In great news for future free agents, and Dodgers fans: Clayton Kershaw signed an excellent contract for baseball. His seven year $215 million deal is a huge win for everyone involved. It locks up arguably the best pitcher in baseball for five years before he has an opt out.
The contract is only seven years and not the 10 years that it was originally rumored to be. And Kershaw is a 25 year old worth over $200 million. As for money, the Dodgers have more than anyone else and are exercising their right to spend it unlike the Minnesota Twins who have the second richest owners in all of baseball, but as it’s broken up between the three brothers they don’t get the publicity of Arte Moreno of the Angels, or the A’s or Giants owners. Just think anti-Steinbrenner (Yankees).
Speaking of the Minnesota Twins; they aren’t like the Dodgers in how much money they generate so fans shouldn’t expect a $200 million dollar payroll, but here in Minnesota the Twins have it too NICE!
Joe Average Twins fan, please cover your eyes or go to www.twinsdaily.com, because I see why they keep losing 95-plus games a season. It’s not just one thing. It’s everything, and that includes the average Twins fan.
Fear not because the owners have been paying attention to the fact that you are arguably the least intelligent fans in baseball. Terry Ryan is back with a lifetime contract “Asked if Ryan had the job as long as he wanted it, team owner Jim Pohlad said, “Yes.”
To show that he’s not just about gutting payroll ($115 million when he took over the reins after the 2010 season, and $74 million after last season), he resigned manager in Ron Gardenhire, and the same pitching coach to two-year extensions because that’s how you build consistency (just not how you build a winner!)
Ryan, Gardy, and the Jim Pohlad will then tell the fans what they want to hear (we’re a helpless small market team) and do something else to the fans who will believe every word of it thanks to a media base that couldn’t hold their bladders let alone hold a team accountable and local websites who are more homer than hard hitting at their very best (of which never happens).
They finished 24th in payroll last season, but vowed to change things, and believe me they haven’t. The team has spent money on: (mostly worthless catcher) Kurt Suzuki; (has been) outfielder Jason Kubel, and (never was) SS Jason Bartlett (who did actually have one great year in Tampa, but has followed it up by not even playing for almost two seasons). When you add that to a failed top prospect in Phil Hughes and an overrated third starter in Ricky Nolasco to be their ace things are well on their way to nowhere. The Twins are now up to 21st going into the 2014 season.
I haven’t really started my 2014 previews but I am predicting that The Pohlad Brothers rake in a ton of first half cash dangling the All Star game in front of their fans like human flesh in front of zombies. In the second half I am predicting that the zombies win.
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Brad, I am glad you speak the truth regarding the Twins. Too many in the media keep singing their praises and are too gutless to criticize or ask them the hard questions. And this is after three seasons of garbage. People went after the Vikings all season and they made the playoffs last year. I wish people treated the Twins more like that, but I think they are mindless and uneducated when it comes to baseball. Regardless, thank you for telling it like it is
I thank you John. As I interact more and more with people in “baseball cities” like St. Louis, Los Angeles, Boston, NYC, Baltimore and especially the Phillies who have my favorite fans… The more I fear that Minnesota will never truly be a baseball town. The people here aren’t bad people, but so few fans seem to have any degree of baseball knowledge outside
Of the twins. No frame of reference as to what winning baseball and especially accountability are. Target Field is a jewel in the baseball world and it looks more and more like it could be Wrigley Field. A great place to hang out on a sunny summer afternoon or evening, but the quality of the baseball being played doesn’t matter.
The Twins own the media. I know some of these people and they aren’t even ashamed to admit that they are apologists and are along for the ride.
Worst of all is that a piece like mine is damnation for me as a Twins fan. I will be forever locked out of the “twins fans” hearts and minds because I’m just viewed as an angry person that doesn’t “understand” the realities of a “small market team”.
When in fact Mineapolis is the 11th biggest market in the country and the Twins are 21st in spending currently and could very well be back to 24th by the time the season starts.
The Pohlads have said dozens of times that they spend 50% of revenue on the roster, yet the numbers don’t add up. According to Forbes they made an estimated $240 million last year and a 74 million dollar payroll makes that much closer to 30% than 50%.
Would spending another 20-26 million this season make them likely contenders? No. Especially when you look at the people running the show. The Pohlads are loyal, and Terry Ryan has shown for 20 years now that he detests and possibly doesn’t understand free agency. Meanwhile his minor league system has shown that it is way too top heavy, and that even the top picks aren’t panning out properly. Where is the 14th round pick that works his way up and becomes a solid contributor?
This team is the King of “the dumpster dive” as they search through worthless garbage for a treasure, and always come up stinking like rotten fruit.
I have equated Nolasco as the price of sucking, but at the current prices for starters they could easily afford 3 years and 36 million to Nelson Cruz to bolster the lineup, and 3 years and 42 million for Ubaldo Jimenez.
Those moves would not make them the team to beat, but it would give them a major league rotation with the promise to the fanbase that they are unwilling to just wait and hope for Sano and Buxton to save them!
The problem is that the owners know that the media won’t hold them accountable and neither will the majority of the fans so why bother?
Like you, Brad, I see this team as turning into Cubs North. It is pathetic that the majority of the media are lapdogs to the Pohlads. Sid Hartman is at fault with the way he has kissed ass for the last 70 years as opposed to doing his job and asking the hard questions fans want to see. The local media just copies him because it worked unfortunately. All a part of the BS “Minnesota Nice ” garbage. And Target Field is a perfect place to watch a ballgame, just as Wrigley is. I spent far too much time at the Metrodome when we had beautiful spring and summer days. I was looking forward to real, outdoor major league baseball here. I cannot go back due to my distaste toward the lying, disinterested, lazy owners. The local media disgusted me long ago. I used to work for a couple of local TV stations and Comcast and saw how they were first hand. I just cannot believe so many people cannot see reality and refuse to accept it. It’s like they are living in a real life Matrix where they keep taking that blue pill. The good news is I see more and more people disgusted on Facebook and in the Strib comments that I feel that soon the Pohlads will have to change the way they operate. Until then, I will not go to Target Field. It’s the Saint Paul Saints and Minnesota Gophers with an occasional trip to Duluth’s Wade Stadium that will get my baseball money. I also want to visit that ballpark in Chanhassen I hear great things about.
I will go to a game if Meyer pitches, or if Sano or Buxton make it to the majors in 2014, but no one on this current roster is worthy of my money. I will also only buy off of stubhub for pennies on the dollar because I don’t want to put a dime in the Pohlad pockets as a form of protest against Terrible Terry Ryan and the Dokie Okee.
Every time I hear or read “they were gettin’ after it” I just want to go Ed Norton vs Jared Leto on the bit from Fight Club. It takes the fingers on a chalkboard concept to nuclear levels. The man pr
The man proved for a decade he could not get “the most” out of extremely talented players and teams. He has also proven that he cannot make less than great players better. In fact the longer a player is around the coaching staff the worse they become. And I’m not talking about old age!
No more expansion. they need to do some team moivng however. they could move Tampa to North Carolina, New Orleans. i think that we have enough teams but dont have the best distribution of those teams. why would they keep teams in areas where the fan base is minimal. Montreal is a good example the team had no fan base then was moved to Washington Where the fan base is still minimal.