Richie the Rally Goat

really good stuff ,thank you

I enjoyed it as well.

Thanks Thrylos, I'm curious about him as well, and hope he can prove the detractors wrong.

Well said. A good reminder why I keep showing up... Thanks

At least Sano's elbow hasn't fallen off, nor Buxton's hand... JK I have been suspect of the medical staff and the PR that goes with it since "bilateral leg weakness gate". Back to Dre's point... I think he's right, this will be a lower attendance season until this team puts something out there worth paying the price of admission for. The food and drink isn't that great...All we've heard is Sano this, Buxton that, those two are on the shelf for a big chunk or all of this season. That means the Twins need to find a new mechanism for 2014 and 2015 optimism.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Florimon or Dozier traded, depending on how Santana and Rosario do this season. if Rosario comes back from suspension hitting and fielding well, Dozier is valuable and expendable. If Escobar can hit like he did last fall or Santana show the ability to play SS well, Florimon could be a valuable defensive sub for a contender close to trade deadline or in August.

I agree that Bartlett and Kubel preclude the front office from acquiring young talent for a rebuild, and this is indeed far too old of a team to be considered a youthful rebuild. What does AA and AAA look like for major league caliber and ready prospects for each team? I'm not certain, but maybe Chicago had to acquire young players because they had none in their system ready and adequate for the bigs. i think this will be a telling season for the Twins front office. By mid season you could see the full rebuild on.

That's why I think this is more Antony than Gardy.

you mean to tell me that the prank on Pelfrey could possibly be ineffective at "good cop/bad cop" model of team building? There's a reason most managers don't survive three 90 loss seasons in a row, and the ones that do, get fired mid season in their 4th. I'm not on the fire Gardy band wagon. He isn't the GM and can't make his own roster decisions. He can only do his best with Bartlett, which is to make him the fire alarm. He should have a box surrounding him in the dugout that reads "break glass in case of emergency"

I think thats why Antony pitched a fit, and why the Gardy prank on Pelfrey has been much publicized, and why Bartlett and Kubel are on this team. The management is trying to establish new leadership roles. Morneau and Nathan are gone. Vocal leadership isn't exactly Mauer's thing. Who's stepping up? Maybe Bartlett and Kubel are here to mentor new clubhouse leaders, could be Hicks or Perkins.

It has been written several times this season, that this Twins clubhouse is the quietest any of the beat writers has experienced. During Spring Training Rob Antony came out with a fired up speech denigrating lackadaisical players and imploring for someone to please step up and be the man. Is this "The Twins Way"? Is this the new "Twins Way"? Where's the coaching staff in all of this? Where's Joe Mauer? While I'm sure the listed parties provide leadership in their own way, it seems that the front office has taken notice that this type of invocation isn't coming from the individuals closer to the players that need it most. I'm sure we've all seen the prank Gardy pulled on Pelfrey with the aid of Perkins. Is this Good Cop/Bad Cop, or a passing of the guard? Are the M&M boys being replaced by Perkins and/or whom? Who is the standard bearer of "The Twins Way"? What does the Twins Way now look like?

I'm with you Thrylos. At the end of the day, Bartlett is the emergency backup. He isn't going to be on the field much, so I'm not so worked up about him or his position, so much as what he means to the team as a figurehead. Do you think there is something to the notion that the reason Kubel and Bartlett are on this team right now, is to teach the kids "The Twins Way" kind of player life-coaches? I don't have a problem with Kubel or Bartlett so much as what they could represent. If this roster remains somewhat intact throughout this season, I'm disappointed because it points to nostalgia and apathy. Just waiting for reinforcements to arrive in 2016, then 2017... If those two are on this team because management sees them as player coaches, and a significant number of veterans on the opening day roster are planned to be traded (ie, Willingham, Florimon, Plouffe, Dozier, Duensing, Correia) and we successfully see a big youth movement this season, I'm all for it.

If I were GM, not certain how realistic, but here goes... Trade Correia, Willingham, and Duensing to the Bluejays for Colby Rasmus. Resign Rasmus for as close to 3 years 25 mil as i could get move Hicks to Left keep Rasmus in center make Arcia every day DH make Parmelee RF put Deduno in Correia's spot in the rotation. bring up Tonkin and Hoffman to fill out the bullpen. If I were manager... Lineup Rasmus CF Dozier 2b Mauer 1b Arcia DH Plouffe 3b Parmelee RF Pinto C Florimon SS Hicks LF Escobar Util Presley 4th outfielder Colabello PH 1b Suzuki C Rotation Nolasco Hughes Pelfrey Deduno Gibson bullpen Perkins Fien Burton Theilbar Tonkin Swarzak Hoffman

Thanks Nick, I'm trying to be more in the optimist camp and less in the pessimist camp, but man it's rough. Gibson being in the starting rotation, and the possibility of Hicks, Pinto and Arcia being starters helps, but the big names are further away than I'd like.

He has the nastiest stuff of a Twins pitcher for three innings. Better off in the bullpen for him and the team

If Plouffe gets traded, who do you see filling his cleats? Waring looked good in ST (not that it matters) as a AA player. I think 8 is dead on, but with the low obp of the team, the dingers will be solo

Sounds familiar... Thanks for the update Thrylos. I'm trying to be optimistic for the season, but your report confirms my memory of last year. Bad defense, bad offense.

Of third basemen, corner outfielders, and first basemen with the big league club I trust Mauer the most to play consistently good defense and offense, more than Arcia, Plouffe, Willingham, Parmelee, or Colabello. The Twins started this season with Mauer at first presumably because Sano is/was the third basemen of the future, and Mauer had played first in the past, it was an easy transition with no real immediate candidates for the position coming up through the minors. No one knows what the future holds for Sano. He may come out of TJ surgery just like the kid from "The Rookie" and magically able to throw 100 mph, but we do know is best case scenario, he comes back ready to play for spring training 2015, and maybe not until mid way through the season, and maybe (though highly unlikely) never plays again. He wasn't a lock to come up to the bigs at any point this season, and now being out of baseball for 6 - 18 months, he's going to need to ease back into things. I'd look for Sano to be major league ready in 2016. Now the question becomes would you rather have Colabello/Parmellee at first than Plouffe at third? Or Colabello/Parmellee at first than Willingham in LF or Arcia in RF. i think Mauer could become a defensive upgrade over all of the other options, I don't trust Colabello/Parmellee to hit well enough over a season to justify the shift. What if Mauer negotiated that the only way he would get out from behind the plate is if he went to first?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1997938-blueprint-for-building-an-elite-farm-system-in-todays-mlb Excellent read and I think does a good job of explaining player development processes from Radcliff of the Twins and the player development manager of the Angels.

Thanks AJ good stuff

In 2017 the Twins will have a very good deal if Perkins stays healthy and remains effective.

Wouldn't it be nice for Escobar to carry a .300 batting average as the lead off hitter and starting SS? Not certain it's very likely...

This was a terrible baseball team from 1993 to 2001 and the league threatened to take the team away from ownership and fans (rumor substantiated by media but not admitted to by the league) and now we have target field. Contractually the ownership owes the tax payers a baseball team, nothing more. if the ownership wants to remain profitable, it owes the fans a competitive team, year in and year out, and making the playoffs with some success in them every few years. I dream of watching the a Twins in another World Series, and I think it's possible in 2016 or 2017 if TR can pull it together and some luck.