tarheeltwinsfan

A strong lower level minor league system may simply indicate that the major league team has consistently been drafting high, due to poor won lost records annually.

"Don't ever give up." Jimmy V.

Today is a perfect example of why I keep watching the Twins in such an overall disappointing season.

I enjoyed reading this article so much that I read it again.

This year the cake of choice seems to be Boston Cream Pie. To paraphrase the Soup Nazi: "No cake for you, Twins' fans".

Last season 3 good fielding outfielders helped our pitchers greatly. The same would be true of 4 good fielding infielders. I think too much emphasis is placed on offensive statistics in these posts because offensive stats are more available and easier to quantify. I would like to see a ranking of the best fielding Twins, major and minor leaguers, according to fielding ability. To heck with these "sluggers" who strike out so much. I'm sick of it.

Congratulations to Harold Mains, President, Mike Mains, GM, Ray Smith, Manager, the E-Twins' coaches, the E- Twins' staff and employees, all the young players, and the grounds crew, headed by Big Dave McQueen. Also congratulations to the town of Elizabethton. I am so happy for all of you.

The down side is that you may use your lights out 1 inning guy in the first inning in a situation where he is not needed...in the event of a rout by either team. You just can't predict a rout in the 1st inning. Whereas if you use your lights out guy at the end of a game, you get to choose not to use him in a rout or save your best reliever for a close game tomorrow night.

More Morneau.

Good luck Zack.

Go E-Twins. I'm happy for those guys.

Odorizzi needs 1) a nutritionist, 2) an exercise coach and 3) a sports psychologist. If he believes he always has trouble after two times through the lineup, then he most certainly will.

Thanks and good luck to Bobby Wilson. I enjoyed his hustle and determination. He was banged up several times and once the heat got to him after a long half inning behind the plate...but he persevered. He is a tough baseball player.

This statement is true...but alas, it was also true the last 6 years. Time will tell.

I have always felt it was not fair to Harmon Killebrew, nor to the Twins' fans, that Harmon did not finish his career as a Twin. I felt that for all the wonderful gifts Harmon gave to the Senators/Twins and the fans, he deserved to end his career as a Twin. I wanted him to be a Twin for life. I didn't want to share him with the Royals. I feel the Twins owed it to him to keep him, even if he only hit .199 with 14 home runs his last year, when he was a Royal. I would hate to see Joe Mauer end his career as a Royal or a Tiger. I may be the only one, but my love of the Twins is about so much more than winning. It is about family.

2 Class A catchers has good offensive nights. Yea!

I would like to know if the Twins use any psychological evaluations in selecting free agents to sign. I may be wrong, but it appeared to me that the Twins signed 5 major FA's last year and on paper, they looked good...but something was missing with 3 or 4 of them. Whether it was physical injuries, or they were "head cases", or the Twins players did not incorporate them into the team...I don't know. Yet on paper it looked like a great year for the Twins in terms of FA signings...but in reality, based on 2018 performances, I would have to say that Reed, Morrison, Lynn, Rodney, and Odorizi, turned out to be a weak group of free agents that were paid a lot of money..We have written and read a lot at TD about "veteran leadership" What do you think about FAs who are "leaders" solely due to the fact of being "veterans", but maybe their leadership is not conducive to team building or winning? Or maybe they are "loners" by nature. One can be an encouraging (rah, rah) leader, but not have selected a good path. Maybe I'm way off base here, since I did not travel with the team and am not a sports psychologist. I'm just saying I want some "team first" players rather than "me first" players. There is no "I" in "TEAM". That is especially true of FA's because FA's do not have the minor league relationships with other Twins players , coaches and managers...which helps build a positive, team first, win at any cost, attitude., During the last day or two I have been reminded about "goals larger than oneself", when reading some quotes by and about John McCain. I may be wrong, but I think that was missing on the Twins' team in 2018. But also missing was our #1 starting pitcher, #1 starting catcher, #1 starting shortstop for half the season, #1 platinum glove wining center fielder, the #1 home run leader third baseman, #1 starting second baseman for 1/4 the season and our " team leader 2B, SS, 3B all around great guy" for 1/4th the season. 2018 was a tough year for the Twins and consequently for most of us Twins' fans.. Contrary to what Tom Hanks said in the movie "A League of Their Own", there is crying in baseball.

Awesome reminder. Thanks. Sincerely, Sgt Benbow, Co C, 3/23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, Korean DMZ, 1968 & 1969.

Do I go to Spring Training in March 2019 or save my money and stay home? By March my annual Twins' winter of sorrows has usually faded and I am optimistic again. But right now, as we approach September and the soon to follow cold gray days of winter, I'm not so sure. I ask myself a question: "Why do I pull for the Twins year after year?" Somewhere deep inside do I need to suffer? Do I strive for mediocrity? Did my boyhood years of pulling for the hapless Washington Senators leave deep emotional wounds that require me to suffer annually by pulling for a losing baseball team? If you are a major league baseball fan, the odds are you will be disappointed at the end of every year. There is only one world champion each year. So why do we do it? Why do we pull for the Twins?

With September almost here and the Twins not doing so well, I really have looked forward to these daily minor league reports. To all the reporters, I say thank you for writing theses reports. When the minor league season is over in a few days, I plan to wear black and go into mourning for a while.

We've been here before. Life is still good.

My wife and I were at our first spring training at Ft. Myers in 2016. As the Twins were practicing a little boy about 4 or 5 years old yelled from behind the fence to Eddie Rosario: "Eddie, you are my favowite pwayer.". Rosario told the child he couldn't talk right then, but would when practice was over...and he did. He posed for pictures with the young fan and his family. The next year at spring training, my wife and I were watching a game at Fort Myers when Rosario was introduced by the PA announcer: "The next batter is Eddie Rosario." We then heard a small child's voice from the row behind us say, "Rosario?" We recognized the voice. We turned to look and it was the same child with his parents. Rosario fans for life, because Eddie Rosario had taken the time to kneel down and talk with a young fan and his parents after practice. My wife and I also had become Rosario fans the day the little boy got to talk to his "favowite pwayer".

Bullpen was awful tonight. Please bring up Reed, Curtiss and Anderson. Can you select 3 BP guys to be sent down and/or released? I can.

Nick G. is having a rough time getting hits. ? Who will play 2B next year for the Twinkies?

Great article Ted. Thanks. And thanks to Joe Mauer. It has been a pleasure being a huge fan of Joe Mauer.