Bill Smith/ Freddy Sanchez

by CharlieJohnson on Jul 19, 2009 6:40 PM EDT Comment 17 comments

Alltough I have been an avid fan of Bill Smith since he started i think that sometimes he needs to be a little more agressive and make a move.

The twins need to fill their middle infeild with a second baseman who will play every night and put up consintantly good numbers. Anyways, wouldn't it be worth it to trade a few prospects and a mediocre second baseman(Alexi Casilla) for an allstar secondbaseman who is currently batting .313 with 6 dingers and 28 RBI's(Freddy Sanchez)???

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certainly would be.

by montanatwinsfan on Jul 19, 2009 8:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Fans then tend...

…to get all uppity about such deals. Oh, my God, how could they let X get away?

Of course, X usually ends up being someone like Midre Cummings.

But at the time, Midre Cummings always seems to look pretty good.

Bloggin' the bloggers since 1938.

by Johnny Safron on Jul 19, 2009 9:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

On the other hand

On the other hand…. the 7,500,000 dollar difference between the 8 million dollars that they would have to pay Freddy Sanchez and the 500,000 dollars they would have to pay casilla could be the money that we could offer to Mauer and Morneau allowing them to stay in Minnesota.

by CharlieJohnson on Jul 19, 2009 9:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Morneau is already locked up ...

… for at least another 4 years after signing a 6 year extension a couple years ago. Mauer’s salary will probably increase by 7-8 million, but all I’ve been hearing since the Twins got a new ballpark is that their payroll is going to go up by 20 million when it opens next year.

by Sheldon on Jul 22, 2009 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Morneau???Mauer???

For one thing Morneau is hear for another 4 years. Mauer, well do you really think that the Twins are going to let this guy go? Especially with a new ballpark opening next year? I believe the Twins are going to do everything and anything to keep Mauer. He is no Santana. Santana was expendable.This guy is the franchise and the face of the twins. If they were to let him go they might as well sell the team and move to Puerto Rico for the backlash would be so great none of the front office would be able to show their faces in Minnesota . All you guys need to start living in the now.The future? Why not win now and we’ll worry about the future after that World Series Parade in downtown Minneapolis. How good would it look to guys like Mauer and Morneau if for once the twins went out and made a major move like getting Sanchez to help get the team into the playoffs? This guy would be perfect in that hole we have as a 2 spot!!! Just think.

1. Span LF
2. Sanchez 2B
3. Mauer C
4. Morneau 1B
5. Kubel DH
6. Cuddyer RF
7. Crede 3B
8. Harris/Punto SS
9. Gomez CF

That’s a pretty solid lineup up and down I think other than the days Punto would start, and this also strengthens the bench. throw Busch League Buscher in one of the trades for either Sanchez or a pitcher(just to get rid of him) and bring up Valencia as a backup to Crede to get his feet wet. If Valencia struggles you can always throw Harris over there when Crede needs a rest. A SP maybe and definetely a RP and we are sitting real well I think. Tell me what you guys think. I’m open to suggestions

by minnesota_tWINS on Jul 25, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well for starters

At the end of your post you casually suggest that the Twins front office can simply trade for Sanchez, a starting pitcher, and a relief pitcher … all this year. Where are we going to find all of those prospects to offer? Again, go look up the trade rumors about Sanchez. The Pirates have been asking for a minimum of one top flight prospect and two more “good” prospects. MINIMUM. No one has been serious about Sanchez because the Pirates are asking too much. When a used car salesman slaps a $1,000 sticker on the windshield of a broken down 1983 Peugot, do you jump at it just because you are really in the market for a used small car? Or do you try and haggle for a reasonable price and continue to shop around?

Now lets discuss starting pitching. Does a decent starter EVER come cheap? Well there are rare exceptions I guess. Some say Washburn is decent and giving up Perkins for him is a fair deal, if not a good bargain for us, who knows. But usually starters command several prospects as well. Hard for me to believe that Seattle would trade Washburn for Perkins straight up.

Then a relief pitcher too? I am probably a broken record here, but I do not believe that we could afford all of those moves even if the pieces are out there.

by montanatwinsfan on Jul 25, 2009 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well for starters. reply

why have the twins always been known for having one of the best farm systems? a) They have some of the best coaches. One of the best scouting systems, and some good front office guys.Yes, but let’s look at the next one. b) They never make any moves!!! They always keep they’re top prospects. Every year they go with the slogan " Well we’re hoping that when so and so gets back he can bring what we are looking for to the lineup again." We make a good run and either fall short of the playoffs or are bounced out in the first round. What I’m trying to say is that let’s stop playing it safe all the time and actually make a run for the world series. Most twins fan’s are all about the future. Carpe Diem. Seize the day. If we keep on the same old style we’ll be looking at it 10 years down the road when Mauer and Morneau are getting up in age and thinking, “Well, if we would’ve made that one or two moves back when we would have had a good shot at winning it all.” What do you think these other teams are doing? Do you actually think that they have all these great prospects that they can afford to give them away only to lose the guy at the end of the season? NO!!! Trade Ben Revere, Aaron Hicks, Anthony Slama, Deolis Guerra!!! If it helps us get to a world series why not? You are probly gonna hound me on this one montanatwinsfan so I want to hear what you have to say!!!

by minnesota_tWINS on Jul 26, 2009 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not going to hound you, I agree with your premise. But not this year.

There are times when it makes sense to go for it. There are times when it makes sense to trade away two good pieces where we have depth to plug a hole. Or even three prospects to plug a hole.

I think this team this year is not the right team at the right time. If the starters have shown any consistency, its been of the “bad” kind. The bullpen is a crapshoot from game to game. With Crede we have a near black hole up the middle, defensively and offensively. With Crede out we have Morneau and three holes to plug.

Our outfield, other than Span, consists of players who can either hit, or play defense, but not both. Oh, yeah, then there is Delmon Young, who arguably hasn’t been doing much of either this year. I don’t think we could make the trades necessary to be a legitimate contender without giving away our future.

Just a year ago there was a small market manager who quipped (paraphrase): Big market spenders can afford to buy their way out of mistakes, but a couple of bad financial moves and we are in Kansas City Royals type hell for the next half a dozen years.

How many of you have so quickly forgotten the mid to late 90’s when there was really no reason to watch or cheer for the Twins. It was a long and painful drought for the fans and the ownership. I credit Terry Ryan, for refocusing the organizations strengths, improving scouting, making smarter financial decisions and putting together a sound (if not flashy) conservative plan that maximizes the type of payroll he had to work with.

Bottom line: I don’t think this team can do it, and extending our resources now, has a significant chance of pushing us into KC hell, where the org. has no choice but to sell off Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. No thanks. Let’s start looking at how we can make the team better for 2010 and 2011. I think Freddy Sanchez could do that, so I’m not opposed to making that move but I would hate to see us bring in any high-priced rentals.

by montanatwinsfan on Jul 26, 2009 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I actually do agree with you on this one montanatwinsfan

Just thought I would say that after we have been at each other’s throats recently.

I do feel minnesota_tWINS frustration, though, because I was very frustrated in recent years (‘06 and ’08 especially) when we didn’t go for it. And he makes a good point about Mauer and Morneau being in their prime but not having enough pieces around them to get us to the top. At some point, the Twins do need to go for it, but we have too many holes this year.

by Sheldon on Jul 27, 2009 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs