A couple quick notes
Posted on December 17th, 2008 – 1:43 PMBy La Velle
Joe C. is monitoring news today but there were a couple things I have for you.
I totally forgot to mention this from the winter meetings, but I literally bumped into Twins pitching prospect Tyler Robertston and his agent while headed to the elevator one day last week.
Robertson made just 15 starts last season for Class A Fort Myers, going 5-3 with a 2.72 ERA. Shoulder problems curtailed his season, but trainers came up with a rehab program that worked wonders for him. His agent, Kevin Kohler, told me a few months ago that Robertson was very encouraged by the early results, and Robertson last week talked as if his shoulder problems were well in the past. He’s already fired up for the season.
Robertson, who turns 21 next week, was one of the Twins better pitching prospects in 2007 and landed in a few Twins’ top ten lists. You can never have too many prospects.
The other bit of information is a programming note: I am filling in for Dan Barriero on KFAN today from 4-7 p.m. Join me and Mr. Fender-to-Fender for quality entertainment. Guests include Twins assistant GM Rob Antony and Chicago Sun-Times football writer Mike Mulligan.
68 Responses to "A couple quick notes"
Maybe we will get more clarity on this whole infield thing.
Hey LaVelle, one note on Robertson… he’s huge!! He’s tall and broad, and he looks as much like a tight end or power forward as a pitcher. Hopefully you were ok after bumping into him!
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Wow, just the offseason info I needed.
Did the Twins really contact the Rangers about Michael Young?
Any truth to the rumor that the Twins were trying to pry Robb Quinnlan from the Angels by offering up Glen Perkins?
LEN3, you seemed pretty set on Wigginton being a good fit for the Twins. What are you thoughts now that it seems the Twins are no longer in talks?
I will dial you up on the Iphone…. until it kills my battery
La Velle - I’m beging you to RIP on the Twins for not even talking to Wiggy’s agent. Bill Smith should be ashamed. Joe C seems to pat the back of the Twins with everything they do. That’s not journalism. You’ve said Wiggy makes a lot of sense for the Twins. They should get some serious heat for not even talking with him.
LaVelle could you possibly fill us in on why the Twins would be pursuing Brendan Lyon over a guy like Joe Nelson?? One has a high salary, a class B free agent, and a poor second half of the year. The other is a hard throwing right hander who is younger, cheaper and won’t cost us a draft pick. I don’t get it??
Jeff,
the team wouldn’t lose a draft pick on a class B.
Any truth to the rumor that the Twins are going to pretend to call free agents and then pretend they made an offer and then pretend they did their best to sign a big name and bat for the infield?
What other team that has a chance at making the post season will be “platooning” players at 3rd base? Or “platooning” players at any position? I hate to say it, but the worst thing the Twins could have done for their future was contend last year. Now, they are fooling themselves (actually they are just trying to fool us) into thinking they will contend with the same players this year. So I guess our plan is to set another MLB record for hitting with runners in scoring position? Because that happens all the time…
I’d love to see the Twins spend money on the right players to get better, but is a guy like Wiggy, Casey Blake, etc… the right player? It isn’t such a major upgrade over the platoon. I wouldn’t mind to see either one signed but wouldn’t get fired up about missing on them. I’d like to see the Twins do something crazy and give Manny a 3 year deal. That would be fun.
GREAT point Macleod! Nobody ever hits over .300 with runners in scoring position. It’s not going to happen again. We also got lucky cause Detroit and Cleveland had down years and I don’t see that happening again. Span had the season of his lifetime. Same with Casilla. That’s just supposed to happen again??
“What other team that has a chance at making the post season will be “platooning” players at 3rd base?”
Hey, Macleod, who was the Twins third baseman in 1991?
Scott Pagliarulo?
The Twins platooned Scott Pagliarulo and Scott Leius the whole season and into the playoffs.
mike pagliarulo
We also had Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Chuck Knoblauch, Chilli Davis….the list goes on and on. And a stud postseason guy in Black Jack Morris.
The argument serves no purpose.
sorry seth, combined the names
The purpose it serves is a team with strong players can win with a platoon at 1 spot.
Does any one else think Pat Burrell’s bat would like good in the 5 spot? Seems like a perfect fit as a DH.
Shawn, I completely agree. But do you think our other 8 spots are legit and can be counted on? I sure don’t. Punto at SS for one. But we dont know if we’ll get the same season out of Span. Gomez is a question mark. Delmon is as well. Same with Cuddy. If we were more solid all around, I’d be fine with a platoon at 3B….but sadly, that is not the case.
Shane, in your 1991 list above you omitted your namesake.
Does any one else think Pat Burrell’s bat would like good in the 5 spot? Seems like a perfect fit as a DH.
What’s wrong with the DH we have?
*meant to quote that …
Thanks, La Velle! I owe you one.
Can anyone make sense on why BS would inquire about Michael Young and his GI-NORMOUS contract? Don’t get me wrong, I’d love in a Twins uni, but skimping on other free agents and inquiring about Young?….wow.
Good one…someone on here trying to be someone else. Way to go J. Kubel. But yes, Burrell would look sweet at the #5 spot.
And La Velle, looking at the full picture, what are our chances of at least trying to pursue JJ Hardy. Brewers need pitching, and from what you said we have plenty of extra prospects.
Yes….Shane Mack was AWESOME! Believe it or not, he was my 2nd favorite player behind Puck:)
Shane - I bet you even grew a Shane Mack mustache!
Shut your mouth Smithers!
Why are people so hell bent on signing FA’s. If a player is not going to help you why pay him an inflated contract?
Wiggy is alright, but what he provides at the plate he certainly loses in the field. If he could be had for 4-5 million for 2 years than sign him, but I wouldn’t waste too much time him if he is looking for more than that.
Anybody ever see that movie “Platoon”? Let’s just say it didn’t work out very well for the guys in the platoon, especially Willaim Dafoe…evidence of things to come.
Wiggy is so overrated. Who cares if we didn’t talk to him. The difference between him and the platoon will be small considering the $6,500,000. My guess is Wiggy hits 5 more homers than the platoon and about 15 points less in BA.
I was pretty young when the Twins won the Series in 91′ but wasn’t Mike Pagliarulo a perrenial All-Star???
Pags was not a perrenial all-star. Might have made the team once with the Yanks in the 80s
MrEsterhouse-
Well that platoon hit 11 HR’s in 652 AB’s last year which is more AB’s than one person is going to get in a full season starting every day. That guy Wiggy who is “overrated” hit 23 HR’s in 386 AB’s…so he hit more than double the HR’s in 266 less AB’s. He’s terrible.
Yeah, Wiggy is overrated, Blake overrated, fill-in-the-blank, overrated. But that Harris/Buscher platoon, now that rocks. Nope, no need to attempt to make any improvements there ’cause anyone we could get would be (a) overrated and/or (b) asking for too much money, and the Twins only like to overpay for mediocre players who are Gardy’s faves.
Pete, BS would inquire about a player he has no intention of acquiring so that he could tell all the gullible fans that “we tried, but the numbers were just too high and it just didn’t fit, but we tried!”
That last comment by “Matt E” was mine. LEN3 - your blog is going haywire again.
I was joking about Pags…sorry! 
I agree that we pay Gardy’s guys, not based on production, but by how much he likes them. Punto’s contract? Cuddy’s contract? (nothing worse than paying a guy on a career year) Kyle Lohse is a moron, but he’s gone because Gardy didn’t like him, and we find out later that he can actually pitch.
Wiggy’s defensive liabilites are being way overblown by some people, especially compared to what our plan is otherwise(the dreaded platoon). Butcher had 10 errors in only 64 games! Harris had 13 errors in 130 games. Wiggy had 11 errors in 112 games. Seems about the same to me…..plus, he actually hits a little. Like, out of the park sometimes too. Crazy concept I know.
“Kyle Lohse is a moron, but he’s gone because Gardy didn’t like him, and we find out later that he can actually pitch.”
We will find out in 2009, at least.
Seth,
Lohse would have been the #4 starter in the Twins. 2008 stats:
Lohse: 1.30 WHIP, 2.43 K/BB, 5.36 K/9
Blackie: 1.36 WHIP, 2.46 K/BB, 4.47 K/9
Perkins: 1.47 WHIP, 1.90 K/BB, 4.41 K/9
He had a good year… he showed a lot of ‘good’ glimpses with the Twins too, so I’m very curious to see if he will be able to keep it up. He’s certainly got plenty of money coming now.
2008 Stats:
AB HR RBI BA
Buscher 218 4 47 .294
Harris 434 7 49 .265
Platooning these 2 at 3b would probably produce 10 HR’s, 80 RBI’s, and a .280 BA. Another $5 million wouldn’t produce that much more. An upgrade would be nice, but why give up a quality player or spend the money for it?
La Velle, that was some good entertainment with the caller and Rob Antony. Good stuff.
GW, if you never spend money to upgrade, because all upgrades are small, how do you get better? If you say you are going to spend money, and then don’t, don’t you think your paying customers (who just spent hundreds of millions of dollars subsidizing your business) would get a little annoyed?
They were under their 2007 budget last year. They are under their 2008 budget next year. They have tens of millions in new revenue coming in….when will they spend it? Do you think they pocketed that money last year and decided to spend it this year on increasing the salary?
don’t you think your paying customers (who just spent hundreds of millions of dollars subsidizing your business)
You say it as if each person had to empty their pockets on this one.
No, but relatively speaking the Twins don’t have to either. They have in the neighborhood of $20 million to spend now (not including the $20million they were under last year). If they’d have spend a little last year they probably would have won one more game and made the playoffs.
And the public subsidy of the new stadium isn’t anything to sneeze at. Pohlad didn’t want to pay for it.
Any truth to the rumor that this team will try and improve? I heard that might happen but haven’t seen it yet.
Can anyone believe anything being said from BS’s office is true?…
mike wants wins,
Can you elaborate on the caller and Rob Antony entertainment?? Did he happen to ask Rob if he is embarassed that he is part of a front office that has Eddie Guardado and a re-signed Nick Punto as the fruits of its pathetic effort to improve the Twins? Was that asked?
just forget it the twins will do nothing!!!!!!
Do nothing? Not even Cuddyer, Blackburn and Harris for Young and Benoit???
Ah geeez….Just saw Young’s $80 mil 5 year extension deal. Never, never mind.
We’ve got a manager who plays favorites, an owner who is so tight he squeaks when he walks, and a front office man whose initials are BS. You expected anything different this off season?
The guy was a little older. He is a season ticket holder who got a little passionate about this team not doing anything to get better and having a low payroll. I’m sure it is on KFAN.com someplace (that site, as are all raio sites, is blocked at my work or I’d give you a link).
mike mlb rumor says the braves are shopping kelly johnson for an of’r. how about young for johnson, let casilla and nicky fight out the ss job (we all know who would win that).
5 Starting Pitchers, each of which could win 15 games, a very solid outfield and two All Stars on the infield + the best closer….happy moving forward with this bunch.
There’s some of that good ole’ Kool-Aid kilometer. Why bother trying to improve despite having some money to spend and depth to utilize. It will be another fun, competitive year.
Oh…and you forgot to mention in your description of this team the lack of a right-handed bat with some pop that will actually make a pitcher think twice about pitching around Morneau every time, as well as some serious bullpen issues. But, hey, why bother. It’s a good team.
jkucenic is my idol. his posts are original and intelligent
If the BoSox sign Texeria, which sounds more and more likely, they will be forced to move Youk over to Third forcing them to trade Mike Lowell. I could see the BoSox trading Lowell for next to nothing depending on how much of Lowell’s salary a team is willing to eat.
Thoughts on that being a possibility???
Hey La Velle IV, you need to pick a different name. That joke is only funny once.
