All those Cuddyer Rumors

There is something to remember about all the rumors we will be hearing in the next few months of the hotstove league. There are really only three sources for actual information:

The Twins;
The team they are rumored to be trading with;
The agent for the player they are rumored to be signing.

None of these have any real interest in the accuracy of the information you get. While they have no interest in misleading fans either, sometimes they do have an interest in putting out misinformation in public that will reach the ears of their negotiating partners.

The Twins do not seem to play that game. Instead they hold things very close to the chest. But the other people in the negotiations may have different strategies. Remember that the next time you hear about offers and can't comprehend why the Twins aren't jumping at them.

The other source of rumors is people who don't really know what's going on. Some people just make stuff up. Others believe things are true but are simply unreliable.

Within any organization the size of the Twins there are going to be people who occasionally want to puff up their importance by appearing to know more than they do. And its not really in the interest of the sports writers to question their knowledge. Afterall, they are sources for interesting tidbits of information, accurate or not. That guy who has a clear id of what the manager or GM thinks is invaluable to getting an interesting story, whether s/he knows what they are talking about or not.

The other thing is that some people, including bloggers, lie. They make stuff up if they think they can't get caught. And it is very difficult to get caught making stuff up about the Twins because they refuse to discuss negotiations in public.

Rumors are just rumors. How widely they are repeated has more to do with how interesting they are then how much substance there is to them.

Just to put the above into a current rumor: Michael Cuddyer may or may not be close to a lucrative deal with the Phillies. But his agent certainly has an interest in everyone thinking that is the case.