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Scary Thoughts Are Only Speculation
On this Hallo's Eve, I can't stop wondering "what could be" as I read and hear how the Yankee's have, yet again, taken the top headlines in baseball instead of writers celebrating the season that Boston and Colorado had. Short note to Manny, thanks for being average in the regular season and awesome in the playoffs. Really helped the fantasy squad. I am officially sick of the "Manny being Manny" cliche, mainly because I had to listen to Tim McCarver say it more then once. Why doesn't Joe Buck hit Tim's mute button anyway? Back to the subject at hand, free agency and the state off our team and our Namesake.
Here is my trick and maybe a treat - Bill Smith and the boys go crazy and figure out that if they want to compete now they must do many things. 1. Sign Santana to a deal. Duh. 2. Listen to Torii, discuss with him what he wants, try (no really try not just say we tried) to get him here. 3. Sign Morneau to a deal. 4. Make a play for Hank Blalock, Mike Lowell, Garrett Atkins, or heck, see if Mike Schmidt or Scott Leuis can still play. Just don't go with Punto at 3B. I can take him at 2B if we have someone else at 3B. Please, please, please. 5. Don't play coy with the fans. Be honest with us, tell us if you playing for next year then do something about it. If you are going to "rebuild" then trade Nathan. If you're not, see 1-4. 6. Don't bring up that the Twins are small market and can't compete with paying high salaries. We all know Mr. Pollad is the wealthiest owner in baseball. You have a new stadium coming. I refuse to listen or sympathize with your self-imposed restriction to not pay for talent. Detriot just traded for Renteria and upgraded their SS and 1B position in one swoop (Guillen will now play 1B, he's better then Casey). Suck it up.
Now it's time for a reality check. Torii is gone. I think the writing is on the wall. I believe he truly wants to win and I think he feels slighted by not being signed. I think he sees that the organization prefers to spin their wheels while the other teams in the division continue to fill holes with free agents/trades. He will be approached by many teams with a better shot at making the playoffs and they will all come with their wallets out and smiles on their faces. I don't think the Twins will try and get a good 3B. Note, Morgan Ensberg is not a good 3B. I think they will sign someone who hits .250 and about 15 HRs. Yes, that's better then Punto, but it's not what we need to complete with Detriot, Cleveland or any other playoff team. They will go with a young pitching rotation. Actually, that's a good idea (see Ponson & Ortiz). Let Kubel play some more. If he was a regular, you would get 25 HRS from him. I know Bill Smith is a new GM and we can only speculate that he will operate similar to Mr. Ryan (thanks for all the good things you did Terry, I really do appreciate your work). But, unfortunately past history seems to guarantee future results when it comes to our beloved squad.
So I'm asking the Twins to please save this Minnesota sports fan from the current peril I swim in as I cheer from my other home-town squads. Ok, the Wild are pretty good so far, but I don't skate so well and my parents didn't make enough money for me to play hockey at Minnetonka. So, that's that.
4 comments:
TWT is back!
Regarding #5 and #6, which I regard to be the most interesting points (mostly because I find it hard to muster enough emotion to even consider what we need to do to be truly competitive again) -- the Pohlad's are NOT Glen Taylor and will never tell us what "the plan" is or what they "are thinking about". I'm fiscally conservative enough to not demand that someone spend money on a sports franchise just because they have a lot of money. However, not doing so at the cost of alienating your fanbase is an equally lousy business model. So, how much do we expect him to spend of his own money? Break even? Not a great way to run a business. Smitty, you're a finance guy -- do you really advocate the Pohlads spending money simply because they are rich?
Preach it from the pulpit, Chris!
I am curious about Josh's question, though...should we be expecting Grandpa Carl to shell out the money at a higher rate just because he has it? If that's the case, would you advocate for picking up Rodriguez?
PS: Scott Boras sucks balls. That was a fucking ridiculous thing to do on Sunday.
ARod is a definate no ($350 million, really?). That is a poor financial decision.
I'm not suggesting that he start throwing around money like the Yankees or the Red Sox. What I'm suggesting is that he expand the payroll enough to get better players. Does that mean they have to be top 5 in payroll, no. But as a consumer of their product and a tax payer for part of their stadium, I believe they have a responsibility to put a better product on the field.
If you've been a car builder for a while and have put out good cars like the Ford Taurus. Good car for a long time, good selling car. Other car producers start putting in RD and improving their vehicles to compete and, evenually over-take (see Toyota). At some point, you need to change the model (Taurus). At some point you will need to change. Point, the Twins should keep a core of vetern players (Morneau, Santana, even Cuddyer). How do you replace these guys with what we have.
My question, what do they do? Continue to go a thrifty route? That's fine, but as a fan and consumer I can hardly get excited about buying that product. How does that build brand loyalty?
Impressive car industry metaphor, my friend.
Signed,
The girl who once drove a Taurus and now rides a Saab
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