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benson a twin


hi8is

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am i wrong, or haven't the twins been favored to win the division all along? i only really know of two guys (rob neyer and rob dibble) who picked the sox. even once the sox picked up garcia i heard a lot of commentators say this improves the sox's chance in the division, but i didn't hear anyone say it made them the out-and-out favorites.

 

on benson, i agree with many above. i could definitely see us b****ing if the sox traded for him. i'd rather have garcia any day of the week, plus we got garcia for three more years, while benson will go to the highest bidder (most assuredly not minnesota) this offseason.

 

but the twins have improved themselves with this signing.

 

make a move kenny.

KW has made two moves already, and gave up a lot of prospects to do it. Unless he wants to completely mortgage the future, he is pretty close to done. He might have a small move or two left, but nothing big.

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With our latest rash of injuries, ineffective 3-4-5 pitching and the Benson pickup, you have to say the Twins are the favorite to win the division.

 

Look at Benson's latest few starts, he's been lights out.

Your pretty right on. This team is really going to have to step up its play and execute. The key is execution and they haven't been doing that the past 2 weeks or so. They can't not execute and win without having Maggs and Thomas. It was hard enough when they were healthy.

 

I also think they need to make a move. The flaw is the system is getting rather barren at the upper levels, which is typically what teams are interested in acquiring.

 

The Benson move is a great pickup. He is pitching like he was pre-injury of late. Plus, Mient wasn't doing crap and Morneau is a hell of a player, imo, now he has a position to play.

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Well it must not be official, because Mient is still with the Twins, of course he isn't playing, which should be evidence enough.  The Twins announcers are talking about it and how he's expected to be moved shortly.

Yeah, he's simply sitting on the bench.

 

 

where was it reported he was traded to Pittsburgh?

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KW has made two moves already, and gave up a lot of prospects to do it.  Unless he wants to completely mortgage the future, he is pretty close to done.  He might have a small move or two left, but nothing big.

i don't expect anything major, but i would like to see the sox add a complementary piece.

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With our latest rash of injuries, ineffective 3-4-5 pitching and the Benson pickup, you have to say the Twins are the favorite to win the division.

 

Look at Benson's latest few starts, he's been lights out.

I agree. With Thomas and Maggs out and Loaiza, Garland and Schoney not consistently pitching well we have been playing poorly. Add Benson to the Twins and they are a better team. They are already in first and playing better than we are right now. The focus has shifted, IMO, to them as the favorrites.

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This is suppose to make people nervous?? Benson is barely a decent pitcher in the NL... how do you think he will do against an AL lineup... like ohh say the Yanks or the Red Sox???

For those that keep talking about Benson and being bad (I was once one of them), I'm going to post Benson's stats.

 

8-8, 4.22 ERA, 132.1 INN, 137 H, 83 K, 44 BB

 

Now those are good numbers, but you could make a case that he gives up a few more hits then innings pitched and what not. However, bust out the splits and if you take away the month of May, in which he had a 8.10 ERA and the guy has been awesome.

 

Minus May, his worse ERA between April, June, and July is 3.31 (June). He had a 3.23 in April and a 2.08 in July. That is pretty impressive and to be honest, with the Twins about to get him, I wouldn't mind if the Sox came in offered Scho and a prospect or something along those lines to snag him (not saying it would do it, but I'd try, cause Benson on the Twins makes them a lot tougher).

 

Now I'm going to go one tougher and give his ERA against the better teams in the NL:

Atlanta - 2.25 ERA - 1 Start (Its not counting the latest start he made against them)

Chicago - 1.46 ERA - 2 Starts

Florida - 2.16 ERA - 1 Start

Houston - 7.11 ERA - 2 starts

Cardinals - 6.30 ERA - 3 starts - 2 of them were in May, where he was awful

 

 

Anaheim - 1.13 ERA in one start - This is a great hitting AL Team

 

Not too bad against the better teams in the NL, plus one good hitting AL Team.

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Benson has some talent, so he could be effective, but a 4.00 ERA in the NL usually translates into a 5.00 or so in the AL.

 

he will improve them, but I don't think it will be by much.

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Throw out whatever stats you like but Benson still has to prove he can beat the Yanks and Red Sox... he does that then I will begin to worry about his wing in Cooperstown, but until then I wouldn't be too concerned.

I'm not saying Cooperstown, but he has been pitching pretty good. His velocity is up and he's healthy. Other then Randy Johnson, he's the best pitcher on the market.

 

If the Sox could find a way to add him and Kendall, and their have been reports Benson could come cheaply if included with Kendall, then I think the Sox would have to think long and hard about it.

 

Payroll wise, it would add a lot this year, plus Kendalls long term deal, which I'd hope the Pirates would be willing to pick up (around 25-35%). The Sox are losing Maggs anyway, but those two, could really put the Sox as the frontrunner to win the division, plus it keeps Benson out of the Twins hands, which is huge, imo.

 

Right now the two teams are incredibly close to even (with maggs and Frank gone) and the way the Twins play, they win out if both teams are even talent wise (as of this point; Sox execution is still pretty crappy, imo). If they get Benson, then to me they go one up.

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Benson has some talent, so he could be effective, but a 4.00 ERA in the NL usually translates into a 5.00 or so in the AL.

 

he will improve them, but I don't think it will be by much.

Not that drastic, usually its about a .3-.5 increase and that is me over-estimating. At the same time, he plays in a division with some pretty good offenses. Not saying he's an ace, but at 29, and when healthy he is pretty solid.

 

I just don't write him off as a nobody pickup by the Twins, if it does happen. At the same time he coudl choke under pressure, get hurt, or what not.

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I'm not saying Cooperstown, but he has been pitching pretty good.  His velocity is up and he's healthy.  Other then Randy Johnson, he's the best pitcher on the market.

 

If the Sox could find a way to add him and Kendall, and their have been reports Benson could come cheaply if included with Kendall, then I think the Sox would have to think long and hard about it.

 

Payroll wise, it would add a lot this year, plus Kendalls long term deal, which I'd hope the Pirates would be willing to pick up (around 25-35%).  The Sox are losing Maggs anyway, but those two, could really put the Sox as the frontrunner to win the division, plus it keeps Benson out of the Twins hands, which is huge, imo. 

 

Right now the two teams are incredibly close to even (with maggs and Frank gone) and the way the Twins play, they win out if both teams are even talent wise (as of this point; Sox execution is still pretty crappy, imo).  If they get Benson, then to me they go one up.

Problem is with that deal, is how much do we give up? I think if we would hav made that deal earlier, we could hav used the prospects we used in the Garcia trade and not got Freddy after all.

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I will agree that it does help the Twins because Loshe has pitched like s*** for them and if Benson can pitch decent it will make the Twins better. However I think the Sox are good enough to take the Twins esp. it doesn't hurt with the Twins upcoming schedule. Benson will get plenty of oppurtunities to prove if he is good or not in the next few weeks.

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Problem is with that deal, is how much do we give up? I think if we would hav made that deal earlier, we could hav used the prospects we used in the Garcia trade and not got Freddy after all.

I'm not saying the Sox could get them, but why not push up the price tag, kind of like the Yanks always do to the Red Sox.

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If the Sox add someone like Catalanato and another starter to push Scho to the bullpen, then I'll be really excited. I think those two moves would be able to be done without mortgaging the farm (hopefully) and would give the Sox some nice chips for the stretch run.

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Not that drastic, usually its about a .3-.5 increase and that is me over-estimating.  At the same time, he plays in a division with some pretty good offenses.  Not saying he's an ace, but at 29, and when healthy he is pretty solid. 

 

I just don't write him off as a nobody pickup by the Twins, if it does happen.  At the same time he coudl choke under pressure, get hurt, or what not.

I'm not saying he's a nobody pickup, but there have been a lot of mid-level NL pitchers (which is what he is) who have come to the AL and have struggled.

 

career era's versus the AL

BOS - 9.95

ANA - 1.13

SOX - 8.44

CLE - 10.29

DET - 1.35

KC - 5.03

MIN - 1.08

OAK - 7.84

TOR - 30.86

 

of these nine teams, he's had an ERA over 5.00 with six of them, with only one actually in the 5.00's.

 

that differentially may be .3-.5, but with Benson, you have to expect it to be higher ... if you go strictly by the numbers.

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Thats the thing... the Sox only need to get another starter and then Schoney will solidify the bullpen as long as he doesn't b**** and cry about it. Then Catalanato would help as well.

The question is what starter and I think the Sox are best going all out for a guy like Leiter or Johnson or instead looking at a guy that not many teams are looking at. Maybe even a player that could help the team this year and continue to get better the next few years.

 

I don't know who all is on the block, but quite often guys get moved where you go, didn't know he was on the market, that type of pickup may be the best, cause KW won't be bidding it up with other teams, just one.

 

Hell Steve Traschel may not be too bad of an idea. He's not great, but he has done a solid job this year with an ERA in the mid 3's.

 

Paul Wilson - Reds - Done a great job this year, Reds will possibly look for a prospect or two. He's got a winning record, decent stuff, and good numbers in a hitters park. 9-2 with a 3.84 ERA. Of course Levine mentioned Lidle as a possibility, but maybe the Sox instead inquired about Wilson.

 

Livan Hernandez - Expos - Puts up good numbers, postseason experience, Sox have a good working relationship with Minaya. 7-10 with a 3.86 ERA

 

Zach Day - Expos - Young, puts up good numbers, don't know if he's available, but should be due for arbitration. At least worth trying. 5-9 with a 3.77 ERA

 

Tony Armas - Expos - Young, but makes decent money. He's coming off some injuries, but when healthy he is a very good pitcher. He has had a good month of July and is 2-3 with a 3.97 ERA on the season. Opponents are hitting just .234 against him.

 

Kip Wells - Pirates - May just be able to get him, although it could cost a good amount. Young, good arm, good pitcher.

 

Miguel Bastista/Ted Lilly - Blue Jays - Both are veterans, having good years. Don't know if Toronto is going to give up either of them.

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