Monkeypaws

Seems everybody has done a 180 on the value of relievers after watching the Royals in the Series the last two years. There was much anger and angst on these very boards when the Twins went over the top with relievers in the draft a couple years ago (failed starters, limited upside, etc.) Now, they are the flavor du jour. What happened? What the Royals did was not without precedent. Remember the nasty boys of Reds fame? Cincinnati won the Series in 90, and their pen was the talk of the town. 91, with all three still there, Randy Myers, Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, the finished 74-88, 5th in the NL West, 20 GB. Many ways to win a game. I’ve seen lots of snipes at Ryan for not spending money on relievers, but he has addressed other needs, catcher, replacing Hunter (his power numbers were decent - admit it), and frankly, the organization has been investing picks into this area for a while now(Billy Bullock anyone?). I’m hopeful that the Twins will actually give some young arms like Burdi and Meyer a chance next season, which to me is better than spending silly money on relief pitching. Developing a solid offense and starting rotation will alway trump the pen IMO. Plus as I posted in the day 2 thread, a fit Perkins, Jepsen, May and a healthy Fien isn't exactly a train wreck. Not that I wouldn’t mind Tony Sipp. ;-)

No doubt - his career only lasted five years.

I'll go with co-Rookie of the Year John Castino: good bat, great glove, bad back.

I'm likely in the minority here, but I think the Twins bullpen could be pretty decent next year if a few things happen: •Perkins pitches well the whole season •Jespen repeats his performance of last season •May gets the 7th inning. •One of the power arms from the minors emerges, like Burdi, or Meyer. •Fien stays healthy and pitches the way he closed out 2015. That could be a decent enough core to get the job done most nights, especially if the starters can go dep and keep these guys from getting overused, None of this is out of the realm of possibility. On a side note: KC's success the last two years has everybody thinking the power bullpen is the only route to the World Series. It's not: there are other ways to win ballgames.

Somehow the term "Lumber Company" makes me thing of Craig Kusick, and Bob Gorinski.

Without listening, what was the stuff on Morneau?

Gotta say this set-up looks better than the catchers who can't hit/catch that have been the backups of late. Marginally better, which IS an improvement.

Interesting read. The video bears out what you are saying quite well.

Compared to draft pick bonuses? Much better ROI likely here. Unless you were being ironic there,,,,

I fail to see how putting Buxton in AAA is going to help him learn to hit MLB pitching. He's already shown he can hit down there. Start him with the Twins, and let him go through the growing pains he needs to go through in order to become the hitter he has the potential to be. It might not be pretty, but he needs to learn on the job. OTOH, didn't he do much better his second time around last season? He may be a quick learner. Not that I wouldn't welcome Revere back. We like our ex Twins around here.

Mature beyond his years Berrios is.

Truth is there are enough middling pitchers in the big leagues that Park will have some success.

Who is Bill Mitchell?

David Bromberg - forgot about him. He looked like he coulda been a good pitcher for sure.

Getting through AA was a big step. I'm also bullish on his future, although I don't believe he will skip AAA.

If they do trade him, it better be for someone good. No more Capps, Hoey hooey.

ABW II - the man helps his teams win. I like that.

I hope nobody picks Jorge. What are the rules for the AAA and AA rule 5?

Hence the big contracts to Nolasco, Hughes, and Santana? Or laying out 12 million to negotiate with Park? I hope my banker is more conservative than TR.

Having a plan and sticking to it isn't being conservative, it's being smart. Look at the Texas Rangers, love to make splashy deals seemingly for the sake of it: Hamilton, Fielder,Hamels ... Where are the WS rings? Cubs are another example, although they've drafted and developed well. SF Giants are doing it right, with a mainly homegrown team, adding here and there when appropriate: THAT'S who the Twins should emulate, and are parallel to some degree - gotta stop wasting dough on marginal free agents. Going out and making big deals and signing fre agents works less often than organizations that have a solid foundation and make only the deals that compliment the core: KC, SF, the good Boston teams, even the Yanks (Jeter, Williams, Rivera, Posada, Petite, all drafted and developed). The Twins are on the right track - trying to rush things by throwing money at it is just wrong, and usually fails. This is based on the assumption that the Twins were a fringe team, not true contenders last season.

I was wondering the same thing as Sane - much easier to stash a guy away on the DL for a good chunk of the season than at the end of the bullpen. Melatokis becomes even more attractive in that light.

For those hell-bent on Wieters, does this affect your opinion of the Murphy deal?

How can anyone say with certainty that Buxton won't have a great spring and jump into the CF spot? Just because some pundit or front office suit thinks that doesn't make it so.

I like the trade - I'd much rather the Twins went for a young catcher with potential, which they did, than trade Rosario, Kepler, or Berrios for a proven commodity. Hicks is what he is - 26 ain't exactly young in baseball terms. He's had chance after chance. Sure, he might go full Papi in NY, but I doubt it. We traded two other 1st round CFs that were better imo, Span and Revere, and the jury is still out on those trades. The odds of this being a mistake are there, but I think adding Murphy will help more than losing Hicks will hurt.

I will be angry if the Twins trade either Rosario or Kepler. I will be sad if they trade Arcia. I'm neutral on Hicks: he looked good by the end of the season, but with Buxton waiting in the wings, he seems least likely to regret trading later.