mikelink45

For now he is just a name (an interesting one) but I have no expectations. He will be in training (spring or summer) and we will see. But at his age he should have established something besides question marks. Good luck to him and the Twins. Now we need baseball to do something that we can really dig into.

That's exactly what I did last year. I hated to do it, but none of the grandkids or kids cared.

I think Donaldson is a good player, but I think this article overstates his case. I like him, but I do not see him as a superstar which his salary would suggest. There were games where he was wonderful and others where he was just another player on the field. The question I would pose is this - what would our record have been if Donaldson was not a Twin and Arraez, Polanco, Miranda took turns at 3B the last two years? Did he move the bar? Did he keep us from sinking further (if possible)? I like him, but I would rather have Berrios or another really good pitcher (not a rebound candidate). Conclusion - a very good player, but I would not hesitate to trade him for a good return.

I loved your thoughtful post. Some excellent ideas and thoughts. Let me add that we have now come to a point where kids are either indoor video addicts or they are organized to the point where they no longer have "free time". Like you I played ball (mostly softball) in pick up games - games like 500 (where you got points for catching a fly ball or bouncing ball and when you got to the total you were allowed to be the batter - workup where each out you shifted positions until you got to bat. Maybe the fact that I had a huge goose egg from a bat when I played catcher in one game impacted my judgment, but I thought these free form games were the most important way for me to fall in love with the sport and understand how good the pros really were. Hockey equipment cost too much, same with football until you got into high school, soccer and Lacrosse were unknown and basketball just did not have as much appeal in those days (the end of the Minneapolis Laker era). I did play both basketball and football and later in life I played soccer, but even though my abilities made me best in football, my baseball cards and transistor radio were my prizes since they connected me with the National Game. Our population was 1/4th of what it is today. Playgrounds don't feel as safe, playing ball in the alley seems more dangerous. Our daughter drives her son all over the stay for lacrosse games and before that for soccer. It is expensive in many ways because the competition is not just the guys who showed up at the park. As someone wrote, "nostalgia is addictive" and I cannot deny that, but nostalgia is what keeps me tied to a game that seems to be doing everything it can to alienate the basic fan.

Great reflection. I would suggest that they have 4 - eight team leagues - the old model and that each play 154 games - the old model - no interleague games until the playoffs and with four leagues they can add their extra rounds of playoffs, but each league would have its own identity. I am afraid that cable TV really impacted the sport. The dollars that are being negotiated are beyond my grasp. Like you mentioned - you could have gone and bought a car from Bob Allison in the off season.

Thank goodness! And baseball should remember that.

If I look at my five grandchildren - Alaska, Duluth, Bozeman - as a sample I have three with video games, one LaCrosse, XC skiing and running, and one horses, swimming, biking and hiking. Not a bit of interest in baseball or football or basketball. Amazing, but they are making their own choices. I think we are seeing so much change that sports are in need of a cultural sabermetric expert.

What a wonderful response. We have all changed and pace, action, all kinds of issues arise as well as our own changing priorities. Right now I am watching the Tennessee/Cincinnati game on NFL.com on my phone. I bought the MBL.com package to watch the Twins and ended up listening to radio more than half the time. MLB has to find a way to be more fan friendly.

At this point NFL has the right to declare itself America's game - in 10 years it might be NBA or Soccer

I believe your last paragraph is found in a placer called Shangri-La.

Let us hope that we have finally drafted a SS that will stay at SS.

Give Carew the shifts that are used now and he would also hit 400. You have an interesting take, but all players reflect their stadiums. Mel Ott does not get all his HRs if he has a different home field. Coors field provides benefits, but again, it is their stadium and if they take advantage of that they should not be thought of as less of a player. Does the Green Monster diminish Red Sox players? SI stadiums ranked.

I am not following these negotiations with the same details that you are, but the owners have set themselves up for this. They never really addressed the competitive balance like the NFL has. And they won't. The tax is simply a self enforced salary cap. There needs to be some real work on competitive balance and it is not in the language of the current or the projected CBAs

Nice article - I hate the topic, I hate the opener, and I hope this does not happen.

I loved Carew and would hate to choose between them, but the thing that sets them apart was Kirby's determination to win. His attitude was infectious, he did carry the team. I was at all the Atlanta Brave games in the WS and Puckett was the center of attention in games six and seven. So I take clutch Kirby, but not taking Carew hurts!