minn55441

My question from last year was how much did Castro stick around and help Wilson and Garver during his recovery period. Was he around the team helping on a daily basis or did he skip town? I remember I thought this was the ideal situation last May, Garver getting the majority playing time with Castro serving as a mentor. This is of course if Castro sat in on the daily pitching meetings to help orchestrate that days matchups. I have never seen Castro as the catcher on a winning team, I did think he could help Garver to eventually become an above average receiver.

I have always liked Zobrist. this is a great move for the Royals.

Enough with the infield pop ups.

I'm with you. He was my last choice among the existing candidates.

What do you always hear from free agents? I want to go someplace where I can win a championship. At age 60. I really don't think money is the main concern. He wants to go some place where he can win. The Twins and the Cubs both have strong minor league systems, will that be the determining factor? Would you rather face the Cardinals, Pirates, Reds and Brewers or is your road to the postseason easier facing the Royals, the fast fading Tigers, the Indians and White Sox? If I'm turning 60 and know this is my last chance to put myself in a position to win a world series, I would ask myself where can I win. What situation gives me the best shot of making the post season. What organization would benefit the most from the skills I could bring to the job? I'm not sure money would be the deciding factor. I think Joe will decide based on the probability of winning a world championship. Period.

How much of this success can we contribute to the arrival of Kennys Vargas? Not to say that Vargas is hanging around the cage giving him pointers, but there is something to be said about peer pressure. Up until this point, Arica has been the young bull. The young power hitting prospect on the team. With the arrival of Vargas, Arica now has someone roughly his age on the team with a similar skill set. Arcia is competitive, you can see it in everything he does. With the recent arrival of Vargas and the early success he has had not only hitting for average but also hitting the long ball, I can see this as a real wake up call for Arcia. I can see him not wanting to be upstaged by one of his team mates. There is something to be said for team dynamics and I don't think it is a coincidence that Arcia started hitting at essentially the same time that Vargas arrived on the big league club.

It was a bull going to stud. I think it is a chevy ad.

got hit again today with a sound ad. ad was in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Let me know if you can't see the screenshot.

I believe he will turn 31 in September. We are now officially in a youth movement. Doesn't fit into those plans.

Apparently he was not happy in Oakland. Felt he had pitched well enough to stay out of AAA. I wonder how much of that frustration was related to his service time and the fact that he could miss super two status? If I remember correctly our own Glen Perkins had the same issue, I think he even went so far as to file a grievence with the union. Many thought he would never play in Minnesota again as he demanded a trade. I wonder what the real story is benind this? If we wait a week to bring him up and he misses the opporutnity to become a super two how would he handle that?

I agree for the most part, but Marginal for most teams is different than marginal for the Twins, Astros and Cubs. Most teams marginal means that they are on the border line of making their top 25. Our marginal, means that they are border line major leaguers. The cast offs from the powers have to be better than Kubel and Bartlett.

Arizona Diamondbacks - 80.5 over Atlanta Braves - 87.5 over Baltimore Orioles - 80.5 over Boston Red Sox - 87.5 Under Chicago Cubs - - 69.5 Under Chicago White Sox - 75.5 Under Cincinnati Reds - 84.5 Under Cleveland Indians - 80.5 Over Colorado Rockies - 76.5 Under Detroit Tigers - 89.5 Under Houston Astros - 62.5 Over Kansas City Royals - 81.5 Over Los Angeles Angels - 86.5 Over Los Angeles Dodgers - 92.5 Over Miami Marlins - 69.5 Over Milwaukee Brewers - 79.5 Under Minnesota Twins - 70.5 Over New York Mets - 73.5 Under New York Yankees - 86.5 Under Oakland Athletics - 88.5 Over Philadelphia Phillies - 76.5 Under Pittsburgh Pirates - 83.5 Over San Diego Padres - 78.5 Under San Francisco Giants - 86.5 Under Seattle Mariners - 81.5 Under St. Louis Cardinals - 90.5 Over Tampa Bay Rays - 88.5 Over Texas Rangers - 86.5 Under Toronto Blue Jays - 79.5 Under Washington Nationals - 88.5 Over Tie breaker: The two AL WC teams will be: Angels and Orioles Tie breaker 2: The two NL WC teams will be: Braves and Pirates

Tickets for the actual all-star game are only sold in strips, where you will need to purchase tickets to all of the events. tickets for the fanfest and the futures game went on sale this morning at 10:00am. the cheapest ticket for the futures game looks to be $25. Keep in mind however that a lot of people will be forced to purchase an entire strip for the all-star game and will then be looking to dump the tickets for the other events. Not a guarantee, but I would think that you will be able to find tickets for these other events for much cheaper as we head closer to all-star week.

I thought you had to purchase an entire strip for the events, but it looks like you can purchase individual tickets to fanfest and the futures game. Here is a link http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2014/all_star_tickets.jsp?partnerId=ed-7958737-658954653&source=ed-7958737-658954653 tickets went on sale at 10:00am monday March 10.

Demand based pricing. They actually started it in 2011, however they had limits as to how high and how low they would allow the pricing to go. It looks like we are now running without limits. In theory, if the weather looks good and demand picks up because of it, in the days leading up to a home stand, the pricing will increase along with the increased sales of tickets. Interesting to see if the pricing change daily even during the day. If all sections will change price in unison or if select areas of the park will see increases while other don't. Will sections in the sun see increases in price during day games, while sections in the shade drop? If you see a great price. Buy the tickets.

Each strip comes with the following: one MLB All-star Program Two tickets to fanfest One ticket to futures game One ticket to Home run Derby One ticket to the All-Star game Dugout Box --------- $991 HomePlate Box ----- $791 Diamond Box ------- $711 Field Box ------------ $651 Left Field Bleachers $581 Powerball Pavillion $581 Overlook ------------ $581 Legends Club ------- $891 Skyline Deck -------- $604 Home Plate Terrace- $536 Field terrace --------- $486 Home Plate view --- $486 Skyline View -------- $401 Homerun Porch Ter $466 Homerun Porch view $426 Grandstand--------- $ 426

At the major league level, the level of talent (physical) really isn't that much different between players. (of course with a few exceptions). I think most players will admit that one of the toughest adjustments at the major league level is the mental aspect of the game. Dan Duqette, the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations, has added sports psychologist Seth Kaplan to provide mental-performance services, with a focus on the pitching staff. "It's mental toughness," Duquette said of the lessons that Kaplan -- who also worked with the 82nd Airborne Division based out of Fort Bragg, N.C. -- will bring to the Orioles. "Mental toughness training. He's going to concentrate on the pitchers. The idea is to help them prepare mentally to prepare physically. It's a key component." The field of sports psychology has steadily taken on a larger supporting role in getting players ready to take the field. According to a 1994 study by Dr. Ronald Smith, a former psychologist for the Astros, psychological skills are as indicative of future performance as physical or technical skills in Minor League Baseball. It's even more so the case for pitchers. One of the first players to turn to a sports psychologist was right-hander John Smoltz. After two strong years as a young starter for the Braves, he was 2-11 at the All-Star break in 1991 and turned to sports psychologist Jack Llewellyn. "It's been a big key in my turnaround," Smoltz said at the time. "The main thing he taught me was to focus on the good and forget the bad." And it worked. Smoltz rebounded to go 12-2 in the second half and was a big part in the Braves' run to the World Series, which they lost to the Twins in seven games in one of baseball's most memorable Fall Classics.

You could have at least provided the link. Classic scene from the Natural

The mental side of the game. I know we have had numerous discussions about the Twins slow move to embrace analytics, where do they stand on sports psychology? Many teams were employing sports psychologists back in the 80's and 90's. Here we have a guy with the physical tools, but have we given him the mental tools? Is that key guy a former major lead pitcher that can teach or coach or a trained psychologist? Some guys just don't have it (not intelligence, but the mental tools to cope with dealing with the pressure, focusing on the specific task of pitching). Some guys are able to connect with a Pelfrey or a vet like Santana. Some can connect with a coach like Anderson or a specific catcher. Some guys need more help than other, but everyone needs to find that mental key that allows them to succeed. the question is, do the Twin's employ a sports psychologist?

Not sure there is much too it, but Gardy did mention in one of this interviews around Twinsfest, something to the effect of wanting to change the attitude of the club. I think he said "bring in winners" or "bring in guys that know what it is like to win". Most of these former Twins were part of a number of winning seasons. The same can't be said about most of the roster that has been turned over since 2010. We did lose some vocal clubhouse guys in Cuddy, Punto and Nathan. Perhaps they are trying to change the attitude and know what they are getting in some of these older but known commodities. They don't have to make the 40 man roster to have an impact on the roster and the approach the young guys have to the game.

It's depth. The only thing it costs is money and I don't think anyone is against Terry spending more of the Pohlad's Money. You can't argue against a move like this. If he pitches well, he may contribute. If he pitches poorly, he is sent to Rochester or released. In the case of an injury or someone else just doesn't preform you can't ever have too many arms heading into the season. Some may not like the other signings, but there is nothing to argue here.

Cubs fans haven't always been that loyal. I lived in Illinois in the mid 90's and many times walked up to the ticket window to get tickets at Wrigley an hour before the game. In those days they did not consistently sell out. Even for weekend games.

I agree. In 2010, many people attended the games just for the sheer event of it. they weren't there not necessarily to see the Twins play, but instead to experience outdoor baseball and the latest Twin cities attraction. It was frustrating at times. It's like going to see a movie and over half the people there really aren't paying attention to what is going on. Talking during key moments and walking in and out, disturbing those that are there to watch. The last couple of years, have really attracted only the people truly interested in watching the game. We won't see the 2010 crowds of going just to be seen at the latest hot spot, but a winning team on the field will bring back the casual fan. With many tickets still available for opening day, I wonder how many sellouts there will be in 2014.

Thanks for the audio of the event. Sounds like it was a good time and good to hear the comments from all of your guests.