Obsvr

He's hitting .200 with 3 hr's and a 30% strike out rate...I dont think he's going anywhere.

Interesting idea, signing a Bautista type of guy. That said, I think it's probably more bluster trying to get the dodgers to blink.

So, you know for a fact that they didn't call the dodgers and any other teams they are dealing with before they told the media? Zero chance the Dodgers and other teams found out that way.

This x's 1000

Anybody got a line on what Jeff Gillooly and/or Tanya Harding are up to these days?

I would think that as a front office staff, you have quite a few people working on aspects the trade. Especially if they are vetting multiple farm systems. At a certain point, you probably have to have focus those resources on projects for the upcoming year. Would they listen to a different offer in February? Of course...but I think it makes sense to tell other teams that we're done dickering with this thing for now and it won't be the operational focus moving forward. They've clearly laid out what the asking price is, meet it or move on.

The reaction around here if they don't end up trading him and he gets off to a slow start.. http://i.makeagif.com/media/7-07-2014/GMapOg.gif

I guess "very much in" means different things lol. When I saw these reports yesterday they didnt smell right...kudos to the new regime for trying to push a bit. Too bad cold water was thrown on these rumors pretty quickly. Would be nice if there were a few teams driving up the bidding.

The Twins are destined to continue losing if they don't fix their pitching staff and to a lesser extent their defense. If you can move your biggest offensive "asset" to address a woeful area of deficit, then you should do that. The fact is, you can't predict the future with prospects, so if you get three or four, you hope one of them pans out. If 2, 3, or 4 of them pan out a la the AJ Pierzynsky trade, then all the better. Are they guaranteed to start winning? Of course not. But for this organization, the more young, high ceiling arms that you can stockpile, the better chance you give yourself at turning it around.

no. Zero chance they do that.

I actually dont mind Bremer even if he is a bit folksy, but Bert and Smalley are brutal. Move Gladden over from radio...although he'd have to wear a tie, so he'd probably pass.

Bert is definitely not lacking in the Ego department...i'm sure he thinks bringing up Don Baylor as the reason why not sounds much better than the real reason, whatever that was.

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/fc/fc6bbdd5c2097607eea8e04166ff1177d9f6be371b3bf8f7485114a521b41453.jpg

Do they work weekends?

I'd like to see them move him...but only if they get what they want. They still have him under control for two years. It's quite possible to hold on to him until the trade deadline and get a contending team to overpay. Zero reason to throw in the towel at this point and take a deal that isn't overwhelmingly good.

Uh, no. Russo is the definition of a beat writer. He is also pretty much the gold standard when it come to beat writing. LEN3 should be shadowing him for a couple of months to see how it should be done.

You sort of invited it by saying "24 hours" lighten up brah. jeez.

I've come to the conclusion that Dave's source is Dave.

I agree, Russo is definitely beyond compare...the guy is a beast. Seems to me that Lavelle is just WAY to comfortable over there and the effort he puts in really shows. I'd be a little embarrassed doing the same thing at the same paper as Russo though. There are probably 10 people on this board alone that could do his job significantly better.

Maybe i'm in the minority, and he seems like a good dude, but is he not the worst beat writer? I mean...compared to Russo, it seems like he puts in the bare minimum. We fixed the front office...maybe it's time for the strib to shake things up a bit. Lavalle...if you DO read this site...try harder please. thanks!

Might want to temper your your expectations a bit. He's not going to come in and fire everybody. Just because a sorely needed change at the top came, it doesn't mean there aren't people in the organization that can execute his vision. I mean, who do you replace an entire scouting department with? LOL. It's not like he's going to bring the entire scouting and analytics departments from Cleveland. Maybe a couple of trusted people but don't expect firing en masse. Three years from now the make up of the FO will probably be quite different than it is now, but to expect mass personnel changes immediately is wishful (and faulty) thinking.

woof

I don't think anybody is arguing that the decision and/or the process has been good or even competent. I'm speaking strictly about the current assets this organization has under control. Buxton and Sano are both going to be the players we hoped and wanted them to be. Just maybe not quite as fast as we would have liked. Kepler is a nice development and hopefully doesn't have much regression next year. Polanco looks like he can hit at this level and Berrios has too good of stuff to not figure it out eventually. Sano, Buxton, Kepler and Berrios are a great young core to build around. I'd be looking to trade Dozier and Rosario this offseason for pitching. A package of those two should return a nice haul.

The only thing really holding this team back is their unbelievably poor pitching. The first two months of the season were an aberration...since then they have had one of the top offenses in the league. This team scores more than enough runs to win at a high level. Re: Buxton...He started slow at every level, figured it out and started raking. He's followed that same arc in the majors and looks like things are starting to slow down for him now. He is still incredibly raw...in 2-3 years he will be the stud everybody wants him to be. IMO they have an excellent young core of players and some intriguing young arms. The offense in its current state has power and speed. A few deft moves by the new FO to remake the pitching staff and the next few years could be very fun to watch.