Bad team plays badly. Shocking.

good to see mauer hitting.

good to see mauer hitting.

And he is constantly ripped in local media. Blame your best player is alive and well in MN. It is very annoying. But yes Maur hitting and Morneau functional and resonably healthy have been nice.

The starting pitching wouldn't have been a complete disaster if Baker and Pavano had been healthy. Liriano has turned the corner and may bring something useful at the deadline. However they're all gone this offseason regardless. Hendriks has wilted in the majors but seems to have talent. Next season's rotation is Diamond, Hendriks and a whole lot of work for Terry Ryan.

Gibson should be back from TJ surgery and might not be terrible by the end of 2013. Baker won't get much interest on the open market and could get a restructured deal. But yes, even including those two the current cast is going to do little more than fill the 3-4-5 spots. Ryan needs two front side starters.

I am torn. it is a bad division, so not much improvement gets them into playoff contention, but the pitching is such that "burn it down and start over" looks appealing. But there best position players are not exactly young so they should take advantage now, but really they are terrible so trade and rebuild, but they have a new stadium and it send a bad message, but ...

So tear down, build for another run or two, or waffle aimlessly?

So tear down, build for another run or two, or waffle aimlessly?

They would have tried to trade Doumit instead of extend him if they were going to do a tear down. From a pure talent standpoint it would make most sense to try to build for a push in another year or two when they should have a wave of prospects on the verge. But with the new stadium, weak division, and halfway decent team outside of the rotation, it's certainly understandable that they want to try to field a competitive team next year. How to completely rebuild a rotation from scratch cheaply is a big question. Acquire a decent starter, sign a lottery ticket, and lots of praying that someone else steps up or the rest of the division stinks.

I am torn. it is a bad division, so not much improvement gets them into playoff contention, but the pitching is such that "burn it down and start over" looks appealing. But there best position players are not exactly young so they should take advantage now, but really they are terrible so trade and rebuild, but they have a new stadium and it send a bad message, but ...

So tear down, build for another run or two, or waffle aimlessly?

That is one of the reasons that I have favorably looked at the rumors about the Angels possibly offering Richards for Liriano. Liriano is probably better, but I'd take Richards' contract every day.

It's also funny that some teams, when they need a pitcher, sign a reasonably priced free agent and plug him in. The Dodgers had four starters, so they signed Chris Capuano for very little money, and now they have five. I wish we could do that.

andrew

but its's so hit and miss.

james mcdonald
r a dickey
kuroda
kevin millwood

kuroda has been outstanding for the yanks and what did he cost, 10 million?

meanwhile there are all kinds of guys who flame out

When the Twins sign free agent starters, it ends up being Jason Marquis, Ramon Ortiz, or Livan Hernandez. I know that even the good teams will miss on these guys pretty often, but it's frustrating to only miss.

Minor Twins question: Why have they never given Anthony Slama a chance in the bullpen?

Slama has been unlucky in that when a spot opens up he's usually on the AAA disabled list. They also don't like that he's a nibbler.

It doesn't help that the veteran guys they would sell for talent (Pavano & Capps) are both hurt. The answer is they're going to have to trade a couple of their outfielders in the majors or the minors for pitching.

Acquire a decent starter, sign a lottery ticket, and lots of praying that someone else steps up or the rest of the division stinks.

John Lackey is available.

I could tell both the Pirates and twins turned a corner this year.
The Buccos jetisoned Doumit and unfortunately the Twins signed him.
MN becomming like the Pirates of old?
I do give the Twins props for signing Willingham