Wednesday Night, November 28, 2007
Six Questions with Joel Thingvall
Hello again! I wanted to try to do something a little interactive
and get some other Twins bloggers some time here. So, I sent questions to
several Twins bloggers about the Twins, what they would do if they were in
charge and then a little bit about their sites.
Today, we are going to start with Joel Thingvall, Curveball of Curlz
and Curveballs. Be sure to check out the site of he
and his wife! You can also find his incredible collection of
autographs at Twins Cards.
Note
– I actually sent these questions out earlier in the week. Joel was
the first to respond. After the Twins/Rays trade, I sent it back to him and
gave him the ok to alter what he had written. I also added the final question
regarding his thoughts on the deal. However, you will note that this was before
we knew that Juan Rincon was being replaced in the deal by Eduardo Morlan.
SethSpeaks: You’re
the GM, what do you do about Johan Santana? To trade, or not
to trade? If your answer is “To Trade”, what would it require in return
to make it happen?
Joel
Thingvall:
Yes. My
trading partners would be either the Dodgers or the Mets with the packages most
discussed. Of course, the tough part will be the demands of Johan and
what he needs to sign. I do picture that the trading team could easily swing a
2-3 year deal until something more major is worked out.
I fear Bill Smith may wait too long and the Twins may lose out on
a decent package. Of course, any package comes with questions. Will the
youngsters perform, attitudes and the ilk.
SethSpeaks: The Twins have been hesitant in the past to trade young pitchers.
It sounds like that theory may be somewhat altered this offseason. Are there
any of the Twins young pitchers that you would call untouchable?
Joel Thingvall: Kevin Slowey,
Anthony Swarzak, Yohan Pino, Jeff Manship. I would
consider Garza tradable. Would rather move Bonser or Baker. In another couple of years, have to
discuss Liriano. I would think hard about who I may
think is a future pitcher for this organization and actually work out a
longer-term contract come mid-season, watching how the guys perform.
SethSpeaks: As of today, where would you rank the Twins in the AL Central?
Joel Thingvall: Fifth place. I
picture that Kansas City will pull off something to put them slightly ahead of
the Twins, and probably even resign Mike Sweeney.
SethSpeaks: What would you consider the top three things that the Twins need
to do this offseason?
Joel Thingvall: Trade Johan. Still grab an established
veteran for the fifth starting spot/long-relief in bullpen. Move out a couple
of relief pitchers. Of course, get a real third baseman and real centerfielder.
I think they can patch together something at DH as the winter rolls on.
I'm afraid the Twins are playing their own version of moneyball and they better watch out as it might backfire,
what with the ballpark and such. They should create a bit more good will and
put a roof on the thing, at least.
SethSpeaks: Tell us a little about what you do on your blog, where we can find
it and what you write about during the offseason?
Joel Thingvall: My wife writes
the blog, mainly, as a Twins fan. And she is a Twins fan. I'm expecting to jump
in occasionally, looking at more fun things like food at the ballpark, talking
with behind-the-scenes folks and such, if I get my act together. I would
like to have fun with this aspect.
I contribute
continuously to TwinTown and love responding to the remarks
of others.
SethSpeaks: What are your thoughts on the Twins and Rays trade (Matt Garza, Jason
Bartlett and Juan Rincon for Delmon Young, Brendan
Harris and Jason Pridie)?
Joel Thingvall: Interesting that two of the folks kinda
passed thru Minnesota already. Pridie was a Rule 5 in
2006 that I thought, fer sure, the Twins would make
an arrangement toi keep and send into the farm system./ Brendan Harris was involved in the three-team trade for Dougie Mientkiewicz. He can play
2B/SS/3B. has some punch. Considering that with his
young career he's been in the Reds/Cubs/Tampa Bay/Nationals
Delmon Young is not a centerfielder, which means Kubel becomes the DH. He should be a 20+ homer guy with 15-20
steals, and bat .280 in the lowest and .300 in the highest. Basically
a replacement of Hunter at his best. Basically we are trading top draft
choices in giving Garza to the Devil Rays. I like Garza. Does he need more
seasoning (probably not). Will he be another Eric
Milton (at his worst) or a Cy Young winner. But we
have to sacrifice for some offense at the moment. The Twins still have a solid
staff withy Baker/Bonser/Slowey/Liriano with Duensing/Perkins and
more in the wings. Sanatan will be back or replaced
by another. And maybe the Twins will spring for a better-than-good free agent
to anchor the staff and bring a veteran force to the team. It's not that they
can't spend $8-10-12 million for a year or two if necessary.
Rincon may be overpriced. Bartlett, I felt, only
had another season or two with the Twins before being claimed by arbitration
and hopefully replaced by Plouffe.
Thank you to Joel Thingvall and to all the readers for stopping by this site. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.