Bark's Lounge

Probably not. He was more of a regurgitator than an artist. But, Who doesn't like a balding, super long and curly mullet headed man who can sing a little. He may not be an "Artist", but that lovely hair of his sure made him a pop star in the most glorious era of music... the late 1980's. Ahh... to be 14 again. P.S. I "Don King"ed it with regurgitator. My apologies.

I love these kind of threads. 1. Maddux 2. Big Hurt 3. Glavine 4. Piazza 5. Biggio 6. Morris (St. Paul Native loyalty vote) Notes: (a) I feel bad leaving a few guys off my ballot, and maybe I will change my mind at some point. Sorry - Rock, Crime-Dog, Bags, Moose and Mr. Kent. ( I have not damaged my brain enough to forget about the steroid era as of yet. Give me a few more years.

If Saltalamacchia signed with the Twins, like most, at the onset of the signing I would be pretty stoked. After that, I would start thinking about how he was non-existent offensively in Arlington, Texas, which is a ball park that is more than offensive friendly. When Boston acquired him, it seemed to rejuvenate his hitting ability, but Fenway is also an excellent ballpark to have some fun things happen with the bat. I don't know what happened in Texas and it was nice to see a former top prospect find his groove in Boston. My fear is that Target Field will neutralize his offensive game and he will be a total wash. I don't know Salty's splits and someone can certainly call me out and prove me wrong on this one. He is too risky to sign @ 30M for 3 years. A number I fully expect him to get.

In a Glen Perkins to the Detroit Tigers trade I would request Porcello and Rondon. If they scoff at that, I walk away from the table. If I am trading an All-Star to a division rival, it is necessary to get absolute full value and it doesn't matter to me if he is a relief pitcher. Take it or leave it.

I like McCann and I am sure most do. As we all know the Twins have bigger fish to fry. The greatest attribute McCann could bring to the Twins is leadership and the fire as a player he possesses... and that is no insult to his offense or defense. With Pinto seemingly being a guy who could step into the catcher position sooner than later, the Twins would be better served signing a veteran on a one year deal (hopefully Pierzynski), who can play 50% or more of the time and help ease the Pinto transition. In a perfect world the Twins could sign McCann and add a couple halfway decent starting pitchers as that is what is on the market this year. It is not a perfect world and I suspect the Twins, in order to win a world series are going to have to have things break their way to an almost perfect degree. I think it can happen, as that is how I view the 1987 and 1991 teams. Sure times have changed, but baseball works in mysterious ways. The mission should be to sign a couple of quality starting pitchers. Let's get these deep knife wounds tended to and stitched up before we worry about putting band-aids on our scrapes and bruises.

Trenchant is way to kind, but I thought Bourjos had more value than that. Bourjos and Grichuk to the Cards for Freese and Salas... WTF? But what the hell do I know?

Moving away from the Twins... Understanding that Boston will probably be in the market for a New CF and the Angels most definitely need starting pitching, maybe a deal involving Peter Bourjos and Jake Peavy could help both clubs. I am sure there would have to be some more moving parts involved, but those two would seem like the focal point of this imaginary trade.

Although I have analyzed this post quite thoroughly and can't find the smoking gun. There has to be a Nishioka joke hidden somewhere in between the lines.

Yes, you have the right to be pissed off. I actually think they will attempt to sign a pitcher of significance. The only notable pitchers who have signed with a club is Josh Johnson and Tim Hudson, Johnson was hell bent on playing on the West Coast and Hudson, I am sure he wanted to play for a winner - SF is a great bounce back candidate and Hudson was overpaid. Please wait until after the Winter Meetings before becoming incensed... at that time, if the Twins do not do anything, a great amount of us will join you in your anger and we will certainly express those emotions. Right now it is premature.

It's early in the game. Let's face it, I do not think Minnesota is the top destination for the top free agent pitchers. I am certainly not saying they cannot acquire a Nolasco, Arroyo or a Hughes, but I would venture to say that these kind of pitchers are in no hurry to sign as they want to get the most money out there and play for a perceived winner. Let's be honest with ourselves and realize that the Twins will have to have the best offer to sign one of these guys... they might have the best offer when all is said and done, but no certainty of winning, let alone making the playoffs. I would wait until mid-January until getting pissed off or losing hope.

That would be interesting if that is what happens. I would imagine a plan like that would have the Rangers flipping Profar or Andrus (more so Andrus) to another club for pitching. The Card's would be a nice matchup for that kind of trade. Shelby Miller and another piece or two maybe???

I can see how some of the posters think Prince Fielder will age poorly and his contract a knife to the gut of the Rangers on the back end of the said contract. I disagree on the front end. Fielder will not be 30 until may of next year. I guarantee Fielder hits 40 HR's at least Twice playing in Arlington with strong overall numbers. He along with Beltre will make a formidable 3 and 4 combination and my guess is that Nelson Cruz is brought back into the fold. I do like the trade for both parties. This will enable the Tigers to have a decent shot at retaining guys like Cabrera and Scherzer. Kinsler's numbers will be okay to pedestrian playing for Detroit.

Maybe they will move top prospect Castellanos back to 3B from the OF. His move to the outfield last season was seemingly made to find him a place to play on the big club as far as I know.

Ignoring my last post - which was put out there to exude a feeling of optimism and good JuJu. My predictions are the following: Starting Pitchers: The Twins move on from Nolasco and Arroyo and eventually sign Kazmir to a 4 year 48M contract. Their SP Line-up is the following on opening day: 1. Kazmir 2. Correia 3. Deduno 4. Gibson 5. Diamond Diamond is eventually replaced by Worley and Correia is traded and replaced by Meyer. Note: The Correia trade does not bring back much of a return if any. Kazmir makes good on his first season: 3.50 ERA, 200K’s, 1.20WHIP. Bullpen Pitchers: Perkins is excellent, Swarzak ends up being a clone of Matt Guerrier, Ryan Pressley improves on a good rookie season. As Stringer Bell predicted – Fien and Thielbar will not be very good, Tonkin will have a strong rookie season in the bigs. C: The Twins make a trade for Ryan Hanigan of the Reds. He is our opening day starter and Doumit is the backup. Pinto is called up in June and splits time with Hanigan 50% of the time. Doumit is released upon Pinto’s call-up. Both Hanigan and Pinto do well offensively. Pinto is set up for the everyday gig in 2015. 1B: Joe Mauer will hit 17HR’s, batting .340, with 120 BB. He bats in the 3 and 4 spot most of the season and scores and drives in over 100 runs. 2B: Brian Dozier hits .269, with 14 HR’s and 15SB’s while playing Gold Glove Caliber defense. SS: Pedro Florimon has an identical season to 2013, the lack of offense forces the Twins to find a new starting shortstop in 2015. 3B: Not to be negative, but in February or March it is revealed that Miguel Sano will need Tommy John Surgery, thus leaving the position to Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe plays below to average defense at the hot corner. Escobar fills in a time or two a week. Plouffe hits 21 HR’s, offering little else. OF: Our opening day outfield is the following: RF – Oswaldo Arcia CF – Alex Presley LF – Josh Willingham May: Willingham is having knee issues by early May and put on the DL. Because Hicks is struggling a bit at AAA and the Twins don’t want to pull the trigger on Buxton, they call up Eddie Rosario to play RF, moving Arcia to LF, Presley remaining in center. June: Presley is struggling offensively and he is made a 4th outfielder. Promoting bench player Chris Parmelee to be the starting Right Fielder… the Twins take a chance and put Rosario in Center Field, Arcia Remains in LF. August: Hicks is having a tremendous 2nd half of the season at Rochester, he is called up and is inserted into CF. Rosario moves to LF, and Parmelee remains in RF. Arcia becomes the primary DH with a few days of the week playing the Corner OF positions. Outcome: Willingham is not traded and is on the DL for most of the season. Hicks gets about 275 PA’s and hits 9HR’s with a .790 OPS, Parmelee hits 12HR’s and has a .270 BA, Arcia hits 23HR’s with 80RBI’s and a .250ish BA. Rosario plays good in CF and is stellar in the corner spots. He Hits .310, with 13HR’s, steals 21 bases and wins ROY. Buxton is called up in September and plays around the same amount as Ben Revere did 2010. The Twins win 77-83 games.

2014: Joe Mauer will be the first and last player to hit .400 in the 21st Century. His slash line will be comparable to 1920 George Sisler, minus the stolen bases, hits, and triples. Mauer's BB and OPS will be a 100 more and 100 points higher than Sisler's 1920 season.

I can only assume the like button was deemed to be a detriment by the owners of this site after painstaking analysis. The "Like" button certainly worked for the Game Threads as they seemed like a celebration of baseball most of the time and participants liked to spread the love. Maybe some viewed it as getting out of hand, but I looked at it as a group of people gelling and becoming "Internet Friends". It certainly was a change of pace from the other threads, that are mostly analytically based and some what soulless... not a bad thing, but a great amount of posters on the site want some old school passion, feel and human folly. Being objective, I can see where the like button may have made some people think that it could lead to clicks being formed and isolating some Twins Daily Participants. I believe that to be false. For me, the "Like Button" kept me in check. I have a bad filter and because of the "likes" I think I was able to become more of a team player rather than a poison pill (troll). My excuse is substandard, but I miss it, but I can understand why it never returns.

If the Twins sign Arroyo, I will not soil myself, I will not puke on the dinner table at Thanksgiving. From afar, I have always liked Arroyo. Sure, he is not the dream come true signing, but like R. Brian has stated there is no ace on the FA landscape. Obviously Bronson is a PTC pitcher, but I have always dug his persona and I think he would be a clubhouse differential kind of guy. Someone with a little flare and a character to a large degree... maybe it will rub off on a few of his teammates. He will play his guitar and sing his teammates some Alt. Rock songs and he will pitch better than anyone we have had on this ball club in a few years. He is more promising to me than the Correia signing. Thumbs up if it happens!

"lowly position like first base." This is a bummer statement. Every position on the diamond is tremendously important. I suppose Keith Hernandez was blocked from playing SS because of Garry Templeton and there was no room for Don Mattingly at SS because the legendary Bobby Meacham was manning SS. It takes a great amount of talent to play each and every position in MLB. Some teams may try to hide offense only players at 1B or the corner OF positions, but those moves are only made out of desperation or logjams. Hot Diggity Damn... 1B is important! PS: Sorry if I came across as a "Richard". The word "Lowly" made me feel very depressed for a minute. Mr. Hrbek, Mr. Mientkiewicz, and to a lesser extent Mr. Morneau saved or won some games for us with their glove work. I value first base and believe it not to be a place where you should dump your bat only players. No position should be treated that way - that is why the AL has a Designated Hitter.

I am very pleased the position change has finally happened. I totally understand the disappointment of the people who wanted Mauer to remain at catcher a few more years - it is rare to have such an extraordinary hitter play catcher and play it well. We have probably seen Mauer's best offensive season (2009), but in my heart of hearts I do not believe we have seen his second or maybe even third best season offensively. Playing 1B will enable him raise the bar offensively and if I were a betting man, I predict there is a handful of .900+ OPS seasons in wait - and dare I say one or two more 20+ HR seasons. I am looking forward to it.

My post was never meant to prop Hughes up. Sure, he may be a good acquisition at the right price and most Twins fans would be happy with him signing with us. Hughes will probably get offers from other clubs that have a better chance to contend and are more desirable destinations for him. I Do NOT think that Phil Hughes will sign with the Twins when there are so many open rotation spots on the west coast with teams that are probably more willing to spend and have a better chance to contend. If my post was unclear... my apologies. It is unlikely Phil Hughes is a MN Twin next year. Plus: All of the west coast teams have favorable ball parks for pitchers.

This may sound negative, but it is not meant to be. It is only realistic. If I were Phil Hughes, why would I want to be a Minnesota Twin? I am a California dude, been playing on the east coast with the most storied franchise in MLB history and have gotten use to winning or at least being in the hunt every year for a playoff spot. I am sure Hughes and his reps realize that he is not a good fit for the band box that is the New Yankees Stadium. I would probably want to see if the SF Giants were a match, after that, the Dodgers, Angels... maybe even the Cardinals - for these teams, I might sign a short term, team friendly deal if I cannot get the desired deal I am looking for (Cardinals = better chance of winning and all of the mentioned teams play in a pitcher friendly environment). If I were to consider the Twins, I would have to get over payed, with at least a 3 year deal. Why would I want to play for a team that is in a Big City, in the middle of nowhere, that has lost more the 90 games annually the last 3 years, a place I could never conceivably put my roots down in year round, because the winters are fricking awful. I want to be able to chill on the beach, take in the rays, and ride a wave if I want to. On paper Phil Hughes appears to be a nice fit, but is he? My guess is that he signs with the SF Giants. P.S.: I love Minnesota, but living here is what I know. The winter sucks and spring and fall are a crap shoot, summer is excellent. If I were a warm weather raised baseball player, this would factor into my decision immensely.

Nick - I was not aware of his linkage to PEDs either up until the last few minutes. It appears his link to PEDs is Eric Gagne's book "Game over, the story of Eric Gagne". Gagne claims that 80% of his teammates with the Dodgers used them. No names were given and Beltre has been on the record as saying he was not one of them... who knows?

I don’t really hear too much brought up about the stellar career Adrian Beltre is amassing. We have always know that he is a stellar defender at 3B, but I wonder if our minds are entrenched in his ho-hum Seattle Mariners years. Although these years with the Mariners were primarily his “prime years”, he has produced 4 consecutive fantastic seasons playing for the Red Sox and Texas Rangers. At this juncture in time, I view Safeco Field oppositely of Coors Field. Safeco is a hitters nightmare, whether that is because of the dimensions of the park, the marine environment, or the bad Juju of ten years of offensive stagnation coming from that ballpark. On this I give Beltre a Mulligan. If some will penalize a player for having a great career at an uber hitters friendly ballpark, I believe a player who is in the exact opposite environment should be cut some slack. From the list I put together. Hoping my resources are correct, Beltre is ranked 8th in career WAR for a third baseman – behind the following: Mike Schmidt Eddie Matthews George Brett Chipper Jones Brooks Robinson Paul Molitor Ron Santo Note: A-Rod would be #1 on this list, but has still played more games at SS than 3B. Paul Molitor played a boat load at DH – If anyone wants to keep him in or keep him out as a third baseman, I am chill with that. I recognize the value of sabremetrics, but I still believe that a great amount of counting stats are important as well as character and tenacity on the field of play. Beltre has 376 HR’s and 2,426 Hits, to go along with 4 gold gloves, I am not too sure about his character or tenacity, but going into his age 35 season, Beltre has 400 HR’s all but wrapped up and has a fair shot at reaching 3,000 hits before it is all said and done. Adrian Beltre may not have the superstar designation that a guy like Chipper Jones has/had, but he is just about as good or equal. Adrian Beltre is a National Baseball Hall of Famer.

Gee willikers - get rid of the damn names for goodness sakes. When I see the Chief Wahoo and Redskins logo, it makes me think of genocide. Who the hell wants those thoughts going through their heads? I certainly don't. The Cleveland Indians should become the Cleveland Spiders in honor of the National League Cleveland ball club that existed in the late 1800's. I am sure there is some cool things you could do with that name. I am not sure what you would rename the Washington Redskins, but I came up with a logo. Ideas anyone???