Comments on: Is It Too Early To Look At 2012?

By: mark

mark — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:59:19 +0000

Capps has to go. Delmon has to go. Nathan has to go. Nishi has to go to AAA. Implode the entire bullpen. Sooner or later the “Mauer Contract” will come home to roost. You just cant devote 20% of your total salary to a guy who is set to hit 2 HR’s this season and drive in 40 RBI. I see similar numbers for Mauer next year. Then you have the 1B man with headaches. Personally I think for all practical purposes his career is over.

By: frightwig

frightwig — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:03:51 +0000

Smith’s interest in getting a “proven closer” like Storen might indicate that he’s already planning to decline Nathan’s option, or at least considering it.

I’d like to see a big shake-up with the pitching rotation. Baker is the only one whose job should be safe. Maybe you’d hold onto Pavano for some veteran stability, and Liriano because there’s a fair chance that he bounces back with a strong year at an affordable cost. But I’d probably put Duensing back in the bullpen and look for Blackburn’s replacement, if it were up to me.

Hopefully, Span stays with the team. As it seems that Smith is determined to keep Cuddyer, the most expensive of his pending free agents, can the club afford to bring back both Cuddyer and Kubel? How about if they give up on Young? I wouldn’t mind a 2012 OF of Revere-Span-Cuddyer, with Kubel subbing at the corners and otherwise filling the DH spot. But then, is there flexibility to make any changes in the infield? I think Casilla earned one more season with the team, but otherwise… maybe we’ll just have to hope that Valencia and Nishioka simply play better next year, and of course that Morneau finally bounces back.

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:21:07 +0000

The option on Nathan is really an interesting issue that I’m sure will generate a lot of debate. It’s a $12.5 million option, but it has a $2 million buy-out. Essentially, that means the net cost to the Twins to exercise the option and keep him around for another year is “just” $10.5 million because the other 2 mil is going to get paid either way.

That still may be too much… but if the alternative is to trust Bill Smith not to make a stupid trade (like sending Denard Span somewhere for a “proven closer”) in the offseason, I might lean toward keeping Nathan for another season.

By: AW

AW — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:53:16 +0000

I’m mentally ready to start thinking about 2012. This has been a season of Murphy’s Law for the Twins, with literally almost every significant move backfiring, and with a pretty incredible string of serious injuries.
I’m ready to entertain the thought of moving players such as Pavano and Young, and definitely not offering arbitration to Capps. Nathan, though effective as of late, is also a question mark for 2012. Bottom line – there is a lot of money to be freed up. I’m also concerned with the Nishioka situation: as baffled as he looks on offense, and sometimes on defense, he really should be playing at AAA, especially if the Twins determine that they are out of contention.

By: jbiowa

jbiowa — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:39:06 +0000

“I won’t be disappointed if the Twins bring back some of the current familiar faces fans have grown to know and love, but I will be disappointed if they bring back all or most of them.” So will I.

Ron Gardenhire has frequently talked about players being in their “comfort zone.” I think for some of them and most probably for the team as a whole, that philosophy has now gone beyond “comfort zone” into complacency. Part of the reason I would have liked them to trade Kubel or Cuddyer (although I have no faith in Bill Smith in the trade arena) was to show the rest of the team that being a popular, long-term player is not a guarantee that they won’t be moved or that they will be offered arbitration or that they won’t be sent down to the minors (when possible).

To me this organization has become stagnant. Very little change in the front office, very little change in the coaching staff, not much change in the player personnnel. Continuity is a good thing and served the team well in the 2000′s but that continuity has to include enough change to prevent complacency.

By: NoDak Twins Fan

NoDak Twins Fan — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:26:19 +0000

It is definitely going to be an offseason full of changes for the Twins. There are going to be a lot of new faces next season and maybe that is a good thing…