John Bonnes

Parker is so cool. I've met him, you know. Nice guy. But kind of a lame drinker.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?707-Gleeman-the-Geek-Ep-47-Full-Nelson

Aaron and special guest co-hosts Joe Nelson and Nick Nelson talk about Matt Capps' injury and the closer replacements, Trevor Plouffe's case for the All-Star game, what to do with Francisco Liriano, the buyer versus seller debate, Brian Duensing's move back into the rotation, more Josh Willingham heroics, Byron Buxton's pro debut, and why John Bonnes shouldn't even bother coming back from vacation.

Aaron and special guest co-hosts Joe Nelson and Nick Nelson talk about Matt Capps' injury and the closer replacements, Trevor Plouffe's case for the All-Star game, what to do with Francisco Liriano, the buyer versus seller debate, Brian Duensing's move back into the rotation, more Josh Willingham heroics, Byron Buxton's pro debut, and why John Bonnes shouldn't even bother coming back from vacation.

Im on board. Provided it doesn't interfere with my wife's Phillies. Ooh, and I could add another - the better the Pirates do, the more likely they are to become a trading partner for the Twins.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?692-Traveling-With-The-Twins-PNC-Park

I could be a Pirates fan. Believe me, I know all that implies. As a middle-aged Twins fan, I've felt Pirates fans' pain, albeit in lesser doses. I can sympathize with the hopelessness and even apathy that sets in after years of mismanagement. Watching the supposedly competitive Bucs yesterday didn't inspire me to join them anytime soon. If you're wondering what the "traditional" Twins philosophy - pitching, defense and maybe a little hitting - looks like in the NL, look at the Pirates. I'm sure the announcers focus on the pitching and defense, but it's hard to get past just how inept that offense is. But I could be a Pirates fan, just because of PNC Park. I last visited PNC a couple of years ago when we sat with friends in the upper deck. I came away thinking I had found the best new ballpark in the majors, and maybe second to only Wrigley in my heart. That was reinforced last night. Last night we had much, much, MUCH better seats - 2nd row down the first base line just past first base - and they cost us just $34. (That's one of the other perks for being a Pirates fan - the cost for everything is quite a bit lower.) Like I said, they were great seats - actually a little below field level - but I think I might have liked the upper deck seats last time just as much. Why? Cuz this is the view from the upper deck. It helps that Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, which I did not expect before visiting. It is classic big steel, defiantly proud of its heritage, jutting its chin out at our expectations. The ballpark leverages that too, closing the adjacent riveted bridge that leads to downtown to everything but pedestrian traffic and independent vendors. The result is an urban ballpark plaza that also happens to cross the Allegheny River. My friend Bob joked about just how scenic the ballpark was and how the architect must have reacted to seeing the site. "It goes where? And I can turn it anyway I want?" He or she must have felt like they had died and gone to heaven. But give the Pirates some credit - they didn't screw it up, and it would have been easy enough to do. The ballpark works because center field doesn't have any bleachers, allowing the city and river to bleed into the park. I'm sure at some point adding a 10,000 seat tourniquet occurred to the bean counters. Not doing so proved prescient, because the Pirates aren't selling those seats anyway. The park was about half full last night. It felt a little like looking into the Twins future. That's bad news for us payroll trackers, but sure makes for a nice intimate ballpark experience. I enjoy the packed energy that is currently at most Twins home games, but I think I'll also like the camaraderie that comes from a smaller more interested crowd. I sure did last night.

I could be a Pirates fan. Believe me, I know all that implies. As a middle-aged Twins fan, I've felt Pirates fans' pain, albeit in lesser doses. I can sympathize with the hopelessness and even apathy that sets in after years of mismanagement. Watching the supposedly competitive Bucs yesterday didn't inspire me to join them anytime soon. If you're wondering what the "traditional" Twins philosophy - pitching, defense and maybe a little hitting - looks like in the NL, look at the Pirates. I'm sure the announcers focus on the pitching and defense, but it's hard to get past just how inept that offense is. But I could be a Pirates fan, just because of PNC Park. I last visited PNC a couple of years ago when we sat with friends in the upper deck. I came away thinking I had found the best new ballpark in the majors, and maybe second to only Wrigley in my heart. That was reinforced last night. Last night we had much, much, MUCH better seats - 2nd row down the first base line just past first base - and they cost us just $34. (That's one of the other perks for being a Pirates fan - the cost for everything is quite a bit lower.) Like I said, they were great seats - actually a little below field level - but I think I might have liked the upper deck seats last time just as much. Why? Cuz this is the view from the upper deck. It helps that Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, which I did not expect before visiting. It is classic big steel, defiantly proud of its heritage, jutting its chin out at our expectations. The ballpark leverages that too, closing the adjacent riveted bridge that leads to downtown to everything but pedestrian traffic and independent vendors. The result is an urban ballpark plaza that also happens to cross the Allegheny River. My friend Bob joked about just how scenic the ballpark was and how the architect must have reacted to seeing the site. "It goes where? And I can turn it anyway I want?" He or she must have felt like they had died and gone to heaven. But give the Pirates some credit - they didn't screw it up, and it would have been easy enough to do. The ballpark works because center field doesn't have any bleachers, allowing the city and river to bleed into the park. I'm sure at some point adding a 10,000 seat tourniquet occurred to the bean counters. Not doing so proved prescient, because the Pirates aren't selling those seats anyway. The park was about half full last night. It felt a little like looking into the Twins future. That's bad news for us payroll trackers, but sure makes for a nice intimate ballpark experience. I enjoy the packed energy that is currently at most Twins home games, but I think I'll also like the camaraderie that comes from a smaller more interested crowd. I sure did last night.

Text boxes? Do you mean ads? Or something else?

I keep hearing this argument - anyone could have signed Willingham - and I think it's flawed. It's interesting, to be sure, that a guy's value can change in 3 months, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It's about supply and demand. Other teams can argue all they want about what they could have signed last December. The question remains: who is better (or at least comparable) and available right now? If the answer is nobody, then he's valuable to any number of teams, and it doesn't matter much what they should have done six months ago. When multiple teams want a singular guy, he's worth whatever the most desperate of them is willing to pay. As for the 2nd part, I can't remember it either. I also can't rmember that many guys with 3 year deals period, and I can't remember any who were this valuable and where the team was clearly rebuilding. I'm not saying the Twins are in any hurry to move him. But unless they thing they're going to be competetive in the next couple years (and I think even they would tell you that's a longshot), he's not untouchable.

Is there going to be a better right-handed bat available at the trade deadline than Willingham? Quentin is the name I keep hearing, but if you include his contract and health, I'd choose Willingham. Especially if I was a mid-market team like the Pirates.

Nick, his overall stats have been fine, but he's had a few hiccups that have, through last week at least, left him with a neutral (maybe even negative) WPA. I think he would probably agree. http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=8041&position=P&type=5&gds=&gde=

Hanson is a very interesting name. It goes against the grain because he's not pitching. He's also not a shortstop. He's also at the same level as Rosario. But 19 years old with a .558 slugging in Low A? Wow. Does anyone know of a pitching prospect that might be a good fit for trading Morneau?

No, I don't think the Twins can be competitive, even in the AL Central, in 2013 because of their starting pitching. I see zero chance of them going and committing the dollars and years to a high impact starting pitcher that would be required. (And I wouldn't disagree with that philosophy.) The entire rotation - spots one through five - are question marks right now. I stop short of advocating completely blowing up the team, but I'm not necessarily opposed to that. But I believe there is no reason to hold onto relievers, even closers, because they might be valuable in 2014 or 2015. A team that can afford to invest innings in waiver pickups/farmhands/etc can find some effective relievers. It will cost them wins, but that's something they can afford to pay.

Since the Twins are facing the Pirates this week, let's talk a little about them as potential trade partners for the Twins. The Pirates are desperate for offense. Their first base situation is an absolute disaster, which is why I talked about Morneau as a possible fit for them. Looking at the MLBTradeRumors thread about the Twins "needing pitching" there are several Pirates fans openly pining for Willingham. The Pirates also have a couple of highly rated pitching prospects. Gerrit Cole was a top 20 overall prospect, a 21-year-old right hander. He just got promoted to AA. Jameson Taillon is a notch below him in status, but still very highly rated, 20 years old, having mixed results in High A ball. They also have a 17 year old that is a high ceiling guy named Luis Heredia. I don't know if either Cole or Taillon is touchable, to be honest, even for Willingham. ANyone else have any ideas?

I love this post so much I want to marry it. Thanks for the research.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?678-Twins-Must-Decide-When-Not-If-Glen-Perkins-Jared-Burton-Are-Available

Some spring training moves are bearing fruit. The question is when they will be most ripe? Glen Perkins hasn't been especially effective this year, but he still profiles as possible closer long term, with well over a strikeout per inning. Even better, this spring he signed a deal that keeps his salary team-controlled through 2016 at a level considerably below that of a closer. So how should the Twins play that? On the one hand, they could trade him now to a team that finds a left-handed reliever (with closer potential) especially appealing. Or they could turn him into a closer later the year and (provided he excels and stays healthy) he becomes even more valuable. Or, I suppose, the team could hang onto him in the hope that the next competitive Twins team could still have him around. But that is by far the riskiest of the choices. The Twins flexibility is enhanced by another spring addition. Jared Burton has been more effective than Perkins (or closer Matt Capps) this year, despite handling earlier innings. He also has quite a bit of history being an effective reliever from before he joined the Twins. Finally, with 28 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 26 innings this year, he also looks like a possible closer. Burton has another year after this one before he turns a free agent, and he just turned 31 years old. If the Twins were to ponder trading away Perkins any time over the next year, they could prepare by putting Burton in the same position that they put Perkins in spring training. Namely, offer him a long-term deal at a setup man's salary which puts him first in line when there is an opening at closer. Or, they could just shop him around at the trade deadline. Or I suppose they could keep him as Perkins insurance. In some ways, the road block here is Capps. With his closer role, he's blocking two guys who are probably going to be more effective. If the Twins can trade him - even if it is for very little - it allows them to increase the value of at least Perkins and put Burton in an heir apparent role, providing incentive for a long-term deal. And if he becomes the closer, and they mine the minors/waiver wire for yet another arm, they can move him.... This is how a non-competitive team can, fairly quickly, add core talent to their system. The team can afford to give relievers a chance to rediscover their stuff. They can afford to invest innings in them, even high leverage innings. And until the core pieces of a competitive team are in place, they can afford to let other competitive teams fight over these developed assets. The question isn't if they should do it. The question is when the fruit should be picked

Some spring training moves are bearing fruit. The question is when they will be most ripe? Glen Perkins hasn't been especially effective this year, but he still profiles as possible closer long term, with well over a strikeout per inning. Even better, this spring he signed a deal that keeps his salary team-controlled through 2016 at a level considerably below that of a closer. So how should the Twins play that? On the one hand, they could trade him now to a team that finds a left-handed reliever (with closer potential) especially appealing. Or they could turn him into a closer later the year and (provided he excels and stays healthy) he becomes even more valuable. Or, I suppose, the team could hang onto him in the hope that the next competitive Twins team could still have him around. But that is by far the riskiest of the choices. The Twins flexibility is enhanced by another spring addition. Jared Burton has been more effective than Perkins (or closer Matt Capps) this year, despite handling earlier innings. He also has quite a bit of history being an effective reliever from before he joined the Twins. Finally, with 28 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 26 innings this year, he also looks like a possible closer. Burton has another year after this one before he turns a free agent, and he just turned 31 years old. If the Twins were to ponder trading away Perkins any time over the next year, they could prepare by putting Burton in the same position that they put Perkins in spring training. Namely, offer him a long-term deal at a setup man's salary which puts him first in line when there is an opening at closer. Or, they could just shop him around at the trade deadline. Or I suppose they could keep him as Perkins insurance. In some ways, the road block here is Capps. With his closer role, he's blocking two guys who are probably going to be more effective. If the Twins can trade him - even if it is for very little - it allows them to increase the value of at least Perkins and put Burton in an heir apparent role, providing incentive for a long-term deal. And if he becomes the closer, and they mine the minors/waiver wire for yet another arm, they can move him.... This is how a non-competitive team can, fairly quickly, add core talent to their system. The team can afford to give relievers a chance to rediscover their stuff. They can afford to invest innings in them, even high leverage innings. And until the core pieces of a competitive team are in place, they can afford to let other competitive teams fight over these developed assets. The question isn't if they should do it. The question is when the fruit should be picked

We're in Chicago, but this first leg of the trip is with the kids, so we aren't making it to Wrigley. Instead, we had a different interesting event happen. After we arrive at our hotel, The Boy changes into his bathing suit, and stuffs his suitcase back into the bottom of the closet. There is a crash sound. I turn to see him holding his head and The Voice of Reason acting a little frantic. He's claiming he's OK (while holding back tears from his aching head). "Can you get him a bag of ice for his head?!?" orders TVOR "Huh? Why?" "He got hit in the head!!," she exclaims. "By what?" "An iron!" "What?!" "AN IRON." I grabbed the bag of ice. At that point the boy looked a little more stunned, but couldn't help but start laughing. The whole thing was so absurd. The iron holder on the closet wall had stripped the wall screw and would lean out, sliding the iron off. While he pushed his suitcase into the closet, it fell right on his head. Fortunately, he was fine.

I love this description. And I feel the same way everytime I look out there. It makes me crabby.

Here's a picture