Waiting Impatiently For The Offseason

I’m having trouble getting into the second round of the playoffs. I don’t really want either the Yankees or the Tigers to make the World Series, which means I can’t even root for the American League. The official team of The Voice Of Reason™ - the Phillies – is also out for the first time in years. But mostly I’m ready for the next act.

The offseason.

Oddly, I don’t think I’ve looked forward to an offseason this much in years. For starters, it’ll be nice to see what a Terry Ryan can do when he’s in charge right from the beginning. Also, there is at least a 50-50 chance that we see a long-time Twin player traded. We get to (hopefully) watch a rotation be built via the deepest free agent starting pitching market in several years. There is even a Twins prospect already strutting his stuff in the Arizona Fall League.

[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

(I’ll admit, there are also some personal reasons I’m excited for the offseason too. At the top of the list is Twins Daily. Being able to count on a Twins story every day, and being able to jump read and discuss all the rumors and implications of trades and signings is going to be awesome. Second is Gleeman and the Geek. I really enjoyed getting together with Aaron Gleeman on a weekly basis, throw back some beers and talk baseball for a few hours.)

So let’s look ahead to what we can expect….

• October 24^th – The release of the TwinsCentric Offseason Handbook. (Also, the 1^st game of the World Series.)
  
• The End of the World Series – Eligible players can file to become free agents. (Also, when the TwinsCentric Offseason Handbook 30% discount expires.)
  
• Sixth day after the World Series – Free agent market opens. Teams can sign free agents.
  
• December 3-6 – Baseball’s Winter Meetings, which means plenty of trade talk.
  
• December 6 – Rule 5 Draft
  
• January 25-27 – Twins Fest
  

If this year is anything like last year, expect Terry Ryan to move fairly quickly. Last year he had almost everything wrapped up by Christmas, signing…

• Jamey Carroll on November 16^th
  
• Ryan Doumit on November 23^rd
  
• Matt Capps on December 6^th
  
• Josh Willingham on December 15^th
  
• Jason Marquis on December 22^nd
  
• Joel Zumaya on January 18th
  

There is a man after my own heart. Not only does he make moves fast, but he has the decency to do so on a weekly basis so I can spread them out over winter’s worth of podcasts.