USAFChief

yes. 2016.

What is the status of Sano's elbow? Is he throwing?

I dont know...I view Punto as more of a tail-battler-offer than gritty. Subtle difference, but the devil is in the details.

All of which is why every outside force through history has left the area with a sad tale to tell, and little if anything to show for it, for the outsiders or for the locals.

No hotdogging, though.

Let's hope he can ketchup to his previous level, and really put some mustard on it out of the pen.

Nor mine.

"...a coalition of ... Muslim nations." Bingo.

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/16833-article-what-happened-to-joe-mauer/?hl=%2Bmauer+%2Bproductive The claim Mauer couldn't work out prior to the 2014 season seems at odds with this article, where he told the PP his 2013-2014 offseason was "very productive." I have no idea if Mauer's 2013 concussion affected his 2014 season. But I don't recall any actual statements to support that theory. In any case, lets hope he's healthy, can stay healthy, and he can put up a string of .900 OPS's to finish out his contract.

Someone posted a list of the outfielders with a higher WAR than Hunter in 2014. None of them were Twins. Now I'm not a big fan of WAR, but many are, and using that list, I repeat my statement: the Twins would have been lucky to have had Hunter in 2014. It seems odd for someone to post a list that shows the Twins are adding a player who would have been a better OFer than every Twin in 2014, and claim that list is evidence it's a bad signing. Willingham was part of that list, by the way...below Hunter. So I stand by my original post...the Twins would have been better off with Hunter on the team in 2014. Which proves nothing about 2015, I agree, but neither does 2014 UZR.

Spring training for game threaders is also cranking up, I see.

Huh...that's exactly who Cain reminds me of, too.

And if I was Paully, my answer: "You're right. I understand the celly coverage is fantastic in Rochester. See the travel secretary, he'll be working on a plane ticket within the hour. One way, coach."

Look for the Gophers to cough up a late lead. :/

Yes, part of his reinstatement agreement was to remain free of drugs of abuse. There is also speculation he came forward prior to test results coming out that he suspected would be positive. Personally, while sympathetic to Hamilton's battle, at some point personal responsibility has to enter into the equation. He deserves a lengthy suspension, IMO.

OK, point made. Enough, please.

Possibly so. But that doesn't necessarily mean teams didnt value offense then, or value it more now. It means they might use different metrics now to asses that value. Or better understand the value of the metrics themselves. I haven't been around 150 years (although I plan to be ;-) ), but never in my lifetime have teams not had to balance the worth of a player based on multiple factors, including the balance between what they bring to the table on offense as well as defense. "Strong up the middle defensively" has been an accepted strategy for a long time.

Ladies and Gentlemen (and mods): Here's the announcement you've all been waiting for...the Second Annual Unofficial Twins Daily Forum Over/Under Contest. Below are 2015 MLB over/unders from Bovado. Take a crack...over this total, or under? Post your picks below (copy and paste the list, add "over" or "under" after each team.) You can edit and change your picks through 4/4/15, at which point the thread will be locked and no more picks/changes allowed. The person making the most correct picks will be declared THE WINNER and will recieve a fabulous prize package worth nearly 2 FIGURES!* In addition, this year TD owners have authorized me to award EVERY PARTICIPANT a FREE ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP to Twins Daily. That's right, folks, simply by participating, your TD membership fees for 2015 will be waived! Your membership status will be upgraded to allow unlimited posting privileges and free game thread participation, all at no cost to you. *Estimated retail value, if you really stretch it. Tax liability sole responsibility of THE WINNER. Twins Daily site owners, admins, and mods are not responsible for content and cannot be dissed by disgruntled contestents. All rights reserved. Any reposting or rebroadcast of this post without the expressed written consent of Chief, the Mods, and Twins Daily is forbidden.. Entries not accepted after 4/4/2015. Arizona Diamondbacks - 71.5 Atlanta Braves - 73.5 Baltimore Orioles - 82.5 Boston Red Sox - 86.5 Chicago Cubs - 82.5 Chicago White Sox - 81.5 Cincinnati Reds - 77.5 Cleveland Indians - 84.5 Colorado Rockies - 71.5 Detroit Tigers - 84.5 Houston Astros - 75.5 Kansas City Royals - 81.5 Los Angeles Angels - 88.5 Los Angeles Dodgers - 92.5 Miami Marlins - 81.5 Milwaukee Brewers - 78.5 Minnesota Twins - 71.5 New York Mets - 81.5 New York Yankees - 81.5 Oakland Athletics - 81.5 Philadelphia Phillies - 68.5 Pittsburgh Pirates - 84.5 San Diego Padres - 84.5 San Francisco Giants - 84.5 Seattle Mariners - 86.5 St. Louis Cardinals - 88.5 Tampa Bay Rays - 78.5 Texas Rangers - 78.5 Toronto Blue Jays - 83.5 Washington Nationals - 93.5 Tie breaker 1: The two AL WC teams will be: Tie breaker 2: The two NL WC teams will be:

It's possible big league teams have undervalued defense for 150 years. I think it's more likely the value metric-friendly websites place on defense has increased in recent years.

Probably true. But how is early season fanbase excitement that fades worse than early season fanbase apathy that persists? This is a thread speculating about marketing as one reason for the signing.

how many of these were Twins? Seems to me the Twins would've been lucky to have Hunter last year.

I counted AL, I'm guessing you have all of MLB.

2013: 45646 PAs by RH hitters, 44111 by LH hitters. Now we're down to a difference of less than 1300, in over 2400 games. One more RH hitter every other game. Combing 2013 and 2014, 8000 PAs in 4800 games. Less than 1 per game. There are almost as many LH hitters as RH, like I said.

No.

1. The flights of the balls are, completely the same...they are just mirror images. There are sliced balls to left field from LH hitters, and hooked balls from RH hitters. In RF, same balls, just from opposite handed hitters... sliced balls from RH hitters, hooked balls from LH hitters. The number of PAs by RH hitters in the AL last year was higher than by LH hitters, but not by a lot: 49467 to 42723. The number of balls put in play to RF and lF were very similar: 15268 to LF, 14762 to RF (hat tip to baseballref). If you look at putouts by RFers and LFers each year, they are very similar...I'm not going to do that research again, but we had this discussion a few years ago on BYTO and I am confident I remember that correctly. All of which means RFers and LFers are going to see a similar number of chances. There are quirky ballpark differences in RF and LF, but other than that, there just isn't much difference between playing one or the other. Better arm usually plays right. Personal preference and/or familiarity maybe. 2. I didn't say you wanted Arcia in right. I said you've called him a bad OFer unlikely to improve. So if, as you've stated, RF is more difficult, I don't understand why you are against moving him to left.