Golden Nugz - 03.22.10
by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 4:00 AM CDT
in Golden Nuggets
16 comments
Football season ended in December, Basketball season ended this past weekend and now we enter the season of Tubby Smith to a new school season. I'm starting to get annoyed that nobody in the national media or the NCAA basketball community believes that Minnesota deserves Tubby Smith. We cannot be a destination job. We are just not good enough that a coach like Tubby Smith would stay here.
I am fully aware that this is not an elite job. But the notion that Auburn or Virginia or Alabama or Oregon are significantly better jobs is offensive to me because they are lateral moves. In some ways they are better jobs and in other ways they are not. But really...is the Gopher job so miserable that as soon as another BCS job opens up Tubby is the most logical candidate? This is a Big Ten job.
I know in this business coaches leave all the time and leave their recruited players behind. But Tubby has been down that road and he isn't going to be leaving for the sake of leaving. This is going to happen every single year as long at Coach Smith is here. Maybe it doesn't bother anybody else, but it annoys me.
- Now that my rant is done, time for HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO JAYSON NESS! The Gopher wrestler finished his season undefeated and a National Champion! Ness was also named the NWCA Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships. The four-time All-American had an outstanding Gopher career.
- YAY, the Twins signed Joe Mauer. The real question will be if they'll be able to field a competitive roster over the next few years with Mauer eating up a huge portion of their payroll. Be sure to check out Twinkie Town for the coverage and analysis.
- The New York Times has an interesting article on the firing of St. john's fired coach Norm Roberts. Roberts is accused of doing things the right way and not getting caught in the game of bending the rules when it comes to recruiting. A good and quick read that is worth the time.
- If true, this rumor found on GopherIllustrated message boards is hilarious. Supposedly the Cornell band started playing the Minnesota Rouser as they were routing the Badgers on Sunday.
- KARE11 is reporting that the TCF Booze Bankare11.com | Twin Cities, MN | Lifting booze ban at the Bank? may be on the table in the upcoming legislature.
- I enjoyed seeing the Big East struggle mightily on the first day and it continued through the second round. Eight teams made the Big Dance, two remain. Three-fifths of the Big Ten remain
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The Twins will have no problem fielding a competitive roster with Mauer
Minnesota is not a small market, and they have all the resources they need to spend 100 million on their team for the foreseeable future.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
um...
this isn’t a Twins blog, but we are still a small to mid market team. Even if they spend 100 mm in salary, one guy is eating up 25% of that budget.
Look at the Rockies after they signed Helton to a huge deal. It affected their ability to pay other good players and keep a good team around him. I’m not suggesting we will suck, just wondering how they’ll manage the roster over the next decade or so.
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by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 11:00 AM CDT up reply actions
I don't believe that for a second
Minneapolis is not a “small to mid market” city. It’s not New York, Los Angeles, Boston or Chicago, but it’s still a fairly large city. It’s larger than St. Louis, which has been spending around 90+ million on their payroll consistently. It’s double the size of Milwaukee, which has been spending as much as the Twins on their payroll (if not more) for the last decade. Hell, it’s about the same size as Seattle, which has also been spending around 100 million on their team.
The Twins created a small market environment for themselves because of Carl Pohlad’s cheapness and the Metrodome, and since neither of those two are around anymore, there is no reason to expect them to keep their payroll out of the 90-100 mil range. If you assume that they’re going to stay in that range, then they’ll have 67-77 to spend on the other 24 players on their team, which looks awfully similar to the payrolls they have had for the last decade. If it wasn’t a problem for them then, why would it be now?
I’m very happy for the Twins that they signed Mauer to a long term deal, and I think it’s for the good of the league, but it’s not because he signed with “the little guy.” The reason this is good for baseball is the same reason Felix Hernandez signing with Seattle was good for baseball; hometown kids (whether it’s their hometown from birth or whether it’s the organization that drafted them) staying home is good to see.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
I agree this is a good signing
and I’m happy. But one guy taking up 25% of your payroll is significant. And they will HAVE to spend more to maintain a competitive roster. The problem is they have NEVER shown they’ll spend more. Even with the increased revenue, they’ll have to spend beyond that and I’m not sure they will.
post 2010 season decisions to make – Hardy, Hudson, Pavano, Delmon (19.7 MM in salary)
post 2011 season decisions to make – Nathan, Cuddyer, Kubel, Punto (32 MM in salary)
Can they keep Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer and Kubel? And Young? And pay for any pitching? And put together an infield? It will not be easy.
I think you are guaranteed to lose Punto, Nathan and either Cuddy/Kubel after 2011 season. And probably Young in the next two years as well.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Oh, and the Rockies example is awful
They signed Helton to a big deal, and then tried keeping their payroll the same size it used to be. If the Twins do that too, they deserve the same fate.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
Oh, and the Rockies example is awful
They signed Helton to a big deal, and then tried keeping their payroll the same size it used to be (which was still between 50 and 70 million). If the Twins do that too, they deserve the same fate.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
Apparently I can't delete my own comments, but I think the point gets across :p
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
that's what I'm saying
do you really expect that they’ll sign Mauer for $23 million AND start paying more to field the rest of the roster? They’ve never done it in the past.
My point isn’t that this is a bad signing. Or that we are screwed in the coming years. But the Twins will have decisions to make.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 12:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Yes, yes I do
Because they have no reason NOT to spend 100 million on their payroll. The idea that they’ll pay Mauer 23 million and still keep their payroll ~75 million is ludicrous. Minnesota isn’t a small market and the Twins aren’t a small market team. There is no doubt that they will keep their payroll around it’s current amount (90-100 mil) for the foreseeable future.
As I said before, in the past their ability to do so was hampered by Carl Pohlad and the Metrodome. Now that Carl is dead and his son is in charge and actually willing to spend money on the team (as evidenced by this signing), there’s no reason the Twins won’t be around that 90-100 mil mark on their payroll consistently. That doesn’t even factor in moving out of the Metrodome, which is going to impact the revenue the team can bring in yearly.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
all I'm saying is
NOTHING in their past should lead you to believe their payroll will dramatically increase. They’ll still be on a budget.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 3:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Nothing in their past should lead you to believe they'd pay Mauer real money
Funny how that one turned out.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
not true
Kirby Pucket was at one time the highest paid non-pitcher in all of baseball. Kent Hrbek took a hometown discount but was paid a lot of money. I still don’t share your optimism that they’ll spend 23 million on one guy
AND that means they’ll continue to spend more than usual for the rest of the roster.
2009 payroll – 68 million (give or take a million)
2010 payroll – 95 million
2011 payroll – ?? you think it will be 95 million + the 12.5 Mauer raise? I’d be shocked. That 12.5 Mauer raise will mostly (or even partially) come at the expense of the rest of the roster.
I’m as much of a homer and rube with the Twins as I am with the Gophers. I’m on board with the signing but they’ll have to work to maintain a roster similar to what we’ll see on the field this season. They’ve made some great moves this year but we’ll be replacing SS, 2B, SP and maybe LF a year from now. I hope we can fill those spots wisely.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 4:34 PM CDT up reply actions
No, I think the payroll next year will be awfully similar to what it is this year, which is somewhere in the 90-100 million range. I don’t know where you got the idea that I thought the Twins would spend 110 million on their payroll, so let me reiterate: Yes, 23 million is a lot for one player. However, if they were to spend the same amount this year on their payroll as they would next year, that’d still leave 72+ million for the other 24 players on their team.
Will the Twins need to spend their money smartly? Of course. There are only two/three teams (Mets, Yankees, Red Sox) in baseball that can get away with spending their money stupidly and still have more money waiting for them. If that was the point of your post, then I’ve got to ask what makes next year any different than any other year for the Twins?
Personally, I hate the Twins and hope they fail miserably. That being said, signing Mauer, who is arguably the most valuable player in all of baseball, had to be done at any price. Yes, they’ll need to keep making smart moves in the future, but I don’t think this is a contract that’s going to adversely effect their ability to produce a quality product year in and out.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
right
but currently they are spending about 85 million on the rest of their roster. If the payroll remains the same, Mauer’s salary goes up 12.5 that is less to spend on the rest of the roster. I’m certain they’ll be competitive, like they have been for several years. But the recent run of competitive teams haven’t really been serious championship contenders. They’ll have their work cut out for them.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Mar 22, 2010 9:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Jason Ness & ESPN
Jason’s win was the play of the day on ESPN today.
that is awesome
I need to do some sort of writeup on him, undefeated is rather impressive.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
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