Doomtints

Coup is a great little game.

What DON'T the Twins see in Tyler Kinley?

I'm sort of the opposite. I didn't think it was a huge problem at first (I like the idea of a strong veteran presence), but the more I look at it, the more I think this was pointless. The Twins still have a lot of holes to fill with pitching. "Outrage" isn't the right word, but I'm a bit puzzled. But of course we'll see what happens.

Wait And See Approach Sigh.

*only

Minnesota was in on Drew Smyly until the end, per Wolfson, before Smyly chose to sign with the Cubs. Minnesota gave an identical two-year, $10MM guarantee to Michael Pineda instead. BIZARRE.

The Twins have a couple of competent bench players who are comfortable in the role. Let's trade one off and get a player who can yield a boomstick.

I noticed two things: - Rodney has a 7.3 bWAR over the course of his 14+ year career. - The Twins are paying him more than double what he made last season, when including the "easily attainable incentives." There is no way the Twins paid market rate for this guy, this is an overpay and was a terrible early move for a guy who would still have been available in three months. OK he's a vet and can mentor young guys, but the team needs players to pitch the ball too. I put a lot of value in vet presence and mentoring, but this move doesn't make sense if he becomes the closer during the regular season. The Twins won't make the playoffs in 2018 if Rodney is their closer.

Fernando Rodney.

The truth might be more simple. They didn't protect Burdi because he is injured and were surprised they lost him. They added Kinley as the nearest comp they could find upon losing Burdi. Luke Bard is the one I don't understand. The dude looks ready to go to me. Bard may be the elite set up guy the Twins are lacking. It was a no brainer that Bard would be taken if not protected.

They are paying him close to $12M anyway, this isn't an arm injury, and he should be back before the end of the season. The Orioles would be crazy to cut him for no return. I can literally think of no team that would ever do this.

Any grad student will tell you that you use second hand sources at your own peril. KLaw is what he is, the glossy magazine talent of the baseball prospect business. He's good to get a survey-level overview, he's a bad source for details.

KLaw is figuring out the hard way that the more he makes projections, the more wrong he is, and people are starting to see it and realize he's not a great resource for prospect ratings. I like his profiles on minor league players but his projections/ratings on those players are worthless. He has no first-hand knowledge, but he's as good of a "Second hand" source as one can get. He has value, but the value is just not what some people think it is.

Baker pitched well for the Cubs. Two of the three games he pitched for them over the course of his contract were among the best of his career.

To be honest, none of the big free agent pitchers fit the profile of a Twins pitcher ... and the new FO has done nothing yet to show they are changing that profile. The new FO so far has been into giving old guys new shots to perform ... but Ryan was no stranger to his either....

They probably didn't protect him because they thought no one would select him. In most years they probably would have been right. Is Burdi the next Rincon or Romero? I doubt it, so I wouldn't worry about it all that much.

If you are bringing in a pitcher who is wild and can touch 100 mph, is Castro the guy you want back there?

Meh, if they don't matter then don't do it. Rule 5 picks matter more than other minor league pick-ups because they gobble up roster spots.

When Matt Kemp skyrocketed in 2011, he surprised everybody. He sustained his run long enough to get some really nice pocket change. Can he still be good? Sure. Is he worth the salary now? Puh-lease! He would be a good asset for a midseason trade for a team who needs him to take things to the next level in the playoffs. Otherwise, no. The Dodgers probably took him back simply because they're already paying him $3.5M a year anyway. Note that this is pretty much what the Twins were wanting for Dozier last year.....

Isn't it usually the Vikings that do a winter meltdown?

Escobar stepped up ... up to average. The Twins have him under contract for 3 more years. Let it roll.

"Cheap in prospects" is relative. The Twins undervalue Vargas, for example. They can simply package up who they don't want. ...but I think the Twins feel good with their C situation as it is.

I don't want to digress this too far, but to answer your last question, we are American citizens, and we have a say in taxation and spending. If a "millionaire" chooses to contribute to infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.,), they will be toll roads/toll bridges. If a "millionaire" chooses to contribute to education, it will be to higher education or private education. Sure, there are exceptions, but not many. I see where your proclivities are (and I know changing your view would be impossible), but if you ever find yourself in Chicago I can take you to some parties with this privileged class and you will learn quickly that they are not interested in helping people outside of their class -- and they have learned how to determine if someone is in their class within 2 minutes of talking to them. Unless you can work your way through their coded language, you will have a lot of people walk away from you in mid-sentence, sometimes calling you stupid to your face before doing so!

I feel like the Vikings are about to go on a 1970s-like run where they dominate the league for a few years. (But, bear in mind, they never won a championship in that era....) They look a hell of a lot like the 2000 Ravens right now, and I think they can beat anybody in the NFC. What worries me is Pittsburgh, I think they could beat the Patriots too. I don't follow the Wolves or the Wild.

Except I don't live in Minnesota. Look at Darvish's history. He has played one full season, every other year has seen him riding the pine due to injury.