Seattle Sends Twins A Catcher for R.A. Dickey
Posted on March 29th, 2008 – 12:57 PMBy La Velle
The Seattle Mariners worked out a deal to keep knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, whom they selected from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft in December.
The Twins will receive 21-year old catcher Jair Fernandez, who batted .260 with 2 homers and 13 RBI for Class A Wisconsin of the Midwest League.
The Twins signed Dickey as a free agent during the offseason but left him off the 40-man roster, making him available to be selected in the Rule 5 draft. He went 1-0 with 2.25 ERA in seven spring games with the Mariners.
Dickey cleared waivers before the Mariners worked out a deal with the Twins, allowing Seattle to send him to the minors. The Twins’ pitching staff is set, with righthander Brian Bass claiming the final spot in the bullpen after solid spring.
102 Responses to "Seattle Sends Twins A Catcher for R.A. Dickey"
La Velle, was Gomez taken out for no reason?
Also, who did we give the Cubs since Lahey went to the Phillies yesterday?
1. Everyone is getting subbed now. Gomez struck out in his last at bat and seemed O.K. We’ll see later
2. The Phillies calimed Lahey before the Cubs and Twins could discuss a deal.
1.livan
2.boof
3.blackburn
4.slowey
5.baker
(liriano humber)
cf.gomez
c. mauer
rf. cuddyer
1b. morneau
lf. young
DH. monroe/kubel
3b. lamb
2b. harris
ss. everett
(punto tolbert redmond monroe/kubel)
plus the best bullpen in the majors. (neshek nathan rincon crain gurrier bass reyes)======== WORLD SERIES!!…sorry im very optimistic and i love my twins!! go twins!
Lavelle,
Any more news of minor league releases since the initial eight? Thanks.
If they’re sending us a catcher for Dickey, he’d better have an equally fun last name.
Strike that. The guy’s name was R.A. Dickey.
We’ll never get that back.
We should have just told Seattle “we’ll let you keep RA Dickey if you take back Nick Punto.”
Great job with the blog this spring, LaVelle. Appreciate the work.
Thanks for the news La Velle. So if the Phillies don’t keep him on their roster he gets offered back to the Twins?
How is a .260 hitting A-ball catcher better than the PCL pitcher-of-the-year?
The Mariners drafted RA Dickey, want to keep him in their system and he had a great ST.
Oh yeah! the Twins would have to pay $25K to get Dickey back. This way they get to keep the entire $50K the Mariners paid them at the Rule V draft.
What the hell was I thinking?
Mariners got a steal.
Sid — A 32 year old pitcher who’s never posted an ERA under 5.00 in the bigs doesn’t command much on the trade market. Yeah, he picked up a knuckleball and got a bunch of kids to wave at it, but didn’t he set a record for most homers allowed in a start last year?
Tito,
all of that was before he developed a knuckleball…
This is a very bad move for the Twins, especially with the rotation issues… The last thing the Twins need is another catcher in the minors
Terry Ryan would always say how catchers and middle infielders were in short supply. The Twins likely took the best player they could get for Dickey. They probably didn’t want him back.
Dickey was never a prospect. He’s 33 years old and has never had any real success in the majors - Knuckleball or no knuckleball. With all of the legitimate prospects fighting for spots on the Twins’ roster, he never had a shot with this team anyway. I think it’s great that we got anything at all for him. But T was right; I’ll miss the funny name.
The Twins probably don’t want Joe Mauer catching a knuckleballer.
Ed Hermann used to catch Wilbur Wood, a knuckleballer with the White Sox, years ago. They used to talk about how Hermann’s fingers were all gnarled up, from trying to catch that pitch.
Craig/Iconoclast are right on.
There is no need for RA Dickey on this team. All he’d do is take innings away from a starter, or Bass, who would be lost to waivers(and complaining here) or take innings away from kids in AAA.
The pitching has been better than expected. How it holds up over the long haul of a season will be interesting. RA Dickey would have been in competition had he not gotten taken in Rule V, but since then guys like Blackburn/Humber/Slowey/Bass all have stepped up.
You know Redmond would have caught him because he is a ball magnet and already has gnarled fingers.
The only other minor leaguers released since the first 8 are:
Korey Feiner - C
Kyle Geiger - C
Randy Keisler - LHP
Funky,
The pitching has been better than expected, you are correct. Still, all five starters are carrying a big question mark around with them. No question, however, they have talent.
Taking into consideration that the Twins were unwilling to pay Santana fair market value for his services, the only thing I would change about the starting rotation is, I would have Matt Garza starting Monday night instead of Livan Hernandez.
Seth,
I see that Trent Oeltjen is now in the Arizona system.
Do you know what happened to Shannon Stewart?
Shannon opened a concession stand.
Craig,
Shannon Stewart is back in LF, starting for Toronto. apparently outplayed Reed Johnson who was let go.
Letting a couple catchers go..thanks Seth.
And no surpise on Keisler either.
Shannon made the Toronto roster
I’d rather see Bass go than Dickey… especially with the health issues of the starters now.
Keisler surprised me a bit, just because the Twins don’t have many major league ready LHPs (there is only 1 in a 12-man staff - which is a problem) and he did ok in some games (e.g. the Yankees game) this spring…
Keisler labored too much for me…
Not having a second lefty is no biggie right now to me. you get the pitchers who can get outs.
And Bass can throw inside and hard,the kind of challenge pitcher Gardy likes. I’m glad for him and think he’ll help a lot.
By keeping Bass, the Twins actually kept a pitcher that earned hs roster spot, instead of giving it to someone (Dickey) who didn’t do anything to earn it.
Dave T,
Dickey had a better spring than Bass:
Bass: 16.1IP, 2.76ERA, 10K, 1.29 WHIP
Dickey: 20IP, 2.25ERA, 10K, 1.10 WHIP
so he did something to earn a roster spot 
Also, he went through waivers unclaimed, which means he could have been in Rochester with Bass in the majors. I think that he more valuable than another minor league no name catcher….
On the March 28 entry on the Twins MLB website, Michael Cuddyer talked about the Twins not relying on the three run homer, and still having to manufacture runs, as they did in the past.
“We have to rely on stealing bases, doing the right base running and playing defense” - Cuddyer
Aside from Gomez, there is little speed throughout the batting order.
Here are the other starters:
Stolen bases 2007:
10 - Young
7 - Mauer
5 - Kubel
5 - Cuddyer
4 - Harris
4 - Everett
1 - Morneau
0 - Lamb
0 - Monroe
Everett had a injury shortened year.
Or, you could look at it from the perspective that nobody else really wanted a 30+ year old knuckleballer. I guess the Twins figured they had enough pitching at the top 2 levels.
And I’d agree with that.
twins win 90 in ‘08
Here are the starting eight hitters on a team that could run. The 1985 Cardinals, who won 101 games.
Stolen bases:
110 - Vince Coleman LF
56 - Willie McGee CF
34 - Andy Van Slyke RF
31 - Tommy Herr 2B
31 - Ozzie Smith SS
17 - Terry Pendleton 3B
6 - Darrell Porter C
1 - Jack Clark 1B
Thanks Seth.
If only we could have got another catcher from the Mariners.
“nobody else really wanted a 30+ year old knuckleballer”
Apparently the Mariners wanted RA Dickey more than Jair Fernandez, but not in the majors at this time.
The other teams did not want to replace a player who just made their MLB roster with RA Dickey.
How many of those teams want Jair Fernandez? or ever will want him?
If we have to settle for an A-ball catcher, could it be one who has a career MINOR LEAGUE BA higher than .225?
IMO the Twins wanted $25K more than they wanted a pitcher who almost made the Mariners staff.
Why not keep RA Dickey?
“the Twins figured they had enough pitching at the top 2 levels.”
What happened to the oldest Twins (TR)cliche “you can never have enough pitching”? I guess that cliche is not only old, it is b-ll sh-t.
“he picked up a knuckleball and got a bunch of kids to wave at it”
Check the average AAA roster.
Not many “kids” in AAA.
Rochester Red Wings average age=27.5
“take innings away from kids in AAA”
“Kids” like Errol Simonitsch, Landon Jacobsen, Jay Sawatski, Zach Day, Ricky Barrett, Bobby Korecky, Jason Miller and Julio DePaula.
Yeah, that would do serious harm to give those innings to someone who actually challenged for an MLB job this Spring.
Taking into consideration that the Twins were unwilling to pay Santana fair market value for his services…
It’s not “fair market value” when even the Yanks and Boston pull back the reigns and refuse to trade for him.
It took the Mets to Zero-Hour to negotiate a contract with Santana.
Same for A-Rod. Fantastic player, but he’s working for WAY more than “market value”.
Here are the starting eight hitters on a team that could run. The 1985 Cardinals, who won 101 games.
That lineup looks familiar. I think I saw it while watching the DVDs of the 86 Twins knocking off the Cards in the World Series.
87. Whoops danged typos.
Oeltjen signed with the Diamondbacks shortly after he was named to the World Cup team. (I think it was in November, maybe December)
I was sorry to see Bartlett and Garza go. But if you asked me to pick a player to put on this team, Delmon Young or Garza, I’d pick young every time.
mmmarkiep,
AMEN!!!
Sid, why keep RA Dickey?
I really see no compelling reason to keep a 30+ knuckleballer who has never made it in the bigs consistently.
90 wins? Oh, puh-leeeeze!
Let’s look at an optimistic scenario, given a young, inexperienced staff with some definite promise.
Baker and Lirano could win 15 or more, if either of them (or both) get their stride. Just as easily, both could falter.
Slowey I like, but he’s doesn’t have devastating stuff (he really does remind me of a young Radke). He will need to learn to really use everything to get outs (like pitching inside), and that might just happen. Still, for him to win 15 this year would shock me. Someday he might even get 20, but not yet. 12 this year, and I’d consider that good progress.
Boof is to me the biggest question mark of them all. Dropping 30 pounds will definitely affect his pitching, but there’s really no way to know what sort of effect it will have until mid-season. He could have a breakout year, or be sent to the minors with instructions to eat a gallon of ice cream per day. It all depends on what kind of movement his pitches have once the games count.
Blackburn and Humber. No idea, but GP says don’t expect 15 wins from your #4 and #5 pitchers. 10 or 12 apiece? IF that happens, great.
Hernandez will be much loved by the relief staff, because he eats innings, but his wins in the last few years haven’t been amazing. Let’s assume he has a minor rebound year and gets 15 wins.
45 wins from the three top “horses” (Hernandez, Liriano, Baker) isn’t unreasonable, but it could just as easily be dreaming.
45 more wins from the rest, including the relievers? Possible, but it’s making some risky assumptions, like consistent run support. Haven’t been hearing about that yet this year.
The biggest assumption is that all these young pitchers have good years at the same time. Such things do happen, but it’s a rare occurrence. Don’t be the mortgage on it.
thrylos98 says –
“Also, he went through waivers unclaimed, which means he could have been in Rochester with Bass in the majors.”
I think it means that none of the other teams in baseball thought he was worth diddly-squat. I also think it means that you’re looking realllllllly hard for something to complain about.
Sid — the cliche is true. But, you can still only have five starters at each level. So, if you have a washed up guy who’s experimenting with a knuckler and can’t get anyone out at the major league level, who exactly do you cut from the Rochester staff? Who gets whacked from New Britian? And then who do you dump from A ball? All so you can keep this guy with no future?
Sid — let’s look past, for a moment, the idea that you’re using the 2007 Red Wings as examples of offensive prowess. (As I recall, one of the reasons they didn’t make the post season last year was that ANYONE could get that lineup out…)
The players on the Red Wings over 29 last year:
Matt LeCroy
Chris Heintz
Lew Ford
OK. So these aren’t kids, but tell me with a straight face that a pitcher who can get those three out with consistency is automatically qualified for a spot on a major league roster.
Oh, and if you’re keeping track, the actual average age of the Rochester roster last year was 26.25 years. And that includes the three guys I mention above.
“Market Value” is the price and terms agreed upon by a willing buyer and a willing seller. It doesn’t matter what the product or the service is. The contract Santana received for his services from the Mets was Santana’s “Market Value”. The Twins were unwilling to come anywhere close.
Tito,
I used 2008 (where did you read 2007?) Red Wing Roster as an example of the AGE of AAA rosters - where did you read offensive prowess?
Is Jair Fernandez (talk about no future!) potentially more valuable than Dickey? No way!! If the requirement is
“automatically qualified for a spot on a major league roster”, how does a .225 career minor league BA measure up?
Thanks to sore arms and performance-enhancing drugs,more than 5-7 starters/long relievers per team are needed. (Dickey was in the running for Mariners long relief)
His passing through waivers only means the other teams had no room on their major league rosters. The Twins could have kept him at Rochester instead of Errol Simonitsch (talk about no future!)
Twins fans should all cheer Torii when he returns to the dome on Monday. It isn’t Torii’s fault that the Pohlads only offered to pay him half of the market price for his services.
If you were selling your car, and wanted $15,000 dollars for it, and someone offered you $15,000 for it and someone else offered you $7,500 for it, you know who you would sell it to.
Now, don’t show your stupidity by booing Torii. Cheer him for all he did for the Twins for so many years. If you want to boo someone, boo the Pohlads.
Selling a car and leaving the team that raised you for more money are not even close to the same (besides the fact that $45 million dollars just can’t pay the bills). There is no loyalty issue with selling a car. The car will’nt feel like it got sold out for more money. That being said I don’t think I’ll cheer or boo. I just want Gomez to out perform Hunter in the entire series(season). That will make me happy.
Sid. Since you were raving about Dickeys 2007 performance to make your point, I only thought it would be logical to use 2007 rosters to discuss your point. My apologies. However, a quick look at hitters in Rochester this year shows even fewer 30+ hitters.
Now, I have never claimed that Jair is major league ready. I don’t think anyone has, or will (maybe his mother, but moms are like that…) The reality is this — there are plenty of players on minor league teams who won’t ever see the bigs. However, since the rulebook states that teams need to field a roster and take to the diamond whenever the schedule asks them to, they need bodies. The Twins system had a dearth of catchers last year. I think with Mauer and Ramos, the need for A-grade catchers isn’t very high (that could change, of course). That may not be sexy, or get anyone fired up, but there it is.
I love how you can toss around “career batting average” for a 20 year old who’s played in 100 games — talk about “small sample size…”. But hey, maybe we traded junk for junk. Happens all the time. Most people don’t try to use it to foster conspiracy theories, or whatever the appropriate name for your rant would be…
Upon further reflection, I may have been too hard on this Fernandez kid. In only 52 games in the Midwest League, he put up respectable numbers (He would have outhit most of the Twins A-ball catchers), and the Mariners organization was high on his defense.
In fact, the Mariners liked him so much he received an invite to spring training with them. But who knows, maybe they do that to players who have no future….
Anyways, my apologies to Mr. Fernandez’s mother, for implying that she might be blind about her son’s talents.
Maybe we’ll never hear from him again, but I guess it’s too soon to throw this 20 year old on the scrap heap of has beens.
Tito,
Before I award you the last word (I vented - I’m almost done):
The “dearth” of catchers was refuted by the Twins recent minor league cuts:
Kory Feiner, Kyle Geiger, David Hernandez and Caleb Moore (converted to pitcher then cut).
As far as Jair Fernandez invited to Mariner camp, all teams invite excess catchers to bullpen the 25-30 pitchers in camp, especially before position players arrive in week#2.
Twins invited Butera, Whiteside, de San Miguel, Christy and Morales.
The Twins and the Mariners wanted Dickey in January, but the Twins and you now prefer Fernandez. Good luck with your choices.
Out.
I have to agree with Sid and others on this we should have definetly kept RA Dickey. He’s got a chance to be good. This Knuckleball thing is really working for him!!! Remember, Neschek was nothing until he made a change. Small things can make a huge difference.
TK(2),
That’s the right spirit. There’s no need to cheer Hunter, if your not so inclined. I overstated the need to cheer for him. I doubt if I would cheer for him either, beyond respectful applause, but I definitely wouldn’t boo him. It’s time to cheer for the new guy, exactly as you suggest.
your - you’re
Teacher slaps Craig
I was at the game against Boston when they first aquired Dougie. For most of us Twins fans at the game, it was the first confirmation that he had been traded.
The reaction to the lineup was a shocked “boo” of sorts that it had happened.
However, he got a massive standing ovation when he first came to the plate, and respectfully tipped his helmet to the crowd. It was great.
Morneau’s first at bat was a louder applause, which was a welcome of sorts. It was pretty cool.
In that situation, Doug had been a good guy. When he got traded it was for the best (at the time we all figured he’d be Boston’s starting 1Bman)
In this case, Torii left in a very ugly fashion. He spent most fo 07 talking about how great it’d be to play everywhere but the Dome. And after all the talk of all the great cities he wanted to play in…he goes to one that by his own admission wasn’t on the radar until they came in with a contract 15 mil more than the next guy.
Then he talked about how he’d always wanted to play there. (Once he was in the uni and being interviewed by the local media of course)
That is why he deserves whatever boos he gets tomorrow. Like Knoblauch, he made an ugly exit.
Santana I’d probably cheer for, Silva I’d probably cheer for. But not Hunter.
Lavelle, where is deolis Guerra going to start out this year which the gulf coast twins or with the miracle? and valencia is going to play for the miracle correct? thanks.
from minorleaguebaseball.com
Twins catchers in GCL & @ Elizabethton (7)
Danny Lehman
Rodolfo Palacios
Miguel Barrientos
Andres Diaz
Danny Rams
Dan Rohlfing
Alexander Soto
Twins catchers at Beloit (same level as Jair Fernandez):
(5)
Wilson Ramos
Greg Yersich
Ben Petsch
Jose Leger
Daniel Berg
David Hernandez (cut)
No apparent shortage.
Tigers sign Fultz man there pen is just diseased that guy is worthless.
Hey, La Velle… thanks for posting the Insider blog all through the spring. It really adds to my “feel” for the camp and how things are going. The effort to maintain the blog are much appreciated.
From Baseball America
Status: The most well-traveled of all the major league Rule 5 picks, Dickey won Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year honors in 2007 before signing a minor league deal with the Twins. The Mariners swooped in about a week later, making Dickey a Rule 5 pick. While the Mariners’ rotation is set and though he’s unconventional (he lacks an ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm), Dickey is going to be hard to send out—especially after unveiling a super-slow 60 mph knuckler to complement his hard 80 mph version.
LAS VEGAS — R.A. Dickey didn’t see this one coming.
Dickey was told before the game Saturday that he would open the season with Triple-A Tacoma instead of on the Mariners’ staff. Seattle retained the rights to Dickey, a Rule 5 Draft pick, by sending 21-year-old Minor League catcher Jair Fernandez to the Twins.
“Its kind of a shock,” Dickey said. “I’m glad Seattle thinks enough about me to want to keep me, but at the same time it hurts. It is very sad. I feel like I should be there. I felt like I pitched well enough to make the team. I am disappointed. I thought it was a good fit to start the year.”
Dickey threw five scoreless innings and allowed just one hit against the Giants on Thursday. He was 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in seven Spring Training games.
“I pitched as well as anybody,” Dickey said. “I pitched as well as I can pitch. I felt good about what I did. Thursday night I thought I pitched real well.
“It is late and rosters are crowded, so as far as getting picked up on waivers, sometimes that’s hard at this point.” Dickey said. “Minnesota, obviously, wanted me back, or they wouldn’t have had to trade a player. I thought I’d probably end up back there. I didn’t know in what capacity.”
“We feel like our starters are in good shape,” Mariners manager John McLaren said of going with a six-man bullpen. “We feel like they can go deep in the game. We feel like we’ve got an insurance policy in Triple-A in Dickey. That gives us some inventory.”
The Mariners opted to go with an 11-man staff with a six-man bullpen instead of seven, and Dickey, who has an option left, was the odd man out.
“We had been talking to [the Twins] for a few days before we had to offer him back,” Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. “Until we gave them a group of names last night, I thought they weren’t going to do anything. I thought he would go back if he didn’t make our team.
Sid
Your guy kind of sounds like a baby. The guy is a career minor leaguer it what it is a minor league player swap i don’t know why you are dwelling on it its over and the guy is not that special. I for one am glad that he isn’t here because i have heard enough whinning from Garza last about a similar move done by the Twins.
From Mariners Website 3-18-08:
With Horacio Ramirez gone, who is more likely to take his place on the staff, Cha Seung Baek or R.A. Dickey? They’re both having great springs.
– Ron A., Jacksonville, Fla.
Based on what I’ve seen this spring, Dickey has the edge. He has more Major League experience than Baek, throws a pitch — knuckleball — that is difficult to hit and can pitch two or three days in a row, if needed.
Burning Bush,
I’m done.
must really slow, today Craig wot,t shut his yap,,,
Sometimes you have to choose whining and winning ahead of losing with a team of Boy Scouts.
Sid — Thanks for the laugh! Are you “done” at 9:41am? 11:40am? 12:30? 12:34? 12:48? 1:00? or 1:03?
Man — does Dickey owe you money or something? It’s a nice day, go outside or something.
“must really slow, today Craig wot,t shut his yap,,,”
popbelly,
That’s not a very nice thing to say about the new and improved Craig. Craig thinks you are just playing reverse psychology on Craig, trying to get Craig to post more often, because you are wondering what Craig has to say.
Well, the new and improved Craig is being very polite, and Craig is letting others express their views at this time.
As you know, popbelly, Craig has many things to say, and Craig could easily dominate the blog and Craig could quickly make a couple hundred Craig posts. Well, Craig is not going to do this.
Craig says that Craig, will be a polite Craig, and a new and improved Craig, and a Craig that will let others besides Craig, have a chance to say something.
Craig wants to know what you have to say to Craig now, popbelly.
GBH,
You are right.
I was just kidding the first nine times, but now I am serious.
I AM DONE!
I would of liked to keep Dicky always nice to have a knuckleballer around!!
Craig your at it again, the same, your agrivating, i usually skip over your blogs. You talk in the third person to much just like Herchel Walker used to.
As much as Craig used to bug me, I have to admit he’s toned it back a LOT lately. There’s still some snark (but that’s really no different than about 90% of the posters here these days), and I could do without the whole third person thing…
But comparred to even a few weeks ago, there’s definately some improvement.
I never thought I’d be the one to say it, but lay off him for once.
Sid,
U RA Dickey
I don’t really mean that, but a name like that should not be wasted.
I have a pretty dumb question: I have been out of town for almost a week, did Garrett Jones get cut? and if so did anyone pick him up or did he clear waivers?
yes he got cut and he cleared waivers
I for one am tired of the Tori Hunter saga. He made his choice, he wanted more money and he got it and so he is gone.
He probably traded having his jersey retired here for $90 million. I liked him when he was here but the fact is he left on his terms.
He cannot have it both ways. Santana was far classier in his departure.
Here’s a theory.
Part of the rationale for trading Garza was the belief that we could obtain a major league ready stud (Lester) as well as a CF (Ellsbury). That way you’re down two pitchers instead of three and you come close to replacing Hunter with more future value.
When the market for Johan becomes soft, your Garza/Young deal starts to make a little less sense.
Still, I like the deal. While you never have enough pitching, we do have a deep system and we’re shallow with nearly ready position players.
Hunter wanted to stay in MN. He wanted a 5 year deal the twins decided they didnt want to pay him blame the twins not Hunter.
Mark says:
March 31st, 2008 at 11:13 am
Hunter wanted to stay in MN. He wanted a 5 year deal the twins decided they didnt want to pay him blame the twins not Hunter.
mark they where willing to pay Hunter 15 million a year is a good offer they didn’t want to go more then 3 years and i dont blam hunter the twins need to offer a 4year deal in 06 and Hunter parbly would still be here but thats in the past i still like hunter but Gomez is the CF know
joe c has a new post
Hunter wanted to stay in MN. He wanted a 5 year deal the twins decided they didnt want to pay him blame the twins not Hunter.
The Royals, White Sox, and Rangers (three teams he openly said he would like to play for) all offered Torii 5/75 (the agreed “max” we would’ve expected the Twins to offer and the agreed “max” we felt he was worth). He opted for the Angels, which by his own admission wasn’t on his radar until they knocked on his door with 5/90.
That tells me that the Twins could’ve offered him 5/75 and he still wouldn’t have stayed in Minnesota. And then many would be back here complaining that the Twins were jerks for only offering 15/yr as opposed to only offering 3 yrs.
Somebody should use Dickey as a setup man, flipping 60 mph knucklers for a couple innings, and then the closer plows ‘em at about 98…
Variety is a good thing.
I never meant Torii was a jerk, but he is not the Second Coming either.
He left for money, (a lot of it for a long time) that is fine, it is his decision. I certainly do not blame the Twins for not matching.
But, there is falseness is his continual “self pronouncements” … “that he is the ultimate team man” or that the Twins management was the cause of him leaving.
He moved on for his own reasons, we can move on too. Gomez will be a very exciting replacement.
Iceman,
Players who say they want to stay with their current team are saying what they have to say. When YOU go to work today, consider telling your co-workers/bosses that you would rather work elsewhere. Tell them you can get better offers from other companies and see how that works out.
Hunter is a great guy - his past and current teammates agree. My take (from a distance) is that he is a great guy.
I wish he would have stayed with the Twins for $1million per year, but I have already named three of my future children after Carlos Gomez, so life DOES go on.
I really don’t get why Gardy has his whipping boys every year. Looks like it’s Kubel this year. Let the man hit he is better then any DH we’ve had in long time. Kubel with 500 AB’s can be very productive, but we have to watch another veteran who’s better days are behind him take those AB’s away. I just dont get it.
Does anyone else feel like me on this?
kirbyelway,
“I really don’t get why Gardy has his whipping boys every year. Looks like it’s Kubel this year.”
I will agree with you if it continues, but this year is only HOURS old. I am going to hold my water for a LITTLE while.
I know it’s one game, but Gardy can be stubborn when it comes to the line-up. A couple of bad AB’s or a couple of errors and we will be watching Monroe and Punto before you know it on a regular basis.
but I have already named three of my future children after Carlos Gomez
I can see Carlos. And little baby Gomez…
But what’s the third? I don’t know his middle name.
kirby I can relate to how you feel but it’s so differant for us because were watching through the fish eye lense and aren’t at the park with these guys every day so it’s hard to second guess why Gardy does what he does but I still do sometimes but i also know i don’t have near the knowledge of the game that he does so i usually give him the benefit of the doubt.
I am taking my cue from George Foreman who named his sons George, George, George and George.
BC, gotta watch the run-on’s there brother. I had to re-read that like 4 times.
My bad Justin i’m a lazy writer and the king of run-on’s but you got my point i hope.
Yeah yeah BC, no sweat. Its just a sports blog, eh?
Hey LaVelle, I know Torii is in town and you need to spend some special time with him. … but c’mon, no updates on the first two days of the season!!!
(I love your work and effort, but I do have to tease you about your obvious manlove for Torii!!!)
SANE:
This did not go un-noticed!
“I have already named three of my future children after Carlos Gomez”.
And I will name my “twins” Brett and Favre.
Hey LaVelle,
Which twins wore Jackie Robinson’s number? (I was disappointed because I didn’t see any)- Any idea why so many opted out?
This is a great blog
