Christmas 2016 has come and gone and Minnesota Twins fans found nothing under the Christmas tree but a Jason Castro and a wheelbarrow full of coal.
As I sit here in the Plymouth, Minnesota with the ground covered with snow in spite of all the recent rain on Christmas Day I wonder why the team with the worst record in baseball in 2016 is doing nothing. It would be fun to write something positive about the home town ball club that I have followed for 56 years but how can you do that with a straight face?
Since the World Series ended when the Chicago Cubs finally won it all, the Twins organization has hired Derek Falvey to be there Chief of Baseball Operations and he in turn hired Thad Levine to be the team’s new GM. The team did sign free agent catcher Jason Castro on November 30 but other than that signing they have done nothing but sign minor league free agents that will not and should not play at Target Field in 2017. Oh yes, they did hire three new coaches to replace two that they fired.
I wonder what strategy the team is trying to employ to sell season tickets? Maybe the strategy is to keep mum and hope the fans forget about 2016 and have their season tickets on auto-renewal? There seem to be no promotions, no marketing, no nothing. Every now and then a rumor pops up that the team “is in” on some free agent but that player signs somewhere else and nothing changes.
It makes me think that the Twins haven’t changed a bit, they remain bottom feeders waiting to scoop up what ever drops down to the bottom that no one else wants. It’s not like the team doesn’t have holes to fill, make some deals, sign a free agent even if you have to over pay the guy to have him come to play at Target Field. Show some sign of life over there at 1 Twins Way. I don’t buy that Falvey and Levine are still in learning mode, those gentlemen aren’t stupid, they have watched the Twins for years.
It makes me wonder if the Twins approach is to try to not upset the fans even more than they already are. The hottest rumor surrounding the Twins is trading second baseman Brian Dozier. Dozier is the face of the Twins and the team leader and Dozier might not ever again hit 42 home runs like he did last year and he might be at the peak of his value but do you trade him for more prospects? Let’s be honest here, the Twins have sucked since 2011, we shouldn’t have to start the rebuild process again and wait until the 20’s to field a competitive team. If you trade Dozier you had better get some players in return that can play in the major leagues now, not in a few years. If you trade him for prospects you might as well put up a sign at Target Field like this:
Twins ownership and the organization need to realize they have a serious issue here, the Twins are not the lovable losing Chicago Cubs. That game won’t play here, we need to see some positive changes coming out of 1 Twins Way. If you think I’m getting inpatient then you are correct, times have changed, teams can show dramatic improvement from year to year just like they can tank from year to year. Patience isn’t a virtue if you own and or run a baseball team, you either put a winning team on the field or you better start to hire more workers to dust off those empty seats at Target Field.
Here are some reminders for you, the Minnesota Twins last appeared in the World Series over 26 years ago, they haven’t even won a playoff game in 13 years, enough already.
It is unfortunate that we cannot really know what has been offered for Dozier.
Certainly the idea of NOT trading him is pretty ridiculous. To go into the next season with nothing changed except a better pitch framer (who is also a poorer hitter) than Suzuki inspires no one.
While I am anxious to get as much as we can for Dozier the market is not exactly bereft of 2B who play well. Dozier would check off a lot of the Dodger needs (good 2B, significant bat, crushes LHP). That said, Dozier is only worth what someone will pay.
Playing ‘hardball’ with the other GMs suggest either the offer is woeful or the new FO is letting ego get in the way of making their team better.
I am all for making the team better and I would really like the sun and the moon for Dozier, but taking a 103 loss team into the next season with the same roster would be a huge failure.