wabene

I don't think there was any blunder at the deadline last year. I would wager these two slick youngsters we're fully aware the team was not ready to really compete and that they would be flipping Jaime to improve the organization. The acted mighty quickly to strike for maximum return. That they would move Kintzler for maximum value for an expiring asset.Was fun to watch. Never said that before and I'll bet there's more in store.

I'm on board with these guys so far. I have a visceral agreement to Nick's statement that the head shake has turned to a nod! Every team has the same goal these little moves could set us apart.

I like him as a starter. He looked to me on the way to fulfilling that valuable role. It is Trevor's preference as well. If May is on the way to reaching his potential as a starter there won't be anyone good enough to block him.

It's funny some of these guys who aren't projected with phenominal stuff or a pedigree like Moya or Hildenburger just have lights out numbers in the minors and are still just brought up like its an after thought and then maybe some like Hildy for example thrive. I guess you just never know. There sure is a lot of stress around high picks like Jay. The thing is even with his pedigree it is still just a crap shoot. If this guy works his ass off he has a chance. With him they maybe need to settle on a plan and ride it out.

Some of this falls into the grass is always greener realm. How did Darvish (the pipe dream) do in the Series? Roto/fantasy has made everyone a GM with an itchy trigger finger. Trades and FA are a crap shoot. One costs money and the other part of your potential future.Of course I would rather gamble with someone else's money. So we've gone that route recently when our rotation was a shambles. At the time my bar of acceptance was lower than now. Nolasco? Not excited especially because the mediocre stats were from the NL but thought he could be better than some we had with his track record. Result? Disappointed mild expectations. Hughes? I was excited. He had a pedigree and was a fly ball pitcher in Yankee Stadium. Might have something. Result? A little below what I expected with one year above and one below with the brevity leading to ultimate disappointment. Santiago? Happy to see Nolasco go and a little worried about Meyer but ultimately saw him as the opposite of a bulldog. What would that be a Shiatsu? Trembling Chihuahua? I thought Santiago was a slight upgrade from Nolasco. Busenitz??? Result? I see Busenitz as a better long term contributor than Meyer. Santana? Now this had me excited. This is the type of acquisition I can get behind. He has produced about what I had hoped. He is a solid piece and it is fortunate that we didn't trade him. I am hopeful the new regime will spend to the middle of the pack and make one SP addition on par with Santana. I think a little more depth is necessary. If these things don't happen then the Pohlads just reinforce the banker stereotype and stress my fandom. If they can't at least spend to a break even point and have to make even more cash then they just take all the fun out of owning a ballclub. Isn't some of this supposed to be fun?

I also agree that running out a poor performer because of salary is the worst possible scenario. Counting on TrevorMay next year is not wise. I see him as a starter anyway because his body seemed to break down as a reliever. He can be a valuable starter but it will take a while. As for aquisitions I am all for spending money on free agents but trades not so much. Either is a crap shoot but the downside of FA is just money (the team is owned by bankers so I assume they are not with me here) and now that we have a good young nucleus we might actually be able to attract the attractive. Another thing in our favor is unlike the Wolves, Wild and Vikings the Twins play in the summer when Minnesota and Minneapolis might actually be a draw especially to the informed.

Hildy is my choice. He came up and performed very well and became heavily relied upon. Mejia, who i am very excited about, came up and played like a rookie. Some promise with lots to work on. He needs to finish off hitters, be more economical with his pitches and work faster.

I think these guys collaborate and delegate and this year Molitor proved flexible enough to work with his new bosses and even learn some new tricks. Maybe there is some fine print that limits the bunting. This year seemed like more of a group effort than the Gardy regime and Molitor played his role pretty well. I was surprised and pleased that young players were allowed to learn on the job for example.

With the previous regime there was a lot of talk of how they didn't develop players. That is one of the areas where I see subtle improvement. I used to scratch my head frequently with the way this team was run. Not this year. Many little things like those cards the outfielders carry as mentioned make sense to me and give me confidence. With all the losing and high picks there should be talent. There is on the position player side. The lack of organizational pitching speaks to an inability to draft pitching. I excited to watch these guys acquire pitching, I think it will be different from what we've witnessed and the plan will make sense. With the improvements shown and the super solid financial position the team is in now I can see them grabbing an arm on the market and being attractive enough to entice quality talent.

Prob be fun to be at a game with someone named Fatt Crapps! I'll get the first round

Dropin a snowman on Cleveland! Ten pitcher Molly! I like it!

Yeah! That's what I like!

So now Molitor not only calls for the bunt too much he has created a culture of bunting. A bunting cult.

Didn't get to watch I too was drinking! This team looks like they got it but we haven't seen them beat the teams they will face in the playoffs. Cleveland will be telling. Good chance for them to prove they can win and gain confidence. Man I want to see em take out the Yanks! Since I missed it how did Moya look? Aside from the usual quirkiness

Mejia getting hurt and not finishing off hitters are the red flags for me. Still he's a rookie, was a steal acquisition and I predict he is a rotation fixture going forward, so I'm with his inclusion. The previous front office's share of the credit for this resurgence? With all those high draft picks due to sustained poor performance even a blind squirrel... Yes they stumbled upon some talent but didn't appear to be able to develop it.

Rodgers pulls through for extra out! Huevos

Mauer would've made that play

Durability? hope he doesn't get burned out

Koehlersgot a hunk a burnin love thing going on

Hildy seems to bounce back well

Over the top baby!

C'mon this is nonsense. The old saying there is someone for everyone holds true. We would all have baseball in common but from the comments it is apparent we have a wide variety of types here that love baseball. Everyone would probably agree that Gibson appears a bit pinched at times but we would all also gain new respect for a guy who gets knocked down hard like he has this year if he bounces back. I'd he does start having fun out there and develops some toughness I'll be on board. This is a fun group and it may just loosen ole Gibby up a little.

"but look at the Trib less and less, though some of that is the pay wall situation" Achem, clear your browser history, oops did I say that out loud?

I agree if you read the various MSM daily reports Beradino's always has some nugget not found elsewhere. LEN3 needs more love IMO I like his tone and think he would be fun watch a game with and tip a few!