Offer to Blake in the offing?
Posted on November 14th, 2008 – 5:38 PMBy La Velle
Heard some rumblings today that the Twins might make a contract proposal to free agent third baseman Casey Blake as soon as next week.
The Twins have remained in contact with Blake’s agent in recent days. While teams couldn’t make contract offers until 11:01 p.m. Friday, they could talk about general parameters of deals - and indications are that the Twins have discussed parameters with Blake’s guy.
The big question: What does Blake, who hit .274 with 21 homers and 81 RBI last season, want?
He made $6.1 million last season and there are hints that he might want a three year deal. Is it a wise move to give a 35-year old that many years? Could the Twins talk Blake into two years and an option at $4-5 million per? He’s a solid player from this neck of the woods (Iowa) and has pounded the Twins in the past.
I’m trying to figure out if adding Blake is better than fighting through Dan O’Dowd’s and Doug Melvin’s posturing about Garret Atkins and James Jerry Hardy. And remember, it might take a package that includes one of the current starters to get a deal done - especially for a shortstop who can hit 25 homers, is 26 and not making big bucks yet.
Do the Twins buy Blake now so they have resources to trade for relief help? The only good FA arm out there belongs to Juan Cruz - and I haven’t heard his name mentioned as a possibility.
Stay tuned….
321 Responses to "Offer to Blake in the offing?"
terrible. but expected.
that’s all, a blake update?
i’d rather stick with Buscher and Harris then Blake or Cuddyer or Hughes or Mauer.
next week???what the hell are we waiting for…sign him now an lets get on to the next thing…wake up bill s-dont let someone else beat us to the punch….get out there and get it done now….tonite would be good….then get on to making hardy our ss……no time to waste…
Has a good glove and bat - can play a couple of positions, even DH later in the contract.
He is definitely an upgrade. Get it done and start working on finding a reliever.
lavelle ..you really could spare the dramatics….
It would be nice to have him considering how bad he kills us, USA today says he is goin back the Cleveland
WHich means he will hit 600 against the twins.
Oh, Great, ANOTHER washed up third baseman. Just what they need.
Doug says:
November 14th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Has a good glove and bat - can play a couple of positions, even DH later in the contract.
no, he has a terrible glove.
JayTEE says:
November 14th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
He is definitely an upgrade
upgrade over what exactly?
the Buscher/Harris combo hits better and is superior at fielding.
Bill Smith has been hanging around Dubay for too long.
Dramatics? All LaVelle said was that he was doing some further checking before posting a free agent update. The only dramatics around here come from the comment section.
Blake would be an upgrade. Whether he’s the best option or not is certainly open to reasonable debate.
Oh… I forgot… this is not the place for reasonable debate.
mj1 says:
November 14th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
next week???what the hell are we waiting for…sign him now an lets get on to the next thing…
PLEASE WAIT UNTIL JANUARY !!
Hopefully someone will sign him so we aren’t stuck with him.
Would definitely be better than Lamb/Monroe/Everett and others from years past. 20 homers and 80-90 RBIs with a solid glove with no talent given up in return is an acceptable short term plan.
Can someone explain to me why a Beltre would cost a top of the rotation starter? I believe Atkins would cost less than Beltre.
I think the Twins are using Blake as the hole card and are trying to get the Mariners to move off the asking price.
Seattle will move Beltre before they pay him a penny in 2009. IF you were the Seattle GM why would you be in a hurry?
JimCrikket says:
November 14th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Dramatics? All LaVelle said was that he was doing some further checking before posting a free agent update. The only dramatics around here come from the comment section.
Blake would be an upgrade. Whether he’s the best option or not is certainly open to reasonable debate.
Again, how is Blake an upgrade? The Buscher/Harris platoon fields and hits better. Where the hell is the upgrade???
Blake-no thanks. Third time won’t be the charm.
JJ Hardy or bust!
JJ68 says:
November 14th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Would definitely be better than Lamb/Monroe/Everett and others from years past. 20 homers and 80-90 RBIs with a solid glove with no talent given up in return is an acceptable short term plan.
if the Twins sign Blake, he won’t get 20 and 80 here.
so, that was the announcement? 
Darn, I was hoping for a signing of sorts but at least it wasn’t Punto…
He will be an upgrade but I was really hoping a. for something more and b. a trade that included Buscher, because with a new 3B there is not much of a place for Buscher in the Twins’ organization other than Rochester for a year until he is out of options.
next week???what the hell are we waiting for…
hmmm. Monday (i.e “next week”) is the next working day.
Of they do sign Blake, I hope they’ll use their assets to get someone like Hardy or Escobar. We need a shortstop and I don’t think a lot of people will be happy if they bring Punto back to fill the role.
We need some bullpen help obviously, but something about trading our OFer for one I don’t like. They are so unpredicatable…
Sorry for the delay in posting. Didn’t get out of the studio right away.
And I was still making phone calls on the subject. One thing I hate to do is write that something, “could,” happen. It takes a little more work to write that something, “will,” happen.
There’s big difference between, “could,” and, “will.” Writing about what will happen gets me in the paper. Writing about what could happen gets me blog fodder.
I’d take Hardy and worry about the rest later…. Like you said, he’s younger, cheaper (at least money-wise), more talented, and SS is the bigger need anyway. Blackburn or Perkins for Hardy, straight up.
you got anything other then Blake LEN? Blake would be an absolutely awful signing, especially for anything more then a year and an option. Blake can’t field, and there is no way he will put up good offensive numbers on this team. He just isn’t that good. Blake is a role player, not a main fixture.
I’m with TwinsTerritory. The Twins only have so many assets they can/should trade. If they use them to trade for a third baseman like Atkins or Beltre then they have nothing left to get a SS. Blake is not Monroe or Batista by any means. How can anybody say that Harris or Buscher is the same with the bat? Blake would have been second on the team last year in HR. 1)Sign Blake for cheap, 2)then trade for a SS. Blake holds down the fort until Hughes or Valencia are really ready and 3)all of the Twins pitchers in the minors help rebuild the bullpen. All of this is easier said then done, but if Smith could do those three things I would be excited for next year.
well that was obvious. at least Pohlad won’t die of shock
The only problem I have with signing Blake right away is that it leaves the SS position wide open for Gardy to get his Bathroom Caulk boy Punterrible back for a 3-4 year deal, and I don’t think Twins fans deserve that! Let’s get Hardy first, lol.
As I said in one of the other blogs/posts today
Blake 3 years 2009 7M, 2010 7M, 2011 5 million with a 3 million dollar buyout option.
But you have to go after Hardy first…
Make it happen LaVelle… come on buddy, pal, friend.
For the record, only the first 5:52 entry under my nick was posted by me. The second one, I assume, was posted by someone else and the “nick gremlins” struck again.
As for how Blake is an upgrade, let’s see… last season, Blake had an .808 OPS with 21 HRs and hits right handed. Harris and Buscher were .721 and .730 respectively with a total of 11 HRs. Yeah… no upgrade there.
Ohhhh I forgot… the way you counter facts and figures is with a comment like “he won’t get 20 and 80 here.” Sure is convenient that blog commenters don’t have to back up their BS with facts.
I’m trying to figure out if adding Blake is better than fighting through Dan O’Dowd’s and Doug Melvin’s posturing about Garret Atkins and James Jerry Hardy.
Blake is better than Atkins. He is not better than Beltre. If all it takes to land Hardy is Perkins and change, it should be a no-brainer. If they want anyone from Slowey/Liriano/Baker, the Twins should pass or try to see whether Perkins and change can get them Escobar or a live body without options (Humber) and change can get them Khalil Greene.
The reality is that the Twins cannot get a top tier 3rd baseman and a top tier shortstop in a trade. Getting one of them (Hardy, Escobar @ SS and Beltre, Glaus @3B) and a secondary option in the other position (Blake, Mora @ 3B, Greene @ SS) would be fine.
Two secondary options in both positions spell trouble.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Do the Twins’ execs have some sort of dementia? Why do they keep thinking that it is a good idea to sign marginal, over-the-hill, bargain basement free agents? After Rondell White, Sidney Ponson, Ramon Ortiz, Ruben Sierra, Jeff Cirillo, Livan Hernandez, Tony Batista, Adam Everett and Mike Lamb I thought that they would have learned their lesson by now! Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. It is now official: the Twins are INSANE!
With the Twins:
Blake .279 22D, 1T, 19HR 81RBI 13E*
Hardy .301 31D, 2T, 21HR 89RBI 11E
Kouz .278 28D, 1T, 23HR 71RBI 21E
Atkins .283 31D, 0T, 19HR 91RBI 20E
Cabrera .291 31D, 3T, 15HR, 81RBI 10E
Renteria.302 38D, 5T, 4HR 71RBI 12E
Eckstein.288 27D, 3T, 4HR 68RBI 14E
Hudson .312 31D, 7T, 12HR 75RBI 4E
*will be the DH on days that we face tough lefties and they want to bring in Harris or Buscher instead of Kubel
compared to
Young .302 31D 4T, 15HR 88RBI 8E LF
Cuddyer .281 22D, 1T, 15HR 71RBI 4E RF
Punto .271 17D, 3T, 2HR 41RBI 15E ss
Harris .277 34D, 2T, 13HR, 67RBI 21E 3b
Buscher .282 23D, 1T, 12HR, 81RBI 28E 3b
Those are projecting them at 155 games each next year, and I am going off my opinion, not any formula so rip me if you must, but I think it’s clear to say we can afford to let Punto go, and trade any of the other players to sign for any of those free agents, or trade for any of the non-free agents and this team will be improved greatly.
Buscher/Harris platoon fields and hits better.
hmmm
Buscher fields better than Blake?
here are their fielding numbers last year:
Blake: .957 FP, 2.53 RF*, .768 ZR*, .720 RZR
Harris: .971 FP, 2.32 RF*, .766 ZR*, .707 RZR
Buscher: .938 FP, 2.60 RF*, .774 ZR*, .688 RZR
* = antiquated but I am including it
[…] Twins Insider – […]
Eckstein .288 27D, 3T, 4HR 68RBI 14E
Eckstein and 68 RBI do not belong in the same sentence. His career high was 63 7 years ago. (and he had a total of 1 triple the last 3 years.) His numbers will be close to Everett’s numbers last year
Dan,
If you think Blake is not a defensive upgrade over Buscher2008, you are absolutely delusional.
Buscher needed to hit the cutoff man in order to throw the ball to first base.
He is a threat to put the first-baseman in the ER, when his throws go up the line into the batter-runner.
And he charges topped balls and bunts like a walrus on a Slip-and-Slide.
Upgrade hell!
Blake would be an extreme makeover!
Thrlos…
That was suppose to be 48 RBI and I think he would hit 3 triples on this team because for some reason everyone on this team hits a triple or 2, and he seems like a gritty enough ball player to try 10 times and make it 3.
sorry Thrylos
BC,
no problem
I just don’t think that Eckstein would be any sort of an upgrade. I even think (and am sure that this is an extremely unpopular opinion) that I can live with a year of a healthy Everett at SS over a lot of lesser fielding, slightly closer to league average hitting, much costlier options (Cabrera, Rentaria et al.)
Ha
and you guys thought we would go after atkins/beltre
hahaha hahahaha
Just in case nobody has been paying attention to the other AL Central teams:
* It looks like Wilson Betemit will be the starting 3B (or platooning with Fields) for the Sux; and Dye, Thome and Konerko are on the block.
* The Tiggers are desperately looking to slash payroll but are not sure how they are going to do it because none of their thirty somethings not named Ordonez have any trade value
* The Royals are taking half a step forward and four steps back.
* The Indians are awfully quiet (and this kind scares me)
I think that the Twins should be in good shape next year, but they gotta close those holes…
thrylos
whats the deal with josh fields?
he is still with the sux isnt he?
wouldnt he play 3rd?
If the Twins sign Blake, they can use Buscher more as a LH DH.
They then can use Kubel as a trade chip. His value probably won’t be any higher. The Braves may be out of the Peavy running. The Braves are also seem to be down on Francoeur now. So Perkins, Humber, Kubel for Escobar?????
We need a decent DH such as Giambi. In addition, I would like to see the twins get Hardy or Escobar to fill the Short stop position. Chad Cordero looks like a good fit for set-up man since Neshek is injured. Lastly, Beltre is their best option on both sides ( he once hit 48 Hr’s)
JimCrikket says:
November 14th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
For the record, only the first 5:52 entry under my nick was posted by me. The second one, I assume, was posted by someone else and the “nick gremlins” struck again.
As for how Blake is an upgrade, let’s see… last season, Blake had an .808 OPS with 21 HRs and hits right handed. Harris and Buscher were .721 and .730 respectively with a total of 11 HRs. Yeah… no upgrade there.
Ohhhh I forgot… the way you counter facts and figures is with a comment like “he won’t get 20 and 80 here.” Sure is convenient that blog commenters don’t have to back up their BS with facts.
the offensive output from a role player hitting in the 7th spot vs a role player hitting in the middle of the order is a big difference. Blake was a main factor in either lineup he was in last year, he was at the bottom of the order. With the Twins he’d be in the middle of the order and will be expected to perform a hell of a lot better then what he can do.
mark my words. signing Blake would be no better then White, Lamb, or Batista.
Blake was a main factor in either lineup he was in last year
should be Blake wasn’t a main factor in wither lineup he was in last year.
ok dan
Another fit for DH could be free agent Frank Thomas who always hits the ball hard in the dome.
Matt says:
November 14th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
We need a decent DH such as Giambi. In addition, I would like to see the twins get Hardy or Escobar to fill the Short stop position. Chad Cordero looks like a good fit for set-up man since Neshek is injured. Lastly, Beltre is their best option on both sides ( he once hit 48 Hr’s)
Yea, on Roids!
Blackburn is probably the low end of the cost range for Atkins. I’d rather have Blackburn and Blake, and have powder left to get a shortstop.
frank thomas?
he is not an option..
are you serious?
i do not believe you just said that name.. what are you sm*king
you would rather give at bats to frank thomas then to kubel?
ha
and what happens if frank gets on base?
i dont imagine first to 3rd happening..
hahahaha
do you watch baseball?
and even if you watch baseball..
DO YOU FOLLOW THE TWINS?
do you know how they are built?
Frank Thomas
what a J O K E
NEXT!
JJ Hardy will cost more than the Twins would or should pay. He is good, but he is also overated.
Greene is the back up plan, the deal is Atlanta.
Swarczyk gets you Beltre
How is Blake over the hill? Cause he’s 35. He has shown nothing in the way a slowing down. Would be a great sign for 2 or 3 years.
To the JJ Hardy lover’s out there, yea is a good player, but he’s no superstar, very steaky. Don’t get to carried away with what the Twins should give up to acquire him. Frankly I’d be very surprized if he gets moved.
Keep in mind, the Twins are all about character, Blake fits this mold perfertly. Hope they sign him!
It is OK to disagree, this is all about opinions, just be respectful
I agree that Hardy will be difficult to get and costly. I have heard JJ is streaky, but he was clutch in the playoffs….
Ideally, in a perfect world, they would sign O-dog to man 2b, with Cassy shifting to SS, and sign Blake to man 3b. Only a dream. O-dog will get funny money + he’s type A.
We need a decent DH such as Giambi
there is nothing decent about Giambi. He (and not Barry Bonds) should be the poster boy of steroid abuse. Admitted steroid use, zero fines and his multimillion dollar contract was there and not taken away from him. Zero dollars to charity. Total Garbage (with a capital G)
Beneke, there is no way Eckstein would drive in 68 runs on the Twins.
I’m not down on Blake. He’d be a great pickup so long as they also shore up the bullpen and most importantly SS. That would assure that Punto would return to the bench where he belongs. If Blake is the only addition to the infield, it all but assures Gardy’s boy Punto will be back starting at SS next year.
Remember, Punto is a free agent.
We have to better than Blake. We let him go and now we are willing to pay 6 mil.
This is all about presuring the Mariners. If we don’t get Beltre we will go with what we have at 3rd.
I HOPE!
span
casilla
mauer
morneau
blake
cuddy/kubel
young
harris
gomez
hmmm..
cuddy/kubel is my DH and if we keep cuddy he will be batting behind morneau
i doubt gardy leaves lefty lefty lefty.
but, if we sign blake.. i think the twins will try to make a serious run at yunel escobar. and that my friends. will require delmon young.
span
casilla/escobar
mauer
morneau
cuddy
kubel
blake
casilla/escobar
gomez
thoughts?
oh and in my previous post for yunel escobar
i would trade delmon for escobar..
but at the same time i think delmon has alot of upside plus he is 2 or 3 years younger then yunel.
i think the twins should go after yunesky betancourt.
and i a mix of cuddy/boof/blackburn would get it done.. not all 3 of them because that is WAY to much.
but use them 3.. yuniesky shouldn’t be too expensive..
I wouldn’t mind the scenario you just drew up. DY and Escobar are probaly valued about the same. Young moreso on age, Escobar moreso on position.
JA says:
November 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
How is Blake over the hill? Cause he’s 35. He has shown nothing in the way a slowing down. Would be a great sign for 2 or 3 years.
To the JJ Hardy lover’s out there, yea is a good player, but he’s no superstar, very steaky. Don’t get to carried away with what the Twins should give up to acquire him. Frankly I’d be very surprized if he gets moved.
Keep in mind, the Twins are all about character, Blake fits this mold perfertly. Hope they sign him!
1. You simply don’t give a mediocre 35 year old a 3 year deal. Blake is nothing more then a role player and is only effective on a high powered offense. He would do the Twins no good, especially since he can’t field worth a damn.
2. JJ Hardy would be a great option. It won’t take much to acquire him either. Alcides Escobar is ready to go for the Brewers and they need to make room for him at short to play. Hardy will come cheap and provide the bat at shortstop the Twins need badly.
3. Twins signed White, Livan, Batista, and acquired Boone and Nevin etc etc etc because they were character players and what the hell did it get them? absolutely nothing! Blake would be a terrible signing for like I said, anything more then a year and an option. Of course, these days the Twins are all about making money and don’t seem to care much about actually competing for the World Series. So yeah, sign Blake !!!! blah.
everyone keeps sayin JJ hardy will come cheap. NO HE WONT. he is a power hitting shortstop who is young. his value right now is extremely high. It would take nothing less than Baker/Slowey and THEN Some. not a wise move.
Sane is insane……
i really dont see why hardy would come cheap..
sure they have another guy waiting. but that doesnt mean they give a discount on JJ
there are probably alot of teams that would go after hardy. so he would not come cheap.
Dan,
First of all Blake fields his position just fine and he’s more than just a mediocre player, very solid. Steady, steady productiion.
JJ Hardy would be a great option, but at what cost? If you steal from the starting pitching, you’ll just create another hole. I don’t believe he’d come cheap.
Third, Casey Blake has nothing to do with the other players you mentioned. Like I mentioned earlier, he’d solidify 3b for 2 or 3 years. Also, he knows the AL central, very valuable.
i wonder if other teams think the twins pitching can be had for cheap.
since.. we obviously. have an abundance.
to bad we didnt trade nathan a couple years ago for ronnie belliard..
i mean.. we .. had.. . neshek..
anyways.. enough of that foolish talk..
you guys have a good night.
hopefully the twins stir up some news this weekend..
Doons… I was already aware of that and it was corrected to 48 in a comment a few down from my 68. Sorry for the confussion. Trying to multitask gives errors sometimes.
don,t understand why the brew crew, want to get rid of Harty,, in his prime, in all,, we seem to be the only one,s talking about it, is it someone,s pipe dream, beside,s if thay don,t get him ,,it will be punto for sure, if thay get blake than Busher will be trade bait,,
Good deal. Save the trade chips to go after a shortstop or 2B.
get a SS. Don’t re-sign Punto.
Get rid of thrylos98.
Save the chips to go after SS:
That is JJ Hardy. To get him the Brewers will want a minimum of 2 players - at least 1 a pitcher. I would offer Gomez plus either Blackburn or Perkins.
Go ahead and platoon Harris/Buscher or sign Blake…either way, we don’t give up players in a trade and save them to get Hardy.
Topp Dogg.
ha
I am a free agent
you are delusional if you don’t think the brewers will want A TON for hardy. it’s not like they HAVE to trade him. if they really feal escobar is the shortstop of the future, they will move hardy about 10 feet to his right to third base and have a third baseman who can still hit for power. they don’t WANT to get rid of hardy, but if they can good young pitching, they’ll move him. The twins will NOT get hardy for anything less than liriano/baker/slowey. it would not be a wise move to make a deal like that because it would just create another huge hole.
[…] According to the LEN III, the Twins may offer Casey Blake a contract as soon as next week, while others say that a “framework” has already been offered. […]
signing casey blake is not that bad of an idea…if it’s for 2 years. if they can get him for 2 years/18 million with a team option for 2011, i say do it (because it’s not my money). they could explore trading for a shortstop, although there aren’t any out there that any of perkins, blackburn, young, any minor league player will get. so i think in the end, the twins will sign blake and resign punto. not the best option, but the wisest. then they should trade delmon young for a Pierzinksi like bounty…3 young pitchers (including a top reliever who could help in 09).
Lavelle,
I heard part of your interview with Gardenhire on KFAN on my way to happy hour.
I blanched when I heard the first word out of the mananger’s mouth after you asked him if they were going after a shortstop: here it is - Punto.
Don’t you think Mrs. Gardenhire ought to do something about that sick love affair?
punto is a better overall option than a lot of teams have at shorstop (giants, padres, pirates, reds, cardinals, nationals, blue jays, red sox, orioles, tigers, a’s, even the angels).
The Twins should absolutely make a move to sign Casey Blake. As a transplanted Minnesotan currently living in Los Angeles, I can tell you definitively that Casey Blake played a huge role in the Dodgers late season run. It wasn’t just Manny Ramirez. Blake got some huge hits for that team down the stretch. Why in the name of god would Bill Smith trade Blackburn, Perkins, or Slowey for a guy like Garret Atkins? If you would make that move, then don’t quit your day job. Also consider the fact that the Indians are very likely to be the Twins chief rival for the central title in 2009. The White Sox look to be re-tooling a bit and the Tigers aren’t going to have the pitching to win the division. Blake is already a Twin killer and may very well end up back in Cleveland if the Twins don’t pounce on him. The Twins lineup is fine. They should sign Blake and then trade for a relief help. After all, the bullpen was the ONLY reason why the Twins didn’t win the division.
Punto’s the second best free agent shortstop behind Furcal. It’s not exactly saying much considering the rest of the market. Somebody will offer him a starting job.
If Blake does become a twin, it’s going to be funny seeing his reactions to Carlos Gomez’s antics. I can just imagine Gomez dancing and screaming in the dugout, and Blake hiding under the bench scared half to death.
This is what I have been saying from the start
Blake will make a great addition to this team - he’s a veteran, has played here before, and is from Iowa so he’d love to be here (ala Mike Miller); happy players = better production. Anyone who says hes not much of an upgrade over Harris/Buscher and that combo is mostly Harris - i cant stand Buscher he’s got no glove and even less of a bat (he batted like .200 and had maybe 2 RBI’s in September?).
The rest should be a no brainer - offer Humber/Bonser or MAYBE Perkins (I like him quite a bit - lefties in the starting role are hard to come by) plus Tolbert or Harris for Hardy and if thats good enough do it; if not i might look elsewhere (ie greene or escobar).
if we can get a set up man (righthander preferable) for a reasonable price, do it but if it costs a major league guy (besides cuddy - he can go I’ve had enough of that guy as much as I like him) or a top prospect then no way. I’d rather give korecky a shot (he’s worth a look) or swarzak/duensing.
Team should look like this next year
Span LF (DY to RF)
Casilla (2B)
Mauer (C)
Morneau (1B)
Hardy (SS)
Kubel (DH)
Blake (3B)
DY (RF)
Gomez (CF)
Beltre was an option last season when he would have helped with the division run AND been around for this year. I doubt there is anybody that thinks he would be around after 2009. That means come 2010, the Twins will be out a 3rd baseman, plus whatever they trade for him (it would probably take one of out starters, plus who knows what else). The team would be worse off than it is now. It’s just not the way to go. Oh, and that’s if the guy is even available.
Atkins? Horrible splits and declining numbers. Plus, it would take one of the starters and more to land the guy. He just isn’t worth it.
The value of either of these options at third - or any of the other names mentioned for the position would be minimized by whatever we would have to give up to get them. Fill one hole, but create another. The team was successful beyond anybody’s wildest imagination last season. It’s a success that should be added to, not subtracted from.
If they trade for a 3rd base upgrade, it will be much harder to pull something off at shortstop or in the pen. Chances are they wouldn’t do anything.
Signing Casey Blake is 100% the way to go. And no he’s not a retread. He’s a solid RH bat who hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down. No history of nagging reoccurring injuries. I see no reason not to expect him to keep producing at the same level for another two or three years. Bat him fifth and and he should give Morneau a little protection.
Most importantly, all the trade chips would still be in play for a SS and/or bullpen help.
Do not put Blake in the same category as guys like White, Batista and Lamb. Blake has actually been putting up good numbers, and playing in Cleveland in a pitchers park like LA, he had a great season last year. I wouldn’t sign him for anything more then 2 years, but he’s still an upgrade over what we have.
medschool matt says:
Span LF (DY to RF)
Casilla (2B)
Mauer (C)
Morneau (1B)
Hardy (SS)
Kubel (DH)
Blake (3B)
DY (RF)
Gomez (CF)
I love this lineup. Not necessarly in that order, but the pieces are there. Sign Blake, Get Hardy. That lineup should be bad-ass. IF, and that’s a reasonably big if at this point, DY figures it out, this lineup will be a beast. I should note here that Kouzmanoff looks like he’s as good/better than Blake, as well as younger, but I don’t see us getting Kouz. AND Hardy, so Blake is the way to go there.
Additionally: Re-sign Punto and Reyes. As far as defense, no-body is better. And IF this truely is the lineup (I know it’s currently not), then he willn’t have to play everyday, and could spell Blake/Hardy/Cassilla as needed. Reyes did a pretty good job last year, and with the Neshek injury, would be a great (re)pickup to stablize the bullpen.
#1: Sign Blake*
#2: Get Hardy- Blackburn or Perkins then Bonser/Cuddyer/Humber/other minor leaguer.
#3: If first 2 done, then resign Punto.
#4: Resign Reyes
#5: If no Reyes, then retool bullpen with usual approach- cheap relievers/minors, you know. It usually works (itself) out.
*Get Kouz. is possible, but not at the expense of Hardy.
The Twins do this, they’re going to be scary.
JA says:
November 14th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Dan,
First of all Blake fields his position just fine and he’s more than just a mediocre player, very solid. Steady, steady productiion.
JJ Hardy would be a great option, but at what cost? If you steal from the starting pitching, you’ll just create another hole. I don’t believe he’d come cheap.
Third, Casey Blake has nothing to do with the other players you mentioned. Like I mentioned earlier, he’d solidify 3b for 2 or 3 years. Also, he knows the AL central, very valuable.
I hope the Twins sign Blake just so you can see how wrong you are. That would be the worst possible third base move they could make other then Kouzmanoff.
TK(2) says:
November 15th, 2008 at 1:38 am
medschool matt says:
Span LF (DY to RF)
Casilla (2B)
Mauer (C)
Morneau (1B)
Hardy (SS)
Kubel (DH)
Blake (3B)
DY (RF)
Gomez (CF)
I love this lineup. Not necessarly in that order, but the pieces are there. Sign Blake, Get Hardy. That lineup should be bad-ass. IF, and that’s a reasonably big if at this point, DY figures it out, this lineup will be a beast. I should note here that Kouzmanoff looks like he’s as good/better than Blake, as well as younger, but I don’t see us getting Kouz. AND Hardy, so Blake is the way to go there.
Additionally: Re-sign Punto and Reyes. As far as defense, no-body is better. And IF this truely is the lineup (I know it’s currently not), then he willn’t have to play everyday, and could spell Blake/Hardy/Cassilla as needed. Reyes did a pretty good job last year, and with the Neshek injury, would be a great (re)pickup to stablize the bullpen.
#1: Sign Blake*
#2: Get Hardy- Blackburn or Perkins then Bonser/Cuddyer/Humber/other minor leaguer.
#3: If first 2 done, then resign Punto.
#4: Resign Reyes
#5: If no Reyes, then retool bullpen with usual approach- cheap relievers/minors, you know. It usually works (itself) out.
*Get Kouz. is possible, but not at the expense of Hardy.
The Twins do this, they’re going to be scary
1. neither Kouzmanoff or Blake are worth anything to the Twins. Neither can field their position, neither would hit in this lineup. they’d just be Lamb and Batista all over again.
2. The absolute only way Punto can be re-signed is with the knowledge he is nothing more then a bench player. He must be told he will never start for this team again unless someone gets injured or it’s just a day off for whomever.
3. re-signing Reyes would be a bad move too. He wasn’t all that effective last year as compared to his prior season and the Twins don’t need a pen full of lefties. They have Breslow and Mijares.
4. Getting Hardy can be done and he won’t cost much as he is blocking one of the best shortstop prospects in baseball, Alcides Escobar, who is more then ready to be an every day big leaguer.
Blake, Atkins, Kousmanoff, Hardy…..
Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-z-z-z-z-z…
Beltre…
Huh? What?!!!
I’m OK with signing Blake. I would not favor trading for another 3b — we are not that deep in the talent pool. If we don’t sign Blake I’m OK with Buscher/Harris tandem at 3B. Our #1 priority is bullpen depth. If we have to trade a little of depth for BP depth with a quality power arm — that would be great.
This is soooo typical of the twins. Pursue old guys who won’t produce!! Why do I have to read this?
If we sign Blake with the intention of him being our 3B that’s just dumb…he’s old!! I mean just look at him he’s old, he’s just so old!!
White, Monroe, Lamb how many times do we have to do this…we should have never let Blake leave when he was young.
Now we want the tribes washed up sloppy seconds!!!BOOOOO!!!
DON’T SIGN ANYONE IF ALL YOU CAN DO IS PURSUE OLD BALLS!!
All you people JJ Hardy will never be a twin…BS will not give up Baker/Liriano/Slowey(and rightly so) other than those three guys we don’t have enough to offer for a power hitting SS!
We need Atkins for Cuddy and prospects then we get right-handed pop at third(who’s not so old he farts dust)and keep our rotation in order.
jj hardy will not come cheap dan
Trade whatever pitchers we have for JJ Hardy. Pitching depth means nothing unless you dive deep and utilize it. The Twins held strong with Durbin and Adam Johnson. Yeah, that turned out GREAT.
Personally, I’d rather see JJ Hardy in a Twins uniform than Blake and then make do at 3B.
Going out on a limb, but Dougie baseball has such a good glove, anyone ever seeing him a Twins uniform again as a back up? Or did he (& his wife) burn too many bridges?
AJ Pesh..
Exactly who are all these great young pitcher that we have in our minor league system? None of our legit big league starting pitching prospects are at the AAA level currently.
[…] 15, 2008 · No Comments I don’t know why I put a question mark on an already tentative rumor. I’m curious to see how this shakes out. For some reason, Blake’s age doesn’t […]
I’d like to seem Twins go after some higher profile bats for DH and occasional substitution at 1B or OF. How about Burrell or Giambi. Burrell hits right….
I think if we had a legit DH (set Kubel free … as in trade him) we could worry less about wether our 3B hits 10 HR or 20 HR. it’s really not worth it. we need a legit 30 HR guy who can protect Mourneau. that will put this team over the top. and really what your doing by not trading for a “power hitting” 3B is putting $$$ up front (by signing a DH type) to keep all your promising SP’s. just a thought.
yeah.
someone mentioned Perkins or Blackburn
boof, humber, cuddy and a prospect for JJ hardy
really?
give them 3 young starters. an outfielder who. when healthy is 10-20hr 80+rbi a solid average.
and a prospect?
i would rather sign the OC. and i hate the OC then to trade away that much pitching for jj hardy
i dont know.. just seems like alot IMHO
Starting rotations make or break teams, according to just about every GM and manager you’ve ever heard utter a complete sentence. And this has always been the mantra of the Twins. The Twins will not trade those pitchers they regard as top-of-the-rotation types (1,2, or 3). JJ Hardy, I predict, will fetch a 1-2-3 starter, from a team other than the Twins. And that’s OK by me. I’d love to see JJ Hardy in a Twins uniform, but not for the going price.
It’d be good to see him playing for us. I just dreaded when he came up against us. Seems like he always got the big hit. I told my dad one game,”I hate that guy, he just kills us.”
Plus, you don’t have to give anyone up. Also you’d have a couple players expendible, that woudn’t have been otherwise.
Makes good sense to me!! GITERDUN
Keep Nick also!
HAVE FUN !!! GO TWINS !!!
I’m totally in agreement with those that contend that upgrades are needed at both 3B and SS and it’s highly unlikely that the Twins are going to be willing/able to give up the talent to fill both positions via trade. That means you fill one via FA and trade for the other.
So do you trade for a Beltre or Atkins and sign a Cabrera or Furcal? Or do you sign Blake and trade for Hardy? If those are my options, I’m on board with Blake and Hardy. Two years plus an option year sounds about right for Blake. If Valencia or Hughes claims 3B by 2010, you can either trade Blake or use him as a righty PH/DH.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that the Twins are leaking word of their pursuit of Blake to impose a sense of urgency on a team they’ve been talking trade with… letting them know that if they don’t pull the trigger on a deal quickly, the Twins may sign Blake and end any trade possibilities for Beltre and Atkins.
It’s all about leverage right now and it’s good that Smith has multiple options. He shouldn’t end up getting held up like he was last year on Santana.
birdofprey, when you say, “The Twins will not trade those pitchers they regard as top-of-the-rotation types (1,2, or 3)”, I assume you mean that you don’t think they’ll do it THIS season… because Smith did exactly that last offseason. So we know that he WILL consider such a deal.
Hate to see any oh the 5 [not just the top 3] get traded.
Call it superstition ,but that sophomore jinx could bite Blacky, Slowey or Perk, meaning hang on to all the starting pitching you can.
Great lineups can’t overcome poor pitching. Thats been proven a million times over.
I’d love to pick up Blake, but I’d much rather go stay with Nick[if they sign him] and company at shot, than give up another starter.
HAVE FUN !!! GO TWINS!!!
I think the Brewers would rather shift Hardy to 3B and trade Bill Hall. So the Brewers are in no position where they “need to trade Hardy,” and he is going to cost a lot of talent.
Bill Hall anyone?
…Okay, Im not hearing a lot of support for the Bill Hall movement. Understandably so - his numbers were horrific last year.
I can see how anyone would lust over a 3B or SS with 20+ HR potential. but really is it worth the price? you’ll never get as much improvement to your overall lineup as getting a DH with 30+ HR potential sitting behind Mourneau. We scored a lot of runs last year with the situational hitting we had despite inexperienced lineup, tons of infield injuries etc. that success may go up or down, its hard to predict.
I would take my chances on a 3B platoon and Harris/Tolbert etc at SS. trade Cuddy if you can. Trade Kubel if you can. Sign Burrell or equivalent.
Dont trade anyone other than Perkins/Mulvey/Humber!!!!!!!
Sure they would “rather” keep Hardy than Hall. But they need to rebuild their rotation and there’s a significant difference in what they can get for Hall vs. Hardy.
The Phillies have SS named J Donald at AA Reading, K Laws say he is ML ready and can play defense. Phils need pitching and OF. Blocked by Rollins
oh.. i and i said this before but i just want to reiterate the point.
name the last player that the twins brought in via trade or free agency that as many home runs for the twins, as he did the previous season.
twins have a different hitting approach. hitters do not have the same production with the twins as they do with their other clubs
DickyBuzz, I’m not sure about the Phillies needing pitching, they have some arms over there, not sure they’d want what the Twins would be offering. Cuddyer maybe, cheaper alternative to Burell though might be a tought.
MH, I’d have to look it up, but maybe Chili Davis in ‘91 or as far back as Roy Smalley/Don Baylor in ‘87, maybe even Dave Winfield, regardless, it’s been 15 years ATLEAST…
Danimals - With the Twins having Gomez, Span, Cuddyer, Young, and Kubel all being able to rotate outfield positions and DH, unless we make a trade we really should focus on getting a solid ss or 3b. I would personally like to see the Twins make two moves.
1. Acquire or make a trade for a legit player at either ss or 3b. Every year it seems like the twins spend a couple million here and there for mediocre players (White, Bautista, Hernandez, Ortiz, Everett, Lamb, Sierra, etc.) instead of pooling their money together and actually acquiring a player that can make a contribution to the team! We should go after a player like Beltre, Atkins, Hardy, or Escobar to solidify at least one position on the left side of the infield. Going after Blake is a bit dissapointing, as I would much rather go after a great player instead of an average infielder who is 35 years old and wants a contract around 6 - 8 million per year for 2 - 3 years.
2. Look to acquire help for the bullpen, but only acquire someone if they have proven to be a great to excellent RP (Lyon, Cruz, Otsuka, Satio, etc). We will have help from someone in th Twins Farm System next year as they are still rich in pitching depth (Mijaris, Swarzak, Humber, Mulvey, Slama, Duensing, etc.).
*The biggest change I would like to see Billy do this off season is go for quality instead of quantity!
I think the “Twins way” of hitting thing is an overhyped urban myth. The Twins haven’t developed or traded for legitimate power hitters for several years and have rarely traded for, or signed FAs, that were really expected to be top or middle of the order type players.
Delmon hit 10 HRs after 13 in Tampa the year before.
Shannon Stewart hit 10 HR his last full year in Toronto, his 13 in 2003 were split 7 and 6 between Tor and Minn, and he hit 11 and 10 his next two seasons. No drop off.
Jose Offerman’s raw HR number dropped in his year as a Twin, but not his HR per AB ratio. He was never a HR hitter.
If they sign or trade for someone who’s been an effective power hitter elsewhere, the only reason their power numbers might fade slightly would be because the Dome may not be as homer-friendly as the place they’ve been calling home previously (thinking Atkins here, in particular).
typical quote, unquote “fans” on this blog. we make a push to upgrade one of the few weak areas of our team and everyone bitches and moans…
Beltre is the player we must trade for—how often can you get a third baseman with two gold gloves and thiry homer-a-year-pop. Then, allow Matt Tolbert to become the everyday shortstop. He will settle in defensively and no one hustles
like this kid. He has good gap power that will only improve with playing time.
Then for fun sign that old Twin-killer Mike Sweeney to be the right handed DH and to give Justin a break once in awhile so he doesn’t wear down in September.
That will leave money and trade resources to work on the bullpen, and increase HR production at the same time.
Hank, so you want to give up quality players to get one season of Beltre? Pretty short-sighted, I think.
I agree with those who say that the Twins can’t trade for BOTH a 3B and a SS and still be able to add some bullpen help. The young pitching I offer is Perkins, Humber, Mulvey, Boof.
Not neccessarily ALL of them, just drawing from that group. Blake doesn’t thrill me but I’m not nearly as down on him as some who have posted. However, signing him leaves us enough bullets to GET a Hardy or Escobar to play short.
Plus, with Valencia and Hughes coming along you don’t need a “youthful” 3B.
Someone from Cuddyer/Kubel should be dealt. I am loathe to give up Delmon Young unless I could get Matt Cain or Ryan Zimmerman and I don’t think that’s likely. It’s clear we will do SOMETHING.
The question is what…
i think the twins should leave harris at third base and go after a shortstop or relief pitching…harris had 29 doubles, thats pretty good for playing twice a week, and is as good on defense as blake, if not better.
give up quality players to get one season of Beltre
Based on the Holiday trade (and Holiday is a better player with also one year left), realistically should not take that much quality and the Twins can do that from their surplus. As a matter of fact, Seattle would be 2 starting outfielders short, if they do not re-sign Ibanez. I think that Perkins and Cuddyer and Buscher would be fine for Beltre. The Twins might have to take Washburn and his contract and add a prospect to balance things out. So basically you end up with:
Washburn (4.69 ERA, 1.458 WHIP, 1.74 BB/9, 5.06 K/9 in an off year last season) as your 5th starter instead of Perkins (4.41 ERA, 1.470 WHIP, 1.90 K/BB, 4.41 K/9) wash; Beltre instead of Buscher at third, a huge win; and Pridie instead of Cuddyer as a 4th/5th OF and potentially Ruiz as the RH DH/PH. Also, because Beltre will be a type A free agent, you get 2 first round picks and if Washburn ends up a type B, you get an additional pick. The Twins would be in for $22mil for 1 year of both Washburn and Beltre and the Mariners for $15.5mil for 2 years of Cuddyer + an optional $10.5.
It all balances out. I think that it would be a win-win for both teams and even bigger if Cuddyer and Washburn have seasons closer to their career average.
i think perkins is a young kenny rogers..
the kid has the bulldog mentality and he won 12? games as a rookie?
no way do i trade him..
simply cannot do it
Yeah but what good is a young Country/Western singer to a ballclub? I mean really?
Oh… not THAT Kenny Rogers.
Never mind.
thrylos98
That’s an interesting deal. I don’t think the Twins should sell short at all the value of their young pitching.
I’m still in favor of dealing for a SS and getting a free agent 3B. However, if we traded for Beltre and signed Furcal that could be VERY interesting.
I dont know if anybody has mentioned this yet, but Kerry Wood was released by the Cubs. I know he has had major injury issues as a starter, but he was healthy last year as a closer. He could be a great RH setup to Nathan. He’s from Texas, but he likes the Midwest. He made 4.2 mil last year, and probably wouldn’t ask for much more if we game a 2 or 3 year deal. And this way we wouldn’t have to trade for a reliever, we could use our trade options for infield help
dmoen21
I had considered Kerry Wood when I first heard the Cubs cut him loose. He would be a GREAT power arm in the 8th inning and if his health remains good he could possibly make a transition to
the rotation when Neshek returns in 2010. Wood gives the Twins some flexability in 2009 and going forward and we could possibly get him at a decent price.
thrylos there’s no way we should give up Cuddyer (who’s signed for a while) and Perkins (who is a great young pitcher) AND Buscher for Beltre for 1 year…
Maybe Cuddyer and Buscher for Beltre
I also think we should do everything possible to get Hardy or Escobar or at least sign Furcal or Cabrera.
We can call up some of your young pitching prospects for bullpen help and maybe sign Kerry Wood.
Wood will get “closer” money from someone on today’s market.
The Phillies are in deed in need of pitching. Cole Hammels is a bonified superstar, and Jamie Moyer is solid, but he is 2000 years old. The SOB use to mow the lawn for Jesus Christ when he was a kid. After that it gets dicy, and yes the Phillies have made it known they would be willing to part with Jimmy Rollins whose MVP, and great numbers would fetch them a prime load.
For Rollins the Twins would have to give up Liriano, Mejies (the lefty kid), and probably Robertson or Dunesing.
At that point in time the Twins would have to say NO WAY!
Sign Blake, trade for Hardy, and if at all possible sign Juan Cruz…
The only problem with that is that all Twins fans would probably die of shock at the Twins doing the right things for a change in the offseason. I mean the players have always done an amazing job of overcoming the Management’s lack of vision, and the owner’s iron tight grip on the wallet.
thrylos there’s no way we should give up Cuddyer (who’s signed for a while) and Perkins (who is a great young pitcher) AND Buscher for Beltre for 1 year…
What I wrote was: Perkins + Cuddyer + Buscher + a prospect for Beltre + Washburn + 2 (or 3) first round picks.
Cuddyer is a 4th OF, PT DH at this club
Perkins is a 6th starter at best (look at his WHIP, K/9, K/BB, ERA, not wins…)
Buscher is a AAAA player
what you get in return is:
a 5th starter
a gold glove winner with pop at 3B
2-3 1st round draft picks.
You do not create any holes for next season, add something you are missing, and are ready to compete in a division that will become weaker next year and maybe get over the top.
Things to consider….
-Buscher was below average as a fielder (mainly because of an erratic arm) and he couldn’t hit lefties (the Achilles heel of the Twins last year)
-Blake is average as a fielder, but hit better against lefties last year than righties, AND hit over .300 with runners in scoring position (.296 RISP w/ 2out)
-Everyone always says we haven’t had a solid, everyday 3B since Corey Koskie. He was as solid as they come in the field and had carried the Twins at times. However, Koskie was injury prone and one of the streakiest players the Twins have ever seen (and that includes Jacque Jones)
-Koskie and Blake actually have pretty similar yearly numbers, but one of the most important numbers where Blake excels is Games Played. Consistency and durability are EXTREMELY important in Major League Baseball.
-Blake would cost only money (and a LOT less than Beltre), while trading for a 3B would cost us at least one good ball player. It seems like a perfect plan to sign Blake for two years (option for a third) and wait for Valencia or Hughes.
-I’ve heard different things from Brewers fans concerning J.J. Hardy. Some fans say they love him, some fans say he’s no big deal. The consensus is that it’ll take a Slowey + a decent prospect, or a Blackburn + a top prospect for it to be considered. I’m not sure what to think about all of that. Giving Slowey would be a HUGE mistake, and I like Blackburn but wouldn’t mind sacrificing him for a good SS.
-I’d love to get Yunel Escobar if Hardy can’t be had, but we all need to temper our expectations of him because he’s only had one full season in the Majors and struggled with hamstring problems at the end of the year. This is one guy where I’d just have to put my trust in the Twins’ scouting system.
-I really don’t understand why people want to trade DY. Not only is he only going to get better, but he’s very young for a major leaguer. If they trade him now they would be selling low (not a good business move) and would have to factor in his potential to get equal value.
BC, the Philies have Joe Blanton, Kyle Kentrick and Brett Myers. Kentrick is just 23. The others are 27. They are looking for a #2 starter and a LF to replace Burell. I seriously doubt that they will trade Rollins esp. the year they won the WS, raised ticket prices 20% and have $20 mil or so to burn.
The Twins do not have anything that matches their needs. I think that they will be heavy hitters in the FA pitching market and possibly see them as the dark horse in a Peavy deal (Rollins might go in such a deal), but that’s about it.
Not a good match.
thrylos,
you can’t trade picks in MLB
Thrylos,
Anytime the Twins can put Cuddyer into a deal it’s going to probably come back on the better end for us.
He’s a great guy, but his offensive production has been mediocre… Trot Nixon, Todd Hollandsworth kind of production… a poor man’s Reggie Sanders or what have you. He’s a dime a dozen 15-20 homer hitting OF…
So getting rid of him is a great move.
I would rather see them try and raid the Mariners BP or minor leagues instead of getting Washburn because he burns up a ton of dollars on his contract, and that keeps the Twins from getting a SS, and almost guarentees that they get back Little Nicky Punterrible, and I would rather have a kidney removed with a finger nail clipper than see him on this roster any more.
THE FRED.
Both players are going to be Free Agents, and Beltre is a lock to be a Type A free agent which would give the Twins the Mariners 1st round pick, and a sandwhich pick.
Thrylos is assuming that Washburn would have a good enough year here with Rick Anderson and our defense to bolster him up to a Type B free agent which would bring us a sandwhich pick at the end of the 1st round.
Thus 3 potential 1st round picks.
shameless says:
November 15th, 2008 at 9:49 am
All you people JJ Hardy will never be a twin…BS will not give up Baker/Liriano/Slowey(and rightly so) other than those three guys we don’t have enough to offer for a power hitting SS!
won’t take any of those 3 to get Hardy.
wait for Valencia or Hughes.
I wouldn’t mind waiting for Godot, but the Twins have the opportunity to win now and they should take it.
Hughes is a bellow average fielder. Think Harris range and Buscher glove. Valencia took one step forward (in Ft. Myers) and a couple steps back this season (in New Britain and in the AFL.) As a matter of fact, he is not a spring chicken. He is a year older than Delmon Young, sixteen months older than Gomez and a couple months younger than Alexi Casilla and the highest level of pro ball he played was AA. If I see it under this perspective, when people his age and younger had 2-3 years of experience in the majors and he is 2 levels down, does not look like the sure think some people believe he is…
The Fred says:
November 15th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Things to consider….
-Buscher was below average as a fielder (mainly because of an erratic arm) and he couldn’t hit lefties (the Achilles heel of the Twins last year)
-Blake is average as a fielder, but hit better against lefties last year than righties, AND hit over .300 with runners in scoring position (.296 RISP w/ 2out)
-Everyone always says we haven’t had a solid, everyday 3B since Corey Koskie. He was as solid as they come in the field and had carried the Twins at times. However, Koskie was injury prone and one of the streakiest players the Twins have ever seen (and that includes Jacque Jones)
-Koskie and Blake actually have pretty similar yearly numbers, but one of the most important numbers where Blake excels is Games Played. Consistency and durability are EXTREMELY important in Major League Baseball.
difference between blake and koskie is that koskie could bat in the middle of the order and he turned himself into an above average fielder. blake is a role player that has to bat at the bottom of the order to succeed and he can’t field worth a damn.
Washburn because he burns up a ton of dollars on his contract, and that keeps the Twins from getting a SS,
nope. The deal I suggested will put the Twins at a net +13.5 mil this year. If they were to match the 2007 payroll, that will leave them with an extra $17.5 mil or so to spend… Lots of contracts off the books this season (Hernandez, Monroe, Everett, Punto, Reyes) plus Cuddyer’s in that trade.
with $17.5 mil, they will be able to make a decent offer to Furcal if they want and take care of all their arbitration raises.
thrylos98 says:
November 15th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
wait for Valencia or Hughes.
I wouldn’t mind waiting for Godot, but the Twins have the opportunity to win now and they should take it.
Hughes is a bellow average fielder. Think Harris range and Buscher glove. Valencia took one step forward (in Ft. Myers) and a couple steps back this season (in New Britain and in the AFL.) As a matter of fact, he is not a spring chicken. He is a year older than Delmon Young,
Um, Young just turned 23. Is it suppose to be a slight against Valencia that he’s over the age of 23? Terrible argument. Ryan Ludwick had a huge year this year. It was his first year as a starter. How old is he? He’s 30!! Being 23 or 24 isn’t an argument against anyone. Having minimal talent, no there is a valid argument.
ok, picks, i see now. however, you can’t assume a guy is going turn around like that and be a type-B FA.
and yeah Beltre will be a type-A FA, but giving up something in a trade for one year of a guy and a draft pick that will take 3-4 yrs to make it to the Majors just isn’t smart. plus, he’d made around $12mil last year….kind of out of the Twins’ price-range
Blake had the most at-bats last season hitting in the 5th and 6th spots…..exactly where he’d be hitting for the Twins.
The Fred says:
November 15th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
ok, picks, i see now. however, you can’t assume a guy is going turn around like that and be a type-B FA.
and yeah Beltre will be a type-A FA, but giving up something in a trade for one year of a guy and a draft pick that will take 3-4 yrs to make it to the Majors just isn’t smart. plus, he’d made around $12mil last year….kind of out of the Twins’ price-range
They could fit Beltre in the payroll, but it would be a tight squeeze.
Trading away Cuddyer for Atkins would save the Twins about 1.5M and give the Twins roughly 13.5M to spend on a shortstop and bullpen help.
my bad, I looked over the salary numbers for the 09 season, the Twins have 25-30 million they can spend. Beltre would fit in the payroll just fine.
First of all, how do you know what kind of fielder Luke Hughes was this year? Even if you’re right, the transition from 2B to 3B mid-year (which is what the Twins did with Hughes) is not easy. And Hughes was in AAA the last part of the year while only being 24 yrs old.
Second, I’m not sure you looked at Valencia’s numbers because he definitely did NOT take a step back last year. He hit .311 with 15 HRs, 76 RBIs and an .866 OPS in A and AA-ball, after hitting .297 with 17 HRs, 66 RBIs, and an .816 OPS the year before. Plus, he just turned 24 yrs old in Sept….not all that old, especially after only two years in the minors (drafted in 2006 out of college).
I never said that Beltre wouldn’t fit in the payroll, I was just pointing out that trading for him would limit us in more ways than signing Blake would. I’d rather they used that left over money to ensure we don’t give up wins late in games (need bullpen help).
To match the 2007 payroll, the Twins have exactly $22.5 million (assuming they offer arbitration to Guerrier).
The math is here, if interested:
http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2008/10/here-is-bottom-line-for-what-twins-have.html
how do you know what kind of fielder Luke Hughes was this year?
Other than the fact I watched him play in 4 games this season and more than that the last one, check his numbers for yourself:
http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=6923
(.888 FP in AA and .911 FP in AAA @ 3B)
The one good thing is at least at AAA, he was settled at 3B instead of the usual New Britain ring around the rosy position shuffle Cuellar has going on…
Young just turned 23. Is it suppose to be a slight against Valencia that he’s over the age of 23? Terrible argument. Ryan Ludwick had a huge year this year. It was his first year as a starter. How old is he? He’s 30!! Being 23 or 24 isn’t an argument against anyone
yes and no. Agreed about the talent. But if a prospect is touted as the future 3rd baseman for an organization and people his age and younger have been in the majors for 2-3 years, the expectations should subside a bit. Ludwick had a great season but he was never seen as an organization’s savior in a position of need? Was he?
I think that Ludwick is a very similar situation to Randy Ruiz, but unfortunately Ruiz did not get the chance to start with the big club from the beginning of the year when he won the RH DH position over Monroe at ST. Apples with apples.
Twins are sitting at 55 million, the payroll could be up to 80-85 million…
25-30 million to spend.
Twins have no good shortstop or third base options in the minors period. Hughes and Valencia are stop gaps until a real third baseman comes along. Unfortunately the Twins waste all their top picks on pitchers and toolsy outfielders instead of drafting almost ready college infielders.
this team, with all its youth and inexperience, still showed up and failed to make the playoffs by one stinkin game…this team played horrendous at times during the season but overall was a very solid, but young bunch…i would in no way break up any nucleus of this club….there are a few people expendable imho but not many…blackburn is the only pitcher i would let move on…baker, slowey,liriano and perkins are solid and will only get much better, probably much better….and theres plenty in the minors to fill that 5th spot or maybe a free agent somewhere….the only real weak spot was in the infield and if blake can handle 3rd, i am all for that for 2-3 years…hes a veteran, knows how to win and will be happy playing in minny, and that usually breeds nice results….casilla was great at 2nd but if he can play ss better, why not move him to ss and play tolbert at 2nd…tolbert seems to be very solid and nobody will outhustle him and he seems to hit (not alot of power) but 2b - 3b threat…punto if he stays is the best utility guy in baseball and would start at 2 or ss for many other teams-regardles of what some of you punto haters have to say-get real, as he is a hell of a ball player and has saved our pitchers many a run over the last few years, lest we forget….hardy would be awesome but not at the cost of a slowey or liriano…i believe if we get blake and solidify our bullpen to be very reliable again, this team will play right on into the playoffs….we have not even seen the best of delmon young yet, if he stays slim????…thats my biggest fear…gomez will be much better and span the same..all are young and improving ….this team is built to go along ways with some tweaking by addition and not much subtraction
i would in no way break up any nucleus of this club & perkins [is] solid
What exactly makes you think that Perkins is solid? and potentially member of the nucleus of this club?
MLB starter average WHIP: 1.39, Perkins: 1.47, Blackburn 1.36
MLB starter average K/9: 6.20, Perkins: 4.41, Blackburn: 4.47
MLB starter average K/BB: 2.06, Perkins: 1.90, Blackburn: 2.46
MLB starter average ERA: 4.32, Perkins: 4.41, Blackburn: 4.05
He is a below league average starting pitcher better suited to the pen and there is no comparison between him and Blackburn.
i like them both, but i like the way perkins is not afraid to go after a hitter on the inside and think that in the long run he will outpitch blacky–and hes left handed which i like..thats just my thinking and ideally we could keep them both, but i am afraid we wont be able to do that….
Glen Perkins is not a 6th starter.
Boof Is a 6th Starte.
Perkins is not
Jarod Washburn is worthless and expensive..
keep perkins..
Glen Perkins is not a 6th starter.
Boof Is a 6th Starter
Boof has much better peripherals than Perkins:
WHIP: Perkins: 1.47, Bonser: 1.48
K/9: Perkins: 4.41, Bonser: 7.38
K/BB: Perkins: 1.90, Bonser: 2.69
Bonser has way better stuff, but mentally he is not there. If he gets his act together he could be a #2-3 starter. He has 3 plus pitches and a plus plus (curve). Perkins has 1.5 pitches: a plus fastball with an average location, a minus change up and a minus slider. He needs a lot of work on fastball location and on his off-speed stuff to cut it as a starter in the bigs. Blackie has a plus 2-seamer and a close to plus cutter. His off-spead stuff is not that great, but better than Perkins’. He even threw about 20 screwballs (and not cutters) this season to lefties (I swear ). He is older but has extreme work ethic and a desire to learn.
Also, there was only one starting pitcher in the Twins last season who after a teammate made an error got so unraveled that not only screamed to the teammate but he let it get to him so badly that he made an error himself in the next play and let the opponents score 3 before the inning was over. That was Perkins.
Have you guys talked about that Cuban defector 3B Dayan Viciedo? He’s supposed to be a stud 3B and Ken Williams is supposedly salivating over the guy. If he’s as good as that Alexei Ramirez, wish Twins would take a shot at him. I have not been able to find too much info on the guy…does he bat RH or LH?
thrylos
Although I like all the draft picks I think we could give cuddyer, buscher, and change for beltre and have more trading chips to get a SS
Thry, thanks for the stats Blackie vs. Perk. You and I are two of the few Blackburn fans on this blog (well, fewer than the Perkins fans). Blackburn was the recipient of some tough losses (by one run on a wild pitch, by big blow-ups by the pen after he had left the game with a lead, arguably some gunshydedness (yeah, I just made up that word! after being beaned on the nose by Abreu, etc. Despite the loss he pitched very well in the final game, the BIGGEST game of the entire year, not his fault that there was no offensive support. He could easily have had a lot better W-L record.
Signing Blake is ok, then go get Joe Beimel for the bullpen
Why don’t we trade Thrylos98 for someone with some brains!
If thay don,t get any releaf help, i think will stick Perk, in long inning man, and another AAA, starter for the no. 5 hole,, also like Blake, but 9 mil. per year is way to much,, maybe 6.2 should get him bought. for two yr. plus club option. would also trade Bonzer, for what ever I could get..
Blackburn > Perkins. I’d like to see what Perk could do with a full season of starts, but he really ran out of gas in the last couple months while Blackburn’s whole season was very solid, especially for a rookie.
MH says:
“someone mentioned Perkins or Blackburn
boof, humber, cuddy and a prospect for JJ hardy
really?
give them 3 young starters. an outfielder who. when healthy is 10-20hr 80+rbi a solid average.
and a prospect?”
Sorry I should’ve clarified: Perkins OR Blackburn PLUS a Combonation of Cuddyer/Humber/Boof/prospect. No I wouldn’t give up 5 players for…anyone. 3 tops…Maybe a low prospect as a throw in. 4 absolute tops and that includes: 1 ML stater then TWO of Cuddyer/Humber/Boof/someone I overlooked, and then MAYBE a low level prospect as a throw in. Definitely not all of them.
Like both, but like Blackburn considerably more than Perkins. If we had to, I’d trade Blackburn to get Hardy/whoever (not Atkins; don’t trade for him at all), but would rather trade Perkins to get the job done.
Don’t do anything that involves a trade. They are an exciting young nucleus. For some reason I think Harris could develope into a solid 3rd both ways. Try to pick up a free agent short. I think we were 3rd in runs scored last year, so do we really need a power hitter[RH}. Yea, but not at the cost of losing a young starting pitcher.
Pick up Blake for 3rd if you don’t think Harris will develope.
Spend some money on free agents, but keep the whole team from last year together, unless some unreal offer happens.
Also, Nick is great fun to watch and he really is the ultimate utility player. 2nd, 3rd, short—They all need a day off, he’d play a lot cuz Gardy loves him, so give him some of that free agent money too.
HAVE FUN !!! GO TWINS !!!
Trade the sock man.
1. Sign Blake to a 2+1 deal.
2. Trade for a SS. Span’s value will never be higher, so pairing him with some pitching can get you in the door with teams that need a CF. I’m thinking Cameron is going to be moved if MIL has options in the outfield, so they’d love to have him in a Hardy trade (and we have Pridie to be Jason Tyner/Denard Span. There’s no way Span’s that good over time.)
3. There’s no need to spend big bucks on relief if you stay creative. Perkins was good in relief a couple years ago. Boof even showed flashes last year, so maybe he puts it together for a season. Start rooting through the bargain bin to find the next Matt Guerrier, Denys Reyes, Tony Fiore. There are a lot of ways to get there from here. Don’t panic.
Dan-yeah guys like Blake who “can’t field worth a damn” always have 8 teams interested in them…
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807263201760&c_id=min
the twins aren’t getting hardy! the brewers would be looking for a top young starter to make a deal. remember, they don’t HAVE to trade him, but they will if they can get a good young pitcher. shortstops who play adequate defense and hit for power who are young and still relatively cheap have immense value right now. the twins would be creating a huge hole by moving baker or slowey. blackburn and perkins were not consistent last year, and any of humber/mulvey/bonser/swarzak cannot be counted on to do anything.
Perkins vs. Blackburn? Tough question. Blackie had a great year, Perk did too. Perkins wore down abit the last six weeks leaving a bad taste in the mouths of critics. So did Blackie, until the last game vs. CWS. when he pitched great.
To ask the question of who will be better of the two is crazy? Cause we just don’t know. Thlyros98 will tell you some stats that may back up Blackburn based on one years #’s. But one year ago he is the same type of fan, or blogger, that would tell you he would NEVER amount to anything. Perkins and Blackburn have the stuff to be successful at the ML league. Time will tell on who is more productive. Hopefully the Twins will keep both.
Whalefeet,
I agree JJ Hardy is not the answer to our dreams(primarily cause of the cost). I would not create a hole in one area to patch another. Also, pitching and defense win the prize, let’s just find a ML average SS offensively, whose an above average middle infielder and this team with be fine.
twinsislife says:
November 16th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Dan-yeah guys like Blake who “can’t field worth a damn” always have 8 teams interested in them…
because 8 teams are interested in him he’s a good fielder? hahahahaha
I’d like to know who the other 8 teams are. I bet not one of them would use Blake as anything more then a role player. The Twins would act like he’s the savior, throw him in the middle of the lineup, and be shocked when he doesn’t hit .290, 25 homers, 110 rbi.
It would be an awful signing for this team…not every team….just this team.
JA says:
November 16th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Whalefeet,
I agree JJ Hardy is not the answer to our dreams(primarily cause of the cost). I would not create a hole in one area to patch another. Also, pitching and defense win the prize, let’s just find a ML average SS offensively, whose an above average middle infielder and this team with be fine.
Blackburn and Perkins are weak #4, strong #5 pitchers. Dump them now while they have value and fill 3B and SS with legitimate players like Hardy and/or Atkins.
Danny Valencia went 0-for-3 on Saturday and is hitting .219/.268/.276 through 105 at-bats in the AFL.
Valencia had a 921 OPS in 60 games in the FSL and an 819 OPS in 66 games in the Eastern League last season, but it hasn’t carried over to Arizona. The 24-year-old is strikeout prone and doesn’t have the power to make up for it. While there are those in the Twins organizations with high hopes, he’s probably not going to be the Twins’ long-term answer at third base.
Dan says:
“Blackburn and Perkins are weak #4, strong #5 pitchers”
The Twins staff is not made up of all #1 starters. I would argue that there is no #1 on this team. Sure Liriano if he reagains form, blah blah blah, then sure, but (if and) until then? Close to #1: Baker, Liriano. #2-3: Slowey #3-4: Blackburn #4-5: Perkins. All their starters have the potential to be at least #3 starters in the Majors. Whether they reach that potential or not is up to them. But only 1 of them has the potential to be a REAL #1 and that’s Liriano. I love Baker, and like I said, he’s close, but he could never be THE GUY. The guy who’s Going to win on the day you Need it. He should have a long and sucessful career (hopefully with MIN), but he’d never be a true #1 in most teams eyes. He could be the #1 on the Twins, at least for a while, but he would never be #1 on many teams pitching staffs.
“Dump them now while they have value and fill 3B and SS with legitimate players like Hardy…”
TRADE one of them plus a few others to get Hardy, if available, but they’re better than Dan thinks. Don’t trade both for…anyone. One of our starters should go. We have too many potential starters, and some holes to fill in the infield.
“…and/or Atkins.”
NO.
Blake is the way to go there.
IF, IF, we get Blake and Hardy, our lineup will be a monster. That being said I would expect that both players’ numbers would be slightly down from their 2008 totals. Ultimatly, though, if we land both, the division is ours.
Sorry for rambling.
Night.
A few tidbits I could find on
J.J. Hardy:
Sabathia and Sheets signing elsewhere would likely prompt the Brewers to actively seek at least one high-profile starting pitcher via free agency or a trade. And such a trade, particularly if it involves first baseman Prince Fielder or shortstop J.J. Hardy — two players already being mentioned often in early rumors — would leave another big hole to fill.
With multiple vacancies in the rotation and bullpen, the Brewers may need to see what kind of pitching Mike Cameron and/or J.J. Hardy can bring in return. GM Doug Melvin is not ready to shop Hardy. He’s received interest, but most teams have not given names (one team suggested swapping him for a pitcher Melvin termed, “a fifth starter.”)
Christensen has sources who suggest that the Twins are also targeting Yunel Escobar and J.J. Hardy in trades. If no deal is made, they could re-sign Nick Punto, who played 61 games at shortstop in 2008.
Brewers are unlikely to trade Prince Fielder, and reluctant to trade J.J. Hardy or Alcides Escobar. It’d be smart to retain those three players. Rosenthal still likes the Braves as the favorite for Jake Peavy, but wonders if the Cubs or another team could incorporate a third team to get it done.
Take from that what you want.
Punto will be re-signed with the Twins on the cheap, for the simple fact that no other teams will offer him a contract, because he is not very good. Look for Punto to be back on the Twins as a bench player, but promptly inserted into the Twins infield when one of the starters yawns or fails to slide head first into first base.
Twins will probably sign Blake, and give Harris his walking papers. Cleveland signs Harris, gives him an opportunity to play everyday, and Harris hits .285, 20 HR’s, and 52 2B’s, get’s a 3-year contract, averages those numbers for the next 3 years, becomes a free agent, Twins finally get to dump Blake off the payroll, re-sign Harris as a “cheaper” free agent with potential. Sounds about right.
i would think lavelle would come out with something new pretty soon….cmon lavelle this ones getting old
What about a trade with the Nats for Guzman and Zimmerman? Nats would get Buscher, Harris, Boof, Humber and Duensing or another prospect.
Lets see.
The Nats are being asked to recycle our trash and have to give us Guzman and Zimmerman in the deal.
I’ll bet they’ll jump at that offer.
how about we skip this discussion and plunk down 10-15$ mill for Burrell or giambi? get hardy would be expensive and blake is overpriced. like someone said above we’ll all be pissed when Blake gets here doesnt hit like last year. he’ll probably hit17-22 HR. why not then go for something bigger (ie burrell) and solve other problems from within like we always do? remember, we all regret not getting Thome when we had the chance. at least negotiate with these guys and drive up the price instead of sitting on our hands…
yeh LEN can’t you just create some crazy deal, or signing rumor to give the blog something new and exciting to ramble aimlessly about. always a pleasure, enjoy your time in the real world today.
I don’t necessarily like Blake all that much, but I would have to see the Twins give up any starting pitching. Their young starting pitching is far more valuable than any of the names mentioned in trade rumors.
TK(2) says:
November 16th, 2008 at 4:20 am
Dan says:
“Blackburn and Perkins are weak #4, strong #5 pitchers”
The Twins staff is not made up of all #1 starters. I would argue that there is no #1 on this team. Sure Liriano if he reagains form, blah blah blah, then sure, but (if and) until then? Close to #1: Baker, Liriano. #2-3: Slowey #3-4: Blackburn #4-5: Perkins. All their starters have the potential to be at least #3 starters in the Majors. Whether they reach that potential or not is up to them. But only 1 of them has the potential to be a REAL #1 and that’s Liriano. I love Baker, and like I said, he’s close, but he could never be THE GUY. The guy who’s Going to win on the day you Need it. He should have a long and sucessful career (hopefully with MIN), but he’d never be a true #1 in most teams eyes. He could be the #1 on the Twins, at least for a while, but he would never be #1 on many teams pitching staffs.
“Dump them now while they have value and fill 3B and SS with legitimate players like Hardy…”
TRADE one of them plus a few others to get Hardy, if available, but they’re better than Dan thinks. Don’t trade both for…anyone. One of our starters should go. We have too many potential starters, and some holes to fill in the infield.
“…and/or Atkins.”
NO.
Blake is the way to go there.
IF, IF, we get Blake and Hardy, our lineup will be a monster. That being said I would expect that both players’ numbers would be slightly down from their 2008 totals. Ultimatly, though, if we land both, the division is ours.
1. you just don’t get it. never did I say trade both for 1 guy.
2. you are wrong on your analysis. you think too much like the Twins. Blackburn’s ceiling is #4, Perkins ceiling is #5. Both are 5s now.
3. #2 brings me to another point, Twins need to do a better job of talent evaluating. The only reason why anyone could possibly think Blackburn or Perkins can be a #3 is because they listen to the Twins. However, neither have the talent to ever become that good of a pitcher.
4. People just don’t seem to understand that nothing good could happen by signing Blake. He simply isn’t a fit in the Twins system. He’s slow on the bases, a bad fielder, and he can’t be relied on to be anything more then a role player. He will be a giant failure if he is indeed signed by the Twins.
5. even if the Twins got Blake and Hardy, the lineup wouldn’t be “monster.” the Twins have too many inconsistent hitters, starting with the 1st baseman. well, I guess you could say he is consistent. He always has big 1st halves and is terrible post All Star break. Casilla is a lousy hitter. Gomez is a terrible hitter. Cuddyer is average at best. Kubel can’t hit lefties and I have no idea what the Twins plan to do against righties.
Bottom line, Twins are a long way away yet when it comes to being a World Series contender. They are, on paper, a lock to make the playoffs this year with one of the easiest schedules I have seen, but when they get to the playoffs, between inconsistent bats, and a terrible manager, the Twins won’t be winning what really matters.
my bad, in point #5, I meant to say, I have no idea what the Twins will do when they have to sit Kubel against lefties.
Mike Redmond as catcher or DH against lefties? They need a real DH, not Kubel. Kubel can platoon with Young and Gomez. Span needs to be in everyday. Cuddyer needs to be dealt.
We are going to need Humber next year because Bill Smith won’t address the bullpen needs unless he can find a way to bring back Pedro Ramos and Rick Agueilara. Perkins is expendable and I’d give up both he and the Boofer (or Cuddyer) for Hardy. Hardy will hit more home runs next year than Young and Gomez combined. Obviously shipping Crain and Guerrier for ANYbody would be great but I don’t see any other GM besides Bill Smith dumb enough to fall for that duo.
Personally I’d like to see Hardy at short, Casilla at second and giving Hughes a shot at 3b. Buscher has an iron glove and can’t hit lefties. He should be a DH only but then you have Kubel. Buscher should be available in a trade also. And get rid of Punto, he will flash back to 2007 next year.
The sad bottom line is that Bill Smith will make no deals other than perhaps Blake and maybe a 36 year old washed up reliever. Don’t look for anything more.
Dan,, please explain to me and others, just how the Twins have an easy schedle over other teams,
I for one, think that will resign LPN, iif thay trade Harris, and Busher, really like Tolbert a lot,he will fit in nicely,at short/third even 2b.
Bob says:
November 16th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Obviously shipping Crain and Guerrier for ANYbody would be great but I don’t see any other GM besides Bill Smith dumb enough to fall for that duo
Obviously???
Other then Nathan, Crain is the best arm in that pen. Under no circumstances should Crain be dealt. In fact, I’d much rather see Nathan dealt to fill holes and Crain moved to closer then see Crain moved for no good reason.
i sure hope joe c returns soon…i sure would like to know how lavelle has become the supposedly big voice of the twins…even this little tidbit of info was really weak and tried to lay it out to us as some dramatic announcement..i know i may be in the minority but i think we fans deserve more than lavelle is delivering….the fans definately have an interest,as shown by the numbers on this blog…i know i have often wondered how a chicago fan could really put his heart into a twins job and deliver, but i for one have not been satisfied with what i have seen from lavelle….sorry lavelle i just call it as i see it, and i have been reading this paper for quite a long time…even sid comes up with a column almost every day….good or bad, at least hes out there giving us info to talk and think about…..again i apologise to all you lavelle lovers, but again i think we deserve better
La Velle
Do you have any information as to how other teams and GM’s view Perkins?
Alot of folks in here think he is a #5 starter at best.
i think perkins is going to have a solid career..
any word on what other teams think about him?
Juan Cruz would be a good pick up…
Win Twins
mj1,
i agree with you about 70%. i just didnt think i had a right to say anything for something i’m getting for free. but i look forward to more discussion and analysis, even if there is no real new news from Lavelle. but i really enjoy reading everyone’s comments on here, especially the regulars b/c oftentimes it dives deeper into the stats than the reporters do. also, with the internet at leas we can go to the other teams sites to see what rumors there are about our twinkies….
Folks,
it is easy to sit on a keyboard and criticize others.
Nobody works (or goes to school) 24-7-365.
I am extremely grateful for Howard’s, Joe’s and La Velle’s (alphabetical order) blogs in this space.
I am sure that their job description does not include satisfying the Twins’ fan blogosphere, and please see these blogs as an extra. StarTribune has one of the best team of local newspaper baseball team bloggers and the Twins’ fans should be happy and darn grateful about it. If you don’t believe me, take a hike to the Chicago or Detroit or Kansas City major papers’ online sites and see how much space is devoted towards direct fan interaction (which is what this place is). Heck, you don’t have to go far, go to that site across the river (if you know what I mean).
Bottom line: Please be grateful for what you have, because taking good things for granted is ultra bad karma. (in other words, translating for the more adolescent ones: you look like brats; just quit…)
And, yes, I do disagree with a lot of La Velle’s or Joe’s or Howard’s (reverse alphabetical order) statements (especially when they seem -to me- to suck up to Gardy) but that’s all free thinking is all about.
So (please) quit whinning and be grateful…
If you want to read the news, read the newspapers or the multitude of websites available.
If you want to read and write blog comments, then just read and write the damn blog comments.
LaVelle, JC and Howard are not required to be shills at blog table. If a blog thread dries up, change the subject yourself.
Learn to come up with ideas on your own. You are old enough to decide for yourself about what subjects you want to think, read and write.
heard there was an update, but I can’t find anything. Anyone have a link???
I’m going to stand with everyone who says Blake would be a good signing. We can only trade for so many players. If we trade for a 3B, we won’t get a SS. If we sign Blake, we get a solid, not great, 3B who will give us steady production for 2-3 years. This would allow us to trade for JJ or Yunel, and not create more holes. Come on guys, we’re talking about the Twins. I love them to death, but they aren’t going to make 3 big moves in one year. Sign Blake, and go get your shortstop of the future.
Meh!!!!!!!!
Jake says:
November 16th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I’m going to stand with everyone who says Blake would be a good signing. We can only trade for so many players. If we trade for a 3B, we won’t get a SS. If we sign Blake, we get a solid, not great, 3B who will give us steady production for 2-3 years. This would allow us to trade for JJ or Yunel, and not create more holes. Come on guys, we’re talking about the Twins. I love them to death, but they aren’t going to make 3 big moves in one year. Sign Blake, and go get your shortstop of the future
1. Blake would be a terrible signing and if he does become a Twin, all you Blake lovers will find that out quickly.
2. The Twins aren’t prepared to give up what it would take to get the very overrated Escobar. It would take less to get Hardy and he’s so superior offensively that the difference between the 2 in fielding wouldn’t mean much.
3. The Twins could trade for a 3B, SS, and bullpen help. They have plenty of prospects and extra parts they could deal away and it wouldn’t affect the team at all.
[…] Friday, LaVelle E Neal broke the news that the Twins have prepared paperwork and sent a contract offer to the representatives of […]
I get you could call it breaking the news. However, every single Twins fan that doesn’t live under a rock knew that once he became a free agent, the Twins sticking to their always bottom feeding cheap ways would go for a stiff like Blake instead of a real player like Atkins or Beltre or Blalock or even Crede. If the Twins could find a way to keep Joe healthy, Joe’s gold glove defense would be a great fit.
Dan,
Your argument over and over is “Casey Blake will be bad because I say so and because he’s a role player.”
Find something more convincing. The fact is, the guy hit just fine last year for two different ballclubs, he knows the AL Central, and he’s an unquestionable upgrade both defensively and offensively over Harris/Buscher. His OPS vs. their combine OPS is about 80 points higher, and I’d be willing to bet that there are commenters on this blog who are better defensively at third than Brian Buscher. Blake may not be a wizard, but he’s an upgrade over Buscher, who gets the lion’s share of playing time at third base because he gets to face all the RHP.
As for other teams not using him as their primary third baseman, I can pretty much guarantee you the following teams would: the Indians, Dodgers, Giants, A’s, Rangers, and Brewers, with the White Sox as another strong possibility given how quickly Josh Fields has fallen out of favor with the organization.
I’m not saying I advocate a Casey Blake signing; I think it depends completely on the terms of the contract and there are certainly better options (namely Beltre) that we could trade for. But to say he’d be no better than Buscher/Harris… I can’t get on board with that argument. Twins fans have kind of been lulled into this “Brian Buscher is good!” mentality because the media hyped his performance with RISP. People mention Buscher as a DH candidate at times even. Buscher is a singles hitter against left-handed pitching. He barely belongs in the Majors, let alone sharing starting time at third base. The Twins third base situation was embarrassing last year. Casey Blake may be a disaster, it’s a risk, I agree. But I think the real sure thing here is that Buscher/Harris will under-produce like every other 3B situation the Twins have had in recent history.
The Yunel Escobar stuff is probably nothing. The Braves don’t wanna move him for Jake Peavy, they’re not going to want to move him for Perkins or Blackburn.
J.J. Hardy coming cheap? Think again. Every report says that the Brewers aren’t convinced Escobar is ready offensively to be an everyday player. With their pitching decimated, they’re going to want a boatload in return for Hardy. Anyone thinking something like a Perkins/Hardy swap is dreaming. If Hardy goes in a one-for-one deal, it would take Slowey or Baker. Perkins or Blackburn would require additional players.
I do agree with you that Perkins and Blackburn are both weak #4s or #5 starters in the Majors. Unfortunately, that’s the very same reason that I don’t think either one of them has a snowball’s chance in hell of landing Hardy by themselves.
Crede + Turf = No
Atkins - Coors = No
Beltre + Twins = Woohoo
Hank Blalock? The guy hasn’t been healthy in three years, he’s making six million, he’ll be playing on turf, and the Rangers aren’t even going to let him play third because they don’t think his body can handle it.
Sorry, couldn’t come up with a math equation to explain how terrible a Hank Blalock trade would be.
The best options for the Twins at 3B are in order:
Atkins, Blalock, Beltre, Crede (FA), Buscher/Harris, Blake (terrible fit FA)
The best options at SS are:
Furcal (FA), Hardy/Escobar (if the Brewers aren’t set on Escobar, swing a deal for him then), Cabrera (FA), Casilla (sign O Hudson to play 2nd)
Dan says:
“The best options for the Twins at 3B are in order:
Atkins, Blalock, Beltre, Crede (FA), Buscher/Harris, Blake (terrible fit FA)”
It’s official: Dan is either a phycic, phycotic, or doesn’t follow baseball at all.
There are problems with 6 of the 7 players you mentioned. Buscher/Harris are fine, but are a known commodity, and likely willn’t be better than they are. (Maybe Buscher, but still they don’t have high ceilings). Beltre would be pretty good…for one year. Then it’s
bye-bye to Beltre. What do you want to give up for that? One of our starters? Span? No. Atkins is great too…at home. The guy has yet to prove that he can get it done away from Coors. Blalock and Crede are pretty good too…when healthy. You talk about Blake being old, but at least he’s healthy. Yes, anyone of these guys COULD be great, but they’ve got issues to overcome and the Twins shouldn’t have to be the ones to take the risk. It could be Delmon Young all over again. (As a side note, I think he’ll improve this season). Blake has been healthy, productive, and he wouldn’t cost us any players to get. And yes, the lineup would be a ‘monster’ with Blake and Hardy added. This team scored the 3rd most runs in team history
(I think) and adding TWO right handed guys with decent pop, would be unfair to other teams.
Lastly, whoever commented on the whole schedule being easier thing, has a gigantic point. You can see that one from space. Other than interleauge everyone has virtually the same schedule. Sure, maybe you play Boston 10 times instead of 7, but over 162 games, it’s really not much.
Sorry for long post, but Dan needed a talking to.
Dan says:
“The best options for the Twins at 3B are in order:
Atkins, Blalock, Beltre, Crede (FA), Buscher/Harris, Blake (terrible fit FA)”
It’s official: Dan is either a phycic, phycotic, or doesn’t follow baseball at all.
There are problems with 6 of the 7 players you mentioned. Buscher/Harris are fine, but are a known commodity, and likely willn’t be better than they are. (Maybe Buscher, but still they don’t have high ceilings). Beltre would be pretty good…for one year. Then it’s
bye-bye to Beltre. What do you want to give up for that? One of our starters? Span? No. Atkins is great too…at home. The guy has yet to prove that he can get it done away from Coors. Blalock and Crede are pretty good too…when healthy. You talk about Blake being old, but at least he’s healthy. Yes, anyone of these guys COULD be great, but they’ve got issues to overcome and the Twins shouldn’t have to be the ones to take the risk. It could be Delmon Young all over again. (As a side note, I think he’ll improve this season). Blake has been healthy, productive, and he wouldn’t cost us any players to get. And yes, the lineup would be a ‘monster’ with Blake and Hardy added. This team scored the 3rd most runs in team history
(I think) and adding TWO right handed guys with decent pop, would be unfair to other teams.
Lastly, whoever commented on the whole schedule being easier thing, has a gigantic point. You can see that one from space. Other than interleauge everyone has virtually the same schedule. Sure, maybe you play Boston 10 times instead of 7, but over 162 games, it’s really not much.
Sorry for long post, but Dan needed a talking to.
Night.
Blalock is a lefty (among other things.)
This team needs a power right handed bat (or a bat that hits LHP) and a player with a career .656 OPS against lefties will be at best a platoon player at third and will not work for this team.
Blake has hit 128 HRs in his six years since leaving the Twins. He is pretty consistent to give you around 20 HRs a season with decent defense. The biggest upside is that you don’t have to give up any players for him. I don’t see any position where the Twins are deep except OF/DH.
The only trade I see the Twins making is Cuddyer for a reliever.
I’m with Walter. A pretty consistent 20 HR’s would really be a luxury as those types don’t grow on trees. I think Blake would fit in well, the fans will like him, and he would be productive here.
“I don’t see any position where the Twins are deep except OF/DH.”
DH??? Hahahahahaha! The guy who is first on the depth chart is asked to sit depending on the pitcher and you say we’re “deep” at this spot? please!!! He’s not even that great when he’s in. we need to get a professional hitter for the DH spot and then we dont have to buy at a premium power for the left side of the infield. bring in pat burrell, giambi etc. heck, bring in Bonds - i really dont care!!!
The market for outfielder and ex-Philadelphia Phillies Pat Burrell may be slow to develop, as teams weigh their offseason options according to MLB.com.
Though Manny Ramirez and Burrell aren’t in the same free-agent class, they do play the same position, so teams may want to see where he ends first before turning to Burrell.
The Phillies, who have prioritized pitching, have spoken with Burrell’s agents, but not about anything serious. Other teams have also inquired.
Source: MLB.com
Other teams have also inquired, but PROBABLY not the twins. as a MN guy who now has to live in philly, i suggest they pick up the phone, you wont regret it.
DH’s for the other central teams:
Chicago: Thome
Detroit: Sheffield
CLeveland: Hafner
Kansas City: you dont want to start having to say you have a better DH than KC.
danimals,
I’d take Kubel of Sheffield and Hafner (is he healthy enough to play?) any day. Thome next year might be better than Kubel, but he is deteriorating.
1. Blake is an average 3B. He Even if he doesn’t hit better than Buscher/Harris (and I think he will), he’ll only take up one roster spot instead of 2.
2. The Twins don’t “bottomfeed” because they’re cheap. They do this because Type A free agents get unreasonable contracts that cripple payroll in the future.
3. Has anybody heard what Punto is looking for? How many years?
4. Why would the Twins need a DH? They have 5 starting OFs.
By “OF/DH” I mean guys that are NEITHER full-time DH or outfielders, namely Kubel and Cuddyer. Some want to include Delmon in this mix.
5. Wood will cost more than he’s worth, due to his high profile.
I agree with whoever said sign a free agent 3B or SS, and trade for RP.
I say trade Humber (out of options), keep Perkins (left-handed).
Actually, I take back my previous comment. The Twins did use Mauer as a DH when they were carrying three catchers. Last year, when they only had two, Mauer only had a few games as DH, the problem being if Redmond had to leave the game due to injury, moving Mauer to catcher would lose the DH.
3B ranks
1. Blake - Seems to “fit” well, durable, hits better than what we have, and fields no worse than other names being considered. Will not cost talent.
2. If we are to trade I would first consider Kouzmanoff if the Padres are serious about trading him. His defense DRASTICALLY improved in 2008 (~.972) compared to 2007 (~.932)and his splits seem to indicate that PetCo is keeping him down offensively. Although, I would not deal Delmon for him as I had read somewhere earlier.
3. I would consider Beltre under the condition that he would be willing to sign a longterm contract. I wouldnt give up talent for a 1 yr rental.
Forget about Blake and Beltre this should be our future 3B.
BC makes good point. If Valencia and Hughes don’t pan out, then we will have gone 2 or 3 more years without addressing the problem. However, Blake is still a good choice if we can’t make a trade for a young 3B this year. I see the Twins being patient (or gutless, depending on your opinion).
Ummm…Kouzmanoff??? We don’t need another guy with a sub .300 OBP (LNP 2007).
Ok, for everyone on the Beltre wagon again, you are right. He is the best 3B available, but we aren’t giving up the farm for 1 year from him. If we trade a pitcher for him, we don’t have one to trade for a SS. I’m not saying it would be a bad thing, but he better sign a long term deal or at least be classified as a typa A FA when he leaves.
Oh, and Dan is an idiot.
Oh my garsh, BC of ND is still alive!!!
Hey whats up jimmybee. So what do you think about that Cuban defector i say why not give him a shot from what i’ve read on him he could be the next A-rod.
BC I don’t like the Twin’s odds at getting him with every team after his services. Sounds like a heck of a future MLB future for him when he gets to the states. I think we don’t have a good shot though. What do you think of picking up Blake for nothing more then a contract and trading for a Power hitting SS also.
Here is an interesting stat about Blake:
Batting average (2008):
fastballs: .313
curve balls: .200
sliders: .200
change ups: .250
for comparison, Delmon Young (2008):
fastballs: .308
curve balls: .286
sliders: .260
change ups: .333
draw your own conclusions.
How many curveballs thrown to Pedro Cerrano?
Shawn in Binghamton says:
November 17th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
How many curveballs thrown to Pedro Cerrano?
LOL.
How tall was Erwin R. Fletcher before and after with his afro height included?
Jimmy any upgrade in power at 3B is good and Balke can provide that but i wouldn’t give him a 3-4 year deal. I liked someone elses idea of moving Casilla to SS and put Ben Revere at 2b where he played in HS.
Interesting stats. Everyone (I’m not saying you, thrylos) rips on Delmon saying it doesn’t matter if he hits for average - we need HR production. People specifically draw in this point to conclude the trade was a “disaster” and that we need to get rid of Delmon. Blake is definately not going to give you a high BA at 3B, but he will knock some homers.
Thrylos98,
That is awesome. A veteran everyone here is clamoring for who has much less pitch recognition than our sophomore 22 year old who they cant wait to trade for anything possible ….
As far Blake is concerned, this is the same FO that has signed Monroe, Lamb, …. well you dont need me to churn out the same list we’ve seen here over and over. we need to hold on to our money or go all in for something proven and GOOD.
BC is Cassilla more of a natural SS or 2nd baseman. He played pretty good at 2nd last year. i am not sure if he would perform as well at SS. What do you think?
I think SS is his natural posistion. The rips on Revere have been that he doesn’t have a strong enough arm to play the OF so what better spot then 2B for him if he’s played it already. Casilla,Gomez,Span and Revere would be a great 400 meter relay team.
The only problem(s) with Revere at 2B are Tolleson, Dinkelman and Singleton (or even Tolbert) ahead of him, which means they either have to change position or be traded for Revere to get some A+/AA experience before he potentially moves up in 2010-11
danimals,
I don’t think anybody is saying that Blake is better than Beltre or any of the other trade targets. And although not a superstar, you certainly can’t put Blake in the same category as Monroe and Lamb either. I sure don’t remember any contest to see who could sign Mike Lamb. Blake is going to get plenty of offers. Signing Blake is a reasonable alternative to giving up Liriano or Baker, who we couldn’t replace (at least this year) for an A1 3B or a Blackburn or Perkins for a rent-a-player.
That’s a good point thrylos i guess i’m just over excited about Revere’s potential i honestly think he could be a Tony Gwynn but with more speed.
Walter is right, danimals. I don’t feel everyone is clamoring for Blake, it’s the alternative we don’t like. But I like your idea of “go all in for something proven and GOOD”. There is no reason for the fans to try to save Carl some money.
well, I am not sure about the Gwynn comparison… in Revere’s age, Gwynn was hitting .462/.490/.725 in AA (one of the most insane seasons in baseball). But he could be good. It’s very hard to project from single A numbers. If he goes up to AA and dominates the Eastern League like he did the Midwest league, then the Twins have something real. Right now it is just hope.
For the record, I would not be against trading Liriano or Baker for a good, young power-hitting 3B if it didn’t leave a big hole in the rotation for next year. 2009 should not be a rebuilding year. We would have to sign a free-agent starter as well and remember how much Carlos Silva got on the market. Do we have anyone in the minors the caliber of Liriano or Baker that might be ready in a year or two?
thrylos,
If Revere continues to hit like he did at Beloit this year, none of THOSE guys will block his advance.
Of course, the Twins have been known to value fielding over hitting, but Singleton and Dinkelman are only average fielders and Tolbert is versatile enough to be a utilityman if someone else (Revere?) goes past him at 2B..
Walter Johnson,
My gripe with the Blake talk is that it is going to be our centerpiece offseason move (unless we also get JJ Hardy) and all our other moves are going to cascade from that move. In the end do we get more out of:
keeping the platoon at 3B (which produced 91 RBI last season!!!!), adding a proven high OPS bat for DH, trading Cuddy or Kubey for MR, platoon SS, and KEEP all our pitching
or:
spend all/most available dollars on 3B (probably wont increase the RBI over last year’s 91), possibly trade good pitching with possibly CUddy for a good SS, keep the average to below average DH tandem??
I think the first scenario would be better for us. I hope someone can explain why the twins dont feel that way b/c in the end we’re still waiting for long 3B solution to come out of our system anyways. i’m sure they’re smarter than me, it’s just that i dont understand and dont trust their judgement with FA’s.
danimals I can almost hear the chants of Bill Hall out there. Craig Monroe, RonDL White next up Bill Hall. Get ready for our next 3rd baseman Bill Hall. he can also be used as a DH. What do you think?
danimals,
I wonder if the FO isnt skeptical of our offenses’ ability to hit as well with RISP in 2009.
Without looking at the stats, I would imagine a lot of those 91 RBIs came from such timely hitting. Just a thought.
Sane,
the other guys are not that bad, really (and I am not talking about Tolbert):
Tolleson: .300/.382/.466 in AA with some pop (9 HR) and .383/.440/.543 currently in the AFL
Dinkelman: .293/.399/.414 in A+ (then regressed in AA late)
Singleton: .295/.371/.452 in A+ and .302/.348/.421 (earlier) in Beloit
Revere’s .379/.433/.497 in Beloit was great, but given the competition difference, I will take Tolleson’s numbers at AA and AFL.
Tolleson would probably start at AAA next year. I’d love to see Revere at AA next year, but probably won’t happen.
The Twins’ have been talking about their pitching and OF prospects, but there is also a nice overabundance of good 2B/3B - type of players there.
If only Revere could play SS…
thrylos,
Revere can’t play SS, but if he could play 2B, Casilla could solve the SS problem.
jimmy bee,
“i think i just threw up in my mouth a bit” re: Hall.
GCOkemos,
i’m sure you’re right, but the same could be said of Casilla, Span, and eveyrone else except Mauer and Mourneau. Maybe that’s not fair since they have all around contributions to be make (fielding/baserunning). still let just go out and get the most bang for the buck. for a few million more we can have a slugger.
Hey sane how the fires treating you over there. My friends in Torrance say it is warm over there even at night because of the fires. I have been through tons of them.
danimals,
I think I like your first scenario better. All you are really doing is signing a free agent DH instead of a free agent 3B, right? You are also right that Blake probably will not give you more than 80-90 RBIs. Can Buscher/Harris repeat their 2008 numbers? But, Blake will hit around 20 HRs. Kubel hit 20 last year. Buscher/Harris hit 11. If those numbers are about the same in 2009, a new DH would have to hit at least 30 HRs match what you’d have with Blake at 3B and Kubel at DH.
jimmy,
The only effect of the fires on me is that the poor air quality restricts the outdoor activity of our HS baseball team.
Walter Johnson,
First scenario should have also included that the new DH would protect Mourneau, thereby improving the whole lineup. Blake probably wont do better job than a healthy Cuddy or Kubel could do.
danimals,
Nice point. So who is your DH?
Giambi?
Although we are looking for RH pop
sane smog alerts can cause that to happen as well. Is there quite a difference between the 2 I don’t even know myself.
Walter,
Dont you think Giambi would be big improvement? His BA has dipped in last couple yrs but otherwise is great. although he bats LH, his vs. LH/RH OPS splits was .842/.889 last year.
Pat Burrell is not recieving any attention yet and his numbers. he’s RH and his OPS split was .952/.843 He’s hit 29, 30, and 33 HR last three years. what do you think?
the only available DH who would match this production would be Adam Dunn @ about $12 mil a year. But this still does not solve the lack of RH pop for this team.
danimals Wouldn’t Adam Dunn be as effective as Giambi with a slightly lower Salary.
Just a thought: How would Mike Lowell work as a potential 3B/DH? Buscher/Lowell platoon 3B - Kubel/Lowell platoon DH
the Giants just signed Affeldt, so there is one less reliever out there for the Twins
Lowell if healthy (and that’s a very big if) would look great as the starting third baseman
i would love to see Mike Lowell as a Twin I would also love to see us pick up Blake and trade for a SS with power
i guess there is no love for Burrell. i dont know if Giambi would be as willing to come to the midwest as going back to the bay. THere was word that he’d be pursued by Toronto, and MN is not that much colder…. with more culture 
i dunno if MN has more culture than Toronto. Toronto is a very worldly city… and the rest of Canada hates em.
isn’t it the NYC of Canada?
pretty much, its a big city, much bigger than Minneapolis, i was surprised
Walter Johnson says:
November 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
danimals,
I don’t think anybody is saying that Blake is better than Beltre or any of the other trade targets. And although not a superstar, you certainly can’t put Blake in the same category as Monroe and Lamb either. I sure don’t remember any contest to see who could sign Mike Lamb. Blake is going to get plenty of offers. Signing Blake is a reasonable alternative to giving up Liriano or Baker, who we couldn’t replace (at least this year) for an A1 3B or a Blackburn or Perkins for a rent-a-player.
quit throwing around Liriano and Baker’s names. Neither are going to be dealt, neither will ever be offered for anyone.
Blackburn and Perkins will be the pitchers to go if a deal is made. There is no chance Baker and Liriano are going anywhere.
The Twins would be foolish to obtain Casey Blake when they have two players in the minors who could do just as good a job at third base in Daniel Valencia and Luke Hughes.
“quit throwing around Liriano and Baker’s names”
Thanks.
We were all awaiting your orders.
thrylos98 says:
November 17th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
the Giants just signed Affeldt, so there is one less reliever out there for the Twins
I can guarantee you the Twins never even considered Affeldt. He’s a terrible pitcher and the Twins don’t need anymore lefties. They have Breslow and Mijares.
sid says:
November 17th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
“quit throwing around Liriano and Baker’s names”
Thanks.
We were all awaiting your orders
say what you want, but I’m undoubtedly right, like always.
How bout Liriano or Baker for Bill Hall. He can be used as a 3rd baseman and as a DH. He would fill a gap that the Twins need to address
tom says:
November 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
The Twins would be foolish to obtain Casey Blake when they have two players in the minors who could do just as good a job at third base in Daniel Valencia and Luke Hughes.
Hughes deserves the chance. Valencia will probably never be a good major leaguer. For starters, Danny would have to cut his K rate in half to even have a shot of being called up. Danny’s got a long way to go.
jimmy bee says:
November 17th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
How bout Liriano or Baker for Bill Hall. He can be used as a 3rd baseman and as a DH. He would fill a gap that the Twins need to address
1. Bill Hall is absolutely terrible in the field.
2. Bill Hall is awful at the plate.
3. If Hall wasn’t signed for another 3 years, the Brewers would’ve cut him last season.
Bill Hall is not an option unless you really want a 20+ error third baseman.
correction, Hall is signed for 2 more years and an option with a 500K buyout.
“say what you want”
Thanks for your permission.
With that endorsement, I’ll just say that anyone that much in love with himself has probably never been able to learn from others, since he considers their knowledge and opinions to be unworthy of his consideration.
maybe LEN III will care to give us some kind of update today……..that would be awesome……..even if he just said “nothing to report today twins fans”
Dan,
I think you just got sucked in… lol. he was joking about Hall.
For Danny to be called up he would have to 1st be inexpensive enough for Carlos Pohlad to be able to afford him. Second William Smith would have to agree that he should be called up and thirdly Ronald Gardenhire would have to have a need for him as well
danimals Hmmmmm……
Jimmy Bee says: “How bout Liriano or Baker for Bill Hall. He can be used as a 3rd baseman and as a DH. He would fill a gap that the Twins need to address”
What if Isiah Thomas was our GM?
GCOkemos can Norv Turner be our next coach. He has a remarkable knack for taking great teams he inherit’s destroying them at a pace only Norv Turner can duplicate
jimmy bee,
come on! you couldnt have posibbly been serious. (speaking of Isiah Thomas….)
but Norv won a post season game finally
Isiah Thomas is a freak
I can throw any names around I want since we are just speculating. Do I actually think we would trade Baker or Liriano? No. But that is what the teams are going to ask for. So, while we’re at it, let’s stop all the talk about trading for J.J. Hardy, because it ain’t going to happen.
Nor will we sign Giambi or Barry Bonds. Hey, here’s an idea: let’s just bitch about how cheap Carl Pohlad is and how Bill Smith is going to stand pat.
Matt Mill-
i think bill smith will stand pat because carl is to cheap!
his big move might be to resign punto!
while we’re on GM’s…
has there ever been a more appropriate name the Brian Cashman? think about it… Brian “Cash”"man”. that’s all the guy does - throw cash around. i dont think he’s made an actual good decision since the original Clemens acquisition…everything else just predicitable. well, even the Clemens thing was predictable. find the highest profile name and throw money after it. he’s so overrated and shouldve been fired long ago.
The Hot Stove has really been cold so far… wonder if everyone is trying to gauge the economy.
GCOkemos Matt Mill- ha ha ha ha ha LOL. Al Davis
Thanks gobbledy!
Could Brian Cashman or Theo Epstein ever do a good job for the Twins? How would Bill Smith do out in NY or Boston?
I would love to get JJ Hardy. I’d be willing to give up Perkins or Blackburn for him too.
GGG Carl is so cheap he recycles toilet paper. He is so cheap he has Smithers syphone gas out of his players car’s during games.
Hasnt someone created a GM effectiveness stat yet? GM Sabremetrics.
GCOkermos I found these stats on new age baseball sabermetrics they all have to do with team wins.
GCTO - Games credited to owner. Pohlad=0
GCTGM - Bill Smith = 0
GCTM - Gardy = 0
GCTHAGAI - This is a new one just came out last week its games credited to hustle and getting after it.
Twins players = 88.
pretty much, its a big city, much bigger than Minneapolis, i was surprised
Bigger than Minneapolis, Toronto is almost bigger than Minnesota (Population wise).
SweetOne,
Sometimes some cities get huge populations b/c their city limits are huge. take Houston, not any bigger than Mpls, but it’s limits are enough to be a county so gets considered bigger i think.
Houston is the fourth largest city in US by population but its downtown is much smaller than Minneapolis’s. Man, I could go for some Shipley’s do-nuts…or kolaches. Mmmmmm.
If the Twins have $20M+ to spend, why not spend some of it on a rookie wonder with potential who will be with the organization for years as opposed to a declining veteran who you wouldn’t want to have with the organization for years. Instead of paying $18M to Blake, spend $10M on the Cuban 3b prospect and keep the team young and intersting.
Toronto deserves an NFL team more then LA or Detroit for that matter.
Trade of the day:
St Louis chooses (1 of 3): Perkins, Slowey, Blackburn; then chooses (1 of 2): Harris or Buscher; then chooses (2 of 3): Valencia, Duensing, Hughes.
Twins get: Albert Pujols. St. Louis pays 75% of his remaining contract to help us out. In return, St. Louis gets options on beer sales profits at the new park when said profits exceed 250% of cost. If St. Louis takes the option, they get the cash,payable annually. If they decline the option, the Twins buy all their batting practic balls that year. Twins also agree to say a lot of nice things about the city and the Cardinal baseball organization in their press releases.
How could they possibly refuse this deal? Look at the bevy of talent we are willing to give up. Wow. I cannot see how any team could aver a chance to bag the likes of talent of this quality.
If we can’t get Pujols, then talk to NYY about ARod. We could even promise not to talk about his nasty little personal dust-up with his ex and Madonna. They just cant turn us down with this kind of quality.
i’m sick of waiting for something to happen……. arrrgh….
Trade Cuddyer for a middle reliever. Trade Bonser for prospects and let Reyes sign with another team. Bring up Humber and Korecky. Put Toby Gardenhire, Drew Butera, and Joe Gaetti together on the same team managed by Jake Mauer.
Who do you like for Secretary of State? I was thinking Chuck Hagel but now with Hillary, who knows?
i think the buffalo bills are going to play some reg season games in toronto starting next yr. maybe like 2-3 a yr not sure what it was.
maybe if we sent mauer and morneau to st louis we could get pujols, that might not even do it.
rayreiner,
that looks like a prix fixe 3 course menu.
I cant wait for some stupid GM out there to sign Burrell, Giambi, or Dunn or some other over the hill loser with their fancy stats… then we can all laugh at them b/c once again we outwitted them all. they dont know how to do the fancy dance with under the radar good value (ie cheap) free agents.. “moooohoooohaaaahaaaa” *evil laugh* Smithie knows if he pluncked down a market rate contract to a slugger that all the other GM’s wouldnt know what him them and be too confused to do anything, but what fun is that? it’s more fun to roll the dice and gamble than go after sure things. *sighs* ok, i’m losing it.. going home..God bless the true believers in here.
I would love to get Hardy, but I don’t see it happening. The Brewers will demand to much for him, because they can easily move him to 3rd base to fill that hole. So I think the best more likely course of action is…
1. Sign Blake (hopefully 2 yrs with a club option on a 3rd), he can babysit the spot until Hughes or Valencia or someone else is ready.
2. Call Atlanta and swing a deal for Yunel Escobar. They’re willing to send him in a package with their other top prospects for Peavy, so hopefully they drop the price for just him. Perkins/Blackburn, Boof/Humber, other prospect?
3. Decide who the #4 outfielder is between Cuddy, DY, Gomez, and Span and try to make a deal for a quality setup guy. Houston Street? Word was that Colorado weas interested in Cuddyer.
my opinion
If NYY dont get pitchers thru FA (by some miracle), offer a package for Cano. Move Casilla to SS.
Who would it take do you think?
Thoughts?
OR if both Sabathia AND Sheets depart, perhaps Hardy’s price comes down?
Wow, Dan really flexed his brain muscle on that one when he took Jimmy seriously in regards to Bill Hall. No wonder you’re always right Dan.
Anyhow, why do people keep citing Buscher’s numbers from last year? He hit nearly .400 with RISP. Does anyone think he has even a REMOTE chance of repeating those numbers?
Buscher put up a whopping .578 OPS in September last season, and his numbers were clearly coming back down to Earth towards the end.
The Buscher/Harris platoon won’t be better than Blake because Buscher has about as much chance of repeating those numbers as the Twins do of signing Sabathia.
Again, I’m not advocating the Casey Blake acquisition. I’m merely shooting down the myth that Brian Buscher should be allowed near third base at the Metrodome (or any other park for that matter) next year. He played a nice part in our season this year, but the guy is far from a competent Major Leaguer, in my opinion.
I’m all for a trade of Beltre. People keep saying it’s a one-year rental, and acting like giving up Perkins for that would be some kind og tragedy. Perkins looks to be a #5 starter, maybe a #4, and we’ve got some options in Humber, Swarzak, Duensing, and even Boof who could probably fill that hole.
Plus, he’ll be a Type A free agent and net us two draft picks when he and Boras walk following the 2009 season. If by some miracle he decides he loves Minnesota and wants to stay for three more years, that’s not a bad option either.
GCO,
I think Sabathia and Sheets leaving will have the opposite effect on Hardy. I think the Brewers will be inclined to ask for MORE (at least at first) because their need for pitching is so great, and so many teams could use a shortstop of Hardy’s caliber.
If their asking price is too high and there’s no market for him, that may change things, but I think the tremendous need for a starter will up his price early on.
I don’t see the Twins getting Hardy without Slowey, and I don’t think I’d do that deal.
Perkins and Humber plus another prospect, sure, absolutely. I just don’t see them wanting two back-end starters though. Slowey’s ceiling is obviously much higher than that of the other two, and the Brewers know it first-hand (See: Slowey’s shutout against them in 2008).
Oh, and there’s no way the Yankees don’t land one of Sabathia, Burnett, or Lowe. Heck, they could easily end up with two of them.
Nice thought though. But again, I’d rather see a RH bat.
There are other options for SS out there:
I can see at least 2 players whose teams want to dump salary and/or are not in the best of terms and will probably take a lesser prospect or to get. They will both be free agents after 2009 and as such they have a lot of incentive to play. They will both be an upgrade as well:
Miguel Tejada ($13 mil)
Khalil Greene ($6.5 mil)
the Twins can afford this for one year, esp. in a year where the central (other than Cleveland) is getting weaker by the hour…
Why are some of you talking about Khalil Greene? Do you mean the same Khalil Greene that has never hit .255 in 5 years with San Diego? The same Khalil Greene that hit .213 last year? No thanks. Hardy or Escobar, please. And Buscher hit .293 in 2008. I would think we may want to see what he’s capable of. LaVelle, do you have Buscher’s data on how he hit lefties? Or Casey Blake’s hitting against righties/lefties?
Getting Atkins is an option but a risky move. Coors field is an extremely friendly hitters dream park The fact that he can not hit anywhere else is disturbing trend.
The best move by far is to make a bid for Adrian Beltre.
He is a proven commodity as a power hitter along with being a solid defensive player. If Cuddyer is involved in the trade along with Perkins the Twins are only gaining about 3 million in salary.
Perkins looked good at times but I am convinced he is expendable, with many good young arms on the farm.
Blake is another short term medicare move. Exactly what the Twins are known for. Maybe they could pool all the money together that they would normally spend on the likes of Mike Lamb, Adam Everitt, Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe and actually sign a player that could make a substantial impact like an Adrian Beltre.
When is the last time the Twins signed a free Agent that made an impact? What was it in 1988 with John Smiley? The Twins should know better then anyone with there track record that these 3rd rate cheap free agent don’t work. Did any one really think Mike Lamb was going to make an impact? He never did before in his major league career, why did the Twins think he would with them.
