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TheGasman said:
From what Im hearing, Strasburg should be making his way up come June. Regardless, he is pitching in a 1/2 hour and im excited to watch.

Did you guys hear about Joe Nathan? Thats a major bummer.
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It does suck, but really, the national guys make it seem that the Twins now aren't contenders without him. That's totally bogus.

Nathan is an excellent closer until September. After that, whether because of fatigue or not, he's very average.

Plus, I refuse to ever believe that ONE relief pitcher makes THAT much difference in a team's success.
 
TheGasman said:
I wasnt really too excited about bringing him in either. From what I have heard Reed Johnson has the 4th Outfield spot. Anderson is going to compete with Brian Giles and Doug Mientkiewicz for the left handed bat off the bench. The only thing Anderson really has going for him is that he is a local boy.
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I just caught this.

Doug Mientkiewicz??????????? :laughing:

While he's one of the best defensive first basemen that I've ever seen, the guy could NEVER hit a lick. He's a former Twin, so I used to see him a lot when he played here.

I like first basemen that can hit better than .260 and hit more than 10 HR in a full season.

I don't know, but that's just me.

If Giles and Anderson can't beat him out, they shouldn't be in the major leagues.
 
NikeGolf said:
Plus, I refuse to ever believe that ONE relief pitcher makes THAT much difference in a team's success.
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The guy managed to get 246 saves for the Twins in 6 years while keeping his ERA under 2 and a half. You might not think anything of it now but the extra stress it will put on the pen come summer will be noticeable. Nathan was the closest thing to a sure win that you can get. I still think the Twins will be in the battle for the division but it will be a tough one with the Tigers and White Sox both getting better this offseason.
 
TheGasman said:
The guy managed to get 246 saves for the Twins in 6 years while keeping his ERA under 2 and a half. You might not think anything of it now but the extra stress it will put on the pen come summer will be noticeable. Nathan was the closest thing to a sure win that you can get. I still think the Twins will be in the battle for the division but it will be a tough one with the Tigers and White Sox both getting better this offseason.
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I agree w/ extra stress on the other guys, but they will pick someone to be the closer, and they'll be fine.

The Twins have the best lineup in the division by far. Don't forget about improvements the Twins made either.

Hardy at SS. Hudson at 2B. Thome off the bench.

As usual, it will come down to starting pitching, but it's always nice to be able to score a lot of runs.
 
Proof that either Buster Olney from ESPN is trying to hard to replace Peter Gammons or he's just dumb....he reported today that the Phillies and Cardinals have had preliminary discussions about potentially swapping Albert Pujols for Ryan Howard. :bulgy-eyes:
 
thanks1974 said:
Proof that either Buster Olney from ESPN is trying to hard to replace Peter Gammons or he's just dumb....he reported today that the Phillies and Cardinals have had preliminary discussions about potentially swapping Albert Pujols for Ryan Howard. :bulgy-eyes:
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That has been all over the news. It will never happen in my opinion. It reminds me of the talk before my time that the Yankees and Red Sox fans had for years in regards to trading Williams for Joe D. Because both hitters would flourish in the other park.
 
JB said:
That has been all over the news. It will never happen in my opinion. It reminds me of the talk before my time that the Yankees and Red Sox fans had for years in regards to trading Williams for Joe D. Because both hitters would flourish in the other park.
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Agreed....I do it if I'm the Phils but why would StL give up on the best hitter in the game? Unless they felt Howard would be cheaper to sign than Pujols because both are FA's around the same time.
 
thanks1974 said:
Unless they felt Howard would be cheaper to sign than Pujols because both are FA's around the same time.
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DING DING DING. We have a winner. But St Louis knows the drill. You pay him whatever it takes!
 
JB said:
DING DING DING. We have a winner. But St Louis knows the drill. You pay him whatever it takes!
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Possibly. The paid Holiday a lot already and Pujols will want much more than A-Rod money. Record breaking stuff. Can St. Louis who is a mid-market team act like the Yankees and Red Sox and carry that much payroll? We'll see.
 
thanks1974 said:
Proof that either Buster Olney from ESPN is trying to hard to replace Peter Gammons or he's just dumb....he reported today that the Phillies and Cardinals have had preliminary discussions about potentially swapping Albert Pujols for Ryan Howard. :bulgy-eyes:
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Being a Cardinal fan that is a laughable trade. I didn't take from the story that it was discussed between the teams though. I thought Olney was saying that the Phillies brass was talking about it and not the Cards. Pujols will be a Card for life. No way they trade him. Too big a talent and too great a guy. He is very involved in the St. Louis community. I think Albert will ask for big bucks but I think he will give the Cards a bit of a break in terms of Arod money. The organization has done pretty much everything he has asked for in terms of surrounding him with a quality team that can win the world series.
 
If Pujols doesnt re sign with the Cards he will look like the biggest jackass. The whole reason they signed Holliday was because, and this is a bad paraphrase, he wasnt as concerned with the money but more with having protection in the line up for years to come. The Holliday deal seemed out of the ordinary for the Cards, I think its time for Pujols to back it up.
 
NikeGolf said:
:laughing:

No it's not. My goodness. A closer doesn't make or break a season. Plus, Nathan really broke down towards the end of last season, and the Twins still managed to win the division.

Oh, and Mauer will sign w/ the Twins within a month. He's not going anywhere.

Oh, and I hate the Yankees.
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Let's look back at this in October when:

1. Twins will not make the playoffs again
2. Rumors of a bidding war between Yankees and Red Sox will start for Mauer
3. Yankees are headed to the playoffs again and potentially another championship. ( They have quite a few more than the Twins )

Oh and by the way, I love the Yankees.

yankees.gif
 
Have the Royals been mathematically eliminated yet? hehe
 
White Rhino said:
Let's look back at this in October when:

1. Twins will not make the playoffs again
2. Rumors of a bidding war between Yankees and Red Sox will start for Mauer
3. Yankees are headed to the playoffs again and potentially another championship. ( They have quite a few more than the Twins )

Oh and by the way, I love the Yankees.
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Won't make the playoffs again? The Twins won 6 division titles from 2000-2009.

I wouldn't say that's just too terribly bad.

How can anyone like the Yankees? I don't get it. They buy whoever they want. Their roster is an all star squad.

I love baseball, but that kind of crap is what's wrong w/ baseball. How is Toronto, or Baltimore supposed to be contend w/ that in that division? Being a fan of those teams is like rooting for the Generals instead of the Globe Trotters.

What's the point?

Oh, and Nathan was the Yankees' best player in the ALDS last year. However, without Nathan, the Twins can't win?

I think not.
 
I have been saying that for years. That unless you have a huge payroll, you have no shot long term.
 
JB said:
I have been saying that for years. That unless you have a huge payroll, you have no shot long term.
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Well, that's not entirely the case all of the time, but overall, it does seem to be the rule. Unfortunately.

Teams like the Twins, A's, Marlins, Rays, (I'm missing one or two, I'm sure) have had success over the past decade or so w/ smaller pay rolls.
 
NikeGolf said:
Well, that's not entirely the case all of the time, but overall, it does seem to be the rule. Unfortunately.

Teams like the Twins, A's, Marlins, Rays, (I'm missing one or two, I'm sure) have had success over the past decade or so w/ smaller pay rolls.
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Rays have had success over the past decade? They had 1 good year and have had to cut payroll. Most of those teams have had a few decent years (twins have had half a dozen or so, in a weak division) and then have to sell the team parts off.

All these teams will never be able to keep stars long term because it will come down to bidding with larger organizations with larger fanbases and local tv rights that are national channels. Its a shame, but it is what it is, and in the end, MLB loses fans because of it.

I have stated my case in this thread, some agree, others dont, everybody is entitled to their own opinion.
 
NikeGolf said:
Won't make the playoffs again? The Twins won 6 division titles from 2000-2009.
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Yea and in 3 of those years the Yankees were the team to take them out

NikeGolf said:
How can anyone like the Yankees? I don't get it. They buy whoever they want. Their roster is an all star squad.
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They play within the same set of rules as every other team in baseball. I am tired of people saying the Yankees buy championships. It is the structure of the game that needs to be changed and until that happens and stands up for not only the smaller market teams but for us fans, it will never change so no sense changing their way about handling the business of baseball ( and really now a days that is all it is). Kinda like a company like Nike bought their way into golf, where a good smaller company like Nickent can't compete and had to go away.
 
JB said:
Rays have had success over the past decade? They had 1 good year and have had to cut payroll. Most of those teams have had a few decent years (twins have had half a dozen or so, in a weak division) and then have to sell the team parts off.

All these teams will never be able to keep stars long term because it will come down to bidding with larger organizations with larger fanbases and local tv rights that are national channels. Its a shame, but it is what it is, and in the end, MLB loses fans because of it.

I have stated my case in this thread, some agree, others dont, everybody is entitled to their own opinion.
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I dont remember if I stated it on this thread or another one but until baseball changes its ways and has either a salary cap, or a different way of paying players (perhaps based on yearly performance like alot of us "normal people" get paid) nothing if going to change.
 
White Rhino said:
Yea and in 3 of those years the Yankees were the team to take them out



They play within the same set of rules as every other team in baseball. I am tired of people saying the Yankees buy championships. It is the structure of the game that needs to be changed and until that happens and stands up for not only the smaller market teams but for us fans, it will never change so no sense changing their way about handling the business of baseball ( and really now a days that is all it is). Kinda like a company like Nike bought their way into golf, where a good smaller company like Nickent can't compete and had to go away.
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I agree with a lot of what you said, but the Nike vs Nickent analogy does not really work here. An established sports brand against a complete unknown.

I agree that the rules need to be changed. I agree that they play under the same rules or the others and that it is allowed.

But that does not mean that they did not buy their championship. They did, and good for them.
 
JB said:
Rays have had success over the past decade? They had 1 good year and have had to cut payroll. Most of those teams have had a few decent years (twins have had half a dozen or so, in a weak division) and then have to sell the team parts off.

All these teams will never be able to keep stars long term because it will come down to bidding with larger organizations with larger fanbases and local tv rights that are national channels. Its a shame, but it is what it is, and in the end, MLB loses fans because of it.

I have stated my case in this thread, some agree, others dont, everybody is entitled to their own opinion.
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I was saying the teams that I mentioned enjoyed some success over the past decade. Not for the ENTIRE decade, but just at times.

Yes, I realize the Rays only had one real good year. BTW, that was nice to see.

I totally agree w/ what you're saying though. You're used to it already in Tampa. We've been used to it up here in Minny for a LONG time, same w/ the Oakland fans, etc etc.

It's unfortunate and it's keeping baseball from being a better overall sport. There just is no parity. If you don't spend the money, you're more than likely going to sit at the bottom of the standings.

That's why I don't understand the Yankee fans. Anyone can BUY a championship, but what fun is that? Where's the sport in that? How about you do it the right way?

"Hey, the best player in the league is on another team. No fair! He must be wearing pin stripes! We better either buy him soon or trade for him!"

Sound familiar Yankee fans?
 
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