John Bonnes

The guest list for the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown continues to grow! We're very excited to announce that Tim Laudner will be joining us to talk about the 1987 World Series, catcher framing, moving from player to media, and maybe show off what a World Series ring looks like. Laudner is best known to Twins fans as being the starting catcher of the 1987 World Champion Twins. In that seven-game Championship series versus the Cardinals, he started every game, hitting .318 (with a .444 OBP).Laudner played nine seasons with the Twins, retiring towards the end of spring training in 1990. He also played high school football, where he was an all-state tight end, and high school baseball with Park Center, where he mostly pitched, including starting the semi-final state championship game in 1975. But in the summer of 1976 he converted to catcher and attended the University of Missouri. Three years later, he was drafted by the Twins and slugged 42 home runs in AA before getting called up to replace the injured Butch Wynegar in 1981. Laudner homered in both of his first two games with the Twins and went on to post double-digit home runs in four of his seasons and was named an All-Star in 1988. Since retirement he has worked as a project manager, run a Big League Baseball Camp and works as an analyst at Fox Sport North and Fox Sports Wisconsin. We're thrilled that he is interested in hanging out with the Twins Daily community and know you won't want to miss it, so here are the details: January 24th, from 5-8, at Mason's. Just walk the block from Target Field and TwinsFest and join us.Question & answers with Minnesota Twins President Dave St. Peter, Twins alum catcher and .... you'll need to wait until Monday to find out.Two free beers from local craft brewery 612 Brew. DrinkDrink specials from Dobel Tequila and Three Olives Vodka.The limited edition Twins Daily Winter Meltdown Pint GlassTickets go on sale Tuesday RIGHT HERE for $25! We sold out last year within hours. Plus the price goes up to $30 on Wednesday. PLEASE don't miss out.~~~ Wednesday morning update: Time for a Meltdown! (The good kind.) Last year, the 1st Annual Twins Daily Winter Meltdown featured Twins president Dave St. Peter, former Twins pitcher Scott Erickson and Miguel Sano documentarian Jon Paley. Over 200 people showed up and advance tickets sold out inside of four hours. As with seemingly everything this community does, the stories that came out of it were legendary. Let’s do that again. On Saturday the 24th, from 5:00 to 8:00, we’ll be throwing the 2nd Annual Twins Daily Winter Meltdown. You can walk over from TwinsFest because the event will be just a block away, at Mason’s Restaurant and Barre on 6th and Hennepin. Not only will you get to gather with Twins Daily writers and members and talk Hot Stove, but we’ll include: A Twins Daily Winter Meltdown Pint GlassTwo complimentary local craft beers from 612 BrewDrink specials on Dobel Tequila shots and Three Olives Naked Vodka drinks.Aaron Gleeman and John “Twins Geek” Bonnes interviewing three special Twins guests.We’ll announce two of the guests on Friday and Monday morning, but we can confirm that we’ll lead off with Twins President Dave St. Peter. St. Peter has served as President of the Twins since 2002, overseeing a decade of success, a move to Target Field and the recent struggles of the team. He has also made enormous efforts to engage Twins fans directly, including a very active (and popular) Twitter account. We really appreciate his support. Download attachment: Dave St. Peter.jpg And, you’ll be treated to some fantastic locally brewed beer from 612 Brew in Northeast Minneapolis. This is 612 Brew’s second year sponsoring our Meltdown and they have supported various Twins Daily and Gleeman and the Geek events for several years. They are some of the more creative brewers in the city, as their beer list details. Last year, the tricky part was getting tickets, and that could be true again. Tickets are $30, but because we want to reward those folks who stop by Twins Daily every day, they’ll be on sale for $25 the first day of the sale, TUESDAY (1/13). Even more importantly, last year they sold out by noon on the first day, so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you find a way to stop by TwinsDaily.com this Tuesday morning when they go on sale at 8AM at Twins Daily and get your tickets. Download attachment: Winter-Meltdown-2015-Pint-Glass_300.jpg Want to bring friends and family? Great. Mason’s is known for their fantastic food. Also, kids under 21 are absolutely welcome if they would like to meet or ask questions of our guests. (You’ll need ID to get any alcohol.) So please join us for our biggest event of the year. It’s easy, it’s affordable, it’s crazy fun and you’re going to be kicking yourself that weekend if you can’t be there. Stop by tomorrow for more news on our guests or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to view the article

I'll go Bad News Bears on the bit.... "Let him play! Let him play!" (Provided he feels up to it.)

Aaron and John meet at Stella’s and discuss: 1:00 – Free agents and MLB payrolls 7:00 – Phil Hughes Extension 21:00 – Tim Stauffer signing 36:00 – Ballpark effects 39:00 – Aaron’s Birthday 44:00 – Twins Daily Meltdown 46:00 – Farewell Chris Parmelee 52:00 – Twins catchers 55:00 – Going to Korea 59:00 – National Perception of the Twins 61:00 – Top 30 Tweeters 64:00 – Spring Training 68:15 – Aaron’s worst analogy ever 72:00 – Super Bowl WeekendYou can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

The extension to Dozier seems inevitable, right? I wonder how long they'll go.

Those Twins fans hoping that the last spot in the Twins bullpen this year might go to a failed ex-starter may have gotten their wish today. It’s just that that failed ex-starter was with the Padres. The Minnesota Twins announced that they signed right-hander Tim Stauffer to a one-year, $2.2 milion contract today to compete for a bullpen spot. Stauffer is an ex-starter who was moved to the bullpen after suffering a couple of significant injuries while he served as a fringe starting pitcher in the Padres organization.In 2012, Stauffer had his elbow’s flexor tendon repaired and had undergone labrum surgery a few years earlier. He debuted way back in 2005 and was the third overall pick in 2003. This is his first team other than the Padres, who brought him back a few times. Last year Stauffer wasn’t a key cog in the Padres bullpen, rarely seeing high leverage innings unless they were in extra innings. But his stats as a reliever give hope that he has the potential for more. Last year he had 57 strikeouts and 19 walks in 56.1 innings, though he also posted a pretty mediocre 1.314WHIP. He also seemed to be helped by spacious Petco Park, giving up far fewer hits at home than on the road, but Target Field has a reputation as a pitcher-friendly park, too. He’s possibly better than he’s been used, and although he’s 31 years old, it’s a very affordable one-year deal and provides additional competition in a possibly already crowded bullpen. About the only people who should be opposed to this move are the other relievers in the Twins bullpen, unless the hope was that the Twins would sign a high-end reliever. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John visit Mac’s Industrial Sports Bar and speculate on the Minnesota Twins remaining offseason plans, grill owner Michael Curry about how he bought his first bar, review the Twins new minor league coaching assignments, praise bad decisions on Christmas night, rank the Twins rotation versus the rest of the AL Central, eat WAY too much, anticipate Nick Punto’s return, encourage Aaron’s new foodie leanings and run through a mailbag.You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

I'm digesting this. I did not expect this. On the one hand, he's only 28 years old, and I'm firmly in the camp that thinks he is for real. Would I give a 5-year, $58 million contract to a guy to a guy like that? Yeah, I think I would. It's certainly favorable to the Santana deal, which seemed like a relative bargain. Would I rip up a fantastic contract to take on three extra years of risk? I'm a LOT more tentative about that. Even if he is for real, pitchers get hurt. But the last time Hughes missed much time for an injury was 2011 (shoulder) and has basically had a full load of starts four of the last five years. And again , he's just 28. OK, I like this deal - like it, don't love it. But that's from someone who is pretty skeptical about extensions.

Aaron and John talk about the Twins signing Ervin Santana for $55 million, picking J.R. Graham in the Rule 5 draft, revisiting the Ricky Nolasco signing, using Harry's Razors for your holiday shopping, incident-free press conferences, full rotations, dropping Chris Parmelee and Chris Colabello, signing Shane Robinson, payroll debates, and Eduardo Escobar rumors.You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Here's the thing - if you want to blame someone for making this an issue, it's Hunter, and it's not just about him talking about it first. It's about him going back to it. Berardino's question wasn't asking Hunter to expound on his beliefs. His question was whether Hunter thought that stating his support of a political candidate affected his free agent market. Then he followed up asking if, in the future, Hunter would want to talk about his views on "marriage." Certainly, that gives Hunter the chance to get in trouble, but it's a legitimate question about Hunter's free agency experience - and Hunter even handled it so that it wasn't really a story. It exploded because Hunter couldn't leave it alone. He stayed away from it at first, didn't take the bait. But he was the one who went back to it, though it might have also been a reaction to the awkward silence that followed that question. He used the term "prick" when using a less vulgar term like "pitbull" or "rabble rouser" would have kept it a non-story. And he kept using it when stopping after the first or second sentence would've seemed like jocular, maybe even bonding, humor. I even think it's fair to blame both sides of the issue for blowing up this story into a controversy, so both sides can sound off on their view. But I don't think it's fair to blame Mike for asking the question.

Aaron and John visit Sociable Cider Werks and talk about the Minnesota Twins signing Torii Hunter, the varied paths of Carleton grads, a tutorial on defensive metrics, and reactions to Hunter's press conference comments. You can download it from iTunes, Stitchr or GleemanAndTheGeek.com http://gleemangeek.l...3-talking-torii Click here to view the article

It's possible that Hughes is the most untouchable player in the organization right now. As much hype as Buxton/Sano are hyped, Hughes is already a star performer at an area that the Twins are critically short. He can't be included in any deal for Bruce.

I didn't find a perfect free agent signing for the OF, so I guess this is fine. Mostly, I wanted a one-year deal, and I didn't care if it brought defense or offense - and I had no delusions they would get both on a one-year deal. I would rather he moves to left field. That seems silly.

For the last three years, the Murphy family has tried to answer a single question: how can we help get Tony Oliva in the Hall of Fame? No one asked them to answer that question. Not the Twins. Not Tony himself. They weren't deputized or drafted. They chose to do it themselves, coming together in a kitchen to found Vote Tony O to find out, "how can we help get Tony Oliva in the Hall of Fame?"That's not an easy question to answer, and as someone who writes more than he takes action, I'm a little worried that I can't do much. After all, baseball writing focuses on providing clear and concise answers to clear and concise questions. Which player won the game? Which team lost the trade? Who's washed up? Who's the future? There's a quick answer to each of those questions and a swath of data to support any answer you give: box scores and power splits, defensive metrics and pitch mapping. But when it comes to addressing Hall of Fame worthiness, things get trickier. For instance one advanced measure, which analyzes an array of statistics and contexts, puts Tony ahead of no-doubt-legends like Joe DiMaggio and Frank Robinson, but behind such faded who-the-hecks as Gavvy Cravath and Harry Stovey. http://votetonyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/VoteTonyO_Tony_Oliva_Official_Fan_Club-300x200.jpg "The numbers are easy", says Mike Murphy, one of Vote Tony O's spokespeople. "[They've] all been a record since 1976, but it's a little bit harder for us to quantify what Tony means to the community." Fuzzy though the quantification is, it's certain that Tony Oliva means a lot to his communities. He is and has been a role model for Cuban players coming to America. He served as a cornerstone of the Twins for the past 50 years as a player, a coach on both World Series winning clubs, and an announcer for our increasingly diverse fan base. Above all, he stands out as an indefatigable ambassador for the game, the team and life itself. Over the years Murphy and his family have seen this more than most people. "Tony loves being Tony. Tony loves being the guy that people want to come up and meet and touch and get an autograph. He loves everybody that comes up to him; he bends over backwards for these people, and it's because he truly enjoys it. " Again, anyone who has seen Oliva around the Twins in recent years knows it. Though the team has hardly been a bastion of good vibes, Oliva is often the greatest source of entertainment. He smiles. He beams. He radiates a love of the game that would insulate an ice fishing cabin in International Falls, and embodies a passion that those who fixate on questions about winning and losing too often forget. But the Murphys won't forget that passion, because they can't forget one of the rare times Oliva was dispirited rather than optimistic: winter 2011, the last time Tony was up for election. Mike Murphy remembers the push to the ballot. Remembers the day of the announcement. Remembers how "exactly the way you think it would be in your head, [that] was the way it was. You know the clock ticking and nobody talking, then depression sets in. "And the weird thing was Tony wasn't depressed he didn't get into the Hall of Fame. He's at peace with it; he's fine. That part's not a big deal. I'm sure he wants it, but the fact that he isn't in there? He's okay with it. "The part that disappointed him and bothered him was that he felt that he let his fans down...This is 35-ish years after the last baseball game he played. He was disappointed not because he didn't make it, but because he let his fans down." So while others might shake their heads and move on with their lives, the people behind Vote Tony O have taken up a three year campaign to push for Oliva's induction. They tweet. They promote. And they inundate the Hall of Fame with over 14,000 post cards highlighting Tony's achievements, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the game. According to Murphy, that has been the real driver of the group, focusing on "the character of the guy, the integrity of the guy, and re-shining some light. Hopefully we can pick up those last four votes and put him over." Four more votes, that's all Oliva needs. Twelve out of sixteen members of the veteran's committee. Former colleagues, executives and writers who know the game and its history, who should understand the effect that Oliva has had. And even though the votes belong to those men, and the honor of selection belongs to the players, the Murphys know that the institution isn't just the property of the gatekeepers or the honorees. "It's a museum. It's a New York State museum. It's a public thing, and frankly as a baseball fan: it's my museum." And even if you dispute Oliva's credentials (or refuse to consider him until after Gavvy Cravath gets his due), the leaders of Vote Tony O believe it's important to speak your mind. "It's our museum," repeats Murphy. "If [fans] feel strongly about anybody on that list be it Gil Hodges or Jim Kaat, I think it's their responsibility to let [the Hall of Fame] know. Nobody is really right and nobody is really wrong. But what we know as a fact is that an awful, awful lot of people think that Tony Oliva should be in the Hall of Fame, and that's what we [want] to share with those 16 guys." So, how can we help get Tony Oliva in the Hall of Fame? Simple: do whatever we can. The Vote Tony O website has a wealth of post cards that you can print and mail to the Hall of Fame (also linked to here for your clickable perusal). The baskets of cards are dumped out in front of the committee members and makes for a rather effective image (as noted by former committee member Tommy Lasorda). So here's what you do 1. Click on the links to find the post card you like. 2. Print one (or preferably more) off. 3. Add a personal memory. 4. Address it to: Baseball Hall of Fame Attn- Golden Era Committee 25 Main Street Cooperstown NY 13326 5. Attach a stamp to the card. 6. Drop it in the mail. Whether you stood beside him at the Cuban sandwich station at Target Field, or held out a ball for an autograph at the Metrodome, or cheered with the Knothole Gang in the Old Met's bleachers on a Saturday afternoon, I think you'll agree that Tony Oliva is an integral part of what Minnesota baseball is. http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/reu/d/2011%5C98%5C2011-04-08T182219Z_01_MIN04_RTRIDSP_0_BASEBALL.jpg Whether you appreciated his friendly demeanor, or his clutch performances, or his bad-ball hitting, or his mentorship, or his courage in simply being a man of color in minor league towns that kept him separate and unequal, I think you'll agree it's time to stand up and say "thank you" to Tony Oliva. Whether you want to recognize a player who never got his due, or acknowledge the role he played in cementing baseball as an international game, or just want him to savor the game's greatest honor before (like Ron Santo and Buck O'Neill) it's too late, I think you'll agree it's important to call on the Veterans Committee to "Vote Tony O". Do your part: click, print, sign, lick a stamp, and make yours the 14,001st plea for the Veteran's Committee to Vote Tony O. Well...14,002nd. I already sent mine. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John welcome special guest Steve "Randball's Stu" Neuman for beers atSummit Brew Hall and talk about filling out the Twins' coaching staff, having Torii Hunter feelings, Miguel Sano and 40-man roster additions, good charities and $100,000, The Sportive podcast, and trying out for The Voice. Don't forget, you can subscribe to GATG using iTunes or Stitcher. Or listen by clicking on "Play" below. . Click here to view the article

UPDATE (Sun, 10:00 PM) - Beradino tweeted that the Yang's KBO team, the Kia Tigers, have not officially accepted the bid yet. Meanwhile, Darren Wolfson says that the Korean media is reporting that Texas had the winning bid." The Minnesota Twins have won the posting for South Korean 26-year-old pitcher Hyeon-Jong Yang per Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino. This means they now have exclusive negotiating rights with him for 30 days to finalize a deal. Amazin Avenue has an excellent profile of Yang that goes beyond the initial anonymous scouting reports. This summarizes a lot of that story and adds in some other sources I’ve found. Yang is 26 years old and dominated in high school, making the South Korean Junior National Team. His success led to him being drafted ninth overall in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) Draft.The southpaw debuted as a 19-year-old in 2007 and started the year in the rotation but was moved to the bullpen as the season progressed due to struggles with his control. It was the same story in 2008, but he broke through in 2009, posting a 3.15 ERA with 139 K and 58BB in 148.2 IP. He also led the Kia Tigers to a Korean Series victory. He regressed a bit in 2010, getting 16 wins but taking a step back in individual statistics like ERA (4.25). He had similar mediocre results from 2011 through 2012 as he continued to struggle with his control. He bounced back in 2013 though he missed time with a pretty serious rib injury. And in 2014, while his individual statistics don’t look spectacular, he did so in a high offense season in the KBO. He has also trimmed his walk rate over the last two years to a more respectable 3.9 BB/9. (It was over 5 for almost every other season of his KBO career.) This year, despite pitching for a struggling Kia Tigers team (they finished 52-74), he won 16 games and KBO’s version of the Cy Young award, the Choi Dong-won Award. This is the first season it has been awarded. That being said, it’s not clear from his statistics just why he won. Looking at KBO stats last year, it looks like several pitchers had a better year across the board. Amazin Avenue’s Steve Sypa cautions readers to take the projection of Yang as a #2 or even #3 starter with a large grain of salt. That projection was made by an anonymous scout to Daily News writer Mark Feinsand, but Sypa lists several others who are not as optimistic. The primary discrepancy surrounds Yang’s fastball, which is sometimes reported as reaching the mid-90s, but is also is listed at times as topping out at 91 or 92 mph (like in this scouting report, which also has a lot of information on his other pitches). His best pitch is his slider, but he doesn’t throw it very often, reserving it as a strikeout pitch. He also has a changeup, which has a nice velocity differential, but its movement is inconsistent. (I get the sense he has trouble keeping it low in the zone.) But the key concern about Yang is his control. His overall BB/9 in the KBO is 4.7, which is terrible. His pitches can have inconsistent movement. It sounds like his fastball can be thrown a few different places in the zone. His slider, when working, breaks down, but can also tail away from lefties. In the scouting report above, he was noted as occasionally pitching aggressively inside, but he wasn’t among the league leaders in hitting batters. This year, Yang is joined in being posted by fellow KBO pitcher Kwang-Hyun Kim. Kim was just posted and won by the Padres for $2 million last week. Kim and Yang have had parallel careers since they were pitching together on the South Korean National team, and Kim was ranked as the 32nd best free agent by Hardball Talk before the season began. Feinsand lists Yang as a better bet than Kim, but it’s not clear from their careers that there is much difference. Both are following the lead of Dodgers pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu, who was posted and signed two years ago and has posted a 3.17 ERA over 344 IP in those years. His success has renewed interest in KBO players, particularly pitchers. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John breakdown the free agent outfielders available to the Minnesota Twins, walk through arbitration abitration decisions, introduce you to Starflyer 59’s latest album, discuss the latest additions to Paul Molitor’s coaching staff, encourage you to donate to Aaron Purmont’s family and review Fritos on a pizza. Don't forget, you can subscribe to GATG using iTunes or Stitcher. Or listen by clicking on "Play" below. Click here to view the article