Friday,
December 4, 2009
Fan Frustration
I read a lot of
comments from Twins fans at this time of the year, and they vary. Some are
frustrated because the Twins don’t go out and sign big name free agents. Some
are frustrated because the Twins are not involved in as many rumors as other
teams. Some Twins fans see Placido Polanco signing with the Phillies and wonder why the Twins
were never really involved in any rumors involving him. Marco Scutaro is apparently signing with
the Red Sox and fans are frustrated that he was never mentioned. Some want to
see the Twins sign a Type A free agent and forfeit a
draft pick and over pay in dollars and years for players that have already seen
their best years. And there are some fans who are
frustrated by lack of information on negotiations with Joe Mauer. With the Winter Meetings set
for next week in Indianapolis, I thought it appropriate to blog on some of
these topics.
What are the Winter
Meetings about for the fans? Well, as happens every year, there are a few free
agent signings made right before the meetings. That gets fans’ hopes up that
there will be a lot of moves made, specifically by their team. The Winter
Meetings mean that baseball fans will go to www.MLBTradeRumors.com and hit refresh
about every five minutes throughout the whole week. At the meetings, GMs,
agents, some players and the media walk around a hotel lobby, hold meetings and
talk baseball. In general, all it takes for a rumor to start is for an agent to
mention a team name, or a GM to mention a player’s name. It gets onto a blog or
a sports report, and it flies around the country in a hurry. If you aren’t
already on Twitter, you may want to sign up now (and follow @SethTweets)! It is a fun time for fans to dream.
Twins fans know
a couple of things going into the meetings. The Twins front office will hold
meetings with agents and other teams. They will talk about years and dollars
regarding a bunch of players. We will also hear a few rumors. But compared to
other teams, the Twins will appear relatively quiet. Why? Because
the Twins don’t talk. They don’t give out their plans. They don’t really
address any rumors. Fans, that is a good, smart thing!
A lot of Twins
fans are not happy about that. As much as I want the Twins in the news and hear
a lot of names rumored to be coming to the Twins, I am perfectly fine with not
knowing anything. Why should the Twins brass give away their plans and their
trade secrets? Generally speaking, the Twins do things quietly, behind the
scenes. Do you remember reading rumors about the Twins and Rays talking about Matt Garza and Delmon Young before that trade was made? Very little.
The worst right
now is all of the talk about Joe Mauer. As I wrote the other day, the biggest non-story
was the alleged deadline for a deal, which Mauer
texted to LaVelle E Neal was not true. Honestly, I don’t
care if it is reported that the two sides have had general conversation about a
deal, are heavily negotiating, or are yet to start negotiations. All I care
about is that the two sides are talking. They don’t need to negotiate through
the media. What good does that do? One day, we will just hear about a press
conference and we will find out that Joe
Mauer has signed an extension. I don’t care if it
happens by Christmas, at the onset of Spring Training, on Opening Day, or my
prediction, January 26th. The Twins are very quiet and confidential.
Joe Mauer
is very quiet and confidential. Maybe stressing would be better for me, but I’ve
got enough other stuff to stress about than to worry about some stuff that I
have no control over. I’m pretty sure that there is nothing that I could tell Bill Smith about Joe Mauer and why he should remain a Twin
that he hasn’t already thought about.
I love all the
rumors. But it is also something that we have to take with a grain of salt. I
mean, maybe Orlando Cabrera is
marketing himself as a 2nd base option. He
shouldn’t be, and I think we are all smart enough to know that the Twins aren’t
bringing him back. I am certain that the Twins and Marlins have and will have
discussions on potential deals. But the Twins aren’t going to get Dan Uggla and
a potential top of the rotation starter like Josh Johnson or Ricky Nolasco. We all know that. I’d love to see the Twins go
after either of those pitchers though! So as you’re reading through
MLBTradeRumors.com, you can sift through those rumors and know that some just aren’t going to
happen, and some may make sense.
I fully believe
that the Twins will remain active throughout the offseason. They already added a new starting shortstop. Often
times, very little happens at the Winter Meetings, but having all of those
people there, in one place, encourages thinking, and thinking outside the box,
and things can happen later because of it.
On Monday, I’ll
jot down the things that I believe the Twins need to work on the rest of the
offseason, starting with the Winter Meetings.
This is the fun
time of the year. It’s so early in the offseason, that I’m not ready to be
excited by names like Carl Pavano, Jarrod
Washburn or Placido Polanco. If
I am going to hear rumors, I want to hear about guys like Josh Johnson, Felipe Lopez
or Matt Cain.
So, you can
certainly use the comments section to talk Twins, Twins rumors, deals made by
other teams with players you thought the Twins should go after, or whatever you
want to talk about. It should be a fun and interesting week!
·
Be sure to head over to Twinkie Town and vote on the Twinkie
Town Top Prospect list. Right now, you can vote for the Twins top
prospect. By late afternoon on Friday, a winner will be determined and the vote
for #2 will start right away. Roger D and I are going to be trying to put that
together.
Alright, that is it for now. Be sure to check
out the SethSpeaks.net Twins Chat at noon today. Are there any other Twins topics of note? If
so, Send
me an e-mail, or leave
your Comments here.