Roberts trade no longer an option for Twins
Posted on July 30th, 2008 – 12:08 PMBy Joe Christensen
If the Twins trade for a second baseman to replace the injured Alexi Casilla, it won’t be Baltimore’s Brian Roberts, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Twins talked to the Orioles about Roberts last winter, but this month, the O’s have told teams he’s not available.
As for the Kansas City’s Mark Grudzielanek, I’m not sure if the Twins will make a run at him or not.
For bullpen help, LaTroy Hawkins remains a distinct possibility. To make room for him, or any reliever, Twins might have to part with Boof Bonser or Brian Bass, who are out of options.
Two National League scouts have told me there is no doubt that Bonser would get claimed if the Twins tried to pass him through waivers. Teams with pitching issues (Rangers, Pirates, Royals, etc.) would take a chance on him turning it around at age 26. And Twins remain generally pleased with Bass, who has had ups and downs as a rookie.
Twins may or may not make a move, but I do know GM Bill Smith, assistant GM Rob Antony, senior adviser Terry Ryan and pro scouting coordinator Vern Followell have been huddled at the Metrodome all week. I’m sure there are countless scenarios we’re not hearing about, but we’ll continue to keep you posted.
Note: The non-waiver trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. The madness won’t end there, however. Not even close. Teams will get many players through waivers in August, and the rumor mill will start churning again.
Update (12:20 p.m.): Great note passed along by Bob Dutton, of the Kansas City Star: The Twins are the only team with which the Royals have never completed a trade.
293 Responses to "Roberts trade no longer an option for Twins"
The Twins won’t make any significant deals because that’s what they do. They need a legit right handed bat (beltrae or someone like that). Why not trade Buscher in any deal along with whatever young pitching? His value has to be high right now, and we all know he can’t field a lick.
If KC would part with Grudzy, then I would take him. Hawkins is not much of an upgrade…unless Andersen can get him back to his old self (2003 old self). I would not give up much if anything for him to the Yankees.
The Twins talked to the Orioles about Roberts last winter, but this month, the O’s have told teams he’s not available.
Add that to the list then with Atkins, who’s off the table now that Helton’s hurt and the Rox consider themselves buyers. (This is officially by the way)
Just send Bonser to the Royals for Grud and get it over with. Everybody here hates Bonser anyway, and even though Grud is better than either Punto or Everett…it’ll be viewed either as a cheapo move if it doesn’t pan out, or a lucky coincedence if it does.
If I’m the Twins, I just go get Beltre so fans will shut up. And then whatever happens after that just point and say “Hey, you wanted Beltre right?”
Twins will sit on their hands as usual. We will get to roll with Nick Punto and Adam Everett the rest of the year.
Hawkins and the Yankees are essentially in the same place as Rincon was with the Twins are they not?
They don’t have a place for him on the roster, and he won’t accept his DFA…so they have to deal him or he’ll walk and they’ll pay for him to play elsewhere.
Hawkins would be a decent pickup, he’s essentially been Crain this year and looked how foolish he made our hitters look!
Pleased with Bass… I hope that’s the FO’s way of making jokes.. for crying out loud, stop hindering the team and making it even easier for Gardy to screw up the game in the late innings by giving Bass the ball! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills…
rghrbek doesn’t know what he’s talking about……..
Nothing…ever…happens…
The price on Roberts was sky-high as I recall, so probably nothing would have happened anyway.
Have the Twins actually made any effort to trade Boof?
Yeah, but if the Tigers are really interested, then they would get first crack at him, before the Twins, after he clears waivers. Thus, the Twins are thinking of giving something up for him. I would not. Yes I would like him over Bass and Bonser, but I would not give up anything for him.
The Twins are in a tough spot. They cannot think they can roll with Buscher, LNP, Harris and Neverhit. They just can’t. But, I feel like they will. Beltrae and Grudzy might not be the answer, but I’m not sure what other options they have to imporove the offense. The loss of Casilla is very, very unfortunate. We lose the speed, fielding, and patience at the place. Grudzy won’t fill in for that, but would be a .300 hitter who goes to rf a lot.
Have the Twins actually made any effort to trade Boof?
I’m sure his name has come up in talks. I doubt the Twins would want to make that too public for a couple of reasons:
1) Look what happened to Rincon after he was about an hour away from being traded.
2) If other buyers start hearing that the Twins may get ____ for Boof, they could throw their hat in the ring figuring they could muck things up with something slightly better. If only to block.
You’d likely have to monitor things from a seller’s point of view to find out what names the Twins have been shopping around, as they’d be more inclined to let other team’s know what kinds of offers they’re getting to try and start a bidding war.
Yes I would like him over Bass and Bonser, but I would not give up anything for him.
JoeC’s entry a day ago or so mentioned the Yankees would likely help the recieving team eat a contract as part of a deal. Maybe an opportunity to drop a guy like Lamb or Bass, as opposed to having to pay them to play for another team when you drop him later to sign Hawkins.
Move up Luke Hughes and alternate with Everett. Move Lamb down if necessary.
Lamb can’t be “moved down” unless he accepts his DFA (it’s the same situation as Rincon and Everett were in)
And odds are Lamb wouldn’t take it, because odds are somebody who wouldn’t trade for Lamb would be more than willing to sign him at a discount.
So:
Atkins and Roberts aren’t available. That sucks.
Beltre MAY be available, but the cost could be something that hurts the rotation this year already (current starter not named Livan or Baker)
I’d be inclined to say do it on Beltre IF the Twins are comfortable that they have a guy that could come up next year if Livan leaves.
But boy, when everybody’s pretty much in agreement that Livan’s the weak link, you’d hate to trade somebody ELSE and ride a playoff race with a weak link and nobody in the minors to back up a potential injury.
I’m also guessing there’s concern that if Liriano comes up and struggles they’d have nothing to bring up to take over if they deal one of the other four (not named Baker)
Basically, the Twins would be putting the bulk of the playoff race pressure on Liriano’s arm and Beltre’s bat.
I think I could live with it (you’ve gotta take chances) but I dunno if Twins Territory could take it as a whole if one or the other (or god forbid both) falter.
Dear Trade Gods, AKA FO Idiots,
We need help. We have been good all year putting up with the BS injuries, including all 50 finger problems that we have had. Please send us a bat, and infielder or a miracle cure for Pat’s arm to be ready right now.
We are willing to sacrifice a Lamb, give you a Boof and let you take Adam back to Eden. Please, we just want to make some move. Be kind.
Grudzielanek, has a .990 feilding % and is a good hitter and would be a good vet to have on the team, now if we could only get KC to make their 1st deal with us.
I was at the game last night and admit I was cringing when I saw that Punto was hitting second. Without Mauer and Morneau last night it would have been a loss. I have to believe the front office will get another bat. It would be great if we could get Adam Dunn or a “Don Baylor” type player.
First of all, tell me how Punto is “hurting” the Twins. His glove, arm and range are much better than average and he is hitting this year. Secondly, move Cuddy back to third. He is not a step up defensively but his offense will make up for the difference. Third, I don’t care how it is done but Liriano needs to be brought up. He is probably the best pitcher the Twins have right now. Do not count on any trades to be made.
T …I think Mulvey or Duensing could end up filling that need as a starter next year - looking like Mulvey is more ready now, but either could end up similar to what Blackburn is doing this year.
I would propose moving “one” of these three; Baker, Perkins, Blackburn for some more offense in particular Beltre. I also would think Texas would be a great trade partner. We need to call Liriano up soon and no doubt we will have to give up value to acquire value. Bill Smith seems to be doing a little better job than TR did as far has having a more balanced team in my opinion.
It hurts to look Casilla a lot, but Nick Punto has been a pretty good hitter this year and he is a fantastic feilder. I think they should go after Grudzielanek though the guy can hit.
coyotetom: I’ll agree with you on the your 3rd statement about Liriano and about how no trades will be done…
However… can we get off the Punto bandwagon for a second and realize that he is not “much better than average” than anyone, he is in fact just “average”
and much much below average when it comes to hitting…
Cuddyer won’t be a 3B, and even if he returns to ‘06 form offensively, that’s still below avg for a third baseman…
“Mediocrity”, when you dont know what really good is, it’s all you can depend on.
I agree with you MarkW 100%.
I am not sure why we are even discussing this. We all know the Twins will get no one. Or they will trade away Guzman for two class A pitchers. A cat isn’t a dog and the Twins aren’t the Yankees.
Grudzielanek can hit lefties.
Weren’t the Twins looking at Hank Blaylock… and wouldn’t he be just as good as Beltre? Surely some of those pitchers we have laying around could be sent to the Rangers… like Boof & Buscher for Blaylock. I mean, Jayson Stark noted Blaylock had actually played 5 games in a row. Then he can break his finger and we can put Mike Pagliarulo at 3rd.
Move Baker???? Under no circumstances should Baker be moved. He’s approaching ace status. The only starters that should be “touchable” are Perkins and Slowey and only if we have a shot at a PROVEN difference maker. We should never trade cheap pitching, never. Grudz is really the only good option and he would probably be fairly cheap if we weren’t in the same division.
Hank Blaylock is now on the DL.
From MLB.com:
Placed INF Hank Blalock on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 28, with inflammation in his right shoulder
Blalock is on the DL again and off the trade market.
I noticed that the Cubs are looking for a left handed hitter, which the Twins have a surplus of.
Maybe try to work a deal with them for either a guy like Ronnie Cedeno or Mark DeRosa; both can play the infield. Cedeno would probably require a guy like Span in return, but DeRosa is older and could be cheaper. He’s a .275 hitter with 11 HRs and only 5 errors at 2B.
*yawn…
wake me when we have an everyday replacement for Punto, please.
Seriously, I think it’s no coincidence the Twins are a much better team this year where he hasn’t been a regular member of the starting lineup, versus last year when he was a regular member of the starting lineup.
I know a lot of you will point to 2006, where Punto was an integral everyday player on that playoff team, but I personally am not seeing it this year. Worse yet, based on last night, Gardy now has him batting second.
LaTroy Hawkins? Who cares…seriously, if we’re that desparate, we’re in big, big trouble.
Believe it or not, I’m tempted to implore the team to stay as close to what’s worked this year as possible…in other words, no Cuddyer, no Everett, no Punto.
If you have to bring back Matt Macri, so be it.
A lineup of:
Go-go
Punto
Mauer
Morneau
Cuddyer
Kubel
Young
Harris
Everett
is not going to get it done, in my opinion.
Dumping boof to sign Hawkins is a bad idea IMO. As long as everyone is playing GM today why not throw Manny’s name in the mix. If the red sox really want to get rid of him he would be the biggest RH bat available.
“GM Bill Smith, assistant GM Rob Antony, senior adviser Terry Ryan and pro scouting coordinator Vern Followell have been huddled at the Metrodome all week.”
I expect the results of that huddle to be: (a) “Gosh, we tried, we really tried to get somebody that could help, but the price was just too high”; or (b) “Twins fans, we give you Ponson, Nevin, White, Ortiz…”
Please prove me wrong BS.
KP,
Blalock went on the DL yesterday, so he’s not really an option.
Beltre is a good fit, if the Twins feel comfortable that whatever pitcher they deal away can be replaced by Liriano, and important if. Also, Beltre has a limited no trade clause, which may include Minneapolis, although the only report I’ve seen is that it does include LA, which is odd.
However, they should not give up Cuddyer to get him because that trade doesn’t make their offense any better. And I don’t think giving up Span either makes sense, unless they get Putz back as well.
That’s actually been brought up BC, here’s the issue though.
Manny has a full NTC. And speculation is that he’d only wave it for a team he KNOWS will exercise his $20MM option next year.
That’s essentially one of the two New York teams. I really doubt the Sox would trade him to the Yankees, but I have heard that the Mets have come calling.
But Manny won’t wave his NTC to come to Minnesota.
Who are you going to give up for Manny? Is he going to waive his no-trade for Minnesota? What are you going to do with his attitude when you get him here?
lol I have a better chance of playing for the Twins than Manny Ramirez.
“Blalock is on the DL again and off the trade market.”
Thank God, why do you guys want him?
For god’s sake, people, the Twins weren’t supposed to contend this year. They’re not trading any young players away, and no one wants their mediocre veterans. This team is being built to make a big splash in the new stadium. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a big (or medium-sized) deal. Get used to a dp combo of Everett to Punto to Morneau.
Please prove me wrong BS.
Give him some options to work with. So far of all the names thrown out there by fans…Beltre and Kouzmanoff are the only ones where there hasn’t been confirmation that it WON’T HAPPEN.
All I here is “TRADE TRADE!” But aside from Beltre I don’t hear what.
The funny thing is that you hear “BELTRE BELTRE!” but at the same time “YOU CAN’T TRADE ONE OF OUR PITCHERS!”
Typical clamoring from ANY fan base. Trade all of our crap for their star. It makes PERFECT sense.
Manny actually wants a trade to a team that “will not” excerise his option for next year. He wants to be a Free Agent, unfortunetly, Boston will want to slot a guy in that won’t deminish the lineup much if at all.
“If I’m the Twins, I just go get Beltre so fans will shut up”
The last thing the Twins should be worried about is what the fans think, and even moreso what people on this board think they should do.
I think Manny wants to go to a team that WON’T exercise the option(he wants free agency) so hey, maybe we have a chance. 
Thanks T i wasn’t aware of the NTC. Unlike most fans i could care less about a players attitude if he can help us win games that’s all that matters. Say what you want about him but Manny is still one of the most dangerous hitters in all of baseball and still one my favorite players to watch.
CoyoteTom mentioned “Cruddy” at third? Wow, that’s laughable. He was awful at third. Batista was a better fielder, with less range. Plus Cruddy is a below average hitter. I wish we could move him. Too much owed to him on the next two years…
Watching Manny dog it down the line in the midst of a no-hitter as the Red Sox start to fall behind the Rays does not endear him to me. He’s a great player and HE knows it.
and even moreso what people on this board think they should do.
I honestly just want to see what happens when BS does exactly what the fans want and it doesn’t work out.
Oh wait, that was Garza/Young. Give up one of the many young pitchers to get a much needed bat.
unfortunetly, Boston will want to slot a guy in that won’t deminish the lineup much if at all.
Thanks for the correction. That does make more sense from Manny’s point of view. Though I think your right that the Twins won’t have ANYTHING close to what the Red Sox will want in return.
It’s Manny freakin’ Rameriez. It’d be like asking the Twins what they’d want in return for Justin Morneau.
And the fact he has the option means he isn’t a *true* rental player. (I think there’s actually two years of options right?)
Would anyone do a Young for Beltre trade, straight up?
Say what you want about him but Manny is still one of the most dangerous hitters in all of baseball and still one my favorite players to watch.
Very true, but like Randy Moss…he’s only good when he WANTS to be good. This is a guy that claimed an injury to avoid facing Joba Chamberlain TWICE. That’d be like Morneau playing hurt so he wouldn’t have to face Burhele or Carmona (pre injury)
And then what? You sit him and loose his bat or you force him to play and he dogs it. The Red Sox should just take this whole “Owie my knee” thing to the Commish and hope he grows a pair.
T is a very smart person. And I would love a deal for Kouzmanoff
Hey BC how goes it. Just got done reading about earthquakes around the LA area. I hope sane is doing ok. I haven’t done alot of reading lately but are we keeping Everett now that Casilla got hurt. I didn’t keep up on the Everett saga. Oh well. I did however like seeing AJ beat up the watercoooler’.
Would anyone do a Young for Beltre trade, straight up?
I wouldn’t. And I doubt Seattle would.
KP says:
July 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
“Would anyone do a Young for Beltre trade, straight up?”
NO!!! DY has natural potential and Beltre has liquid courage
No to the Young/Beltre trade. Theres no reason we should give up on him already. It’d be ridiculous if we did
T. I would think it would take one of these 3 pitchers (Perkins, Slowey, or Blackburn), and mid level prospect, with the Twins also trying to dump Lamb, to Seattle for Beltrae. That free’s up a lot of money for Seattle.
As far as the garza/young deal, you are wrong if you are suggesting it was a bad deal. Way too early for that. Yes I am up and down on Young as most of us are, but he’s 22 years old. Garza is decent, but still a head case…I’d roll with that trade again if given the opportunity…
Checked the Fort Worth Star Telegram for info on Blaylock and he’s a mess physically, BUT!! They had a short squib note that said the Rangers have talked to the Twins about Boof. As bad as we all think the boofster is he’d be an imporvement for the Rangers and maybe we could get an A ball guy and a ham sandwich for him.
Why are we in trouble if we are seeking LaTroy Hawkins? As far as I’ve seen our bullpen has been worse since Neshek went down… and it seems like most everyone on here “cringes” when it’s time for the bullpen to come in (before Nathan in the 9th).
If we aren’t going to use Nathan more in the 8th inning, we need someone else to give the ball too besides Brian Bass and Boof Bonser (remember, a “BB” is never good when pitching)
Billy trading Garza for Young gives us hope that this GM won’t stock pile a dozen pitchers in the minors while PUNTO and Everett are run out there every day.. I was estatic we got Young..I still hold out hope a 22 year old hitting .296 will work out o.k. for us.. the thing to remember we have plenty of pitching so trading some minor league depth won’t hurt
Are we still on this Beltre trade idea. My gosh get over it. Remember the last time we got a player that used to juice. I sure do hmmm what was his name. Boone something or other.
“Everybody here hates Bonser anyway”
“If I’m the Twins, I just go get Beltre so fans will shut up.”
Those are two things that are NOT being discussed in the Twins FO meeting, because they don’t give a bleep about the opinions of “Everybody here” or whether or not “fans will shut up.”
“Everybody here” should realize that they (and I) are posting to each other only and the Twins FO people are not reading this crap!
Doing fine jimmy I heard about the quake and i saw sane post earlier today so i think he’s fine. I didn’t see you on yesterday so i thought maybe you had relatives in the quake or something.
They did recall Everett due to Lexis injury and now the deabte is on as to what the Twins should do.
Jimmy, I am not a huge Beltrae guy, but he’s a gold glover, and has 15 bombs and is 29 years old. To compare him to a 37 year old washed up, former juicing Boone is silly.
It’s one of the only options out there, that could help us this year and maybe the next year or two because of his age.
Plus it’s realistic (well for a normal team in need of a 3b man).
The Twins have little starting pitching depth. If one of their starters goes down, they could be in big trouble. If they make a trade, they should go for pitching. Both their starting pitching and the bullpen lacks quality and depth.
BC yes I have friends and relatives all over that area that felt the quake. No structural damage to houses and no injuries. I have actually been through a 6. something earthquake. I forgot after the point part.
Those trying to unload Delmon should also consider that he hasn’t missed a game due to injury in 260 games.
Compare THAT to Cuddyer, Gomez, Span, Punto, Everett, Mauer, Bartlett, Liriano, Baker, Tolbert, etc.,etc.,etc.,
All the ability in the world is useless to his team, if a player has no durABILITY.
Any thought if the Twins could pick up someone like MR LHP John Grabow from the Pirates. Did you see that blur that ran over to the pitchers mound for 1 throw or 2 the other night. I think they call him (Fernando Valenzuella) I mean Reyes
We don’t need no stinking trade!
hey sane nothing like a West Covina land a shakin to start out the lunch hour
If a trade was to be made I would give up Lamb for Beltre and everyone eats there own bad contract
the Twins FO doesn’t read this crap?
damn it, i thought i made a difference.
CA: We don’t need no stinking trade!
Not if we think the team we currently have will win the WS. But the Angels have the best record in MLB and they saw an opportunity to get better and took it. And no one should blame the “small market” for us not making a trade, because the Brewers felt they needed something extra and grabbed CC. If we can get better through a trade, why not?
Kubel and Harris are expendable. Maybe the Twins could package them with Luke Hughes in a trade for pitching.
Bret Boone available?
Personally, I like the team where it is at right now with our rotation minus Livan. Trading away one of our young pitchers who have been pretty good this year is not the answer. Liriano is questionable. Yea he is getting it done in AAA, but AAA is not the majors. If he comes up I would say put him in the bullpen like he was in 06. The problem is I think we do need to make a trade. Why plan for the future when you dont know what the future will bring. What happens when this same Twins team sucks next year or 2010. We dont know ala 2007 team that couldnt perform like 06. So, we need to take a shot at this year. Honestly I dont know who it should be or have the answers, but I am weary of Beltre because he had one great year and then went to Seattle and has not been the same. So please BS make a trade for THIS YEAR and not worry about the future for once, because every year we keep doing that we keep having an inexperienced team with no veterans.
Take away Bass’s 2 worst appearences of the year and he has a 3.36 ERA. I think that might have something to do with why they are impressed with him. He probably is easy to work with and cooperative. Bonser has a 6.5 era. I think he has the potential to be good. but at this point, it should be somewhere else where a team has the available innings to give him. We do not.
Grudzy is a FA after the season isn’t he? He can go back to KC if they want him. there is no reason not to trade him up here for the rest of the season if they can get a good prospect for him.
Well said SG.
Is Adrian Beltre really Brett Boone in disguise
00Steve,
First, The team with the best record in baseball almost never wins the WS.
Second, the Brewers are in a different situation than the Twins. They are going to lose a lot of key players after this year so this is their last shot at the title for a while. Because of that they had go and get help to put them over the top.
sane says:
“All the ability in the world is useless to his team, if a player has no durABILITY.”
Young AND Harris have been durable. That is an excellent and important point. What is surprising, is the point comes from a guy (sane) who thinks Adam Everett should be considered the Twins right handed power bat.
steve,
“If we can get better through a trade, why not?”
The Angels thought they were a Teixeira away from a WS title because they already had the best record in MLB and regularly kick the crap out of the Red Sox and Yankees in FENWAY PARK and YANKEE STADIUM!
I figure that puts the Twins about three Teixeira’s short of the Angels.
SG, good points all of them. Beltre is tough to figure out. He had the monster year with the Dodgers (hitters ball park), then went to Seattle and struggled his first year. Last year wasn’t terrible and this year has been fine for a 3b man.
I am leery about giving up the farm for him, but he can “pick it” and has been hitting in SafeCo, with Sexton batting behind him the last 2.5 years. Nuff said there.
They maybe don’t always win the WS, but they are in a better position too, which is the whole point.
So if Nathan/Mauer/Morneau get hurt in ‘09 or ‘10 than we’ll look back and say ‘08 was our best chance for a WS and we didn’t do anything. You can’t keep waiting for next year, because nothing is guaranteed in sports.
craig,
“the point comes from a guy (sane) who thinks Adam Everett should be considered the Twins right handed power bat.”
If I ACTUALLY thought that, I would never post it. My credibility and approval rating are already dropping below Doubleya’s.
sane,
Okay. I will stop having fun with that (Ev the power bat). It’s really Mudcat’s fault. He was the instigator of it all.
Harris isnt expendable right now… we have him, Punto and Everett holding down the middle infield and 3b vs RHP. Potentally for the rest of the season.
I think we may need another infielder if Casilla is out for the rest of the season.
Can we get Corey Koskie a new bag of marbles and call him back?
As far as the garza/young deal, you are wrong if you are suggesting it was a bad deal.
I’m not. Just saying that it has been “percieved” as a bad deal. As Young has solidifed the LF position (remember White/Tyner/Ford?) and Bartlett hasn’t really taken off offensively (though he’s a popular guy in the clubhouse)
T. I would think it would take one of these 3 pitchers (Perkins, Slowey, or Blackburn), and mid level prospect, with the Twins also trying to dump Lamb, to Seattle for Beltrae.
I do as well, but I think Seattle disagrees. I think one poster said it best when they noted that Seattle has an interim GM looking to keep his job (meaning he’s going to do what’s popular…not neccessiarily what’s right)
The only factor there is you’ve got a rookie GM in Smith who could connect on that level and perhaps reason with them to the point of making it work.
But I also have concerns that the rotation THIS season would be a HUGE gamble if Liriano isn’t able to translate his success in AAA to the bigs.
And if any one of the rotation guys goes down to injury (god forbid) there’d be NOBODY available to come up in a playoff race and start rolling. You’d likely see Boof back in the rotation with Hawkins suddenly looking VERY attractive.
If they trade one of those three as part of something for Beltre, Boof would likely stay (for the reason I mention above) Boof has struggled mightily this year, but I’d trust him more than a fresh-faced rookie in the playoff hunt. (Devil you know vs. the Devil you don’t)
I’m more than willing to take a gamble on Beltre, but I’m pretty sure if the trade didn’t pan out as expected (due to Liriano or Beltre struggles) that the backlash could be QUITE heavy.
Though most of that backlash would be on these boards, where a win doesn’t count for much more than loss anyway. 
No way we can compete w/ the elite on the road w/ this team. This team is a nice story but look at how we have been at NY,Boston and NY add blow outs at LAA, and this team w/ the 26th team salary and the Twins not making a significant deal at the deadline since S.Stewart.The 2008 Twins will be nothing more then a nice story.W/ No bat behind Morneau this team will have a solid year but reality is we cant play at Yankee stadium, or at Fenway or at LAA. thats reality….
Can we get Rafael Furcal in a trade and put him at 3b
My credibility and approval rating are already dropping below Doubleya’s.
I wouldn’t start to worry until your popularity drops below mine.
You’ll know when that happens when somebody comes up with a title for you. The role of “Cop” is already taken…so likely “Officer”?
ESPN reporting that the Twins are pursuing Rich Aurilia for a mid-tier prospect
I wouldn’t start to worry until your popularity drops below mine.
You’ll know when that happens when somebody comes up with a title for you. The role of “Cop” is already taken…so likely “Officer”?
How bout earthquake is shaking sane. Or how bout shake and sane
Aurilla? Hmm. The good thing is it shows the Twins have already recognized that Everett and Punto are NOT the answer at 2B.
They’re trying their best. Casilla didn’t really leave them much time to work.
there is no parity in baseball, the Yanks Angels and Red Sox are so much better then anybody else in the majors.We beat up on Seattle, and Clevland and Texas but we get blown out on the road against the elite.If the Twins are serious about competing add a righthanded bat behind Morneau and a legit set up man. If not get ready to continue to get beat 18-5, 12-2 and 13-1 at LA and NY and Boston.
“So if Nathan/Mauer/Morneau get hurt in ‘09 or ‘10 than we’ll look back and say ‘08 was our best chance for a WS and we didn’t do anything.”
If that happens, then we probably NEVER had much chance.
And if Nathan/Mauer/Morneau have career years in ‘09 or ‘10, but we have already traded away key pieces of the supporting cast which would have made us much stronger than we were in ‘08, we’ll be unhappy with THAT result.
IMO, if your best team is 2 years away, save your chips and go “all in” THAT YEAR, when you have a good hand to play.
T,
Aurilia would be a 3B… He is hitting .294/.375/.518 against LHP this year
OK, I’ll instigate something new. Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter, the 2005 Cy Young winner, underwent Tommy John surgery on 07/20/2007 and is making his first start tonight. If he doesn’t do alright, should Liriano be called up?
Diamondbacks are in need of a left handed bat with some pop to play left field. How about Kubel for Stephen Drew?
Aurillia for Boof? do it
jimmy bee,
you are unpopular?
that sucks bro.
Scott Rolen???
Thanks thry. What kind of power numbers does Aurilla have?
There was a comment earlier about trying to get DeRosa or Cedeno from the cubs. DeRosa is going nowhere as he fills too valuable a utility role for the Cubs, and Cedeno’s defense it too iffy for the Twins. Add that to the fact Cedeno hasn’t been able to maintain offensive production over the long haul; not much of an upgrade.
If they are looking at trading with the Cubs, they would get more offensive production out of Fontenot. Problem here is he’s a lefty, and the last thing this team needs is another lefty bat. The Cubs are said to need another strong arm for late innings, and more power from the bench that may be able to help in the outfield if Soriano goes down again.
Looking at it from this point of view, the Cubs aren’t a good trade partner.
jimmy,
I was running (walking?..hard to tell the difference any more) around the neighborhood when I thought I heard everyone’s garage doors open simultaneously.
Felt nothing - saw nothing.
Then, some people came out of their houses saying “wtf?”
That was it.
Good shake (for those inside), nothing but a little noise for me.
Shawn in Binghamton says:
July 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
jimmy bee,
you are unpopular?
that sucks bro.
Oh Well. So is T
Actually, it would probably be Aurilia for a AA mid tier prospect (see: Peterson, Moses, Lis etc.)
Boof is shopped to TX and would probably fetch something better than Aurilia. The Dallas media report that Marcus Lemon was discussed (a A+ SS with a cement glove who is putting up Hughes-like numbers)
Sane: IMO, if your best team is 2 years away, save your chips and go “all in” THAT YEAR, when you have a good hand to play.
The Twins going all in…? Not sure what that means. My point is you don’t know when your best team is all in. We could’ve traded Garza in 2006 and maybe gotten something in return that would’ve helped against the A’s. How do you know your best team is 2 years away. That’s my whole point. You don’t! So when you’re close you have to make the team as good as possible.
Rich Aurilia has 8 bombs and a .333 obs. Not great 3rd base production. I believe he has played mostly at 1b this year for the giants right?
He does hit lefties ok though.
T i knew about
Aurilia has 8 HRs and 16 2Bs in 277 AB (similar to Kubel with more doubles than HRs and higher BA and OBP)
Aurilia has mostly been a 2B/SS, does he have any range to still play there?
Here are some others
sid
jama
herb
charlie
sane but I think he is awesome
BCBeneke
Aurilia has played 3B, SS and DH this year. He would be a dramatic upgrade over Monroe as a platoon DH. He’s 36 years old.
8 HR being more dingers than our current 3Bers combined. Well, maybe.
Shawn in Binghamton anyone that thinks Adrian Beltre trade is a bad idea. Anyone that says anything bad about Pohlad
Error Craig - Aurilia has not played SS this year. 3B, 1B, and DH only.
ChiefUSA
a combination of Buscher/Punto/Everett/Lamb/Harris playing our infield positions is not going to produce enough. Casilla was the big piece of our infield puzzle that was contributing to the offense.
and Punto may be hitting near .300, but that doesn’t mean he’s doing enough to offset that loss. Cause he’s not. In all honesty, do you have any faith in him producing when guys are on base or its a crucial moment in the game when he comes up? You’re lying if you do.
I love punto’s fielding, but his offense still isn’t there.
Buscher has surprised with his hitting at points, but is nothing out of this world, and his glove is lacking.
Lamb is Lamb, concrete at third base, not producing hitting.
Everett can’t hit, we were looking for his Defense, but he can’t be that guy with a bum arm (I struggled the same as him in Amatuer ball this year after hurting my shoulder, never recovered fully from it, same injury, and we played at most 3 times in a week and only 26 games total. Arm felt like I could do everything, but actually doing it was another story. From what I’ve heard, everett had the same issues in his rehab stints)
Harris isn’t an amazing fielder or hitter, was relegated to fill in duty for a reason.
The infield (sans 1B) has lost all production potential with this injury. If there wasn’t something with this team telling you to make a deal before Bill Smith, this should be it.
This team has been lacking a 3B-man ever since Koskie left, now it is lacking 3B and 2B. Your team is contending THIS year, even though it wasn’t expected outside of this organization. Which brings up another point, if you thought this team was capable of contending this year like you’ve said, why wouldn’t you make a deal to improve their chances? especially after taking a blow like this? wait, I know why, you were lying to us.
The twins will not lose anything in their rotation if they lose a Slowey, Blackburn, or Perkins, and one of their decent AAA pitchers (NOT liriano, Mulvey/Humber/Duensing=decent, Liriano=extraordinary), that spot gets filled immediately by the Franchise. Next year someone else will step up ala Blackburn. Whatever other piece needed in a trade won’t matter by the time they’d be ready anyway. I want to know what really is the issue in looking for a deal? Cause I don’t think ‘we’d lose too much’ is a valid argument with all the pitching everyone says we supposedly have.
TN&IC
I am for the Beltre trade and think Pohlad is cheap.
Good shake (for those inside), nothing but a little noise for me.
I know people in California who’ve told me that being in a Earthquake isn’t as big a deal as it would be for somebody who’s never been there.
Like how CNN last night was going on and on about the 5.X and all the footage of the are that was hit was completely unharmed (except for a few potholes and a cieling tile on the ground)
They had to run the same footage of a school full of kids evacing to the football field about 30 times within the 15 minute segment.
Arullia might still platoon with Buscher… but he would be a better platoon than Harris.
He is old… 36. Anyone better than Darnell McDonald for him might be a stretch…
Oh no Shawn in Binghamton you have opened up the door for hate and criticism. Hold onto your keyboard
I am for the Beltre trade and think Pohlad is cheap.
Whenever you think people around here don’t like you, just throw that out there and you’ll automatically be the most popular guy in the room.
I think the Twins are looking to replace the hapless Monroe. Aurilia is not a middle infield option, except in a pinch.
Ryan,
the Giants would want someone that has a chance someday……
so a younger DMac
The Twins did not expect to put a playoff contending team on the field so this season is a bonus. The Twins will not make a major move because they are in their building process. Sending multiple prospects away does not make sense when this same core of veterans and young players will still be here in two years.
i just want an occasional blog beer
I know people in California who’ve told me that being in a Earthquake isn’t as big a deal as it would be for somebody who’s never been there.
I never even got a day off of work when they would hit. The locals like to guess at the magnitude. It’s kind of a game for them.
“How do you know your best team is 2 years away.”
You’re right.
You don’t know.
But if THIS is our best shot, we don’t have much of a shot.
My best GUESS would be when Span, Young, Gomez, Casilla, Buscher?, Tolbert? and our four young SP’s are established and when Morneau, Mauer, Kubel? are veterans, we will be much better than we are this year.
And hopefully, they won’t wet themselves in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park like they do now.
man Sterling just pissed himself with Abreu hitting a HR to make it…. 10-2
if you thought this team was capable of contending this year like you’ve said…
“Competitive” is not “contending”. The Twins were never on track to be contenders. The goal was to field a team that would battle to finish above .500 and finish at least 3rd in the division.
Shawn in Binghamton says:
July 30th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
“I am for the Beltre trade and think Pohlad is cheap.”
I am opposed to the Beltre trade and think Pohlad is cheap.
Urban myth:
Twins screwed up in 2006 by doing nothing at deadline.
The Twins were 8.5 games out after an absolutely scorching 6 weeks and had gained something like 3 or so games.
If you folks want to trade for the sake of trading, at least have the honesty to say so.
Regards,
Shawn in Binghamton says:
July 30th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
i just want an occasional blog beer
You living the high Life. Craaaack, ting, glug, glug, glug. Here is your beer sir. That will be $2.50 blog dollars
This is not the season to overreact and move potential farmers for rentals or aging vets. Let the team compete as is, or make minor deals to improve the pen. Don’t trade anyone for Aurilia, he’s horrible and would just block playing time for useful guys.
Dragon,
i am for a trade for the sake of trading.
“Cause I don’t think ‘we’d lose too much’ is a valid argument with all the pitching everyone says we supposedly have.”
I don’t think we have alot of pitching. I think the Garza trade took care of what little(one guy) surplus we had. If we trade one of the starters and Liriano doesn’t work out, or one of the others gets hurt, who is there to replace them? If Garza hadn’t been traded we’d have Perkins for emergency purposes. Now we have no one.
The Twins need Grabow from Pittsburgh, or Buddy Carlysle from Atlanta to sure up the bullpen.
Extrapulate the statistics of Buscher at 3rd base, and you would need Garrett Atkins or someone of that ilk to improve 3rd base. Buscher is fine.
With Tolbert coming back, Everett for a few at bats, Punterrible, and Harris and with Hughes and Plouffe in the minors we are not desperate for a middle infielder.
But for the love of GOD we have Booflet, Brian Bassackwards, and Dennys Reyes serving up batting practice… Guerrier is a great 7th inning guy, and Crain is coming along perfectly… but we don’t use Breslow enough, Reyes is a joke, and right now LaTroy Hawkins would be a step up, and from a life long Twins fan there is Ron Davis and there is LaTroy Hawkins when it comes to bullpen disappointment and disaster!
Shawn,
My point is the price for Aurilla should be lower than Lis or other names being thrown out (though they can have Moses).
Casillo netted and A ball OFer with an outside chance of being a ML 4th outfielder (Martin) and a future bullpen catcher (Butera) last season. Aurilla should cost no more.
Shawn,
You were almost the first person (you actually came in 68th) I thought of when I wrote that
Regards,
Look at the Padres, Astros, Pirates, Mariners…
They all have relievers that could be had, and that’s what this team needs! Everything else is minor to midlevel… nothing is worse than Reyes, Ole Chubby Boof and Bassackwards.
Send Boof back to SF for Aurillia. that will free up a space for Frankie and help with our infield ‘problems’ in the same move.
I’m opposed to the Beltre trade and i think Pohlads cheap.
2010 is Morneau’s last possible year as a Twin (cheap Carl). The Twins should not wait until he has only one year left on his contract (like Santana). They should trade him when he has two years remaining, to maximize the return on a trade. That means this off-season. Get it done, Billy.
RyanW -
I want royalties for referencing my comments on Butera maybe making it to becoming a bullpen catcher! That’s my baby, lol.
But thanks for making me smile.
“I am for the Beltre trade and think Pohlad is cheap.”
I am for the kids and for the stadium.
And hopefully, they won’t wet themselves in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park like they do now.
Couldn’t agree more.
I like our guys and think we’ll be better (hopefully) in 2 years, but we also could be worse. I don’t think we’re as far off as people think. And if we somehow could get homefield this year, it’d be interesting. Not sayin, just sayin
Bass gets treated unfairly here. He has never done anything to warrant the criticism he gets. First off he isn’t used that much, secondly he’s a rookie and finally he hasn’t done a half bad job. Boof has earned his criticism, Bass not so much.
Looks like Boof may be gone before the end of the game tonight. Liriano will be called up in the morning.Perkins moves to the bullpen if Hernandez doesn’t get shelled tonight. If he gets shelled then they have another decision to make. Just Captain Jack’s prediction.
“Bill Smith says:
July 30th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I’m opposed to the Beltre trade and i think Pohlads cheap”
LOL
“Don’t trade anyone for Aurilia, he’s horrible and would just block playing time for useful guys.”
Like Nick Punto, Mike Lamb, Adam Everett, and Brandan Harris.
BC,
Is Ron Davis still available?
He wouldn’t cost much.
BC- mark down that as an IOU.
Sometimes we hear things that stick, and we do not remember where we hear them. I will take your word and give you credit.
“Send Boof back to SF for Aurillia. that will free up a space for Frankie and help with our infield ‘problems’ in the same move.”
How does that free up space for Liriano? Someone else has to go someplace else for Liriano to come up.
Ryan W,
since when Lis is a real prospect?
he is 24 and hitting .268/.304/.453 with 88 K and 22 BB in AA, he’s been digressing every year, is blocked by Morneau at 1B and is awful at the OF.
Where is that Bacon hill blogger. I know he won’t show his face until after the Angels are done with there second sweep of them. Leaving them worn out and battered. I left some good ones for that bumm in case he blogs on the Boston globe website.
What would happen if every “GM” on here were morphed into one mega “GM”? Would it just contradict itself for every single thing? I predict nothing would happen at the trade deadline if that were the case.
Aurilia would be an upgrade over Monroe. I like him, if he comes cheap.
Craig, Actually Morneau is signed through 2014.
Mauer on the other hand is only signed through 2010 and unless he agrees to a hometown discount, he could command A-Rod type money. Well A-Rod money might be a little high but $20M/yr minimum.
Everett get’s sent back down…
Screw Ron Davis lets talk Roberto Alomar out of retirement and then trade fo Omar Vizquel.
BC,
Butera is a good guy… he threw the kid a ball .
Mauer isn’t going to command A-Rod type money. I doubt 20M. How many singles hitting defensive catchers get $20M.
Aurila looks like a good replacement for Monroe. If we can get him cheap, we can bring him in and see if he can hit lefties better than what Monroe was suppose to.
The New and Improved Craig says:
July 30th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Aurilia would be an upgrade over Monroe. I like him, if he comes cheap.
That’s the only way the Twins would get him
steve,
“And if we somehow could get homefield this year, it’d be interesting.”
I don’t disagree.
I just think the odds will be better for a run in two years and I’d hate to screw that up now with one year gambles.
But you are right - nothing is guaranteed.
Bass gets treated unfairly here
opponents are hitting .296/.356/.504 off him
compare that with Rincon’s .293/.389/.457 and unless Rincon was treated unfairly, Bass isn’t either
Shawn in Binghamton
Try these 2 on for size
1. What do you think of Kubel
2. What do you think of Anthony LaPanta
Thrylos-
Jon Sickels had Lis ranked as our 19th best prospect this year. And he is one of our very few power hitting prospects. I am not saying he is sweet, I am just saying a 36 year old Rich Aruilla should be able to be gotten for cheaper.
“Craig, Actually Morneau is signed through 2014.”
SweetOne,
You are right. Through 2013 actually.
Did anyone hear Dick call Mauer, Earl Mauer accidentally the other day and no one said anything
T - k, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I think they’re exceeding the ‘competive’ don’t you? and have flung themselves into ‘contending’.
So now, you’re Bill Smith, do you pull a cop out and say ‘well we were only planning on being competitive so It’d be worthless to make a deal and turn us into true contenders’ or do you turn the clock forward a little bit and do it now.
Personally I think it would be better for this team to try and ‘contend’ now, how is that bad for the team in 2 years when they’re suppose to become ‘contenders’. A couple years of experience in the ‘contending’ role I think is very advantagious.
and lets stop and take a look at the roster(this year and in the future):
CF - Gomez/Span
LF - Young/Gomez/Span
RF - Cuddyer/Kubel/Young/Span
3B - nobody TRULY worthy or ready currently/Buscher/Harris/Punto/Valencia?Hughes?
SS - Punto/Harris/Everett/Plouffe?
2B - Casilla - Punto/Harris
1B - Morneau
C - Mauer
SP - Liriano, Baker, Slowey, Blackburn, Perkins - Duensing? Mulvey? Humber? Manship? Hunt? Robertson? Guerra?
lots of ‘toolsy’ outfielders in system, but who is gonna come up and replace the group we already have in the next 2 or 3 years? Nobody. They could be a good trade piece.
SP? - were stacked there (as far as ‘prospects’) and don’t lose anything this season if we deal somebody, theres that Liriano guy everybody talks about.
You could land a 3B(or 2B now) to provide some punch to a lineup in need AND just lost an important part of it, and not really hurt you’re system. Our team is already very young, not all those guys are going to get a chance, might as well use some of them to ACTUALLY IMPROVE YOUR TEAM. NOW. IN A YEAR THEY ARE CONTENDING.
I don’t think this is hard to figure out.
I think Bass got victimized on a couple occasions. He doesn’t get used that much and most of his outings haven’t been too bad. I don’t care what the stats say, there is no correlation between Bass and Rincon.
Bass, in 62 IP has given up 74 hits, has a WHIP of 1.53 (2nd worst on team), opponents hit .356 (2nd worst) and slug .504 (1st worse) off him…
Also walked 21 while K’ing just 29 batters… rookie or not, he’s been the 2nd worst pitcher on the team (behind Livan) and the worst reliever out of the pen…
Sorry for not being “fair”.
Craig,
2013 is correct. I wasn’t sure if his new contract was an extension or not. If it was an extension than it would’ve been 2014. After I posted, I remembered that he was up for arbitration.
rookie or not, he’s been the 2nd worst pitcher on the team (behind Livan)
Worse then Boof as a SP
Juan Castro just went yard!
Jimmy,
I like Kubel as a solid guy for years to come. He is not the piece of sh*t that some make him out to be, but will never be a star that his was projected to be either.
Lapanta’s hair held up nice on the Dells boat ride…. i shaved mine off, i should try his system.
But in 2 years opponenets won’t be able to use the excuse about the stadium. We gotsta win now while we are still in the HomerDome. If the playing field is even, we don’t have a chance. (waiting for Joe Morgan and his bald partner to mention the difficulty in catching a fly ball at said stadium)
I think the Twins will switch Casilla back to SS, over the winter. Tolbert, Buscher, Dinkelman, Tolleson will fill in around him at 3B and/or 2B. They could use another SS, for depth.
“I dont care what the stats say”
And that’s why no one cares what YOU say.
“Ignorance” - When you dont want to call someone stupid.
Onetime I heard Lapanta make fun of Roy Smalley’s hair.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
Shawn in Binghamton a narrow miss at a can of worms. Good avoidance of that bullet
Is (1st worse) like being (least best)?
Lamb will be back in 2009 for sure. Maybe Punto as well.
I don’t care what stats say, I think Young is patient, Harris has a good eye and Mauer just isnt a “contact” guy.
Bass is 26 older then 4/5 of our rotation his career minor league era is 4.33 over 7 seasons.. bottom line he stinks
Shawn in Binghamton.
Do you think that you would like Mauer to display more power #’s in the form of hitting more HR’s
“Ignorance” - When you dont want to call someone stupid
Stupid is a lack of intelligence. Ignorance is just a lack of knowledge.
Everyone is ignorant about many things.
Everyone except Craig, anyway.
Crappiest, Baddest, most worthless…
I guess you can use a lot of words to describe what he’s been… take your pick.
jimmy,
yes?
To be entirely honest judging by his deals thusfar I’m happier with Smith standing pat than trying to engineer a trade.
That was supposed to be funny, in case you real serious guys are wondering.
i like when people say ignant for ignorant….. like “you ignant dog!”
Boy this blog comments section has gone downhill!
that’s what happens when nothing is going on Plunkton.
But if it makes people feel better fantasizing about certain players being better than they are, I guess that’s their prerogative…
It’s hard for some to face reality.
what about Cano from the Yankees or that Red Sox second baseman who was the all star game starter?
If that would not work, Tommy Herr or Larry Wilfong
The difference between Rincon and Bass:
Bass throws strikes. (for better or worse)
The Twins philosophy is followed.
Rincon walked batters.
Especially in pressure situations
Not acceptable!
Craig there’s no room for humor on this blog we have serious trade options to debate.
Are you ignorant or stupid if you write “ignant”?
Christiansen, you have got to be kidding the readers. There is no way the Twins are going to trade for, or otherwise obtain, a second baseman. You must be running out of stories to write about.
stupid
BC BENEKE:
I never want the name Ron Davis to appear on this blog again.
There is not enough blog beer for that.
MarkW says:
July 30th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
“I dont care what the stats say”
And that’s why no one cares what YOU say.
“Ignorance” - When you dont want to call someone stupid.
Now I’m just hurt. Internet tough guy calls me names.
“I dont care what the stats say”
Who let Bill Smith in here?
Stats, stats, stats blah blah blah. I swear baseball fans are married to stats. It’s funny as heck reading all the blog experts lay down stat after stat that puts their arguments in the best light when what happens in front of their own eyes makes no real difference.
Ignorance is bliss that’s why i’m always happy and not unpopular like jimmybee and the like.
Iowa,
if we can’t use stats, what can we use to judge? What do you use to decide who is good and is not?
Why the heck are we keeping Liriano and Highes down on the farm while over the hill vets take playing time they don’t deserve (Hernandez, Lamb, Everett, Monroe etc.)? Hughes could fit right in at 2b and Liriano as a starter (not a reliever).
Did the Twins ever take a look at Jason Bay of the Pirates? Seems like everyone else has but I never heard a peep from the Twins. I guess we want to keep 3 banjo hitting players in the OF. I also agree with the post about Cuddyer, it’s time to deal him while he still has a little trade value.
can’t deal Cuddyer, he is on the DL
I think Gardy is a stats guy…he’s won 4 of the last 6 division titles.
(giving the Anti-Gardy & non-stat crew something to chew on)
Shawn: He obviously uses his “own eyes” in evaluating talent across the league…
I didn’t know you were a scout… and a scout that doesn’t look at any numbers at that?
Were you afraid of math in high school?
What stat said Casilla should get called up, his .219 average at Rochester? Now we can’t live without him even though conventional wisdom at the time said it was a huge mistake.
The reason baseball fans revert to stats is because they’re impartial. Of course how you present statistics can be warped to support a given position, but in general the standard agreed upon metrics for hitters and pitchers give us a solid, impartial frame of reference to build from.
Now of course stats don’t give us the whole picture, you could go so far as to say they tell us what happened but not why, however as sample sizes increase the effect of aberrations lessens.
It can be frustrating when you really like a player and you feel like they’re playing much better than their numbers indicate, but over the long haul the numbers are right a heck of a lot more often than our biased perspective.
I understand that frustration, but rejecting statistics completely is a mistake.
It’s Rob Wilfong, not Larry.
Yes, MarkW, all you have to know about athletes can be gleaned from a stat sheet. I didn’t see your wisdom until now.
Iowa,
Casilla was called up because of injuries. He was the most experienced/best realistic option at the time. Gardy wanted Buscher i believe but he was a little injured
That’s a logical fallacy you’re falling for there, Iowa. There was little in Casilla’s track record to indicate he’d have that kind of success, and based on that track record it’s likely that it’s an aberration. Casilla has played great, but based on his history and the small sample size of his play so far he’ll almost certainly settle down somewhere between the two extremes.
And that .219 average was based on an even smaller sample size. And besides that batting average isn’t a very good way to evaluate a hitter.
So his .219 average was better than all the other middle infielders in Rochester at the time? Maybe there is something else about the guy that made him the choice.
Defensive versatility.
Gardy didn’t want to call him up due to poor performance but they were kind of forced to call up someone.
I know that Sane has been getting some grief for that comment on Everett, but honestly, it’s not like he doesn’t have a bat to use. The guy isn’t a terrible hitter. He has some pop in his bat, and has a pretty dang good glove.
Nothing wrong with giving him another shot with the big club. I wasn’t in favor of giving him playing time at the expense of anybody on the current roster, but as people often say, these things often take care of themselves.
If there is anything good about the Casilla injury, it’s that it happened while Everett was still a Twin, instead of after he was gone. Basically, the Twins got lucky that they had a viable Major League player to step back into the lineup when a player went down. That’s not a bad thing to have.
Pudge to the Yanks/Farnsworthless to the Tiggers
Nick Swisher proved last night again that batting average isn’t the best stat to go by. I’m still glad it wasn’t a double.
IowaTwin,
“Mauer isn’t going to command A-Rod type money. I doubt 20M. How many singles hitting defensive catchers get $20M.”
If Mauer Keeps developing he may command close to ARod money. ESPN recently asked GMs around the league which player would you chose to build your team around. #1 was Hanley Ramirez…#2 was our beloved Joe Mauer.
Well, you haven’t said one thing about evaluating a players talent… except using your “own eyes” and that Bass wasn’t being treated “fair”
I’ve never said all you need to do is look at a stat sheet and you’ll know all you need to know about a player, but to say “I dont care what the stats say” shows you dont have a clue what you are talking about in the first place…
Again, apologies if I’m not playing “fair”
BC of ND says:
July 30th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Ignorance is bliss that’s why i’m always happy and not unpopular like jimmybee and the like.
I can’t take it somedays. The shear ignorance needed to go along with the crowd somedays. BC you never get mad
Mudcat,
the decent OBP and 14 HR stat are better ways to evaluate Swisher.
How the heck do you hit a towering HR and break a bat all in one swing
Nick Swisher proved last night again that batting average isn’t the best stat to go by. I’m still glad it wasn’t a double.
That was a great moment. White Sox 2 homeruns, Twins 0 homeruns yet for some reason they showed that the Twins actually won the game last night. I thought that was fitting given all the discssion yesterday.
Me Too:
I have to disagree with your take on Everett. He posted an OPS+ of 51 with the Twins and as much as I’d like to say that was due to injury it’s only a little below his average for the past two seasons (60 OPS+).
As for having some pop in his bat he’s very rarely cleared .100 on Isolated Power in his career. Most of that was tolerable when he was an elite defender, but between his apparent drop in range and his loss of arm strength he just doesn’t have enough in the field to make up for his negative WPA.
I’d much rather give pretty much anyone in AAA/AA a shot over Everett. He’s done, sadly.
So for those of you that are saying we need to make a splash NOW NOW NOW - many of you are saying we need a 3b/2b type, and a setup man.
If you want to win NOW NOW NOW because there are no guarantees 2 yrs down the line - why don’t I hear Liriano’s name being bandied about? Nearly every team who is looking to trade the all-star caliber player we’d need would be asking “hey, who else can we give you in addition to [insert star player here] to get Liriano??” Our rotation has been good enough to get us into contention. If you truly want to go all-in now, Liriano is your best trade bait.
“Baseball statistics are like a girl in a bikini. They show a lot, but not everything.” ~Toby Harrah
I know jimmy i’m running for blog king. I’m coming to this weekend series and i’m going to try to sit in section 220 so i can convince Howard i should be king.
Stats are not the end all deciding a players worth. But they are objective and let us know how good a player is over time. However, they also don’t take into account emotional effects, such as pressure situations, injuries (known or unknown).
Cliff Lee has the best ERA and tied for wins this year. But if I had to win 1 game in the playoffs, would I pick him to start it? Not a chance. Not even in the top 5.
Are the Tigers thowing up the Flag??? Seems trading away Pudge is not a good move to make. Sure, they got a pitcher, but honestly, is Farnsworth an upgrade to their bullpen? Seems like Farnsworth has had a good month of July to pull down his ERA, but, why would the Yanks be parting with him, they have been looking for bullpen help too??
BC who is the Blog King right now? Maybe it is Herb he has so many different names and entries
MLBtraderumors has a blurb that the Rangers inquired on three pitchers including Boof. I hope we answered the phone.
Dang, that Tigers/Yanks trade doesn’t make much sense to me. Yanks hurt their pen to fill their catching position.
Tigers hurt their catching position to help their bullpen. Seems like a wash at best for both clubs to me. Guess they must see the need more than I do though, otherwise they wouldn’t have done it.
BC
Scooter:
The reason you don’t hear Liriano’s name in trade rumors is because his health still remains a question mark, which greatly diminishes his trade value. It would be selling very low on a potentially high end talent, which in the long run is bad organizational philosophy.
You wouldn’t pick Lee? From watching him, he’s pretty darn good. Who would you pick?
I don’t think you see Liriano’s name in trade rumors because he is not for sale. He is the franchise.
If the franchise is Liriano then the Twins are in more trouble than I think they are.
My ex-boss needs to know:
Am I stupid or am I ignorant?
Its a National (Worldwide?) Security Issue.
There are 50 or more Brian Bass’s floating around AAA. Sweating over losing Bass is like sweating over losing a cheap T shirt. Just go to K Mart and get another one.
Thanks jimmy you can be my campaign mgr.
I think that trade helps the Yankees more then the tigers who else did the tigers get or was it a straight up trade?
People talking about me?
Does Rich Aurilia do anything for anyone? He’s a solid vet who hits lhp around .300 who can play 1B, 2B, or 3B and should be pretty cheap.
BC of ND I actually was blocked from that blog for calling Howard the dad from Family ties and asked how mallory was doing these days. Bad decision on my behalf. I gotta say he had it coming. He erases alot of entries he doesn’t care for. He monitors his blog like big brother. Oh well that is why guys like Joe C and Lavelle rock out. Waaaaay coooler heads
You think people would be reluctant to trade for Liriano?
Dude’s pitched 130 innings this year, and has been pretty dominant over his last 10-12 starts. He’s easily our best “prospect” at this point.
I wouldn’t trade him. I’m just curious why people who are saying “ALL IN” aren’t discussing him.
Rich Aurilla doesn’t do alot for me… he is hitting 278 right now… so I’d be disapointed if we let Boof go when Busher can put up the same numbers. I just read that MLB trade rumor…. what a waste that would be
“sane says:
July 30th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
My ex-boss needs to know:
Am I stupid or am I ignorant?
Its a National (Worldwide?) Security Issue”
Irreplaceable would be my answer. Cooler then the other side of the pillow. How bout that one
wow jimmy thats harsh i like Howard and i honestly haven’t seen him do anything like that he usually puts a stop to nonsense right away but the guy does have a sense of humor.
Beckett, Webb, Santana….
Livan, R. Ortiz, S. Ponson….
BC I am blocked. Have been for months
wierd he must block your ip address or something. So do you think Livan will continue his home filed dominance tonight? They should just go with a six man rotation and only give him home starts.
I’m not crazy about the idea of trading for Arulia either, but to say that Buscher can put up the same numbers is misleading. Busher’s numbers are a bit better right now, but he’s doing it with a likely unsustainable .352 BABIP in a little over 100 ABs.
Juan Cas-, Tony Bati-, Phil Nev-, Rich Auri- (copywrite Common)
Oh ya….Ruben Sie-
Mike Lam-, Craig Mon-, Adam Eve-
WHAT HAPPENED WITH CASILLA’S EXAM TODAY? How long is he out?
00Steve Brett Boo-
BC So do you think Livan will continue his home filed dominance tonight?
I hope so. I want to see livan strike out AJ with an Eephus pitch. Maybe he would take the bat to Ozzie if that happened though
Homefield dominance is pretty generous for Livan. He’s still giving up a .304/.342/.463 line up at home.
How about homefield dominance for our relievers? Did you see that stat last night?
Home ERA: Sub 2.00
Road ERA: nearly 6.00
That would be awesome AJ’s hair would turn black again and then Ozzie could come up with a new nickname for him like Senior Dome.
Can anyone tell my why Swarzak was promoted to AAA, even though he posted a 5+ E.R.A. in AA? I’m just hoping it means either Liriano will be called up, or that the Twins will make a trade, or both.
Jeff Cir–
Yeah i did like AJ’s hair. Slim AJ. Yo I’m slim AJ the real slim AJ. please stand up, please stand up, please stand up
theinvictus…because Duensing is playing in Jai Alai in Beijing.
RonDL Wh-
jimmy,
you are seriously blocked from Howard?
jimmy bee -
How did we miss that one til now?!?!
jimmy bee -
How did we miss that one til now?!?!
Jose Offer–
“Shawn in Binghamton says:
July 30th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
jimmy,
you are seriously blocked from Howard?”
100%
00Steve Otis Nix-
i thought he was a progressive fellow….
that’s a bunch of crap….
oh well
Y’all act like you never seen a white person before
Jaws all on the floor like Dye, and Ozzie just burst in the door
and started whoopin Barret’s a– worse than before
Sox first were champs
I thought Eminem would be a Tigers guy…
Shawn in Binghamton Howard one day erased a bunch of my entries which contained no proffanity and just started to plunk them and some other peoples entries off of a blog. I then got mad and called him the dad from family Ties. yada yada yada next thing I know I am blocked.
thats pretty shitty
I would make a trade only if a really big team upgrade was possible. I would trade ANY of the current rotation and most anyone else. (It doesn’t take a genius to figure who I would NOT trade.) Of the current rotation, who expected any of these guys to have the year they are having.
Shawn in Binghamton new blog but yes it was pretty shi_ _ y
I expected Baker to be about this good
I expected less wins, but about the same ERA from Senor Smoke-Free
Jayson Stark, of ESPN.com, reports the Minnesota Twins have been talking with the San Francisco Giants about possibly acquiring 1B Rich Aurilia in exchange for a mid-tier prospect.
Lets get Aubrey Huff. That would be sweet.
ESPN reports something could have happened, based on anonymous source’s friend’s brother’s cousin’s aunt’s boyfriend said. However, 2 hours from now a new report will come out refuting all previous claims.
It’s really sad when Rich Aur- is the one guy we’re rumored at getting. Might as well give Hughes a chance.
On your note from Bob Dutton: It’s incorrect. The Twins and Royals have made one trade, in 1974, Tom Burgmeier to the Twins for a minor-leaguer.
roberts hits, runs, and plays the field.leads the league in doubles, triples ,an is the best leadoff hitter in the american league.(one of the best)GIVE the o!s what they want
[…] sense, as he is out of minor-league options, and the Twins would need to clear a spot for Washburn. As I wrote recently, Bonser is only 26, and it makes sense for a team that is way out of the race to let Bonser make 10 […]
