Vanimal46

If your dog is like my dog he takes advantage of his opportunities in 0.05 seconds.

There's nothing more adorable than a brand new puppy. There's also nothing more frustrating than a brand new puppy. They grow way too quickly though and it's not fair. Seems like yesterday I picked up my 8 week old 5 lb yellow lab... Now he's 7 months and almost 40 lbs.

Pictured: Ervin after reading your post...

Congrats on the new puppy! What kind of pup did you get?

If you care, you may notice Adrianza is at 1B tonight.

A couple of new updates! Per Mike Berardino on Twitter. He's now in Rochester! The plan is for him to make 3 starts and make his way to Minnesota in September.

He has 30 wins 25 losses.

Meh. Maybe on a minor league deal. He hasn't been MLB quality since 2015. Pretty sure it's over for him.

.... Is there anything to discuss?

He's with my best friends and gets to hang with their dog who he's known since day 1. That gives me comfort, but still, it's not like I can face time him and give him a belly rub.

Let the season play out and explore all avenues to acquire someone who's better. I wouldn't make it a priority at all to sign LoFo right away. If he's unemployed in February and the Twins couldn't make a deal for someone better, sign him then.

I know this is irrational, but now I'm doing more travel for work, and it's sad not to see my dog for a week... I'm gaining a new respect for people who travel and don't see their kids for a period of time.

ANNND Welcome! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line: Christmas in August Edition! I am your host and gracious elf, Vanimal. Along with my trusty sidekick who does all the work, the intern elf! Guess what?! We're closer to Christmas than we are to the All-Star break! With 130 days until the big day, we're going to cheat and open up presents early! Hopefully we were good this year and Santa Falvine read our letters. Before we do that, let's toss it over to Chief elfeorologist, the intern.... Today is going to be a beautiful day in Minneapolis! Sunny and 85 degrees at first pitch. REAL FEEL of 84 degrees. Wind out of the NNE at 6 MPH. Lineups will come out later.... Who cares about that now? It's CHRISTMAS! Our studio is FILLED with boxes large and small, and we can't wait to see what Santa Falvine gave us this year! Let's open the first box... WHAT?!!!! It's a blanket made from Miguel Sano's old dreads! The Whine Line has learned Miguel recently got a haircut... The intern's legs kept getting cold while playing MLB the Show... How did you know Santa Falvine? Let's open up the next box.... WOAH!! Could it be? A LoFo rock 'em sock 'em robot?! Thanks Santa Falvine!! I've heard the LoFO robot can hit anything and anyone! I can't wait to try it today against whoever the Tigers decide to put on the mound today... Side note: LoFo is a lame nickname, right? We can do better than this. On to the next gift.... Let's open up the envelope from Grandpa Jim... Hmm.... Is that an.... I owe you?? Did Grandpa Jim forget about Christmas? Oh, I guess down at the bottom he said just wait until next year, the wallet will open up! Thanks? Finally, we have one more gift left... And the box is HUGE! Oh my God, could it be?? It's a REAL LIFE Manager of the Year! Wow! Now I can have a manager of the year teach me his MoY secrets around the house... Such as continuing to use the same 3 utensils until they're moldy and unusable! Wow, what a day... Did you expect so many awesome gifts in one day? Neither did we! Let's win another game today.

Old friend Phil Hughes was released by San Diego... He had a 6.10 ERA in 16 appearances for them.

It's certainly complicated and a case by case basis. Perhaps there will be more clarity if they write down some of these unwritten rules on paper. I know you were talking more in general and not this specific case. IMO the intent was there from Urena. From what I'm reading Acuna didn't pimp any HRs or disrespect the other team. Urena decided to take it in his own hands and unleash the fastest pitch he's ever thrown at Acuna. Just because Acuna is hitting well and doing what he's paid to do. That's pathetic.

We'll never agree on this. The point of this whole conversation is not whether Acuna is hurt for a period of time. The point is Urena used a 97 MPH pitch as a weapon. For no other reason other than Acuna is hitting the ball well.

There's no other dangerous 'weapon' in sports than a 97 MPH fastball aimed at your body. Every other sport is working on improving player safety. Baseball will not move forward and gain popularity if this neanderthal bull**** is still around.

It's bush league, no doubt about it. I hate that he did this because he's not good enough to beat Acuna straight up.

The quotes from Mattingly and Urena after the game are chicken **** too. "We talked with Jose right after the game and basically, he was saying, he knows the guy has been swinging the bat good," Mattingly said. "He was trying to get one close. He was trying to run it off in there, and that was the purpose of his pitch. That's exactly what he told us. I had talked with him before [the first inning]. It was like, 'This kid is swinging the bat good. We've got to figure out how to get him out, right?'" Urena was not immediately ejected after the pitch. Instead, umpires conferred and ejected him a bit later. "I try to come out to the game to get deep into a game," Urena said. "The first pitch you hit somebody. [The umpires] knew that was a mistake and they let me warm up. But those people, they got crazy and they started to attack me, and I don't know what they were looking for. I just backed up and tried to stick to my game plan." https://www.mlb.com/news/ronald-acuna-jr-hit-by-pitch-leading-off-game/c-290497832

The Marlins are cowards. I hate this mentality in baseball. Absolutely hate it.

Yep. Because they have a bunch of other players who are below average or bad compared to players on other teams. Like I said before, you can certainly back fill a position like 2B. But you better have a top 5 player at their respective position somewhere else on the diamond.

I don't disagree. The thing to consider is his contract status. I believe he's entering year 2 of arbitration eligibility, and that system awards players with saves on their stat sheet. Since he missed a majority of the year he won't get a significant raise... Though that could change if he finishes the year with 10 saves. For the rest of this season, I'd rather them choose someone who has an established contract (Reed) or someone who doesn't really factor into next year's plans (Magill? Drake?)

I generally agree it's easy to fill 2B with failed SS or 3B. Strategically you can back fill it with a player who brings less value on the field. Those conditions can be met if they have another player who's significantly better at their respective position. Teams still have to play a 2B every game. And it's always better to have a player who's one of the best at their position. The Twins had that advantage in past years with a top 5 2B in the game.