Shooter Hunt and Luke Hughes with big nights
Posted on July 16th, 2008 – 10:37 PMBy La Velle
Just a couple notes from Wednesday night action…..
Righthander Shooter Hunt, the Twins’ supplemental pick between the first and second rounds of the June draft, entered his start with a 0.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts in eight innings for the Twins rookie league team in Elizabethton, Tenn.
Unfortunately, Hunt gave up two runs over his six-inning outing Wednesday — but he struck out 12 in six innings with no walks. So in three starts at E-Town, Hunt has two walks and 28 strikeouts in 14 innings. Looks like there’s a little room for improvement there. 
And Class AA infielder Luke Hughes slammed a three-run homer for the North team at the Class AA All-Star Game. Hughes is having a great year (when healthy) for New Britain - and would have been considered for a call up when the Twins ran short of middle infielders in May. But word is that he doesn’t have a position and has been moved all over the place for the Rock Cats, mostly because of injuries. Sounds like second base is his best shot.
260 Responses to "Shooter Hunt and Luke Hughes with big nights"
Hughes is just okay. He’s not too good, but he has to be better than Craig Monroe. Of course, one could say that about most any player.
I think Steven Tolleson is the man. He should be groomed for 2B or 3B. He can be a solid everyday player, at either spot. Dinkleman is a good one also. That guy can play.
The Twins have plenty of guys to cover 3B and 2B. A trade for Beltre, would be a waste. He’s not even very good (low OBP, low AVG). Better to add depth at SS.
He’s also only allowed 2 hits in his first 14 innings pitched….
Forget about Beltre’s offense, which is still better than anybody’s who we could put at 3B now, and he’d still be worth signing just for his defense. Not to mention he could be a great influence on Gomez and Casilla. An older Dominican who’s been around for a while could help Gomez learn how to play the game and how to carry himself. Then factor in his power from the right side of the plate and he’s a no brainer. Yeah, his OPS isn’t that great and his average is poor, but he’d still help out a lot hitting behind Morneau. And with the money the Twins have lying around his contract would not be prohibitive.
I know I’m beating a dead horse and I’m going completely off topic from LENIII’s post but come on! This makes perfect sense! (to me)
Oh, and I’m excited about Shooter. Eh, not too high on Hughes but I hope he proves me wrong.
At least Da Shootah makes up for the terrible pick of Gutierrez at 27. Twins reached big time here and it was once again the laughingstock pick of the year among the rest of baseball…
i want to say Guuuzman at Metrodome.
Oh…and all this time I though versatility was a virtue. After all, wasn’t that the point moving the guys all over the field last year in the Fort Myers Merry-Go-Round? To make them play as many positions as possible? Fielding by committee and all of that? Given that half the fielders in New Britain were originally 3rd baseman, it only makes sense that none of them have a position.
A Beltre deal would be too much of a reach. One they do not need to make.
We have plenty of guys who can hit 240 with some power.
His career is pretty much just one good year in LA. In fact the Dodgers were smart no to resign him
Buscher will hit for a much higher average than Beltre.
The only question for this team moving forward is that late inning setup man role.
Bushcer isn’t a stiff but he’s never going to be confused with a 3rd baseman who carries a gold glove and threat to go deep….
The Twins have the cash. If the price isn’t too steep on the prospects, I think they should give it a good hard look.
Twin’s Front Office must not believe this team can contend yet no reason to further weaken an already not great farm system to get a “rental” in Beltre
(he is signed next year at 12M)
The rumor is the Twins are trying to trade Cuddy and Livo to get a 3b….. if they got Beltre, it would be a trade for Beltre, Span and Liriano in, Livo and Cuddy out….
i could live with that
a 8th inning setup guy I agree with, that is a need now and the future.. Twin’s only have Crain as a potential dominate flame thrower - with Rincon never recovering from his “juicing” Twin’s have a hole that needs filling
LOL Livian & Cuddy for Beltre why would Mariners or anyone for that matter trade for a terrible pitcher and an average RFer who is making more money then he is worth?? any GM who takes Twin’s up on that offer needs to be drug tested and fired!
Fire,
just the rumor i heard… Cuddy per year is lower than Beltre, not sure why they’d take livo…. i’d guess they have to pay most of his salary
Shooter - St Paul rag’s version of Sid SR came out with that dream - he also thinks Kevin Mchale is a great GM
the cuddy-livan rumor came from walters in the press who has less credibility than most of us bloggers.
and that’s insulting us bloggers!!!
Oh Sh*t, was wondering why it seemed a little pipe dreamy.
what’s wrong with mcfail he’s done wonders for the celtics?
hmm.. maybe Billy Smith is doing the same trick for Rays??
max, how would you have any idea what constitutes a “terrible pick?” they took a successful closer from one of the best college baseball teams. unless you’re moonlighting as an advanced scout, i’m pretty sure your opinion is coming second-hand. it’s been known the twins don’t take ‘conventional’ picks, but everyone places a different value on different skills. do you hear anyone “laughing” at our pick of revere now? no one liked our span pick in 2004 either, but love the combination of speed we now have in our lineup…funny how that works
Time to move Hunt up a level. He’s not learning anything where he is.
I think it is possible that Hughes has turned a corner this year, and I’m going to hope this is his actual ability. As for position, RF, 2B or 3B would work for me right now. Cuddy has 1 good year out of 4, now, so I’m no big believer. Casilla could be at SS, and there is no 3B still (how long ago did one of the great human beings ever leave?).
As for Beltre, I say go for it. He’d certainly be an offensive upgrade, and a huge defensive upgrade. You only get so many chances to win it all, play to win (assuming they don’t require Liriano or one of the current young starters in the deal).
Thanks for the minor league update, La Velle. Keep ‘em coming when you get a chance.
Trav - MLB draft experts have contended for years that Twins draft players way too high so they don’t have to pay big money to them - this is nothing new Revere was another player that was drafted 1 or 2 rounds higher then he should have went… he is another “little fish” with speed and “slap ball” mentality that kind drafting of hitters has yielded this team what? 1 playoff series win since 1991 teams need players like Revere no doubt - when a team drafts nothing but those type of hitters - guess what your team suffers
Max,
The laughingstock of last years draft is hitting over .400 in Class A right now.
Max,
“At least Da Shootah makes up for the terrible pick of Gutierrez at 27. Twins reached big time here and it was once again the laughingstock pick of the year among the rest of baseball…”
Gutierrez has not given up a run in three appearances at Fort Myers which is TWO LEVELS ABOVE where college rookies (Shooter Hunt included) usually start.
Ben Revere (the previous “laughingstock pick”) is tearing up Beloit this year.
Baseball America has already back-stepped from their criticism of the Revere pick.
Max, maybe you should research the current status of Revere and Gutierrez instead of regurgitating information that has been disproven repeatedly since their respective Draft Days.
The Twins took gutierrez because the Twins love pitchers who will get the hitters to hit the ball on the ground so there strong defense can put them out and the ball doesn’t go over the fence. According to the twins, Gutierrez has the best sinker of all the players eligible to be drafted, hence they drafted him. Walters didn’t say that they were trading cuddy and livo to Seattle. He mentioned the twins inquiring about Beltre and then he mentioned the twins were trying to trade cuddy and livo. So eveyone inferred that we were trying to trade cuddy and livo for beltre. Go twins!
Twins also envision Gutierrez as a starter and not a reliever, hence they valued him higher than most teams.
They haven’t used him in that role yet in his brief stint so far, but that’s understandable because they don’t want to rush a guy who’s had Tommy John Surgery.
Gutierrez was a starter at Miami before the injury. They put him as a closer because they had other similar strong options for starters and needed help in the bullpen.
Dianna,
“Given that half the fielders in New Britain were originally 3rd baseman, it only makes sense that none of them have a position.”
I think that the description “doesn’t have a position” does NOT refer to versatility.
It is a euphemism meaning that a player can’t find a position that he plays well enough to succeeed at the MLB level (or at least to be promoted to the next level).
That is my understanding of the “doesn’t have a position” designation.
I am all for trading Cuddyer, but he is injured on top of not having a good year so I doubt if anyone would make a mid-season trade for him.
Definately, room needs to be made for Liriano, but do you trade a starter or reliever. What if you trade Livan and one of the other starters gets injured? You start Boof? If you trade Bass, you still have Korecky down in AAA, if a reliever is injured.
However, IF they could have gotten gutty two rounds later (as that is where some teams had him), then they could have had another very good prospect, and still had Gutty. It is not just what you think, but judging what other teams think also. I don’t have any idea what the reality of that situation was, however.
Sane, I don’t think 3 appearances for Gutty prove anything one way or the other. He may turn out great, he may not, but it is a tad early to judge one way or the other.
FIRE,
“MLB draft experts have contended for years that Twins draft players way too high so they don’t have to pay big money to them”
Probably true in the past, but not true this year. Hicks, Gutierrez and Hunt were all signed for bonuses which were in the slot for their draft pick position.
Walter, my thoughts.
Play to win. If you don’t make a trade out of fear of injury, and no one gets injured, and you are still a player short, you still don’t win.
As a matter of fact, playing a 3B / RF / SS short, makes it more likely you will fail than worrying about an injury that might or might not happen.
This looks a lot like the first part of the decade - a fielder or two short, good starting pitching, great relievin (mostly). The difference is that the White Sox are better and the Tigers are better than teams were then.
I’m a Tigers’ fan and I was following the progression of Shooter Hunt all Spring prior to the Draft after his nice performance in the Cape Cod League last summer. I really wanted Detroit to draft him at #21 instead of Ryan Perry, even though I think Perry was a fine choice. I think the Twins have another nice starting pitcher prospect in the pipeline with Hunt. Kudos to Radcliffe and Smith on that choice.
mike,
I am not against a trade at all, and I agree with your point on playing to win. I think the best player to trade to try to get some value would be Boof. He is young enough and has had some success, so I think there is enough potential where a team would go for him. Boof definately has no place in the rotation right now.
“Given that half the fielders in New Britain were originally 3rd baseman, it only makes sense that none of them have a position.”
This makes perfect sense. Very logical. The Twins have a bunch of players who were 3B last season, trying to learn to play another position in AA this season. Thanks Dianna, for the input.
I wasn’t saying I agree with the Gutierrez pick where they got him, just what they were thinking.
And I’ve read reports that Gutierrez’s Sinker was the best version of a fastball available from any pitcher in the draft…
Seen it graded at 75 with 80(perfect on the scouting scale) potential.
just sayin…
anyone else surprised that Gutierrez is at Fort Myers (and still a reliever?)
Usually the Twins are notorious for holding back prospects (see: Hughes, Slama, Revere, Deleney etc for examples. I’d put Shooter on that category as well. They are playing 1-2 levels lower than they should be and dominating the competition at their level)
btw, anyone noticed what Angel Morales and Alexander Soto are doing at Elizabethton?
Hughes is a bit stiff with the glove (but so are most of the New Britain players other than the recent call ups from Ft. Myers)
mike,
” don’t think 3 appearances for Gutty prove anything one way or the other. He may turn out great, he may not, but it is a tad early to judge one way or the other.”
The majority of high draft picks will never reach MLB. If they are ALL judged to be “a terrible pick” in retrospect, then that criteria is very demanding.
At this point Gutierrez is “succeeding”
two levels higher than is Hunt. (albeit in only three appearances)
But it is nonsense for Max to call it a “terrible pick”, when that is all the evidence available at this time.
If Cuddy returns and really goes on a tear, some team might want him. Not likely, but possible. Without that happening, no one will take his contract.
I agree it is silly to call a pick a success or failure at this point. I also agree that the VAST majority never make it, so juding picks is hard any way.
Some team might take Livan in September. At that point, rosters expand. Also, he would no longer be owed much on his contract.
Kubel and Young would be much better trade bait. Younger players with good contracts. That’s what teams are looking for.
just because Livo is horrible for us, he may be a better option for some contenders than they currently have… Phillies, Boof could also be an option but i’d rather keep him as a backup plan.
Re: Cuddy
Seattle might actually be a good match for him. They will probably unload Ibanez and other than Suzuki, their outfield in the majors and AAA is a high rated young prospect who is struggling mighty in the majors (Balentien) and a bunch of Ruiz/McDonald-types. They are not a team in the mold of FLA or PIT who have low payrolls are are continuously rebuilding. They want to compete and they can afford Cudduer if the Twins take away Beltre’s bill. Probably Buscher and Macri would have to go, too to make that trade work, because, unless they get a 3B in another trade, with Beltre gone, Seattle’s 3B option is Miguel Cairo…
and Cairo is already their best 1B option too..
thrylos - I was gonna say something about Soto before too, .409 avg, 7 HR and 15 RBI in 12 games is a pretty amazing start to a season, even if its at Elizabethton….
Sane - I agree this year is different then in the past. my thought is because the team salary has dropped 17M from last year’s high level Front Office was able to squeeze a extra lump of coal into Pohlad’s posterior to produce a diamond..
I would much rather the Front Office not waste money on washed up veterans and spend more money on quality draft picks
1 or 2 years of spending money on draft picks in 2 decades had produced the mess minor leagues are in
miami (a natural fit for livan) needs a starter or 2, they are still in the race and have a couple starters with worse era’s than livan. if we are trying to stay in the race it makes no sense to leave liriano in aaa and keep livan in the rotation, imo.
one of the front office guys said on the radio that they limit college pitchers the first yr because they have already pitched a lot of innings often starting in jan. so don’t expect hunt to be fast tracked his year.
As far as Cuddyer, I do like him in a Twins uniform and I don’t think anyone has ever played the Baggy better than he does, BUT, if you haven’t noticed, with him not in the lineup the Twins have been doing pretty damn good, so I am not against him being part of a trade.
But if he’s gonna be a part of it, I’d rather see the twins go after Atkins or Kouzmanoff, they’ve got higher avg.’s and similar Power numbers. They don’t have the glove like Beltre, but they’d be equivalent to what we’ve got at third right now.
TNG, thrylos,
Add to Alexander Soto’s stats:
SLG 1.023
OPS 1.481
Yikes!
Bull pen help is really what’s needed for the Twins this year. 3b hasn’t hurt them. I’m not a big Beltre trade fan for what it will cost to get him
Cuddy’s problem is staying healthy.
Last year he played with a cracked bone in his back (Flip around 2b and landing on his helmet. WTF? LOL). This year he’s tearing his fingers up. Twins need someone who can stay healthy and play at a high level rather than someone with potential that always gets hurt.
Fukudome!! Twins get a new home in 2010
Not sure that the Marlins want that contract… I think that the Philies, Mets, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Yankees might be a better fit for Livan
HAHAHA - Cuddyer/Marci/Buscher for Beltre? HAHAHAHA! I sure hope the Mariners take that trade. Maybe we can get Ichiro for Hernandez, Lamb, Span & Monroe as well!
The Mariners want prospects if they even want to trade Beltre. I bet they would take Liriano and Span as somebody else suggested but that’s another laugher. I couldn’t live with that Liriano has ‘ace’ potential. Beltre is gone after next year back to LA. AND he isn’t even that good now. A REAL prospect is needed to get Beltre. Once that’s out of the way and another AA or A player is thrown in we can dump Span, Buscher, Macri, McDoanld, Morales, Pridie, Jones or any other career minor leaguer in the deal as well.
Oh and Walters got that stupid trade rumor about Cuddyer & Hernandez from SI Sports. And SI is almost as bad as ESPN in rumors.
Atkins would be a major mistake. He is hitting .255/.291/.391 away from Coors (frankly, I’d rather have Buscher/Harris in there than him)
Kouzmanoff is 26 and would probably be a long term option. I am not sure that he will produce much in the AL (he is striking out at a Guzmanean rate) and because he is under club control for 3 years, he will be expensive. His glove is like Buscher’s (actually a bit worse). I do not think that he is a real option there.
Other than Beltre and the 3 young untouchables (Wright, Zimmerman, Longoria) there are not many options for 3B out there. Rolen could be a possibility, but he is 3 years older than Beltre and his contract for about the same $ runs a year longer…
Oh and Luke Hughes is just Brendan Harris with a little more power and an Aussie accent.
Tyler Robertson/Luke Hughes/Some Crappy AAA player gets Beltre if the Twins want him.
stupid: how do you know what it will take to get beltre, has there been any actual names come out by involved fo people?
the only names i’ve seen are the ones here in our mindless speculation blog.
unlikely that cuddy will be healthy enough before july 31 to be traded.
I’ll throw my favorite name out there again then…
How about Ian Steward? (rockies prospect)
Something Like Fuentes and Stewart for Cuddyer/Span, Korecky, Cole Devries, Livan, Buscher/Macri/Lamb/Tolbert.
The Rockies have HORRIBLE starting pitching behind their #1 (WORSE than Livan), in The 2 games I saw over the 4th out in denver their starters had ERA’s above SIX.ZERO
that should be stewart by the way…
The Twins could get Casey Blake for next to nothing to play 3B it would be an upgrade over Buscher/Harris. ANYTHING would be an upgrade over them. To not want Atkins over those two is insane.
Atkins would be an average to above average 3B for any team. Right now the Twins have a below average group of bums at 3B.
Buscher has below average defense, no MLB power. Lamb can’t play in the AL which is the big boys league and Harris should be a bench guy. If he played outfield maybe he could start but you want glove guys at short and second. He doesn’t have that skill.
The Mariners want prospects if they even want to trade Beltre
Every article out of Seattle quoting their brass, says that they are looking forward to and want to have a team that can contend in 2009. Prospects will not make that happen… They are looking for ML-ready players.
i like what sean says, but wonder where do you get your info from….that would be a great trade for the twins
Nice TwinsNotesGuy - Again we would be 162-0 if other teams took these trades!
A top prospect and their top reliever for nothing. NIIICE. Lets see they take Hernandez off our hands why they would want him? No idea since they aren’t contending. Then they get Cuddyer and 7 million a year or Span a career minor leaguer. OH WAIT they also get Bobby Kornecky a career minor league bullpen guy who isn’t a prospect along with other AAA non-prospects. Cole Devries is maybe a top 15 prospect for the Twins. So that’s a start. Colorado wants a top prospect for Fuentes. They have stated that. And it will take other prospects to get Ian Stewart as well not stuff they already have in AAA ball or Vets.
Those of you down on Beltre may not know that he has been battling a wrist injury for several weeks, which is why his average and OPS are low. As he heals I expect he’ll get back to his stat line from last season (.276, .801 OPS, and 26 home runs), not to mention bringing great defense. Who knows, maybe being in a pennant chase on a young, energetic team will lead to him finding his 2004 stroke (.334, 1.017 OPS, and 48 home runs.) That probably will never happen but there is no way that Buscher is a better option at 3B than Beltre. Its not even close.
I think it will be easier to get a 3B than an 8th inning guy. Why not give Barrett a shot?
The Mariners want to contend quickly but why would they take a guy like Cuddyer for Beltre? How is that improving them? They want top prospects in return. Tyler Robertson is one of the Twins best prospects. It’s how trades are done at mid season. It going to take a top prospect Danny Valencia, Tyler Robertson, Jeff Manship, Ben Revere, Anthony Slama, Brian Dinkelman along with a 2nd tier prospect Luke Hughes, Chris Parmelee, Cole Devries, Santos Arias, Steven Tolleson or Ryan Mullins to get a Top Vet back. That’s how these teams roll this time of year. Should the Twins do it? Maybe if one of those prospects aren’t huge for the Twins.
If those guys are too young for the Mariners and they probably won’t trade with the Twins. They probably won’t trade them at all. The guys that write for the Mariners say Beltre is the least likely of the guys they have on the block to be traded. They want to unload Arthur Rhodes and Bedard really badly. Then Ibanez and Beltre.
Colorado has given no indication they want to trade Atkins as well. It sounds like they would have to be blown away by an offer.
sane how did Martin look during the All Star Game to you. Impressive. As for this weekend of rain I am off to go see the Morneau and Hamilton show
thylos,
“Every article out of Seattle quoting their brass, says that they are looking forward to and want to have a team that can contend in 2009.”
Teams seldom (never?) admit they are rebuilding. They don’t want their veteran players and fanbase to abandon them. If Seattle was really shooting for 2009, Beltre would not be available for trade.
Now ESPN thinks the Home Run Derby should be changed. They are going to figure out a way to “fix” it. Interesting word to use.
Josh had a twenty run lead and Justin won it the end with a homer (or two).
Happens all the time.
The Twins would be way better right now if they dropped Boof and Bass right now. HOPEFULLY Boof won’t get claimed but he probably will. Bass is worthless so it would be great to see him go. But Ricky Barrett and Bobby Kornecky would be better options. They might suck too but Barrett has some good strikeout rations in AAA at least. Should give them a try. Bonser and Bass or flat out horrible.
If you also bring Liriano up that’s an upgrade. Hernandez should be released or traded.
Just those two moves would help the Twins greatly.
If you dumped Lamb (not using him) and traded a low level prospect for Casey Blake that would also be a small improvement at third and he has some power.
Sean - I base that offer on what I heard from ACTUALLY BEING IN DENVER AND TALKING TO FANS AND READING THEIR PAPERS.
Stewart was called up earlier in the year to try and take the job from Atkins, HE FAILED TO DO SO and nobody there sees him outperforming Atkins if Atkins remains there. They want to unload Fuentes. They’re throwing in the towel this year. If they get rid of Fuentes, they need another reliever, Bass, Boof. Livan finishes the year for them, Devries is a future starter, could replace him with Robertson, another guy could be Valencia, nobody here seems to be as high on Hughes as me, so add him while his stock is high, its not out of the realm of possibilities to swing a trade like that. Those were just names I came up with off the top of my head.
How does this sound to you then?
Devries/Robertson/Swarzak, Cuddyer/Span, Joe Benson, Wilson Ramos
Walter Johnson says:
July 17th, 2008 at 9:24 am
mike,
I am not against a trade at all, and I agree with your point on playing to win. I think the best player to trade to try to get some value would be Boof. He is young enough and has had some success, so I think there is enough potential where a team would go for him. Boof definately has no place in the rotation right now.
Success what the hell have u been watching stop sniffing glue man
3 things jimmy bee wants to ban the use of
1. The word Hot Dish (casserole)
2. short socks
3. pink shirts for men
“Success what the hell have u been watching stop sniffing glue man”
Glue sniffing might explain that brilliant comment.
gobbledygookguy, I don’t. Just going by what the Twins gave up for Delmon. And my opinion that I don’t see 3b as a position that’s hurting the Twins so far this year.
My opinion is that they need someone to step in for Neshek
STUPID is not stupid.
Harris is not far below Beltre at 3B, is much cheaper salary-wise and will not cost Tyler Robertson, Danny Valencia, etc. to obtain.
I’m with Stupid (that’s what my t-shirt says) and Mudcat.
Fuggettabout Beltre and just fix the bullpen!
sane I’m with supid as well and beltre is overpriced for his sorry hgh use in the past butt. Remember when we got Brett Boone. Those were the day’s
after reading all of this, i like to go back to patrick @ 12:48 - his post makes so much sense. i will be furious if the twins fail to pick up beltre at this time, when hes just sitting there waiting to be grabbed by some contending team..gardy has mentioned what he wants, in no uncertain terms, and its quite obvious that the team needs a rh bat and someone to back up morneau….also the thought of him mentoring the young dominicans is priceless..the twins have so many prospects and a very young big league team that all those prospects are not going to make it with the twins anyway, so loosen the purse strings mr bill smith and do whats right for gardy, for the team and yes, us too, as we are part of the reason you even have purse strings….lets hope beltre is starting for the twins before the weekend is up….oh by the way, maybe theres a place in this lineup for a. rhodes also…just a thought
Teams seldom (never?) admit they are rebuilding.
Twins are a perfect example. They were “focusing on youth” and “looking to compete”.
That’s the key. The difference between being “competitive” and being “contending”.
Competitive teams are happy to finish around .500, just as long as they don’t loose a LOT of ugly games. (Twins earlier this season were competitive)
Contenders want to be in the playoffs, or at least in the hunt for most of the season. (This is what the Twins are now)
That’s where I think everybody got hung up on what Smith was saying about being “competitive” and interpretted that as being in the World Series vs. just making sure they don’t finish dead last in the division.
Beltre is a waste of an acquisition but as for getting lets say Casey Blake or Garrett Atkins I am all in for either one of those 2
MJ1:
I’m warming to the idea, also. Where was the 12:48 post? I would like to read it.
[…] and in other news, La Velle comes up with an update on Shooter Hunt, one of this year’s supplemental first round picks. He’s been pitching at Rookie level […]
La Velle, I’m talking to MJ1. Don’t interrupt.
just back up to 12:48am on this blog…and by the way the twins also really need to work on the bullpen in addition to grabbing beltre….
ESPN radio essentially said Liriano is going to be called up
Liriano needs to be called up but who do we trade or send down. If we trade Livan we would be letting go of a veteran leadership type player who is not to expensive and he eats up alot of innings. That being said who do we trade or send down.
TwinsNotesGuy - I doubt people in Denver said to you: “Ya know TwinsNotesGuy if you just gave us Cuddyer or Span with Bobby Kornecky and Livian I’m sure we would give you Ian Stewart and Brian Fuentes. Especially since they were supposed to contend this year.
And please let me know what article said that as well.
I have read that Colorado wants a top prospect for Fuentes that would seem to make sense.
Just browsing Colorado news when you google Ian Stewart doesn’t seem their is any indication Colorado wants to trade him. He seems to be a CORE player for future years at 2nd or 3rd.
So I doubt that Stewart and Fuentes is even possible at mid-season.
It would probably take one of our actual starters to get him and Fuentes. Like Blackburn or Slowey.
If you just want to get Fuentes it would take a top prospect a 2nd tier prospect and a throw in. I doubt the Twins want another lefty especially one that makes 6 million a year. But they do need bullpen help.
the twins are a very lucky team, as it seems they have a great bunch of young players who actually all like each other and get along so very well, which is what it takes to make a winning team and i like the relationship that alexi and gomez have and it would be great imho, to see a veteran like beltre to come in and also help not only by backing up morneau with his bat and great fielding, but to also be a major leader in that clubhouse amongst the dominican players…to me, he just seems like such a great fit..i have never read anything negative about the man, as far as a clubhouse problem etc…..and also i dont think casey blakes bat is going to throw too much fear into many pitchers minds…i believe they would walk morneau anyday to pitch to blake…not so with beltre
easy call send Bass back to the lake!!
jimmy,
if we are commited to keeping Livan and his salary because of the intangibles…. make him the Bass guy and get rid of Bass? then trade Boofburger to Philly or someone else who has chitty pitching. that work?
Do we really want to get rid of Livan?
I think that would be a mistake. He’s pretty important in many different ways. And cheap.
“Bass back to the lake.” Good idea.
Catch and release.
I like the post at 12:48 am as it is good to have mentors to the young players. I am suspicious of players with one good year during the steriods era. Anybody remember Brady Anderson, Brian Roberts, Aaron Boone? I would hate for Beltre to try to “create” additional speed in our players.
We need some additional relief as Bass, Boof and the young starters are going to continue to put addiitonal pressure on Guerrier and Crain throughout the season.
eating innings with a 5.50 era can be done by boof. all 4 starters are doing fine with innings, not great but fine. liriano should eat just as many innings as livan has been giving us at reduced era.
if these guys still need veteran leadership have bert sit in the dugout and do tv color from there.
i am as tired as anyone of watching livan sometimes pitching batting practice, but just when you want to give up on the guy, he seems to come thru and win and give you another solid 7 innings, but hopefully he will tighten up in the 2nd half and be a real leader down the stretch..i dont think we can give up on him yet…bring up liriano but send bass down for a stretch and see what happens
Bert in the dugout? ? ?
He fks off too much. Always did.
Practical joker. Won’t work.
You want to get rid of Hernandez if you can get something in return. As opposed to what Rob Neyer says Hernandez is cheap and in the games he has won pitched well.
If you can’t trade him right now then you keep him around there is value you don’t release him.
And whoever said Harris is as good as Beltre at 3rd must hang out with crazy Matt Garza. Both need their head examined. That’s like saying Denard Span is better than Michael Cuddyer. Oh wait a lot of people seem to think that…
“Harris is not far below Beltre at 3B”
Um… yeah he is. Offensively and defensively.
Harris not much lower than Beltre??? Yeah I guess Harris will only end up having about 20 HRs and 25 RBIs fewer than Beltre not too mention far less defense. We need a right handed bat between Morneau and Kubel, not Cuddyer who may never have power again due to multiple hand injuries that he even stated may never fully heal. Also, Walters reported the Cuddyer/Livan package for a 3B before SI Sports (it states on SI’s site that they got the story from Pioneer Press).
If you can convince Livan to go to long relief…….
Thats one hell of a sales job!
The guy hasn’t missed a start since… He’s always been a starter…
he needs to start to get another big contract…
He has no experience in the bullpen…
BUT if he buys into it, release Bass into the pond and call up Liriano.
Send Boofburger to another team. I actually like that and send Bass down. Maybe we could get relief help for boof and Span from somewhere
Arthur Rhodes will get the job done for the Twins if they want to trade for Bullpen help. He will pitch well the rest of the season and then blow it in the playoffs.
If the Twins really want to get serious like they can try to get Ron Mahay from the Royals. But he makes 4 million and KC will probably demand a randsome for the guy. He is pretty good though.
We should try and get a package of Beltre and Sean Green or Kouzmanoff and Heath Bell. I’d definitely give up some fairly high prospects to give us a legit third baseman and solid late inning reliever.
Sean - sorry man you’re taking my words out of the context I’m trying to say them, which is partly my bad.
I never spoke with them about players the Twins could trade for Atkins or Stewart, just their feelings on their own team and who they should trade if it comes to that and what they’d be looking for in returns, they were of the consensus that Matt Holliday probably wants too much money and should be traded now, they were split on whether Atkins should stay or peddle him and give Stewart the opportunity, they thought Fuentes is unneeded as they are non-contenders right now and they felt they could get a couple good pieces for him.
Ya, my one trade offer I put out there is probably low-ball, but those were just names I grabbed that fit the bill of what they wanted in return in a deal like that, they do not fit the skill necessarily though.
Reliever to replace Fuentes-Korecky MLB ready player/contributor- Cuddyer, Span
Future SP prospect-Devries
MLB SP- Livan (better than their 3,4,and 5 starters)
another higher level prospect- Valencia, Hughes, Benson, Parmalee
Those are just names, there are probably other players that fit the bill and price better, but I don’t know, their are definitely pieces in the Twins farm system that could swing a deal like that though, I mentioned my list of guys that could be pieced together in a trade like this the other day, Twins won’t kill their farm system as much as you think if they tried to do something like this.
does that help you understand?
and what do you think of the other offer I stated? 3 or 4 of our top 10 prospects and a MLB ready player or two doesn’t land someone good? I think you’re way off on that assessment.
would a package of Lamb, Everettt and Boof get us some relief help?
relief is the last place for livan.. i cant believe anyone would even think of him coming out of the bullpen in a tough situation….he would make rincon look like nathan
ESPN says it got the rumor from Walters didn’t see that from SI. A little birdy must have told Walters then. That little birdy gets it right about 1% of tht time.
mj1,
i wouldn’t really want the Twins to use him, ala what they did with Ramon last year
the fact is the rockies don’t have room for both Stewart and Atkins on the MLB roster unless one learns a new position, which is unlikely to happen. They both hit for power, but Atkins avg is much higher. Stewarts highest avg over a season has been .319 at A ball, and he’s only .214 in his career while in the bigs.
It comes down to whether they want a youthful slugger or a proven one, one of them will be gone, and I’d take either one.
a report said that the rockies are leaning to trade atkins before holliday, who is like our kirby. they have stewert to play 3b but the price would be higher than beltre. our leftovers will only get other leftovers.
slowey has the highest era of the staff at 4.26 with the exception of bass and livan in the mid 5’s and boof in the 6’s. available relief help with an era under 4 will be very costly and fuentes has said he only wants to close. remember how well gagne worked out for the sox last yr unhappy not closing.
yes, livan is a problem, and i dont know whats best, as if anyone would care anyway, but i like what hes done for the twins and the young twins staff, so i hate to see him leave this staff at this time in the season, as i dont like alot of shakeups, unless adding someone like beltre, but removing players has an effect and im not sure what effect losing livan would have on this club.. i guess i am willing to go game to game with this guy and see how it plays out in the next couple outings, but in the mean time the twins seriously need to make the plays for beltre and a good bullpen guy…can you hear me bill smith….can you believe how lucky b. smith is to have as many experts as we are on his team….amazing…..
“3 or 4 of our top 10 prospects and a MLB ready player or two doesn’t land someone good? I think you’re way off on that assessment.”
it would have to be THE TOP 3 or 4 prospects - Twin’s minor league system is not that good
2008
Harris / Buscher .273 6-49
Beltre .259 16-46
I think it should be noted that a trade for Beltre WOULD/WILL involve someone from the twins/farm system that most of us here don’t want to lose. It seems like we all (me included) love hypothetical trades involving 1 all star (i.e. Beltre) for 12 average twins prospects. No, it would be 2-3 twins prospects that we will all whine about losing after the trade. We need a relief pitcher. Furthermore, for the first time in a while I don’t feel any special need to try and win the world series this year. The squad will be better next year if we let things play out. Just random thoughts…
Yeah good one I’m sure Colorado wants Livan Hernandez after we just gave them Ramon Ortiz last year. I’m sure Hernandez will just dominate at Coors Field. No way they want him.
When you throw out Ian Stewart and Brian Fuentes together I have no idea what it would take to get them really besides that it would take ALOT. And guys like Cuddyer and Hernandez wouldn’t be part of it. Like I said Fuentes by himself would be a top prospect, 2nd Tier and throw in. Someting like Milwaukee did I believe last year when they traded for Scott Linebrink but Fuentes is better.
Colorado isn’t looking for pieces like a reliver for the rest of the season or a starter this season. They are DONE and they have AAA guys to try out or other prospects. They want top prospects for their guys. Ian Stewart is considered a top prospect though his value has been dropping. To get him they would want another top prospect. Those trades usually happen after the season. Like Delmon Young - Matt Garza.
Blackburn for Atkins
i cant believe anyone would say they dont care about winning a series this year and pinning hopes that next year would be better…..are we not only 1.5 games out and a great chance to win this division..and with an improving club everyday and some additions, liriano, beltre, bullpen help…..good lord how can you push everything to next year…what guarantees are there for next season…..you never know whats ahead, next year could be a disaster for any number of reasons…i certainly dont hope so, but realisticly you never just assume next year is yours….
Blacburn, Span and Korecky for Atkins
forgive my unrealistic spelling
Revere for Beltre, other spare parts included risk/reward.
IMO a trade for a 3B will not happen this season.
IMO Liriano will be brought up soon and that move will have to be flipped into a new relief pitcher. (Livan or Livan’s replacement)
2008 against LHP:
Harris: .242/.289/.352
Buscher: .118/.118/.118
Lamb: .074/.107/.185
Beltre: .351/.467/.554
thrylos98 says:
July 17th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
2008 against LHP:
Harris: .242/.289/.352
Buscher: .118/.118/.118
Lamb: .074/.107/.185
Beltre: .351/.467/.554
What about against RHP?
jimmy bee, why dont you throw in mauer too…
Actually the Rockies want Ian Stewart to play 2nd even though he is a natural 3rd. Holiday is almost forsure gone so they probably want to keep Atkins unless they are blown away.
It is pretty brutal for Stewart so far in the majors 55 ABs this year and 28Ks 3HR and 5RBI with 3BB to go with the 28ks. But he is pretty young.
thrylos98,
Do you have Beltre’s career LHP splits?
“mj1 says:
July 17th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
jimmy bee, why dont you throw in mauer too…”
Do you think it would be needed to acquire him
jimmy bee,
the Twins are hitting .283/.344/.419 (OPS+ 107) vs. RHP and .265/.315/.380 (OPS+ 87) against LHP. Clearly, hitting against RHP is not a problem that needs a solution.
If we are going to trade a current starter then it should be Slowey. Blackburn is going to be an absolute stud over time. Slowey, Cuddy and Lamb for Atkins. Gardy wants a player to mash lefties. Atkins is hitting .350+ against lefties. Throw in Bonser and a AAA pitching prospect for Fuentes. Liriano comes up to take Slowey’s spot and possibly Korecky for Bonser’s or go to 11 pitchers.
i think it would help secure the deal jimmy bee, and i like sure things
Beltre career: .272/.349/.448 vs LHP and .270/.320/.461 against RHP…
btw, if youth is an excuse for Ian Stewart’s performance, compare that to Young’s and Gomez’ who are one year younger than Steward 
Beltre
vs RHP .234/.288/.410
Home .220/.289/.410
Road .296/.366/.475
Getting him out of Seattle should improve his overall numbers. Also, his numbers have improved drastically since an awful May. Of all the 3b mentioned, Beltre is the one I want. Blake would be ok, but should only be a fall-back option if Beltre falls through. I don’t like Atkins at all. His numbers are heavily skewed by Coors (.580 SLG at home vs .391 on the road). Trading anyone for Atkins would be a mistake. Trading Blackburn for anyone would be a mistake.
mj1 says:
July 17th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
i think it would help secure the deal jimmy bee, and i like sure things
If only we had Russell Martin. What to do. What to do
sean - I’ll say it again, they’re just names, thats it, do I have to scuff a CD recording of my voice for your so it keeps repeating that?
anyway,
Thrylos, you said before you didn’t think Kouzmanoff was an option? I want to ask why? Chase Headley could easily slide back to 3B to replace him
sane, I do think the Twins will pick up a 3B. The stars aligned this year to the point where there are several teams falling well out of contention, with veteran 3B who have some power and aren’t yet spiraling down hill. It would be foolish, I think, for the Twins not to pick one of them up.
I do agree a decent set up guy would be a huge benefit as well. If he’s a lefty, so much the better. Not only would help this year but would keep Neshek from having to do all the set up work next year. Also provides insurance in the event of injuries to Neshek or Nathan next year.
The Twins are a very young team and I would think there are some pretty decent prospects that they could end up losing anyway if the team can’t find a MLB spot for them in the next year or two.
None of us expected the Twins to be serious contenders in 2008, but here they are… and it would be a mistake to pass on this opportunity just because you THINK you’ll be even better next year.
They’ve got salary room, expendable prospects, are in a division with underperforming competition, in a year when the Yankees are faltering. I say go for it right now. Get that RH bat to back up Mauer and Morneau and a reliable set up guy and let’s make a run at this thing.
I know exactly who the Twins will trade and who they will send down. And I promise to let you all know what I know in 2-8 weeks.
Kouzmanoff is under club control cheaply for 4-5 years (has a little more than a year of ML service) and wouldn’t have to go through arbitration until the end of 2010. There is no reason for the Padres to trade him and if they trade him it would be very expensive (much more expensive than Beltre). His fielding is worse than Buscher’s and he is not that great of a player…
thrylos - gotcha
JimCrikket - I couldn’t agree more, and I hope they do as well
JimCrikket,
Very convincing!
Maybe, I’m NOT with Stupid>>>>>>>>
Maybe, my girlfriend is with Stupid>>>>>
sane i thought the other day you were for getting beltre, have a change of heart? maybe i miss read.
funny how a week ago this place was so down after 3 losses to the sox and another one to the tigers looking like a sure thing. it was time to trade, shoot or jail half the team and send the rest to aaa. a week later we’re trying to figure out how to make a run. isn’t baseball fun?
nobody has complained about punto or young for 3 days now.
wrong problem JimCrikket - Twins haven’t had much trouble winning the division in the Gardy era - it’s that 6 wins in 21 playoff games record that has been troublesome.. adding Beltre and a reliever isn’t going to change that IMO
so its pretty much agreed that if the twins get anybody it’d be Beltre…could get Arthur Rhodes to help in Pen in same deal…
Seattle says they’d have to be blown away to get rid of Beltre though, what does everyone think would ‘blow them away’?
I think the twins, with their youth, as Crikket said, can afford to trade a number of prospects that would eventually run into a wall.
Devries/Robertson/Swarzak, Boof, Cuddyer/Span, Joe Benson, Darnell Mcdonald/Jason Pridie, Wilson Ramos.
Something ALONG those lines, not NECESSARILY that I think is close…(sean)
thats 4 of our top prospects, a MLB outfielder and an MLB starter.
LENIII did say the other day that the Padres were in favor of moving Headley back to 3B and that Kouzmanoff is looking like the odd man out there. He has 30 - 35 HR potential and has a .311 BA against lefties.
gobbledygook - nobody’s complaining because they havent played for 3 days…
I think if we could get a reliever from Seattle it should be Sean Green. He is much more effective than Rhodes and we need a RHP more than a LHP, although I do think Rhodes would be an upgrade over our lefties now.
FVandG says “wrong problem JimCrikket - Twins haven’t had much trouble winning the division in the Gardy era - it’s that 6 wins in 21 playoff games record that has been troublesome.. adding Beltre and a reliever isn’t going to change that IMO”
If not that, than what will? substantially upgrading your defense and your bullpen sound like a pretty good recipe for playoff success to me.
San Diego also has Chase Headley, who is a much better hitter than Kouzmanoff and who is not working out as an outfielder. The Pads NEED to move Kouzmanoff. They might do something like Span for Kouz.
The only problem is, what the Twins need is a RH power hitter, and that’s not Kouzmanoff. Also I am not excited about trading for a NL hitter after seeing Lamb fall flat on his face as a hitter.
Beltre seems ideal because Seattle won’t pay the money to re-sign him after the 2009 season, so they will trade him for prospects. By 2010 we will have other options from our own farm system at 3B, so a two-season rental seems like a good fit.
Patrick - IMO the team still has too many holes to be fixed with only 2 patches - going against Red Sox lineup(especially if Big Papi is healthy) with 4 unproven playoff pitchers and a terrible vet in Livian and an offense with no slugging power(anything more then a single) and alot of youth is indeed a bad recipe….
“If not that, than what will?” - 2 years for this team to grow up a, 3rd basemen,SS, RF Liriano as an ACE, Baker as ACE II
Well guys, Twins made the front page finally: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8352458?MSNHPHMA
Liriano’s agent is looking to file a grievance with the league regarding Liriano’s continued use in Rochester.
I just read that the Twins contacted the Orioles about Brian Roberts. He would be the perfect lead off guy and we could move Casilla back to SS and throw Harris in as part of the trade offer.
I do think Rhodes would be an upgrade over our lefties
not sure on that:
2008
Rhodes: age 38, IP 17.7, ERA 3.06, WHIP 1.358
Breslow: age 27, IP 20.7, ERA 2.18, WHIP 1.258 (Twins and Indians)
Reyes: age 31, IP 26, ERA 2.77, WHIP 1.154
And to seperate fact from opinion, frankly I think it’s a riddiculous claim.
The Twins would have to make room on their roster in order to bring Liriano up, and would have to make room in the rotation for him.
That means they have to do something with their pitching staff to open up a spot.
Which isn’t as easy for the Twins right now as the agent makes it seem. They COULD release Livan, but then he might as well file grievance with the league because they’d be preventing him from qualifying for bonuses.
I HATE stuff like this personally. Just like the Favre situation. You’re forcing a team to make a roster decision with no consideration for the implications to other players involved.
BC - send the link where you read that!!
BC of ND - got a link for that?
It’s under Yahoo sports rumors of course but it’s not unbelievable that they did.
thrylos98 Its easy to keep Reyes era low when you only pitch to 2 batters once or twice a week. Why don’t we try and get Grabow who is a MR from Pittsburgh for Boof.
BC,
you read it wrongly
It said:
a. The Orioles have gotten several inquiries about Roberts
and
b. the St.Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins appear to be the best fits.
not necessarily that any of the 3 teams contacted the Orioles…
Just don’t see it happen
BC, Reyes pitched more innings than Rhodes this year. That was my point on the comparison…
gobble,
“i thought the other day you were for getting beltre, have a change of heart? maybe i miss read.”
I think getting Beltre is a great idea, until the Twins have to give up something valuable that may be key in 2010.
It’s like spending your life savings early,because you may not live until retirement.
I think they are too young to “go after it” this year. Until I see them stop wetting their Pampers and play with some maturity at Yankee Stadium or at Fenway, IMO their chance of success in the Playoffs are not realistic.
I think 2010 may be a maturity date for this team, but maybe Beltre can be signed beyond 2009 and help out.
Bottom line - I’m vaccillating at a high frequency on the idea of going after Beltre.
jim crikket, you make alot of sense…i just wish more people would live in the present rather than thinking 09 or 2010 are some magical year..there are no guarantees of anything, so please mr smith do whatever it takes to get a couple deals done to shore up this lineup and bullpen…this very well could be the baseball story of 2009….how about a twins/rays championship……eat your hearts out boston and ny….god would that make my day….i am starting to hate the east with a passion….
Liriano has a point but his agent should stop causing trouble. Liriano has acted entitled in the past and his agent acting like he should always get his way won’t help. The Twins should still call him up though. Hernandez does not help this team. He’s a good influence on our young guys and brings intangibles to the table, but the fact is, he’s not a good pitcher. Trade him for a low level prospect with a little bit of upside since that’s the most we can hope to get for him. Liriano should be contributing for this team and not wasting his innings count in Rochester.
The O’s are asking for way too much for Roberts. That won’t happen.
Thats true Thyrols my bad. Does anyone remember what we gave up to get Shannon Stewart? This would be almost the same type of deal i think.
t it’s all about money, the club wants to make money and the player wants the most he can get.
money, money, money!
what we gave up to get Shannon Stewart
Bobby Kielty
“Bobby Kielty”
Ronald McDonald
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/03/23/gallery.zito/7zito.jpg
“Liriano’s agent is looking to file a grievance with the league regarding Liriano’s continued use in Rochester.”
And Rob Antony’s premature blurt-out will be used against the Twins in the Grievance hearing. He should have memorized his job title: ASSISTANT gm.
JIMMY,
there are actually pics out there were he is fully dressed like ronald mcdonald, its pretty sweet.
just bring him up, then it should all go away
Shawn in Binghamton they used to pop up right away but not as easy to find these days.
hahahaha, thanks for the laugh Jimmy, wow…
what the heck is he trying to do/prove with that pic? that he looks funny as hell?
Twins have had a history of “hosing” other teams until recently… 
rival GM’s are asking alot more from Twins in trades
Twins can only rebuild into a real contender through drafting players, getting rid of the few good players they have will only mortgage the future and set the team farther back
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2491624150034602413GqkLFs
HERE IS A GOOD ONE
Ah beautiful Bobby so why couldn’t we just give them Monroe and Harris for Roberts and maybe a minor league pitcher.
sickels has a mid-esason review of his top 20 twins prospects. doesn’t look that great, wonder if seth is around to comment on this.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/
liriano and his agent should just shut the hell up and let things resolve themselves…to stir up crap like that does nobody any good…shows alot of immaturity on both liriano and his agent…liriano will get his chance soon enough and then it better be pretty damn good or whats he going to spit out then…idiots, both of them….whats next???
I don’t see anything on the Strib about Francisco filing a grievance against the Twins. Is that only news here in Texas?
I think Seth already posted his mid-year prospect ranking through 50 also!!
I think the Twins should file a counter-grievance against FL, because he failed to stick with his rehab during the off-season and cost the Twins a series of embarassing losses at the beginning of the season.
Jeff,
ESPN radio reported it
earlier, they reported the Twins were about to bring him up.
twins should teach him a lesson and send him to AA for a week or so….im starting to lose respect for that young man….
Maybe they should trade him
Cool, Shawn. Thanks.
he failed to stick with his rehab during the off-season
Is this a known fact or just Gardy’s opinion? (rhetorical question)
Maybe the grievance ended up on Rob Antony’s desk.
THAT’S what he meant by “The Twins have TO find a place for Liriano on the 25-man roster!
I think Liriano and his agent will force the Twins to improve themselves against their will.
so is Liriano another Garza - JC Romero - Loshe - Adam Johnson -Hawkins - head case???
this organization seems to have more then it’s share
“twins should teach him a lesson and send him to AA for a week or so”
Yeah, THAT won’t look vindictive to the Grievance Board.
“so why couldn’t we just give them Monroe and Harris for Roberts and maybe a minor league pitcher.”
Because the O’s would never accept that. They were asking the Cubs for two elite prospects and at least one other second tier prospect.
Fire,
why don’t you add big Papi in that list?
If an organization fails to communicate with players and see players’ perspectives sometimes and explain their moves to the players in a way that both parties are satisfied with the explanation, methinks that the organization and not the players are in fault. Especially, if the organization is known to play favorites with some players of questionable value (Rincon, Punto, Ford, Hockin, LeCroy etc)…
sane - i was only kidding, but it pisses me off…maybe they should trade the man…im sure he would bring a pretty good player or two….id probably take the chance….maybe this guys ego is too big for the twins….nobody is bigger than the team itself and i hope he realizes that…the twins have a damn good thing going and he could be a part of it soon if he would shut his mouth, but, no he has to start a bunch of crap….disgusting it is
Btw, There is space for Liriano in this team right now. DFA Bass, put Perkins in the pen (where he belongs), Liriano in the rotation, is a better team until Livan is out.
Thanks for that link, gobbledygook.
The Twins should offer up a package of players onto the baseball market. This package would include:
Lamb
Livan
Monroe
Everett
This package would be attractive to any team looking to pick up four really bad players.
“sane - i was only kidding, but it pisses me off…maybe they should trade the man…im sure he would bring a pretty good player or two….id probably take the chance….maybe this guys ego is too big for the twins….nobody is bigger than the team itself and i hope he realizes that…the twins have a damn good thing going and he could be a part of it soon if he would shut his mouth, but, no he has to start a bunch of crap….disgusting it is”
How do we know he’s starting crap? It sounds like his agent is the one doing most of the crap starting. The only thing Liriano looks guilty of is being confident in his abilities. He has an argument too. He could help this team now and they should call him up. He’s done everything they’ve asked him to do and all he wants is for the FO to honor their word. They said they’d call him up when he’s ready and I don’t know how much more proof they need that he could be effective in the Bigs.
Craig,
actually the Mariners would probably pick all the above for Jose Vidro in a heartbeat
thrylos,
“Btw, There is space for Liriano in this team right now. DFA Bass, put Perkins in the pen (where he belongs), Liriano in the rotation”
Amen!
And put Liriano’s agent in the Twins FO.
At least he has an idea on how to improve the Twins.
thrylos,
“Btw, There is space for Liriano in this team right now. DFA Bass, put Perkins in the pen (where he belongs), Liriano in the rotation”
Or we could go Poof with Boof also. I agree one hundred percent
maybe it’s because i’m getting old i don’t like rebuilding for 09 or 10 when we have a chance this yr.
last yr the indians, seattle, d-backs, padres, rockies, ….. all thought this would be their year. last yr after 06 we thought, along with many pundits, that the twins would have a chance and stunk the place up. all it takes is one key injury and the season could be over, i.e. punto going on the dl and we win 10 in a row.
imo make hay while the sun shines, because it just might rain like hell tomorrow!
Excellent Precident.
Pitch 3 good games in AAA and file a grevience. Got to love it.
Regards,
Another player from Rochester who deserves a spot on the Twins’ bench is Ruiz. He is hitting LHP at a .327/.400/.525 clip and arguably would be a better choice than Monroe as a PH and DH against lefties
Free Randy Ruiz
i agree gobble!
i also agree thrylos,
think i ranted about that on seth’s blog 10 days ago
“Excellent Precident”
Hmmmm…. what might that mean?
Precident of the United Ctates?
That is correct, The New and Improved Sraig
LOH Cimmy Cee !!!
thrylos,
I think Randy Ruiz was a guy picked up to add some punch to the AAA lineup. I don’t think he’s considered a major league ballplayer. Darnell McDonald is a player who could play in the field and add speed on the bases. He has a bat similar to Ruiz, but offers more versatility.
I would like to file a grievance against the Twins for tricking us into believing we can win it all this year. Where’s my agent.
Ruiz should file a grievance.
Between the Twins and the Tim “The Maniac” Sylvia fight I will be having a great weekend. I can’t wait.
PUNTO’s agent should file a grievance for Twin’s allowing him to slide into 1st base and hurt himself - costing him that HUGE payday he so richly deserves!!
Agent woofing to the press is just the agent doing his job. I believe it’s the time to bring up Liriano. What they do and who they remove from the rotation isn’t for me to decide, but cutting Livan seems the logical choice. I don’t think the Mariners, hapless as they are, want a wounded RF and a batting practice starter for Adrian Beltre. Oh yes… Seattle has a 3B prospect in AAA named Matt Tuiasosopo, probably 2 years away from being ML ready (if he’s talented enough). So they probably wouldn’t ask for Buscher, but they might take Lamb or Harris in a trade (along with more talented people).
Whenever FL reaches free agency, he’ll be out of here faster than a Boof Bonser fastball leaving the park.
Nevermind… Tuiasosopo has 22 errors this year. Beltre isn’t going anywhere.
Wow can’t believe Liriano’s agent is freaking out. Evan Longoria should really have been pissed that he didn’t get a spot on opening day roster if that’s the case. That was just for money purposes. I dunno if Liriano still has a chance if he plays enough for Arbitration next year like was earlier talked about but maybe that’s what the agent is going for.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8352458/Agent:-Twins-phenom-Liriano-frustrated-over-status
Tuiasosopo projects as a DH in the bigs. I think that his fielding percentage is about .825 or so…
from dierkes @ trade rumor;
“Most likely, the Twins would be an improved team by replacing Livan Hernandez in the rotation with Liriano. But this isn’t the first time the Twins have chosen veteran mediocrity or worse over promising young players.”
Liriano reaches FA at the end of 2011 (along with Young, Neshek, Baker, Perkins & Casilla). He’d be 27. Methinks that the Twins will not let him reach free agency as a Twin, but they’ll pull a Santana…
Billy Smith is afraid to cut his free agent flops.
The Pohlads are watching.
HAHAHA Randy Ruiz awesome. He only has 9 errors playing DH (Ok 1B) this year and 105 strikeouts ALREADY in AAA ball. So in otherwords in his 361 ABs he has struck out 30% of the time. Those are pretty amazing stats Randy my hats off to you. Good luck in the Mexican League next year.
“He only has 9 errors playing DH”
LOL
How do we know Lariano is ready? So what if he’s dominating in AAA they said the same about Slowey.
First off, I don’t think Cuddy is going anywhere. He’s part of the Twins’ core and just received a nice contract extension. I just don’t think the Twins are willing to give up on him. The Twins are also overstocked on lefty bats and need a solid righty. Giving up a righty to get a righty strikes me as a push. Plus, Cuddy is hurt and I’m not sure if Seattle even needs OF help. In spite of what some people have wrote, I doubt very much that Cuddy’s name has come up in any talks about possible trades.
Secondly, any talk of Liriano coming up anytime soon are just rumors - a lot of people talking about what they hope will happen rather than any real concrete news that they’ve heard. I think the Twins will wait until somebody goes down with an injury before he comes up. There just isn’t any room for him. Putting up great numbers at AAA isn’t the same thing as doing it at the major league level. If and when he does come up there will almost certainly be an adjustment period. The Twins young starters are all doing well and that makes them much more of a sure thing. Somebody will have to go on the DL - keep an eye on Slowey’s finger.
Third, if a trade for a third baseman is made, Beltre is by far the best fit. Seattle has said that they would have to be blown away to consider trading him, but I think that is a lot more smoke than fire. Lots of posturing on their part. It sounds to me like they want to do a trade and are trying to get the Twins (or any other team) to over compensate. Seattle sucks. Their season is over and there isn’t much hope for next year either. They need to trim their payroll and they need to do it now.
Lamb may suck, but he could make a good toss in on a package of players for Beltre (much better than Cuddy). While he doesn’t have near the numbers as Beltre, he could still fill the hole left by Beltre at a much lower price and his left handed bat would probably be a much better fit in Seattle’s line up than another right hander. Lamb is also healthy, Beltre is having problems with his wrist. That would also have to figure in on their decision as well.
I see a trade for Beltre that includes Lamb as part of a package as very do-able. It would, of course, depend hugely on who would also be included in the package. I also don’t think the Twins would have to trade the farm to pull it off.
Lastly, one of the most likely scenarios in my mind is that the Twins don’t do anything to get a 3rd baseman and stay with what they have.
I am taking a personal stand that bans men from wearing pink T-Shirts to Twins games.
yes and Slowey is light years better then LIVIAN!!
Macri and Liriano should be with the Twins. Gardy didn’t want to send Macri down, but Lamb and Monroe have the contracts.
Just checking into Rumor Control to see if ESPN knows what they are reporting about Liriano. This smells like a Brett Favre. Or rather his agent. The timing of it, the high hopes of the upcoming season, hope it doesn’t turn into a soap opera. It won’t if the Front Office handles it properly.
Yeah I can see why teams would want Mike Lamb more than Cuddyer. I mean Mike Lamb already couldn’t field and now can’t hit either plus he has another year at 3.5 million. PLUS the Mariners could pick up a 3rd year option on him. I don’t know why any team wouldn’t want that especially one that sucks and wants to get rid of some of its Vets
“yes and Slowey is light years better then LIVIAN!!”
True dat but Senoir smoke free will dominate the second half just wait.
Damn it Mudcat is there no where i can go without hearing about Favre i’m going postal now.
If the Twins sent about 4.5 mil along with Lamb in a trade, some team might take him. Otherwise, forget it. He’s going nowhere.
BC did I tell you That Brad Childress hurt himself fishing for a Brett Favre the other day somewhere off the coast of Mississippi
I think the Twins will try to throw in Lamb in any trade similar to the way the Twolves traded away Jaric. They just want to get his contract off the books for next year. I can see giving up some good prospects and throwing in Lamb just to get rid of him.
Why can’t we have players like Everett and Lamb do some chores around the dome to earn there keep while we have them not really earning there money. We could have Lamb as part of the groundscrew and we could have Everett running up and down the stairs selling Dome Dogs. Just an idea.
Sean is right. There isn’t much demand for a player who can’t hit, field, throw or run. Especially one who is still owed about 4.5 mil.
lol I heard he already has a purple #4 in his closet at home.
Everett’s arm is so bad he couldn’t hold his pile of doggies longer then a few minutes…