Silly season and poll stuff

Things must be rather boring on the Chicago baseball beat these days. My evidence for that is the latest foray by Phil Rogers, the Chicago Tribune's national baseball writer, into consider-the-source territory.

I'll bypass his centerpiece (the notion that the Cubs and Sox should swap general managers) because picking it apart would be to take it seriously.

Instead, I'll hit on this throwaway nugget in his "whispers" sidebar:

The Red Sox are talking trade with Marco Scutaro, and it's easy to see him going to the Twins for one of their bullpen arms. Scutaro is Nick Punto on figurative steroids. …

Boston signed Marco Scutaro as
a free agent about a year ago; now
they supposedly are shopping him.

I don't know exactly what the Punto-on-steroids comparison is supposed to mean, but never mind. I'm struck instead by the notion that the Twins have excess bullpen arms to swap for Scutaro.

Remember: Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Brian Fuentes, Ran Mahay and Randy Flores are all free agents. Maybe it's possible to trade the right to offer arbitration to someone like Rauch, but that's all the Twins actually have of any of the six, the right to offer arbitration.

Scutaro has one year left on his contract, $5 million. He'd probably be a bit cheaper than J.J. Hardy, who's arbitration eligible, but he's about seven years older and, based on 2010 numbers, no upgrade at the plate. I don't see it.

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We had 41 responses to last week's poll question: Should the Twins make it easier to hit home runs in Target Field? Justin Morneau won't like the results.

Thirty-seven (90 percent) said no, four (10 percent) yes.

Thus proving (?) that, while chicks dig the long ball, my blog readers prefer flyball outs.

New poll up.