D. Hocking

I would agree pitchers probably don't fear him hitting a home run in those crucial late inning situations, but they do respect his bat. One of the reasons he walks so much in those situations is that he is either intentionally walked or pitched around. The pitcher knows they have a better chance getting the next guy out.

For a second I thought I was watching Willingham run, then I remembered he was out, and did not play for the Reds, otherwise it was like watching Willingham.

Near-brawl -- Delmon wanting to charge his teammate (Mjares?)?

I have not listened to Barreiro for awhile, but I remember thinking there almost seemed to be some personal undertones (or overtones) in his Mauer criticism. He is a radio talking head, so he does always need to stay objective, but his anti-Mauer stance still seemed strangely personal at times.

True - that is usually his goal. I generally like him, but have less patience for him since he kept bringing up how players don't like to play with things as minor as a headache after Mauer's concussion. When Mackay would call him on it, he would say he was not talking about concussions, but after awhile I got the impression that he felt Mauer was being over cautious and play. Granted at the time, the Twins were downplaying Mauer's symptoms and implying he would be back soon. The full degree of his symptoms did not come out until later. He knows more about sports in one finger than I do in my entire body and he has some entertaining stories, but I do get the impression that often he is just going through the motions until he can retire (not that I entirely blame him he is closing in on 70). I am not saying there should never be an article critical of Mauer, but this seemed a little lazy to be writing this so early in the seaon, esp. when it seems like it did not really offer anything new.

This will be much less of an issue when they win in 2016.

That makes sense, finally nuanced acting performances like Mauer's sometimes take a bit of time.

If (or maybe I should say when) you win, I am assuming a significant portion of your winnings will be contributed to TwinsDaily.com to help it to continue to evolve into on of the premier webpages on the world wide web.

Plus, it would mean we would be at .500 at least once during the season. I know I should aim higher for my goals for 2014, but I really want us to be at 500 at least once (unlike two years ago).

I am guessing this was meant to be more of a negative statement than a compliment.

I imagine all of the powerful people in Hollywood are fighting to get the rights to do this one. Instant blockbuster.

Is it harder or easier to battle your tail off when it moves more slowly?

I have heard the same thing, that in some ways it is a great time to hit some of the spots, because there are no tourist crowds at all. I did a summer study abroad in Jerusalem a number of years ago. We were toying with going to Egypt afterwards, but felt we needed more time than what we had. We did a long weekend in Jordan instead and saw Petra. It was pretty amazing.

Normally when I am at work I will follow a box score, and maybe check a game thread. The last couple of days for some reason, I have only been following the game thread. It is kind of interesting, and at times maybe a little disturbing, to try and figure out what is going on solely by the comments of the people here.

There is part of me that will miss Hawk when he retires. The likes of him may be never seen (heard) from again...

I am at work, so I can't really comment anything of substance on the game (not that I would have anything profound to say), but if Mauer hosted SNL it would either be the most painful hour of television ever, or so surreal and bizarre that it would be entertaining.

I kind of like that he was honest with the answer and did not go with some half-hearted response. I am sure the 24/7 amateur paparazzi is a bit tiring, and I think he esp. likes to keep his wife and kids in stealth mode. I am also not sure the constant social media following you whereever you are outside your home would have been a postive for Kirby. Besides, I think his reaction was pretty low-key. Plus, I think he still gets a fair amount of fan interaction. It is not like he has completely shut himself away from the fans by just going to expensive restaurants or only going out with some sort of posse.

There is a twisted part of me that really wants to see this for a game or two (although that might push us out of play-off contention). I am starting to think if I would have showed up at Fort Meyers, with the theme everything old is new again, I might have had a chance or joining the team...

I tend to lean towards being overly-optimistic this time of year (figure what harm can it do, and there will be enough time to be pessimistic in the regular season). But since this thread is a little more doom and gloom...I am starting to wonder if Mauer will be Mauer as mentioned earlier in this thread. It seems like he has not been sharp defensively and his hitting has not been up to his standards. Now, the defense could easily be just getting used to the new position and spring training hitting really does not mean anything, but it has planted a seed in my head that the concussion might have done some permanent damage to his skills. It sounds like his symptoms were bad last fall, and I am wondering if it is possible that he might never have a full recovery (Justin never really did). There is all the talk about him being able to play more, but will it be the Joe Mauer of old, or a lesser version of him. This is all just worst case scenario speculation. I have heard had no reports about him having any issues. I do think we will be a little better than last year, but spring training has not exactly given me many positive vibes (but again, spring training often does not reflect how the season will go).

Not just bloggers, Souhan had a column in the paper diagnosing him with depression.

This is not entirely inconceivable.

You said in one concise sentence, what I wanted to say, but instead rambled on incoherently. Well done.

Is this a split personality thing, where sometimes this person is in his Seth persona and sometimes in his Parker persona? People indulge this Seth-Parker person, because of his high mental instability and being afraid he could completely snap if confronted that he is one person. I think having a bit more spirt in the clubhouse would help, but I think the perspective on this issue gets shaded by the sport writer's perceptions. I think it bugs some of them that there are not players in the organization right now that go up to them and are all buddy buddy with them. Souhan has mentioned a number of times who Torii would always come up and talk to him when he entered the clubhouse and he considered him a friend. The fact that no one goes out of their way to approach him and shoot the breeze with him is part of the reason why he thinks it is such a quiet group. I do think it is most likely a quieter group, but perhaps one of the reasons it seems so devoid of personality is not that these players are not necessarily boring, but they keep more of a personal distance with the writers. They might be more guarded (esp with how quick things are reported with the current social media - and how things that never used to see the light of day are quickly tweeted to the world.) I think these players might be more gaurded, and that the players might act differently when they are not around. Long story short - think chemistry helps, but think the outside view of the locker room might not always be accurate. Also, it goes without saying, if you don't have the talent, personality only gets you so far. I apoligize for the disjointedness of this post, it has been interrupted a few times for work and the real world.

Plus, I think they want Pinto to get more playing time to work on his defense and game calling than he would be as back-up.

I am saddened to hear that John did not win, but I am confident he will continue to say things that will make him a strong contender in future tournaments.