ewen21

You sounded so confident, though. Like it didn't even warrant a discussion. LOL

Again, I was on here telling people the same thing back in December when scores of posters were angry we hadn't made a splash in the off season pitching market. The reason I thought it was a waste of time is that virtually no big time starting pitcher is worth what he gets. In addition, our playoff losses has had more to do with the fact that this team doesn't hit in the postseason. Period. HOWEVER, when it comes to dealing prospects I am not averse to doing so if it means it will help a team that is young and has many players under team control. This is the time I am looking into dealing for pitching. F Finally, the Twins are losing in the playoffs for a lot of reasons and I feel one big reason is that it is psychological. The talent on the other side isn't THAT MUCH better where we lose 15 games in a row or whatever it is. There is a loser mindset and sometimes a mid-season acquisition can set off a chain of events that benefits the team enormously. See Shannon Stewart in 2003. In short, holding every single prospect and trading none of them is STUPID. Especially with this organization. I cannot back your policy of HOLD PROSPECTS. It makes zero sense say that is a good policy under every single condition. Seems to me like the stench of Terry Ryan has clung to the fanbase a little too hard.

How is having Royce Lewis in high A ball helping us win a game in the playoffs? And.... How do we boost our staff in season when can use another arm during the stretch run? I do not expect us to go for it every single year, but we are in that window of a couple of years right now where we should.

I argued that point a lot a few months ago when this place was blowing up because we wouldn't sign one to a multiyear deal. HOWEVER, if the situation arises where we have a very strong team that can get a young arm that is under team control for a few years you go for it. I would rather have the pitching equivalent of Kepler or Polanco. Same age arms to compliment the nucleus. If it take Royce Lewis and Kiriloff to do it I am not sure I would reject it as a default. The Astros were willing to do it to get Cole.

I hate to say it, but the underlined part..... When Berrios was taken out he was getting bro-hugs in the dugout as if he did his job. That mentality is never going to translate into winning in the playoffs.

It doesn't make sense to stockpile prospects with no intention of using them to improve the current roster right now. I could understand the sentiment five or six years ago, but we have a team that is young and contending. These GMs have proven that they will go out and augment the still young major league talent we have with proven veterans. I like Kiriloff and Lewis, but for heaven's sake....they are 20 and 21. We have: Buxton, 26 Sano, 26 Rosario, 28 Arraez, 22 Kepler, 27 Polanco, 26 They (Kirilioff and Lewis) are several years away and they are blocked anyway. We'd need to move one of those guys to make room for them so they can apprentice at the major league level. That isn't smart to me. What are we going to do? Let the players above sink or swim or are we going to attempt to improve our pitching by using our assets in the minors? The free agent option is too stupid for us if we are meaning to get an ace. In what reality are we signing a top of the line guy to a giant multi-year deal? It is a fools errand. I am so sick and tired of pretending our prospects are off limits. This is Terry Ryan stupidity. Other teams deal away their top prospects to help the current roster and some of them go all the way. We can't even win a game in the playoffs. Not a damn game.

These people are essentially saying is you don't ever trade prospects to get pitching. Until the statement I responded to gets amended or re-explained that seems to be the default stance for a lot of folks here. I don't get it. When you have a team with plenty of young players in the nucleus and you are a playoff contender, why are we concerned about the guys in the low minors? Use them as assets to help out the big club in order to push us over the hump. This team has NEVER had the sense or the guts to try it and that might just be a reason why this team has not been taken seriously in the playoffs. It's like they play to get to the playoffs and ...…………..game over, we did it!

If the underlined is a default position then I have a problem with it. When a team is relatively young and very close, why are we worried about the farm? Why not take the risk and go for it? It is far more risky going the free agent route to get top quality (and throwing hundreds of millions away). I don't disagree with one bit of the second paragraph. I just don't like the hardline "we can't mortgage the future" junk. Sounds like Terry Ryan redux.

Could you imagine if we were on the road against the Chicago Cubs? Chris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo hits a deep fly heading for the wall. Buxton gives chase...…. Do you think he would know well enough not to smash into the wall? I am not so they wouldn't need to take him out there and show him the wall is made of brick and could kill humans who run into it at blazing speeds. Would Rocco know to tell him? I wonder

If you want to win now and need to land "an ace" via a trade then it will cost 2 of your top 3 prospects. It really is that simple for the Twins

Doug D being a troll. I just admitted I was wrong to suggest we trade Buxton for Syndergaard in another thread. I will do it again here for you although you never seem to have a take. You only seem to surface when it is time to take people to task in hindsight. You've done it in other places and you are doing it here. ' Sorry folks. I have seen this act from Doug before

Looks like I was WRONG to suggest we trade Buxton for Syndergaard. Then again, Buxton has not exactly been a monument to consistency and health.

When I think hitter I think the spectrum of offensive production and Harmon gave us more than what Knoblauch did, in my opinion. Thanks

I understand they are different players with different skill sets, but it isn't very hard (in my opinion) to make a holistic judgment without much introspection in this case. When making this comparison, I view it this way. If I had to draft one or the other in my first pick to start a team I am picking Harmon over Knoblauch without hesitation (and that is no slight on Knobby).

Better to me means most impactful hitters. Matty Alou hit over .330 in four consecutive seasons and hardly anyone mentions it. Why? Because as extraordinarily impressive as that was he was basically a singles hitter. As dated as the quote may be, I think Ralph Kiner may have said it best: "Singles hitters drive Fords, home run hitters drive Cadillacs"

While Knoblauch was a great hitter for average and stole a lot of bases he should never be compared to Killebrew even in a "best hitter' category. I respect your knowledge and your considerate demeanor, but what criteria are you using if you feel Knoblauch warrants a comparison to Harmon? It honestly doesn't even matter what aspects of their offensive game you want to emphasize.

Mike Piazza had an insane 1997. He hit .362-40-124 with an OPS+ of 184 I could see him being picked over Mauer in a lot of places, just not on this board

I watched HR Derby on YouTube months ago. I saw Harmon vs. Rocky Colavito and I remember thinking how quiet and cordial they were. I will be checking out some HR Derby, thanks

Who is the pick to click?

Legal recreational marijuana stores in Massachusetts. Just sayin

We have a near pandemic the likes we’ve never seen, but a least we don’t need to worry about whether or not Byron Buxton is ready. We wouldn’t miss a beat without him if you ask me. Yeah he provides great defense but it isn’t like he’s a catcher or a shortstop. He simply doesn’t see enough opportunities to make his glove as much of a presence as what I read here. He makes a difference, but when he’s barely getting on base and not hitting much (which is pretty common) he hurts us as much as he helps. He could breathe a sigh of relief, I guess. The man has a .567 OPS for his career in April. As far as the sentiment about him not getting at bats during ST was OK since there was concern about him getting hurt really is counterintuitive thinking. If you feel that way then you basically have asserted he’s destined to be hurt.

Why are you telling me what I should do? I am not going to stop watching baseball because the Astros cheated. You make no sense. I will say, I did stop watching baseball for almost five years after the strike. If something like that happens again then perhaps I will, but why in the world would I allow the Astros scandal make me stop watching? This is about the Astros not being punished for me. And if players want to administer their own form of punishment, I probably will be behind it for a little while. And I might even get a little enjoyment out of some of it, as sinister as that sounds. Baseball is not real life to me. I have a family, a profession and a life. Baseball is a show to me and with the money these guys make and with how insulated their worlds are I am going to shred players in the occasional rant. Do you feel the need to close all of that down? You are no fun

YOu do realize that last year he entered 10 games the 8th inning and after and the Twins won all those games? Still a nice record, but it is tempered by the reality that he was put in as a defensive replacement to hold leads. His W-L will be skewed as a result. I do have one question for you. If Buxton were traded to the Chicago Cubs would you STILL want him playing as he's always played? If you do that's actually kind of sick.

I approve of it in some cases and this is one of those cases where I give latitude to pitchers to do just that. Now what?

I won't complain if the Astros lead the league in HBPs. if that is what happens then that is what happens Would you have trouble with that? Not sure who you are speaking to here.