There's nothing good about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis yesterday. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one and anyone who was injured when the bridge came down. It's been reported that a good number of the cars on the bridge may have been headed to the Metrodome for the Twins game with the Royals, a game that went on as scheduled. At least part of the reasoning for continuing play was so that people weren't sent right back out into the chaotic streets, they won't be playing today and might not for the whole weekend.
Maybe the time off will allow Johan Santana to come to his senses. The lefthander blasted his team after the trade deadline because they traded Luis Castillo instead of adding veteran players and said that he wanted to leave and play somewhere else.
"They protect their young players. They protect their organization, their roots, everything. But I guess I won't be a part of it. A lot of guys don't feel like they can be part of it, and they have to move on."
It's all well and good for Santana to want the Twins to make moves that get them closer to a World Championship, he's a competitor and that's competitive spirit. But he's dead wrong. This team's chances of winning this season aren't affected at all by trading Luis Castillo. He's got a good batting average and no other skills that help your team win. His replacement, Alexi Casilla, has shown similar skills (and a similar last name to boot) in his minor league career.
The Twins have been a competitive team the last several years but they are only on the fringes of the hunt right now. Team blogs have been spending a lot of time wondering who among Santana, Torii Hunter and Joe Nathan will be resigned as free agents. I'm not sure what the big hullabaloo is about Hunter. He's a nice player and a splendid fielder but at 32 he's not worth a $90-100 million investment. Unless the team gets a significant discount they should save their resources for Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau down the road. I'd throw Santana into the mix but if he's serious about wanting a trade then they should auction him off after the season. Don't resign Hunter, trade Nathan as well and offer Santana to the Yankees for Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. Or to the Dodgers for Clayton Kershaw and Andy LaRoche. The Twins have a new stadium coming and a nucleus of young players that do matter and should matter more to them than overrated second basemen and centerfielders.
I'm with you on Santana. He's a great pitcher, but he's got to understand the market that he's working in. If he's not willing to take a paycut, the Twins will not be able to sign him AND put together a decent defense behind him. I also agree that Minnesota should be saving its pennies for Maurer and Morneau. In the meantime, they should be able to get a lot in return for the best player in baseball.
Posted by: allonthefield | August 04, 2007 at 05:53 PM