"Rick (Strikebreaker/Heartbreaker) Reed."

That's real nice. With all due respect, RD, you really don't know what you're talking about. And you should, before you insult someone in public using that term.

As for the "heartbreaker" part, Rick Reed that year led the Twins in wins, ERA, innings pitched, starts, strikeouts-to-walks ratio, fewest walks (only 26 in 188 innings) and WHIP.

But whatever. It's always fun to call people names, and who likes to let the facts get in the way of a colorful turn of phrase... especially when it rhymes?

Batgirl, just when I thought I'd forgotten the days of Ravishing Rick Reed...

Why do the pickups of Ponson and Ortiz make me worry that I'm going to have to be pissed off more than once through the rotation? First it was Rick Reed, then it was pre-Tigers Kenny Rogers, then it was Lohse, last year it was Silva/Baker. I mean, isn't it awful when you just FEEL like the other team is going to hit some home runs that night?

Oh yeah, sorry Ron, didn't mean to call you "Batgirl".

And why do we remember Rick Reed as being such a pain, if, assuming what Laurie says is true, he was such a good pitcher?

Then again, I'm sure Lohse's stats weren't nearly as awful as he made me feel whenever he walked to the mound.

Wait...is RD seriously CONDONING this signing?

It's just another desperate Ponson, Batista, Castro, White, etc, etc move.

Ponson and Ortiz will continue to suck for about two months before the powers that be pull their heads out of wherever they are stuck and cut them, bringing up Garza and Perkins like they should have in the first place, who will proceed to pull our collective butts out of the fire.

Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it.

Sadly, that history was only last year. It's just pitching this time.

I wish we had six guys fighting for the five spot in the rotation instead of the two spot . . . but I think the Jackal can get it back together and have high hopes for Garza.

Sir Sidney and Ortiz are interesting -- anything we get from them will be a pleasant surprise.

Totally off topic -- Does anyone know if Matt Garza is related to the rocker David Garza?
www.davidgarza.com

Laurie,

It's based on Reed's own acknowledgment of the situation, as reported in Sports Illustrated in 1998 and discussed in many other forums over the years. (Click on my name for the CNNSI link.) Rick Reed did what he felt he had to do, but the fact remains that he crossed a picket line during the 1994-95 strike. That makes him a strikebreaker.

Under the circumstances, I would be loathe to use the unfortunate and inflammatory term applied to him during the 2000 World Series by Village Voice writer Allen St. John in his Game 3 recap, which is archived at www.salon.com.

Brian,

I would be humored by the signing of ANYONE with the middle name Diogenes. The best thing I can say about the signing, in all seriousness, is that it tells the young pitchers that spots in the rotation need to be won rather than inherited.

I'm not thrilled by the story at startribune.com that cites the "could-be" rotation as Johan, Boof!, Silva, Ponson and Ortiz. And thanks for reminding me that young Perkins is part of the starters' competition, too!

David,

I've been called worse things than "Batgirl." Much, much, much worse!

Best, RD

I don't know why people are so concerned about this signing. I've been looking at the free agent market for the last two months and thinking that Ortiz would be a nice addition to the Twins, why wouldn't they pick him up? The Strib is nuts if they think he's the number two starter, but he eats innings, and if you look at his stats for the past 5 years, they're not horrible. Personally, I see the rotation like this:
1. Santana (of course)
2. Bonser
3. Silva
4. Ortiz
5. Garza

LTLC

Few people remember it now, but the original Diogenes was a firebrand pitcher for the Athens Cynics of the old Hellenic League, which was formed following the Persian Wars by the merger of the Peloponnesian League and Adriatic Coast League. The Cynics were famous for their cross-city/state rivalries with the Stoics and Epicures, who dominated the league for the better part of a century. Due to his eccentric nature (he slept in a barrel outside the temple of Cybele, after all), Diogenes was a fan favorite, but was not considered a "good clubhouse guy" because of his frequent rancorous diatribes against material possession and social convention, and a diet that consisted mostly of onions. After many years in the league, Diogenes became even more famous for his self-imposed retirement from the game. This occurred during the winter symposiums of 350 B.C., when he was seen carrying a lamp through the agora in broad daylight. When asked why he was carrying the lamp, he replied, "I'm looking for one good owner." Diogenes vowed he would never play again unless he could fulfill that quest. Alas, his philosophical search goes on to this day.

Well now to be perfectly honest with you I am kinda of a homer when it comes to baseball. I will keep up with the Twins and some of the other teams in the league, but I really do not know anything about the pitchers they have signed. I do know that I like Silva, he has that mysterious yet lovable aura around him so I do not like the idea that he could be "trade bait". I guess I will cling to him just like I do with all my fringe players (Lew and Lecroy in baseball, Kuba and Bonk in hockey)and hope for the best.

One more thing. Did I miss something. Why isn't Liriano in any of the pitching rotation list? Is out for another year? Is he just gone? What?

Spamsmom,
Liriano will miss the entire 2007 season while recovering from ligament replacement surgery in his elbow. We anxiously await his return in 2008.

Laurie--"Strikebreaker" is a factual reference; not an insult. "Heartbreaker" would have something to do with the 6 earned runs in the second game of an ALCS in which the Twins had momentum and home field advantage until...ahem...Rick Reed broke everyone's hearts.

Spamsmom, et al: See the Strib today, saying something about Liriano shooting for October. Unfortunately, the last time a Twins pitcher had TJ surgery and returned in September/October of the following season, his name was Joe Mays.

Come on you guys, the real news of the week is Leroy re-entering the fold. Who needs more pitchers with 5.00 ERAs when cuddly, snuggly Matty is in the house. Well, at least in Spring Training he will be.

This reminds me of the white and batista signings, which, in all honesty, worked out great. (Alls well that ends well, especially if it lit a fire under the younger guys). I wasn't thrilled about ponson, but with two guys that have mostly been inning eaters their careers, there's a reasonable chance it works out with one of them for a year. I hope the young guys beat them out for rotation spots, but if the team wants to give them more seasoning, it would be nice to have that option.

I just dont trust Gardy to give the kids a CHANCE to make the team out of spring training.

And how on earth can you say Batista worked out great? If we'd started the season with Punto and Bartlett, we wouldn't have been scraping to the division lead at the end. We would have sailed there.

Ortiz may well make for a better pitcher than his record of last year shows. Remember, He was playing for Washington, which lost 20 more games than the team won. His fielders will be much better in Minnesota, and he'll have another, better pitcher to feed off from – Santana. In Washington, he posted the most wins in 2006 on a losing team. Instead of 11-16, he might well be 16-11 with the change in 2007. He's started 30 or more games in five of the past six years.

I wasn't impressed with the Ponson signing, but count me as another who thinks Ortiz might pay off. I'm not thinking #2 starter, but then honestly I'm not sure which of the other candidates I WOULD consider a #2 starter. The point Lee makes above about the record in Washington being a bit misleading is, I think, valid. I'm at least willing to say this signing is not of the Batista ilk.

JC

Its not the win-loss record that scares me.

Its the ERA.

This year's version of Castro- Batista will be killing us softly with their arms, as opposed to with their range and bats. It is better to go with the toal failures you know than to risk total failure with a kid, or, worse yet, spend money.

Worst case scenario, these cause only hurt us once or twice a rotation as opposed to potentially every day as Batista/White did last year.

Yeah, but when they hurt us, it will be in a much, much worse way.

It's like completely destroying every fifth game, as opposed to putting us at a disadvange every game.

:sigh:

I have to agree with Brian. Ortiz had a 5.36 ERA in 2005 and a 5.57 ERA in 2006, both in the NL. I think the unofficial rule of thumb is to add at least a half run to that when a pitcher goes from the NL to AL...so are we looking at a 6.07 ERA next year? If so, Carlos Silva watch out! ;) Also, he should take over nicely for Radke with his HR giving-up ability(although Brad did really settle down later in the year to his credit).

Anyway, TR I am sure is doing the best he can, but I will always hope that the old man takes a few dollars of his $2.8 billion to get the Twins the few pieces they need to win the World Series.

Pitchers, crazy, all with cool last names, shelf lives short, maybe we really shouldn't care how much Kenny Rogers was a prick before we let him go...

Pitchers are all wild cards, who knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em...

Except Ponson. Duh!

I think the only purpose of this signing is to push Boof and Garza. Not only does Ramon's ERA scare me--his batting average against is right around 300 and he gives up 30 taters a year and walks 3 batter per nine innings (Radke and Silva give up the Taters not the walks). I think this is the new Kyle. The other thing is Ortiz stats have gotten worse since 2004--not the right trend.

DAM

It will be so nice if we can see LeCroy's big happy face. I read he goes to schools and talks to kids about being a good person and not to bully. I hope we see more of Lew too.

Oh LeCroy...I don't even know what to say. Linda, I'm wondering what they'll do about Lew, too.

It's Ford vs. Matty. If one makes the roster..the other won't.

LegoVision for 2007? PLLLLEEEAAAASSSSEEEE! :D

i think it's safe to say that the Twins didn't spend several million dollars from their tiny budget just to spur on the younger pitchers. for whatever reason (maybe something in the front office's water?), they seem to think they will get equivalent value out of these certifiably horrible pitchers.

also, when a pitcher is consistently in the 5+ ERA range, being an "innings eater" isn't actually a good thing. it means that some team was dumb enough or had no other options than to keep sending him out there, even while he was continually pitching that horribly. it's nice to look for a silver lining in these trades, but i'm not sure that the Nationals' tendency to keep hitting themselves in the head with a hammer is cause for optimism on this one..

here's hoping youngsters Garza, Baker, Perkins and perhaps even Slowey give Bat-Baby much more sparkling and encouraging presents in 2007!

oops, sorry, not "trades", free agent signings.

JMHO but management seems to just be a twee bit nervous about all the young'uns. It might be different if either Bradke or Liri were coming back...or if Boof had had a complete seasons as a reliable starter...or if Silva had not had a complete season as an unreliable starter...or if Garza had shown a bit more dominence or if Baker had shown any. But what they have is "Cytana and the question marks". These are all just one year contracts to hedge a few bets and eat a few innings until the pitcher picture clears up a bit.

*pitcherpicturepitcherpicturepitcherpicture*

betca can't say that too fast! ;-)

How do we know these pitchers will be as bad as they were last year? Silva was horrible last year but the year before he was considered one of the Twins most consistent pitchers during the 2005 season. Who knows? Hopefully we are pleasantly surprised. If not, we really don't have much options. The price for pitchers has gone through the roof.

HAHAHAHAHAHA -- you get Ortiz! (As a Reds fan who lives in DC and follows the Nats, I've been cursed with this guy for two years now. Good riddance, sorry about your misfortune.)

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