Todd G

They're not a real major league team, but they did stay in a Holiday Inn Express.

One thing is for sure, our bench will (once again) be putrid.

More than the average person makes in a year . . .

I'd be more than happy to take Ramon Ortiz if we had the rest of their rotation also.

Just to get the obligatory statement out of the way so we can continue with an informed discussion. "WAR, what is it good for?" Carry on.

Sorry guys, but we've got WAY too much to do with $20 million than we can possibly hope to get done in one season. We've got a grand total of 1 starting pitcher, and he's a #3. We can get a 4 & 5 from our system, but we need a 1 and a 2, and they don't exactly grow on trees. Those that think our offense is fine may need to reassess that. We were average in runs scored for major leagues, but towards the bottom in the AL (where we play our games). We lack power, have a ? at third and first base, a redundant CF and RF and have two absolute offensive holes in the middle infield (and I'm not convinced our SS is that great of a fielder either). All of that is a LOT to fill in in one season. It leads me to the conclusion that we don't need tweeks, we need a major overhaul. If we try to contend, without significant rebuilding for the future, we'll (at best) be in middle-ground hell. We need to aim higher than the middle.

A flyball pitcher coming off of TJ in Wrigley . . . good luck with that.

Best case scenario is we'll be average next year. Our lineup is average (sorry, not great, check out runs scored), and we're wildly inconsistant. Our middle infield needs an upgrade no matter what management says or thinks. The guys we've got are just not viable starting middle infielders. And then the starting pitching which won't be upgraded via free agency . . .

. . . A miracle of near biblical proportions.

Please do not drink the bong water.

We need to rebuild our pitching staff using one of the following methods and each has it's issues. > Improvement in the current staff - not likely to happen, or be enough to produce a winner. > Depth in the organization/minore - doesn't exist. > Trade - we don't have enough tradeable assets to bring much in return. > Free-Agency - ask yourself "when was the last time the Twins signed a big name FA pitcher?". With declining attendance (revenues) I can see the Pohlads lowering payroll even further. By the time the pitching is up to par we're liable to lose any edge we have in our hitters or relief corps. It's a better gamble to rebuild in my opinion.

You've got to remember that the big knock against college starters is that they have a LOT of mileage on their arms. Taking a reliever limits that quite a bit.

I tend to think it won't last, but he certainly has performed well enough to garner a regular spot in the rotation. We won't really have a solid bead on how well he'll do until he's got several more starts under his belt, but he's started off well, and that's half the battle.

It's pretty clear they don't want him to foul up our pennant run.

It's far too easy to build a solid bullpen via free agency. Trading assets for a closer is a waste. As stated before we need young starting pitching. Then again, the thing the Twins seem to do best is waste resources. And since the last trade of a valueable asset to the Nationals for a relief pitcher went so well, why are we trying to repeat history?

Is this, or is this not, the exact lingering tweener injury scenario that the Twins said they were not going to allow to happen again this year? He should have been DL'd right off of the bat.

I just don't like the idea of trading a position player for a relief pitcher. It's far too easy to build a relief pitching corps in free agency, there's no real reason to give away a player for one.

You don't trade Span for pitching help this year, that's just foolish. This team is going nowhere, and there's no trade that will help us this year. You trade Span for good pitching prospects. We have several OF options coming up and Span has a lot of trade value.

Drew Butera is a wasted bench spot. This team does not have 2 or 3 at bats a week they can afford to throw away.

I think your estimate of 12-20 home runs is a little rosy. I agree with your premise on the Twins lack of power, but I don't believe Clete Thomas is an answer. Power is expensive, in pitching and hitting, and it doesn't fit into the Twins brand of Moneyball.

Carrying a 3rd catcher on the roster is just a waste. It eats up a bench bat that would be used more often than the possibility of needing the 3rd catcher to prevent a pitcher from having to hit (which is a moot point since Butera, Towles and Rivera don't hit much better than a pitcher would anyway). Also Doumit's defense hasn't proven to be too much of a liability in the limited exposure hes had so far this spring. Just say no to Gardy's nooky-blankey third catcher crapola.

"the worst case scenario with only 2 catchers results in the forfeiture of the DH for the remainder of the current game." And really, is letting the pitcher have a couple of at bats really all that much worse then Butera?

I believe (most of the players) are more in need of a foot in the ass than a shoulder to cry on. That foot could swing in the neighborhood of some of the coaches and management also. There's far too much "how do you feel about that?" for guys getting paid as much as they are, and not enough "Cowboy up Nancy boy".

Bingo. How tough was it on Thome?

Exactly. Until he learns to get on base he's a 4th outfielder. Unfortunately carrying Revere, Butera and Nishioka all on the same bench would be an absolute pinch hitting nightmare.