TR seems to be enjoying this session a bit more than previous years. He's gettin' into it!

It seems I've been out of the loop for a little bit here. What ever happened to the talk of Nomah heading our way?

The orioles want Lohse? What would else would we have to give them for Melvin Mora? Melvin Mora (and his 80 some identical kids) would be SWEET!!

Yeah. Mora would be good, and like TBird said, he comes with his very own farm system! =)

We'd have to throw in something to sweeten up the deal, tho. They wouldn't do Mora for Lyle straight up. Well... *I* wouldn't.

The most interesting rumors are flying around about Mr. "Number One Prospect in the Game according to Baseball Prospectus" Andy Marte.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2005/12/twins_buzz_muel.html
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2005/12/braves_andy_mar.html

Supposedly, Ryan's been interested enough to offer Jesse Crain, Kyle Lohse, and a handful of prospects. That seems a bit pricey, but geez, he's 21, healthy, and has .372 OBP and .506 SLG at Triple A. Hard to imagine anything we need more. Barring our untouchables, I'd give the Braves whatever they wanted.

"We'd have to throw in something to sweeten up the deal, tho. They wouldn't do Mora for Lyle straight up. Well... *I* wouldn't."

Me neither.

If *I* were GM (*sighs happily*) I'd ask for Lohse, Lew or Kubel, and maybe a pitching prospect for Mora. Mora is Gold Glove caliber third base, has most of the rest of the team beat hitting-wise, and is a great clubhouse presence. The Orioles need pitching and an outfielder. I'd know that you consider Lohse gone anyway, and that you've got more outfielders than you know what to do with, and that you're more or less desperate for a third baseman.

However, Mike Flanagan is an idiot. I wouldn't be surprised if he sent you Mora for Lohse and JC.

BTW, in the "Where are they now?" news, the O's just picked up LaTroy Hawkins. Hopefully they don't make him close.

"LaTroy Hawkins"

Oy.

I was at a O's-Twins game with some other Twins fans a couple years ago and Hawkins had blown the game (surprise, surprise) and we were complaining about it afterwards when we saw a kid walking by with a Hawkins jersey. Making jokes about his having gotten it at a discount rate and all sorts of things like who would want a Hawkins jersey we then saw Hawkins come out and joint the group and they all left together... and me without a rotten tomato. Now maybe I'll get to go to the games and see Hawkins blow the game for the Os... that'd be sweeeeet.

Lohse for Palmeiro. Or Sammy Sosa. Maybe both!

Haha.

In the same article, LaValle said the O's are also interested in JC, now that they've lost their two lefty relievers. How about Lohse, Romero and a prospect for Mora?

Otherwise, a three way with the Dogers: Twins send two prospects to LA for Izturas and send Izzy to the braves along with Lohse and Romero forr Marte.

Dear Mr. Juche,

Nomar is still in the picture. Check out the bottom of this article from the PiPress.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/baseball/13345196.htm

Sincerely,
Batgirl

"Now maybe I'll get to go to the games and see Hawkins blow the game for the Os... that'd be sweeeeet."

*growls*

"How about Lohse, Romero and a prospect for Mora?"

I'd never take it, but Mike Flanagan might.

Seriously, if we go with Darth, does anything even matter anymore? Maybe we could throw in Robbie Alomar and Billy Koch? You can write off a championship for any team Thomas is on, not counting the DL. The Bitch Sox won it all without him -- anyone notice that?

Batgirl, your title for this post cracks me up. You must come from a wierd family.

Affectionately yours,

Goober

Didn't Boston just get Lowell? ;)

"Didn't Boston just get Lowell? ;)"

Yeah, but he was a non-negotiable part of the Beckett trade. I don't think they're in ecstasies over him.

I'm still all for conning the Mets GM into giving us David Wright. Which I realize will never happen, but let me dream.

Nooooooooooooooooooooo Lowell

"The Twins have had a conversation with the Red Sox about third baseman Mike Lowell, but talks ended when the Red Sox asked for Juan Rincon."

That made me happy - people mitts off of Boo!!!!

Much Love
WW

This part also made me happy:

"Several teams continue to inquire about Torii Hunter, but the Twins insist that they are not looking to trade him."

I know we could free up contract space by trading the big guy. Some things are just worth more than contract space.

Stacy- you play TR and I'll play Omar Minaya. You've stated your interest in one Mr. Wright. Now allow me to state my non-negotiable terms:

You give us Johan Santana and Joe Nathan (he'd make a nice setup guy for Billy Wagner), agree to pay the collective salary of our entire 40-man roster for the duration of their existing contracts, take Anna Benson away from us, provide Hummers for every Mets fan (note: some fans may settle for a ridiculously large SUV more suited for a trip to Tikrit than to the mall) and provide me with a Popemobile-quality escape vehicle (which I'll need after becoming the Pontius Pilate who traded away the Mettsiah).

In other words, David Wright:Elliot Ness.

The good news is that the Rule V draft is coming up and you might find something nice for yourselves in there. Here's a good article on that:
http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2005/12/rule_5_draft_pr_1.php

You'll be proud of old #57 for having an entire category named after him.

While I'm here, if you've not yet seen the pixie vests, here's a link from Chris Creamer's sports logos page:
http://www.sportslogos.net/Site/logo.php?lo=5742

Cool site.

pardon the error, that should read "Metssiah".

I just thought this was funny - from ESPN page2 -boy am I glad Anna didn't come this way =)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/offbase/051207

Much love
WW

"Seriously, if we go with Darth, does anything even matter anymore? Maybe we could throw in Robbie Alomar and Billy Koch? You can write off a championship for any team Thomas is on, not counting the DL. The Bitch Sox won it all without him -- anyone notice that?"

Yes...and that's all because of him.

Seriously...it's not like we've won anything before this. An upgrade of this magnitude (Thomas over whoever the hell we through out there) at DH would be very very useful

If we do sign him....something I am having an internal struggle over....Would we have to refer to him as Anikin?

people need to stop getting my hopes up about this thomas thing. frank in a twins uni? there are no words.

WW- I like the Anna Benson stuff, strong work.

But I've got to disagree with the bit about Wagner being overpriced. BJ Ryan, yeah, because he got bigtime FA closer money despite 42 career saves. But you take names like Trevor Hoffman, Eric Gagne, Mariano Rivera, guys who are proven shut-em-down closers, and they're worth crazy money. Billy Wagner's among those guys. BJ Ryan's not yet proven that he is- hell, I'd give your very own Nathanest of Joes that kind of money before I'd give it to Ryan. Nathan's proving his worth as a hot-sheeyit closer so far.

Sure, Bobby Jenks displayed the gift of shut-em-down, helped win a WS and was had for roughly league minimum. But he could be a fluke and it's not like anyone saw it coming when he was signed. To suggest that a WS-clinching closer can always be had cheaply is like saying that someone who picked winning lottery numbers can show you a formula to do it yourself.

Anyway, props to Cuddy for splaying himself out and getting nominated for play of the year. You can vote for him at http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/awards/y2005/tyib/index.jsp

Other notable performances were "Ichiro's amazing grab (5/2), "Jeter's catch" (5/25), "Wilson's flip" (7/22), "Kendall's diving tag" (7/22), "Wright's barehander" (8/9; this one's ESPECIALLY good ;-)), "Utley's inside-the-parker" (9/25; the only offensive play to make my short list- chicks might dig the longball but ITPHRs are freaking exciting), and "Belliard's no-look flip" (9/28; were it not for Wright's entry, I'd have picked this one).

LaTroy has a loyal fanbase here--remember the Hawk's Nest? I recall seeing a very poignant profile of him on the news one night---made me really like the guy.

Ohh too many plays to chose from!!
Anna's a trip!

I didn't think Billy was too over paid - BJ Ryan yes - Bobby Jenks -eh I have no feelings for him - I think Trevor Hoffman is going to have a HUGE payday or he should - if he doesn't return to the Padres - the Padres field people need to help his new team set up the big production before he takes the field - Now that whole thing is INSANE!!!

Much love
WW

What is with all those lame pretend fan clubs anyway? Brad's Bunch? Hawk's Nest? I bet this list can come up with some groaners that are more creative than those. How about:

Cuddy's Crib? Lew's Crew? Jacque's Flock? Santana's Smoothies? Jason's Argonauts? Castillo's um Castillo? Morneau's Mother?

Dear WW,

Two Words: Hector Corasco. He had one season since 1996 with an ERA under 4 and he gets $6.1 over two years. That's insane.

Kind regards,

cmathewson

Brad's Bunch isn't a fan club thing - it's a Twins thing - like Hunter's Homies - Jo-Jo's Ninos - etc - they donate tickets and I guess that's what their 'guests' are called when they attend a game

WW

Dear WW,

You just solved one of my Dome mysteries for me. I feel like a chump. The cynical side of me thought those banners were for pretend fan clubs. Now I know it's one of the many ways the Twins org stands out from the rest in community service. Thank you.

Sincerely,

cmathewson

they also stand out by clapping for players when they screw up so they won't feel bad... who was the guy back in the 70s who committed something like 7,500 errors on one play and got a standing ovation when he finally got the ball back into the infield? and the ovation wasn't meant sarcastically either!

Dear Batgirl

Bobby Abreu is available. I believe the phillies asked the cubs for Prior or Zambrano, so I would imagine the twins could get him for Santana or Sliva . Would you be willing to entertain a trade like that ?

p.e.m.

Warning: Severely off topic.

"Internet journalism received a leap in recognition Wednesday as the Pulitzer Prize Board widened its submission guidelines to include online material for all of its journalism categories."

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/12/07/Arts/pulitzer-online-051207.html

So which Bat-Girl entry should be nominated? And, more importantly, which should win? A LegoVision entry perhaps?

YankeeFan

Or can we nominate her fo Oh Five?

make that "for Oh Five"

...stupid fingers...

Oh Five, definitely. And there is no way the Twins would trade Santana for anyone, including Abreu. Silva would be more reasonable, but recall that we got him from the Phillies. No way that is made - otherwise we essentially got Abreu for Milton!!! HA!

My vote is for cupcake day or an ass-bat related posts for pulitzer

Lord knows I never thought I'd say this, but I have to agree with Mike. It's all about Cupcake Day.

My vote is for the column Justin "wrote".

Light Saber Noises!

Don't forget Tony Gwynn...

Now that the Sox have officially cut ties with a few players, let's see what we got...

Carl Everett? Is he any good?

Dear Yankee Fan

How did we not get Pierre ? It's bad enough we didn't get Beckett, but there is no reason that we should not have gotten Pierre.

Angrily
p.e.m.

i would have to agree with cmathewson about the column that the doc wrote

also, we CAN NOT trade crain. and if that trade rumor at the top of the page that involved him went through, i would probably cry for days. whoever its for, trading the crain train is so not worth it

"also, we CAN NOT trade crain. and if that trade rumor at the top of the page that involved him went through, i would probably cry for days. whoever its for, trading the crain train is so not worth it"

bah...

people are too attached to the players...It's the team that matters. If trading Crain helps us get a piece to bring us a World Series title...then let's do it.

Dearest - CMathewson

Glad I could I help you out =)

About the insanity - yes Hector Carrasco insane -
but I was talking about the insanity that happens before Trevor Hoffman takes the mound - HELLS BELLS -he's got the best song man -

Much Love
Wonder Woman

Carl Everett's a hard nut to crack. I get two vibes from him all the time. One vibe is that he's a motivating and intense clubhouse presence; a guy who can smack the ball with authority at times, suited to DH, and he shows clutch timing.

The other vibe is that you better not have any evolutionists on your roster, he strikes out on ridiculously bad pitches sometimes (straight dead fastballs my dead grandmother could hit), and goes on prolonged slumps pretty frequently.

And the weird part is, he usually has both those vibes going at the same time. I never know whether he'll step up with a clutch bases loaded single or a rally-destroying KO.

Still, if the Twins could grab him for say 2 or 3 years at $5 mil a year, that'd be a good purchase. He'd probably hit .269 / 29 HR / 92 RBI

Which I think any Twins fan would be wise to take, stat-wise. Everything else? Eh...from the two White Sox free agent DHs, Frank is upside, but Carl is stability.

Juan Rincón is hot, Lowell is not

Still, if the Twins could grab him for say 2 or 3 years at $5 mil a year, that'd be a good purchase. He'd probably hit .269 / 29 HR / 92 RBI

Which I think any Twins fan would be wise to take, stat-wise. Everything else? Eh...from the two White Sox free agent DHs, Frank is upside, but Carl is stability.

Nameless crewman: We've got a coolant leak!

Kirk: Scotty! We need more power to the main propaganda cells!

Scotty: You canna have it, captain! She's wired like a Christmas tree, and we're running the old gal as fast as she can go!

But seriously Pander, did you watch Bitch Sox games last year? With your eyes? I'm reluctant to whip out a full statistical barrage here, as is says very clearly at the door, "Less Stats, More Sass." Nowhere did I see the phrases "more ass" or "more stupid."

I wouldn't touch Crazy Carl with a ten foot pole. And it's not because he's crazy--he's not. If you held an election, his views would be well represented. Those same views are still wrong, but they haven't stopped him from being a good clubhouse influence and teammate in the past. I wouldn't touch him because he's 35 and his legs are 55. He's got nothing left in the tank.

Or, as Scotty would say: He's barely hangin' on, captain!

Ouch. Well, HTML tags don't work here. You learn something new everyday.

For those inquiring minds, the first two lines are quotes from Pander's post.

In case I haven't made myself clear, you should all pick up your phones--yes, at 11 at night--and call TR and tell him to sign Frank Thomas so Oakland can't have him.

You complain about Ass bats? Worry about whether Mike Cuddyer or Carl Everett is the answer at DH? Your solution is the Big Hurt. Take a chance, sign him, and see what happens. According to Mr. Hurt himself, his ankle is completely healed and has been since the World Series, when he stopped wearing a cast.

"According to Mr. Hurt himself, his ankle is completely healed"

Considering he's looking for a big pay day I'm not sure I'd take his word on that.

Crazy Carl would certainly up the sass quotient on the Twins!

If you're looking for a madman, my money's more on Milton Bradley than on Carl Crawford. Not only did he invent so many cool board games but I love seeing him dump equipment bags onto the field and go all Kanye West on Jeff Kent for not caring about black people.

Although in their defenses, from what I've read both Crawford and Bradley are a whole lot better now than they used to be (and Jeff Kent actually does care about black people)... but you never know when someone's gonna blow.

I know I'm late to the discussion.. but I nominate BG's "Trucking Buck" column for the pulitzer, as well as her wrap-up following the Santana-Garcia 1-0 classic. That was great stuff.

I'm a huge bat-girl fan. This will be my third season of having been so. But this might be one of the best lines I've seen her write. So to-the-point, so punchy.

"That high-pitched guinea-pig-being-tortured noise was Batgirl's insane laughter at that last item. Rincon for Lowell? My ass. We don't need to trade one of the league's best set-up men for someone who hits .236 with 8 homers; we have plenty of guys who can do that already."

I laughed out loud.

Smooches,

haplo

Frank Thomas ain't coming here. If the Twins were not interested in getting Thome who is coming off from an injury, why would they get Frank Thomas who is also coming off an injury. The best bet is that they sign Piazza even though I doubt it will happen.