Don't think this is going to be a regular occurrence, but....

 Link Dump! I know I dropped one of these a couple of weeks ago, but this is just a much easier way to touch on all of the news that is happening in the sports world. Such as.....

The NCAA Transfer Portal is alive and well, even as the tournament is ongoing. Who are the top players? Glad you asked.  - SB Nation

The Timberwolves have finally been sold, freeing up Glen Taylor to buy the Twins (That last part was my speculation, not the PiPress) - Pioneer Press

Speaking of the Timberwolves, heck of a game last night - CBS Sports

The crazy thing about NFL Mock Drafts this year is how consistent they have been in putting Tyler Warren to the Colts at 14 and Nick Emmanwori to the Vikings at 24. Those are late picks to be that consistent. - Sporting News 

The Women's NCAA Final Four is going to be just as good as the Men's and just as good as last year's. - USA Today

The Loons look good this season! - MLS

The only torpedo bat story I care about is how the Twins bats are torpedoing their season so far. - Star Tribune

And you have now all been linked. Congrats! 

It's good to be a Commanders fan

Not only is it the most cost effective way to build a team, but it is also, undoubtedly, the most fun. If you are making a winning football team, a good way to save money is to have an excellent rookie-contract quarterback. It's also a lot of fun to use the extra resources to build around him.

Is there anyone having more fun than the Washington Commanders? Jayden Daniels followed CJ Stroud's lead and as the second QB drafted, emerged as better than the top pick in their rookie season. Houston had an excellent defense that needed preservation, but the Commanders are just adding, even from the Texans.

Daniels led the resurgent Commanders to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie, which is a promising floor, and the offseason has been all gas and no brakes. How great would it be to the team that is aggressively seeking talent, and knowing they are adding to a good roster, and not just patching holes? They could burn draft capital on Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil, while signing Javon Kinlaw and having the resources to retain the free agents they wanted to.

Eventually, Daniels is going to be very expensive, and more or less, Washington is going to know what they have as a core. They will be good for as long as Daniels is effective, but the era of unbound potential, an unabashedly fun time will be behind them. In the meantime, fans are going to be a little more forgiving. If things go sideways in 2025, they know that the future remains bright. If they go well, all the better.

The Commanders have shown with their moves thus far that they won't let the moment pass them by. It's one thing to catch lightning in a bottle, and another to allow that lightning to properly electrify the team. After so long in the NFL wilderness, how fun is it for Washington fans to be on the brink of greatness?

The Wild are the Twins on ice

Have you heard about the team in Minnesota that hasn't made it to their league's championship series since the early 2000s? Well, maybe you have heard that they had a very good start to the season this year, but, owing in large part to injuries (but perhaps also to a less than active trade deadline), they are cratering as the season winds to a close.

No, not that team.

The team who is having some payroll constraints as they try to build around a young core? You know the team with the electric young talent who was injured, along with the career long player at center in a Minnesota uniform that also keeps getting injured?

No, no, not that team.

I'm talking about the team with the home town kid that wears #7, and will probably wear too much of the burden if things don't go Minnesota's way while he is in town, even though the real problem is the organization and the fact that the town has been cursed since 1991? 

The Wild and the Twins share so much in common. Even as the season draws near a close for the Wild, and it is soon to begin for the Twins, it appears as though their paths may diverge. The cap in the NHL will go up, coinciding with Ryan Suter and Zach Parise's deals coming off the books. In theory, the Wild will be bigger spenders, and their core will get the support it deserves from the free agent market. 

That said, we also heard about the Twins TV rights being out for bid, and look how that turned out. And that the team was on the verge of being sold, and look how that turned out. Hopefully this is where the Wild diverge course from the Twins, but I'll believe it when I see it. 

Have some Links

 It's hard to believe that I used to not only have a post a day, but also posted links and scores. I miss that kind of free time, but man, I'm sure glad I'm not wading into the depths of the internet for good posts any longer. Gross. But let's see what we've got today.

It's the opener of NFL free agency, and wouldn't you know it, the Vikings are in the mix for a former Packer/Jet QB. - Fox Sports

Bubble tracking sounds like it should be very relaxing. It isn't! - USA Today

Hockey hair! - BringMN

We all love things being graded so we can argue about it later. - Yahoo!

The Gophers were knocked out of the Big Ten tournament before it was on real TV - Star Tribune

I did not know that this was something that could effect aerodynamics. - SB Nation        

OK, that's enough. Good night!

No deal!

 

Over the years, I have grown accustomed to the Twins not being able to seal deals. Trades, free agents, anything. If there are reports, there is an initial buzz of anticipation, followed by a long trickle of disappointment as it becomes clear that the rumored move is definitely not happening any longer. So why should it be any different when the team itself is on the block?

News broke over the weekend that the Ishbias, the only known interested parties in the Twins, have instead increased an investment in the Chicago White Sox, and are no longer pursuing the Twins. There is a wailing and gnashing of teeth in Twins Territory, and some are speculating that the Pohlads may pull the team off the market. 

I see that as a bit of an overreach, based on previous reporting, that there was a significant level of interest, more than anticipated, when the team was first announced to be on the market. I have to believe also that the typically coy Pohlads wouldn't have made such an announcement if they didn't know they already had suitors. I can't imagine that the Ishbias were or are the only ones in play, nor that they backed off because the Pohlads were having a change of heart.

There was a rumor early in the process that Glen Taylor might be interested in the team if he ended up losing the Timberwolves in arbitration. And he did! But that is just one of the scenarios related to the potential ownership of the team, and we don't know how many suitors remain, or if more step up with the announcement that the Ishbias are out. 

Even if the Pohlads are planning on keeping the team, they still went along with the plan for payroll to climb, if incrementally this winter. Regardless of whatever happens in the next couple of months, if the Twins are still in the Pohlads hands or not, it's not as dark a time in Twins Territory as this time last year.

The story isn't done being told quite yet, and the ending still has a good chance of being happy

Got their number

 

We all know the players that we love to hate. It's because they always seem to have an extra bit of success when they face the Twins. I'm looking at you, Salvador Perez. We don't recognize it, but other teams have Twins that are their bugaboo as well. I thought, as we get ready to kick off spring training, we should look at the Twins projected opening day roster and see whose number our players have. These will be based on teams they have at least 10 games against, though I will make some notes if there are worthwhile exceptions. 

UTIL, Willi Castro - Milwaukee Brewers. Willi's OPS against our next door neighbors is 85% higher than his career OPS (this is called his tOPS, and will be our measure for all players). His average against the Brewers is a whopping .390. If I didn't qualify teams, though, Castro would show that 7 of his top 8 victims are NL teams. Get him in those inter-league games! The exception is the Angels, who Willi has a habit of hitting home runs against.

C, Ryan Jeffers - Texas Rangers. Do you remember when Jeffers got into a dust up with the Rangers in 2023? It turns out he might be more in their head than originally thought. A 213 tOPS based off of a 1.176 OPS in 14 games will do that.

1b, Ty France - Kansas City Royals. New first baseman Ty France may have been signed specifically because of the way he has feasted on the Royals. His tOPS is 202, which is because he's hitting .406 with 5 home runs. Other victims of the new Twin are the Astros and Rangers. Could have used that a couple years ago.

2b, Brooks Lee - Houston Astros. Lee doesn't have more than a handful of games against anyone, but against the Astros, he hit .462 with a double and a homerun.

SS, Carlos Correa - Colorado Rockies. It's wild that Correa has played enough games against the Rockies for this to be a consideration, but rightfully, he has always battered them, with a .412 average. His favorite AL victim? The Twins. 

3b, Royce Lewis - The Athletics. Lewis has hit 4 home runs against the A's, second only to the 5 he hit against the Guardians. He did it in half as many games, though, to the tune of a 170 tOPS

LF, Trevor Larnach - Kansas City Royals. Larnach is not only good against the Royals, but he's also played against them more than other team, save the White Sox. His tOPS is 151 against Kansas City, boosted by a keen eye at the plate and a .419 OBP.

CF, Byron Buxton - Chicago White Sox. Buxton has a pretty level numbers for his opponents, so the top tOPS is a 141 against the Sox. Reliable, though, against a division rival, and driven by the fact that he has hit 16% of his career home runs against the Southsiders.

RF, Matt Wallner - Chicago White Sox. Wallner, like Lee doesn't have many opponents he has faced a lot, but his 146 tOPS against Chicago is buoyed by an uncharacteristic .339 average. Also, unlike every other guy so far, his numbers are actually better against teams with winning records.

IF, Edouard Julien - Seattle Mariners. Julien's numbers against the Mariners feature a 195 tOPS, but the real story is that if you don't qualify his opponents, 6 of his top 7 are out west. Maybe likes being up late?

IF, Jose Miranda - Toronto Blue Jays. Miranda's 1.034 OPS against the Blue Jays is driven by a high proportion of extra base hits to hits (6/14). Also noteworthy is that Miranda is one of few players that level up against the Tigers.

OF, Harrison Bader - Texas Rangers. Bader played 11 games against the Rangers, which cumulated to a .343 average with 5 doubles. His most difficult times were against several other AL teams... including the Twins.

C, Christian Vazquez - Philadelphia Phillies. Honestly, there was no reason that Vazquez was listed last, just that he is a bench player, but his performances against the Phillies have been otherworldly.  OBP of .508 means that in his 19 games, he got on base more than half the time. 19 games is quite a few! His tOPS against Philadelphia is 266! He also plays better against the AL Central across the board, except the Royals, against whom he is abysmal.

The Twins look well primed to face their divisional foes, interleague play and for west coast swings this season. They've got their number.

Coaching when it counts

There has been a through line on the Derek Falvey tenure, and it has been an investment in their pitching staff. Not necessarily in the players, of course, but to an environment engineered to get the most out of the arms they have. They have made a point to roster excellent receivers. They jumped on Jason Castro right away during Falvey's first offseason in charge. More recently, to outsiders Christian Vasquez looked like an obvious trade candidate, but the Twins held on to him, in no small part because the front office still values him as a benefit to the pitching staff, as a compliment to Ryan Jeffers.

The other lift has been via excellent coaching hires. It started with pitching coach Wes Johnson, and has been reflected through Pete Maki, as the major league rotation and bullpen have rounded back into form. Johnson's contribution was felt acutely in his departure. The Twins staff fell apart when he left abruptly in 2022 to take the same role at LSU (he is now the manager at Georgia), but have reconstituted under Maki.

The Falvey era was supposed to emphasize the pitching pipeline, and through scouting, analytics and importantly, minor league coaching, that emphasis has born fruit. Bailey Ober, Griffin Jax, Cole Sands and many with less time in the organization have blossomed thanks to the environment in the Twins organization. The Twins have developed an incubator for pitchers, and the coaches have played a big role in that, both in development and maintenance. 

Back when Johnson was hired, the Twins seemed like they just had a knack for coaching hires. Former hitting coach James Rowson steered the offense to an historic output before taking a new job in Miami. Since Rowson left, the Twins offense is best described as inconsistent. David Popkins couldn't elevate the offense in the same way Rowson got the most out of his players, or Maki is still getting results from the pitchers. 

Popkins was let go at the end of the year, and replaced him with Matt Borgschulte, who comes in with more experience than Popkins. The Twins hope that translates to the same kind of magic that Johnson, Rowson and Maki have manufactured. Since taking the reins, Falvey has shown a sharp eye for impactful coaching hires—so perhaps Borgschulte should be considered the team’s most significant addition of the offseason.

Rationally irrational

After a long dark offseason, we are hitting the early part of spring training. Pitchers and catchers are reporting, and projection systems are doing what they do best. Projecting. Most predictions that have been released to date have a surprise in store for Twins fans: The Twins are the favorite to win the American League Central.

The entire offseason narrative was built around a vague statement Derek Falvey made about the payroll remaining level entering 2025. This was taken to mean the Twins would have to trim a little bit of payroll to add much of anything, and a lot of the focus was placed on Chris Paddack and Christian Vazquez as potential departees. The calculus recently changed, trades were not made, and suddenly, the Twins have added three players to the major league roster in Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe and Ty France. 

But here's the thing about a lot of those projections: they came out before the Twins' latest splashes in free agency. The Twins were viewed as likely to be better than their competition in 2025, even by maintaining the roster they had in 2024. 

The Twins have elite talent on their roster. The rotation has three very good starters in Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober and good, developing depth behind those three. They have a strong bullpen, led by Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Cole Sands. They have good, professional hitters, including Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis, as well as legitimate talent at multiple other spots in the field. Based on the players they have, the Twins are a very strong team.

Even after all that news, even after all the kinds words from me, most Twins fans, myself included, know that there is something missing from the computer projections. These projections don't perfectly capture the Twins likely hundreds of man-games lost to injury this season. Sure, they do all right acknowledging Byron Buxton's inevitable third of a season on the shelf. But do they also note that young players may launch extremely poorly, or the big time injury to someone like, say, Joe Ryan (as in 2024) that could completely deep six the season? 

We fans acknowledge the team's historic misfortune. Numbers can say one thing, and even if they are coldly rational, we can't help but view them as overly optimistic. Something will probably go wrong, because something always goes wrong. Why would this year be any different?

The Athletic released their first team rankings of the season, and picked the Twins as the 4th best team in AL Central. Don't these prognosticators give the Twins any respect? 

The same as before

 The Twins have followed a pretty steady pattern of offseason moves for the last few years, and I'm not just talking about their tendency to wait until the tail end of the offseason to act, essentially every year since Derek Falvey moved into the executive suite. For the last few years, the Twins have, in the late stages of the offseason, sought to add just a little bit more to the bullpen, outfield and infield depth.

This season, despite rumors of concerns over payroll that was made louder by concerned fans that it probably needed to be, the Twins have started their shuffle into Spring Training. It's the same course of action that the team took in the past, broadly, but it comes as a bit of a surprise, given all the other things surrounding the team this year. 

In the late winter of 2025, there is a bit of a surprise that none of the moves have come via trade, as payroll seemed to be such a concern. Instead, in the last week the team has, via free agency, signed old friend, pitcher Danny Coulombe, and new face, outfielder Harrison Bader. The word is out there that the team is also looking at another option for depth on the infield, such as Paul DeJong or Luis Urias as well. The trifecta of late offseason Twins maneuvers. 

It suggests a few things. On the obvious financial side, it either means that the payroll limitations were perhaps not as hard and fast as we believed. Perhaps it also means that the Twins are very confident that a trade is very close to happening. I can't imagine that this late in the offseason there is a market for the Twins to reduce payroll while at the same not sharply affecting their future. 

Don't make the team a lesser product right before you sell it. That's been a pretty regular chorus here at the Rhino and Compass all winter. 

The other suggestions are more on the field things. The first is that the Twins were intentional about finding a fielder that could roam the outfield moreso than looking for the right handed bat. Yes, Bader is a righty,  and he is a bit better against lefties, but not THAT much better. In fact, he was markedly worse in 2024. Bader is an elite fielder, however, and is better viewed as Byron Buxton's backup than a platoon option.

Also, it looks like the Twins are going to rely on Jose Miranda, predominantly, to handle first base. Tasked with the role two years ago, he was laughably poor in the field, but if the Twins feel good enough about him being their option, I have no choice but to assume that he'll be better on defense. If the Twins are looking at adding a middle infielder like DeJong or Urias to the mix, that could push Edouard Julien over to first as well, especially if Royce Lewis ultimately takes over at 2nd. 

The Twins in 2025 waited again, nibbled again, and ultimately are going to end up with the three types of players they are always looking for. Maybe it's this type of consistency that helps them be the pick to with the AL Central this season. 

Let's not burn down large cities for good concerts

Last night's marathon concert to benefit fire victims in the LA area featured something for everyone, except for country fans. (No shade given, country stars have been showing up in disaster zones in the Southeast all year). I like big events like this, where genres and eras can come together. Even if you aren't a fan of say, Billie Eilish or Green Day, It's still really cool that this happened.

Next time, let's keep the collaborations to the Grammy's and not wait for regional catastrophes.

Skeleton Crew, the show that could have been anywhere

The world is nuts right now. It's probably always been nuts, but now it's all on TV, everyone knows it's nuts, and everything keeps happening faster and faster. Somehow, in the 50 years since Star Wars first came out, we've moved into a spot where, instead of a lark, looking at a technologically advanced world of adventure, it is, at it's best, a quiet return to a simpler time. To wit, Skeleton Crew was tremendous. 

The sequel trilogy really struggled, particularly in the final installment, and part of the issue was that it continued to try to consume the entire galaxy in it's breadth. It took every thing from the Star Wars universe and just threw it into the same pot. The Last Jedi was disparaged by some, but a thing I appreciated about it was the bid to make Star Wars more tactile again, and make the movie smaller in scope. It wasn't perfect, but it set something up that could have been much better. 

It seems as though Lucasfilm is figuring out something I have thought for a while. We don't necessarily need fan service at every offering, but simply good stories that live in the universe. It's such a sandbox to work with, and feeling a need to return to Palpatine and the Skywalkers at every turn only drags things down.

The Mandalorian worked because they featured new characters as leads. Personalities and arcs could go anywhere, and need only graze the existing canon. The Book of Boba Fett was disappointing in many ways, but a big cause was bringing a galactically important character with an already remarkable backstory AND following, and tried to shoehorn a story around that.

Recent disappointment and burnout drove poor viewership to The Acolyte, but it wasn't a bad show. It was a moody character driven mystery that sort of typified where Star Wars is at. It felt more akin to Andor and Skeleton Crew than to the core films. It was a decent show that had the trappings of Star Wars, but didn't need to be trapped in them. Andor and Skeleton Crew took this mindset and executed it even better.

Andor is a gritty war series that demystifies the idea of war, and brought the origins of a rebellion to a grass roots level. The fact that Cassian Andor was in Rogue One was incidental. It felt like the major plot points and internal motivations could have come from our timeline, or at least they seemed recognizable and real. 

Skeleton Crew was basically a kids adventure that was well written enough that grown ups got into it as well. There was almost no correlation to the extended Star Wars universe, except to provide the setting, rather than fixed plot destinations, and the show itself felt more like Goonies in space than another typical Star Wars offering. 

And that's where the Lucasfilm offerings have excelled. It excels when Andor's renegade is allowed to be a renegade, and the kids in Skeleton Crew are allowed to be kids, and heck, Luke Skywalker in a New Hope was a bored teen, and was allowed to be a bored teen, and all of whom happen to be in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars is best when it is not making itself a character. 

The big move: Diego Cartaya

 According to the Athletic, the Twins sale may be completed by opening day. That is certainly an accelerated timeline as compared to other team sales both in baseball, and other sports in this market. To say the news is a shock is quite the understatement. 

It also renders all of the "reduced payroll" talk irrelevant. What do the Pohlads care what the season's payroll is if they aren't going to own the team? This seems even more on point than it did a couple weeks when I first made the point. The Pohlads now have no financial incentive to do anything for the Twins, either spending or saving.

So the next question would then go to the future owner of the team for payroll questions. Unfortunately, by the sound of it, there are multiple suitors, and the market is robust. The front office has absolutely no guidance on finances. And they might not until opening day.

So in this fog of war, the first 10 days of January may be the high water mark for the team's offseason. The arbitration process was settled for all players, and the Twins made a pretty decent trade given the limitations they face. If you are the headline skipping type, let me tell you: the Twins acquired catching prospect Diego Cartaya from the Dodgers for a low level pitching prospect.

Cartaya was a top 50 prospect as recently as two years ago, but was pushed out of LA's plans because of the talent on the roster but also because Cartaya wasn't hitting at the Double A level. Still all accounts seem to suggest that there is no issue with his glove behind the plate. The Twins have an offense forward catcher in Ryan Jeffers already, and one way or another, Christian Vazquez's time with the team is limited. There is a path for Cartaya and the Twins as soon as next year.

It's a good move for the Twins and new GM Jeremy Zoll. It will shore up the roster without affecting the team finances too substantially as a sale approaches. With everything coming to a head in a few short weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last we hear from Zoll, or the MLB Trade Rumors app for the rest of the offseason. 

It's not an unexpectedly quiet offseason, though perhaps it isn't as terrible as we though. And really, it's not that much worse than the Terry Ryan years. 

I still don't believe it

 The Pohlads continue to cry poor as their ownership of the Twins nears it's conclusion. As we all know, the Pohlads are extremely wealthy, but they treat the Twins as a revenue source instead of a baseball team, and are guided by that philosophy. The small market, smallish stadium Twins are low on revenue compared to other teams, which, for a revenue minded group, might as well label the team as poor. 

But the Pohlads are selling, and will be flush with cash as soon as the team is off their hands. Everything is a business for that family, and right now, the product most on our minds is the team itself, and not how it produces on the field. There was a statement early in the offseason that the payroll would stay about the same as it was in 2024. Through arbitration and contractual acceleration, the payroll was already over what it was last year, and the interpretation was that the Twins would be cutting some players off the roster, looking for takers for Chris Paddack, Willi Castro and/or Cristian Vazquez. 

That was before news of the team being for sale, with an initial valuation suspected to be at about 1.7 billion dollars. I've already speculated that a potential buyer might not appreciate the team getting rid of players before the team was sold, and frankly, the thought of that might give the Pohlads pause before going through with such trades. They would certainly sacrifice an extra $15m if it meant securing the $1.7b sale. You would pay $15 if it meant getting $1,700, right?

But I've made that case already, and I want to make a different one. If the Twins were really looking to offload one of the contracts I mentioned, other squads would be clamoring for the affordable prices, given the large contracts being awarded this offseason. 7 million for a #5 starter? That's less than Patrick Sandoval is getting from the Red Sox, and Paddack has historically been better than Sandoval. If there was a deal to be made, and the Twins were ready to deal, I'm sure an offer is already out there. 

I think the reality of the situation is that even if the Twins were able to jettison some contracts, there isn't a good way to affordably backfill those spots. Trading away larger contracts is even more problematic, both for the baseball minds, but also the business minds hoping the Twins remain attractive. I think it's less likely today that the Twins are going to scale back their payroll this offseason than it was at the beginning of the offseason.

None of this means, of course, that the Twins are going to be expanding the payroll. Oh no, no, no. While the Pohlads are still controlling the purse strings, it's unlikely that the organization will have any interest in substantial payroll additions, even if they might be warranted, particularly with a right handed bat, or a steady first baseman. Instead, look for more nibbles at minor league free agents, like Mike Ford, who was signed earlier this week, and my end up playing some first for the Twins. 

It's not exciting, but it's also a bit less depressing. I just don't see the Twins doing much of anything for the rest of the winter. 

Just be yourself

 I think there is a reason that so many people have a fascination with female pop stars, something that goes beyond the infatuation with celebrity. It might be anecdotal, but dreams of singing fame seem more common in little girls than they do in little boys. Again, anecdotal, but it also seems that the boys who become singers seem insufferable and inauthentic. So many pop women, especially when they first arrive on the scene remind people of themselves or at least someone they know.

2024, if you were to label it as the "Year of" anyone, would obviously be Taylor Swift, as it has been through recent memory, but a good choice for second place would be Sabrina Carpenter, who had multiple top 5 hits throughout the year. Obviously, I (nor probably the readership here, I realize) am not the market for either of their music, but here I am with opinions. I find Carpenter far less interesting, musically, than her counterparts.

Carpenter is tied to Olivia Rodrigo through some drama that you are welcome to research on your own time, but for the purposes of this post, Rodrigo is a good contrast to Carpenter. It is clear that Rodrigo has been jilted in the past, and even at 21, has incorporated whatever pain she has felt into her song writing. It's made for better music. It's helped her make the transition from singer to musician. Swift did it too. The artists who resonate, particularly with me, are the ones who you can really feel in their music. 

It's great to be joyful, but you don't know true joy or growth without a little pain. Carpenter seems so effervescent, too poppy. Either she's never had a bad day, or she isn't putting enough of herself into her music, both of which are a deterrent to being as good as she could be. She falls into the traps that men have. A lack of authenticity, dragging down likability. 

As with all music posts, we all have our own tastes, and nobody is wrong for having things hit your ears the way they do. I like pop music well enough, and this was pretty much written as I tried to figure out why the (second) hottest pop star bothered me. Take it all with a grain of salt, and please, every one -- Have a happy new year