Doomtints

People remember the champions. Have you ever heard of a team called the Minnesota Vikings, who were for a time the winningest team in NFL history and are still in the top 8-10? Does anyone treat the team that way, even in Minnesota?

The Twins likely would have not been in the postseason at all most or all of those years without Nathan.

I have always disliked sitting through it, so believe me it was broadcast regularly. And had it never been broadcast, we would never have known of this "scandal."

I would guess that the NFL will mitigate this by not broadcasting the national anthem for the time being. Fine with me, none of us at home stand and salute when the song comes on the TV. Not broadcasting the anthem removes the power of the protest, so once Trump decides to shut up about it the issue will be gone for the NFL.... But of course the underlying issues will remain. Too bad.

Buxton? Best DEFENDER? This is an outrage!!

Right. The Tigers got themselves into a position to where they had to let Verlander go in spite of his upside. The Twins would have been going down a similar path had they given up a lot to get him. The Twins don't have a lot that I would call "expendable" and they still would have half a pitching staff that needs upgrading.

Exactly. I'm not sure how anyone who lived through the Nathan years can think closers don't matter. Nathan made the 8th inning guys look better because opposing teams were trying to force things to happen before Nathan came in, and Rincon/Romero were pretty damn good at times in their own rights....

Houston hasn't won anything yet, btw.

Fix the pitching before extending anyone, especially players who are not free agents until 2023. Berrios doesn't even have 1 year of service time yet.

Kepler is a tradeable asset. Not sure this is the right return, but I'm not in charge.

Overall he probably wouldn't care, though I imagine the Twins aren't his favorite team I'm sure he recognizes that the Twins are on the upswing. My point is I'm betting these conversations never took place. Detroit probably did not want him to go to a division rival, the Twins were probably not his #1 choice, and the Twins probably weren't looking for someone like Verlander. I would be shocked if there were any significant conversations and there probably weren't any conversations at all.

Look at the pitcher the Twins picked up at the deadline. They weren't looking for someone like Verlander. They were looking for someone to fill out the back end of the rotation. This was the right move, as good as this team was, they're not close enough to go "all in" quite yet. The Astros are in a different place.

Not true. Mark Prior is the easiest example to throw out there. Many coaches in the league recognized Prior's bad delivery, but the Cubs did not coach him into trying something new. Instead, they rushed him to the majors as quickly as possible. As you know his career was short. We have our own version of this in Francisco Liriano, who made the majors in spite of having a violent delivery. We got to see half a season of the most dominant pitching any of us will ever see before he blew out his arm and became mediocre.

That's how I feel. Obviously I know who Mike Maddux is, the player. But pitching coach? I have no idea if he's an good at it. I don't see this as something to be particularly excited about without knowing more.

Not by a longshot, it seems.

Of course they can do both. Do the other one first.

? The Twins never spent the money to win in the playoffs. They spent just enough to beat up on the division.

? Why is that funny?

Use the cash to fix the pitching before extending anybody who won't be a free agent until 2019+.

De Leon's career isn't quite over yet.

Perkins had a great revival. No regrets.

Way too early to do this for a guy who doesn't hit free agency until 2022 and who might just kill himself out there long before then. Use the money to fix the pitching. When that's done, then talk about spending money on things that are superfluous.

No love at all for Busenitz?

The most likely thing to happen, which you did not list as an option, is that the Twins keep doing what they are doing: Sano stays at third and another unusual injury happens.

The reason the US and A has this issue and other countries do not is fairly simple. Gun manufacturers are HQ'd in the US. The government wants them to stay here. There is a well financed trade organization designed to lobby for the manufacturers. And, as per usual, the GOP is full of profiteers who have become adept at converting tax dollars into corporate profits without the corporation having to sell anything. This is the usual problem we face in this country. It's the same problem for healthcare, for bail, prescription drugs, private prisons, traffic laws, the energy industry, corruption in mass media ... you name it. I hope with all my heart that Americans as a whole stop being naive when voting.