Twinkies sign O Hud
So we got Jim Thome for $1.5M and Orlando Hudson for $5M and we traded Gomez to the Brewers for JJ Hardy? Seem like pretty good f'ing deals to me. Hudson's .283 in the #2 spot? Me likey.
February 5, 2010
Contributors
Previous Posts
- Signing day and the U of M
- 2009 Minesota Vikes: Stay Positive
- Minnesota Vikings: Reverse the Curse
- Breaking news!?
- Moving On...
- Thome A Twin
- 2009 Vikings Retrospective Volume 1: "It's In My N...
- Sally the Goldfish
- So, How 'bout Them Timberwolves?
- VIkes v. Saints Recap
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
4 Comments:
D'oh! Jan, you scooped me. Nicely done.
Woohoo! This is huge. Shows a serious commitment to winning, winning now, and winning more than the Central. Shows the M&M boys we're serious and they should want to be here for the long haul. The potential of this team, with the lineup now in place, if the pitching is better than last year (and it should be - if we have Slowey healthy, Liriano halfway back to his '06 self, and Baker keeping the ball down, the rotation will be very good), is pretty darn high.
From all accounts, Hudson's a great clubhouse guy and should be a good veteran leader type of presence who fits right in with this team. The best thing about this move is that now, on the days Punto gets a start, wherever he is, we can take solace that at least he's the worst guy in our lineup that day.
Hopefully we can package up Casilla and Perkins for a high prospect now and shore ourselves up for the next couple years at one of the middle infield positions.
Lineup:
1. Span
2. Hudson
3. Mauer
4. Morneau
5. Cuddy
6. Kubel
7. Thome/Delmon
8. Hardy
9. Harris/Punto
Boner! We've got a guy who finished in the top 15 in the AL in OPS last year in the 6 hole! That lineup compares favorably to pretty much every other in the league with one notable exception.
We need to not only win the Central but beat the AL West winner this year. I want the Wild Card if they come out of the East. Save the Yankees for the ALCS.
Am I getting ahead of myself? Yes. Surprising Chuck G Minne Sports Enthusimometer reading this morning - only 2 weeks after registering negative numbers, and only one day after the realization that Gopher football is going nowhere despite the stadium, and with Gopher hoops mired in not meeting potential, and Gopher hockey in the shitter - we're somehow still at an 8, based on this, Thome, Liriano winter reports and the impending Mauer deal.
February 5, 2010 at 9:20 AM
MCA - I laughed/giggled out loud at least thrice while reading your post ("Boner!" and your "Chuck G Minne Sports Enthusimometer" reading were particularly humourous.)
Just because I loved how it looked on paper I thought I would post it again:
Lineup:
1. Span
2. Hudson
3. Mauer
4. Morneau
5. Cuddy
6. Kubel
7. Thome/Delmon
8. Hardy
9. Harris/Punto
February 5, 2010 at 10:01 AM
Not to be the little black rain cloud, but I bet this is how Tiger's fans felt last year. On a positive note, wow! Can you believe this is the Twins team we grew up with? They are out their spending money and filling holes with quality guys. I am excited. Winning the central is not enough for this team.
February 5, 2010 at 12:12 PM
True, it could all go wrong. Higher expectations certainly are the potential negative flipside of a team that appears finally willing (and able) to spend a little and a GM who seems to have figured his shit out a little bit. And Les Tigres are a good example - after '07 they went and committed a ton of longterm $$ to guys like Dontrelle Willis and Maggs and Guillen, and brought in more longterm $$ in Cabrera. Their payroll was like $130M in '08, and they absolutely screwed the pooch and finished in last. So, it can happen. Although the analogy isn't totally complete - our core isn't changed, we've been filling in holes, and we've been doing it in responsible fashion, $$-wise.
Also, I like to look at the list of ills we endured last year: Morneau shut down for the last 5 weeks or so, Crede shut down for the last 6 weeks or so, our setup guy out all season, Slowey and Baker missing significant time, 3 of the 5 in the Opening Day rotation not there for September (and replaced with two call-ups), Mauer out until May, Delmon's mom dying and clearly impacting his play, Liriano trying to find his way back from TJ surgery (and having seriously bad luck, based on ERA compared to his peripheral stats, which were not that bad). And we still won the division. Think of that.
And no wonder we had no chance against the Yankees - I mean, shit, we started Duensing, Blackburn and Pavano. There's a solid chance if we make the playoffs this year none of those guys starts in a short series. And our slugger and starting first baseman wasn't even playing. Nor was our third baseman. Not to mention the squad was almost completely devoid of playoff experience, especially the pitching staff. Now we've brought in two more vets, one of whom has a WS ring.
There's little chance the injury bug bites our pitching nearly as badly this year. Liriano promises to be better, whether a little or a lot. Punto won't be getting 140 starts. Tolbert may get cut entirely. We no longer have to wonder why minor leaguers are batting right in front of the best hitter in the American League in our lineup. Delmon's lost 30 pounds, so his defense can't help but improve, and the pressure will be off him in the 7 or 8 hole.
There are regression concerns with Cuddy, Kubel and Mauer (I mean, really, do we think he's gonna hit .365 and slug close to .600 again?). Maybe Blackburn, too, although his effectiveness was already starting to resemble his stats by the end of the year. On the other hand, he won't be relied on as the ace for the better part of the season, either. He's the No. 4 guy.
Like jan (and Craig Finn) said: "You gotta stay positive." I was Chicken Little all season on the Vikes, so I've got a little pent up optimism to burn right now.
February 5, 2010 at 3:53 PM
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home