USMCTwin

It's important to note his clarification that if a Muslim rejected Sharia Law than he would support that person for President, however at that point it becomes about whether Muslims would consider that person actually a Muslim, or as Carson put it in his clarification an infidel or heretic. Have you read the Sharia Law? I find it hard to believe that liberals of all people would want someone in office that believed in Sharia Law. You talk about the war on women. I think this may be a case of the evil you know is better than the one you don't. I am actually a libertarian, but I agree with Carson that I don't want someone in office that wants to implement Sharia Law and I think that should not be that outlandish of a statement. So then you wonder what makes the media/people jump all over this statement. Is it that he's a Republican or a Christian? I don't think so. I think it falls more towards that he's not a career politician or something you hit on it may be more sinister and about his own actual race rather than religion. I think the Republican party doesn't really like him because he isn't a career politician and some in my honest opinion don't want a black person running for office. It's that kind of mentality that has doomed the party in previous elections. However, I think the difference here is Democrats/Media took the bait this time for whatever ulterior motives they may have. But as to your question yeah I guess I am defending Carson, however I think he should have been much more clear when he talked about it the first time. Unfortunately enough for him people don't really care about clarifications they will only read the headlines and come up with their own motives behind what he said. He is about the only person on the republican ticket I can get behind so it looks like Libertarians, or at least me, head towards another rock and a hard place when it comes time to pick.

1. Muslim is not a race. 2. Would it be just as absurd if Bernie said the same thing about Christians?

Pinto has not caught a game since June 9th. Fryer is to be used as a 3rd catcher not a bench bat.

I get why people would want him up, but I also understand why they wouldn't call him up. For anyone that thinks the Twins are the only team that would make this decision, Pittsburgh appears to be making the same decision with Tyler Glasnow. He allows more walks than Berrios, but still pretty comparable. Also for what it is worth our GM hasn't stated that Berrios will not be called up. https://www.piratesprospects.com/2015/08/tyler-glasnow-not-in-the-mix-for-a-september-call-up.html/ http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=glasno000tyl

I recently finished Dead Wake and it was a great read. It is about the voyage of The Lusitania and beginnings of World War 1. The writer used letters and newspaper clippings to give you an inside look at individual lives. So it has the details and intricacies of a fiction book, but it is all actually non-fiction. It was a fascinating account and I strongly recommend it.

You should write into MLB Pipeline and tell them their list is laughable, seeing as how it was updated at the midway point. http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=min

Stashak is off to a tremendous debut. ERA is down to 1.58 over 40 IP. SO9 sits at 10.4 with BB9 at 1.6. I hope his success continues! http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=stasha000cod

This. IIRC both times he hit HR's last night they had first base open. I know he's a rookie that strikes out quite a bit and I am not sure I would advocate intentionally walking him, but I sure would consider pitching around him.

What a strange career he has had. I know it is often referenced that other teams bring up starters and use them in the bullpen and then make a successful transition back to the rotation, but is he an example of it blowing up? It's just fascinating that he was formerly ranked #3-5ish top prospect in all of baseball and had the stats in the minors to back it up, the Yankees tried to protect him with the "Joba Rules", but for one reason or another it just hasn't clicked at all in the majors. I'm not trying to say teams/Twins shouldn't bring up starters in the bullpen, merely trying to figure out what went terribly wrong in this instance.

I would rather he transition into a front office/manager type role and stay in the organization, but I would re-sign him if and only if it was on a understanding that he will be the 4th of'er type. Frankly I don't think Torii will take that type of role. Ultimately my prediction for him is joining another team on a one year type deal and then transitioning into another organizations front office.

Sure, fairly new-ish to the advanced stats. Always willing to learn something new.

Of course depends on what site you are using. Pelf is ranked 32 in WAR among starting pitchers at Baseball Reference, right ahead of Chris Sale, which is certainly not pretty bad. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2015-value-pitching.shtml

I agree with you partially. I think Bryant is great as well. The part I was speaking to was where you said who of the Twins prospects is dominating like Correa or Bryant. I think Sano is having a year similar to Bryant. My fault for taking one line and running with it, because I agree with your underlying point that Bryant is having a great year.

I would say that is more of an indicator on who is more likely to dominate in the future. A high BABIP still counts today as so far being dominant. Now, whether you believe one will be more dominant than the other in the future should factor in BABIP as you mentioned as well as Sano playing 3B instead of DH, which I am pretty bullish on as that will likely increase his WAR as well.

Bryant must be truly amazing at those two things to make up for a sizable difference in his slash lines. Bryant has accumulated 2.7 WAR in 96 games. .028125 per game Sano has accumulated .7 WAR in 26 games .026923 per game If Bryant is dominating the game, I'm not sure how Sano is not.

Bryant BA .246 / OBP .355 / SLG .434 / OPS .789 Correa BA .292 / OBP .343 / SLG .564 / OPS .907 Sano BA .267 / OBP .407 / SLG .488 / OPS .896 I would say Sano is having statistically a better season, hitting anyways, than Bryant and pretty similar numbers to Correa.

Quoting his 2013 4.50 era, in comparison to his 3.38 FIP is about as bad as assuming his 2015 2.81 era is more in line than 4.13 FIP.

Actually it says we are not interested in Breslow: •Though the Twins are in the market for relief help, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that they’re not interested in either Junichi Tazawa or Craig Breslow of the Red Sox. Berardino hears that the Twins are turned off by Tazawa’s five-plus years of service (he’ll be a free agent after 2016) and Breslow’s impending free agency. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/07/pen-notes-astros-seek-impact-arm-twins-prioritizing-control-lowe-drawing-interest.html

Kepler and Gonsalves both took honors for top 10 performances in the minors yesterday. http://m.twins.mlb.com/news/article/139922256/max-kepler-stephen-gonsalves-among-10-top As an aside I am a big fan of AJ Murray. I know it's way too early to speculate, but I think he at least provides an option that could be good.

Except when it does. http://calltothepen.com/2015/06/16/dickey-vs-syndergaard-toronto-blue-jays-trade-revisited/ I mean the previous trade is what almost necessitates this one. I think both sides get overstated to be fair. The risk that a trade could seriously hurt your organization is certainly present, but it is probably not as high as others make it out to be.

I obviously am not as involved in Meyer's process, but I would be tempted to just shut him down for the year or maybe send him where he can just work one on one with a coach daily. It feels like he is making no progress and just getting shelled each time, just going off the box scores. Of course to be fair I feel this way about 1/2 of the Twins bullpen also.

I was surprised by; Jay being as high as he is (particularly above Nick Gordon), Blankenhorn not being above Cabbage, and Hu not really rising.

I agree, but I think/hope a lot of the non-credit decisions will change as he spends more time on the job and gets used to being a manager.

Zobrist to the Royals... http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/07/royals-to-acquire-ben-zobrist.html

I feel like outside of Berrios it lacks what feels like sure-fire star power, but there appears to be numerous lottery ticket types that could really break through (or go bust of course). Thanks for the list Shane!