USAFChief

Biggest problem? Just my opinion, but .209/.250/.326 and continued injury concerns are both bigger problems than SB technique.

No, they are responsible for getting themselves to dinner.

And may not be enough anyway, if Nolasco goes two more innings. Bad dum tcshhhh

If Quentin is healthy (and stays healthy), there's no question in my mind he'd be one of their top half dozen hitters. The question (in addition to health) is, how do you make 40 and 25 man space? He'd be adequate defensively to get a little corner OF and first base time. You could, for example, sit Mauer against a few tough LHers and have Park and Quentin in the lineup.

I'm not sure why you feel the need to bring skin color into this discussion. I'm going to guess that Pedro Martinez wouldn't have thought much of Bautista's display either. Nor Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Hank Aaron, or literally thousands of baseball players of every background. That Gossage said some idiotic things isn't relevant. Nor is anyone here "siding" with him.

I disagree with the notion that there are unwritten rules about genuinely showing emotion. Again...nobody took offense to Carlton Fisk. Joe Carter. Where we seem to have some disagreement is whether or not Jose Bautista throwing his bat 20 ft in the air, pimping and preening at home plate, and telling the ESPN generation "look at ME!" Is a natural evolution of respect for the game.

1, I think using "a loudmouth racist like Gossage" as the primary example of anyone who has respect for the game's traditions and history is a pretty cheap and dishonest argument. 2. I specifically don't want MLB to get to the point where the league has to codify how high and how far your bat flip can be before we ... What? Award strike one to the pitcher on the next hitter in the lineup? I like the fact, in this sport, players have pretty much handled this. Penalties haven't done any good in the NFL anyway. It's as ridiculous as ever, only now, some dentist from Akron gets to decide if it warrants a 15 yard penalty, which makes for great material for Chris Berman to breathlessly analyze on the post game show, but wasn't about football. No...I think it's better if we just minimize the conduct itself, rather than let it get so out of hand we need rules written about it. BTW...nobody gets one in the teeth...that's against the unwritten rules. He might get one in the backside, and I'm ok with that. Take your base, steal second and third, and score on a fly ball. Next time maybe the pitcher won't give you first base.

I'm simply disputing the argument that a) baseball is strangling, and 2) that there is a need to change it to be more like the NFL. The NFK is king, no doubt. That doesn't mean I like it more than baseball. Do you?

MLB sold more tickets in 2015 than the NFL, NBA, and NHL combined. But, you have a point in that keeping itself in the news is an NFL priority. I may be in the minority here, but I'm more than fine with MLB taking a somewhat different tack. In fact, one of the things I like about baseball is it's NOT the NFL. And quite frankly, I strongly hope it never becomes more like the NBA or NFL. The sport is the product, not the individual personalities.

You n me both, friend.

Good stuff.

those practices would end if Bryce Harpers didn't come along every generation.

I think baseball has always had room for honest emotion. Carlton Fisk looking down the left field line and urging his drive to stay fair. Kirby pumping his fist in game 6 between first and second. Baseball players have had no problem with honest emotion, celebrating success. What has been frowned on throughout most of baseball history has been "look at ME" actions, which are often premeditated and never about celebrating success. I for one, hope MLB stays away from that sort of thing. Let the NFL have the prima donnas running out to the 50 yard line with a sharpie, and choreographed dances after touchdowns, which are, IMO, the football equivalent to bat flips and 2 minute HR jogs. I hope MLB stays classier than that.

I defer to your extensive experience in this area. //see OP, item 8//

If you'll buy that story, I'll sell it.

We'll discuss. In the meantime, I suggest you come to opening day in the best shape of your life, work hard to make the GT team, worry about the things you can control, accept whatever role management decides is best for the team, and take it one game thread at a time. That way, the awards will take care of themselves.

If it's just agent speak, not coming from Nolasco, it should be pretty easy for Nolasco to clear up any misunderstanding, right?

Game thread vols needed for: Sunday, Oct 2

It's almost time...the 2016 season will be on us before we know it. Like last year, we're asking game thread fans to help us out by starting game threads. Like last year, Riverbrian will take care of all the series openers, leaving the rest of us in awe...and responsible for the remaining games in each series. If you want to help, we ask only a couple things: 1. If you volunteer, please follow through. (Or contact me as far in advance as possible so I can arrange for another person to start the thread.) 2. Have the game thread up at least 2 hours before game time, including lineups. 3. If you can't include the lineups when you post the game thread, come back later and add another post with just the lineups. 4. We like positivity. 5. Funny is great. Innovative is great. But they are not requirements. You are only limited by your imagination. FWIW, last year's volunteers did an absolutely fantastic job. 6. Length is up to you...but it's not necessary to create an opus. Use the following format for the thread title: (home) Game Thread: Twins vs XXX, 4/1/16 @ 7:10 PM CT (away) Game Thread: Twins @ XXX, 4/1/16 @ 8:10 PM CT 7. Have fun. 8. If you make jokes about old age, expect retaliation. Notes: Lineups are available at several places: see posts below for specific sites. Or just google "Daily MLB lineups" for help. You won't be able to edit your original post, so make sure you have it the way you want in when you hit "post." You also will need to add a second post to add lineups if they're not in your original thread starter. Please do not volunteer in this thread. This thread is for questions, ideas, etc. To volunteer, pick out the game(s) you want, then send a PM to USAFChief. You'll hear back from me, letting you know the game(s) is yours to do. Below you'll find a list of games still in need of a volunteer.

I did, and the first thing I notice is they are using only season ticket prices to determine "average ticket price." And even that is a "weighted average," which they don't explain. A quick trip to the Twins site again shows that only 5 sections in TF are priced above $33 per ticket, even for season ticket holders, and that includes the ridiculous prices of the Champions Club, at five times the price of dugout box seats.

I question the methodology used to derive "average ticket price. I went to MLB, checked tickets foe the CWS Twins game on Wed, Apr 13. Only two sections are priced at or above $33: dugout box and home plate box. There are 16 sections available below $33, starting at diamond box at $29 and ending at skyline view for $6.

No? //To answer the first part, I'd need to first know if Buxton goes north with the big club. If so, Arcia.//

With the cage still there, my guess is it's the rolled up tarp they put out in front of the cage to prevent the infield right in front of the plate from getting chewed up during BP.

Always with the unrelenting optimism. Sickening.

3 or 4 man bench, hopefully 4. Almost nobody carries only 11 pitchers anymore, so 5 man benches are pretty much a thing of the past. One of those is guaranteed to be a catcher. One has to be capable of playing middle infield. That leaves two spots, at most. And because of the above, the term "5th outfielder" is virtually obsolete. 4 true outfielders, plus maybe a guy who can play OF, or maybe a full time DH that can play OF if forced to.