Riverbrian

I spent my vacation at the Potemkin Village... It was nice... They got a fake Walmart... Not just a Walmart... A fake Walmart Supercenter... A real lake with fake fish. All keeper size painted in nice colors. It was hard to get them to bite though. Spent 5 hours at the lake fishing and came up empty.

What was Joe Benson doing in Warroad? I thought he was more of a Strandquist type. I'm hoping Joe has a great year this year... It will feel real good for him after last year. I felt really bad for him knowing how he close he was getting... These are hopes and dreams after all. I hope the CF situation ends up being one of those "good problems to have" cliches.

I haven't seen him play so sight unseen obviously... I'd give him as much rope as possible at 3B. The reports I've read about his athleticism suggest he has the tools. If he has the hands... He can figure out the feet. Size won't matter... The Ladies tell me this all the time. He could convert to 1B fairly quickly if it fails.

Liriano doesn't understand what happened to Liriano.

I do... I find it even more bizarre that Marcum signed for 1 year 4 million.

Deal... Let's call Florimon tell him his batting average is set so he can focus on D. God that was so easy.

Alright... Let's go with... .225... Let's live a little!!!

Reportedly Justin Upton couldn't pry Simmons from Atlanta. It took Bauer to acquire Didi. The Rangers have two young SS's and would not part with either to acquire Justin Upton. I have no idea what kind of trade it would take to bring in a SS but there appears to be some shortstop hoarding going on. I suspect the price is gonna be Higher than Cheech and Chong circa 1978.

Offensively... I worry about the top of the order. Who will bat in front of Mauer, Willingham and Morneau. That's the sore spot... I think Morneau will rebound and I think Plouffe can bang out 30 dingers. There is some offense here. Florimon can hit .220 at the bottom of the order. He just has to settle in. I saw the flashes on defense... He can be special and the point made earlier that Florimon is starting 2013 over better potential hitters tells me that the Twins think so as well.

We will still win 54 games.

131 starts last year... Were made by Pitchers with an ERA over 5... That's staggering... We have options this year in theory. This has to be an improvement. Doesn't it?

I will be shocked if he starts with the club opening day but maybe he will. I'm excited to finally watch him play. I'll be a tish sad for Mastro but excited for Hicks. Aaron must be like a greyhound at the gate right now waiting for spring training.

I have no intention of starting a flame war here. Didn't intend it When I posted my "stupid" idea of trusting the GM even when my confidence has been shaken. I don't intend it now. This site could be such a Godsend to the over the top Twins Fan like myself. Many of us are like me. Our Twins and baseball passion has branched beyond what our real life local friends can compete with. Our degree of Twins passion leaves us isolated for someone to discuss with and this is what makes Twinsdaily a special place. At least it could be... But I fear the dark side is winning. There are so many posters that I agree with and posters that I disagree with from time to time but I respect every one of them... Even when I post a contrary opinion. Posters here range from retired 70 plus farmers to 12 year olds and i don't believe we know exactly who we are responding to. A 12 year old could be torn apart... Regardless... I think all should be welcome but it ain't my board. Tolerance is a lost art I guess. Im not gonna defend my level of stupidity. I shouldn't have to and neither should anyone else... I don't claim to be superior... I claim to have an opinion and have never been afraid to share it. Maybe I mis-assessed the purpose of this gathering place. I've just personally had it with one poster and I've decided to no longer care about any discussion with him going forward and am kindly asking for him to ignore my posts. My skin is of decent thickness... I have no problem with snark or snark in my direction. I can laugh at it... I really can... i just think that this is miles from the definition of snark. It has surpassed that. Other than a flame war of sorts... Asking to be ignored is the only sensible option that I can think of.

You are gonna keep coming... Directly or indirectly... You really want to start something... It's obvious to all what you are doing... Ill just take the punches... And keep asking you to ignore me... My 4th request.

i don't know if fair is the right word but I certainly understand the criticism. If no one was criticizing... This forum would float away into nothingness... If no one was defending... It would sink to the bowels of hell. I am at the point where I can't even say that I'm defending his moves in total thus far. I'm defending his right to finish the job. At some point... You gotta make a call one way or another... Terry Ryan can rebuild this club or he can't. I'm trying to trust that he can.

I'm a Kool Aid guy obviously... This batch doesn't have enough sugar in it but down the hatch. My hope will be simple. Keep the 6 plus ERA guys off the mound. If anyone is throwing 6 plus... replace him with the next option. If they can do that. This team will be much better and more importantly... We can find out about the rest of the team... Because they will be in ball games... If they are in ball games... We can better assess what they have to offer and what we have for 2014. This could be TR's plan. Or not.

I'll admit its my biggest fear... Kind of like limbo land... Not fully rebuilding and not fully building. I understand where everyone is coming from. All plans are subject to change so there would have to be some on the fly decisions but personally... I don't know why we couldn't have landed a closer to the top tier pitcher. I just refuse to believe that TR is out of his mind. There has to be a reason and I don't think any of us know.

This is my third request... Please put me on ignore.

I'm asking nicely... Please put me on ignore.

i don't know what Correia was thinking... But most don't think they are going to pitch like Marquis did for us but yes I agree... The Twins made a competitive offer and that is why they are here. I would never argue against that. I also agree with you that simply saying Free Agents don't want to come here is way to simple a statement. Like I said... It's not Black and White... It's Grey... If the Twins seriously wanted someone... They could have got serious and landed someone. I simply don't know how serious they were and that I file under Terry Ryan's plan. I'm just saying that whatever the plan is... I'm pretty sure it's not to remain in last place forever. The goal has to be to get better at some point. Does TR think this year is the year or is the timeline pushed down the road. I don't know... Seems to me that the timeline is down the road... I think we can all see that. Well most of us... At least. Terry Ryan is quoted as saying that he won't call this a rebuilding year because its an excuse to lose. Some interpret that as an example of lying. I call it an example of what you are supposed to say in a rebuilding year. You don't send a "we are going to lose" message to a ball club or fan base even if the odds are long. I'm not going to throw rocks. I'm gonna watch as many games as I can... Just like I do every year. My rocks will be hurled at the White Sox like every year.m

I agree with you... Marcum was the bottom of the upper rung in my assessment... And the last one available... I wanted one of those guys and getting one of those guys was my personal litmus test for the off season. I'm bummed... But... It was my assessment and my plan. TR isn't following my plan and I won't throw rocks at him because he isn't. Cdog... North... Glunn... Chief... Jokin... Puck... Shane... Hammer... Nurse and Charger would all have different plans than I... And different plans from each other. For reasons past our understanding... This is TR's plan and come what May.

I don't understand how this discussion can be presented in black and white. The signing of a Free Agent is Grey every time. Every case is different. These guys spend their younger years under team control. If they want to play for another organization. They can't. They must wait for Free Agency. Once they reach Free Agency... The now have options that they didn't have before... They are all of sudden personally responsible for the decisions that will shape the remainder of their career. There is no black and white in this... It's only Grey... You can't say that Free Agents won't sign with Minnesota because Minnesota is a cow pasture compared to New York... And you can't say that Minnesota has a fair shot at all Free Agents. It's grey area and if Minnesota wants a Free Agent... They have to make it a good career decision for the player by either paying them more or presenting a situation where the player can advance his career. Each Free Agent is going to sign with a team that wants them and the team that makes sense for them. Dan Haren was reported to be a West Coast Guy being from California. He signed with an East Coast Team. I have no idea why... I'm guessing that the Washington offer was near the top of the offers financially and pitching well for a contender could lead to a bigger pay day next year. So the deal was right for him and he said goodbye to his beloved West Coast. Maybe he signs an extension with Washington going forward or next year he signs with Dodgers for 6 years and 100 Million. His next move will be a move that Haren feels is best for this career and if that means playing for Kansas City next year. That's what it means and only Dan Haren knows. Greinke was reported to suffer from a Social Anxiety Disorder. It has been argued that he would never sign with the gigantic Markets because the spotlight would turn him into a Tony Shalloub Monk character or something. What did he do... He Signed for 6 years smack dab in the middle of the Hollywood spotlight. Why did he do it? I don't know... I'm guessing that 6 Years and 147 Million was the best thing he could do for his career at this point. Does Minnesota have to overpay for Free Agents... Yes they do... Every team has to overpay for signing Free Agents... Can it be argued that the Dodgers had to overpay for Greinke... I'd say that they had to cuz Greinke sure got a boat load of money. Looks like an overpay to me. I'm guessing that Kevin Corriea was probably not happy with getting knocked out of the rotation in Pittsburgh. He was looking for a team where he could stick in the rotation because that would be best for his career. I think he labeled Minnesota has the best place for that. I think Pelfrey labeled Minnesota has a good match because he would have an opportunity to pitch and revive his career. Harden same thing. These are just guesses but they make sense to me at least. Marcum... Who knows... I really wanted the guy... Maybe Terry Ryan didn't... Maybe Terry Ryan wanted him but Marcum didn't want Minnesota. Who knows. 4 Million sure doesn't seem like much but I'm pretty sure that there was more that went into Marcum going to the Mets than I'm aware of... Throwing rocks at the Franchise because a player signed elsewhere will never make much sense to me. The Players have Freewill and all 30 organizations are trying hard to build an organization for success. It's incredibly easy for us to say we have 30 Million to spend... OK... I want him... him... him and her. Saying... There ya go... I fixed the Twins like you are walking through the supermarket loading canned goods into your cart and the canned goods have no choice but to go along with you. Even the Astros have a plan... I'm sure the Twins do as well. I don't know what the plan is and I don't think Mackey knows either and I don't think a single poster on Twinsdaily knows either. I'm bummed that we didn't get one of the perceived above average arms. I'm shocked that Marcum went for 4 million... I really am... I'm just saying that I don't have the details and there are always details. 2013 is gonna be what 2013 is gonna be. Is it April yet?

Marcum was the last of the somewhat upper tier choices. I was really hoping for one of those guys and prepared for disapointment. I'm officially down on the off-season now. I could care less about Correia and don't feel his signing with us was an example of anything. Let him throw... Let's see what happens... Not signing Marcum or a pitcher above him is an example of something in my mind. With that said... I'm still fully prepared to let Terry Ryan and staff do their jobs. If we are not in contention by 2015. Jokin, Thrylos, Puck and everyone else will have to catch up to me in the throwing rocks at Terry Ryan department. Until then... I'll just continue to read the comments and understand... why the comments are... what they are. Come opening day... The game will be on and I will be watching and hoping we do some things to compete and I will be able to stick it out the whole year. If I was able to do it in 2011... I can do it in 2013. I'm tired of the Cold... Opening Day I still look forward to.

I do umpire... Not very good at it... I admit... I know that I'm supposed to watch the ball into the glove. Maybe it's my positioning... but seeing the glove isn't always possible and when I do see the glove... My mind is made up at the crossing of the plate. Just for clarification... I'm not going to use my experience as a guide for the MLB Umpire. Apple and Oranges. I Ump just to help out at the high school level.

I can't recall if it was Fast's Piece that I read. I did read an article on the art of framing pitches a while back. I came away with more questions than answes in the article I read. I don't know if it's clear how the difference in a strike or a ball called in indvidual at bats can be quantified. Anyway... I'm not discounting framing totally... Just personally... I question it. I think the ump has made his mind up at the crossing of the plate. I do agree that a loud catcher could break some ties the wrong way on borderline calls. Enough to make a difference... I'm not so sure. That's just my thoughts... nothing more... nothing less... What I'd like to see is Strikes and Ball data per catcher. What was the Twins pitching staff percentage of strikes thrown with each catcher. If that data produces some striking differences... We may have something to look into furthur.