Mike h

The thing about a first baseman is he doesn't need to run like an outfielder, he doesn't need the arm of a third baseman, he doesn't need the reflexes of a middle infielder, and if he hasn't trained as a catcher he can't just slot in there either. So 1B is the only place left. Which is no disgrace. You could carve out a Hall of Fame career playing there. Harmon Killebrew played there. Every MLB player is a gifted athlete with incredible talent. Still, playing 1B well requires special practice, like scooping errant throws out of the dirt and charging in for bunts. I assume our potential 1B players are getting daily reps practicing those things. Regarding Miranda's defense at 3B, I think he'll be fine. Didn't Derek Jeter make something like 40 errors in one year? They stuck with him though and the rest is history. The Twins had a young 3B named Craig Nettles, who they traded to the Yankees. Calvin G, the owner at the time, had commented that Nettles was 500 ground balls away from (being a ML 3B? From being any good? Sorry, I don't remember the exact ending, but this is the gist of it.) Nettles went on to have a great career, but it took some patience for him to develope. If the Twins are patient with Mirandai think he will develop into a better defensive 3B as well. Some of us want him to be a finished product right now, and if hest not, then we want him to sit or be traded. I say keep him, let him play, and we'll be rewarded. Edit: Nettles was traded to Cleveland, then they traded him to the Yankees. Sorry about my error.

The thing about a first baseman is he doesn't need to run like an outfielder, he doesn't need the arm of a third baseman, he doesn't need the reflexes of a middle infielder, and if he hasn't trained as a catcher he can't just slot in there either. So 1B is the only place left. Which is no disgrace. You could carve out a Hall of Fame career playing there. Harmon Killebrew played there. Every MLB player is a gifted athlete with incredible talent. Still, playing 1B well requires special practice, like scooping errant throws out of the dirt and charging in for bunts. I assume our potential 1B players are getting daily reps practicing those things. Regarding Miranda's defense at 3B, I think he'll be fine. Didn't Derek Jeter make something like 40 errors in one year? They stuck with him though and the rest is history. The Twins had a young 3B named Craig Nettles, who they traded to the Yankees. Calvin G, the owner at the time, had commented that Nettles was 500 ground balls away from (being a ML 3B? From being any good? Sorry, I don't remember the exact ending, but this is the gist of it.) Nettles went on to have a great career, but it took some patience for him to develope. If the Twins are patient with Mirandai think he will develop into a better defensive 3B as well. Some of us want him to be a finished product right now, and if hest not, then we want him to sit or be traded. I say keep him, let him play, and we'll be rewarded.

Yes, it was Maddox I was thinking of. Thank you for the correction.

So what I'm reading is Varland can pitch- proving it by working his way up from a 15th round draft choice, up through all levels of the minor leagues, winning pitcher of the year award, having a successful major league debut - but he can't pitch, because he lacks real heat and his secondary pitches are not good enough. Well, I'll take his results. I would keep putting him out there until his results say he can't pitch. There was a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves (John Smoltz?) who got great results despite throwing "soft". There is more to pitching than throwing fast. Whatever that is, Varland has it. I hope the Twins will consider his results after spring training, instead of holding on to the preconceived idea that he can't pitch because analytics say so.

I agree with Doctor Gast that Maeda belongs in the BP to start the season. Coming back from TJ surgery, giving him too much too soon could hurt rather than help his recovery. Build him up slowly. Set him up for success. But as for candidates for having pitches tweaked, that's a hard question for a casual fan because I think we need to see a lot of data to discover trends. Generally though, I'd say EVERY pitcher should should have a thorough end-of-year review where all those numbers are analyzed. Let's not underestimate the value of having a catcher who calls a good game. And let's say we have a two-pitch pitcher- it's important that he moves the ball around. Up, down, in, out. Avoiding the middle. Not afraid to throw inside. Well, every pitcher needs to do this, but especially the two-pitch guys.

What if the SF doctors are right? What if CC will break down sooner or later due to whatever condition is now "known"? With guaranteed money this contract is much too large for any fiscally responsible team. IMO the Twins not only dodged a bullet, they dodged a bomb. On the other hand, what if the SF doctors are wrong? What? Really? Of course I'm not a doctor, but to me, it seems this is not a black or white case of he is broken/he is not broken (or all doctors would be in agreement) but more he is likely to break, which is debatable. But say CC is fine, and the doctors are wrong, how/why could that be? Could it be that the SF FO has buyers remorse? They found out how much they overpaid and want out of the agreement? This mean they would have to collude with the doctors to find a way. This is not an accusation, merely a wild thought. But wild situations lead to wild thoughts. Bottom line: the possibility that CC might have a medical issue makes me glad the Twins did not sign him to a mega deal, and if they Mets also fail him I would only take him on a non-guaranteed, performance based contract.

I cringe every time I read that so-and-so could be a DH. Sure. EVERYBODY could be a DH. Even the weakest hitter on the team. But why would you do that? Typically a DH is a player with a good bat, often with some power, but can't crack the lineup because his defense isn't as good as somebody else. This is not Joey Gallo. He plays because of defense and power potential, and his poor contact has to be tolerated. The twins can't afford such a poor contact hitter in the lineup. The below average pitching that we have requires the offense to be above average. This signing didn't help the offense and that's why I don't like it.

If other teams are interested in getting Kepler, and he and Gallo are basically the same player, why didn't they just sign Gallo? Kepler's contract is only $2.5m less which is virtually no difference. And it wouldn't have cost them the SP or any other player the Twins would want. So my conclusion is, there is no real interest in Kepler; he has hardly any trade value, the Twins will simply give him away in a package with our more valuable players. I'd rather keep him.

So Gallo at his best hit 38 HR. Kepler once hit 36. Both have declined since, Gallo more so, in terms of BA and K's. Could we say both of them are has-beens? Never to regain their form? No, not yet, but Gallo is teetering on the edge of falling out of MLB unless he makes a good comeback. Considering his lifetime BA is .199, how far could we realistically expect him to come back? Come on, his entire career has averaged below the Mendoza Line. If any of our minor league players had his stats and profile ( a 199 hitter but with power, average speed and good glove) he wouldn't even get an invite to spring training. We already have rookies who profile better than that. For those who are concerned about rookie defense, read Tony Olivia's autobiography. He went from not making the team because of poor defense (in spite of a fantastic offensive audition) to gold glove winner. And batting champion. And Hall of Famer. And it almost didn't happen because he couldn't play defense. He worked his tail off to get better and he should be an inspiration to any rookie needing to overcome deficiencies.

To those few who think Gallo offers better defense than Kepler, have you watched Kepler? He is an outstanding RF, it is his strength, it's why he on the team. He may not be Roberto Clemente but he is as good as it gets right now. Unfortunately, he has lost his mojo at the plate. So now we replace him with a .199 lifetime hitter??? Left field? We have better options in house. Not all of the rookies will fail. In fact, any and all of them could hit .199! And not strike out 40% of the time! This signing says they just want to field a team, not to win. Are you reading this Joe Polad?

I have so many more things to say but my heading is spinning over this stupidity. What were.....how do.....why would.....,??? I really really want to see what Falvey has to say about this. I can't imagine any behind the scenes scenario that will make him look good. Well, it's "only" $11m. But it's not just how MUCH you spend, it's HOW you spend it. There is now $11m less to dedicate to a legitimate need. What a waste!

Falvey just reached into Polads pocket, pulled out $11m and flushed it down the drain. This is insane. No other GM in the history of baseball would have made this signing, given this roster.

Did SF skyrocket their offer because there was another, better offer than the Twins? Can't say for sure if course but I doubt it. Remember Correa's quote about shopping at the Dior store? In essence he said if you want something you simply pay the price. So I bet he and Boras simply said it would cost $360M. SF maybe blinked a couple times but never gulped, and then said OK.

First off, I would not pencil in Maeda for the rotation. He is in year one of his recovery from TJ surgery, and it is my observation that most pitchers are merely shells of their former selves until year two. He may be the exception, and I hope so, but I wouldn't count on him. However, the rest of the rotation is much improved compared to how we started out last year. Secondly, I should think that Miranda is going to get off to a much better start this season. Remember how bad he was for the first two months last year? I'm betting that those rookie jitters or whatever, are out of his system now and we'll see much better results right from the get -go. Thirdly, the catching position has been upgraded tremendously over last year. That drop off, from Garver to Sanchez, was an epic fail. The team never recovered. Now we have one of the top catchers in the league to replace him. Next, the Twins apparently didn't know what they had last year in Arreaz. He wasn't in the line up regularly at the start. But now we know, you have the American League batting champion on the team, and you just don't sit him on the bench. So what if he has to DH? He should play every day. Also, last year we got a peek at Larnach and Wallner at ML level and results were encouraging. Yes, Larnach was injured, but if he is healthy again I think we have our corner outfielders. I try not to wear my rose-colored glasses too often, but I am excited about those guys like I was about Hrebk and Giaetti when they came up. Lastly, I have to mention AK and Royce Lewis. If those two players come back healthy and play anywhere near their potential, well that would just send this team right to the top. Without them, maybe this team would be like the oh, say, the 1984 version of the Twins - young, pretty bad overall, but on the way up. I would not give up on this team.

A couple comments: it seems some people have forgotten that one of the first things the FO did was to hedge their bet against signing one of the top FA shortstops by trading for Kyle Farmer. Initially I was disappointed that they gave up a rising pitcher for a shortstop we wouldn't need after the expected blockbuster signing, but then I learned more about Farmer. His BA was .277 compared to .291 for CC, and he hit fewer HR, but this is not a terrible drop off. Besides that, he apparently was a fan favorite in Cincinnati, a great clubhouse leader, and an all-around great guy. Just the kind of player I like to root for. So I don't think we have a "gaping hole" or a "pressing need" at SS. The payroll budget can be directed at pitching where it will do the most good. I think this was a score for the FO. Regarding the competitiveness of the Twins offer to CC, I think the Twins were looking at what XB just signed for - 11 years and $280M. So they offered 5M more for 1 year less time. That was very competitive and very reasonable. Who could have known that SF would go crazy and push it way over 300M? Even so, matching that offer would have been irresponsible considering the other teams' needs. Not matching that offer was another score for the FO. Also, the FO may have seen that Trea Turner turned down $42M more from another team in order to sign where he wanted to go. It may seem unbelievable that a player would turn down that much money, but then money isn't everything. Wasn't there maybe a chance CC would also turn down extra millions to stay where he liked it so much? I don't blame the FO at all for how this was handled. Which takes me to my last comment. Did CC really play the Twins? We're his comments about liking the team and his teammates just a ploy? Was he smart enough to set that up from the beginning, trying to create the impression that it would take a boatload of money to pry him away from this wonderful place? Maybe not, but what about his agent? Were we set up? I think it's far-fetched, and I don't believe it. But the way I feel about CC right now I kinda WANT to believe it.

You're kidding, right? These are exactly the kind of players that we don't want. If we're shopping for experienced ML players instead of promoting from within, then we want tried and true players, not tried and failed players. This strategy of scraping the bottom of the barrel for reclamation projects is overused and doesn't generally work out. Let's shop at the Dior store!

Haven't seen smeltzer's name come up. He's been on for some nice stretches, I'm hoping he can figure out how to maintain that consistently. Especially since he's a lefty. Btw, l know some posters have said that it really doesn't matter whether a pitcher is right or left handed, but it seems to me that it does matter to some hitters. And I think that if a batting order gets a steady diet of right handers, they get too comfortable. I think a couple lefty staters keeps them a little off balance.

Best article I've read all year.

Top three reasons the Twins tanked: Pagan, Pagan, Pagan. He has displaced Ron Davis as the most reviled relief pitcher in Twins history, in my mind. And that's saying something. Otherwise, the FO has made many curious decisions. Seltzer had a fantastic spring but couldn't make the roster. When he was finally called up he continued his excellence at least for a little while. Think of him in the bullpen to start the season. Taking in Sanchez might have been necessary to complete that trade, but keeping him was not. I've heard he was known as the worst catcher in all MLB, and it seems the twins were satisfied with that. I guess we'll never know how hard the Twins tried to get a top ranked minor league catcher, but it was a fail. Others have mentioned Buxton batting lead off. That's a hard spot to get rbi's, and as a slugger, he should have been moved to a spot where his hits would have meant more. Call ups for September? ,Billy Hamilton? That's what they thought would give them the best advantage? Terrible thinking. I would like to hear the reasoning why every other candidate for promotion was turned down , leaving Hamilton as the top choice. Check out who was on the bench last week or so: Hamilton, Hamilton, Leon, Kepler, for example. That has to be MLB worst. Absolutely not acceptable for a team pushing down the home stretch, and again, that's on the FO, not the players

Benjamin Franklin said necessity never makes a good bargain. He was not talking about baseball trades but it applies. The Twins had a glaring need for a pitcher and they had to overpay. To avoid this situation don't get caught in a position where you are desperate. I know- easier said than done.

The reason Baldelli stays is because he and the FO are tight, from what I've heard. Apparently they think alike. Which in any employer/employee relationship is usually desired. So firing Baldelli would be an indictment on the FO themselves. Instead, I can see them blaming and firing all the coaches if the Twins don't win the division. The reason Baldelli goes is because you can't can't fire the whole team, as the expression goes. This team seems to lack passion or a will to win, IMO. The team is looking for someone to inspire them, to lead them....could that be.....a manager? Is there, or could there be, a stat to measure wins above replacement level for a manager? (OMG, why do I ask that? I HATE those kind of stats!) But maybe there might be some value in quantifying the moves/non-moves a manager makes. Then our subjective opinions wouldn't mean so much. Final thought: IMO, a manager does very little to contribute to a win, but can do a lot to cause a loss. So successful managing basically means just don't mess up. An example of what I mean is if a situation calls for a pinch hitter, who comes in and delivers a hit, who gets the credit, the player or the manager? But if no PH was inserted, who gets the blame? Or when a struggling pitcher is left in the game and gets out of the jam, who gets the credit? The pitcher of course. But if the pitcher falters, who gets the blame? The manager, for not pulling him. If I am interviewing for a manager at I'd look for one with a crystal ball.

My dead grandma is a better option than Pagan. No, seriously, I would rather see Gordon, or Kepler, or Correa, or Buxton, or... You get the idea. Yes, I know, position players can't pitch anymore except in certain situations, but I'm just trying to make a point. ANYBODY other than Pagan!

Yeah, I'm really worried about him because he's from a cold weather state. Many such disadvantaged players could have achieved so much more if only they had been raised in the south. Players like Joe Mauer, Paul Monitor, Dave Winfield, Kent Hrbek, Jack Morris, Glen Perkins, Dave Goltz come to mind off the top of my head. Oh, Justin Morneau was from.....Canada! So I'd say there's a chance, just a small one, that Miller could overcome the odds that the cold-weather gods have stacked against him.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

In mho, I think Kiriloff could be better than "very good". Not Kirby Puckett good, but probably Kent Hrbek good or Justin Morneau good. I see a career of 200+ HR with 280 BA for Kiriloff, and I think that's too much to give up for any of the available pitchers. In mho. I realize that as a prospect there are no guarantees (there aren't any for anybody, actually) which makes trading POTENTIAL for a proven all-star caliber ace, which I assume we are looking for, a very risky proposition. So perhaps I am valuing him more than others see him, but sometimes you're right and sometimes you're wrong. I'm just one guy, just a fan, not pretending to be anything else, not smarter than anyone else. Just my opinion