wsnydes

Neil Young can probably help with the best timing to stock up on walnuts, being a Harvest Moon expert and all.

I think Celine Dion would like to have a word with you too...

Celine Dion would like to have a word with you...

Rush may be in line as well.

I was hoping that you'd touch on this, but is there a Canadian exchange rate for losses? By simply crossing the border, is the Twins current loss streak more like 5.75 games? Might it be beneficial for them, perhaps even us, if they stayed north of the border?

Anyone able to opine on how they're approaching Buxton's swing? I know it's a small sample, but with two homers in consecutive days it appears as though the pop is at least showing glimpses again. Have they shortened up the swing? Figured out his timing?

Once you've had a concussion, it's also easier to get another one. They could be limiting his risk exposure to more of them. I'm not suggesting that they've handled him correctly or not, but I think this is a part of the discussion.

Great to see years of hard work, battling through adversity, and determination pay off for the kid. I hope he does well!

"Decent" is not contending. I'm not worried as much about the position players. Like you say, they're in the middle of the pack offensively. There are plenty of question marks though. Of the four guys you keep referring to, only one is a pitcher. That's where this teams greatest weakness lies. The only pitcher that can be counted on right now is Santana, and he may be a trade target himself. Berrios is no guarantee to be reliable next year at this point. Might he be? Sure. The team may decide to let Gibson walk. Meijia just made his major league debut and sent back to the minors, albeit for innings limit reasons. The team can't make up its mind on May. Hughes is far from anything certain. Even if they acquire someone like Sale, an ace doesn't put this team over the top. That's my greatest point. There are so many holes and question marks on this team, that acquiring Sandy Koufax in his prime doesn't turn this team into a contender. I haven't even gotten to the bullpen. Who's the closer? Who are the setup guys? Who can be counted on at all? There are a crop of young bullpen arms ready or nearly ready, but most of them haven't sniffed the majors yet. And all of them are anything but certain to be reliable let alone expect them to be. My general point is this. It's not a defeatest attitude to say that expecting a 100 loss team can suddenly emerge as a serious contender the following year. That's called reality. They don't have most of the pieces in place and riddled by injuries. Most of the pieces aren't even in the majors yet. Is it possible? Sure, they could catch lightning in a bottle. I too want to see what these young kids can do with real pitching. But that's the problem. There isn't any real pitching on this team. You ask what the players have to play for in the next 2 or 3 years if this club isn't planning on competing? How about their jobs? In the case of the prospects, their careers. That's one reason you get rid of the veterans, they don't necessarily have the stomach to rebuild. The prospects are playing to stay in the big leagues and playing to establish themselves for the long haul and to make a ton of cash. If they aren't competing in three years, there's a big problem. I'd expect them to have a good 2nd half of the 2018 season as well, setting up a legitimate contender in 2019. I'd be right there with you and all over acquiring an ace if this team was a piece or two away from being a legitimate contender for a championship, but they aren't. They're nowhere near that yet. I'm a season ticket holder, my patience with this crap is long gone. Yet, I still don't want them to literally sell the farm in order to acquire pieces that won't have a real impact next year. You've been comparing a team that came off of an 86 win season to a team that is fighting to not lose 100 games. They just aren't the same situation. I'd be absolutely elated if this team were to get to around .500 next season. That isn't a contending team. Get to that point, then go make a splash with a trade or two. At that point, you can also look to have an extended run of excellence. I know that we don't see eye to eye on this, but this has been enjoyable. I do think you bring up some valid points. I just think that the moves you suggest come a year too soon.

Part of the reason to trade Dozier is also because many, myself included, don't see him as the 2B when this team does start peaking. So take advantage of that and move him now for someone that will help you at that time. It's not just to make room for Polanco. Secondly, many, myself included, feel that Polanco is a better fit offensively for this club in the future. Dozier's power is nice, but if some of the prospects pan out, power isn't a problem. Guys on base is, and that is what Polcano brings. He's less valuable now, but may not be by the time this team peaks. I think you're correct on the Royals feeling like they were further away. That's never been my point. A couple of their core group hadn't taken off or were still inconsistent. But again, they had been in the big leagues for a few years already. They were established. Nobody on this team is that. Sano is the closest and just a few weeks ago there was talk of sending him down. Kepler will likely regress in his sophomore year. Berrios hasn't shown that he can show the same command that he did in the minors. Buxton is currently in the minors. This simply isn't the same situation. The 2013 team, the year before their magical WS run that ended in a loss, won 86 games. This team is about to lose 100. I don't believe that it's reasonable to expect this team to compete next year at all. The year after, maybe. That's not a reflection at all on Buxton, Sano, Kepler, or Berrios. This team has no pitching. The offense, while inconsistent now, has shown signs of life. It's the pitching that is largely the issue. Until they can build a staff, this team will not compete like you said. Trading a Buxton or a Sano can help, but they won't fill the hole completely enough to really matter. You'd have to trade several of the young stars to acquire enough pitching to seriously compete. At that point, you just gutted your farm system and still have nothing left at the major league level. I just think you're putting too much stock in 4 guys when there are 21 others that still have a ways to go. I think its unreasonable and unrealistic to expect a team that will flirt with 100 losses to be able to be legit contenders next year. If the chips fall right, they could in two years, but things have to fall their way. Even if the four guys you mentioned are all-stars, if the rest of the team isn't following behind them then it's not going to matter. You're putting too much stock in what a few players can do to carry a team. You have these guys under control for a handful of years yet, there's no reason to panic and try to peak before their ready to.

Agreed. That's why I think trading prospects at this point makes no sense. If this team had core talent of a contender, they wouldn't be in this position. Once the prospects emerge and establish themselves, then you can start dealing some. For all we know, all of them come up and are legit and you won't need to wheel and deal. I don't see that happening, but it's possible. I'm not sure i see this team winning 15 of their last 37 let alone 24. They're streaky, but trend towards deep valleys and moderate peaks. I'd love to be wrong about that though.

No, I think you're missing my point a bit. I'm not suggesting that they don't move any of them at all or ever. My point is that in order to rebuild, they need most of them because they have nothing at the MLB level now. That's why they're putrid. They aren't going to compete next year and perhaps even the year after. The prospects are just now coming onto the big stage. To expect them to be world beaters right away isn't realistic. You used the Royals as an example. When the Royals started moving prospects, the Gordon's and Moustakas' of the world had been in the league for a few years. Their core was established at the MLB level and the team just needed pitching and to fill a few holes. This Twins team is not at all in that position. Nothing, and I mean that literally, nothing is established from the front office to the coaching staff to where Sano is going to be in the field if at all. It may and hopefully will be in a year or two and then they can start filling holes by using prospects as currency. Trading prospects now seems foolhardy and putting the cart before the horse. Not enough of the prospects are here and those that are are hardly shoe in's to stay. That's where trading Dozier is ideal. He's established, he's valuable, he's blocking a prospect, and he can bring talent in without touching your core group of prospects that haven't even gotten to the big leagues yet. If adding a prospect to a Dozier deal gets you an ace, then you consider it. But this team has far too many holes and question marks to start dealing multiple prospects like the Royals did. Two very different situations. Buxton, Sano, and Berrios could all be stellar and this team could still suck. But those are only 3 guys. The other 22 need to be good too in order to compete. Berrios would only pitch every 5 days. What about the rest of the staff? If this team had veteran talent of worth, they wouldn't be threatening 100 losses and a 5th 90+ loss season in their last 6. That's just reality.

Since that's obviously the case, you've got to make room for all of those prospects on the big league roster!

The issue with this approach is that this team needs most of the prospects they have to improve. Most of the veterans on this squad won't and can't be a factor in the resurgence of the team. The Royals had their core group of prospects come up a few years before and just hadn't peaked yet. They filled in a few holes via free agency and traded prospect depth for pitching. I don't feel that this team in is that type of situation.

This is the exact reasoning as to why I think the only logical answer is to trade him. It makes no sense at all, in my view, to keep him around. I like him, but this team has too many needs to hold onto a high value piece at this point in time.

I think it's fair to say that it doesn't really have any negative impact either. There just isn't enough there to glean much from it, IMO.

In many cases, they are hittable pitches. In my view, and I did this as a player too, I used that first pitch to see the pitchers motion and time it up. It could be my imagination, but when I did swing and put a first pitch in play nothing good ever came of it. As a result, I was never comfortable swinging at the first pitch. That's my opinion of what he's doing. I'd be much more concerned about taking the first pitch if Joe wasn't such a good 2 strike hitter.

I agree with you here. I don't believe that time has come either. He's still a productive player and I think other players at other positions are blocking those behind him in the system. Troyhobbs did clarify his earlier comment well. I brought A-rod up as an example of what level the most hated player in the game would be based on your initial comment, which you've misinterpreted. We've now cleared up both of our misunderstandings, rendering that portion of the conversation irrelevant.

The fact that he finished those seasons as strong as he did WHILE CATCHING says a lot IMHO.

Nor I. I was just using it as an example of something that drives people nuts.

Taking first pitch strikes certainly trumps almost anything A-rod has done. Is some flack deserved? Sure. Does any of it make him the most hated player in the game? I think not. That was the argument, not that Mauer is void of fault or flack.

In high school, my canoe party landed on the wrong island in a lake in the BWCA believing we were on the US side. A friendly Mountie notified us of the er of our navigation and was very kind in escorting us back to the correct side of the border.

Not if you can't get the suitcase closed...

Correct, my timeline was off. Thanks for the correction. I've amended my original post. The opening of the new ballpark is a worse time than securing funding. It doesn't really change my statement though. The team still would have been crucified if he were to walk. I do agree that a more aggressive approach by TR to extend him would have been a better approach. It never should have gotten to ST of his walk year. That gave Mauer more leverage even without the MVP season.

Let's not also forget that Mauer's new deal was negotiated around the time that the team was having a funding bill being signed for a shiny new ballpark. This team would have been crucified if they let the hometown boy walk when they were using the "we need the ballpark to keep players like Joe" excuse and he was coming off of an MVP season. Edit: my timeline is off...The deal was negotiated as Target Field was set to open, which would make him walking look even worse in my view.