Comments on: The Twins Are Taking a Huge Risk

By: Friday Links-N-Thinks | Minnesota Sports Zone

Friday Links-N-Thinks | Minnesota Sports Zone — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:49:57 +0000

[...] Mr. Jim Crikket at Knuckleballs thinks the Twins are taking a huge risk. What’s the risk? Read the piece to find out. [...]

By: mark

mark — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:39:45 +0000

There is a bright side to all of this. You will be able to buy a ticket to any game at Target Field this year for $10. Yes, and that includes the Crankee’s, the Bloody Red Sux, the Albert Angels, or any of the sappy and crappy NL teams that fly into The Twin Farms of Minneapolis and St. Small to play in the stadium that everyone (but the Twins) paid for. Look up into one of the private suites and you will be able to see Jim Pohlad counting his money.

By: thrylos98

thrylos98 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:53:26 +0000

I think that the ‘budget cuts’ and the ‘total budget’ is not as important as HOW you spend it…

cases in point (and I am not going to talk about the Tampas of the world) :

-2011: Both WS teams had smaller budget than the Twins’ will have in 2012. The Brewers who won the NLC in 2011 had cut their budget (by $7M from 2010 when finished 3rd)
-in 2008 the Cardinals finished 4th with a $99M budget, In 2009, they cut it to $88M (similar % cut with the Twins for 2012; and smallest since 2005) and won the division.
- Closer to home (and this is painful.) In 2010 the Tigers had a $133M budget; when they dominated the Central last season, their budget was $107M (wonder how many Occupy Target Field initiatives would have started if the Twins did a similar cut (like down to $90M) for 2012

It not about the money is how to spend it, which means you don’t sign mediocre players in $3-5M contracts and average players to $9-10M contracts (Blackburn, Marquis, Pavano, Capps, Nishioka, and maybe Carroll are parts of the problem here). Add 2-3 kids and 2-3 top player and you got something with the same $.

By: JB_Iowa

JB_Iowa — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:50:58 +0000

Howard wrote a column last summer about being “just good enough”. Since then, I have come to the conclusion that is the Twins mantra — being just good enough to compete in the A.L. Central and put bodies in the seats because the only thing that matters is the bottom line on the ledger sheets.

In one sense I hope that they do fall flat on their faces — I’m afraid another 99 loss season may be the only thing that will jolt them out of their complacency. If they can make a reasonable argument that they are in the race through most of August, I doubt that they will ever change their tactics.

In one sense, their moves this winter don’t bother me. I honestly think they need to see the status of Mauer, Morneau and Span before they invest too many more resources. The problem is that I can’t convince myself that they would do much differently even if they knew Mauer, Morneau and Span would be healthy.

By: AW

AW — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:21:02 +0000

JC, I think you prettymuch hit the nail on the head.
I’m baffled at the $100 million payroll cap, and think it was a mistake. Like you, I’d like to see at least an equal payroll to 2011, if not a modest increase. And I think fans deserve it.
Alternatively, I guess the front office could have traded away all large contracts (except for Mauer and Morneau probably), and officially called this a rebuilding year. We could have received a ton of prospects (imagine the minor league talent we could get for Denard Span, for instance — if he’s healthy), and could have reloaded for 2014 or something like that.
I don’t like the idea of rebuilding, but I feel like Terry Ryan and company are treading water in a middle ground that isn’t tenable. Either spend the extra money on a good starting pitcher (take a free agent risk for once!!!) to make this team competitive, not just for the AL Central, but for October, or just reload and tell the fans that it’s going to be a down year. This $100 million team has a pitching rotation that makes me nervous and a bullpen that could be scary.

By: Gamerscrows

Gamerscrows — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:32:54 +0000

You forgot about Orlando Hudson who was signed in Feb. 2010.

Some bloggers are completely over reacting to the cut in payroll. They lost 99 games last year, and it was not because they failed to spend. It was because they had bad contracts (nishi, nathan, ), bad injuries (too many to list, bad defence (delmon, nishi, danny v, Kubel), and a bad bench (tolbert, drew, and so many more).

They lost 99 games last year, they have improved their bench (Ryan Doumit), middle infield (Carrel), OF (Josh Willingham), and added depth to the SP core (Marquis) and improved both the starting staff and bulpen by moving Dunsing. If they can get a few people healthy, they will be a much better team. With a lower and more flexable payroll.

If they would have signed Mark Buehrle or Edwin Jackson there is a great chance they would have ended up with a very bad contract. That would have had long reaching effects.

I would much rather have a team that can add payroll when it is/gets good than has a payroll like last year and is really bad.

By: TT

TT — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:06:14 +0000

“The result would be a payroll roughly at the same level as last season,”

And for the next three to five years would have to be guaranteed. Its simply unrealistic to look at payroll as an annual event. They may well have stretched the payroll last year and the year before. That made sense, they had teams they expected to compete for the division.

Its not realistic to expect that next season. The Twins are still putting themselves in a position to compete, but using payroll to add aging pitchers to long term contracts is not the way to stay competitive in the future.

As for the PR, I doubt it will matter at all. The only real PR that matters is what is done by the players on the field. If Mauer and Morneau aren’t healthy, another pitcher won’t make any difference.

By: mark

mark — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:15:43 +0000

Good points JC. I agree with most of them. The real problem is the Twins have committed about 40% of the payroll to Mauer and Morneau. That is a recipe for disaster when it comes to winning. But like I have said over and over, “This ownership and management ONLY care about making money.” The Twin’s “pencil pushers” have figured out that the Twins can make millions and millions of dollars by selling 30,000 tickets per game. Anything over that only adds to the Pohlad pot of gold. Jim Pohlad learned at the foot of the master. The Pohlad’s got a free stadium and now they are milking the free cow. Get used to it.