Seth Stohs

While it is clear that Gimenez is a clubhouse guy, Garver's got just as much versatility. Garver can catch, play 1B and even some left field. He is a better hitter so he could get time as a pinch hitter or a DH. As for the pitching thing... you would hope that neither of them would need to do that in 2018.

I think the official answer to that/those is... "Maybe."

Today I’ll start a series in which I am going to try to (somewhat) predict which players will start the season at which levels, which affiliates, starting with the catchers. It’s a fun exercise to try to predict who will go where to start the season. I’m going to include everyone who is currently in the organization. Of course, this is subject to change as the Twins sign more major or minor league players.. As you know, an unfortunate side of the business is that some players will not be in the organization following spring training. Hopefully this list will spur some interesting discussion and questions. Is this category a position of strength for the organization, or is it a position that needs to be strengthened? That could be through signings, but it could be something they focus on in the draft, or while watching the waiver wire throughout the season.We will start this series by looking at the Twins catchers. Jason Castro will be the starter. A year ago, he received a three year, $24.5 million contract, primarily for his pitch framing abilities. He responded with his best offensive season in four years. Chris Gimenez was his backup a year ago, but the Twins non-tendered him, and he remains a free agent. Could he come back? Could the Twins bring in another catcher to back up Castro? Or, could they finally give Mitch Garver a real opportunity? And how much depth is there in the Twins minor league system behind the plate? However, who will be the backup to Castro, and how will the rest of the catchers fit into the rest of the organization? Minnesota Twins - Jason Castro (30), Mitch Garver (27) Jason Castro was signed for his defensive presence a year ago, but he put up his best offensive numbers since his All-Star season in 2013. He’s the starter. As of right now, the back up catcher role is Mitch Garver’s. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2013 and again in 2017. Last year in Rochester, he hit .291/.387/.541 (.928) with 29 doubles and 17 home runs. His defense has come a long way since he was drafted in 2013 out of New Mexico. Frankly, it’s time for him to get a real shot. Castro bats left-handed. Garver bats right-handed. Garver can also play first base if needed and has enough bat to DH or pinch-hit when he isn’t behind the plate. Rochester Red Wings - Bobby Wilson (34), WIllian Astudillo (26) With so many pitchers with potential (starters and relievers) who should see time in Rochester in 2018, it was important to provide them with a catcher who can help them. The Twins quickly signed veteran Bobby Wilson who has spent parts of eight of the last ten seasons in the big leagues. He’s played 324 combined MLB games for the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Rangers and Tigers. He spent 2017 on the Dodgers AAA roster. Astudillo is a 26-year-old Venezuelan who spent most of his career in the Phillies organization before signing with Atlanta for 2016 and Arizona in 2017 where he reached AAA for the first time. In 36 games for Reno, he hit .342/.370/.558 (.928) with 14 doubles and four homers. Plus, it’s hard not to like a guy who is built like, well, me. Chattanooga Lookouts - Brian Navarreto (23), Kevin Garcia (25), Brian Olson (25), Wynston Sawyer (26) The Twins added another minor league catcher who spent 2017 in the Dodgers organization (the Jeremy Zoll Effect?) in 26-year-old Wynston Sawyer. He spent 2010 through 2016 with the Orioles before playing last year for the Dodgers’ AA team in Tulsa. Brian Navarreto reached AA in 2017. He continues to be as good as anyone in the organization defensively but has not been able to turn the corner with the bat. Kevin Garcia had a real strong first half of the Miracle last year with the bat. He’s a good leader and solid behind the plate. Brian Olson missed a lot of time in 2017 due to a broken foot. Ft. Myers Miracle - Ben Rortvedt (20), Mitchell Kranson (23), Caleb Hamilton (22) It’s possible that Rortvedt could start the year back in Cedar Rapids where he started the season very slow with the bat, but he showed his mental toughness in how he improved as the season went on. There’s no questioning his defensive ability. He is very good behind the plate with a strong, accurate arm. Kranson began 2017 in Cedar Rapids and spent the second half of the season with the Miracle. Don’t be surprised if he progresses similarly in 2018, spending half the season in Ft. Myers before moving up to Chattanooga for the second half. He’ll catch, play first base, maybe some third base, possibly some outfield and certainly DH. 2017 was Caleb Hamilton’s first season behind the plate and he impressed people with his improvement. Like Kranson, he can play all over. He played third base and left field for the Kernels, and Tommy Watkins said he wouldn’t have felt uncomfortable had he needed to play him at shortstop. Cedar Rapids Kernels - David Banuelos (21), Rainis Silva (21), Andy Cosgrove (21), Bryant Hayman (25) Banuelos came to the organization from the Mariners in December in exchange for $1 million in international bonus money. He was Seattle’s fifth-round pick in 2017 out of Long Beach State. There are questions about his bat, but there are a lot of people who think that he is nearly big-league ready defensively. Rainis Silva spent part of 2016 in Cedar Rapids. He returned to Elizabethton in 2017, a step back, but it might be a case of one step back, and two steps forward because he finally hit with the E-Twins. He hit .356/.446/.446 (.892) in 30 games. Andy Cosgrove was the Twins 17th-round pick in 2017 out of North Carolina State. He hit .221 in 21 games in his pro debut. Hayman signed as an undrafted player after putting up monster numbers throughout his college career at Valdosta State. Unfortunately, he missed the entire 2017 season due to surgery on his ACL. Extended Spring Training - Robert Molina (21), Jhon Alvarez (20), Kidany Salva (19), Kerby Camacho (20), Taylor Grzelakowski (24) In his second season at Elizabethton, Robert Molina hit .253 with six extra-base hits in 25 games. After three years in the DSL, Alvarez has spent two seasons in the GCL. He played 18 games and hit .205 (and he played in one game for the Miracle). Kidany Salva was the Twins 17th-round pick in 2016 out of high school in Texas. The Puerto Rican native hit .159 in just 17 games. Camacho was the team’s 11th-round pick in 2015 out of Puerto Rico. He missed all of 2016 due to suspension. He returned and posted a .706 in 21 games in the GCL. The Twins signed Grzelakowski from the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore Professional Baseball League last summer and he finished the year with 12 games in the GCL. He’s worked really hard, lost a lot of weight without losing power, so he could be a sleeper. Top Prospects: 1.) Mitch Garver, 2.) Ben Rortvedt, 3.) David Banuelos, 4.) Mitchell Kranson, 5.) Rainis Silva, 6.) Brian Navarreto So what do you think? Who will start the season as Jason Castro’s backup? Which prospects are you most excited about in 2018? Please feel free to discuss and ask questions in the Comments below. Click here to view the article

From Doogie...

Already working on next week's podcast... who would you like to hear me chat with?

If anyone can find a link on iTunes, I'll be happy to put it into the original story so that others can find it.

I know nothing about iTunes... I don't have an iPhone. I can't find it on my computer... but I'm told that if you search "Minnesota Sports Weekly" under podcasts on iTunes, it's there... I wish I could find a link or something. I guess you can also search "Seth's Twins Talk."

I'll have to listen to it. I was originally going to do just an hour, but then got an extra guest, so I changed it to 90 minutes about 4 minutes before the show was supposed to start. So, maybe that created some issues. I'll see what I can find out. But yes, Wells is pretty impressive, isn't he? Answered each question very well. His response on Royce Lewis was exciting...

It's been almost four years since I last did my own podcast. For a variety of reasons, I stopped at that time. Twins Daily was taking off. Listeners were low. We were contemplating Vikings and Wild and Wolves websites. Life. But the reality is that I really liked my podcast. It was something that I liked listening to. I liked talking about the Twins. I loved talking to players. And that's what I'm planning to do again with this podcast. Tonight at 8:00 central time, I was joined by three members of the Minnesota Twins organization, a senior on his year's Minnesota Gophers baseball team, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. We just talked baseball. It should be a lot of fun. If you're able to listen live, that would be great. If you have a football game to watch and don't want to mute the TV, you can always download it later. You will be able to leave questions in the page's chat room, or feel free to send questions in the comments below and I will be happy to ask them for you (if they're fair questions, of course).In tonight's podcast, Get to know a little more about minor league outfielder LaMonte Wade, two-time Twins Daily minor league pitcher of the year Stephen Gonsalves, minor league pitcher Tyler Wells, and Minnesota Gophers senior second baseman Luke Pettersen. LaMonte Wade was the Twins 9th round pick in 2015 and has quickly moved up the system. He ended 2017 in the Arizona Fall League. Stephen Gonsalves was the Twins 4th round pick in 2013. He went to big league came in 2017 and reached AAA late in the season. He was added to the Twins 40-man roster in November and should make his Major League debut in 2018. Tyler Wells was drafted by the Twins in 2016. The big right-hander had a quality season in Cedar Rapids and looks to jump to Ft. Myers in 2018. Finally, Luke Pettersen is a senior on the 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers roster. We discuss his final college season and how the Gophers might fare in the Big Ten this year. Also, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo talked about the Twins 2017 draft as well as another one of his projects. In this return podcast, I was joined by the following: 8:00 - Gophers second baseman Luke Pettersen (1:35 - 12:17) 8:15 - Twins minor league outfielder LaMonte Wade (14:58 - 31:15) 8:30 - MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo (32:05 - 47:45) 8:45 - Twins minor league pitcher Stephen Gonsalves. (48:20 - 1:02:08) 8:30 - Twins minor league pitching Tyler Wells (1:03:33 - 1:24:40) A special thanks to Travis Aune and Chad Smith who are letting me use their Minnesota Sports Weekly platform for now. Upon the show's completion, it will be available on iTunes as well. I will provide those links as they are available. Click here to view the article

Just giving you a hard time... This is good, and Hildy is a great story. I enjoy hearing about 4-year college guys who make it, and Hildenberger was at Cal-Berkeley for 5 years. So it's a great thing.

How is that possible since he was the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2015 and 2016, and won like half of the Twins Daily Relief Pitcher of the Month Awards. the last three years...

I remember that... and I completely agreed with Anderson. Of course... had it been reversed, I would not have liked it if Higuera had done the same thing. Ha!

Good stuff, Tom! This is good and hopefully readers will click on a bunch of these links.

It's easy to say, especially when the team was so bad in 2016, that they should clear space for a younger guy. Frankly, I wasn't against it for a monster haul. But the thought of trading Dozier (with his now 4-year track record) to make room for a prospect that we hope will come close to Dozier's production (and, because that's how baseball is, likely won't), it doesn't make sense. I mean, unless you're getting a package of two top 10 prospects, at least one of them being a top, top pitcher, just keep him. Take the offense you pretty well know you're going to get. Lock him up if you can do 4 years or less.

Yeah, I really have no idea why he wasn't drafted after that Junior season, especially putting up those numbers on a strong team. The Brian Doziers are why I have been able to continue this blogging thing for almost 15 years. Having the opportunity to meet guys like him make all the late nights, lack of sleep, etc., worth while. As good as he is on the field, he's probably a better person off of it. I figured that out the first times I interacted with him and many times since. (and, frankly, there have been a lot of people like that I've been able to meet and get to know a little bit). I think it's surprising just how good he's become and all of the power. Talking to Tommy Watkins in Beloit in 2012, I remember him asking my thoughts on Dozier. In the discussion, Watkins basically said that he is the kind of guy that you may not appreciate much if you watch him play a game or two, but over the course of time, you begin to appreciate how good he is. Well, now he's become a guy you notice right away. I thought he would have a good career, but he's been so much more. Jake Mauer always talked about his leadership when he managed him in Ft. Myers. Seemingly every time I talked to Mauer, Dozier's name would come up. Said he came in and was a leader right away without really even trying. People gravitated to him. Doing these stories is a lot of fun. I did a story on Andrew Albers in that same 2012 book. It was one of my favorite stories ever to get to tell. There have been several since.

I think it would be horrible if he signed elsewhere. There's not much better than a player who spends his whole career with one team and one organization (Puckett, Hrbek, Ripken), and it's rare. Mauer was strong in 2017. Obviously let's see how 2018 goes. But there isn't anyone right now that's close to ready to take his spot. He's still an on-base machine. He's terrific at first base with the glove. In a year, all of that might be different, but I personally would like to see him keep climbing up all of the all-time Twins stats. And, he'll be older, and there will need to be more games where he isn't playing, which may allow them to ease in someone like Brent Rooker if he's ready in 2019. Rooker can play 1B, LF, RF, DH. Mauer can DH more. There is definitely a way to keep him, and they should... Especially since we'll be talking about $4-8 million instead of $23M.

It's been a very slow offseason all around baseball, so I thought it would be fun to take a look back. For the 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, I wrote a story on the 2011 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year, Brian Dozier. It was a fun story, going back to his roots in Mississippi, his college days and working his way quickly up the Twins minor league system.Brian Dozier has become one of the best second basemen in baseball. He's played in an All-Star Game. He's participated in a Home Run Derby. He hit over 40 homers once. He's become the leader of the team. However, this story is from a year before Brian Dozier made his major league debut. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Brian Dozier grew up in the small town of Fulton, Mississippi. The town’s population is just shy of 4,000 in the northeast corner of the state. To Dozier, it’s the “best place on Earth to me. Everything is always the same. You always know what you’re going to get when you come back here.” Occasionally, Dozier tells people that he’s from Tupelo. “I’m actually ten minutes outside of Tupelo. I tell people sometimes when I’m on the road that I’m from Tupelo just because a lot of people have heard of Tupelo with Elvis being from there.” But Dozier is proud of his Mississippi toots. “It’s awesome. Everybody knows everybody. All of my best friends are still here. It’s just very laid back, and I love it here.” Brian Dozier was the choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year for 2011. It may be a cliche, but Dozier can be described as a “Baseball Player.” If you’re looking for someone in the Twins farm system who represents the organization perfectly, look no further than Dozier. “I grew up around baseball. My dad was my coach throughout all of my years. I had an older brother - two years older than I am - that I looked up to throughout my younger days, and even now. He has taught me a lot.” Although he grew up a big Mississippi State fan, watching all the greats that came through here, Dozier decided to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. “I had a lot of offers. I’m actually from right outside of Ol’ Miss and Mississippi State, two great SEC schools that kind of recruited me. I chose well by going to Southern Miss, I believe. It was also a great fit with me, a blue-collar program, and I fell in love with the coaching staff. Dozier was very successful in college. As a freshman, he played in 62 games and hit .368/.442/.488 (.930) with eight doubles, four triples and three home runs. As a sophomore, he played 61 games and hit .339/.402/.456 (.858) with 17 doubles and four home runs. In his junior year of 2008, he played in 64 games and hit .342/.403/.476 (.879) with 17 doubles, two triples and five home runs. Despite the tremendous numbers, he went undrafted and returned for his senior year. Unfortunately, a broken collarbone cost him time during his senior season. It limited him to just 37 games, but he hit .391/.485/.587 (1.072) with 13 doubles, a triple and four home runs. However, it was all worth it. “We had the opportunity to go to Omaha (to play in the College World Series) which was one of the best times of my life my senior years.” In his four seasons, he walked 87 times while striking out just 73 times. He was also hit by a pitch 25 times. The Twins used their eighth round pick in 2009 to draft the shortstop. “I was very blessed to be drafted by the Twins and believe it was a great fit for me.” He signed quickly and reported to Ft. Myers where he spent five games with the GCL Twins. He was then sent to Elizabethton where he hit .353/.417/.431 (848) with 17 doubles in 53 games with the E-Twins. He was able to get off to a fast professional start, and he quickly credits the coaching staff. “Right out of the gate, we have the best managers in our system in Elizabethton, Ray Smith, Reeder (Jeff Reed), and Shelly (Jim Shellenback). Those guys have been around the game so long, and they are just so knowledgeable about everything. I remember going to Elizabethton and Reeder being my hitting coach. I didn’t really have to ask him much. Rather, I just fed off of his stories. The stuff he was telling, it just gave you goosebumps. He talked about playing with Barry Bonds, catching a perfect game, that kind of stuff. And, he taught me a lot. Right away, he found a little hole in my swing, and we got going on fixing it Day 1. Elizabethton had a great influence on me.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was originally posted in the 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Available in paperback. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He began 2010 with the Beloit Snappers. In 39 games, he hit .278/.347/.338 (.685) with seven doubles and a triple. On May 22, he was promoted to Ft. Myers. He played 93 more games and his .274/.352/.354 (.706) with 11 doubles, on triple, and five home runs. One the season, he walked 60 times with 57 strikeouts. He had 16 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He successfully laid down 12 sacrifice bunts. It was a solid 2010 season for Dozier, his first full season in the Twins system. It came as a surprise to many when the Twins announced that Dozier received an invitation to big league spring training. Dozier said, “I was very much surprised. I got the invite on Christmas Day. We were opening presents and that was the biggest one of them all. Very blessed.” Merry Christmas, indeed! Dozier made a strong impression on the Twins coaching staff, but he also learned a lot from the experience. “For me, the experience to get to know all the guys. I came in the first day, and I was locker mates with Michael Cuddyer, who I’ve been watching for years on TV. He has become a friend of mine now. I learned a lot from him and the other older guys, how they are on and off the field, how they interact with fans. I think that’s the biggest thing. As a young guy, you worry so much about the baseball side, you also have to think about the stuff that comes with it. I had an awesome time and had a lot of fun.” Having ended 2010 in Ft. Myers, he knew that he would not be making the big club. He was sent back to Ft. Myers to start the 2011 season. He played in 49 games with the Miracle. He hit .322/.423/.472 (.895) with 11 doubles, five triples and two home runs. Again, he credited his manager, Jake Mauer. “I tell you what. He’s a player’s coach. He’s been there, gone through the system and everything. He really relates to his players very well.” He moved up to New Britain and worked with former Twins hero Tom Brunansky, a member of the Twins 1987 World Series championship team. Dozier said, “He is one of the best when it comes to hitting. He knows how to hit. Actually, when I got moved up, he found a couple of little tweaks in my swing that I never knew I was doing. He showed me on film. I was like, ‘Well, that makes sense!’ Ever since then, since that first week, we worked really hard in the cage, and he found a couple of things, and it took off from there.” Under the tutelage of Brunansky and manager Jeff Smith, Dozier played in 78 games with the Rock Cats and hit .318/.384/.502 (.886) with 22 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs. Just days after he was promoted to New Britain, he was hit in the face with a pitch and missed just a week. Mark Dolenc is a Minnesota native who spent the past two seasons in New Britain. He said, “When Dozier came up, he immediately stepped in and took on a leadership role.” Dozier said, “I think from a leadership aspect, everybody kind of looks to the shortstop. They are the captain on the infield. I know Gardy takes a lot of pride in his shortstop being like the quarterback on the field. I’ve taken that to heart a lot. Same thing with my college coach. He was the same way. I’m not a big vocal guy. I never have been. I do try to put myself into the right situations, the right place at the right time, not only on the field but off the field. We see a lot of guys that aren’t playing the game the way it is supposed to be played, but if you play the game the way it is supposed to be played and always give 110%, people will respect that. I try to do that each and every day.” Not only did Dozier put up big numbers for the Rock Cats, but he did so while helping his team push for a spot in the playoffs. The team fell short on the final day, but it was a great experience. “We had a great year with the Rock Cats. Even in Ft. Myers, before I got called up, we were in the race for the first half of the division. I left a week early to go to New Britain and found myself in a great situation. They were in a playoff race the whole time I was there. You can’t ask for anything else when you come down to the wire. It just makes it that much more fun.” So how does he separate winning with personal development in the minor leagues? “Sometimes everybody is worried about stats and you want to move up, but at the same time, stats will come if you work hard and put yourself in the right position for when the time comes. So you have to sit back and let that take care of itself and just play the game of baseball. Sometimes, especially at this level, we get into this mindset that it’s such a business. We try to do too much, but it’s a game. It’s a game we all grew up loving to play. We’ve got a group of good friends that have we’ve made over the years. If we just go out and play that game, which we all love to do, we have a lot of fun, and that’s what we did.” Combined, Dozier hit .320/.399/.491 (.890) with 33 doubles, 12 triples and nine home runs. He scored 92 runs and drove in 56. He stole 24 bases. He was hit by 11 pitches. He successfully laid down 10 sacrifice bunts. He primarily played shortstop (93 games), but he also played 28 games at second base and three games at third base. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2018 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook now. Available in paperback or e-book. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Late in the season, he found out that he was invited to participate in the prestigious Arizona Fall League. He was excited. It’s a great opportunity to play with and against the best guys in the minor leagues. I’m truly blessed that they picked me for that.” In 26 games for the Mesa Solar Sox, Dozier hit .296/.358/.454 (812) with eight doubles and three home runs. He scored 28 runs and knocked in 22. He was 4-4 in stolen base attempts. He was selected to play in the league’s Rising Stars game, and in his first at-bat, he homered. Did he get out of the AFL what he was hoping to? “Yeah, I really did. The Fall League offers so much. You get to see where you are versus some of the best competition in the game at our level. I got to meet a lot of new guys, guys I’ve played against but never actually got to develop a friendship with. Now I have, and hopefully I can play many years against them down the road. I got to play under a great manager in Joe McEwing. He’s so intelligent with the game. I got to learn a few things from him. Actually, he gave me some insight on being set up for the play. I think that’s the biggest thing I learned from ‘Super Joe.’ I had a great time.” Between 1998 and 2006, Joe McEwing played in 754 games with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, and Houston Astros. He was a very solid utility player. He played more than 45 games in the big leagues at second base (238), left field (161), shortstop (99), third base (92), right field (79), first base (61) and center field (46). McEwing ended his playing career after the 2008 season and has quickly moved up the coaching ranks in the White Sox organization. In 2011, he was the manager of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. After Robin Ventura was named the new manager of the White Sox, McEwing was named his third base coach. McEwing was a great influence for Dozier. “He stressed to me that I’m still a young guy and primarily a shortstop, and the TWins want me to play shortstop, but down the road, you never know, may have to play second base. I may have to in the near future. He saw one little thing with my set up before plays, a tip, and it flew out from there, improved my range. I’m very grateful for that. Anything you can learn from a guy like Joe McEwing is always a positive. He’s a great guy, and I’m lucky that he got to be our manager out there.” 2011 was a great year for Brian Dozier. But he knows that he still has more work to do before he reaches his goal of getting to the big leagues. “I’ve just got to be prepared. I have to get myself into the best shape possible. I’m not taking too much time off from baseball. Swinging that bat. Taking ground balls. All that footwork and stuff to put myself in the best possible position when I go to big league camp in February.” With all the Twins issues and injuries in 2011, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire mentioned Brian Dozier several times as a guy he would like to see up with the Twins. It didn’t happen for various reasons, many of them business-related. But Dozier said, “I’m going to get there. It’s just the fact that you’ve got to wait it out and prepare yourself so when that time does come, you’re fully prepared and ready to go. I felt like I had a pretty good year and put myself in the talk up there (with the Twins management) to actually be called up just two years into the system, which is great. Hopefully I can work hard this offseason and get that opportunity next year.” There is a strong likelihood that Twins fans will see Dozier in the big leagues sometime in 2012. And when he gets there, Twins fans will see a “Baseball Player.” They will see a team-first leader. They will see a guy who is proud of where he is from and appreciative of all those who have helped him get to where he is. He hasn’t played in a big league game yet with the Twins, but Brian Dozier is already a strong representative of what defines a “Minnesota Twin.” Click here to view the article

Cuz he's one of their best hitters and a key component to the solid Twins infield defense because of his glove at first base... His trade value this offseason is probably valued because of the contract, as well as other teams' need for a 1B. That said, if the Twins are out of contention and he's available at the trade deadline, they could probably get something for him, though even then, it would be like $8 million for the final two months. All that factors in.

I'm so excited to go there... may have to go for a second trip for the 2nd time... only other year I made two trips was 2013, which was also a pretty good class.

I've gone the last four years (maybe five?), and it is a wonderful event. Silent auction. Lots of current and former Twins players. An awards banquet. Good food. And lots and lots of great Twins talk...

He also was promoted from Low A to High A... In addition, I had a couple of reports that told me that his exit velos and launch angles in the Florida State League were very good. He had a lot of atom balls in the 2nd half.

My first sports heroes... 1.) Claudell Washington - cocaine suspension. 2.) Kirby Puckett - 3.) Chuck Knoblauch... It was at the point that I figured out, and I was old enough, to look up to players as players and realize that I don't know them personally and what they do in their personal, private lives. Now I'm with Tom on this... While I agree with my of Charles Barkeley's commercial, the reality is that kids will look up to athletes or musicians or both. And that's probably OK. Looking up to people is natural and it's good, but it can also teach lessons. That's not a bad thing. It helps growth. At this point, I do have a little different perspective. I do know many of the Twins players, obviously some more than others. I know a lot of the Twins minor leaguers to some degree... I like to think that I have an idea of who they are as people from conversations and interactions... If certain Twins players or prospects got in trouble of any sort, I'd be disappointed. But at the end o the day, even when we see them in teh clubhouse, it's just a part of who they are. We don't see them at home... We like to think that we know these guys, from how they interact with the media and from stories told, but there's more to their lives than time at the ballpark... I also fully believe that 95+% of the players are really good people who make good choices most of the time.