Note: If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it here. Comments deleted on a whim.
So, did you present him with a leather bound copy of the Gardy File, or just a plain old spiral bound version?
Congrats! Sounds like you got some good questions in.
So, are you loving life as a "real" reporter?
A day earlier, guys like Terry Francona, Joe Maddon, Tony LaRussa, Willie Randolph, and Ozzie Guillen had each drawn huge crowds that occasionally approached 50-plus reporters
Joe Maddon? Joe Freakin' Maddon? The others guys I can understand why they'd get so much attention, but the dunderfuck in charge of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?
I was intrigued by Gardenhire's comment that White "would be a great option for us as a DH,
I'm intrigued about the part where he says "we can get him healthy." Combining the medical staff from the Six Million Dollar Man with the sanitary conditions of the boy-in-the-bubble's house couldn't keep White healthy.
"Joe Maddon? Joe Freakin' Maddon? The others guys I can understand why they'd get so much attention, but the dunderfuck in charge of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?"
They signed a Japanese player this year or at least won the posting rights so I'm sure it was mostly japanese media.
Very enlightening report. I just wish you could have figured out a way to ask him why he completely changes the way he manages his bullpen each October.
I'd be okay with Rondell coming back another year, and at a good price too due to seemingly lack of interest from other teams. If that happens, what would the chances of signing a (ahem) decent starting pitcher like Jason Marquis, Tony Armas Jr., or Jeff Weaver. Those guys would be as good as Silva at least. If the twins are looking at bringing in a veteran middle-back of the rotation guy, I sure haven't heard many names come up as far as being interested in anybody.
That was awesome. The questions were appropriate for the time of the year--with everyone trying to figure out how the roster's going to look next year--and Gardy gave more detailed answers than I would have expected.
The best part of this, to me, is that I don't feel like the Strib or PiPress would really let their reports devote this much of a press conference recap to questions about relatively little-known prospects, even though those are exactly the guys I want to know more about.
Re: White. I'm not a big fan of his defense, but his range seemed okay for the most part. And I'm kind of willing to accept Kubel at DH as long as his bat's going to be in the lineup. Kubel's the better defender when both are healthy, but I don't think the gap is huge, and if Gardy's willing to shuttle in a defensive replacement at the end of the game (which he did a fair amount last year), then it's even less of a difference.
It's like reading a transcript of Ahab cordially interviewing Moby Dick.
Haters: are you still going to complain about the amount of offseason content on AG.com?!
sounds like the kansas city royals will sign gil meche to round out an average AL rotation. this puts the twins in a disadvantage, considering live bats such as ryan shealy continue to develop and the minor league baseball player of the year alex gordon mops up the honors at 3B. Meanwhile Teahen is working on a 300/365 OF. The Royals are the new Twins Killers!
Kansas City Royals 3rd Place AL CD
Minnesota Twins 4th Place AL CD
Chicago White Sox 5th Place AL CD
Just a rabid KC Royals fan, looking for Dayton Moore to load up on SP. Thanks Twins fans, I'm rooting for you second, behind the Royals.
sorry for the last post, just dreaming.
but the royals are improving, but no where on the same plane that the twins are at.
cheers
jeff
Very interesting interview with Gardy. It sounds like he doesn't see White as the every-day option at left field, as he stated that if they signed him, they would flip-flop him at DH and LF. It's also interesting how he said he was trying to talk Radke out of retirement. I personally hope we bring him back and talk him into returning for one more year.
Excerpt from Gordon Ede's column this morning (Boston Globe/boston.com):
The Sox also reportedly dangled third baseman Mike Lowell in conversations with the Twins about relievers Juan Rincon and Jess Crain, but the Twins passed.
Don't drink the Kool-Aid!!!!!
Holy crap what a horrible time to be a Minnesota Sports fan!! Brad Johnson remains the Vikings starting QB, the Timberwolves suck and we have to trust Kevin McHale to try to trade away Kevin Garnett (we will probably trade him to the Lakers for two 2nd round drafts picks and LaMar Odom), the Gophers basketball team sucks, the Wild are stuck, and now this from the Twins.
Give us some darn hope TRyan and go and sign someone - and for God sakes Gardy quit spinning this crap about Nick Punto, Rondell White, and Carlos Silva.
Great stuff Gleeman. You do a great job!!!!!
I actually think frequently flip flopping Kuble/White between DH and LF would be a good idea.
White would learn it was his injury that caused his hitting problems at DH, and Kuble would rest those knees.
Excellent stuff AG. Been readin for a while, but staying silent.
I'm just curious to know what the Twins management has to say about all of the ludicrous deals going on these days. I mean, Lilly $40/4 yrs? Lugo $36M/4 yrs. It gets more absurd every year. Is there an end in sight?
To Kunza: I know you think it's a horrible time to be a sports fan in Minny. I feel ya. But do yourself a favor, and watch some Gopher Hockey. They will make you forget about the shite state of affairs with the other teams in town.
So, do you now have some idea what Jason Williams does?
Has somebody used that joke already? I haven't read the last few days' comments.
Really great stuff, Aaron. But I really wanted an answer to the "Punto sliding forward into first" question. Maybe Gardy doesn't mind because Punto is practicing yoga... wait, yoga? Wow, we've come a long way...
I don't know about anyone else, but with the insane amount of money being tossed around for "average" pitchers, I say let's take our chances with the pitchers we have. Ted Lilly - 4 years 40 million??
I would rather pay Baker, Bonser, Garza, Perkins, and whoever else their miniscule salaries than to drastically overpay for a washed up veteran who has less of an upside than the above mentioned. Save the money to take care of the guys we have.
yeah... gopher hockey... or SCSU hockey. As regards to the Twins, they will be alright.
Our lineup will score just enough runs to keep us in the game until the best bullpen in baseball takes over.
The rotation really might actually surprise some. Watching Garza and Bonser pitch most of their games, I believe they both have a shot to be solid pitchers. We just need either Baker to pull his head out, or Perkins to emerge as a good option. A lot of "if's" but still better than slotting line-up spots for Castro and Batista!
I'm wondering if the Freddie Garcia trade could result in the Twins flipping a reliever for a Phillies starter? John Lieber seems most likely.
I think lumping the Twins' general and field management in with that of the Vikes and Timberwolves is about as big an insult as someone could make against them.
What's the trade market like for Garrett Jones, considering their is little room for him in the lineup? Could he be considered a possible DH?
Aaron small thing in your day 3 update at Nbc Josh Phelps was on the Orioles not tigers he signed a minor league deal with them and they didn't protect him.
HE'S BACK!
To those of you who were wondering about why the D-Rays manager attracted a big crowd, it's pretty simple: Geography.
The winter meetings are in Orlando, about 90 minutes from the dump known as Tropicana Field. My guess is that all of the Orlando TV stations/sports talk radio stations and maybe some from Tampa/St. Pete were there.
Add in some Japanese media and you get a big crowd.
I wish reporters did this more often. It's fun to compare your version of the interview with the other writers. Yours seemed more true to the event than the others. Great job.
Aaron -- Did Gardy know who you were?
Great stuff (as always).
Rule 5 Results from Baseball America:
Major League Draft -
Twins Lose:
Padres: Kevin Cameron, rhp, Twins
Nationals: Levale Speigner, rhp, Twins
Twind Gain:
Twins: Alejandro Machado, if, Nationals
Minor League Draft -
Twins Lose:
Devil Rays: Erold Andrus, of/1b, Twins (taken #1 overall)
Nationals: Justin Jones, lhp, Twins
Twins Gain:
Twins: Jesse Floyd, rhp, Giants
Twins: Brian Buscher, 3b, Giants
Commentary from Baseball America Blog:
Justin Jones, same thing. Yes, he was a second-round pick in 2002 by the Cubs. Yes, he was once the No. 2 prospect in the Cubs system. However, the Twins had soured on him significantly, due to concerns about his makeup, his inability to stay in shape, his inability to maintain his mechanics, his inability to maintain his stuff . . . his inability to be a professional. There's a reason he was available in the minor league phase. Still, he's a lefthanded arm with potential to have plus stuff, so he's a guy worth taking a chance on, especially for the Nats, who lost a lot of talent.
Giants fans will recall that I was a huge Brian Buscher fan early in his career. The guy hit in junior college, hit in college at South Carolina (leading the Southeastern Conference at .393 in 2003) and then, well, hasn't quite hit as a pro. Buscher's never had huge power, or even average power, at third base. He's a contact hitter and he's a grinder who's had injury issues. He played a full season at Double-A finally this season with just a .687 OPS. Still, the Twins drafted him in Triple-A phases' second round; they are smarter than me, and most teams. He's an odd choice for an organization with Matt Moses and David Winfree already in the organization at third base, though, and both those guys have more power. The Twins also like three third basemen they drafted in 2006 in Danny Valencia, Whitt Robbins and Garrett Olson. Could this signal an impending move to the outfield for Moses, whose defense and inconsistent bat have taken him from elite prospect to a possible suspect the last two seasons? Maybe it just means Buscher will play another position . . .
How about this middle of the lineup:
3. Joe Mauer
4. Barry Bonds
5. Justin Morneau
6. Michael Cuddyer
7. Torii Hunter
A guy can dream...
Whoa Fran. Jumping to conclusions. Didn't mean to include the Twins in that statement. Not at all.
FishingMN: Thanks for the info. I think the Rule 5 stuff goes way under the radar, and it's interesting to see what the Twins do in light of landing guys like Santana via Rule 5.
I wonder if Bradke is in contract negotiations with the World Fishing Network (WFN) yet.
J-Me: Maybe you didn't, but Kunza's original comment seemed to lean that way.
What's the trade market like for Garrett Jones, considering their is little room for him in the lineup? Could he be considered a possible DH?
I'm pretty sure he was DFA by the Twins. He would be an absolute hack in the major leagues. Too many K's; not enough contact.
Nice interview. Gardenhire's nephew goes to the same college I do (I have a class with him) and Ron came down to speak here about a month ago. Really nice, down to earth guy.
Thanks for posting! Lots of great info there.
Has anybody heard if Jeff Cirillo is officially a Twin yet?
No I haven't but Ken Harvey is.
Back in May, when Jack Hannahan was called up for his cup of coffee, Aaron referenced the greatest game in St. Paul JCC youth basketball history.
Not only did I witness the game, I coached in it as an assistant to John Hannahan. Aaron was right, it still is the greatest game ever played there (I am still coaching there). Hannahan was basically the only scoring option for his team, while Neren's team had at least one spot up shooter, KFAN's Doogie. I still remember yelling to the players "DON'T LET HIM SPOT UP"
An interesting aside, Doogie and Zach Neren are still playing basketball together. They are playing in the Sabes JCC B League.
whether by intent or accident, the option acceptances of Silva and Hunter look like fair contracts. although i don't think it will happen, radke could command $12 to $13M. it will be interesting to see how these ridiculous contracts play out in 2-3 years. of course, i said that about aj burnett last year and he is now at fair value.
SBG wants to know if Gardy knew who you are. I am pretty sure Gardy doesn't know what the internet is, much less a blog, which he probably thinks is some kind of cholesterol related blockage in the heart or something. But no details regarding your (I presume) first time meeting Jason "You have no idea what I do" Williams. The readers want to know.
great questions AG. Being an editor, who worked as an SID assistant at a Div. 1 college, most of the beat reporters only wanted to be best friends with the coaches or make a name for themselves. They forgot who they worked for, their readers.
Thanks!
"No I haven't but Ken Harvey is."
I like Harvey as a platoon partner at DH for Kubel, and an occasional spot start to spell Morny.
"radke could command $12 to $13M"
No way. He only got 9 before '05, and he posted a very, very good '04. His ERA was almost a full run higher in '06 than it was in '04. Well, I guess that's not to stop Sabean from throwing 13-14 at him. Regardless, Brad is cooked.
"radke could command $12 to $13M"
No way. He only got 9 before '05, and he posted a very, very good '04.
No way? Gil Meche gets $11M and Ted Lilly gets $10M and you don't think Radke, (assuming his shoulder could be surgically repaired) couldn't get a bit more?
Yeah, but how can you assume that? If Radke is going to pitch again he'll probably need to take some time off to get that shoulder fixed.
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