By TwinsWin83
-I figured I would start off today by recapping the Super Bowl and breaking down the game quarter-by-quarter since I’m sure most of you missed it.....Just kidding.
The game was decent for a change and few things are better then watching the smug and arrogant Bill Belichick lose a game of that magnitude, but I couldn’t help but think that this could be the last chance we will ever get to see a team try for perfection in a season. Either way the football season is over now so can start to focus on what really matters, the upcoming baseball season.
-Jim Souhan confirmed what I’ve been saying for a few months now and what I’m sure most of you have suspected; the Twins are trying to build a team that can compete by 2010 when the new stadium opens. I don’t blame them for wanting to have a competitive team for that monumental season but I can’t think of many instances in MLB, or any major sport for that matter, where building for a certain target date like this has worked out successfully.
The team has too much talent in its organization to just give up on the next two seasons and hope that the young players develop by then and the few established players will hit their prime by 2010. It just won’t work out that way because baseball is such an unpredictable game and there are too many outside factors that can come into play over the next two years. There is a bunch of money floating around in the Twins bank account now that Johan’s 2008 salary is off the books. With a couple savvy moves in the free agent market, (I know that is assuming a lot after the teams pickups the last two offseason) the team could compete now.
-I know everyone here at AH! is trying to put on their ‘optimist hat’ when it comes to this whole Johan trade issue, but I’m having a hard time trying to find the silver lining. I agree that the blame should not fall entirely on Bill Smith’s shoulder’s, but in reality, most of it should. He is the acting GM and that title means the final say in situations like this one are his and his alone. Just because this is his first year in that spot doesn’t mean he gets a free pass. If this trade turns out to be a flop, it is his flop.
Everyone says “well look at the Twins track record in trades like this,” but those trades didn’t come on Bill Smith’s watch. To give up the best pitcher in baseball and not get either of the Mets top two prospects or a single player who can provide an immediate impact on our Major League squad is just ridiculous, and there is no way around that fact. Regardless, we won’t know the true impact of this trade until probably the 2011 season, so patience will have to be the name of the game.
-Chuck Knoblauch carried his 3 year old son with him while answering questions about his conversation with Congress last week about his knowledge on the use of drugs in baseball. When asked why he had his young son with him he stated that, “maybe one day, when he grows up, he won’t have to worry about drugs in sports.” Hmmm. That’s an interesting take for a guy who was mentioned in the Mitchell Report as having used performance enhancing drugs. If it comes out that Knoblauch was honest and open during his deposition about his usage then I guess that makes him more worthy of our respect then the Barry Bonds’ and Mark McGuires’ of the world.
-What was your favorite commercial yesterday? Even though it was typical of a Will Ferrell movie promotion, I thought his commercial as Jackie Moon was hilarious. That one with the pigeons was pretty good too.
-Is this the year Tiger Woods wins all four majors? I know we don’t talk about golf on AH! but the best golfer in the world sure has started out well this year.
-Has anyone seen Juno? I haven’t got a chance to yet but there sure is a lot of buzz about it. Any movie staring Michael Cera and Jason Bateman is probably worth seeing.
-Tom Petty was the best halftime show I’ve seen in recent memory. He might look a lot older but he still sounds pretty good.
-I really hope they end the writers’ strike soon because if they don’t we are only going to get eight episodes of LOST this year and I just can’t live with that. 
-It has been rumored that Josh Fogg is a possible free agent target for the Twins. He had a so-so regular season in 07' but was one of the keys to the Rockies amazing run to the World Series last October. It's no secret the Twins need help in their rotation, and even though Fogg isn't exactly a big name he could provide some help. I mean, he couldn’t be worse than Sidney Ponson.
Could he?
Monday, February 4, 2008
Case of the Mundays
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6 comments:
I hope the writers strike ends soon too. If it doesn't, it's gonna louse up the last season of Scrubs, and that would make me sad. :-(
We have money to spend for sure, but it's impossible to make any "savvy moves in the free agent market" because the free agent market sucks. It seriously does. You have to horribly overpay for the best of the free agents (carlos silva) and the rest of them are old or, yes, as bad as sidney ponson.
Everyone should read LaVelles article about The Trade. It does a good job of explaining how billy smith did kinda fuck up, but he was more the victim of circumstance, namely, Johans no trade clause.
I think what people mean by "twins usually come out well in dealing with prospects" they are talking about our scouts, which has nothing to do with our GM. as far as i know, we have the same scouts as we've had all along.
Chuck Knoblauch is stupid. Thats the 3rd time a player has used their kid as a prop while denying steroid allegations. McGwire and Bonds have done it too. ridiculous.
Juno is good. I think i'll like it just as much, or even more when i see it a second time.
I like Tom Petty a lot - - more than Prince, but I still think Prince was better last year. He's a performer, and petty just played a predictable set, and all the songs sounded exactly like the do on the album.
I don't think building for 2010 is necessarily a conscious choice we're making. I think it's just the reality that 2010 is the soonest we will have a chance to be very good. Lets say we signed johan and torii and liriano comes back 100% by may, I still don't think we have a better team than detroit or cleveland in 2008.
I'm not saying BS doesn't deserve any criticism, but he has done this season what I have been begging for the Twins front office to do for the last 4 years - bring in some young star potential offensive players.
wait hold on...its hard to type with this twins-kool-aid-IV in my arm....that's better
The next steps are 1) do not sign josh fogg or any other veteran "innings-eater." 2)spend money signing draft picks!!!
I went and saw Juno tonight and I'm gonna have to say it lived up to the hype. Aside from the depressing soundtrack it was a really good movie. I havent seen all of the movies in the best picture catagory yet but its safe to say I'll be rooting for Juno come Oscar time. Ellen Page was great.
I think the Twins do need to bring in atleast one "innings eater" because they dont have enough proven starters in there right now. We cant assume that Lariano is going to be 100% at any point this year (and unless he changes his violent throwing motion I dont know if he will ever be healthy long-term). Between the likes of Baker, Blackburn, Boof, Perkins and Slowey not a single one of them are a sure fire guarentee to deliver an entire season of consistancy.
Our offense should be ok but the Twins success over the next few years will hinge on what kind of stability they can get from the starting rotation so I think it is very important to land a veteran who can anchor the staff for now until some of the younger guys grow into their roles.
I could be an innings eater. I would have an ERA of 47.35 but, I could eventually get 27 outs once every five days.
Between liriano, baker, slowey, boof, perkins, blackburn, humber, mulvey, and duensing we will have more than enough arms to eat the necessary innings. With these guys the innings will be consumed cheaper and probably with a better ERA.
it's a tough question. we certainly have the money. there aren't any good ones out there. josh fogg would stink, but it wouldn't really matter since we won't compete. It's all about developing these youngsters. so we might as well let them get their lumps. thats what the tigers did in 2002-2003 and they developed nicely. they treat their (young) pitchers a lot differently than the twins do.
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