Paul Pleiss

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9129218.jpg After a holiday hiatus the Talk to Contact podcast returns will all of the usual contributors. Up for discussion this week is Chris Colobello declining a trip to Korea, the make-up of the Twins opening day outfield, former Twins making comebacks and a rousing of debate of whether or not Kurt Suzuki will play a meaningful role for the Twins in 2014. We go down on the pond and take a look at the Twins 2013 4th round draft pick, Stephen Gonsalves (LHP), discuss whether a shandy should even be considered a beer and talk about moves from around the rest of the MLB, including possible landing spots for Masahiro Tanaka and the potential for the Houston Astros to contend in the AL West this coming season. All of that and more on this week's podcast. Source

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-347x347+0+42_9099158.jpg Paul is away celebrating his birthday but this week on the podcast, Cody and Eric spend 60+ minutes talking about the Ryan Doumit trade, what to do with all of the Twins' mediocre pitching, and the awful All-Star Game Logos that the Twins are putting all over everything. Down on the Pond we take a look at the 2014 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook and the profile of Bryan Haar. They also talk beer, and baseball news. A fun podcast from two 29-year-old morons. Enjoy the show. Source

Episode 63 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/12/winter-meetings-2013.png This week we delve into the winter meetings, or rather, we get together and speculate wildly about things that may or may not happen. Will Bronson Arroyo or Mike Pelfrey end up in a Twins uniform in 2014? What about Stephen Drew? We also attempt to discuss the moves other teams are making around the league. Later on we attempt to give Joe Mauer a nickname, but despite many great submissions we never settle on something we can all agree on. Finally we take an in depth look at Twins prospect Lewis Thorpe. Thanks for the download. 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps F-Town grow in pop-culture and notoriety. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9074999.jpg This week we delve into the winter meetings, or rather, we get together and speculate wildly about things that may or may not happen. Will Bronson Arroyo or Mike Pelfrey end up in a Twins uniform in 2014? What about Stephen Drew? We also attempt to discuss the moves other teams are making around the league. Later on we attempt to give Joe Mauer a nickname, but despite many great submissions we never settle on something we can all agree on. Finally we take an in depth look at Twins prospect Lewis Thorpe. Source

Episode 62 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/285%3E_9054049.jpg This week on the podcast we have a full slate of beers and a full tray of Twins news. Christmas comes early this season for Twins fans as Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes are Minnesota Twins; what does it all mean? Seth Stohs joins us to break down Rule-5 Draft possibilities and to talk minor league ball. The Hot Stove is on fire this seasons, listen in for analysis of Twins moves, roster transactions and more. It's another long episode this week, but with so much news, and so many beers, it was impossible to keep it any shorter. Thanks for the download. 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps F-Town grow in pop-culture and notoriety. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9054049.jpg This week on the podcast we have a full slate of beers and a full tray of Twins news. Christmas comes early this season for Twins fans as Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes are Minnesota Twins; what does it all mean? Seth Stohs joins us to break down Rule-5 Draft possibilities and to talk minor league ball. The Hot Stove is on fire this seasons, listen in for analysis of Twins moves, roster transactions and more. It's another long episode this week, but with so much news, and so many beers, it was impossible to keep it any shorter. Thanks for the download. Source

Episode 61 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. No news is good news. Not a lot of Twins news coming out this week, lots of rumors and rumblings about free agent starting pitchers and catchers, but nothing concrete. This week Paul and Eric are joined by Twins Geek, John Bonnes (@TwinsGeek) from Twins Daily to discuss the origins of both the site and the Gleeman and the Geek podcast, more of look into "how the sausage is made" so to speak. We take a close look at the Twins top pitching prospect, Alex Meyer, and we get into a heated discussion about the possibility (or lack there-of) of Jarrod Saltalamacchia joining the Twins. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/11/mauer_turkey001.jpg Thanks for the download. 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps Terry Ryan sign top-tier pitching talent in Free Agency. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9028078.jpg No news is good news. Not a lot of Twins news coming out this week, lots of rumors and rumblings about free agent starting pitchers and catchers, but nothing concrete. This week Paul and Eric are joined by Twins Geek, John Bonnes from Twins Daily to discuss the origins of both the site and the Gleeman and the Geek podcast, more of look into "how the sausage is made" so to speak. We take a close look at the Twins top pitching prospect, Alex Meyer, and we get into a heated discussion about the possibility (or lack there-of) of Jarrod Saltalamacchia joining the Twins. Source

Episode 60 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/11/7874230.jpg 60 is a number worn my several Twins throughout the years, including current "closer" Glen Perkins from 2006-2007, and most recently by Pedro Hernandez (2013) and Jeff Gray (2012), but most notably by Jon Rauch and his terrible neck tattoo in back to back seasons (2009-2010). This week on the podcast we discuss a plethora of minor league happenings, including the pending 50-game suspension of Eddie Rosario and recent 40-man roster moves. The debate wages on over which starting pitchers make sense for the Twins to sign, as Eric, Cody and Jay each make their cases of Ricky Nolasco, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Garza. Who would you take? There's a considerably lengthy discussion about the true value of the Metrodome baggie and who the real winner is in the Prince Fielder Ian Kinsler trade. Also, if you are a Leinenkugel Beer affectionado, you may want to stick around for the "Beers from Around the World" segment. This episode also features an interview with noted sabermatrician, FanGraphs writer/editor and BBWAA member, Carson Cistulli (@cistulli). This is a long episode, almost 2 hours, but it's pure gold from beginning to end. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/11/rauch.jpg Thanks for the download. 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps Terry Ryan sign top-tier pitching talent in Free Agency. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_9006857.jpg 60 is a number worn my several Twins throughout the years, including current "closer" Glen Perkins from 2006-2007, and most recently by Pedro Hernandex (2013) and Jeff Gray (2012), but most notably by Jon Rauch and his terrible neck tattoo in back to back seasons (2009-2010). This week on the podcast we discuss a plethora of minor league happenings, including the pending 50-game suspension of Eddie Rosario and recent 40-man roster moves. The debate wages on over which starting pitchers make sense for the Twins to sign, as Eric, Cody and Jay each make their cases of Ricky Nolasco, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Garza. Who would you take? There's a considerably lengthy discussion about the true value of the Metrodome baggie and who the real winner is in the Prince Fielder Ian Kinsler trade. Also, if you are a Leinenkugel Beer affectionado, you may want to stick around for the "Beers from Around the World" segment. Thanks for the download. Source

If you get tired of John and Aaron, really, check out Talk to Contact. http://www.talktocontact.com, they have guests, talk baseball, and keep their social talk to a minimum (sort of).

Reports I've been seeing talk about the Twins wanting to add 2 SP this off-season. Bronson Arroyo may indeed be better than Correia, but will he still be able to help this team when the youngsters start to perform in 2015 and beyond?

There is new money available. Teams will get an extra $25mil or so from league media contract. So yes, new money is available. I also think there's new thinking. Teams are looking at long term deals differently after seeing some of them go sour quickly (Albert Pujols anyone?). Better to pay more now than to stretch out those years. That being said, you only have to convince one front office to pull the trigger. If there's a couple teams in the bidding war, things could get out of hand with the length of the contract. I like Choo better. He's (not so) sneaky good. The drawback is that he's better suited for a corner spot (RF) than center. Both players will cost a draft-pick. Neither should be an option for the Twins

A well thought out and backed up article. My biggest argument against what you wrote would be the case you built for Rick Anderson. I agree we can't blame him for all of the pitching woes. You can only shine a turd so much. That being said, Gardy "picked" Rick Anderson to be his pitching coach back when both were still in their playing days. I think Gardy and Rick will be together forever, they're a pair. That also seems wrong to me. I can't point to any metrics to help support my thoughts, my views, but I don't think Rick Anderson is good at his job. I think it's wrong to credit him for Carl Pavano, he was a successful veteran pitcher long before he came to MN. Boof Bonser was never good, another guy who shouldn't be in the for Rick Anderson category. Carlos Silva was traded to the Twins where he spent the prime of his career, his decline after he left Minnesota could be a small push towards Anderson. I don't know enough to argue more, I'd have to do some more research, but when I think Rick Anderson, my mind shutters just a little. I am not a fan of his. I'd need to see some more numbers to convince me otherwise. Correia was better than expected, the Twins, as a whole, are not sabermetric adverse, and the Twins are an old boys network. I'm glad Bill Smith lost his job as GM, and I'm also glad the Twins retained his services within the organization. He's good at his job, he's not good as a GM.

I agree with you 100%. People complaining about Mauer's lack of power and his big contract drive me crazy. Mauer had an OPS over .800 this season in a league where offense is down across the board. He is an elite player, arguably top-10 in the league and definitely top 15. His onbase skills are elite. All he does is NOT MAKE OUTS. And as far as his contract goes, it's a sunk cost. You can't evaluate him on his contract, he's going to get that money no matter where he plays. He'll take a WAR hit becuase of the position change, but he's also set to play 20+ more games than he would at catcher. There's definitely some added value there. And he profiles to be an excellent defender at first as well. The long and the short of it is the more Mauer can play, the better. It's disappointing that he had to move from behind the plate, but it doesn't change his value to this team. Mauer is elite anywhere on the diamond.

Good stuff here, puts my mind a bit at ease to see some stats in black and white.

Episode 59 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact ( @TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/11/6522342.jpg This week's episode is a bit lonely as Eric is stuck in the backwoods of Minnesota deer hunting and dealing with a septic situation. Paul and Cody go it alone and discuss the Twins news, most notably the announcement that Twins uber-star Joe Mauer will transition to first base for the 2014 season and beyond. Later in the podcast Paul is joined by the radio voice of the Minnesota Twins, Cory Provus (@CoryProvus). We also discuss the news that the Braves are looking to move out of Turner Field, and Cody actually participates in an interview this week while we're chatting with Twins double-A shortstop AJ Pettersen (@apettersen1), so be sure to give us a listen. Thanks for listening! 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps Terry Ryan sign top tier pitching talent in Free Agency. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_8973411.jpg This week's episode is a bit lonely as Eric is stuck in the backwoods of Minnesota deer hunting and dealing with a septic situation. Paul and Cody go it alone and discuss the Twins news, most notably the announcement that Twins uber-star Joe Mauer will transition to first base for the 2014 season and beyond. Later in the podcast Paul is joined by the radio voice of the Minnesota Twins, Cory Provus (@CoryProvus). We also discuss the news that the Braves are looking to move out of Turner Field, and Cody actually participates in an interview this week while we're chatting with Twins double-A shortstop AJ Pettersen (@apettersen1), so be sure to give us a listen. Source

Episode 58 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/files/2013/07/Minnesota-Twins-300x341.png Cody is back with Paul and Eric this week to talk Twins baseball. The off-season is in full swing with qualifying offers out to free agents, the world series parade over and the 2013 no longer visible in the rear-view mirror. We discuss which, if any, infield free agents make sense for the Twins before we are joined by special guest, ESPN 1500 Minnesota Twins beat writer Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) to discuss what he thinks the Twins need to do this off-season, what it means to write under the ESPN banner and his experiences following the team this past season. This week we take a look at Twins minor league prospect and 2nd round 2013 draft pick Ryan Eades. Thanks for listening! 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps Terry Ryan sign top tier pitching talent in Free Agency. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_8955644.jpg Cody is back with Paul and Eric this week to talk Twins baseball. The off-season is in full swing with qualifying offers out to free agents, the world series parade over and the 2013 no longer visible in the rear-view mirror. We discuss which, if any, infield free agents make sense for the Twins before we are joined by special guest, ESPN 1500 Minnesota Twins beat writer Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) to discuss what he thinks the Twins need to do this off-season, what it means to write under the ESPN banner and his experiences following the team this past season. This week we take a look at Twins minor league prospect and 2nd round 2013 draft pick Ryan Eades. Source

Joe Mauer to pitch AND catch in 2014. Will also DH for himself. It's the only way to get his bat in the lineup twice.

Episode 57 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/10/hotstove.jpg This week Eric and Paul are joined by Jay Corn (@jay__corn, that's right, two underscores!) to talk Twins baseball. This will be our fist dive into the post-season hot stove, and this week we talked about available starting pitching and which pitchers we thought, if any, made sense in Minnesota. Pedro Hernandez was removed from the 40-man roster and signed a AAA deal, Terry Ryan is putting the band back together, so to speak, and the AFL continues down in the "Valley of the Sun." All that and more on this week's Talk to Contact podcast. Thanks for listening! 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps Paul Molitor use the infield shift in 2014. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-0x0+0+0_8924187.jpg This week Eric and Paul are joined by Jay Corn (@jay__corn, that's right, two underscores!) to talk Twins baseball. This will be our fist dive into the post-season hot stove, and this week we talked about available starting pitching and which pitchers we thought, if any, made sense in Minnesota. Pedro Hernandez was removed from the 40-man roster and signed a AAA deal, Terry Ryan is putting the band back together, so to speak, and the AFL continues down in the "Valley of the Sun." All that and more on this week's Talk to Contact podcast. Thanks for listening folks. Source

Episode 56 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/10/IMG_2457-300x225.jpg This week we are joined by a couple of special guests including our new producter/media relations guro, Jay Corn (@Jay__Corn) to talk about the pros and cons of being a season ticket holder for 2014. We are also joined by the famous/infamous Andrew Bryz-Gornia of Twinkie Town (@BryzTwinkieTown) to talk all sorts of things Twins (Platoon splits, off-season acquisitions, Ushering). Paul, Eric, Cody, Jay, and Bryz are essentially porno for your ears, but for baseball. We discuss Paul Molitor's new job with the Twins, minor league acquisitions and the Diamond award winners, among other things (namely Beer, pie and WS predictions). It's 103 minutes of pure ear awesome. The off-season is fun, you guys. Thanks for listening! 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which helps Paul Molitor use the infield shift in 2014. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com