Paul Pleiss

I'm not calling for Pinto to be the everyday C, that's not a move that many people would call for. I am, however, calling for him to be brough up to the big leagues to fill the back up C/DH/bench bat. Let's see his bat play against the big boys.

Pitches, much like Bitches, be crazy.

Prior to last season, Mike Pelfrey was pitching with known Sasquatch hunter/enthusiast, Anthony Swarzak. Pelfrey, as a sasquatch, was likely never able to relax and be himself knowing that Swarzak was hoping to hunt, kill and mount in his living room, Pelfrey or one of his close relatives. With Swarzak out of the picture and holding his own in Cleveland, Big Pelf is free to relax and let his true self come through more. Swarzak likely would have noticed those small things and shown up to the clubhouse with a small gauge shotgun or elephant gun. Thankfully Mike "Sasquatch" Pelfrey can relax and go take the mound and pitch his hairly little toosh off. Harry (formerly of the Hendersons), wherever he is, is proud of the work his son is doing for Minnesota.

When Pinto came up in 2013 he lit the world on fire. He stroked the imagination of Twins fans who were looking for the heir apparent for Joe Mauer with a line of .342/.398/.566 (.963) that included 4 HR and 5 doubles in just 21 games. When Pinto was with the club in 2014, things cooled off considerably. He was still league average with the bat (98 OPS+), but his line looked a little disappointing .219/.315/.391 (.705). His true talent is likely somewhere in between. His receiving, all reports suggest, continues to improve, which is going to be important if Pinto wants to do more than just DH. Even has a backup catcher, he needs to be a decent receiver. Last season we heard Glen Perkins be openly critical of his receiving skills after he got sent down. But you are correct, his path to the big legue will be paved wit his bat. If he can be more of the 2013 guy than the 2014 guy, the Twins will have a respectable bench bat with serious pop, or a DH that can drive in a bunch of runs. My question, Mr. Baggy, is what do you expect from Pinto when he gets the call? Can he hit .250/.350/.450? Or is that too much hope and not enough reality? Career MiLB numbers .276/.354/.440 (.794)

I'm tired of waiting for next year, or the season after that or two seasons from now. The Twins attendence speaks loudly. At some point you need to find a way to put a quality lineup on the field. I know that the big prospects lost a season and things are delayed organizationally, but it's just been too long. This team needs to start transitioning into WIN NOW or risk losing a fan base for half a decade (if they haven't already).

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/-qNRr4kWb11s/VUTHN5VtGrI/AAAAAAAALd8/kvDKdXyhuQE/s1600/DL.pngPhoto credit: http://www.thatstwinsbaseball.com/This week's show features long laments about the inability of the Twins defense to play anything resembling defense. Costing the Twins somewhere in the neighborhood of one run a game, the bad defense, combined with pitchers who don't miss bats and hitters who can't get on base is a recipe for disaster. Welcome to your 2015 Minnesota Twins. Hey, at least Joe Mauer has a hockey playoff beard. And of course, beer, baseball, and the news. [/url] If you enjoy our podcast, please tell your friends about us and take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are the only reason that Byron Buxton is any good at baseball. Source

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-770x770+274+5_10569006.gif This week's show features long laments about the inability of the Twins defense to play anything resembling defense. Costing the Twins somewhere in the neighborhood of one run a game, the bad defense, combined with pitchers who don't miss bats and hitters who can't get on base is a recipe for disaster. Welcome to your 2015 Minnesota Twins. Hey, at least Joe Mauer has a hockey playoff beard. http://talk2contact.podomatic.com

We're not waiting for it to fall apart, because we're already in the dumps. The pitching is markedly better from the past, but it still has a long way to go. This staff needs to miss more bats, because the defense is awful, and they're going to give away a lot of runs. But yes, things are trending in the right direction. Can they keep it up? I don't know. A few guys have looked much better this week, most notably Santana, but he still hasn't taken a walk this season... scary.

http://www.totalprosports.com/2010/09/03/picture-of-the-day-hus-on-first/ Hu has already been on first.

The young men in the minor leagues are doing big things, day after day. I look forward to some of these older wasted roster space guys, and guys with terrible struggles, getting sent down/released to make room for the future.

I don't think you need to wait. And exchanging him for Pinto doesn't solve the roster inflexibility for this team. Pinto for Herrmann, or Hicks/Rosario for Vargas would be better moves. This team has too many bats that provide no defensive skill (Torii/Vargas/Arcia) and too many wasted roster spaces (J.R. Graham/Nunez/Herrmann) for the team to field a competive bench. Nunez's performance in very limited experience probably means he keeps his roster spot, but I don't know how long he can keep up his magic tricks. Vargas needs to head to Rochester and get on a roll. Pinto and Hicks should be up soon, and maybe even Rosario, although he appears to still be adjusting to the challenge of AAA.

If I could trade Nolasco for any kind of pipe related gear, it would be for a pipe organ. Dueling organs at the Twins games? YES PLEASE!

I'm happy with where this team is at this point in the season, or maybe not happy, but it's about where I expected them to be. Youth is coming, and I'm pleasantly suprised that both Phil and Pelf have been getting strikeouts, something that's been sorely missing from Twins arms the last few years. The bullpen has an even lower K rate than the starters, and the starters are the worst in the AL! Yikes! But I agree, when your offense is scoring the near the bottom of the league in runs/game, and your defense is giving up nearly a run/game... it's not the pitching that's hurting this team early on, which is a big change from the recent past.

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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6e_UhOY5we8/VTmhpynyKFI/AAAAAAAALbM/tzwDlStrcgM/s1600/torii.jpg This week on the Talk to Contact podcast we rehash the week that was in Twins territory, including Mike Pelfrey and Trevor May pitching for a job in the rotation after Ricky Nolasco returns from his rehab start in Cedar Rapids, what the hell Torii Hunter is doing attempting a straight steal of home, and our very own Jay Corn finally earns his Talk to Contact membership card. After a musical interlude from Egon's Unicat, we're joined by Jeremy Nygaard from TwinsDaily.com to discuss a myriad of topics including Paul Molitor's bench, the Twins' payroll, and the upcoming MLB draft. And of course, beer, baseball, and the news. [/url] If you enjoy our podcast, please tell your friends about us and take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are hanging breaking balls that explode off the bat of Miguel Sano and never return to planet earth. Source

<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-576x576+0+82_10546909.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br /><p>This week on the Talk to Contact podcast we rehash the week that was in Twins territory, including Mike Pelfrey and Trevor May pitching for a job in the rotation after Ricky Nolasco returns from his rehab start in Cedar Rapids, what the hell Torii Hunter is doing attempting a straight steal of home, and our very own Jay Corn finally earns his Talk to Contact membership card.</p> <p>After a musical interlude from Egon's Unicat, we're joined by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jeremynygaard" target="_blank">Jeremy Nygaard </a>from <a href="http://www.twinsdaily.com" target="_blank">TwinsDaily.com</a> to discuss a myriad of topics including Paul Molitor's bench, the Twins' payroll, and the upcoming MLB draft.</p> <p>And as always, beer, baseball and the news.</p> <a href="http://talk2contact.podomatic.com" class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>

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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jsdsjb0g_VE/VTEtRryR2ZI/AAAAAAAALZI/TsDPU-8kpdk/s1600/hunterdouglas.jpg We went a little wild this week, 110 minutes wild. We chatted about the Twins' recent struggles, reviewed our experiences from the Home Opener (including the returning of Torii Hunter), and tried to decide what is going on with Tommy Milone. In the second half of the program we were joined by Seth Stohs from TwinsDaily.com to talk about the first week of Minor League baseball. And of course, beer, baseball, and the news. [/url] If you enjoy our podcast, please tell your friends about us and take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are hanging breaking balls that explode off the bat of Miguel Sano and never return to planet earth. Source

<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_10527623.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />This week we chat about the Twins' recent struggles, review our experiences from the Home Opener (including the returning of Torii Hunter), and try and decide what is going on with Tommy Milone. In the second half of the program we are joined by Seth Stohs from TwinsDaily.com to talk about the first week of Minor League baseball. And of course, beer, baseball, and the news. <a href="http://talk2contact.podomatic.com" class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>

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/-ntjVyl3NrZs/VSfVqKucBOI/AAAAAAAALX4/tDUVCqzcJMo/s1600/Oswaldo%2BArcia%2BPointing.jpg The Twins have not been impressive. The offense has been anemic. The pitching has been atrocious. The defense has been porous. It's been bad, bad, bad. And yet, there have still been some bright spots... well one. J.R. Graham has looked good. This week's show contains a healthy amount of doom and gloom, but it's not all bad news bears. Yes Ervina Santana has been suspended. Yes the Twins have been outscored 24-1. But it's only three games in. The Twins can still win 159 games and go on to post season glory. In addition to lamenting the cold start of the Twins, we also take a look at the minor league rosters for each of the Twins full season affiliates and talk about beer, baseball, and news from AROUND the league. As always, we wrap up the show with beer, baseball and the news [/url] If you enjoy our podcast, please tell your friends about us and take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are part of a balanced diet. Source

<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-379x379+122+0_10507996.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />The Twins have not been impressive. The offense has been anemic. The pitching has been atrocious. The defense has been porus. It's been bad, bad, bad. And yet, there have still been some bright spots... well one. J.R. Graham has looked good. This week's show contains a healthy amount of doom and gloom, but it's not all bad news bears. Yes Ervina Santana has been suspended. Yes the Twins have been outscored 24-1. But it's only three games in. The Twins can still win 159 games and go on to post season glory. In addition to lamenting the cold start of the Twins, we also take a look at the minor league rosters for each of the Twins full season affiliates and talk about beer, baseball, and news from AROUND the league. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to tell a friend (or two, or three, or four hundred) and give us a rating/review on iTunes. Thanks for listening. <a href="http://talk2contact.podomatic.com" class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>

Terry Ryan should begin to consider life after baseball. recalling Aaron Thompson is not the appropriate decision. Terry is better than Bill Smith, but is that enough? Many teams have an assistant GM, GM, and president of baseball operations all better than Terry Ryan. He's old school, the Twins need to be forward looking.

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/-gkltj4asmIk/VR6I4EyPhwI/AAAAAAAALV8/8zJ3CQuFz5Y/s1600/tiger%2Bcat.jpg The Talk to Contact crew takes a crack at predicting the results of the 2015 season. There are a couple of bold pics. And I'm not talking bold like the Indians will win the central, I'm talking BOLD. We discuss the recent roster moves by the Twins, and discuss the roster that will head north with the Twins when they leave Fort Myers and head north to take on the Detroit Tigers next week. Speaking of the Tigers, we spend the end of the podcast wrapping up our reviewing the rivals series and talk with Bryan Craves (@displacedtgrfan, http://displacedtgrfan.tumblr.com/) and catch up on what's been happening in Detroit since the Tigers were bounced from the playoffs last season. All this and more on this week's episode. If you enjoy the show, please take a moment or two and share us with your friends. Thanks. As always, we wrap up the show with beer, baseball and the news [/url] If you enjoy our podcast, please tell your friends about us and take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Not having enough ratings and reviews is the reason that Jay Corn picked the Cincinnati Reds to win the National League Central. Source

<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_10489808.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />The Talk to Contact crew takes a crack at predicting the results of the 2015 season. There are a couple of bold pics. And I'm not talking bold like the Indians will win the central, I'm talking BOLD. We discuss the recent roster moves by the Twins, and discuss the roster that will head north with the Twins when they leave Fort Myers and head north to take on the Detroit Tigers next week. Speaking of the Tigers, we spend the end of the podcast wrapping up our reviewing the rivals series and talk with Bryan Craves (@displacedtgrfan, http://displacedtgrfan.tumblr.com/) and catch up on what's been happening in Detroit since the Tigers were bounced from the playoffs last season. All this and more on this week's episode. If you enjoy the show, please take a moment or two and share us with your friends. Thanks. <a href="http://talk2contact.podomatic.com" class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>

Seth, I love your optimism, but no. I think .260/.317/.380 is much more likely.