Doomtints

Let's not derail the conversation into something about how NYC/Chicago/DC are just like every other big city in the country. They're not. I'm not talking about the size of the city. You have to spend some time in these cities to fully appreciate the superior public transportation (when the upper class uses the trains, you know they're good), the great food (you don't know how bad restaurants are elsewhere until you explore these cities), etc., etc. There's a reason the upper class hovers around these cities. If Ohtani is "lifestyle shopping" this is where he wants to go. As for LA, LA is the same as any other city in America apart from the weather. Sprawl, sprawl, sprawl. We can take this to a different forum if you want.

Everything I have read about Ohtani, which could be BS, implies that he wants to go to a world-class city. I know many might disagree with this, but the USA really only has three of those -- New York, Chicago, and D.C. The rest of the big cities in the US are urban sprawl, strip malls, and chain restaurants. So if what I have read is correct, there are the 5 teams he could go to, 6 if you throw in Baltimore.

Molitor said on the record that he didn't like a young person like Sano sitting around while the rest of the team did fielding drills. This is why they square-pegged him to the outfield.

bWAR isn't *really* including defense, It takes the average defense for the team and checks to see if the pitcher had better or worse defense behind him than what is usual for that team. It's not granular defense in that pitchers are penalized/awarded for defense, it's an attempt to level the playing field for pitchers.

If you want to solve the problem of pitching, you don't sell off your best* pitcher without someone to take his place immediately, unless you want to prolong your pain.

The headline is a strong statement seeing the the new front office hasn't done anything with pitching yet, not just this offseason but also last offseason. I'm not sure if their two major pitching moves (Jamie Garcia, Bartolo Colon) are currently considered to be elite strikeout pitchers. Ks might be less important to the Twins than for other teams, seeing as they have the best defender in the league in CF. It would be nice if the Twins get some dominant fireballers, but I don't think it's critical to their success. They just need guys who can get hitters out, whether that's by inducing weak hits or striking people out, I don't care.

Today the GOP will vote as to whether or not it's time to start the next Great Depression. I think we know how this will go.

Granite might be one of those guys who hits the ground running when he makes the majors full-time.

By the numbers it's a tough sell. But HOF voters don't necessarily go by the numbers. Santana will get votes, probably a lot of them. Was Santana the best pitcher in the game for a few years? Most who can remember would say yes.

True, but this is the nature of the beast. Many if not most people will always try to view things in a positive light when it comes to their favorite sports teams. To some of us, Capps, Meyer, and Park were all obviously not going to work out (and May, I should add). But I don't think it's fair to say this to people who believe otherwise. Sometimes ya just gotta let it go. And anyway, none of us are right all the time. I thought Plouffe was better than he is. I thought Gibson could be a #3. Etc.

Also, he didn't block anybody as he wasn't on the 40 man roster last year.

If only some people would have spoken up that teeing off on 86 MPH pitches wasn't going to translate to success in the MLB. I wish Park all the best. He was a good sport and his work ethic was never in question.

Has Falvey flexed his muscles yet?

I agree with everyone saying thanks to Twins Daily. We have a good group over here. I also agree that #5 reads a bit dubiously. It's not accurate that the Mauer contract sank the franchise by making it impossible to address other issues.

The Wynegar trade for Filson (and others) was not a popular move for Twins fans. This was one one of the worst trades the team ever did. Wynegar had become too expensive.

Right. I don't mind telling you that I have the opposite issue of Sano. I shot up to 6' when I was 15 or 16 while still weighing 120 pounds. I didn't weigh 130 until I turned 30, and I didn't weigh 140 until I turned 40. In the past 18 months, I gained 20 additional pounds in two strange 2-week periods where I gained 10 pounds suddenly. Nothing has changed in my diet, nothing has changed in my exercise routine, esp. not during those two periods where I gained ten pounds quickly. I have always looked at all of the diet commercials on TV and scoffed!

Holding players on the 40 man for 3-4 years who never play on the team would be the status quo for the Twins, not thinking outside the box. Since 2011, one of those players has worked out.

I think it's clear we're talking about the 40 man roster.

Yeah, Kepler has been on the roster forever... was strange, no?

He's a big guy, that's true. Just look at his neck. Are you suggesting if he eats less, his neck will regress to a normal size? I'm betting no. He's just a huge guy, the Shaquille O'Neal of baseball. Yes, there are dietary requirements that huge people have that we don't. We have to be open to the idea that he needs to eat in order to feel well because of the sheer size of his frame. So if we want dingers, the boy has to eat. The Twins signed him to hit dingers, not to sprint.

He's just too far away. It doesn't make sense to stash a player like Diaz on a roster for 3-4 years. It's unlikely that he would get selected by another team this year.

People are saying Darvish is the free agency gem this year. I disagree. My prediction is that he will decline as his injuries mount. Whoever gets him will overpay. Darvish seems to top out at 180 innings before body parts start falling off which is not good enough for an ace. Besides, word is the Cubs want him. Let them make the mistake.

You're talking about something else. Is THIS Pohlad brother getting income from the other parts of the family business? I suspect not.

Ryan was a bit too focused on the Rule 5 draft because of his luck with Santana. He viewed this as a legit way to build for the future, instead of as a supplementary way to pick up a player that another team may have given up on. It's always a crap shoot. If the right player is out there, sure, don't hesitate. But there's no point in stashing a borderline player on the roster for a year and getting nothing out of it.

Exactly. We have no idea what Sano eats. He probably has his share of low-sugar protein shakes like the rest of the team. Sano didn't grow up in a culture that had a McDonald's on every corner, so it's difficult to buy into the idea that he is stuffing himself with double quarter pounders five times a week.