Bark's Lounge

... and to add the dead cats are a bit strange, but I am sure it's just an odd coincidence.

Yeah, 37 years is half a lifetime. I am sure it is a heart wrenching loss for those people.

True story. In 2004, I met a guy, who was a backwaters Floridian who worked for a friend of mine. This guy had a couple screws loose and he was intense and fairly creepy. He had talked about how he had smuggled Baby Alligators up to Minnesota and sold them to people. He then took delight in how these people set these animals free in a lake because they became bored with them or they had grown too big. It certainly could be that this guy was shoveling us a bunch of BS, but one thing that is for sure, he was a top of the line scumbag. In the couple of weeks he had brushed me and a couple friends of mine lives, we gave him a nickname: "Nazi Scott". I am pretty sure he was not a Nazi, but the label suited him just fine. That's how bad this guys energy was. I know this story is pretty much pointless, but that is what this Alligator Pet thread made me think of and I thought I would share it for Bleeps and Giggles.

Friends of yours Glunn?

I wonder what would happen if the U.S. and the West abandoned the Middle East region? Would ISIL/ISIS/Daesch gain a foothold of a region and create a country? Would this mean that this "proposed country" would make a run at arming themselves with Nuclear weapons and because of this Iran would definitely up there game in that capacity because they are a predominantly Shiite nation and are a target of the Sunni ISIL. I want nothing to do with the Middle East, but these kind of scenarios cause me headaches for sure.

Hey mom, Nigeria has been on my mind. The Southern half is majority Christian and the Northern half Muslim and the Northern half of the country is in the bush and Nigeria is a developing country outside of Lagos and I surmise that is no picnic either in a lot of areas of that city. What can be done? I don't have much faith that Nigeria can tackle this atrocity alone. It's a damn mess.

Anytime Ben!

Thanks for the idea Ben.

Is there a way to eradicate religious extremism? Is there a way to unite people on a realistic wave of compromise, where we can agree to disagree about our faith or lack there of and practice those things within your family unit or community and be accepting of people who do not practice those rituals and let it roll off your shoulders? These are the kind of behaviors/actions I would like to see. Is it realistic? At this juncture in time, in my opinion, I have my doubts. Just to speak about Americans - why haven't the Atheists, Agnostics, non-believers, and fringe religious people united and take a stab at our awful two party political system? I would think that 20%+ of our population would adhere to this designation. I have no ideas on what can happen abroad, but I would welcome a movement of this kind on the homefront. The Democrats and Republicans are feces caked on the bottom of my/our Adidas. If something like this were to happen, my guess is there would be some subversive actions carried out to sabotage this kind of movement, but you have to start somewhere and take your licks. I understand the word "change" was ruined by Obama's campaign 7 years ago, but I would actually like to see some real change... new voices, new idealism, etc., etc... Maybe I need to get off my ass and do something - a secular approach is what I want... no exceptions.

Thanks for the comment Leviathan. I agree with everything you said. I have to say, as soon as I put this thread out there, I regretted it. I needed to vent. Last week's happenings pissed me off to such an extent that I blew a fuse and for some reason, I thought this would be a good place to vent - I'm not sure if that was a very bright idea. The last few years, I have tried to be more objective and not rush to judgment based upon my beliefs. I consider myself a tolerant person and open to other people's beliefs as long as it does not hurt or cripple society. To everyone out there who has faith or what not, my beginning post was not meant to offend anyone. I was angry and wanted to express myself. I do believe we can have some interesting and mature conversations in this thread.

oui, nous sommes

After this whole Paris Terrorist Situation, It has me feeling in the dumps a fare amount. Because of this I feel the need to start a thread where people can lay out their grievances about whatever situation is on their mind, whether it be religion, politics, or the trials and tribulations of being a human living in wherever you live. I can only ask that you don't make a joke of this topic and take a dump on this thread. I am throwing it out there with great sincerity and hope this thread can be a decent avenue for the participants to air their grievances and fears about life, the future, and whatever is attached to that. I will start: I am a non believer in religion, certainly the BIG three (Christian, Islam, Judaism). I do not like to root for people to be killed, but I was excited when the French disposed of the 3 Islamic Extremist or whatever they are deemed to be. Even though they killed a total of 17 people, in the aftermath, I felt bad that I was rooting for them to die. It makes me question my moral fortitude. I am tired of people not caring for each other and making sacrifices to help their brethren out and I am tired of religion. Religion is an airplane that has run out of runway, it cannot take off anymore, it is obsolete. It needs to be cut out of our moral budget.

You win some, you lose some. At least Ruben's cousin will go into the Hall of Fame uncontested.

For the most part, I really enjoyed watching Vargas hit for the Twins in the last 2 months of the season. It was actually a highlight for me. Who does not like to see a batter crush a baseball into regions of Target Field that we have barely or have not witnessed before? I want to see Kennys succeed, but I can see a scenario where he falls off the cliff, and may never be heard from again. In the minors he has not had a dominant full season, he had an abbreviated season in 2012 with a 1.030OPS in 2012 in Low A ball, but if memory serves me correctly, that was his drug suspension season. If he took a BB in majors like he did in the minors, I would have more hope, but he does not seem like a guy who can take a walk very much. He had 12 walks with 2 being intentional with the Twins in 2014 with 230PA and he strikes out a ton. In 2015 the league should catch up with him, unless he has made adjustments, and maybe entering his inner mojo of unleashing his potential he has come full circle with his hitting talent. He has put up decent power numbers in the minors the last few years, but nothing that blows your socks off. The guy is 270lbs., and 6'5", if things fall into place and he finds his mojo, this guy can be a HR hitting DH phenomenon. I am very cautiously optimistic, but I am prepared to see him fail like similar players from the distant past, like Sam Horn and Bob Hamelin. What do you folks think?

What is the old saying? Too Many Johan Santana's in the kitchen spoiled the soup.

Based upon what you know about the Twins players behind the scenes (leadership, respect, preparation, etc.), if the Twins were to name a Player or Players a Captain - who do you think would get to wear the "C" on their uniforms?

It makes you wonder if Boof will legally change his name back to John going into the next phase of his life and career. If I was hiring someone to work for my company, I would totally hire a guy named Boof because of the guts it shows on his part, even if a guy named John was a better candidate. I guess that is why I am unemployed and live in my grandfather's garage.

I know Glunn already responded to this, but I thought I would add my two cents. My apologies. Last season it appeared Plouffe came to the plate with a new approach, he was more patient, hit to the opposite field more, reduced his strikeouts a little bit and still hit for a decent amount of power (40 Doubles and 14HRs). I would guess Brunansky and Plouffe came up with a new strategy last offseason/spring training and going into year two of this new approach, I can definitely see Trevor being more comfortable in his skin at the plate. It should be no surprise to any of us if he improves in every facet of the game, he may even feel comfortable enough to take some calculated risks and drive some of those balls into the LF bleachers. Also to note his defense really improved last season - why can't he get even better?

Craig Biggio Mike Piazza Jeff Bagwell Randy Johnson Pedro Martinez John Smoltz Tim Raines, Sr.

To start out, like everyone I love Miguel Sano's future prospects. Since the Twins have signed him, there has been some doubt about his ability to stick at SS (that is at an end), and 3B (which is still in play). Coming off Tommy John Surgery as a position player, Sano's probably gonna be alright, but that surgery is definitely a strong set back. Like everyone, I would love to see him as a batter in the bigs this season at some point, but at the expense of Trevor Plouffe I am not cool with. What if Plouffe hits 20HR's this season with an .800OPS and plays solid to average defense, and Sano hits HR's left and right and his OPS's in the mid .800 - .900 range at AA or AAA and plays a mediocre 3B? ... which is what I expect this upcoming season. It is on record that I have been a over the top Plouffe supporter for the last 2+ years, but being objective, I have to look at this conundrum with open eyes. I am not too concerned with Sano having an impact on our team this year, but I certainly do in 2016. What if Plouffe has a power impact and OPS's .800+ and plays the same defense as he did in 2014 or better? I'd have a damn hard time trading a 3B of that order to make room for an unknown commodity. Sano will hit HR's, but how will he do otherwise? It's hard to predict his outcome and I am doubtful he can remain a third baseman, but I am no scout, I have not seen him play 3B, Defensive metrics... meh. I wish the Twins Organization would have played Sano in the Corner OF positions more in the minors (no OF reps), but I can see why they did not. He needed his reps at 3B. I hope the Twins do throw him out in RF and maybe LF and see what they have in the minors. I'd like to think if Plouffe advances to the next level and Sano's bat is undeniable that they can both be part of our next great team and they fit them both in. Offense is at a deficit these days, if it isn't a complete disaster, you make it work.

Stringer, no need to bait Halsey. I like to be optimistic - but it is probable I'll go down in flames with that prediction... what the heck, I like the feeling of burning. Happy New Year to you also and everyone else!

Trevor Plouffe will not only be selected to the All-Star Game - he will be voted in as a starter at 3B. Fans of MLB will be hard pressed not to to vote for him as his 20HRs and .950OPS on June 1st are just too impressive to pass up.

This is one of those weird shooting deaths, where it will make front page news because of the odd circumstances. In this kind of event, you would hope that the family could brush it under the carpet and protect the toddler from it. Unfortunately that will probably not be the case as this child's siblings witnessed it and I am going to guess some of them are at an age where they will not forget it. Although tragic, this stuff happens everyday without the odd circumstances attached to it, and the person that is hit by a stray bullet or an intentional one is just a foot note or fine print buried deep inside a website or on the back page of a local newspaper. Sadly to say, it's just another day, another dollar, living in our society - and with saying that, it does make me feel bad that incident happened.

After being designated for assignment by the Twins about 2 weeks ago, it appears that Parmelee has chosen to become a free agent. I wonder what Chris' next destination could be? I still have not thrown in the towel on him becoming a serviceable MLB player - It would probably come as a bench player - a guy who can maybe be a pinch hitting asset, who can play a better than serviceable 1B and who has a sure handed glove in a corner OF position without range. I could see the Rays signing him to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Although they have James Loney at 1B, it seems like the Rays are always in need of some offense and could probably give him some time in the OF. If the Padres trade Seth Smith, I could see the Friars taking a flyer on Parmelee to create some competition with Yonder Alonso - although they seem to be the same kind of ball player. You never know what could happen with Parmelee - maybe he is the next Steven Pearce? Maybe he is the next Matt Murton? I have to imagine some Nippon League teams will have a very good amount of interest in trying to sign him to a contract. For foreign ball players going to Japan it seems like a hit or miss, probably because of the cultural and language differences, but when it works out it can be a boon to a ballplayers career (Warren Cromartie, Matt Murton, Tuffy Rhodes, Alex Ramirez, etc, etc...) If I were Parmelee, I would have to look deep into this option... It could be very lucrative if it all works out. It could damn well be worth the risk.

I could totally see Arcia hitting 30 Jacks with a .270BA. Maybe that is outrageous to say, but I do believe it is possible.