clutterheart

Is there a pdf version of the offseason handbook?

Obviously its a "guess." I have no access to the Draft War Room, nor would any rational scouting director outright say "we drafted for need." But we can see that Michael was the first position player out of college the Twins drafted in the first round since 1996. And the state of the MI in the minors was a disaster at the time. It seems clear to me at least they used a first round pick on a position of desperate need in the organization. In my opinion, his pick was very similar to the Adam Johnson pick. Twins got a guy that most scouts considered as "solid" but not great. - (ignoring the dif between #2 overall & #30 overall) I often dislike hindsight when it comes to drafts, every team has different philosophies, but since it was brought up by others, here is a few other guys they could've got: Trevor Story 45th Henry Owens 36th Jackie Bradley as was mentioned... Looking at the red sox...they had a pretty good 2011 draft!

I would say "IS" a bust. He is the classic example that you should never draft for need - especially in the MLB draft. Twins needed MI help and drafted him. A big miss. Dean is Deadly against lefties & if things go upside down again next year, he could get a chance or two with the big league club

Exactly, If you are going to say someone is low you have to say who you would push down/out of the list

Seems like there were years a player like Slegers would be in the top 30 while a guy like Turner would be in the 20's! This system is pretty good! Can't wait for the rest of the series!

Sigh. Then why is their buzz on him? I predict a depressing off-season...prove me wrong Terry Ryan!

Shut up jerk!!!

This is a pretty big stretch. He was top HS QB prospect based on his physical tools. Not his personality. You don't have to be great leader in HS, you just need to be the best athlete on the field. And nobody is saying Joe is not a pro. He goes about his work, and does his job. From watching interviews, seeing public appearances LENII's comments mesh well with what I have seen. He is not charismatic & not that fiery. That shouldn't be a knock on him, it just is what it is. What I don't understand is people who knock Mauer because of this. Why is this Mauer's problem? He gets paid because he is great at playing baseball. Every player on his team surly acknowledges his greatness. But he just is not that interesting. So what? If the FO wants a leader, go sign some guy with this rep. But I would rather they focus on guys who play the game of baseball as good as Mauer. Furthermore, LENII is looking for quotes and good stories. Hunter/Nathan/Cuddy/J-More gave him that. Joe doesn't. This isn't the first time LENIII has slipped in sly attacks on Mauer.

I think Duensing stays The money can't be too important...can it?

Dozier is Ok. But I think long term Rosario is the guy to be excited about.

I am not hoping the Twins spend money on pitching so they can get to the playoffs - butt it would be nice. I would like the Twins to spend money on pitching so they can become an average professional baseball team.

Under 26 with a K/9 over 8 is a pretty good pitcher - especially if they are in the majors. Doubt you could get such a return on the guys you listed. These are the guys I could find that roughly fit your categories did not look at career only 2013: [TABLE=width: 458] Name Team k/9 ERA FIP Age Yu Darvish Rangers[TD=align: right]11.89[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.83[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.28[/TD] [TD=align: right]26[/TD] Chris Sale White Sox[TD=align: right]9.49[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.07[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.17[/TD] [TD=align: right]24[/TD] Derek Holland Rangers[TD=align: right]7.99[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.42[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.44[/TD] [TD=align: right]26[/TD] Chris Tillman Orioles[TD=align: right]7.81[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.71[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.42[/TD] [TD=align: right]25[/TD] Felix Doubront Red Sox[TD=align: right]7.71[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.32[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.78[/TD] [TD=align: right]25[/TD] A.J. Griffin Athletics[TD=align: right]7.7[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.83[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.55[/TD] [TD=align: right]25[/TD] Jose Quintana White Sox[TD=align: right]7.38[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.51[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.82[/TD] [TD=align: right]24[/TD] Rick Porcello Tigers[TD=align: right]7.22[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.32[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.53[/TD] [TD=align: right]24[/TD] [/TABLE] Its possible I missed some, but it looks like you would have to sweeten the deal quite a bit to get players of this caliber Since you are trading a prospect, I imagine that you are not looking to go diamond ming like Ryan did in the Butera Deal. But the Blue Jays might be looking for catcher help and they have a good system. But Doumit w/o the prospects might be able to land such AA pitchers as: Deck Mcguire - ERA4.81 FIP: 3.58 - age 25 in AA Dennis Tepera - ERA 4.50 FIP: 4.38 age 24 in AA

13 months removed from TJ surgery... Questions like is his location where it needs to be, is his FB up to velocity, does he have a feel for his slider. If the the answer is "no" to any of these, not sure the Twins want to put him on the 40 man roster. And if the answer is no, I have high confidence he wouldn't get taken in the Rule 5 draft. Obviously the Twins have to find some bodies to fill the 40 man and if they are short of names, miight as well add him. Butt the chance of him significantly contributing in the 2014 MLB season is low.

Yes, you are right, they did enbiggen the ball. I read incorrectly. But...still not pumped about him and would like the twins to go after other FA

The reports I have read on Tanka are a he generally pitches in the low 90's has a slider and splitter but neither are ++ pitches. He has good control but his fastball does not have the best movement and he can become a Fly Ball pitcher. He benefited greatly because Japan "deadened" their ball this year. If he signs with the Twins, we might be seeing him get that Neck injury from watching the ball fly out of the park - especially in places like Chicago. I don't know if he is worth a triple digit investment. Furthermore, the posting process could drag out until March. I would hate to have the Twins have all their FA eggs in this basket and it not pan out. The best outcome would be the Twins get aggressive with Free Agents and sign guys while other teams wait on the Tanka.

What was the payroll to revenue this year?

Do we need to have a retrospective on Terry Ryan? It seems he did far better than I gave him credit at the season start. - and I am a Ryan basher! 2013 Additions: 1 - Correia - he pitched not terrible. - I expected terrible 2 -Pelfry- He pitched bad - I expected horribly bad 3 - Worley - He pitched horribly bad - I expect decent I think Ryan expected more from Worley & Diamond. If both of those guys had decent seasons, Corriea's impact would've been far more positive and this season might have not been the disaster it was. Should've Ryan expected that Worley & Diamond would both spend July and August pitching in AAA? I'm not sure anyone would've predicted that... Does Ryan deserve a passing grade this year? - No. But the "F -" I gave him at the start of the year might need to be reevaluated.

He was a GB pitcher in 2011 & 2012 but he hasn't been able to repeat that. He doesn't seem to have a SO pitch and has questionable control. Reminds me of Nick Blackburn. Hendricks is a AAA pitcher. He could put together a decent year here or there but he is not to be counted on. Since the current 40 man has many pieces that could be unloaded, there is no reason to rush a decision on him. But to say he "deserves" anything at this point seems to be a stretch of the definition of "deserve."

If you pitch well, you can be competitive. Buxton, Sano, and the other hitting prospects will be fun to watch, but unless the pitching comes through, the teams won't be in the playoffs.

I hope that means he is working on something. I liked his GB rate and his left-handedness

All I know is Trees = Playoffs No trees = no playoffs Bring em back!

So looks like #5 or 6 looks to be almost a lock Unfortunately this means we will have to watch Det celebrate at Target Field. At least their is no pool for them to jump into.

I think that would be a yes Even better would be a Q&A! But that might be dreaming too much.

Thanks for posting How did Randy Rosario look? I'm not too worried about Stewart's Divia-ness yet. He's young, rich and talented. Some guys handle it well, some guys internalize. I think a full season in Cedar Rapids might humble him up a bit, or if the Twin's think he is getting too much of an ego they might hold him back in EST just to set him straright.