Rosterman

A contract like Willingham's was great for the Twins and is perfect for trading. His worth goes up if he keeps his average high (between .260-.270) and keeps banging the ball. It was a good investment for the Twins, cause he can always switch to DH if the Twins had a viable candidate to replace him in the outfield. Right now, no they don't. Benson is a year away again. Hicks two years. Both can be pushed. And if he is traded, it will be for 2-3 prospect pieces, guys that may contribute, but are blocked from the major in other organizations. It will be interesting to see. No player on the Twins is untouchable. Even Mauer.....

Some what went wrongs...but who really saw the total collapse of the starting rotation. I didn't see the rotation as being great, but didn't see it being non-existent at one point and still rising. Sometimes it is fun to just go to baseballreference.com and troll the minor leagues of teams and you see how many players from rookie ball, or A-ball, or Double-AA ball actually do reach the major leagues, let alone with their originally signed team. It's a crapshoot and putting together a 150 player minor league system, with eyes on the future as well as possible present needs, is a logistical nightmare. Better yet, look at what draft choices actually make it somewhere in the majors. I sometimes do wonder why the importance (and expense) of the first round. I don't have predictable answers myself to how to make the Twins better. The patchwork without spending money is keeping fans in the stands (and now that summer is upon us, you will be seeing near sellouts...it is still a good game to watch and affordable and believe it or not some tickets are selling for face value on StubHub still). I do think the Twins have to look beyond just next year and judge current players on the team and in the system, plus figure out how much money they spend (like $20 million this year alone in drafting guys who may never want to play after they sock away their bonus money -- that's just not right, but another story). But you never know what will happen division-wise, and the Twins have usually been good players within their division, being competitive against their neighbors and worrying about the Big One if it happens. Can they buy future success with draft choices. Can they trade away most guys with major league experience for better than also rans from other teams, get the 10-20th best players rather than the 30-40th. How much money should they spend on free agency, and don't piddle cheap and get the Carrolls or Marquis, of even the $7 mill Willingham if $9 will bring you something better -- yet who can predict that. The bigger question is "How Do They Keep Putting Butts in the Seats" by being a somewhat competitive baseball experience. Not every team can win all the time. They all have ups and downs, some rebuilding....some are happy to banter around between 2nd and 4th place forever. Some never leave he bottom (how doe Pittsburgh and KC survive -- and Milwaukee had a great season and then lost everyone). Teams have nothing (Tampa Bay) but get goodness because of the draft or wise trades. It's a marvelous business.

Mainly because of contracts. Span is signed thru 2014. I guess Valencia and Toshi don't count. Morneau is a bargain for someone if he stays healthy. Capps, too, as his 2013 contract isn't bad, if you use him as a closer...and it is truly amazing how bad (ERA-wise) many closers are this year, and many teams have switched closers (name them.........win a no-prize). Doumit could easily double his $3 mil in arbitration. Liriano will also be expensive to another team. Pavano has to stay healthy for anyone to want to absorb his contract for 1-3 months. And Willingham is a prize piece, right now, with a modest $7 million contract, although he would move nicely into a DH/OF backup 1B/C role for the Twins for two more seasons if we wish.

Now IS the time to be a Twins rookie. You can get a long looksee, or a chance to come up, sample the life, be rotated back to the minors to actually work on stuff, and be called up to see how you do...and if you show promise, chances are you will have a major league job in 2013....unless you pull a Valencia and get sent back down into limbo land. The only constraints the Twins have is how many people you can rotate thru the 40-man roster, future service time issues and all. You don't need to have a bunch of wannabees that are one-year wonders ONLY holding down the fort. Are they still raw enough to keep in the system and shine (Dozier, Parmele, Revere, Benson et al) or just replaceable fodder (Gray, Walters, Diamond, Maloney, Towles, Butera et al). There is no snortage of also ran players that can give you entertaining (not winning) baseball.

The Twins can be sellers, but the whole question is what they actually have that is worth overpaying for by another team. Too often the Twins regime have been knocked for waiting too long (unknown factors by fans be damned). Last year, say, move Cuddyer and Kubel...even Pavano. Do you blow-up the team and basically start over (are there enough prospects in the pipeline). Or build around a few stalwarts (who may/may not be here come 2013 yet alone 2014 - contract issues aside). But, again, the real question is "Do Twins Players have ANY worth to anyone?" And then question #2 "What is there about the Twins that would be attractive to ANYONE that is a Free Agent to sign and play with them?"

The fact that Slama was passed on both waivers, when he could've just been claimed and 40-manned, and not claimed in the Rule 5 is intriguing.

Fabulous read...

Cole battled, and he wasn't the only pitcher out there throwing all over the place looking for spots that the umpire might give him. When you have 16 walks in a game spread over 4 different pitchers, it is not the pitching, it is the umpire behind the plate...who was amazingly fooled by placement of a catcher's glove. Happily, he's not behind the plate for Liriano today. Cole, like Diamond and Walters, are battling to keep a major league job. They aren't all that overpowering. They have to actually work out there on the mound and mix stuff up and seem a couple of bad pitches away from getting stomped. If they can keep it up all year, I would call the rotation gutsy. Can they do it again and again and again over other years...as the back of the rotation guy with not much expectations, maybe. But if you rely solely on them for wins, I think not. But, still, better than anyone else the Twins are paying big bucks too - today. They are energetic Pavano's, who basically looks broken and hoping his inning run fast rather than slow.

He never pitched this season. A good example of why you never have too much pitching.

He is serviceable for the moment. We have young arms and all, but remember that the Twins (and all teams) do play the service-time game. If you can get that extra time out of someone, especially when rebuilding, you don't want all your "young" talent to come expensive at the same time when you are just hitting the winning circle strive. It's tough. Most seasons, the Twins could add one starting prospect, one bullpen prospect, one bating prospect, and run a couple people thru the system as part-timers. The Twins could conceivably have 10-12 home-bred rookies on the roster come years end, not to mention the holdovers (Mauer/Morneau) and a half-dozen minor league free agent pickups still getting time. Then they deep-six a couple more folks come arbitration and 40-man set the roster time. That's a biggy when you have to add more prospects on top of prospects.

Arcia - position - right-handed power RHP.....

You made $25 grand on the deal and he gets some work in the majors....and you get another year to think about him...what's bad about that.......

For anyone that wants to sign him, its a prorated amount of the major league minimum...........

http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?team_ID=MIN&year_ID=2007&draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year A good year-by-year look to see who the Twins drafted and what importance having a great first rounder is compared to just drafting good players.........

Well that's why I never quite understood players NOT wanting to sign with certain teams. Hey, it might allow you to get to the majors faster with a non-contending club, and also make you god trade bait if you do what you are supposed to do...shine. If the Twins draft a pitcher, who says they can't trade that same pitcher for an outfielder two years from now, or vice versa. What I still find amazing is the amount of money thrown at draft picks in general and the percentage that make it to the big leagues..... http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?team_ID=MIN&year_ID=1999&draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year Look at year-by-year...I did a link to 1999 when 8 of 50 made it to the show with the Twins. 8 the following year. 6 the next. 9 the next. Look at the names and where they were picked. Look at the amount of money spent on wannabees that never panned out.

Herrmann is the back-up of the future, maybe next season. I don't see the Twins adding him to the 40-man until November...just because they'd run thru the guys that won't be around next year first if push comes to shove. I doubt that he'd fuly replace Mauer at ay point. Probably won't see fulltime major league duty until 2014...expect the Twins to hang onto the hot hitting Butera for at least one more season. Doumit is probably using the Twins to increase his free agent value. Him coming back for another year will be determined by what the Twins do with Morneau and Willingham in the field...do the Twins push Hicks and Benson and Revere in 2013 as the outfield...or not.

Are they running out of arms? He walks a lot of batters, strikes out more than one an inning. Is 27-years old. His name isn't Anthony Slama. He closed a handful of games for the Saints. The guy has to be really happy right now!

Why doesn't anyone adopt this guy!

That's what this is all about. Maybe, just maybe, the people running this team SON'T know what it is all about. Hell, wasn't it just two years ago that we were told to come to games because of TARGET FIELD...not "Get to Know 'em" or good old baseball, but come to TARGET FIELD. Reminds me of The Saints wanting us to come and enjoy sitting and having fun and eating and drinking and -- oh -- there is a ballgame going on but wait...."Train!"

Keep Duensing and Swarzak in the bullpen. Please.

We still have a good month and a half to see what develops with what we have. Doumit, Pavano, Liriano, Capps are tradebait. WIllingham is danged. I listen when folks ask about Span and Morneau. I hope Blackburn does something. I hang onto Gray and Burton until they implode. Then bring up the next B-listers. I advance people like Hicks and Sano as far as I can in the minors, keeping an option open to bring them up in September if roster spots exist. At some point, Slama, Gutierrez, Guerra, Waldrop are in the bullpen. I would allow Slama to close. I have no idea what my rotation will look like come August 1. I would be trading my AAAAA ballers for AAAA ballers from other teams. Dinkelman, Tosoni, Valenica....trade them for comparable people from other systems

Komatsu is more like what they already have lots of in the system...or it means the Twins are drafting an outfielder instead of a pitcher. I expect they might be able to keep him, or maybe ship Capps to the Nats.

It's a gamble. What will someone pay him. Will it be for one or two years. If the Twins pick up the option they have a $9 million damaged pitcher who if he does halfway decent would demand a rise if you wish to keep him for 2014.

Hey, Santana was the mop-up guy, the fellow you bring in when the game MIGHT be out-of-hand. Then he was the long relief guy. Then the spot starter or #4 or #5 starter. The #4 or #5 guy is usually replaceable. He's either too raw or on the downslide, but can give you some consistency for quite a few starts. Yes, Pavano this year is proving to be a semi-quality 4th or 5th starter to go with all the other bottom of the ladder guys. Basically, why pay these guys millions when you can get a comparable guy for a million. The 5th guy could be skipped. And long relief needs to go thru the order at least once with success.

You gotta look at the long-term picture...and the pitcher picture ain't great...any y 2014 you won't want Morneau, Span will be too expensive for what he brings to the table, guys like Duomit and Willingham won't be around. You reuild. If there was a halfway decent catcher coming up, you'd trade Mauer in an instant.