Seth Stohs

I just want to point out that we (TD Leadership) monitored this situation very closely right from the point that we saw Thrylos tweet that Baker had agreed to sign with the Twins (minutes before he posted it as a forum thread here). You will notice that none of the TD folks gave it any credibility. We never acknowledged it as legit. We did not push it out as an Article. It stayed in the forum, and was met with a mixture of skepticism and some belief. We made the decision to let it go and see what happens. We all can learn a lot from the situation. If people do hear news and want to post it as a forum, be sure it's legit. Be sure the source is really legit, and then be sure to discuss your rumor's credibility within the forum. I have broken quite a few stories at SethSpeaks.net or on Twitter or seen here at Twins Daily. A couple of them have taken up to 12-15 hours for the team to verify or to make public, and that can be nerve-wracking. But the sources I've had, I've had 100% confidence in posting. Obviously in most of these cases, I'm not going to name my sources, but I like to think that over 8-10 years, I've built up some credibility. However, when we have a site where the four of us write and we also have forums, things can get cloudy. In this blog, Brock is blamed for shutting down that thread. He shut it down because I couldn't figure out how to do it first. It wasn't, at least in my mind, about protecting Thyrlos. It was about moving on. It had been a day, and lots of people had their say. It was my opinion that the thread just needed to be done so we could all move on. That isn't to say that the thread should be forgotten, or that the next time Thrylos posts a blog reporting something that it isn't fair game to be questioned unmercifully. We have always wanted the forums to be good, strong, meaningful, thoughtful and a place people can go to have quality discussions. We understand the inherent nature of forums and know that there is a small percentage who choose to act a certain way. We have sent 'warning' messages to some people about overkilling certain topics or excessive bashing of a person or so. In fact, some people have been banned for various lengths of time following warnings. I don't want to fully speak for all five of us at Twins Daily, but know that we are trying We may make some mistakes, but our goal has always been to create a community of Twins fans able to discuss appropriately the positives and the negatives of our Twins team. Of course, with a couple of 96+ loss seasons, it can be tough. We want to be consistent, and we want to churn out quality content that TWins fans will enjoy. We want a thoughtful forum, but we know that some people do come in with the purpose of destroying that. We do believe that we provide Twins fans with the best overall experience of any Twins web site,yet we acknowledge that we can and we need to always strive to improve. And we will. Thank you for your concerns.

Hunter is better than Delmon. He also gets a guy like Brennan Boesch out of the lineup. Meanwhile Victor Martinez takes over for Delmon at the DH. I'm not a big Torii Hunter fan at all, and it's far too many dollars. So, I do think this move makes the Tigers a little bit better. Not a ton. Based on the fact that they were 20 games better than the Twins last year (and that's likely because they didn't really come together as a good team until late in the season), my thinking all along has been that they should be shooting for 2014 or 2015 to compete.

I would say that when the Twins felt they had a team that could compete, two years ago, they went about $20 million over budget to bring in some final pieces. It makes no sense to spend that much to finish 3rd or 4th.

well put, Jim H, and that would be awesome if he can be a great story like that. He definitely was the good story of the year in the Twins farm system.

I used to think that trading Willingham was a good idea, now I am not so sure. Detroit is going to own this division for a few more years and slap hitters are not going to beat them regularly. I like a good OBP but we need the power Josh provides. If this move doesn't cement that the Twins should build for 2014 and 2015, I don't know what else would convince Twins fans...

I like the idea of seeing the downside of his career up close, in the division. That said, with the Tigers pitching staff, and their lineup which next year will bring back Victor Martinez and bring in Torii Hunter. They may have a nice run left in them!

Source, that I've seen, is Ken Rosenthal...

Yeah, that is exactly right. Based on what we know, they added a headache, a utility infielder, one OK prospect and one prospect who wasn't a top 30. That's very different than the scenario that you laid out above.

There's been a ton written about him at Twins Daily... http://www.twinsdaily.com/showthread.php?982-Chris-Colabello He's 29... 2012 was his first season in affiliated ball after being the independent league player of the year in 2011, his 7th or 8th year with that team, in the town he went to college in. Just a great story. Due to the age, the word 'potential' may not be appropriate. However, I think he can be a solid enough RH bench bat with a little power who can pinch hit and play some 1B.

I should look it up on Twitter, but someone tweeted something about how messed up it is that Mark Cuban can not own an MLB team and yet Jeffrey Loria can. This is a ridiculous one.

They wouldn't have to give up much at all because they would have to pick up his entire salary!! He's got a little talent, for sure, but he's never been able to put it together yet.

It appears that the Miami Marlins will do their best to make life difficult in the NL East for Mike Redmond. Sources are indicating that the Marlins have traded RHP Josh Johnson, LHP Mark Buehrle, SS Jose Reyes, C John Buck and IF/OF Emilio Bonafacio to the Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar and several prospects. Holy ridiculousness!!! Embarrassing for baseball are the Marlins!

Nice article by Phil Mackey about the Baker signing/loss: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Mackey_Baker_wanted_deal_before_Oct_but_Twins_likely_wise_to_pass111312

This has always been my point... Get to the playoffs often and you have a better chance of winning a title.

According to several sources (including MLB's), the Cubs have signed RHP Scott Baker to a one year contract. More information to come.

Since the teams play different schedules, I think that the W-L record of division champs and playoff teams matter less and less. The cause of the Twins losses in the playoffs were many, but it had nothing to do with the regular season. Against the Yankees, the Twins lefty-heavy lineups struggled against Sabathia and Pettitte. There were also a couple of bad calls (Mauer fair ball/foul ball), bad bounces (Koskie's ground rule double), and bad pitching (from guys who generally pitched great). To summarize, I'm not at all surprised by the 0.07 number.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1169-Twins-Week-in-the-Winter-Leagues-(Dec-5-11)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2671[/ATTACH] Each week here at Twins Daily, we will be taking a look at how players in the Twins organization are faring in the Winter Leagues. The Twins have players in the Arizona Fall League, in Venezuela, in the Dominican Republic, in Mexico, in Puerto Rico and in Australia. A week of numbers is fairly small sample, but it does give a look at who is playing well of late. So, let’s walk through each of the leagues and name a Twins player of the week followed by a look at the rest of the Twins players. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Nate Roberts, OF Roberts has been the story of the Fall League for the Twins, and it was another great week for him. He played in four games and went 7-14 with four walks to go with just one strikeout. He got one base at least twice in all four games he played and scored seven runs. He also hit his first home run of the season. In 16 games in the Fall League, he is 25-53 with 10 walks and just five strikeouts. He’s hitting .472/.592/.623 (1.214) with five doubles, a home run and ten RBI. Evan Bigley – 5 Games – 5-16 (.313) with a double, a triple and 2 walks. Dan Rohlfing – 2 Games – 4-8 (.500) with two walks. Logan Darnell – 1 Game, 4 IP, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. Kyle Gibson – 1 Game Started, 5 IP, 4 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts. Caleb Thielbar – 2 Games, 2.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts. Michael Tonkin – 2 Games, 4.2 innings, 1 earned run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. (First run he’s allowed in regular season games) VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Dakota Watts, RHP Watts missed time early in the season due to some tendonitis, so he is getting some extra innings in Venezuela. This past week, he pitched 6.1 innings in four games. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked none and struckout eight and recorded two saves. After giving up four runs in his first 3 games (2.1 innings), he has not allowed a run in his past seven games. Oswaldo Arcia – 6 Games, 7-25 (.280), 3 BB, 5 K, 3rd home run – in one game, he was 4-5 with a walk and HR. Eduardo Escobar – 4 Games, 1-12 (.083), 1 BB Deolis Guerra – 3 Games, 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. 1-0 with 1 save. Edgar Ibarra – 1 Game Started, 3.1 innings, 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout. Angel Mata – 1 Game, 1.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts. Bruce Pugh – 2 Games, 0.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk. Over the past week, Aaron Hicks and David Bromberg have returned to the United States. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B Colabello had a huge week last week, but this week was even bigger. In six games, he went 8-24 (.333) with two walks and seven strikeouts. The week started out very hot, with six home runs in five games. Overall on the season, Colabello is now hitting .304/.356/.652 (1.009) with eight doubles and eight home runs. Anthony Slama – 4 Games, 4.2 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts. 3 saves. Gonzalo Sanudo – 2 Games, 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Miguel Sano, 3B After a terrific season at Beloit, Sano went to the Twins Florida Instructional League. Although he was the top pick in the DWL draft, he eased his way back into the schedule. After playing in just three games coming into this week, he played in five games this past week. In those games, he went 4-15 (.267) with two home runs and four RBI. He walked three times and struckout three times. Jhonathan Arias – 4 Games, 2-8 (.250) with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts Pedro Florimon – 3 Games, 3-9 (.333) with a double, a walk and a strikeout Luis Perdomo – 2 Games, 4.2 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE The Puerto Rican league got started over the weekend and there are several Twins players from the island to follow. Player of the Week – Eddie Rosario, OF Rosario was the #3 hitter on the Beloit roster that included Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas. In Puerto Rico, his roster includes Vargas and outfielder Danny Ortiz. After spending most of the season playing second base, he played centerfield for the Snappers throughout the season. Through four games, he has played only right field. The Royals’ Irving Falu has been playing second base. Either way, Rosario is a hitting machine who got off to a nice start. He went 6-15 (.400) with a double and three RBI. Jorge Fernandez – The Twins 7th round pick, a catcher, has pinch run in one game and scored a run. Angel Morales – 2 Games, 2-7 (.286), BB, 2B, HR. The two games epitomize the last couple of seasons for Morales. In the first game, he went 2-3 with a walk, a double and a home run. In the second game, he went 0-4 with three strikeouts. Daniel Ortiz – 4 Games, 1-9 (.111), 3 walks and one strikeout. Kennys Vargas – 4 Games, 2-14 (.143), home run, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts. Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, one strikeout. Josue Montanez – 1 Game, 2 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 earned run, 1 walk. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Jacob Younis, 2B Younis played in two of three games and went 4-8 with a walk and two RBI. He has spent the past two seasons with the GCL Twins. Unfortunately, he played very little in 2012 due to injury. JD Williams – 3 Games, 2-10 (.200), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts Logan Wade – 2 Games, 2-6 (.333), 1 walk, 1 strikeout Sam Gibbons – 1 Game, 3 innings, two hits, 1 earned run, no walks, 1 strikeout. Tyler Herr – 1 Game, 2.1 innings, 2 hits, no runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Arizona – Nate Roberts Venezuela – Dakota Watts Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Miguel Sano Puerto Rico – Eddie Rosario Australia – Jacob Younis

CSN Chicago's White Sox Insider Dan Hayes gives Five Reasons that former Twins catcher AJ Pierzynski will not resign with the White Sox this offseason. http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago-whitesox/whitesox-talk/Five-reasons-why-Pierzynski-wont-return-?blockID=800945&feedID=10338

Why? other than being conservative with his healthy 19 year old arm, why? That would be the reason. He's long and lanky. He's not built like Felix Hernandez. It's wise to be patient. Also, reports from Instructs said he really struggled and tired. Not unusual at all.

Disagree with the wording.....Deduno didnt pay off. Team was so bad that they kept having to go to minors & he got a huge opportunity that he didnt do enough with to even warrant a 40 man spot. He basically proved why he's not a major league pitcher. Ummm... OK, I guess... I guess if a minor league free agent signing makes 15 or so starts for the big league club, I would consider that a pretty strong minor league signing.

He's a backup AAA catcher... he and Danny Lehmann will likely g to spring training to determine who gets to back up Chris Herrmann in Rochester. The other one can back up Josmil Pinto and Dan Rohlfing in AA.