Twins Notes

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Sorry I haven’t written in a couple of days… If you missed Saturday’s Twins Chat, you can read the transcript here. I wasn’t sure if there would be much interest in a chat at that time, but I answered questions for about 2 ½ hours! Still not a lot going on with the Twins, but thought posting a few things would be good.

 

And the first thing I have to do is send my condolences to the Pohlad family. Carl Pohlad, who saved baseball in Minnesota by buying the Twins in 1984, passed away yesterday at the age of 93. He brought the Twins two World Series championships. He signed Kirby Puckett to the at-the-time biggest contract in baseball. He has done a lot for the Twins and for their fans. Sure, he was frequently charged with being “cheap” but I don’t think that is at all fair. (Howard Sinker wrote that there are few beloved sports owners.) I would say that he didn’t become a multi-billionaire by making bad decisions. He chose to run his baseball team wisely, fiscally responsibly, while still encouraging a system by which the Twins were able to compete for division titles over most of this decade. He has been willing to sign off on big contracts to the right players. He has allowed the Twins to keep big time players such as Brad Radke, Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and others to keep them beyond their free agent timing. Part of the success is the philosophy of building from within, on the field and in the front office. Part of it is continuity in the coaching ranks, with the manager, and building with a consistent philosophy. Now, I don’t know how much Carl Pohlad has been involved in the day-to-day decision-making over the last few years. I believe that his son has taken over some of that. Jerry Bell and Dave St. Peter have done a very good job. I know that many Twins fans will not forgive the whole contraction issue, and believe me, that one bothered me too. But I think if we look at what Mr. Pohlad did for the Twins and for fans in the Upper Midwest over the last quarter century, all we should do is say thank you! Again, best wishes to the Pohlad family, and all those who knew him.

 

·         Josh Johnson, at Josh’s Thoughts, has continued his Top 50 series and is up to #43, so be sure to see who he has profiled.

·         Nick Nelson makes a case for Trading Ben Revere.

·         Dan Wade posted Part 3 of his series on the Minnesota (Twins) Mentality.

·         Shocking, huh? I’m sure that many Twins fans are quite surprised (note sarcasm).

·         I thought that the Twins should make a play on Pat Burrell. I thought that he would have fit in REALLY well behind Justin Morneau. I realize that signing Burrell would likely have precipitated a trade of an OF (probably Kubel?) as Burrell is really just a DH. I thought maybe his contract demands at this time might come down to a couple of years at $10-12 million. So when Tampa Bay signed him yesterday to be their DH for two years and $16 million, it really surprised me.

·         Congratulations to Joe Christensen and his family on the new addition to their family!

·         Obviously dependent upon the price and years, I just am not certain about the Twins alleged interest in Japanese starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami. If he was a relief pitcher, it makes sense. I guess he could be considered the “veteran starter” that we all assume that the Twins will sign at some point, but generally that wouldn’t be a guy that will likely get a multi-year deal. Who knows the Twins level of interest, but it is interesting that their name continues to arise.  Brandon Lyon isn’t worth being terribly excited about, especially if he costs a lot of money or years. Takashi Saito is intriguing though, as is Guillermo Mota.

 

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