tarheeltwinsfan

15 years if the Twins start winning consistently.

Great title for this article.

Buxton and Sano have more problems than just failing to hit. They both have injury problems, over and over. Also I submit, that one has problems that are bigger than just baseball problems.

Nick, Thanks for this is an interesting and thought-filled article. I agree that this may be just what Buck needs.

"This is all well and good, but is he lovable?" Jim Pohlad

Is Sickles a Twins' fan? If not, why does he lead off with the Twins every year?

What? Someone who is "lovable"? I served in the 2nd Infantry Division in and around the Korean DMZ in 1968 & 1969. Do you think I wanted to go on night ambush patrol in the Korean DMZ led by someone who was chosen to be patrol leader because he is "lovable"? I think not. I wanted someone who has been there before, someone who knows infantry tactics, someone who will lead by example and not order me to do something he would not do, someone who will communicate with the others on patrol, but will make the hard decisions...it is not a democracy on patrol, someone who is able to make decisions when all hell is breaking loose, and someone who will stand up for his men. If— BY RUDYARD KIPLING If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

To be perfectly frank, I hope the Twins don't try to sign Manny Machado because I'd rather not pull for Manny Machado. His recent obvious and admitted lack of effort in a playoff game running to first base, his arm slinging slide into second base, his kick of the first baseman's leg as Machado ran by the bag, and his interviews after these events, were enough to keep me from being a fan of Machado, even if he is one of the best SS's in baseball. Plus how do you think Machado would react to the Twins moving him from SS to 3B when Lewis beats him out for SS? He belongs in NYC as a Yankee. Perfect fit.

If you had an Austin/Kepler platoon at 1B, when lefty Kepler is at 1B, lefty Cave can be in OF for Kepler, adding another lefty bat. In a perfect world, I would prefer Kepler stay in RF and that he hit .300 with 25 HR...(and Buxton would bunt frequently).

Tell it like it is brother!

The Twins will need a miracle to ever win the pennant in the near future...maybe 3 Miracles will be the keys...Lewis, Kirilloff, and Graterol. If the Twins could get fired up and focused on winning, maybe they could rise up on red wings and fly to the top (Red Wings -Nick Anderson, Jake Reed, Nick Gordon). If these magic things will happen -Look out major league baseball! The Twins have shaken off the blues and are getting ready to yell "Wahoo"! (Lookouts/Blue Wahoos - Brent Rooker, Lewis Thorpe and Andrew Vasquez). Here are some kernels of wisdom for you...Larnach, Davis, Helman, Jeffers and Severino. That's it...I'm exhausted. My brain is fried. I hereby resign from my position as future TD contributor. Too much work for too little recognition.

Proof is in the pudding.

Thanks Tom for this story and especially for compiling these great memories for us to watch again and again.. Give me 9 players with the skills and hearts of Rosario, Astudillo, Escobar and I'll pay money to watch this team compete.

How about using some of the starters who will not be in the Twins' rotation. Make exceptions for 3 or 4 to account for injuries to the top 5 starters. So take the top 8 starters in the organization and keep them as starters. Then use the next 2 or 3 starters in the depth chart as relievers. What are the negatives of this brilliant plan?

I bet he won't be for the next 8 years.

Interesting article about an interesting player. Did his signing have any relationship to Larnach signing for less money?

That's it? "Dancing with the Stars"? TV analyst? Bench coaches? 1B coaches? The Twins can do better than that. Along those lines, I would like to suggest a guy I know, who lives in a van down by the river.

What about Polanco at 3B, and Sano at SS? That would improve the fielding at 3B and improve the hitting at SS. (april fool).

Thanks for this post. After looking at the FanGraphs information, I was surprised at how infrequently a scoop happens at 1B. In view of this info, I agree it is an overvalued skill.

Here are three generalizations I believe to be true: 1) Good defense helps make pitchers better. 2) As our defense improves, so does our pitching.3) Good defense often ignites a team. However, also true is the following: No generalization is worth a damn, including this one.

#7 Trading Lynn and Rodney and actually receiving some prospects.

#6 Taylor Rogers. Talk about "lights out"! He has an incredible string of shutout innings going..

Thanks Steve. I look forward to the AFL season reports.

"All I know is what I read in the newspaper". Will Rogers