Over the last few weeks, I
have pondered frequently what the Twins should do this offseason.
They locked up Brad Radke for the next two years. I would
like to see them sign Johan Santana to a multi-year deal. I
still want to see them trade either Jacque Jones or
Shannon Stewart. And that was really it, except for one
situation. Yesterday, it became official that Corey Koskie
was going to sign a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays (pending a
physical) for 3 years and $17 million dollars.
People write me all the time
and tell me that I am generally too nice, that I don't rant enough.
In general, I have agreed with most of the decisions that the Twins
have made. I try not to question players because I can understand
what they're thinking. I may question Ron Gardenhire at times
because of lineup decisions, or in-game calls, but I usually discuss
what I think I would have done followed by what Gardy was thinking
because different things can work. I try not to talk about Carl
Pohlad because he just makes me mad sometimes for being cheap.
But that hasn't hurt the Twins too much in recent years as better
players have been younger and cheaper. I don't question Terry
Ryan because he has made good decisions in recent years, even if
I disagree with them. But I have changed my mind on the Corey
Koskie decision after the reality of him signing elsewhere hit
me.
All along, I agreed with the Twins not giving him a third year of
guaranteed money. I also think that almost $6 million is a big risk
for a player with the injury history of Corey Koskie. Sure, I
think that he has been a very productive player when he is healthy.
He usually takes pitches and works good at bats. He has a solid
career on-base percentage, and last year was arguably his best power
season. He is also a Gold Glove caliber third baseman. But again, he
just misses a lot of games over the course of a season.
So, as we were hearing that the Twins had offered him two years at
$8.25 million, I thought that was a very fair contract, all things
considered. But now that Koskie is about to sign elsewhere, I am
beginning to realize that I really didn’t consider all things. There
were a few things that I didn’t think about. And, for the first
time, I feel slighted by the Twins "cheap" ways! Let me further
explain.
Koskie made it known that he
wanted
to remain a Twin. Last week, Corey Koskie made a
comment that he was willing to sign with the Twins for two years and
$9-10 million, as long as a no-trade clause was included in the
contract. Because he was willing to sign for one less year and $7 or
$8 million less to remain loyal to the Twins franchise, I thought it
was more than fair for the team to give him some loyalty in return.
And yet, the Twins did not budge on their 2 year, $8.25 million
offer. Koskie was clearly willing to take less to stay a Twin. The
Twins increased their two year offer to Brad Radke from $14
million to $18 million to keep him. And, I understand he is a
top-level pitcher, so that is very important. However, let’s look at
what the team would have needed to do to increase their offer to
Koskie. Let’s just say that they increased their offer to two years
and $9 million. They were off by $750,000, over two years! That’s
$375,000 per season! That’s the amount of a third year player. Even
if we were to have increased the offer to 2 years and $10 million,
that is the difference of $1.75 million, over two years! That’s
$875,000 a season. Now, we have heard that Twins owner Carl
Pohlad gave Terry Ryan the OK to increase his salary cap
a little bit. Well, would this much really have been too much? I
mean, instead of $54 million in salaries in 2005, they would be at
$54.9. Is that a big deal?
Why do I comment on this, and why does it bother me so much? I have
voiced my discontent with the Twins signing of bad utility infielder
Juan Castro to a 2 year, $2 million deal. That is $1 million
worth of wasted contract that the Twins used. Look at it this way,
here is how the Twins infield could look with Castro and without
Koskie, compared to if they would have given Koskie an extra million
dollars a year and not signed Castro:
Pos
Now
Could Have Been
3B - Michael Cuddyer
Corey Koskie
SS - Jason Bartlett/Juan Castro
Jason Bartlett/Nick Punto
2B - Luis Rivas/Nick Punto
Michael Cuddyer
I know which of those teams I
would prefer. Michael Cuddyer is far better defensively at 2B
than 3B, and Koskie is as good as anyone in the league at 3B. With
Cuddyer likely to play at 3B, the team may feel the need to keep
Luis Rivas. And, he will likely get a raise from last year’s
$1.5 million contract. I think all Twins fans are sick of watching
Rivas ‘play’ ball. The Twins will now have two utility infielders,
Juan Castro and Nick Punto. Is that really any better
than the utility infield duo of Nick Punto and Augie Ojeda?
I don’t think so!
Terry Tiffee may not be the greatest defensive 3B, but he
showed that he makes the plays he should make. Without Castro,
Tiffee could be a backup 3B and 1B and pinch hit, at 1/3 the cost of
Castro! If Koskie got hurt, Tiffee could step in for while he was on
the Disabled List.
Another option that has been discussed is bringing in Joe Randa
as a free agent. I think that he would likely cost $2-3 million
(essentially the cost that the team would be saving by being able to
non-tender Rivas). I like Randa. I think he is solid. But he is no
Koskie, and he would be a short-term solution, allowing the team to
determine two things. First, how long until they feel Matt Moses
will be able to play 3B for the Twins and secondly, if they really
think that Terry Tiffee can take over in the interim.
Another side effect of losing Koskie is that now it is more likely
that the Twins will keep Jacque Jones. As I said yesterday, I
really like Jacque. I do think that he will be better in 2005 than
he was last year. I think he provides a spark and some power despite
his inability to draw a walk or hit left-handed pitching. But if
they re-sign Jones at the $5-6 million that he will garner, they
could have had Koskie for even less. Also, keeping Jones means that
Lew Ford’s talents will be wasted at the DH Position. Sure,
this whole rant goes all the way back to what I said before the 2004
season, that signing Shannon Stewart long-term was wrong
because he is a bad outfielder and an injury risk, when Lew Ford
could be the every day left or right fielder and leadoff hitter and
then Jones could be kept. But for today, I’m still complaining in
terms of losing Koskie! Even with the injury to Jason Kubel,
the Twins still have outfield depth beyond Stewart, Torii Hunter
and Ford. They have Michael Restovich and Kevin West
who can hit. They also have Todd Dunwoody, Jason Tyner
and hopefully Rusty Greer from the left-side.
So, to summarize:
Corey Koskie at
$5 million
or
Joe Randa or Luis Rivas at $2-3 million, Juan
Castro at $1 million (instead of Augie Ojeda at
$350,000), Jacque Jones at $6 million, Lew Ford at
DH instead of in the field.
So, for a team on a budget, I
don’t see the cost savings. As a matter of fact, I see this costing
the Twins more money!
There
must be something more, right? Maybe he doesn’t play hard or won’t
play in pain?
If you’ve watched Corey Koskie play the game of
baseball, it is absolutely impossible to question his effort on the
field. Yes, he had injuries, but they were all either fluke injuries
or injuries incurred through hustle. So that can’t be it!
Koskie must be a jerk in the clubhouse and
just a bad person that they want off the team, right?
Not at all! By all accounts, Corey Koskie and
Torii Hunter were the undisputed leaders of the team. Koskie was
known as the prankster who kept things light-hearted in the
clubhouse. He would be a great leader for the rest of a very young,
inexperienced infield. I know that many people don’t take chemistry
as a very important part of how a team plays. I agree that it isn’t
as big as some people would want you to think, but I do believe it
is important!
Likewise, the next part of my rant is not important to winning
baseball games either. I think I have more than shown that Koskie’s
presence would be great for the 2005 Twins team. But what about all
that Corey Koskie has done for the community? How many
thousands of dollars has he given and raised for local charities and
churches? How much good-will has he brought to the Twins franchise
over his career? He has lived in the community, unlike most of his
teammates. He has made himself a valuable member of the community.
Now, again, these things don’t win games. These types of things may
not even bring in extra fans to Metrodome for Twins games. But these
types of things do wonders for the type of respect that the team has
in the community. And losing your "name" players certainly does not
help a team get a new stadium. And, these are the little things that
I think should have made the extra $875,000 something that Carl
Pohlad and Terry Ryan should have considered when
negotiating with Corey Koskie.
Now, I still fully believe that the Twins can win the American
League Central Division. Cleveland will be good again. Detroit
appears to be making a big plunge into the free agent market (re:
Adrian Beltre, Edgar Renterria, JD Drew, Matt
Clement, others), so they will be improved again. But, with some
of the other moves the Twins have made and with Radke and Santana in
the rotation, there is no reason for Twins fans to feel the team
can’t still win, and in fact, be better than they were even last
year.
I understand that the team is financially strapped by Carl Pohlad!
I have no problem with going with younger, cheaper, BETTER
players. I was thrilled when the Twins traded Doug Mientkiewicz
to allow Justin Morneau to play every day. I was happy when
AJ Pierzynski was traded to the Giants to make room for
Joe Mauer. I will be happy when the Twins let go of Luis
Rivas allowing Michael Cuddyer to be the every day second
baseman. I thought that the Nationals overpaid for Cristian
Guzman and feel that the Twins will get more offensive
production from Jason Bartlett.
Now, I like Terry Tiffee and feel that he will be able to hit
at the major league level. But this is a position where I don’t
think that Tiffee is a better option than Corey Koskie, and
that is the difference between this non-signing and those mentioned
in the previous paragraph. There are other reasons, both tangible
and intangible (mentioned above), that I think that not resigning
Corey Koskie will end up being an $875,000 mistake!
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
E-mail me.
MORE
WINTER MEETING NEWS AND THOUGHTS
RULE V DRAFT -
It was a very quiet Rule V
draft today. In fact, the whole major league draft took just twelve
minutes! Only twelve players were taken. Remember how I was worried
that the Twins would lose both Kevin West and Alex Romero?
Neither was drafted, which is good for the Twins! But another Twins
minor leaguer was drafted. Not only drafted, but taken first overall
by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Not only taken first overall, but then
traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for $150,000! That kind of
investment tells me that he will make the Devil Rays roster and
stick with the team. So, who was it? RHP Angel Garcia. Garcia
pitched in just seven games for Quad Cities (Low-A) in 2004 after
having Tommy John Surgery in September of 2003. He was the Twins
fourth round pick in 2001 out of high school in Puerto Rico. He is a
tall (6-7) right handed pitcher who was throwing about 95 in his
return this year. It is a tough loss for the Twins, but when I
listed my top 26 Twins Prospects this year, which included X
pitchers, I did not include Garcia, so the Twins aren’t hurt by
losing him the way they would have been had West been drafted.
The
Twins made a selection in the Rule V Draft and he was Ryan
Rowland-Smith, a 21 year old, left-handed pitcher from the
Seattle Mariners organization. According to ESPN.com’s John
Sickles:
A 6-3, 21-year-old Australian
southpaw, Rowland-Smith allowed 107 hits in 100 innings this
year for Inland Empire in the California League. But he also
posted an excellent 119/30 K/BB ratio, and his 3.79 ERA was
credible given the park and league environment. Rowland-Smith
might not be the next Johan Santana, but mechanical refinements
have boosted his velocity, and if he continues to throw strikes
he could be quite successful. He pitched for Australia in the
2004 Olympics.
I think that this is a good
pick. The Twins have had good luck in Australia and likely have a
good report on him. Maybe he can be another success story like
Grant Balfour. If the team keeps him, it would be as a
left-handed reliever, something the Twins may need in 2005. I really
like his low walks. Will he make the team in Spring Training or will
they offer him back to the Mariners, or make a trade to keep him and
send him to the minor leagues? I think a lot depends on what happens
in the offseason with JC Romero. This is a good pick and the
Twins can determine whether they want him in spring training.
In the AAA version of the Rule
V draft, the Twins lost Erik Lohse, Kyle's brother, and Victor
Moreno.
Pedro Martinez signs with the New York Mets
- Four years and $56 million!
The Mets wanted to make a big deal, and to do that, they offered
Martinez the guaranteed fourth year that he was looking for! I can
understand the Mets trying to get back into the news in NYC, but
four years for a clearly declining Pedro just doesn’t make sense.
Yeah, he’s not old, and he’s not done, but he isn’t the same
dominant pitcher that he was three or four years ago. This contract
just seems excessive, and I don’t blame the Red Sox for letting him
go.
Richie Sexson signs with the Seattle Mariners
- This is another deal that is
pending a physical. Sexson will get either $33 million over three
years, or the same 4 year, $45 million contract that Arizona just
gave Troy Glaus. Not a bad signing, assuming that Sexson’s shoulder
is healed. The interesting part of this deal is that Seattle is also
pushing hard to get either Adrian Beltre or Carlos Delgado. Now, of
course, Beltre makes sense because he can play 3B while Sexson plays
1B. But if the Mariners sign Delgado, he would play 1B and Sexson
would likely play LF, or one of them would DH. That would be a
pretty powerful lefty-righty middle of the lineup! I guess if I were
picking, I would go after Beltre because he is younger and can keep
people in their correct positions.
Mike Matheny signs with the San Francisco Giants
- The Gold Glove catcher
signed to play on the Bay for three years and $9 million. Probably a
good signing for the Giants. Twins fans will remember that
Pierzynski not only was not a good defensive catcher, but had earned
a reputation as not handling a pitching staff well or being on good
terms with umpires. Some Giants pitchers complained about him early
in the season. No question that Pierzynski can hit. However, in
arbitration, AJ is likely to get about $5 million. So, they will
probably just non-tender him and let him become a free agent. So,
Twins fans, the Giants got one decent year from AJ Pierzynski in
exchange for Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser and top prospect Francisco
Liriano. I think that is a good trade by Terry Ryan!
White Sox Trade Carlos Lee to Brewers for Scott
Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino and a PTBNL -
I love watching White Sox
General Manager Kenny Williams work! He just destroys the White Sox,
every year. He has already signed Dustin Hermanson and Jermaine Dye
to excessive contracts, he will lose Magglio Ordonez and now he
trades his best hitter for a guy who hit .250 last year! I love it!
The Brewers have to be thrilled with this trade! They get a legit
power threat to go with Geoff Jenkins in their lineup. The White Sox
thinking is to rid themselves of their boppers and start working a
more speed-based team. Podsednik’s production last year dropped, and
yet he still made things happen by stealing 70 bases. That’s pretty
good. Vizcaino is a good set up guy. But clearly the Brewers win
this deal by getting Carlos Lee. Lee is also one of the few White
Sox that I actually liked. So, now it is pretty much Aaron Rowand
that I like, so even more reason to not like the White Sox. That’s
fine, since they are building a team to battle the Kansas City
Royals for fourth place in the AL Central!
So, what are your thoughts on
all the rumors, the deals, the non-deals and discussions that
happened at the Winter Meetings?
E-mail me.
NFL "EXPERT" PICKS
Ryan Maus of
Twins Chatter is
again this week's winner. Things are still very tight at the top of
our leader board with Mike Brasel reclaiming the lead all by
himself but trailed by just one game by three people, and now we're
down to the final three weeks! Check back on Friday to see who our
panelists pick in the Week 15 games.
|
Thru Week
14 |
Total |
Week |
14 |
|
Over |
All |
|
|
Name |
Site |
W |
L |
Win% |
W |
L |
Win % |
|
Mike
Brasel |
Fantasy FB Guru |
13 |
3 |
81.3% |
142 |
66 |
68.3% |
|
Melissa Olson |
SethSpeaks.net |
12 |
4 |
75.0% |
141 |
67 |
67.8% |
|
Aaron
Gleeman |
Aaron's BB Blog |
12 |
4 |
75.0% |
141 |
67 |
67.8% |
|
Ryan
Maus |
Twins Chatter |
15 |
1 |
93.8% |
141 |
67 |
67.8% |
|
Michael
Labuda |
ChiSox Daily |
11 |
5 |
68.8% |
138 |
70 |
66.3% |
|
David
Bergner |
Baseball Savant |
13 |
3 |
81.3% |
138 |
70 |
66.3% |
|
Vic
Quick |
KDUH-TV Sports |
12 |
4 |
75.0% |
133 |
75 |
63.9% |
|
Ben
Jacobs |
Hardball Times |
14 |
2 |
87.5% |
129 |
79 |
62.0% |
|
David
Bloom |
Ya Gotta Believe |
11 |
5 |
68.8% |
127 |
81 |
61.1% |
|
Seth
Stohs |
SethSpeaks.net |
12 |
4 |
75.0% |
125 |
83 |
60.1% |
|
Jeremy
Kovash |
Wolf Lake Mgr |
14 |
2 |
87.5% |
125 |
83 |
60.1% |
|
John
Bonnes |
The Twins Geek |
11 |
5 |
68.8% |
121 |
87 |
58.2% |
CHRISTMAS
IDEAS
If you're
looking for a great way
to organize your family's Christmas Wish Lists, be sure to
go to this site, designed by a good friend of mine.
And as I
mentioned last week, I got my copy of
2004 Hardball Times Baseball Annual! It is
far more impressive than I ever would have thought. Great articles,
get writing, and very interesting and comprehensive statistics. It
is well worth picking up for yourself or as a Christmas gift for
family and friends who are baseball fans! By it
here.
And on
that note, I am going to call it a day! If you have any thoughts,
opinions or questions on any topic, please feel free to
e-mail me. Have a
great Tuesday!
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