JB_Iowa

Friday was a disaster in the field for Delmon. He looked better on Saturday and Sunday. Delmon looked positively svelte when they showed a side-by-side of him and Prince Fielder (Prince on 3rd, DY on 2nd). But what was up with the 2 HBP and the walk the other day? Positively un-Delmonlike. Oh, and the Tigers had some definite RISP problems during the Chicago series. Stranded an awful-lot of guys.

Thanks for posting the updates, Seth. I'd much rather skim through your notes than listen to the whole thing.

"I still don't buy that Terry Ryan and final decisions would be based upon what Minnesotans prefer. " I don't think TR makes his decisions based on what Minnesotans prefer, either. BUT I do think that marketing factors have played a role in the baseball decisions. I don't think that the Twins look only at baseball statistics in making their decisions -- I think that character and the way a player fits into the team and community also play a factor. AND, when it comes to the big $$$ contracts, I think that they have to be looking at the player's marketability. How much $$$ will that player bring in from merchandise sales? Will signing him boost ticket sales? I think most people think that those factors played a significant role in the size of the Mauer contract. And, I have a hard time believing that the Scouts got Nishioka THAT wrong. I have to think that opening up the Japanese market played some role in his signing. So yes, I think that the front office is influenced by factors other than baseball skills -- and subconsciously that may include race. I'm definitely not saying that race is the only factor and I'm not saying that there is any empirical evidence suggesting that it is even a determining factor. But I don't think you can say with certainty that race has no influence when they think about marketability. Having said all that, I think that TR is probably less influenced by marketing factors than Bill Smith was.

"We advance!!! We get better!!!" I agree with that portion of Riverbrian's post. While I can't speak for Minnesota, I do know that even in small town Iowa, we have much more racial and cultural diversity than we did 30 years ago (or 50 years ago when I was a child). But that doesn't mean that racism doesn't exist and it doesn't mean that it doesn't subconsciously play a part in the decisions that this team makes. I laughed at Riverbrian's 4:05 post ticking off items and banging the gavel down -- becaue rarely is anything going to be that clean-cut. We are all influenced by our own backgrounds. Aside from the scouting director, I believe that most of the decision makers in the front office are white males (and starting to edge upward in age just by virtue of having risen to their position). That background is going to influence their decision-making. Would they go out and commission a poll to find out whether upper Midwesterners would prefer a mostly white team (or prefer that white players be given the big extensions)? Of course not. Subconsciously might they have that belief and might it influence their decision-making? Probably. Racisim (in any business or profession or organization) will only be eliminated when there is diversity at all levels of the organization -- including the highest levels of decision-making. Hopefully that will occur over time. (And if Thrylos is saying that the Twins need to show more support for Latin American players by diversifying their coaching staffs and front office personnel and by adding more translators, etc. I think he has a pretty valid point).

As always, thanks for the analysis, Parker. As they develop and you can get enough info and video, I'd be interested in your thoughts on how some of the Twins minor leaguers would fare at TF. It'll be interesting to see how they craft this team over the next few years to take advantage of the park's idiosycracies.

Glen Perkins and Matt Capps. I'd like to see them do what they did last night many times this year. (Even if I do turn blue from holding my breath in the 9th).

Hard to believe it but they can score before the 8th inning.

I don't know but you'll only have to hear him in 2/3 of the games. Think he is only doing 101 of the 151.

On and on and on and on .... Perhaps there was nothing to be done last year (when this same problem was apparently bothering him) -- but at what point do you look at the Twins medical and training staff and say "What are you getting paid for?"

And see, people do read you here. I didn't have high expectations for this year but it has been disappointing to see their utter futility at the plate thus far. IMO, it would make a big difference if Mauer would get in the groove. It would make Morneau and Willingham better (at least they've shown signs of life) and give more incentive to the top of the lineup to get on base. I'm not saying that Mauer starting to hit solves all the problems -- just that I think it is a necessary part of the equation.

I'd put myself at about a 5. I've become tremendously cynical about the front office the last few years. And it wasn't all Bill Smith. The Twins' moves make more sense to me when I remind myself that the Club President is someone from a marketing background. I told myself this winter that I would try to stay away from the expectations game and just enjoy the games as they are played. But I find myself watching a lot more baseball on channels other than FSN. (And I've been a Twins fan since the 1965 season. I've endured the ups and the downs but I have a very hard time getting past the "good old boys club" stagnancy of this team's management.) I'd guess most of the people posting here are 9s or 10s (or higher) on the pure fanaticism scale. My guess is that the interest is waning a lot more quickly among casual fans.

I think it is too early to know. We are very much still in "get to know them" mode with many of these players. And despite ST, I suspect that they are in "get to know them" mode with each other. It takes awhile for any group of people to gel with each other. I'm anxious to see if any leadership emerges and to see what type of persona the team develops. Right now I think we have a group with many individual concerns -- health for Mauer, Morneau and Span; a new environment and teammates for Carroll, Doumit and Willingham; "fitting in" and staying on the team for younger players. The one area where they should have been comfortable (except for how Marquis fit in) was SP but that's been blown to smithereens with Baker's situation and Hendriks' food poisoning. I wonder if we'll ever see much high spiritedness from a team where Joe Mauer is the star. There was a comment from one of the younger players the other day (may have been Brian Duensing) about Mauer's leadership -- how hard he worked and what a great example it was for younger players. Are they also taking their cues about cool professionalism from Mauer? That would seemingly squelch quite a few high spirits. And when you have a player with attitude (e.g. Valencia), it does seem like the Twins try to put the brakes on. I know that high spirits & attitude don't equate with heart. I continue to hope that Morneau keeps improving (even if he stays at DH). He sets a little different tone than Mauer.

I think Phil Mackey reported that the "new" TV deal is worth about $29 million/year to the Twins. Contrast that with the Angels (reportedly about $150 million/year) and the Rangers ($80 million/year) and with other teams like the Dodgers (due for a new deal soon) and the Phillies (expecting a huge deal in 2016) and of course, the Yankees and their YES network (where they are undoubtedly printing money). Until Mackey's column, I thought the Twins were up for a new deal at the end of 2012 -- not knowing that it had already been renegotiated and extended. Certainly the new contract wasn't a "splash" in the media (although it probably was the reason for FSN exclusivity). Think about it -- a $50 million/year in difference between the Rangers and the Twins. It would take a lot of tickets and merchandise sales to make that up. "Small" market or "Big" market (or for that matter "Medium" market) are merely a matter of semantics. The difference in dollars is real. Could the Twins afford to raise their payroll? Undoubtedly. Did it make sense going into this year given the state of Mauer & Morneau & Span? Much more debatable. I thoroughly agree that the Twins haven't spent their money well. And, yes, I believe that they have been -- and continue to be -- too complacent. As I posted repeatedly last year (elsewhere), this franchise is stagnant. They may have made a few changes in player personnel over the winter but aside from firing a couple of coaches in Rochester and the "back to the future" move of reinstalling Ryan, the management and coaching staff (on-field and in the office) never seems to change. They need an infusion of new energy and new ideas -- or a real return to fundamentals (instead of just giving it lip service).

OMG, as a non-beerdrinker, the title of this thread brought to mind a lot different image. I imagine there will be a lot of Twins fans on the "Surly bandwagon" this season. Hasn't taken long for the Twins to send them there.

Bright side 2: Tomorrow is an off-day.

It isn't just the small size, though. It is how tremendously ugly they have looked in losing 3. Today was a slight improvement but overall, they have looked either ill-prepared or like they don't give a d*mn (take your pick). The one thing I'm waiting to see is whether any leadership emerges. Perhaps Carroll will really take charge or, if Justin continues to get his groove back, maybe we'll see some leadership (on and off the field). Given my non-expectations for this season, I'm content to wait and see what happens. "The hitting will come around, always does. " I really question that. I've been wondering where the Twins bats are for 2 or 3 years. (Please Bruno do a fabulous job at Rochester so you can unseat Joe Vavra).

I don't see him going on the hot seat (more's the pity). Ryan had to know that they have a mediocre team at best. If Mauer and Morneau start performing like their "old" (pre-injury) selves but the surrounding players don't support them, it still seems like more of a Ryan failure than a Gardenhire one. But I doubt that either of them would lose their jobs -- and never at mid-season. After the season, the team might gracefully find a way for them to exit (a la Ryan's 1st retirement).

72-88. So far they are ahead of that pace in the loss column but I suspect things will even out a little at some point. Went into this season without many expectations (good or bad) -- but I would appreciate it if they'd at least make the games competitive.

MLB has ruined "God Bless America" with overuse.

I don't really want to bash the Twins medical/training staff right now but I do have to wonder how any of the Twins players can have confidence in them. Would you trust your career to them? And if not, does that make you more skeptical of anything you feel when you go out on the mound or in the field? I guess we'll see what happens on the injury front this year but I would think that having confidence in the docs/trainers would have a lot to do with recovery and performance. I know they can get second opinions but you know that isn't going to happen everyday. Just have to wonder if some of this doesn't start snowballing from a lack of confidence. And thanks, gil4, I thought we had heard this in almost the exact same words. (Not that it was an unusual phrase but it just triggered a bad thought for me).

"Baker 'could not get loose'" Seems to me that we heard this last year before an injury to another pitcher. Any recollections?

And Valverde totally blew it ... but the only thing that counts is the final score.

Just ready for the season to start. I have very few expectations about this year -- good or bad. For once, I am just willing to see how it all plays out. I think the Twins could surprise some of the national columnists -- in a good way. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if the season is a bust, either. But at least there are some interesting storylines that could develop.

Thanks for sharing the evening with us, too, Andrew. Looking forward to more of your updates on the Rock Cats.

Thanks for the link. Someone read parts of this story to me this morning but I wasn't sure who had written the column. Rosenthal does a nice job. So glad this story is likely to have a happy ending. What a great day it will be for the Marquis family when Reese goes home. In addition to all the other emotions and thoughts this raises, it got me thinking about the benefits of the technological age. I'm sure technology was beneficial to the doctors but the ability for Jason to be in close contact and see daily video, etc. once he is back with the Twins is priceless. What a benefit to ballplayers of this generation.