Blake

I have to think that Justin is gone at the trade deadline, providing, of course, the Twins are out of contention at that time...(fortunately, one can type such a thing and not worry about keeping a straight face.) Hopefully, Justin has a good year, increasing his trade value.

Who the hell would trade for Correia? JR can't trade to himself. Notice I also said "Twins are out of contention in April, I mean, June..." It was just a bit of tongue-in-cheek, trying to make sense of the senseless in a senseless way.

On another note, if you're a decent pitcher, would you really want to pitch for a team with a suspect defense? As of right now, the infield defense is marginal and the only known quantity in the outfield is Willingham and Willingham is not exactly web gem material.

Maybe this is a trade deadline signing? Correia has an okay year, the Twins are out of contention by the end of April, I mean, June, another team in contention needs someone to fill a hole in the rotation and the Twins move Correia. (Yeah, I know, I'm reaching)

Mauer for Ellsbury.

I think the market and the market will force the Twins to blow up the team and start from scratch. By that I mean teams are signing players to outlandish contracts while it is very evident we're headed into another recession. When revenue starts dropping, how do these teams expect to cover expenses? From a financial standpoint, I fully expect the Twins to move as much of their high priced talent as they can, for as many players as they can get, in order to better position themselves for the future. Being a Twins fan for the next few years probably won't be any fun. Very likely, Diamond will turn into the Brad Radke of this decade.

Jim, there is another possibility that is being ignored. There are signs the economy is sliding back into recession. I suspect Twins management is probably caught on the horns of a dilemma from a financial standpoint. Suppose the team makes some expensive moves and manages to get in contention, but people just don't have the money to attend games? Were I the Twins, I'd be crunching a lot of numbers, trying to figure out if the decline in attendance can be completely attributed to putting a bad product on the field.

I concur. Watching the Twins take three out of four in Boston then crushing Cleveland has been fun.

Parker, I forgot to mention, thanks for the reply. The Twins all of a sudden seem to have some extra pieces, something I wouldn't have said earlier in the year.

Parker, then there is the joker in the deck, Darin Mastroianni. Does Mastroianni project as a starter or a fourth outfielder/late inning defensive replacement? On another note, the Twins recent run doesn't seem to be like the usual end of the season "show them we're ready for next year" type of thing. It's almost like the team is on the verge of turning the corner. It seems very different than the tailspin of last year.

Parker, what if the Twins decide they like Morneau's bat for another year? Would it be out of the question to put Parmalee in the outfield? Would it make more sense to trade Denard Span, move Revere to center with Parmalee in right?

Mike, the outfielders in the minor leagues are unproven at the MLB level. I expect the Twins understand that if they don't make a good trade this year, they will have to sign a couple of big name free agent starters in the off season. If signing a couple of FA pitchers doesn't work next year, the team is blown up at the trade deadline and the Twins start over for 2014. I think blowing up the team this year is one year too soon.

If a team is willing to trade a starting pitcher straight up for a position player, best look closely at the pitcher or the player. (There's a reason why Tampa was willing to trade Delmon for Garza) Anyway, Span is very good at his position and is on track to play how many games this year? Versus how many games a starting pitcher will pitch in a year? Starting position players should never be traded straight up for a starting pitcher. An even worse trade is Span straight up for a minor league pitcher. Doesn't matter how highly rated the pitcher is, still not an established starter, unlike Span.

"If' it's tough to catch, it's probably hard to hit." Classic line.

Alexi Casilla Additionally, does anyone believe Matt Capps, Carl Pavano, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Alexi Casilla will be returning next year? Granted, Nishioka isn't in the Majors, but, doesn't that clear another spot on the 40 man? If Casilla and Nishioka are gone after this year, it only makes sense to fill one of the roster spots with an infielder. And, I suspect there is a chance Blackburn is gone after this season. At some point, the team is just going to have to cut ties and eat some salary.

Liriano goes to Texas because Texas doesn't want to deal with Greinke's mental issues. I suspect Greinke would rather not have to deal with the Texas market. I also think Texas will avoid Greinke because they already have enough trouble riding herd on Josh Hamilton. I think Liriano would benefit greatly pitching under the likes of Nolan Ryan. Because I've a perfect track record with my predictions, I'm quite sure I'm wildly wrong.

I was having fun with this until I looked over at Gameday and noticed Gardy managed his way out of a win. How may pitches had Diamond thrown until he was pulled?

jm3319...considering what's gone on before, you're an optimist, aren't you?

Comparing this year's Twins with last year, last year, the Twins had 0 out of 4 when it comes to fielding a winning team. Starting pitching: terrible. Defense: mediocre on a good day. Bullpen: awful. Offense: offensive. This year the Twins arguably have three out of the 4 elements that make up a winning team. Starting pitching: Terrible, but with a couple of bright spots. Defense: acceptable to good. Bullpen: Very good. Offense: good to very good. Considering the above, what pieces can be moved and not be missed? With the current state of the roster and no help available in Rochester to replace position players, I tend to think the Twins don't make a trade unless it's a team making a "win now no matter what the cost" trade. Perhaps Morneau can be traded, but, beyond Morneau, (I'm dreaming of a Morneau for Billingsley trade) I don't see anyone on the roster, that, if moved, won't create a hole that will be hard to fill. My suspicion is that Terry Ryan stands pat, unless offered a kings ransom, and attacks the free agent pitching market in the off season.* Of course, there's always the minor problem of players regressing next year. (Plouffe, anyone?) *any and all offers for Liriano should taken seriously.

Jim, I agree. No matter what, salary is coming off the books next year. Unless the Twins get a really good offer, no reason to start dumping. I tend to think Mr. Ryan is going to go after a marque free agent pitcher next year, if the Twins are unable to trade for some top quality help the rotation next year prospects. (Liriano may very well stick around next year, if Ryan signs a top of the rotation pitcher)

Nick, thanks for the answer, much appreciated.

Scott Diamond had an interesting interview with Dick and Bert. Diamond mentioned that getting first strike is very important, because batting average tends to drop off dramatically with an 0-1 count. I thought Diamond said MLB average is something like .185 after a 1 pitch strike, but A. I'm not sure I remember correctly and B. under .200 seems like a suspect number. Any of you stats people able to confirm that I heard correctly or that my memory just isn't what it used to be?

Talk about putting the Twins in a difficult position. They either offer Liriano 11 million after this year or spend twice that on a free agent pitcher. And I cannot see the Twins really getting anything for Liriano unless he pitches lights out from now until the trade deadline.

What about the possibility the Twins offer Liriano a contract at the end of the season and let him walk? Wouldn't the Twins then be eligible for compensation pick in the MLB draft? Also, it appears the Twins have some decent pitchers, but do not have that one starting workhorse that sets the tone. With the core of every day players currently on the roster and the salary that will be gone next year, I would think the Twins will take a long hard look at the free agent pitching market. Yeah, it goes against everything the Twins normally do, but isn't Willingham's contract already a signal that the Twins FO just might do things a little differently? (I have to wonder if the Twins are waiting until some salary comes off the payroll before spending any more money on free agent.) I cannot see the Twins trading any position players currently starting, unless it is a Pierzynski type of trade, because the Twins don't have anyone that can fill the void.

John, I believe there is an old axiom about baseball that says that if a team is .500 at All Star break, anything can happen. Anyway, if the Twins are a .500 team at All Star, I suspect the Twins become buyers, if they can get a front line pitcher. However, I think the Twins will also weigh short term interests against the long term. I don't think the Twins will give up the farm for a rental arm. Which takes me to my second thought..I think the Twins are really on the horns of a dilemma. The Twins, as you pointed out in another post, have what appears to be an excellent core of position players that should be enable the team to win over the next few years, if the starting pitching comes around. But, can the Twins afford to give up any of the core players for anything less than a haul of front line prospects? I just don't see it happening for less than several pitching prospects. (Calvin Griffith, if memory serves, always said you never trade position players straight up for a pitcher, because position players are every day players, whereas pitchers pitch once every 5 days) I think the Twins stand pat this year (Liam Hendricks is waiting in the wings) and let a lot of salary go (Capps, Pavano, Marquis, Liriano) and do something they're not known to do: go after a top of the line free agent starting pitcher. Of course, I can see the Twins completely blowing up the team if this team doesn't play at least .500 ball this year.