Todd, the Twins are paying Punto more than their #2, #3 and #5 pitchers in the rotation and we all know what a disaster Punto was until the final 2 weeks of the season. The Pohlads (like Griffith before them) are CHEAP. I guess if you want to call it the "Twins' Way," then the Twins Way is to underpay whenever possible, to take reaches in the Draft who are "signable" instead of the best players available (Maurer the exception), and to ignore free agents unless they are scrap heap players like Craig Monroe, Eddie Guardado, Mike Lamb, Livan Hernandez, the steroid 2b from Seattle, Adam Everett, the bust from the Padres, Ayala, the list goes on and on.
You are probably right on the '87 acquistions, a couple of them came in trades and were as you described "never-wases and has-beens."
I don't think I am selective on Buffet Bill Smith. He is a disaster. He got a bag of rocks for Johan Santana when he could have had Jacoby Ellsbury and or Bucholtz/Masterson or Lester. He traded away last year's MVP on the Rays, Jason Barrett who I believe hit over .300 again this year and a pitcher who was the ALCS MVP last year for Delmon Young who is an overweight singles hitter with no power who hits .275 and fields like he is on ice skates.
Smith has been an absolute disaster and I don't think he has redeemed himself with Crede who was hurt half the time and batted about .235 or Pavano and Cabrera. I have to disagree with you on Cabrera, he WAS available this winter. No one else wanted him but the A's and yet we thought Punto and Casilla were going to be the second coming of Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio and we see where that got us.
A lot of Twins fans are hot at Smith and believe he has one more year to prove he is capable of being a major league GM. I am in that group. Just like last year he needs to shore up the pen. He needs to bring in some right handed power hitting as the Twins look sick against lefties. He needs a real
3b and a real 2b. Tolbert is another .235 hitter and Casilla is a head case. Buscher is a .235 hitter. Smith failed to bring up Valencia and Tolleson to play 3rd and second so we could see how they would fare against MLB competition.
Finally, I will tell you this Todd, down here in the SEC (the best college baseball in the nation) the coaches pray that their juniors they desperately want back are drafted by the Twins because they know the Twins won't pay enough and they will have their players back. The Dean kid, a power hitter, great defensive player and team leader for LSU is a perfect example. The Twins low-balled him and he is back in school.
Jeff is right, the Twins DO have the money, they just won't spend it.
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