Monkeypaws

Agreed - Apart from Zoilo, Gagne, and Smalley, this is the norm for the Twins at SS.

Gardy isn't a great manager, but he is a good one. What he's lacked are the alphas that Kelly benefited from: Puckett, Morris, Viola, Gaetti, Hrbek; those guys wanted to kick your ass. Gardy has had Santana and Hunter; the MM boys are good players, but they lack the fire Kelly's boys had - add Gladden, Bruno, etc. to that list. Hopefully Ryan can build that kind of team again.

I'd settle for a pitcher that was merely decent in return; there aren't many Twins starters that are even decent, let alone spectacular.

What is Slama's strikeout pitch?

I guess I'm surprised that they expected more out of him than that. It is a kind of back-handed compliment.

Francona

Why do you care what the Pohlads spend their dough on? I couldn't care less. Looking at what Boston got back, I'm glad the Twins kept Justin. I'd like to see him get a reasonable extension and spend his entire career as a Twin. If the Twins want to keep him, they should work on it now, because Morneau will have a big season next year. Loyalty is often thrust upon the player as a responsibility, how about management taking a turn? Justin could age gracefully into full time DH duties, and provide a good bat in the middle of the lineup for years to come. I was being sarcastic. Sorry - my sarcasm detectors aren't finely tuned to this site yet - newb.

Lester is a left-handed stud on a ****ty team right now. I would welcome him as a one on one trade with any Twin right now. 28 year old power lefties don't grow on trees.

Keep good contracts, like Willingham. Xesu Kristu, that production for 7 million a year?! If you want tot trade that, you are in complete rebuild mode, and have no sense of how feasible "worst to first" is, especially in the AL Central. Keep essential veterans who "play the game the right way," and I s&*t you not. I like the classic Twins ball. Morneau. Reduce overload, i.e. toolsy outfielders: Span would be the most easily replaced player on the roster. Outfield is the only surplus the Twins have as an organization. Look there first. Sign 1-2 golldamn pitchers with talent; for every Pavano, there are endless faceless rabble - relying on a lucky strike is a poor management scheme. The starting pitching is job 1. Hey Boston is dumping outfielders, let's see a deal around Lester and Span +.

Wow, I could see them dealing Lester, but Ellsbury and Bucholz makes no sense to me. What are they gonna build around without those guys, or Pedroia? Does Valentine have so much power he can get everybody traded? I'd love to see the Twins grab Lester: just what the doctor ordered.

Why do you care what the Pohlads spend their dough on? I couldn't care less. Looking at what Boston got back, I'm glad the Twins kept Justin. I'd like to see him get a reasonable extension and spend his entire career as a Twin. If the Twins want to keep him, they should work on it now, because Morneau will have a big season next year. Loyalty is often thrust upon the player as a responsibility, how about management taking a turn? Justin could age gracefully into full time DH duties, and provide a good bat in the middle of the lineup for years to come.

Exactly - I thought Dozier looked the part of a major league ballplayer when he first came up; by the time he left he had his tail between his legs.

I think at 7 million per this guy is a steal. Mid-30's are still good years; the difference for most folks physically 33 to 36 is minimal. When you start edging near 40 is when the body starts to change, but again, that varies from one person to the next. To me, the Twins for once got lucky and got a free agent who value exceeds his salary; these are guys you keep. They need to find the Willingham and Doumit of pitchers next off-season.

Another guy who's minor league numbers did little to predict his major league numbers was Hunter. Never hit more than 10 homers in a season, or higher than .295 over the course of his development.

Shouldn't it be "sorta deep off season thoughts for the Twins"?

Alexi seems to come through in the clutch more than your average .220 hitter. I'm happy keeping him around at the right price.

The kind of pitchers that can walk batters and succeed are those who are just a tad wild, and with a lively fastball. Two guys that walked a lot of batters, leading the league multiple times, were Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. Now, their fastballs were on a different planet than Deduno's, which is why they are in the hall of fame and Deduno is getting a shot with a cellar dweller at 28. Still, I think Dick and Bert touched on it last night, you can give up walks if they are spread out, and the other team isn't getting a lot of hits along with them. Deduno, for now at least, is proving difficult to hit for opposing batters, which make the walks somewhat less problematic.

I'd say a combination of bad luck - bad scouting - law of averages. Gibson and Wimmers having TJ, well that's probably all 3. Shooter Hunt going wild, nobody predicted it. Adam Johnson, bad scouting. Ryan Mills was a bullet proof prospect on draft day. Bad luck. I think the missing element of Twins pitching prospects is make-up more than anything. I want guys that battle on every pitch, that are mentally tough; you can pitch to contact if you have that, and baseball smarts, another quality I find lacking in a lot of our pitchers. Radke is a good example of what I'm talking about.

His bust belongs right next to Bombo Rivera's in the Twins Hall of colorful failures, although that's probably unfair to Bombo. Maybe Bob Gorinski instead.

Bricktown ballpark is a great little field in the heart of OKC's Bricktown, a pretty decent warehouse district turned entertainment district. Similar setting to Target Field actually. I wouldn't be unhappy to see the Twins AAA club end up there.

First, his defense is amazingly bad. Second, he did sting the ball several times in Cleveland. With a little luck he could have got out of there 3 for 10. Third, I love the photo in the Reusse article - Nishi looks like he a surrounded by soap bubbles. I think I've found my avatar

Count me in - if they can add a dependable starter or two in the off-season, this team could be competitive in the Central as soon as next season.

Me too.

Funny, just today I was thinking that while Alexi never became the star some hoped he would, he has been a fairly useful player over the course of his Twins career.

Just once it would be nice to see both sides do right by the other; Morneau is a good guy, good bat, and he should stay here, but only at a price that makes sense for both sides. That price, unfortunately, would require him to probably leave millions on the table. So it goes in pro sports.