Note: If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it here. Comments deleted on a whim.
Note: Before the questions start rolling in, I'd like to remind everyone that these will be reprinted in an entry and read by a relatively large number of people. Keeping the questions somewhat brief and free of spelling errors and overall sloppiness would be good. Thanks.
I've now heard from both you, AG, and several other baseball analysts referring to OF Fernando Martinez as the best prospect that the Mets have to offer. Naturally, I looked up his numbers after reading this and was disappointed by a career .273/.334/.421 hitting line in the minors. With that being said, you and many others have talked about his high ceiling. Taking into account his current numbers, what kind of ceiling are we actually talking about here???
Why do the Twins seem so hesitant to sign Morneau to a long term deal? It seems that the longer they wait, the more his price goes up. Are they betting (or waiting to see if) he will falter sometime soon?
Is there any basis in reality for my fervent optimism that the Twins could contend for the postseason this year?
Related: should I spend so much time worrying that Jason Kubel won't get enough at bats this year?
One more -
How do you feel about Kelly Thesier? Personally, I can't stand her parroting of the front-office and her ever present optimism about the Twins and their sometimes questionable decisions (Ramon Ortiz and Sydney Ponson come to mind).
Any chance the Twins could sign Santana to his enormous extension, with the reasonable expectation they could still unload that to the Yankees/Red Sox/Mets/Angels/Mariners 2 or 3 years down the road?
The home town nine should be able to afford at least couple years of 20 mil+ for Johan. And it would take the pressure off them feeling they have to trade now for too far below his value or lose him for nothing. Instead, the pressure would be put on those teams who feel they really need him to win now.
This assumes a no-trade clause wouldn't be a future deal killer. But Santana has one now and it doesn't appear to be a hinderance to taking offers from anybody/everybody.
Deblitating injury would be covered by insurance (no insurance for getting some good prospects, but at least it wouldn't be a payroll drain).
The only risk would be declining performance in the short term degrading his value. How much of a risk is that?
What's the best option at second base for the Twins?
We have a poor three-headed (well, I certainly wouldn't call it a monster, but it's a three-headed something) in Harris, Casilla and Punto. I like Punto's defense, but Harris's bat is much better than the other two.
Given our need for offense, it seems like Harris would be a sensible choice. But how much do we lose defensively by playing him there?
How much of a factor do you think the new twins stadium will have on the future payroll? When will we see a team salary increase and will they sell naming rights to the new stadium?
Who makes the best pizza in the Twin Cities? best burgers? best comfort food? best Mexican?
Will AG be making an appearance at Twinsfest 2008?
Aaron, my question is:
I am in a fantasy league with some friends and we decided to make it a “keeper” league last year. None of us have experience with such matters. . . . Do you know of a place for a quick and easy rundown of how to administer such a thing long-term? Lacking that, might you provide one? Specifically, we’re wondering how to do this year’s draft with our keepers from last year; not to get too specific, we did the online draft with Yahoo! last year and didn’t know exactly how to do that this year, given that each manager is going to have a hold of a good number of players. . . . I have some “low tech”/clumsy solutions to how we could do this, but I thought that you might know of a great way to deal with this sort of thing.
Sorry if this is a silly or novice question . . . love the website and read it daily for the last 2 years . . .
Who do you support for president?
Toronto trades Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen in what seems to be a "training staff challenge trade"; would you have made this deal as the Jays or the Cardinals?
Relatedly, assuming this trade goes through Toronto seems to be pretty much the best defensive team in the majors (they might have been before anyway). Where do you see the Twins defense overall at this point?
Do you think the "force out" rule is the stupidest one in the NFL? It's not flag football, right?
I'm tempted to dump down all my "stupid stuff" questions here . . .
What's your dream car? Dream car you can reasonably afford?
What non-baseball related vacation would you most like to take?
How many words per minute can you type?
What do you like on your pizza?
Most overrated movie you've ever seen?
What are 5 songs you like by bands/acts you ordinarily have no use for? (not one hit wonders mind you, but good songs by bad or bland bands).
Favorite power tool?
If you could have dinner with 3 people in this world, who would they be? Not including Chris Dial.
Going to Cleveland this summer?
If the Twins hold onto Santana, who should the Twins place in CF for the majority of the season? Thank you for not saying Span.
1. If you re-did your all Time Twins top40 would Joe Nathan, Joe Mauer, or Justin Morneau have cracked the top40 yet?
2. Assuming the Twins complete the deal with the Yankees for Cabrera, Hughes, and prospects who would you hit leadoff? Who do you think Gardy will/would hit leadoff?
not so much a question as a suggestion. I have just found your site about a month ago and now check it daily, however, i find it difficult to navigate to older posts, it would be very helpful if you posted a list of links in a nav bar, off to the side, for ongoing serieis both past and present. I am particularly interested in the top prospects collums from years past.
thanks for the incredible work
Are the Twin Cities that close to Chicago to endure Sammy hate.Just think he'd make a great fit.Reletively cheap,still got some pop, and wasn't on the list.
Assuming Santana is dealt and the Twins inevitably sign some veteran starters to "lead" the rotation (Baker and Bonser being the most experienced), who would you sign of those available? Or WOULD you sign anyone?
If the Twins make the trade with the Red Sox and pick up Jed Lowrie, where do you put him? 3b? ss? 2b? AAA?
What do you think the Twins' future plans for Mauer? Is it me, or does the stockpiling of young C's (including in a trade) indicate that he will eventually move to a different position? Also, would he not be an almost perfect leadoff hitter?
If the Twins trade Santana, who starts on opening night? Baker? Hughes? Lester? Other?
Over the past seasons Twins fans have been concerned about the Twins financial ability to retain their budding superstars. When posed with these questions you seemed confident that the Twins would have no trouble fitting them into the payroll. What has changed for the Twins since then and which of the current crop will stay and who will go?
I was wondering if you had heard the news about Chilli Davis in an AZ court? I guess He has been a very violent person to the woman he is dating or married to. Any relations you can make with Kirby? It seems kinda strange that the two of them had and have these kinds of problems.
t.o. is a prima donna and usually he will do anything to get the camera on him. he has done the sit ups in his driveway. he loved sitting on the bike every day while the media gave us 'updates' on his condition. crying behind those big black shades: a sincere moment from him?
as a side note, name on male in the world who wouldn't go to cabo with jessica on a weekend off.
With the "bump" in HOF voting that Blyleven enjoyed this season, do you think that it is inevitable that he will be enshrined, or do you believe that this year could represent the high water mark of his HOF support; in other words, that he will come no closer to induction than he did this year?
Which Ballpark is your favorite?
Aaron,
How do you remain so interested in baseball when a guy like Santana gets offered $20MM for four years and says "Sorry, not enough."?
Capn TK
Two questions...one Twins-related, one not.
1. What's your favorite film of 2007?
2. Is Glen Perkins' ability being ignored/under-rated by the Twins? I'm not quite sure why he's never been given the opportunity to make a major-league start. His minor-league numbers are certainly fairly good (albeit a somewhat high WHIP). I just hope he isn't undergoing "Jason Kubel syndrome" (I'm a big Kubel supporter) after having an injury-ruined 2007.
PS...your Twins and other baseball analyses are some of the best on the net.
Aaron,
How much e-mail do you get that you would consider rude and offensive, and how do you handle it?
Al
Is the "everybody loves the Twins!" attitude fading? They're the franchise that any Minnesotan who doesn't follow sports usually supports because they're pleasant. More college students will identify as Twins fans (maybe more than as Christians!).
Aaron,
Back in the early days (before you and your freakishly large hands were regular sights in national magazines), what did you do to draw readers to your blog? I got here from the Johan Santana page on BBR.com, but there must have been more than that.
Would you be willing to wear a t-shirt saying "Free Jason Kubel!" if I got a bunch of them printed? What about wear it on TV?
How much value would Joe Mauer lose if he was a ++OF instead of a ++C? Better yet, if Joe Mauer wasnt from right down the street, would Minnesota fans still consider him Baby Jesus?
Aaron,
Why has Dustin Pedroia's name never come up as a potential centerpiece in a Johan Santana trade? Obviously he's a great young player and someone the Red Sox would like to keep around for a long time, but they have a good 2B replacement for him in Jed Lowrie and a good lead-off replacement for him in Jacoby Ellsbury. They would need to give up something good to get Johan, and Pedroia seems at least replaceable, if not expendable.
Hypothetically, let's say the package was Pedroia, Crisp, and some pitching (maybe Masterson and Bowden.) Is that a fair trade?
When are you going to crown an OFGoAG.com? It's been long enough, you should be able to pick by now.
Pretend you're any other GM in the league. What's the least you think you could trade to the Twins for Johan?
What references/websites do you use for your statistics? Do you use a lot of at-home math to work up specific numbers?
What do the Mets need to do to get this deal done? I'm sick of wondering who's gonna be the No. 1 starter come April. Do the Mets have a ligit shot of obtaining Santana or is it more likely that Santana will be back in a Twins jersey?
What's my chance of making the opening day roster? Should I buy or rent in Minneapolis?
In a few years, do you think the Angels will regret that enormous contract they gave Torii?
Why can't Johan & his agent sit down with Bill Smith and hammer out a contract? I know he sees lesser pitchers making more money, but still. He already has more than enough to support his family for all eternity. I'd have to work 406 years at my current salary to make what he'll make in 2008. I like him a lot but I'm feeling crabby with him now.
When will the housing crisis/credit crunch be over? I work for a construction lender, and I'm getting so bored with it all.
I'd like to see a column-length discussion of lead-off hitting.
In general, what are the qualities of an ideal lead-off hitter and how important are they to overall team success?
Assuming the Twins don't acquire an obvious candidate, what are their best options for a lead-off hitter within their current roster?
If I can throw my own take into the mix--I have a decidedly stat-agnostic attitude on the subject. An aggressive lead-off hitter sets an important tone and gives an offense a good part of it's personality. I love it when the game starts with a gritty, nasty guy like Dan Gladden or Chuck Knoblauch. As good as Shannon Stewart *may* have been, his visible reticence (aka "professionalism") was a downer. In his prime, Ricky Henderson was God.
Aaron, if I offered you a lot of sound advice on improving your prospects with women would you be interested?
What's the prognosis on a Mrs. Aaron Gleeman? Any contenders?
If Bert Blyleven fails to receive enough votes for the Hall of Fame before his eligibility period ends, do you think the 'Veteran's Committee' (or whatever it is called nowadays) will elect him?
I think he has a better shot with former players than with the writers - the players had to face his wicked curveball...
Is this the worst list of questions you've ever gotten?
What do you think of your new NBC co-worker, Marianela Pereyra?
Would you have pulled the plug on Shana Hiatt?
How drunk was Gavin Smith last week, and will they ever invite him back?
At the time of the Pierzinski for Brian Sabean's-credibility trade, what exactly was said of Nathan, Liriano and Bonser? I remember Nathan talked of as a non-descript Aaron Heilman type guy and Liriano was just an injury prone but somewhat intriguing throw-in. How does a guy like Deolis Guerra (sic?) profile along those lines?
Also, I've perused the list of former top prospects in the Mets, Red Sox, and Yankee organizations at Baseball Prospectus. Not exactly encouraging--it wasn't long ago when Eric Milton was the Yankee's top pitching prospect. I think there was a couple of deceased guys on the Red Sox list. Now I know their farm systems have supposed improved, and guys like Pedroia, Joba, Papelbon, etc. might bear that out, but how much hype must be waded through when evaluating their prospects?
In other words, if the Yankee's can afford a $300 million dollar payroll, can't they afford to hire An Official Prospect Propaganda Propagator? Wasn't that George Costanza's specialty? "It's not a lie if you truly believe it..."
Have you visited the TwinsCards.com site and what do you think of this reference to baseball cards, photos and other stuff collectible of the Minnesota Twins?
They have a geat blogger, a new trivia contest going, lots and lots of autographs, photos up the wazoo and more.
Have you ever collected baseball cards?
A couple months ago you published a list of possible CF replacements for Hunter. A lot has changed since then: some of those players have been traded or signed elsewhere; the Santana trade talks have heated up and tend to involve CFs; the Twins have made other deals to fill other holes. So at this point CF is the only on-field position that really remains unfilled, and the leadoff spot is the only lineup spot conspicuously empty. With all that in mind, plus knowing a Santana deal may not happen, would you reevaluate your list, and how?
ok, five questions for you,
1. excluding santana, how does the twins starting rotation rate, and who would the five be, assuming santana is gone and we don't get a starter that is mlb ready in return. are their any surprise starters with in our orginizations? and by that, I mean, is there any one in our orginization that could earn a starting spot taht wasn't a starter last year? excluding liriano of course. I had heard a few months back that the twins had lost confidence in either baker or bonser (can't remember wich one it was), is there any truth to that rumor and if so, could the one be traded or even fail to make the starting staff out of spring training? also, what types of pitches do the twins starters throw, and how good are they at throwing them? there is lots of talk about how good various pitchers are, weather they are front end or back end of teh rotation, but not much talk about what types of pitches they throw. sorry that this one is so long.
2. How do the starting rotations of the bosox, mets and hankies really rate?
3. lastley, we've all heard how the various prospects in a potential santana deal rank with in their respective orginizations, but how do they rank repective to each other, and what are their upsides and downsides?
4. Is there anhy chance the dodgers could show interest in Santana? and if so, what could they bring to the twins in a deal? did the signing of kuroda end any hope that the dodgers might have in aquiring santana? or what about the angles? every one says they are looking for bats and not pitchers, but, they don't have a bona fide ace, and they have a tone of outfield depth.
5. If nathan is traded who takes his place as the closer, would it be crain or neshek? if not those two then who?
Match the Vietnamese food item with the analogous Twins infielder:
1) bahn mit a) Lamb
2) bun cha b) Everett
3) pho c) Punto
4) spring roll d) Harris
5) mango salad e) Casilla
Just curious as to what does a day in the life of Aaron Gleeman looks like. What do you usually do all day? How long does it take you to blog? Any cute groupies? Do bloggers have groupies? What do you do when baseball gets old? -- Really, I just want to know what you do besides eat, sleep and blog, ya nerd;)
Aaron, as we all know most of the offseason trade talk this offseason has centered around Santana, but I think that Joe Nathan is just as likely to be traded. What teams do you think would be interested in him, and what types of trade players could you see us getting in return?
When the 2008 baseball season starts, what will happen first:
1. Nick Punto hits a home run?
2. Blind squirrel finds an acorn?
I second PC's request for a discussion of lead-off hitting.
Unlike PC, I suspect that OBP is by far the most important trait for a lead-off man, but I'm curious what you think.
Also, do you think there's something in the psyche of the major league manager that makes them want to bat crappy hitting speedsters lead-off?
Who do you think will end up winning sponsorship rights to the new Twins stadium?
My money's on a big Minnesota company like 3M or Best Buy.
Fantasy question for you:
What do you think about Hanley Ramirez as a top 5 pick? It seems to me his value drops considerably without Miguel Cabrera behind him.
Are there any current major league players on the Mets that you think would be worth including in a deal with them?
i second Marshall's questions about the potential Nathan trade adding which teams would currently be looking for a closer, and which ones are most likely to be looking for one at the deadline.
also, if Nathan is not traded and he does not resign with the twins would he be classified as a type A, type B or neither free agent?
With the Mets being prospect heavy offer and returning lack of front line starter AND the quality of Johan, I am surprised there havent been more creative offers out there. Something like a 3-team deal where:
Mets get Johan
Twins get Bedard, F-Mart, Mulvey (or Humber)
O's get rest of Mets prospects and maybe a piece from Twins (rincon or minor-leaguer)
While the Boston deals are probably the best, neither (as proposed) serve the Twins the best. Lets get creative!
What have you been working on for Rotoworld since the NFL regular season ended?
Will someone at Rotoworld rank prospects without Major League experience for their fantasy value this spring?
Are the Vikings going to leave Minnesota after 2011?
If the Vikings ever move into a new stadium (presumably in MN), should it have a roof, retractable or otherwise? How about field turf vs. grass? I personally can't stand outdoor stadiums with plastic grass. It makes the groundskeeper look lazy.
Also, in relation to the above quetion regarding voting in the presidential election, I hope you do not answer. If you were to do political analysis as well as you do baseball, that would be fine, but I prefer my sports writing to appear politically neutral.
Thanks
I know it will never happen, but do you think the Chargers should consider trading Tomlinson while he's at his peak and go with a Turner/Sproles combo at RB?
Tomlinson is great but his trade value will never be better and Turner/Sproles could be an adequate replacement if you can get the right pieces in a trade.
Aaron,
Every once in a while I hear a rumor about Joe Mauer switching position (even once from Rumor Royalty himself). What are your thoughts on the matter?
are we ever going to see an other article on the top 40 twins of all time?
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