Mauerzy4Prez

It has been a couple years since my last post... Much to the fact that the twins have been so hard to watch I can't even bring myself to care anymore. This year things feel different... Not saying they will be anything but a middle of the road team in the central. However, after watching this hilariously sad video I must say I feel quite good about the team we have today. Other than Pedro's inability to hit right handed, he really is an excellent defensive short stop... One of the best in the league if I dare say so. Either way I just love the flashback headlines from 2011/2012... "Worst twin ever?" Hahaha yes... Yes he was.

When you say almost anyone can run a successful marketing organization, do you refer to anyone as any marketing professional? Or just any Joe Scmoe coming in off the street? I know marketing isn't always seen as one of the most difficult degrees to attain when comparing it to engineering/science/etc... but that does not mean that there are no special skills needed to be a good marketer. It in fact does take a lot of hard work and someone who has a very strong business acumen to be successful in that field. I think people should take a look at what other local big businesses have done in the last few years when times are tight and revenue is down. If there is no foreseeable growth in revenue in the near future, and the company cannot raise expenses to grow their sales, they must cut internal costs and try to maintain the same level of profit that they currently have. I.e. Best Buy... when things got very bad in the economy about 3 years ago, BB was clearing out entire departments and firing people left and right. The first major department to get completely wiped... MARKETING. The Twins might be doing the same thing here. They don't see any major growth in revenue in next 3-5 years, and the only way the team can afford to bring on new and better plays is to create more money by cutting expenses internally. It is really not fair to the people in that department because they did everything in their power to keep people in the seats. The scouting department, front office, and all-mighty Pohlad boys are the ones that put a horrific team on the field after they pulled a fast one on the general public and convinced them to buy a new stadium for the team. As a long standing season ticket holder and die hard fan of the Twins... this is extremely disappointing. The honeymoon is over guys, it's only a matter of time before the public all stops caring and isn't willing to pay the prices you expect to get.

Am I wrong or aren't most of the tv broadcasters actually employees of their respective ball clubs? If that is the case, this whole idea of being biased doesn't really matter. They would be expected to show their favoritism for their employers wouldn't they? If I was the CEO of Target, I wouldn't want my employees telling guests that they think Wal-Mart is just as good.

Woooomp Wooomp

I check out to certain things and check in to others... Right now I really don't care if the Twins win or lose. The season has been long and terrible, and I look for more than just the W or L in the box score. In a season like this, I actually check in more in September to watch individual story lines play out and see how our call ups perform. This is an exciting time for these players, and it is nice to see how they do. Am I watching every at bat of every inning of every game right now? No, usually I DVR the game, start about a half hour late, and FF through all the unimportant things (i.e. Dick/Bert/Robbie random nonsensical ramblings to try and keep the main streamers engaged still)... my favorite Dick/Bert/Robbie moment as of late you ask??? Their " The Twins still will honor the integrity of the game bit" LOL.

I think what this front office really needs to do is be totally up front about their intent on these moves, and stop contradicting themselves over and over again. All we have heard the last week or so is that the Twins will still "honor the integrity of the game" and put their best line ups on the field when playing contending teams.... GREAT!!! But how are their call ups (other than Parm) going to allow them to do this? Escobar had a great game last night, and his offense will come back to Earth. Perdomo is wild, and not Samuel Deduno wild, and clearly there are other guys in AAA (Slama) that are better right now. I'm not blaming Terry Ryan for this, I blame Jim Pohlad. This guy has no care or desire to make the team any better than they already are. I recently heard an interview where Jimmy said that the decision to remove the interim tag from TR's title is up to TR. AHHH Okay? You're the owner of this team, and you handle all hiring decisions, but you're okay with letting someone basically chose their own destiny as your GM? How are they going to ever expect TR to perform at his best, when he has nobody holding him accountable for his decisions? Bottom line, we can discuss who should be called up or shouldn't, how the Twins need to improve their pitching staff, etc... all day. It will not matter one bit until this ownership either decides to step up, or sells to somebody who actually cares about winning.

Can you really say this list is a crapshoot with Berrios and Gibson in the 6 and 7 spot? Personally I am extremely excited about Berrios' potential as a starter, and his K/BB ratio is ridiculous! Gibson isn't putting up quite the "video game esque" numbers, but is a legit starter that will be a favorite for a spot in the rotation next year. I see where you are coming from. I maybe should have said six as I also like JO. But Gibson is going to be 25 and probably starting out at AAA. He is also going to be 2 years removed from surgery. He could still be a solid pro but I don't see him as a hot prospect anymore. I am not on high as JO as everyone else seems to be. I still think he could become a great pitcher, but his size scares me. You just don't see a lot of those skinny short type of pitchers starting. I know that some will put out the 'freak' and Trevor Bauer. But the freak is just that, a freak. JO's floor is pretty high too. At the very least, he will be a late inning reliever. When the rankings come out this spring from all the National mags/websites/columnist/etc. I think the reviews on JO will be all over the map. It is nice to have some pitching to look forward to in the future. Go Twins I tend to disagree about Gibson breaking camp in AAA next year. All reports I have heard/read have said to look for him in the rotation next year out of ST, if he can perform well enough in the spring. Berrios' stature may not be that of the typical starter in the bigs. But I don't think he can be called "short and skinny".... The dude is pretty ripped, and I had once seen that his workout routine is pretty intense. He's listed at 6'0 187lbs online, and is only 18. He may not be getting any taller, but he will certainly gain some more weight in muscle.

Can you really say this list is a crapshoot with Berrios and Gibson in the 6 and 7 spot? Personally I am extremely excited about Berrios' potential as a starter, and his K/BB ratio is ridiculous! Gibson isn't putting up quite the "video game esque" numbers, but is a legit starter that will be a favorite for a spot in the rotation next year.

St. Paul Bootleggers

While I agree with you that throwing at a players head is ridiculous, and should never be done intentionally. I highly doubt that Diamond was looking to hit Hamilton in the head. We all have said he should have gone for his thigh, or back, or ribs, etc.... and I honestly think that is where he was aiming. But to try and target a spot on a batter and hit him is extremely difficult to do. No matter who is throwing the ball. Not to mention that Hamilton totally knew a ball was coming right at him, and leaned forward to avoid being hit. Which IMO, is why it looked as if the ball was going for his head. If he stand there and takes it like a man, he gets hit in the upper right arm or roughly the same place Mauer did.

That the pitch was up did not matter. He could have hit Hamilton in the thigh and he still would have been tossed. This is a major joke in baseball, everybody knows it. I was watching the game through the Rangers TV feed last night, even their announcers were a little disgusted that Diamond and Gardy were tossed. They knew a pitch was coming at Hamilton, but they ripped the umps for not letting the players police themselves. Here is my take on the circus of a game last night... and yes I know this has nothing to do with Carson. I really don't think Diamond was trying to hit Hamilton in the head. Nobody in their right mind would go out and plunk a guy there, and no manager would tell their SP to do that either. IMO, two things happened there. 1) Hamilton knew it was coming on the first pitch, and was ready to avoid the pitch. The path of the ball if he had not moved, would have hit him probably right about where Mauer got hit. Josh leaned forward, and naturally it went by the back of his head. 2) Intentionally hitting a batter is MUCH more difficult than it seems. The term "easier said than done" truly does apply in this situation. I strongly believe Diamond was trying to aim that pitch too much (as he should have), and just missed. Either way, with the new rules in baseball, anything that the umpire views as an intentional "beaning" is an automatic ejection. I am not quite sure why he didn't do the same for Oswalt, but regardless, the ump had no choice but to throw Diamond out. I didn't see the Texas broadcast, I was watching the Twins. Coom basically said that he knows that umpire on a personal level, and was very confident that even the umpire probably didn't like throwing out Diamond. He had to do it, and that is that. Whether or not people agree with me is neither here nor there, this is just what I heard and took away from what I saw in the game.

He had no choice but to throw Diamond out, given the location near the head. You're absolutely right he had no choice. League rules state if a pitcher makes it look that intentional the ump must eject him. However it doesn't make it right that we got the s***end of the stick and they didn't even get a warning. Still as a die hard twins fan and Mauer bobo I have to say I felt a small victory inside when Wally took that ball off the arm.

He posted an ERA of 6 this year going into the series, so I'd say it's fair to say he hasn't exactly been a control-artist this year. With that said, I do agree and think it was intentional now, especially in light of the play he blew just before. I hope somebody catches one in the ribs before this is all done. I don't know if an elevated ERA this year would leave to a lack of control that bad! Usually lack of control in a high ERA type guy means he's leaving it up in the middle of the plate. Not hitting his spots on the corners... Either way as you said, I don't think we have seen the last of this little tiff. Probably later on in the series somebody will take one again.

Well at least we got some redemption! Wally Bell just took a ball straight off the top of his forearm... Try and throw somebody out now Wally Boy!

Oswald is a veteran pitcher that is known for his control... If you don't think that was intentional then watch it again. It hit Joe in the U in Mauer, and was a 3-0 count. Nobody was warned which is ridiculous. That's bush Wash, just bush!

I think that's the precise definition of a AAAA pitcher. Hendricks is 23 years old. You might have an argument with Blackie, but it is way too soon to say the jury is out on Liam.

My only criticism of Dick and Bert is this... why is it that when they have a fan(s) join them in the booth for an inning, they are not given a microphone? It is so annoying having to sit around and watch Bert make them feel uncomfortable without realizing it, and not being able to hear what the fans are saying... "It's the fan of the day, let's hear what they have to say! It's the fan of the day, let's hear what they have to say" IALTO coming....

What else can the Twins announcers do? They are paid employees of the Twins, and I am sure they are thinking exactly the same things we are all saying. I am personally not bothered by their comments about getting back on track, and how they are only a few pieces away from competing. Dick/Bert have one job as the TV announcers, and that is to make the current game they are calling entertaining for the fans. Unfortunately, "fans" that they are speaking to are not including the majority of the people that visit this site. We all have no doubt that this is a lost season, and the Twins should be looking towards the future. But do you think the organization wants their employees to sit around for 4 hours every day talking about how terrible this season was and do nothing but depress the fans more than they already are? I really think when they say things about the Twins being in contention if they just had a few small pieces in place is more tongue in cheek. Dick/Bert know that we are done, they're more or less saying if the Twins started the 2012 season with these few pieces then the story would be much different today.

Thanks for the response and all the hard work. I think 99.99% of the people here should have no problem living by these rules. For those who can't, as many have already said, they can go rant somewhere else. I have been an avid Twins fan my entire life, however only until the last few years have I begun to really dig in to the inter workings of the organization. This website have helped me do so tremendously, and I have to say you are all doing a great job building on the Twins fan base. Please keep up the good work, you are doing something nobody else on the web is doing (for the Twins that is...)

That's my main point too. Who will be monitoring every individual post on here to make sure these rules are being enforced appropriately while remaining completely objective to the situation? This seems like an extremely difficult task and I don't envy the person that wants to take it on.

I provided some feedback behind each rule above in red... Overall I understand what you are trying to do, and if you have received enough complaints from parents of younger users as well as adult users themselves, then you must do something. I myself was involved in a heated debate over inappropriate posts about Nishi a few weeks ago, and hope these types of rules can eliminate that. I will also say that I am guilty of going a little too far myself (i.e. yesterday with the Pavano being shut down thread). But after reading back on a lot of the comments from myself included, I think things got a little out of hand. This is all going to spark some pretty heated debates over "free speech", censorship rights, blah blah blah. But if it brings up the level of baseball related discussion to where it should be, then I'm all for it. Good luck John, I commend you for making this effort.

Any other person than Pavano and I'd agree with your last point... Every time I hear him speak he holds himself accountable for his mistakes and sometimes others. He is a team guy, and if he is expressing frustration in the staff, it tells me that this was mostly on them.

LOL Nice... is this after they toppled the statue of Sadaam in Iraq or after the Medical staffs office was set on fire?

I bruised a bone on the top of my right foot when I was young and it is incredibly painful. There is a lot of swelling, and really the only thing you can do is rest and ice it. Surgery won't help anything... The Twins medical staff may have reinstated the nickname "American Idle" for Pavano... ..... P.s. my bruised bone was diagnosed by a simple x-ray at an urgent care in Ft. Myers Beach FL while I was on spring break vacation. It took our staff over 3 months to diagnose Pavano. DOH!!!

I bruised a bone on the top of my right foot when I was young and it is incredibly painful. There is a lot of swelling, and really the only thing you can do is rest and ice it. Surgery won't help anything... The Twins medical staff may have reinstated the nickname "American Idle" for Pavano...