Wrapping Up the Winter Meetings: J.J. Hardy, Scott Diamond, Carl Pavano, Tsuyoshi Nishioka

But you have to take circumstances into account. People perceive Casilla’s chance at coming at the expense of a poor Hardy trade—that’s going to turn people off.

I hope you’re right. I hope Casilla hits 280/350/390 and steals 30 bases while batting second. But if you want people to accept the fact that Casilla is going to be playing regularly, you also have to accept that he hasn’t exactly been a shinig example of achievement so far in his career and that it will take people time to get past a trade that happened just a few hours ago.

Remember ‘09? The only time he’s ever been successful is in a utility role or had to compete for his job. He has yet to prove he can handle a job that is given to him. Now there is no safety net for trying him. So if he sucks at SS next year, we’re SOL.

hitting .281/.333/.374
but that fell to .202/.280/.259 in ‘09 when they made him a starter
he’s a utility type player, not a starter

Smith traded a top starting shortstop for two minor league relievers. One of them is 28 years old. What the fuck is that???? Its so unbelievably odd.

Even if Casilla is an all star next year it would still be a bad trade. He got no value for a position the team has strugled to fill since Guzman.

Expecting a championship-caliber team to field two new middle infielders who have A) never played Major League Baseball and B) never played Major League Baseball well seems to be a lapse in judgment.

But if we do not agree with that take, then we are idiots, like the GM?

Cannot we just all have an opinion and not talk down to anyone who does not agree?

What is the result? You never make a change unless you know with some degree of certainty what you are going to get. Making changes and hoping for the best is not a good strategy when it comes to running anything.

At least they should.

It doesn’t mean that when a bad trade happens they shouldn’t be displeased. Hardy was a premium defender at a premium position, which is what a lot of fans here are upset about. The FO sees his injury history and his paycheck and comes to a different conclusion.

Sometimes things get negative. I’m as big of a cheerleader for the Twins as anyone, but considering the way the playoffs went down and how parts of the fanbase valued Hardy, people probably have a sour taste in their mouths.

Fuentes was a good one. Pavano, Rauch, Hudson, Thome, even Mahay the first time around—good moves.

I’m not yet convinced of Gardy’s love for Casilla. He grew tired of Hardy and likely views Casilla as the next best available option.

That said, I agree that Gardy probably would have liked/did like shortstops drafted by the Twins (Jiminez, Mears, Hocking, Plouffe?) and probably would have not liked/did not like shortstops acquired from outside the organization (Smalley, Gagne, Guzman, Bartlett, Hardy). There’s obviously more to it than that, but it seems like kind of a pattern.

Really, Gardy has only liked Gags, Castro and Punto at short. He benched both Castro and Punto numerous times. He was third base coach for Gags, whom he liked for the speed and hustle. He didn’t like Mears. He liked Hocking. He didn’t like Guzy, except for his potential, because he seemed disinterested a lot of the time. He didn’t like Bartlett. He didn’t like Hardy. He is not all that happy with Casilla, but he knows him well enough to have more confidence in him than Hardy.

Gardy has really high standards for shortstops. That might be why he’s had seven starting shortstops in eight years. If Casilla fails, it will be a while before they find a guy Gardy is happy with. That’s the biggest risk here. Plouffe? Maybe. De Los Santos? He fits the mold, but he can’t hit much. Dozier? Possibly. Long term, we’re probably talking about Polanco, who’s five years away.

convinced me we need an innings eater. When 4 of our starters get shellacked and leave the game in the early innings, you need someone who can be a rock. And last year, Pavano was the rock.