their new stadium. They are being blown out of St. Paul by the Saints. They need to figure out a way to get better media presence instead of a game broadcast shoved between music for a new hip audience that is still on the rail about coming to Twins games. they have to keep the dwindling fan base happy. They have to think ways to get the television audience cutting their cable ties back into the fold. TC Bear is great for the kids and that guy works harder than anyone in the organization, but the organization has to work so hard to bring, what Dave St. Peter likes to focus on, the Twins Brand back to the forefront. Twins Brand. That is the real Total System Failure that shows it goes beyond Terry Ryan and all across the front office and the field staff and the minor league staff. The Brand has suffered bigtime. There is no trust in the future. There is the attempt to squeeze every penny possible out of current assets. There is the fear to gamble in a business that is a gamble, but ultimately increases in value no matter what happens, for some odd reason. Unfortunately, what we are seeing is a waiting and watching game that won't put people into the seats in greater numbers for the rest of the season and might make next season one of the worst ever for attendance at Target Field and also see a dip in on-field excitement if we going into total rebuild years after it should've been done in the first place.

The Twins need to add and look a Garver by at least this September. There is no reason to keep Centeno on the 40-man once the season ends. The question is spending on Ramos, who may be having a career year (and remember, this is catcher we are talking about...who says he can "catch" for 3-4 more seasons). The Nationals should be seeking trades themselves while exploring a cheaper backstop. If you can firm up the lineup, then you can decide if youc an live with a catcher capable of throwing out runners and calling pitches. Losing John H\icks was a paid and part of the system failure. I had thought that he should've come straight to the majors out of spring training with Murphy starting the year at Rochester. That we lost him in such an inane non-player move is a big bad mark against the front office. That, combined with the Arcia decision, shows system failure fer sure. Not that he would be a starter, but maybe between him and Murphy we wouldn't be having this discussion or this total system failure behind-the-plate worry. Of course, Drew Butera might be available. But I would give Garver a chance to show his stuff, play him in the AZFL and winter ball, and have him come to spring training to see if he can be at least a part-time starter. And I wouldn't give up on Turner yet, but move him to Rochester, too, and let him experience some of those AAAA pitchers and runners.

Mauer was THAT draft choice, St. Paul kid, great hitter. better football player, plus he was a catcher. Somehow, he became the hometown fave, the FACE of the franchise. When he came off a great season and it was time to sign that BIG contract (not that he hadn't already pocketed some dough), the powers-that-be cringed at what would happen if Joe would be allowed to walk. And they still cringe when they thought of him in a Red Sox or any other uniform. (Are we cringing that Morneau was a Pirate, a Rockie or...White Sox). If the Twins kept any player...it had to be JOE MAUER. But wait, have we ever had a face of the franchise? Okay, Harmon Killebrew, but Griffith allowed him to walk to Kansas City. Kirby Puckett. Yes. Others? Santana took his $120m needs elsewhere. Knoblauch demanded a trade. Hunter signed for $90m. Mike Cuddyer refused a hometown discount. Nathan grabbed the first free agent offer made to him. The Twins traded Zolio, Bert, Kaat, Pascual. Even Hrbek retired, albeit not gracefully. It's not like the Twins are the Yankees, the need to have someone, anyone follow someone or another and make mini-dynasties (Jeter) or not (Mattingly). Can the Twins live with Mauer out of the picture? Seems now they should, as he is an adequate first baseman (shades of Dougie M). But would anyone take on his contract? Is there a better park he could play in that might keep what was a Hall of Fame career as a catcher going? Unless, of course, baseball would treat a franchise player the same way as, say, football. Above and beyond the salary needs of the team, as what that player is paid is part salary and part branding. But to the Pohlads, it still comes out of the same purse. You can't build a mid-market (or small market) franchise around one player. You can't even build a franchise around a rotating group of players (i.e. Oakland). But we embraced Joe as a multi-million longterm player (eh, catcher) just as we did buy into the Pohlads opening their purse and Ryan able to spend money on free agent pitchers (albeit Nolasco, Pelfrey, Hughes, Santana, Schaffer) and thought it was better to spend than allow them to keep and spend on their own desires and needs.

Yes, you need a director of baseball operations. A Super GM and a solid secondary GM. You can still have all your assistants, scouting direction, player personenl, etc. etc. etc. But someone has to look at the overall on-field product, not just adding a bar in the centerfield area. You also have to have a plan. Go beyond "The Twins Way" popularized how far back by Tom Kelly and Co? you have to go beyond being competitive in your division, or actually do look at your division and the moves they make. Or you rebuild until you are ready to go head-to-head, and not just the division, but the whole of major league baseball as you do play teams in the other league now. You continue to craft a team that plays in your stadium and plays well together. Maybe the whole mistake can fall on the shoulders of one guy: Dare I say Joe Mauer? Hometown kid. Amazing hitter. Outstanding catcher. The Face of a Franchise. The guy who makes us remember fondly of Killebrew, Puckett. But how many faces do you have/need in a franchise? We have had many and they were all tradable...from Bert and Frankie to Aggie and Pascual. We have Gagne and Carew. Gary Gaetta, and the walking Hunter. Battey and Allison. All solid players. None a franchise king, but they did their turns with worthiness. Does it all boil down to us giving joltin' Joe that super contract, and not realizing that there would be concussion issues (probably not...no one cared about performance enhancing rugs for years). We allowed the franchise to be built around him, and his Kemp's ads and brother Billy's car dealership and the goodness of the Mauer family and the ties to Cretin-Derham Hall and St. Paul. Great stuff, great story. But it is something they can't get out from under, even when we sympathize with the eyesight but cringe at the singles, a year with more K's than walks, no more talk of the "super batting machine for teaching hitters." When he came up for contract, the powers-that-be cringed that they had to keep him at any price...something the Twins didn't do with Killebrew or Carew, passed on with Kaat and Blyleven, parted ways with Viola and Santana...all loved and adored and the face of the franchise for a moment, and then instantly "okay, a member of another team." My wife cringes that Justin Morneau is now a White Sox. It didn't phase her too much when he was a Pirate or a Rockie, for some reason. She misses him, but he wasn't contributing, was an albatross hat we all liked, but there really was no place in the inn for his glove and bat. We parted company. Did people stop coming to games because we traded Zoilo, we dumped Aggie on the Red Sox (but shrewdly got him back). Shane Mack and Jack Jones moved on. Hunter took $90m. Santana demanded $120m. Knoblauch was applauded for leaving. No one really cried when Hrbek hung up his spikes. Smalley and Gladden still stir nice thoughts, but left for longer careers. Like the notorious franchise of franchises, the Yankees. Do people care when the Mantle era ends, or the JoeD? Maybe in New York they do, and try hard to make those franchise players "gods" of sorts. Happily, Minnesota is not New York. We don't need a franchise god. We don't need to elevate someone above the pinnacle of baseball's finest. Heck, Griffith couldn't keep Killebrew as a a lifer with Harmon ending his career as a Royal. Maybe we don't need Joe around anymore. If the Twins suffer or eat a loss, then let Joe go somewhere, anywhere. Be content that he had many fine seasons in Minnesota and is a Hall-of-Fame catcher who might not get in the Hall of Fame because he couldn't go beyond the backstop in the end.

As the 40-man spots become available (and we have two empties right now) I see no reason for adding in anyuone who would be considered for the 40-man roster early. I would rather see these guys get the call,rather than continue to have guys like Burnett or Ramirez take up space. It is a good time to get an advance look at possible placeholders and potential starters. It should be used as such. Sadly, buys like Kintzler, Grossman, Boshers, Ramirez and the ilk can be refound again (did we keep Boyer a second season). Grossman is intriguing, but do you keep him and not Rosario or Santana, for example, and as we see, wqe have Palka and Walker in the wings. Heck, maybe we should tradeoff anotehr centerfielder early (Buxton). I would love to see Hildenberger come up in September, as wellas Reed or Jones. I doubt Burdi is ready. But Bard may be in need for a decision. Wimmers has shown that he should get a shot...a dozen innings. Again, anyone added to the 40-man during the season can be dropped anytime during the off-season. If they are added in December, you need to keep them on the 40-man thru spring training. And, anyone removed from the 40-man must also go thru waivers. I imagine teams are salivating looking at the Twins rosters for Rule 5 draftee possibilities, or minor league Rule 5 draftees. If the front office is doing anything else of importance, they should be recognizing those prospects that are expendable and packaging them with the salary they team wishes to shed to get back some possible prospects that add depth to their system (catching, always pitching, power, speed) that don't need protection for at least another season or even two.

We will find out if the Twins do have a plan. Maybe they aren't doing a total retool, ala Atlanta Braves. But the number of possible prospects is mind-boggling. What has to be decided is the direction the franchise wishes to take. Looking at the players the Twins overpaid, they are probably seeing that no one is knocking down the door to get players from them. Why trade when the Twins might release. Why get someone expensive when someone equally as good is available at a lower price. Why get someone that is being pushed aside by a Twins prospect. Every single season a team makes a signing mistake. A player gets injured and their career downslides. You are forced to cover a bad contract. The Twins have been hit hard...Ryan getting the blame for spending Pohlad's money in free agency (as we all wanted him to do rather than let them keep it) on a half-dozen failed starters. On the flipside, he didn't keep "our" free agents, with the money Target Field was sending our way...which to me reads that a player shouldn't expect a home town discount anymore. We lost Nathan, Cuddyer, whatever. I do admire when Ryan picks up those minor league free agents. Problem is, the AAA (and AA) roster is full of more of these guys than necessary, and if you find space for them in the majors, then you have something wrong when the worst of another team's players can find space on your roster. Sure, a percentage will shine...because they like playing in the majors and want to play in the majors. But that doesn't necessarily create a winning team. Right now, we will cry if the Twins trade away the contracts. But we will be getting salary relief. And 2015 was a box-office success for the Twins, this year we have yet to see what the doldrums of August and definitely September will do to the Twins coffers. But any money saved...what happens to it. Will they overspend down the road, still harp at that magic 55% nuber (although you can be assured that they won't be at 55% the next couple of seasons). We hear words from Pohlad that he never prevented Ryan from signing a player, but why did Ryan feel handcuffed to make his money go further with many middle-line players. The team may be a glorious grab for a general manager who wants to do something. but will he get carte blanc with the prospects, no payroll constraints. Does he really have to keep the same field staff next season. Will management look and listen when a guy talks about building towards 2018 and 2019...who is that "remain competitive within the division" mindset still there for 2017 and just as long as butts show up for the seats, the powers-that-be remain happy. And, sad to say, the Twins have to address the Joe Mauer issue. Is he still the face of the franchise? Is he blocking us from playing equally as good players (and cheaper) at first or DH. Is this the field playing salary cog that the Twins have to live with for a couple more years, and then make a decision again to keep him around for another 4-5 years in case he does remain a Hall of Famer or All-Star. Who will be the next great players on the Minnesota Twins? Can they afford to keep them? Will they continue to look towards solid team players who play "The Twins Way" (hummm...Tom Kelly in the GM decisionmaking process). Or will they gamble, take REAL chances. The flurry of past signing endeavors add up to quite a few failures that could've ben one Big success, if played correctly. Two weeks. We find out if the Twins overvalue their players or not. The month of August, we see if anyone cares to pick up salaries, or if the Twins eat a lot of crow.

The reality of baseball is that there is changeover. Yes, there are only so many jobs, but if you are a solid baseball person, you will find another job. To work your entire career in one organization is a blessing (and a curse). The Twins have long kept guys around a lot longer than the new world of baseball. Partly because they have really only had two owners in their half-century. And they also thought they were developing front office talent. Yet MacPhail came from outside. And they did allow a couple of guys to walk away from heir own system: Krvinsky and Gebhard are two.

I can only imagine the circling of the wagons in the front office and figuring out what to do for the rest of the season. Do they trade or keep? How do they market the team if it is a team of prospects? How do they fight the media overkill the Vikings and US Bank Stadium will grab in the city and the media. IF THE TEAM continues to play as it has, the September seats will be pretty darn bare with lots of unsold hotdogs and beers. And forget not having a jersey that anyone cares about...at the moment. They have to seriously question who ahs the right idea about where the franchise is going in the front office and hope the new general manager will be able to work with some of them. They have to put faith and trust into the farm system and reevaluate the talent from the GCL to the few prospects on the AAA roster. They need to find a field staff that will work towards the future, which means deep-six ALL the current field staff. They need to get the young guys out in the community as much as possible, be it to hospitals, public events, their own stores for their own fans. And they have to have the players show a love of playing the game at Target Field in Minneapolis. If players don't want to be here, why would the fans want to be here. And if, in the next two weeks, we get rid of most of the vet presence, I would like to see the field staff changed and some of the minor league staff promoted, at least to keep working magic with the youngsters, if we consider their magic working in the minors. And, at last, I would consider any August waiver claim of a player or a big contract. If someone wants Mauer, maybe it is time to cut the ties that bind. Then figure out WHO you want to spend money on the next two years and go after them bigtime with an eye on the prize in 2018 (at the earliest) or 2019 as a given. Blow the other teams out of the marketplace. Spend that money Pohlad says Terry wouldn't ask him about. Or it is going to be a very tough season ticket sell in 2017. The New Twins, we will need to get to know them, see them play, feel their hopes and dreams, go along for the ride.

It's a tough call. You would think that if Escobar pushed himself really hard, he could put up almost similar numbers (i.e. home runs and stolen bases) as Nunez. This is a career year for Nunez, he knows it, he isn't letting up, and I wonder if he is secretly hoping for a trade (to be on a winner) and looking for a nice paycheck or multi-year contract. At best, for the Twins, he COULD be the regular shortstop again next season (with Escobar or Santana or Polanco as the backup - which means we should be looking at Escobar as tradebait then). The plus is that he does show some punch. He could also play third base in a pinch if Sano would go down for any length of time (compared to, say, Escobar). That is assuming that something also happens to Plouffe. But beyond 2017, is there a place for him with the Twins (too expensive). So, the good side says trade when his value is the highest. Yet what is his value. Like our own Paul Molitor, does any team consider him a starter or just a glorified utility guy. Would you trade for Nunez over, say, Valencia or Plouffe or even Escobar is the scheme of things. If I was looking for a shortstop with potential (Seattle) I would look at Escobar as someone to keep around for a few years and could be considered more of a starter than a utility guy. Trading either means we can get a look at Polanco, and then worry about the logjam in the outfield - Grossman, Rosario, Buxton, Santana, Kepler and maybe a callup of Walker. Whew! We might have another centerfielder to trade!

He is a free agent at year's end. You trade him and get something in return. If you truly want him back, you go after him in the offseason. But I would feel better if we got some return on the past investment than just seeing him walk. Face it, we aren't getting any better this year. We need more player options in the way of prospects. If we just let him walk...we have zip.

Santana. He is probably worth the most right now, today, for any team looking for pitching...and his consistency will work in his favor for another team absorbing his contract. If you decided to hang on for some team to overpay, they will (1) go elsewhere (2) don't call. In the Twins favor, it gives them payroll relief (not that unspent payroll carries from season to season). His value might not necessarily increase as you pitch for a losing team. Yes, there are few off-season free agents, which makes him even more attractable to a team that will score 4+ runs in a game adding him to the rotation if they are prepping to lose someone themselves. That we replace him in the rotation with, say, Berrios. Well, who is to say that Berrios WON'T knock off 4-5 quality starts before season's end that will make him that much more valuable as we enter next season. Milone passed thru waivers. The Twins can dangle him out there again and hope someone bites and grabs his contract and will give us a lowend prospect in return. Otherwise, look to August where any player claimed on waivers can be given to the team as salary relief. Be it Milone or Nolasco or Plouffe...the Twins should do this and move forward. Don't wait for some off-season miracle. I would also dangle Escobar and keep Nunez at this point. I would go with Sano at third and , if need be, have Nunez as the regular shortstop or backup at third. What we do with Danny Santana (infioeld or outfield) is what we keep for the rest of the year, plus advance up Polanco. We bring up Wheeler as a starter and see if he can give us better-than-Milone numbers. Who knows, he might be a sleeper. I would also strongly consider making the fifth spot (in place of Nolasco departing) as a rotating spot to have an early look at Stewart, Gonsalves, a look at Baxendale and any other starting pitcher you expect to add to the 40-man roster this offseason and who has a good chance of contributing to the team at some point in 2017. It doesn't look like May will be stretched. We can always consider Dean the guy in reserve. We can hope Meyer gets some starts and also some major league starts come September. I would seriously consider, given the Twins placement in the standings come September 1, to go with a six-man rotation and give GREAT looks to future starters as well as bring up ANY relief pitcher you have room for on the 40-man who will also be added to the 40-man (Zack Jones, for one). I honestly don't think keeping Nolasco and Santana dn their salaries into 2017 will make the Twins a better or more competitive team. I would go for the salary relief (although, again, the savings won't carry over, sadly) and see what we have in youth. If you can make a mental note in your books and pay out above your quota for $$$ in 2018...I would take those Nolasco and Santana savings and get a top-flight starter. And then, throw into the mix, the NEED for a new front office and field staff. That is job #1 at this point, too. Get someone who will rebuild with what we have in prospects and go forth from there.

I would rather see the Twins gamble on Chargolis, Reed and Melotakis as the season progresses than, say, Burnett, Boshers and the continued Kintzler (plus Abad). I would rather go and trade the vet minor league guys and see what we drafted and their potential. I mean, the Twins really can't climb that high this season, can they? And if we continue to drag, let's do it with the future, not the scrap heap. If the future isn;t there, than we do have a true system failure starting with the scouting department, the draft, and the training these guys get in the minors.

Come back and see the game. You shouldn't have any trouble getting a good seat this season for a decent price. And you gotta love the trash the Twins throw on the scoreboard/television between innings. Everybody clap your hands. Yes, the Stadium is a wonderful environment to watch a professional baseball game. But also recommend the Saint Stadium (which is usually sold out) if you desire better and cheaper food, the same outdoors, and a quality game on the field against more evenly matched teams.

Okay. Let's put some more thought into fixing the product on the field. That is ultimately which gets the nacho eaters and beer drinkers to the stadium, and keeps them there for the long haul! That and especially players kids will identify with to play the game. You gotta get the guys out into the community, FO, and not just on phones.

We can argue all we want about the Ramos trade. It was a surprise, and even the throw-in of Joe Testa was more than enough for an okay possible closer (who still had contract left). But, yes, Ramos was blocked. And the Twins would've done the up-down with him for at least another season and then made him a backup and there was probably hope that the Twins would actually have another catcher in the wings by the time Mauer left fulltime behind-the-plate in 2016 or 2017 or 2018 (we had Pinto in the mix at one point - who is doing a-ok in the Brewers system right now). I don't really have a handle on how the Twins do teach.train.view their prospects. They seem to spend a lot of time in the lowly minors and then get a shot at AA, but the AAA roster always seems full of...dare I say...fodder. I see the Twins carefully bring guys thru the system (again, to AA) and then they end up not going anywhere in the organization, or even baseball. At what point DO YOU make the call on a prospect. That they are just playing ball for you in the minors or truly will be given a good hard shot at the majors...and more than a quick call-up and then demotion. Especially when you see how anxious the Twins are to play those guys they grab from the cuts of other systems and give them a chance and playing time: Grossman, Kintzler, Boyer, Abad, Fryer, Bernier, Centeno, Mastro, Boshers, Pressly, Graham, Ramirez, Pino, Martis, Perdomo, Vasquez, Marquis, Carson, Burroughs, Komatsu, Roenicke, Deduno, Walters, Thomas, Burton, Schafer, Neil Ramirez, Schafer, Robinson, Cotts, Thompson, Fuld, COlabello, Thielbar,,,and Mr. Nunez. That's a lot of names in five years that the Twins turned to rather than young guys in their system that they drafted and were developing for major league play. More so that people that they brought north in the past five (mostly) dismal years to fill the lineup from the guys who scout high school and colleges. Maybe the Twins JUST need to skip the draft and turn all their scouting to discards from other teams. Or maybe your sole reason for having "prospects" is to trade for good pieces, but not necessarily the best or what you really need to go forth into playoff land if and when that time rolls around. And then we can have the whole argument about hanging onto players too long and getting nothing in return: Kubel, Cuddyer, Nathan, Willingham, Delmon Young, Fien and Burton. It is a two-way street. You make your players available for pieces that you are missing in your own system (right now, catcher fer sure) and deal accordingly. You should be dangling Abad out there for a promising catcher who is blocked at the major league level for another team -- if that team is foolish enough to see that their own catcher won't be playing behind-the-plate for five more years and they may suddenly need this top prospect sooner rather than never. I'm still just feeling the "total system failure" happening. The attitude that we will try to put a competitive team on the field for the least amount of money, market the heck out of an outdoor stadium that gives the "fan experience" to watching a game played, and the hopes that people will buy into the sport of baseball as fun, and not as a need to win-it-all, or at least show a need to try to win-it-all above and beyond telling people we are doing so. Looking forward to the second half. But someone/s do have take a fall for what happened in the first half.

It's nice when a team has the roster space and ability to give players an opportunity to build some value. But we are still in last place when all is said and done.