USAFChief

Same if Ruesse talked to Molitor, which he undoubtedly has. Molitor isn't going to throw Garver under the bus while "on the record," either. And to my eyes, if I were a pitcher, I'd also much prefer throwing to Wilson, so the whole thing makes sense to me.

Why? Dozier is a better player than Escobar.

Overall, no. But most of their important players aren't old, either.

Feels like that 1st inning opportunity was pretty huge...and wasted.

Much to my chagrin, I have never gotten an actual MLB foul ball, despite having attended quite a few MLB games. It's on my bucket list, though. However: I have gotten dozens of BP HRs through the years, because I'm the schmuck that still shows up as early as they'll let me in to watch as much of BP as I am allowed. Those don't count, in my book though. AND I DID get a ball tossed to me by Kirby Puckett at the Big A in Anaheim after he warmed up prior to a game. I made a clean, nonchalant one handed grab too, and made eye contact with Kirby. That sorta counts, right? AND I came THIS close to catching Greg Gagne's 1991 WS game one HR in the left field stands. I had been in LF for so many BP's that I just KNEW, at the crack of the bat, that ball was coming RIGHT to me. It tracked perfectly, before it somehow just stopped in mid air and fell like a brick one row in front of me. You can see me reaching for it on the DVD of the World Series I own. AND My daughter, who has been to probably 5 percent as many games as me, got a line drive foul off the bat of one Joe Mauer at the dome years ago. It bounced off several hands before coming to rest at her feet, where she calmly reached down and picked it up uncontested. She still holds that over my head like the Sword of Damocles.

I concur with the OP.

These do not seem to me like reasons to consider Santana the best Twins pitcher ever. Just the opposite. I didn't compare Blyleven to the rest of MLB. I compared him to the list of Twins pitchers. Just because Bert wasn't as good as Seaver doesn't mean he wasn't better than Santana.

The "Get To Know Each Other" thread got me to thinking about Rik Aalbert Blyleven. He came up in 1970 at age 19. Starting in 1971, his age 20 season, over the next 6 seasons he put up the following numbers: 1745 Inning Pitched (an average of 290 per year). ERAs that ranged between 2.52 and 3.00 (with FIPs that ranged from 2.32 to 2.99) 1411 Ks, in an era where Ks were nowhere near as common as today 98 Ws. 110 complete games. One. Hundred. And. Ten. Over six seasons. An average of 18 per year. Times have changed, but talk about a horse. All of that was good enough to get him traded to Texas in 1976, BTW. Many consider Johan Santana the best ever Twins pitcher. I love me some Johan, but for my money, that title belongs to Bert.

NOTE: The game thread concept/process is currently under discussion. Stand by for news. For the time being, if you are scheduled for a game thread and wish to follow through, please do. If you are scheduled for a game thread and wish to not follow through, feel free to skip it.

It's a long shot, obviously, but who you beat isn't particularly meaningful. All W's count the same. Other teams have beaten up on KC and Balt, too, obviously. The Twins are a better team than they've played. I'd prefer to at least wait until late July before giving up on anything. And for the record, if you really want to consider who've they've beaten, the Twins are 16-10 against Boston, Cleveland, Houston, the LAA, and St Louis.

We're pulling for you, Sano-zee.

1.) Where are you from? Born and raised in Cosmos. ... Which is 17 miles west of Hutchinson, on Hiway 7. ... ... Born and raised in west central MN. Left for the Air Force after some time at Willmar State Junior College, lived in CA, TX, WY, AZ, Okinawa, Korea, mainland Japan, and now back in AZ. Hope to move back to MN, at least part time, soon. 2.) Age Range? Upper 3.) What brought you to Twins Daily? I migrated from DTFC (the Dickie Thon Fan Club) to Battle Your Tail Off (BYTO), then followed many folks here. I remember arguing with Nick Nelson back before he made the big time. 4.) Highest level of baseball/softball played? Junior College baseball. Air Force level fastpitch futility infielder, back in the days when there was both fastpitch softball played and the Air Force had a service level team. In both cases, I could pick it, but I was doomed by poor equipment... I seemingly always got a defective bat. 5.) Favorite Twins Player, and favorite underappreciated Twins player, and if you want, favorite current Twins player? Favorite ever: Kirby, natch. Also Harmon, Gary Gaetti, Hrbek, Cesar Tovar. Underappreciated: Shane Mack, Bob Allison, Jim Perry. Even though he's been elected to the HOF, I think people underrate Bert Blyleven. Current: Buxton. Watched him go from first to third in an AFL game and my jaw dropped. 6.) Favorite non-Twins Daily site/authors? Gopherhole, Startrib. BaseballReference is also a pretty awesome thing. 7.) Favorite Twitter follows? N/A. I don't Twit. 8.) Other interests outside of baseball. I love poker. Bowling. Grandkids. Overeating. Napping. 9.) Favorite part of Twins Daily... forums, blogs, articles, topics... Game threads. 10.) Tell us what we can do better. Concur with above...hire better moderators. Perhaps you should consider upping the pay? 11.) Have you been to any of the Twins Daily "events?" I haven't made it to any. Yet. But I will.

An opinion also held by Mrs Chief.

PUT THE TREES BACK!!

W’s count the same no matter who they come against. Just like a month ago when they took 4 of 6 from Cleveland and Boston. It’s unlikely, but not impossible for this to be a race into September. And to me, that would be worth more than some lottery tickets in A ball. Give it a couple weeks, at least.

Blah blah blah. Mauer came to the plate with one out, runner on third, down one. Infield back. Takes strike one, and strike two, and walks back to the dugout with the team still down one. That’s just bad baseball, and it happens way too much. No matter how folks try to ignore it, defend it, or rationalize it.

Yes.

He’s driven in 7 more runs than Mauer.

It’s what he deserves.

Way to go, Joe Mauer. Take two strikes with the tie run on third. And I hear RBI are only about opportunity.

Fantastic work as usual, Blake. Much appreciated!

Only my opinion of course, but I would be shocked if Reusse would function as a mouthpiece for ANYone. He is a curmudgeon through and through, and worked long and hard to get to a place where he can actually BE a curmudgeon through and through to his heart’s content. I believe he’d quit before he wrote a propaganda piece for the Pohlads.

I'd be ok with that approach, too.

If we're "not in a window," why do we care if we have control of "core players" through 2021-22? Would it be because...we're "in a window?" Or would it be that Lewis/Graterol/Gordon/Kiriloff et al aren't "core players" at all. They're prospects.

One last try: A poster claimed that good teams never added talent until they were already good. I disagree, both with the theory, and the actual claim. I provided an example of the Cubs, who had young talent but were clearly not good yet. They operated on faith that they would be good, soon, and that adding talent like Lester, before they were actually good, made sense. The Twins have young talent. Including two players who were top 10 level talent. Adding to that, now, makes all the sense in the world. If you don't think the Twins have the young talent to compete in 2019, then what do you advocate? Trade Rosario, Kepler, Berrios, and get what you can for Sano and Buxton?