Monkeypaws

Well it does also work well if they want to resign him, because of those 5/10 rights and the fact they won't need to come within a percentage of his previous salary: if I've been reading correctly. I could really get behind this Pirates team.

Move over M M boys, we got the P P boys now!

Do they still publish this? I still have the 2008 and 2009 versions. Those were great reads/reference tools. I haven't seen them in bookstores in a few years though.

I think the rankers will look at Berrios' second half, then his size, and say "told ya so."

I don't fault Ryan for asking for the player he wanted. Hard to say what the Oriole's counter-offer was, unless i missed that. 2013 Willingham has been a shadow of last year's version, but I am hopeful a combination of good health and the incentive of upcoming free-agency may lead to a nice rebound next year, increasing his value.

Thank god for Correia - how bad would it look without him?

No sir! You say it's only the money that matters, I beg to differ. He'll be filthy rich wherever he signs. You make it sound like all the Twins have to do is want him, make him a big offer, and it's a done deal. I doubt it. I believe free agents are usually looking for a combination of things: money of course; but also the chance to win. It also depends on the number of suitors, location, relationships, etc. I just have a hard time imagining a guy hitting Free Agency for the first time, who is a pretty good player and will likely have lots of offers, who has no obvious ties to the area, who has played on a winning team his whole career, deciding to choose this Twins team, with 2 perhaps 3 90 loss seasons in a row and no prospect of immediate improvement as his dream destination. The guy will be 30 in September - he doesn't have time to wait for Sano, Buxton and company. Just being realistic. The Twins need to return to relevance to attract this type of player.

Why would Ellsbury sign here? Going from a powerhouse that spends freely to a doormat that does not? Makes no sense to me to even think it is in the realm of possibility.

What do the Orioles have a surplus of on the farm?

Nice write-up. It seems there are always a few guys for one reason or another end up making it where there more heralded brethren do not.

I was at that Twins Royals game as well - 8 perfect innings, so close. I wish Baker well.

That is incredible and somewhat depressing to think a modest and meaningless winning streak at this point could move this team near the top half of the MLB standings. BTW, notice how Morneau's production is drying up as we approach another trade deadline? If he stays, expect a spike in September's numbers.

How fast is Boyd's highly regarded fastball?

The rebuild will only come as far as starting pitching and clutch hitting will take it. Until they find guys that can do those two things, they will stink.

I was looking at BJ Upton's numbers yesterday, eerily similar to those of Hicks, worse even, except he makes 13-17 million and will do so through 2017. Upton .182/8 HR/21 RBI/11 SB/128K in 330 ABs. Hicks .192/8 HR/27 RBI/9 SB/84 K in 281 ABs. There was a month or so Hicks appeared to have figured it out. I'm hopeful he will rebound to at least major league average next season. It could be worse!

Does this kid project to be a contender for future batting titles? Or is he more of an all-around guy with a mixture of pop and average?

There is something wrong about this statement ....

Yeah, I think a rested and healthy Hicks might be a good idea for 2014.

Hard to compare, when Span didn't even make it to the bigs until he was 24. Hicks arguably had the best season as a 22 year old of the three of them. He showed flashes of being a solid center fielder and hitter this season. In retrospect, some time at AAA at the start of the season would have probably done him good.

I do remember reading something about how Perkins was into advanced metrics, and even applied some of that knowledge on the mound.

Fair enough, especially if you get additional production. Still, if we bemoan the millions thrown away on Blackburn, and for some Correia, yet somehow this flies.

Maybe he should become a pitching coach, because he sure has a few clues on what that entails.

Thanks for the post - like Neyer. It is from 2010 though. That the Twins were thriving was a tip-off

Touche! Still, Morneau's contract topped out at what, 14 mil? Mauer got the big bucks because he is an elite catcher. If you take New York out of the equation, he is still the 2nd highest paid guy after Cliff Lee.

I see this again and again on the forums. Would someone please post where they read that the entire Twins organization ignores this information? I'd be satisfied with just a Terry Ryan Ron Gardenhire expose. Thanks.