Vanimal46

Plouffe should and (hopefully) (will) be traded this (offseason) for (someone) that can ((help) this team)

Do you have any insight on why opponents were able get an .831 OPS on Gibson's pitches in the zone? Were they waiting for the sinker in a hitter's count? Just didn't have the "stuff" to fool opposing hitters?

The voting system appears to be more flawed than the Royals stuffing the all-star ballot box. I clicked on Berrios and it says Thanks for your vote. Please vote again. Does anyone have 12 hours to kill and willing to keep clicking Berrios' name?

Looks like Souhan hit his monthly quota for clicks with this article. Essentially he wants Mauer to be like Escobar in the 1st half this year. That really worked out well didn't it... Also, nice hot Twins take from Souhan on Mauer lifting weights to hit more HRs. Haven't heard that one before.

Nolasco has to be a front runner to take this honor.

Another one this morning...... UGH. What.The.Hell. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/officials-1-dead-3-wounded-in-university-shooting-in-ariz/ar-AAfhelw?li=BBieTUX?ocid=ansmsnnews11

Would have loved to be a fly on the wall during that phone call. TR: "Hey Joe this is Terry." JM: "Terry who?" TR: "Terry Ryan, from the Minnesota Twins." JM: "Oh, what can I do for you Terry?" TR: "Well Joe, I just read in the newspaper that you opted out from the Tampa Bay Rays, and are already in discussions with the Cubs, but we'd love to bring you in for a formal interview to be the next manager of the Twins. What do you say?" JM: "Hmm, you certainly have some good young talent to work with Terry, but I'm about to sign my contract with the Cubs in 30 minutes. Theo's talking about bringing in Lester to anchor the rotation. Who do you have again?" TR: "Well, right now we have Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco leading the way! And who knows, Ervin Santana's a free agent that we've considered too." JM: "That's it?" TR: "Well yeah, we've really gone above and beyond the norm to bring in quality talent to the rotation. So what do you think, should we send the Pohlad's jet tomorrow to pick you up?" JM: "And how much will the payroll be increased by each year?" TR: "It's going to depend on a few factors Joe. The main goal is to increase gross revenue of the organization by 7%. Sometimes we see that in the payroll, sometimes we don't." JM: "I've been down that path before in Tampa and hated it." TR: "I promise things will be different! We aren't cheap like they are in Tampa. Anyways I'm going to arrange for Pohlad's jet to pick you up tomorrow, sound good?" JM: "Terry, I'm signing the contact with the Cubs this second. I'm going to have to let you go." *phone disconnects* Well Rob, we gave it our best shot.

Most likely. I'm sure they gave themselves a good deal. Those sneaky Canadians....

I found this article, granted a little dated, but shows the local TV revenues for each team. The Twins are basically middle of the pack. Some teams that surprised me, Pittsburgh has the lowest local TV revenue, Toronto that we all think are big market has a revenue similar to MN, and the Mariners are RAKING in the cash.... Also, don't forget with MLB's national TV deal with FOX, every team receives another $25 million. Source: https://upperdeckchatter.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/mlb-teams-capitalize-on-local-television-rights/

FTFY

Pirates leaving Alvarez on the bench in case if they need a late inning HR?

In order for our collective wish list to become reality, it will require TR to make aggressive and risky decisions. If TR had any pressure from the people that signs his pay check, we could see it happen! I just don't have faith he has that pressure to change the status quo....

Is Homeland worth catching up on? I gave up on it a couple episodes into season 4. The 1st season was off to a great start, seasons 2 & 3 went down hill quickly...

I'm fine with keeping 1 of the 2, but not both. I may be wrong on Tonkin, but if he's been called up a dozen or so times and not able to stick around, he may just be a AAAA type player. There's a lot of pitchers that need protection from Rule V who could take his place as the AAA call up. Otherwise I'd rather give that spot to a FA who can actually stick in the majors.

Agreed that is a big difference from past regimes is that the Gophers finally have a great defense. In all years prior, the defense was always a liability. I will say I hope that Kill can find the solution to the offensive woes before the defensive talent starts committing elsewhere..... As far as Leidner, the horse has been beaten enough already, and no new hot Gophers takes can be made about him. There hasn't been a lot of consistency with offensive starters either. One week it's Smith at RB, the next it's Brooks. The o-line is shaky at best. The West division title may be out of reach, but it could be worse... Come on down to Austin and you'll see what a real train wreck looks like.

I would be on board with a Heyward signing as well. Only 26 years old with elite defense and very balanced approach at the plate. Not sure if the Twins can outbid the Yankees and Dodgers of the world to get him, but certainly would be a nice addition to this team.

That's true. Hope we see September Santana over August Santana, and Hughes needs an even year bounce back. I certainly agree that there needs to be ace bullpen types added to the team. I was also thinking big and throw our hat in the ring for the Jason Heyward sweepstakes this offseason. We could use a big time bat in the middle of the order to surround Sano, Mauer, and Dozier.

Andrew Albers was a cute story a couple years ago. Alex Burnett was a thing a couple years ago too.

I agree with your 4 year expectations Dave. Now that they're at this level, anything below .500 without significant injuries on the roster should be enough cause to fire TR. This offseason is crucial to meet the higher expectations. I believe there needs to be at least 1 aggressive move made to acquire a top end solution at P or in the field. I just can't see how a team of above average players can replicate the same luck and timely hitting we saw this season. 2016 very well could (and should) be the last hurrah for TR if the team doesn't take the next step into the playoffs. Whoever the eventual replacement is, they should absolutely look outside of the organization to get a fresh set of eyes on the situation.

One of my favorites "Moonshot Scott" Baker - copyright Dan Cole Juan Rincon Señor Smoke

I remember hearing John talk about TD numerous times on KFAN, and the first day I joined, it was the over/under wins contest in March. Which, by the way, will that be opened up to see how far I was off?? I recall my initial thoughts about what to expect on the site, in a convenient picture below: http://chicago.barstoolsports.com/files/2014/10/nerds-3.jpg But boy was I wrong. I'm glad to have finally given the site a chance, and it's helped me immensely with keeping up with my favorite ball club since I moved out of the state. Thanks for all of the fun discussions, and giving me a platform for hosting a fake radio show

All 5 of the pending FAs should be gone no question... On the Arb. list, I would make an offer to Plouffe, Escobar, Jepsen, Fien, and Milone. DFA: Darnell, Achter, O'Rourke, Thompson, one of Pressly or Tonkin, one of Pinto, Fryer, Herrmann.

I wouldn't make it known, but I think Rosario could be included in a trade that could bring back a young, promising C or SP in return. That is if the other team is not excited about Hicks. The scenario I'm thinking of is if Hicks could bring back a C+ to B level prospect in return, and Rosario could net a B to B+ prospect.. It's something I would consider

I don't know how to put tweets on here, but Bill Shaikin, Angels beat writer, tweeted that Scioscia is returning as their manager next season.

Annnnd welcome back... To, Minnesota Twins Whine Line. Your OFF-SEASON Headquarters for blistering hot Twins takes. It was a rough weekend for us all... The Twins were in it until the end, but couldn't find their way into the playoffs. It's been a particularly rough weekend for the intern. I don't think he's ate a thing since the loss on Friday. He also destroyed his MLB The Show game, so hopefully his takes are just as hot now that he can't play as the characters. Anyways, let's fire up the phone lines to see what the listeners think of this off-season. We'll take calls in the order that they were received. CC to Bark, North, Mike, Chief, diehard, and Jaimie! Dude! This song below is for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htZir_Taizg