Bark's Lounge

The Twins won yesterday without any assistance - that is a good thing. I will not be able to participate in tonight's festivities and I want to pledge my allegiance to the Twins and raise the flag of the "Rally Roger". Let us pillage and destroy Cleveland's baseball team tonight and the days ahead!

Mom, I'll do my best.

Let's try the "Comeback Cockroach".

Hellz Yeh... Tommy "The Mailman" Milone!

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.

Agreed. I am not a fan of watching train wrecks and this definitely would be classified a train wreck. I wish I had the ability to explain the look Terry Ryan had on his face when the press conference concluded. It looked like he had the worst case of constipation in the history of mankind and it looked like his face was shriveling up while his cranium was about to explode. That is the best I can do, you should watch it.

It was definitely serious. He said it multiple times and when the press conference ended he accused Berardino of ruining the press conference. If Berardino wanted to get Hunter's goat he certainly did that and Torii's reaction was disappointing to say the least. Even I felt awkward and dirty. I don't know if it was the right or wrong thing to do on Berardino's side (that's his job, I guess), but it was an epic fail on Hunter's part. I regret watching that press conference - what a crappy way to start things off.

Lonestar, it is very probable that Sano will not sniff the big leagues this season. He just lost a season, and the last level he played in (AA New Britain), he hit .235. He has a lot of work to do still. Maybe the end of 2015 will be his ETA, but 2016 is more likely. TJ surgery is not as hard on a position player as it is on a pitcher, but he still has to make adjustments and get comfortable again. In my opinion he plays most of the season at AA.

To over pay him and make sure he did not go to the Rangers I am guessing? The Twins must have really, really wanted him.

With this signing it is imperative that the Twins do everything in their power to acquire Bourjos right now - they should have done it yesterday, because Hunter will be an everyday player for the most part (550-600PA's if healthy).

Ahhh... the Prodigal Son returns. I can't wait to see him hit .265, with 13HR's and playing substandard RF... but... ...that is too negative - although a lot of us feel Hunter has his personality flaws and the media blows out of proportion his good guy/awesome clubhouse presence bit - I do think this could be of some benefit to the younger players. Although he is no longer an elite defensive player, let alone an average one at that - I do think he can be a good teacher and lend some good advice to our young outfielders and other players as well. Even though he cannot do the things he once did as an outfielder, mentally his vision should not have deteriorated, he has knowledge to share, he might be like an extra coach? Who knows - maybe he will hit 20HR's, have a .780OPS, get by in the outfield and be a good part of congealing this group of young players into a unit that is ready to make the attack in 2016, maybe we can even play .500 ball this season. I'm gonna roll the dice optimistically today. Worse moves could have been made.

I'm a big fan of Kaat. He is my favorite person to listen to or watch talk about the game, especially when he and Costas team up. The guy is as good behind the mic as he was on the field and obviously his career stats are definitely worth a very healthy argument if not more. To me he is a National Baseball HOFer. His overall contribution to the game surpasses more than a few that in are already in the Hall. I know that is not how it works, but I don't give a rat's behind, get him in there. Sometimes you have to make exceptions. I hope he gets in.

It's no secret I am a big Plouffe backer and I have doubts about Sano as a third baseman. Will he play a poor 3B for a couple of years, and move to a different position, or never play 3B at all? I definitely could be wrong, and I certainly have been wrong my share of times, but I have been right a fair amount in my life travels. Saying this, I would not give Plouffe an extension this off season. I need to see another campaign of him playing well at the hot corner and building off of what he did in the 2014 season. I believe in the guy, but seeing is believing and if he has another good or maybe even very good season, I would try to get a deal done - and a bonus to that, is we get to see where Sano's progression is as a third baseman and to overall see where he stands developmental wise and where his likely destination is on the field in 2015. All I know is that Plouffe is not an Outfielder and holding on to that hope is fruitless. The Twins said that a few years ago, not me, and I am buying into that. There are so many questions about Sano's destination as a fielder and Plouffe really had a good year in 2014. Plouffe appeared to be more confident and his defense improved leaps and bounds. Sano will definitely be a Power Hitting presence in the Twins line-up in the not so distant future, but he is still valuable as corner outfielder rather than 3B if Plouffe proves he is the real deal... power is at a premium these days, actually Plouffe could be a 20+ HR hitter... let's see how next season pans out. Oh yeh, and besides that a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Personally I hope Oliva gets in, not because I believe he should be, but because it seems like he really, really wants it... desperately. How could I root against him? That would seem like a dick move. Oliva is definitely a Twins Baseball HOFer, but he is not a National Baseball HOFer. Maybe if he didn't hurt his knee(s), the HOF induction might be in play, but that is probably a stretch also. Great player for half a dozen seasons, very good player overall. No matter what happens Tony, we all love ya!

Rick did get results from the very talented Santana, but the very talented Liriano was a different kind of animal. We received 2 good years out him in his tenure with the Twins, that's what? - 2 good years out of 6. I do not view Anderson as some kind of pariah or a nincompoop, but after a while the crackers get stale and you need to throw them away and buy a new box. A crispy new cracker is always better in the long run, especially if you are dipping them into your soup, and it is eventual this box, if not finished will get stale, and we will have to buy a new one. I prefer to not protect stale crackers as I prefer new, crispy, fresh ones.

Nice job Mr. Richter!

AKA Slim Schafer

...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.

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.

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?

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.