Paul Pleiss

*NOTE TO MODERATORS: THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT AT "THREAD-JACKING" What if the Twins had just not brought Jason Bartlett north with the club thereby exposing Alex Presley to waiver claims (and maybe saving Mastro in the long run too). Yes there is a hole at CF, but that's what happens when you trade not one but TWO major league caliber CFs in one off-season. Hicks was a gamble, and that hasn't worked out, but I'm not sure he's a bust just yet.

I don't think MLB needs to change the waiver system at all. Players get moved around, and sometimes I'm sure they feel like puzzle pieces or pawns, but that's part of what they signed up for. If a team waives a guy and looses him, why not try to get him back later in the season if you want him? The rules work. There are some players who probably feel like they're getting f'd over, but that's the game.

Yes, yes it would. I know the draft is a bit of a lottery, and that not everyone works out, but it feels like the Twins either missed badly or allowed their first round picks to leave the organization. But I think there is also something more on the topic of letting "stars" get out of the organization, because the team was unwilling to pony up for a large contract, or trading them away to "try to get something." There seems to me to be a large number of former Twins being very successful for other teams in MLB. Have the Twins just given up on some players too soon? Should the Twins should have paid guys to keep them? Clearly letting Johan go worked out in the long run for the Twins as the Mets have largely paid him to rehab from injury. There does though, seem to be a lot of successful former Twins out there, especially starters who found success after leaving MN (and no, this is not my attempt to get a rant going on Rick Anderson, which is someething else I enjoy). Also, Torii Hunter, I miss that guy.

As a fan of some of the more basic advanced statistics, I'd like to see more of them in the pop up graphics when a batter comes up to bat. More than BA, I think OBP is important, and when I can see SLG and OBP then I can quickly calculate ISO and OPS in my head. I like the numbers. Even BABIP is a number that I think most fans are familiar with. The announcers don't need to talk about them all, but putting them on screen is something I'd appreciate. Yes, I can quickly check FANGRAPHS, B-Ref, etc to get those numbers, but sometimes it's nice to just sit back and watch the game on the tube without digging for info on my cell or laptop.

The podcasts are back on iTunes. I made sure all Minnesota Twins references were taken out of Talk to Contact, and people searching for us should still be able to find us, just going to be harder to find us if they don't. I even added a disclaimer. Not sure that using Minnesota Twins or MLB in meta data is trademark infringement, nor do I even really know what meta data is, but mentioning them shouldn't be a problem, if it was I would have expected a cease and desist order.

My favorite part about Santana is his speed. He looks fast out there. Zoom! Reminds me of Ben Revere in that category.

Gardy needs to keep giving Pinto playing time and AB's. There is no more Chris Herrmann as 3rd C, so I don't know that Gardy will want to risk losing the DH for a couple ABs should Suzuki go down. I can't explain why he's so afraid of that, probably becasue he carries a 13 man pitching staff. i think Pinto needs more playing time than just a game or two a week behind the plate. If he continues to sit with Herrmann gone I'm going to start calling for heads to roll unless the team can stay right around the .500 mark.

Had a nice debate with Seth while he was manning the TD twitter during today's game. He sees Nunez as a utility guy, but I dont think he has enough offense or defense to be a MLB caliber player, even in a bench roll. As far as Gardy trying to get bats into the lineup, I'm not so sure. He's got Pinto on the bench now that the emergency 3rd catcher is gone. I don't understand why he is so afraid of losing the DH if Suzuki goes down while Pinto is DHing. Eduardo Escobar or even Joe Mauer (gasp!) could catch a couple innings in an emergency, or the Twins could pinch hit for the pitcher/DH spot a couple times if need be (assuming they start having bench bats, and not a 13+ man pitching staff.). This is a bit of a rant, I appologize, but the roster construction since opening day and the Jason Bartlett fiasco just has be all riled up.

I think I've made it public now. You'll have to try again.

I promised to pour out three beers in protest. I keep my promises. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100928490420111

I don't understand how adding Guerrier makes the team better, how it's good for the organization, or anyone other than Guerrier. Did the Twins make a back-room deal to bring him up before releasing him and they're just saving face by honoring this back-alley deal? Jason Bartlett, Matt Guerrier. What the?

Tunes and MLB, tyrants of industry, don’t cha know! You cannot download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes but if you click here you can download the new episode. And if you want to add the show to your podcast player, this is the RSS Feed. http://puckettspond.com/files/2014/05/bud-selig-mlb-world-series-boston-red-sox-st.-louis-cardinals-300x600.jpgPhoto Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports In our little part of the internet, the big news this week was MLB asking iTunes to remove several baseball themed podcasts because of what they believe was copyright infringement. We were one of the podcasts removed, we were fired up, and spent the first ten or so minutes discussing this entire situation. We also had the opportunity to purchase some free tickets through ScoreBig.com, an online ticket auction site. We detailed the purchase process and the pros and cons of using this ticket provider. Then we finally circled back around to Twins news. We talked about the phantom DL and Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Hicks’ concussion, and the current Twins roster construction. Jay took a strong stand on Joe Mauer’s toughness, and Eric strongly disagreed. Darren Wolfson joined us for almost thirty minutes to give us the scoops on the upcoming MLB draft, and all thing Twins. We closed out the podcast with our regular segments selecting hitters and pitchers of the week, talking beer, baseball and the news. 101 minutes of fun. Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and tell iTunes and MLB that we think what they did on Wednesday really stinks. 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, and you can find Jay Corn on twitter @Jay__Corn! __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

Troy, thanks for the heads up. I'm not sure how these patent trolls could get down to us as a little independent podcasters, but it sure does look like a mess.

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-273x273+51+0_9555661.jpg In our little part of the internet, the big news this week was MLB asking iTunes to remove several baseball themed podcasts because of what they believe was copyright infringement. We were one of the podcasts removed, we were fired up, and spent the first ten or so minutes discussing this entire situation. We also had the opportunity to purchase some free tickets through ScoreBig.com, an online ticket auction site. We detailed the purchase process and the pros and cons of using this ticket provider. Then we finally circled back around to Twins news. We talked about the phantom DL and Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Hicks' concussion, and the current Twins roster construction. Jay took a strong stand on Joe Mauer's toughness, and Eric strongly disagreed. Darren Wolfson joined us for almost thiry minutes to give us the scoops on the upcoming MLB draft, and all thing Twins. We closed out the podcast with our regular segments selecting hitters and pitchers of the week, talking beer, baseball and the news. 101 minutes of fun. Thanks for listening. Source

Would the Wild still be down 2-1 in this series if they had a healthy Josh Harding in net, or is Chicago good enough across the board that even Josh Harding's superior goalie skills couldn't save this team?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wh1tXRcsku0/U2pPnJF29fI/AAAAAAAAFYg/GUm5RsbVN-s/s1600/No+Fun+MLB+with+Cross.png Major League Baseball, we've been told, has decided that there are too many people talking about baseball on the internet and sent a request to iTunes to have many baseball related podcasts removed. We're one of the many podcasts affected. So far, based on what he's been able to find so far, John Bonnes has found that in addition to Twins podcasts, the Cubs, Orioles and Mets. While this seems like a minor issue, MLB might just be getting started. Obviously if they make the move to remove all team specific podcasts from iTunes there will be additional pressure on them to reverse course, but they might just start asking the big name hosting sites to remove team specific blogs as well. Get in contact with Major League Baseball and let them know how you feel. We'll be doing the same. For now, you can continue to find our podacst right here at TalkToContact.com, and we'll be available on Stitcher Radio. For our Android users, there should not be any change right now. But maybe MLB will go after us there as well. Stay tuned, and there is more to come on Episode 82 about how we plan to handle this going forward. UPDATE 1: If you're curious about how to continue to listen, David Temple at FanGraphs has the scoop - http://www.fangraphs.com/not/advice-listening-to-baseball-podcasts-after-562014/ UPDATE 2: Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) issued the following statement earlier this afternoon. As we have done in the past, yesterday we notified Apple about certain podcasts on the iTunes Store whose titles and/or thumbnails include infringing uses of trademarks of Major League Baseball and certain Clubs. And, as we have done in the past, we asked Apple to have these trademarks removed from the podcast titles and thumbnails. Although we did not ask for or seek to have any podcast removed from the Store, it has come to our attention that Apple removed them. Given our many years of experience in notifying Apple about trademark issues on the Store, we trust that removing the podcasts was an oversight, and ask that you please look into this matter as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.I'm curious to see what the end resolution is for this, but I am happy to see so much turmoil directed at MLB as the news hit twitter/blogs across the internet.

Let the post-game roster moves begin!

That's Twins baseball.

If I was living in MN or planning to come home for the mid-summer classic, I'd have applied to be an ASG volunteer. It's not worth the big ticket prices for me to attend the game. The futures game has the most interest to me, and I'd be willing to pay about $100 for a seat.

I can't wait to watch Axford blow this.

Ricky got mad that we were criticizing his K rate, so he dropped a 9 spot. Next week's post: Ricky Nolasco and the elevating earned run rate. Hopefully he will respond in kind.

When I get home you should see a video posted late tonight, or sometime tomorrow morning. So long tasty beers. I hardly knew you.

When the Twins call up Guerrier I'm going to pour out three beers and weep. I can't understand that move, no way, no how. Jason Bartlett was a hard enough pill to swallow for this ball club.

Jeremy, when you aren't answering my assinine questions on Twins Hangout (Hangout and Talk Twins) (or maybe you should reclassify as "Minnesota baseball hangout, Hangout and talk Minnesota Professional baseball"), you're hitting the draft in a way that I can't quite understnd. You get the info I want. I think I love you.

Escobar in the OF isn't an answer, and not seeing him there more so far this season is a result of having other, better options. Escobar over Herrmann, though, is a legitimate complaint, except that Esco was playing SS/3B for a few of those Herrmann starts too.