Paul Pleiss

This week on the podcast we struggle through a couple of technical difficulties, and lament the loss of Miguel Sano for the season. This week we take a look in on the Cleveland Indians. We are joined on the podcast by Jason Lukehart (@JasonLukehart) of Let's Go Tribe to discuss comings and goings for the Indians and what Twins fans can expect from the Tribe in 2014. You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/files/2014/03/gal_major_league_group_shot-300x600.jpg In this week's Down on the Pond segment we take a closer look at Twins minor league pitcher David Hurlbut who pitched in Cedar Rapids and Ft Myers last season. Paul commits a beer drinking sin and admits to in on air and is mocked by all. The Twins say goodbye to any hope of signing Johan Santana and there are several jokes made at Delmon Young's expense. 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. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers that will help Jason Kubel remember how to hit a baseball. __________________ 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_9333337.jpg This week on the podcast we struggle through a couple of technical difficulties, and lament the loss of Miguel Sano for the season. This week we take a look in on the Cleveland Indians. We are joined on the podcast by Jason Lukehart (@JasonLukehart) of Let's Go Tribe to discuss comings and goings for the Indians and what Twins fans can expect from the Tribe in 2014. In this week's Down on the Pond segment we take a closer look at Twins minor league pitcher David Hurlbut who pitched in Cedar Rapids and Ft Myers last season. Paul commits a beer drinking sin and admits to in on air and is mocked by all. The Twins say goodbye to any hope of signing Johan Santana and there are several jokes made at Delmon Young's expense. Source

Miguel Sano-no-no-no-no!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rest and rehab fails again and we are again dealing with a player losing time to TJ when it could have been done sooner. Does this injury impact Sano's future at 3B? Is it now more likely he comes up next season as a DH corner OF guy instead of a third basemen because of the loss of reps at the hot corner?

You can put it on the board... YES! This week we are joined by lifelong Chicago White Sox fan Tom Flynn (@Mighty_Flynn) to check in on what's been happening on the South Side of Chicago since the season came to a close. You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/files/2014/02/the-hawk-wants-you-300x600.jpg We check in on just about every relevant ex-Twin, including Johan Santana, who threw off a mound for several teams and Matt Garza, who signed with the Brewers. Eric takes the gang through a quick round of pepper and eventually we get around to discussing other happenings in baseball, including the new rule concerning collisions at home plate. Strangely enough, Drew Butera is mentioned a handful of times throughout the podcast and there is even talk of a dog running a sausage race. 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. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers that will help Johan regain some of his Cy Young prowess. __________________ 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_9309126.gif You can put it on the board... YES! This week we are joined by lifelong Chicago White Sox fan Tom Flynn (@Mighty_Flynn) to check in on what's been happening on the South Side of Chicago since the season came to a close. We check in on just about every relevant ex-Twin, including Johan Santana who threw off a mound for several teams and Matt Garza signing with the Brewers. Eric takes the gang through a quick round of pepper and eventually we get around to discussing other happenings in baseball, including the new rule concerning collisions at home plate. Strangely enough, Drew Butera is mentioned a handful of times throughout the podcast and there is even talk of a dog running a sausage race. Source

I don't like commenting on articles or forums with more than a page of comments. I do, however, like listening to the podcast. Keep up the good work. And thanks for not mentioning gout for the last month plus.

I'm fine with pointing fingers at Gardy, and especially at Rick Anderson. You have a teribble rotation and the pitching coach survives? A pitching coach your manager "hand selected" when he was still playing baseball? Give me a break. I hate that combination. Gardy n Andy. BREAK UP THE BAND!

I'm not saying Ryan isn't blameless, but you can't blame him for picking Smith as his replacement, that's a decision that the Pohlads have to own. But you can't just buy your way out of repeated bad deals. I loathe Bill Smith almost as much as I loathed watching Drew Butera (#BoatAnchor) get at bats, and there's not many things I loathed more than Drew Butera while he was a Twin (alternatively, I now find myself a big fan of him, mostly because I don't have a reason to despise his bat in the lineup any longer). This organization is still suffering from bad moves that Bill Smith made. He did have some good decisions, but more often than not he moved the organization in the wrong direction. I look forward to a time when there's more than a decade between his time as GM and the current team.

The Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos trade. *Curses Bill Smith under his breath. Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos. I can't stop going back to this move. Remember when Joe Mauer got hurt and we all suffered through the Boat Anchor days (Drew Butera). Imagine having a healthy Wilson Ramos on this roster, a more than capable defensive backstop with some offensive ability. I know, I know. Capps was a "proven closer" and I'm sure Bill Smith wasn't intentionally scuttling the future of the Twins catcher position. How could he know that bilateral leg weakness was going to happen? (Do we even know what bilateral leg weakness even means?!) This is arguably my least favorite Twins trade, and I can't help but keep circling back to it when I look behind the plate and wonder. Thanks Bill Smith. I'm not even mad about letting J.J. Hardy walk, oh wait, YES I AM. Or Maybe Garza-Delmon trade. *bangs head on table. The Peter Principle holds true. The Peter Principle is based on the notion that employees will get promoted as long as they are competent, but at some point will fail to get promoted beyond a certain job because it has become too challenging for them. Employees rise to their level of incompetence and stay there. Bill Smith stayed for too long, and as much as you'd like to blame Gardy, TR or even Rick Anderson (who I have a personal vendetta against), a lot has to sit on the shoulders of Bill Smith. The Capps/Ramos trade being my biggest sticking point.

I don't think there's a way that Pinto starts the season with the big league ball club. TR made it pretty clear that his motorcycle man is the starter. I could see Pinto gettig called up by the end of May/June if he's whacking the heck out of the ball in AAA, but for a guy with so little seasoning at AAA, he could use the games behind the plate to work on his defensive skills before coming up to be a big league player. No need for him to be up to start the season if he's not playing everyday.

More mailbags!

I don't know how you do this draft coverage. last you you were spot on with pics going 2nd round and beyond. Impressive skills grasshopper. Mix in your strong ability to bro-hug while intoxicated, we've got a winning combination. Strong.

If Deduno is heathy I just don't see Worley or Diamond taking that 5th spot, and it sounds like Deduno is going to be healthy. I like Diamond better out of the pen than Worley, but I'd hate to lose either to waivers. Hopefully full rosters prevent either from getting claimed if it comes to that.

Aaron Hicks should start in AAA, when he proves he can hit there then bring him up. His defense is ready, but his bat is lagging behind. I wonder if he'll continue to switch hit despite his terrible splits.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! www.isitspringtrainingyet.com

The highlight of this week's episode is an interview with Josh Duggan (@oldmanduggan) of Royals Review to talk about what's been happening with our division rival's over in Kansas City. We review their off-season and make predictions about the future of the division in 2014 and beyond. You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here. http://puckettspond.com/files/2014/02/KGrHqFrMFJkMHsNsBSbcyierw60_1-300x279.jpgAt one point during the podcast Paul professes the strangest fantasy a man has ever had involving another man's forearms, Jay Corn predicts the Twins to somehow win 83 games and Eric talks smack about his mother to his twin brother. Twins topics were also covered. Spring has sprung and the Twins are all down in Ft Myers for spring training and everyone is in the best shape of their lives. We discuss some notable signings from around the league take a look at Twins minor leaguer and 2013 draft pick Ryan Walker and course discuss what we're drinking and recommend traveling to Alaska. The boys have their potty mouths on this week, so if you're listening near small children you may want to turn the volume down. 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. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, that will help Ethan Mildren's fan club grow to MLB levels. __________________ 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_9284500.jpg The highlight of this week's episode is an interview with Josh Duggan of Royals Review to talk about what's been happening with our division rival's over in Kansas City. We review their off-season and make predictions about the future of the division in 2014 and beyond.At one point during the podcast Paul professes the strangest fantasy a man has ever had involving another man's forearms, Jay Corn predicts the Twins to somehow win 83 games and Eric talks smack about his mother to his twin brother. Twins topics were also covered. Spring has sprung and the Twins are all down in Ft Myers for spring training and everyone is in the best shape of their lives. We discuss some notable signings from around the league take a look at Twins minor leaguer and 2013 draft pick Ryan Walker and course discuss what we're drinking and recommend traveling to Alaska.The boys have their potty mouths on this week, so if you're listening near small children you may want to turn the volume down. Source

Do you think the Joe Madden Mr Potato head is more or less awesome than the Gardy Gnome? How much would you be willing to pay for each on the black market/Ebay?

What's your favorite spring training memory?

What's your favorite Ft Myers spot for food or beverages? What's your favorite "street" from the Hammond Stadium parking lot? With Pedro Florimon out for the next couple weeks, is there any chance that Eduardo Escobar loosens Florimon's hold on the starting SS job, or is that pretty much locked in stone? Have you ever driven across Alligator Alley, a la Yasiel Puig, at more than 90MPH? I have it. It was awesome. Maybe dangerous. Easily the quickest trip I've ever made from Ft Myers to Ft Lauderdale. How much do you miss Drew Butera?

....days until Spring Training. I'll always miss hating you so completely while you and your .220 average haunted the lineup. #BoatAnchor

This week on the podcast we discuss the nature of government work and pushing children at work. You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunesor by clicking here.http://puckettspond.com/files/2014/02/Ethan+Mildren+Pittsburgh-300x200.jpg Last week we talked about Ethan Mildren when we went Down on the Pond, this week we talk to Ethan Mildren. He tells us all about his offseason workouts, his goals for 2014, and what it has been like transitioning from college baseball to Minor League baseball. We also discuss MiLBer Zach Larson, recent Twins news including Terry Ryan's health and the waiver claim of Brooks Raley. And of course, we talk about all the beer we can drink, and all the news from around the league. 89 minutes of fun. 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. Ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, that will help Ethan Mildren's fan club grow to MLB levels. __________________ Follow me, @BaseballPirate, on Twitter. Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

I'm not sure the Mariners need back of the rotation guys. Their system has plenty of pitching talent that can come in and fill any back of the rotation voids. I like the idea of moving some SP depth from the organization, I just don't see the M's giving up a valued prospect in return. The M's need position players who don't play DH/1B/2B, not more arms.

I am on record as predicting 75-77 wins for the club this year, but I think anything over 70 and 2014 will be a success in Twins Territory. I'm more concerned about young players developing, maturing and finding their groove at the big league level.

Anytime there's a picture of a man on a toilet appearing on your baseball page, something seems amiss.