Get the job done

"They take everything they can get
and give nothing in return."
--Rod Carew, regarding the Twins management

Rod Carew said the above at the time he left the Twins. I think Hunter (and a great many Twins fans) may be thinking the same in regards to Hunter's situation. I'm growing weary of the debate. There should be no debate. This thing should have been done a long time ago. Hunter should stay and the Twins need to find a way to way to make that happen. And it is becoming abundantly clear that the longer the Twins wait, the more it is going to cost them. It may already be out of their reach.

I've been a proponent of keeping Hunter long before this career-breaking year. Besides his quality performance game after game, Hunter provides much, much more to the team. It is something quite hard to put a pricetag on. Hunter provides leadership in the clubhouse and on the field. He plays with a love for the game and the fans know it. Last night when I was at the game and waiting for the players to run out on the field, I noted that Hunter, as usual, led the team onto the field. As he was running onto the field, he caught a ball with his usual aplomb. The fans love it. I couldn't help but wonder how much longer we'll be able to enjoy that show.

Hunter has made it clear that he would like to stay with the Twins. I think if Ryan would have pursued negotiations into the start of the season, this thing could have been taken care of. And we no doubt, could have signed Hunter for what now would be considered a steal. But I can see with each series that Hunter is more and more open to the possibility that he will be playing elsewhere. And I think Hunter is feeling so jerked around by the Twins that he no longer is so sure he wants to stay with the Twins.

Who can blame him? As we were preparing to leave Chicago last week, the White Sox signed Buehrle. While I would rather Buehrle play for the National League and not be a thorn in our side, I thought it was a good move for the Sox and the fans (let alone Buehrle). Get the drama over with and make the deal. They did what they needed to do. Come up with the money to sign a player who helped the team win. And they managed to it with the season in full swing. Amazing. See, Terry Ryan, it can be done.

Now, Seattle has done the same thing and signed Ichiro Suzuki to a five-year deal. What they're paying him and whether he's worth it, is a whole other story. But they got the job done. In fact, Seattle signing the deal just made it a whole lot harder for the Twins to get their job done.

And they have nobody to blame but themselves.