tarheeltwinsfan

Nice article. I almost felt as if I were there. Someday soon I will plan a trip to Minneapolis in Janu...Opps, I mean June. I came in 1987 and 1988 and the weather was so pleasant. Not at all humid like North Carolina was at that time. One thing I really liked about the Dome was Wally the Beer Man. What great trips.

I am "thankful", for another spring. Thankful for the warmth and the promise of new life and Easter. I am thankful for the renewal of preseason optimism that arrives in bits and pieces during the long time of darkness, called "the offseason". It arrives slowly at first, sometimes with a trade or a free agent signing, but it usually begins on a cold, dreary February day as I read that in Minneapolis, the trucks have started loading equipment for Fort Myers. I'm thankful for the relaxed easing into the season at the back fields of the Hammond Stadium complex. Ah, Spring Training. I'm thankful for green grass, the murmur of a crowd at a ballpark and the shouts of the vendors, selling cold beer and peanuts and nachos and cheese with jalapenos. I'm thankful for new Twins tee shirts with the name "Correa" or "Buxton" on the back. I'm thankful for the constant of Dick Bremer, and being able to enjoy watching games with him and conversing about baseball with him and his fellow announcers and guests. I'm thankful for Tony O. and Kitty being selected. And then there are the games themselves: throw the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball or kiss it good-bye; a quick 6-4-3 double play to end a Yankee threat in the ninth; a low scoring pitchers' duel where every pitch and every grounder matters; a Buxton triple; Kepler hitting an rbi single to left field to beat the shift; second guessing a pitching change; an Arraez single to center; Sano scooping a low throw at first base for an out; a Twins reliever being given the game ball after striking out the last White Sox batter; catchers; dirty uniforms; dozing in my recliner while watching the Twins rout the Red Sox at Fenway; planning a trip to Minneapolis for the playoffs; a 35th anniversary reunion for the 87 World Champion Twins; I am thankful for the civility and knowledge and accessibility of Twins Daily. "Thankful" is my word for Twins baseball this year and every year.

Doc, I'm afraid you may be correct about these transactions. However there is another scenario to be examined: What if Correa leads the Twins to the WS Championship and the Twins become the darlings of the baseball world and the Twins come to realize that they can make more money by winning rather than being mediocre, and the Twins sign Correa to a $300,000,000 - 10 year extension with no player opt outs. I would not be adverse to this risk. I would call this deal a "Juicy Lucy Contract"

I was visiting my daughter and son-in -law and 2 year old grandson when I read the news. I let out a whoop and told them the Twins had signed Correa. My daughter said, "Great. Is he good?"

What trade with the A's?

Oh joy.

At least the FO signed Buck. I blame the FO for signing Donaldson in the first place. He and Rocco may have very different approaches to being a productive team member. But now I am wondering why in the world the FO gave up the potential of Petty for 2 years of the veteran, Sonny Gray,? It just makes no sense, if the team was not going to use the Donaldson money to sign Story. Even if that was the plan, you sign Story first, then you shed Donaldson, or you enter into one or two contingency contracts. But with no Trevor Story signed, then the Yankee trade doesn't make sense at all. Someone is really confused here, and I beginning to worry that I'm not the one who is confused.

I agree it is beyond the time to get off the pot. We had the SS problem solved, but then 35 hours later, the FO traded K-F to the evil empire, for a second string catcher and an average 3B (remember Miranda is due a shot at 3B, based on his performance last year). We fans all thought there must be a plan to sign Story, but we were mistaken. Apparently there was no plan to sign Story, just a wish and a prayer.

Rain, rain go away, Jose Miranda wants to play.

My wife and I have enjoyed Ding Darling Wild Life Refuge, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when beautiful birds fly in and out of the park . There are viewing towers and alligators. There are also good, easy, beautiful walking trails. I like to go see the spoonbills, ospreys, herons, pelicans and anhingas. but I would rather see some Orioles, Blue Jays and Cardinals.

I agree with you about Donaldson. Thanks for saying what I am thinking.

Like your optimism Doc.

I'm thankful the Twins still have Byron Buxton on the roster. I'm thankful the 2021 season is over. I'm thankful I can say, "Wait 'til next year".

I would not be in favor of trading either Garver or Jeffers. The Twins catching position seems to be in good shape for next year. Leave it alone. If we trade either of them, then the Twins will need to "strengthen" the catching weakness which the Twins just created by trading both major league catchers. I is a good situation to have 2 capable major league catchers on the team.

No Mas.

The Twins have a good DH already. Arraez would be a good cheap fit for DH. The man is a professional hitter. Would you rather have Arraez or Sano at bat in the 10th inning in a tie game, with a runner standing at 2B. Now compare the 2022 salary of Sano and the salary of Arraez. Case closed.

Sad he got hit. Glad it wasn't worse.

Kind of reminds me of "the draft" in 1963-1967, when I was in college and then enlisted in the army in 1967. That "draft" really did chose some of America's best and some not so good. Some developed into good marching soldiers and some developed into good field soldiers. It was hard to predict who was going to be a good fighting soldier. A lot of it just came down to doing our jobs, never quitting, looking out for each other and luck.

Good question. What happened to Duffy?

We need Arraez, Buck and Kirilloff playing ever day. We need Donaldson to run out his groundouts. I know some may say, why should he risk injury running out a ground out? I say because it is the way the game should be played, "The Twins Way" and it sets a poor example for the younger players when the see Donaldson dogging it. I told the FO not to sign Donaldson, due to his long history as a catcher and his resulting recurrent leg injuries. Did they listen? Nope. Sano needed to be traded several years ago . His excessive strikeouts will continue to stifle rallies the rest of his career. The Tigers will love to have another ex-Twin. For the love of all that is good and true and to honor the Hall of Fame player with a .341 career BA, Wee Willie Keeler, every player who faces a shift should be able to hit the ball " where they ain't", and get on base 50 % of the time there is a shift. Finally every pitcher who walks the first batter he faces in an inning should be fined $100 for his first offense, to be increased by $100 for each subsequent offense. Thanks for reading this. I feel better now.

My wife and I have had to cancel our annual trip to Ft. Myers this year due to health problems. We have 2 tickets to each of the first 4 home games: Home opener with the Blue Jays, The Red Sox, the Phillies and a second game with the Red Sox. The seats are all on the 3rd base side in the lowest level, most near an aisle and most near the top of the lower level, so not much stairs to walk up and down. I'll be glad to sell them. for half the face value. I have printed them out and can email and snail mail them to a buyer. Reply through TD private messenger or email me david@statesvillelaw.com or call 704-871-9000. Ask for David Benbow

When Garver is ready to return...when Cruz is ready to return...who gets sent down? Will it be Litttell and Arraez? Will it be two relievers, since the starters are doing so well and Arraez is such a good hitter and can play several IF positions? ? Will it be 2 position players since two position (DH and C) players will be returning? What do you think?

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports in the last 24 hours the Twins have shown an interest in Craig Kimbrell. Anyone got any additional info about this exciting rumor?

Notes from Elizabethton I spent an afternoon and evening there yesterday, The GM, Mike Mains, could not have been nicer. He gave me free access and took me around the field and clubhouse. Here are some random observations.1) One member of the organization (not Mike Mains) told me that this was the best group of players, both in skills and in character, in 16 years. 2) There were 8 to 10 scouts there (and based on what I saw, they were not there to see the Bristol Pirates players. The night before in Johnson City, there were 3 to 4 scouts to see the Cardinals and the Braves. Not sure what, if anything that says, but I found it interesting. I talked to a Brewers scout and without looking at any of his notes, he readily gave me the numbers for Trevor Larnach, Yunior Severino, Chris Williams and Ricky De La Torre. 3) A Twins coach said that Severino hit a ball over the light poles at Johnson City that week. 4) In batting practice balls hit by Williams andLarnach just sounded crisper than when others hit the ball. 5) Josh Windsor had a no hitter through 4 with only 1 BB, He allowed 1 hit in the 5th and was removed after 5. It was a planned move, because I talked to Moises Gomez, who told me before the game that he was scheduled "to pitch tonight". 6) I was in the dressing room while the players had a pregame meal about 4 pm for a 6 pm game. The menu was outstanding...skinless chicken breasts, diced roasted sweet potatoes, and cut up fresh cantaloupe and water melon..The strength and conditioning coach, Chuck Bradway,(he has a masters degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science from the University of Tampa and extensive experience in this area of conditioning, and who looked to be in top shape himself) was in charge of the meals. After the game, a post game meal was served, consisting of Lasagna and I'm not aware of the other dishes, if any. I was told that the nutritional clubhouse meals had been started several years earlier. 7)The old Washington Senators star, Jim Lemon, had coached there and was revered by long time manager Ray Smith, and long tome hitting coach, Jeff Reed. The4 coaches" lockers were labeled in large letters the following: COBB, RUTH, LEMON, and GEHRIG. 8).I met a new technical analyst, who was working on his computer. Reed told me his help was invaluable. 9) Cupping therapy was being used on several players' shoulders.Cupping increases blood flow to muscle strains and speeds healing by bringing more blood to the cupped areas. It leaves a 2 inch in diameter red circle where each cup hadbeen removed. About 4 cups were used at a time. 10) The first base coach is named Takashi Mioshi. Prior to his arrival from Japan this year, (his first year) he requested information about the history of Elisabethton and the surrounding area from the GM, so he could fit in better. 11) The Watauga River is a shallow river which flows by the Twins' stadium less that 200 yards away. Sometimes after a practice on a hot day, the players will go lie down in the shallow river to cool off and just relax. The players I met and talked with were all polite and friendly...maybe they were just a laid back bunch from the cupping and from lying in the river.

Interesting article in the Atlantic magazine about good team chemistry. Tell me what you think. Does good team chemistry result in winning teams, or do winning teams produce good team chemistry, automatically? https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/finding-the-formula-for-team-chemistry/561722/