Bark's Lounge

I want to wish every participant of Twins Daily a happy opening day. I hope the Twins have a season that surpasses everyone's expectations, and just in case it does not, I truly hope everyone can find some kind of silver lining in this season. Godspeed, Bark's Lounge

J.J. Hardy traded for Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson.

1997-1999 were my years of disgust. I started getting into baseball at the start of the 1987 season when I was 11 going on 12 years old. Before that I was not very interested in professional sports, but my friends that were into baseball at the time kept buzzing about Kirby Puckett (coming off his breakout 1986 season). I invested some time in the game and I was hooked. Obviously, I chose a great time to become a MN Twins fan and the game brought me a ton of joy from 1987-1994. Then the strike happened. It was a bummer, but I was 19 years old and had other interests, etc. I shrugged off the strike and was happy they were able to have a 1995 season (although abbreviated). The Twins were not that great of team in 1995 or 1996, but they had some offensive pieces that made the game fun to watch. I was sad that Puckett was not a part of the 1996 season. That was a fun offense. The 1997-1999 seasons were awful. I still caught a few games here and there, but it seemed like a waste of time. It is not very enjoyable to watch a middling AAA team playing in MLB. The pitching was as bad as it can get and in an era where most teams had a 30+HR hitter or more, we were lucky to have one guy who could hit 20HRs. 1998 was especially frustrating. The one player on that team that was exciting to watch was David Ortiz and they sent him to the minors after a few months into the season. If my memory serves me correct, he was having a pretty good year but was sent down for disciplinary reasons. My rock bottom was the David Wells perfect game, and unfortunately or fortunately, that was one of the handful of games I watched that season (Sunday was my clothes washing day). I was so angry and out of sorts. At that moment, if I was in possession of a device where I could push a button and the world would explode, I would have pushed the button.

I can see why Twins fans are not very optimistic about the roster at this point, especially the offensive side of things. Who knows, this group of guys might surprise us. I have seen much more weird things happen. I am going to let April play out until I decide whether to watch Twins baseball on an almost daily basis or do something else. If it is an unwatchable brand of baseball - I will probably join the Mary Kay team or learn how to execute a do it yourself home vasectomy. Extra cash in the pocket is always nice.

I'll make this short hopefully, and this is not meant to be a "Thread Jack". I am pretty sure Nick Castellanos is thought to have a super great chance of sticking at 3B. The only reason he was moved to the OF last year was because he was blocked by Cabrera. Castellanos not only improves Detroit's defense a strong amount... besides Cabrera, he is their franchise offensive player of the future and probably now.

I liken Aaron's 2013 season to a person who is having a bad day or a bad year, where your mind is firmly in the right place, but things start off very poorly and they have a down spiraling effect of which you cannot recover. There is no science to this philosophy, but It has happened to me and others... "Bleep" happens. What I like about Hicks is his ability to take a BB in the minors. Maybe Hunter and Gomez are not the best comparables, but if Hicks can shore up his defense (which I have hard time believing he will not) and translate his plate patience to the MLB style of play. He could definitely be a Tori Hunter type with a better OBP, but soon becoming a slick gloved corner Outfielder with a terrific throwing arm. I hope for the best - I believe he is a much better NOW solution than the Pressley dude we received from Pittsburgh.

Lets ride this horse one more time and see what we have!

Also, Plouffe has no trade value.

Plouffe will be the starting 3B this season... at least for the first month or so. This is his make or break year. No one knows what kind of player he is. He is certainly a substandard defensive player, but does he have a HR juggernaut season in him? We have seen his hot streak and glimpses of something worthwhile, but everything else has been a snore. Plouffe needs to "rock it" this year, there are no replacements. Romero is not the answer.

I'm with RB on Deduno. I also believe he has the potential to be our best starting pitcher this season. This shouldn't be an equation that hurts Gibson's chances - he should have a spot, he's earned it. It is a political decision more or less based on the shoe-in spots given to Correia and Pelfrey. Oh well, I can live with it. My guess is that Samuel makes a fare amount of starts this season. Depth is a good thing.

The good thing is that it is only spring training. The bad thing is that almost everything is built on hope and player development with the Twin's line-up. I cannot think of one player, other than Joe Mauer, who does not have question marks attached to them. The front office is going to live or die by the sword on their hope philosophy. I hope it works out or this will be an awful season of Twin's baseball to watch... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm going to have to agree with Leviathan on this one. Seriously though, It's a great mystery and any theory is as good as the next one. I do believe it is at the bottom of an ocean (Indian Ocean probably) and at some point some debris will wash upon some country's shore, someone will find it, report it, and at least one question will be answered. Other than that, I do not believe we'll ever know what really happened.

Thanks Nurse Ratched. I could tell I was overdue with taking my meds. I was riding too high. Muy Apreciado for bringing me back to reality.

Planes, Trains, and Millenium Falcons.

Maybe it's just me, but if you cut off the sleeves of Hrbek's Jacket, he becomes Husky Han Solo.

Ahh... the good old days, when drinking Miller High Life, Ice Fishing, and eating Double Bacon Cheeseburgers was a ballplayer's off season workout regimen.

Double Like!

http://www.grolschfilmworks.com/media/uploads/images/no-country-for-old-men-no-country-for-old-men-23-01-2008-21-11-2007-1-g%281%29.jpg George Mitterwald (West Texas, June 1980)

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1996-Topps-Laser-UNCUT-PROOF-Dave-Hollins-Minnesota-Twins-/00/s/NTU4WDQwNg==/z/sfYAAOxyVLNSycRr/$_35.JPG The best trade of a player the MN Twins Made that never really benefited them.

Samuel is going to prove most Twins fans wrong - he will excel as a starting pitcher. My gut feeling is that Phil Hughes' performance will be a bit better than Deduno's. I think the Twins will have a 78-82 win season and Deduno, Hughes, and Nolasco will be efficient. Our offense will be manic... good some days, and atrocious some days as well. Hopefully the offense can iron out their deficiencies and be better than expected, rather than worse.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2007/04/28/xeGZ6VTH.jpg It was hit right at him. Decent arm though.

This is a win win for the Twins and Perkins. Fair price for a Top notch relief pitcher, who is by no means past his prime. I am happy for Glen. He is living the dream. Playing Major League baseball in the metropolitan area he grew up in, playing for the team he grew up cheering for, and getting paid well to do so. As a fan of the Twins, I appreciate his loyalty and his ambition to initiate this extension.

Did you have to seek counseling after this life altering event? I know I would have.

Tough experience for your sister... Yikes! Thanks for sharing Leviathan. I appreciate it.

Because of this brutal winter (in MN), I have boxed myself in and have been watching too much History Channel 2, Destination America, etc., etc... maybe it has warped my mind. Armchair Scientist > Armchair BRAVO Real Housewives Expert:) Maybe I should read more books or stick to playing this: http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20131206-how-well-do-you-know-the-world-play-geoguessr-to-find-out