BigTrane

My take on the Suzuki deal is that he was brought in to mentor Pinto- who doesn't want to see that transition go smoothly? (Paging Aaaron Hicks!) There's been a ton of angst about Suzuki, esp. people looking at it as an either/or between him and Pinto or as an either/or vs. Morneau. But Morneau was just a shadow of his former self... I'm impressed with all that has happened with the development of Sabermetrics, and yet... I instinctively believe that there are intangible, and important factors in the game that cannot be measured. Think just about how strike-zone judgement improves with age and experience... Seems pretty clear that there are two camps at Twins Daily, and feels as like there is a bit of an artificial divide. Pessimists/optimists, SABR-friendly/Not-so-SABR. I don't feel it has to be that way- we all want to see our team win. If the (newly revamped) SP rotation believes in "Suke", they like the way he calls the game, and feel confident working with him- how is that a negative? Does it matter that it's not measurable? Also, if we end up with Pinto a polished hitter AND defender (thanks to Suzuki's mentoring) at the end of the season, what's the problem? Isn't that why we signed him? My 2 cents: Twins see Suzuki as a possible coach in the system, and want to show him support for "playing the game right". Don't read too much into it. He could be a great coach in the future, but Pinto is the future- and he's here to make sure that happens.

You nailed it-- I was expecting Gardy to call him Suzy or something... new thread idea '14 Gardy Nicknames!

Thanks for starting this thread, Seth- this is truly community work! Also: there are some truly great stories and even poetry on this thread. These experiences are the non-analytic "stuff" that makes baseball the greatest sport ever. There's more than enough negativity right now, and much of it for good reason. However, one of the great things that makes baseball such a beautiful game is the fact that while we can project (and baseball must be the stat-friendliest sport) we will never be able to predict. Case in point: the 2012 and 2013 Bosox. Hope is never unreasonable, even if unlikely. My own story: my maternal uncle was the Little League coach in small town South Carolina, and bought me my first bat, glove, and ball. Every summer when we went to visit them, he'd just add me in to his team. I'm 45, so this was the early 70's, and he was the local tobacco-spitting champion (43 feet, if I recall). Anyway, the chaw, the pinetar (this was all wood bats & tons of tar-style Little League) the smell of the dirt, the grass, and the pines will never leave me. Through him, I discovered that being a lefty is a blessing. Where else would you get that? He is a diehard Braves fan, and so I remember watching Hammerin' Hank do his thing, watching with him. We also marveled at The Big Red Machine and the We Are Family Pirates- my first Bert experience- though Kent Tekulve's delivery made a bigger impression at the time. Later, my family moved to Europe and did primary school in Brussels, Belgium. I played Little League there, and that was an anchor to me. When we went back to the US for summer vacation, I always had ball to talk with my uncle. Stranger in a strange land, but I was good. A few years later, we moved back to MN, and that was the Butch Wynegar/Roy Smalley period. I think I had a Ron Cey bat at the time. The Twins were not good, but that wasn't the point. Your team is where your heart and home is, and even with all the moving, Minnesota was my home. Case closed. In '87, I was in my freshman year at college, and from where I was in the Wedge on 24th St., I could hear the cheering from downtown. In '91, my team was pitted against my uncle's team. What a dream come true! Now I am teaching in China, but still avidly following the Twins every day. I'm truly concerned about the state of the club. However, baseball is The Great Leveler- another beauty of the game. Just look at the injuries in Spring Training. If Verlander goes down and Cabrera has some sort of lingering injury, then the AL Central is wide open. Sometimes, that's all it takes. Anyway, I am teaching US Culture this semester, and I've made baseball the centerpiece. I don't think you can grasp America if you can't grasp baseball. I've set up a simplified fantasy league, am holding clinics, am teaching all the baseball idioms that make American English what it is, and next week will have an opening day party. At the end of the semester, we'll have a scrimmage, followed by a tailgate party. Gotta do it right. Many other posters have made great points about the uniqueness and beauty of the game- that's all in the lesson. Certain memories stick in my mind though. Moving from Chicago to LA after graduation, and listening to games all through the night, even in New Mexico... 2001 working in Ventura and having the choice of listening to Scully or Jon Miller. Watching the D-Backs beat the Yanquis post 9/11... In the end, I guess it's all about tradition, culture, family. I love the history (I'm a historian) and stats, but there's so much more. Listening to a game while driving cross-country through the night is sublime... where else do we get extended story-telling in our culture? What is more quintessentially American than listening to a ball game while you are On The Road?

I respectfully disagree: Craziest part is that Cabrera is not a Boras client! Wouldn't be surprised if they tossed in the UP as a deal-sweetner, too.

Exactly. Weekends are ok since I'm a night owl, but during the week, it's really tough. Worse still for the night games, most classes I teach are at 10:30 AM, so I get about 2/3 of the way through, then have to bail. While teaching, I'm thinking about the game, then come home to leftovers. Forget game threads!

First, props to Doc on saying that we're all real fans. Lots of divisiveness lately, and it's understandable why. You can look at all the numbers and information you want, but in the end, you're faced with the optimistic/pessimistic choice. That seems to be the source of the disagreement. Second, just finished listening to Olney & Crasnick agree that the Twins will finish last in the ALC with 68 wins. At the same time I was reading Beardino's piece where Antony said the Twins couldn't give their money away this off season. Then I read about Buxton's injury... Olney concluded that "it's going to be a tough year for a proud organization"- boy, he got that right. Many of us have clamored to tap into the FA market to augment the farm, but if you can't give it away, and the up-and-comers are still on the way up, what can you do? We're on the horns of that dilemma now. Same as Doc, I'll keep watching, looking for flashes wherever they appear. Dozier saved me last year, so I'll follow him closely. Being a Twins fan ain't for the faint of heart.

...and so the Mehs have it, by an easy margin.

Don't know that tax $ were spent in doing this... sounds like the Australian promoter fronted the whole effort and made a small profit. Still, you're right that baseball and economics are joined at the hip, and there is a one-two punch going on down there: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/australian-baseball-demands-government-help-20140322-hvllo.html Everything translates, somehow...

I was expecting a walkoff for the Mehs, but great to see some response! @ Willihammer: there was a 14-minute delay, but no actual showers. I agree that it's unfair as far as scheduling goes, but that alone has made a big and positive impression on the Aussies. Long-term vs. short-term tradeoff. Anyway, Kershaw did what you'd expect, it was a good game, and considering the Grienke PR gaffe, you couldn't hope for a better turnout and result. Consider: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/major-league-baseball-series-in-australia-wont-be-a-oneoff-20140322-hvlme.html Versus: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fitz-files/major-league-baseballs-unhappy-travellers-risk-a-pr-disaster-20140228-33r5b.html This could have been a total mess, but so far, so good. Big win for MLB.

Where I'm at, it's 9:00PM and just got done watch the Season Opener. Nice to see live ball at a reasonable time (4PM start, Beijing time) for once! As an expat who is always looking for the game in China (just made friends with a Korean amateur league here- they even had a Wok on the field for the post-game chow down!) I am very excited to see MLB making the effort to grow the game. Still, I wonder if I'm alone in this view... there was no game thread for this one- I know, not a Twins game, but... Time difference, weekend, hangovers all factors...? The Twins have been pretty aggressive/ahead of the curve in scouting the ABL, and have benefited a la Balfour, etc. (less a la Hendriks) so I would hope that their league is firmly on our radar. The game seems to be growing fast, and with this series (sellout crowds for both games) deepening roots in Oz. ABL is definitely watchable, (Australia beat Arizona 5-0 yesterday- Oz had great pitching) and their November-January season is a good fix for the hotstove jones. Better yet, ol' Scully and MLB-types seem to have made a good effort at representing the game while also respecting national sensitivities. For the Aussies' part, they voted with their feet and seem to have belief in the future of the sport Down Under: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/embracing-baseball-a-sign-australia-has-grown-up-20140321-hvkvw.html So, I'm interested to know what the reaction is back in Twins Territory- a big deal for the future of the game, or a whole lotta meh?

No sweat- BTW and off topic (kind of/not really) MLBTR: Worley placed on waivers.

On the board! Woo! Spaarkling!

Well, sure- just taking another look, I'm sure- why not? At this point in the game, I'm all sarcasm. Otherwise, I'd have to pin my hopes on our sparkling offense!

9-0? Just gets better... get to admire that sparkling Mets offense. At least we can make somebody look good.

Fein in, not Worley? What's got into Gardy?

Feels like we have two possible headlines at this point: 1) Nolcaso Fails to Match Crookedest Number in Second Frame or 2) Twins-Mets Make MLB Look Like BP

Exactly! It only gets better from here... next inning?.

"First inning bullpen activity"- always nice to hear... but only 7 of 10 batters score, so it could have been worse.

Completely agree on the Kubel point, and overall with the whole transition question. People around these parts have been fairly "uneasy" about the Suzuki deal and the question of the starter/backup transition details... personally, I think it's a smart move to have a vet in to guide the new guy and help him make the transition. Did everybody forget the Hicks experiment already? Putting some resources ($) and effort into making sure that Pinto makes the transition and develops into a complete player is unassailable. If people are just antsy for his bat, then I understand.... but what else would he bring behind the plate at this point? He's got work to do yet, but with the proper mentoring could be the long-term solution we all want. Suzuki will likely be a black hole with the bat, granted, but if we're looking for offensive production from catcher to ignite our run production, then we're already lost in the weeds. The idea of investing in successful player development/transitioning successfully to the Bigs should be at the top of everyone's list right now. We're all chomping at the bit to see the new wave come up. Who wants to see that crash and burn... what then? As for our rotation, yes, we d**n well need everything we can get out of them- who thinks we have superior/dominant rotation? Given the catchers available at the time Suzuki signed (and the price), I think we did great.

I'm a long-time supporter of Deduno, and he is in the zone right now- so glad to see it. Same with Tonkin- get these arms in the mix; Deduno @ #5; stash Tonkin in the pen for the time being. Colabello has found his stroke, so get him on the bench.

Just as a toss-in/FWIW... Obviously this thread is focused on pitching, yet the subject line begs other questions... The bright spot in ST has clearly been the pitching, and nothing could make me happier. Except, maybe, for Big D and smart baserunning. So far, SS seems like a black hole and the unearned runs from that position alone are cringe-worthy. Baserunning is non-existant, not even station-to-station standard. I feel very optimistic about our pitching, and that is a sea change- Hughes' curve as an out-pitch, for example- but if we can't run the bases and score runs, we're screwed. Poor defense is not Twins baseball, and we've never had a noteworthy running game. Hoping that will turn around, because we will need every single run we can manufacture.

I understand the support for Diamond, but I'm a big Deduno fan. As I saw it, his problem was just one of control (reminded me of Liriano in that sense), and he's been great this spring. Been hoping he would make the #5 spot all along. If he spells in the pen while someone else gets a second look, then fine. But if Deduno continues with what he's doing, he'll get that spot eventually. Or, he should.

I'm reminded of the Empty Bottle in Chicago and their slogan... "Cheep! Cheep!" Bigtime bargain.

Just catching up on the Twins-Yanquis game and noticed their play-by-play guy referring to Gardy as 'Rob' Gardenhire. So in the spirit of flyover country, and to the tune of 'New Yorke State of Mime', I present the projected NY pronunciations of the Tweens projected limeup. 1- CF Haron Dicks 2- 2B Ryan Doozy 3- 1B Mojo Jojo 4- RF Lee Harvey Oswaldo 5- LF Gosh Lillehammer 6- 3B Treble Proof 7- DH Crip Coachella 8- C Burp Suzy-Q-y 9- SS Repo Flowerman SP: Tricky Tobasco RP: Prim Gherkins Bench: L. Ron Mostaccioli, Chasesome Nibblets

Guess that worked out...