Twins Off Season Commentary

[powerchord86]

I like the restaurant analogy buck. Very nice. You know how the saying goes- You can lead a horse to water but...

 

[buckamania]

Yup, and the Twins sure became a "greasy spoon" under Smith's tenure as GM. Not saying that I could have done better, but like the Supreme Court Justice when asked to define ****ography, he said, "I'm not sure if I can define ****ography, but I sure know it when I see it!" As a fan, I know an inept GM when I see one.

How would you like to be Terry Ryan now? Coming into a huge mess that has destroyed the team you built. It has to be unreal for Ryan. I'm not epecting miracles. What Ryan has in his favor is at least Gardy will be the loyal soldier and his ally during this extremely difficult period. I can't remember a Twins off-season like this one is starting off as and will certainly become. It's too late to get off the plane now, we are in the air and the pilots are unconscious...yikes!!

 

[powerchord86]

I hear Wilson Ramos was kidnapped? wtf? I would have hoped it was just Terry Ryan bringing him back to MN where he belongs but it sounds like it was four guys with guns. Very scary stuff. Hope Ramos makes it out of this thing unscathed.

 

[buckamania]

PC- That was pretty funny and I know you meant no harm. Apparently, this kidnapping-thing is getting pretty common down there. No bueno!

But should Wilson turn up, Ryan ought to give him a call. P/S - Was it Gardy or Smith who got rid of Ramos, I can never remember? Maybe you can help me out. If I don't hear from you I'll ask the guys in the axis-powers...they'll know for sure...they are really up on this stuff!

 

[powerchord86]

Better check with the dorks on fuxed up sports. They are smart. lol

 

[powerchord86]

Yeah, deffinately did not mean any harm on the crack which was meant more on the Twins than the horrible situation for Ramos. It actually kind of hits close to home for me because my brother (also a former catcher) played a few seasons of winter ball down in Venezuela. It is unimaginable what his family must be going through right now. I just hope he makes it out safe and these thugs get what they deserve.

 

[buckamania]

Yup, your heart is in the right place but your sense of humor is even better placed!When Wilson gets back we'll all feel a ton better and we'll have to remember that joke.

Boy, did it hurt the Twins giving him away! Next time the Twins do something like that maybe you and me should go and grab the prospect before the desperados do!

Arriva, muchacho's!!

 

[Hauvster]

Oh man, 38 year old Jammey Carol for 7 million? Wrong direction Ryan. Go younger, not older.

 

[powerchord86]

Good to hear over the weekend that Ramos is back in a safe place. Haven't heard much on the details of how everything went down yet though.

 

[buckamania]

For sure, PC! Ramos was really lucky to get out unharmed. What gets me is that the "banditos" went after a guy with no dinero. I mean, Carlos Silva got $30+ million from Seattle before he flamed-out. That's the guy to go after, I would think.

Now the issue is getting the Twins back-up catcher dilemma solved. Why Bill Smith left the back-door open on this blows my mind. Remember when the 49'rs kept Steve Young at $1,000,000 per year as Montana's backup because they knew that something might happen to Montana at any time? They knew that you just can't put in a "scrub" and hope for the best. Smith never got this concept. Butera is simply unable to hit at the MLB level and that's not acceptable. Henry Blanco, for instance, would have been better than Butera if the choice was between the two of them. Henry at least had some "pop" in his bat now & then.

Decisions, decisions!

 

[powerchord86]

The trade of Ramos for Capps looked good at the time considering Capps was having a career year. Unfortunatley he was unable to keep it up. The Nats look like the smart ones on that deal. Got rid of him while he was hot and got something good in exchange.

I agree about Blanco. Not bad for a back-up catcher indeed. You can't really have too high of expectations for a back-up but you should at least expect them to hit .200-.250. That is not too much to ask. Blanco I think had like 15 or 16 HR's last year too. Would look like Pujols next to Butera.

Another option that I believe could still be out there is Pudge. He is an older player but still has something in his bat, is good deffensively and is a leader type. The Twins could use all the leadership they can get in the clubhouse right now.

 

[powerchord86]

Gio Gonzalez would be nice to have in the rotation. Young guy at 26 and on the rise.

 

[powerchord86]

Scratch that on Blanco getting 15-16 HR's. I just looked it up and he got 8. Memory fails this time... :tape2:

 

[buckamania]

Yeah, PC - I was only musing about Blanco having "some" pop in his bat vs. Butera having "no" pop in his bat. Blanco was no long-term catcher but he was a cheap, acceptable backup. In hindsight, better than Drew.

My actual point was that leaving Mauer's position w/o any offensive-minded backup was ludicrous, and that lack of foresight falls strictly on Bill Smith as the GM of the organization, not on Gardy, as the axis-powers over on Fox would have us believe. As you once pointed out very succinctly, Smith made the trades, Gardy just made the lineups. Then when Mauer goes down, the only catcher left to go to is Butera and the axis-powers then accuse Gardy of playing favorites! Those axis-guys are clue-less!

Smith had at least two catchers in the system that out produced Butera but he let them go. Wilson was one but I forget the other. Starting the season with a backup catcher like Butera is like driving up to Canada in a friend's car w/o a spare-tire for the boat on the assumption that the trailer tires are almost new, therefore, don't worry? I went on a trip like that, but only once!

Pudge would be a good idea if he is affordble. Once again, Mauer's monster contract sucks the life out of the Twins treasury to shop for a catcher, ss, and 2b'man. Oh by the way, Smith signed Nishi, not Gardy, look what that deal did for the Twins infield. Another topic for later.

 

[powerchord86]

Jose Morales is the other one. He would be nice to still have around as well. I liked him.

 

[powerchord86]

Idaho man charged with attempted assassination in White House shooting. Hmmm.... LOL

 

[buckamania]

Yup, that's the guy. No doubt about it, the Twins had the backup catchers in the fold but Bill Smith kept the "Punch & Judy" hitter of the bunch. What a mistake!

 

[buckamania]

How many aliases did he have? Seriously, commiting such a crime makes that guy a real horse's keister. Don't you agree?

 

[powerchord86]

So I guess Jamey Carroll consistently hits for a pretty good average every year (which is something the Twins need) and is pretty well liked by a lot of people but I just hope his age doesn't cause him to become more injury prone. It would just be more of the same story then for the Twins. Especially for a guy of that age at SS which is a pretty challenging spot to play. It sounds like he has been a bit injury prone in the past so it is kind of a gamble. Hope the cards fall favorably on this one!

 

[buckamania]

Good points, PC - I don't really know much about Carroll other than his MLB stats., and they are way better than Casilla or Nishi's. This whole acquisition is a statement from Ryan that one or both of those guys are gone unless they suddenly catch fire. That ain't gonna happen!

There are more than a few months to go for Ryan to try to rebuild his old team so I'm waiting and watching. The axis-guys want Ryan's hide already, that's brain-power denied. So much damage was done by Smith that I know better than to expect miracles...but...if Mauer comes back 100% that would be hugh (sp?) Same for Morneau, but I still think he's "toast" from his concussions and will hang it up sometime next year if he starts out like he did last year. If the insurance policy on him is any good that then frees up a lot of money to rebuild with. I'd like to keep Kubel & Cuddy too but I seem to be alone on this one. FC wants Cuddy, we all know that.

That little, lost-dogie, you and I been lookin' for all Summer "called" me up a couple days ago. Said a big stag he shot-at & missed recently ran his 10-pt. rack up our hero's butt for the trouble. That excuses his absence... with me, anyway. Can't speak for you on this one, though. Later!