MWLFan

I guess, though I hate to say it my best is simple and declarative-Yankee Stadium. (Would have been Tiger Stadium, but they didn't keep the name.) Worst- I have something about Skydome that just rubs me the wrong way. But the Astros have had issues naming their field and Minute Maid Park beats what it replaced. (Enron Field). Luckliy the Astro's didn't offer naming rights to BP. That brings up a interesting question. WHat is the worst company that you can think of to have naming rights for a Team?

I agree on the Beloit move, but the Prince thing doesn't shock me. They do a former Beloit Brewer Bobblehead about every other year or so. They also did a Bobblehead of a local High School Basketball player one year. They are trying to get people from Beloit Wisconsin to come to the games and need that type of localized promo. I do find it interesting if you read Jim Mandoloro from the Rochester paper he seems to think that the Twins may have "saved" their ability to have Rochester as their AAA affilate. His take is slightly different then most Twins fans who would love to have a AAA club somewhere in at least long weekend trip drive away from MPLS/St. Paul. But that is the minors for you.

I can still read the comments on this site. On most sites I just give up after two or three comments, the vast majority of the people who visit daily I believe are a very civil group. Hopefully this will continue, but I guess that is up to all of us. It can turn quick and I think you have the support of a vast majority of us who enjoy the site do what is needed to keep and nice place to visit.

BUZZZZZZ...that is what Mr. Wheeler is generating. Ok maybe it is more buzz, then BUZZZZZ. But still. Another game and another strong outing for the Big guy. I could go on about it, but I will let the much more skilled wordsmith and noted observer of all things Twins Minor Leagues, Mr. Seth Stohs speak to it. (Besides copy and paste is easier then typing.) Seth and a gaggle of bloggers, would that be a bloggle?, have been in Beloit the last few days. Here is Mr. Stohs observation on Jason last night. "And then it was time to start the game. When you see my July Twins minor league pitchers of the month, you will certainly see Jason Wheeler. The lefty from Loyola Marymount went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA in five starts. His first August start technically started out shaky as he gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning. However, box scores alone don’t tell you that two of the singles rolled through the right-side of the infield and the other was a well-placed bunt single. After that inning, Wheeler was great. He went a total of eight innings and gave up only those two runs. He gave up a total of six hits and one or two of the other three were of the bloop variety. Wheeler gets the loss in the 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but he was very impressive. Again, at 6-8, Wheeler stands out. He does not throw hard, likely topping out at 90 at this time. But he has terrific control of his fastball, a very good curveball, and a changeup, and an occasional slider. In this contest, he struck out ten batters. In general, he kept the opposing hitters completely off balance." Not gushing praise, but I do believe realistic and astute observations from a person used to seeing such things. greengoblinrulz did a nice job highlighting some stats so my job is done here. Thanks guys!

Beloit has great staff and is a established town, but the Stadium and the facilities that the players use has been referred to as below standard for a low A ball team. Also the attendance has not been overwhleming.

Duluth would be fun. I have not been to a game since the Dukes played up there in the old Northen League, love the Stadium. Not sure if it would be embraced by a MLB Organization. Would be a great town for MILB ball though.

[TABLE=class: MsoNormalTable] [TD=colspan: 2]Here is the current Midwest league Bowling Green Hot Rods (TB) [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]Fort Wayne TinCaps (SD) [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]Lake County Captains (CLE) East lake Oh. [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]South Bend Silver Hawks (ARI) [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]West Michigan Whitecaps (DET) Grand Rapids Mi. [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]Great Lakes Loons (LAD) Midland Mi. [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, colspan: 2]Dayton Dragons (CIN) [/TD] [TD=width: 179, bgcolor: transparent]Clinton LumberKings (SEA) [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Burlington Bees (OAK) [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Kane County Cougars (KC) North of Chicago [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (MIL) Appleton [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Beloit Snappers (MIN) [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Quad Cities River Bandits (STL) [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Peoria Chiefs (CHC) [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [TD=bgcolor: transparent]Cedar Rapids Kernels (LAA) [/TD] [TD=width: 2, bgcolor: transparent][/TD] [/TABLE]

Aberdeen is interesting. I would ove to here the folks in Michigan whine about that road trip.

So this could be the last year of the Twins in Beloit. If true where do you think the Twins should go? You could stick with the already in place MWL teams or think a bit out of the Box. Now it has to be able to work into a current low A league and make sense. Rapid City or Fargo will not work for travel reasons in the Midwest League, even though at least Fargo has a nicer stadium the one currently in Beloit. My choice would be Cedar Rapids if they move from Beloit. (Quad Cities would be great again, but they are not giving up the Cardinals.) Jim Crikket I think I know your view on this. Now if you decide to think out of the box, like say Madison or Eau Claire or Waterloo or Dubuque can you give a few reasons why it should happen and what could make it happen? (I have wondered for a awhile how long a franchise could stay in Beloit with their facilities and attendance. The MWL may need a more dynamic city if you will.) My wild ass thought is the Wisconsin Dells. April and May attendance might be a problem, but honestly it would be on par with Beloit currently, and they would need a Stadium but so does Beloit, but June, July and August could be wild with Twins fans vacationing there. Just a nutty thought. Talk amongst yourselves.

So this could be the last year of the Twins in Beloit. If true where do you think the Twins should go? You could stick with the already in place MWL teams or think a bit out of the Box. Now it has to be able to work into a current low A league and make sense. Rapid City or Fargo will not work for travel reasons in the Midwest League, even though at least Fargo has a nicer stadium the one currently in Beloit. My choice would be Cedar Rapids if they move from Beloit. (Quad Cities would be great again, but they are not giving up the Cardinals.) Jim Crikket I think I know your view on this. Now if you decide to think out of the box, like say Madison or Eau Claire or Waterloo or Dubuque can you give a few reasons why it should happen and what could make it happen? (I have wondered for a awhile how long a franchise could stay in Beloit with their facilities and attendance. The MWL may need a more dynamic city if you will.) My wild ass thought is the Wisconsin Dells. April and May attendance might be a problem, but honestly it would be on par with Beloit currently, and they would need a Stadium but so does Beloit, but June, July and August could be wild with Twins fans vacationing there. Just a nutty thought. Talk amongst yourselves.

I thinkl Sioux Falls is out of the running due to geography. Long way to drive from Cedar Rapids, much less Fort Wayne.

I guess it depends on your expectations. Yours are higher then mine it sounds like. The statement speaks to a prolonged period of success being defined be a winning record, playoff appearances and just plain old relavancy. I am not looking at Competion. That means little in this comparison.. I understand that is a sticking point for you but I could then argue that the Twins World Series wins were less then stellar due to the level of competition they faced in the Series, the Cardinals were a good team but banged up and missing key people and the Braves were also not the percieved best team in the National League. Now the Twins did have to beat a pretty good Tigers Team in 87 and a decent Blue Jays team in 91, but the 87 team did benefit from playing in the Western Division which did not have the best teams in the league. Arguements like this can go on and I don't have time or energy to put into taking them to their ultimate conclusion. My point was in terms of overall wins, playoff appearances the Twins in years 2002 to 2010 had a string of success only equaled or surpassed by the Viking Teams of the late 1960's and 1970's. The 1964 to 1973 Twins were probably a better if I broke it down and less chances for Playoff appearances. But like the Twins of this era they too had their boogieman, only it was the Orioles and not the Yankees. Did the North Stars have such a period, no. Like the late 80's and early 90's Twins they had some excellent teams for shorter periods, could not sustain. The Timberwolves? Wild? Gopher football? How far do we go down the food chain here? Gopher Hockey and the Lynx? I will also say why the level of competition thing is not important to me. In 15 to 20 years I hope I will not dwell on the fact that this team didn't beat the Yankees, that Koskies ball doesn't jump into the stands, that one umpire makes the correct call on a "Fair" ball down the line. I did that in my 20's and 30's with the Vikings. (Drew Pearson did push off by the way.) It is a waste of emotion and just negative energy. I want to remember that magical run when the Twins overtook the Tigers, now you can say the Tigers collapsed and they did but I don't care as that is a Tigers fan issue and not mine, I want to soak in the excitement of game 163 against the Tigers and watch Go-Go run. The memories I will carry will be Joe Mauer on one of his hot streaks htting the crap out of everything, Santana looking unhittable with 2 and what should have been 3 Cy Young years, young Frankie dueling Roger Clemens, Joe Nathan and his horse blow racking up saves, Morneau's sheer power and the one year of Thome. That this was not done against the Yankees of 1927 or the Gashouse Gang or Big red Machine doesn't make a difference to me. It was still fun and enjoyable. That doesn't mean I don't get disappointed when something stupid happens, Ramos for Capps really or say BJ Garbe. It also does not mean I want them to suck this bad, it is annoying to be this awful. But I won't get worked up as it is only a baseball game played by millionaires for the enrichment of billionaires and has no real bearing on my daily life. Many times I get the feeling in reading the pages that too many people get all frothy about something Gardy did or didn't do, or Mauers lack of power or whatever. I don't, this is entertainment like a movie or American Idol. I used to get worked up about my cars too, but I now realize that all a car is is transportation. It isnot a extension of myself, just like the Twins are not really a part of my being. Just my outlook. If you choose to get all into the parts about level competiton, dive into the stats, live in the clubhouse intrigue and focus on how they just are not a high caliber team and they don't measure up to the Yankees or the Red Sox, I respect that. If that is where you enjoy baseball, have at it and I hope it makes you happy, truely I do. It doesn't work for me. I have enough S*#t in my life. I love minor league and town ball because it is simple and not full of all the BS surrounding the major leagues, it is baseball at it's best in many ways. I know watching the Snappers or E-Twins pales in comparision to the skill of the majors, but man it is just fun. Reminds me of how it was when I played with my friends 25 years ago. I am trying not to go all Field of Dreams here, and my rant is long ...my bad.

Friedman is a good choice I think. Solid cred. Has been in a top flight org for years now. Stuck in a awful place with a good team. He might actually look for a way out. I would think a bigger market then Minnesota would come calling before then and maybe even after he would arrive on the shores of the big muddy however, he would go all Andy MacPhail on us. Not sure about full control, that tends not to work in other sports. Football and basketball coaches with"full" control are a issue sooner or later. (See Green, Denny.) Nice call nicksaviking.

How the mighty and the many times traded for at the deadline have fallen. Lee used to be a staple of the Pre Waivers dealing. A friend to professional movers everywhere he has been traded for Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp, J.C. Ramirez, Phillipe Aumont, Tyson Gilles, Justin Smoak, Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke (Never realized he had such a interesting route through the majors via the criminal justice system.) and Matt Lawson. Now a couple of other guys have been thrown into these deal to move with Lee but that is a whole lot of floatsam for moving around for one Cy Young worthy pitcher. Guess the price for Frankie may have been about right considering what Lee has given back in his three trades. Well maybe this time will be the charm for someone.

and only played DH beacause his shoulder was messed up. Still raked though.

I am thinking that Sano, Rosario, Koch and Wheeler stay in Beloit for the Playoffs. Maybe they get a Kepler or someone from E-Town to give them a few more at bats. But E-town will probably make it to the Playoffs...again.

You bring up a good point. I don't know if MLB clubs use executive search firms. Most MLB Teams are owned by strong minded men who probably believe they know better then anyone else unlike colleges and universities that are more layered in their structure and have multiple levels of signing off.I don't think I ever have heard of a club using a outside group to help, sure it must happen sometimes and at some level. But you look at guys who own baseball teams and there are not a lot of delagators in that group, with the possible exception of the Minnesota Twins. I will need to pay closer attention next GM opening this October or November.

I was not planning to go this weekend but with such a all star cast in attendance...maybe. Either way enjoy the trip and someone needs to Hog Call!

How would Gleeman see a minor league afflilate? Unless the Twins place all their affliates in St. Louis Park, Richfield, Bloomington and maybe Robbinsdale. Spring training would be a bitch in Apple Valley and that is across the river, not sure he would travel lthat far.

Not trying to be too snarky here. Just wondering who people think would be a good replacement for TR? I honestly have no idea on who would be better if anyone. I just read all the comments about how bad he is and thought that many people would have a plan around that. (The anyone would be better line is a lame retort. You could have used that for most of the Twins pitching staff, but someone has to take the ball and pitch. I can say Sam Denudo is awful, but who do I say takes his place. Clayton Kershaw or Liam Hendricks. There is where the comments hit the fan.) So who would be your Dream Date General manager for the Minnesota Twins to replace that old balding guy. (The guy from twilight is kind of dreamy, wonder if he knows what pitch to contact means...ummm.)

Not trying to be too snarky here. Just wondering who people think would be a good replacement for TR? I honestly have no idea on who would be better if anyone. I just read all the comments about how bad he is and thought that many people would have a plan around that. (The anyone would be better line is a lame retort. You could have used that for most of the Twins pitching staff, but someone has to take the ball and pitch. I can say Sam Denudo is awful, but who do I say takes his place. Clayton Kershaw or Liam Hendricks. There is where the comments hit the fan.) So who would be your Dream Date General manager for the Minnesota Twins to replace that old balding guy. (The guy from twilight is kind of dreamy, wonder if he knows what pitch to contact means...ummm.)

You have to love over reaction Wednesday. The day when the message boards whip around more then a tilt a whirl ride at the state fair with a three 17 year old boys in it. Very few moves made at the trade deadline make much of a difference in the scope of a season, some actually hurt a team. Frankie is gone, if most people had heard that this trade had been made two months ago I think they would have been giddy that we stuck the White Sox with him and got a couple of warm bodies in return. In typical former "Franchise" mode he rattled off some good games and made our ADD fan base forget how bad he truely was and how that really lead to the awful season we are stuck in right now. As far as the other "trades" not happening, as the Stones remind us Time is on our Side. Sano, Buxton, Rosario and company will not be ready for a couple more years so the arms can come in this winter to join them in A or AA ball or if we are lucky maybe join Hicks and Arcia in AAA. Does this mean we will be in the crapper next year too, maybe. But it takes awhile to rebuild a baseball system, more so then a football or basketball team. Different beasts. Chill folks. 2012 was not going to get better and 2013 can still be improved upon in the winter.

The Jason Wheeler thread remains the same. I have been out of touch for a week now and I come back guess what, Jason Wheeler had 2 very good games pitched. July 25th at Burlington he held the Bee's scoreless for 6 innings on 4 hits, 2 walks while he struck out four. This got Jason his Midwest League leading 12th win. Then yesterday afternoon he gave up a run to the Chiefs in 5 innings and Dallas Gallant vultured a win after he could not hold the lead in the 7th in what utlimately became a Snapper comeback victory in the 8th. So Jason leads the League with 12 wins against only 4 losses. Three of those 4 came in June when he struggled giving up 7 runs in two of the games, but July has been a whole different narrative for my fav Snapper Lefty. 5 Starts, 4 Wins, 0 losses, 7 runs all of them earned, 26 hits in 31 innings, 22 strike outs and 12 walks. Not a shabby month for the big guy. One more month of Ball in the Beloit regular season and then the playoffs...will he be on the mound for game 1? At this point I hope so.