Vanimal46

The Vikings play a preseason game tonight, and I can't say I'm excited about football returning. It's a weird feeling, as I used to love football and couldn't wait for the next season to start. A lot of things have played into this new feeling... Moving on to other things besides sports for entertainment CTE/concussions becoming a huge issue in the gameNFL owners holding communities hostage to pay for a new stadium or elseQuality of game play decreasing year over year Playing fantasy football with friends is really the only thing keeping me aware of what's going on in the sport. If it weren't for that, the only game I would really watch is the Super Bowl. Maybe this is the start of the decline in popularity for football.... Maybe it's already happening.... Or maybe I'm in the minority and it's more popular than ever. What about you?

How are they still in so much financial trouble? Or is the owner really that cheap to take the $2.7 MM in cash savings over better prospects?

Cleveland picks up OF Jay Bruce from the Mets for something called Ryder Ryan, a RP in A ball. Ryan wasn't on Cleveland's top 30 prospect list on MLB.com. Cleveland's OF combined prior to the trade hit 37 HRs on the season. Bruce has 29 himself.

At least the operations team is VERY familiar booking flights for Vargas! They don't even have to ask for his driver's license number anymore.

If we're talking network TV shows, yeah, nothing is on at this time of year.... If we can move the goalposts to streaming/HBO options, there's a ton to watch. More than any normal human could consume.

Big fan of that show! Season 2 premieres in October!

Me too, bud. http://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Thats-A-Bold-Strategy-Meme.gif

Bark's living the rock star life now! Rumor has it there are now 42,000 lost pairs of socks after getting them rocked off at the Terminal Bar! And too busy for us minions

yes, meaning he passed through waivers without anyone claiming him. No one wants that albatross contract without getting a discount.

Not sure if the beat writers would appreciate interviewing a naked manager!

I don't follow up and coming managers around the league.... But I do hope it's a person outside of the organization.

I've mentally blocked all Delmon Young memories from my brain.... I didn't remember at all that he was actually pretty good for the Twins in 2010. Then the wheels completely fell off after that.

Today is National Book Lover's Day! I did end up finishing "How America Lost It's Secrets" by Edward Jay Epstein, and now have a completely different outlook about Edward Snowden. Haven't been reading as much as I probably should during the dog days of summer.... Anyone reading a particularly good book right now?

Trout is making a legitimate case for MVP even after missing 40 games earlier this season. He's on pace for his best season ever.... .343/.464/.710 and already accumulated 5.1 fWAR in 175+ less PA than Altuve and Judge. He's truly amazing.

It's got to be pretty defeating for Garver... Especially considering Vargas' bat has been ice cold so far in August. Not a worthy call-up IMO.

Right here! Ohhhh! You said Wander! My bad!

More game logs since the last time I updated this: 7/26 @ Indianapolis 2 IP - 0 H - 0 ER - 0 BB - 0 K - 1 hit batter -- 31 pitches, 19 strikes 7/29 @ Toledo 0.1 IP - 1 H - 0 ER - 0 BB - 0 K -- 6 pitches, 4 strikes 8/2 vs. LHV 2 IP - 0 H - 0 ER - 0 BB - 4 K -- 25 pitches, 20 strikes 8/4 @ Syracuse 1.2 IP - 1 H - 0 ER - 1 IBB - 2 K -- 31 pitches, 20 strikes

I figured one of the reasons Garver has not been called up yet is not having the defensive chops to succeed at C a la Josmil Pinto... But from the sounds of it, his defense has also improved this season. I'm really at a loss why he has not received a call yet.

Mitch Garver was featured in Seth Stohs' Three-Bagger Article today. Below are Seth's words about him: Those that follow me on Twitter know that I’ve been including the hashtag #CallHimUp on any of the tweets that mention Garver. He’s 26, and he’s put up tremendous numbers. In fact, someone close to the Red Wings said he’s “having one of the best seasons as a catcher in recent Red Wings history.” Through 81 games this season, he is hitting .276/.378/.521 (.898). He’s hit 23 doubles and 16 home runs. Since being drafted in the 9th round of the 2013 draft, after his senior season at the University of New Mexico, he has continued to improve each season. That’s great since he was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2014 while playing in Cedar Rapids. This year, he’s been impressive, showing a strong knowledge of the strike zone and attacking driveable pitches into the gaps and over the fence, to either field. As important in a catcher’s development, he’s improved tremendously behind the plate as well. He’s blessed with a very strong arm, and has always thrown out base stealers at a strong percent. While his pitch framing numbers aren’t as strong this year as last year, pitchers rave about his ability to call a good game. My first thought was maybe Wilson Ramos put up some strong numbers for the Red Wings. However, in 71 games for the team in 2010, he hit .241/.280/.345 (.625) with 14 doubles and five home runs (as a 22 year old) in 71 games. In 2014, Josmil Pinto hit .279/.376/.457 (.833) with 17 doubles and six homers in 60 games for the Red Wings. In 2008, Jose Morales hit .315/.348/.426 (.774) with eight doubles and four homers in 54 games. In 2007, Morales hit .311/.366/.399 (.765) with 25 doubles and two homers in 108 games. In 2005, Rob Bowen hit .268/.368/.402 (.770) with 13 doubles and six homers. And that takes us back through the Twins affiliation with Rochester. I think it’s safe to say that the season Mitch Garver is putting together is the best in the last 15 years, to be sure. Meanwhile, Jason Castro is hitting .227/.322/.371 (.693) with 20 doubles and six homers in 80 games for the Twins. Backup Chris Gimenez is hitting .202/.317/.355 (.672) with four doubles and five homers in 47 games. Garver has versatility too. He’s caught in 61 games. He played first base in five games, and he’s played 14 games in left field. While his range may be that of a catcher in left field, he would be a right-handed bench or DH option for the Twins. There is no question that Mitch Garver will be called up for September. There should be little question that he should be given every opportunity next spring to break with the big league club. For good.

Mr. Clanky and Pablo Sanchez were unstoppable!

Adrian Beltre approves.... 3k hits, 0 bunt hits!

The Dodgers are making history this season... They've gone 43-7 (!!) over their last 50 games. Only the 1912 New York Giants have a streak that impressive.

Gravity always wins. Full video here.

Concur. I don't mind being a little more conservative with Gonsalves' development... Like a fine brisket, low and slow is the way to go. His success is going to come directly from hitting his spots on the corners and command. Berrios could get away with being more "effectively wild" since he has more overpowering stuff. Gonsalves doesn't have that luxury.

Welcome aboard, Stevie. We figured that the owners would give a young prospect like yourself a cup of coffee in a rebuilding season! The question is, who's the Bartolo Colon in our existing rotation of authors?