Even Shecky Souhan gets one right every now and again. In today\’s Strib much maligned sports report Jim Souhan takes a look at Terry Ryan, and for once he gets it right.
I wouldn\’t go so far as to call myself a Ryan apologist, I have defended him for a long time, but this year finds me falling off the bandwagon, and landing hard. Souhan is right (never thought I\’d be typing that), Ryan is in a long drought. This leaves fans asking some hard questions. Is this the time for another trade of a popular player to prepare for the future (the trade of A.J. Pierzynski comes to mind). But the other side of that coin is: when do you stop preparing for the future and seize the day?
There are some things about the franchise that bother me. The Twins have no offensive talent in the minors. Without a trade or some remarkable development, the future for the Twins offense is more of the same. They have a number of players coming to the end of their contracts and barring the purse strings of C. Montgomery Burns loosening a bit, there is little chance those players will be retained. Additionally, if those same strings aren\’t all but removed from the purse, there is little chance that solid offensive players will be added to the roster as well. Leaving the Twins playing the role of today\’s Oakland A\’s!
Does this leave the Twins in a position somewhat similar to the Timberwolves? Is it time to trade a superstar for brighter future (and possibly present)?
What kind of talent could a trade of Johan Santana bring to the twins? Could we get an outfielder (maybe Jermaine Dye) and a DH/3B (ummm… anyone?) for Santana? Would increasing our offense at two (or three) key positions give enough of a boost that would prevent the Twins from repeating as the most shutout team in baseball next year?
What would the loss of Johan take away from the Twins? How many wins would an increase of 1 run/game give the Twins?
These are questions for Terry Ryan and Aaron Gleeman to ponder. Well, that is when Aaron Gleeman isn\’t fellating himself over his appearnces on KFAN or work he does for NBC (i.e. Rotoworld). But Terry Ryan needs to be asking himself what sort of move is he going to make, and perhaps more importanly, CAN he make this offseason.
In the meantime the Twins will continue to be a .500 team who struggle against quality pitching and make up for it against the bottom of the rotation (and bullpens). They will continue to be offensively challenged and forced to ride the roller coaster that the inconsistent middle of the order takes fans on each game.
There\’s always next year!
Skol Vikings! 😀
Leave a Reply