Loosey

Ok, makes sense why he doesn't make sense in the top 10 anymore . . . thanks

I had read a few places recently Funkhauser is a top 5 pick. I watched some video of him and he seems like a guy who would fit perfectly into what the Twins are trying to build. And he projects as a #2 starter supposedly. He throws hard 92-95 has near perfect mechanics and has some pretty nasty secondary pitches, especially his slider which doesn't appear to break until it is about 5 feet from the plate. I know the Twins are probably going to take best available, but why not keep bringing in young arms with upside. If they happen to get into a very good problem and have too many great young pitchers and not enough rotation spots, you can trade them pieces you need.

I am not on board with trading a top prospect at this point. Especially for a 31 year old pitcher with 4 years on left on his contract. Using Hamels as the example, he would be great this year and next year, but what happens when he is 34 years old? That is a lot of money, a lot of age, and injury risk with each passing year. Add in the fact he currently pitches to a an ERA of about 3.00 in the national league which would certainly creep up in the AL and over time as he ages. I am of the belief of holding onto your prospects until you are proven winners and really have no spots for them. Take Sano, on a trade value scale of 1-100 I would probably rank him around 75-80. However, give him time to prove himself in the Majors and that could jump to 100 . . . or it could plummet if he fails. But either way I say hold on to top prospects as long as you can.

I don't really like the term "ace". It can been so many things. For some Ace means he is the best pitcher on his team, for others he is the leader of their pitching staff, A la Brad Radke. Yet others define an ace as the type of pitcher who is exceptionally better than 95% of the other pitchers in baseball, and is a perennial Cy Young candidate that dominates and overpowers hitters with stuff that is unhittable much of the time. I think of the latter as a true Ace. That being said I think Gibson is turning into great pitcher. What he did to the Sox on Sunday was fantastic. He isn't unhittable, but when he is tuned in he makes it very difficult to square up the ball and causes the occasional whiff. He is beginning to gain confidence in his offspeed stuff and picking up a lot more strikeouts than he was earlier in the season, which is huge. If he can turn in more performances like that one he will solidify himself as top of the rotation fixture for years to come. Maybe not an "Ace" but someone who will give his team great opportunities to win every outing. And occasionally when those type of pitchers put together full seasons of that type of baseball they do win awards and go to All-Star games. He doesn't need to be an ace to be effective and help this team win. Just

I consider myself a big Twins fan, and have been even during the past few down years. That being said I found it difficult to watch them the prior four years. When I did watch I just assumed they were going to lose. Now however I can't wait to watch games every night and actually go in with an assumption they are going to win. I can only imagine the players themselves having similar thoughts. After losing regularly you get a losing mentality, however the same can be said for winning. Lets hope they keep rolling along all summer.

I think he is what most expected him to be. An "OK" Right Fielder. Gone are the days where he is going to come out of nowhere to steal an extra base hit away. As long as he knows he can't do that great, because when he tries to be 29 year old Torii is when doubles turn into triples and singles into extra base hits. Also, when Terry Ryan mentions someone being "good" in the field I very highly doubt he uses any metrics to come to those conclusions. Good to Ryan means he can catch the balls he is supposed and limits errors and mistakes, which is exactly what Torii does. I still would rather have him in right than Arcia.

I was fine with running Graham out there for three innings since he was pitching well. However, after Graham was done I think he should have put Perkins out there in the 12th instead of Duensing. Let Perkins pitch 12th and 13th. Either way it worked out, but was risky in my mind.

I think Gonsalves is going to have good chance to a be very good Major League pitcher. He sits around 91 MPH with his fastball now. If he can get that up 1 or 2 MPH (possible given he is still developing and getting stronger) his fastball would be considered a "Plus" pitch. His secondary pitches also seem to be pretty nasty from what I have read and add in his game acumen and he could be something special. Time will tell though.

It is pretty amazing what "Not Horrible" starting pitching can do for team. I honestly believe this can be sustainable. Also, I don't think we have seen the best roster the Twins will put on out there yet. By the end of July starting pitching will have Santana replacing whomever is the weak link at that time. Essentially the Twins could have a pitching staff that is 6 or 7 deep, granted some of those are #4 and #5 starters, but compared to past years entire rotation of # 5 starters this staff looks leaps and bounds better. Additionally, the offense isn't performing to the best of their abilities yet. If this team had a bunch of guys over achieving I would be thinking they might begin to end their winning ways but instead they are winning despite guys not playing their best (or what used to be their best).

Except he sulked after Mauer made and error and couldn't compose himself enough to get the last out. He got rattled by mistakes in the field and you can't let that happen at the Major League level, things out of his control got to him.

Are we sure that it didn't land in front of the bow of the boat? One would think it would rattle around a little bit or bounce out of the boat if it indeed landed in it.

If the Twins miraculously make the playoffs I say change absolutely nothing and ride whatever luck/miracle they had going during the season right into the ground in the playoffs.

I find it funny that many are prepared to trade Plouffe, a proven MLB player, for an unproven prospect or two and replace his proven abilities with another prospect who has not played even 1 MLB game yet. I think we need to settle down and make sure Sano can handle ML pitching as well as play 3rd base before we unload Ploufee. Personally, I would prefer to keep Plouffe. He is a top 10 3rd baseman. Sano may end up being 40 HR guy, but he may not be a 3rd baseman.

Here is the story I saw last summer: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/blog/sports-business/2014/06/twins-st-paul-saints-minor-league-partnership.html?page=all

I think there was some talk a few years ago, but that seems to have died. But from a fans perspective it would be great to have a Twins minor league affiliate in St. Paul. I think the Saints build would be good enough for AA team I thought I read a year or so ago.

I've only been to Hammond Stadium which I found to be very nice. Also Jet Blue in Fort Myers, but I am not sure if any minor league teams play there and least any affiliated with any Major League teams. Does anyone know? So Hammond is the only real Minor League stadium I have been too but thought it was very nice especially with renovations. I've been to Midway and am going to catch a game and CHS field later next month to see the St. Paul Saints. But they are independent (For Now, fingers crossed something miraculous happens in next 5 years). I also played in the Kenosha stadium the old Twins minor league team played at in the 80's. That was a dump and I think my high stadium may have been nicer. So, by default my favorite is Hammond!

Which I started to get after I was most of the way through my response post. Which is why I added the part about how as a team it would be better if he were a #7 or #6 hitter instead of batting clean-up (I shoudl have clarfied better). That being said, even though you may not be part of them, there is a large group of people on this site that really dislike Plouffe. I don't get their reasoning. I personally would like to see an extension for him even with Sano being his possible replacement in a year. If you can sign him to a team friendly deal AND Sano is what everyone wants him to be. You can then get something for Plouffe or find a spot for him.

I am going to predict they win around 80 games. I think pitching is what has hampered the them in past years and this years version appears to have solidified things somewhat. Even though the offense isn't explosive they are efficient and continue to generate runs. With reinforcements on the way in terms of Santana on the mound and Hicks/Buxton, etc. I think they can stay afloat and play .500ish ball the rest of the season.

I really don't get everyone's dislike for Plouffe. No he isn't an all-star 3rd baseman, but he also isn't bad. Personally, I think he is a very solid 3rd baseman both offensively and even more so defensively now. .260 with 15-20 HR's and solid D. . . . I would think most Twins fans would take that, but for some reason nobody likes this guy. If we were a better team he would hit in the 7th, but that isn't his fault nobody else can hit for power.

Regarding Buxton's last 10 games: It seems like he is striking out less and walking a decent amount during this mini slump he is in. Any reports on if he is making solid contact but hitting it right at people or is it weak contact and popouts, etc.?

Just go into Forums at the top of the home page. Click the type of topic, probably other baseball, then select start new topic. It will then show up in the right hand column under topics.

Oh man, your wife sounds awesome! If I attempted a ballpark trip for a honeymoon I don't know if my marriage would have lasted until the honeymoon . . .

I have been following Chattanooga box scores so I can't see how well hit Buxton's outs have been. But I would say if this mini-slump he is in this week is the result of weakly hit balls I think he needs a day off. It's almost as if he wore himself out climbing out of that slump to start the season and sprinted to get his numbers up. Give him a breather and let him roar back.

This morning John Bonnes' wrote a post on the Twins 6-2 win over the Tigers last night and gave a mini review of Comerica Park. He gave it a nice review but said it wouldn't quite make it into his top 10 stadiums. Which got me thinking about my favorite MLB stadiums and what other's favorite ballparks are. I didn't really care about seeing different parks until 10 years ago when I was just out of college and in between jobs. A few buddies of mine were going to take a 10 day stadium trip. I decided what the hell, I'll go along. I am glad I did! At the time I had only been to the Metrodome and Comiskey/Cellular one. It was great seeing all of the different designs, foods, beers. The great thing about baseball stadiums compared to every other sport is the field dimensions are not standard and each stadium can pretty much do their own thing within reason (or not within reason . . . Minute Maid Park). Anyways, it was one of my favorite vacations of all time and got me interested in seeing different parks. Even with that trip I have only been to 12 Major League Ballparks including Target Field and the Metrodome, but here is my list: (For the record Metrodome is last). #10 - Minute Maid Park - Houston, TX: This place was on my ballpark trip back in 2005. Maybe it was me but talk about a stale place. It was a 95 degree day game and the roof was closed. But outside of the big hill in centerfield and the wall with train in left it felt like I was just inside a really big industrial building. Food and beer options were Metrodome-esque. #9 - Cellular One - Chicago, IL: This was the first MLB outdoor stadium I had ever visited while I was in high school in the 90's. I have been back multiple times to watch Twins games since. While it is a nice stadium, it was built about 10 years too early before stadiums started have a personality. Still always enjoyable to catch a Twins game there. #8 - Miller Park - Milwaukee, WI: Another retractable roof stadium. I have only been to one game here, but found them to be enjoyable. They have lots of Miller Lite, but they also had a section that sold huge margaritas. I -partook in those and may not remember innings 7-9. Overall, pretty cool stadium seems much more modern than the 15+ years old it actually is. #7 - Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ: Again, retractable roof. I went to two games here. One with the roof closed and one with it open. Open is MUCH better. This place is gigantic. I saw the Twins play two games there in 2005 on my ballpark trip. It was a fun place though. There was a little plaza outside it between it and the arena that was supposed to be a fun place to pregame but, outside of that I don't remember there being much else around the stadium in terms of bars. #6 - Kaufmann Stadium - Kansas City, MO: I have been to 2 games here, once on my 2005 ballpark trip. Food selections are pretty good (BBQ). I haven't been there in about 10 years but I think the baseball being played there is much better now. #5 - Coors Field - Denver, CO: I really enjoyed Coors. Very good beer selection, awesome setting in the mountains. The area surrounding the stadium before and after the game was especially fun, lots and lots of bars and restaurants to choose from. #4 - Petco Park - San Diego, CA: This one was part of my 2005 trip. I really liked this place. It had an original feel to it. The building left standing in left field they built into the stadium the dog area in the outfield. Also, I just love San Diego. You may be surprised by this, but the weather was perfect the day I went there. Stadium had a very neat and tidy feel to it, if that makes any sense at all. . . . #3 - Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA: Again part of the 2005 trip. We saw the Twins play the Dodgers there. When you think of the glamour and flash of LA this stadium doesn't really come to mind because it is not flashy. But what it lacks in flash, it has in history and just reminds you of baseball and old school LA. The game we were at we got to see Johan Santana pitch but also go to see Hee-Seop Choi hit three home runs, including a game winner off of 95 year old Terry Mulholland. Great stadium I would love to go back to again now that I appreciate stadiums a little bit more. #2 - Wrigley Field - Chicago, IL: Wrigley is baseball. It's hard to explain but sitting out in the bleachers in the sun with an Old Style is pretty much perfection. Ivy on the walls, history, no electronics really (when I was there last). Also, probably no better pre and post-game bar/restaurant setting. I love this place and one of my favorite baseball memories came at the Twins game I was at when Milton Bradley threw the mostly Twins fan filled right field bleachers a ball . . . when there were only 2 outs. #1 - Target Field - Minneapolis, MN: Beautiful place. I love Target Field for a multitude of reasons. It's new, but still has charm, design and layout are great with lots of stone. Also, the food and beer options are great and it's getting better in my opinion. Many different bar/restaurants inside and outside the stadium, plus there is enough there to keep you entertained even if the game isn't doing it for you. If I didn't live here it probably wouldn't be #1, but I can go here whenever I want and it's home to my favorite team. What are everyone else favorites?

Bonnes, Who are in your list of top 10 stadiums? Actually maybe I will start a thread on this in the forum. I love baseball stadiums and talking to people about their favorites and why.