ewen21

I know I have put Eddie out there as trade bait to bring in a pitcher, but can we please acknowledge that he is a better player than Cave by virtue of the fact that he has over 2,000 plate appearances and has proven that he can hit and play day-in-day out. I am taking nothing away from Cave by saying this. You are overthinking this one. Ask 10 people on the Twins who is better Cave or Rosario and 10 out of 10 will tell you it's Eddie. No deep analysis is required

This team has been absolutely horrendous at raising its own starting pitching. I challenge anyone to make a list of the three best starting pitchers we drafted and developed over the last 20 years. We are among the worst teams at doing this, possibly the worst.

100% agree.

What do you mean?

I would say "kind of" The biggest disappointment by far was this vaunted offense just not showing up. That to me is the thing that has been a theme in every single postseason matchup we've had since game two 2004. That is more a mindset that anything, in my opinion.

This notion that better defense would have given us an edge is ridiculous. Our game one and game two starters gave us no chance to win and our offense was completely dormant. That series was not a couple of defensive plays away from us being in it. Almost the entire team wasn’t even there mentally. It was like they wanted to win the game and didn’t even want to play the game.

I think being able to score only 7 runs in 3 games was a back breaker. Our strength let us down. That and the first two starts we’re absolutely horrendous.

I have argued against getting Donaldson, but I like Donaldson. I was skeptical about the process because I thought he was using us to push up Atlanta's offer. In the long run he needed an American League option because a National League team cannot offer a DH spot. . I think the Twins had the best offer on the table for quite some time and he took it. I really feel good about it even if I talked about the risks quite a bit lately. I believe this is a good move in that Donaldson and Crus are the right kind of veteran for young players to be around. From this perspective the move is excellent I don't think anyone has the right to complain about the rosters we've put out the last couple of years. It isn't perfect, but it is a heck of a lot better than the Terry Ryan years!

THE Yennier Cano?

Ra cha cha

I was trying to tell you that you should have inferred where he stood rather than suggest or note that he didn't. He didn't need to infer anything. He knew the article was about finding other third base options and he isn't interested. It wasn't that he didn't understand the author's objective. He didn't agree with it. Simple as that. I don't think we need to waste energy looking for a third baseman if we just extended Sano. It make no sense We have moved him around enough already. Let him settle into third base this year and let's see what happens. I would rather we just pick up Mitch Moreland to share first base duties and figure out once and for all if Sano moves to full-time DH after Cruz is gone.

Cole and Strasburg just weren't realistic. If you think we had a snowballs chance in hell landing either then please give me a paragraph on how USAFChief would have handled it. Bumgarner was very clear about leaving money on the table to play in Arizona. It was his preference. Not sure how you would have swung that. Please be specific and explain how you would have worked that one. I am curious. As far as Wheeler is concerned, he has an extensive injury history. Over the course of three seasons 2015 to 2017 he pitched a total of 86 innings. Are you saying we needed to hit a number higher than Philadelphia? What do you prescribe? I think it is an insane contract that Philly will most likely regret. I have been through Ryu with you. If you want to make signings that don't make no sense then OK whatever. Giving Wheeler and Ryu more than what they got is terminally stupid. The only one I think signed what could be termed as a reasonable contract was Bumgarner. You seem to forget what free agent means, specifically with higher level free agents. It means they are free to go where they want to go and if they have a short list of places they want to play then that is where they are going to go. When we get into guys earning 9 figures then money stops mattering. Another 20 million means nothing to a guy who knows he's going to earn 9 figures and go where he wants to go. You believe the Twins can coax guys with money and you really need to give up the ghost with that. It just ain't happening in 2020.

I think what we should infer from his post is that he doesn't believe we should be looking for a third baseman because we already have one.

Let's say we signed Ryu and appeased a very vocal segment of the fanbase. Is this guy going help get us over when we've played like we are lobotomized in the playoffs in each of last four appearances? Doesn't that need to end? We had more than enough offense and yet again we went into a coma. Is this about getting a shiny new present or is about reality? Ryu pitched one game in the postseason and he went 5 and gave up two runs. Is this guy a needle moving talent? Maybe he has electric stuff, but he has all kinds of durability problems. I already highlighted my concerns about him and I thought we were right to pass on him. No one should be surprised if he doesn't make it through season given his track record, age and physical stature. So when I see all sorts of anger about not signing him I don't get it, Big picture, last season was disastrous to me. It felt great all summer and then we proved that we are still stuck with the inferiority complex, indifference, false sense of accomplishment or whatever it is. We had as good a chance at breaking this embarrassing streak. All we had to do was win a game and we could not. It was like no one wanted to acknowledge the gorilla in the room going into it and some people were even thinking it was the right time to play the Yankees. When I questioned it, the mindset was that this team had nothing to do with all the other teams and that is a mistake because now they are no different. I don't want to hear about this significant gap. Not last year. The Yankees pitching was not any better than ours and they were missing Domingo German (their best performer last year). We had the "Bomba Squad" against their middle of the pack staff and we didn't show up. Terrible at bats, dismissive mindset about the history and then they were quick to write it off as "short series" and "anything could happen" and "successful season" As a fan, I am more ticked off about the result at the end of last year than I am this off season. I did not see us as realistic suiters for Cole. Wheeler and Bumgarner had their preferences and Ryu is just too risky. To quote Rocco, "I am not frustrated at all" Let us just go with Graterol and see what he can do. It is time for Byron Buxton to stop being half a player. He needs to be more durable and he has to be more consistent with the bat. Let's not start comparing Kepler to Yelitch and believing that he has the same potential. Kepler really disappointed at the end of the season. The FO constructed a very good team last winter with some smart mid-level under the radar moves. FOr whatever reason, there exists a toxic mindset in this organization where players are confused about what success is. Last year was no success

Fine, then they were right not to invest the dollars in him. I would not go over two yeas with Ryu I will concede my earlier point about the large Korean community having an influence on him. Scrap that if you want.

I couldn't disagree with you more. I have been through this enough times: He's pitched more than 90 innings just twice in the last five seasonsHe is overweight AND has a long history of time on the DLHe will be 33 and it is very likely he could have a sharp declineI don't know how a guy like this warrants a 4 year deal. We will see how this plays out, but I think it is an insane signing by Toronto. Very VERY risky given his injury history, lack of durability and age.

I don't see it to be like that at all. First of all, none of the young players we have are comparable to Mauer, Morneau and Santana. Not even close. Also, the level of ":dumpster diving" was far more egregious during the Ryan years. Signing Boone, Cirillo, Nevin when they were DONE. Signing horrendous free agent starting pitchers. At no point did he sign guys as talented as Odorizzi or Pineda. They are not great, but they aren't the cow flop that Ryan troweled out Cron, Gonzalez, Schoop, Cruz contributed 104 home runs and cost us about 39 million dollars. When did anything resembling that happen during the 2000s? In the 2000s the best players were the young guys and they had no help. Last year we a very deep team. And this myth about the pitching being not good as the reason why we couldn't get out of the first round is trash. We ranked 9th in ERA last year and the Yankees were 14th. It is not the fault of the GMs we got nowhere in the playoffs. The Yankees were missing perhaps their best pitcher in Domingo German and we could manage only 7 runs in 3 games. That isn't going to get fixed overpaying a couple of free agents. There is a culture problem and I think it starts with Baldelli. He is the same as a guy like Michael Cuddyer who would sing "Doo Dah Doo DAH" about how the Twins had successful seasons after getting embarrassed in the playoffs. How is it that gets ignored and we have scores of folks going bonkers about us not signing guys we had virtually no chance of landing (and are grossly overpriced) Makes no sense to me. None

That would be what Terry Ryan did. Ramon Ortiz, Sydney Ponson, Jason Marquis..... Granted, Bailey and Hill are not great, but they are a step above what used the be the GARBAGE Ryan would sign. Last winter these GMs did a brilliant job assembling a team that went on to win 101 games without breaking the bank. The players were the ones that screwed it up in the end. I think the anger directed at the GMs is a little misplaced. I think guys like Buxton and Kepler should be scrutinized as well for being AWOL the last two months. Lots of praise gets showered on both and yet they were nowhere to be found September and October

Lot's of people are calling this offsesason a failure without any trouble. I find it somewhat troubling that as many people havent labeled last season a failure after that 3-and-out. Seems rather inconsistent from the fans. I am not saying you or anyone in particular are a person who called last season a "success" and this offseason a "failure" .. I have a problem with those who are doing that.

I respect what you are saying, but I’m highly skeptical about what he can bring anymore and I’ve always liked the guy. Heck I was half hoping he’d put Perkins in his place back in his Oakland days when Perk popped off on him. Then again, I’ve watched baseball since 1972. We just don’t see many players do very well into their mid-30s. I’m not saying he’s going to suck, but it’s really hard to swallow this “price point” of his on principle. Two good years maybe for 9 figures? I think I’ll pass

"Strong history of durability" amounts to five seasons of getting the qualifying plate appearances and one of the last three to be exact. He has done that once since he turned 30. He's not the same guy at 34 that he was 27 to 30. I am about facts as well, Chief. Last year there were 17 position players who reached 400 PAs at the age 34 and over. Just of them had a WAR over 2.0. Nelson Cruz led the way and he is a rare exception. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=400&type=8&season=2019&month=0&season1=2019&ind=0&team=&rost=&age=34,58&filter=&players=&startdate=&enddate= Joey Votto has power and plate discipline and his numbers dove at age 34: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vottojo01.shtml Robinson Cano had durability that makes Donaldson's durability barely noteworthy. He fell off and so did his durability right around 34/35 years old: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/canoro01.shtml Same thing with Miguel Cabrera: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cabremi01.shtml Same thing with Albert Pujols: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pujolal01.shtml I am not "vastly overstating" concerns about age. What I am saying I would bet against him having even 75% of the durability he was able to boast during his prime years. This is based of tons and tons of historical data over decades. .

What do you mean explain? Durability is a finite thing when it comes to athletes. He is a 34 year old third baseman who has had made the qualifying number of plate appearances once in the last four seasons. He had four seasons in a row with the qualifying number of plate appearances before last year. Those were ages 27 to 30 . Do you expect this to just start happening again because it's happened before? Tell you what....I wouldn't wager on that happening more than once again. Batteries last only so long, candles last only so long, cars and machinery last only so long ….and so do baseball players. Most don't even make it to 34. Just about anything that does work depreciates and wears out. This isn't a AA government bond we are talking about, Chief. He is a 34 year old baseball player. This isn't rocket science.

I am not making the freakin offers. I am just telling you something and I am convinced you still do not understand it. I think the FO gets what I am saying and you don't

I am on record in this thread with my theory as to how money doesn't matter enough of anymore once you get into 9 figures. These are baseball players. They aren't running a major operation, with hundreds and hundreds of employees and all sorts of responsibilities. They just have to play baseball and they don't even need to do it well because the money is guaranteed. Donaldson is set to earn 9 figures and he has already earned 80 million. What the heck does 10 million more even mean to him? Honestly. That kind of money doesn't have the sway that it would for a guy looking for a one year deal or a two year deal. So please....don't talk to me about Lance Lynn, Odorizzi or whomever. That is on a totally different level and is nothing to do with what I am saying and the effect that a guy like Donaldson is experiencing right now. This idea that says...."Man, If we only give him 10 million more than everyone else we would have him!" is futile and it isn't even necessarily true. He is going to play where he wants. Isn't that what being a free agent is all about? The dude lives in Mobile, Alabama and is from Jacksonville, Fl. He's spent his time far away from home in Oakland and Toronto. YOu don't think MAYBE he'd like to finish up closer to home? You don't think MAYBE he's just using the Twins and has no desire to play anywhere but Atlanta or some team with REAL playoff pedigree? Come on now.....please

Dude, it's like you're dancing with no music playing. Neither were poised to earn 9 figures like Donaldson is right now so they are completely irrelevant to my point And Mike, I keep repeating it because of posts like this. I SPECIFICALLY talked about guys looking for the big multi-year deal approaching 9 figures, the silly money.....and he brings up Lynn and Cruz. Really???