Twins were in on Mike Lincoln…plus late updates
Posted on December 4th, 2008 – 3:07 PMBy La Velle
I’ve finally emerged from my Thanksgiving food coma. Joe C. is still on duty, but I’m getting up to speed before I head to Las Vegas next week for the winter meetings.
The Twins will have to look elsewhere for bullpen help after righthander Mike Lincoln signed a two-year deal with the Reds today. The Twins were hot after Lincoln, who was a 13th-round pick in 1996 and has had two Tommy John operations since leaving the organization.
Word is that the Twins were barely outbid by the Reds, who signed Lincoln last season and gave him a shot to revive his career. Lincoln hadn’t pitched since 2004 before signing with the Reds but was hitting the low 90’s with his fastball and still has a good breaking ball.
So the Twins have to come up with another plan. We’re all waiting to see where closers will land, and which closers may wind up settling for set-up roles. The list of free-agent set-up men isn’t great. And, no, the Twins had no interest in Bob Howry, who signed with the Giants yesterday.
(By the way, $9 million a year for Edgar Renteria? Do the Giants ever learn?)
ESPN’s Buster Olney suggested that Brian Fuentes could return to the Rockies, which could allow them to trade Huston Street. Don’t get too excited about that development because the Rockies historically ask for a lot in return.
Hopefully there will be enough movement at the winter meetings to help the Twins find the reliever they want.
In other news, I’ve heard that Delmon Young has hit the gym big-time this offseason and has lost weight. And his ankle is much better. Remember, he jammed his ankle on Aug. 18 during a game against Oakland. He didn’t make a big deal out of it but the Twins felt he was hobbled the rest of the season because of it.
I know it can be gleaned from reports like this one that Young is a goner, but I don’t sense that’s the consensus opinion at the Dome. What’s wrong with opening the season deep in outfielders? Someone is going to get hurt. And I think the Twins would be wise to sit back and see if Young makes adjustments and continues to develop. What if everyone is playing well at the trade deadline and a team in need of an outfielder calls?
And this way you’ve got four outfielders thinking, `I’ve got to keep my job.’ Is that bad? I think there’s nothing wrong in letting this play out.
6:20 Update: The Twins have asked release waivers on designated hitter Randy Ruiz. Indications are that they want to clear space at Class AAA Rochester for younger players.
Ruiz, 31, made his major league debut last season, batting .274 with 1 homer and 7 RBI in 22 games. Ruiz is expected to clear waivers on Friday. The Twins now have 38 spots filled on their 40-man roster.
6:58 Update: The Twins continue to stay in touch with free agent infielder Nick Punto. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would like to see Punto signed, but the Twins and Punto’s agent, Jeff Caulfield, might be wating for other shortstops to sign or be traded before beginning serious negotiations.
Several teams, including the Phillies and the Mets, have expressed interest in Punto.
108 Responses to "Twins were in on Mike Lincoln…plus late updates"
You da man LaVelle. I totally concur with your take on Delmon Young. Let’s wait it out. In the mean time let’s sign Blake!
La Velle, any news on Blake?
Casey Blake?? Mike Lincoln??
Seriously, if that’s the best the Twins are willing to do the season is over before it even begins. Neither player actually addresses a Twins need. The terrible Buscher/Harris combo is actually better then Blake and any of a dozen Twins minor leaguers is better then Mike Lincoln.
What a terrible offseason this is setting up to be for the Twins once again. Hopefully one day, when Smith and Ryan aren’t around pretending to play GM, the Twins will actually take the necessary step forward to make this team a World Series contender.
Seriously, this team is about to move into a new building, they have roughly 30M to play wit this offseason plus another 20 or so next year, signing crap like Blake and Lincoln is completely unacceptable.
What’s bad about it? None of these guys wants to sit, least of all Delmon. He didn’t say much last year, but what he did say was, “AS long as I play everyday, I’m happy.”
The other thing is, how else do you get the shortstop you need?
Lavelle what rumors have you heard about us bringing in a SS? See any surprises coming?
Agreed, 4 outfieders is the way to go! Remember all the complaints about lack of depth, no one who can come off the bench and hit? We finally have that depth with and we want to trade it away? Unless it is max value for a position we need, no reason to trade Delmon or any other outfielder.
Glad to have you and your level headed thoughts back LaVelle. Why would a team trade a 23 year old, career .292 hitter, with high potential, and a cannon arm (however slow he might be) so that a 30 year old (at start of next season) that is a career .268 hitter coming off a major injury can start? Keeping them all and letting things play out in spring training is the best way to go. Then if a team blows you away with an offer, you have depth to be able to pull the trigger and improve your team overall. Having four OFs, plus Kubel, allows us a lot of freedom to rotate our lineup depending on matchups and health and who’s hot at the time. Plus, we will have solid pinch hitting options every game.
Nothing new on Blake yet, but Joe and I get the sense that a decision is coming soon.
As for the shortstop, the manager has made no secret of his preference for Nick Punto.
Joe is absolutely right. And whoever said that a Harris/Buscher platoon is better than Casey Blake is delirious.
Blake is a proven performer, we know what we will get from him. Solid at bats and good defense…Why are so many fans not pleased with the pursuit of Blake?
If the Twins think that Mike Lincoln is a better 8th inning option that the current bullpen members and Delaney and Slama, their state of player evaluation affairs is beyond sad.
Brian Bass is available too
I hope they keep Punto for shortstop.
As for the shortstop, the manager has made no secret of his preference for Nick Punto.
See, why giving him that extension riled me up?
How is DY going to continue to develop if Gardy sits him on the bench in favor of his fave, Cuddyer?
“As for the shortstop, the manager has made no secret of his preference for Nick Punto.”
I am not even going to go there.
Let’s pretend that the Twins trade for JJ Hardy, and re-sign LNP. If Hardy were to bat, say… .220 for the first 2-3 weeks of the season, what are the odds that Nick Punto becomes the everyday shortstop?
Punto would be a great utility player. The problem with re-signing him is that Gardy will ALWAYS find a reason/excuse for him to play every day. I like Gardy, but that part of him is infuriating.
100%
Surely the Twins have figured out that Punto is not an everyday player. I think ol Gardy is keeping his real feelings to himself. The guy I really like is Aaron Hill of Toronto
You must question Bill Smith’s talent evaluation if he is seriously considering trading a 23 year old OF who has hit above .290 in both of his fulltime MLB seasons.
It would suck if we traded Young away, but like Gardy said- all the guys deserve a spot. Someone will have to go, and it looks like DY.
Good to see he’s been hitting the weight room and losing some of that baby fat, though.
young and perkins to the phillies for rollins and madson, phillies sign punto to play ss.
we get a very good ss and an 8th inning guy the phillies replace burrell and moyer.
not sure how we’ll replace those 25 rbi that nicky pitched in?
I have been a huge Gardy supporter in the past, but his comments yesterday have really hurt the team…. Even if the Twins were to trade DY now (which I think is a bad idea) its not like we are going to get much in return for a 4th outfielder…. And Punto cannot be a starter on this team….
If the Twins do keep Young I really hope that they switch him back to right. He is never going to be great defensively, but at least it would be less damaging if he played in right and let Span cover the bigger area of Left and Left Center.
You may be right about Young, LaVelle. But like cmath, I can’t envision a trade for a decent SS (Hardy, Escobar) that doesn’t involve giving up either a front-line starter (Liriano, Baker, Slowey) or a front-line OF (Span, Gomez, Young). Do you think it’s conceivable that the Twins will look internally for the SS solution? How? Moving Casilla and picking up Grudz? SS by committee with Harris/Tolbert/Punto?
La Velle,
just another thought (and I am sure that you can fish the info out) : Before the economy started going like a guy in a barrel down Niagara Falls, the general impression was that the Twins would have the ability to go to at least 2007 levels as far as player payroll is concerned so they would have $15-20M to improve the club. The Blake thing and (much more) this Lincoln thing now, makes me believe that this is probably not the case.
I know that they like to set their budget based on projected cash flow (of which only about 50% would be affected potentially by the economy: Tickets, Revenue Sharing/Payroll Taxes and Revenue Sharing/Licensed Merchandise). I am sure that they are probably not willing to project their cash flow publicly, but are there any recent (i.e. within the last few weeks) indications about next years’ player salary budget?
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that Bill Smith is negotiating a contract to bring Juan Castro back to Minnesota as a stop gap for a year to bridge the gap to the Trevor Plouffe era.
gobble,
Madsen will be a free agent at the end of next season. He is a Boras client.
thylos just looking at match ups that work for both teams and it would get rid of punto.
the casro thing has to be an april fools joke early?
[…] I just saw word from LEN3 that Delmon’s been hitting the weight room since the season ended, and that he’s lost weight. It seems to me that nobody expected Delmon […]
it would get rid of punto
I think that the Mark Ellis and Edgar Renteria contract dollars pretty much got rid of Punto…
good article about delmon…http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2008/10/8/631291/what-in-the-world-happened
What in the World Happened to Delmon Young?
Maddonbear2_tiny by R.J. Anderson on Oct 8, 2008 9:29 PM EDT
For a number of years Delmon Young was the next baseball superstar when the Rays tabbed him first overall in the 2003 draft. Brother of Dmitri, Young had the lineage and tools to become just that. Comparisons to Albert Belle, Gary Sheffield, and even Manny Ramirez popped up. Naturally, Young waited to sign until late September, delaying his professional debut until 2004.
Star-divide
After debuting on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect rankings at number three Young would join the Charleston Riverdogs as an 18 year old. In 513 at-bats Young would record a line of .322/.385/.538 with 25 homeruns, 53 walks, 120 strikeouts, and successfully convert on 78% of his stolen base attempts. Young looked worth every bit of the hype moving into 2005 and finally earning a promotion to AA Montgomery.
Despite tearing up A-ball Young’s stock would remain static on the prospects list, behind Joe Mauer and Felix Hernandez (replacing teammate B.J. Upton, 2004’s second place finisher.) Young would spend the majority of the season in Montgomery; hitting .336/.386/.582 with 20 homeruns, 25 walks, 66 strikeouts, and maintaining a 76% steal rate. Young would get a promotion to Durham for the remainder of the season.
Despite moving from a park known for supporting pitchers to a hitters’ paradise Young’s OPS would drop over 0.200 points. This of course did not stop the 19 year old from making bold statements in the media. Young would question the Rays intents on not giving him a September call-up, including whether the team was more motivated to win or simply to save money. Young would even say that after his “six years” he would bolt to a team willing to pay him.
Weeks later new ownership bought the team and smoothed the comments and incident over, leaving Young impressed by their treatment of him as an adult rather than a child. Unfortunately, Young did not escape controversy for too long; after a borderline strike three call went against him Young flipped his bat at the home plate umpire, hitting him square in the chest and landing Young a 50 games suspension. Despite the time missed Young would still show some signs as to why Baseball America ranked him as the league’s top prospect and hit .316/.341/.474 with eight homeruns, 15 walks, 65 strikeouts, and a 85% success rate.
On August 29th, 2005 Young made his major league debut against the Chicago White Sox. Facing his first pitch, Freddy Garcia would plunk Young in the elbow pad, promptly leaving Young without an official at-bat. Young’s next at-bat would last significantly longer, five pitches total, and he would strikeout swinging. With the Rays trailing 3-7 and a runner on Young would face Garcia for the third time and quickly hit a ball into the left field stands, cutting the deficit in half. Young would get one more at-bat and would single, then score.
Young would play in 29 more games and finish just shy of the rookie eligibility cutoff limit with a line of .317/.336/.476, three homeruns, 24 strikeouts, only one walk, two steals out of four attempts. With another third place ranking and the rookie of the year award on his mind Young would play in every game during the 2007 season. Hitting .288/.316/.408 and possessing a slightly better K/BB ratio over his initial showing, although 0.20 compared to 0.04 is not quite Bondisan. Once more Young found himself on the wrong side of the publicity game, calling out Joe Maddon for benching him over hustle and in the off-season Young would be dealt to the Minnesota Twins.
Promising a new attitude and a new beginning Young made the move to left field. The Twins would prospectively have two of the best corner outfield arms in the game at their disposal. While Young played in 10 less games this season, and walked nine more times, his slugging dropped a few points, however Young’s OBP raised by 0.020, and perhaps more encouragingly, only 0.002 can be attributed to a batting average raise. Yet again Young’s K/BB ratio improved, this time by 0.13 points, but Young still has not shown the base running ability that had many regarding him as a future 30/30 type.
The report on Young is that he is simply a slightly below average hitter with a strong arm, but still finds a way to be weak in the other areas of defense that matter; see range. TotalValue had Young at minus 0.8 runs overall, equal to Pablo Ozuna. Word now comes that Young might be on the move once more, leaving some to wonder: will Young live up to his potential?
To begin his skills assessment Young has improved his selection at the plate, however Delmon could not see Russia while standing on the Alaskan border. I am not sure if his pitch selection or recognition need work but Young saw his O-Swing% and Z-Swing% decrease, although not too drastically since he still hacks about 40% of the time. Young also recorded 55.2% groundballs and only 17.1% line drives. This is concerning for someone not possessing great speed. Despite the lower line drive percentage Delmon’s BABIP rested comfortably over .340 again. I would not expect that to continue moving forward.
A ton of Delmon’s value will rely on his ability to hit for power, and frankly that’s no sure thing either. It might be possible that coaching in Tampa and Minnesota has tampered with Young’s performances, but what’s more likely: two separate philosophies lead to bad and worst results, or Young is simply underachieving on his once glorious skill set? Sometimes players need second, third, or even four plus chances to finally succeed, Young very well might be that type, fortunately he’s still young and is still Delmon Young and that will be enough to keep him around baseball for the next half-decade plus, even if the production never matches the hype.
Does anyone else think that maybe Gardy said DY is the odd man out in order to motivate him into hitting the gym and losing some weight?
tpetter,
Gardy said that 2 days ago, Young hit the gym 2 months before Gardy’s comment
if gardy is trying to motivate young it should be done in his office with the door closed and not at a farm show in fargo!
does anyone here have a boss that would call them out in a public place instead of the closed door office?
“I think that the Mark Ellis and Edgar Renteria contract dollars pretty much got rid of Punto…”
thrylos98,
You are batting 1.000 today!
Where did Ruiz go? He is not listed on the 40-man roster anymore…
he got released for some reason. i guess he was an odd man out?
gobble,
most bosses don’t get interviewed by local and national reporters. How many times are people going to try and compare their work environs to that of a National Professional Sport before they realize that there is no comparison at all.
Brent,
You can still act with some class even though you are in the public eye.
Mike Lincoln…… what a blockbuster.
How is saying that he foresees his starting outfield as Cuddy, Span, and GoGo Classless?
Ruiz was released today to clear a spot on the 40-man roster (which still includes Sal’s kid) Bad move.
Didn’t he also state that DY is a “Hell of a talent?”
JustinCB,
I guess it isn’t classless, IF Gardy has already told Delmon that he has no place in the outfield next season. He very well could have for all we know. But, we don’t, so to me Gardy’s comments had no class.
Brent,
You are also dead-on about not trying to compare your own boss to the manager or GM of a professional sports franchise, or your salary to that of a ballplayer, or your ability to go to work with a blister on your finger and a pitcher’s, etc.
Harris/Buscher platoon at short? Harris is adequete. Buscher is a diaster waitng to happen everytime the ball is hit his direction. With Buscher at third there better be a shortstop with great range/glove to cover for Buscher’s shortcomings.
Sorry. Should read Harris/Buscher platoon at 3rd.
La Velle is absolutely correct. There is everything right about a top corp of outfielders. Besides, players slump while others soar. We need all 4 of these guys.
“I think that the Mark Ellis and Edgar Renteria contract dollars pretty much got rid of Punto.”
I hope you’re right. However, Gardy is the only manager stupid enough to believe that Punto is and should be an every day starting SS. Other teams correctly view Punto for what he is, a utility guy. No way any team, aside from the Twins perhaps if BS bows to Gardy, offers Punto the big SS bucks. My guess is that Punto would even be willing to take less to stay here as he knows he can be a starter here, but not likely elsewhere.
Why Buscher over Harris? Harris is better defensively and has shown an ability to hit against both righties and lefties (with doubles). Make Harris the main guy, with Buscher as an alternate.
Here is another curveball to this whole perceived off-season inactivity by the Twins:
*Kansas City got worse and they were not good to begin with
*Detroit was bad and they are talking about Adam Everett being their major off-season acquisition
*The White Sox are dismantling themselves and are in a rebuilding more for reasons unknown
*Cleveland is under strong budgetary pressures and their starting pitching is somewhat of a mess (will Lee repeat 2008? very doubtful)
Maybe Smith is thinking that a couple of mediocre moves might just be able to put the Twins over the top, banking on Cuddyer returning to form, the starting pitching improving and nobody regresses…
Maybe.
There are a few problems with this:
*Perkins will surely not win as many games if he does not work very hard in the off-season
*Casilla regressed the last 2 months and is a question mark
*It is unlikely that Span would post the same numbers next season
*It is unlikely that the team will hit .305 with RISP in 2009
That said, this team with a shortstop could win the Central in 2009 because the competition weakened. However, there is a very small chance that the team will go far in the post-season unless they make more than half-rear end moves.
It’s all about goal setting
thrylos,
Good theory about BS thinking mediocrity could win the AL Central in 2009.
Still, the Twins need to get over this goal of winning division titles-not enough anymore. We want a World Series title and just winning a seemingly weaker AL Central won’t mean nada!
Twins Fans
As an opposing GM do I all of a sudden think the Twins are giving away Delmon?
KLaw in todays chat is all over Gardy also and I just do not get it.
Does anyone really believe B Smith’s phone is ringing off the hook with GM’s believing the Twins are giving away a RF?
I do like Young/Cuddyer in RF
I do like Blake at 3rd for 2 years. Buscher/Harris cannot field at a high enough level to justify the OPS the lack of HR, I respectfully disagree with Mr Gleeman on this matter.
I do believe J Donald is coming to the Twins for some combination of Humber or Bonser and a minor league pitcher.
The Situationer says:
December 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Joe is absolutely right. And whoever said that a Harris/Buscher platoon is better than Casey Blake is delirious.
Blake is a proven performer, we know what we will get from him. Solid at bats and good defense…Why are so many fans not pleased with the pursuit of Blake?
Whatever you’re on I want a hit. Blake’s 3B defense sucks. He and Buscher are equally as bad and the Buscher/Harris combo hit better.
Not to beat a dead horse, but the difference between Blake & Cuddyer is minimal. Both can play 3rd, 1st & corner OF. Both bat RH with some power. Neither is Gold Glove material. Cuddyer is younger & ALREADY SIGNED! With a lot of work, Koskie improved defensively @ 3rd. So can Cuddyer. It would also lessen the logjam in the OF. Instead of spending resources on a “duplicate” player, improve the bullpen & SS…..Cuddyer IS a much better magician than Blake. 
J Donald is coming to the Twins for some combination of Humber or Bonser and a minor league pitcher.
Let’s assume for a moment that Donald will come to the Twins for that (which is not happening); Donald hasn’t played an inning in his life above AA and at AA his defense at SS was worse than Harris’ in the AL last year. He cannot help the Twins next year. Best case scenario, he would be a AAA SS. The Twins have a couple of those (Plouffe, Machado); not at the level of Donald with the bat, but Machado is much better with the glove. Not time to try to rebuild the minor league SS pipeline
La Velle says:
December 4th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Nothing new on Blake yet, but Joe and I get the sense that a decision is coming soon.
As for the shortstop, the manager has made no secret of his preference for Nick Punto.
Ron is a moron and shouldn’t have the job he has in the first place. secondly, from what I’ve seen, Punto is going back to Philly….thank the baseball gods !!!
thrylos98 says:
December 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
J Donald is coming to the Twins for some combination of Humber or Bonser and a minor league pitcher.
Let’s assume for a moment that Donald will come to the Twins for that (which is not happening); Donald hasn’t played an inning in his life above AA and at AA his defense at SS was worse than Harris’ in the AL last year. He cannot help the Twins next year. Best case scenario, he would be a AAA SS. The Twins have a couple of those (Plouffe, Machado); not at the level of Donald with the bat, but Machado is much better with the glove. Not time to try to rebuild the minor league SS pipeline
a lot of players make the jump from AA to the Majors. Shouldn’t be a big jump from a supposed elite prospect.
gobbledygookguy says:
December 4th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
young and perkins to the phillies for rollins and madson, phillies sign punto to play ss.
we get a very good ss and an 8th inning guy the phillies replace burrell and moyer.
not sure how we’ll replace those 25 rbi that nicky pitched in?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
you couldn’t even get Rollins for both of them.
Well, I watched the supposed elite prospect in about 20 games last year in Reading. Think Buscher with the glove. His bat is plus, but he projects as a corner outfielder/DH in the majors. I suspect that the Phillies, if they do not get anyone else will give him a good look at LF next year.
“Whatever you’re on I want a hit. Blake’s 3B defense sucks. He and Buscher are equally as bad and the Buscher/Harris combo hit better.”
I’d be interested in hearing what defensive metrics you are using to declare that Blake’s defense ’sucks’ to the point of Buscher’s. And also, why you think that Buscher and Harris can hit better. Blake hit .274/.345/.463 last year. Why use two roster spots to get the production when you can do the same with just one?
thrylos98 says:
December 4th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Well, I watched the supposed elite prospect in about 20 games last year in Reading. Think Buscher with the glove. His bat is plus, but he projects as a corner outfielder/DH in the majors. I suspect that the Phillies, if they do not get anyone else will give him a good look at LF next year.
Twins need a proven guy at short anyway, they can’t rely on a kid. Furcal, O-Hud and move Casilla to short, Grudzielanek and move Casilla to short, JJ Hardy, Orlando Cabrera are viable options, some rookie or Punto are not.
Pete D says:
December 4th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Why use two roster spots to get the production when you can do the same with just one?
simple, what would they use the other roster spot for without the platoon? another scrub like Guardado or Hernandez for the pen, or another stiff like Lamb or Everett for the bench. I have no faith in the Twins front office to actually do anything productive, so might as well use up as many roster spots as possible so their dumpster diving for free agents is held to a minimum.
who is jdonald?
About Blake’s production vis-a-vis Buscher’s and Harris’ last year (because a lot of comparisons & comments were made, left and right and being propagated):
I did the following exercise: Took every 2008 MLB player who played more than 200 innings at 3B and had more than 250 AB and creating a composite measure, multiplying their OPS+ with their FP and their zone rating.
Buscher ranked 34th and Harris ranked 35th in the majors (the average player, i.e. a fictional player with the average 2008 MLB OPS+, FP and ZR, would have ranked 25th). Blake ranked 19th. (The top 3 were Chipper Jones, Kevin Youkilis and A-Rod).
If you care, the numbers are here:
http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2008/10/third-base-revisited.html
There is no doubt that Blake had a better combination of defense and offensive production that Buscher and Harris in 2008. Where are the sticking points?
a. he is not guaranteed to do that the next 2-3 years, since he is past his prime and
b. he production last year was better, but not that much, than the MLB average
The Twins should set their targets a bit higher hopefully.
Twins Fans
J Donald is ML ready, he is an average to above average defensively, can run and has some pop. He is also blocked by J Rollins, although the Phils might chose to hang on to him until the Utley situation sorts itself out as he can handle second base also.
Twin Fans
Twin Fans
Twin Fans
I might add if B Buscher could come close to making the routine plays at 3rd base over a season the Twins would not be in the market for a 3rd baseman.
The key here is not FP or ZR or any other numbers. He cannot consistently make the routine plays
[…] Twins Insider – […]
thrylos -
Russell Branyan hasn’t had 250 ABs since 2002.
Also, if the Twins go with a true platoon, you would have to use the splits for Harris and Buscher. Which, while it won’t greatly change things, it should make the combo move up a bit in your rankings.
Russell Branyan hasn’t had 250 ABs since 2002.
yes he didn’t… My cut off was 100+ AB (sorry about that and good catch).
if the Twins go with a true platoon, you would have to use the splits for Harris and Buscher
that would not change their defensive numbers and the offensive numbers of a true platoon might actually drop (Harris had a .714 OPS against lefties and a .725 OPS against righties, whereas Buscher’s OPS+ was 106 against RHP vs 100 overall, but Gardy managed to get him 1/3 of his PA against LHP…)
Wow - first Eddie G, then Lincoln and Blake. They’re so pathetic at FA signings they’ll only go with ex-Twins now?
Who’s next - Rivas and Mulholland?
[…] Twins Insider – […]
Will people stop suggesting the Twins get a second baseman. The Twins have basically already said that they will not move Casilla since he settled in at SS - Look at La Velle’s post at the end of the season.
these blogs will whither away and die without punto and delmon to kick around.
Hi
must be some rule 5 potential picks to drop Ruiz and make roster space. Can’t they put Neshek on the 60 day DL and use that space also?
Win Twins!
Dicky,
Even if Buscher could make routine plays, he still wouldn’t be able to hit LHP or get an extra-base hit to save his life.
Don’t get me wrong, he’d be better, but the guy still just simply isn’t a good player on offense or on defense.
“Will people stop suggesting the Twins get a second baseman. The Twins have basically already said that they will not move Casilla since he settled in at SS”
If the Twins never changed their minds, Gomez would still be leading off; Liriano, Span and Casilla would still be in AAA, and Lamb, Livan and Monroe would still be cashing Twins paychecks.
Sometimes, the Twins are able to extricate their heads from their rectums after further review.
Still nothing on Blake? Please tell me all the Jack Wilson rumor are false
oops, i meant settled in at 2B not SS
sy - there is just a little bit of a difference … Casilla has settled in at 2B and has a comfort zone there now (kind of how Cuddyer settled in at RF a couple years ago), and Gomez never settled in at the leadoff spot, same with all of the other guys you mentioned - none of them settled in like Casilla has and thats why they said they are keeping him at second.
matt,
I understand, but circumstances change.
In 2006, Punto was “settled in” at third base.
In 2007 Delmon was “settled in” in RIGHT FIELD at the Tropicana.
Earlier in Casilla’s career, he was “settled in” at shortstop.
Only the Twins traditional fear of change makes the Casilla switch back to shortstop so difficult.
If the Twins (instead of the Yankees)had Jeter and A-Rod in 2004, they would have platooned them at SS, instead of moving A-Rod to 3B.
You may be right that the Twins lack the heuevos to move Casilla, but that doesn’t mean its not the right move.
In the meantime fans WITH heuevos can discuss it and maybe the Twins will, someday, grow a pair.
i’m kind of jumping on the idea that gardy said what he said about delmon to get him motivated, like he has to earn his spot and it’s not handed to him this year. phil jackson has a knack for that, calling a player out in the media to get him to prove him wrong on the court (not in the direct media, but enough for a newspaper to make a lot out of it, like gardy’s case). i think delmon shouldn’t be untouchable, but i wouldn’t trade him for anything less than a stud young SS or 3B.
“JustinCB says:
December 4th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
How is saying that he foresees his starting outfield as Cuddy, Span, and GoGo Classless?”
“JustinCB says:
December 4th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
How is saying that he foresees his starting outfield as Cuddy, Span, and GoGo Classless?”
wow almost got mike lincoln…almost…that one slipped just out of our grasp. what a sad sack offseason we always have to endure. we won last season in spite of our front office. mike figgin’ lincoln, the twins actually expect fans to get excited over crap like this? they were “hot” after him? that’s actually embarrassing.
I always wondered “what if” Lincoln had not been rushed to the majors so fast. Here at New Britain, he was a dominating starter, but they jumped him over AAA. Another (maybe) minor point: He was an extremely fast worker here, games always ended in under 2 hrs, at Minnesota he became very deliberate.
Hey, jhawk90:
Who’s next - Rivas and Mulholland?
That was rich. Did you know one of the most productive 3B in the minor leagues was Terry Tiffee?
Bad jokes aside, Smith signed Morneau. He signed Nathan. He signed Cuddy (I think). He wants to make his mark. Here’s hoping he does something positive.
I’m so sick of hearing about Minnesota sports teams “almost” signing players. No one cares, move on.
What does it say about the reporting in this town that we did not hear Lincoln’s name until now?
Trade thrylos98……..
and throw in Steve from Fridley!
Make Cuddyar the 3rd baseman. He is an upgrade over what we’ve had and lets go after Furcal. To me Cuddyar should be the odd man out in the outfield.
Mike Lincoln, Everyday Eddie, Casey Blake?
Are the Twins putting together a Reunion Tour?
Or have they stopped scouting other teams and spend all their time watching old Twins games?
Are the Twins over-concerned with players “fitting in” and “playing the Twins way” (no more Mike Lamb’s and Delmon Young’s).
Now,they only recycle ex-Twins who know how to “fit in” and “play the Twins way”.
What a lazy, sloppy method for determining potential player acquisitions.
Shouldn’t it be the even man out rather than the “odd man out” since there are three OF positions and four players?
Is DY working out with Marty Cordova because he sucked after hitting the gym hardcore.
I have read that Blake wants three years. NO WAY!
I am hoping the Twins resign Nick Punto. Who could they sign that will do a better job??
Gardy is reported as saying his outfield would be Span, Gomez and Cuddyer with Delmon Young being the odd man out. I CONCUR WITH GARDY. I am not sold on Young. Potential, potential?? How many players have we heard this spoken about that never panned out?
Carmen Cali signed with the Dodgers
its getting rediculous to read all the negative dy postings…my god this guy is just a baby yet at 22-23 yrs of age….his 1st year with the twins was pretty damn solid, nearing .300—if he had hit about 6-7 more homeruns, we wouldnt even be discussing this…thats how stupid this has all gotten….kirby didnt even make the twins until he was 24 years old, so put things in perspective and let this kid develop….my biggest concern with dy was his possible weight problem in the near future and it sounds like he has addressed that issue on his own this off season..you dont know, but this guy could just be the next ortiz, and maybe he wont be, but i would not want the twins to suffer through another deal like that, as once is enough….if he can be traded for some real quality, like a long term fix at 3rd or short, i am all for it, as i believe outfielders are much easier to replace than quality 3b,ss…if we cant find that, we should be damn glad this kid is still on our roster and pull for him to be the very best he can be and he might just be the most productive man on this team, as he matures…..
We need to be patient. Young is what 22? He’s batting above 290. What was wonderboy Span batting at that age? And remember Span was going against AA pitching. Young is developing in the Majors. We were patient with Span and richly rewarded. I love Span but remember he’s had one good half season. It wasn’t that long ago he was batting .250 against minor league pitching.
Let’s go with Gardy’s outfield and DH Young. Then add Blake and an eighth inning guy and we should be in pretty good shape.
Just say no to Nick Punto.
Eddie G was acquired via trade, not free agency.
Keep Young.
Trade Cuddyer only if you can get quality.
Punto a starting short stop? Gross. Does nothing for me.
Keep DY and let the cream rise to the top. Competition is a good thing.
Punto will end up back in Philadelphia.
Book it.
Is the gym going to teach Delmon how to hit a fly ball?
When will the headline ever read the Twins won the sweepstakes on a player, instead of the Twins were in on this guy or were close to getting this guy or were barely outbid by this team. Is anyone else extremely tired of hearing that.
it’s commical that no one has a good thing to say about d young until he’s on the trading block…now everyone sings his praise. i agree with lavelle, there are too many question marks in the outfield to let any of them go. cuddyer doesn’t have the trade value to make it a worthwhile deal, and the rest are too young to make a judgement on whether they are long term solutions…combined they have maybe 4 seasons worth of experience in the bigs…let them duke it out in ST, unless you get an offer you can’t refuse or are able to substantially upgrade this team
“When will the headline ever read the Twins won the sweepstakes on a player”
See last year’s headlines for the Livan, Lamb and Everett signings.
Is it a sweepstakes, when the other horses are walking?
Hopefully headlines will never read as such. Generalling “winning the sweepstakes” means offering a crippling contract.
Lavelle,
I totally agree with you about keeping the four outfielders.
Not only can we work around tough matchups for Go-go and Span, but we can have Cuddy play first base once a week and maybe have a fresh Moneau when the season is on the line next year.
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Deborah
