Bark's Lounge

Boy, this is a hard question to answer. I don't think I can answer it from my perspective too well. I can, however try to put myself in Mauer's shoes and say what I would do if I was Joe Mauer. This obviously will not be accurate as I am not Joe Mauer, but here it goes. First, I sit down with my wife and ask her if she is down with me playing in the MLB. I would assume she would say yes, but then I would tell her - "In order to do that, I am going to really have to buckle down this offseason, workout, and be a game video introvert this offseason. You will have to pick up the slack with our children as I need to focus and get on my horse and right my ship, and fortunately or unfortunately, I think it is time to leave the Twins and sign a make good one year contract with a decent team that has a ballpark that favors my hitting style. I love the Twins, but maybe I have stagnated, change can be a good thing. I know I can reclaim my former glory." If my wife is on board - I would then spend the rest of the offseason watching video of the shifts teams put on me when I hit, and I would do my very best to find an alternate approach that could open things up for my hitting style. Hell, I am a smart guy, adjustments need to be made. I would also contact my agent Mr. Shapiro and inform him to market me as a first baseman and corner outfielder. I want the flexibility to make a fit for myself on a decent team in a hitter's ballpark. I would then tell Shapiro to focus on the AL East (Minus Tampa Bay). The Yanks might not have a spot for me, but I could probably slot into the O's, Bluejays and RedSox lineup well if I can play a corner OF position and fill in at 1B. My preference would be Fenway, but beggars cannot be choosers. I imagine, I could get an 8-10M contract with incentives included. My thought is I will rake in 2015 and even though at an awkward age (32), caught between youth and being a crusty veteran, I can score my self a 4 year, 75-80M deal in the 2015 offseason, but I would be certain to put myself in a favorable hitting environment to showcase my skills and not take the money and run.

...and sure playing at Target Field, he will hit 13 HR's and have an OPS below .700 next season. Obviously, I am not a big fan. Maybe it is our best bet to fill in the cracks with a combo of Hicks, Schafer, Santana and Rosario. Giving Rasmus a 2-3 year deal makes me want to puke. I have actually puked on myself because of this concept and my shirt is dirty and needs to be washed.

Signing Rasmus would only be a mistake. He is not adept at hitting. Whether it be issues with his hitting coaches or having his dad instruct him, he is way too much drama. I'd rather role with what we have. Signing Rasmus will probably end in disaster.

Don't get me wrong. I am not the kind of guy who throws out unrealistic trade scenarios, but I feel the need to throw one out there that can maybe make a little bit of sense... probably not. Unfortunately, the Redbirds lost their big time OF prospect Oscar Taveras to a tragic end and they need to fill that void. Maybe Randal Grichuk can fill it to some degree or maybe they need to look outside. Oswaldo Arcia and Shelby Miller are both very attractive players with some holes in their games. Arcia has shown a propensity at striking out and hitting at a low BA while not having the ability to take BB's as much as one would like. Miller's rookie year went very well. His SO to IP were great, This year they down the toilet to some extent. Both players are a work in progress and bumps in the road are to be expected. It is always tough to trade a power hitting young player, but I think I would be willing to trade Arcia for Miller. I'm not sure that the Redbirds would be game for that if they do not sign a free agent starter, but if they do, it might be a risk they would want to take. If they sign the FA starter to their liking, they could take a chance and put Carlos Martinez in the #5 slot. Realistically, Miller might be on the downslide and the same could be said for Arcia. On the Twins side of things it gives them a maybe strikeout pitcher and a chance to right their pitching staff with some depth in the wings. This is only Food for thought, nothing more, nothing less.

I'm gonna choose Assassins. Only because it has back to back curse words in it. Sue me - I like profanity.

I didn't see the ending of Looper. I am sure I will watch it in it's entirety at some point. In my opinion Brick is a worthwhile investment of your time. When you get to it, I hope you like it.

Cuddyer signing with the Mets might simply be his desire to play closer to his home in NC. Just a thought.

Anyone have any thoughts on Rian Johnson writing and directing Episode VIII? I thought his hardboiled noir film "Brick" was excellent and the bits and pieces I have seen from "Looper" were pretty good. I may be biased as I am a pretty big fan of JGL. To me Johnson is an intriguing choice and I like the fact that he is 40, almost 41, that means he was a little kid when the original trilogy movies were released and that probably has had a lasting impact on his imagination, creativity and maybe, the reason he got into the business of making movies.

I believe this to be an upgrade...

You never know what can happen, but I am not holding out any hope. I would keep Schafer in the mix though, his defense and speed do have value. I am comfortable with him being our 4th OFer next season.

If this is what episode VII will be, I will be down with it. I bet it is correct. Warning: SPOILER ALERT!!! http://screenrant.com/star-wars-episode-7-luke-skywalker-story-details/

Glunn, I am impressed by your fan forum for season ticket holders threads. They are very informative, whether the interviewee is smoke and mirrors or transparent - they have been the best threads I have read on this site for what I like to read or gather.

As far as Mauer is concerned, I believe that a fire does burn inside of him to win and to be a big part of the next winning Twins squad. Sure, the guy isn't a ramped up on edge kind of dude and his injuries have been amplified since he signed his big contract coming off an unrepeatable season. Saying that, I really don't know what to expect. Some people grow older a lot more quickly than others. I do believe that every person is genetically different and their physical ability clocks tick to a different time frame. Mauer may be unlucky with ailments and he will break out next season with a .900 OPS season or he may be used up and a 40 year old in a 32 year old body. Who knows? Maybe next season will give us the answer?

How lame would it be if the OP pissed and moaned about this thread being hijacked when the OP has an Avatar of a Hijacker? My favorite Star Trek character was Ricardo Montalbán, although that movie would have been much better if Hervé Villechaize was Ricardo's sidekick. Oh well, not all movies can be perfect.

Just imagine if the Twins did indeed have a thousand manager candidates to sort through and interview a portion of them. Terry Steinbach would be our interim manager until 2020. Screw it, I would just hire him for the permanent job at that point.

This just my opinion - nothing more, nothing less. Sure, I think Maddon being out there caused a bit of a stir, and it probably has had a negative effect on a small/medium amount of posters. I believe where the disconnect lies is that there is a 33.333 percentage of posters who wanted the hire to come from outside of the organization and a 33.333 percentage who may have been in Molitor's corner. The other 1/3 of posters probably don't give a rat's ass about it. I think for the most part, the Molitor supporters believe he will bring a different energy, strategies, style of play, etc., etc. and the outside manager seekers believe he is more of the same and a part of the incestual Twins way of doing things. "AKA the Good Ol' Boys Club". I am in the Molitor percentage of things, but I get where the outside of the org people are coming from. It's gonna take some time to heal those wounds and hopefully Molitor can deliver and win the skeptics over. In reality, it will never be perfect. There will always be nay sayers and yeah sayers no matter if the Twins are great or awful. There will never be 100% harmony on this site. We humans are not perfect by no means and like to bitch about things whether they are meaningful or meaningless and good or bad.

I totally respect the conflict you felt with that personnel move, but Molitor really had a positive impact on the 2014 ballclub. Personally, I have no regrets. Sometimes it is a fine line between doing what is ethically right and doing what is necessary. In this case it might have had an unsettling feeling, but overall I think it was in the best interest of this team a year ago and now, moving forward.

I can only envision myself liking this song if Doris Day is singing it and not Madonna.

My guess is that a few coaches will remain for the 2015 season. Brunansky seems like the most likely to remain as our offense did good for the most part. I don't know jack squat about what goes into finding a qualified pitching coach, but maybe if Joe Maddon wants to bring in some of his own coaches in Wrigleyville, Chris Bosio might become available. This scenario is extremely doubtful as I'm pretty positive all of Tampa's coaches are under contract and Maddon's departure from TB was far from pleasant. It appears Epstein and Hoyer were satisfied with Renteria and his staff's handling of the team. They just could not pass on adding Maddon. Maybe some bullpen coaches would be good candidates: Eddie Perez (ATL) Mark Gardner (SF) Matt LeCroy (DC) (I did not list this gentleman to piss anyone off) Like Old Goat said - "It will be fun."

I am very pleased with this hiring. I wonder how Teddy Higuera will do as the Twins new pitching coach? (just kidding) It will definitely be interesting to see who Molitor and Ryan choose to fill that role if they pass on Cuellar.

I agree with Brock that the Twins already have made a decision on their next manager. I really hope it is Molitor. I think this team will run a lot more. It seemed like they were more aggressive on the base paths in 2014 than in any season in the last half decade... maybe a decade. I believe he was the difference maker. Beyond that Molitor has many commendable attributes as a baseball man and he is the kind of coach that will adapt and not die. Torey Lovullo is a respectable candidate and probably deserved a shot a long time ago. I'm not feeling it. Maybe it is bias, maybe Molitor has clouded my vision as I have wanted him to be the manager of this team since Tom Kelly resigned his post. It is what it is. Maybe Molitor can have a great impact on Joe Mauer. He does have the truthful advantage of whispering in Joe's ear, telling him: "Hey kid, how does it feel to be the second best player in MLB that came from your high school." or "Hey Joe, you know that you are one of the best baseball players to come out of St. Paul, but right now you rank #4, behind me, Winfield and Morris. Does that sit well with you? Jack's not even in the Hall of Fame. I'm a wishful thinker... what can I say? Also, I believe a manager will be named this upcoming week.

That is a nice list of extremely good baseball players, but to me Kaat stands out a little more than the rest. I know a lot of folks don't believe Kaat should be in the HOF and I get it. I can respect the argument. I know the wins as a pitcher stat are not really valued like in the past, but 283 wins is impressive and 15 Gold Gloves is nothing to sneeze at. Getting into the HOF as a player should be based on performance alone and not for later contributions, but I have to say Jim Kaat has been one hell of an ambassador for the game of baseball. I really enjoy his commentary and insight. I believe Kaat has the stats to get into the Hall of Fame and I truly hope he does. If that happens, it will be a good day in my world.

This what I read somewhere maybe 6 months ago. Michael Arndt originally wrote the script/story treatment, but JJ Abrams was not pleased that his script did not greatly involve Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, etc., so he scrapped Arndt's version and Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote a new script. This is good news as Kasdan co-wrote Empire and Return of the Jedi. Most of us will probably agree that The Empire Strikes Back was the best of them all and Jedi was a great movie. I would have to think Abrams understands what is on the line and knows that failure is not an option. I was very skeptical about Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher reprising their roles because of the manor in which they aged, but they whooped their arses into shape and they look pretty fit and up to the challenge. Hamill's beard is a nice touch. In my opinion, I think it is greatly important that they use the IV-VI characters prominently in the first movie or two to make the transition to the newer characters. The great challenge will be to create new characters that the fans and spectators can buy into, connect with, and make it worthwhile long term as that is what Disney's plan seems to be.

The funny thing is that Bumgarner would probably have won the WS MVP even if the Royals won game 7. To me his performance was legendary, it harkened back to the times when pitchers logged 300IP a year. When he was brought in, I figured he would pitch an inning or two, but like Bochy said "He rode his horse". It was cool to see happen. In my 30 years of watching baseball. I cannot remember a single player making the difference that Bumgarner did. Damn, it was a pleasure to watch. Great job by the Royals. It was a shame they had to lose, but destiny was in favor of the quiet dynasty. I know it is off topic, but it is in the realm of things - This WS victory probably gets Bochy in the HOF as a manager if he continues on and tacks a few more wins to his resume.