oh my god, I'm still hardcore buzzing and I'm listening to Paul Oakenfold's
Tranceport. its been an interesting night
now playing on iTunes: Gus Gus 'Sasha
v the Light'
Labels: drunk, personal
OH MY GOD THE TWINS GOT SWEPT OUT OF THE LDS BY OAKLAND
that was unexpected :( oh well, still a hell of a season even though it ended in a less than desirable fashion. next up is a crazy busy offseason, with many holes to plug and decisions to make for '07. thusly, here is the official ES.com "Hot Stove To-Do List". Terry Ryan, take note:
1) Pick up Hunter's option, and get a three year extension done, pronto. Torii has his detractors, but there are three key points to remember regarding him: he is the best defensive fielder in the game hands down, he is a genuine guy who lacks a Major League ego, and since 2000 he has been the face of the Twins both locally and internationally. get the $12.5 million option ride, and try to negotiate a $27-30m/3-year extension. that will get Hunter on the grass of the 2010 ballpark he helped make reality, and also help the Twins' parsimonious public image.
2) Get one of the Big Three a multiyear deal, and save the other two for later. The M&M boys plus Cuddyer are due big paydays for the 2007 season, as they are all up for arbitration for the first time after having career years. it's unrealistic for the Twins to be able to secure all three of their boppers for more than a couple years, especially with the way the home run dominates the headlines. this is why they need to get one contract solved this year, then save the other ones for down the line. Morneau's 33 homers and sick OPS will assure him a huge raise from his $500k check in '06 but Mauer is the guy with more upside and consistency, as well as having the hometown label. this is why a 4 year deal worth about $28m makes a lot of sense. it'll allow the Twins to scale the contract and backload the dollars to the new ballpark era, and give them flexibility for '07-'08.
3) Forget about Carlos Silva. his $6m club option for 2007 is way too much for a once-effective starter who was Kyle Lohsed into mop up duty. instead, use that money to pick up a proven fifth starter, like Kip Wells or John Wasdin. and while we're at it...
4) Don't count on Francisco Liriano being around next year. the mystery elbow could be soreness or Tommy John surgery, and if it's the latter you can scrub Franchise till the next Presidential election. this is a prime opportunity to look at the farm, and give guys like Scott Baker and Glen Perkins the chance to break into the rotation. even so, the rotation will look a bit rough, with Santana and Boof up front and no one to back them up.
5) Don't back off Punto. sure, he's not the prototypical threebagger, but he flashes an amazing glove and held his own in the #2 spot especially in the second half. don't give in to the free agent hype and try to sign someone, and just
let him be. please?
6) Bring back Rondell and bring on the round-robin DH. the Twins will never afford David Ortiz or Jim Thome, but they have enough proficient outfielders to let Jason Kubel be the odd man out and spell Hunter at center, Cuddyer at right and White at left while giving Kubel time to rest his bionic knees.
these are the six main thing the Twins absolutely have to remember going into the offseason if the expect to be successful. and only time will tell if my prognostications turn out to be correct...
now playing on iTunes: Matt Nathanson 'Pretty the World'
Labels: local, twins
OH MY GOD THE TWINS WON THE DIVISION
I know it's been far too long since I posted something worthwhile here. I'm not in a mood to write about anything that has happened to me in the past three or so months, but I promise I will be doing semi-regular updates again very very soon.
thanks for viewing.
Labels: local, site, twins
