Comments on: 2013 Preview: Minnesota Twins

By: undeadjesus

undeadjesus — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 03:25:00 +0000

Well no shit. The nature of these articles are a snapshot of how the team looks [i]now[/i], heading into the season. Diamond and Gibson aren’t in the conversation when talking about the rotation as it stands now. And besides, would the inclusion of Diamond and Gibson into the mix really improve the outlook that much? Diamond was a part of that league-worst rotation last year and Gibson has never thrown a pitch in the majors. I’m not saying they’re bad, but let’s be realistic here: those guys aren’t top-tier starters. They’re middle of rotation guys [i]at best[/i], and that’s the best the Twins have.

Things don’t get interesting until Alex Meyer makes his way to the bigs. Twins might finally have a legitimate #1. Trevor May looks promising too.

By: Kleinz 57

Kleinz 57 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:32:36 +0000

The Pohlads not spending enough money isn’t really a valid criticism — and kudos to Gleeman for rightly setting Mauer critics straight on last season. In my opinion, the problem is the Twins organization itself. Not just Gardy but how the medical staff and front office have run things into a rut over the last few years.

Yes, the farm system is very much something to look forward to, but the Twins had better get their act together on accurately diagnosing and treating injuries. That would be miles ahead of their past procedures: pretending injuries are not serious issues until it’s too late and guys are riding the DL for longer than might’ve been needed with an earlier response.

The front office needs to change as well. Too long I’ve seen this franchise bank on “scrappy” infielders who can’t hit and starters who depend on pitching to contact. They’ve drafted/traded well the past two years. Let’s hope some power pitching and batters with pop is in the cards for the coming years.

By: Kleinz 57

Kleinz 57 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:25:32 +0000

Obvious troll comment trolls, is obvious.

By: 6kings

6kings — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:01:10 +0000

Gleeman is basing his analysis of the pitching rotation without Scott Diamond or Kyle Gibson, both of which will be in the rotation by June. What an idiot.

By: mnwildfan15

mnwildfan15 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:34:45 +0000

It’s the curse of Nick Punto!!!!!!!

By: dluxxx

dluxxx — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:31:21 +0000

Yup. And Kevin Love is going to the Lakers and Adrian Peterson is going to the Cowboys.

By: buffalomafia

buffalomafia — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:21:07 +0000

I thought Mauer was going to the Yankees?

By: dondada10

dondada10 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:05:29 +0000

The Twins: The Mets of the American League.

By: wlschneider09

wlschneider09 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:04:08 +0000

That’s one of Gardy’s major problems but it isn’ t the only one.

By: Tim OShenko

Tim OShenko — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:52:24 +0000

Fellow Twins fan here, and I have to agree that the whining is just too much. I mean, sure I have next to no faith in the starting rotation, and think we’re in for a very rough season. But I’m still excited for baseball to be back and will be rooting for these guys regardless.

By: albertmn

albertmn — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:47:20 +0000

The only real problem with Gardenhire is his inability to realize that pitching coach Rick Anderson needed to be one of the guys reassigned or fired. Well, that and a bit of a lack of talent. But, pitchers don’t get better on this team, and the pitching coach should be accountable for that. A pitching coach can’t make every pitcher an All Star (unless you are maybe Dave Duncan), but they should make at least some pitchers better, which doesn’t happen under Anderson. If it takes firing Gardenhire to get a different pitching coach on the team, dump Gardenhire today.

By: dluxxx

dluxxx — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:45:37 +0000

Nope, I’m a realist. It’s pretty obvious that the Twins pitching staff, although improved from last year, is still going to be at the bottom of the barrel by season’s end. But as you can see, I do believe that the team has improved. It will continue to improve over the next few years and will probably be back in contention in another couple years.

What I’m not is a Twins fan that is going to wail and gnash my teeth about how the Pholads aren’t spending enough money to win, and then bashing on Mauer because he gets paid too much.

Bill Smith did quite a bit of damage to this organization in his short period of time running the team, and Terry Ryan is doing a pretty admirable job of fixing that and building for the future. However, one area that has always been an Achilles Heel for him is his love of washed up veteran pitching.

So, to reiterate, I’m a realist. I know my team isn’t going to compete this year. However, I do believe that the organization is moving in the right direction.

By: vansloot

vansloot — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:35:34 +0000

You admit to being a Twins fan, whine about how they suck, and then complain about Twins fans whining… your thinking seems to be as clear as Terry Ryan’s.

By: dluxxx

dluxxx — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:26:10 +0000

Man, as a Twins fan, it sucks to see this kind of dismal outlook. I’d like to think that we’re still better than Cleveleand and KC, but these glasses aren’t rose colored enough to see us going to the playoffs.

However, it’s even worse to listen to the constant whining of other Twins fans… Seriously, you guys suck. I’m starting to dislike you more than Yankee fans.

By: vallewho

vallewho — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:23:45 +0000

I got to see “BALLPLAYER: PELOTERO” and I really hope that Sano does well in the future. Great documentary.

By: beerndrums

beerndrums — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:23:39 +0000

Is Joe ‘roid’ Mauer still on the team?

By: idolized1

idolized1 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:16:57 +0000

I won’t lie – I wouldn’t mind seeing Gardenhire pack his bags. Obviously he is not the entire problem with the Twins, but he is sure a big part of it.

Either way, I’m excited for the season and I still have high hopes for Worley. Hicks should also be fun to watch.

But it doesn’t matter – Baseball is almost back and win or lose, you can’t beat that!

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:14:46 +0000

Morneau was great in the WBC. He should have a very good season.

By: zzalapski

zzalapski — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:51:45 +0000

They’re hellbent on mediocrity because it’s not cost-effective for the upper management to aspire beyond that. As you noted, they’re playing to be good enough, not to win.

Getting rid of Gardenhire and Ryan would be nice if the Twins turn in another pedestrian season, but ultimately the best thing for the fans would be for the Pohlads to sell to someone(s) committed to winning. Probably not going to happen soon, unfortunately.

By: tmhofficial

tmhofficial — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:49:10 +0000

I’m very excited to watch Harden try to become relevant again, Plouffe swing for the fences and a .220 average, Pelfrey be the nicest pitcher on the team with a 5.00 ERA, Mauer milk more leg weakness and time off, Morneau have a great start to the season only to end up on the DL 3 times, Gardy to get ejected 15 games, Carroll to fight off retirement to be our best middle infielder, and Doumit to do ….. things in Right Field. OH, and I’m glad we signed Correia for 2 years instead of just the one, also happy we didn’t move Willingham for prospects when his value was at its highest this offseason. I mean, a 100 loss team definitely needs a 30+ year old slugger to knock in 100 RBIs for no apparent reason, we don’t need pitching prospects or anything.

Should be fun.

It will be a great playoff atmosphere all year in Target Field.

By: SBG

SBG — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:29:30 +0000

That would be 96 losses last year, Aaron.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:23:10 +0000

Handing Hicks the center field position illustrates everything that’s wrong with this stupid team that I’ve spent my life rooting for. They’re playing to be good enough, not to win. Having Hicks in center is essentially fanbase triage, trying to give the fans someone to root for rather than holding him for a month and delaying the service time clock.
It’s really frustrating that the Twins just don’t seem to get how the game is played. The minor league system has become something to get really excited about, but the major league team seems hellbent on mediocrity, handicapping themselves at every turn.