CDog

With no radio feed option (XM?), seems like Mute Button + Music Playing is about your best bet.

When do we get to see your "con" list?

Except for all of his...ummm...actual statistics.

I haven't been logged in for a few days, but wanted to reply to this... In the post of mine you quoted, I intended no such subtext whatsoever. Ashburyjohn had asked a question (although possibly rhetorically) about everyone rooting for "our guys," and I was answering that question rather directly. There has even been a case in this very thread since then. My "favorite," though, was probably the poetically absurd logic of a position I once read (I don't recall if it was on this site or not) where the writer suggested he wanted the entire team to fail because if they won the World Series, then the Pohlads would think Gardenhire capable of winning the World Series and then they'd never get rid of him.

If you'd like to set the over/under for the number of times Mauer is asked to sacrifice this year at 1--regardless of his spot in the order--I'll take the under.

Interesting that the incessant use of SF bunts has landed the Twins in the bottom third for Sacrifice Hits since Gardenhire became manager, only being above the bottom third twice for a season (and never in the top half) and this despite being in the top third for OBP and 2nd in Singles over this stretch. I think instead of "incessant" you meant "rare." I also wonder why so many people can find the one thing they're looking for in a quote ("OMG, he said 'bunt'!!!") and ignore the multiple times it's come up in the media where Gardenhire has had to explain to a newer player that sac-bunting early in the game wasn't what "we" do here (almost certain it was written about Orlando Hudson and Nishioka very shortly after their respective arrivals...I'll go out on a limb there have been plenty of other times that weren't reported). Carry on.

Two items that are decent and only mildly overpriced (making them a great bargain in the world of ballpark items) are the Walk-a-Taco (I forget the location) and the Asian stir fry stand (down near the left-field foul pole). Neither is really "ballparky," but otherwise... For more of a snack, I've found the gelato stands pretty good.

I was glad to find out this thread was about his contract.

Wouldn't this just be to make room for Ramirez?

I don't comment a lot on signings or non-signings, but I'll go on record that I liked the Pelfrey signing at the time, now, and therefore will continue to like it regardless of what happens in the future (because that shouldn't cloud the decision in the moment it was made).

Giddyup again.

Giddyup.

For whatever reason, I'm holding my breath on Burton in much the same way as Diamond. As a side note, I thought his extension was a strange move of the offseason that didn't get a lot attention. Hoping to be wrong, of course. I'm getting more comfortable that Perkins can continue to be at least close to as good as the last couple of years. Duensing feels like a pretty known quantity. I feel OK that Fien will be OK. The rest may as well be giant question marks to me. Bottom line, I'm hopeful than can be OK to good, but there's a little nagging feeling that they might collectively be "an issue" all year long.

Some folks have been and continue to be quite up front and open about their hope for failure for certain people to "prove their point." Others you can find it in nuance and subtext. But there are certainly a fair amount of instances where their honest answer to your question could only be a resounding "No."

In another thread, a side conversation started about Omar Vizquel and whether he's a "surefire HoF'er" or something less than that. Brock called him a sure bet as a first-ballot guy in the vein of Ozzie Smith. Some others seemed a little less enthusiastic. I had originally weighed in with the thought that my memory didn't have him as a sure-thing and more of a guy who was just steady, albeit for a long, long time. So...what did some quick and incomplete fact-checking find? I don't think Vizquel can touch Ozzie. By both BR and Fangraphs, Ozzie has TEN seasons of WAR better than Vizquel's SECOND best season. For their careers, bWAR and fWAR go to Smith by wide margins of 73 to 40.5 and 70.1 to 47.4, respectively. Looking at just their ten best seasons, Ozzie goes 55.3 and 52.6 against Vizquel's 32.3 and 34.8. For the more subjective stuff, Ozzie out Gold-Gloved him 13 to 11, and out-All-Starred him 15 to 3 (I should note that the last three AS nods for Ozzie were fairly ridiculous). Smith got MVP votes 6 times, finishing second once (and in the teens and twenties the other five). Vizquel only got votes once, finishing 16th. On the counting stats, Vizquel does a little better (although he's played five more seasons). He has more hits (2877 to 2460) and HR's (although neither has many...80 to 28...on a side note, I was surprised Ozzie had that many). The first comparison that came to my mind was maybe someone like Craig Biggio. But he also has a much better portfolio on the limited look I took. By WAR he has eight or nine seasons better than Vizquel's second best (depending on BR or Fangraphs). His total WAR are 62.1 and 70.5 against the 40.5 or 47.4 for Vizquel. And his ten best years total 51.9 or 53.2 against 32.3 or 34.8. Biggio also had 4 Gold Gloves (where he falls short of both Vizquel and Smith by quite a bit), 7 All-Star games, and five times got MVP votes including 4th, 5th, and 10th, 12th, and 16th place finishes. And he wins against both on the main counting stats with 3060 hits and 291 home runs. So does Vizquel get in...ever? First ballot? Never? What other measures should be looked at? Brock mentioned Vizquel being an anti-steroid example, which I think will definitely matter to some voters. Other angles?