Although the Twins are pretty much hamstrung and stuck with Joe Mauer for the foreseeable future, that doesn't mean there aren't some moves they could make to try to rebuild quickly - which they'll have to do in order to become contenders again before Mauer is completely out of his prime assuming he isn't already. Obviously the #1 priority should be the draft, where the Twins have the 2nd overall pick and three picks in the top 40. I'd like to see them concentrate on high upside, college pitchers who won't have to spend 4-5 years in the minors, and I'd specifically like to see them draft Mark Appel out of Stanford or Kevin Gausman out of LSU with that #2 overall, then look at more pitching with picks 32 and 42. Pitching-Pitching-Pitching.
Beyond that, there are some trades that need to be made. Namely:
1. Justin Morneau. Contenders like the Marlins (who just sent Gaby Sanchez to the minors), Dodgers (who have crappy no power James Loney), Rangers (great offense with wasteland at 1B) and Blue Jays (who have given up on Adam Lind) all could use the power Morneau would provide at first base and all have the money to handle his contract, if they aren't too wary of his health issues. Health issues and the big contract might mean his selling price is down, but a package of 3-4 players centered around one high upside prospect at a position of need would be a good move. The Marlins have 3B Matt Dominguez in AAA and although he's not a great hitter he's supposed to be a plus fielder and let's face it, the Twins are pretty much out of 3B options. The Rangers are loaded, including the minors, and that might make them willing to move future stud starting pitcher Martin Perez, who would give the Twins their first ace type pitcher since Johan. The Dodgers system is loaded with starting pitching (with 8 of their top 10 prospects starters), and the Jays have enough young pitching that they could part with a semi-highly regarded pitching prospect or three without hurting their long term outlook. Morneau is a great trade chip as long as he keeps hitting with power, and he's not going to be around by the time this time turns itself around - they need to use him to get the turnaround started.
2. Denard Span. I like Span and he's a quality leadoff hitter, but Ben Revere is a very similar player with less power, less discipline, and better defense, and the former two can develop with more time - time he's not getting. The Nationals have been sniffing after Span for a couple of years now and were even willing, or close to willing, to give up a real young, real good reliever in Drew Storen last year. I don't know that you can get a blue-chipper like that anymore, but the Nats are contending and are sorely lacking in the leadoff hitter department so they'd still probably love to have Span. With all their young pitching maybe you can get a MLB ready, middle of the rotation type guy who is still young like Ross Detwiler. Given Ramos's injury they need a catcher, so maybe throw-in Doumit and get a prospect back or even whichever second basemen they hate less, Steve Lombardozzi or Danny Espinosa - either would be a better 2b of the future than anything the Twins have right now.
3. Carl Pavano. I'd say trade the entire rotation, but I can't really see a team parting with anything other than "cash considerations" for anybody other than Pavano or Liriano, and trading Frankie when his value is at an all time low is probably not the right idea, so that leaves Pavano. He's not exciting, but he's consistent, a decent big league pitcher, and somebody (or multiple somebodies) are going to be looking for that around the trade deadline (not to mention he's affordable). All four AL East contenders have worse than average rotations so as that divisional chase heats up they're all going to be trying to outbid each other for pitching help, so depending on who else would be on the block Pavano could be near the top of their wishlists (although I don't know if the Yankees would be willing to bring him back). He'd bring back less of a return than either Morneau or Span, but getting a mid-tier prospect or even a youngish player who is blocked on one of those teams would be worth looking into.
4. Matt Capps. I really don't know if anybody is stupid enough to "pull a Twins" and give up something of value for a shitty closer who has racked up saves in his career more out of opportunity than talent, but if anybody is willing to trade anything they should jump on it. Same with Glen Perkins or really any other pitcher on the entire team.
Pull all that off, and maybe you're looking at a future of:
C - Mauer
1B - Miguel Sano (I'm guessing this is where he eventually ends up) with Parmalee backing him up
2b - Lombardozzi or Espinosa with Plouffe backing up
3b - Dominguez/Travis Harrison
SS - Levi Michael/Brian Dozier
OF - Revere/Benson/Hicks/Rosario/Arcia/Kepler
with a rotation starting with Kyle Gibson, Appel/Gausman, and Detwiler with Baker/Diamond/Walters (if either of them is real)/other draft pick pitchers/Wimmers/Hudson Boyd/Madison Boer/Adrian Salcedo also in the mix and Deolis Guerra your top bullpen arm.
I dunno. And that's not even counting in any other prospects that come back in trade other than Dominguez and the Nats' guys, although even though Dominguez is a 3b which the team sorely needs I'd still take Martin Perez over him if they have that option.
And yeah, I realize I'm just playing fantasy baseball basically, but the team is in the shitter and going nowhere, and you have exactly four tradeable assets so trade them. None of them are going to be around when this team gets close to contending again, so trade them now while they have value. Anything. Just do something this year rather than sitting around with their thumbs up their asses like they did last year. This is what I'd try to do.
Showing posts with label Bill Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Smith. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Welcome to the Gophers Chuck Buggs (plus B10 preview, Bill Smith, and more!)
I'm not exactly sure when this happened but I just found out about it when I checked the Daily Gopher, but the Gopher basketball team signed PF Charles Buggs for 2012. At first I all like "what the deuce? another 3-star player and with the final 2012 scholarship? This is lame-a-saurus rex." But then I watched this:
Ohmygodyouguys. The jump shot. The body type. The passing and ball-handling. And the jump shot. This is it. This is what we've all been waiting for. This is the next guy in the Kevin Garnett/Hakim Warrick/JaJuan Johnson line. The face-up 4 with a killer jumpshot and perimeter skills who has the size and athleticism to also play in the paint. This is it. He's here. Charles mother effing Buggs.
Here is how ESPN describes his strengths:
Strengths:
Charles is an exceptionally live-bodied face up four man for the next level. He's a graceful athlete with very quick reflexes and he's an elite leaper. Two-hand dunks with ease while also showing good touch with his jumper and in the lane. He changes ends very well plus he's an extremely intelligent kid who wants to be coached and get better. Doesn't really have any bad habits and there's a hunger about him to improve.
So pumped. I haven't been this set up for disappointment since Antoine Broxsie transferred in.
- I was going to do a preview of every big 10 team one at a time and try to get them done before the regular season starts but at this point that obviously isn't going to happen. Instead here's a shorter preview style, and if you really want I have teams 6-12 broken down in greater detail in other posts on this very blog (links included)
12. Penn State - Not only is Talor Battle gone, but so is everybody else. I like Tim Frazier, a lot, but he's not the guy who can carry a team. 1 win would be a good season.
11. Nebraska - At least they're good in football.
10. Iowa - Some interesting talent and a good future, but this isn't their year yet.
9. Indiana - Similar to Iowa, things seem to be moving in the right direction talent and recruiting wise, but they're at least a year away.
8. Northwestern - I'm not falling for this again. Not to mention that even though the Wildcats only lose 1 player, that player has been their starting point guard for 4 years.
7. Wisconsin - It's certainly possible I'm underrating them for the 10th year in a row, but Jordan Taylor is due for a major regression to the mean season and I don't see anybody here who can pick up that slack.
6. Purdue - Depending on Hummel (who looked good in the exhibition game I watched some of), they could be a lot better than this or a lot worse. So many questions outside of Lewis Jackson that they're probably the toughest team to really get a read on.
5. Minnesota - This feels about right. If Sampson turns in a stellar senior year and somebody steps forward to not just play the point capably but to actually play well (will have to be Hollins) they could challenge for 2nd. On the other hand, if Ralph is disinterested and nobody proves to be a Big 10 caliber point guard they could be looking at 8th.
4. Illinois - They lose a lot off last year's squad, but getting rid of McCamey might be addition by subtraction and with Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson they have two of the most talented wings in the entire conference. Similar to the Gophers, someone will have to step up to play the point (they have a highly regarded freshman and a transfer from Bradley) and how that works will likely be the biggest factor in how good this team ends up being this year.
3. Michigan - It's very sad to me that Darius Morris went pro because he rocked and he would probably vault Michigan up to the #2 spot with an outside chance at challenging for #1. But, he did have a first round guarantee and probably wouldn't be moving up so there you go - even though they aren't playing. The impressive thing is based on Beilein's recruiting lately it's likely we won't see them outside the top 5 for a while.
2. Michigan State - I don't particularly feel confident about putting Sparty in second place here, but I can't really convince myself any of these other teams are better. They should be a safe team this year, however, because Draymond Green is really flipping good, and the kind of player who can essentially guarantee your team won't go in the toilet. Seriously if he doesn't have at least two triple-doubles this year I'll be shocked.
1. Ohio State - Where even to begin? Sullinger is back. Buford is back and won't have to defer to Lighty. Aaron Craft is about to become a monster, and they bring in one of the best classes in the country. Again. This dynasty is out of control. Most sportsbooks have futures on conference winners right now and you can get Ohio State at -125. Considering they're basically guaranteed to win it this year that's a freakin' bargain.
- So I guess Bill Smith getting fired is a pretty big deal. I'm having trouble making myself care about it but that's mainly because my brain is already in basketball mode with everything getting started. Don't get me wrong, I'm very much in favor of the move. I don't even have to try very hard and I can come up with a top 5 Bill Smith terrible moves list: the Santana trade, the Delmon for Garza trade, the Hardy for nothing trade, Ramos for Capps, and spending a stupid amount of money to sign Nishioka. I'm sure there are more (like getting rid of Billy Bullock so they could get a journeyman minor league reliever on the 40-man roster or whatever the details were) and I'm struggling to think of a single good move that was made during his tenure (I'm sure there were, I just can't come up with anythng). So I'm pretty happy to have Ryan back. It's not like he can do much worse. Also does it mean I'm a bad person when I saw it come across the ESPN ticker that Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in Venezuela that my first though was "good thing they traded him"? Probably, huh? Say la vee.
Ohmygodyouguys. The jump shot. The body type. The passing and ball-handling. And the jump shot. This is it. This is what we've all been waiting for. This is the next guy in the Kevin Garnett/Hakim Warrick/JaJuan Johnson line. The face-up 4 with a killer jumpshot and perimeter skills who has the size and athleticism to also play in the paint. This is it. He's here. Charles mother effing Buggs.
Here is how ESPN describes his strengths:
Strengths:
Charles is an exceptionally live-bodied face up four man for the next level. He's a graceful athlete with very quick reflexes and he's an elite leaper. Two-hand dunks with ease while also showing good touch with his jumper and in the lane. He changes ends very well plus he's an extremely intelligent kid who wants to be coached and get better. Doesn't really have any bad habits and there's a hunger about him to improve.
Oh. my. god. Will some one please just come and hit me over the head so I can go into a coma until next year? He was hurt a large part of his senior year which scared some teams off, but went to prep school and reclassified as a 2012 recruit and besides the Gophers, held offers from Arkansas, Clemson, Marquette, Seton Hall, and West Virginia among a couple others. Sounds like a very talented kid who got hurt and kind of dropped off the recruiting map, and thanks to hard work by Tubby and staff (according to articles Tubby is the reason he's heading to Minnesota) could end up being a diamond in the rough. Except he's probably going to be even better than a diamond. He's going to be like a Burmese Ruby.
So pumped. I haven't been this set up for disappointment since Antoine Broxsie transferred in.
- I was going to do a preview of every big 10 team one at a time and try to get them done before the regular season starts but at this point that obviously isn't going to happen. Instead here's a shorter preview style, and if you really want I have teams 6-12 broken down in greater detail in other posts on this very blog (links included)
12. Penn State - Not only is Talor Battle gone, but so is everybody else. I like Tim Frazier, a lot, but he's not the guy who can carry a team. 1 win would be a good season.
11. Nebraska - At least they're good in football.
10. Iowa - Some interesting talent and a good future, but this isn't their year yet.
9. Indiana - Similar to Iowa, things seem to be moving in the right direction talent and recruiting wise, but they're at least a year away.
8. Northwestern - I'm not falling for this again. Not to mention that even though the Wildcats only lose 1 player, that player has been their starting point guard for 4 years.
7. Wisconsin - It's certainly possible I'm underrating them for the 10th year in a row, but Jordan Taylor is due for a major regression to the mean season and I don't see anybody here who can pick up that slack.
6. Purdue - Depending on Hummel (who looked good in the exhibition game I watched some of), they could be a lot better than this or a lot worse. So many questions outside of Lewis Jackson that they're probably the toughest team to really get a read on.
5. Minnesota - This feels about right. If Sampson turns in a stellar senior year and somebody steps forward to not just play the point capably but to actually play well (will have to be Hollins) they could challenge for 2nd. On the other hand, if Ralph is disinterested and nobody proves to be a Big 10 caliber point guard they could be looking at 8th.
4. Illinois - They lose a lot off last year's squad, but getting rid of McCamey might be addition by subtraction and with Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson they have two of the most talented wings in the entire conference. Similar to the Gophers, someone will have to step up to play the point (they have a highly regarded freshman and a transfer from Bradley) and how that works will likely be the biggest factor in how good this team ends up being this year.
3. Michigan - It's very sad to me that Darius Morris went pro because he rocked and he would probably vault Michigan up to the #2 spot with an outside chance at challenging for #1. But, he did have a first round guarantee and probably wouldn't be moving up so there you go - even though they aren't playing. The impressive thing is based on Beilein's recruiting lately it's likely we won't see them outside the top 5 for a while.
2. Michigan State - I don't particularly feel confident about putting Sparty in second place here, but I can't really convince myself any of these other teams are better. They should be a safe team this year, however, because Draymond Green is really flipping good, and the kind of player who can essentially guarantee your team won't go in the toilet. Seriously if he doesn't have at least two triple-doubles this year I'll be shocked.
1. Ohio State - Where even to begin? Sullinger is back. Buford is back and won't have to defer to Lighty. Aaron Craft is about to become a monster, and they bring in one of the best classes in the country. Again. This dynasty is out of control. Most sportsbooks have futures on conference winners right now and you can get Ohio State at -125. Considering they're basically guaranteed to win it this year that's a freakin' bargain.
- So I guess Bill Smith getting fired is a pretty big deal. I'm having trouble making myself care about it but that's mainly because my brain is already in basketball mode with everything getting started. Don't get me wrong, I'm very much in favor of the move. I don't even have to try very hard and I can come up with a top 5 Bill Smith terrible moves list: the Santana trade, the Delmon for Garza trade, the Hardy for nothing trade, Ramos for Capps, and spending a stupid amount of money to sign Nishioka. I'm sure there are more (like getting rid of Billy Bullock so they could get a journeyman minor league reliever on the 40-man roster or whatever the details were) and I'm struggling to think of a single good move that was made during his tenure (I'm sure there were, I just can't come up with anythng). So I'm pretty happy to have Ryan back. It's not like he can do much worse. Also does it mean I'm a bad person when I saw it come across the ESPN ticker that Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in Venezuela that my first though was "good thing they traded him"? Probably, huh? Say la vee.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Trading Nothing for Nothing gets Nothing
Obviously the big news is that the Twins gave up on the world's largest Largemouth Bass, Delmon Young, and shipped him off to division rival Detroit. I'm never a fan of trading someone when their value is at an all-time low, but I suppose when you combine lazy with malcontent and frustrating there's no guarantee that you're at the nadir no matter how much you feel like it must be.
On the other hand, the return for Delmon essentially equates to the proverbial bag of balls, and I'm just not sure that's the way to go, especially when you're trading a 26-year old who was once the top prospect in the game and finished 10th in MVP voting last year(no shtick) to a division rival. There are about a million different ways this can backfire, but apparently the team has decided they would rather pursue signing both Cuddy and Kubel this offseason instead of getting any value out of trading Matt Garza. Delmon was almost guaranteed to be criminally overpaid next year if they offered arbitration, so now instead we're looking at a likely overpaid Cuddy and Kubel. I don't know. Maybe that whole hometown discount thing might exist with these two. Seems possible.
Anyway, I was going to break down Delmoney's stats and then talk about Cole Edina or whatever his name is that they got back, but it turns out I'm drunk and tired and really you're asking a lot here. All you need to know is that you can't find Cole on any list of top prospects in the Tiger system anywhere, and they're a thin system. I even found one that went to 40, and he's still not there. So they almost literally gave him away. Which, frankly, is pretty stupid.
The real problem for me though is I just have trouble caring. I'm not really scared of Delmon. I'm just not. There's nothing about what I've seen from him in the last however many years that makes me think he's suddenly going to put it altogether. Even the fact that he finished 10th in MVP balloting last year seems completely ludicrous to me. He's never inspired confidence that he was putting it together, he just somehow had a good year. To me he'll always be the swing at everything bumbling fielder he's always been. Except for tonight, apparently, where he decided to hit a bomb off Liriano (like that's hard) and make a play in left that he's never made ever ever before. So I just don't care. I always trust Bill Smith and his eye for talent.
- Speaking of Bill Smith and his penchant for sucking at roster management, just how dreadful has Nishioka been? Is there even one facet of his game that is remotely presentable right now? He's like the fat girl with small boobs and a bitchy personality. And the saddest part is that it was obvious to see. If you aren't Ichiro or Hideki Matsui (and those were the two best players in Japanese history not named Oh) and you're coming over from Japan you're going to suck. Kaz Matsui was terrible. So Taguchi might have been worse. Iwamura has been completely meh and Kosuke Fukudome is heading down the same path. Remember Orestes Destrade? He was a masher in Japan and was supposed to tip the balance of the league, and he was terrible. Perhaps the biggest indictment on the Japanese League? Guess who is tied for the single-season HR record in Japan and who holds the single season hit record? Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes and Matt "Fucking" Murton. Two dudes who were basically forced to retire from MLB because they sucked on a Tobertian level.
Yet the Twins paid billions of dollars to sign Yoshi. Why, you may ask? Because a .280 career hitter with minimal power suddenly had a career year by hitting .346 with minimal power - in a league where MATT MOTHERFUCKING MURTON hold a major hitting record. Basically they signed the Brady Anderson of Japanese ball banking on him becoming J.J. Hardy when he has so far been worse than any single year Punto put up. And at least Punto was an awesome fielder, while Nishi looks lost hitting, fielding, running, being in position, or knowing how many outs there are. Honestly this team makes me want to quit baseball for life. Where for art thou, Andy McPhail. You never McPhailed in my heart.
- Oh and the actual big news of the night is that Jim Thome hit his 600th home run, which is sadly a bit less holy shitty than it used to be. He's still only the 8th guy to do so, and only the fifth to do it legally. I don't want to get all caught up in the puritan steroid talk or anything, but there really is something refreshing about a dude like Thome. I mean he's really not all that different from Matt Stairs, who I idolize. He just did it more often and for longer. Ok that isn't actually remotely true because for several years in the late 90s/early 00s Thome was a truly elite player. In a way he's a compiler because he's been bombing them out for 21 seasons now, but it's not like he's been holding on like Pete Rose or Brett Favre or Al Pacino. His OPS last season was actually the fourth best of his career. The guy is basically completely bankrupt at running or fielding or not being old, but he can still crush the ball. He's probably one of my ten favorite players of all-time, and if you remember this you just remember knowing it would be him. Love the guy. Congrats.
- Moving on from the world's worst baseball team, let's talk about the world's best basketball team - the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They're in another early season tournament, which is good, but this time they're the favorites with every single ESPN nerd picking them to win the Old Spice Classic. And really you can't even argue with it. They play DePaul in game 1, who is maybe the worst team in D-I history so suck it Krys Faber, and then in the semis they'd either see Texas Tech or Indiana State. Unfortunately Tech just graduated everybody of relevance (from a bad team) and Indiana State is just pesky enough to possibly end up as a "bad loss" with no shot at becoming a "good win." Then, if they make it to the championship game they'd either get Dayton, Wake, Ariz State, or Fairfeild, where Fairfield is probably the best choice but really nobody offers much upside. It's a tournament where, no matter how well they do, they can't really win but could definitely lose. Although based on this team's past I suppose third place could be considered upside. Minnesota sports are awesome and I love them.
- Made some pretty awesome Teriyaki-Pineapple chicken drumsticks this weekend. Need to use less Pineapple juice because it waters down the Teriyaki, but the sauce was stellar overall. Try this:
1/3 c. Soy Sauce
1/3 c. Water (tempted to use Beef Broth here next time)
1/4 c. White Sugar
1 T Worchestershire Sauce
1 T White Vinegar
1 T Olive Oil
2 T Dried Onions
1 t garlic powder (could probably go a little more, maybe 2 t)
1/2 t ginger
Marinade Chicken overnight if possible, then dump the whole thing in a crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. I used a full cup on pineapple juice but I'd cut down on that by at least half next time and probably add in some green pepper as well, but you're on your own here. And even if you don't try this I can't stress more how awesome cooking chicken drumsticks (or wings) in a crockpot is. They are like falling off the bones. So awesome.
- I lost 3 units this past week gambling on my baseball props. Just the third losing week this season out of 13. Still smarts.
- The best moment in this entire season of True Blood, outside of every Anna Paquin nude scene, was when Jessica killed Hoyt, and it might have been the best scene since season 1. Unfortunately it turned out to be a hallucinatin/dream of Jessica's. But what was awesome about it was that someone semi-meaningful died. Hoyt isn't a top tier character and probably isn't even tier 2, but at least he's tier 3 and someone who has been around since Season 1. Maybe I'm spoiled by Game of Thrones, the series and the books, but I like shit better when people who matter can/do die. Season 1 of True Blood had both Grandma Stackhouse and Rene go down, and they were meaningful. Since then has anybody of any import died? You're telling me they couldn't kill of Tara or Andy Bellefleur? It's just dumb now. It's like watching Scooby Doo with boobs.
- Finally, if you're looking for a Gopherhole type place for the Twins but less homery and dumb, dig on this site. It's like talking Twins with the commenters on this blog, if only they were less retarded and weren't convinced Nick Blackburn was a star. Big fan.
On the other hand, the return for Delmon essentially equates to the proverbial bag of balls, and I'm just not sure that's the way to go, especially when you're trading a 26-year old who was once the top prospect in the game and finished 10th in MVP voting last year(no shtick) to a division rival. There are about a million different ways this can backfire, but apparently the team has decided they would rather pursue signing both Cuddy and Kubel this offseason instead of getting any value out of trading Matt Garza. Delmon was almost guaranteed to be criminally overpaid next year if they offered arbitration, so now instead we're looking at a likely overpaid Cuddy and Kubel. I don't know. Maybe that whole hometown discount thing might exist with these two. Seems possible.
Anyway, I was going to break down Delmoney's stats and then talk about Cole Edina or whatever his name is that they got back, but it turns out I'm drunk and tired and really you're asking a lot here. All you need to know is that you can't find Cole on any list of top prospects in the Tiger system anywhere, and they're a thin system. I even found one that went to 40, and he's still not there. So they almost literally gave him away. Which, frankly, is pretty stupid.
The real problem for me though is I just have trouble caring. I'm not really scared of Delmon. I'm just not. There's nothing about what I've seen from him in the last however many years that makes me think he's suddenly going to put it altogether. Even the fact that he finished 10th in MVP balloting last year seems completely ludicrous to me. He's never inspired confidence that he was putting it together, he just somehow had a good year. To me he'll always be the swing at everything bumbling fielder he's always been. Except for tonight, apparently, where he decided to hit a bomb off Liriano (like that's hard) and make a play in left that he's never made ever ever before. So I just don't care. I always trust Bill Smith and his eye for talent.
- Speaking of Bill Smith and his penchant for sucking at roster management, just how dreadful has Nishioka been? Is there even one facet of his game that is remotely presentable right now? He's like the fat girl with small boobs and a bitchy personality. And the saddest part is that it was obvious to see. If you aren't Ichiro or Hideki Matsui (and those were the two best players in Japanese history not named Oh) and you're coming over from Japan you're going to suck. Kaz Matsui was terrible. So Taguchi might have been worse. Iwamura has been completely meh and Kosuke Fukudome is heading down the same path. Remember Orestes Destrade? He was a masher in Japan and was supposed to tip the balance of the league, and he was terrible. Perhaps the biggest indictment on the Japanese League? Guess who is tied for the single-season HR record in Japan and who holds the single season hit record? Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes and Matt "Fucking" Murton. Two dudes who were basically forced to retire from MLB because they sucked on a Tobertian level.
Yet the Twins paid billions of dollars to sign Yoshi. Why, you may ask? Because a .280 career hitter with minimal power suddenly had a career year by hitting .346 with minimal power - in a league where MATT MOTHERFUCKING MURTON hold a major hitting record. Basically they signed the Brady Anderson of Japanese ball banking on him becoming J.J. Hardy when he has so far been worse than any single year Punto put up. And at least Punto was an awesome fielder, while Nishi looks lost hitting, fielding, running, being in position, or knowing how many outs there are. Honestly this team makes me want to quit baseball for life. Where for art thou, Andy McPhail. You never McPhailed in my heart.
- Oh and the actual big news of the night is that Jim Thome hit his 600th home run, which is sadly a bit less holy shitty than it used to be. He's still only the 8th guy to do so, and only the fifth to do it legally. I don't want to get all caught up in the puritan steroid talk or anything, but there really is something refreshing about a dude like Thome. I mean he's really not all that different from Matt Stairs, who I idolize. He just did it more often and for longer. Ok that isn't actually remotely true because for several years in the late 90s/early 00s Thome was a truly elite player. In a way he's a compiler because he's been bombing them out for 21 seasons now, but it's not like he's been holding on like Pete Rose or Brett Favre or Al Pacino. His OPS last season was actually the fourth best of his career. The guy is basically completely bankrupt at running or fielding or not being old, but he can still crush the ball. He's probably one of my ten favorite players of all-time, and if you remember this you just remember knowing it would be him. Love the guy. Congrats.
- Moving on from the world's worst baseball team, let's talk about the world's best basketball team - the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They're in another early season tournament, which is good, but this time they're the favorites with every single ESPN nerd picking them to win the Old Spice Classic. And really you can't even argue with it. They play DePaul in game 1, who is maybe the worst team in D-I history so suck it Krys Faber, and then in the semis they'd either see Texas Tech or Indiana State. Unfortunately Tech just graduated everybody of relevance (from a bad team) and Indiana State is just pesky enough to possibly end up as a "bad loss" with no shot at becoming a "good win." Then, if they make it to the championship game they'd either get Dayton, Wake, Ariz State, or Fairfeild, where Fairfield is probably the best choice but really nobody offers much upside. It's a tournament where, no matter how well they do, they can't really win but could definitely lose. Although based on this team's past I suppose third place could be considered upside. Minnesota sports are awesome and I love them.
- Made some pretty awesome Teriyaki-Pineapple chicken drumsticks this weekend. Need to use less Pineapple juice because it waters down the Teriyaki, but the sauce was stellar overall. Try this:
1/3 c. Soy Sauce
1/3 c. Water (tempted to use Beef Broth here next time)
1/4 c. White Sugar
1 T Worchestershire Sauce
1 T White Vinegar
1 T Olive Oil
2 T Dried Onions
1 t garlic powder (could probably go a little more, maybe 2 t)
1/2 t ginger
Marinade Chicken overnight if possible, then dump the whole thing in a crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. I used a full cup on pineapple juice but I'd cut down on that by at least half next time and probably add in some green pepper as well, but you're on your own here. And even if you don't try this I can't stress more how awesome cooking chicken drumsticks (or wings) in a crockpot is. They are like falling off the bones. So awesome.
- I lost 3 units this past week gambling on my baseball props. Just the third losing week this season out of 13. Still smarts.
- The best moment in this entire season of True Blood, outside of every Anna Paquin nude scene, was when Jessica killed Hoyt, and it might have been the best scene since season 1. Unfortunately it turned out to be a hallucinatin/dream of Jessica's. But what was awesome about it was that someone semi-meaningful died. Hoyt isn't a top tier character and probably isn't even tier 2, but at least he's tier 3 and someone who has been around since Season 1. Maybe I'm spoiled by Game of Thrones, the series and the books, but I like shit better when people who matter can/do die. Season 1 of True Blood had both Grandma Stackhouse and Rene go down, and they were meaningful. Since then has anybody of any import died? You're telling me they couldn't kill of Tara or Andy Bellefleur? It's just dumb now. It's like watching Scooby Doo with boobs.
- Finally, if you're looking for a Gopherhole type place for the Twins but less homery and dumb, dig on this site. It's like talking Twins with the commenters on this blog, if only they were less retarded and weren't convinced Nick Blackburn was a star. Big fan.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Six Very Important Things from Last Night
I was going to do a typical week in review post last night, but as I sat and stared at my computer screen I realized I got nothin'. The Twins have sucked the life out of me and I just couldn't bring myself to type anything. I started and deleted at least three times, and then was going to watch a shark movie and just didn't have the energy. Thanks Twins!
They've killed my brain so much I can't even cook right anymore. For last night's meal I looked around at what we had in the fridge and pantry and decided to make a Cuban chili. I screwed it up every way imaginable. Actually the first step, browning the ground beef with onions, red peppers, and garlic, went well, but from there it was right down hill. I used way too much liquid in the base (beef broth + mexican beer) and made it way watery. Then, after the first 45 minutes or so in the crock pot it seemed bland and rather than slowly adding spices to give it the flavor it needs I just threw a bunch of stuff in all at once and it ended up way too spicy. Luckily I have Mrs. W around, who just scooped 90% of the broth out to make it more chili-y and also cut back on the spice. I added some garlic salt and onion powder and WA-LA it ended up pretty good. But it turns out I'm not quite the brilliant chef I like to think I am. Well usually I am but not this time. Except for when I helped fix it. Anyway the Twins are stupid.
1. I quit watching after the third inning because it was 9-0. It's now 18-1 in the fifth. Eighteen. To. Fucking. One. Feels like the perfect end to a perfect season This team sucks, Nick Blackburn throws the ball too easy to hit to even be a batting practice pitcher, and I'm never writing about the Twins again. EVER. Unless they start trading dudes, then I'll write about the sweet sweet prospects they pick up. God I hate this so much. This is just like that time I cut my own finger off. [EDIT: Final was 20-6. L. O. L.]
2. It looks like we'll have an NFL this year after all. Football players and owners apparently realized that they all stand to make billions of dollars as long as there is a season and came to an agreement to go ahead and play some american football this year. This sort of bums me out.
Not that I don't like football, because I really do, but because there is just so much about the NFL season that bugs me. Particularly the fans. And can you imagine that group of fans - the kind of guys who watch every minute of every preseason game, are convinced they're smarter than every coach, bitch and complain the one week there's no Sunday night football because of the World Series, and who ignore their family for 12 hours every Sunday so they can watch the six different TVs they have the overpriced Sunday Ticket hooked up to in a room they inevitably call their "man cave" (and seriously, can we stop putting man in front of words to make up new words? It's not a man-cave, it's a den. It's not a mancation, it's a vacation. It's not man-scaping, it's shaving. And so on).
You know the kind of guy I'm talking about. And you can you imagine this guy without football? It would be hilarious. I imagine these guys would just start wandering around their neighborhood muttering to themselves and yelling at inanimate objects about getting into a cover 2 and rolling the safety over or start staging fake games in their yard using lawn gnomes. But now that dream is over, just like the dream of getting to watch scab players this year. Oh what could have been. Where have you gone, Brian Cupito?
3. Plenty of other things flying around the NFL rumor mill as well, including Terrell Pryor and Brett Favre rumors. The Favre rumor is that he may sign with the Eagles to be insurance behind Michael Vick, which supposedly makes sense because he's had a long-time relationship with Andy Reid. I would guess we can just ignore this because I really don't see him coming back after that pounding he took last year and I really don't see him volunteering for back-up duty. Then again, since he has a need for attention that would rival any 3-year old you know we're not going to hear a definitive answer from him, so this is going to drag out. Again. And dominate the news to the point where you want to stab your ears out with a spoon. Again. Pete Rose II just needs to die or something so he'll actually go away.
As far as Pryor, the big cheating cheater, it turns out that due to a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo that I neither understand nor have actually read, he might not get to enter the NFL supplemental draft this year. In that case I'd assume his options would be to play in the Arena League, CFL, XFL (if it still exists), or sling crack rock. Which is good for him because then maybe he can make some money because once he hits the NFL he's going to absolutely suck. Spergon Wynn style. Seriously, the guy could hit the broad side of Sarah Rue (before she sadly got all skinny) with a pass if she was standing still and he's supposed to be an NFL QB? Sure he can run, but that's all he can do. All you need to know is that he is Ohio State's all-time leading rusher as a QB and it's well known that there has never been an all-time leading rushing QB from a school who has succeeded in the NFL. Sorry Terrelle, you're doomed. And you suck and are a cheater and a bad person.
4. This T-Wolves coaching search is rather perplexing. I can't quite figure out what they're going for. The latest is that they interviewed Larry Brown, who is 71 years old and I can't possibly figure out what the upside is, other than possible insurance money from when he dies (whether of a heart attack or Michael Beasley snapping and beating him with a dreadlock makes no difference). The other guys, warts and all, at least have something that I get. Don Nelson is super old but likes to play uptempo which is what Kahn wants and plays to Ricky Rubio's strength. Bernie Bickerstaff is a total retread but, in theory, would have brought JB into play as the coach of the future (too late for this now). Terry Porter would be an inexperienced, but young (for a coach) up and comer. Rick Adelman is just a good coach. I've never head of Mike Woodson.
But Larry Brown doesn't make sense for the Wolves and the job doesn't make sense for him either. At 71, he'll be 75 by the time this is a possible playoff team, and Brown is notoriously difficult on young players and point guards. Seeing as how the Wolves are exclusively young players and have basically hitched the hopes of the entire franchise on a rookie point guard this match makes me nervous. Yeah, he's famous for turning losers into 8 seeds, but he's also a thousand years old and will probably end up shooting Beasley and/or Kahn by the all-star break. But I guess they wouldn't be the Wolves if they did something that made sense.
5. Ray Rice is going to destroy you. Since NFL teams can do shit now the Ravens released a bunch of fairly notable players: Derrick Mason, Todd Heap, and Willis McGahee. Mason is 100 and Heap has sucked for two years but the McGahee release is important because it means whoever the coach of the Ravens is won't have to keep him happy by giving him the goalline carries. The Bear once said Rice was overrated because he'd never be "a monster" but now McGahee is gone, he runs for a billion yards and catches enough balls to be the next generation of Thurman Thomas, and now he's going to get the goal line carries. Can Ray Rice be a monster? We're about to find out. And I think this is going to go down just like he's Kobe Bryant and the league is that poor girl from that hotel.
6. I was hoping to ignore the Twins for the rest of this post, but then there's this: The Nationals are after Denard Span and the Twins are listening. Frankly, this makes no sense. I agree the Twins should start looking to move some dudes because they suck and this season is dead, and I also think it makes sense to move an outfielder/DH because that's what they have an abundance of. But not Span.
First, he's under a reasonable contract. He's signed through 2014 with a team option for '15 at a good cost ($3m next year, $4.75m the next, $6.5m in '14, $9m on the option) so you don't need to move him soon. Unlike Kubel (free-agent to be) and Cuddyer (free-agent to be), or Jim Thome (1 more year but clearly not part of rebuilding).
Second, his skill set is something the Twins don't have anywhere else: an actual lead-off hitter. I love Ben Revere, I really do, but unless he starts walking more and finds a way to hit the ball farther than the average girl in a co-ed softball league once in a while (and yes that's AND, not OR) he's a nine hitter with a little excitement due to his speed. I mean really, Kubel, Cuddy, and Delmon are such similar players if you move one you're not fundamentally changing your team's make-up, but Span is the only real lead-off hitter, maybe in the system. If you still had Gomez and he was progressing (which, by the way, he still isn't) then trading Span is palatable, even though it still doesn't make sense.
Lastly, the Nationals are not a playoff team. They aren't making trades for a playoff push, they're making trades to try to get better for the long run. So why would a non-playoff team who needs to build for the future trade a guy to a different non-playoff team who needs to build for the future? Because the Twins want Ian freaking Desmond to be their future shortstop? The guy is absolutely terrible. Might as well have just kept Jason Bartlett for christ's sake.
Look, I get the Ramos trade for Capps. It was stupid and I said so at the time, but I at least understand what they were doing, however misguided. But trading Span, unless you are getting back Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper or Wilson Ramos, doesn't make sense financially, logically, chemistry-y, physically, lineup-y, racially, or sexually. Leave it to the Twins and that rapey dickmitten Bill Smith. Have fun watching Ian Desmond flail about like the next Nick Punto for the next four years.
Fuck this. I'm moving.
They've killed my brain so much I can't even cook right anymore. For last night's meal I looked around at what we had in the fridge and pantry and decided to make a Cuban chili. I screwed it up every way imaginable. Actually the first step, browning the ground beef with onions, red peppers, and garlic, went well, but from there it was right down hill. I used way too much liquid in the base (beef broth + mexican beer) and made it way watery. Then, after the first 45 minutes or so in the crock pot it seemed bland and rather than slowly adding spices to give it the flavor it needs I just threw a bunch of stuff in all at once and it ended up way too spicy. Luckily I have Mrs. W around, who just scooped 90% of the broth out to make it more chili-y and also cut back on the spice. I added some garlic salt and onion powder and WA-LA it ended up pretty good. But it turns out I'm not quite the brilliant chef I like to think I am. Well usually I am but not this time. Except for when I helped fix it. Anyway the Twins are stupid.
1. I quit watching after the third inning because it was 9-0. It's now 18-1 in the fifth. Eighteen. To. Fucking. One. Feels like the perfect end to a perfect season This team sucks, Nick Blackburn throws the ball too easy to hit to even be a batting practice pitcher, and I'm never writing about the Twins again. EVER. Unless they start trading dudes, then I'll write about the sweet sweet prospects they pick up. God I hate this so much. This is just like that time I cut my own finger off. [EDIT: Final was 20-6. L. O. L.]
2. It looks like we'll have an NFL this year after all. Football players and owners apparently realized that they all stand to make billions of dollars as long as there is a season and came to an agreement to go ahead and play some american football this year. This sort of bums me out.
Not that I don't like football, because I really do, but because there is just so much about the NFL season that bugs me. Particularly the fans. And can you imagine that group of fans - the kind of guys who watch every minute of every preseason game, are convinced they're smarter than every coach, bitch and complain the one week there's no Sunday night football because of the World Series, and who ignore their family for 12 hours every Sunday so they can watch the six different TVs they have the overpriced Sunday Ticket hooked up to in a room they inevitably call their "man cave" (and seriously, can we stop putting man in front of words to make up new words? It's not a man-cave, it's a den. It's not a mancation, it's a vacation. It's not man-scaping, it's shaving. And so on).
You know the kind of guy I'm talking about. And you can you imagine this guy without football? It would be hilarious. I imagine these guys would just start wandering around their neighborhood muttering to themselves and yelling at inanimate objects about getting into a cover 2 and rolling the safety over or start staging fake games in their yard using lawn gnomes. But now that dream is over, just like the dream of getting to watch scab players this year. Oh what could have been. Where have you gone, Brian Cupito?
3. Plenty of other things flying around the NFL rumor mill as well, including Terrell Pryor and Brett Favre rumors. The Favre rumor is that he may sign with the Eagles to be insurance behind Michael Vick, which supposedly makes sense because he's had a long-time relationship with Andy Reid. I would guess we can just ignore this because I really don't see him coming back after that pounding he took last year and I really don't see him volunteering for back-up duty. Then again, since he has a need for attention that would rival any 3-year old you know we're not going to hear a definitive answer from him, so this is going to drag out. Again. And dominate the news to the point where you want to stab your ears out with a spoon. Again. Pete Rose II just needs to die or something so he'll actually go away.
As far as Pryor, the big cheating cheater, it turns out that due to a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo that I neither understand nor have actually read, he might not get to enter the NFL supplemental draft this year. In that case I'd assume his options would be to play in the Arena League, CFL, XFL (if it still exists), or sling crack rock. Which is good for him because then maybe he can make some money because once he hits the NFL he's going to absolutely suck. Spergon Wynn style. Seriously, the guy could hit the broad side of Sarah Rue (before she sadly got all skinny) with a pass if she was standing still and he's supposed to be an NFL QB? Sure he can run, but that's all he can do. All you need to know is that he is Ohio State's all-time leading rusher as a QB and it's well known that there has never been an all-time leading rushing QB from a school who has succeeded in the NFL. Sorry Terrelle, you're doomed. And you suck and are a cheater and a bad person.
4. This T-Wolves coaching search is rather perplexing. I can't quite figure out what they're going for. The latest is that they interviewed Larry Brown, who is 71 years old and I can't possibly figure out what the upside is, other than possible insurance money from when he dies (whether of a heart attack or Michael Beasley snapping and beating him with a dreadlock makes no difference). The other guys, warts and all, at least have something that I get. Don Nelson is super old but likes to play uptempo which is what Kahn wants and plays to Ricky Rubio's strength. Bernie Bickerstaff is a total retread but, in theory, would have brought JB into play as the coach of the future (too late for this now). Terry Porter would be an inexperienced, but young (for a coach) up and comer. Rick Adelman is just a good coach. I've never head of Mike Woodson.
But Larry Brown doesn't make sense for the Wolves and the job doesn't make sense for him either. At 71, he'll be 75 by the time this is a possible playoff team, and Brown is notoriously difficult on young players and point guards. Seeing as how the Wolves are exclusively young players and have basically hitched the hopes of the entire franchise on a rookie point guard this match makes me nervous. Yeah, he's famous for turning losers into 8 seeds, but he's also a thousand years old and will probably end up shooting Beasley and/or Kahn by the all-star break. But I guess they wouldn't be the Wolves if they did something that made sense.
5. Ray Rice is going to destroy you. Since NFL teams can do shit now the Ravens released a bunch of fairly notable players: Derrick Mason, Todd Heap, and Willis McGahee. Mason is 100 and Heap has sucked for two years but the McGahee release is important because it means whoever the coach of the Ravens is won't have to keep him happy by giving him the goalline carries. The Bear once said Rice was overrated because he'd never be "a monster" but now McGahee is gone, he runs for a billion yards and catches enough balls to be the next generation of Thurman Thomas, and now he's going to get the goal line carries. Can Ray Rice be a monster? We're about to find out. And I think this is going to go down just like he's Kobe Bryant and the league is that poor girl from that hotel.
6. I was hoping to ignore the Twins for the rest of this post, but then there's this: The Nationals are after Denard Span and the Twins are listening. Frankly, this makes no sense. I agree the Twins should start looking to move some dudes because they suck and this season is dead, and I also think it makes sense to move an outfielder/DH because that's what they have an abundance of. But not Span.
First, he's under a reasonable contract. He's signed through 2014 with a team option for '15 at a good cost ($3m next year, $4.75m the next, $6.5m in '14, $9m on the option) so you don't need to move him soon. Unlike Kubel (free-agent to be) and Cuddyer (free-agent to be), or Jim Thome (1 more year but clearly not part of rebuilding).
Second, his skill set is something the Twins don't have anywhere else: an actual lead-off hitter. I love Ben Revere, I really do, but unless he starts walking more and finds a way to hit the ball farther than the average girl in a co-ed softball league once in a while (and yes that's AND, not OR) he's a nine hitter with a little excitement due to his speed. I mean really, Kubel, Cuddy, and Delmon are such similar players if you move one you're not fundamentally changing your team's make-up, but Span is the only real lead-off hitter, maybe in the system. If you still had Gomez and he was progressing (which, by the way, he still isn't) then trading Span is palatable, even though it still doesn't make sense.
Lastly, the Nationals are not a playoff team. They aren't making trades for a playoff push, they're making trades to try to get better for the long run. So why would a non-playoff team who needs to build for the future trade a guy to a different non-playoff team who needs to build for the future? Because the Twins want Ian freaking Desmond to be their future shortstop? The guy is absolutely terrible. Might as well have just kept Jason Bartlett for christ's sake.
Look, I get the Ramos trade for Capps. It was stupid and I said so at the time, but I at least understand what they were doing, however misguided. But trading Span, unless you are getting back Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper or Wilson Ramos, doesn't make sense financially, logically, chemistry-y, physically, lineup-y, racially, or sexually. Leave it to the Twins and that rapey dickmitten Bill Smith. Have fun watching Ian Desmond flail about like the next Nick Punto for the next four years.
Fuck this. I'm moving.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Twins Season Wrap: 10 Roster Questions for Next Year
With the season officially in the crapper and my heart broken clean in two, I thought I'd look at some of the pressing offseason roster questions that Bill Smith and the Twins' front office are going to have to deal with, and then never speak of the Twisn again. There are a lot of things that are going to change, which makes this year's defeat all the more soul crushing - the team was setup to win this year, and they failed. Failed hard.
1. Will Morneau be back? Hard to believe a simple knee to the head could end someone's career, but the fact that he missed the last three months of the season and still can't string together more than a few days without a relapse/dizzy spell who the hell knows what could happen. I won't bother to just wildly speculate since I don't have any knowledge of it or any kind of medical background except what I learned on Scrubs, but as unfathomable as it seems that he might not be around next year, did you think there was even a slight chance he'd miss the rest of the season?
2. How high will the payroll go? Right now the Twins have seven players under contract for next year, but those seven (Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer, Baker, Span, and Blackburn) total $68 million in payroll. Most other current Twins are arbitration eligible and most will get raises, so the Twins will have to make some hard decisions about who to keep and who to let go. And wherever they let players go, I'd guess they try to plug those holes from within. Will that mean Alexi Casilla as a full-time starter and Anthony Swarzak in the rotation? I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me.
3. Jason Kubel's option? Kubel had an off year this season, at least compared to the prior year, and has a team option remaining that the Twins can pick up which would pay him $5.25 million (or they can buy him out for $350k). I hate having two defensive butchers at the corner outfield positions with him and Delmon, and Kubel is certainly more suited to a DH role, so his true value depends on whether Thome comes back. Which, brings us to....
4. Will Thome return on the cheap? Jim Thome was only signed this year because he was willing to take a very cheap $1.5 million to come play part time. With Morneau's injury and subsequent position shifting of everyone, his value skyrocketed and he more than proved himself worth every penny. If Morneau comes back, Thome goes back to his part-time role. Would he be willing to do it again, or at this point does he want to be full-time player again?
5. What's going to happen with Delmon Young? Delmon is arbitration eligible and made $2.6 million last year, but coming off the year he had, including surpassing magic numbers of 20 HRs and 100 RBI, he's going to get a healthy raise if they go to arbitration. If his agent is worth his shit, however, they'll be pushing for a long-term contract, and the question is if the Twins will go for it. Nick Markakis of the Orioles had a similar year in 2008 and ended up signing a 6-year, $66 million deal. Are you ready to pay Delmon $11 per year?
6. How is the bullpen going to shake out? Joe Nathan is the only bullpen guy with a guaranteed contract for next season, so this is where a lot of choices are going to have to be made. Fuentes is a free agent and will be gone, but everybody else is a question mark. Matt Guerrier, Jessie Crain, and Jon Rauch are all free agents and Matt Capps is arbitration eligible and will get a significant raise from the $3.5 million he made this year if he's offered. With the payroll already where it is, they probably won't be bringing everybody back, and I'd be pretty shocked if Rauch is a Twin next season.
7. How will the middle infield look next year? Orlando Hudson is a free agent, and I'd be pretty shocked if they brought him back, while J.J. Hardy, Alexi Casilla, and Matt Tolbert are all arbitration eligible. Hardy made $5.1 million this year, and even if he doesn't get a raise that is still a pretty high number for medium production, but the alternatives make me want to kill myself. Unless they decide to try to pay for Juan Uribe, a free agent from the Giants next year, Hardy is pretty much the only viable option. And if they start next year with Punto as their starting SS, we might as well just give the season up for dead. Speaking of......
8. They can't possibly pick up Nick Punto's option, right? The choices are to either agree to pay him $5 million next year (Five. Freaking. Million) or buy him out for $500k. Putting aside how terrible that contract was, I know they are in love with him over at Target Field but even they have to realize that $5MM is a ridiculous number for a good fielding utility man, right? Their best bet would be to buy him out, then offer him a contract for a year in the $500k - $1 million range to be their back up, although they should probably just pay him the minimum since he's essentially stolen over $13 million from the Twins the last few years.
9. Will the 'stache be back? This might be the toughest decision to make, since Carl Pavano was brilliant all year and carried the team at times. Of course, pitchers who are brilliant and carry their team generally make a lot of money. He made $7 million this year, and, unless the Twins move quickly, will hit the open market, and who knows who is going to offer him what and for how long. One advantage is that there is no way the Yankees will be after him since he burned them once before, but there are plenty of other teams who have money and need pitching. Whatever the cost, I would be nervous giving Pavano anything more than a 2-year deal, but if you want to keep him you might have to, and don't be shocked if he makes $10+ million per year with a new deal.
10. Pavano or no, what about the rest of the rotation? Baker is pretty much stuck since he's got a contract ($5 million next year) as is Blackburn ($3 million), Brian Duensing is still under team control, so he'll be here, and Francisco Liriano will be back as well, whether it's through arbitration or if they decide to sign him longer term. Slowey is also still under arbitration, so I'd expect him to be back as well. None of the in-house options are very attractive at this point, unless Kyle Gibson has just an amazing spring, so I'd expect the rotation to look pretty similar to start the year, with those five above the guys they go with if they don't end up signing Pavano. There will probably be a few other scraps on the open market, because they'll have no shot at Cliff Lee, but I wouldn't expect the Twins to go after anybody unless they think they can get a steal on a veteran they think is undervalued (like Pavano was). I wouldn't be shocked to see Javier Vazquez as a Twin next year, although if I was to bet on it I'd guess next year's rotation would be Liriano, Duensing, Baker, Slowey, and Blackbun. Doesn't that just get you fired up?
Well, there you have it. It will be interesting to see what they end up doing in a variety of areas, and to see the results. Worst case, the team takes a nosedive and sucks. Best case, another division title and they get swept out of the first round of the playoffs. Either way, it guarantees a season ending in frustration. Thank god college hoops isn't too far away, because Gopher basketball is never frustrating.
Catchers and pitchers report in 19 weeks.
1. Will Morneau be back? Hard to believe a simple knee to the head could end someone's career, but the fact that he missed the last three months of the season and still can't string together more than a few days without a relapse/dizzy spell who the hell knows what could happen. I won't bother to just wildly speculate since I don't have any knowledge of it or any kind of medical background except what I learned on Scrubs, but as unfathomable as it seems that he might not be around next year, did you think there was even a slight chance he'd miss the rest of the season?
2. How high will the payroll go? Right now the Twins have seven players under contract for next year, but those seven (Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer, Baker, Span, and Blackburn) total $68 million in payroll. Most other current Twins are arbitration eligible and most will get raises, so the Twins will have to make some hard decisions about who to keep and who to let go. And wherever they let players go, I'd guess they try to plug those holes from within. Will that mean Alexi Casilla as a full-time starter and Anthony Swarzak in the rotation? I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me.
3. Jason Kubel's option? Kubel had an off year this season, at least compared to the prior year, and has a team option remaining that the Twins can pick up which would pay him $5.25 million (or they can buy him out for $350k). I hate having two defensive butchers at the corner outfield positions with him and Delmon, and Kubel is certainly more suited to a DH role, so his true value depends on whether Thome comes back. Which, brings us to....
4. Will Thome return on the cheap? Jim Thome was only signed this year because he was willing to take a very cheap $1.5 million to come play part time. With Morneau's injury and subsequent position shifting of everyone, his value skyrocketed and he more than proved himself worth every penny. If Morneau comes back, Thome goes back to his part-time role. Would he be willing to do it again, or at this point does he want to be full-time player again?
5. What's going to happen with Delmon Young? Delmon is arbitration eligible and made $2.6 million last year, but coming off the year he had, including surpassing magic numbers of 20 HRs and 100 RBI, he's going to get a healthy raise if they go to arbitration. If his agent is worth his shit, however, they'll be pushing for a long-term contract, and the question is if the Twins will go for it. Nick Markakis of the Orioles had a similar year in 2008 and ended up signing a 6-year, $66 million deal. Are you ready to pay Delmon $11 per year?
6. How is the bullpen going to shake out? Joe Nathan is the only bullpen guy with a guaranteed contract for next season, so this is where a lot of choices are going to have to be made. Fuentes is a free agent and will be gone, but everybody else is a question mark. Matt Guerrier, Jessie Crain, and Jon Rauch are all free agents and Matt Capps is arbitration eligible and will get a significant raise from the $3.5 million he made this year if he's offered. With the payroll already where it is, they probably won't be bringing everybody back, and I'd be pretty shocked if Rauch is a Twin next season.
7. How will the middle infield look next year? Orlando Hudson is a free agent, and I'd be pretty shocked if they brought him back, while J.J. Hardy, Alexi Casilla, and Matt Tolbert are all arbitration eligible. Hardy made $5.1 million this year, and even if he doesn't get a raise that is still a pretty high number for medium production, but the alternatives make me want to kill myself. Unless they decide to try to pay for Juan Uribe, a free agent from the Giants next year, Hardy is pretty much the only viable option. And if they start next year with Punto as their starting SS, we might as well just give the season up for dead. Speaking of......
8. They can't possibly pick up Nick Punto's option, right? The choices are to either agree to pay him $5 million next year (Five. Freaking. Million) or buy him out for $500k. Putting aside how terrible that contract was, I know they are in love with him over at Target Field but even they have to realize that $5MM is a ridiculous number for a good fielding utility man, right? Their best bet would be to buy him out, then offer him a contract for a year in the $500k - $1 million range to be their back up, although they should probably just pay him the minimum since he's essentially stolen over $13 million from the Twins the last few years.
9. Will the 'stache be back? This might be the toughest decision to make, since Carl Pavano was brilliant all year and carried the team at times. Of course, pitchers who are brilliant and carry their team generally make a lot of money. He made $7 million this year, and, unless the Twins move quickly, will hit the open market, and who knows who is going to offer him what and for how long. One advantage is that there is no way the Yankees will be after him since he burned them once before, but there are plenty of other teams who have money and need pitching. Whatever the cost, I would be nervous giving Pavano anything more than a 2-year deal, but if you want to keep him you might have to, and don't be shocked if he makes $10+ million per year with a new deal.
10. Pavano or no, what about the rest of the rotation? Baker is pretty much stuck since he's got a contract ($5 million next year) as is Blackburn ($3 million), Brian Duensing is still under team control, so he'll be here, and Francisco Liriano will be back as well, whether it's through arbitration or if they decide to sign him longer term. Slowey is also still under arbitration, so I'd expect him to be back as well. None of the in-house options are very attractive at this point, unless Kyle Gibson has just an amazing spring, so I'd expect the rotation to look pretty similar to start the year, with those five above the guys they go with if they don't end up signing Pavano. There will probably be a few other scraps on the open market, because they'll have no shot at Cliff Lee, but I wouldn't expect the Twins to go after anybody unless they think they can get a steal on a veteran they think is undervalued (like Pavano was). I wouldn't be shocked to see Javier Vazquez as a Twin next year, although if I was to bet on it I'd guess next year's rotation would be Liriano, Duensing, Baker, Slowey, and Blackbun. Doesn't that just get you fired up?
Well, there you have it. It will be interesting to see what they end up doing in a variety of areas, and to see the results. Worst case, the team takes a nosedive and sucks. Best case, another division title and they get swept out of the first round of the playoffs. Either way, it guarantees a season ending in frustration. Thank god college hoops isn't too far away, because Gopher basketball is never frustrating.
Catchers and pitchers report in 19 weeks.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Weekend Review
Better late than never, as Dawger wasn't fortunate enough to get to say to Siouper Sioux Fan.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Bill Smith. Getting Fuentes isn't exactly like stealing away a top of the line reliever, but it does help shore up the bullpen, particularly from the left side because the pick up of Randy Flores was basically worthless. Fuenes's numbers this year are good, but not great (3.55 ERA and 1.20 WHIP) and are buoyed by a low .250 BABIP, but he's extremely tough on lefties both this year (.132 average against) and in his career (.213). In fact, lefties this year are hitting .132/.209/.158 against him his season, an OPS+ of 10 which is unheard of and means LH batters are 90% worse against him than he league average. He's given up just five hits against lefties this year (in 38 at-bats), only one for extra bases, and has 15 strikeouts against 3 walks. As a left-handed set-up guy who cost you just a player to be named later, which usually means someone below a non-prospect, this is a steal. Bill Smith might not be a wizard at the deadline, but he's proven himself to be awfully good after the waiver deadline.
2. Nick Blackburn. I guess we'll stick with the Twins theme, because you saw that gem coming? The statistically worst starting pitcher in the entire major leagues this year comes back from AAA in just his second start and throws a near shutout that probably would have been a shut out if his crappy offense had managed to scrap together more than one run? Inconceivable. He threw strikes (66 of 98 pitches) and actually struck guys out (6 Ks - most in a game since May '09), and shut the Mariners down despite not getting a huge amount of groundballs (50/50 split). In other words, this is almost certainly a huge fluke thanks to Seattle being a terrible offensive team. But hey, we might as well enjoy it, even if the text I got from Dawger "Blacky is back with avengance (sic)!" isn't exactly true. Or maybe it is completely true, just means something different than what he thinks.
3. Daniel Hudson. I know Edwin Jackson has been pretty lights out for the Sox, but Hudson has been pretty lights out since they shipped him to Arizona as well, and he's also four years younger and makes 4% per year of what Jackson does, plus he's under team control for quite a while. He had another brilliant outing over the weekend, going 7 innings and allowing just four hits and 2 runs on his way to a win over the Giants. Since coming to the NL, he's pitched in six games posting an aggregate 1.65 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 42-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Wow. I know it's the NL and all, but that's just outstanding. I don't care what Edwin Jackson does the rest of the way, giving up Hudson for him (as well as another good prospect, an18-year old pitcher doing well in rookie ball) is straight up getting fleeced. Now if the Dodgers can tease another good prospect out of them for Manny, the Sox will have completely tanked their future for a second place division finish. And that, my friends, is simply awesome. [UPDATE: Well the Dodgers gave up Manny for nothing. Way to puss out, pussies. This is why nobody likes the West Coast.]
4. Matt Kuchar. Kuchar outlasted everybody else at the Barclays to pick up what is kind of his first PGA Tour win. He technically has two others, but one came in a Fall Series event and the other came way back in 2002. And frankly he deserved way more than Martin Laird, who choked it away and then lost to Kuchar in the playoff. Laird was in trouble the entire final round (on his way to an even par day while Kuchar shot -5) and only kept himself in it due to a very hot putter that had him saving par from 10 feet or so multiple times on the day. Plus, Laird sucks, while Kuchar has dominated this year without winning, notching nine top 10s this year and missing just two cuts all year. He deserved it, and I'm glad he won. Plus Laird is a commie.
5. Tim Tebow. Haters better back up, because it looks like NFL rookie-of-the-year is going to be a two man race between Friar Tuck and Dez Bryant. Tebow should be starting over Orton by week four after the show he put on, and it's sad that some of you people doubted him just because of his relationship with his personal lord and savior Jesus, who loves him so that he takes a rooting interest in Tebow's football games. Jealous much, hater? He can still pass (like in college), he can still run (like in college), although he's now picked up a new skill - throwing the ball to Eric Decker. Sorry haters, looks like Jesus is going to be adding a NFL ROY trophy to his trophy room soon, and probably a Lombardi Trophy right after that. Tebow has a message for the NFL: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through
the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike
down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you!"
WHO SUCKED
1. Phil Mickelson. Ok, so maybe it's nit-picking to find fault with the #2 ranked golfer in the world who has won 46 pro tournaments and 4 majors, but is there anybody on tour who disappoints as often as he does? He's had chance after chance lately to supplant Tiger at the top of the rankings, but hasn't been able to come through, finishing outside the top 45 at the Bridgestone and the British. He did bounce back to finish 12th at the PGA, although he was never really in contention, and then missed the cut this weekend at the Barclays. Seriously, take his inability to take that #1 ranking, couple it with all the meltdowns at the U.S. Open (he has 5 second-place finishes), and his poor Ryder Cup showings (he's second in US history with 14 losses and a 10-14-6 career mark), and the second best golfer of his generation might also be the most disappointing.
2. Stephen Strasburg. The game of baseball may never be the same. Of course I'm mostly kidding (Wieters is still in the league, after all) but with Strasburg heading for Tommy John surgery we may be looking at the ultimate what-if. I know we are watching a success story as Twins fans in Francisco Liriano right now, but that doesn't mean everybody can bounce back that well. For a guy like Strasburg, the rare talent who was hyped to an unrealistic level and then met that level anyway, well this just sucks. I'm bummed out as a baseball fan, I can't imagine what a Nationals fan must be feeling like right now. Good thing there aren't any.
3. Matt Leinart. I'm starting to wonder if he's ever going to get it. Nobody has been given more opportunities to become a star than Leinart, with talent around him that should help the process (great receivers, good line, good defense), and nobody has dropped the ball more often. He was supposed to be the starter last year, but a poor preseason and lackluster work ethic pushed him behind Kurt Warner again. Now this year, although his stats look fine in the preseason thus far, he's been demoted behind Derek Anderson. Derek freaking Anderson. This guy must have some kind of terrible attitude behind the scenes, and although that will get broads in the hot tub and make Snake fall in love with you, it seems NFL coaches don't necessarily love that. He's like the anti-Tebow.
4. John Danks. I love this. A few weeks ago when Danks shut down the Twins in a big game I happened to be watching the Sox feed at one point and Hawk and whoever the other guy are were tossing around phrases like "Bulldog", "Ace", "Big game pitcher", and "my first choice to pitch for me in a life or death situation." Awesome, because with the Twins continuing to win the Sox need to keep pace and they were going up against Sabathia and the Yanks with Danksy on the hill - a big game if I've ever seen one. Well the "bulldog" got bulldogged by the A-Rodless Yankees, giving up 8 runs in four innings, giving up 3 dongs and walking four. Nice clutch outing. I haven't seen an "ace" implode like that since John Tudor.
5. NCAA Fascists. FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO O.........
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Bill Smith. Getting Fuentes isn't exactly like stealing away a top of the line reliever, but it does help shore up the bullpen, particularly from the left side because the pick up of Randy Flores was basically worthless. Fuenes's numbers this year are good, but not great (3.55 ERA and 1.20 WHIP) and are buoyed by a low .250 BABIP, but he's extremely tough on lefties both this year (.132 average against) and in his career (.213). In fact, lefties this year are hitting .132/.209/.158 against him his season, an OPS+ of 10 which is unheard of and means LH batters are 90% worse against him than he league average. He's given up just five hits against lefties this year (in 38 at-bats), only one for extra bases, and has 15 strikeouts against 3 walks. As a left-handed set-up guy who cost you just a player to be named later, which usually means someone below a non-prospect, this is a steal. Bill Smith might not be a wizard at the deadline, but he's proven himself to be awfully good after the waiver deadline.
2. Nick Blackburn. I guess we'll stick with the Twins theme, because you saw that gem coming? The statistically worst starting pitcher in the entire major leagues this year comes back from AAA in just his second start and throws a near shutout that probably would have been a shut out if his crappy offense had managed to scrap together more than one run? Inconceivable. He threw strikes (66 of 98 pitches) and actually struck guys out (6 Ks - most in a game since May '09), and shut the Mariners down despite not getting a huge amount of groundballs (50/50 split). In other words, this is almost certainly a huge fluke thanks to Seattle being a terrible offensive team. But hey, we might as well enjoy it, even if the text I got from Dawger "Blacky is back with avengance (sic)!" isn't exactly true. Or maybe it is completely true, just means something different than what he thinks.
3. Daniel Hudson. I know Edwin Jackson has been pretty lights out for the Sox, but Hudson has been pretty lights out since they shipped him to Arizona as well, and he's also four years younger and makes 4% per year of what Jackson does, plus he's under team control for quite a while. He had another brilliant outing over the weekend, going 7 innings and allowing just four hits and 2 runs on his way to a win over the Giants. Since coming to the NL, he's pitched in six games posting an aggregate 1.65 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 42-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Wow. I know it's the NL and all, but that's just outstanding. I don't care what Edwin Jackson does the rest of the way, giving up Hudson for him (as well as another good prospect, an18-year old pitcher doing well in rookie ball) is straight up getting fleeced. Now if the Dodgers can tease another good prospect out of them for Manny, the Sox will have completely tanked their future for a second place division finish. And that, my friends, is simply awesome. [UPDATE: Well the Dodgers gave up Manny for nothing. Way to puss out, pussies. This is why nobody likes the West Coast.]
4. Matt Kuchar. Kuchar outlasted everybody else at the Barclays to pick up what is kind of his first PGA Tour win. He technically has two others, but one came in a Fall Series event and the other came way back in 2002. And frankly he deserved way more than Martin Laird, who choked it away and then lost to Kuchar in the playoff. Laird was in trouble the entire final round (on his way to an even par day while Kuchar shot -5) and only kept himself in it due to a very hot putter that had him saving par from 10 feet or so multiple times on the day. Plus, Laird sucks, while Kuchar has dominated this year without winning, notching nine top 10s this year and missing just two cuts all year. He deserved it, and I'm glad he won. Plus Laird is a commie.
5. Tim Tebow. Haters better back up, because it looks like NFL rookie-of-the-year is going to be a two man race between Friar Tuck and Dez Bryant. Tebow should be starting over Orton by week four after the show he put on, and it's sad that some of you people doubted him just because of his relationship with his personal lord and savior Jesus, who loves him so that he takes a rooting interest in Tebow's football games. Jealous much, hater? He can still pass (like in college), he can still run (like in college), although he's now picked up a new skill - throwing the ball to Eric Decker. Sorry haters, looks like Jesus is going to be adding a NFL ROY trophy to his trophy room soon, and probably a Lombardi Trophy right after that. Tebow has a message for the NFL: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through
the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike
down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you!"
WHO SUCKED
1. Phil Mickelson. Ok, so maybe it's nit-picking to find fault with the #2 ranked golfer in the world who has won 46 pro tournaments and 4 majors, but is there anybody on tour who disappoints as often as he does? He's had chance after chance lately to supplant Tiger at the top of the rankings, but hasn't been able to come through, finishing outside the top 45 at the Bridgestone and the British. He did bounce back to finish 12th at the PGA, although he was never really in contention, and then missed the cut this weekend at the Barclays. Seriously, take his inability to take that #1 ranking, couple it with all the meltdowns at the U.S. Open (he has 5 second-place finishes), and his poor Ryder Cup showings (he's second in US history with 14 losses and a 10-14-6 career mark), and the second best golfer of his generation might also be the most disappointing.
2. Stephen Strasburg. The game of baseball may never be the same. Of course I'm mostly kidding (Wieters is still in the league, after all) but with Strasburg heading for Tommy John surgery we may be looking at the ultimate what-if. I know we are watching a success story as Twins fans in Francisco Liriano right now, but that doesn't mean everybody can bounce back that well. For a guy like Strasburg, the rare talent who was hyped to an unrealistic level and then met that level anyway, well this just sucks. I'm bummed out as a baseball fan, I can't imagine what a Nationals fan must be feeling like right now. Good thing there aren't any.
3. Matt Leinart. I'm starting to wonder if he's ever going to get it. Nobody has been given more opportunities to become a star than Leinart, with talent around him that should help the process (great receivers, good line, good defense), and nobody has dropped the ball more often. He was supposed to be the starter last year, but a poor preseason and lackluster work ethic pushed him behind Kurt Warner again. Now this year, although his stats look fine in the preseason thus far, he's been demoted behind Derek Anderson. Derek freaking Anderson. This guy must have some kind of terrible attitude behind the scenes, and although that will get broads in the hot tub and make Snake fall in love with you, it seems NFL coaches don't necessarily love that. He's like the anti-Tebow.
4. John Danks. I love this. A few weeks ago when Danks shut down the Twins in a big game I happened to be watching the Sox feed at one point and Hawk and whoever the other guy are were tossing around phrases like "Bulldog", "Ace", "Big game pitcher", and "my first choice to pitch for me in a life or death situation." Awesome, because with the Twins continuing to win the Sox need to keep pace and they were going up against Sabathia and the Yanks with Danksy on the hill - a big game if I've ever seen one. Well the "bulldog" got bulldogged by the A-Rodless Yankees, giving up 8 runs in four innings, giving up 3 dongs and walking four. Nice clutch outing. I haven't seen an "ace" implode like that since John Tudor.
5. NCAA Fascists. FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO OSENIEKS! FREE OTO O.........
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I Have a Boner and its Name is Dan Haren
The more and more I think about this, the more and more I want Dan Haren. And I want him bad.
You can have your Roy Oswalt, but for me Haren is the best pitcher available. His stats might not look super pretty this year (4.60 ERA and 1.34 WHIP) but they are significantly higher than his career averages, and there's really no reason for concern. His K-rate and BB-rate have remained basically constant, as have his line drive rate and GB/FB ratio - the only big change has been in his BABIP, which essentially tells us that the only reason his numbers don't look that great is bad luck. Oswalt is a fine pitcher, a damn fine pitcher, but Haren is very similar from a mound standpoint but with more strikeouts, and he's three years younger.
What makes him more interesting than your average trade deadline available starter is he's not just a rental, for one, but also that none of the Yankees, Red Sox, or Mets are going to be involved, either because they aren't interested (Yanks, Sox) or don't have the horses (Mets), and those two issues bring the Twins in play. Of course, we can't just HAVE Dan Haren, as that's only allowed in basketball (see Gasol, Pau), and there are costs involved; both personnel and actual money.
Let's start with personnel, as in "what would the Twins have to trade to acquire Haren?" Any package discussed for this type of player generally starts with Wilson Ramos, and I don't see why the D-Backs would be an exception. I know they have a relatively young (27) catcher who can hit in Miguel Montero, but he seems to have some trouble staying healthy (although to be fair I'm only basing this on this season), and it doesn't appear there's much organizational depth behind him, so let's assume we start with Ramos as a base. If they don't want him, which would be weird, somebody like Ben Revere would work here as well.
From what I have read, mostly on John Sickels' most excellent blog, the Diamondback's system is pretty thin, particularly on the pitching side. I also read one GM told a reporter that they are currently asking for two starters and relief help. One thing I would guess they'd be interested in one of the Twins' current starters, someone with big league experience who is still young and cheap and can develop. Liriano is untouchable, Pavano makes no sense, Baker is too expensive, and Blackburn has zero trade value, so Slowey it is (and he's under team control for 3 more years). I won't shed any tears.
I'd also guess they'd like a top-ish level starting pitcher prospect. Kyle Gibson should be untouchable, but there is some depth here in the minors for pitchers. David Bromberg is a a guy I see tossed around as the #2 SP prospect for the Twins, and I'd be willing to include him, but he may be too steep a price. Plenty of other guys like Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertson, or Shooter Hunt could maybe get it done.
As far as relief help, assuming they'd be most interested in a young player with upside, why not Alex Burnett? He was considered one of the best reliever prospects in the system coming into the year, made the jump from AA to the majors and held his own most of the year, and he's just 22. There are a couple of other relievers on a similar tier (Rob Delaney, Carlos Gutierrez) who might fit what Arizona is looking for.
So what about a package of Slowey, Ramos, Bromberg, and Burnett? Might be kind of steep - these are a MLB caliber pitcher (maybe) and three of the team's top 21 prospects going into this year according to Aaron Gleeman, but if I'm Bill Smith I'd be willing to pay that price. I'd, of course, start by offering lower-ranked prospects (maybe Revere/Slowey/Manship/Delaney), but if my bluff got called I'd throw this one down on the table. I want to win, and I want to win now.
We also have to deal wit the real money, and this might end up being the real sticking point. It's true Haren represents a significant financial investment, as he is owed $12.75M next year and in 2011, and has a club option for $15.5 million in 2012 with a $3.5 million buyout. Sounds like a lot, and I suppose it is, but keep in mind Haren is a #1 pitcher-type. We already mentioned Oswalt, whose salary for next season is 28% higher than Haren's, but what about A.J. Burnett at $16.5M, John Lackey at $15.25, Jake Peavy at $17M, or Carlos Zambrano at $18M? There are pitchers all over the place making $12 million. I mean, the Orioles paid just slightly less for Kevin Millwood this year ($12 million). Really, his salary may sound like a lot, but it's a relative bargain compared to a lot of other pitchers.
But can the Twins afford him, is what you're wondering. Mauer's salary jumps next year by over $10 million, and Kubel (assuming they pick up his option), Rauch (ditto), Guerrier, Delmon Young, and others will get decent raises as well. They can drop some payroll back by not resigning Thome, Pavano, Hudson, and Hardy, and not picking up Punto's option. They could also drop $10 million by buying out Cuddyer. I have a feeling they would be able to bring him back cheaper, if they desired. He seems loyal like that. Like a dog.
But overall there's no doubt they would have to be willing to increase payroll to make this happen. It's also the kind of move that could lead to them not being able to keep Jason Kubel or even Liriano down the line, which is clearly not ideal. But don't you sometimes get sick of just fighting to make the playoffs, knowing odds are stacked heavily against them getting beyond the first round? Isn't it sometimes worth sacrificing something in the future for a real, legitimate chance to win now? This is the year they have the lineup to do it, and you know next year they'll be going back to more slap-hitters, so make the gamble now. DO IT.
Looking at the overall portrait here, doesn't it make sense to acquire Haren? A Haren/Liriano/Pavano rotation + whoever emerges from the rest of the mess playoff rotation would be enough to make them a World Series contender, assuming they end up winning the division after making this move (which they would be the favorite to do). Additionally, it's not like this is just a rental player. Getting him would give them a Liriano/Pavano head of the rotation for at least a couple years, which is good enough to keep them at the top of the division contender list at the very least.
We've heard about the new stadium. We've heard about the sell-outs. We've heard about the extra money. We've heard about the commitment to winning. So let's do this. Let's go and get Danny Haren. Come on, Twins. Small Market is really just a state of mind.
Plus, to help out, if you make this trade I will immediately go out and buy a Twins' Dan Haren jersey (ok, more like one of those t-shirt things with the player name on it.)
Deal?
You can have your Roy Oswalt, but for me Haren is the best pitcher available. His stats might not look super pretty this year (4.60 ERA and 1.34 WHIP) but they are significantly higher than his career averages, and there's really no reason for concern. His K-rate and BB-rate have remained basically constant, as have his line drive rate and GB/FB ratio - the only big change has been in his BABIP, which essentially tells us that the only reason his numbers don't look that great is bad luck. Oswalt is a fine pitcher, a damn fine pitcher, but Haren is very similar from a mound standpoint but with more strikeouts, and he's three years younger.
What makes him more interesting than your average trade deadline available starter is he's not just a rental, for one, but also that none of the Yankees, Red Sox, or Mets are going to be involved, either because they aren't interested (Yanks, Sox) or don't have the horses (Mets), and those two issues bring the Twins in play. Of course, we can't just HAVE Dan Haren, as that's only allowed in basketball (see Gasol, Pau), and there are costs involved; both personnel and actual money.
Let's start with personnel, as in "what would the Twins have to trade to acquire Haren?" Any package discussed for this type of player generally starts with Wilson Ramos, and I don't see why the D-Backs would be an exception. I know they have a relatively young (27) catcher who can hit in Miguel Montero, but he seems to have some trouble staying healthy (although to be fair I'm only basing this on this season), and it doesn't appear there's much organizational depth behind him, so let's assume we start with Ramos as a base. If they don't want him, which would be weird, somebody like Ben Revere would work here as well.
From what I have read, mostly on John Sickels' most excellent blog, the Diamondback's system is pretty thin, particularly on the pitching side. I also read one GM told a reporter that they are currently asking for two starters and relief help. One thing I would guess they'd be interested in one of the Twins' current starters, someone with big league experience who is still young and cheap and can develop. Liriano is untouchable, Pavano makes no sense, Baker is too expensive, and Blackburn has zero trade value, so Slowey it is (and he's under team control for 3 more years). I won't shed any tears.
I'd also guess they'd like a top-ish level starting pitcher prospect. Kyle Gibson should be untouchable, but there is some depth here in the minors for pitchers. David Bromberg is a a guy I see tossed around as the #2 SP prospect for the Twins, and I'd be willing to include him, but he may be too steep a price. Plenty of other guys like Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertson, or Shooter Hunt could maybe get it done.
As far as relief help, assuming they'd be most interested in a young player with upside, why not Alex Burnett? He was considered one of the best reliever prospects in the system coming into the year, made the jump from AA to the majors and held his own most of the year, and he's just 22. There are a couple of other relievers on a similar tier (Rob Delaney, Carlos Gutierrez) who might fit what Arizona is looking for.
So what about a package of Slowey, Ramos, Bromberg, and Burnett? Might be kind of steep - these are a MLB caliber pitcher (maybe) and three of the team's top 21 prospects going into this year according to Aaron Gleeman, but if I'm Bill Smith I'd be willing to pay that price. I'd, of course, start by offering lower-ranked prospects (maybe Revere/Slowey/Manship/Delaney), but if my bluff got called I'd throw this one down on the table. I want to win, and I want to win now.
We also have to deal wit the real money, and this might end up being the real sticking point. It's true Haren represents a significant financial investment, as he is owed $12.75M next year and in 2011, and has a club option for $15.5 million in 2012 with a $3.5 million buyout. Sounds like a lot, and I suppose it is, but keep in mind Haren is a #1 pitcher-type. We already mentioned Oswalt, whose salary for next season is 28% higher than Haren's, but what about A.J. Burnett at $16.5M, John Lackey at $15.25, Jake Peavy at $17M, or Carlos Zambrano at $18M? There are pitchers all over the place making $12 million. I mean, the Orioles paid just slightly less for Kevin Millwood this year ($12 million). Really, his salary may sound like a lot, but it's a relative bargain compared to a lot of other pitchers.
But can the Twins afford him, is what you're wondering. Mauer's salary jumps next year by over $10 million, and Kubel (assuming they pick up his option), Rauch (ditto), Guerrier, Delmon Young, and others will get decent raises as well. They can drop some payroll back by not resigning Thome, Pavano, Hudson, and Hardy, and not picking up Punto's option. They could also drop $10 million by buying out Cuddyer. I have a feeling they would be able to bring him back cheaper, if they desired. He seems loyal like that. Like a dog.
But overall there's no doubt they would have to be willing to increase payroll to make this happen. It's also the kind of move that could lead to them not being able to keep Jason Kubel or even Liriano down the line, which is clearly not ideal. But don't you sometimes get sick of just fighting to make the playoffs, knowing odds are stacked heavily against them getting beyond the first round? Isn't it sometimes worth sacrificing something in the future for a real, legitimate chance to win now? This is the year they have the lineup to do it, and you know next year they'll be going back to more slap-hitters, so make the gamble now. DO IT.
Looking at the overall portrait here, doesn't it make sense to acquire Haren? A Haren/Liriano/Pavano rotation + whoever emerges from the rest of the mess playoff rotation would be enough to make them a World Series contender, assuming they end up winning the division after making this move (which they would be the favorite to do). Additionally, it's not like this is just a rental player. Getting him would give them a Liriano/Pavano head of the rotation for at least a couple years, which is good enough to keep them at the top of the division contender list at the very least.
We've heard about the new stadium. We've heard about the sell-outs. We've heard about the extra money. We've heard about the commitment to winning. So let's do this. Let's go and get Danny Haren. Come on, Twins. Small Market is really just a state of mind.
Plus, to help out, if you make this trade I will immediately go out and buy a Twins' Dan Haren jersey (ok, more like one of those t-shirt things with the player name on it.)
Deal?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Week in Review - 3/21/2010
Well, we made it back from Chicago and everyone is still alive. Sorry for the lateness of this post, but believe me after pulling consecutive days with 12+ hours logged at the bar, the last thing I could manage when I got back on Sunday was writing some stupid crap for this stupid blog. But now that I'm back, even though I still feel like crap, I figure I should at least put up some kind of half-assed Week in Review (well, more half-assed than usual, I mean.)
Quickly, two things that stood out from the Chicago weekend:
1) A Colombian man openly weeping in the middle of the Dayton bar while listening to latin music on his pink Ipod.
2) Loud, obnoxious Kansas fan yelling "yes" when Kansas hit that meaningless three with 0.4 left in the game. He either forgot the actual score or has no idea how basketball works, and I'm not sure which way is funnier but I know he had all of us rolling in the back room after we heard him.
Anyway, on to the usual garbage:
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Xavier. It's hard to blame the Gophers too much for the loss on Friday, particularly when the Musketeers were the far better team, and they continued to show that by beating Pitt on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season - one of just two teams (Michigan State is the other) who can make that claim. Sure, there were things the Gophers could have done better/differently, but the entire game it seemed as if the Gophers were doing everything in their power just to keep it close, and I don't really remember ever thinking they had a chance to pull it out. Jordan Crawford was by far the best player on the court with his 28 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist performance (which he followed up with 27-6-6 against Pitt) and the Gophers had no idea how to keep Love and McLean off the boards. Xavier has enough talent to take down Kansas State and could advance to the Elite 8 this week. I don't think they have enough juice to beat Syracuse, but once you get this deep, anything can happen.
2. Joe Mauer. Or Bill Smith or Ron Shapiro or whoever you want to give the credit too. The important thing is that Mauer is signed Even if he regresses a bit, his downside is probably something like .310/.390/.480 with 15 homers, and from a gold glove catcher even that is probably worth close to what he's getting paid. Add in his upside, MVP-potential, and what he means to this town, and it had to be done. I'd say this is all they had left to do, but with Nathan now out for the year I think they need to make another move. This team is really good and right on the verge, and I'm afraid if they don't do something it's going to be a disaster. Tell me you don't see them going closer-by-committee, having it become a disaster, and not realizing or trying to make a change until it's too late. That's exactly something the Twins would do. I read somewhere that the Padres want Perkins and two "good" prospects for Heath Bell. Now, if that "good" level means guys like Ben Revere and Wilson Ramos I'd tell the Padres to go screw, but if they're talking like Trevor Plouffe and Steven Tolleson then it's time to run, not walk, to make this deal.
3. Ali Farokhmanesh. The biggest upset of the tournament thus far has got to be UNI's victory over Kansas (well, Ohio over G-Town was probably bigger, but essentially meaningless), and the hero was without question Cedar Falls' version of Jamal Abu Shamala in Farokmanesh. That monster three pointer he hit with 30 seconds left was the stupidest, dumbest, ballsiest shot I've ever seen, and since it went down and ended up being the game winner, Farok goes down as a hero rather than a goat, and is going to end up being a tournament legend who is talked about long after his playing days are done a la Bryce Drew. Add in the fact that he also hit a three with under five seconds to go to give the Panthers their opening round win over UNLV, and this kid had one hell of a weekend. It's just unfortunate that he's a terrorist.
4. Cornell. Remember all that "under-seeded" talk? Well, two wins and a sweet 16 berth says that wasn't just crazy talk. I still contend the Big Red caught a nice break in running up against two team's that play a similar style and weren't going to out-athletic them, but you can't really talk down to an Ivy League team that ends up playing in the second week of the tournament. Even though Ryan Wittman gets most of the press, especially here with his Minnesota connection, seven-footer Jeff Foote might end up being the key against Kentucky. He's not just some big ole seven-footer who plays because he's seven feet tall in the Ivy League, he has some legit skill and good footwork and is going to need it all against Kentucky. This is going to be a real tester, since Kentucky is playing as well as it has all year. I'd love to see Calipari go down, no matter how unlikely it may be.
5. Michigan State. How annoying are the Spartans? It's the same thing every year, they look mediocre all through the Big Ten season, end up with a middle-high type seed, you think they're ripe for the upset, and then they just keep winning. That monstrously entertaining win over Maryland on Sunday gave Michigan State their third Sweet-16 in as many years (meanwhile the Gophers haven't made it that far in over ten years) and showed once again why you never, ever doubt Izzo. I read that there is a 90% chance Sparty will be without Kalin Lucas against Northern Iowa, and normally I'd say that is a pretty big deal, but it doesn't seem to matter who is there or gone on Izzo's teams, so they'll probably win by ten. Oh, and Durrell Summers is absolutely going to be a huge star next season. All Big-10 First Team.
WHO SUCKED
1. Scottie Reynolds. There's not much as enjoyable as watching a truly overrated chucker nearly shoot his team to a loss in the first round against a 15-seed and then, after his team manages to escape thanks to an NCAA mandate to the refs that Robert Morris isn't allowed to win, doing the same thing 48 hours later, but this time they couldn't escape and were dropped by the suddenly super popular Omar Samhan and St. Mary's 75-68. I'm not kidding either. Your precious All-American shot 2-15 in the first game and was 2-11 in the second, going 4-26 in what has to be a record in futility from someone who idiotic fans love because they're stupid. He makes Stephen Curry look like Magic Johnson. I'm almost sad he's graduating, just because he's so fun to root against, but I will enjoy not having to hear about him anymore. Maybe the most overrated player in history.
2. The Big East. Speaking of overrated, what do we think of the Big East? Eight teams with bids, called the best conference in all the land for the second-year in a row, and yet only two teams (Syracuse and West Virginia) are still alive for the Sweet 16. It's really not that bad if you think about how they made up 1/8th of the invitees and still make up 1/8th of the remaining teams, but they were set up for a lot more success. Both Villanova and Georgetown had Final Four aspirations and Pitt was a three-seed, Marquette and Notre Dame as six seeds were picked by some to make the Sweet 16 but lost in the first round, and Louisville was thought to be a challenge for Duke in round two but couldn't even get past Cal. That's currently a 6-6 record for the conference by my count, which sounds ok until you think about how they had a 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 6, 6, and 9 seed. Seriously, pretty embarrassing.
3. The Mountain West. Well, if we're going to talk about disappointing conferences we can't very well ignore the Mountain West, which had three teams invited, two with a good chance at getting to the Sweet 16, but instead ended up going just 2-3, with their top team (New Mexico) getting bounced hard in round 2 by Washington by 20 and BYU refusing to even show up in their second round guy against Kansas State after just squeaking by a Florida team that probably didn't even deserve a bid. Not that I necessarily thought these guys were great, but this certainly doesn't help my argument that high-mid-major teams from conferences like the A-10 and MWC can be valid sleepers in the NCAA tournament. Apparently you have to go to smaller conferences like the Ivy or Missouri Valley to have a prayer.
4. Richmond. Hey, speaking of teams that suck and aren't valid sleepers, let's give it up for my most disappointing team of the dance - The Richmond Spiders. I was so fired up for these guys to make a run. They closed out winning twelve of their last fourteen including a huge win over Xavier in the A-10 tournament, and even though I knew St. Mary's was a dangerous 10 seed I was still expecting a Richmond win followed by another win over Villanova. Obviously not. And they would have beaten Villanova, too, just like the Gaels did, but they decided not to show up for their first game. Seriously, have to seen this stat? Richmond was out-rebounded 39-16? How is that even possible? The earlier mentioned Samhan had twelve boards all by himself, which means he damned near out-rebounded the Spiders all by himself. Ridiculous. And such a good team, too. I mean, they just had 35 rebounds in a game against Xavier the prior week. Such a shame.
5. Blake Hoffarber. I'm sick of Hoffarber. Actually that's not exactly true, I'm just sick of an offense that relies so heavily on someone who can't create his own shot. Hoff is just fine. He's a great shooter (unless he's too open), he's a good rebounder for his size and lack of athleticism, and he's a smart player. I'm just sick of watching all these good teams and all these good players and we're stuck watching the Gophers and their two players who can create their own shot, one of whom is likely functionally retarded. I want better players, dammit. Get on it, Tubby. You need to get this program turned all the way around before you bolt to Auburn. Don't you betray me, too. I'm still trying to recover from Rico Tucker turning his back on me.
Quickly, two things that stood out from the Chicago weekend:
1) A Colombian man openly weeping in the middle of the Dayton bar while listening to latin music on his pink Ipod.
2) Loud, obnoxious Kansas fan yelling "yes" when Kansas hit that meaningless three with 0.4 left in the game. He either forgot the actual score or has no idea how basketball works, and I'm not sure which way is funnier but I know he had all of us rolling in the back room after we heard him.
Anyway, on to the usual garbage:
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Xavier. It's hard to blame the Gophers too much for the loss on Friday, particularly when the Musketeers were the far better team, and they continued to show that by beating Pitt on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season - one of just two teams (Michigan State is the other) who can make that claim. Sure, there were things the Gophers could have done better/differently, but the entire game it seemed as if the Gophers were doing everything in their power just to keep it close, and I don't really remember ever thinking they had a chance to pull it out. Jordan Crawford was by far the best player on the court with his 28 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist performance (which he followed up with 27-6-6 against Pitt) and the Gophers had no idea how to keep Love and McLean off the boards. Xavier has enough talent to take down Kansas State and could advance to the Elite 8 this week. I don't think they have enough juice to beat Syracuse, but once you get this deep, anything can happen.
2. Joe Mauer. Or Bill Smith or Ron Shapiro or whoever you want to give the credit too. The important thing is that Mauer is signed Even if he regresses a bit, his downside is probably something like .310/.390/.480 with 15 homers, and from a gold glove catcher even that is probably worth close to what he's getting paid. Add in his upside, MVP-potential, and what he means to this town, and it had to be done. I'd say this is all they had left to do, but with Nathan now out for the year I think they need to make another move. This team is really good and right on the verge, and I'm afraid if they don't do something it's going to be a disaster. Tell me you don't see them going closer-by-committee, having it become a disaster, and not realizing or trying to make a change until it's too late. That's exactly something the Twins would do. I read somewhere that the Padres want Perkins and two "good" prospects for Heath Bell. Now, if that "good" level means guys like Ben Revere and Wilson Ramos I'd tell the Padres to go screw, but if they're talking like Trevor Plouffe and Steven Tolleson then it's time to run, not walk, to make this deal.
3. Ali Farokhmanesh. The biggest upset of the tournament thus far has got to be UNI's victory over Kansas (well, Ohio over G-Town was probably bigger, but essentially meaningless), and the hero was without question Cedar Falls' version of Jamal Abu Shamala in Farokmanesh. That monster three pointer he hit with 30 seconds left was the stupidest, dumbest, ballsiest shot I've ever seen, and since it went down and ended up being the game winner, Farok goes down as a hero rather than a goat, and is going to end up being a tournament legend who is talked about long after his playing days are done a la Bryce Drew. Add in the fact that he also hit a three with under five seconds to go to give the Panthers their opening round win over UNLV, and this kid had one hell of a weekend. It's just unfortunate that he's a terrorist.
4. Cornell. Remember all that "under-seeded" talk? Well, two wins and a sweet 16 berth says that wasn't just crazy talk. I still contend the Big Red caught a nice break in running up against two team's that play a similar style and weren't going to out-athletic them, but you can't really talk down to an Ivy League team that ends up playing in the second week of the tournament. Even though Ryan Wittman gets most of the press, especially here with his Minnesota connection, seven-footer Jeff Foote might end up being the key against Kentucky. He's not just some big ole seven-footer who plays because he's seven feet tall in the Ivy League, he has some legit skill and good footwork and is going to need it all against Kentucky. This is going to be a real tester, since Kentucky is playing as well as it has all year. I'd love to see Calipari go down, no matter how unlikely it may be.
5. Michigan State. How annoying are the Spartans? It's the same thing every year, they look mediocre all through the Big Ten season, end up with a middle-high type seed, you think they're ripe for the upset, and then they just keep winning. That monstrously entertaining win over Maryland on Sunday gave Michigan State their third Sweet-16 in as many years (meanwhile the Gophers haven't made it that far in over ten years) and showed once again why you never, ever doubt Izzo. I read that there is a 90% chance Sparty will be without Kalin Lucas against Northern Iowa, and normally I'd say that is a pretty big deal, but it doesn't seem to matter who is there or gone on Izzo's teams, so they'll probably win by ten. Oh, and Durrell Summers is absolutely going to be a huge star next season. All Big-10 First Team.
WHO SUCKED
1. Scottie Reynolds. There's not much as enjoyable as watching a truly overrated chucker nearly shoot his team to a loss in the first round against a 15-seed and then, after his team manages to escape thanks to an NCAA mandate to the refs that Robert Morris isn't allowed to win, doing the same thing 48 hours later, but this time they couldn't escape and were dropped by the suddenly super popular Omar Samhan and St. Mary's 75-68. I'm not kidding either. Your precious All-American shot 2-15 in the first game and was 2-11 in the second, going 4-26 in what has to be a record in futility from someone who idiotic fans love because they're stupid. He makes Stephen Curry look like Magic Johnson. I'm almost sad he's graduating, just because he's so fun to root against, but I will enjoy not having to hear about him anymore. Maybe the most overrated player in history.
2. The Big East. Speaking of overrated, what do we think of the Big East? Eight teams with bids, called the best conference in all the land for the second-year in a row, and yet only two teams (Syracuse and West Virginia) are still alive for the Sweet 16. It's really not that bad if you think about how they made up 1/8th of the invitees and still make up 1/8th of the remaining teams, but they were set up for a lot more success. Both Villanova and Georgetown had Final Four aspirations and Pitt was a three-seed, Marquette and Notre Dame as six seeds were picked by some to make the Sweet 16 but lost in the first round, and Louisville was thought to be a challenge for Duke in round two but couldn't even get past Cal. That's currently a 6-6 record for the conference by my count, which sounds ok until you think about how they had a 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 6, 6, and 9 seed. Seriously, pretty embarrassing.
3. The Mountain West. Well, if we're going to talk about disappointing conferences we can't very well ignore the Mountain West, which had three teams invited, two with a good chance at getting to the Sweet 16, but instead ended up going just 2-3, with their top team (New Mexico) getting bounced hard in round 2 by Washington by 20 and BYU refusing to even show up in their second round guy against Kansas State after just squeaking by a Florida team that probably didn't even deserve a bid. Not that I necessarily thought these guys were great, but this certainly doesn't help my argument that high-mid-major teams from conferences like the A-10 and MWC can be valid sleepers in the NCAA tournament. Apparently you have to go to smaller conferences like the Ivy or Missouri Valley to have a prayer.
4. Richmond. Hey, speaking of teams that suck and aren't valid sleepers, let's give it up for my most disappointing team of the dance - The Richmond Spiders. I was so fired up for these guys to make a run. They closed out winning twelve of their last fourteen including a huge win over Xavier in the A-10 tournament, and even though I knew St. Mary's was a dangerous 10 seed I was still expecting a Richmond win followed by another win over Villanova. Obviously not. And they would have beaten Villanova, too, just like the Gaels did, but they decided not to show up for their first game. Seriously, have to seen this stat? Richmond was out-rebounded 39-16? How is that even possible? The earlier mentioned Samhan had twelve boards all by himself, which means he damned near out-rebounded the Spiders all by himself. Ridiculous. And such a good team, too. I mean, they just had 35 rebounds in a game against Xavier the prior week. Such a shame.
5. Blake Hoffarber. I'm sick of Hoffarber. Actually that's not exactly true, I'm just sick of an offense that relies so heavily on someone who can't create his own shot. Hoff is just fine. He's a great shooter (unless he's too open), he's a good rebounder for his size and lack of athleticism, and he's a smart player. I'm just sick of watching all these good teams and all these good players and we're stuck watching the Gophers and their two players who can create their own shot, one of whom is likely functionally retarded. I want better players, dammit. Get on it, Tubby. You need to get this program turned all the way around before you bolt to Auburn. Don't you betray me, too. I'm still trying to recover from Rico Tucker turning his back on me.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sad Day for Twins Fans
It is with a heavy heart that I report Mike Redmond, backup catcher extraordinaire, has signed with the Cleveland Indians and will no longer be a Minnesota Twins.
Most often described as a "gritty", "hustley" prankster, Redmond may have been completely terrible at the plate and only registered one season better than league average in the five years he played with Minnesota and never broken more than 272 at-bats (all while playing terrible defense with an arm worse than Johnny Damon's) but nobody could keep a clubhouse looser, and we all know how important chemistry is on a baseball field (how he never won an MVP is beyond my reckoning.) Best known for taking batting practice naked, running around the clubhouse naked, and jerking off teammates when they were in hitting slumps, Redmond will be hard to replace and the team may suffer next year without him around.
I'm kidding of course. That guy sucks and he annoys the crap out of me. Good riddance. If they picked him over Jose Morales as the backup to Mauer again I was going to have to drive to Bill Smith's house and go Mark David Chapman on him.
- Hell, as long as I'm here I might as well mention a couple of other Twin-related stories, but these both actually bum me out (and weirdly are both Padre related).
First, and this was pretty much a pipe dream from the start, Heath Bell resigned with the Padres for 1-year/$4 million. I never really expected the Twins to go after him, and especially after they picked up Clay Condrey (as if he's the answer), but I still hoped. Actually at $4 million for one year for a team that will struggle to win 70 games you can pretty much guarantee Bell will be available right around the trade deadline. Expect a bunch of teams to show interest, me to get excited the Twins might get him, and then Bell to end up on the Red Sox.
Second, the Glen Perkins for Kevin Kouzmanoff rumors are done since the Pads dealt Kouz to the Athletics. Kouzmanoff heads to Oakland for two mediocre outfielders, including Scott Hairston who played mediocrely for San Diego already from 2007-half of last season, and Aaron Cunningham who has hit .211 in 133 career at-bats since being drafted in 2005. This is the third time both of these guys have been traded. You're telling me Perkins wouldn't be more attractive than these two clowns? Seriously Smith, Perkins isn't good. His upside is a middle reliever. You should have made this trade.
But none of that disappointment can compare to no longer having Redmond around. My soul hurts. Who will be the naked Twin now? Hopefully J.J. Hardy, he's one sexy son of a bitch.
Most often described as a "gritty", "hustley" prankster, Redmond may have been completely terrible at the plate and only registered one season better than league average in the five years he played with Minnesota and never broken more than 272 at-bats (all while playing terrible defense with an arm worse than Johnny Damon's) but nobody could keep a clubhouse looser, and we all know how important chemistry is on a baseball field (how he never won an MVP is beyond my reckoning.) Best known for taking batting practice naked, running around the clubhouse naked, and jerking off teammates when they were in hitting slumps, Redmond will be hard to replace and the team may suffer next year without him around.
I'm kidding of course. That guy sucks and he annoys the crap out of me. Good riddance. If they picked him over Jose Morales as the backup to Mauer again I was going to have to drive to Bill Smith's house and go Mark David Chapman on him.
- Hell, as long as I'm here I might as well mention a couple of other Twin-related stories, but these both actually bum me out (and weirdly are both Padre related).
First, and this was pretty much a pipe dream from the start, Heath Bell resigned with the Padres for 1-year/$4 million. I never really expected the Twins to go after him, and especially after they picked up Clay Condrey (as if he's the answer), but I still hoped. Actually at $4 million for one year for a team that will struggle to win 70 games you can pretty much guarantee Bell will be available right around the trade deadline. Expect a bunch of teams to show interest, me to get excited the Twins might get him, and then Bell to end up on the Red Sox.
Second, the Glen Perkins for Kevin Kouzmanoff rumors are done since the Pads dealt Kouz to the Athletics. Kouzmanoff heads to Oakland for two mediocre outfielders, including Scott Hairston who played mediocrely for San Diego already from 2007-half of last season, and Aaron Cunningham who has hit .211 in 133 career at-bats since being drafted in 2005. This is the third time both of these guys have been traded. You're telling me Perkins wouldn't be more attractive than these two clowns? Seriously Smith, Perkins isn't good. His upside is a middle reliever. You should have made this trade.
But none of that disappointment can compare to no longer having Redmond around. My soul hurts. Who will be the naked Twin now? Hopefully J.J. Hardy, he's one sexy son of a bitch.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Twins Talk
Since we unfortunately have a night off from college buckets, and at least one reader is clamoring for Twins roster speculation as seen by the bordering on obsessive comment left earlier today, I'll go ahead and take a look at what some of the rumors out there surrounding the Twins this offseason.
In no particular order, other than the order their names jumped into my head.
- Akinori Iwamura, written about here previously, is no longer an option, seeing as he was traded to Pittsburgh. It's a bit perplexing, because the Pirates aren't going anywhere any time soon, and they had to trade a young semi-promising middle relief prospect in order to pay him $4 million for one year. It's also disappointing because that's cheap as hell for his production and I'd be willing to bet the Twins could have gotten him for like, Armando Gabino (who was plucked away by the Orioles off waivers, by the way). Anyway, it's not happening, so it's time to move on.
- Lovely reader Kate, who was the first one to turn me on to Iwamura, has indeed moved on, and is "literally drooling" over the thought of Adrian Beltre on the Twins (her words, not mine), and we've made no secret of our Beltre love here at DWG before. There is a lot that points to this being a possibility, including this article where mlbtraderumors.com predicts Beltre will end up a Twin, and the fact that he is a Type B free agent means the Twins won't have to give up a draft pick to sign him. The sort of large negative here is that Beltre actually had the Twins on his "no trade clause" list. Beltre had his worst hitting season as a pro and nearly lost a gonad (that's not a joke), but he's still intriguing and would look awfully nice on the hot corner if he is affordable. I'd love to see a 2 year/$5 million per, but I have no idea what the market will be.
- Speaking of the market for 3b, you can go ahead and forget about Chone Figgins, he's going to be the hottest property out there, and there's no chance you're going to see the Twins in a bidding war for him.
- Hell, as long as we're listing people for you to forget about, let's add John Lackey to the list as well. Not only is he a type A - meaning if the Twins were to sign him they would have to give up their first round pick next year, something they would never do, but because he's the top pitcher on the market. That means teams like the Yankees and Red Sox will be after him, and that means that contract will end up being more than the Twins' payroll. So, sorry PA who continually talks up Lackey to the Twins, get your head out of the clouds (and your ass) - it ain't happening. No way, no how.
- One free agent pitcher who does have a shot at winding up here is Rich Harden, an immensely talent yet injury prone pitcher who has only pitched more than 25 games in a season twice in his six years, although one of those was last year. There's no doubt he would be a huge risk, but there's also no doubt he has the talent to be a front of the rotation starter if he stays healthy. I wouldn't invest a lot of money or a lot of years, but if they can get him to sign an incentive-laden deal he could end up being a huge steal.
- As far as other middle infielders go, two names I had heard as possibilities, Marco Scutaro and Placido Polanco, both suddenly got a lot less likely with the announcement that they are both type-A guys. I'm actually glad that's how it shook out for Scutaro, because although I like his multi-positionalness and knowledge of the strike zone, I can't shake the feeling that he's a utility guy who had a career year. I am bummed, however, about Polanco, who I was really hoping the Twins would end up signing to a two or three year deal. This really reduces the odds he ends up here, since I can't see the Twins getting rid of a first round pick to sign a 34-year old for two years. The rule is meant to help smaller market teams, and it works in a lot of cases, but this time the team getting screwed is the small market.
- One guy who was helped by the classification was Mark DeRosa, who, it was thought, would be a type A but ended up a type B, greatley expanding the pool of teams who will be looking at him. The Twins showed some interest in him last season, and I would guess they take another look at him this winter. His numbers absolutely plummeted last year after his trade to the National League, and he's 34 years old with just two seasons better than league average in his career, so I'm inclined to pass.
- Common commenter and former contributor Dawger mentioned that the Twins should look into signing Miguel Tejada. If you ever wonder why we question his baseball (and all sports, really) acumen, this should be all you need to know. Actually, that's a bit harsh. If he can play second base (I don't know the answer to this) and they can get him for a similar deal to the one Crede signed, I guess that would be ok.
- Turning our attention to pitching, the one interesting thing I read is that the Texas Rangers feel they have a surplus of pitching (seriously, the Rangers) and could be looking to move Brandon McCarthy - yes, the same McCarthy who was a failed prospect with the White Sox, but is now starting to look pretty good for Texas. I have no idea what the price would be, and I actually need to do a lot more research on this before I decide if I'm excited or not. For now, color me intrigued with a chance of arousal - just like your mom last time I was at your house.
- As far as free agent pitchers go, outside of Harden the only name I've heard connected to the Twins at all is Jarrod Washburn (and Lackey, if you count jackasses who work for KFAN and are less well informed than my dad when it comes to his computer), and the only other name that has perked my interest a tad was J.J. Putz. Washburn feels like the town strumpet at this point, and has either been with every team or been rumored to be with every team at this point. I'm having a lot of trouble getting even remotely excited about him (unlike Dawger at wrestling practice) and would need to hear a solid argument from someone else. Putz, on the other hand, was bought out by the Mets and so would have no compensation issues, and is just two years removed from being a lights-out closer (and was a good set up guy last year). Again, the market will dictate whether or not the Twins should go after him, but he's worth a look. I like to compare the Twins' bullpen to God - I have no faith.
- Lastly, tell me freaking Melvin Mora doesn't feel like exactly like the kind of guy the Twins would sign to play third. Yuck.
- That's really all I have for free agents, but if you want to take a look at the guys the Twins have exclusive rights to - Pavano, Cabrera, Redmond, Crede, and Mahay - and really the only interesting guy here is Pavano. I'd right stuff, but instead just go here to Nick's Twins blog where he writes a whole lot more than I care or have the abililty to about this Pavano dealie. Under no circumstances should Redmond be resigned, and Mahay is meh. Cabrera has no place here, yet the papers continue to say he could be signed if he would play second solely because he had a nice 15-game stretch and people desperately want to believe in "clutch" - he's as good as gone. Crede is the only other possibility I'd entertain resigning. After yet another year torpedoed by injuries, the market for him is likely to be even lower than last season. Would he sign here for one year, $1 million? $2 million? Seriously, if he would sign for that kind of money he's a no-brainer. Hell, even 2 years at $2 million per year is probably worth it.
- The last thing is trades, and if you are seriously contemplating trading Nathan, Morneau, or Mauer (I'm talking to you anonymous poster) you are dumber than Audrina (although not nearly as hot). None of them should be traded (and I assume the Mauer part is shtick) unless somebody comes up to Billy Smith and seriously blows his skirt up with an offer. Although imagine the offer they could get for Mauer. What if the Rangers offered Neftali Feliz, Justin Smoak, Elvis Andrus, Taylor Teagarden, and Brandon McCarthy? Seriously. You would have to take that. But that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Other than that, you shouldn't trade any of those three, unless you can somehow get Joakim Soria in some way.
- The very last thing I'll say, is that the Brewers tried to get either Adam Lind or Travis Snider from the Blue Jays or Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox for J.J. Hardy before settling for Carlos Gomez. Wow. That is like trying to get with Lindsay Lohan circa 2004 and ending with this recent trainwrecky and not in a good way version. Also, as I close this post, that reminds me that I mentioned Audrina somewhere up above and as such, this must now happen:
That was her when we left the bar the other night. You all have a nice day.
In no particular order, other than the order their names jumped into my head.
- Akinori Iwamura, written about here previously, is no longer an option, seeing as he was traded to Pittsburgh. It's a bit perplexing, because the Pirates aren't going anywhere any time soon, and they had to trade a young semi-promising middle relief prospect in order to pay him $4 million for one year. It's also disappointing because that's cheap as hell for his production and I'd be willing to bet the Twins could have gotten him for like, Armando Gabino (who was plucked away by the Orioles off waivers, by the way). Anyway, it's not happening, so it's time to move on.
- Lovely reader Kate, who was the first one to turn me on to Iwamura, has indeed moved on, and is "literally drooling" over the thought of Adrian Beltre on the Twins (her words, not mine), and we've made no secret of our Beltre love here at DWG before. There is a lot that points to this being a possibility, including this article where mlbtraderumors.com predicts Beltre will end up a Twin, and the fact that he is a Type B free agent means the Twins won't have to give up a draft pick to sign him. The sort of large negative here is that Beltre actually had the Twins on his "no trade clause" list. Beltre had his worst hitting season as a pro and nearly lost a gonad (that's not a joke), but he's still intriguing and would look awfully nice on the hot corner if he is affordable. I'd love to see a 2 year/$5 million per, but I have no idea what the market will be.
- Speaking of the market for 3b, you can go ahead and forget about Chone Figgins, he's going to be the hottest property out there, and there's no chance you're going to see the Twins in a bidding war for him.
- Hell, as long as we're listing people for you to forget about, let's add John Lackey to the list as well. Not only is he a type A - meaning if the Twins were to sign him they would have to give up their first round pick next year, something they would never do, but because he's the top pitcher on the market. That means teams like the Yankees and Red Sox will be after him, and that means that contract will end up being more than the Twins' payroll. So, sorry PA who continually talks up Lackey to the Twins, get your head out of the clouds (and your ass) - it ain't happening. No way, no how.
- One free agent pitcher who does have a shot at winding up here is Rich Harden, an immensely talent yet injury prone pitcher who has only pitched more than 25 games in a season twice in his six years, although one of those was last year. There's no doubt he would be a huge risk, but there's also no doubt he has the talent to be a front of the rotation starter if he stays healthy. I wouldn't invest a lot of money or a lot of years, but if they can get him to sign an incentive-laden deal he could end up being a huge steal.
- As far as other middle infielders go, two names I had heard as possibilities, Marco Scutaro and Placido Polanco, both suddenly got a lot less likely with the announcement that they are both type-A guys. I'm actually glad that's how it shook out for Scutaro, because although I like his multi-positionalness and knowledge of the strike zone, I can't shake the feeling that he's a utility guy who had a career year. I am bummed, however, about Polanco, who I was really hoping the Twins would end up signing to a two or three year deal. This really reduces the odds he ends up here, since I can't see the Twins getting rid of a first round pick to sign a 34-year old for two years. The rule is meant to help smaller market teams, and it works in a lot of cases, but this time the team getting screwed is the small market.
- One guy who was helped by the classification was Mark DeRosa, who, it was thought, would be a type A but ended up a type B, greatley expanding the pool of teams who will be looking at him. The Twins showed some interest in him last season, and I would guess they take another look at him this winter. His numbers absolutely plummeted last year after his trade to the National League, and he's 34 years old with just two seasons better than league average in his career, so I'm inclined to pass.
- Common commenter and former contributor Dawger mentioned that the Twins should look into signing Miguel Tejada. If you ever wonder why we question his baseball (and all sports, really) acumen, this should be all you need to know. Actually, that's a bit harsh. If he can play second base (I don't know the answer to this) and they can get him for a similar deal to the one Crede signed, I guess that would be ok.
- Turning our attention to pitching, the one interesting thing I read is that the Texas Rangers feel they have a surplus of pitching (seriously, the Rangers) and could be looking to move Brandon McCarthy - yes, the same McCarthy who was a failed prospect with the White Sox, but is now starting to look pretty good for Texas. I have no idea what the price would be, and I actually need to do a lot more research on this before I decide if I'm excited or not. For now, color me intrigued with a chance of arousal - just like your mom last time I was at your house.
- As far as free agent pitchers go, outside of Harden the only name I've heard connected to the Twins at all is Jarrod Washburn (and Lackey, if you count jackasses who work for KFAN and are less well informed than my dad when it comes to his computer), and the only other name that has perked my interest a tad was J.J. Putz. Washburn feels like the town strumpet at this point, and has either been with every team or been rumored to be with every team at this point. I'm having a lot of trouble getting even remotely excited about him (unlike Dawger at wrestling practice) and would need to hear a solid argument from someone else. Putz, on the other hand, was bought out by the Mets and so would have no compensation issues, and is just two years removed from being a lights-out closer (and was a good set up guy last year). Again, the market will dictate whether or not the Twins should go after him, but he's worth a look. I like to compare the Twins' bullpen to God - I have no faith.
- Lastly, tell me freaking Melvin Mora doesn't feel like exactly like the kind of guy the Twins would sign to play third. Yuck.
- That's really all I have for free agents, but if you want to take a look at the guys the Twins have exclusive rights to - Pavano, Cabrera, Redmond, Crede, and Mahay - and really the only interesting guy here is Pavano. I'd right stuff, but instead just go here to Nick's Twins blog where he writes a whole lot more than I care or have the abililty to about this Pavano dealie. Under no circumstances should Redmond be resigned, and Mahay is meh. Cabrera has no place here, yet the papers continue to say he could be signed if he would play second solely because he had a nice 15-game stretch and people desperately want to believe in "clutch" - he's as good as gone. Crede is the only other possibility I'd entertain resigning. After yet another year torpedoed by injuries, the market for him is likely to be even lower than last season. Would he sign here for one year, $1 million? $2 million? Seriously, if he would sign for that kind of money he's a no-brainer. Hell, even 2 years at $2 million per year is probably worth it.
- The last thing is trades, and if you are seriously contemplating trading Nathan, Morneau, or Mauer (I'm talking to you anonymous poster) you are dumber than Audrina (although not nearly as hot). None of them should be traded (and I assume the Mauer part is shtick) unless somebody comes up to Billy Smith and seriously blows his skirt up with an offer. Although imagine the offer they could get for Mauer. What if the Rangers offered Neftali Feliz, Justin Smoak, Elvis Andrus, Taylor Teagarden, and Brandon McCarthy? Seriously. You would have to take that. But that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Other than that, you shouldn't trade any of those three, unless you can somehow get Joakim Soria in some way.
- The very last thing I'll say, is that the Brewers tried to get either Adam Lind or Travis Snider from the Blue Jays or Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox for J.J. Hardy before settling for Carlos Gomez. Wow. That is like trying to get with Lindsay Lohan circa 2004 and ending with this recent trainwrecky and not in a good way version. Also, as I close this post, that reminds me that I mentioned Audrina somewhere up above and as such, this must now happen:
That was her when we left the bar the other night. You all have a nice day.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Arg.
How is it that I'm actually envious of the Giants? That's not supposed to happen, and yet here we are. Despite a payroll around what the Twins should be able to handle next year ($82 mil), and a rough path to the payoffs (7.5 games out of first in the NL West, 1 game ahead in the Wildcard) they bit the bullet and got the balls to make the kind of the moves the Twins need to make, but refuse.
It culminated today in a trade for Freddy Sanchez, which is almost as disappointing as when my new boss ordered his steak butterflied and medium well at dinner tonight. Sanchez, of course, is the Pirates' (former) second basemen, the guy who won a batting title three years ago, owns a career .300 average, and hits about 30 doubles and ten homers a season. The guy who was exactly what the Twins' needed.
Turns out, the asking price was the #26 prospect in baseball, double-A starting pitcher Tim Alderson. Reading up on him, he is described as a guy with good but not great stuff, but a very smart pitcher who understands how to pitch. You know who that reminds me of? Mike freaking Mussina. Tim Alderson is my new favorite player.
The Giants also picked up Ryan Garko, who, being a Twins fan, you probably remember from the Indians. Nothing spectacular, but an above average hitter and ok fielder who can play first and the outfield and costs almost nothing. They gave up a pitcher named Scott Barnes, who doesn't show up on any best prospect lists anywhere, but has put up some excellent numbers at high A ball this year, and shown some real potential. Exactly the kind of guy the Twins wouldn't ever part with ever in a million years.
And you know what, the Giants probably overpaid, especially for Garko. But you know what else? The Giants desperately needed a first basemen because the guy they had there, the weirdly named Travis Ishikawa, hits the ball like Nick Punto. So they went out and got somebody and did what they needed to do, even if it might possibly have maybe slightly hurt their future in the future.
I salute you Giants GM guy. You had a window, and you took advantage even if you might have hurt yourself in the future. Something the Twins refuse to do, year after year, toiling in mediocrity, never going for it, and never legitimately giving themselves a chance to win anything beyond a division title. Frustrating. Would you rather contend for a division title every year but never have a shot at going any further, or take a chance and have a real title contender once in a while but also have to suffer through some non-contending seasons? I choose the latter.
Sidenote - I really like what the Pirates are doing. That team was so bad, and had no future whatsoever. Blowing the whole thing up and starting over gives them hope, if nothing else.
Sidenote #2 - If they trade Danny Valencia to get two months of a 34-year old shortstop who has the OBP of Nick Punto I quit. I seriously will quit.
Sidenote #3 - Yes, that's a very good sweep of the Sox, it still doesn't change the fact that we don't have a second baseman.
Friday, October 3, 2008
There's Always Next Year
Ok, I'm over it. The Twins missed the playoffs - fine. I'm still not going to call the season a success, but it's true that we did get to watch meaningful baseball all season long and that's something very good. I'm done with Twins 2008, at least for now, and it's time to look at 2009.
I was discussing this with Snacks, and I don't think I can remember the Twins every being in this good of shape in the offseason. The starting rotation has five quality guys, so you don't need to look for a starter. Outfield/DH has five guys for four spots. Catcher, first base, and second base are locked in. The only weaknesses are the left side of the infield and the bullpen, and with a payroll estimated at just $61 million, they should be able to get what they need.
As for the bullpen, you know the closer position is good to go. Juan Berenguer II gives you one setup guy, and if Neshek is all the way back to form you have your second one. The rest of the pen can probably be dismantled. Guerrier is eligible for arbitration, and I don't really see any reason to bring him back at over a million unless you choose to continue to lose. Reyes and Guardado are both free agents, but with Miljares and Breslow there I can't see investing in those guys. Humber will almost certainly get every chance to pitch on the big club since he is out of options and either has to stick with the Twins or be released, and I expect Bonser to be part of the pen as well. Not really huge on that mix, and would love to see it improve somehow, whether from the farm or a free agent. There are a ton of guys out there, many of whom can be had for cheap. It's just a matter of picking the right one.
The left side is trickier, mainly because you don't know what you're going to get from Punto. I love him as a backup/defensive replacement/pinch runner/utility guy, but not super in love with him as a starter, either at third or short. Brendan Harris is kind of the same way, I really like having him on the team, but would feel better if he was backup. Buscher showed he's better than I even thought, but ON THIS TEAM I don't like him. I think the Twins really need more power coming from third, since they have so little of it. The way to shore up that left side is through free agency or a trade.
The Twins have the money (payroll of just $60 or so million, made money last season) and the trade chips to make a splash, and Bill Smith showed he will do it with the Garza/Young trade last year. With the five quality outfielders, someone is expendable. No way they trade Span, and it's highly doubtful they trade Young or Gomez unless they're blown away by an offer. If they move anyone, it will be Kubel or Cuddyer. I love Kubel and he's the second best power hitter on the team, but Cuddyer is excellent as well. Rumors of moving Cuddyer are likely just that, rumors, although I'd be ok with it. I consider it more likely one of Cuddy or Kubel is traded.
Besides Cuddyer/Kubel and Buscher, there are also a plethora of minor league arms that could be used to make a trade. Humber, Mulvey, Tyler Robertson, Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing, and several others would garner significant interest.
So who is available? At third base, this years free agent class is pretty weak - unless the Rangers don't pick up their option on Blalock. It's pretty much littered with old men like Nomar, Rich Aurilia, Casey Blake, and Craig Counsell. The one intriguing name on the list is Joe Crede of the White Sox. He's injured, so that's a concern, but he's just 32 and is an excellent hitter and fielder. Definitely a guy the Twins need to look at. Free agent shortstops are much more intriguing, with Orlando Cabrera, Rafael Furcal, and Edgar Renteria out there. Furcal would be my last choice, as the Twins have enough guys who have no idea what the strike zone is, but any of the three is a big time upgrade.
Trade wise, they might be able to pry Blalock or Adrian Beltre away from their teams as both have contracts that run out after 2009 and this time the price should be lower. A couple other interesting names are Chipper Jones and Melvin Mora. They're both old, but they are also both excellent hitters on teams with no hope whose contracts expire after 2009 and will likely both be on the market for the right package. I would love to see the Twins push to get either of these guys, preferably Jones. A couple trade possibilities at short would be Jack Wilson of the Pirates and Khalil Greene of the Padres, although if they trade for Greene I'll probably have to kill myself because I hate that son of a bitch.
Top priority is definitely a third baseman. All those shortstops are going to make way to much on the open market, so if the Twins pass on them I'm ok with that - other than if Wilson becomes available via trade, don't pass that up. First choice would be to sign Crede for whatever it takes, and you don't have to give anything. Second choice would be to trade whatever it takes to get Chipper, Blalock, Mora, or Beltre, in that order. Third choice would be to be a bunch of assholes and sign someone like Rich Aurillia and then declare the problem solved.
I was discussing this with Snacks, and I don't think I can remember the Twins every being in this good of shape in the offseason. The starting rotation has five quality guys, so you don't need to look for a starter. Outfield/DH has five guys for four spots. Catcher, first base, and second base are locked in. The only weaknesses are the left side of the infield and the bullpen, and with a payroll estimated at just $61 million, they should be able to get what they need.
As for the bullpen, you know the closer position is good to go. Juan Berenguer II gives you one setup guy, and if Neshek is all the way back to form you have your second one. The rest of the pen can probably be dismantled. Guerrier is eligible for arbitration, and I don't really see any reason to bring him back at over a million unless you choose to continue to lose. Reyes and Guardado are both free agents, but with Miljares and Breslow there I can't see investing in those guys. Humber will almost certainly get every chance to pitch on the big club since he is out of options and either has to stick with the Twins or be released, and I expect Bonser to be part of the pen as well. Not really huge on that mix, and would love to see it improve somehow, whether from the farm or a free agent. There are a ton of guys out there, many of whom can be had for cheap. It's just a matter of picking the right one.
The left side is trickier, mainly because you don't know what you're going to get from Punto. I love him as a backup/defensive replacement/pinch runner/utility guy, but not super in love with him as a starter, either at third or short. Brendan Harris is kind of the same way, I really like having him on the team, but would feel better if he was backup. Buscher showed he's better than I even thought, but ON THIS TEAM I don't like him. I think the Twins really need more power coming from third, since they have so little of it. The way to shore up that left side is through free agency or a trade.
The Twins have the money (payroll of just $60 or so million, made money last season) and the trade chips to make a splash, and Bill Smith showed he will do it with the Garza/Young trade last year. With the five quality outfielders, someone is expendable. No way they trade Span, and it's highly doubtful they trade Young or Gomez unless they're blown away by an offer. If they move anyone, it will be Kubel or Cuddyer. I love Kubel and he's the second best power hitter on the team, but Cuddyer is excellent as well. Rumors of moving Cuddyer are likely just that, rumors, although I'd be ok with it. I consider it more likely one of Cuddy or Kubel is traded.
Besides Cuddyer/Kubel and Buscher, there are also a plethora of minor league arms that could be used to make a trade. Humber, Mulvey, Tyler Robertson, Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing, and several others would garner significant interest.
So who is available? At third base, this years free agent class is pretty weak - unless the Rangers don't pick up their option on Blalock. It's pretty much littered with old men like Nomar, Rich Aurilia, Casey Blake, and Craig Counsell. The one intriguing name on the list is Joe Crede of the White Sox. He's injured, so that's a concern, but he's just 32 and is an excellent hitter and fielder. Definitely a guy the Twins need to look at. Free agent shortstops are much more intriguing, with Orlando Cabrera, Rafael Furcal, and Edgar Renteria out there. Furcal would be my last choice, as the Twins have enough guys who have no idea what the strike zone is, but any of the three is a big time upgrade.
Trade wise, they might be able to pry Blalock or Adrian Beltre away from their teams as both have contracts that run out after 2009 and this time the price should be lower. A couple other interesting names are Chipper Jones and Melvin Mora. They're both old, but they are also both excellent hitters on teams with no hope whose contracts expire after 2009 and will likely both be on the market for the right package. I would love to see the Twins push to get either of these guys, preferably Jones. A couple trade possibilities at short would be Jack Wilson of the Pirates and Khalil Greene of the Padres, although if they trade for Greene I'll probably have to kill myself because I hate that son of a bitch.
Top priority is definitely a third baseman. All those shortstops are going to make way to much on the open market, so if the Twins pass on them I'm ok with that - other than if Wilson becomes available via trade, don't pass that up. First choice would be to sign Crede for whatever it takes, and you don't have to give anything. Second choice would be to trade whatever it takes to get Chipper, Blalock, Mora, or Beltre, in that order. Third choice would be to be a bunch of assholes and sign someone like Rich Aurillia and then declare the problem solved.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Well Done Bill Smith
I posted this in the comments section of the below post, but I think it warrants putting here:
LaTroy Hawkins: Picked up by Houston. 17 games, 14 innings, 5 hits, 3 walks, 20 K's, ERA of 0.00, WHIP of 0.57
Arthur Rhodes: Acquired by Florida. 27 games, 12 innings, 9 hits, 2 walks, 12 K's, ERA of 0.00, WHIP of 0.94.
Chad Bradford: Picked up by Tampa. 16 games, 14 innings, 15 hits, 8 walks, 4 K's, ERA of 1.29, WHIP of 1.64
Eddie Guardado: Picked up by Minnesota. 7 games, 6 innings, 12 hits, 2 walks, 4 K's, ERA of 10.13, WHIP of 2.63.
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