Hindsight 101: Can the Twins still make up for last winter's decisions?
by Jesse on Apr 21, 2011 11:13 AM EDT
in Speculation
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Coming into this season there was something that bothered me more than it had in the past, in terms of the Twins' off-season and what was (or wasn't) addressed. Because for the first time in as long as I can remember, while I understood that the Twins had some difficult decisions to make I found that I disagreed with almost every choice they made. Yes, it's easy to complain about those choices right now, when the team is in one of the worst funks it's been in for some time, but that doesn't make my concerns about the off-season any less accurate.
Right now the Twins are struggling offensively, but they're also dealing with depth issues in the bullpen, infield and behind the plate. Over the course of the winter we laid out blueprints, talked about buy-low options on more than one occasion, we compared backup options for Justin Morneau, we went over good free agent selections for the Twins in January, and while some suggestions were more far-fetched than others it certainly appeared that the real life Minnesota Twins had a different view of their organizational needs than most of the fanbase. All winter we were concerned about depth and backup options, while the Twins were more concerned with loyalty to some of their core players and with bringing in a plethora of career minor leaguers to flesh out Rochester's roster.
Of course the number one thing moving forward is to determine what the best way to do just that. Alexi Casilla's OPS+ is 5. Drew Butera's is 9. Only Denard Span and Jason Kubel are better than league average. And of course the bullpen has already used ten pitchers, with the three most established pitchers all struggling in Joe Nathan, Matt Capps and Jose Mijares. The Twins are struggling not just to perform, but to find a balance, and right now I'm not convinced they can do that in-house.
Right now I want the Twins to make four moves. Not because I think these players will necessarily put them over the top, but because I think they can help us find that balance.
Sign Bengie Molina
Sure, he's 36. And I know, we didn't see the power typical of him last season. But this is less about bringing in a guy who can help the team offensively and more about bringing in a guy who's seen everything there is to see. In the last few years he's caught Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, and Matt Cain, but he's also caught future Hall of Famers like Troy Percival, Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson. No, you don't give credit to a catcher for the great pitchers he's caught, but you can sure as hell give him credit for the experience. Just like everyone else I love STEVE HOLM!, but for a team with so many weaknesses already a guy with Molina's experience (especially while Joe Mauer is unavailable, who knows how long that will be for) could mean a good deal.
Sign Kiko Calero
He's still sitting out there, and apparently he's healthy. Calero is a strikeout machine (which is great because the Twins pitching could probably due with missing a few bats) with health issues, which means he's available AND cheap. You could certainly argue that the Twins already have plenty of inexpensive internal options for the bullpen, but I'd argue that after making a few changes already (and Joe Nathan not exactly himself and Jose Mijares confused about where the strike zone actually is) there clearly isn't a great deal of confidence in those internal options. Go get Calero, put him in Rochester for a week or two, and see what you've got.
Trade for Brad Emaus
Recently designated for assignment by the Mets, as a rule five selection last winter there will have to be some level of compensation directed back towards the Blue Jays. Minnesota would need to keep him on the 25-man roster, which could be an issue for a guy like this, but he's a good buy-low candidate. Emaus just turned 25 and plays second base, and while he was just 6-for-37 this spring for the Mets (in his only MLB time ever) it's not like he was given an extended audition. Additionally, Emaus hit .298/.395/.495 in his first stint at triple-A last season. Overall his minor league line is .276/.364/.426 in 1810 plate appearances, including nearly a 1-to-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio (212 and 220, respectively). Of course the Twins would need to make a decision on Casilla, Matt Tolbert or Luke Hughes in this case, but it's not as though any of them are 3-win players. With Emaus you're simply taking a shot on another middle infielder, albeit one who's actually hit in the minors.
Sign Ben Sheets
This one is just a leap of faith. And I don't want Sheets as a starter, I want him out of the bullpen. C'mon back, Ben Sheets. Give this baseball thing one more try.
What about you? Is there anyone left out there that you'd be willing to take a flyer on to help this club find some balance? Maybe you're a believer in Brandon Wood, or you'd like to see Luis Castillo give it one last shot?
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I agree...
with you 100% on the off-season, I found quite a few moves to be just plain bone-headed, with little foresight. Was their a chance for these moves to play out positively, sure, but I felt the majority of them had the odds stacked way against them. Unfortunately though, we can’t go back in time to correct the mistakes(?).
While I generally don’t have issues with the players you’ve selected, I am of different mindset, In that I feel what this team really needs is a Orlando Cabrera type player. I watch this team and their is just no energy, spark, enthusiasm, or whatever you want to call it. It’s just BLAH! I have no idea if this type of player is available right now or not, but this team needs a fire starter. I find myself wishing for a Carlos Gomez type to just liven up the joint, cause right now it plain stinks.
You, sir, are a mouthful.
by Att. Bob Loblaw on Apr 21, 2011 11:46 AM EDT reply actions
I think they've got those guys in some sense.
Cuddyer is, by all accounts, a great locker room leader. Casilla’s a high-energy guy, so is Joe Nathan. Pavano’s a professional. I like energy, but I’d rather have competence…although Cabrera may not be bad in a backup role.
This post lacks Punto
In seriousness, I would give Emaus a shot but he hasn’t played SS ever in the minors. Unless the team is going to move Nishioka over there, Emaus wouldn’t be anything more than the back-up 2B or 3B.
I noticed that, too.
It doesn’t make it an easy decision, that’s for sure. Although you could say that about all these guys. If they were good fits, they’d be playing somewhere.
Put him at second
Casilla hasn’t been any great shakes at short; it couldn’t hurt to give Nishi an extended look there when he comes back.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
I agree with the Beef
The notion that Nishioka doesn’t have a strong arm was simply rumormongering perhaps generated by the Twins to defend Casilla at SS (IMHO). The reason Bobby Valentine moved Nishioka to SS six years ago was because he was a natural for the position—much better suited for SS than for 2nd. He had great range, soft hands and a rocket for an arm. I don’t think he has had nay injury to his throwing arm, so I can’t see why he should be used there. As it stands now, I am nervous each time a ball is grounded to short.
PS Gardy-If you do put him at SS, let him have a couple of weeks at the position before moving him back to 2nd. It’ll take him sometime to work out the kinks since he hasn’t been playing there. (LNP was certainly given a longgggggggggggggg rope, so how about the same for Nishioka at SS?)
"I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. See, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it . . ."
by Skippy tastes better than Jiff on Apr 21, 2011 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions
ooops...*I don't think he has had ANY injury to his throwing arm...
…so I can’t see why he should NOT be used there…
"I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. See, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it . . ."
by Skippy tastes better than Jiff on Apr 21, 2011 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Hindsight
There wasn’t a whole lot that I disagreed with this off-season except I wished the Twins gave Fuentes the 2-year deal Oakland did and ditched Capps. I saw the reasoning in the Hardy dump and so far that’s actually looking good with Hardy already getting hurt.
This team had a ton of question marks going in and the problem is that every question mark has had a bad outcome so far with the exception of the hope of Kubel and Span bouncing back from bad 2010s.
Thome’s bat is tardy on meatball fastballs
Mauer’s not recovering well from surgery
Morneau’s confidence at the plate wasn’t just instantly there when he came back
Nishioka
Nathan’s control and velocity didn’t bounce back yet
Casilla isn’t running with his gig
Valencia IS in fact in a sophomore slump
Liriano’s lack of conditioning in the off-season carried over
It’s not so much about what the Twins need to do or need not do, it’s just that most things aren’t bouncing the Twins way.
I'd disagree with this...
I saw the reasoning in the Hardy dump and so far that’s actually looking good with Hardy already getting hurt.
Hardy’s hurt, not dead. Even for 100 games, he’s almost certainly more valuable than a full year of Casilla, although I suppose he may not be $6M better (which I think was a large part of the Twins’ reason for jettisoning him, and why I just disliked and didn’t complete despise the move).
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Given the information at the time
I don’t think that that was clear. Casilla notched 1.1 WAR in 69 games last year while Hardy had 2.4 in 101. So relatively, it’s costing the team about 0.8 wins which you could probably find elsewhere with the savings on Hardy especially if Hoey wants to continue to throw strikes. And given the way season tickets renewed, they are in a good spot to make a mid-season move if it doesn’t work out.
Not that clear-cut
Yeah, Casilla put up 1.1 WAR last year… after being more than a full win below replacement two of the three years before that. He failed miserably in his two previous shots at being a starter at the major league level – his two years with positive contributions were in part-time duty.
Put another way: Hardy’s 2010 WAR was more than Casilla’s career WAR by a substantial margin (heck, it was better than Casilla’s two best years combined), and it was the second-worst of his past four seasons. Banking on Casilla to continue to produce at last year’s rate was a very risky bet.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Banking on Casilla?
It was a low risk to take considering they’ll have leverage to make a move later in the season due to attendance. Of course, the fact that they’re looking like sellers makes it a moot point.
Not getting the attendance comments
Are you saying that attendance is looking like it will be better than expected, giving them additional payroll flexibility? I don’t see how the would’ve had that much room to outpace expectations – I would be shocked if they don’t average near-sellouts all year even if the team continues to stink, and I could’ve told you that two years ago.
“We can always make another move later” is a pretty poor fallback plan for a risky roster decision – there’s no guarantee that better options will be available during the season.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
There are options
Especally if one team holds a fire sale. Each season is different but this season might be dominated by the Los Angeles Dodgers fire sale and might feature us trading away Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, and Michael Cuddyer, and all this being done under a field manager that knows what he is doing.
If the Twins don’t turn it around in May, I woudn’t be surprised if Morneau asks for a trade. He is the one that asked if the Target Field fences be moved in during the offseason. Let him swing for the fences in Denver for the 2011 World Champion Rockies. Note: it isn’t that I am cheering for the Rockies, but Justin Morneau would add some offensive muscle to the Rockies lineup.
Morneau?!
I’ve never heard an account that claims Morneau is unhappy in Minnesota (other than the minor complaint about the fences), he’s signed through 2014, and the Twins have no first base depth in the minors. There is no chance the Twins trade Morneau unless they’re absolutely blown away.
As for your point that there are options if someone holds a fire sale, that’s true, but it’s not reliable – there’s no way to know what options will be available, or whether what options there are will be affordable, or whether someone else will be able to beat the Twins’ offer.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
And the Key Word is...
If.
As for Justin Morneau, he did voice a complaint about the fences, but there is also last night where, according to the AP, he wanted to pinch hit in the ninth, but Gardy said no. For the most part, it is pretty clear that Justin Morneau may be growing more and more dissatisified with this ballclub.
Maybe the feeling is mutual?
After all, Morneau has been out of commission more often than not for some time now.
For the most part, it is pretty clear that Justin Morneau may be growing more and more dissatisified with this ballclub.
Syntactically correct, substantively utterly vacuous. Why bother?
by tobynotjason on Apr 22, 2011 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions
while I agree with you toby,
about the substantivelessness of that opinion, I would like to point out that we all engage in speculation and opinion here. That’s what the blog is all about. If people are going to jump on every unsubstantiated opinion that gets out in a thread its going to get a little tiresome around here fast.
How come you never see the headline "Psychic wins lottery"?
by montanatwinsfan on Apr 22, 2011 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I was saying his sentence didn't have any substantive content of any sort, valid or not
not differing with the “opinion” it pretended to contain. It reminded me of the “Slunge” Monty Python sketch.
See: “For the most part,” “pretty clear,” and the kicker: “may.”
by tobynotjason on Apr 22, 2011 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Re:
Revenue=leverage. The Twins have leverage the way they’re currently printing money. It’s leverage we’re not used to because we all still have a Metrodome mentality. That’s how they made Fuentes types of moves.
""We can always make another move later" is a pretty poor fallback plan for a risky roster decision – there’s no guarantee that better options will be available during the season."
A risky roster decision is one that hurts flexibility in the future. This was the opposite. Giving a shot to Casilla was dirt cheap, Plouffe is behind him, and a mid-season move is definitely possible, though yes not guaranteed. If they had Hardy and he missed his predictable 30 games by the All-Star, they have less flexibility.
All I’m saying is that it was a decision that had its share of logic behind it.
Hardy's salary is $5.85 million.
Are we really supposed to believe that we had the money for a relief pitcher (Capps) but not a shortstop?
I think the Twins weren't sure if Nathan was going to be his old self or not.
Sadly, he’s not.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
RT @RonGarde You can Tweet that. Just Tweet it. You don't even have to write it. Just fire it through the Internet.
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 21, 2011 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
If Nathan was his old self
this would be a .500 baseball team. But, he’s not, and thus, given the injuries, this team is on the brink of irrelevancy.
As for the offense, who knows?
Thome is not going to be lightning in a bottle again this year, so there’s some drop off. But, Kubel and Cuddyer could easily be better.
The problem, obviously, is we get nothing from Mauer and Morneau, and Young is now hurting after a slow start. And Nishi, no way to say what he would or could be contributing.
So, it’s a team that not only hasn’t played up to potential; in many cases, too many, it’s a team that hasn’t played yet. Maybe they catch fire in late May, who knows?
And the fact they look so flat, game after game, at some point, you have to lay that on the manager. Cleveland has life, KC is stealing bases, but the Twins just seem to line-up and wait for the inevitable thrashing.
How about some fight?
by Old Twins Cap on Apr 21, 2011 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Gardy should have insisted Morny, Mauer and Delmon all had flu shots?
And he could have signaled Nishi to “Jump!”
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
RT @RonGarde You can Tweet that. Just Tweet it. You don't even have to write it. Just fire it through the Internet.
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 21, 2011 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Fire Grady/Release Mauer
Hire Jake Taylor from Major League as player/manager.
The beard abides.
by Jason Kubel's Beard on Apr 21, 2011 12:25 PM EDT reply actions
I'd settle
for the thump in Pedro Cerrano’s bat, although on second thought I think he was a lefty. Garcy does love his “speed” guys, so maybe someone like Willie Mays Hayes would be a better fit.
You, sir, are a mouthful.
by Att. Bob Loblaw on Apr 21, 2011 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Garcy was better
Keeps the FIRE GARY meme going.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
RT @RonGarde You can Tweet that. Just Tweet it. You don't even have to write it. Just fire it through the Internet.
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 21, 2011 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I like Grady
Grady Sizemore (which is a great porno name, if you think about it)
The beard abides.
by Jason Kubel's Beard on Apr 21, 2011 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Any updates about Morneau and Young?
by LittleLad on Apr 21, 2011 12:32 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
My thoughts...
Molina: I don’t get the “bring in a guy who’s seen it all” logic. This team already has Carl Pavano, Joe Nathan, and Jim Thome – there’s no shortage of old guys on the team. I’d agree that backup catcher is a weakness, but unless Joe’s likely to be out for a much longer time than anyone is indicating, or Holm and Butera are absolute disasters with the pitchers, that’s one of the last places I’m looking for an upgrade.
Calero: Not a bad idea, although I get the impression that I’m not nearly as worried about the bullpen as you are. Another strikeout guy would be nice, I suppose, but he’s also a walk guy (something like a walk every other inning), so I’m not sure how guaranteed an upgrade he is.
Emaus: I wasn’t really familiar with this guy, but you sold me. Frankly, I’m ready to cut the cord on Rivas Casilla at any time (although the actual series of moves would probably be to demote Hughes, then waive Tolbert when Nishi comes back, unless they’ve REALLY given up on Casilla).
Sheets: Again, I’m not THAT worried about the bullpen. The areas of concern for me are, in order, the offense, defense, bullpen, and starters, and there’s a huge gap between the second and third of those.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
I agree with you here.
I’m not really sold that anyone of these guys solves our problems currenlty. Our lack of depth is concerning now, because 4 of our regulars are hurt and out of the lineup. I can’t imagine any team saying to themselves that they want to field a lineup with 4 bench players (THome, Repko, Butera, Tolbert) for any game throughout the season let alone for a week at a time. The bench doesn’t concern me, Casilla concerns me, Thome’s tardy bat concerns me, Mauers knee concerns me, Morneaus ability to bounce back concerns me, Nathan concerns me, but adding Brad Eamus, Kiko Calero, Bengie Molina and Ben Sheets does nothing to ease those concerns. This team is either going to bounce back and start hitting, or is going to continue to struggle with the bats and have a long season. If the bats don’t wake up no amount of midseason moves is going to help.
It addresses one of them
Adding Emaus is intended to address the Casilla concern – you give Emaus an audition at second, give Casilla a month to keep his job, and if he doesn’t, either demote or release him when Nishi comes back. It’s another middle infield option, at least, if they decide that they don’t think Hughes, Tolbert, or Casilla deserves a starting job.
The lack of depth doesn’t concern me as much as one might think, only because any team would be in bad shape if four starting position players (including the two best ones) were out at the same time. It strikes me mostly as awful luck. Obviously you need to have contingency plans, but there’s only so much you can do with a team made up of contingency plans.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
But at the same time
The Twins got off to a horrible start. The flu bugs for Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, and Justin Morneau just compound the problem. Finally you can add the fact that all three may have not been in baseball playing shape when we left Florida.
I think any of these moves would be great to add depth. But, if the Twins weren’t willing to make any of those moves in the off-season, what would make us believe that they’ll do it during the season? They made moves during last season, and now they are looking like bad moves. The Twins are too stagnant.
Agreed
But at the same time we are dealing with massive injuries including the flu bug. Still you can’t fight the team’s performance because it is crummy management. I am all for the Status Quo when it works, but the truth is that the Twins are just as ready for the season to begin back on April 1 as the Dallas Cowboys were ready for the season to begin last year when the faced the Redskins in their opener. The result was a 1-7 start which ended with the Packers giving the Cowboys the beating of a lifetime. The only way Jim Polhad can light a fire under this team right now is to fire Ron Gardenhire. Of the players on last year’s team, only Denard Span was ready for the season.
firing Gardy seems like a rash solution to a 17-game problem. you’re right, it’s more about injuries and flu. can’t do much about that. but also, the team needs depth. either way, as the season goes on, the bats will go back to where they’re supposed to be, which is a lot better then where they are now.
I also worry about the the reaction of the players.
They seem quite attached to him for good or ill.
The players think he's doing a good job so he must go?
I gotta know the reasoning behind this one.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
RT @RonGarde You can Tweet that. Just Tweet it. You don't even have to write it. Just fire it through the Internet.
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 21, 2011 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Who said the players think he's doing a good job?
What was said was “the players seem quite attached to him for good or ill.” That doesn’t mean they think he’s doing a good job, it just means they have an emotional attachment to him, regardless of job performance.
When have the players said he isn't doing a good job?
You’d think there would be something like a “rift,” in the team like Favre and Childress, if what you are saying had any plausibility at all.
Do you have anything to show the the Twins players don’t think the American League Manager of the Year is doing a good job? Maybe I’d take you seriously then.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
RT @RonGarde You can Tweet that. Just Tweet it. You don't even have to write it. Just fire it through the Internet.
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 21, 2011 6:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I was only clarifying what the others above had said.
Please take the time to read everything before responding. I have no idea what the players think of Gardy’s current performance and never claimed to. You’re the one who claimed that “the players think he’s doing a good job,” which you can’t substantiate either and it wasn’t even the point. The point was that the players have a strong emotional attachment to him. As for why this is bad, that’s for Jesse to answer. I never said it was or wasn’t.
That was a waste of my time.
As for why this is bad, that’s for Jesse to answer. I never said it was or wasn’t.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
RT @RonGarde You can Tweet that. Just Tweet it. You don't even have to write it. Just fire it through the Internet.
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 21, 2011 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Ben Sheets had total reconstructive elbow surgery last August.
Not just Tommy John, but a couple other tendons repaired also. He isn’t going to be able to pitch this year, and maybe not ever again.
Make a big trade
I’ve been contemplating whether Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer for Michael Young would make sense for either side. They need to find a long-term solution at SS and find a backup catcher off waivers (Pudge?).
2B for Michael Young, Nishioka to SS
Young is not a great solution but he could help salvage this season. There aren’t a lot of options available. Marco Scutaro could be a stopgap. Jose Reyes is the real prize and the Twins should pursue him aggressively.
I think I might like to see a Twins fire sale if they’re more than 7 games back in July. Nathan, Cuddyer, Kubel and Capps could return decent players. Liriano could bring a big return if they’ve determined he’s not in the long term plans.
Who wants Joe Nathan?
He’s not worth much until he proves himself, which he hasn’t come close to doing.
The beard abides.
by Jason Kubel's Beard on Apr 21, 2011 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions
+1 True....
…there is really no upside to looking to get rid of Nathan now and if he finds his groove, there is no one better except perhaps Rivera, so then he becomes indispensable or, at the very least, you ought to get a truckload for him in a trade. I also think that Cuddyer is not as valuable as many Twins fans may think. I’d be willing to bet you couldn’t get much for him.
"I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. See, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it . . ."
by Skippy tastes better than Jiff on Apr 21, 2011 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
At the deadline they might fetch more
I’m willing to dump Cuddyer for not much in return. Relief pitchers are always in demand in July.
I don't see much wrong with the moves the Twins made this offseason...
All this hindsight stuff goes out the window if all our guys were healthy right now. It’s just bad timing for us to have to start Repko, Tolbert, Hughes, and Holm in the same game…
I'm still a Minnesotan at heart...
We were healthy
We just haven’t been producing.
Yeah, but how many games were played where everyone was healthy?
It wasn’t many, and it doesn’t help when your B or C-lineups acting as an A-Lineup
I'm still a Minnesotan at heart...
Notice the key word was "were"
And for a few days we were the only team in the majors without any players on the DL. The problem was that we had only two wins and four losses. The difference is that those losses were telling because we weren’t batting, we were walking the opposing batters, and we were last in just about everything else. That is still the case, except the only difference is that the Twins are in deep do-do because Mauer and Morneau are now sick with Mauer on the DL for god knows what. And they weren’t producing when they were healthy. And then there is Jim Thome who we love, but wouldn’t it have made more sense for us to sever ties with him and sign Johnny Damon instead?
Exactly, we weren't playing any better with the lineup intact.
Mauer/Morneau were doing nothing before they got sick/injured. Excuses are getting old. The bottom line is that the Twins entered the season unprepared to play.
Over the years, does it seem like the Twins...
…suffer an extraordinary number of early season injuries? Conditioning problems? Or maybe I’m just to close to the Twins so I don’t take notice, but I have been thinking about this issue for a few years—not just because it is being talked about a the moment.
"I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. See, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughing at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it . . ."
by Skippy tastes better than Jiff on Apr 21, 2011 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Save this post...
So we can look back and laugh/scratch our heads/chuckle sheepishly when the Twins make a classic August push, fully healthy and clicking, with a couple-three cheap (or not so cheap{Jose Reyes} reinforcements.
A 20-4 July run will easily erase this 6-12 start. Plus, I’m sure it will feature at least one game with 5 consecutive homeruns!
Its just not fun rooting for a juggernaut.
Like Rocky Balboa, the Rebel Alliance, or Frodo Baggins, the odds have to get sufficiently stacked before there can be any true satisfaction in a championship. This goes as much for management as it does for the players.
Perhaps, but a more likely (and exciting) outcome
then finishing 54-108, which is the pace they are on.
Percentage wise, yes.
But its more of a 1-15, 2-14 record. Only winning 54 MLB games means you really freaking sucked.
Agreed, 54 wins would rank among the worst MLB teams of all time.
5-11 in the NFL isn’t even close to that.
But even if the Twins substantially improved on their current performance, they could still only finish with around 80 wins (making this season comparable to 2007). They’ll need to improve exponentially more than that to contend for another division crown.
I know I'm going to irritate some people with this but oh well
We have a member of out pitching staff if marketed to the right team at the right time could bring some benefit.
I’m still waiting for Liriano to take the next step and unfortunately I don’t know if it’s going to happen. People still call him an ace, however he gets rattled easy and then teams shell him for 5-6 runs. If he can’t stabilize his mental toughness then it may become time to package him up in a deal for some more offensive punch and another pitcher that may not be as potent but one that is more consistent.
I kind of agree with that (surprise)
Only thing is if the Twins do make the playoffs, I think they will need Liriano. By that time Liriano should be in better shape/form.
But I agree. I’m not so sure the Twins should keep Liriano long term. That sounds like a big liability to me. I think Liriano could garner a lot in a trade, and that’s what the Twins should do with him at some point here. If the Twins look clearly out of it at the trade deadline, I’d pull the trigger. He is under team control for one more year, but his trade value will be much lower next year too (probably gets another one year contract, so any team that gets him would basically be getting a rent-a-player or would have to negotiate a new contract).
"It happened in the moment, and it happened." - Carlos Gomez
I don't think the off-season was that terrible
I don’t attribute all the Twins problems now just to off-season moves. Yes, it would be nice if the Twins had depth at every position, but I think just saying that is a whole lot easier than making it work in reality. There are budget issues, market issues, personalty issues, etc. that are also at play with the decisions. Could it have gone better? Maybe, but hindsight is 20/20. Got to just keep looking forward.
The Twins have great players, a lot of great players. I think more than any move we just need these guys to turn on. I think going out and doing a big trade now would be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to these first couple weeks.
"It happened in the moment, and it happened." - Carlos Gomez
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