Unwinder

Every time someone brings up the Twins' spending, they act like it's a dirty little secret that fans refuse to talk about because fans are in denial and blinded by loyalty to the owners. I don't talk about it much because there's just not too much to say about it. Would I like for the Pohlads to spend more? Sure. That would be great! How much? As much as possible. Make the number go up! Sure, you can put together a lengthy and detailed case for the Twins to spend more, but it's obvious and self-evident that spending more gives them more options. Sure, there are other ways to win, and spending smarter is often better than spending more, but spending more is still a great option to have. Might as well say that the Twins should score more runs, or ticket prices should be lower, or Rocco should mash the "win" button more frequently.

I'm gonna guess, based on my own experience in graphic design, that they paid someone to come up with about 500 logo ideas and ownership liked the M best.

The white uniforms have grown on me a lot, I did not like the white jersey the first time I saw it, but with the red belts, and especially the multicolor batting helmets, I think it looks really good on the field. I go back and forth on the M, I don't really like it on the caps, but I think it looks really good on the matte batting helmets. Overall the Twins did not prioritize what I thought they should prioritize - Making sure that the uniforms are instantly easy to differentiate from every other team's uniforms at a glance. I hate seeing a video clip on Twitter or Youtube and seeing a red or navy uniform and thinking I'm looking at a Twins player, only to realize it's someone from the Guardians, Nationals, Angels, Red Sox, etc. Maybe the new font for the numbers will help (the distinctive font definitely helps me always identify the Blue Jays). Maybe they did the best they could without going really wacky or changing the team colors (which I advocate due to oversaturation even though I know it would make a lot of people mad).

Seems like this model is pretty high on our fielding. I won't be complaining at all if we get this kind of performance.

I'm just really happy that there are NO pitchers in the opening-day rotation who I'm going to be disappointed to see. Like if I decide to go to a game on any given Thursday night, there's currently no chance that I'm going to look up the lineup for the game and get bummed out that I'm in for a night of Archer or Bundy or Chi Chi Gonzalez. All five of the projected starting rotation are guys I'm excited to watch, and so are probably the first five depth options (though for some I'm more excited about prospect intrigue than impressive performance). We actually have a level of depth where, until injuries kick in, I'm not even likely to see a truly boring filler guy starting at the SAINTS. Is this more competitive than Cleveland having multiple actual aces? Probably not, but it's really nice to be a be able to expect to see a fun pitching performance at any given game. Just imagine! An entire year of not reading a recap and seeing the starting pitcher described as a "desiccated husk!"

I think it's a long-term business move and not a short-term competitive move, Maeda's contract incentivizes him to start. If they don't give him a chance to do it, it's going to be harder to get anyone to sign a similar incentive-laden contract in the future.

The FO has famously been getting overpays this offseason, I feel like at this particular moment in time I'm happy to trust the process.

It seems like the trade deadline is a better time to find takers for a glove-first outfielder anyway.

I think the no-injury scenario isn't even seriously worth planning for. A six-man rotation is always going to be a temporary luxury.

Considering how much the Twins have had to dip into depth starters, and how injury prone the opening-day rotation is, I don't think relegating Ober to depth is that big of a snub. It's pretty clear that the rotation moves have been more about stockpiling than upgrading. I'll bet Ober pitches more major-league innings than at least two opening-day starters.

Yeah I don't want to see Ober going to the pen, I feel like he's pretty obviously more valuable as starting depth and, you know, a starter who's still going to be here in two years. I like Winder, and would prefer to see him succeed as a starter but I'm pretty skeptical of his shoulder holding up to the workload.

I wonder, does this signal that they're thinking about moving guys like Winder or maybe even Ober to the pen?

Yeah I like him a lot as a person and as a story but I have no idea what his role is anymore. I think it's best to view him as a sunk cost with a chance to surprise us. Extra pitching is a good problem to have.

I think that even though the Rays' limits are self-imposed and lead them to do sleazy things, it's still very hard not to view them as a David to large-market teams' Goliath. An underdog that's an underdog out of stinginess and greed still comes off better than a non-underdog. I think something in us is programmed to root for the little guy even when the little guy doesn't actually deserve it.

Fair enough, guess ot can happen to anyone

I saw him play - I want to say the Rays - last year and he absolutely cruised through six scoreless innings, but they put him in for a 7th and he got immediately shelled. Pretty good example of how fragile his arsenal is. Hard not to root for a crafty lefty though.

Gonna need to drink a lot of water before I visit the gravesite of Bally Sports.

Even if the injury risk of making Duran a starter isn't a factor, do we think he can go out and do his Duran thing for more than, say, five innings? "Ace" definitions range all over the place of course, but I've seen a lot of people on here define an ace as able to go deep into games. Do we have any indication that he can do that while throwing anything close to the obscene velocities that make him so good?

I think the tri-colored helmet completely brings together and elevates the white uniform, which I previously thought was the weakest of the new uniforms, with the big red "TWINS" seeming sort of floaty and too big. Would love to see a similar cap as the main cap. I know a lot of people are down on the M but I think the raised M on the matte helmet also looks good, and makes the M look a lot better than it does on the caps.

IMO if you want to trade Kepler and you want a solid reliever, sign a free agent like Fulmer who costs less than Kepler, and trade Kepler for a prospect. Same result but you get a prospect.

Oh my gosh, I hadn't even thought about how much fun Saints baseball is going to be this year.

I don't know much about his health concerns a starter, but my worry as a totally ignorant layman is that under a starter's workload, he'd blow out his elbow and never be the same again. I'm gonna trust the Twins' coaching staff over my own gut as to how many golden eggs we can get without killing the goose.

Sorry but this ship has sailed

Ober is good and I like him, if he's your first line of depth at AAA that says good things about your depth, not bad things about Ober. I'm pretty high on Ober, and I think he may well out-pitch someone in the opening-day rotation this year, but he's less proven than the guys in the opening-day rotation, and you can't stash Maeda, Gray, Mahle, or Lopez in St Paul. I'd rather have six starters I trust than five, and one of them's gotta wait his turn, and it has to be either Ober or Ryan, and while I like Ober a lot, Ryan pretty obviously has the edge. (unless they try a six-man rotation again)

IMO Royce Lewis's value is theoretical until we see how he recovers from his 2nd ACL surgery. Setting aside the possibility of trading him for veteran talent completely, I'd be a fool not to trade Royce Lewis for a clone of Royce Lewis who has not had two ACL surgeries. Or, you know, a functionally identical player -- let's say another one who seems to have great intangibles.