Monkeypaws

I'd meet you at slightly below average, with a dash of overused on the side. They do have the 3rd most innings tossed in MLB.

Shields may be getting up there in years, and his Ks might be on the decline, but watching him shut down the Tigers last night was a thing of beauty. The guy has an ace mentality. Not sure what it would take in $$ and years, but I'd welcome him to the Twins in a heartbeat.

The more I've gotten to see Kansas City's bullpen, the more I'd lean towards that of the Twins being not necessarily bad, but average. The Royals bullpen is what I hope the Twins will have in a couple years. Their final innings troika is incredible.

From that article, it sounds like Plouffe is well-grounded in reality about his abilities, and works hard to make up for his shortcomings. I like that brand of professionalism.

Very bright future for this heavily used part of the Twins lineup.

I guess if you are gonna stink, stink royally. Buxton, Stewart, and Gordon have been our rewards so far. One more for posterity's sake.

Boy would it be fun to read the vitriol in here were that to happen There are some interesting internal candidates to replace Gardy, no doubt. Mint would be perhaps the most radical choice of the from-runners mentioned here, and for that reason I would like to see it happen. Wake-up call for the Twinkies.

It is a miracle!

Plausible, sensical, but just wrong on so many levels....

When you trade for guys or sign them via free agency, and they go on to have historically bad seasons, like Vanimal, like Nolasco, and now, like Milone, something's gotta give. Maybe Anderson gets some credit, for Hughes, but not necessarily. Our rotation needs a new approach, and letting Anderson go would be a nice first step.

And in World Series, 0-1. Dagnabbit.

Arcia, assumed high level free agent, and who?

Except those who have actually played baseball

One thing I like about ball players, most of them look like ordinary people.

Not sure Ron would make my short list. Mint would be an interesting choice if you want your manager to have some fire in his belly. If you prefer the cerebral approach, then Molitor is your guy. Carew could be a sort of hybrid. Never heard his name as a potential manager. Sadly, all are somewhat internal candidates though.

Good read. I'd add Santana as another guy who generates surprising power with almost no leg kick to speak of.

Regardless of who who you think is #1 now, they both would have been #1 5 years ago; nice problem to have, Berrios, Meyer, plus Stewart, true potential front line guys. When has that ever happened for this team? We ain't talking Mark Redmond, Jason Bell, and Dan Serafini here. Or Baker, Slowey, Blackburn. Or Mills, Johnson, whoever. Add in Gonsalves, Thorpe, maybe Cederoth. This has been a layer of starting pitching the Twins prospect pool has never had in my time, except if you consider Santana -Liriano, but they both seemed to make their case at the major league level. The pen looks to be in good shape for the future as well.

I'm not too worried about Gibson; this is a process, and he seems to be out of gas out of gas at this point. I like him going out there, getting stronger by extending himself. If he can top 160 IP this season, and keep a .500 record, and an ERA under 4.5, I expect he will do better next season. He'll likely never be an ace, but I would like to see the Twins build some continuity in their rotation, and I think he has a place in it as a solid 3-4 guy.

Chargois, yet another power arm to add to the mix. Cool name too.

I hope these recent somewhat head-scratching drafts pay off in creating a true team strength. The way Gardy manages, a lights out bullpen is essential. Looks like the Twins are on the cusp of having one, and some surplus to boot. Of course, Gardy might not be around long enough to see this truly flower.

KV is becoming my fast becoming one of my favorite Twins. He doesn't look out of his element at all.

If the Twins are a Yugo, what does that make the Astros? Or the Indians?

So Long Burton, Duensing, Swarzak, Deduno, Thielbar. Hello ?????

That's easy, trade Mauer

Nice to see some high draft picks scattered throughout this article.