Riverbrian

Hey Glunn, Im curious exactly how much training these guys put in. I'm sure some are busting their rear and some are skating by. Just like real life outside baseball. There's a part of me that wished I knew how hard everyone on the Twins was working... And a part of me that is happy that I don't know. Blackburn at his best was average... He could get back to being average and that would be much needed... but... he has to locate that sinker and he has struggled for the past 3 years trying to do that. Oddly enough... I'm still think there is a chance. Like Shane said... Maybe it was physical... Maybe a little cleaning up of the elbow wil help. Deduno at his best was really quite good. I just have the feeling that Sam doesn't have full control of the ball or himself and yet he was still effective at times just winging it. I can't help but think... What would happen if a guy with stuff like that... Suddenly figured it out? I hope to see him in the rotation in April looking confident.

Put Me On Ignore... Do it right now... I find no redeeming qualities in any of your replies and you don't like anything I have to say anyway... Put me on ignore... As a matter of fact... You pretty much **** on everybody around here so I think that quite a few others would appreciate it if you put them on ignore as well. You are an ass of the first degree. Your tired overuse of adverbs like "incredibly" in front your adjectives like "stupid" lack tact and civility and I've read the last one. Is your self esteem problem really that toxic? Yeah... Self esteem... Because no one who actually felt good about themselves would respond like you do!!! Don't bother responding... You are on ignore... You'll just be responding for everyone else and 90 percent of the board hates you already.

I have some questions that maybe some folks can answer for me. How does anyone know that the Twins didn't offer 2 or 3 Million a year for Frasor? How does anyone know if Frasor didn't personally select the Texas Rangers to sign with for personal reasons. Why does a player signing with another club suggest the Twins didn't make an effort to sign him or consider him at all? Is every player obligated to sign with us because we want them to? Are all 29 teams allowed to participate in this Free Agent Process?

lol... yeah... I know... You'd think I'd learn to use actual comma's and actual punctuation... I really can't say why I do it... Other than... I've always done it... My bosses always know which reports are from me... If I fail to ID them. I guess I should have paid more attention in English class growing up...

1. Worley: I'm hoping that he returns to 2011 form... If he does... We gotta a leader for this staff and an arm for the future. 2. Pelfrey: I think the guy has stuff... I'm hoping for average but I still think he can be above average. 3. Diamond: He's gotta do it again for me... He was fantastic at times last year but he never looked like a stuff guy. He makes me nervous and I will be happy with average results from him. 4. Deduno: I know this guy has stuff... Just no control... If he can get his mechanics down... I think this guy could be in the low 3's ERA wise... A long shot I know because if he doesn't have his mechanics down by now... How realistic is it to think he will. Low 3's is a wild expectation but the guy has some serious stuff. Might as well shoot high with the expectation. 5. Correia: Just give me average results and he's worth the signing... With my eyeballs... I really look at Correia and Diamond as very similiar pitchers. 6. Harden: I'm not convinced that he shouldn't be in the pen... I have no idea how his shoulder health will manifest in 2013... He had the stuff to close... Maybe less innings in key situations is the way to go if he is pitching like he has in the past. If he needs to start because the team needs him to... OK... If he pitches like he did in past... He would move up my depth chart to 1 or 2... 7. Gibson: Has to start in AAA and I hope he shows something in Rochester... If he does... Bring him up and replace anyone not being effective. 8. Hendriks: He will get his shot in the rotation sometime this year and I hope he grabs it with both hands and cements himself a job for the future. 9. DeVries: If we need him in 2013... We will be in trouble... Not because DeVries will cause the trouble... It will mean we had quite a few injuries and failures all happening at the same time. 10. Meyer: Not likely but there is no reason to think that he won't shoot up the ladder quickly. It's not like he's 19 years old... he came out of college... I don't expect him in 2013... But if he is lights out... There isn't much to prevent him from rising. 11. Blackburn: We will see him in the majors... If he fixes what was broken... If he doesn't fix it... He's gone. You've seen the last of Blackie. 12. May: Struggled in AA last year... but he could also move up the chain quickly with lights out pitching.

Last year... The Starting Pitching was bad... The effect that had on the 2012 team was obvious to all... We kept putting an ineffective Blackburn and Marquis and Liriano out there because we had nobody else to throw. In 2013... I have no expectation for Kershaw type performance from anyone... but... we do have options this year... Not Kershaw type options but options none the less. If Ryan/Gardenhire use those options... Average pitching is absolutely possible and with just average pitching... The team can improve their win loss totals by quite a bit. The key will be... If Correia fails like most here seem to think he will... The Twins won't keep trotting him out there and instead turn to Gibson, Hendriks... Deduno or whoever to see if they can at least provide average pitching. If Correia or Pelfrey have 6 plus ERA's in June and are still in the rotations... Our pitching depth will mean nothing and it will be a long year. If our starters can average around 4.40... We could be OK. I'm still hoping for a Marcum signing... I will be dispointed if we don't and I am preparing for that highly possible disapointment.

Great article Parker! At first blush... It seems that the department is too small. I say that with no idea how the department works exactly but yeah it seems that they would need a few more staffers because one guy and an intern would have to be getting overwhelmed with the mountains of data on the mountains of ball players across all organizations in and out of the professional ranks.

LOL... Good one... Two points for you.

The question is rhetorical so I won't answer it... (tap tap tap) Ok... I'll make a statement... (Yeah big shock for everyone... I know)... They are not teaching people to be murderers or pedophiles... I don't have to give those vile creatures a pass. You know that... I consider you to be very intelligent... It isnt really fair to lump those vile creatures into the discussion and you should know that as well. There are churches in the north.... Churches in the east... Churches in the west... Churches across the water and a whole bunch of churches in the south... Down Arkansas way that teach with conviction... Homosexuality is an abomination. Now you don't believe that it is... I don't believe that it is... Not all Churches do... but most of them do... This means that a large percentage of people have been taught this type of thinking... How large? 39 states have banned same sex marriage by majority vote. In 1996 68% of Americans were opposed to homosexuality its down to 48% in 2012(progress is being made) It took until the year 2003 for the Supreme Court to issue a ruling that its not an actual crime. The Roman Catholic Church... Eastern Orthodox... Methodist... American Baptist... Southern Baptist... Assemblies of God... Jehovah's Witnesses... The church of Latter Day Saints... Islam... Judaism... (I can make this list really long)... Teach that its a sin... Oh yeah let's not forget Jerry Falwell and his teaching that Aids is Gods punishment for it... Before he dropped dead(which I think was gods punishment for stealing old people's money and teaching hate). Pat Robertson is still alive with a large audience... These guys aren't just preaching to a handful of nut jobs and a couple of Alligators near TV Sets. The bible has that whole Sodom and Gomorrah thing... along with Leviticus... Samuel... Romans... Matthew... Luke... Acts... All of these books have passages that the homophobe religious crowd points to as reasoning for their viewpoints. So... My Rhetorical question in return is this... How many of those religions are teaching murder? How many are teaching pedophilia? No Catholic Priest Jokes please. The obvious thing that needs to be pointed out... There are many many people who simply are not as enlightened as you are... I don't mean that in a snarky way... I mean that sincerely... You are more enlightened than most in my opinion. You just got to sit back and realize that you and I and everyone else has gotten into a social issue discussion and its rooted deeply into religion and that is the true slippery slope. And its about 50-50 which side is larger and both sides think the other is morally bankrupt. To me... your indignation would be much better served heading straight to the source(church elders) and not the by-product of it. It's not much different than getting pissed and and railing on Christian Ponder for his views on Abortion. Some are pro choice... Some are Pro Life and some just don't care either way. But attacking an opposing view point In the end... Is going to be exhausting... There are a whole bunch of them out there. Yeah... I think I'll give Torii a pass on this one. The same pass that I give other non famous people who believe something that I don't.

My slope ain't that slippery. It's pretty firm ground. Torii is a product of his upbringing... Just like you and I are and that is how we all form our opinions on all subjects. Torii is part of the majority in his psychography... Expecting him to rise above it isn't really fair. Some do... Most don't. It's a social issue and there are a large amount of people on both sides of the issue. We are not talking about handfuls... We are talking about a large amount of people on both sides of the issue. Torii is not the only one... He is just the only who has been quoted in this article! (out of context according to Torii). Let's suppose the reporter asks Justin Morneau for his opinion on abortion and he's pro-choice or pro-life and expresses it. Justin will be attacked viciously by pro-lifers or pro-choicers who feel strongly about the morality of the issue. It doesn't seem to matter if it's a majority opinion. The Morality of his response will be determined by each individual reader based on their own personal morality. Pick your social issue... What if Joe Mauer says he doesn't believe in God!!! What happens next to Joe publicly!!! I'm willing to bet that someone in a locker room somewhere doesn't believe in God! Do we really need to know what Trevor Plouffe thinks about global warming...Do we need to know who is democrat or republican. How about a word from Josh Willingham on Stem Cell Research... Animal Rights... Environmental issues... Gun Control. My stance is on pretty firm ground. Do we need our athletes black listed ala Joe McCarthy? I don't want Ryan Braun on this team because he's against the War in Afghanistan!!! It's a social issue and in the court of public opinion. Torii will be slayed either way. Give him a break!!! Torii expressed an opinion that is actually a majority opinion in his own particulur psychography but he gets to be the poster boy now. He gets to be the target for the other side. How about the Dixie Chicks... Was it fair what happened to them? So what exactly do you want Torii held accountable for? Growing up where he did? When he did? Attending the church he attended? Believing what he believes? Not having any gay friends? Speaking Honestly? My slope ain't that slippery. The Slippery Slope elephant in the room... Is giving a rats ass what anyone thinks!!! You are on that slope and you are going to end up being pissed at a lot of people as the opinions start rolling in. You will end up being pissed at me and I agree with you on the issue! He plays baseball... I'm going to judge him on if he is putting effort on the field and trying to help his team win.

Torii Hunter is being attacked for supposedly (he has claimed to be taken out of context) being exactly what statistics tell us he should be. Male, Black, from the South and Religious. All 4 are attributes that statistically suggest a degree of homophobia today. After all, someone is voting against Same Sex marraige because it isn't always passing by a large margin. Some say there is no difference between homophobia today and Race issues from the past. So here is question with context that I hope is answered honestly. For example purposes only... If you grew up in the (let's say) 1910's. The son or daughter of a Plantantion Owner. Growing up in a racist household surrounded by a racist government, racist friends, racist schools. If Racism is all around you. Can any of you who are upset with Torii Hunter honestly say that you would have risen above it. If you think you could have... give it your best shot to convince me. If you start asking athletes social questions and they answer them honestly. They will all fall from pedestals one by one! There will be no one left to cheer for.

I think it's bad form to ask athletes their opinion on social issues. I think it's a bad idea for the athlete to answer the question if I asked. I think it's a bad idea to get worked up over the responses if printed. I have read the article... I have read what Torii tweeted In response to the printed article. I really don't know what Torii thinks nor do I care. He shouldn't have been put in this position in the first place or allowed himself to participate. Torii is getting raked over the coals because he answered a question on a subject that has a clear division from people who don't seem to want to consider grey area.

Yeah... I agree... but we are still talking about percentages or odds. If the Pitching is Average and the Hitting is average... The Twins can finish anywhere from 1st to 5th because it will come down to the timing of each moment game by game. Even Drew Butera can call the right pitch at the right moment, make a game saving throw or catch and dare I say it... Even Drew Butera can drive in the game winning run. In 2012... If the Twins won just one more game every ten games... They are a .500 club. With improved pitching... It's not an out of this world hypothesis. But yeah I agree... I'm not betting anything important on the Twins doing a Vikings thing but its against my nature to believe it can't happen no way no how.

25 players who strap it on... If the Twins put together 25 players who compete and fight through the down times and keep competing for every pitch... every ground ball... every at bat... It can happen. Will the Twins believe they can do it is the question in my mind. The Vikings lost one of their top players in Percy Harvin and the team played better. It's not about your team on your paper... It's your team on the field. If you are good enough to play major league baseball or football... You are good enough to win baseball or football games. I like the sentiment Vodkadave... More power to ya.

1. Wherever you work... Look around... 10 Percent are gay... 33 Percent of the other 90 percent don't want the other 10 percent living next door to them. It's the world we live in and we shouldn't be shocked that it's out there. 2. I'm not judging Torii or you or anybody on why they feel the way they do. They just do. Who has the Majority opinion... Same sex marriage would be legal in every state and province if it was cut and dried. 3. Torii Hunter did choose to be a baseball player... The Public spotlight comes with the territory... Fairly or unfairly... I personally don't care what they think socially. Torii is obviously not afraid to express his personal opinion just like I'm not and you are not on Twins Daily. Joe Blow from Erskine, Minnesota also has opinions that he freely expresses at the Corner Bar but he doesn't have reporters printing his thoughts and he may express the same opinion and be wrong in my eyes but should that opinion end up defining him. 4. Take a walk through time... Back in biblical times people were stoned to death for things that today's society believes to be extremely petty and society eventually advanced. 5. The Earth was believed to be flat for awhile and the small minority of people who believed in a round earth were thought to be kooks and laughed at. We now we look back at those centuries and find it hard to believe how stupid those flat earth people were but does it mean that those people were acutally stupid or did they just not have the information needed. Society got better educated in time. 6. Back in the 19th Century... Hungarian Physician Ignaz Semmelweis started washing his hands before delivering children and cut infant mortality drastically and when he presented his findings his professional co-horts laughed at him. We look back today and say... OMG. Society got better educated in time. 7. In the 20th Century... Black Baseball Players were not allowed to play with White players professionally. They were also not allowed to drink from the same fountains, eat at the same lunch counters, stay in the same hotels or ride in the same seats on the bus. Today we have a black president and we still have racial problems but it's getting better... Our younger generations can look back and say what the hell were they thinking but the older generations grew up with this type of thinking all around them. 8. Ask yourself this... In the 22nd Century... If life hasn't been destroyed by a wayward meteor. When they look back at us in 2012... What crazy belief do we have that will be making them laugh at us. 9. It's all about education... Torii Hunter grew up in a household and a culture that felt a certain way and that could be why he thinks what he thinks if he actually thinks that. Just like you grew up thinking what you think and I grew up thinking what I think. We were all educated to our opinions by family, friends, school, whatever... Over time... The gay issue will fade away as people start to die off and the new mentality takes over bit by bit. 10. What if Torii Hunter was asked by a reporter his opinion on Abortion and you agree with his opinion? Even if you agree with him... Do you think Torii can imerge without a public black eye. 11. The Majority of Black Males from Arkansas share his opinion. Why is that? 12. Why are baseball players being asked Social questions for our consumption and why do we care? My opinion is that Torii needs a publicist and he needs to listen to that publicist. I'm not trying to start anything... I don't even disagree with your viewpoint... Like I said... I voted against the banning of Same Sex Marriage measure in North Dakota. 73 Percent of North Dakota disagreed with me. I work with those people and I hang out with them and I call them my friends and I can't grasp why they think that way.

Intolerence of Intolerence is Hypocritical. There is no other way to slice it. To debate or feel differently than someone is one thing... To dispise someone for contrary opinion is quite another and that intolerence is no different than the intolerence you are railing against. Considering the statement came from a black male from Arkansas, It's fairly safe to say statistically... The opinions expressed by Torii Hunter is a majority opinion in consideration of being Black... Male and from Arkansas. 3 groups of human beings that statistically are above average when it comes to having that viewpoint. Ask the Question... Get an honest answer... can any of us real be surprised statistically? What I really want to know is this... Why the hell is Kevin Baxter of the LA Times asking this social question of Torii Hunter is the first place? An honest answer is just going to get you quoted our of context and punched in the face. Kevin Baxter is the one who decided to write this article and go around looking for examples of his thesis... It's the slant of Kevin Baxter... If Kevin Baxter wants to go around MLB and ask every opinion from gays to gun control to abortion from every major league baseball player. Well, you can start crossing off the list all the names of players you no longer want to cheer for... Because the majority of us are: Yes... Intolerent of Intolerence... We are all wrong! President George Herbert Walker Bush says he doesn't like Broccoli and after that he had no chance of winning Oregon. His tastes in vegatable has nothing to do with being President. Torii Hunter's social viewpoints have nothing to do with baseball. Thank goodness he is being asked to play baseball and not being asked to determine social policy!!! Those lines really shouldn't be blurred but yet here we are.

For all the baseball metric talent in this room... Social stats not so much apparently. Not only do we want our hitters to OPS over .700 or we call them them garbage... In addition to being better than average ball players... They must also be perfect human beings based on our own minds eye or we will call them Garbage. Not only do we want the perfect ballplayer and the perfect human being. We also want them to be accessible and available for interviews and if they turn down an autograph or interview... they are obviously pricks. Oh yeah... We also want them to be honest... If they are not... They are also liars... We want the perfect ballplayer... the perfect human being and the perfect interview and It is expected that these players develop these perfections counter to national and regional psycographics. We live in a country where gay wasn't allowed in the military until just 3 months ago. Unless of course you snuck in without telling anyone... If that's the case... We won't ask you... as long as you don't tell us... If you do tell us by mistake... we will discharge you... Over 18 years of DADT... 14,000 plus military personnel were thrown out for gayness in the United States of America... Home of the Brave... And Home of the Free according to the song. Obviously someone else feels the way Torii Hunter does because we were tossing them out of the military. Socials stats will tell you that 34% (1 out of 3) of all Americans do not want anybody gay or lesbian moving into the house next door and that percentage is significantly higher among Men (Torii) and significantly higher among blacks (Torii) and significantly higher in the south (Torii). Does anyone expect the percentages to be different inside clubhouses. Apparently some do! Now before anyone gets outraged by my comments... Please consider that statistics show that nearly all Americans hold a minority opinion of some sort. That means that you... I mean you... probably hold a belief that is in the minority... Some big... Some small... But viewpoints exist everywhere and expecting perfection from athletes is just goofy and I'm sorry... Hypocritical. Also please consider that I (Riverbrian) personally voted against North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1 in 2004. A measure that made it Unconstitutional to recognize or perform same sex marriage. I was one of 27% as the measure overwhelmingly passed. I'm not defending the comments of Torii Hunter. I see things differently... I'm saying quit sticking a microphone in the face of athletes and asking them social questions and then get pissed about the answers you get. The percentages are pretty good that someone has a stupid opinion and the percentages are pretty good that someone is going to be pissed about the answer. Failing that... Don't be pissed when the sensible moderate non committal cliche answers are the normal answers to benign questions like... what is your favorite Pizza? I'm afraid we leave the GM's... Managers and ballplayers no choice... The smart thing to do is shut up and stay silent.

This is a good Post Ox... I can't disagree with anything you say... I'll just tack on some obvious stuff. I think spending money wisely is key... Any baseball team can take a voyage on the USS Good Money Over Bad and its not a good ship to be on. Spending it... Just to reach some top 10 tier so you are sucked in by the correlation winds would be miss guided. I think the timing of when you spend is an important factor... Personally.... I seriously question the timing of spending for 2013. I still want Marcum... But I'm not going to watch the payroll tote board. That's just me... Others obviously feel different.

Ricky Vaughn Part Deux

Mark Cuban owner... No way Ozzie Guillen would be his coach... After the Castro comments... Cubans don't like Ozzie... (Rim shot)... Sorry about that... It came into my head and I typed it.

To Me... It's all baseball and nothing more and it's deep rooted... I watch my team... And I watch my players... Each member of the Twins are my players... I dont care if Stanton is better than Willingham.... Stanton doesnt play for my team... I may have preferred a different pitcher instead of Correia... But... Regardless... When Correia has the jersey on and the rock in his hands... I'll be hoping he peforms decently... Some double plays turned... Some corners hit... His pitches mixed... I hope the game is within reach to be won so I can watch Florimon hitting .230 drive in a game winning run with a single up the middle. 66 wins is a bad year but its 66 wins... A terrible team can win a lot of games. I appreciate watching Mike Trout play... The guy plays the game the way it should played... Would love to see him in a Twins uniform... But I can still get excited watching Jamey Carroll drop a flare down the RF line... It's Baseball... No matter who I think Terry Ryan should pursue... It doesn't matter... The roster will consist of players wearing my colors and they will have my full throated support. Unless you are Delmon Young or Danny Velancia... Half ass effort guys.

Nothing wrong with optimism! Its Ok to be optimistic... It really is... Hard to get up in the morning without it.

Trading the future for the present doesn't always work and trading the present for the future doesn't always work... However... Competing with a weak farm system will be damn expensive and very inconsistent... Because when you fail... You fail and spend big money for the failure. The only way to field a competitive club every year or most years is to build a strong farm system and that is how trading your future for the present will kill ya.

The Twins are our team and will always be our team... We are powerless to cause the change that we want... but not powerless to get behind it anyway and follow the pied piper... No matter where it leads... Every once in awhile... Even the Underdog will bite... We are for the Underdog no matter how much of a dog it is. It's just the best way to live your life! Good Article Jim!!! I'm with ya... Even when I'm against you slightly.

Well Done. Even my Half Full sensibility laughed.