Twins and other things
By Tom Grout
November 20, 2008
The Minnesota Twins are entering this off season in pretty good shape. They finished in virtual tie for first place in the Division last summer with just a few holes to fill. They also have a lot of room in their budget to get some things done.
Looking at some needs the Twins could use a third baseman, shortstop, and maybe some relief help in the bullpen. They ended up the season with a platoon at third base with Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris. They did an admiral job but aren’t really the run producers one would want out of the third base position. This combination would work if they had more punch in the other positions like in 1991.
At shortstop the Twins finally settled, and I mean settled, for Nick Punto. I know I have been hard on Nicky Boy but realistically he did make some awesome plays at his position but he also made a lot of bad plays. It is like he can’t think real fast sometimes because he made a lot of bad base running mistakes as well. He did hit .280 but often failed in the clutch with a pop up or a fly ball. To compare Adam Everett had over 200 hundred less at bats than Punto and had 8 fewer rbi’s.
If the Twins want to win in 2009 a new shortstop would be nice and we can have one and not give anything up if they want to. Orlando Cabrerra and Rafael Furcal are free agents who could fill that role very nicely and again without giving something up in return.
At third base I have mentioned before that Casey Blake is a free agent but so is Joe Crede. Blake is a little older at 35 but has shown no signs of his age and would be a good stop gap at third for a couple of years. I wouldn’t sign him for more than two year though. Crede is interesting because he kills the Twins; actually both these guys kill the Twins. Crede is younger and when he is healthy is one of the better third baseman in the league, but stay healthy is the part that is concerning. He has had some back problems that have forced him to miss a lot of playing time the last couple of years.
There are also a few good bullpen pitchers out there like Juan Cruz the Twins could go after although with the signing of Jeremey Affeldt in the price of a relief pitcher has really gone up.
My point here is that the Twins if they wanted to could improve their team without having to trade anyone and still not break the bank. They still have a lot of spending money to reach their team salary goal so they could keep everyone they have now and get better. Your thoughts?
-The Vikings defensive line has been living on the edge this season. Although they have preformed very well, each week we can’t help but wonder if they will be allowed to play. The Williams boys are hanging in limbo wondering what, if anything is going to be done on some illegal drug charges. They were taking a diet pill with some band substances in them. They are facing a possible suspension. Jared Allen had to report to the commissioners office to explain all the late hits on quarterbacks he has had this year. There was a fear he would be suspended for his actions but this time he again came out of it with a fine. Ray Edwards is also teetering on the edge with some late hits as well. I always figure that this is the NFL and if you are going to play in it you better toughen up, but I have to admit there are more and more late hits coming down on quarterbacks this season and not just by our guys. Hitting hard is fine but when the play is clearly over is wrong and the officials on the field better start taking care of that like maybe throwing someone out of the game.
So, will the Vikings some week be missing it’s entire defensive line? Stay tuned.
-I have to make a quick comment on the Timberwolves. THEY WON LAST NIGHT!! How about that, they finally hung on to a lead in the fourth quarter and pulled off a win. I am happy about that and lets hope this leads to something good.
The Wolves? I actually watched them last night and they are fairly entertaining. Boy the crowd is sure uninspiring. I think the owner better start looking at that. I also saw OJ Mayo play the other night and I'm afraid that we will say in 5 years that we blew it again. Kevin Love is a good player but Mayo looks to have potential to be special.
The Twins? I still prefer we go free agent route to fill gaps as I just don't think we should part with any pitchers. Cuddyer maybe, but not pitchers. They're all young and good and I say we need them all. Blake is still a special player I think. Crede is fine, we'd win 2-3 more games just by not having to play against him.
The Vikes? They are playing on the edge on that defensive line but they are so much better than in the past, I wouldn't want to hold up much. The good defenses don't seem to hold anything back and take a few penalties. That aggression is so important. All it would take is just a little brain and they could solve those bad hits. I would like to know more about this diuretic problem that the two Williams are in. There seems to be a lot more to it than is being reported.
? I noticed that Muggs Townsend of Fergus Falls died just lately. I have heard stories of just how good of an athlete he was. Does the Journal have more information on his athletic accomplishments? I'd love to learn more about him.
Good comments T & R. I'm in agreement on not trading our young pitching, unless its a real special deal. I'm also not excited about moving Cuddyer. This last season was a bust because of injuries, but he should bounce back with a full season, and then expect some pretty good numbers. I wish he could lay off the low curve better, but that applies to a lot of major leaguers. I think it was Killebrew, when asked how to handle the curve, said "swing at the fastball."
Gophs-Iowa in the dome -- last time we can say that (unless the new stadium falls over). Iowa's favored by 5 1/2 -- does that sound right?
I guess it should have been Iowa by 55 1/2. The Gophs just fell apart, but so did my favorites, Texas Tech! Sports are all about matchups, and neither the Gophs or Tech matched up well. The new stadium will be a boon for the Gophers. What top recruit would want to come play in the dome's atmosphere. Compare it to others like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Ohio State and imagine what top recruits think. If I was an area recruit that wanted to stay in this area, I'd pick South Dakota State or NDSU first. They both have great programs and great atmosphere and I'm not so sure they couldn't compete with the Gophers this year again even though their won/loss records are down. Northern Iowa is also very good. I don't think any of them could beat the Gophs but I think they'd be pretty competitive. I think the new stadium will help separate the Gophs from them, right now they're not that far apart.
55 - 0, wow. The game brought to mind the 1983 Nebraska game, which I watched with a guy who had a $100 bet on the game. He had the Gophs and 50 points! In the first half he couldn't shutup about what a sap he had found to bet with. He didn't start sweating until midway in the third quarter. He was ready to be institutionalized by the end of that 84-13 debacle.
I hope RL is right about the recruiting value of an outdoor stadium. I recall the buzz about how the Gophs recruiting would be great once the dome was ready for them. I'm just saying . . . .
Tdawg's right.
I agree that it's not necessarily the stadium that gets the recruits- it's the program.
Not that the new stadium won't be an improvement for the Gophs!
Teams like Ohio State, ND and Oklahoma have had long standing traditions of elite football power which (IMHO) aids the recruitment battle.
Stadiums are great but the program gets the recruits...
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