It’s time for postseason awards
Posted on November 10th, 2008 – 9:44 AMBy La Velle
In case you were wondering, MLB postseason awards will start rolling out today with the announcement of the Jackie Robinson AL and NL rookies of the year - which should go to Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto, respectively. Here’s the rest of the schedule, followed with my predictions:
Tuesday, November 11: NL Cy Young Award - Brandon Webb, although it’s not with a lot of conviction.
Wednesday, November 12: AL Manager of the Year. Joe Maddon.
Wednesday, November 12: NL Manager of the Year. Lou Piniella.
Thursday, November 13: AL Cy Young. Cliff Lee.
Monday, November 17: NL Most Valuable Player. Albert Pujols
Tuesday, November 18: AL Most Valuable Player. Dustin Pedroia.
Our ballots are due at the end of the regular season, so postseason efforts do not factor. And, in most cases, we are assigned one award.
Joe C. has been monitoring Twins news lately while I’ve been busy jinxing the Gophers’ football team. He mentioned a few names of players the club has kicked around. I’m not that fired up about Casey Blake because he’s going to be 36 next season but I must admit that 20 homers and 80 RBI would blow away what Twins third baseman have done recently.
Now, as soon as I wrote that I thought, `Let me check the numbers to make sure.’ Twins third basemen went .283/.330/.399 last season with 7 homers and 91 RBI
91?!?!
Check it out. I remember, like, five of Mike Lamb’s RBI.
Of the list of possible targets, J.J. Hardy jumps out at me. He’s 26, has pop and can play short or third base. He solves problems. To get him, the Twins might have to trade one of their starters but you’d still bring back four starters with a battle among several pitchers for the fifth spot.
Question: Would you consider this man as a fall back plan if the Brewers ask for too much for Hardy?
I’ve been told that Kevin Kouzmanoff isn’t the sweetest defensive player. His walks and strikeouts are very appealing either.
But….
Home: .226/.269/.390 with 11 homers and 38 RBI
Road: .292/.329/.488 with 12 homers and 46 RBI
Does Petco park negatively affect mashers? Can we glean from those numbers that he’d hit better at the Dome (then Target Field) than Petco?
At least we’re hearing about some players who are more than stopgap solutions.
I’ve also heard the Twins were looking at LaTroy Hawkins before he re-signed with Houston and there might be some interest in Oakland’s Huston Street.
181 Responses to "It’s time for postseason awards"
I am still confused how Dustin Pedroia is a viable MVP canidate? In a lineup where Manny Ramirez is an expendable cog how valuable is his contribution? If Evan Longoria was a Red Sox or Yankee 3B there would be no discussion on this!
Shannon
No Bill Hall. He’s worse than a Buscher/Harris platoon.
Pedroia’s a legitimate MVP candidate — look at his numbers, they’re pretty fantastic.
If Longoria were on the Yankees … he’s not as good as A-Rod. So I don’t know where they’d play him.
Kouzmanoff is interesting (and we wrote about him at FireGardy last week), but I worry that we’d give up too much to get him, while hoping that his numbers go up significantly.
LaVelle,
Do you honestly think the Twins would consider a Delmon for Kouzmanoff trade? Seems like he could be had for less than that and giving up on Delmon this would be a huge mistake.
JJ Hardy would be an absolute best-case scenerio for the Twins. They MUST go after him, no matter what. The thought of another Punto/Everett/Harris option makes me ill. A shortstop that can hit 20+ homeruns….??? That would be crazy fun.
So I come in here to get some updates on my hometown Twins and I see that Delmon Young can only bring in the likes of Kevin Kouzmanoff. The Padres would be doing backflips if they got that deal. Not only would they clear room for Headley to move to his natural 3B position, they replace him with a 23 yr old outfielder with more talent than Headley. And all of this for a mediocre Kouzmanoff. Come on Twins Fans, and Star Tribune writers, and most of all Bill Smith, you have to be better than this.
Where did you see Delmon Young mentioned in my post?
Dustin Pedroia is over rated. If he (Pedroia) played for a smaller market team he wouldn’t even be in any discussions regarding getting an MVP award. If Morneau played for Boston he would win the MVP in a land slide.
So which of our starters do you think it would take to get Hardy? It would have to be either Perkins or Blackburn, right? Or how about Liriano. I think Baker and Slowey should be considered untouchable. Liriano I don’t know.
Yeah, I think that Delmon/Kouz stuff was made up crap by a columnist for “another” organization, so don’t lay that on LEN3. No way, no how is a straight up deal for Young acceptable. That said, Kouzmanoff is certainly worth investigating to see what it would take to get him. His road splits hint that he could be more productive somewhere outside of Padre Canyon.
I agree that Hardy should be the primary target, but I’m also concerned that the price may just be too steep. I’m not thrilled about Hall as a fall back and if the Brewers are demanding too much for your first choice, they’d likely demand more than what Hall is worth, as well.
Walter Johnson how bout Humber and Mulvey for a 3rd basman
jimmy bee,
In a heartbeat.
This may be a great trade for both the Twins and the recipiant of this trade on our quest for a 3rd baseman. Humber and Mulvey.
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Pedroia is OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOver RRRRRRRRRRRRated………….
I think Humber is a guy who a team in need of a 5th starter could probably put in right away. If a team only wants high-level prospects, both Humber and Mulvey would be good fits. I think with Hardy, alot depends on whether Sabathia is back with the Brewers next year.
Would you give up Mulvey and Blackburn for Hardy?
The other thought is pick up Blake for nothing at all but paying his contract and use Humber and Mulvey for a SS with power also. this would give the twins much power needed with not giving up alot of players. What are the thoughts of Mike Lowell
Cuddy and Mulvey for Hardy. Walter Johnson I would probably pick up Blake for nothing and trade Humber and Mulvey for a SS needed. If I had to I would probably would stay away from giving up any of our 5 starters unless a name like Yuke from Boston.
I’ve heard the drawback to Casey Blake is that he will want a three-year contract and this is too long for the Twins who are hoping that Danny V. or Luke H. will be ready to step in as everday third baseman before Blake’s contract would be up. Can give Blake his three years but trade him in his second or third yeay? The idea of trading him would be more to be rid of his contract than the hope of landing a player.
Walter Johnson he (Blake ) is 35 and we could use him for 2 years of a 3 year deal. That is an excellent idear. Lets go do it and trade instead for a SS while holding onto much of the Twins talent.
You can trade him because you really don’t care what you get in return. The problem would be trading your starting third baseman while the team is still in contention for a title. You would definately have to do it in the offseason. After the Twins win the World Series in 2010 would be the perfect time.
Something else to consider: Humber and Boof are out of options. Not good for a team that’s trying to upgrade the bullpen. Someone has to go….
Try this one out. Pick up Blake for basically nothing. Trade Cuddy and Mulvey for a Power hitting SS. Trade Buescher and Humber for a DH
Bullpen will be:
Definates: Nathan, Mijares, Breslow, Neshek(if healthy)
Probables: Crain, Guerrier
???: Boof
Gone: Reyes, Guardado
By no means am I lying on it La Velle I was asking if there was any truth to it or if he thought they would ever consider a Delmon for Kouzmanoff trade as it was rumored by a writer across the river?
La Velle is there a way to figure out if Dick Allen got a WS ring for working for the Phillies. I hope he did.
I think the Twins need to keep the DH spot open for several reasons. First, it keeps Mauer’s bat in the lineup while giving him a day off. Second, same thing with Morneau. Third, it allows you to keep both Kubel and Cuddyer, who will get limited time in the outfield.
I think Blake is still the one to pick up for 3B even for 3 years. He would play 3B at least for this year and possibly the following year. Then he could be a super utility player playing both corner infield and outfield positions in the 3rd year if someone is ready in the minors then the second year could be the same way.
I think Boof could be a viable 4 or 5 guy in a National League rotation. I gotta think he’d be a throw in any trade we do make this year.
Blake is the logical choice but see if the checkbook will open. It’s a no brainer.
I’m pleased to see somebody mention Hall. He spent nearly 1100 innings at shortstop as recently as 2006, and was pretty good there according to Pinto’s PMR. His bat tanked hard last year and his contract is a bit of a bummer (around 15mm owed over the next two years) but he still destroyed lefties (.306/.371/.522) and might not cost a whole lot in a trade since the Brewers are kind of running out of positions to stash him at.
I’d be curious to hear if anybody still regards him as a capable shortstop, particularly the Twins. He moved there because Hardy went down in May ‘06 with an injury, and only moved back when Hardy returned. So it’s not like anybody ever decided he was incapable of playing the position.
I just finished watching “The Bronx is Burning” on DVD. Excellent.
Dick Allen should be with Bert in the Hall of Fame.
Blake is going to get paid, and I hope the Twins aren’t the ones that do it.
Any thoughts on Edgar Renteria? It’s not like the Twins to go after the #1 FA (Furcal) so why not #2-3? He’s not quite the headcase that O. Cabrera is…
‘Spaceman’ among eight inducted into Red Sox Hall of Fame
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/11/07/redsox.bill.lee.ap/index.html
This is an awesome day for Bill “The Spaceman” Lee.
Dick Allen was my favorite player growing up.
Walter Johnson “The Bronx is Burning” wonderfull show. Bert and Dick Allen would be great inductees instead of these Steroid era inductees. Great non enhanced players.
La Velle he is in the Phillies organazation so I wonder if he will be getting a WS ring. It’s that season for old wampum to get his ring.
There is a good book out there called “Crash” great reading.
No to Bill Hall. Tim Lincecum wins NL Cy Young.
jimmy bee,
Who is the author? I tried looking it up, bought found nothing.
Walter Johnson
“Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen”
by Dick Allen & Tim Whitaker
ISBN-10: 0899196578
I dont think getting rid of Blackburn would be that great. Maybe Perkins. Nick pitched in a big game in the playoff game and pitched great. I think he will be one of the better pitchers of this staff.
QUOTE: Would you give up Mulvey and Blackburn for Hardy?
Yes. We’d probably have to throw in another prospect as well, and I’d still do it. I’d probably do it even if required Mulvey/Boof and Slowey/Baker.
If we get Hardy, then I’m comfortable with the Harris/Buscher platoon at 3B. I couldn’t agree more with Gleeman’s column today.
Then I’d sign a reliever, maybe Juan Cruz, and keep all 5 outfielders. Then we’d be set; pack for spring training.
Whoa ossieO! No way on the Slowey/Baker portion. Baker especially is untouchable to me
Why are people still talking about a Young trade like it’s going to happen?
Is he going to be taking Punto’s place as the most irrationally hated Twin?
I knew there always had to be one.
Does anyone know what happened to Dallas Mcphearson. I know at one point he was destroying tripple A. I haven’t heard much about him at all, just wondering if he would be a cheaper option than some of the others. Mcphearson and Hardy would be nice offseason moves
McPherson should be available after the year Cantu had for the Marlins
Sorry LaVelle, for dragging you into the Delmon Kouzmanoff issue, I was commenting on the posts I had been reading from a few days ago. I have seen Kouzmanoff play the Dodgers plenty of times, he has a lot of holes in his swing and is a fly ball hitter. How many more will fly out at the Dome, maybe a few. Expect Jason Kubel with a little more power and more K’s.
Would the Twins ever consider trading Span, his performance this year seems to be out of line with what he had done in the minors. Once the scouting catches up with him, he may be overmatched. He really doesn’t have many areas to improve his game from where it is at right now. If he suffers any drop in BA, he would be Nick Punto.
Buscher had 47 of the 3B 91 RBI’s in 218 AB’s. I said this in another comment area, understanding he’s a platoon player, but if you extend those numbers over 600 AB’s, that 130 RBI’s.
I know, no power. But, he was certainly more productive than some people are willing to give him credit for.
Hardy or Escobar to play SS. Let Buscher/Harris platoon and hope Valencia/Hughes are ready by 2010.
THe obvious problem area for the Twins was the left side of the infield, however, we also need to look at the outfield, where we got below average production. Obviously Gomez, Span and Young are young, and Cuddyer kept getting injured. However, someone out there has to hit homeruns, plain and simple. I think this trade is fair, but just me dreaming.
Span, Blackburn, Robertson, Revere for Matt Holliday.
Revere is expendable because we have lots of young speedy outfielders. This also allows us to think about young for someone like jj hardy without worrying about missing out youngs potential.
Another aspect to consider in moving Span, we have Revere on the way up and they are similar players. We also drafted a player in Aaron Hicks who may be the best of them all.
span rf
casilla 2b
mauer c
morneau 1b
hardy ss
kubel/cuddyer dh
d. young lf
blake 3b
gomez cf
this lineup looks so solid, it makes me think great things, but what would it take to get there…open the check book for blake and live with him for 2-3 yrs-he will be great on and off the field….make the trade for hardy by giving up blacky or perkins and AAA people whomever it takes, but just dont implode the team from last year to make changes for this year….keep subtraction from this roster to a minimum…..on the bench you still have busher, redmond, tolbert and cuddyer….
now about the relief staff???
I don’t believe T actually wrote the previous post. First, there are too many typos for a post from T. Second, I can believe T jus tmentioned trading Young. Third, if you trade both Span and Revere, who are all of our speedy young outfielders?
T,
With Fowler on the way in, Span has no value to the Rockies. They would need a power bat, so it would have to be Cuddy or Delmon in the Deal
T…you seem to be way too generous, my god, why not throw in morneau also…please be realistic….
I assume their is another T out there. To Walter, we still have Hicks and Gomez, and Morales who has a huge upside. To LA, good point, id be happy to replace Cuddyer with Span, but then Robertson would have to turn into Swarzak or Humber. If Span became Young Revere would be out of the deal.
LA Twins Fan:
I am with you on moving Span. If a deal of Blackburn/Perkins & Span gets Hardy I think I do it.
The Brewers are going to want more than the Twins 4 or 5 starter and a AAA prospect for a 26 year old SS with power.
WILDfan,
the Brewers might be interested in that, Cameron is patroling CF for them, and they have grown tired of waiting on Rickie Weeks to be more than potential. Span would give them a young CF and a lead off hitter who doesn’t bat .240.
Reports are the Yankees are interested in Cameron so they could spin him to the Yankees.
I’m not even sure if Pedroia is the most valuable Red Sox player. What about Kevin Youkilis? He did a more than admirable job in the middle of that lineup, helping to fill the voids of injured David Ortiz and departed Manny Ramirez.
I’d like to see the Twins get Hardy or Escobar for short. I would be open to dealing either Blackburn or Perkins as part of any deal.
Mulvey, Humber and Boof for hardy. Or just pick up Casey Blake for nothing then trade fo r a SS which is what would make the most sense. We would be barely getting rid of anything while filling the voids we need to fill needed. But oh well thats just me thinking logically again
Humber and Boof are out of options. Not good for a team that’s trying to upgrade the bullpen. Someone has to go….
Yes and no. Here is the xFIP (Expected Fielding Independent Pitching) of the Twins’ starters in 2008:
Slowey 4.15
Baker 4.25
Bonser 4.31
Liriano 4.40
Blackburn 4.55
Hernandez 4.87
Perkins 5.05
methinks that Bonser should given another opportunity to start next year. Liriano’s numbers include the horrid first few starts. Methinks that Perkins is expendable, since he pitched worse than Livan. He and Humber can bring something valuable back.
Perkins and Humber and Cuddyer and Martin and maybe another AAA/AA pitching prospect might be enough to land Hardy. On the other hand, why don’t they try to make a 4 year, $45 mil offer to Furcal (not too much more than the tail end of Cuddy money) and try to get one of Beltre, Glaus, Wigginton and Rollen with a combination of those players…
Bill Hall? Not as a starter, but as a RH bat off the bench in a role like Monroe’s last year and only if it will be an 1-1 swap with Cuddyer (they are the same age and have the same bad contract), but frankly, I’d rather see Ruiz in that role.
I don’t know though if the Twins and the Brewers would strike a deal because The Crook Selig’s ties to the organazaion (Brewers) wouldn’t allow anything to help out the Twins. With this being said I don’t know if Hardy would ever become a Twin. Pick up Blake for nothing and trade for a SS
Perkins’ xFIP (whatever that is) may have been worse than Livan’s. But saying that this means he “pitched worse than Livan” only shows the meaninglessness of the statistic.
jimmy bee,
The Dodgers want Blake to return, so nobody will “pick up Blake for nothing”.
Walter Johnson I like your thinking
Boof is the third best pitcher on the Twins?? Only in some computer.
I think he means we don’t have to give up any prospects by signing Blake as a free agent rather than trading for a player.
Head scratcher of the day: A’s acquire Matt Holliday from the Rockies!?!?
Exactly correct 100% Walter Johnson. sane long time no hear.
OK, I understand.
We should have picked up A-Rod for nothing when he was a FA last year.
The A’s get Matt Holliday! Wow big news. C’mon Twins if the A’s are willing to do this and they are small market don’t dissapoint me now. Please
WILD,
that’s a huge head scratcher, i’d have pegged the Twins more likely to make that trade
sane yes but the price tags are different. Blake is Twins kind of Money where as ARod is not.
jimmy bee,
One more week left in our HS football season, and then I will become a blog addict again.
Or I can get in a 12-step program to overcome the addiction.
Does not seem like your typical Billy Beane kind of deal. It will be interesting to see who the A’s send to Colorado for what is likely just one year of Holliday.
Many trade suggestions of Span and Young. Brewers want our best young pitchers. Rockies and Padres want our best young pitchers AND our best young outfielders. Hopefully neither idea is an option. So that leads us right back to Casey Blake. I could live with that better than some of our former starters starring with another team for the second year in a row.
sane a friend asked me to move to Carson and he lives in Torrance I asked him if he would give me a free bullet proof vest.
Bill Hall is a terrible option at third base. Shame on you, LaVelle, for even suggesting it. He even lost his starting job mid-season with the Brewers for stinking up the place.
The A’s go from pitcher fire sale in July to picking up a 1 year rental guy in November. Go figure!
As much as Billy Beane is thought of as a wizard in the GM world this one is very hard to get a grasp on.
With the departures of both RonDL and Craig Monroe what better option for the Twins then to get a similiar player in Bill Hall. Great job BS I see it in my crystal ball of Twins predictions.
now that Holliday is gone, the Atkins trade market will ramp up.
james bee,
you ever spend any time in Reno?
“Shawn in Binghamton says:
November 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
james bee,
you ever spend any time in Reno?”
Virginia city??? Bucket of Blood saloon
anything good around there? looking at a job out that way, never been.
It will be interesting to see what the Rockies got back for Holliday. The one name mentioned was Greg Smith who is a Perkins-like pitcher with less control.
QUOTE: Whoa ossieO! No way on the Slowey/Baker portion. Baker especially is untouchable to me
That’s a reasonable position, Jon, and you might be able to convince me. I just think its going to take quality players to land Hardy. A 24 YO shortstop with solid defense and 20+ HR/.800 OPS bat is very valuable, and an especially good fit with the lefty hitting Twins.
For more on Hardy’s defense:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/cat_probabilistic_model_of_range.php
I don’t know much in my short time staying there regarding quality of life. I know it snows there allot. Gambling is big. I watch Reno 911 and it kind of reminds me a bit of the area. sane describe Riverside county if you get this. Maybe Barstowish or Lancaster or Victorville would best sum up the area.
i have sold the woman on the fact that it is near Tahoe…. but then, compared to Binghamton, NY…. most any place is worth a look.
I would probably head more in the Chico, California or Paradise area
Just don’t head towards Sacramento I am recently hearing non possitives regarding that area. I am an LA county native
why would the Brewers trade Hardy,a young power hitting stud who plays ss,for just one of our basically average starters-a full time everyday player for a guy who pitches once every five games-that would be idiotic-i don’t know if they would do it for Liriano even as he got hit good at the end of the year
well, depending on where the job is, i’d probably lean towards living in NV due to the taxes
The A’s have a number of young outfielders already, so I assume at least a couple of them (Sweeney, perhaps?) will be sent to Colorado in the swap.
I’m also not so sure that Atkins talk will ramp up now. My sense is that the Rockies wanted to deal either Holliday OR Atkins (with Holliday being the preferred trade chip), but not both.
I like areas like Mesquite or Henderson Nevada area. Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale AZ. LA County, CA. I suppose if you got realy close to Tahoe on the Nevada side you would be safe. I hear it is very spendy near Tahoe though
Shawn in Binghamton Then again if I can get ahold of some Del Taco and some In N Out burger’s I am fine anywhere in the Western US
Boof is the third best pitcher on the Twins?? Only in some computer.
if you disregard, Liriano’s early stats, he is the fourth-ranked starter, which is about right if you look at starters’ meaningful numbers like k/bb, whip and k/9.
Perkins’ xFIP (whatever that is) may have been worse than Livan’s. But saying that this means he “pitched worse than Livan” only shows the meaninglessness of the statistic.
based on what?
ok.. i know this may sound strange. but honestly..
who was the last power hitter the twins traded for, signed as a free agent, or whatever that actually posted similar power numbers with the twins as he did the season before?
i dont care how many home runs atkins, Kouz, or anyone else hit.
it seems to me that the twins have such a opposite field approach that when players come here, they lose alot of their power.
when Delmon hit homeruns, he absolutely crushed some of them to left.
sure morneau hit 30+ one year, but it sure seems to me that he is doing alot more opposite field hitter nowdays. (im not complaining, he is a awesome hitter and his production is big time)
but i really do not envision a player like mauer, delmon, kubel ever really hitting for 25+ hr a year because of the twins hitting philosophy.
so. Atkins hit 25+ hr last year?
that results in ?? 17 with the twins maybe?
or am i looking at this completely wrong?
Any stat which indicates Livan out-pitched Perkins (or anyone else - dead or alive) is highly suspect. That stat flies in the face of everyone’s visual obsevations.
Just ask Livan’s outfielders, who are still trying to catch their breath.
“observations”, not what I misspelled earlier.
The only way you get Kouzmanoff from the Padres is if you can do it for Humber, Bonser, and another minor league prospect… this way you are not getting rid of anything. Sorry, but Kouzmanoff strikesout too much, and he is only slightly better than a platoon of Buscher and Harris (reminds me of Pags and Leuis)…
Casey Blake is too old. Every old player the Twins have ever gotten has not been good (with the possible exception of Luis Castillo). Let’s go for JJ Hardy. His numbers are good and many fewer strikeouts than Kouz. I would not consider Bill Hall. In 08 he had 404 at bats and 124 strikeouts. I hate strikeouts.
Bill Hall it is then.
I think trading for JJ Hardy would be fantastic, and then signing Casey Blake to a 3 year deal… by the 3rd year he is probably an over priced backup player, but you also need to have a quality right handed bat off the bench at some point in time as well, and Blake can play 1st and OF in a pinch as well if need be.
You then don’t have to trade Delmon Young, and you can put Gomez in AAA for 2009 where he can learn the strike zone kind of like the miracle that is Denard Span (who until his eye surgery was called FLUSH as a wasted pick flushed down the drain).
That gives Delmon a year to mature, Cuddyer a year to get healthy, and repeat 2006, and Span to improve upon a very good rookie season.
why in God’s great earth would San Diego want Humber or a completely worthless Bonser(numbers don’t lie..why is he still on the damn team even)
Anyone on JJ Hardy for Slowey straight up? I heard the brewers were asking for him on some sports radio here in Wisconsin.
Laura,
I agree with you. Bill Hall is not an answer to any question that has been asked. Low BA, low OB%, limited power, mediocre glove…
I like Casey Blake though as a stop gap because this team is so young… he’s a solid 550 at bat guy a year, he has a decent glove, can play 1b and RF if need be in a pinch, and if you can get him for 3 years and 18 million he’s a good deal.
Kouzmanoff K’s a lot too, and the only way I take him is if they get rid of Bonser, Humber, and a prospect for him.
The guy I want the most is JJ Hardy (at least of the guys mentioned here)
The fun thing is that I have been hearing things about Jimmy Rollins in Philly being on the table this offseason. Rollins would be perfect with MVP and baby Jesus here!
Squeezeguy,
The Brewers would trade Hardy because they have a younger, and possibly more studly SS prospect coming up. I can’t remember his name right now. Like Rycelvys Escobar or something like that. lol
LaVelle, maybe you know his name?
squeezeguy.
That is my point though. Kouzmanoff is not a high priority guy, and if we have to give up a big time player for him we are going to look as bad this year in the offseason as we did with the MISTAKES that defined Bill Smith’s rookie year as GM.
The Brewers can definitely afford to trade hardy, but i dont think just blackburn or perkins will cut it…
A’s “believed would send” Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Houston Street (per yahoo.com) for Holliday. Interesting.
Dillon you are correct in the guy’s name, just not in the spelling (which doesn’t matter).
Alcides Escobar is the name I was thinking of.
If the Brewers make it known Hardy is available, they’ll get offers from a lot of teams. No way the Twins steal him for the spare parts people on this blog routinely are willing to part with. It will take someone that will cause considerable pain to give up. Count on it.
I think everyone is thinking to much about a trade. Other than for pitching, who have we gotten on a trade that made everyone happy. It seems to me that a major league player just doesn’t fit in to Twins style of BB. They need to start in our minor league system. I would like to see the Twins stand pat and just call up a minor leaguer as needed to step in like this past year. It’s seemed to work every time we tried it.
I agree one pitcher probably wouldn’t be enough, but the Twins have enough pitching prospects to add to a deal to guarentee JJ Hardy gets here.
The Twins can add minor league prospects to the Blackburn or Perkins deal and get Hardy.
Dillon…they will trade Hardy but not for just one of our average or slightly above starting pitchers who pitches once every 5 games…he’s worth more than that…BC BENEKE,it will take a little more than our garbage for Kouzmanoff
BC, you think prospects will get Hardy here? The Milwaukee FO doesnt need pitching prospects, they need someone to step in right now.. Hardy is a proven commodity, Swarzak/Duensing are hardly that..
alicedes escobar
excuse me
alcides escobar
squeezeguy,
I know it would take more than our garbage.
The POINT I am trying to make is that it’s not worth more than our garbage to make him a top priority this offseason.
His glove is a C
His BA is a C-
His OB% is a C-
And his power is a B
We could do better than Kouzmanoff
Prospects for Kouz doesn’t make any sense for the Twins.. either trade for someone solid, or go out and pay for Blake.. Dont trade potential for potential.. weve seen how that works (see: Delmon Young)
do they need infield help …throw in Harris with one of the starting pitchers and a minor league prospect and resign punto as the utility infielder
Why not just get Blake if we can and not have to give up anything. Then trade for a SS
Trade for Atkins and Clint Barmes. It will solves both the 3rd and ss problem. Atkins played alot of 1st this year and hit some cleanup. I’m not sure how many Hr Barmes had, but had to be more than the Twins ss hit. He was also hurt part of the year. In the beginning of the year he was on fire. Not sure if the injury nagged him the rest of the year. Would be willing to give up Cuddy and Blackburn.
harris and barmes are a wash… cuddy, when healthy is better than atkins…lets try upgrading instead of treading water
BC…who would be crazy to take Bonser in a trade for a descent 3b prospect in Kouz…he is still young and can work on his fielding…can’t be no worse than Buscher and the rest of the cast
where they gonna play Tolbert next year…we have a glut of infielders to deal
Even though my aunt in Milwaukee would be crushed, the Twins need to get JJ Hardy.
blake is older but is a good locker room guy plus ..he is still productive and can play numerous positions ..something the twins like
AL rookies…How much attention would Evan Longoria be getting over Alexei Ramirez if it weren’t for Desperate Housewives?
If the A’s can get Holliday for a sandwich, surely the Twins can make something happen for Hardy. How many more years is Hardy under Brewer control?
You might be surprised who would take Boof. Someone took JC Romero, Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse. All of those guys were more cold than hot (trust me, Lohse was replaced by an alien this past season and will go back to being himself in 09).
Buscher got a lot of hits with RISP last year. His RBI totals were no fluke. However, he was a below-average fielder, with little range. Anytime he had to charge a softly-hit grounder or bunt, he was a throwing error waiting to happen.
I’ll take Casey Blake until Valencia is ready. He has more power than Buscher, and can actually field his position.
“Span, Blackburn, Robertson, Revere for Matt Holliday.”
You are dreaming, sport. That might be the dumbest thing I’ve read on this board in months. Yeah, there goes our leadoff hitter, our #3 starter, and our top prospect for some guy that is overpaid and nearing his declining years.
Sqeezeguy,
You just asked why would they trade him. I agree it would take a some good pieces on our part. I’m saying it’s feasible they trade him because of said Alcides Escobar. In other words, they could be open to trade Hardy because they have a “back-up” plan they feel could make it worth it. They wouldn’t feel like trading Hardy would leave a gap in their defense or line-up, while Hardy could fetch the Brewers what they need: starting pitching and bullpen assistance.
Oh please don’t get rid of Span. He has really turned into a good major league player. We can spare a starter perhaps–Perkins or Slowey (I’d rather not part with Baker, Liriano or Blackburn). I’d like to see how Revere develops. We seem to have so few real hitting prospects. As I posted somewhere else let’s start developing him into a 3rd baseman now.
If the Twins trade Slowey, Smith should go. Slowey is one of the top 10 starters in the majors if you look at combined K/BB, K/9 and WHIP and will only improve.
By La Velle
In case you were wondering, MLB postseason awards will start rolling out today with the announcement of the Jackie Robinson AL and NL rookies of the year - which should go to Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto, respectively. Here’s the rest of the schedule, followed with my predictions:
Tuesday, November 11: NL Cy Young Award - Brandon Webb, although it’s not with a lot of conviction.
Wednesday, November 12: AL Manager of the Year. Joe Maddon.
Wednesday, November 12: NL Manager of the Year. Lou Piniella.
Thursday, November 13: AL Cy Young. Cliff Lee.
Monday, November 17: NL Most Valuable Player. Albert Pujols
Tuesday, November 18: AL Most Valuable Player. Dustin Pedroia
Is that how you voted LEN?
AL ROY should’ve been Span. stats back me up on that.
NL ROY was Soto.
NL Cy should be Lincecum
AL Cy should be Halladay
NL MVP should be Howard
AL MVP should be Morneau (anyone that thinks Pedroia should get it over Youkilis or Mauer is wrong)
AL manager of the year: Maddon
NL manager of the year: Manuel or Manuel
hmmm
AL ROY should’ve been Span. stats back me up on that.
What cumulative stats back you up on that? The post season awards are based on total performance not rate performance (i.e. even though Span’s OBP is higher than Longoria’s -his OPS is less btw- Longoria had more hits and walks than Span) Longoria wins hands down in any category. Span should probably finish on the top 3 but better than Longoria he weren’t…
I bet the Rays would not trade Longoria for Span 1-1, would they? 
say sabathia signs, but sheets is gone. milwaukee will still be in the market for pitching. say sabathia doesn’t sign (which is very possible) than they just lost 2 ace-type pitchers and definitely will be looking for pitching and with their offense they’re gonna want to have that pitching NOW so they can be good. the perfect trade would be hardy for blackburn/pitching prospect and call it good. i think milwaukee would do that and i am pretty sure we would too. after all, milwaukee has escobar coming up and their looking to move hardy plus they would fill their rotation hole with blackburn and possibly the prospect. we would get our shortstop in hardy, keep buscher and harris at 3rd and have a team like this.
span rf
casilla cf
mauer c
morneau 1b
hardy ss
kubel/cuddyer dh
young lf
buscher/harris 3b
gomez cf
bench
kubel/cuddyer whichever one don’t start
harris/buscher whichever one don’t start
redmond
tolbert (man i want punto back)
and say cuddyer plays rf too, move go-go to leadoff for those games and place cuddyer somewhere at 6th-8th in the order
rotation
baker
slowey
liriano
perkins
humber
bullpen
nathan, closer
mijares, lh setup
neshek, rh setup
crain, rh middle
breslow, lh middle/long relief
bonser, rh long relief
guerrier, rh long relief
don’t change the bullpen all we need is neshek back
Span was close to or better then Longoria in the majority of stats other then homers and rbi. Longoria hit cleanup, Span was a leadoff guy of course so the expectations are that Longoria would have a decisive advantage in homers and rbi. They were equally as good in the field. However, Span clearly meant more to his team then Longoria meant to his. Tampa won of pitching, not hitting, while the Twins didn’t get on a roll until Span showed up. Also, keep in mind that even though Span was at Longoria’s level or better in most categories, Span had 100 fewer ABs.
Span was simply the better player.
I’m just wondering how the hell Ellbury was 3rd in the voting. 1. he sat a ton late in the season so Coco Crisp could play because Jacoby was awful. 2. Jacoby’s numbers were no better then Carlos Gomez. Baseball writers should be embarrassed by their terrible voting.
It should’ve been:
1. Denard Span
2. Evan Longoria
3. Mike Aviles
4. David Murphy
5. Alexei Ramirez
6. Chris Davis
7. Armando Gallaraga
8. Brad Ziegler
9. Nick Blackburn
10. Joey Devine
11. Jacoby Ellsbury
thrylos98 says:
November 10th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
AL ROY should’ve been Span. stats back me up on that.
What cumulative stats back you up on that? The post season awards are based on total performance not rate performance (i.e. even though Span’s OBP is higher than Longoria’s -his OPS is less btw- Longoria had more hits and walks than Span)
Actually, Span had more walks…50-46….Span also struck out half as much.
Longoria had 20 more hits in a 100 more ABs. Span would’ve had no trouble outhitting Even with equal ABs.
Of course Evan’s OPS is greater, he hits homers.
Dan buddy, you serious.
31 2B, 27 HR, 85 RBI’s
16 2B, 6 HR, 47 RBI’s
Which one is rookie of the year material.
Souhan thinks Tolbert is a viable option at short.Would it be worth giving up a #1 pick for Hudson and sliding Cassila over to short?
Souhan is living in a dreamworld, Hudson is a good player. Casilla could handle SS much better than Tolbert
If I remember right, Souhan also thought we should trade Liriano before he was a bust. Always do the opposite of what he thinks and you’ll have a winning team.
Instead of spending money on a 3B free agent, why not wait and see if Buscher can reproduce his solid run production from last year? If not, see if you can pick up a pending free agent cheaply on the trade market mid-season. Here’s a list of 3B free agents the Twins have signed in the off-season, entirely off the top of my head:
Mike Lamb
Dave Hollins
Mike Pagliarulo
One-time Kansas City Royals Rookie of the Year and subsequent washout Bob Hamelin, who never made it to the majors with the Twins (am I imagining that, or did that actually happen?)
Some dude named “Hardie” or something who once hit about 13 HR in a season and was a major disappointment. Actually, that could apply to everyone on this list.
Oh, and didn’t Bret Boone play some third base during his illustrious tour of duty with the Twins?
These guys are always hailed as veteran power sources, and they always stink it up. Third base free agents have been a world of hurt for the Twins. They could probably sign Miguel Cabrera and he’d bat .208 with 3 HR. Don’t even bother.
The Twins could get JJ Hardy I think for Perkins or Blackburn, Robertson, and Luke Hughes.
I also think that it is more than spare parts.
……….
As for the Padres… I’d rather go after Khalil Greene than Kouzmanoff, and move him to 3rd base. He’s got a great arm, and a good glove… He has shown he can hit 20 plus homers, and drive in runs. He is also young enough where he could get better, and he’s old enough to know what you are getting.
OK, I’m an idiot. I checked the Baseball Reference: Bob Hamelin never played for the Twins and wasn’t a third baseman, and Bret Boone did play some 3B but never for the Twins. I did remember who the “Hardie” guy I was thinking of was: Butch Huskey, who was hailed as the Twins’ new right-handed power source in 2000 (how long has THAT been going on?) and went on to hit .223 with 5 HR and 27 RBI in 215 AB. However, he didn’t play third for them–he did break into the big leagues as a third baseman with the Mets in 1993, but by the time he got to the Twins he was a 1B/DH/OF type.
I then checked back through Twins team stats over the years and confirmed that their best players at 3rd since Gary Gaetti was born again have been Scott Leius and Kory Koskie. Must be some kind of curse.
LA Twins Fan says:
November 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
31 2B, 27 HR, 85 RBI’s
16 2B, 6 HR, 47 RBI’s
Which one is rookie of the year material.
player #2. the one that had better stats across the board other then a couple of meaningless power stats. saying Longoria should win the ROY because of his homers is about as valid an argument as saying Mark McGwire was a good baseball player. It simply isn’t true.
2 names I would love to see mentioned for 3rd base.
1) Ian Stewart. He won’t cost quite as much as JJ Hardy, he’s cheaper and controlable for longer, and Colorado has Atkins at 3rd base already and now has plenty of payroll to afford him with Holliday going to Oakland. Colorado, by the way, is in dire need of pitching and might consider a combo plater of Boof + minor league pitching rather than taking one of our starting 5 pitchers. Could be good for both teams, since the Twins seem to be set for then next 3 years at starting pitching.
2) Joe Crede. Yes, I know, people have mentioned him. But have they compared him to Beltre, the 12 million dollar man that people think the Twins should give a starting pitcher up for?
Crede the last 3 years:
.261/.310/.461/.771
Beltre the last 3 years:
.270/.325/.468/.793
Yes, Beltre is a better option at 3rd base. But Crede doesn’t cost us one of our starting pitchers, Beltre and Hardy do. I’m tired of trade ideas that include one of our cheap, solid, young starting pitchers to get a well paid 3rd baseman. Crede will be CHEAPER than Beltre and Hardy salary wise on a 3 year contract, and is very similar defensively to Beltre, who is probably the best defensive 3rd baseman in the AL.
And lets not forget that Crede was very durable before 2007, averaging 144 games played a year over 4 years.
For the right price, why not throw your luck there. Harris is solid defensively at 3rd base, even if he’s a sub-par bat there. But if Crede only plays 90 games a year, the overall production will still be good at 3rd and we’d still have our fab 5 starting pitching.
Just my 2 cents.
Looking forward to your next interview at BYTO La Velle
I just fell in love with the:
Sign Blake, trade for Hardy scerneo.
That instantly gives us:
.274/.345/.463 With 15-25 HR’s and
70-90 RBI’s (Blake)
And
.283/.343/.478 With 20-30 HR’s and
75-95 RBI’s. (Hardy)
That’s certainly better than:
.284/.344/.382 With 2-4 HR’s and
25-40 RBI’s (Punto).
.265/.327/.394 With 5-10 HR’s and
45-60 RBI’s (Harris).
And Possibly better than:
294/.340/.390 With 10-16 HR’s and
70-100 RBI’s (Buscher).*
*My rough estimate if he played full time.
Baseball-Reference’s estimate (playing 162 games/533 PA).
.280/.335/.373 With 9 HR’s and
89 RBI’s.
Blake will be 36 years old next year and wants a 3 year deal. All in all he’s a bad option unless he’s willing to take a 2 year deal. We have 2 solid 3rd base prospects in the low minors, and at least one of them should pan out.
Hardy, by the way, was rated quite high in the Baseball Bible for fielding to my surprise. I would definitely not mind having him, even if it costs us Perkins + Delmon Young/Span/Cuddyer to get him.
I still think Ian Stewart would be the better option, considering his price tag and the fact that he’s controlable for much longer..
Dan says:
November 10th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
LA Twins Fan says:
November 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
31 2B, 27 HR, 85 RBI’s
16 2B, 6 HR, 47 RBI’s
Which one is rookie of the year material.
player #2. the one that had better stats across the board other then a couple of meaningless power stats. saying Longoria should win the ROY because of his homers is about as valid an argument as saying Mark McGwire was a good baseball player. It simply isn’t true.
yeah Dan, you’re right. who would want all those meaningless doubles, Hr’s and RBI’s, not to mention above average defense, from a third baseman, certainly not the Twins. Much rather have a slap hitting leadoff guy who in a corner outfield position. Hello Juan Pierre without the steals.
NO BILL HALL
It is curious to me that Joe Crede’s name is not being mentioned for the Twins answer at 3b. This guy was an all-star in 08′ and Chicago has no interest in resigning him due to having Fields coming up. Joe is younger than Blake and made less then him in 08′ and Joe’s back problem in 08′ should keep his salary down for the Twins. If the Twins really wanted to make some noise, sign Crede and trade for Hardy!!
LEN3-
Do you mean to say you actually voted for Webb to win the Cy Young, or do you just believe he is going to win?
Webb is so clearly the 3rd or 4th best candidate, I hope you realize that too.
If you don’t believe me, on top of all the analysis out there, Rob Neyer of ESPN has a great article today to further cement the idea: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3695366&name=Neyer_Rob
Brenden
LEN doesn’t vote for the NL awards since the team he covers is in the AL.
Street sucks, just say no. He couldn’t get the job done in a cavernous pitcher’s park.
What do you guys think of these deals.
Dunesing/Cuddyer/Boof/Pridie/another prospect. For Street and Adkins
Mulvey or Humber Blackburn for Hardy
Dan in Iowa
You are really missing the boat!
NO to Bill Hall. NO to Casey Blake. NO to Delmon for Kouz. YES to JJ Hardy. Give up Blackburn and Duensing. Mulvey and Humber would NEVER get it done. YES to Kouzmanoff for Cuddy/Humber/Boof. Blake is old and wants a long contract. Bill Hall strikes out more than Ryan Howard but he doesn’t have his power. He’s also not a very reliable infielder.
Span
Hardy
Mauer
Morneau
Kouz
DY
Kubel
Casilla
Gomez
Crede shouldn’t even be in the discussion. Putting him on the Metrodome turf with a chronically bad back is a recipe for disaster.
I would love to see JJ Hardy in a Twins uni. I actually really like the Buscher/Harris platoon at 3rd, Harris had a bit of gap power, and Buscher was pretty clutch. I also like the idea of not trading for someone to fill in there who’s near or over 30, and having to give up big bank or a bunch of prospects. Save those pieces to go after Hardy. Perk/Blackburn + Span/Cuddy + another prospect for Hardy would be glorious.
Narf says:
November 11th, 2008 at 5:32 am
2 names I would love to see mentioned for 3rd base.
1) Ian Stewart. He won’t cost quite as much as JJ Hardy, he’s cheaper and controlable for longer, and Colorado has Atkins at 3rd base already and now has plenty of payroll to afford him with Holliday going to Oakland. Colorado, by the way, is in dire need of pitching and might consider a combo plater of Boof + minor league pitching rather than taking one of our starting 5 pitchers. Could be good for both teams, since the Twins seem to be set for then next 3 years at starting pitching.
2) Joe Crede. Yes, I know, people have mentioned him. But have they compared him to Beltre, the 12 million dollar man that people think the Twins should give a starting pitcher up for?
Crede’s the better option of the 2 but can never stay healthy. They are both bad options. Crede doesn’t hit all that good and Stewart is garbage. Career AAAA guy. He had 1 good month this year and was dreadful after.
LA Twins Fan says:
November 11th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Dan says:
November 10th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
LA Twins Fan says:
November 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
31 2B, 27 HR, 85 RBI’s
16 2B, 6 HR, 47 RBI’s
Which one is rookie of the year material.
player #2. the one that had better stats across the board other then a couple of meaningless power stats. saying Longoria should win the ROY because of his homers is about as valid an argument as saying Mark McGwire was a good baseball player. It simply isn’t true.
yeah Dan, you’re right. who would want all those meaningless doubles, Hr’s and RBI’s, not to mention above average defense, from a third baseman, certainly not the Twins. Much rather have a slap hitting leadoff guy who in a corner outfield position. Hello Juan Pierre without the steals.
you’d be right if Span didn’t steal bases, didn’t hit for some power, and didn’t steal bases, and if he couldn’t field to save his life and had a limp noodle for an arm.
Span had 29 extra base hits in 100 less ABs then even Longoria. Span is probably the best fielding outfielder in the game even though he’s only played half a season. He steals plenty of bases, and if the Twins on offense sucked as bad as the Dodgers, I’m sure Denard would be asked to steal a whole lot more. Twins scored 129 more runs then the Dodgers.
Ah Danny boy, you should come back to battleyourtailoff. You are more entertaining there.
Ummm, firstly, who cares what a guys age is as long as he’s getting it done?
And secondly, has anyone ever heard of TRADING a player still under contract? Who cares is Blake wants a 3 year deal? Trade him in 1 or 2 years. Sure, you willn’t get much for him, by himself anyway, but he’ll be better than any of our 3rd basemen since Koskie. Plus he willn’t cost us any players to get.
Sign Blake, damn always type Black, Trade for Hardy. Any tweeking beyond that is fine, but get this done and we have a really good lineup.
Forthcoming: an Atkins… declaration.
Night.
Span had 29 extra base hits in 100 less ABs then even Longoria.
The one thing that you are missing is that the criteria of the Rookie of the year award (and all other post-season awards) are measured for the whole season performance and not for partial season. Span played for a bit more that half a season. He did not qualify for the batting title. Non-full season players would rarely win a post-season award. BTW, from non-qualifying rookies, Mike Aviles’ .325/.354/.480 was better than Span’s .294/.387/.432 and the only person that could have challenged Longoria was Chris Davis with .285/.331/.549 17 HR and 55 RBI in 245 AB (Longoria had .272/.343/.531 27HR, 85 RBI)
As far as Managers of the year go, it should be Madon and Torre
“Ummm, firstly, who cares what a guys age is as long as he’s getting it done?”
Blake’s age makes it less likely that he will continue to get it done. Yes, he did put up decent numbers last year and I’m sure the Dodgers didn’t care if he turned 35 or 28 during his walk year. The Twins, however, should be more concerned about his future potential and, at age 35, Blake’s best years are behind him.
Come on Dan
Longoria batted 4th for the team with the best record in the American League. Find me how many other rookies have done that.
span had 29 extra base hits and Longoria had 27 HR’s and 31 Doubles. Give Span another hundred atbats and he wont even get close to either those numbers. Please, by your criteria Ichiro is the best OF in the game. Laughable
To saam: Point taken, however, Blake has not been getting worse. He has remained fairly constant. While all players inevitably get worse as times goes on, Blake could, and probably would be very servicable for 1 or 2 years. Then trade him, and let the youngsters have their shot.
Onto Atkins. Don’t sign him. Don’t trade for him. Don’t trade for him and then deal him…possibly scratch that last one. Anyway, the Twins, or any team for that matter, WILL regret it. This is my official prediction. I’m callin’ it now. Atkins will be worthless away from Coors. There is a slim chance that he will still bat well at home, wherever that is, but he willn’t do well on the road. I’m totally prepared to eat my words if he proves himself, however I’m not counting on it. I just hope the Twins aren’t the ones who have to suffer with him. I’d rather give up players for Beltre for one year, than give up players for 2-3 years of Atkins. Best option for me is sign Blake, though Kouzmanoff is intriguing as well, if not better (except that he’ll cost you players). A warning to all teams out there, not just the Twins: DO. NOT. SIGN. ATKINS. Just don’t.
You Will Regret It.
IF he bats .270 (even .255 on the road), with 20+ HR’s and 80 RBI’s, I’ll, at that point, at least partially retract these statments.
I’m that confident about his inability to make these opinionated facts.
You have been warned.
How about Dayan Viciedo? Could the Twins actually make a real splash with a foreign born player. He’s young, supposedly huge at the plate, plays third and is the next Cuban Babe Ruth. Come on Smitty, give us something interesting to talk about this winter, not Casey Blake!!!!!
