Paul Pleiss

I like Lester Oliveros for the RotY, but you make a fine case for Peterson, and at 22 he's just about where he should be with respect to age/level. It's exciting to see so many guys on your list who have legit stuff and a chance to make it to the show, even guys who throw hard, which the organization hasn't had enough of in recent years.

Who stays and who goes. I weighed in on this earlier, but I'd like to get back into the discussion. First of all, I don't think Rick Anderson has any reason to expect the Twins to renew his contract after the season is out. Ron Gardenhire may say that if Rick goes, he goes, and that will be a tough pill to swallow, but then they both need to go. I don't know Rick Anderson as a man, he's probably an upright citizen in high standing within his community. I don't know Rick Anderson as a pitching coach either, he appears to have a strong ability to teach guys how to throw more strikes, thereby decreasing their walk rate. A loss of K rate seems to be related to this same pound the strike zone approach. Maybe it's more oganizational than just Rick Anderson, maybe pitch to contact is a real thing the Twins as an organziatin are pushing, not just Rick Anderson. I don't know those things, but I know about accountability. Our good friends at Merriam-Webster define accountability as : the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions <public officials lacking accountability>. Somone has to be accountable for the awful state of Twins pitching for the past 3+ season. If the Twins want to hold that blame at the organizational level, maybe Dave St. Peter needs to go (I don't think he does), or maybe Terry Ryan (I don't think it's on him either) or maybe Ron Gardenhire needs to step up and accept some blame, to tell the public that he's failed as a manager to turn this club around, and if Gardy can't step up and say that, then someone has to go, and that someone is Rick Anderson, who I have less and less belief is good as his job. So I think the Twins start with not bringing Rick Anderson back, and accept any fallout (Gardy) from that move. If Gardy goes, I think a new manager, hopefully from OUTSIDE the organization is brought it. That seems unlikely, but I beleive would be the best course of action, as it would likely entail some sort of scorched earth policy for coaches currenly at the MLB level. I think Burno and Cuellar (SP?) and Molitor are doing good things, but I'm not sure any of them aren't replaceable with a new face and a new approach. Sometiems bringing in a new approach allows you to see things differently, to get a new perspective, and find problems and issues that used to not seem like issues at all. I think the Twins need that at the MLB level, I hope they get it. If they stay with an internal option, and promote from within, again, all I think is that Rick Anderson needs to go, The rest of the coaching staff seems productive. Rick Anderson seems predictably unsuccessful. The Twins don't even need to FIRE Rick, his contract expires after the season, everyone saves face. Heck, you could even have him remain in the organization as a spring training instructor, or a guy who works in the instructs helping guys learn to throw strikes, but he clearly has had problems finding flaws in pitchers and helping them back to success.

Seriously, you don't think Aaron Hicks can be valuable for this club playing LF? Was that just the alcohol talking or have you guys both moved on from the Aaron Hicks experiment?

Hard to argue with the guys you have on your list, or even the order you have them in. Maybe there is some weight to the claim Kohl Stewart deserved more than an honorable mention, but not sure any of your guys 1-6 was any worse than Stewy. Gosh it could be fun as these guys make their way up the ladder.

Are all of those guys old enough to be drinking champaign? Did the Twins organization just provide alcohol to minors? Is there a law suit coming?

I mean, come on guys, no one even mentioned it yet... JASON KANZLER'S MUSTACHE! It's championship caliber. No wonder this team won.

How do you take pressure off a starter? Maybe tell them not to give up a bunch of runs early and have to pitch from behind feeling like they have to be perfect. Maybe send them all to the pen. Have bull pen starts where everyone just pitches one inning. Do something fun. Maybe they all need bigger waisted pants, maybe their belts are just too tight.

80% strikes! hot diggity dawg. That's attacking the strike zone.

The Astros are fun to watch. A lot of talent up and coming with them. The Twins offense is fun to watch too, lots of talent coming up. I think next season we could have a fun time watching the Twins and Astros down the stretch. I wouldn't count the Twins out.

I'd like to see the M cottinue to be an option, if only for retro days. it's a good look when it's not every day. That being said, I'd love to see a hat with TC bear on the front, or TWINS in script or even some sort of MN. I love the TC hats though, and I especially like the white front with the blue back. Classy.

It is embarrassing, but unlike Twinssouth, I don't think the embarrassment has much to do with the bats. We've seen what this Twins lineup can do, and it's fun to watch. The rotation and bullpen... they stink. Gibson is progressing, but he'll need to take another step or two forward, Hughes was great, but will he be again? It's going to be interesting to see what happens this off-season. I really hope the Twins bring in a big name starter, even if it means 24mil/year for 6+ years. The most efficient way to bring in talent is to draft and develop it, but when you need talent NOW, free agency is the way to go. It's hit or miss, but by and large someone who has a proven track record of success will continue to be successful, albeit and a slowly declining rate. Twins probably have to pay for more than they'll get in value, much like they had to with Mauer, but I think it's worth it to make a marked improvement on this team.

The Twins offense is fun to watch, there's a lot of swing and miss, but a lot of fun to watch. I wish I could say the same for the guys who throw the ball for a living.

I've been calling for Rick Anderson's head on a spike for awhile, well not on a spike, but for his head to be somewhere other than in the Twins dugout as the pitching coach. I don't believe not brining him back solves the Twins problems, but leaving him there surely isn't the answer either. He's Gardy's guy, that's his pedigree. That's not good enough anymore.

I spoke with Eduardo Nunez this afternoon, he said that you can use his helmet for the nachos, he doesn't have much use for it and frequently loses it when out darting around the base paths. You may want to hose it down quick before eating out of it, or heck, go crazy and just dig right it.

Josmil Pinto (aka Beans) wants you to do the Target Field Helmet Challenge. He years for you to stuff your face with a helmet full of fries, another full of nachos and a third filled with ice cream for a savory dessert. He wants you to live large and be merry. He wants you to do the helmet challenge. On September 15th the Twins host the Detroit Tigers. Pitching match-ups are still a long ways off, but the boys from the Talk to Contact Podcast would like to invite you to join them at the game for the Helmet Challenge. Beans may or may not be joinging you for a post-game photo and autograph signing. Tickets are available from Ticket King for as low as THREE DOLLARS! Are you kidding me? No, I'm not kidding you. It's for real. I used the internet and the internet doesn't lie. Eric (@erolfpleis) and Jay (@Jay__Corn) will assemble fans interested in the helmet challenge at various points during the game to try each of the three helmet dishes. Prizes (PRIZES!!!!) may be awarded to the winner, whatever it means to win a helmet challenge. I'm hoping there's peptobismol, or at least a roll of tums. Ow ow ow. So join the Talk to Contact crew, and maybe Josmil Pinto, and do the Helmet Challenge.

You have some great ideas. I love the discounted seats for Keiths. I was once in a band called "Running From Keith." Can I get discounted tickets too>

The calendar has turned over, September is here, kids are going back to school and some of the Twins minor leaguers have arrived in Minnesota. Paul, Jay and Cody discuss the eight September call ups, the departure of Sam Deduno and the Trevor May's first career MLB victory. You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here, and if you want to add the show to your non-iTunes podcast player, this is the RSS Feed.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K_1-xkmWeFk/T2Ncn61VVEI/AAAAAAAAAg0/zWN4hbW-AMw/s1600/TwinsBaseball.jpg E Rolf has abandonded the podcast crew this week, instead opting to drink beer at Target Field. We can't blame him. In fact, we invite you to join him and Jay at Target Field on September 15th when the Twins take on the Tigers to participate in the Target Field Helmet Challenge. Tickets are currently available on the interwebz for $3! Cody created a fun before and after game, a la Wheel of Fortune, which is then followed by all the usual fun stuff, beers, and Japanese High School baseball games that go on for 50 innings. Enjoy the show. You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan, and you can find Eric on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read his writing at Knuckleballs, and you can find Jay Corn on twitter @Jay__Corn! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are the new Ice Bucket Challenge, tell your friends and GET A BUCKET!

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9901595.jpg The calendar has turned over, September is here, kids are going back to school and some of the Twins minor leaguers have arrived in Minnesota. Paul, Jay and Cody discuss the eight September call ups, the departure of Sam Deduno and the Trevor May's first career MLB victory. E Rolf has abandonded the podcast crew this week, instead opting to drink beer at Target Field. We can't blame him. In fact, we invite you to join him and Jay at Target Field on September 15th when the Twins take on the Tigers to participate in the Target Field Helmet Challenge. Tickets are currently available on the interwebz for $3!Cody created a fun before and after game, a la Wheel of Fortune, which is then followed by all the usual fun stuff, beers, and Japanese High School baseball games that go on for 50 innings. Source

I was happy to see Sammy D moving on. You are correct, when he was on, he was fun to watch, but more often than not he'd blow up, BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE as Platoon said above. Maybe he can catch on with Houston until some of their better draft picks make it up to the MLB level.

I really like looking at these posts you put together looking at the starting pitcher's performance.

You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here, and if you want to add the show to your non-iTunes podcast player, this is the RSS Feed. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PENc1kXVo60/VABckrzKI2I/AAAAAAAAH7s/_8-Bi7FK-Uw/s1600/future%2Btwins.png The Twins scored a whole bunch of runs in the last week, and have one of the top five offenses in the American League, if only they had a pitching staff to match. This week we swoon over the future of the Twins, talk a little bit about the young players on the Twins roster, and Jay tries to troll Eric into going on another Paul Molitor rant (and fails, sort of). Then the regular beer, baseball, and the news. Enjoy the show. You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan, and you can find Eric on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read his writing at Knuckleballs, and you can find Jay Corn on twitter @Jay__Corn! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are the new Ice Bucket Challenge, tell your friends and GET A BUCKET!

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9883397.jpg The Twins scored a whole bunch of runs in the last week, and have one of the top five offenses in the American League, if only they had a pitching staff to match. This week we swoon over the future of the Twins, talk a little bit about the young players on the Twins roster, and Jay tries to troll Eric into going on another Paul Molitor rant (and fails, sort of). Then the regular beer, baseball, and the news. Enjoy the show. Source

What's the upside of trading Plouffe? What do you think the Twins could get for him in return? A third basemen who can hit could be a useful addition for a contending team heading down the stretch to replace an injured starter, but I'm not sure there's much of a trade market for that in the off-season. I think any GM makes any trade if he thinks he's getting lopsided value, but I don't think anyone is going to give that up for Babe Plouffe. Getting prospects back for MLB regulars doesn't seem like a recipie for success. This team needs to start winning, continuing to throw away current value for future hope needs to take a back seat to winning in 2015, winning sooner than later.

You can stop upgrading the day after you win the World Series. Take two weeks off, then start trying to get better for next season.