coddlenomore

Yes, it does bug most of us that capps sucks and he is hurt. But lets remember last year when he was hurt most of the year but sucked it up and played. Mauer will never get credit for that. He is flat out incapable of such manning up! As for your point that higher salary doesnt equal higher output.....are you out of your mind? think AROD doesnt have higher expectations then everyone on the Yankees? When you sign a guy who was coming off of a MVP to 183 million dollar contract, you have very high expectations. If Mauer was in New York they would destroy him for this me first non sense. He would be hated 10 times worse then AROD! People in Minnesota live in a very strange bubble...I just do not understand how Mauer continues to get away with it. Minnesota nice I guess...

Joey, Hey bro, you are right! I play when I feel like it just like you do. Heck, my fans are almost as stupid as yours...but do you really think they are going to fall for that excuse?...lol...I sure hope so! I really hope I can sign a monster contract like yours and then become a diva!...How fantastic life must be for you!....Home town always forgivin untradeable hero who the press protect no matter what kind of non-playing excuse you make up! You have showed me the way, just like you did when you left a hint of the plate for me to slide to....I now get it, you were pretending to be tuff and block the plate but secretely giving me a back door and I missed it...My bad! But hey, you got your days off and everyone fell for it so I guess you owe me one now! Till we meeat again (nicely next time!), Rickie

Joey, Hey bro, you are right! I play when I feel like it just like you do. Heck, my fans are almost as stupid as yours...but do you really think they are going to fall for that excuse?...lol...I sure hope so! I really hope I can sign a monster contract like yours and then become a diva!...How fantastic life must be for you!....Home town always forgivin untradeable hero who the press protect no matter what kind of non-playing excuse you make up! You have showed me the way, just like you did when you left a hint of the plate for me to slide to....I now get it, you were pretending to be tuff and block the plate but secretely giving me a back door and I missed it...My bad! But hey, you got your days off and everyone fell for it so I guess you owe me one now! Till we meeat again (nicely next time!), Rickie

Really....there are people out here you are actually not annoyed with his constant and forever (yes, his entire carreer!) missing of games for suspect injuries?.....183 million, my expectations are a gamer....he could not be farther from that!!

Dear Joe, I understand during our series I slid into you at home plate and you were a little bit upset about my slide. I heard you say you had left me part of the plate to slide to and you didnt understand why i slid so hard into you. Well Joe, I have never had a catcher leave me part of the plate to slide into. Knowing you and your well earned "gamer" mentality I never imagined that you would leave even an inch of the plate left unblocked. You with your "winning at all costs" attitude, I was sure you would take one for the team and block that plate....but I was wrong. I understand you got bruised by said slide. But I was postive you would be back out there ASAP to help your team win. But I heard while reading the star tribune you were running with no problems at all on tuesday....but you did not play. I am sorry....I must have hurt your feelings to! Sorry Joe, I was feeling real down about what I did to you...how dare me think of the team first and play so hard and tuff. Thats when my buddy Torii Hunter called me and said " "Some people have to play at 100 percent, and Joe may be one of those guys. I've seen it happen. Joe is a good player, and he wants to perform at 100 percent, not at 80 percent." I know bruises can be tuff....so can foul tips of the mask, general soreness, bi- lateral leg weakness...Well, I sure hope you get better Joe. I hope you get back out there soon. With Love, Rickie Weeks

Dear Joe, I understand during our series I slid into you at home plate and you were a little bit upset about my slide. I heard you say you had left me part of the plate to slide to and you didnt understand why i slid so hard into you. Well Joe, I have never had a catcher leave me part of the plate to slide into. Knowing you and your well earned "gamer" mentality I never imagined that you would leave even an inch of the plate left unblocked. You with your "winning at all costs" attitude, I was sure you would take one for the team and block that plate....but I was wrong. I understand you got bruised by said slide. But I was postive you would be back out there ASAP to help your team win. But I heard while reading the star tribune you were running with no problems at all on tuesday....but you did not play. I am sorry....I must have hurt your feelings to! Sorry Joe, I was feeling real down about what I did to you...how dare me think of the team first and play so hard and tuff. Thats when my buddy Torii Hunter called me and said " "Some people have to play at 100 percent, and Joe may be one of those guys. I've seen it happen. Joe is a good player, and he wants to perform at 100 percent, not at 80 percent." I know bruises can be tuff....so can foul tips of the mask, general soreness, bi- lateral leg weakness...Well, I sure hope you get better Joe. I hope you get back out there soon. With Love, Rickie Weeks

My goodness...I would like to say we have hit rock bottom, but i doubt it! Thanks Terry Ryan, we had the wonderfull Clete Thomas in the lineup and Drew Buter on our bench..lol Please, some one please, explain to me how any of you can have any faith in this joke of an organization?.....what is our future plan? What is our present plan?.....This is with out question the worst run twins team I have ever seen....at least in the early 80s we had a young core andtok there lumps before they got good.....what the hell do have to look forward to with this joke of a team?.....and unlike most of you, my rant before the season started....terrible...but thanks Mr. Ryan, you saw our problems and got Clete (BLANK) Thomas and brought back Drew Butera from the minors.......DREW BUTERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!....

My goodness...I would like to say we have hit rock bottom, but i doubt it! Thanks Terry Ryan, we had the wonderfull Clete Thomas in the lineup and Drew Buter on our bench..lol Please, some one please, explain to me how any of you can have any faith in this joke of an organization?.....what is our future plan? What is our present plan?.....This is with out question the worst run twins team I have ever seen....at least in the early 80s we had a young core andtok there lumps before they got good.....what the hell do have to look forward to with this joke of a team?.....and unlike most of you, my rant before the season started....terrible...but thanks Mr. Ryan, you saw our problems and got Clete (BLANK) Thomas and brought back Drew Butera from the minors.......DREW BUTERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!....

I understand we have many issues right now.....but I would assume with the loss of blachburn and the question marks with marquis and now Liriano, I would think pitching would require some urgency.....But thank god for Terry Ryan!!...He made me realize that everything can be fixed by stopping the arbitration clock on Ben Revere and then picking up Clete Thomas cause "we have always liked that guy!".....Can anyone tell me how a guy who strikes out a third of his at bats in the MINOR LEAGUES is going to help us??....thanks Terry! Love the team first money second approach you continue pretend to embrace....how about some proof just once?.....Ah, so nice to have a team in Minnesota nice isn't it Terry??

I understand we have many issues right now.....but I would assume with the loss of blachburn and the question marks with marquis and now Liriano, I would think pitching would require some urgency.....But thank god for Terry Ryan!!...He made me realize that everything can be fixed by stopping the arbitration clock on Ben Revere and then picking up Clete Thomas cause "we have always liked that guy!".....Can anyone tell me how a guy who strikes out a third of his at bats in the MINOR LEAGUES is going to help us??....thanks Terry! Love the team first money second approach you continue pretend to embrace....how about some proof just once?.....Ah, so nice to have a team in Minnesota nice isn't it Terry??

Hard to argue with the point that we were geared to mash......just wonder if that theory will change not that we clearly are no longer that team. Gardy always plays it safe and risking a hit and run or a stolen base I fear may not be his strong suite....but I hope im wrong here!

I have always been perplexed through recent years with the Twins so called approach of doing the "little" things to win baseball games. We were even called the piranhas by Ozzie (man....I already miss him) and had those Punto type guys who had no pop what so ever, but played the game right. I wont focus on the defensive side because I believe the Twins deserve credit through the years for being a top notch defensive teams with last year being the exception. Now with target field and two years of no power, you would assume we do those little ball things right? I do not want to go to inside ball here (I welcome anyone who will!), but lets focus on a few of those "little thing" stats. How about stole bases? We are loaded with speed right? We have Casilla, Span, Revere, and even Nishi. Last year we stole 92 bases and ranked 22nd in baseball. 2010, we stole a whopping 68 bases and finished 26th in baseball. How about sacrifice bunts? You know, run around out there and "get guys moving" as Gardy would say. Last year we finished 27th in baseball and in 2010 we were 24th. For those stat heads out there, how often do the Twins hit and run? The last 19 games I have attended last year, not once. So target field plays big....REAL BIG! We have a team with not much pop at all. Hmm...yet we do the little things? All I see is Gardy glaring at anyone who dares get caught stealing or picked off, a team that damn near never bunts, and a team that is not patient at the plate (26th in baseball last year in walks per at bat). Sorry folks, we do not play big ball, that is evident. Do we play little ball?....im not seeing it at all.

I have always been perplexed through recent years with the Twins so called approach of doing the "little" things to win baseball games. We were even called the piranhas by Ozzie (man....I already miss him) and had those Punto type guys who had no pop what so ever, but played the game right. I wont focus on the defensive side because I believe the Twins deserve credit through the years for being a top notch defensive teams with last year being the exception. Now with target field and two years of no power, you would assume we do those little ball things right? I do not want to go to inside ball here (I welcome anyone who will!), but lets focus on a few of those "little thing" stats. How about stole bases? We are loaded with speed right? We have Casilla, Span, Revere, and even Nishi. Last year we stole 92 bases and ranked 22nd in baseball. 2010, we stole a whopping 68 bases and finished 26th in baseball. How about sacrifice bunts? You know, run around out there and "get guys moving" as Gardy would say. Last year we finished 27th in baseball and in 2010 we were 24th. For those stat heads out there, how often do the Twins hit and run? The last 19 games I have attended last year, not once. So target field plays big....REAL BIG! We have a team with not much pop at all. Hmm...yet we do the little things? All I see is Gardy glaring at anyone who dares get caught stealing or picked off, a team that damn near never bunts, and a team that is not patient at the plate (26th in baseball last year in walks per at bat). Sorry folks, we do not play big ball, that is evident. Do we play little ball?....im not seeing it at all.

Compare these players when they were both in there prime...not now. Also, has anyone ever questioned how or why Hunter was hurt? Never. Apples and oranges.

I agree with the expanded playoff concept totally! If you look at times before we had any WC teams, it was all about winning your division and if you were in a tough division, your team might be screwed for years. The WC format changed that and allowed the 2nd best team in each league to get in with little or no penalty for being the fourth best team in your league. Yes, I know who were slotted to play the best team in your league unless your were from the same division. This just ended up with the Yankees and the Redsox playing other teams every year. Now we expand playoffs to one more team in each league and allow for much longer regular season drama. Then the playoffs start and the teams that squeaked into the playoffs have to fight for there lives to win a one game playoff to get to the next round....How can that possibly be bad for baseball? Fantastic move and I applaud MLB for doing it!

Ill concede the well researched point to you. You pegged me with the frustration part....I cant get over everyone being content with the lowering of the payroll. We are no longer a small market team, but I believe Ryan will execute all of our moves with that logic. Free agaency was weak this year, but I would love to have seen a few trades the could have upgraded this team. Would we still contend this year? Probably not, hate to say this, but were are owed as vested tax payers and season ticket holders, a legitimate attempt. It is not as if he said were are rebuilding (maybe we should be), and with that being said, he surely could have done much more to upgrade this team.

Hate to admit it, your point gives me a reason to hope and is hard to argue. Here is praying that the miracles continue to happen!

Good points! I did not realize how solid our numbers were over that time. My only problem with this philosophy is that it may work well over 162 game season, it is a terrible approach to a short playoff series when you clearly need something resembling an ace. I know, it didnt work with Johan, but I believe that was the exception (damn you Frank Thomas!) and not the norm.

You are going to actually state Todd Jones and the same Luis Castillo who he later traded not because of the money but because Alexi was ready as examples of a GM upgrading a play off ready team???....Shannon Stewart I will give you, but thats it. Every move has has made and every move he is going to make is purely about the money. Ryan spent money on Carrol, Willingham and Doumit? No, he got low budget deals for an often injured outfielder, a 38 year old short stop with the range of a tree and a back up catcher who wont play first. How in the world can this make you happy? Keep on drinking that koolaid, my goodness!! " I think the Twins realized that the free agent market this off season and their needs did not match up all that strongly".....How many times has Mr. Ryan stated that type of crap over the years? Unless said free agent is 40 or coming off 15 surgeries, they will never match up strongly with the Twins plans. Mr. Ryan deserves credit for drafting and molding young talent. He deserves no credit for anything regarding the free agent market.

First let me start this by pointing out I know how good Joe Mauer is. Come on!....three time batting champ, MVP, gold glove winner, the list goes on and on. Basically, if he get his crap back together, we are talking hall of fame and arguably one of the best catchers of all time! Now, let me point out what is wrong with Joe. Joe was an unbelievable athlete at about the age of 10. Every coach he had from that point on knew they had a real special talent. Trust me, this is when the coddling began. Every coach knew that Joe was pegged for stardom and they sure in the hell did not want to be the one who derailed his career in anyway. He was a special once in a life time talent and was quickly taught that if anything, and I mean anything was wrong with him, he had to let his coaches know so they could take care of said malady and make Joe perfect again.....and what has happened is Joe never learned to play through anything. He was always first, and the team was a distant second. "I think some people take pain in different ways," Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "Some people have to play at 100 percent, and Joe may be one of those guys. I've seen it happen. Joe is a good player, and he wants to perform at 100 percent, not at 80 percent." Remember Torii...man I do! He was the heart and soul and the undisputed LEADER of the Twins and we lost all of that when he left. I remember back in 2007 when Torii said this about Joe. Joe had been on the DL and was due back at anytime and I remember 2 weeks before he came back. I was with a group of fans who got to go on the field before a game and we all watched Joe go through his on field rehab. He was running and stretching and jumping and doing everything. We all thought "why isn't he playing" Because Joe wasn't a 100% As a season ticket holder and an over diligent scorecard keeping dork, I have written in said scorecards 43 times over the last 5 years where Joe has needed a day off for no apparent reason. Excuses ranged from he was tired, a day game after a night game, he took a foul tip two days ago, he couldn't get loose.... It never seemed to end. Then 2011 comes around. I will wrap that year up by pointing out he took 9 weeks off to get his legs in shape.....Really?? Do not think for a minute that did not rub off on the rest of the team. If Joe sees himself clearly as above the team and sadly is the default leader of this team, why should anyone else feel differently? Another thing that drives me nuts about Joe. Has he ever got mad when the Twins lost? Has he ever been upset when we got smoked by teams like the Yankees? Has he ever thought gee we just lost the first three games of a series and are about to get swept...hmm maybe I should not take my day game after a night game off and play because the team needs me and I give them a much better chance of winning then Drew does.... Put simply, Joe is just not tough....not tough at all! He will always come first. 180 million dollars and what you get is a player who plays when he feels perfect, a player who simply is not a leader and a hell of an example for all the AAA players on this roster who are quickly going to learn what a deep tissue massage is all about.

First let me start this by pointing out I know how good Joe Mauer is. Come on!....three time batting champ, MVP, gold glove winner, the list goes on and on. Basically, if he get his crap back together, we are talking hall of fame and arguably one of the best catchers of all time! Now, let me point out what is wrong with Joe. Joe was an unbelievable athlete at about the age of 10. Every coach he had from that point on knew they had a real special talent. Trust me, this is when the coddling began. Every coach knew that Joe was pegged for stardom and they sure in the hell did not want to be the one who derailed his career in anyway. He was a special once in a life time talent and was quickly taught that if anything, and I mean anything was wrong with him, he had to let his coaches know so they could take care of said malady and make Joe perfect again.....and what has happened is Joe never learned to play through anything. He was always first, and the team was a distant second. "I think some people take pain in different ways," Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "Some people have to play at 100 percent, and Joe may be one of those guys. I've seen it happen. Joe is a good player, and he wants to perform at 100 percent, not at 80 percent." Remember Torii...man I do! He was the heart and soul and the undisputed LEADER of the Twins and we lost all of that when he left. I remember back in 2007 when Torii said this about Joe. Joe had been on the DL and was due back at anytime and I remember 2 weeks before he came back. I was with a group of fans who got to go on the field before a game and we all watched Joe go through his on field rehab. He was running and stretching and jumping and doing everything. We all thought "why isn't he playing" Because Joe wasn't a 100% As a season ticket holder and an over diligent scorecard keeping dork, I have written in said scorecards 43 times over the last 5 years where Joe has needed a day off for no apparent reason. Excuses ranged from he was tired, a day game after a night game, he took a foul tip two days ago, he couldn't get loose.... It never seemed to end. Then 2011 comes around. I will wrap that year up by pointing out he took 9 weeks off to get his legs in shape.....Really?? Do not think for a minute that did not rub off on the rest of the team. If Joe sees himself clearly as above the team and sadly is the default leader of this team, why should anyone else feel differently? Another thing that drives me nuts about Joe. Has he ever got mad when the Twins lost? Has he ever been upset when we got smoked by teams like the Yankees? Has he ever thought gee we just lost the first three games of a series and are about to get swept...hmm maybe I should not take my day game after a night game off and play because the team needs me and I give them a much better chance of winning then Drew does.... Put simply, Joe is just not tough....not tough at all! He will always come first. 180 million dollars and what you get is a player who plays when he feels perfect, a player who simply is not a leader and a hell of an example for all the AAA players on this roster who are quickly going to learn what a deep tissue massage is all about.

Only in Minnesota can your 184 million dollar player take nine weeks off and never have to explain why and then have fans like ths defend it....simply priceless! Oh yah, I forgot you just know Terry Ryan is going to run out and make that big trade to upgrade this team if we contend!...lol Really??? The reality of a 70 win season will allow him to escape his usual line of he couldnt find anyone....

To Jim, It wasnt the prime exampe it was a simple example. If you wants sheets of players that the twins have got simply becasue of the price, let me know becasue it wont be hard to compile!

So where the heck is waldo? Everyone who considers themselves a true Twins fan knows who waldo is. He is the fan that has been to every twins game since 2004. He is the guy who sat out in center field at the dome and whore the whit helmet. He is the guy who got acknowledged every game by Torii Hunter and almost always had a ball thrown to him from Torii. His name Greg Dryden and he is almost done with his one year ban from target field. It happened after he caught Jim Thome's HR 596 (?). According to Twins security, he ran over some kid to get the Ball, (he swears he did not touch anyone and after watching the replay over and over, I cant see it!)l and even though he gave the ball to Thome ( in exchange for a signed none game used bat from Mr. Thome) he was giving a one year ban from Target field. Anyone who knows Greg will agree when I say this, I think he would have preferred a bullet in the head! I understand those who say Greg is a bit to obsessive about the twins. In 2010 he was at every game, but he was at every game outside the fence standing on the plaza! He could not afford tickets that year, yet he was at every game! He does go after those baseballs like it is his life (it is!), but I have seen Greg give away at least 100 baseballs to kids over the years. He collects anything he can get from the twins in an almost insane obsessive manner. But these things are his life and trust me, he will not sell damn near any of it because he cherishes these tokens from his heroes. I know that the Twins security can not stand Greg and I never could really understand why. For right or wrong, Greg has made the Twins his passion. If I were the Twins, I would embrace the easily most recognizable fan of them all. Greg will be back the 2nd game this season against the Angel's because that is when his ban ends. He will be on the plaza next to his bike with his back pack full of twins gear. He will be wearing a new white helmet because I hunted one down for him and gave it to him at Twins fest. It is the least I could do for a fan he cares more about my beloved Twins then anyone I know. So stop by and say welcome back Greg, because I have to be honest, it hasn't been the same with out him!

So where the heck is waldo? Everyone who considers themselves a true Twins fan knows who waldo is. He is the fan that has been to every twins game since 2004. He is the guy who sat out in center field at the dome and whore the whit helmet. He is the guy who got acknowledged every game by Torii Hunter and almost always had a ball thrown to him from Torii. His name Greg Dryden and he is almost done with his one year ban from target field. It happened after he caught Jim Thome's HR 596 (?). According to Twins security, he ran over some kid to get the Ball, (he swears he did not touch anyone and after watching the replay over and over, I cant see it!)l and even though he gave the ball to Thome ( in exchange for a signed none game used bat from Mr. Thome) he was giving a one year ban from Target field. Anyone who knows Greg will agree when I say this, I think he would have preferred a bullet in the head! I understand those who say Greg is a bit to obsessive about the twins. In 2010 he was at every game, but he was at every game outside the fence standing on the plaza! He could not afford tickets that year, yet he was at every game! He does go after those baseballs like it is his life (it is!), but I have seen Greg give away at least 100 baseballs to kids over the years. He collects anything he can get from the twins in an almost insane obsessive manner. But these things are his life and trust me, he will not sell damn near any of it because he cherishes these tokens from his heroes. I know that the Twins security can not stand Greg and I never could really understand why. For right or wrong, Greg has made the Twins his passion. If I were the Twins, I would embrace the easily most recognizable fan of them all. Greg will be back the 2nd game this season against the Angel's because that is when his ban ends. He will be on the plaza next to his bike with his back pack full of twins gear. He will be wearing a new white helmet because I hunted one down for him and gave it to him at Twins fest. It is the least I could do for a fan he cares more about my beloved Twins then anyone I know. So stop by and say welcome back Greg, because I have to be honest, it hasn't been the same with out him!