mikelink45

I read the announcement that the Twins were going back on to WCCO and I was delighted. It did not get as much attention now as it would have 30 years ago (of course they were on WCCO then) but that is because TV and all the cable networks have changed the way that we enjoy the game. ​Growing up in Minneapolis in the 1950's I would take my little transistor radio to bed with me and hide under the pillows to listen to Earl Gillespie and Blaine Walsh tell me about the Milwaukee Braves game. In the dark those voices brought the game to life and I felt like I knew the announcers and the team. I even rooted for them when a foul ball was hit and their fishing net would come out of the broadcast booth to try and catch it. They painted word pictures and made the game something that Television could not. Today we talk about pace of game and I, like so many others, really do mind that the games I listened to are so much longer - https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/1/29/7921283/baseball-game-length-visual-analysis In those years of transistor radio enjoyment the game was done in less that 2 1/2 hours. I would not have made it through the 3+ hours that the same game takes today - I would have fallen asleep or I would have been busted. And of course TV is part of the problem. No forced radio time outs they could put their ads in during the lulls that are part of the game. The lulls in activity did not stand out like they do on TV where they have to run the replays 5 or 6 times. The conversation in the booth seemed to involve me and I was sometimes sorry when they got cut off by the play on the field. ​When the Twins came I heard Halsey Hall who was always good for mangling the narrative, the smooth Ray Scott and Bob Wolff for 1961; replaced by Herb Carneal which made the broadcast the best ever! So baseball remains a radio sport for me, the best of all sports on radio. The chaos of moving parts in Hockey, Soccer, and Basketball do not lend themselves to thoughtful listening for me and I drift away quickly. Football is the only other sport I can listen to because like baseball there are lots of open moments between plays when the announcer and the analyst can talk and fill in the blanks. They enrich while the three continuous action sports are a race for the announcer to keep up. I love the sound of a baseball game in the background whether driving or splitting wood. I enjoy it biking, hiking, sitting on the deck and watching the feeders. I can tune it out and still catch the sense of excitement when a play happens that I do not want to miss because the intensity of the voices. I know they will replay it in ways that make seem like I saw the play myself. But then the Twins went on a search for something better - KSTP, TWTN, and KGQO. Since I am very rural I have no idea where the last two stations are and they do not broadcast out into the woods where I live. It is true that many of us in the rural landscape have television (even though I do not) and they get cable, but when you are in the rural areas there are farm chores, woodland chores, repairs to be made, things to do, even travel to be done and those are not places where you can watch TV. When the Twins needed support in the past they had a ready support from the rural area, but then they built the new stadium and shut off the voice in the rural landscape. In recent years I was able to listen to an affiliate station in our area that carried the broadcast, but traveling further afield I do not have Sirius Radio so I searched, often in vain, for the Twins game. For a team that carries the State's name this is not acceptable. So WCCO I am pleased that your are back. Not only can I now find the Twins, but you might even catch me listening to something else on your station, something I have not done since the Twins left. Will you bring back Danny and Corey or will there be a new voice? If I might suggest - Corey is quite good, but I think I have heard all of Danny's stories.

I find all the discussion about Darvish to be fascinating. His 162 game average is 15 - 11 with a 3.42 ERA after five seasons and an average of 3.9 WAR with one season of 5.8 pulling the average up. Santana was 16 - 8 with a 3.28 ERA - his career average is 4, but who is to say that with our defense it is going to rise to 4 again? His 162 game average after 13 years is 13 -11 with 4.02 ERA and a 2.4 WAR. Not equal, but is Darvish the one we saw in Texas or LA? His line suggests that he peaked early and is not the pitcher we saw when he came to Texas. Will he age well? I am not as excited as others about Darvish - if we sign him that is fine, if we trade Santana to acquire Darvish we have stayed in the same place we are now.

I am a small Hall person, I would not put in Mussina or Shilling and I would not put in Santana. Loved to watch him, but not an all time great.

Count me among the readers who would not have Kiriloff above Rooker at this time. I understand that position players come back from injuries better than pitchers, but Kiriloff has not had enough playing time in the system to really tell us if his potential plays out. When you finish the list I would love to see you put down the entire list in one column and expected time to reach the majors next to each one. I also would like to see gains and losses - those who dropped in the ratings and those who rose. I am also surprised by Graterol rating this high, but mostly because I really do not know anything about him. I saw his name in some minor league wrap ups, but did not see him getting this high this soon.

We have a curveball specialist on the team and I do not hear much excitement since he burst on the seen with a sensational end of the season debut. But Duffey has not progressed and when TD puts up starting and bullpen reflections his name is conspicuous by its absence. Enlow's curve is a good signature pitch, but he needs a bigger arsenal.

Interesting, but put me down as skeptical - especially on the batting side. Do you guarantee so many DH appearances to someone who might be overwhelmed like Park was? I love these stories - I believe that they are good for baseball especially in the offseason when everyone is a star.

It was worth the gamble. It hurt nothing. No Twin was kept from advancing and if it had worked it would have been great. The Korean League can pretend to be the major league and players like Park can be heroes. Now he can even say he played in the American MLB and that can only help his reputation.

I am fine with a Gordon or Polanco going with the package. I was responding to the idea that they want some pitching back. I know these trades are complex and I do not understand the multiple evaluations, but I think we have a mix of guys who could be interesting without destroying our own supply line.

I remember my Grandpa's hands. They were so big that when we arm wrestled they would wrap around my hand and over lap and people thought I had big hands. He had hands from being a lumberjack, from working as a fireman on the Iron range railroad, but he might have had big hands because he played country ball. He pitched, he caught, he played what ever was needed. He was not great, my uncles moved into various paid ball clubs, but grandpa always played and I was young and he was old and still he was there. No glove, no glory, he just played. I read a passage from THE TURTLES BEATING HEART by Denise Low, an essay tracing her Delaware Indian heritage and she wrote, "The most substantial evidence of Grandfather's baseball career was his gnarled hands. Grandfather played the physically demanding position of catcher before padded mitts were standard equipment. Several times fastballs broke his fingers, which in old age were knotted with arthritis. The life of a professional baseball player was tough in the early 1900s. Grandfather told my brother about traveling with the Blues from one small town to the next by train. The Kansas City Public Library has records of the Blues, exactly as Grandfather remembered, but only with accounts of wins and losses, not rosters. Baseball was poorly documented during that era, and players were transient as the poorly organized teams." Each year I hear the debates about Hall of Fame and every year I hear that the athletes now are so much better than what they used to be. But of course that is just our need to make our own generation the best ever. The fact is, we are bigger, faster, more athletic than they were in the past, but our diet, our understanding of physiology, our training, our health and our opportunities are better too. The old athlete given everything we have today would be just as great. Jim Thorpe would rise to the medal stand today just as he did when he came off the reservation. The pitchers who tossed every game and won or loss 30 - 40 = 50 games years ago would be the studs today (of course we would only let them throw 5 innings every five or six days. I remember seeing a line drive to third base, the most dangerous position on the field, hit to my grandfather. I remember the speed of the ball and I remember him catching it without gloves. He didn't flinch, he didn't call for the trainer. My god those guys were tough. So, yes today's players are magnificent, but please - do not consider them to be better than the athletes of the past. Statistics do not measure diet, the need to work for the family to survive, the lack of equipment, or the desire of the player. Enjoy today's athlete and honor those who played for the simple love of the game.

I can see that - How about Slegers, Jorge, and if we still had him - Kohl with a position player thrown in?

Here is my confusion. Right after the WS and long before Rule V cuts we could have made trade offers with those we decided to not protect as the backend players in any deals. Since many of them have some interesting back stories, they would not have been wasted in such talks. Right now if it is a pitcher Slegers and Enns are both ready to move and clear 40 man space at the same time. ​The glut at SS is not a glut until we have them ready for MLB and no place to play them. Give up Slegers, Kiriloff, Kepler and Gordon and see what that brings in - in my less informed mind that sounds like a nice package for a good pitcher like Cole that is coming off a poor year.

I am just thankful that we have so many interesting storylines to follow - it makes the hot stove a lot more fun. I decided a long time ago to stop reading, writing, thinking about players salaries. Since i will not make as much in my life as the average 5 year major leaguer makes in one the money means nothing. I cannot relate. I just see money coming in and either going to the rich owner or making a player rich. I will take the player. Now to get back to baseball. The youth movement of the Twins is the most exciting thing I have seen in decades and I love it. The last time we had talent like this they were named Oliva, Killebrew, Allison, Versailles, Hall, Battey, Pascual, Kaat, and Perry. I love the excitement and the stories this generates.

Nice response. I am quite biased because Warren Spahn was my hero and I got to watch him pitch = in person - four years in a row in the 1050s. When his turn came we expected to win. No relief pitcher was going to blow it.

The issue is with the coaching staff. Lets hope they can bring him to the next level.

Garver must be tired of being on your list by now. Every year the potential puts him in the rankings, but every year there is a new obstacle. I hope this is the year where he does not see any more minor league time. He is not going to be a star but he is good enough to be in the majors. I hope Lewis can match his potential, at this time his injuries have been his big story and I have not seen enough to say that he should rank this high. ​Wade and Diaz are a real pair - potential for power, a steady performance by Wade and anticipation in Diaz, but at this point I do not see their future with the Twins. If Littell is as good as his record (I do count wins) then we really pulled on over on the Yankees. I hope this is true.

There was news about another highly drafted Texas hurler this week - Marc Appel drafted number one was dropped by the Phillies. Sometimes the talent just does not translate to the big leagues. Stewart is so far down the pecking list he would not stand a chance here and we still rate low with starters. For the Bullpen they want Ks and he does not get them. ​If he hangs on I see him as a Jaimie Garcia type who is always available and always expendable.

I hope you are right, but I think Tyler Jay is going to be in the minors and build up his arm and resume. I am most hopeful that the young arms we got up here last year are going to grow from their time in the majors and Curtiss and Busenitz will blossom as really dependable - maybe even excellent - bullpen arms. And if Hildenberg builds on his first year he will be a star. I cannot see a Rule V - basically the FO just flooded the Rule V market with the type of players we might have picked up in the past. I suspect they are looking at a Free Agent and trade, but I really cannot get a read on them yet.

Thome and Jones are the two sure bets in my assessment which is seldom dependable. Santana - no. We have had a number of great pitchers for five year stretches that never made it. Koufax is the exception for a number of reasons - he played in Los Angeles, not MN, (true Santana was in NY, but his career there was really short of accomplishments due to injuries), Koufax went out on top - he retired at the top of his game garnering great attention and disappointment while Santana struggled to get back leaving us with an image of a damaged athlete, not a great one. I would be fine if Hoffman and Vlad took a step back.

I cannot see Slegers and Boshers when we could lose some of these players. I guess the new stats must be like reading tea leaves and they see something that I do not. I do like Gonsalves, Thorpe and Littell, but some of these other players looked too good to dangle in rule V for me.

It is a good point to consider. Our son had a rod put in his leg after a femur break in Alaska. Years later it still gives him pain and they had to go in a year ago and remove it. I have two artificial hips and an artificial knee. All of these are great for living life better, but are not perfect for athletes who demand more out of their body. I spend the summer guiding hiking trips and need these to work for me, but I know that you must be realistic and your column leads to important concern. This is a serious issue.

https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/01/kaplan-spahnmarichalToday I was motivated by reading an article on ESPN by Bradford Doolittle - hitting the reset on pitcher wins http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21439977/hitting-reset-button-starting-pitcher-wins-baseball As a baseball fan who started out rooting for Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Hank Aaron, and Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves and then moving over to the new Twins as an usher for their first season my views are tainted by history and, while I like many new stats, I am bothered by the tendency to throw out the old stats with the recycling. Over and over I hear that wins don't count, then we drool over our greater win totals. True it is a team game and the wins by an individual pitcher have to be looked at under a new lens since the idea of a complete game where the pitcher really does control the outcome has changed and now we have shifted to the bullpen as masters of the mound, but the true aces rise above this. Sale and Kluber, Kershaw and Scherzer are not just great starters, they actually win games, even though they do not pitch very many complete games. To understand my love of the complete game and the true aces you should read about the Spahn/Marichal game in 1963 - https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/01/kaplan-spahnmarichal How nostalgic this game is for me. Now admittedly in this era it is a thrill to see two starters go 7 innings against each other, but that does not diminish the win and loss records. It is true that the scorer never invokes his right to award the win to the most deserving so a relief pitcher can come in throw one ball and then get the win, but that is not all that common. The starter gets his record because he pitches long enough, often enough to get to the position to win. ​And I understand fielding and hitting are essential I remember when Ryan won the ERA title in 1987 came with an 8 - 16 record, hardly a great pct. Yet he overcame the poor teams he pitched for to surpass 300 wins just as Blyleven won 287 games pitching with some mediocre teams. I give him credit for this win total in addition to the new stats that pushed him in the Hall of Fame. I do not want to negate the new approach. In fact the bullpen era will create some interesting statistical aberrations that challenge our ability to compare pitchers from one era to another, but take nothing away from those winners of yesteryear. It is common place to always state today's athletes are the best ever. Kershaw is being anointed by ESPN weekly and he deserves his recognition, but necessarily his ranking. Give the same diet, training and opportunities, the greats of the past would be the greats of today and the greats of today put in another era would still rise to stardom. So how do we judge players? Old stats, new stats, the eye test? Maybe all of them. If real baseball was just a statistical exercise we could dispense with the field and just play strato-matic, but the human element is what gives it greatness and is the reason we still talk about players like Cy Young and Honus Wagner even though they are simply grainy photographs and statistical lines in our life times.

I have neither hopes nor expectations. This front office has not shown me anything that really excites me, like the team on the field did. I hope their methodical actions last season set us up for some real progress, but baseball is a funny sport and hard to see the final results. If we had signed David Price instead of the Red Sox we would have been elated, but David Price is not the pitcher we remember and his season was a real puzzle and free agency is a crap shoot - remember the big signing of Pujols and now what. ​New names that have been hired for positions we do not know how to judge are interesting and hopefully they will all succeed, but of course they will not. No matter what the Twins Hot Stove League will be fun. Remember how TR used to do all his signings in Dec and then we waited, there will longer term speculation through this winter.

It is good that they move on early for the benefit of the players released. None of these players looked to be key pieces moving on, even if they do find some success. I went down the list anticipating Kennys Vargas, but luckily he is still there (I like him) and if he is going to move it if more likely that it is a trade (my preference). I was surprised by Bosher remaining and I am curious how much of a chance Slegers has. Thanks for the report - the way you presenting the list was brilliant (as the English group I am currently guiding would say).

Each year the ranking get to a section where I just don't have a lot of expectations and this is a group, other than Curtiss, that just does not excite me.

I have wanted them to put Vargas in the lineup and leave him - at least 50 - 60 games and see what we have. Up and down, majors/minors, starting/bench is not the way to develop talent and I think we have mishandled him. If we are not going to test his ability cut him loose.