Things I'm Thinking about:

[Riverbrian]

Masahiro Tanaka: Every time I read his name... I think of Dances with Wolves...

"Big Tanaka... Big Tanaka... Hey That's my Hat"!!!

 

Here is where I'm at... I have no idea if this guy is the real deal or not... I haven't seen him pitch... With my team in desperate need for an ace... I want to tell myself that he is the real deal and a guy who can be that much needed lead pitcher. So with that desperation in my mind... I want him to be it and therefore want the Twins to go after him no matter the cost with no idea if he is it. My wishful thinking is controlling my rationale side. This happens from time to time. I'm searching for a therapist.

 

Josh Johnson: He was born in Minneapolis and moved to Oklahoma at age 5. I don't expect the memories of a toddler to be a Minneapolis connection. I'm trying to remember what I was doing at age 5. The only memories that I have are a couple of traumatic events. One time I cut my thumb when I dropped a glass jar and I remember having to get up and turn the channel for my dad when he wanted the channel changed because this was before the age of remotes. I also remember that CBS was channel 4... ABC was channel 8. NBC was Channel 11 and PBS was channel 13. If you wanted to change from Channel 4 to Channel 8... Channel 5, 6 and 7 were static and with the volume up to 11 on the TV. The static would produce a loud hiss sound until you got to channel 8. Also if the President was on... He took over all the channels and your night was shot.

 

Now... However... Toddler memories of Minnesota aside. Josh Johnson still has family in the Twin Cities. His brother reportedly lives in the Twins Cities and is a Twins season ticket holder. People are talking about Josh looking for a one year incentive based prove it deal. I'd like the Twins to take a shot. Those 80 innings he gives us may be good ones.

 

Chris Colabello: He's a legit power guy. I just can't figure out why he insists on standing 47 feet from the plate. I wonder if standing a little closer and actually turning on a pitch would produce 500 foot Bombs to Left Field.

 

Sam Deduno: I still think this guy has it. However... I'm not sure exactly what "It" is. But, I look forward to him being part of 2014.

 

Swinging at Crap: If you have the ability to hit a home run. You have the ability to hit a double or a single as well. You just gotta stop swinging at crap. Young players doesn't always understand this because they feel like they have to do something amazing every time to prove themselves. Come to think of it... Old players don't always seem to understand this either. There are a lot of fans that don't understand this either. I think the best players understand this.

 

Brian Dozier: There were many that wanted to throw Brian Dozier aside after 2012. How many Brian Dozier 2012's did we have on the 2013 roster. If anyone wants to throw aside a Chris Colabello or Aaron Hicks or half the Twins roster based on 2013. Think about Brian Dozier in 2012. Players can get better. The Light bulb can light up.

 

Trevor Plouffe: Trevor will have to hit 30 home runs or start making some plays he shouldn't make on defense or I'm not going to be happy with him. It's probably not fair to Trevor but I can't help it. I spent too much time watching Brett Lawrie, Manny Machado, Nolen Arenado and even Josh Donaldson make jaw dropping plays night after night at the hot corner. I'm jealous of it... I want one... And if I can't have one... He better hit 30 home runs.

 

Jerry Kill: He had another seizure today and he won't be coaching the big game with Michigan. I had Epilepsy when I was younger. I outgrew it because that happens sometimes. Epilepsy usually isn't genetic but it does run in my family. I've seen the affliction first hand, I have dealt with the aftermath of the affliction. I understand the affliction as well as it can be understood and am very very experienced with the affliction. I even lost a loved one to it. I would never in a million years advocate someone not being employable because of it. In most cases... It's a moment... You have it... You need a short recovery period afterwards because it's hard on the body. A power nap usually does the trick and then you go back to being what you normally are. It can basically ruin a day and not much more.

 

I'm speaking generally because all cases are different from frequent/severe to infrequent/mild.

 

However... Jerry Kill needs to step down here and save the University of Minnesota the PR of having to explain why they are not letting him go because of it. (Wait... This has nothing to do with Baseball... my apologies).

 

Kevin Corriea: He was exactly who I thought he was. He was not my first choice in the off season but I'm glad we signed him. If only we could add a "Big Tanaka... Hey that's my Hat" to the roster so people don't expect Correia to be Kershaw because we don't have a Kershaw.

[LaBombo]

Really good stuff, even agree with most of it(!). Interesting to hear an 'insider's' perspective on Jerry Kill. That had been my thought as well, but it's a tough call.

 

Oh, and a small addition. 'Tanaka' is the Japanese species of buffalo, while 'Tatanka' is the American Bison, pictured below displaying his WWE championship belt.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sd26Lb88j8s/Tam-YKYLXEI/AAAAAAAAAKw/6JOk3nXjXCo/s400/Tatanka.jpg

[spideyo]

I'm totally with you on Colabello. People are so ready to throw this guy aside, but he was ROY in the International League. I do realize that there are a lot of guys who have success at AAA but not in the bigs, but I think he's at least earned another shot. If it were up to me, I'd be going into ST with Colabello and Parmelee penciled in to platoon at 1b, and let them play their way out of a job.

 

Spot on with Plouffe too. While he did look better at 3b this year, he was still the weakest link in the IF, and his offensive numbers were simply not good enough to counterbalance that.

 

I'll admit, I was a Dozier hater last year, and expected him to disappear. I'm happy to say I was wrong. I'd love it if Hicks comes back the same way. He played defense very well, let's hope he's pissed off that he didn't even earn a september callup and comes back determined to never play minor league ball again

[Guest USAFChief]

I feel really bad for Kill. He seems like a heck of a guy, and while I wasn't a big fan when he was named, the more I heard him talk the more I looked him as a coach.

 

But as a practical matter, if you miss work too much, no matter the reason, it's an issue.

[howieramone1406390264]

I can't even think about Coach Kill and staff at this time. Not a happy day on the Gopher Board. I would trade Plouffe this winter if at all possible and go with Escobar until Sano arrives. I've seen enough and have never bought the super utility role. I like Correia. Doesn't anyone grade on a curve anymore?

 

RB, those were good words. I know nothing about epilepsy.

[Shane Wahl]

That was a very fine post, RB.

 

And the point about Kill is pretty important.

[glunn]

Great thread.

 

Taking into account what happened with Koskie and Morneau, I am worried about Joe Mauer's concussion. The fact that Mauer did not come back this season even after we were told that he was expected to be back worries me. I worry that Mauer may never be the same or that he might be one more concussion away from permanent problems.

 

Given the time and money, I would be working around the clock on developing a catcher's helmet that absorbs more of the force of an errant baseball. Barring that, I worry about Mauer, and I would also like to see him wear the safest possible batting helmet, preferably with some strategically placed bubble wrap on the outside.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Honestly with Mauer, there was no reason to bring him back, even if he was fine. I wouldn't be surprised if the issues were exaggerated solely for the purpose of keeping him out of games..

 

Oh and Tanaka... I want one.

[spideyo]

MLB really should be pouring craploads of money into better catching gear. Mauer is the squeaky clean, no-ego, home town boy that MLB needs as it's poster child for a long time.

[Guest USAFChief]

One thing that might help is to make the cage part of the mask more of an outward facing "V" shape, so that foul tips deflect off to one side or another, rather than absorbing the full force as they do now.

 

Sort of like the bottom of an MRAP.

[ThePuck]

What's the reason Mauer should have been brought back this year if he was healthy enough to do so? The customers. The customers pay to see pro players play the game...and he's one of the best and certainly the best we have by a good margin. In Minnesota, a big reason for the fans to come to the game is to see the local guy, Mauer, play.

[Bark's Lounge]

'Tatanka' is the American Bison, pictured below displaying his WWE championship belt.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sd26Lb88j8s/Tam-YKYLXEI/AAAAAAAAAKw/6JOk3nXjXCo/s400/Tatanka.jpg

 

Yowza - too much meat in that photo. I'm getting a gout flare up.

[LaBombo]

Yowza - too much meat in that photo. I'm getting a gout flare up.

Gotta love that he stays in character with the glare even though he's thinking about awesome it is to make piles of money on fa... well, wrestling of some sort, anyway.

[snepp]

Sort of like the bottom of an MRAP.

 

I don't know what that stat is, but I'm sure you'll find a bunch of Twins starters at the bottom.

 

 

 

/yet another lame cybermetrics joke

[Willihammer]

Sort of like the bottom of an MRAP.

That, and crumple zones. Whatever plastics they're using today don't seem to give much. Maybe the old steel was better for that.

[Benchwarmerjim]

there has got to be a way to move that energy from burrowing into the catchers noggin to something else

padding on the front and back of the cage?

some sort of breakaway mask?

the 'outwards facing V'?

some sort of combo?

[Mr. Brooks]

I can't even think about Coach Kill and staff at this time. Not a happy day on the Gopher Board. I would trade Plouffe this winter if at all possible and go with Escobar until Sano arrives. I've seen enough and have never bought the super utility role. I like Correia. Doesn't anyone grade on a curve anymore?

 

RB, those were good words. I know nothing about epilepsy.

 

Trade Plouffe for what?

Nobody is trading for Plouffe right now unless it's for cash, a la Jamey Carroll.

Even if you could get some type of D prospect (a la Morneau), I'd still wait. Plouffe is a streaky hitter. I'd hope he starts hot next year, then MAYBE you can get something decent for him when Sano is ready.

[Oxtung]

That, and crumple zones. Whatever plastics they're using today don't seem to give much. Maybe the old steel was better for that.

 

How about something as simple as some small shock absorbers. If you think about it that is exactly what they are designed to do; absorb energy so that the resulting "bump" isn't as large.

 

I completely agree that MLB should be putting a lot of money into designing new safety gear, not just for the catcher, but batting helmets and perhaps pitching helmets too. How many comebackers do pitchers need to take off the head before we do something about it?

[Oxtung]

I'm a huge Gopher football fan, I like them more than the Twins frankly, but they are getting extremely hard to watch. I don't think the Gophers need to worry about the epilepsy at this point. Kill could be fired following this season based on production alone. At this point a 4-8 (0-8) season is looking very possible. In year 3 that should be unacceptable. I also look at their roster and only see 2 or 3 young players that I point to and say, "he has a chance to be an All-Big 10 player in the future." I think Kill is going to be on the hot seat after this season and it will have nothing to do with his epilepsy.

[Mr. Brooks]

I'm a huge Gopher football fan, I like them more than the Twins frankly, but they are getting extremely hard to watch. I don't think the Gophers need to worry about the epilepsy at this point. Kill could be fired following this season based on production alone. At this point a 4-8 (0-8) season is looking very possible. In year 3 that should be unacceptable. I also look at their roster and only see 2 or 3 young players that I point to and say, "he has a chance to be an All-Big 10 player in the future." I think Kill is going to be on the hot seat after this season and it will have nothing to do with his epilepsy.

 

The thing is, Kill would have to step down. They simply cannot realistically fire Jerry Kill at this point, even if it is about results.

All one needs to do to understand why is read the comments below either of Souhan's columns regarding Kill's condition. Any mention of it, no matter how legit, is met with an angry mob mentality.

I've even heard national announcers say that Souhan (they didn't name him, but obviously were talking about him) is a disgusting person, living in the middle ages.

[Oxtung]

The thing is, Kill would have to step down. They simply cannot realistically fire Jerry Kill at this point, even if it is about results.

All one needs to do to understand why is read the comments below either of Souhan's columns regarding Kill's condition. Any mention of it, no matter how legit, is met with an angry mob mentality.

I've even heard national announcers say that Souhan (they didn't name him, but obviously were talking about him) is a disgusting person, living in the middle ages.

 

I agree that article was terrible, however, Kill could very easily be 13-24 (4-20) after his 3rd season. For comparison Brewster was 15-30 (6-21) before he was fired. Wacker was 16-39 (8-32). I don't think he will be fired after this offseason but I think he will be on an extremely hot seat. To this point he has been the same as everyone not named Glen Mason. I think another important piece here is that Teague is not the AD that hired Kill. It is entirely possible he is eager to put his stamp on the football team like he did basketball (whether that turns out to be for better or worse remains to be seen).

[twinsnorth49]

Hockey

[Kwak]

Honestly with Mauer, there was no reason to bring him back, even if he was fine. I wouldn't be surprised if the issues were exaggerated solely for the purpose of keeping him out of games..

 

Oh and Tanaka... I want one.

+10

[Squirrel]

Hockey

 

Go Blackhawks!

[Guest USAFChief]

I don't know what that stat is, but I'm sure you'll find a bunch of Twins starters at the bottom.

 

 

 

/yet another lame cybermetrics joke

 

Actually, I believe the Twins led both leagues this year in Mediocre, Redundant, strikeout-Averse Pitching.

[twinsnorth49]

Go Blackhawks!

 

Not exactly what I was thinking but close enough.

 

​GO JETS!!!

[JB_Iowa]

GO PIRATES!!!

And, its time for the weather to warm back up again. Too darn early for this.

[Guest USAFChief]

Hockey

Bowling.

[Bark's Lounge]

GO JETS!!!

 

Agreed.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ENgVcx4tEYc/US0nI8rEoFI/AAAAAAAAQyE/45WEZu6NDQ8/s1600/jets85.jpg

[twinsnorth49]

Agreed.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ENgVcx4tEYc/US0nI8rEoFI/AAAAAAAAQyE/45WEZu6NDQ8/s1600/jets85.jpg

 

That's you in the green shirt in the middle, isn't it?

 

You continue to make me laugh.....and frighten the hell out if me all at the same time .