John Bonnes

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2191[/ATTACH]Well, this is just precious. The last time the All-Star game to be held in Minnesota was in 1985. The night of the game, just prior to the national broadcast, Channel 11 (when they were WUSA, not KARE) had a half hour special covering it. It's a half-hour long, so make yourself comfortable if you want to watch it. You won't regret it. Among other gems, it includes.... A lead story about how the Metrodome is a terrible ballpark. Tom Ryther, out of breath and in short shorts, trying to catch flyballs in the outfield. Coverage of the pregame events. I did not remember that Tom Brunansky won the home run derby. Of course, I also didn't remember that Jefferson's Marching Band played in the pregame, which I should probably have known since I likely knew several people in that band. Jeff Passolt and Randy Shaver are assistant sports guys, doing on-site introductions for features. A review of "the last time" Minnesota hosted the All-Star game: 1985. Lots of 80s-tastic hair. Interviews with both Calvin Griffith and also with Carl Pohlad after owning the team for one year. It includes a great quote about how he never anticipates the team being a great financial investment. The main theme in the pregame show? "A Family Gathering" that shows how important family life has been in Minnesota throughout its history. It was put together by Tommy Walker, who "also did the opening ceremonies for the Olympics." Tom Brunansky and Kent Hrbek dressed up as the "Bruise Brothers." All-star memories from ex-Twins like Jim Perry, Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison. And a musical salute to the Twins and their 1985 All-Stars. It will be interesting to see the corresponding coverage that the 2014 game garnishes now that it includes all the hype the internet can generate it. Let me hear your favorite parts of the video or your ideas of how Twins Daily can add to the absurdity of it all.

How far are the Twins from contention? One side looks at their dismal record and wants a complete makeover. The other looks at the team's players and thinks they’re just a couple of arms away from a pennant race. Which is it? Let’s do some back-of-the-napkin figuring. As of right now, the Twins are 111 runs under .500. Not wins under .500, but runs under .500. That isn’t good. The Indians are the only American League team that’s worse. The three teams who have the most runs over .500 also happen to be the division leaders. The outlier is the Orioles, who are 45 runs under .500 but still have a shot at the wild card. But for the most part, the teams that are around 40 games over .500 have a decent chance at a playoff spot. So how do the Twins, in 2013, get from -110 to +40? Can they? Is that realistic? It ain’t easy, but the Twins are both blessed and cursed by the same trait – they’re starting pitching is truly dreadful. That’s not breaking news, but just HOW awful they are is both stomach-turning and hope-inducing. They’re the worst team in the American League, and it’s not particularly close. The starting rotation’s ERA is currently 5.56. Next worst is almost a full half run better. The AL average is more than a run better. The median team is 1.2 runs better. And the best team, the Devil Rays, is more than two runs better per game. So where’s the hope? It’s in some simple math. The average AL starting rotation pitches about 990 innings, or about 110 full games worth of innings. If the rotation improves to just second worst in the AL, that’s worth 55 runs. A move to mediocrity brings them another 110 to 130 runs. That at least sounds close to contention. It turns out both sides are right. The Twins are dismal. And they’re a few non-terrible arms from contention. So the argument shifts: how tough is it to cobble together mediocre starting pitching? That depends on who you talk to. The Orioles might say it’s not that daunting, considering their rotation improved from dead last in 2011 to 9th this year with nothing more than a couple of cheaper free agent pickups. On the other hand, the Royals haven’t been better than the 10th best team in the AL since 2003, which is also the last time they were contenders. Twins optimists might point to Scott Diamond, a Rule 5 pickup, as an example of how decent starting pitching can come from where one least expects it. Twins pessimists might point to the other ten players who have started atop the mound at some point this season. None have thrown even 100 innings as a starter. None are likely to. If the front office could find pitching talent, wouldn’t they have found some in the 107 games started by those pitchers? I’m not sure I know the answer. But watching the last few weeks of the season and seeing the performances of Liam Hendriks, Sam Deduno and hopefully Esmerling Vasquez could – and probably should – play a part in the overall direction of the franchise this season. So maybe neither side is right, at least not yet.

How far are the Twins from contention? One side looks at their dismal record and wants a complete makeover. The other looks at the team's players and thinks they’re just a couple of arms away from a pennant race. Which is it? Let’s do some back-of-the-napkin figuring. As of right now, the Twins are 111 runs under .500. Not wins under .500, but runs under .500. That isn’t good. The Indians are the only American League team that’s worse. The three teams who have the most runs over .500 also happen to be the division leaders. The outlier is the Orioles, who are 45 runs under .500 but still have a shot at the wild card. But for the most part, the teams that are around 40 games over .500 have a decent chance at a playoff spot. So how do the Twins, in 2013, get from -110 to +40? Can they? Is that realistic? It ain’t easy, but the Twins are both blessed and cursed by the same trait – they’re starting pitching is truly dreadful. That’s not breaking news, but just HOW awful they are is both stomach-turning and hope-inducing. They’re the worst team in the American League, and it’s not particularly close. The starting rotation’s ERA is currently 5.56. Next worst is almost a full half run better. The AL average is more than a run better. The median team is 1.2 runs better. And the best team, the Devil Rays, is more than two runs better per game. So where’s the hope? It’s in some simple math. The average AL starting rotation pitches about 990 innings, or about 110 full games worth of innings. If the rotation improves to just second worst in the AL, that’s worth 55 runs. A move to mediocrity brings them another 110 to 130 runs. That at least sounds close to contention. It turns out both sides are right. The Twins are dismal. And they’re a few non-terrible arms from contention. So the argument shifts: how tough is it to cobble together mediocre starting pitching? That depends on who you talk to. The Orioles might say it’s not that daunting, considering their rotation improved from dead last in 2011 to 9th this year with nothing more than a couple of cheaper free agent pickups. On the other hand, the Royals haven’t been better than the 10th best team in the AL since 2003, which is also the last time they were contenders. Twins optimists might point to Scott Diamond, a Rule 5 pickup, as an example of how decent starting pitching can come from where one least expects it. Twins pessimists might point to the other ten players who have started atop the mound at some point this season. None have thrown even 100 innings as a starter. None are likely to. If the front office could find pitching talent, wouldn’t they have found some in the 107 games started by those pitchers? I’m not sure I know the answer. But watching the last few weeks of the season and seeing the performances of Liam Hendriks, Sam Deduno and hopefully Esmerling Vasquez could – and probably should – play a part in the overall direction of the franchise this season. So maybe neither side is right, at least not yet.

OK, just to add a log to the hot stove.... The primary objection seems to be that the Twins aren't a King Felix away from contention. So what about this... 1. Trade away Morneau for a mediocre starter, maybe even one that isn't especially cheap but not especially expensive either. 2. Trade for Felix. You can argue what prospects it costs, but I gotta think it can be done for some high upside guys. Come the next prospect rankings, I think you're going to have a couple of 5 stars (Sano, Hicks, Buxton) and a couple of 4 stars (Rosario, Arcia, Berrios at least) to offer. Now the rotation looks like Felix, Diamond, Morneau trade guy, and some combination of Gibson, Hendriks, Deduno, De Vries, Vasquez and Blackburn as the fourth and fifth guys. Is that team really far from contention?

I'll say this....I think the Mariners would at least consider that trade. The big problem is that King Felix is only under control for two more years, so the Twins would need to add his $20M salary AND find pitchers for the other three spots in the lineup.

Great photos. Just great. I especially love Nate Roberts mustache. That is inspired. I also love the tidbit about Vargas' home run and hearing about the young (and promising) relievers. Finally, are you sure Saturday's game didn't seem long because of Mr. Horror Pants "Mr. Shuck" jokes?

:-) Nice job. For future reference, feel free to add a link back to your blog at the top of the story telling where this was originally published.

An opposite field home run (that almost looked like a fly ball off the bat). Nice. Thanks for sharing these TCAnelle. I'd love to see ideas on how TwinsDaily can gather, catalog and share picture like this. I'm afraid I don't know enough about organizing pictures to really lead something like that, but I think we would all support it. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

I wonder exactly what the penalty should be. It needs to be commensurate with the risk/reward factor but also allow the possibility of a mistest. The problem is that the risk/reward for someone like Colon or Cabrera is so crazy. Cabrera was supposedly a perennially gifted underachiever who went from barely getting a job to talking about a guaranteed $80m contract. What possible punishment could make that not worth it? What's interesting about the players union being so upset about it is that one punishment would be the the money suddenly becomes not guaranteed. That opens up players to all kinds of possible abuses and they would REALLY need to trust the system. But what if the testing was that they gave samples and some of those samples were saved for future testing when better tests are available? And that in addition to a one-year suspension that player lost all future guaranteed money if they are ever discovered?

Just to be clear Scott, I wasn't deleting it because it WAS spam. I deleted it because I was racing around the site deleting other spambot entries and at first glance I thought that's what it was. I realized it was a mistake, but I couldn't get it back.

I wrote this 10 years ago. Today the Chatty Chatty Princess started her year as a sophmore and The Boy enters the seventh grade. Good luck guys. Love, Dad. --------------------------------------------- He didn't feel the gush that everyone said he would feel the first time he held her in his arms. He frowned. "I've never been especially good about feeling emotions." There was excitement to be sure. And a feeling of amazement. But mostly the infant seemed like an infinite puzzle to be pieced together. They had a job to do. She needed to eat. Sleep. Learn she was a part of a family. She would cry from the moment he came home from work, and he would walk around the house with her, showing her the curtains, the flowers, the Kirby Pucket face-on-a-stick; anything to distract her from her exhaustion or hunger for five minutes and then five minutes more. "She was happy before you came home, honest." ------------- Shortly after the colic passed, they watched her roll onto her back. Six eyes grew wide and looked at each other. She immediately began working on rolling the other way. And then crawling. And walking. And talking. Definitely talking. And with each victory, came more self-assuredness. Now they had a new job to do. Limits needed to be set and erased. Challenges needed to made and met. Illusions needed to be poked. Usually, the toughest part of the job was knowing when to hold a hand and when to turn away. When to watch out for her without watching her. It was one of these times that he realized he felt the gush. He hadn't loved her at the hospital. He had fallen in love with her at home. And that was infinitely better. ---------- Yesterday, his wife held her hand until she delivered her to her first kindergarten class - and then she turned away, and walked home. He hadn't gone. He had gone to work, like he did everyday. It was no big deal. It certainly wasn't for his daughter. Just new friends to play with. A new adult to charm. New toys, and art projects and songs to sing. Not so very different than another activity hour at the community rec center. But as he drove to work, he realized he knew better. It was not so long ago. He remembers his kindergarten and Mrs. Manfred. First grade and Miss Oeschlager. His hurry to clear the next hurdle, face the next challenge, race to adulthood. He sees it in her. She can't grow up fast enough. The blessed quandary about when to hold a hand or turn away will be less frequent now. And he wasn't there this morning because it WAS a big deal. So on I-94, he found himself struggling to wipe underneath his glasses, as too few memories triggered too many emotions for his eyes to hold. There was sadness. And pride. And the gush. But mostly there was life's intense taste when one is lucky enough to get a full dose. And he sighed. "I've never been especially good about feeling emotions."

I wrote this 10 years ago. Today the Chatty Chatty Princess started her year as a sophmore and The Boy enters the seventh grade. Good luck guys. Love, Dad. --------------------------------------------- He didn't feel the gush that everyone said he would feel the first time he held her in his arms. He frowned. "I've never been especially good about feeling emotions." There was excitement to be sure. And a feeling of amazement. But mostly the infant seemed like an infinite puzzle to be pieced together. They had a job to do. She needed to eat. Sleep. Learn she was a part of a family. She would cry from the moment he came home from work, and he would walk around the house with her, showing her the curtains, the flowers, the Kirby Pucket face-on-a-stick; anything to distract her from her exhaustion or hunger for five minutes and then five minutes more. "She was happy before you came home, honest." ------------- Shortly after the colic passed, they watched her roll onto her back. Six eyes grew wide and looked at each other. She immediately began working on rolling the other way. And then crawling. And walking. And talking. Definitely talking. And with each victory, came more self-assuredness. Now they had a new job to do. Limits needed to be set and erased. Challenges needed to made and met. Illusions needed to be poked. Usually, the toughest part of the job was knowing when to hold a hand and when to turn away. When to watch out for her without watching her. It was one of these times that he realized he felt the gush. He hadn't loved her at the hospital. He had fallen in love with her at home. And that was infinitely better. ---------- Yesterday, his wife held her hand until she delivered her to her first kindergarten class - and then she turned away, and walked home. He hadn't gone. He had gone to work, like he did everyday. It was no big deal. It certainly wasn't for his daughter. Just new friends to play with. A new adult to charm. New toys, and art projects and songs to sing. Not so very different than another activity hour at the community rec center. But as he drove to work, he realized he knew better. It was not so long ago. He remembers his kindergarten and Mrs. Manfred. First grade and Miss Oeschlager. His hurry to clear the next hurdle, face the next challenge, race to adulthood. He sees it in her. She can't grow up fast enough. The blessed quandary about when to hold a hand or turn away will be less frequent now. And he wasn't there this morning because it WAS a big deal. So on I-94, he found himself struggling to wipe underneath his glasses, as too few memories triggered too many emotions for his eyes to hold. There was sadness. And pride. And the gush. But mostly there was life's intense taste when one is lucky enough to get a full dose. And he sighed. "I've never been especially good about feeling emotions."

Aaron and John's last KFAN broadcast is live from the Minnesota State Fair. First they talk about the Twins slide, September callups and a report out of LA that the Dodgers pursued Justin Morneau this week. Then they are joined by Lindsay Guentzel who talks about the highlights and lowlights of living in the MLB Fan Cave, what it's like trying to build a career in media and why Aaron shouldn't lead with his hair on those first dates. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.

Aaron and John's last KFAN broadcast is live from the Minnesota State Fair. First they talk about the Twins slide, September callups and a report out of LA that the Dodgers pursued Justin Morneau this week. Then they are joined by Lindsay Guentzel who talks about the highlights and lowlights of living in the MLB Fan Cave, what it's like trying to build a career in media and why Aaron shouldn't lead with his hair on those first dates. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.

Tonight The Voice of Reason™ and I went to a St. Paul Saints game. We soaked in a gorgeous Minnesota summer night, watched a bunch of kitsch and thoroughly enjoyed a game in which we had almost no emotional investment. Because it’s baseball. And it doesn’t last forever. I hear Minnesota sports fans lauding the turning of the calendar page, anxious for football and the (albeit limited) hope new seasons bring. I’ll enjoy watching the Gophers and Vikings too. But I’m a baseball guy, and I can’t devise a night much better than I just had. So go ahead, tell me how tough it is for you to watch a Twins game right now. Or take it a step further; tell me how you won’t watch a Twins game right now. I won’t be upset. More like puzzled, because I see all kinds of things that are exciting to watch over these last six months of the season. Let’s count down the top six. 6. Sam Deduno The original sin in baseball is to overestimate how much you really know. Sabermetrically and historically, Deduno doesn’t make any sense. But maybe we don’t know everything about this game just yet. I’m very excited to see how this ends. 5. Chris Parmelee “Prospects” kind of get lumped together, and we’re poorer as fans for it. So let’s be clear – nobody has had a season like Parmelee is having in AAA since the Twins moved to Rochester. Not Cuddyer. Not Kubel. Not Morneau. That doesn’t mean he’s a star in the making. But I sure want to see what he can do. (And that includes what he can do – shudder – in right field.) 4. Liam Hendriks & Brian Dozier Two guys who were rushed through AAA, brought up to the majors and predictably struggled. I’ve seen enough from both to think they’re on the right path, they just have a ways to go. I’m convinced these stories are going to have a happy ending. 3. Denard Span & the Twins Medical Staff When Span is deemed unavailable for the 15th straight day, will the Twins finally feel comfortable putting him on the DL? Or perhaps they'll decide that they don’t need their medical staff any more, relying solely on the player’s self-diagnosis. When they need a second opinion they'll draw cards from the board game Operation. (The Wacky Doctor Game!) 2. Other September Callups I think we’re going to be disappointed by how few additional September callups there are, but I’m hopeful we’ll get to see some pitching. I’d love to see if Esmerling Vazquez’ recent hot streak represents a breakthrough. I’d like to see if Anthony Slama and his video-game-like stats prove the organization’s brain trust wrong. I’d like to see if Deolis Guerra could have a role next year. 1. Joe Mauer and Ben Revere As a Twins fan in the 70s, it wasn’t uncommon to have nothing more than a Carew batting title to root for come August. I’ll readily admit my fascination with Mauer and Revere’s longshot chances are based on that being an annual occurrence of my childhood. I’d likely be just as fascinated if they brought back the bullpen car. (Of course, who wouldn’t?)

Tonight The Voice of Reason™ and I went to a St. Paul Saints game. We soaked in a gorgeous Minnesota summer night, watched a bunch of kitsch and thoroughly enjoyed a game in which we had almost no emotional investment. Because it’s baseball. And it doesn’t last forever. I hear Minnesota sports fans lauding the turning of the calendar page, anxious for football and the (albeit limited) hope new seasons bring. I’ll enjoy watching the Gophers and Vikings too. But I’m a baseball guy, and I can’t devise a night much better than I just had. So go ahead, tell me how tough it is for you to watch a Twins game right now. Or take it a step further; tell me how you won’t watch a Twins game right now. I won’t be upset. More like puzzled, because I see all kinds of things that are exciting to watch over these last six months of the season. Let’s count down the top six. 6. Sam Deduno The original sin in baseball is to overestimate how much you really know. Sabermetrically and historically, Deduno doesn’t make any sense. But maybe we don’t know everything about this game just yet. I’m very excited to see how this ends. 5. Chris Parmelee “Prospects” kind of get lumped together, and we’re poorer as fans for it. So let’s be clear – nobody has had a season like Parmelee is having in AAA since the Twins moved to Rochester. Not Cuddyer. Not Kubel. Not Morneau. That doesn’t mean he’s a star in the making. But I sure want to see what he can do. (And that includes what he can do – shudder – in right field.) 4. Liam Hendriks & Brian Dozier Two guys who were rushed through AAA, brought up to the majors and predictably struggled. I’ve seen enough from both to think they’re on the right path, they just have a ways to go. I’m convinced these stories are going to have a happy ending. 3. Denard Span & the Twins Medical Staff When Span is deemed unavailable for the 15th straight day, will the Twins finally feel comfortable putting him on the DL? Or perhaps they'll decide that they don’t need their medical staff any more, relying solely on the player’s self-diagnosis. When they need a second opinion they'll draw cards from the board game Operation. (The Wacky Doctor Game!) 2. Other September Callups I think we’re going to be disappointed by how few additional September callups there are, but I’m hopeful we’ll get to see some pitching. I’d love to see if Esmerling Vazquez’ recent hot streak represents a breakthrough. I’d like to see if Anthony Slama and his video-game-like stats prove the organization’s brain trust wrong. I’d like to see if Deolis Guerra could have a role next year. 1. Joe Mauer and Ben Revere As a Twins fan in the 70s, it wasn’t uncommon to have nothing more than a Carew batting title to root for come August. I’ll readily admit my fascination with Mauer and Revere’s longshot chances are based on that being an annual occurrence of my childhood. I’d likely be just as fascinated if they brought back the bullpen car. (Of course, who wouldn’t?)

Aaron and John talk about Brian Dozier's demotion to Triple-A, Nick Blackburn's ongoing awfulness, whether the Twins are collapsing down the stretch again, the latest "day-to-day" injury proving anything but, where and when Chris Parmelee will play, KFAN producer Ryan Donaldson's puking story, and preparing for the return to full-time podcasting. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.

Aaron and John talk about Brian Dozier's demotion to Triple-A, Nick Blackburn's ongoing awfulness, whether the Twins are collapsing down the stretch again, the latest "day-to-day" injury proving anything but, where and when Chris Parmelee will play, KFAN producer Ryan Donaldson's puking story, and preparing for the return to full-time podcasting. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.

Welcome aboard. The conflict you're wrestling with is something we all wrestle with, no matter how objective we claim to be. (To not admit it is either self-deceiving or dishonest, IMHO.) I look forward to reading more.

Yes. Sorry. Fixed it in the story, but not here. Fixed now.