twins/mlb

The events of the weekend are making it easier to think about baseball: TwinsFest, the Save the Met benefit banquet for Dunning Field, the Diamond Awards, the Twins players you could see around downtown at night over the weekend if you went looking for them or were hanging out in the right places. (You could find a fair number of Twins bloggers in Roseville on Saturday night, but that's not nearly as exciting.) Joe C. was working for two over the weekend at TwinsFest while our colleague, La Velle, was receiving the Sam Lacy Award during the Negro League Baseball Museum's annual banquet in Kansas City.

A few thoughts from a weekend of thinking about and talking baseball:

*The Twins noted that TwinsFest attendance was up from 25,000 to about 30,000 this season. That was an expected bump considering that the Dome roof collapse forced fans to go to Blaine last year. More noteworthy is the fact that attendance was down from 2010 (34,637) and '09 (31,004). A quick web search showed attendance of 35,285 in 2007 and 30,483 in '08. So if this was the smallest Metrodome TwinsFest attendance in five years, it's consistent with the cooler fan interest that would come with a 99-loss team. Considering that season-ticket holders could get free tickets -- and the Target Field season-ticket base trumps what the Twins had at the Metrodome -- I'm sure notice has been taken at 1 Twins Way. Target Field is a fine place, but the novelty has passed.

*Among the other things that came up at the Save the Met Banquet was whether the Twins would consider moving one of their minor-league teams to St. Paul if a proposed downtown ballpark is built for the Saints. It was the subject of a recent RandBall post. I asked Twins vice president Dave St. Peter and Saints owner Mike Veeck about the idea, and as intrigued as they may be, adding the Twins to a Legislative funding proposal right now would be toxic to the deal. If the Twins liked the idea that much, they would be offering to put up the $27 million that the Saints and St. Paul are seeking from the state. So it's a down-the-road-a-few years issue and you won't hear the word "Twins" mentioned -- not by the Saints, anyway -- when the debate takes place at the Legislature. Of course, if Joe Mauer donated a year's salary ...

*General manager Terry Ryan doesn't consider 2012 a "rebuilding year," which is consistent with my hope that 2011 was an outlier -- a disaster of man-made and unforeseen events. St. Peter said that the Twins hopes are based on getting Mauer and Justin Morneau in the lineup for 140 games apiece. I'll add that they need to put up a star's production in addition to just being a regular presence. Right now, going by talk alone, I'm confident Mauer can return to being a daily and substantial presence.There's also an assumption that Denard Span and Scott Baker will be 100 percent and Francisco Liriano will be more of a blessing than a curse. (There are a few other "ands," but let's save those for other days.)

*Morneau concerns me to the point that I wish the Twins would consider bringing in a veteran with some first-base skills into camp -- or a veteran outfielder so that some combination of Ryan Doumit, Luke Hughes and Trevor Plouffe could be considered for first base if Morneau doesn't work out in a 140-game way. First basemen Casey Kotchman and Derrek Lee are unsigned, although Lee is apparently playing the Jermaine Dye "I want a good deal or I'll retire" card in a bad environment for aging players. Outfielder Magglio Ordonez and Koske Fukudome are available too. There's an open DH spot even if Mauer and Morneau both live up to St. Peter's expectations.

*So what will the Opening Day roster look like? A good question to ask after my plea for another experienced bat/first baseman. I'm expecting another bullpen arm to be added to the mix, and I'm not going to speculate on the 12 pitchers who will make the team because -- aside from the known arms -- several spots are still up for a good guess. The rest of the roster: Mauer and Doumit are the catchers. Morneau, Alexi Casilla, Jamey Carroll, Danny Valencia, Hughes and Sean Burroughs are the infielders. Span, Josh Willingham, Ben Revere and Plouffe are the outfielders. (Consider Doumit the fifth outfielder right now.) Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Drew Butera are in Rochester (or elsewhere); Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson have smokin' seasons at Class AAA and are part of the solution for 2013 and beyond.

That's 24 -- with No. 25  yet to be signed.

Merry Christmas, Detroit. Your 82-year-old owner wants to quickly end a World Series title blackout that dates back to 1984, when a different cheap pizza magnate owned the Tigers, so he went out and spent Mauer money -- and a bit more -- on Prince Fielder (nine years and $214 million)

Bleep it, we have Jamey Carroll.

Today, throughout Twins territory, there is yammering and stammering about what the Tigers decided to do -- with much of it framed in the context of the difference between what the Tigers and Twins are willing to do to win championships.

That conveniently ignores the Joe Mauer and Justin Morning signings, where the Twins shelled out huge money for players whom -- at the time of their signings -- were seen as cornerstones for the championships to come.

Sometimes, stuff doesn't work out. Mauer's 2011 (the first of eight under his current contract) was a waste and Morneau's career  has gone downhill and sideways because Michael Cuddyer hit a double-play grounder on a July evening in Toronto. (For the record, I blame Cuddyer in the same way that the South Park crew blames Canada for, well, everything.)

The Fielder signing -- sparked by the injury to Victor Martinez that will keep him out of action this season -- means the Tigers are as much a collection as they are a team. Fielder's signing will cause Miguel Cabrera, their other fearsome slugger, to move to third base, where he played for the Marlins being being traded and in the minors.

But, as ESPN's Buster Olney said this morning: "That was 50, 60 pounds ago."

Or maybe the Tigers will pay Cabrera $21 million this season to DH.

We could do a deeper analysis of Detroit, but Nick Nelson's TwinsCentric blog post goes there so I don't have to.

From a Twins perspective, though, it hammers home the point that there's more work to be done before the team is ready to compete in 2011.

Josh Willingham, Ryan Doumit and Jamey Carroll are good signings.

If anyone wants to bet even money on whether Joe Nathan makes it through the season as the Texas closer, you're on.

Joel Zumaya is an interesting gamble, just as it was an interesting gamble to wonder whether a middle reliever named Joe Nathan could adjust to becoming a closer a decade ago. Jason Marquis makes me nervous, just as I was nervous about whether Carl Pavano could do anything to help the Twins when he was picked up toward the end of the 2009 season.

Actually, there are a lot of things that make me nervous about the 2012 Twins as they now stand: The rotation, the bullpen, outfield depth, the middle infield, the health of the highest-paid players. Is that list long enough?

I am still trusting that things will happen between now and Opening Day to make me feel better about the roster and the Twins chances this season.

I am trusting that the Twins recent history of selling players at rock bottom lows will come to an end.

I've written before about how we want the teams we root for to make a move, and then chastise them for not making the right move. The Fielder has move has that kind of potential written all over it. Lose Martinez, sign Fielder. Put Fielder at first, move Cabrera to third. Get help from Delmon in 2011, get hurt by Delmon in 2012. The Tigers have just as much of a chance to disappoint their fans as they do to thrill them.

Baseball people had illusions about the Twins' prowess heading into last season, despite the uncertainties. If you can say "you knew," you know you're in the minority -- or you're lyin'.

If the Tigers win 95 games and the Twins win 93, we can say it was a fine chase and regroup for 2013.

If the Tigers win 75 or 85, we can chuckle and say, "Been there."

If the Twins have another terrible season, or are anything but competitive, it won't be because Prince Fielder signed with Detroit. It will be because the right moves haven't been made on the field, in the front office and by Twins ownership.

In the office, we're starting to talk baseball without feeling self-conscious about it.

La Velle is preparing for the Diamond Awards banquet next Thursday at Target Field, which is your best chance to see him (and other sports reporters) all dressed up with someplace to go. And Joe C. is off on a secret mission that has taken him somewhere warm for a few days. Don't ask. Details will surface soon enough.

And the Twins are on the road, playing schools and local gathering places around Minnesota as part of their Winter Caravan, with TwinsFest coming at the end of next week. It's a good thing that TwinsFest is back at the Metrodome after being forced to Blaine last season by the roof collapse. I'm not sure that charging $5 for photos, which used to be free, is a fan-friendly thing coming off a 99-loss season.

But revenue streams are revenue streams, I guess, and if it helps pay for Josh Willingham...

Here's the autograph-session schedule, including price lists and assorted restrictions.

Here's the Twins Caravan schedule. Maybe Trevor Plouffe and Dan Gladden will buy you a burger at the Hardee's in Windom on Wednesday

If you're going to pay for more stuff, here are a couple of Section 219 recommendations:

Seth Stohs of the TwinsCentric crew just published his 2012 Twins Prospect Handbook, which includes profiles on more than 160 minor-league players in the organization. Seth knows his stuff and has extraordinary contacts within the Twins minor-league system.

You can order the book here.

My friend Julian Loscalzo and his posse are holding their 4th annual Last Hot Stove League Banquet and Charity Auction next Friday (Jan. 27) at the Prom Center in Oakdale. (I know Oakdale sounds exotic and far away for some of you, but it's just on the other side of St. Paul and the Prom is less than a mile off I-94. So that's not an excuse.) Former Twins pitcher Scott Erickson and team president Dave St. Peter, who is the most accessible big-league team executive in Minnesota sports (by miles and miles) are on the program

The "last banquet" thing stems from Julian trying to end the banquet a few years back and -- in part because of Bill (Spaceman) Lee, Corey Koskie, Mike Veeck, Tim Tschida and others -- being a colossal failure at doing so.

There's a charity auction that benefits St. Paul's Dunning Little League. (Yes, you can bid on going to a Twins game with me -- or have both tickets and tell me to stay home.) Veeck will be there, as well as former Red Sox pitcher and Minnesota guy Dana Kiecker. And they'll be honoring a very special Citizen of the Year. Says Julian: "This year's Citizen Award will be going to a very loquacious, yet retiring, individual." John Gordon? Jon Huntsman? Jim Kleinsasser? You'll have to come to find out.

Tickets are $30 in advance (available at Anodyne Coffee in Minneapolis and Golden Thyme Coffee in St. Paul) and $35 at the door. Some years, you've gotten free beer by getting there early enough. "Batting practice" starts at 5:45 p.m.; "Game time" is 7:10 p.m.

See you someplace soon.

As spring training moves closer, there is unease among many Twins fans -- those who wonder if the roster is going to come from the parts that have been assembled as of the first week in January.

If that's the case, there's definitely reason for concern given the uncertainty about Morneau/Mauer, the shaky status of the pitching staff and a starting outfield that currently includes Michael Cuddyer's replacement (Josh Willingham), a weak-armed speedster (Ben Revere) and another quality player coming back from a head-injury impaired season (Denard Span).

La Velle blogged earlier this week that the payroll will be around $99 million and that the Twins are "out of money."

If the Pohlads are "out of money," that's a pretty good news story.

If they are "out of money" for the Twins portion of their business empire, that's also a pretty interesting development.

I am still choosing to believe there will be improvements to the roster before the season starts. Whether that makes me a naive optimist remains to be seen.

I'm also choosing not to name names right now because this shouldn't be a referendum on whether the Twins should bargain with Roy Oswalt the way they did with Jack Morris before the 1991 season or whether Derrek Lee would either be a fine surrogate for Justin Morneau or a high-quality DH.

(Here's the list of available free agents, in case you want to make a wish list.)

Rather, what fans need to know is what ownership and management are willing to do to restore faith after a season that was dreadful beyond most any expectation.

I think the Twins can sell the changes they've made -- Ryan for Smith, Willingham for Cuddyer, Carroll for the shortstop mess, Doumit for Mauer's backup, Jason Marquis added to the collection of midlevel starters -- as improvements over the way things ended up in 2011.

But more needs to be done.

Those of you who are regular readers know this isn't a space where we advocate for spending money on anything that looks interesting. But neither do we buy into the notion that fans shouldn't tell management how to do its business.

Fans are the business, right?

The Twins got a taste of what a honeymoon-over Target Field looks like in the final weeks of last season, and it wasn't pretty. There's a difference between "paid attendance" and the number of people who actually show up. The "paid attendance" numbers haven't yet sagged much, but empty sections of outfield seats and half-filled rows in the higher-priced sections spoke volumes about fan reaction to 99 losses.

I know the Twins don't want that to pick up where it left off. It would be bad for business.

Based on what you've been hearing, you have the right to wonder whether the Twins will do what's needed to be a championship-caliber club.

My hope is they're just not showing their hand.

The Twins have apparently taken the plunge and will swap out Michael Cuddyer for Josh Willingham. The players fit pretty much the same profile: Right-handers who can hit for power and don't play the field particularly well. Willingham is said to be coming to the Twins for three years and $21 million, which is several million less than the offer that Cuddyer didn't respond do, plus Cuddyer's departure will bring the Twins extra draft choices in June.

It looks like a good deal.

Yes, we'll miss Cuddyer. He soldiered on through last season when others didn't, for whatever their reasons. And he stepped in significantly for Justin Morneau when he couldn't play at the end of 2009 and for the second half of 2010. Those who made him a target of their wrath were aiming in the wrong place.

However, I'm not sure about the clubhouse leadership business. Sometimes, when we talk about leadership, there's a tendency to use the word as a synonym for accessibility. Yes, Cuddyer was great with the media and always available to celebrate the good times and analyze the bad.

But being a journalist's go-to guy for a clubhouse where hiding out has been a popular pastime for some of the talent isn't the same as leadership. In fact, I'll argue that "leadership" is one of those gratuitous accolades that means little when scratched and sniffed.

Are there leaders where you work? Or do the most valuable folks show up, do their jobs well enough to make others look better, respect their colleagues and bring bagels to the office every once in a while?

I don't want to think of Cuddyer as a leader because the Twins were in such free fall last season that you'd be forced to conclude that any attempt at leadership was a failure.

Instead, I'd rather think of him as someone who didn't shirk the responsibilities of his job -- on the field and in the community. If everyone on the Twins had made as much of their abilities and was as accountable as Cuddyer, there's no way the 2011 Twins lose 99 games.

He's a classy guy and a pretty good baseball player.

Cuddyer set an example. And I hope that Willingham does the same.

And one more thing. In today's reports about Willingham, there's another reference to payroll trimming, and how all of the available remaining money needs to go toward pitching -- that the $113 million payroll of 2011 is expected to be closer to $100 million in 2012, with about $96 million already committed.

But supposed payroll limitations shouldn't overrule Terry Ryan's judgment if he's convinced that a set of moves will make the team better. Right now, that means the Twins still should be pursuing Jason Kubel as an outfielder/DH, in addition to looking for the pitching help that's still needed.

I'll keep this simple: If the Pohlads can't let $100 million become $110 million or $115 million for the right players, it would be punch in the gut to fans who have every right to expect the Twins to be contending and not just rebuilding. To the credit of the Target Field-era Twins, such rigidity has not been on the list of mistakes made.

This is no time to start.