Ninety-one days until pitchers and catchers report
Posted on November 25th, 2009 – 9:34 AMBy Joe Christensen
The Twins announced their 2010 spring training schedule. Some highlights:
Feb. 21 — Pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Fla.
Feb. 27 — First full-squad workout
March 4 — Grapefruit League opener @ Red Sox (in Fort Myers)
March 5 — Grapefruit League home opener vs. Red Sox (Hammond Stadium)
March 7 — vs. Yankees (Hammond Stadium)
March 27 — vs. NL champion Phillies (Hammond Stadium)
April 1 — Getaway day game @ Red Sox (in Fort Myers)
April 2 — Exhibition game vs. Cardinals at Target Field (5 p.m.)
April 3 — Exhibition game vs. Cardinals at Target Field (1 p.m.)
Regular season opener – April 5 @ Angels.
Home opener (Target Field’s official debut) — April 12 vs. Red Sox.
Note: Twins single-game spring training tickets go on sale Jan. 16. Spring training season tickets and group sales can be purchased now by calling 1-800-33-TWINS. To see the entire spring schedule, see www.twinsbaseball.com.
114 Responses to "Ninety-one days until pitchers and catchers report"
Odd. Don’t teams debuting new stadiums usually get the honor of playing at home that first series?
Would be nice to win that first series at home so we don’t get all the idiot fans of the White Sox and Tigers coming on here saying that is proof the only reason we won the division titles was the dome field advantage.
I don’t think the Yankees even opened at home last April, T. I think the league tends to schedule northern, non-dome, teams on the road for the first week or so just to reduce the chances of weather issues.
“Odd. Don’t teams debuting new stadiums usually get the honor of playing at home that first series?”
Not when that team is in Minnesota and its early April.
The Twins don’t have the full ST schedule posted yet. They have a link built in to their story, but it just brings up a “ST Schedule Coming Soon” banner.
Got me all excited about making travel plans for March and now I have to wait… SIGHHHHH.
The Twins requested that they always open the first two series on the road to minimize the chance that early season games are postponed due to weather. It is especially true since they rarely open against divisional opponents, so the games are harder to make up.
I’d love to go to one of those exhibition games but who do you suppose the Twins and Cardinals will run out there?
Benny
I would guess that both teams will run out there starters for at least the first few innings if nothing else. Exception should be the pitchers used are not going to be your top guys probably some AAA people.
When does the “Hot Stove” start heating up? I’m anxious for some player movement/additions.
B-Good, there’s really not likely to be much happening for a couple of weeks, I would guess. That’s when teams have to decide which of their pending FAs to offer arbitration to, which means that’s when teams know whether signing the Type A guys will cost them a draft pick. It also coincides with the Winter GM Meetings in Indy.
We might continue to see occasional minor league and low-end FAs get signed in the mean time, but that’s about it.
Benny, I would actually expect to see most of their major league rosters playing in those games, including a few innings from their #4 and #5 pitchers.
I base that on having been to the final week of ST games in the past. By that time, most of the guys who aren’t going to make the roster have already been (a) released or (b) sent over to the minor league camp.
I’d expect to see a lot of the Twins’ and Cards’ regulars play a few innings of both of those games.
I suspect the Twins want their regulars to get a feel for playing there. The Cards probably not so much.
What’s the date for wear your snowmobile suit to the game day? j/k I can’t wait to see the new park.
Trivia Question guys.
How many teams in MLB have two MVP’s or former MVP’s on the same team?
Alright. The ST schedule is now up on the Twins’ site. Just glancing, there really isn’t a bad week in the bunch.
3 teams have 2 MVP’s.
Twins Phillies and Mariners
Probably will need to get used to the twins opening on the road with an open stadium now
Who cares about ST. Until the Twins fill the holes in the IF with people not names Punto and add a #1 SP the twins will be the same old disappointing bunch. Put up or shut up Twins FO.
I am curious to see if anyone can tell me what year it was that Santana became a #1 starter? What was he before he became a #1 starter? When did Sabathia become a #1 starter. Were the Indians looking for a #1 starter at some point and Sabathia filled out an application or who decided that it was ok to call him a #1 starter. How do we know that the Twins don’t already have a #1 starter and next year is the year that he will fill out his application?
I care about ST, shazel. You don’t? Fine. Be an ass.
You are correct Charlie good catch on the M’s.
Every team has a #1 starter obviously but not every team has an Ace or a stopper who can shut down any other teams offense. I like Baker and i thought he might grow into that role but it seems like he see saws back and forth from Ace to average.
JC
Actual baseball fans care about ST. Then there are those people who simply like to post comments on blogs that don’t really understand the game….
In a battle of MVPs the Twins will beat the Cards by a score of 2 to 1 in both games.
“Fine. Be an ass.”
Be yourself.
Same thing.
BC
I think Blackburn has the right makeup to be a #1 starter. He does not dominating “Stuff” but neither does Buerle and he does just fine for the Sox. The Twins may have a dominant #1 in their system waiting to be “the guy”
For next season and the past few years, the Twins have been in Chicago the first weekend series in April. This year I was at the Friday game an enjoyed the 30 degree weather (25 with wind chill).
Yankees had the best offense in baseball and Blackburn shut them down on the biggest stage. Most teams, including the Twins have at least 3 guys that can shut down any team’s offense. The aces just do it more consistently.
but remember it is 4/10 of a degree colder on average in Minnesota in April than it is in Chicago and Detroit so we REALLY need a retractable roof more than they would…….
95 MPH fastballs and nasty off-speed stuff makes an ace! more K’s than innings pitched! Nobody on the Twins current 40-man can do that!
CM
I’m a big fan of Blackburn as well but I still think the best pitcher the Twins have is Slowey, he has the potential to be an Ace.
Anyone know if the Twins-Cardinals exhibition game tickets will be sold on the Twins website/1-800-33TWINS, or just in person at Twinsfest?
You people can call me an ass but I want the Twins to be the best team in baseball. The way that the patriots dominate football. Anything less is unacceptable to me. Sure the Pats don’t win the SB every year but everyone knows every year that there is a good chance they will. The great young group that is the core of the Twins are all peaking and they only need 1 or maybe 2 more pieces to be dominant. Pony up Pohlad.
Sincerly,
Assman
Baker is the closest the Twins have to an Ace. Slowey and Blackburn give up way too many hits.
Sure Blackburn has been good when it matters but he’s still a .500 pitcher in the regular season.
“You people can call me an ass but I want the Twins to be the best team in baseball.”
Demeaning other posters’ discussion of ST, because YOU have no interest in itm is what exposes you as an ass.
Everyone here wants “the Twins to be the best team in baseball”, but few demean other baseball-related topics as being unworthy of attention, simply because those topics don’t interest their self-centered self.
The Patriots also benefit from the fact that the NFL has a salary cap. If the Giants and Jets were allowed to spend $100 MILLION more than other teams they would be pretty competitive too.
Cliff Lee does not throw 95 MPH and he is an ace dn’t you think?
“95 MPH fastballs and nasty off-speed stuff makes an ace! more K’s than innings pitched! Nobody on the Twins current 40-man can do that!”
Maddux would disagree with you.
I agree that (1) the Twins don’t have an “ace” and that, typically, aces are those pitchers who are hard-throwing, K machines; and (2) a team doesn’t really NEED such an “ace” to win its division, or even the WS. Having 5 “good” pitchers is probably better than having an ace, one good pitcher and then medicocrity.
However, here’s what concerns me about the Twins’ current staff…
Even if they all become pin-point control artists with their 91 mph fastballs, their 86 mph sliders, and their 79 mph change ups, they’re going to lose more games than they deserve to becuse, imo, they’re essentially all the same guy!
In other words, it’s like sending a rested Baker out there to start EVERY game… the guy on the mound just happens to have “Slowey” or “Blackburn” on his back instead of “Baker”. And if you COULD throw Baker out there every game, eventually hitters WOULD hit even his best stuff.
You simply can not throw the exact same kind of pitcher with the same stuff at the same speed every game of a 3-4 game series and every game of a 17 game season-long set against a division rival… and expect opposing hitters not to get the timing down.
I think they NEED one pitcher who is “different”. Ideally, yes, a guy who pumps it up there 98 mph for 7 innings. But hell, even Livan and his 78 mph fastball at least made opposing teams see something DIFFERENT for one game, which not only allowed Livan to win more games than his “stuff” warranted, it also made the Baker/clone more effective the next game.
JC,
I don’t agree with you premise that by definition and Ace is a hard throwing K machine (i.e. Clemens, Johnson, Santana).
I define an Ace as a pitcher who dominates the game by keeping the hitters off balance (they are never comfortable in the box). This is easier to do if you are a hard thrower, but it can be accomplished by keeping them guessing.
On your 2nd point regarding the Twins’ staff all of similar stuff, I agree for the most part.
Charley, I used to think the salary cap was the obvious answer to the parity problem. I just don’t any more.
The guy who runs the “Biz of Baseball” site (can’t remember his name, sorry) had a posting a while ago that I thought made more sense than anything else I’ve read on the subject.
His point was that there isn’t a large market/small market disparity problem in baseball. There’s a Yankee problem.
The luxury tax system works. Hardly anyone consistently, or even regularly exceeds the payroll level where the tax kicks in. But the Yankees blow right through it. The tax simply is no deterrent to them because they have gazillions more in revenue than anyone else so they don’t care what they have to pay in the luxury tax.
So if it’s a Yankee problem, then fix THAT problem. Make the luxury tax more progressive or tax their revenues… make spending $250 million on payroll cost them 2-3 times that much. Deal with the problem.
Of course, the rub is that MLB and its network partners don’t WANT parity. They WANT the Yankees to be in the playoffs and WS every year. They won’t deal with it as a “Yankee problem”, which means whatever plan the come up with to address “parity” will hurt many of the other teams, rather than the Yankees.
Much talk about the Twins need an ace, but I’m not sure there is an ace out there to be had in free agency, unless you are willing to take risks.
Blackburn may be just a .500 pitcher during the regular season, but you don’t have to look far to find examples where he received a loss when going 6-7IP with 2 ERs. He gets shelled, too. I’m well aware of that. Just seems too many look at his record and think he’s just another .500 pitcher.
Is there any hope that Liriano can even regain the form he had at the end of 2008?
“Is there any hope that Liriano can even regain the form he had at the end of 2008?”
I think Liriano turned into Roberto Duran last year and said “No Mas” when he couldn’t figure out how to get hitters out. The guy lost all his confidence last year.
JC
I agree that a salary cap is not the answer for MLB. I was just pointing out that the NFL follows a different set of rules and if they had no cap that there are teams that could afford to pay tons of money for free agents the way the Yunkees do in baseball. The luxury taxseems to be a joke in its current form to the Empire. The revenue stream that they have compared to other teams means that they will continue to out spend by huge margins.
JC, I agree with you. I don’t mind the Yankees spending twice what other teams do. It’s when they spend 3 or 4 times as much that really sucks. Even then I was kind of ok with it but when they signed the top 3 free agents last year I really thought it was overkill.
I’ve never really cared for the winning with overwhelming talent thing. Yankees or Patriots or North Carolina win championships and I yawn. Cards, Twins, Royals, NC State, Villanova, New York Giants, etc. win and I love it.
I for one have not given up on Liriano. 5 months off and a player can come back ready for a different kind of season. It’s what we are hoping for Hardy isn’t it?
” But hell, even Livan and his 78 mph fastball at least made opposing teams see something DIFFERENT for one game.”
And it certainly made the Twins outfielders chase a lot more balls than they normally did.
But seriously, I think you’re right, JC. They are very similar. Except for Liriano (at least potentialy). He probably has the most “stuff,” but who knows which Liriano is going to show up in ‘10? Baker’s peripheral stats were actually pretty good in ‘09, so I’m hopeful he could take the next step to being a legit #1. I love the way Blackburn seems to rise to the occasion and he was the de facto ace for most of ‘09, but in his two full seasons, he’s been pretty hittable with very few K’s. At the end of the day, Blackburn is a #3 or #4. The sample size is small, but if he’s passed the wrist injury, I think Slowey will be just fine. Probably not a bona fide ace, but a solid #2 or #3. As a staff, I think they’ll improve over last year, particularly if we get the Liriano of ‘08 as opposed the Liriano of ‘09.
Still, there are several affordable, short-term deals to be had that could provide the hope, but not the guarantee, of a true #1 (Sheets, Bedard, Harden, Duchscherer). I’d like to see the club go that route as opposed to the Pavano route. Pavano was not as good as Baker last year, is not as good as a healthy Slowey (he might not have been as good as an unhealthy Slowey), and he wasn’t even as good as Blackburn who had two horrific months. I just don’t see how it would make sense to sign Pavano because he isn’t better than what the Twins already have in the stable.
The way that the patriots dominate football. Anything less is unacceptable to me.
They haven’t won a championship in 5 years.
BitchSox sign Andruw Jones for half a mil.
^we don’t need him, we have Pridie!
JC,
Seems to me that the agreed upon ruling dynamic for MLB as a group is money. Any problem perceived by the fan base will not be considered a problem by MLB until a clearcut, advearse effect on revenue is established. To get the owners to address the “Yankee” problem, or parity in general, it has to be demonstrated to be a pocketbook problem. Either a loss of revenue or missed opportunity for increased revenue. Also that the cure is not worse than the disease. The Yanks now pour a lotta $$ into the general fund. I don’t see the owners screwing with that.
For some reason, historically, the Yankees seem to dominate their landscape. The Dodgers and Giants both left for greener pastures. The Mets are a distant 2nd.
I say sell Mark Cuban and Terry Jones new franchises to break that market up.
I agree with Mattman concerning the lack of any true aces available through FA this year. I like Lackey… but let’s be honest. In many years, he’d be down the list a ways in terms of FA “aces” on the market. He’s coming out in exactly the right year to maximize his deal.
I guess that’s why I kind of like the ideas of Sheets and Harden. Yeah, there would be risks because those guys aren’t exactly guarnteed 200 IP top-of-the rotation pitchers. But who out there, that’s available, is? (Lackey hasn’t the past 2 seasons.)
If I’m the Twins and I think Harden or Sheets had a good chance of giving me 150 IP at about 3.25 ER and had a reasonable chance of being available at the end of the year for the playoffs, I’d jump at either one of them. If you turn out to be wrong, all it’s cost you is some money (and probably not THAT much) because your fall back position is the rotation candidates you have right now.
Paul, frankly if Cuban were sold the Mets, I think things in the NY market would become very… interesting.
Isn’t the Jones signing the kind of washed-up has-been style signing that people regularily bash the Twins FO for (Lamb, Monroe, Everett, Crede when he went on the DL, Cabrera once they were eliminated from the postseason)?
First Omar Vizquel and now Andruw Jones throw in the towel the Sox will win it all next year.
Harden or Sheets would be right to come here anyway. think about it - very talented young team whose almost assured a playoff berth. And if they get an injury, they won’t be rushed back because at this point, the team has presumably 4 competent starters in Baker, Blackie, Slowey, and Duensing (pitched very well down the stretch, deserves a spot) as well as plenty of young talent that can step in (Liriano, Swarzak, Perkins, etc).
T
when your next best option is Pridie at relatively the same price (400K vs 500K plus incentives), its not so bad is it?
the Sox are really scrounging around. I wonder if Pods stays; if not, I’d love him on the team. him in CF, Span in left, Cuddy in Right, DY rotates between Cuddy, DH w/Kubel and LF.
But, that said, Paul… I don’t think the answer to the problem is to have another owner or two who’s willing to blow through the luxury tax ceiling.
Here’s where I think some level of long term hope for fans MIGHT exist…
Non-Yankee organizations have, for the past 15 years, seen their self-generated revenues propped up by building new stadiums. Baltimore, Cleveland, Texas, SD, Wash, Seattle, Pitt, Phil, Detroit, StL, Atl… now Minn… Miami on the horizon. I’m not even counting the new franchises in Ariz and Denver and I’m probably leaving some out. (Add KC’s remodel, too.)
But many of those teams have come back down to earth with a loud THUNK.
The only way the existing model of letting the Yankees do their thing because they drive TV ratings continues to work for MLB overall is if the rest of the teams at least generate enough revenue of their own to make them competitive occasionally. I’d love to see a study reflecting correlations between teams seeing their revenues drop following the “new stadium highs” and those same teams lack of success in the standings.
When it reaches the point where it really IS just the Yankees, RedSox and Angels competing for the top every year, what will happen to overall MLB revenue then?
I was glancing at some WS fan comments yesterday on the subject of possibly getting Coco Crisp… and I was shocked at how many were genuinely excited about that.
Things are bad indeed on the South Side if they are excited about The Cripsy One. He plays very good D and stays crunchy in milk, but that’s it.
Er, “Crispy,” not “Cripsy.”
loved that yankees fan that came in here the other day saying how money doesn’t matter when his team’s payroll is more than the Twins entire revenue for last year.
You have to admit that Cuco is “only” 30 years old so compared to the first 2 free angets that the Sox signed he is really still just a prospect……….
“when your next best option is Pridie at relatively the same price (400K vs 500K plus incentives), its not so bad is it?”
What is good about it?
Andruw Jones isn’t going to hit 51 homers with gold glove caliber defense anymore. The bottom fell out, and he is what he is - a decent fielding outfielder with a bad OBP and some decent pop.
Everything I’ve heard about Pridie is that he is all glove and no bat. So I guess Jones has him beat with the power. However, Jones has only played in 157 games in the past 2 seasons combined. He’s 33, doesn’t seem healthy anymore, and his offensive production last year seemed to be really helped by his home park - Jones had an OPS 150 points higher in Arlington than on the road.
T is right - this is the same kind of move that folks have complained about in the past. Bringing in a cheap, apparently washed up veteran on an incentive laden contract.
True, CharlieM. Vizquel is old enough to be Crisp’s father.
I know it’s early in the offseason, but the White Sox don’t seem to be getting better. Older, but not better. The Indians are rebuilding. The Tigers are reportedly in a sell mode. The Royals do seem to be trying, but they have a long way to go. The Twins, on the other hand, have already traded for Hardy and may be going for more. A lot can change over the next 3 months, obviously, but I like how this is shaping up already.
my def. of an ace is a guy who wins the big games, stops a bad string, steps up when the team needs him, weather he has 98 mph fb or throws junk he gets the job done when you need it.
i’d rather have andruw jones for 500k than pridie at 400k.
JC,
“When it reaches the point where it really IS just the Yankees, RedSox and Angels competing for the top every year, what will happen to overall MLB revenue then?”
Not sure we’ll ever see that. 2 factors I see.
1. Baseball is a streaky game. Teams can get hot at the right time.
2. Successfully managing the “testosterone” in a lockerroom full of superstars. Most of whom make more $ than the manager and coaches.
“…blow through the luxury tax ceiling”
Didn’t really consider this. More just bust up that market. If THAT works the other thing takes care of itself.
Also, we can do a lot worse than Coco.
On the Jones v. Pridie thing, it depends on what your club needs, imo. If you need an occasional DH/PH who can provide the threat of some pop off the bench and who can play adequate OF on occasion, then Jones is your guy. If you just need a guy for late inning D replacement (like, say, for Delmon Young) and who might bring some energy to the field, then Pridie is your guy. In the Twins’s situation, I’d take Pridie. I don’t know what the Sux’s reasoning is.
“Also, we can do a lot worse than Coco.”
I concede we could do worse, but I think the “a lot” portion of that statement is really overstating things.
mlb trade rumor:
“The 32-year-old Jones hit .214/.323/.459/.782 in 331 plate appearances for Texas last year, spending most of his time at DH. He also appeared in eight games at first base, plus 17 in the two corner outfield spots. FanGraphs values his 2009 peformance at $3.6MM, so this appears to be a nice little pickup considering the low base salary.”
pridie .276/.319/.425/.744 in aaa and bats left and i think we have a lefthanded dh?
Jones is Rondell White……
‘“When it reaches the point where it really IS just the Yankees, RedSox and Angels competing for the top every year, what will happen to overall MLB revenue then?”
Not sure we’ll ever see that. ‘
Aren’t we already seeing that? In the past 8 years, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels have been to the post season 7, 6, and 6 years respectively. Of the 24 possible playoff spots for those three teams - the AL East, AL West, and Wild Card - they have 19 of those spots. Only 4 times since the Wild Card has come into existence 15 years ago has it not gone to one of those three teams.
Boneyard,
I’m not a fan of Coco. And I have no idea what his next salary will be. But I have concern with the current D level of the team’s OF. I veiw Coco as a late inning D/baserunner solution. Decent OBP and knows how to steal a base.
“pridie .276/.319/.425/.744 in aaa and bats left and i think we have a lefthanded dh?”
Jason Pridie should NEVER DH. Ever. His value comes from his defense. If he is playing, he needs to be in the field.
Pete,
“…what will happen to overall MLB revenue then?”
I was just looking at a list of free agents and noticed Coco as well. This is probably out of the realm of possibility, but if the Twins were willing to move Cuddy back to 3B (which they aren’t but should consider), Coco would make a more than adequate outfielder and provide a good #2 hitter as well. Switch hitting, good speed, decent Avg. and OBP, solid D. Wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen. Punto could play 2B and bat 9th.
Span CF
Coco RF
Mauer C
Morneau 1B
Cuddy 3B
Kubel DH
Hardy SS
Delmon LF
Punto 2B
I don’t know why I just wrote this because it will never happen, but it’s actually a decent scenario.
Paul -
Unfortunately, I assume overall revenue will be just fine. New York, Boston, and LA teams generate viewership. I worry about the long term affect - for example, what happens to the next generation of baseball fan - but for right now, I can’t imagine it really has that big of an affect on overall MLB revenue.
“I don’t know why I just wrote this because it will never happen, but it’s actually a decent scenario.”
Why wouldn’t the Twins just sign a good fielding third baseman instead?
Pete,
I agree. Right now the owners won’t fix it if they don’t think it’s broke.
Besides, the next generation will probably be watchin Rollerball.
JC - you got a link to that “Yankee Problem” article at all?
sounds like something I’d love to send to a yankee fan ‘friend’ of mine I’ve had discussion with about why the yankees are good/bad for MLB.
Anyway, you guys are talking pitchers, and I agree with the sentiment that we have a group of guys that are all essentially the same.
If I were classifying anyone the Twins have as a #1-5 starter, I don’t think we have a guy that really would classify as even a #2 on most teams. We have a whole bunch of #3’s, guys who can dominate at times, but also go through long streaks of struggling and end the season around the .500 mark in Wins-Losses. Slowey I think was moving progressively into a #2 type role before his injury, and Blackburn keeps improving, but I don’t think there is a guy on the Twins right now that will ever be #1 “Ace” material.
I’m not big on improving the starting staff through trade, as I don’t think we have the level of prospects teams would want and we can’t afford to lose any of our ‘top’ guys, because frankly, we don’t have very many. Aaron Hicks was the Twins highest prospect on baseball america’s top 100 list at the beginning of the year, at #39, and was followed by Ben Revere at #59 and Wilson Ramos at #71. But I’m guessing Revere is the only one of them who returns to that list next year, but he’s still not a ’superstar’ prospect by any means as all descriptions I hear of his game is that he’s a lighter hitting version (by that I mean like 90% of his hits last year at Ft. Myers were singles and his On-Base Percentage was higher than his Slugging Percentage) of Denard Span.
An ‘Ace’ pitcher requires more than just 1 big-time prospect in a trade, and I don’t think Bill Smith can trick any team into accepting his guys as being that level like Omar Minaya did to him for Santana.
So that leaves the slim pickings of outright free agents, like Erik Bedard, Justin Duchscherer, Jon Garland, Rich Harden, John Lackey, Joel Piniero, Ben Sheets, and Randy Wolf.
Wolf and Lacky are Type A’s, so cross them off the list.
Of the other guys, I like Harden, Duchscherer, and Sheets the most, but I’m not sure Duchscherer or Harden would want to come here, and Harden’s injury history scares me for what I think he’ll cost.
That leaves Sheets (who’d be #1 on my list), who’s also coming off an injury, which is why I think the Twins might be able to sign him, because of the incentive laden contract type he’s most likely going to get. But, everything I’ve read says that there is a lot of interest in his services, and its rare the Twins sign a player under those circumstances.
So I digress, Liriano recapturing his end of 2008 form may be our best (or only) bet at adding a top-level pitcher to the staff.
but then again, BS got creative on me and sent Gomez to Milwaukee for Hardy, so who knows what else (good or bad) he’s got up his sleeve. (Just don’t trade Robert Delaney or Anthony Slama! You’re end of 2010 season set-up men.)
Coco would come relatively cheap…$3 million a year maybe? A decent third baseman will cost more, plus as great an arm as Cuddy has, his UZR is terrible, so you would actually be upgrading defensively in the outfield and adding a very solid #2 hitter which they don’t have on the team right now. The deal breaker is whether Cuddy could play 3B, which I think he can, but that’s just my opinion.
B-Good, The Crispy One would not be a good #2 hitter. He only has a career .331 obp and does whiff a bit. He’s strictly a bottom-of-the-order hitter unless you’re depserate, which the Twins aren’t.
I would rather see David Winfree in RF than bring in Cucu.
I think the Twins have a couple prospects who “may” be top line starters but not in 2010. Kyle Gibson and David Bromberg both seem to have the “stuff” to be #1 starters down the road. I also think that Manship and Swarzak can be solid #2 starters in a year or 2 as well. IMHO
TNG, I posted a link just now but it’s “awaiting moderation” and who knows how long that will take over the holiday.
Go to http://www. bizofbaseball.com and look for Maury Brown’s entry from November 6. Looking for it, I see he has a related post from yesterday talking about the MLB vs Scot Boras issues.
“Odd. Don’t teams debuting new stadiums usually get the honor of playing at home that first series?”
tell that to the yankees 
they didnt even get the last series of the year at old yankee stadium, and even worse (for them) they got to play it in boston.
thanks JC. So anyone know if you can tour Target Field yet?
CharlieMurphy says:
November 25th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Jones is Rondell White……
Except White was really a good acquisition that just didn’t pan out. I remember really liking that pickup at the time and he did hit very well the 2nd half of the season and was our best hitter in the playoffs. His season before he came to us was a heck of a lot better than Jones line.
Pete D says:
“Jason Pridie should NEVER DH. Ever. His value comes from his defense. If he is playing, he needs to be in the field.”
agreed, but who will be our rh dh and rh bat off the bench? harris (he’ll probably be non-tendered) or morales, maybe tolbert?
“I agree with the sentiment that we have a group of guys that are all essentially the same… We have a whole bunch of #3’s, guys”
“All #3’s” does NOT MEAN “essentially the same”.
Different styles, arm angles, LHP-RHP, setup pitches, out pitches, sinker-slider pitchers differentiate one pitcher from another.
Blackburn (sinker/slider) and Baker (four-seam fastball/curve ball) are not “essentially the same”.
All the same talent level?
Maybe?
Essentially the same?
Not even close.
not to mention Slowey’s pinpoint control and killer changeup.
“not to mention Slowey’s pinpoint control and killer changeup”
Exactly.
The two closest matches are probably Blackburn and Pavano, but Pavano is (at least temporarily) an EX-Twin pitcher.
“If I were classifying anyone the Twins have as a #1-5 starter, I don’t think we have a guy that really would classify as even a #2 on most teams. We have a whole bunch of #3’s,”
I think you are really undervaluing Scott Baker.
“agreed, but who will be our rh dh and rh bat off the bench? harris (he’ll probably be non-tendered) or morales, maybe tolbert?”
I’d guess that whomever the Twins sign to play 3rd base would be a right handed stick who could DH some days and let Harris or Tolbert play in the field. Or, as you said, perhaps Morales.
Felipe Lopez would be my top priority.
Then I would look at Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, Mark Mulder, or possibly bring back Pavano.
I am also wondering what kind of contract Troy Glaus is looking for?
thats because the Pohlads are cheap
here’s an idea…Ramos is the future DH and backup C while Morales and Kubel are the trade bait.
he’res an idea - ramos as the future DH AND catchter 2-3 days per week and put up Kubel (getting expensive, can’t hit lefties) and morales (questionable defense, lack of power) on the trading block.
oh sorry for double post^
realistically, I am worried that we get any SP through FA. I think the bets bet is through trade
heres an idea: Morales is our catcher while we trade Mauer for some “propects” who fizzle out and get traded or or become good themselves and get traded because the Pohlads are too cheap to pay any of them
Now is not the time to be so negative. Trust me… I have it down like clockwork.
It’s when all the A and B level free agents are gone the C free agents are slim, and Bill Smith wakes up one day and remembers it’s his job to bring someone in, and he brings in some reject like Ayala, or thinks to himself that he has too much talent on this team to trade any of it away.
April 2nd and 3rd…NOT! And a 5:00 start on April 2nd? Is that free snowmobile suit night? Kudos to whoever came up with that schedule.
thats because the Pohlads are cheap
and get traded because the Pohlads are too cheap to pay any of them
You need to drop that “Original” from your moniker. You haven’t had a new or unique thought yet this offseason.
I am expecting Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert to have excellent seasons for the Twins.
The Twins had a very good infield to fininsh last season when they went on their winning tear. Cuddyer at first, Punto at second, Tolbert at third and Cabrera at short. Very athletic.
I don’t see the infield next season as being as good as that one, but solid seasons by Tolbert and Casilla would help. I see Casilla eventually ending up as the Twins everyday shortstop.
I don’t see much point in having Valencia, Hughes and Harris on the 40 man roster. They are all similar third basemen who can’t play the position.
Tolbert is better than all three, and it appears from Gardy’s statements, Punto is the anticipated starter at third.
I would like to see Hughes get his shot next year. He did well in the WBC, I think some Major League Serive Time would be interesting to see, as well as Deserved.
Valencia might need another year, but the Twins should, as in they will, give him a good look in ST.
Harris…whatever. He’s an average player, though he can be clutch.
***
Trade Joe Nathan
I see Casilla eventually ending up as the Twins everyday shortstop
Except for that whole JJ Hardy thing there C r a i g ol’ chum.
“I am expecting Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert to have excellent seasons for the Twins.”
Nothing could please me more. I like both of them. Tolbert is still wobbly on high pop-ups though. And Casilla hasn’t shown he can hit at the MLB level since the middle of the 2008 season. How’s his hitting been this month?
Ah, but we can dream……….
Joe, did Reusse tell you to get off his lawn over the weekend? Has he completely gone “grumpy old men” now? He’s definitely not comfortable with change. Does he even know how to turn on his VCR*
*does he know what a DVD or Bluray is?
As for the Twins’ pitchers all being number threes? What do people base these things on?
Baker was 15th in the AL in FIP, and Blackburn was 22nd. Blackburn was 19th in ERA and Baker was in the mid-20’s. That makes them pretty much number 2 starters. Slowey would likely have been in the same area, I believe. They clearly have three number 2 types (maybe 2/3 border some years). I’d really like Sheets to be added. If he’s on, he’s border 1/2 type. If he’s not, they probably didn’t spend a ton of money on him.
How’s his hitting been this month?
Must have been ok lately. He went from .125 to .226. I know .226 isn’t good but anyone can get off to a slow start. He hit .346 last year in winter league and slumped for the Twins. I would rather it be the other way around.
“I am expecting Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert to have excellent seasons for the Twins.”
Don’t hold your breath. Alexi is currently at .226/.304/.306 in the DWL.
If Billy Smith decides to take the “wait and see” approach with Mauer, you can bet he’ll be playing else where in 2011. If Billy Smith lowballs the offer to Mauer, the ol’ “Home Town Discount” approach, that may be enough to tell Mauers agent the Twins have no interest in making the team competitive enough to play beyond the 4th game of the ALDS and he’ll be gone.
Not to mention, the quality of players the organization has brought in the past couple of years can be comparable to buying a vehicle at a junk yard. It won’t be any different this year. So when they go out and sign another Joe Crede type of player don’t get too excited about having any World Series asperations.
I am 100% on board with the Ben Sheets at the top of the wish list because Lackey is going to be way too expensive, and Harden is not a number one starter. We already had Harden type pitchers on this staff, and I don’t want to pay 10-12 million for Scott Baker type pitchers… 5-9 million make sense.
“He hit .346 last year in winter league…”
And I remember Casilla was hitting about .226 (his current DWL BA) in Rochester at one point (Was it least season or 2008) — BUT his OBP at that time was over .400.
Maybe he and Vavra aren’t a good mix.
Or maybe he’s just a AAAA player. I think it is still hard to say at this point just what Casilla is.
