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D. Hocking

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Everything posted by D. Hocking

  1. D. Hocking
    If Mauer calls Reusse or Souhan a prick four times at his next interview, we will know the Twins were correct about Torii having a club house influence. OK - I would maybe pay to see Mauer dismissively say in reference to Pat or Jim "Who is this......#)#)##)?"
  2. D. Hocking
    Since so much has been said about Torii being brought on for a locker room presence and his personality and character, and Torii made the initial statements public in the first place, those were valid questions. I don't necessarily think this was the time to ask them, and ideally wished Berdadino would have picked another time and place. Still it was an interesting contrast to all the other media who are acting like fanboys that there favorite player is coming back. I have been fairly negative in my Torii posts, but while I would have preferred they spent the 10 million a different way, I actually think it could work out as a positive. If there is some momentum with the team and in the locker room, I think Torii could help build that as well as be an example of hard work (and I think he might still have something to offer offensively). However, if things are not going well, Torii's mouth and attitude is not always positive and he is capable of creating some negative vibes. Will be interesting to see if Beradino, as a relative newcomer, has a different perspective from the long time local reporters who are putting up there old Torii Hunter posters back up on their walls.
  3. D. Hocking
    Plus, it is not like it was not discussed at all on the board. There were a few threads heavily discussing the potential of Torii returning the last couple of weeks.
  4. D. Hocking
    Being that he said the following last week, I agree. Not that he does not have some genuine emotional response on coming back, but we were not his first choice (he understandably wanted to be on a stronger contender) but he either did not get the offers or we simply had a much better monetary offer. "Hunter told the Los Angeles Daily News on Saturday that Baltimore, Seattle and the Rangers are at the top of his list. Hunter said Minnesota, his original club, is also a possibility but not as likely as the other clubs."
  5. D. Hocking
    This was either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish.
  6. D. Hocking
    Worse -- largely because of the two years, but also because while Cuddy is a little younger, I think Hunter is more likely to remain healthy throughout the season.
  7. D. Hocking
    I am sure the media will be too busy finding fresh, new stories and angles to explore than to repeat this mantra over and over again in multiple articles and radio sound bytes.... Or at the very least, they will do an in-depth look of his locker room presence, positive and negative, and not just say broad statements like he is always smiling and plays with fire.
  8. D. Hocking
    Yes - and I don't even mind the fact that he called him out - but on the way he did it.. I remember him being on Barriero's show and obviously talking about Mauer (but not named) not playing through pain. Dan got all excited and asked if he was talking about Mauer. Torii just kind of giggled and would not confirm it - but it was clear he was. If you are a leader - talk to the person directly or at least be direct with the media - don't try to make coy comments while trying to smooze a radio host knowing you are feeding into one of his obsessions.
  9. D. Hocking
    I am not overly thrilled with the move - I would rather see someone who can be part of the future get the experience and become part of the team. I also don't think he is the club house leader is the popular belief. I don't think he is toxic, but do think he can get passive aggressive when he is not happy, and ultimately it seems like it is all about Torii. I think he could be good energy if things are going well, but don't think he will have a positive effect if we are struggling and will be looking at and focused on what is next for him as he did in 2007. But mainly, I would prefer not to have Kubel 2015 (although I think he has a lot more potential to be good offensively). Still I did not think it was a horrible move until I read this: If the Strib collective things it is a good move -- it can only bring tears. I also suspect half of the comments were able to work in a slam against Mauer while praising Torii.,
  10. D. Hocking
    The only way to explain the last Die Hard movie.
  11. D. Hocking
    I obviously am doing something wrong when it comes time for my annual salary review. I suppose it would help if I did not check TD during work hours.
  12. D. Hocking
    I was in the Tria surgical waiting room in the summer of 2013 waiting for a relative, and I noticed this guy across from me who you could not help but notice how big and in-shape he appeared. I was trying to think why he looked familiar and then remembered Josh was day to day for his knee. I went online once home, and sure enough his status had changed from day to day to DL. From appearance, he definitely seemed to take his physical conditioning seriously. I am glad he got in a play-off run before he retired.
  13. D. Hocking
    I would love to see what kind of reaction a tweet like this would get: "I have heard that the Terry Ryan and Rick Anderson met for lunch. Is it possible that Andy might be back next year?"
  14. D. Hocking
    I think as Aaron says in the link above a lot of Torii's leadership perception is that the media loves him because he is always there for a good easy sound byte and he gives them a friendly smile and treats them as if they are buds. I think Torii can bring energy when things are going well or on the verge of going well, but I also seem to remember when things were going down in 2007 he was not exactly a positive source. Not that he was toxic, but I don't think he was exactly a leader that season. I just remember the second half of the season, it seemed like in every town during road trip he was saying how "this is one of the few towns I can see myself playing". I don't see him as the ultimate team player who would put being a mentor above his own interests. That said, the main reason I would prefer not to sign him, is I would rather see someone who is part of the future playing in the outfield, not this year's remnant of the past. I understood why he left, and don't blame him, and would have welcomed him back, but I think that time has past.
  15. D. Hocking
    Does no one remember the pictures from the TD moderator baseball outing last year and their party afterwards? http://throughthefencebaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Old-Folks-Baseball.jpg (Before the police came) http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2007/08/wii2.jpg
  16. D. Hocking
    I love old clips like this. Makes me want to rewatch some of the Ken Burns series. It will be interesting to hear from some of the TD posters who remember listening to this series on the radio and what the reaction was at the time.
  17. D. Hocking
    I suppose at this point he wanted a second year, but I really thought he would stay in CO.
  18. D. Hocking
    This might make you the Brett Favre of Twins Daily.
  19. D. Hocking
    I actually think he might have come back too early from that bruised heel and it might have been one instance where a DL stint, while not popular with the fans might have been smart. It was definitely effecting him, and I have always wondered if he over-compensated and that helped lead to some of the knee issues that derailed him that September and really was the start of what would develop the following year in the bi-lateral leg weakness saga. I remember him (or one of the coaches) saying he had to overcome a number of bad habits he picked up while playing with the bruised foot. There have been times when I have wondered if Mauer could have returned from an injury sooner, but seeing him get some whopper foul tips etc behind the plate and continue playing, when it comes to bruises, as a catcher I give him the benefit of the doubt that it is not an ordinary bruise that keeps him out of a game. With all the talk of him being soft, and maybe there are times when he could have played, due to his former position he probably has experience and played with more pain than a lot of his critics.
  20. D. Hocking
    Some interesting, reasoned discussion on here that you probably are not going to find in the Strib comments. I am probably biased but will say the comments on this board are at least a level above the Strib comments (except for a couple of game thread that were disturbing - although a different kind of disturbing than Strib comments - still best left buried and forgotten). Hopefully this time next year we will be commenting on a Souhan column where he talks about a bounce-back season.
  21. D. Hocking
    To be fair, I am not sure people in the seventh ring of He@@ should have to read the Trib comments. Souhan might not read the comments, but you know one of the reasons he focused on Mauer is he knew it would get those commentators riled up.
  22. D. Hocking
    Judd and Mackey asked Souhan about Calcaterra and this article and he slammed him as a writer and figured he must not have said hello to him once (or something like that). I have often gotten the feeling he has done the same thing - that he gets a bit personal in his columns to players who he does not have a friendly rapport. I am not sure what Kevin Slowey did to him, but some of his comments about him a few years back seemed like they came from more from a petty mean girl than a journalist. On the other end of the spectrum he always raves about Torii (who I do like), but over the years I have gotten the impression that a good part of that is because Torii treats him like a bud when he sees him.
  23. D. Hocking
    Da*m! I was hoping we would work out some sort of trade with the Yankees and get him next year. One of the first big moves under the Molitor era. Now I am not so sure. I doubt I will ever trust or believe in anyone again.
  24. D. Hocking
    Yes - it is a short quote and no real follow-up by Souhan. I have seen enough newspaper article quotes where once I have seen or heard the full quote or had more context of what else the person said, discovered the how the quote was used in the article was not truly representative of what the person said or meant. I believe I have even found Souhan guilty on occasion. I remember one occasion hearing the full quote in a radio interview Souhan did himself and then read an article by him the next day and had to ask -- did you even listen to your own show and your own interview? I do think Mauer (and probably a lot of veteran players) can be a little stubborn about trying new things. However, I think he would be receptive of hearing things from Molitor. I think there is a mutual respect, and Molitor would not shy away from offering some constructive criticism. I think Gardy felt Mauer's natural skills were so superior to his there was not much he could say. I heard him say in a few interviews, what could I tell Mauer about hitting. I know Mauer is always going to be an issue and not saying this should not be debated or written about, but for one of his first articles about Molitor after being officially named GM, couldn't Souhan have gone with a fresh angle instead of rehashing his Mauer thoughts again. Although I suppose this topic will guarantee hits and comments.
  25. D. Hocking
    The 2017 World Series should be fun with Maddon managing the Cubs against the Twins managed by "To be determined" (my current guess is Lovello). It will be interesting to see how Maddon will do with the Cubs. With his IQ and Theo's track record I suspect it will be a good match, but you never know. Sometimes for some unforeseen reasons what should be a sure-thing does not always work (or repeat itself in a new environment) when it seems like it should. I was a little critical for not more of an active seeking out of Maddon, and have not always liked all of Terry's moves, but he is sharp fellow. I am guessing he knew this was already a done deal when Maddon made his announcement (or shortly afterwards).
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