jokin

Of course, in this instance, moderators and TD contributors collectively liked and congratulated the poster for his efforts. Leaves a lot of us confused.

Do you have an opinion on the above-referenced clearly inflammatory and absurdist absolutist sentence (based on TD policy guidelines) that seems more "egregious" an "offense" in the mods never-ending pursuit of civil debate : "So is the staunch insistence, by some, that anyone who doesn't bow at the SABR alter doesn't know anything about evaluating baseball talent."

May, Ibarra, Achter.

Ryan has pretty much laid out the case for Presley to be the opening day starter in CF. Probably Arcia in LF and Doumit in RF. Hicks defied managment and chose to take the winter off, who knows when he gets his recall next year. Yet another set of reasons why I am fairly convinced that 2014 will be a 100-loss season.

And perhaps, Ibarra too. I am still scratching my head why both Ibarra and May weren't called up in September (and possibly Acther, as well).

I would have liked a lot better that actual prospects got some of those innings Martis threw, put him on the roster as a service reward, but give the bulk of the reps to the guys who actually might be part of the solution, not the problem.

I would humbly beg to differ.....In the 2nd paragraph of this recent article, injuries were front and center (possibly felt more insulated talking to a national audience): "On with MLB Network Radio’s Power Alley show, Ryan suggested that injuries to key players played a substantial role in the Twins’ third consecutive losing season........ “It’s been a difficult year in a lot of areas. We’ve had some injuries and certainly losing a few of these guys for stretches hasn’t helped, particularly a guy like Willingham,” Ryan told Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette on Thursday. “And now Mauer’s down. It seems like we’ve had one big piece here missing.” TwinsCentric: Terry Ryan discusses Ron Gardenhire's future | TwinsCentric | StarTribune.com

Kudos to you rare few who can successfully distinguish Alex Presley from Elvis, and Ryan Pressly for that matter, and never miss once into descending into the multiple misspelling options- despite using Google Chrome!

Did Shairon Martis show anything in September that shouted out for the Twins to do whatever it takes to somehow sneak him through to 2014? Just goes to show, all that sweating and gnashing of teeth over the prospect of axing, at any given moment, at least 1/3 (if not more even, Howard Sinker is of the opinion tht the Twins immediately look into the prospect of parting ways with 2 dozen guys!) of this 40-man roster is a complete waste of time.

Labels can become a problem in civil debate. Variations on Godwin's Law have been thoroughly demonstrated to be examples of one side not having sufficient evidence on their side and having to resort to name-calling one's opponents by way of the Pejorative, calling their rhetorical oppositie, a commie, a nazi, or even a "hater". But the term "apologist" doesn't fall under that heading at all, it is, in fact, perfectly descriptive use of the English language that successfully seeks to fully construe a certain set of behaviors. One side of this debate acts as an apologist for the status quo, the other is an apologist for the need for change. From Merriam-Free Dictionary-Websters-American Heritage, et al: Apologist- a·pol·o·gist (http://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/schwa.gif-phttp://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/obreve.giflhttp://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/prime.gifhttp://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/schwa.gif-jhttp://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/ibreve.gifst) n. A person who argues in defense or justification of something, such as a doctrine, policy, or institution. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. apologist [əˈpɒlədʒɪst] n a person who offers a defence by argument Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003 a•pol•o•gist (əˈpɒl ə dʒɪst) n. a person who defends an idea, faith, cause, or institution. [1630–40] Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. apologist a person who defends, in speech or writing, a faith, doctrine, idea, or action. Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms [TABLE] Noun 1. http://img.tfd.com/wn/86/68B64-apologist.jpgapologist - a person who argues to defend or justify some policy or institution; "an apologist for capital punishment" justifier, vindicator advocate, advocator, exponent, proponent - a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea I agree with most of what this poster said and would always defend his right to say it, and yet........his final sentence is far more inflammatory than merely using a label- a tool of language that in and of it self, used nonpejoratively, merely sorts out the opposing camps for a particular point of view. And yet, this clearly inflammatory sentence by TD standards, apparently isn't worth one bit of space with a warning for toning down the rhetoric. [/TABLE]

Yup....that's a BS promotion, all right!

Even moreso with a club basking in the glow and revenue-super-boost from a new stadium.....ie, the Orioles had a 6-year run of W-L success coinciding with the opening of Camden Yards....the Giants with a 5-year run after AT&T opened. Does anyone wish to defend the lack of linkage between team success and the extraordinary increase in revenue streams and quantum jump in the franchise's net worth with the advent of TF? Seems more than just cyclical......

Jim Pohlad's cryptic responses (seemingly at odds with what the others were espousing) at yesterday's press conference, as well as his 2 "humor-fail" statements that mocked, rather than congratulated Gardy on his extension, tells me that you're on to something, here. I'm thinking the entire crew got "one last chance" and that sweeping changes will have to be instituted after next year's 4th consecutive 96+ loss season.

Doesn't Bill Smith already have that position filled?

The Pohlad's, of course, know that the "the new stadium" effect bought them time in having to realistically address the larger issues, as well as the 2014 All Star game (and the Pohlad's got a significant bump in their net worth while they wait in having to deal with this mess). Until the IRS/Carl Pohlad estate issues are made more clear, they probably are going to continue to limit significant payroll bumps.

I don't have the link, but a few weeks ago Rob Antony was quoted as saying the Twins sold 19000 season tickets this year, down significantly by about 24% year-over-year from 2012, repeating a similar percentage decline for 2012 versus 2011.

Given that he's lived, slept and eaten Twins home cooking in various capacities for some 30 years- through all of the ups and downs during that time, for many of us, it's not pessimism to avoid and merely stick our heads in the sand until it somehow gets all better at some undetermined point in time.....it's realism to embrace and a demand for substantive changes to be made and previous promises kept.

And the Red Sox.

And that OP in the other thread was quickly debunked, by just looking at the predictions made by the 2 most credible authors among the articles he referenced. Look to the local experts and Twins Daily if you want to be properly informed on the state of the Twins rebuild.

Don't forget about clearing the decks for Wilkin Ramirez in providing his laudable services, multi-task worthy indeed, both in the OF, and as a translator!.....(TR always finds a way to save a buck!)

Nice research, certainly gives prospective season ticket holders a lot to look forward to next year.

And unlike the Twins, the proactive Rays will end up getting a King's Ransom by moving Price in a way just like they did Shields, at maximum value. Which is why the current Twins management team aren't to be trusted with Meyer and Stewart.

Marta- The inside word is that Anderson will be rewarded in his retention and is in the process of increasing his portfolio with the Twins. Reportedly, he will have input on all prospective future arms acquired by the club. That will keep down the potential fire and ice situations with the likes of Garza, Lohse, Slowey and Dickey (like Slowey, it hasn't been widely reported, but not only is Dickey an avid reader of the classics, he stated if he wasn't a pitcher he'd be an English professor, and he has written a best-seller, as well....... http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/08/r-a-dickey-escapes-pregame-monotony-for-the-wonderful-world-of-books/.... it's becoming ever clearer why Dickey was so prematurely shown the door, such a distraction......quoting Tolkien and such).

They've averaged 97 losses/year. During today's presser the owner actually openly mocked his manager in classic Minnesota passive-agressive style---TWICE--- in successive off-the-cuff comments during the press conference. Talk about a vote of confidence......... 4 dour faces/2 microphones/0 accountability....... Tell me, how many fans, advertisers.....but even more importantly, agents and prospective players got any reassurances today that this thing is getting turned around any time soon?

Wait a minute, what about that chorus we heard about what a waste of time and fools errand it was for a 94-loss team like Cleveland to have done all this roster upgrading and quality-manager hire (who was instrumental in getting FAs to sign, and insisted on having a hand in the necessary upgrades) in search of a one-year turn-around to relevancy and legitimate competitiveness? Suppposedly, if we follow what the "stay the course" contingent profferred, what the Indians accomplished was neither possible or prudent. They also said the manager doesn't make much of a difference to the W-L column anyway, the manager can't make bad players good, the manager is so well-respected he would be flooded with offers the day he was let go, amongst other myth-making mirth........