Bark's Lounge

They would be better, but his numbers would probably be a little suppressed in that stadium... too much foul territory and they would not have signed Cespedes if they had resigned Willingham - but I do agree the addition of Willingham to their line-up would boost their chances a fair amount.

No' date=' it's real. Lester Oliveros had Tommy John surgery today.[/quote'] You can't make this (bleep) up. I assumed it wasn't, but I had to ask out of the ridiculousness of all the injury dealios we have had this and last season. Here's to a healthy and expedient recovery Lester!

The ingredients to this stew - pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching - seasoned with a good dash of Cespedes and Reddick.

Parker - you are a prophet of Plouffetism or the Plouffe Whisperer. Great Job!

Could be... or maybe Parker Hageman is a mystic in the ways of Plouffetism. Either way I am fine and dandy with it!

Thats because you are. Don't worry you can't drown in an oasis though. You can however drown in a pool on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. That isn't a metaphor or anything... I just think its odd that you can drown in a pool on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. Yo RB. Not to budge in and poop in your soup, but I think you can drown in an Oasis... you can't drown in a Mirage. The rest of what you said was hilarious!

Is this thread fictional? I am being serious.

I can see the Sauks being big time players in the FA market - but I can assure you one thing - it will be the sure fire star player FA signing or a dose of a couple or more 5-8M per type of players. No more Carl Crawford type contracts for the very good, but not great player. You would think they have learned their lesson. They were beyond lucky to rid themselves of that contract. Thank Goodness they traded for Gonzalez... without him and his trade value they would be saddled with Craw's and Beckett's contracts.

Maybe Hageman's article has created some good juju for Plouffe. It's nice to see... very, very nice.

The Twins really handled the whole Parmelee situation this season poorly. 1. He starts the year out with the big club, he plays every other day. 2. They send him down, he starts to get his offensive engines running, they call him up, he does not play. 3. There is no spot for him at 1B this season with the Twins and he is the best available offensive prospect we have in the minors that can help at this juncture and the organization chooses not to get him more accustomed to playing in the OF. Not even one game played in the OF at Rochester! Holy Hell! This season, the Twins screwed the pooch with Parmelee.

Parker, nice article. It is nice to see a pro-Plouffetist article and thread floating around this site in a time where it seems like the vultures are picking at his bones. The end of your article was especially positive and as a participant of TD - I appreciate it. Viva Plouffe!!!

The North Siders have a couple nice pieces to build around (Castro, Rizzo, Samardzija), but It will take some time to get this ball club steered in the right direction. If I remember correctly - Lord Theo Epstein said they were not going to cut any corners and they were going to do it the right way and build from within. The nice thing for the Cubs is that once they get their farm system on the right path they have some money to play with in Free Agency. I feel pretty confident Theo and his Band of Merry Men will get the job done in Chi-Town... It's just going to take 3+ years. Patience is the key!

The Boston Red Sox AKA Valentine’s 9 have had a tumultuous past year. Starting with their epic September collapse last season, this team has seen the departure of past heroes, the addition of some questionable characters, and have made one of the most controversial trades in recent memory. After their stunning collapse last season and missed post season birth, beloved Manager Terry Francona was relieved of his commission and Legendary General Manager and New England heart throb - Lord Theo Epstein left the organization for the challenge of rebuilding the Chicago Cubs. Lead by new General Manager Ben Cherington (Lord Epstein’s Disciple) and Pop Diva Manager Bobby Valentine the Red Sox have had a somewhat turbulent and failure of a season culminating in the Epic Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford Salary Dump Trade. Where do the Red Sox go from here? It’s hard to say – they have a middle of the road farm system, and although they still have a few guys they can build around – 2 of them, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are injury prone and their top 2 starting pitchers (Lester and Buchholz) have battled poor performance and inconsistency. I suppose if the Red Sox use their new found money and invest it in the right places, they could rebound next year or the year after that, but the other side of the coin is that they won’t invest it in the right places and their ho-hum farm system will let them down resulting in a stretch of mediocre seasons. Thoughts?

RB - I'll get on it after work!

Geez. A month ago everyone knew that this was going to be a 75 win team at very, very best, but the offense, not perfect by any stretch, seemingly had an upside. Mauer, Willingham, Revere and Plouffe's BA's have each dropped 20 points in that time. You cannot have 50% of your line-up slumping at one time. Synchronized slumping will not win gold metals and as we see now wins very few games. Changes from top to bottom are necessary for this organization to keep the fans interested and involved. I hope the Pohlads understand that they can lose customers and just because we have a pro baseball team in the Twin Cities that sometimes the turn-styles stop clicking.

Hello Big Gentle Ben. You seem a bit down or at best luke warm on Fredi Gonzalez. Let's say Fredi is booted out or town. What would you think about Greg Maddux as manager of the ATL Braves?

The Baltimore Orioles (formerly the St. Louis Browns) is a team in the Eastern Division of the American League. In the present day their impact players are CF - Adam Jones, SS - JJ Hardy, RF - Nick Markakis, C - Matt Wieters, DH/IF - Chris Davis and Pitchers Wei-Yin Chen and Jim Johnson. The Orioles are outplaying their talent this season and challenging for Wild Card spot. Some of their success could be attributed to their Manager Buck Showalter who has lead this squad beyond and above the expectations that were laid upon them for the 2012 season. Their two top prospects are Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy. Manny is up in the Bigs now and is playing 3B for the Orioles and holding his own. What are your thoughts on the the Baltimore Orioles and their chance at playoff admission?

I am on board! The last couple of weeks have been super tough as well as a tough loss this evening. Maybe this would be a good exercise for all of TD.

Hey RB. For this season I think they are in line for playoff birth. They have a nice team. Some injuries have set them back a little. Losing Beachy cannot help the cause. When Larry is playing he has been damn good. Heyward, Freeman and Prado are doing their fair share. For the most part it seems they are doing enough to keep it going despite minus performances from McCann and Uggla. As of now they would be my favorite to take the one of the Wild Card Spots. I would think their future has at least some shine to it. Heyward and Freeman present a nice future offensively, along with their handful of young starters - Hanson, Beachy, Minor, Delgado. Not to mention their killer somewhat youthful bullpen of Kimbrel, Venters and O' Flaherty. Why do you ask?

That's actually the only reason I want Redmond as our next manager.

Can someone please justify the obsession with Redmond other than the fact that we know his name? I think people remember Redmond's personality and hustle with fondness. Also the skills he developed as a catcher should serve him well as a manager and I do think that he will manage in the bigs some day. Personally I think its to soon for Redmond -- not sure it would be a good idea for him to try to manage players with whom he played (and whom he played behind). JB_Iowa - I agree with your Redmond assessment almost 100%, but if the Twins do indeed decide to fire Gardenhire, and they pass on Redmond for the reasons you listed - I would lament the lost opportunity to pick up a young, up and coming manager who seems like a very good fit because of his ties and familiarity with this organization. (Comparison - Mike Matheny/SL Cardinals) Although I know the term the "Twins Way" makes some sick to their stomach - I think Red-Dog would bring his own personality and style to this club and though he may be inexperienced, he might be the perfect manager for the upcoming influx of young players that will probably be on this roster. Because of being new to managing, Redmond probably has not become jaded as of yet and he might give the younger players time to grow, make their mistakes, without them having to fear they may end up in a permanent doghouse. Fighting to get out of that doghouse and at the same time questioning their own confidence is not a good developmental route to take, which these days seems to be the case sometimes. As for his former teammates - I am pretty sure he was a beloved member and leader of the teams he played on with the Twins. I cannot see a scenario where Mauer or Morneau would not be enthused to play for Redmond. They actually might be rejuvenated with this change. Even though Redmond kept things loose in the clubhouse and played his pranks, Redmond doesn't strike me to be a guy who takes (Bleep) from players and will put them in their rightful place. If Gardy is fired or resigns (which I doubt will happen) - the whole coaching staff needs to be cut also. Some of the coaches have had some great successes and I commend that, but if you make the change - it has to be absolute. Ryan and Redmond can then jointly put a new staff together, hoping it can bring a breathe of fresh air and future success into the organization. Will that happen? Only time will tell.

Not that this would be an option for the Twins, but when Greg Maddux is ready to become a coach (if ever) he would be an outstanding candidate for being a manager. He seems to be the kind of guy you take a flyer on without any coaching experience. Maybe Sveum or Gonzalez needs to be looking over their shoulders at this possibility. I Think the Cubs are set in their framework and do not view Sveum as having a disappointing year as manager as Theo and his gang expected this kind of season. ATL on the other hand, if they choke again down the stretch, I could see Maddux defenitely being the replacement to Gonzalez. You would think that would get their fan base ramped up also... just a thought.

I don't know much about gambling, but if you were to place a wager on your prediction and win, I think you still end up in the red.

Maybe he gives killer massages. Come tomorrow if he is not DFA'd or released this will become my conclusion. A great massage must be way better than winning a stupid baseball game anytime of the week, year, decade or millennium. Oh well, how do I get myself in position to let Jeff Gray get his hands all over me? Whew... I'm tense.

Glass Half Full Comment of the Day: All's well that ends well.