Paul Pleiss

Seth, if you were pitted against Jeremy in a "professional" wrestling match to raise money for charity, what would your wrestling name be? Jeremy, same question, and do you think you could win?

If Chris Herrmann grows out his hair again, circa 2012 call-up, would his numbers begin to resemble his 2012 numbers from New Britain? Is there any hope that he could be a pseudo-offensive player or is he just a warm body on the bench who can catch games and therefore allow Pinto to keep DHing?

Why haven't the Twins tried to sign Barry Bonds as a bench bat? Dude could probably still put up a .220/.310/.430 line.

If the Twins were sold tomorrow, in a mid-season deal, and moved to another location, say Portland, OR, would you remain a Twins fan or find another team to root for? If you choose another team, which team would that be? I'd choose an NL team, feeling that my choices are A) remain a twins fan, or choose an NL club. Or mabye I'd just choose the Mariners because I'm living out here and Safeco is a good place to watch a ball-game.

Why are you moving Dozier out of the lead-off spot in favor of Fuld? That doesn't make sense to me. It moves all of your better hitters down the lineup a spot, giving them less at bats. I like the idea of adding some platoons, but moving everyone back so Fuld can get more at bats seems, well, batty.

Dre, you did a great job photoshopping sunshine into the Seattle sky. Everyone knows it's cloudy and rainy there everyday.

Eric Pleiss is a handsome man, nearly as handsome as his identical Twin. Read more about him at www.baseballtwins.com

They aren't moving on from Escobar/Florimon with this promotion. They need another position player, and Santana is already on the 40-man roster. I don't imagine he'll be with the squad for more than a couple days, unil Arcia of Hammer are ready to return.

Gardy doesn't want to bring Arcia back, he said something about having a history of bringing guys back too early from rehab stints. You could add Kenny Williams who the club just added and sent to AA, otherwise there arent many other OF options available, might have to make a 40-man move.

Ibarra, Raley, Fryer, Wilson... take your pick. If the Twins don't plan to have the player up for more than a couple days, maybe taking someone already on the 40man makes sense, but I just don't think losing guys at the back end of the 40 should matter that much to this team. They could DFA Burton even.

Drew Butera, #BoatAnchor, is my new favorite Dodger. Kershaw? sure he can throw a baseball, and Puigsanity is still running rampant, but for my money I'll take a weak-hitting back up catcher who plagued the Twins with regular playing time and a sub .200 BA.

No need to add another infielder to this team. They need an outfield defender. It will probably mean a 40-man move, but guys at the back end of the 40 shouldn't be too big of a concern for this organization. Fuld and two non-defenders isn't an OF you want to put behind a "pitch to contact" pitching staff.

News from Berardino suggests that Pelfrey will be replaced on roster by position player, hopefully someone with some OF defensive skill as the team will be stretched then with Fuld as the only defender in the OF. Darnell added to the roster with Hicks on the concussion DL.

EDDIE ROSARIO ONCE FARTED IN AN ELEVATOR WHILE STANDING NEXT TO A ONE-ARMED TEACHER NURSING AN ORPHANED AFRICAN BABY FROM ONE OF THOSE DOLLAR A DAY CHILD SAVING COMMERCIALS. RELEASE HIM IMMEDIATELY. WAAAAAAA!

Hicks concussion DL is a tough move on the organization. Fuld is a servicable back-up CF/4th outfielder, but I don't expect him to shine in the everyday roll. The Twins OF defense will be sketchy at best until Hicks can get back out there. Trading Revere/Span definitely put a gap in the CF plans, especially with Hicks not yet rising to the occasion.

Mike Pelfrey's best role with the Twins is being the guy Glen Perkins "punked" during the NCAA tourney. I like Big Pelf (The little Sasquatch) and I hope he can turn it around. That being said, I think Hicks getting sent to concussion DL is bigger concern. The OF will be stretched thin this evening. Hopefully the position player recall is someone with some defensive ability in the OF.

Do you know who Kenny Wilson is? How about Brandon Waring? You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/files/2014/05/brian-dozier-mlb-los-angeles-dodgers-minnesota-twins-300x600.jpgApr 30, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) attempts to field a ground ball in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports With three off days in the last week, it's been a bit of a slow week for the Twins. Alex Meyer learned to throw a nasty change up and Eduardo Escobar seems to have taken over the SS duties from Pedro Florimon. No one in the starting rotation is very good at throwing baseballs lately. With so many off days instead of finding a hitter and pitcher of the week, we recap the first month of the season to look for a hitter and pitcher of the month. And a big thanks to the guys from Twins and Losses for joining us to talk a little bit of baseball. You can follow them on the twitter too (@twinsandlosses) Enjoy the show. 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! If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are pretty cool, you guys. __________________ 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/1400x1400-347x347+136+0_9532106.jpg With three off days in the last week, it's been a bit of a slow week for the Twins. The Twins added Kenny Wilson who was DFA'd by the Blue Jays, Alex Meyer learned to throw a nasty change up and Eduardo Escobar seems to have taken over the SS duties from Pedro Florimon. No one in the starting rotation is very good at throwing baseballs lately.With so many off days instead of finding a hitter and pitcher of the week, we recap the first month of the season to look for a hitter and pitcher of the month. And if you're not sure who Brandon Waring is, make sure to give us a download and find out. Source

I've been in favor our signing Drew since the World Series came to a close last winter, and I still believe it to be a good idea for the team, even knowing that Drew will decline into 2015/2016. Maybe Santana can become consistent enough at SS to take over the position late in 2015 or by 2016, but he needs work, and he needs to continue to hit at AAA and then at the MLB level, which is no easy task. Drew is a proven commodity. And yes, he has a history of injuries, but the Twins have plenty of replacement level-ish SS candidates (Flo, Escobar, Nunez... etc). I don't know that you can make a deal witht he Sox dependent on a deal with Drew, to offset the draft pick loss, but a 2nd round pick is likely worth less than the improvment Drew gives the team. I don't know that Drew makes this team a playoff contender, and I could easily convince myself that nothing short of a Kershaw type ace could get this team to that contender level, but Drew makes this team better, even at 3/36.

Any day when the Twins don't lose is a good day, even when it's an unscheduled off day. And it gives the team another day above .500. We'll see those pesky Tigers again. Hopefully we're still within a game of first place the next go-around. -P

All-Star ballots are a funny deal. I struggle every year to decide if it's completely useless, or a worthwhile endeavor to be excited/offended about the eventual All-Star selections. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN!?! I like the mid-summer classic, but the fan voting, especially in the "internet age" is ridiculous. I'd be much happier if they limited the voting to fans at the games, punching out the little holes in the official all-star ballots and letting the coaches or player select the rest. So many words written, so much internet bandwidth used on the discussion. Cray cray. and yet here I am, I love it.

I can't wait to find out what Bill Smith does after he's out of the organization. Wait... even after the Twins gave up on him, they didn't really give up on him. dang. Well, I guess we just keep reading Brad's hillarious writing.

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-317x317+0+0_9506639.jpg The Twins won a double header against the Jays, but other than that things have been less than stellar for the team in the pas week. We dive into some stories from the week that was, including the acquisition of Sam Fuld and what it means for Aaron Hicks, the retirement of Jason Bartlett, and what to make of Chris Colabello. It is an exciting time to be a podcast listener because this week Cody runs an interview for the first time in the history of the podcast as we chatted with the Cedar Rapids Kernels' Hitting Coach, Tommy Watkins. Watkins has coached several of the current Minnesota Twins and shares some of his baseballing knowledge with us. We also take some time to talk about the unhearlded pitcher Yohan Pino who has been pitching in Minors for 10 years without a MLB appearance. Of coure, the usual - beer, baseball and the news to round out the show. Source

I agree there is a problem with the CF depth in the organization, but I'd argue that the SS problem is worse. A Fuld/Hicks platoon isn't something to get excited about, but finding a scrap heap CF for an organization is an easier move than finding a competent SS. Florimon/Escobar/Nunez and on and on, they're all the same, and none of them worth an everyday lineup spot and there's no hope in the high minors. Danny Santana, you say? Maybe for 2015, but his defense needs to be more consistent, and he has to keep hitting. I think help at SS is more likely coming from lower in the system and more years away, Goodrum, Polanco.