Al Frankensteinbrenner

I don't usually comment on here, Brian, but I have to say (as a displaced Minnesotan living in the southwest, although thankfully in New Mexico, not the Grand Canyon State) that these astute observations had me chortling. Thanks again to you and Chitown for making an ugly year a lot more humorous!

To be fair, I think Twins Daily has made me capable of locating the negatives of signing up for a wife... (I kid, I kid. Don't post on here much, but it's a wonderful place to get info on the Twinkies from afar. Here's to hoping Parmalee, Plouffe, and Hicks - those players who tend to make Twins fans the most erascible as we ponder just why they can't be consistent - coming through in 2014.)

Great topic to consider! Imagining hometown hero Mauer come in and play 9/10 games a year at Target Field for the loathed Tigers (not quite as bad as the Chi-Six, but darn close), coupled with the image of Fielder striking out again (and again) in the ALCS gives me great pause, even before considering the other factors (power, weight, durability, etc.). As long as Mauer's concussions don't cause a problem down the road (still a relatively big "if" to someone who remembers Morneau and Koskie's issues), I can't imagine trading him for anyone except that elite list of 10-12 players (like who Shane Wahl mentioned).

You're possibly talking about Shooter Hunt? Here's a fairly recent writeup. Stu's Hunt Down: Former Twins prospect Shooter Hunt | RandBall | StarTribune.com

It's important to acknowledge that the Phillies probably don't make the Revere trade a week ago, when the Twins parted with Span. In many ways, taking another centerfielder out of the market forced the Phillies' hand and required them to up the ante in order to get what they felt they needed. Conversely, if the trade with Philadelphia happened a week ago, it would've been interesting to see if the Twins would've parted with Span at all and/or required more to give him up.

No way that he plays the hot corner worse than Miguel Cabrera...