Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

JB_Iowa

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    6,113

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by JB_Iowa

  1. JB_Iowa
    Thanks for both reports on your trip -- sounds like a great weekend and the weather gods were with you.
  2. JB_Iowa
    I wish him well. I think the Twins were right to release him but I hope he is able to resurrect his career in the NL. Seemed like a decent guy who just couldn't put it together in Minnesota for whatever reason (s).
  3. JB_Iowa
    The baseball schedule makers? In all seriousness, I give a lot of credit to the staff in Rochester -- although I'm still waiting for them to really get through to Valencia.
  4. JB_Iowa
    I expect it to even out to about the .444 pace I predicted (72 wins overall). To do that, they would have to win 50 of the next 106 which should be do-able. I'd like to see them exceed that but I don't really expect it.
  5. JB_Iowa
    I have no ambivalence about Santana. Why do some fans think that the player should always do what is in the Twins best interest? Do you honestly feel that the Twins always do what is in the player's best interests? Santana gave Twins fans MANY memorable moments when he pitched here. Why shouldn't he have been entitled to take advantage of the rules in getting what he thought would be the best situation for himself? I value loyalty but it is a two-way street and I didn't see the Twins stretching the limits to keep him. I am incredibly happy for him. And very happy for Mets fans. They've been through a lot in the last few years. It was nice to see them rewarded with an historical franchise moment.
  6. JB_Iowa
    Cuddyer in the middle of a Carroll thread? Now we're its not just apples to apples; its not even apples to oranges; maybe apples to watermelons?
  7. JB_Iowa
    He changed the article. The last phrase when I first posted this was: "although he is still not playing the field." Assume someone corrected him. (I do think money was mentioned initially but I think it referred to $14 million/year rather than doing the math through next year). Just looked at the first comment from fcmlefty - points out that Morneau has been playing 1st since his DL stint.
  8. JB_Iowa
    Jon Heyman has a list of his Top 45 trade prospects posted today. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/19216063/newlook-market-at-mlb-trade-deadline-loaded-with-pitching It includes the following Twins: 6. Morneau (although Heyman says he still isn't playing the field -- I guess I've been seeing a mirage out there) 13. Liriano 17. Capps 31. Doumit 32. Pavano Possibilities of trading most of these have been mentioned in other threads. No mention of Span.
  9. JB_Iowa
    I wish him well. If he manages to win 10 for the Padres, I don't think the comments will complain that the Twins didn't keep him. I think the comments will focus on Rick Anderson and the Twins pitching philosophy. But I also think it isn't worth worrying about. Marquis was just downright awful for Minnesota.
  10. JB_Iowa
    I think it demonstrates that the baseball community as a whole just didn't want to deal with the issue. They failed to deal with it in the CBA and then simply couldn't control its proliferation. The Olympics, NFL and NCAA had already banned Andro before the article. Bud Selig (the gutless wonder), Don Fehr (the player enabler), owners and the players (all of whom wanted the $$$ to keep rolling in) simply did not want to deal with the issue. And although Andro wasn't banned by baseball, I distinctly remember this article opening my eyes and making me uncomfortable. I wanted to believe in McGwire's position that it wasn't illegal but I remember this article giving me a queasy feeling even though I really didn't have any understanding of the impact of steroids at the time. As for Thrylos' assertion about Tom Kelly and the clubhouse attendant, it was in 2000 or 2001 according to the Mitchell Report. So, not in the 1990's but definitely before Ken Caminiti. I don't know whether the Twins should have known something was going on with Naulty. But I do believe that Baseball as a whole -- and that undoubtedly includes the Twins -- deliberately chose to bury their heads in the sand.
  11. JB_Iowa
    John, I've got a decade or so on you. I don't remember a lot of talk about steroids in the early 90's but I have 2 vivid memories from 1998: the first was related to Mark McGwire and Andro. I just put in "McGwire Andro" and it pulled up an SI story that I recall: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/news/1998/08/22/mcgwire_supplement/ I distinctly recall wanting to discount the effects of Andro and to believe in McGwire because I was enjoying the home run race and I wanted it to be real and not tainted by allegations of steroid use. But this story has stuck with me over the years. The second recollection I have is more of a personal one. I remember a non-baseball fan asking me why I cared about McGwire-Sosa -- because they are "all using drugs anyway." So, while I don't recall much chatter about PED use in the early to mid-90's, I have distinct recollections of it being an issue by 98. But I believe that many fans simply didn't want the game to be disrupted again and wanted to believe that there was a level playing field.
  12. JB_Iowa
    The biggest thing I noticed was that he seemed very composed. I just don't doubt that Frankie has the stuff (although I'm bad at judging it). My latest thought is to hire a hynotist for him with a "trigger" word to help keep him in the zone.
  13. JB_Iowa
    I don't know if it was really naive or if it was just that we wanted so much to enjoy baseball again that as fans we turned a blind eye. It was more the "willing suspension of disbelief" than naivete. Especially during the summer of McGwire - Sosa, there were numerous mentions (and open admissions of use) of Andro by McGwire. And very fine lines were being drawn. But baseball had gone through the strike-shortened years and fans, players and ownership/management all wanted to enjoy the sport again -- we simply didn't want to hear about steroids or other black eyes on the game.
  14. JB_Iowa
    One other thing that struck me is the frank admission that steroids improved performance for both Naulty and Horn. Certainly contradicts all those arguments about PEDS ONLY helping to heal more quickly or prolong a career.
  15. JB_Iowa
    Thanks for the link. Verducci is an incredibly powerful writer and there is a lot of food for thought in that article. I just find the following 2 paragraphs incredibly depressing: "What would you do to cross that line, even for a day? Even with testing, the answer for many is to use drugs. Since 2005, there have been 527 violations of the drug testing agreement by minor league players and 35 by major leaguers -- about 70 confirmed cheats every year. One of the most common causes of a failed test is the drug stanozolol, also known as Winstrol, an old school steroid that can be injected or taken in tablet form. It is a favorite among body builders and ballplayers because it adds lean muscle mass and strength without excessive weight gain. Cheaters can use fast-acting testosterone creams and gels to keep their testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio below the allowable 4-to-1 threshold. They can use HGH, which functions more as recovery agent than strength builder, virtually all year long. This season, baseball became the first major American pro sport to use a blood test for HGH, but the program amounts to one announced test: Players know they will be screened when they show up for spring training, and not again during the season. Still, the testing protocols over 10 years appear to have slowed the cheating considerably." "Considerably slowing" a 100 mph train may only mean that you've slowed it down to 50 mph (if even that). (And thinking that baseball is leading the way depresses me more when I think about other sports).
  16. JB_Iowa
    I have always felt that Morneau was the "heart and soul" of this team -- much more so than Mauer. But as far as I am concerned there is not a single player who is off the trading blocks. The Twins should be entertaining all offers on every player. And if there are deals that can be worked (taking no trade clauses into account) that will improve the future of this team, then they need to be made. I continue to wait for the Twins to demonstrate that they have a plan that will not only return this team to contention in the Central but will make them realistic contenders in the post-season.
  17. JB_Iowa
    Another thing I found positive about last night was that Morneau played first again (all 3 games in the series). On Wednesday night he made a tag on someone and Bremer commented about how it was so danagerous to his wrist ... and all I could think was "if making a tag at 1st is dangerous to the wrist, he needs to retire." (Yes, I reallize he could DH). It's nice to see the (no longer so) big guy looking like a recognizable facsimile of his former self.
  18. JB_Iowa
    Konerko just incredible so far this year.
  19. JB_Iowa
    I, too, like AJ. In many ways he's the anti-Joe Mauer. Mauer is a seditive. A.J. is a shot of caffeine. And it also reminds me of why I miss Mike Redmond (at least when he was playing well).
  20. JB_Iowa
    Okay, I'm going to sound like the grinch here. When I first noticed the initials last night and found out what they stood for on Twitter, I wasn't particularly bothered by this. But the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Perhaps this is generational, but I don't really understand the need to make the letters so large. Or in other cases the need to blog every detail about one's life. Or to post photos of every thing about your child or your spouse or your friends. In a way it ties into Facebook nation. People are your "friends" whether you've met them or not. Not merely acquaintances but "friends". My sense of personal privacy just makes me wonder why he feels the need to make HUGE letters on the mound. He could make them much smaller and still honor his daughter and his wife. Maybe I'm just the grinch reincarnated but I think that someday the generation under the age of 40 is going to wish for some of their privacy back.
  21. JB_Iowa
    Parmelee HR in the 2nd. 2-1 Gwn
  22. JB_Iowa
    Thanks for the heads up.
  23. JB_Iowa
    I'm tired of reruns and as I recall this one wasn't even good the first time.
  24. JB_Iowa
    During the game I find myself totally rooting for them to win .... but I understand the mixed feelings. I cannot abide another summer like last one where they found themselves "encouraged enough" not to do anything before the trade deadline. My biggest fear is that they will improve enough to simply be mediocre (instead of horrible) -- and that it will doom them to more mediocrity.
  25. JB_Iowa
    It was good to see the Twins offense get going. It was also good that Diamond regrouped when he gave up runs instead of melting down. But someone should make Milwaukee's starter field behind himself. Between him and ump, this game was slower than molasses on a winter day.
×
×
  • Create New...