Bark's Lounge

Another group of prospects that brought a little bit of excitement were Rich Becker, Scott Stahoviak and Marty Cordova. Obviously Cordova had an okay career and in 1996 Becker and Stahoviak had pretty good seasons at the plate for a Twins team that had a damn good offense but a historically bad pitching staff. There was reason to believe that 1996 was a break through and I had a good amount of hope for Becker and Stahoviak going into the 1997 season, but they fell off the cliff of baseball careers and were soon to never be heard from again. For me, that was a big disappointment.

Derek Parks. That worked out well.

It might not be a bad idea to put an offer together and throw it at Dozier and get some dialogue started about a contract extension. If Dozier can raise his BA 20 points, he is an elite second baseman and he is, at least to me, becoming the face of the franchise on the position player side of things. Although Dozier is 27 and turning 28 sometime during the 2015 season, I still believe he is a work in progress and I am expecting more progression from him. It seems like Brunansky and Molitor have unlocked his treasure chest of talent and we have not seen his best as of yet. If the Twins don't get something worked out with him this off season it is a realistic proposition that they could next season if he has 2013 or 2014 repeat. If Dozier has a 20+/30 season with a .280BA and 90BB, the Twins might be **** out of luck. Dozier is the real McCoy.

It's a secret... ...Hey, wait a second... I see what you did there. Well played my friend.

Sorry mom. I am so use to calling my wife "Chief" that I think I got the two Chiefs mixed up. That would probably explain why I have been asking my wife questions about her time fighting in the Napoleonic Wars the last few weeks. It just roles off the tongue better - "Lady and Gentlemen" sounds sort of odd.

Thanks Jokin. I actually was prepared to get blown up for hastily looking at his basic stats from last season and posting - I'm just bummed out it was on something as basic as his BABIP. Anyways, I had my pants pulled down and ready for the paddle, you so handily delivered.

Can we have his 2010 season, with 0 starts, and a better SO percentage? His WHIP from 2014 is little concerning, but I suppose for 2.2M, it's par for the course.

Yuck.

Please accept my apologies if I repeat anything someone else has posted as that will probably be the case. I love this move. Yankees Spring Training circa 2007. I Distinctively recall Andy Pettitte, Jeter and some other Yankees at the time saying that this kid was going to be an Ace - I also recall Roger Clemens saying this, but maybe my memory is betraying me as he did not sign with the Yankees until the season was under way. Anyways, when guys of that stature, say those kind of things, whether you like or dislike them personally, it definitely grabs your attention and stays in the back of your mind. Sure Hughes had his up and downs in the Bronx, mostly in their bandbox ballpark, and his shine was reduced to a dull or matte finish, but as a baseball fan watching from afar and considering his age, he appeared to be the poster boy for a change of scenery and I was really stoked that the Twins were able to sign him last offseason. I look at Hughes as a #2 starter and a good argument can be made that he had a #1 type of starting season in 2014. I am doubtful that Hughes can better his BB/K% from 2014, but I can envision Hughes having better seasons. He's fairly young still and after the season he just had, I would have to believe his confidence is at an all-time high and that can lead to great things. To me this is and will be the Twins best off season move. This is a great deal for the Twins and it is great that Hughes was the one who was the ignitor of this deal. Even though the business of baseball has become soulless the last 15-20 years, it still feels good as a fan of the Twins and resident of the Twin Cities that Hughes wants to be a part of this organization and community long term.

Thank You and a Happy Holidays to the Moderators. You ladies and gentlemen are the Bomb Diggity!

This whole re-establishing relations with Cuba is a good thing in my minds eye, but there are so many obstacles to hurdle over, I think it's going take take some time... years, maybe a decade or more? You can't fix 54 years worth of very bad relations and philosophical differences over night. Maybe sooner than later MLB teams will be able to draft/sign Cuban based baseball players and those players will have to give a portion of their salary to the Cuban government (similar to former NBA Center Yao Ming and China). I think a lot of this will be tied to getting the embargo lifted against Cuba. I'm not too sure I have much hope in this happening in the near future. Our government/political parties don't seem to work well together anymore and I am sure this will end up being a stalemate, just like most important issues and nothing will get done or it will be modified to point of being a waste of time. I guess we'll see what happens. I hope for the best.

One would have to think the Matt Kemp trade is going to be nullified because of the results of his physical (Arthritis in both hips). Albert Belle retired do to degenerative hip osteoarthritis at the age of 34, It looks like Kemp isn't in that dire of a predicament, but who's to say it won't get to that point in the next year or so. I think it would be haphazard for the Padres to proceed to pull the trigger on that deal.

Yeah, I'm hoping along with you. I am expecting some really good things from "The Matador's" bat this year. When he is on, he is a joy to watch at the dish.

If Eric Thames, a former MLB OFer, who I think most of us could agree is a AAAA player - hits 37HR's with a 1.111OPS in the KBO, I strongly suggest to the Twins FO to pass on Mr. Kang. If the Twins want to waste money, send it to me and I will waste it in such a fantastic and obscene way that it would make people cringe and probably a bit upset. The difference is - nobody on this site will see me wasting the Twins money. If they waste it on Kang, the disaster will be on display for all Twins fans to witness. Waste the money on Bark... I'll fall on this grenade. Come to think of it, a Nobel Peace Prize would look good on my mantle.

Che Guardado.

What's the deal with Ricky Nolasco? Did he hide his arm injury last season? Is he a subversive type of player? I don't put too much into his semi-controversial comment on Twitter, but when we throw all of this material into the whole enchilada, did the Twins make a grave mistake in signing him or is there still reason to believe he can be a part of the solution and we can continue to toss pennies and nickles into the Ricky Nolasco Wishing Well?

Geez Ash, your so cynical... and probably right.

Baseball can be a strange game at times. If the Twins win the WS in 2015, it wouldn't be the first time something happened that was beyond the scope of reality in MLB. http://www.eddiegaedelpubandgrill.com/images/Eddie-Gaedel1.jpg

Even though Eovaldi has better value than Vargas, I think I would stand pat if I were the Twins. Their rotation now has a fair amount of depth and I really like Kennys' power potential. I know Kennys is no guarantee to be a successful MLB player, but if we traded him and he ended up being a 30HR kind of guy, that would probably eat at me for a while. For the time being, I am at peace with the rotation and our Infield/DH/Catcher. I think Eovaldi has a chance to be a very good starting pitcher - But I would focus on upgrading other parts of the Twins roster. I like the concept though - makes for good conversation.

When a person is working towards something they really want, to me it seems to be a big turn off if they don't want to make sacrifices for the overall end outcome. In order for Doug to maybe reach his desired end outcome, he needs to be a company man and be able to be flexible. The whole sour grapes about not getting the Twins Manager position is dumbfounding. Come on Doug, you should be honored that the Twins even considered you for that position. Free yourself, whether it be Fort Meyers, Chattanooga, or Rochester - go with it. If you want to pout and remain in Florida, hang it up, throw in the towel. You are a long time baseball player - you know how that works. Obviously, the Twins should probably cater to Mientkiewicz, instead of Smith, but Doug should look at the coaching hire history the past few years - the Twins rearranged the coaching staff to get Brunansky in the fold and I would figure in the not too distant future they will do the same for him. Go with it Doug. No other organization is going to look favorably on the reasons you left this organization, and your opportunities will not be as fruitful somewhere else. See the long view Doug, I bet your family will be supportive if they understand the long term plan.

I really hope that is the case. He needs to earn it.

The Milone scenario is a good one to ponder. I believe Meyer and May have proven themselves enough at AAA for the two of them to be given the upper hand on battling in out for the 5th spot in rotation. They will both be 25 this upcoming season and it feels like their time has come. I agree with you that Milone was a fantastic pick-up for the services of Fuld, but the timing might not have worked out too well for him or the Twins. I know he was none too pleased being sent to AAA by the A's, is he as bullish about being a starter and will he be a good citizen and accept a role in the bullpen and maybe be a swing man? That is the only role I can see for him in 2015 at this point. Maybe he can be trade bait, but I don't see the Twins getting much in return for him. Maybe a depth trade might be in the cards, a scenario where we have no need for him and another team does, and they send us a player who provides us more depth at a position we need that the other club has solidified. I strongly believe that Pelfrey needs to be a reliever or they release him and eat his salary. Pelfrey starting should not be an option. But what the hell do I know? Pelfrey will probably be the 5th starter and I, as well as many others will have to bare the discomfort and eat that tremendously awful **** salad.

I'm not gonna sit here and say, the Twins Front Office is without it's mishandling of situations, like trading a player like Willingham after he hit 35HR's, or a guy like Fien and even Perkins, when there is a chance they will never have as good a season as we now witness in our rearview mirrors. Whether one agrees with Mackey's Epstein/Ryan comparison? It's probably going a little far out there, but it had the steam to make an argument - that should count for something. It was not a ridiculous write-up. The Twins had some bad luck this past season. Sano was lost for the year, Buxton pretty much the same, and Meyer had a set back towards the end of the season. If everything broke right, rather than wrong, maybe the Twins would be in a similar position as the Cubs are right now. The Twins had some tough luck, while things broke right for the north siders. That is how the ball bounces sometimes. I'll take Hughes any day of the week over Arrieta, and Soler looked very good with his cup of coffee, but Baez is anything but a finished project, he looked awful in between his HR's - he has a ways to go. I guess to sum it up, the Cubs still have some work to do... nothing is guaranteed in this game. I will say this - the Twins would never ever have been able to sign Lester, the Cubs have much more money to spend if they chose to do so and they did and the past connections with Lester probably did not hurt. Are the Cubs in a better position than the Twins are right now? Of course they are. If the Twins had some better breaks and did not lose our 2 top prospects to season ending injuries (Buxton played a little), I do believe the 2 franchise would be comparable in terms of high end prospects knocking on the door and ready to have an impact during the 2015 season.