nicksaviking

You're probably right. The complaint perhaps should be aimed at the Strib still running it with that stupidly misleading headline, but really with the Strib, take a number.

No, just giving details and letting the readers interpret what they mean. This is not subjective: --He said: “They are mad the Twins didn’t sign Zack Greinke.’’ Have to admit, I didn’t realize that was a controversy. I spend way too much time in the real world.--. That's not subjective. Don't make that comment. The easiest way to not have to make that comment is to not acknowledge the idiot who caused you to think that. If Reusse thinks his job as a reporter for the Strib means he has to respond to people like that, than he has his newspaper job and his call in radio job mixed up.

The nujobs can have the talk radio and the op-eds. Can I at least read subjective reporting? Is there nowhere for the rest of us to go any longer? Is it too much for Reusse and anyone who thinks they are still an actual journalist to ignore the crazies like the rest of us do in the real world? Don't pay them any mind and they'll have to go elsewhere.

I barely listen to talk radio anymore, and I wouldn't read Strib comments in a million years. Obviously those in the minority and those that don't understand always make the most fuss, the world has always been this way, and every member of the media who cater to readers or fans knows this. The only reason they stoke the flames is because screaming lunacy is always good for business, and more so today than in the past. And implying that Aaron Gleeman was asking for Greinke just because he says the Twins could have a larger payroll isn't any different than the leaps of logic the yellow journalists are using to con people into reading. Gleeman did not ask for Greinke, and I also can't find any Gleeman pieces that heavily criticize payroll.

Ha. I agree that there isn't a whole lot to take Ryan to task over, on the other hand, I don't think there's a lot to take the fans to task over either, and Reusse did. --Several complaints rolled in about Ryan not being grilled properly. “About what?’’ I had to ask a radio colleague. He said: “They are mad the Twins didn’t sign Zack Greinke.’’ Have to admit, I didn’t realize that was a controversy. I spend way too much time in the real world.-- Oh, really? Some fans wanted Greinke and didn't understand the realities of the situation? Shocking, surely the other 28 teams who didn't get Greinke had no such fans. This kind of stuff frustrates me, and it's why I can't listen to Dan Barreiro or read many op-eds anymore. In a country where getting 60% of the votes for president is a landslide, you get yellow journalists taking one of the few topics that 90% of people agree with or at least understand, and act like the 10% are some huge intolerable majority who need to be put in their place with their unique wisdom. This Greinke bit needed to be included in this article just as much as the crazy guy on the corner screaming about aliens needed to be included, yet for some reason the Greinke stuff is the title of his article.

Which appears to what they were trying to avoid this off season. I think our perception of Stauffer is a bit off too. He was a pretty good reliever for SD the prior two years and he actually had pretty solid K numbers, something most of us (or maybe it's just me) have been obsessing over since Johan Santana left. He really wasn't much different than the mid-tier free agent relievers folks were hoping for this year. Our almost unanimous objection to Stauffer last year wasn't that the Twins signed a bum, it was that from the moment of the signing, Ryan said that Stauffer would get a shot at earning a rotation spot. Everyone and their grandma blew a big fat raspberry at that idea, and I think that's why we all had animosity toward Stauffer from the start. He was already facing an uphill battle to earn our love.

I would guess that if the team is actually going to have open spots for the young guys, Fien's job is less than a lock. His salary is not completely guaranteed, I'd think at the very least that makes Fien a bit uncomfortable about his position on the team. I'm also wondering how people are going to feel if the team rolls with the low-ceiling vets and AAAA types early on but the actual plan is for the young guys who are performing to be up by May? I've been pretty vocal about my hope for the young guys to take over the pen in masse, and I've heard others voice their support but are skeptical the Twins would actually go that route. But what if that route ends up being a just month later than most of us would most prefer? Is that a huge issue? Just curious.

A free "Like" to anyone who can photoshop a Pohlad head on there.

Hmm, I've seen the Twins pitching lately, that's not overly encouraging.

Suzuki will surely get opening day, and I'd also guess he starts more early on, but I don't think it's set in stone. After all, Ryan did make a trade that was largely questioned, he's going to want to show off his end of that transaction to justify the move.

Well that I can get behind. Youthful naivety it is then!

Hold up, are you suggesting I'm not still on the happy side of that divide? I'd rather we just chalk it up to low IQ on my end.

Scott hadn't been pitching well, so getting him out of the picture and getting a prospect for him could certainly be considered a win. At the time though, fans weren't too kind regarding the move due to how spectacularly bad Klingenbeck was.

"Some are out of options, and some have pretty much solved AAA." The first part sounds like Tonkin and second part Rodgers? Who else has solved AAA? I guess that describes Perkins, Jepsen, Fien and Nolasco, technically.

Don't you mean SEND you a MESSAGE?

Without digging too deep, for the Twins I'd guess it's AJ Pierzynski drafted in 1994 who gave us Nathan, Bonser and Liriano. Liriano gave us the departed Pedro Hernandez but also Eduardo Escobar. Another current one is Travis Boyer drafted in 1999 along with Scott Tyler brought the Twins Luis Castillo who was later traded for Dustin Martin and Drew Butera. Butera was traded for Miguel Sulbaran who was traded for Eduardo Nunez. I regret forgetting to include the Hardy contribution with Harris in that Hoey trade. I didn't expect that post to get so long. Man I wasted a lot of time at work this morning. Edit: actually there is a longer one, but it's more like a shrub. The a Twins drafted Eddie Guardado in 1990. The comp picks they received upon his free agency turned out to be Matt Fox and current closer Glen Perkins.

Sorry, I thought the election was only televised on SCTV and it was decided by a hoof-hockey game between designated conservative and liberal caribou, with the candidate represented by the losing team being forced into the job.

Don't you dare pretend that Cruz isn't one of yours! Both of those guys are Canadian. When do you guys vote on your next Prime Minister?

The signing of Brian Duensing with the Kansas City Royals closes the book on a story that was started in 1989. In the first round of that year's draft, the Twins selected Texas A&M shortstop Chuck Knoblauch who would go on to spawn the trade that would put Twins GM Terry Ryan on the map and the fruits of that trade would be felt until 2015. After seven seasons of what looked to be the beginning of a HOF career, Chuck Knoblauch and his 37.9 WAR wanted out of Minnesota and to a contender. Well that's how the fans knew it anyway, back before internet media was a thing. While largely unpopular at the time, the Twins received Brian Buchanon (.3 WAR), Christian Guzman (7.5), Eric Milton (14.7) and Danny Mota (-.1) in what would be the branches of our Knoblauch trade tree. Brian Buchanon had some nice power potential and looked the part of a middle of the order bat, unfortunately for him, he found himself in a space crunch as he was competing for the RF/DH spot with Michael Cuddyer, Dustin Mohr, Bobby Keilty, David Ortiz and Matthew Lecroy. Buchanon found himself shipped off to San Diego and in return the Twins received shortstop prospect Jason Bartlett (8.9). Bartlett would go on to play four seasons (initially) with the Twins before getting traded to Tampa Bay with Matt Garza and Eddie Morlan for Delmon Young (1), Brendon Harris (.-6) and Jason Pridie (-.2). Pridie teased Twins fans with his potential but never put it all together and was soon DFA'd. Brendon Harris found himself a mostly every day super-utility role for the Twins before being traded for Jim Hoey (-.6) and Brett Jacobson. Jacobson never made it to the majors, Jim Hoey and his disastrous 24.1 innings unfortunately did. Delmon Young played three and a half mercurial seasons with the Twins, seemingly breaking out in 2010 and being a large reason for the teams division title. Alas it was not to last and the following year he was traded to Detroit for Cole Davis who never appeared in a MLB game and Lester Oliveros (0). Oliveros would too tease with his potential, but never got much of an opportunity to make it at the MLB level and was recently picked up the Royals. That wraps up the Buchanon wing of the Knoblauch trade tree, so let's head back to the top and check in on Eric Milton. Milton pitched six seasons for the Twins, six seasons that saw an All Star appearance, a no-hitter, and questionable contract extension. Despite that contract extension, the Twins were able to move him to Philadelphia for a package that included Carlos Silva (9), Nick Punto (10.3) and Bobby Korecky (.2). Silva pitched four solid seasons for the Twins before signing a nice free agent contract with Seattle, but most interesting for Silva was his 2005 season when he set a modern day record of .4 BB/9. Seriously, that is bizarre, check out the single-season leader board and the next closest modern day player was Brett Saberhagen with a .65 BB/9 which is almost a 40% increase: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/bases_on_balls_per_nine_season.shtml Nick Punto just announced his retirement but played seven super-utility seasons with the Twins before leaving and winning a World Series with St. Louis in 2011. Bobby Korecky, we hardly knew you, except for that time in 2008 when the Twins lost their DH and you had to come to bat in the 11th inning. Of course in that 11th inning you not only got a hit in your only career AB but also the Win. That has to be worth more than .2 WAR, which surely proves WAR is worthless. Back to the top and we get to Danny Mota, who would do next to nothing for the Twins, appearing in all of 5.1 innings at the MLB level. The last branch on the Knoblauch trade tree begins with Christian Guzman. The speedy shortstop made one All Star Game and led the league in triples three times. He left as a free agent to Washington, but in doing so the Twins were rewarded with a compensation draft pick. Not a 1st round pick because that was protected. Not a second round pick because that was already lost, but a 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft which the Twins used to select Brian Duensing (6.2). Duensing was an unheralded prospect who made an immediate impact in 2009 and found himself pitching game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees, it did not go well. Duensing had another nice season in 2010 as a swing man before settling in as regular out of the pen. His seven years with the Twins matches Punto and Knoblauch himself in terms of number of seasons played for the Twins for the men listed in this overly long post. In total, 19 players were acquired due to the first round selection in the 1989 draft and a total of 94.6 WAR was gained. These trees can be found throughout baseball, and surely there are others as fruitful, but this one has interested me for a long time. All of the comical propositions of tossing Duensing into trade proposals the last couple of years were serious by me because I wanted this tree to keep growing. It however will not. Epilogue: the Twins 1989 draft was fantastic. They drafted three players with a career WAR over 20 in Knoblauch, Denny Neagle and Scott Erickson, also drafting Marty Cordova, Mike Trombley and Denny Hocking. Some of these players spawned unexpected fruit however too. While Erickson's trade for Scott Klingenbeck and Kimera Bartee is one of Ryan's best known failures, in 1992 Andy McPhail made a trade of Denny Neagle that would live on for years. In trading a top prospect in Neagle, (something unbelievable for the Twins today) the Twins received John Smiley, a very good, but not great pitcher who the Twins wanted/needed to replace the departed Jack Morris. Smiley pitched one fine year for the Twins before leaving, and in his place the Twins got a compensation pick in 1993 which they used to select Torii Hunter. When Hunter would leave the Twins would use his comp picks to select busts Carlos Gutierrez and Shooter Hunt. Also, while the Twins didn't get a comp pick for losing Marty Cordova, even though he had an .828 OPS the prior year, they did get one for losing Mike Trombley in 2000. They used that pick to select Aaron Heilman, who had a really nice MLB career, just not with the Twins because he refused to sign with them.

There weren't any big time free agent relievers though. The team would have had to give up a ton to get one like Kimbrel, Giles or Chapman. I'd also say that Park's $3M/year deal is in line with scrap-heap DH prices.

I like Park, and I'm glad to have him, but he wasn't a fit and still isn't. Other players should have been removed if they were going to make room for Park. Arcia and Vargas are only part of the redundancy, Sano, Plouffe and Mauer are part of it too, and now so is Carlos Quentin.

What are you talking about? Why does someone have to predict the future to justify the use of BABIP? Also, I don't understand why using OPS to make a projection is fair game but BABIP isn't.

That's how it used to work, not anymore. Everyone was excited about "good" baseball last year but there were plenty of people saying the Twins would pay the price later for sticking with the veterans instead of letting the young guys play and develop. Well 2016 is the reckoning for those decisions. Personally, I think the young guys will be better than the scrap heap vets that they might otherwise fill those holes, but even if the young guys struggle early, it's still better for the long run. Last year, nearly to a man the young players out performed the vets, and that wasn't isolated to the Twins. Young players were given the chance to play, and even though the standards set by the last couple decades said they "weren't ready" they ended up showing that they actually were. This is a young man's league now. Unless the Twins are going to once again be at the tail end of baseball trends, they need to give the jobs to the young guys until they prove they can't cut it, because when the vets are given the job outright, it continues to be shown that it is very difficult for this team to replace them unless they are either injured, or flat out terrible.

Who's ready? And how will we ever know? Let Burdi, Chargois, Rodgers, Melotakis, Reed, Meyer fly, there's enough of them that if they bomb they can just keep rotating them until they find the right combination.