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  1. rogrulz30
    Revolutionizing Baseball: A Schedule and Playoff Format for Maximum Excitement
    Baseball has always been a game of strategy, endurance, and tradition, but with evolving fan expectations, it’s time to rethink how the sport is structured. What if every game and every series carried significant weight? Imagine a league where injuries are minimized, travel is reduced, and engagement soars. With a reimagined schedule and playoff format, MLB can deliver a product that’s better for players, fans, and the future of the game.
    ⚾ Baseball Needs a Refresh
    In its current state, MLB struggles with two major issues:
    Diluted Engagement: A 162-game marathon can make games feel less urgent, particularly early in the season or during mismatched series. Player Fatigue and Injuries: Last season, fans missed seeing Shohei Ohtani pitch, Ronald Acuña Jr.’s electric play, and Mike Trout’s brilliance due to injuries exacerbated by relentless schedules. It’s clear: baseball deserves a format that prioritizes meaningful games while keeping stars on the field.
    📅 A Cooler Schedule: Why Every Series Matters
    Under the new schedule, teams play five-game series against every other team in the league, reducing travel and creating a playoff-like atmosphere for every matchup. Here’s what it looks like:
    Sunday Doubleheaders: Weekly doubleheaders cap off the series, creating excitement-packed weekends. Two Halves, One Goal: The season is divided into two halves, with playoff spots awarded to the teams with the best series records in each league after 16 series. This format means:
    Fewer travel days (down to ~30 trips/season from 45+). More recovery time with predictable off-days. Fans are rewarded with more meaningful games, especially on weekends. 📊 Old vs. New: Why This Format Wins
    Here’s how the new schedule stacks up against the old one:
    Metric Old Schedule New Schedule Travel Days/Season ~45 trips (~1 every 3.6 days) ~30 trips (~1 every 5.3 days) Games/Week 6-7 games, no scheduled rest 5 games, with built-in rest Doubleheaders Rare and unscheduled Weekly on Sundays Fan Engagement Peaks during marquee games Higher across every weekend Player Fatigue High due to constant travel Lower, with structured rest Visualize the Difference:
    Below is a dynamic comparison chart highlighting how the new schedule improves on key metrics:
     
       
    🏆 A Playoff Format That Engages Fans Year-Round
    Borrowing inspiration from the NBA, this new system injects excitement into both halves of the season:
    Midseason Wild Card Berth: After the first 16 five-game series, the team in each league with the best series record earns a Wild Card playoff spot. This keeps the first half of the season thrilling and competitive. Second-Half Wild Card Berth: The same process applies for the season’s second half, ensuring that even struggling teams have a chance to rebound. If a Wild Card winner finishes with a higher playoff seed through overall performance, the berth shifts to the next eligible team. This rewards consistency without compromising fairness.
    Why It Works:
    Fans stay engaged all season, as every game carries playoff implications. Teams can reset and refocus for the second half, ensuring excitement from start to finish. 📡 MLB Sunday Ticket: The Future of Fan Engagement
    Weekends are when sports dominate the conversation. MLB could launch a subscription service, MLB Sunday Ticket, to make Sunday doubleheaders unmissable.
    Features:
    Live Commentary Across Games: A dedicated commentator highlights key moments from every game, including walk-offs, no-hitters, and playoff-clinching performances. Real-Time Alerts: Subscribers get notified of milestone moments, like home run chases or record-breaking plays. Exclusive Content: Behind-the-scenes footage and player interviews add depth to the fan experience. The Result: A service that increases ratings, revenue, and fan accessibility, making MLB Sundays as iconic as NFL Sundays.
    🚀 Why This Is a Win for Everyone
    For Players: Reduced travel and predictable rest days keep stars healthier and on the field. For Fans: Every game and series feels significant, with more opportunities to see stars in action. For the League: Higher engagement boosts attendance, ratings, and revenue, ensuring the sport thrives for generations. Conclusion: A New Era for Baseball
    Baseball is built on tradition, but evolution is key to its future. By embracing this new schedule and playoff format, MLB can deliver a league where every game matters, every series is meaningful, and fans are more connected than ever. With healthier players, a competitive structure, and innovations like MLB Sunday Ticket, this vision offers something for everyone.
    So, what do you think, Twins fans? Could this be the bold step baseball needs to become the most exciting sport in the world?
     
  2. rogrulz30
    I am a baseball purist. I truly like sitting at a game or watching the game on TV and it doesn't really bother me in any way shape or form that the game takes 2 hours or 6 hours. For me I like the strategy, I like watching each pitch, trying to figure out how they may pitch to a particular person. I like the late inning pitching matchups, the lineup options, and if they are going to bunt (Stop Bunting Paul) or steal. All of these things are fantastic. In the grand scheme of baseball fans I am definitely in the minority. Baseball thrives off of fans.
     
    A normal "fan" comes to the baseball game to cheer on there favorite team. The activities include taking the sounds of a game, taking the smells of different foods and giving something new a try, inviting friends down to the ballpark and having a good time while the game is going on, and a person like me who enjoys dark beer, and analyzing different parts of the game. Most of the people mentioned above want a game to last less than 3 hours.
     
    The Duke in the Dark Dick Bremer had a tweet the other day about the speed of baseball and how to speed the game up. I have thought about this for the last 3 years, I didn't really have a good take on it, but this tweet got me thinking if I was the commissioner what would I really do. How would probably the most important thing to grow baseball and grow with the times and not take away from a game that doesn't have a clock be done. I put myself in the commissioners shoes, and being a baseball purist I thought of some ideas. I think the sum of the time in the ideas add up to what I think could speed up the game and actually make the game more enjoyable, even for the purist.
     
    1. I think a pitch clock does make sense, problem is that the pitcher can step off at any time and call time. Also with a man on base it is easy to do this any time, but I think internally speeds up the game in the lower tiers of the game and eventually makes the efforts quicker. I think the penalty for late pitch is a ball, no matter what the count is.
     
    2. I also think there should be a batters clock, a batter should be in the box ready for the next pitch right away. I think the batters clock should take into effect the time to have signs relayed, but this takes away some of the bad habits batters do "to get ready" for the next pitch.
     
    3. I think there should be a max of 2 visits to the mound from the pitching coach per game, and 2 visits from the Manager per game that do not include a pitching change. This allows manager to have strategic capabilities during the game.
     
    4. This is the most controversial, but the more I have thought about it the more I like it. Relief pitching has taken on a new level to the game. Kansas City Royals won the World Series on a team predicated on relief pitching. Baseball, just like football can be a copycat league. KC wins, relief was a very hot topic RP's contracts went way up because they were so sought after. Cubs, Astros win the W.S. now every team wants to tank to build up the system like they did. The shift started after all the saber metrics on batted balls come to play, and the shift has increased year after year, and now either players try to hit the ball out of the ballpark or K. I would propose a way to have less pitching changes in the game and eliminate some of the specialty matchups. Now bare with me on this. Imagine if you have to make a pitching change the pitcher that comes out has to face a minimum of 3 batters or finish out an inning. This rule would take place unless there is a walk or a balk by the pitcher. I think this rule would add a lot of excitement to the game, and more late inning heroics. This would not eliminate the stupid save stat. This would eliminate the specialty matchups that we have to watch innings 6-9. I think it would have more flow to the game, and it would save time on breaks of pitching changes. I feel there would be a ton of push back to this idea, but in the spirit of making the game take less time, and more action I think it could be could be a lot of fun.
     
    Baseball is a extremely fun sport to watch, there is so much to each pitch, I am in favor of making the game grow, and I think some outside the box ideas are going to come to fruition I will be curious to see what Manfred does. I haven't had a blog post since my first child was born, and now I have 2 others. I am going to try and have some fun with some thoughts surrounding the Twins and baseball. Enjoy.
  3. rogrulz30
    Joe Mauer is tied for the 8th highest salary in baseball in 2014. Could this be the worst money spent by a team in 2014? I want to say that I am a Joe Mauer fan. I have said from the beginning, I think the Twins needed to sign him, even though I wasn't a fan of what he was going to be paid. I also believe we should have attempted to trade him in 2012. Can I be a fan, blame the Twins, but also say they had to sign him all at the same time? I am not sure I can be fair on this, but I was always going to be in favor of having Joe Mauer as our catcher. I would have loved a trade, knowing Joe Mauer was going to be our John Olerud. Here is the list of the top 10 salaries in baseball:
     
    Zack Greinke-- Dodgers
    Cliff Lee-- Phillies
    Ryan Howard-- Phillies
    Prince Fielder-- Rangers
    Robinson Canoe-- Mariners
    Cole Hamels-- Phillies
    Mark Teixeira-- Yankees
    CC Sabathia-- Yankees
    Joe Mauer-- Twins
    Albert Pujols-- Angels
     
    That is the top 10 all making over $20 million a season. Doesn't it seem all of those players are past the prime, and most of the teams aren't going to make the playoffs.
     
    The first 13 games count in a MLB season. The reason why fans and media are all over Mauer is the fact that he isn't the Joe Mauer he once was at all this season, and it isn't looking any better. Pitchers aren't really afraid of him, in fact they are much more aggressive against him knowing they can strike him out, knowing that he isn't going to hit a home run. Joe Mauer isn't going to swing at the first pitch. Mauer has a .754 OPS, which ranks 17th among first basemen, he has a .3 WAR, which ranks 18th among first basemen. Mauer ranks 20th in SLG %. He has been struck out 16 times, wait 17th, as I watch him K again, that would be 5th most of all first basemen. He isn't even close to hitting the baseball very hard. I think it is going to get old watching our 23 million dollar man hit squeaking base hits to left field. More than that it is going to get old not seeing any type of games where he gets the big double, or HR.
     
    If Joe Mauer was "every day" Joe, would the fans/media be talking about him more, NO. Reality is he is the 8th highest paid player in the game right now, and Minnesota should expect more out of him, RIGHT? I really don't think anybody is out of line talking poorly about #MarkRosen'sSon Joe Mauer. Mauer needs to take some heat, and I don't have any issues putting it on him at this point. It is time to eliminate the #MinnesotaNice when it comes to Mauer. The Twins lone All Star so far would maybe be Chris Colabello, our 505k a year guy, who could be making over a million $'s in Japan, yet we are going to give our $23 million guy a break. Bull****. All of the jerseys I have in my closet that I wear have the #7 on them, reality is Perkins is my favorite player, but I have been a fan of what Mauer has done, and he needs to get some heat put on him, including all of the fans that are paying for watching his service.
     
    Here is my suggestion to Joe Mauer:
     
    If you can learn how to hit the baseball with 2 strikes, you can learn to hit the ball in a hitters count at 0-0
     
    Take responsibility on your performances, and show some emotion. Everyday Joe is boring, Everyday Eddie was fun to watch!!
     
    Be a vocal leader and put this team on your back, we are relying on Colabello, Kubel, Plouffe to hold the offense afloat, and we had to sign Jason Bartlett as a clubhouse guy because you won't do it. C'MON!!!
     
    I think Joe Mauer is getting a Minnesota pass right now and it better not last very long. I don't care if the Twins win 90 games or lose 90 games, if you are by far the highest paid player on the team you need to act, play, and be counted on in every aspect of the game, Joe isn't doing that right now!!!!
     
    Is 13 games into a season too early to make a judgement, maybe, but I haven't seen this kind of futility from Joe ever, and I have a bad feeling we are not going to get the productive season we need from Joe, and we may have the worst contract among MLB players this season. Let's hope not!!
  4. rogrulz30
    7 days into the Minnesota Twins 2014 season is fun to look at. 4.3% of the games are done, and it has an interesting vibe to start the season. If I were to tell you:
     
    Joe Mauer 7k's, 0 RBI, .250 Avg
    Brian Dozier is batting .143 10K's
    Arcia/Willingham injured
     
    The Minnesota Twins would be 3rd in the Majors in Runs scored???
     
    If I gave you those same stats and you added in the fact that our pitching staff has a 6.46 ERA, and going into the beginning of the season our biggest opportunity was going to be scoring runs would you think the Twins found a way to win 3 games and sit at 3-4???
     
    The Minnesota Twins are spending $11.5 million on pace to be the next Vance Worley. 10 IP, 9.00 ERA, opening day starter.
     
    Our home opener number four hitter is making $505k a year!!
     
    Kevin Correia is our strikeout leader at 8 k's.
     
    After all of that funny business and fun the Minnesota Twins are 3-4. I have to say it has been fun to watch, different players stepping up, hits in scoring position, good defensive baseball, interesting new rules with instant replay. Due to work I have only been able to catch replays and listen to games on the radio and watch the games during lunch, but I have been entertained. Isn't that what we want in the first place.
     
    Again a little over 4% of baseball in the books, we do have a Minnesota Twin as offensive player of the week: Chris Colabello, congrats, and the stories come flying out about this guy and Parker Hageman wrote a good story on Chris. He was co player of the week with Josh Hamilton. I am guessing this trend won't stay, but I laughed when I saw Colabello was batting cleanup for our home opener. I wasn't laughing at Chris, I was laughing at the disparity in salary from Josh vs Colabello.
     
    After the first 6 games this season Josh Hamilton made $648,148 dollars, at Colabellos current salary he would have to play more than the entire season to make that amount of money!!!! Isn't that crazy? Its amazing when you put those things in perspective, side by side stats for the first week of baseball.
     
    Chris Colabello 10/27-- 11RBI-- 1.043 OPS $21,820 in salary
     
    Josh Hamilton 12/24-- 6RBI-- 1.433 OPS $648,148 in salary
     
    Joe Mauer 7/28-- 0RBI-- .704 OPS $993,827 in salary
     
    7 games is a very small sample size, all the stats we have so far barely put a dent into the entire season, except the 11RBI, that will make a difference in the long run. Colabello's story is as important as looking at Joe Mauer at the beginning of this year. I am a big critic of Joe Mauer, in the lens of what the Twins could have been able to get in the past 3 years if they looked at a trade, and now making $23 million a season, I know we are not going to get the production based off of salary. What scares me is 7 K's so far this year and watching him at bat looks scary. It doesn't look like he is in the game, and missing balls by way more than I have ever seen. If the Twins are going to not lose 90 games again, Joe Mauer needs to have an above average year, and based off the beginning, I am concerned. At that same rate, should I be concerned, as I just mentioned we are 7 games in, and in baseball stats seem to always come to the mean of the talent of the player. I have watched Mauer every year he has been here, and to me, this year he seems the most out of it. Just like Colabello will come back to the mean I hope Mauer improves to what his $23 Million expectation is. I am not expecting the world from him, but he has to be a leader in the clubhouse and be Joe Mauer. All I am looking for is avg Joe Mauer contribution, I would not blame Mauer for the inflated contract I would blame the Twins for not getting the most out of Mauer, and that would have been a trade if the Red Sox were interested 2.5 years ago. Mauer's contract isn't hurting the Twins right now anyway as they are only spending $85 million on this team, as I am sure they had the options if a player wanted to sign to get into the $100 million area or above.
     
    7 days in and I am actually a little more excited than I was on opening day. Willingham, Plouffe, Kubel have done very well, we had an early breakout with Colabello, and we can hope that Dozier and Mauer get into the action. All of our SP's have pitched in very warm markets, yes, they are not used to the weather, yes, that shouldn't be an excuse, reality is they are not going to have a combined 6.48ERA going forward. It is exciting that Gibson is our best starter so far, (yes I know 1 start, but that is reality), things can only go better for the starters, and if the lineup can continue to hit the ball, we will have more excitement than last year!! Go Twins!!
  5. rogrulz30
    Bud Selig is leaving as baseballs commissioner at the end of the season in 2014. Good Riddance!!!! I haved spoke about how Bud Selig destroyed some of my modern day baseball. He helped destroy 2 of my favorite baseball players growing up, Jose Canseco and Ken Griffey Jr. I am not going to go into details surrounding those two players, but I thought it would be fun to give me the job for a day and tell you what I would change in the game if I got the chance. Now I don't know all of the details surrounding luxury taxes, I don't know or understand how TV/Radio deals play in to the overall revenue, or where that revenue goes, and I don't really know where official MLB merchandise goes to specific teams. When I go through some of the changes I would make, I am not going to be able to argue some of those points.
     

    Salary Cap in baseball, with a minimum and a maximum. I know that putting the major market teams in the forefront of baseball is always going to produce $'s for the bottom line of baseball. I get that. If I am growing the sport, which this is Americas past time, I want to grow the sport all over the United States. NFL football has fans that provide for the NFL everywhere, no matter who is in the main games, they promote the best teams and have prime time games that aren't always biased, they have rivalry games, they showcase the best teams, best players. Strictly saying, player salaries on the 25 man roster at any given moment when the game starts shouldn't be over a certain $ figure or the team would get fined. Here are the salaries for the 2013 teams at the beginning of the season.

     
     

    New York Yankees $228,995,945
    Los Angeles Dodgers $216,302,909
    Philadelphia $159,578,214
    Boston $158,967,286
    Detroit $149,046,844
    San Francisco $142,180,333
    Los Angeles Angels $142,165,250
    Texas $127,197,575
    Chicago White Sox $124,065,277
    Toronto $118,244,039
    St. Louis $116,702,085
    Washington $112,431,770
    Cincinnati $110,565,728
    Chicago Cubs $104,150,726
    Baltimore $91,793,333
    Milwaukee $91,003,366
    Arizona $90,158,500
    Atlanta $89,288,193
    New York Mets $88,877,033
    Seattle $84,295,952
    Cleveland $82,517,300
    Kansas City $80,491,725
    Minnesota $75,562,500
    Colorado $75,449,071
    San Diego $71,689,900
    Oakland $68,577,000
    Pittsburgh $66,289,524
    Tampa Bay $57,030,272
    Miami $39,621,900
    Houston $24,328,53

     

    From 24 million to 228 million? WTF? How can the league be competitive when you have payrolls that are that defined. Now you have to give credit where credit is due and look at Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Cleveland for making the playoffs, while being at such a low payroll. The median payroll is about 100 million, I would have a tough time slimming it right away in 2015, but I would start at the bottom and in 2015 you would have to have a minimum payroll of 40 million, and keep the top at 225 million, and really start making it closer starting in 2016, then closer in 2017. Then I would continue to analyze the following year based on revenues and making the difference from median to the top at 50 million, and the median to the bottom 50 million. This would have a lot of research and buy in from the owners, but I think if you have that many teams in the league you have to have more parity
    I would promote some of the best players playing in high school and college. I would create excitement surrounding what the draft can bring you to sell faith to the draft. I would try and make the draft a different experience for the viewers. I would bring in the International draft and regular draft into 1 draft. I would want to run a dollars for draft auction for the first 6 rounds. Starting in 2016 the bottom team in the league would have the most amount of dollars to draft in the first 6 rounds, those dollars are able to be traded during the year. I would run it just like an Auction draft, each of the 32 teams picks a player, they bid on the player, if, lets say the Twins throw the name out Mark Hamburger, they say a certain dollar figure and nobody over bids, the Twins get Mark Hamburger. This puts the top 6 rounds, and trading money during seasons a pretty big deal, and it is fair for everyone. This would create drama in a draft, and everyone would have the same options getting these players. These players all have a slot of dollars they get paid based on how much they go for in the auction. Most dollars gets this amount as guaranteed, least gets this amount guaranteed. Every team gets an opportunity to draft a player. These drafts could become very big in a salary capped MLB
    We need to make games go by faster. I think the rules of a batter getting into the batters box, the pitchers getting on the rubber and pitching. A simple "shot clock" and the umpire can see this clock and call a ball or strike, if the batter/or pitcher goes too long. On the flip side of this, in todays technology we need to figure out the correct calls made on the field. This would be a cost, I would use the challenge option, and I would have a place in NY, that have the games on, and can make a call very quickly, 2 challenges per game. HR's if there is any controversy should be challenged, but the challenge should be done quickly. This central hub would cost money, but it would help getting calls right, and try and keep the games in that 3.5 hour mark that they need to stay within.
    MLB incentive based play on the field. Fed Ex has a cup in golf, and NASCAR, MLB should have some incentives on certain accomplishments that really make the races for the HR, Avg, SB, Triple Crown, MVP, Cy Young, Silver Slugger awards. I think these should be incentive based and promoted at a higher level over MLB. This isn't really promoted too much in other sports, I think these should be promoted, promoted and promoted where the players get more than the trophy. I would also put a bigger dollar incentive on winning the World Series, so not only are you a world series champion, you also get paid, this money doesn't come out of the salary cap dollar figure.
    The foolish warnings given out to teams after throwing a ball inside to a player, which then if the next team even tries to pitch inside, the pitcher can get thrown out of the game, this is foolish. I also don't think throwing a hard ball 95 mph at a player isn't the right way to handle problems among teams. I think these should be finable expenses to the team/players. I think teams need to do in house accountability for dirty play, but they also need to be reprimanded in the ways that happens. I am not sure how that is, but if I am going to purposely throw at someone it better be below the neck, if it is not, that is a very severe fine.
    The newest playoff system. I like the top 3 division winners, I like the 2 wild card teams. What I don't like is a 1 game playoff. Nobody has a 1 game playoff system, and I don't like it. I like the fact that the division winners have a much bigger advantage than the wild card teams. What I would do is start the season 3 days earlier and schedule 3 Double Headers per team schedule. Same type of setup as far as days off, but I am adding 3 days off to make up for some of the rain outs, and I would start the playoffs 3 days earlier, and I would make it a 3 game series, just like the regular season, you play a 3 game series more often than not. This would at least put the best pitchers up on each team, and a fluke play doesn't make or break the game itself.
    Very strict illegal substance policy. A very updated list of illegal substances so everyone knows, there should be no reason a player shouldn't take the time to understand what he is taking, first time offense 81 games, 2nd offense 1 year, 3rd offense banned. This should deter everyone from not taking banned substances and keeping the game clean.
    Bring Pete Rose into the hall of fame!!!! Guys like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens used performance enhancing drugs to get to the stats they put up, and they still have an opportunity to get in. I think Pete Rose exemplified what baseball is supposed to look like as a player and played the game very hard. I get he bet on baseball games, was it ever proven he threw a game based on a bet. No. Pete Rose deserves a chance to be in the HOF.
    All stats of proven PED users should be asterisked. A lot of these stats are very flawed and diminish some of the possibilities of the newer generation, without PED's I am not sure some of those records will be broken, they will stand in the test of times from "cheaters".
    I get one selfish thing I would change. I would want to do a realignment somehow to bring the Brewers back to the AL Central!!!!

     
    If I were to get 10 things to change in baseball in my tenure, I think this is a good list, I love baseball, and I want it to thrive. Watching the Pittsburgh/Cinci game last night gave me goosebumps watching that crowd interact in a baseball game. I think you could bring that mystique back to the casual fan if we were to create more parody and excitement through the year, and have every fan base part of sellout crowds and bringing dollars in as you would run a business.
  6. rogrulz30
    I got married almost 2 years ago. I had two things that were a must as we got married. 1. When the Twins are on, I am going to watch them. 2. I have to have a man cave. Those are pretty easy things to ask for in a marriage. My wife is not a sports fan at all. Her current, but traded favorite Twins player is still Nick Punto, her current favorite current Twin is Brian Dozier. I also said out loud about a week ago " I really hope we don't trade Perkins" Her response was " I love the Country Club Melt at Perkins." She asked me a question the other night that was frustrating. "Why do you 'have' to watch the game? All that really matters is the end result. All you do anyway is tell me they aren't even going to make the playoffs anyway. I casually said I love baseball and I want to watch what happens during the game. She didn't believe my answer and I instantly became frustrated and it had me thinking.
     
    Sure the Twins are not going to make the playoffs, sure they aren't going to be .500, a lot of people hope they lose to get a better draft pick. I want them to win. I want to be able to cheer while I am driving home, or watching the game for the Twins to win the game. The great thing about baseball is there are soooo many intriguing parts to your favorite team, and baseball in general. My wife will never read this, but I just have to list the things that I want to watch the game for every time they are on. This is list includes where we are at today, the great thing is this list can change every week, every year.
     
    1. I want to watch the drama unfold to see my favorite team win or lose I love watching human emotion, and I get into it as well.
     
    2. The Twins have typically in my life played good defense, it is fun watching great defensive plays, even if it isn't a Twin making plays.
     
    3. Pitching, Pitching, Catching: When I played baseball I would have considered myself a good pitcher all the way through Babe Ruth, I loved pitching more than anything else. I love watching pitchers set up hitters. I love the dynamic between the umpires and pitchers. The difference of the advantage for hitter vs pitcher on the 1-1 pitch, catchers make a huge difference in framing and Joe Mauer does a phenomenal job with the glove in where he catches and turns the glove. 1-2, is such a huge difference to 2-1, I really like watching good framing catchers work.
     
    4. New players that we don't get to see, Albers starts tomorrow, he threw a great game vs KC, I am really curious if he can even throw up another quality start. I loved Greg Maddux growing up, Albers doesn't have a great fastball, if he can get ahead of hitters and pinpoint the baseball he has a chance.
     
    5. Spoiler, I want to see the Twins play good baseball and play as if it means something. I still like the walk off hit and celebrating at home. That is exciting television, there isn't much more that I would like to watch then your home baseball team comeback for a walk off win.
     
    6. Managerial calls, I love being the knowitallsitonthecouch manager. I like to criticize what I think we should do, or why Gardy, or any manager is doing what they are doing. Most of the time the manager is probably making the best call, but some things scratch your head and it allows you to yell into the TV why the F are they doing that?
     
    Wife, I love baseball!! I can try to answer your question, but it is hard to answer the question when you don't understand how intricate baseball is if you are a fan of the sport itself. All I want to do is have the two non negotiables and I will be pretty happy.
  7. rogrulz30
    So, PED's is the hot button in baseball right now, and I finally had to have an opinion on this. I think I am becoming more opinionated now than ever. I think Bud Selig did the best job he could ever do turning his head to the use of steroids in baseball that you could ever do. First thought was during the Sosa, McGwire years baseball didn't even test for PED's, HGH, and steroids. Why am I to blame these guys for using something that wasn't illegal in baseball? Was what they used illegal by law to take? I didn't really know the details of what they took, and it seemed that they found a way in there diet to have something that really helped performance on the field. I am not going to lie, during the Bonds, McGwire, Sosa HR races I was glued to watching the AB's. I remember ESPN having live lookins all the time for every AB during the summer. This was a fun time to be a fan of MLB!! Bud Selig had to have been just printing money for MLB at that time, and that time brought the salaries that MLB is bringing on today.
     
    On to today. Monkey see Monkey do, right? Can I blame MLB players to copy what they seen in performance enhancing? No, Especially if it was legal. Who is to blame for the root cause of all of this, your commissioner of baseball Bud Selig. He benefited big time from the spike he saw in ratings in MLB. He saw baseball rise in all of attendance and TV deals. He is the godsend of what baseball needed. Here is what I don't understand and I don't think I ever will. What exactly are Performance Enhancing Drugs? What exactly does Human Growth Hormones do, and is it legal to take? Have they been legal to take in MLB?
     
    I have 2 opinions on the last 2 questions. If someone took PED's and they were on a banned substance list for MLB, at this point I think that those stats for the years that they were found guilty of taking those drugs should be eliminated, including MVP awards. I think it would be very difficult to eliminate stats that they weren't found guilty of taking them, I am not sure that would be entirely fair. I am still curious about HGH. My opinion is the same, if it was a banned substance, the stats should be eliminated as well as any MVP or award they would have won in those years. I think if someone took an illegal substance that is illegal by law, there is not much you can do about that. Think about this, if someone smokes weed, which is an illegal substance, are we going to take those stats away? No. I am sorry; Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Clemens, and the list goes on, but I think there stats need an asterisk at this point.
     
    Yes I was a big Canseco, Frank Thomas, Griffey Jr. fan. Huge, I have baseball card after baseball card of those 3 guys. Unfortunately they won't be worth anything because Canseco wrecked it for me. Canseco, one of my favorite players, having posters in my room, all of the Canseco rookie cards, going to the games that the Twins played the A's, rolled into all of the PED's and he wrote the story for the ridiculous stats of Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa. Look at Griffey and Thomas's stats, when you take out all the PED guys. Griffey was one of the best baseball players of my generation and he gets overlooked by these fat heads based on steroids.
     
    Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and the rest of the players that are going to get nailed in this BioGenesis case, they are still going to get there money. I have never liked "AFraud". I have never liked the Yankees, truth is the Twins, and the rest of the AL EAST may have something to say watching AFraud climb the ranks of baseballs all time hr leaders. He sat there in Yankee stadium hitting HR after HR, collecting a huge contract so the Yankee fans can watch him beat the all time HR record in NY.
     
    [TABLE]


    Barry Bonds (22)

    762

    L

    HR Log



    Hank Aaron+ (23)

    755

    R

    HR Log



    Babe Ruth+ (22)

    714

    L

    HR Log



    Willie Mays+ (22)

    660

    R

    HR Log



    Alex Rodriguez (19, 37)

    647

    R

    HR Log



    Ken Griffey (22)

    630

    L

    HR Log



    Jim Thome (22)

    612

    L

    HR Log



    Sammy Sosa (18)

    609

    R

    HR Log



    Frank Robinson+ (21)

    586

    R

    HR Log



    Mark McGwire (16)

    583

    R

    HR Log



    Harmon Killebrew+ (22)

    573

    R

    HR Log



    Rafael Palmeiro (20)

    569

    L

    HR Log



    Reggie Jackson+ (21)

    563

    L

    HR Log



    Manny Ramirez (19, 41)

    555

    R

    HR Log



    Mike Schmidt+ (18)

    548

    R

    HR Log



    Mickey Mantle+ (18)

    536

    B

    HR Log



    Jimmie Foxx+ (20)

    534

    R

    HR Log



    Willie McCovey+ (22)

    521

    L

    HR Log



    Frank Thomas (19)

    521

    R

    HR Log



    Ted Williams+ (19)

    521

    L

    HR Log

    [/TABLE]
     
    Here is the all time HR leaders, IMO, these are the All Time HR leaders
    [TABLE]


    2.

    Hank Aaron+ (23)

    755

    R

    HR Log



    3.

    Babe Ruth+ (22)

    714

    L

    HR Log



    4.

    Willie Mays+ (22)

    660

    R

    HR Log



    6.

    Ken Griffey (22)

    630

    L

    HR Log



    7.

    Jim Thome (22)

    612

    L

    HR Log



    9.

    Frank Robinson+ (21)

    586

    R

    HR Log



    11.

    Harmon Killebrew+ (22)

    573

    R

    HR Log



    13.

    Reggie Jackson+ (21)

    563

    L

    HR Log



    15.

    Mike Schmidt+ (18)

    548

    R

    HR Log



    16.

    Mickey Mantle+ (18)

    536

    B

    HR Log



    17.

    Jimmie Foxx+ (20)

    534

    R

    HR Log



    18.

    Willie McCovey+ (22)

    521

    L

    HR Log





    Frank Thomas (19)

    521

    R

    HR Log





    Ted Williams+ (19)

    521

    L

    HR Log

    [/TABLE]
     
    Ken Griffey Jr would by my generations All Time HR leader, which he was one of the all time greatest in fielding and batting. On top of this Griffey had to face pitchers like Clemens that were juicing, along with other pitchers that weren't caught juicing. Oh yeah, our Minnesota Twins faced
    Afraud in the 2009, 2010 playoffs, I am not saying it was because of him that we lost, but he was a tough hitter to face in the middle of the Yankee lineup.
     
    I think if I was a MLB player from single A to the big leagues I would feel cheated that these guys are making the big money being in the majors cheating their way there, while I was battling out the minors, barely making a living. Same thing if I was one of the best players in the league not taking PEDs, not making the 100 million $ contracts while all the cheaters are getting the fame and money.
     
    I just started getting really frustrated about this entire ordeal with Ryan Braun. I feel duped by Ryan Braun, I actually thought he was clean, I guess when you feel duped you start getting worse feelings around the scenario. I really think Matt Kemp should get the MVP trophy if they can prove Braun was on PED's that year.
     
    I am also frustrated that the Yankees are going to really work hard to get out of paying Afraud the rest of his money. Are the Yankees going to give back all the money they made from him as a cheater? Of course not, are the Yankees going to give back a WS championship, or the playoff money they were able to get making the playoffs so many years, of course not!!!! It is going to be a joke if they get out of paying Afraud, that money should get paid either to Afraud or a penalty against the Yankees. Since MLB doesn't have a cap, another Bud Selig problem, the Yankees are somehow going to get out of this scott free, and be able to have the open money to spend again. Bud Selig loves the Yankees, the Yankees love Bud Selig and MLB soo much due to the money that is made off of both, not inlcuding what Bud Selig gains having the Yankees a great team each year.
     
    I have to go back to the root cause of all of this non sense, the short term sights of our MLB commissioner Bud Selig on the state of baseball. Instead of moving baseball in the right direction the right way, Selig took a different route and cheated so many players, kids, and fans and really wrecked a lot of my generation of baseball. I think it really sucks!!!!!!
  8. rogrulz30
    [video=youtube_share;X5OoyjeB2ig]
     
    If you can see the video, I am hoping that my 7 month old daughter strike a deal with the Twins, as they obviously need some starting pitching. The pitching has frustrated me so much I have to build for the Twins future. J/K
     
    First off, being a dad takes some time away from a lot of things, and one of those things was enjoying writing/ranting/blogging about the Twins. It is almost All Star/Midway point of the season and there are a lot of things I just wanted to write about over the last 2 months watching the Minnesota Twins.
     
    After softball every Tuesday I go to the Rustic Bar and finish watching the Twins games with what I call are pretty good knowledgeable Twins/baseball fans. I remember last year complaining about the same thing as this year starting pitching, it was a circus last year, and the same this year. I rarely get to watch the starting pitcher by the time we get to the bar. Terry Ryan knew the number one thing to address in the off season is starting pitching. #1, think about it, if you were the GM of any business and you wanted to put your stamp on the #1 opportunity, would your boss be happy with this line::
     
    4.54 ERA, 2nd worst in the AL
    0 Complete Games, only 3 teams don't have a complete game
    .284 Batting average against, by far worst in the league
    32 Quality starts, Toronto has 36, which is 2nd worst.
     
    I know we added some arms in the minors, which we needed as well, and we needed it!! As an overall fan perspective though, if you are going to put your stamp on something, I think I would want to at least see improvement. The Twins have shown no improvement this year to be competitive, and it is frustrating that you hear that we are going to compete in August and September, and you don't improve on the problems you had last year and expect a different result. I really like and trust Terry Ryan, I also believe he needs to take the heat for not improving the #1 issue, but telling fans that we are still going to be competitive.
     
    #2 Joe Mauer vs Ryan Doumit behind the plate.
    So after reading this article http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15093 I have really been fascinated by the way catchers work behind the plate. It is very interesting watching every pitch in a way the catcher works the glove and his feet and how he catches the pitch and frames it. I challenge everybody to watch the difference in work, and you can see why Ryan Doumit is a -66 in runs allowed due to pitch framing. The way Mauer catches every pitch and how quickly he turns the glove before it hits his glove is quite remarkable, compared to how Ryan Doumit catches. There is such a huge difference in how a pitcher works when it is 0-1 vs 1-0, or 1-2 vs 2-1. Ryan Doumit has been injured a lot of the year, I get it, he has been a very bad player this year, and watching this part of his game has made me very frustrated that I was a big fan of having him on the team when we signed him. I got fooled at some of his batting stats, and didn't look in depth of the scope of work that Doumit brings. Joe Mauer I will talk about later.
     
    #3 Joe Mauer- Man I have been so up and down on Joe Mauer since he has signed with the Twins. The Twins obviously had to sign Joe Mauer to a big contract, I have said before I was a fan of the signing, I thought it was something that helped create one of the best ballparks in the United States. Joe Mauer is the best catcher in the AL. Is he worth $23 million a year? Is anybody worth $23 million a year on one baseball team? It is a relative question to how much you spend, if you spend $200 million than you can make it work, if it is $84 million, that is tough to process. I love his OBP%, I love his defense, I would love his power in the Dome, unfortunately that difference made us overpay for Mauer. Is Joe Mauer tradeable? I would at least garner offers to see what could happen. I have at least 4 Joe Mauer jerseys, his swing is something everyone should mimick, his defensive mechanics are the same. I would still look at ways to move him and open up payroll to upgrading SP, and SS.
     
    #4 Miguel Cabrera: What can I say, this guy is really, really good!!! I am not a fan, but you can't deny how good this guy is. Here is my one rant about watching Cabrera vs the Twins, or any team the Tigers play. What happened to the bunt? I wish there was at least a stat I could look at the would help my theory. If they guy is going to bat .370 vs you, why not try and get him off his game one way shape or form, my form, bunt to him at least 3 times a game. The starting pitching for the Tigers has a .250 BA against, I am just throwing it out there, if the 1, 2, 9 hitters all attempted bunts vs him, #1 you may improve the OB%, #2 you may get Cabrera off his game mentally. I get soooo irritated when the Twins don't bother Cabrera, or at least give it a shot.
     
    #5 Watching the rookies:
    Oswaldo Arcia- I was able to be at the game for his 1st MLB hit. He has been fun to watch ever since. He has his flaws and pitchers are starting to pitch to those flaws, and that flaw is aggressiveness. Pitchers can start moving up the ladder with fastballs against him and he swings, and swings hard at those pitches. He could be the exciting (Carlos Gomez) type player I think the Twins need.
     
    Aaron Hicks- Becoming much more of a stable player than the beginning of the year. He is starting to take more pitches, becoming a better hitter which is what you hope for. Hell he came from Double A, with no MLB experience, did we expect him to hit .280, no, but take out the first month of the year he is holding his own. I am starting to become sold on Hicks for our future
     
    Chris Parmelee- Man is he frustrating to watch, I think he was oversold to me, after torching AAA pitching, we assumed he was going to continue. The guy only has a little over 500 ML AB's in his career, I started getting really frustrated watching him. My issue is I have a tough time finding a position that he is going to be an above avg player at that position. RF I think will be his only future option.
     
    Kyle Gibson- Jury is still out, the fans got oversold on him for sure, I just hope he turns out to be a solid #3 guy in the rotation.
     
    #6 After just watching the Twins lose again in extra innings to the Rays, I, and other Twins fans either in the media, or friends the Twins are becoming unwatcheable. Yes I say that as I came home after work excited that the game was in extra innings and I could watch it. Fact of the matter is I watched all games in the '90's, and I will watch all games today, reality is I love baseball, and I love the Twins. Problem, not all fans are like me. In fact most of the casual fan doesn't care about the rest of the year, they don't care about watching Arcia, Parmelee, Hicks, Gibson grow. The Twins are 12th in the league in attendance, which is surprising, due to weather, and a 10 game losing streak. 12th in the league is going to dwindle fast after the All Star game. The Twins are so predictable right now. How many times in the last 14 games has there been a guy on 2nd base nobody out, and the Twins score a run? Very, very rarely is the answer. My guess every time is the next batter is going to strike out. It is worse if there is 1 out, 1st and 3rd, then I hope for a K, because the other option is rolling a 2 hopper for a double play. We don't have a homerun hitter, we don't have a veteran player that you hope is up to bat to find a pitch to drive. Very frustrating watching my favorite team play baseball right now.
     
    #7. We keep getting sold on the future!! When does this get old? Think about this, the Twins would have more interest watching Sano, Buxton, Gibson struggle at the ML level, than the team we have playing right now. Attendance would be better watching our future struggle now. We get sold on this future state of the Twins. 1 of 2 things are going to happen. 1, Our future "stars" come up, we play them while they are cheap, they produce, we have to pay them, then build stars around them, which would cost money. The Pohlads pocket books shrivel up again and the cycle starts again. I am not saying you have to spend all the money the big markets spend, but at some point you have to go all in. When was the last time the Pohlads went all in? 2, Gibson, Meyer, May, Buxton, Sano don't turn out, and the Twins are looking into the future of the Houston Astros. I will say this if you are going to sell us into 2016, which you are really trying to do that, I think it is time to go all in with signing these players and set up some SP that can go with it.
  9. rogrulz30
    I am writing this in pure hatred of the f'n save stat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A look into my passion for the Twins, the passion for the hatred of the save stat, and my love for Hooters deep fried pickles, wings, and beer.
     
    Perkins was up during the game to pitch earlier. Now instead of putting him in, in a very important spot, you leave him on the bench not even pitching in the game in extra innings. I am not even blaming Gardy, I am blaming the stupid f'n "save" stat that I have blogged about before. Some manager, some time, will figure out that it is best for the team to use your best players when the time calls for it. Not when you have a f'n "save situation". Hey lets put my best reliever out there when we are up 3 runs and nobody out because it is a "save situation". Nooooooo why would anybody do that. Oh, I know because we made a stupid stat that everybody follows now. OMG< yes I used a text term that I think is stupid, but at this point I am frustrated and it is my blog and I can write whatever I want.
     
    If you had any type of team, whether it be hockey, baseball, football, basketball, would you let one of your best players sit on the bench when healthy? The answer is no, and teams do this in MLB, and it blows my mind. Or they use them in useless situations like up 3 runs in one inning to get a STUPID STAT THAT SHOULDN'T BE THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
     
    All I can say right now is I am going to go off every time on this blog every time that Gardy doesn't use the best player in his relief corps. Or burn him when they are up 3 runs w/ one inning to play, just so I have some release of my pissed offness.
  10. rogrulz30
    2 more @ Tigers
    3 @ Indians
    4 @ Red Sox
    3 vs Orioles
    3 Vs White Sox
    3 @ Braves
    3 vs Red Sox

    Combined Record 65-64 .504


     
    Looking at what has happened so far this year being 11-11, I find the next 21 games very important on a lot of ways in my opinion. We have a .500 record now, we play decent teams with a combined record of what we do. I think a lot can happen good or bad.
     
    I really want the Twins to play meaningful games in the months of August. I am encouraged in a few ways watching the first 22 games and being .500. I have a tough time thinking we can compete against anybody from the AL East for a Wild Card, and I have a tough time thinking we can beat the Tigers record. One thing is you never know though. Here are a couple of things that are going to make or break the chances of playing meaningful games this year, or build our value for the next few years.
     
    1. Justin Morneau, yes he is my favorite Twin, my hope for him sometimes subsides reality I guess. I was really hoping he would have a good year this year for 2 reasons, we either get great value for him for the deadline, or he helps carry the team to contention this year. He has missed some HR pitches in the first games of the season, a lot of them. He finally hit a hanging breaking ball for a HR on Sunday. I hope he finds it and has a good May, as 17th in the AL for 1B in slugging percentage isn't what you want from that spot.
     
    2. Chris Parmelee-- Goes hand in hand w/ #1. 16th in the AL in batting AVG, 20th in SLG for RF in the AL. He isn't producing yet, I don't know how long you give him. I was excited to see him start the year with the Twins, he has been impressive in the field, at the plate he is less than desired. He was supposed to be the guy that replaces Morneau. What happens if he can't live up to either spot, we put a lot of time into this guy not to pan out. Times a ticking I think, the next 3 weeks could be interesting for Parmelee.
     
    3. Trevor Plouffe 12th among 3B in SLG, 16th in RBI in the AL. This certainly isn't going to cut it. Is Escobar really going to be the 3B over Plouffe. How do you not play Escobar right now. Escobar is batting .438 in 32 AB, including more RBI than Plouffe. I was looking forward to Plouffe being an everyday 3B for the Twins, I thought if he was healthy he could produce, this hasn't happened, defense has been suspect, plate appearances have not been very good.
     
    4. Lineup:
     
    Brian Dozier 7/10 among 2B in Batting Avg. .243
    Joe Mauer 3/10 among Catchers in Avg batting .289
    Josh Willingham 4/16 among LF in RBI 2/16 SLG
    Justin Morneau 13/17 among 1B in SLG 9/17 in RBI
    Trevor Plouffe 8/13 among 3B in SLG 16/16 in RBI
    Chris Parmelee 12/13 among RF in SLG 12/13 in RBI
    Ryan Doumit batting .197 in 66 AB
    Aaron Hicks 14/14 among CF in Batting Avg. .113
    Pedro Florimon batting .250 in 40 AB
     
    This lineup is really losing its luster, especially with Mauer struggling. Our best batter isn't even in the starting lineup. The only player living up to his reputation may be Willingham. Gardy is having a tough time finding the right mix to get this thing going. This trend has started to get ugly, and I am not seeing anything getting better soon, except for the hope of Morneau, and Hicks is looking a lot better. Arcia and Escobar are going to probably get some good playing time.
     
    5. Starting rotation-- Question mark coming in, Question mark going forward. Pelfrey yet to have a quality start. Worley hasn't looked good at all. Hendriks already sent down. Hernandez has looked good, small sample size. Diamond, right where he left off. Gibson 3.5ish in AAA. Correia is the only bright spot in the rotation, as this has been well documented. This rotation has 7 people 5 spots, this will be interesting with Hernandez pitching well, Gibson coming up.
     
    1. Correia
    2. Diamond
    3. Worley
    4. Pelfrey
    5. Hernandez
    6. Gibson
    7. Hendriks.
     
    Who are the ones left out if Hernandez keeps pitching well, Gibson coming up.
     
    I am looking at the next 21 games and I am not looking optimistic. I have a bad feeling we are going to be 18-25 after 43 games. I think the only way I will be wrong is if Morneau gets confidence back after Sundays HR, the middle of the lineup is just average, the back of the rotation starts getting quality starts. I think the next 2 games at Detroit set the tone for the next 19, and when the Twins play in Detroit as of late, I am not feeling confident.
  11. rogrulz30
    2 more @ Tigers
    3 @ Indians
    4 @ Red Sox
    3 vs Orioles
    3 Vs White Sox
    3 @ Braves
    3 vs Red Sox

    Combined Record 65-64 .504


     
    Looking at what has happened so far this year being 11-11, I find the next 21 games very important on a lot of ways in my opinion. We have a .500 record now, we play decent teams with a combined record of what we do. I think a lot can happen good or bad.
     
    I really want the Twins to play meaningful games in the months of August. I am encouraged in a few ways watching the first 22 games and being .500. I have a tough time thinking we can compete against anybody from the AL East for a Wild Card, and I have a tough time thinking we can beat the Tigers record. One thing is you never know though. Here are a couple of things that are going to make or break the chances of playing meaningful games this year, or build our value for the next few years.
     
    1. Justin Morneau, yes he is my favorite Twin, my hope for him sometimes subsides reality I guess. I was really hoping he would have a good year this year for 2 reasons, we either get great value for him for the deadline, or he helps carry the team to contention this year. He has missed some HR pitches in the first games of the season, a lot of them. He finally hit a hanging breaking ball for a HR on Sunday. I hope he finds it and has a good May, as 17th in the AL for 1B in slugging percentage isn't what you want from that spot.
     
    2. Chris Parmelee-- Goes hand in hand w/ #1. 16th in the AL in batting AVG, 20th in SLG for RF in the AL. He isn't producing yet, I don't know how long you give him. I was excited to see him start the year with the Twins, he has been impressive in the field, at the plate he is less than desired. He was supposed to be the guy that replaces Morneau. What happens if he can't live up to either spot, we put a lot of time into this guy not to pan out. Times a ticking I think, the next 3 weeks could be interesting for Parmelee.
     
    3. Trevor Plouffe 12th among 3B in SLG, 16th in RBI in the AL. This certainly isn't going to cut it. Is Escobar really going to be the 3B over Plouffe. How do you not play Escobar right now. Escobar is batting .438 in 32 AB, including more RBI than Plouffe. I was looking forward to Plouffe being an everyday 3B for the Twins, I thought if he was healthy he could produce, this hasn't happened, defense has been suspect, plate appearances have not been very good.
     
    4. Lineup:
     
    Brian Dozier 7/10 among 2B in Batting Avg. .243
    Joe Mauer 3/10 among Catchers in Avg batting .289
    Josh Willingham 4/16 among LF in RBI 2/16 SLG
    Justin Morneau 13/17 among 1B in SLG 9/17 in RBI
    Trevor Plouffe 8/13 among 3B in SLG 16/16 in RBI
    Chris Parmelee 12/13 among RF in SLG 12/13 in RBI
    Ryan Doumit batting .197 in 66 AB
    Aaron Hicks 14/14 among CF in Batting Avg. .113
    Pedro Florimon batting .250 in 40 AB
     
    This lineup is really losing its luster, especially with Mauer struggling. Our best batter isn't even in the starting lineup. The only player living up to his reputation may be Willingham. Gardy is having a tough time finding the right mix to get this thing going. This trend has started to get ugly, and I am not seeing anything getting better soon, except for the hope of Morneau, and Hicks is looking a lot better. Arcia and Escobar are going to probably get some good playing time.
     
    5. Starting rotation-- Question mark coming in, Question mark going forward. Pelfrey yet to have a quality start. Worley hasn't looked good at all. Hendriks already sent down. Hernandez has looked good, small sample size. Diamond, right where he left off. Gibson 3.5ish in AAA. Correia is the only bright spot in the rotation, as this has been well documented. This rotation has 7 people 5 spots, this will be interesting with Hernandez pitching well, Gibson coming up.
     
    1. Correia
    2. Diamond
    3. Worley
    4. Pelfrey
    5. Hernandez
    6. Gibson
    7. Hendriks.
     
    Who are the ones left out if Hernandez keeps pitching well, Gibson coming up.
     
    I am looking at the next 21 games and I am not looking optimistic. I have a bad feeling we are going to be 18-25 after 43 games. I think the only way I will be wrong is if Morneau gets confidence back after Sundays HR, the middle of the lineup is just average, the back of the rotation starts getting quality starts. I think the next 2 games at Detroit set the tone for the next 19, and when the Twins play in Detroit as of late, I am not feeling confident.
  12. rogrulz30

    Quality Starts

    By rogrulz30,

    Think about last year watching the Twins pitching staff. What comes to mind right away? 1. Injuries 2. What are we going to get from Liriano tonight? 3. Who? 4. OMG!!! Capps is coming in!! 5. Our 3rd catcher is showing us how to pitch?
     
    Every start was a circus it seemed. The only positives all year on the Twins pitching staff was Jared Burton, Glenn Perkins, Scott Diamond. Liam Hendriks had the chance of all chances, he started 16 games and got 1 win, 5 quality starts. At the beginning of last year, I honestly thought we had a chance to be competitive. Liriano was going to be the X factor, what happened was Gibson out, Baker out, Pavano out, Liriano traded. This lead to people we have never heard of going out there and starting games. If you don't get quality starts it doesn't help putting anyone on ease. Joe Mauer had a good year, he had to learn these guys coming in to pitch. He had to teach these guys things. He had it tough, I give him credit for those things, and having a great comeback season.
     
    So far this year the Twins are 7-7, 5/14 in quality starts for the rotation so far. 35% of the starts have been "quality". This is without Scott Diamond who last year had 60% of his starts "quality". The rest of our rotation moving to a new league/new team.
     
    Mike Pelfrey in 2011 had 45% of his starts as "quality". Kevin Correia in 2012 had 57% of his starts "quality". Vance Worley in 2012 had 56% of his starts quality starts. I am guessing Kyle Gibson will be our 5th starter soon this year, which you go down the line and puts you in a much better position to win games. Quality start, good offense, quality relief pitching gives you a good chance to win games. The San Fransisco Giants won the world series last year, 57% of the starts by the starting rotation were quality starts. Compare that to the Minnesota Twins (38%). Giants won 58% of there games, Twins won 40% of there games. I just want to put things in perspective around baseball records and quality starts. Then, look at how much our rotation has a chance to keep the Twins above .500.

     
    All Division winners


     
    Nationals 59%, won 60%
    Reds 60%, won 60%
    Giants 57%, won 58%
    Yankees 50%, won 58% (3rd in MLB in runs scored)
    Tigers 55%, won 54%
    A's 55%, won 58%
    All Division last place teams


    Boston 44%, won 42%
    Minnesota 38%, won 40%
    Seattle 55%, (Vargas/Felix), won 46% (27th in the MLB runs scored)
    Miami 56%, won 42% (29th in the MLB runs scored)
    Houston 45%, won 34%
    Colorado doesn't count
    San Diego 46%, won 47%




     
    There are a few exceptions which make sense, Seattle couldn't score runs, had Vargas and King Felix who always put up quality starts, you have Miami, who had good starting pitching, had team issues and couldn't score runs. Reality is it is pretty close to compare QS to overall record. As I watch the Twins this season so far, I have a lot more confidence when our pitchers go out there that they can last more than 3,4, 5 innings. I want to give some extra hope to the season, as we are 14 games in, and the Twins are still relative. If you go with the premise that QS = Win %, this is what our top 4 starters would give us this year.
     
    Between Pelfrey in 2011, Worley, Diamond, Correia in 2012 60/111 starts were quality. 54% Detroit won the central last year winning 54% of there games. Just saying, sometimes it is hard to find hope with the Minnesota Twins projections, but watching some of the starts by our rotation is giving me some hope.
  13. rogrulz30
    3 games in a row. My comfort after work is to come home and watch baseball w/ my daughter. When I got married I made the deal that when the Twins were on, I get control over the remote and I get to watch TwinsBaseball. Let me tell you the last week, Duluth has had the worst April weather since I have been alive I think. Windy, snowy, cold, not one good thing that brings spring into summer. No golf, going to Mondays Twins game at Target Field at 35 degrees, and horrible business due to bad driving conditions. I would love it to come home and relax and watch the Twins. Hell Joe Mauer is really fun to watch right now, Hicks was starting to look more comfortable, and the Twins won 2 games in a row, or I could say that Anaheim had no care of being in Minnesota and playing those games. The Twins have won 4 of the last 16 games vs the Sox I believe, and I was hoping to watch the series. Sox/Twins was a good rivalry back in the day.
     
    When the Twins were winning the Central, Guillen was managing the WhiteSox, I used to love when they came to the dome. They hated the dome, and we dominated them. When I was a kid I got WGN, and I had the choice of watching Cubs games, Sox games, or on MSN, Twins games. I couldn't stand listening to the Sox games, the announcers I wanted to punch in the face, I loved Steve Stone and Haray Carey. I have hated the White Sox ever since I was a kid. I hate the Yankees, which lead me down the path of being a Red Sox fan. I want a rivalry!!! I want the Sox to be the rivalry it was 5-8 years ago. Obviously it takes winning seasons to get good rivalries, right now we haven't been good, so the rivalry has gone away. I have written about this before, the Twins need to stir things up, not sure who to do that w/, if it was me it would be the Yankees or the White Sox. A.J. Pierzynski helped create the rivalry, we need more characters like that in baseball. We have pieces to the puzzle coming up, at some point they need to have a little swag. Again, I have said this before, Joe Maddon made the Rays what they are today. They didn't take anything from the Yankees in preseason games and started showing people they aren't afraid. I would love to rial some things up with the Sox this weekend.
     
    I can't help myself but write about my favorite show ever. "Survivor" I love that show more than any other show I have watched. I get made fun of because people think the show is about "surviving". It is totally not what it is, even though the conditions help make the show. There is soooooo much strategy that goes on in that show, I wish all my friends would give it a shot so I can talk strategy with them. I encourage every person, if you haven't watched the show, you love strategy, and you start understanding all that goes into the game, you would have to love it. This is my one attempt to just have at least 1 person more to watch this show, as I have probably seen most seasons, and the show never lets me down.
  14. rogrulz30
    How many times this year are we going to see this.
    Minnesota Twins
    4-2, 1st in AL Central Division
     
    Reality is that the White Sox have the same record, but this picture looks nice.
     
    How did the Twins get to 4-2? Let's look
     
    Aaron Hicks batting leadoff batting .077
    .
    Our best hitter Joe Mauer batting in the 2 hole .231
     
    Josh Willingham batting .231
     
    Justin Morneau 3 RBI in 6 games, 2 of those were on a routine fly ball to center that wasn't fielded correctly.
     
    Ryan Doumit batting .200 2 RBI
     
    Trevor Plouffe batting .235
     
    Brian Dozier batting .176
     
    Wait a second, the Twins are 4-2??? Yep, lets take a closer look
     
    Vance Worley 2 starts 0-1 5.73 ERA
     
    Kevin Correia 1 start 0-0 2.57 ERA 2 K's
     
    Mike Pelfrey 1 start 1-0 0.00 ERA 1 K
     
    Liam Hendriks 1 start 0-0 7.71 ERA 1 K
     
    Pedro Hernandez (who?) 1 start 0-0 5.40 ERA 3 K's
     
    WAIT A SECOND, the TWINS ARE 4-2??? Who did we play??
     
    1. Detroit Tigers, won the AL Central in 2012, expected to win the Central in 2013 (2-1)
     
    2. @ Baltimore Orioles, AL Wild Card team in 2012, hottest hitter in the League Chris Davis (2-1)
     
    Not only those things are going on, but Florimon and Mauer are tied for 2nd in the league w/ Errors at 2 each.
     
    I am just looking for answers to see if this what Terry Ryan was putting together, sly, sly guy, we were confused by all the off season moves.
     
    [TABLE=class: stats_table data_grid, width: 734]

    [TH=class: dg-rank]RK[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-name_display_last_init]Player[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-team_abbrev]Team[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-pos]Pos[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-g sortable, align: right]G[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-ab sortable, align: right]AB[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-r sortable, align: right]R[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-h sortable, align: right]H[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-d sortable, align: right]2B[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-t sortable, align: right]3B[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-hr sortable, align: right]HR[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-rbi sortable, align: right]RBI[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-bb sortable, align: right]BB[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-so sortable, align: right]SO[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-sb sortable, align: right]SB[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-cs sortable, align: right]CS[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-avg sortable active, bgcolor: #DCDCDC, align: right]AVG▼[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-obp sortable, align: right]OBP[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-slg sortable, align: right]SLG[/TH]
    [TH=class: dg-ops sortable, align: right]OPS[/TH]


    [TD=class: dg-rank]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-name_display_last_init] Escobar, E[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-team_abbrev]MIN[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-pos]2B[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-g, align: right]5[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-ab, align: right]7[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-r, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-h, align: right]3[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-d, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-t, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-hr, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-rbi, align: right]3[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-bb, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-so, align: right]2[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-sb, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-cs, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-avg active, bgcolor: #F5F5F5, align: right].429[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-obp, align: right].429[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-slg, align: right].571[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-ops, align: right]1.000[/TD]

    [/TABLE]
    [TABLE=class: stats_table data_grid, width: 734]
    [TR=class: odd]
    [TD=class: dg-rank, bgcolor: #E1E1E1]2[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-name_display_last_init, bgcolor: #E1E1E1] Florimon, P[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-team_abbrev, bgcolor: #E1E1E1]MIN[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-pos, bgcolor: #E1E1E1]SS[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-g, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]5[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-ab, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]10[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-r, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]2[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-h, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]4[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-d, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-t, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-hr, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-rbi, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]2[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-bb, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]3[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-so, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-sb, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-cs, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-avg active, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right].400[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-obp, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right].538[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-slg, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right].500[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-ops, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1.038[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    [TABLE=class: stats_table data_grid, width: 734]

    [TD=class: dg-rank, bgcolor: #E1E1E1]2[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-name_display_last_init, bgcolor: #E1E1E1] Ramirez, W[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-team_abbrev, bgcolor: #E1E1E1]MIN[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-pos, bgcolor: #E1E1E1]LF[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-g, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]3[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-ab, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]5[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-r, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-h, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]2[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-d, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-t, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-hr, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-rbi, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-bb, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-so, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-sb, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-cs, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]0[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-avg active, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right].400[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-obp, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right].400[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-slg, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right].600[/TD]
    [TD=class: dg-ops, bgcolor: #E1E1E1, align: right]1.000[/TD]

    [/TABLE]
     
     
    This is kind of an eye opening blog post due to the fact, I didn't intend this to be a negative nancy blog, cuz the Twins fans have too much of that right now. I really wanted to take a blind look at stats compared to record.
     
    I have watched all of the games the Twins have played, the games have been exciting, we have gotten some key hits, the opponents have made some keys errors. Those things happen, we are not used to seeing the Twins on the right sides of those things for the last 2 years. I don't, and didn't have high hopes for the Twins this year, but I was excited to see them play. It becomes exciting to see them win games. The Twins left a lot of runs on the table with the middle of the lineup in the last 6 games, a lot of things could have resulted differently, the fact of the matter is after 7 days of baseball, it was fun to see some different results regardless of how we got there.
     
    I hope we can continue our luck, and the great thing about all of this, Mauer, Willingham, Morneau are going to get better,and are going to start hitting the ball. We are going to get healthier in the pitching department with DeVries and Deduno coming off injury. Lets see if we can stay healthy and win games the way they are supposed to be won. Go Twins!!!
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    [/color]
  15. rogrulz30

    Wow Josh Roenicke

    By rogrulz30,

    It was another fun Minnesota Twins game to watch!! You had everything from both teams, and it just so happens the big blunder was made on the opposing team. I am not going to make this long by any means as we all watched the game, but I did want to point out some observations that I am a bit worrisome about, and some observations that I am excited about.
     
    1. Josh Roenicke was fricken awesome!! He was in control every batter for 3 innings. He looked like he was a machine, same delivery, same set up to the hitters, got ahead in counts. He was very good out there, and I really enjoyed watching him keep the Twins in the game. Very nice job Josh Roenicke!!
     
    2. Justin Morneau is still taking very good at bats, and of course he did miss a meatball curve ball that he was sitting there waiting for. He went 3-5, and if he would have connected on that meatball, the game would have been in a different place. He is way more confident and is just seeing the ball very well.
     
    3. Why did Carroll hit for Florimon? I believe that is what happened, Florimon had no right to be taken out of the game for Carroll, correct me if I am wrong on this, but I thought that is what I saw.
     
    4. Dozier went right back to his bad place trying to pull fastballs that he can't connect with, he swung at bad pitches, I hope that is was just a tough day out there, we need Dozier this year.
     
    5. Joe Mauer, I really believe the umpire got to him. I think he swung at 2 first pitches in the game, I know of one for sure that was at his eyes. He looked bad out there except when a meatball 3-2 pitch went for a base hit. Looked like in a few at bats he was swinging for the fences, in those swings he was behind in the count, very odd AB's for Mauer in the game.
     
    6. Aaron Hicks I believe is batting .042 for the season now. Oh, and 1 caught stealing. I know you can't be too hard on him after 5 games, but where is his eye at. He is getting behind in counts and the pitchers are just eating him up. I think he has a couple games left in that spot, who do you put there if it doesn't work. I know my choices, Joe Mauer or Trevor Plouffe, yep I said it. Hell Detroit is throwing Hunter in the 2 spot in the lineup. You roll with Plouffe, Mauer, Willingham, Morneau, Doumit, Parmalee, Hicks, Dozier, Florimon. I know the ordinary 1 man is a basehit OB guy, we don't have an OB guy in the lineup, go against what it sometimes. I would give it a shot, it would look interesting that first inning every time.
     
    7. C'mon Twins win 2 series in a row, that would be exciting!!
  16. rogrulz30
    Last year, based on the 2011 season, I was looking at the preview to 2012.
     
    http://twinsdaily.com/blogs/rogrulz30/328-twins-first-35-games-some-futures-bets-mlb.html
     
    I couldn't help but look at how tough the schedule was, but we got to open against the Orioles, which I thought we could compete against. 0-3 NOOOOOOO, now we play the next 18 games against teams that are better than us, and it went into a tailspin after the first 21 games. This year after one series is refreshing. Very small sample size looking at the first series, but look at the difference of last year to this year. Twins lose first series going 0-3 vs a team I thought we were better than, this year we go 2-1 in a season we are picked to finish last in the AL Central, the Tigers picked to take 1st.
     
    The Twins opening series was fun in a lot of ways, look how many negative thoughts are gone right off the bat. I am way more optimistic, (just because I am a Twins fan) than if the Twins would have even went 1-2. It was the way they won the games, quality starts, bottom of the order production, Mauer batting in the 2 hole. I was at the bowling alley watching the walkoff, I was with my bowling team (all Twins fans) the only one we could remember was the passed ball walk off which I believe Span scored, that is sad.
     
    So as I write this watching Dozier knock in the go ahead run 5-4, I am much more optimistic about this year than last year, and I really hope the Twins can prove the nay sayers wrong, which I am one of them, based on other experts, cuz I tend to be too much of a homer, and I have to put down reality.

    Random Thoughts


     
    Justin Morneau has had very good at bats so far, he looks more confident, he is taking pitches, very uplifting to see.
     
    Aaron Hicks has not taken enough pitches, from what happened in Spring Training to now, he needs to be more patient.
     
    Mauer in the 2 hole I have said for 3 years has finally happened and I hope it stays that way.
     
    Dozier hitting the ball the opposite way, he is an above avg hitter if he can start shooting the ball where it is pitched.
     
    3 newcomers vs guys like Cabrera, Martinez, Fielder and the rest of Detroit lineup 2.45 ERA, pretty impressive.
     
    Can somebody help Hendriks pitch with a lead!!!!!!
  18. rogrulz30
    I haven't had much time to go through the forums and blogs as much as I like to with the new baby on board, I do get a chance on my smartphone during my lunch every day to read TwinsDaily, and I read the Star Tribune. I have to say right now there isn't much good going on in "loserville". As quoted from most of the KFAN guys, which I can't blame right now, nothing is going right. Wild can't get things together, the Gophers are showing who they really are, the Timberwolves aren't fun to watch, and we get to look forward to spring training for a team that has been one of the worst in baseball 2 years running. Well I guess it may be time to get a little positive, and just have some fun with the preview to what could be in 2013 for our MN Twins:
     
    1. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well the Twins did change some things up in the coaching staff, Vavra is out and Brunansky is in. I can't say a thing bad about this move, something has to give in a potent lineup and switching things around there can only be a good thing. Gardy is in his last contract year, he may have to switch things up a bit too. I think the biggest switch up, which in a last year of a contract I can't see a better time to do it is making a major switch putting Mauer in the 2 hole. I think every blog post I make has something to do with this. Even if that doesn't happen, I think you are going to see some new things from Gardy this year.
     
    2. Willingham coming off a career yr in HR, Mauer healthy, Morneau very healthy. This lineup should be able to produce more runs this season, we gave up some solid defense and front of the lineup guys for pitching, I think that was the right move, I also think we are going to really need a lot of help to fulfill what is missed at the top, but I am excited to see what the middle of the lineup can do, especially if Plouffe can get to where he was in July, and if Parmalee can gain success at the Major League level.
     
    3. We may have pitching that can get us some innings to keep us in ballgames later. I know we didn't get the marquee guys, but hey, middle of the road guys that can get innings are much, much better than the guys we were throwing out there, that includes Liriano. Look what we had to throw out there the back half of the year. DeVries, Deduno, Duensing, Hendriks, look at the difference to this year. Diamond, Pelfrey, Correia, Worley, Gibson. That is a lot more consistent innings, even though they aren't the big names, we can be in more games, there is no question if we can score more runs with a healthy lineup, and keep us in games we can win a lot more games.
     
    4. 2 way flexibility with payroll. I want to point out that we have a path to the future there is now doubt about it. Look at the marquee players we have on the team for this year and next year. There is a direction that we have to move to, and let me throw this out there. Morneau is an interesting player going into this year, if he plays well and the Twins are doing well, we have the money to add talent, whether that be pitching or offense, and no matter what they should be a future player. If he is doing well, and the team is doing bad, we have a big trade chip and even more future money to put in the following year. It obviously looks like the path to 2014/2015, Morneau is going to be a very interesting piece to that puzzle. Lets hope either way he plays very well, he is my favorite Twins player, I wish he could be a Twin for the rest of his career.
     
    5. It is a new year and anything could happen in a baseball year. And YES I CAN BE A HOMER, AND YES I CAN AT LEAST DREAM THAT A MIRACLE CAN HAPPEN. That is what makes us fans, and I am hoping for a glimmer of hope going on in 2013 for the Minnesota Twins.
     
    We have harped on the payroll long enough, we have harped on not getting enough pitching help long enough, lets see if we can stay positive until the first week or two of the season anyway.
  19. rogrulz30
    The year has come and gone, and like every year it went by very fast. For me anyway it went by really fast because I got to bring in a new person to the world. I wanted to share the best and the worst of the year mostly in a sports perspective.
     
    I just got SI the magazine today in the mail and they had the moments of the year in sports. A lot of the year in sports had something to do with the Olympics. I don't understand why I have never really gotten into the Olympics, but I see why it is such a phenomenon. The Olympics can relate to the entire world. People can also relate to having a favorite story, or you can root for your favorite country. The sports are easy to understand, they are fast moving, they hold your attention level. I honestly probably watched 20 minutes of the Olympics this year. The one Olympic sports I enjoy watching is Hockey, but hey I am from Minnesota and hockey is something that is really enjoyable, and I was born in 1980, and every since I have been accustomed to hearing about the miracle on ice. Hell, I went to Babbitt-Embarrass High School and Buzz Schneider was from there, so I heard about it my entire life. Anyway, the Olympics didn't make my list. Here are the things that did.
     
    1. AP coming back from injury and having a chance to break Dickersons record is a pretty amazing feat, let alone anybody trying to beat that record in a pass happy league. He is very exciting to watch every single time he touches the ball. The only person I can compare that too is Barry Sanders.
     
    2. Minnesota Twins opening day, yeah that is pretty lame, but it will be on my list every year I am sure. I get excited to watch baseball. I, as well as the rest of us got frustrated after the first series.
     
    3. Adam Greenburg gets an at bat after being away from the major leagues since 2005 after getting hit in his first AB ever. I still find this story touching, thinking about how exciting it would be to finally get your chance. You get your chance and you don't even get an official at bat, let alone wreck your MLB career. I was happy for him to get at least a chance, I found that as a very good story.
     
    4. Minnesota Wild signing Parise and Suter. I remember checking twitter constantly on July 3rd and 4th, and finally not only did one sign, but both signed, too bad they haven't played a lick of hockey in MN yet.
     
    5. MLB playoffs, I love the addition of the other wild card team, I may not love the 1 game playoff, but it is what it is. The last 2 years have been very exciting watching the teams go down, or win enough games against important opponents to get in. I couldnt help but root for the A's and Orioles.
     
     
    I want to get my last opinions in about the Twins offseason so far. After writing about what I would want Terry Ryan's priorities to be, I can now look at what happened, as nothing that I wanted has happened. Doesn't mean they were good or bad, but here is what I think.
     
    We didn't get a high profile guy this off season, but nobody really thought we would. In my opinion we have stregthened the ability to get our starting pitching more innings. #1 priority this off season would be keeping our starters in the game longer. We now have Diamond, Pelfrey, Gibson, Worley, Harden, Correia, Hendriks, May, Blackburn. OK, so Harden, Hendriks, May, and Blackburn aren't the ideal choices, but we have opportunity that could lend itself our way on the cheap. Looking at the last 2 seasons, we don't have to worry about the Liriano rollercoaster, Baker on the DL, Pavano on the DL, and painstakingly watching the combo of Duensing, DeVries, Walters, Blackburn go out there and not give ourselves a chance to win.
     
    The Twins didn't spend any money this year and we only lost a CFer. We have a 5 tool guy coming up and should be fun to watch. Did we really think we could go from worst to first in a year? Do you think at this point we can be competitive? The answers are no and yes. Why do I consistantly have optimism for the Minnesota Twins? I think it is because I have faith in Terry Ryan. Look we have pieces to a puzzle that could set us up to compete in the near future. Here is the deal for 2013. The Twins opening payroll is going to be about $85 million. Everybody wanted the Twins to spend money this year, but on what? Did we really need to spend money on way overpriced free agents? No, We have a big chunk of money going to my favorite Twins Justin Morneau this year, who will probably get traded in July, which we will get younger and have more money for 2014. Would it make more sense to spend that money then, of course it would. I don't want to box myself up and say I didn't want to contend in 2013, but I wanted to unload Mauer to the Red Sox and then spend. We didn't do that, so now I could be looking at the big picture to 2014, and 2015 and it could look really promising if the right things fall into place. There is not one thing that I am disappointed with this off season except not unloading Mauer. This season is coming up quickly, and I hope we play meaningful games at least til mid July. I don't have much optimism of us making the playoffs, but I do think the Twins are heading in the right direction. I don't think Terry Ryan is done this off season, I think we can still improve. All I can say is THIS IS MY TOAST TO THE NEW YEAR, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT 2013 AND GO TWINS!!!!!
  20. rogrulz30

    Terry Ryan priorities.

    By rogrulz30,

    I was eating lunch yesterday, my good friend sends me a text saying, " There is a Yankee fan at my poker table blabbing that the Yanks are trying hard to trade for Mauer. Any word on the Twins side?" (me) "small word on sox, but not yanks, I would love for the yanks to take that $23 million off the books, and get a few players" (buddy) I would think dumping that contract would be priority. If you get useful players as well, its all gravy. (me) I looked at all available for a sox trade, and us having $53 million to spend, we could really go after AJ, Scutaro, Sanchez, and McCarthy!! Plus prospects from Boston, I would be so fricken happy! (buddy) Do you trust Twins management to use the freed up resources constructively like that? I see them just pocketing the money and making some token moves to try and BS the fans" The conversation went on, and we came to the conclusion he is a good player not deserving of big money, compared him to a Mark Grace/ John Olerud.
     
    I have thought about the Terry Ryan era, which obviously just started last year, I am sure he had some input on signing Mauer, whether he was for it or against it, I was thinking about the top priorities Ryan has. Wouldn't it make sense to have that really be a top priority if teams have interest? Taking 23 million off the books the next years, having your pitching rotation depleted, wouldn't it make the most sense to really overhaul your needs if you can free up $53 million. If you have the opportunity I take it right now. Yes, you take a PR chance, but reality is it isn't that much of a chance after coming off to horrible seasons and the Target Field show is the "new" thing anymore. Target field is amazing and people are going to go to the park if they are competitive, if the Twins are playing for 2015, Mauer isn't going to be the full time catcher, he could be the Mark Grace or John Olerud of the Twins. I don't want to pay $23 million for Olerud. I really believe dumping Mauer should be a top priority, he is healthy, and had the best OBS in the league.
     
    If you look at my profile picture I am wearing a Joe Mauer jersey, I have a few of them, I like Joe Mauer!! At the time when we signed him I was happy for the Twins that he didn't go to the Yankees, as I despise the Yankees, but as happy as I was, I wasn't thrilled. Knowing this were to happen, I was a huge fan of signing Morneau, as he has been one of my favorite Twins players ever, and yes that signing has hurt due to injuries as well, still I really like Morneau. I will say this right now, as if you have read any of my other blogs or posts, If Joe Mauer is a full time catcher and bats in the 2 hole he is a phenomenal player, and very close to worth a lot of money. If he is not a full time catcher, or plays 3B or 1B in the latter half of the contract it will go down as one of the worst contracts the Twins will sign in order to be competitive.
     
    Terry Ryan has a big hill to climb, the more I looked at the Span trade I thought it made sense, again I think those kind of moves will make sense in 2015 if we sign young pitchers now, McCarthy/Sanchez/Villanueva, I think it will be another waste of money signing Saunders, Liriano, Dempster. At that point we may as well let the Duduno, DeVries, Hendriks, Gibson crew go back out there and unload Morneau, Willingham, and try to unload Mauer. The Twins have a lot of decisions to make, the decisions I don't want is just for us to stay relevant today, if we are playing to win 82 games, that doesn't do much, and doesn't leave a lot of room for Ryan to rebuild this team.
     
    To Summarize, if I was Terry Ryan I would agree with my buddy, #1 priority since the quarter of the 2012 season, take and woo clubs to ignite interest in offers for Joe Mauer, and if it is Boston, woo Mauer into hitting off the green monster and having spring training in the same place as the Twins. #2 priority rebuild this team to competitiveness with the money you have to spend this year with a very good lineup.
  22. rogrulz30
    First off I want to thank John, Nick, Seth, and Parker, and Aaron for making the Twins Handbook, putting good time and effort into it, and making it affordable for a good read about our favorite baseball team. I wanted to comment on a few things in the book, and give my opinion on some others.
     
    Second off, if you haven't read the Handbook, read it. If you are a sabremetrics person or want ideas or thoughts on thinking outside the box read the "The Book" playing the percentages in baseball.
     
    Everyone has opinions on what the Twins should do right or wrong, I like reading peoples opinions, and I like debate no matter what it is. The Twins Handbook had a real good interview which I am glad there were so many questions, and it seemed Terry Ryan answered them about the best he could without "tipping his hat" as they say. Terry Ryan seems cool and collective and I get the feeling he was one of the best GM's in baseball for a lot of years. I am no expert but it seems he has a more holistic approach to the "system" than Bill Smith did. It is one of those things that I have a good feeling about him knowing the situation and not overreacting to the now, and he knows what his limitations are without throwing the Pohlad's under the bus. He knows we need pitching, and not only starting but having a solid plan in place for relief pitching as well. He isn't in a bad spot this year because, there looks to be the one glaring problem, "pitching". If that is not the problem and he gets some good arms then I think you have to go to the manager.
     
    One thing I really liked and disliked in the handbook was the player and $'s, you put them in the spot and come up with the end $ figure. I loved the concept, I wish we could have plugged the FA's in there and there "market" worth. For instance you have Diamond, Blackburn, Deduno, DeVries, Walters at the $'s, but it would have been nice to plug in a bunch of the free agents and expected worth. The exercise would have been great adding and subtracting where we need to be to be under lets say the 90 million mark. You guys kind of did that at the end in the blueprint. The same could have been said about all positions. I have been trying to do that myself when I could and it would be fun having a "fantasy football" white board with all the names and dollars and come up with the best teams. Yes I know I can do that in excel, being lazy it would be nice to have that set up already though.
     
    So we know the Twins need pitching, maybe some middle infield help. One name that I saw you guys mention more than I want to hear is Fransisco Liriano. Why? Haven't we given this guy enough of a chance. I would not even want to take a flyer on bringing this guy back. He is really fun to watch when he is on, when he is off it is a disaster. I just don't think we could take him back. I don't know who we are going to get, I have kept looking and maybe switching my opinions a little, but I really like McCarthy,( yes he is injury prone, last year was a fluke thing though) I like Villanueva, James Shields, Feldman. I hear a lot of talk about signing Dan Haren for a longer term contract, I think if we incentive laden a contract for Baker and he stays, I think we sign him over Haren. Also, if we are going to try and get "that guy on the cheap" we take a fly on Daisuke. I like trying to go young in making a signing of one of these guys, I am getting sick of plugging in the washed up guys on the super cheap eg. Ponson, Ortiz, Marquis, Hernandez, lets try to establish a signing we can make a team out of .
     
    Opinions and thoughts of the infield of the Twins has been a carousel for years as well. In theory the JJ Hardy deal was a good deal if Hardy didn't get hurt, it was going to be the Nishi, Hardy infield that never turned out. Back to the drawing board. Who do we have in the middle right now? Dozier, Florimon, Carroll, Escobar, Plouffe? I just want to say I have been a Plouffe fan for awhile and I think he is going to get the raw end of this again. First off I hope that Plouffe can play 3B. I personally like Carroll at 2B, now to find the SS, and/or someone that can challenge an infield position. What I think may happen is Plouffe ends up going to 2B, and we find a 3B, and please, please, please don't let that be Youkilis as I read a few times in the Handbook. Youkilis is slow, way declining, we don't need him. I actually hope Florimon pans out, so we can put more money into the rotation. I am hoping it ends up being Plouffe 3B, Florimon SS, Carroll 2B, Morneau 1B. Which leads to the next paragraph.
     
    Trading Span, Willingham, or Morneau? I have gone back and forth with this soo many times because as a fan you like these players. As a fan a lot of times you don't get to see the offers on the table for players like these. I love Morneau!! As a fan I don't want to see him go, but it would be so hard not to take a serious offer due to the fact we have Parmalee that is going to play this year. The questions have to be are we going to contend this year or next? If not we obviously have to really consider getting the most we can for Morneau and start Parmalee at 1B. I really like having a solid RH batter that can win a silver slugger award!! We haven't seen a guy that can do that for awhile in MN, which again leaves to wonder what is going to happen to Span. The guy doesn't want to leave, he is a fan favorite, and a lead off guy who is very dependable there. I still think at this point we have to move him. The team friendly contract really helps the ability to trade him to the Rays or Atlanta. If somehow we can get a pitcher on the mound in a trade for Span, this helps plug in the starting rotation quite a bit, I am almost saying it is a must to make a deal happen with him.
     
    A part of the Handbook had you grading the Twins current players that made up 2012. Later in the handbook you gave us kind of the depth chart going all the way down the single A. What I would have liked to see, since I don't think all of us know that much about the minors is seeing if there was a way to grade the depth in the minors. Looking in a GM way of thinking, and when you see these deals made for A, AA, or AAA type of guys it would be nice to understand what Terry Ryan may be thinking in terms of the long run. Obviously if we have a starter that is a D ranking at SS in AA, we need to improve that position, we don't get to understand those moves very well without some kind of ranking system. Understanding the time it takes to put in the time to do that is a burden, but in a GM lens I think it is something that would add a lot of substance to the Handbook.
     
    Last thing I wanted to say about the Twins off season and the Handbook that I got to finish was I really liked the layout of the opinions you guys would do in the blueprint. I got to see what you are thinking about as you write the articles and opinions on certain players and what your thoughts of putting the next team on the field. What I didn't get to see was Gleemans blueprint. I listen and read Gleeman, I would have liked to see what his thoughts were.
     
    I didn't want to get into the other Book that I read, which was "The Book" Playing the Percentages in baseball. As this got long enough, but I have some interesting comments and thoughts that surround that next time.
     
    Overall, first handbook I purchased and will be purchasing the next one, and hopefully have some ideas or suggestions around that. Comments are always appreciated.
  23. rogrulz30
    Minnesota Deer Hunting opener obviously comes once a year. I have hunted pretty much since I was able to, around 12 years old, and it is almost a holiday in northern Minnesota. I have gone up to the Cotton/Toivola area now for the last 5 years, and I am amazed at the amount of orange you see out there for the 2 days. First off, I think a lot of people are like me, as it is a reason to get out of town, or get away with your friends. I hunt with 3 of my great friends and I look forward to getting to the cabin as soon as I can. We get there and we crack a beer and right away we get to playing cards. The game of choice has always been hold 'em, we play 4 way, and the previous few Thursday nights before opener we have been up til daylight. This year was a little more calm, we started the first few hours with Poker, then moved to Smear. Smear, I would only have to have been invented on the Range, but now it is the game of choice in Duluth with all of my friends. It is really fun getting up there, and we all talk about the same things, our home life, how good or bad it can be, Minnesota Sports, including how much we like the lineup of Power Trip, PA, Common, Barreiro. (My faves are Common, Power Trip, Barreiro, PA, in that order, even though I enjoy listening to them all.) It is the time where we get away from the wives and can talk about the things we want to talk about. As I was sitting in my stand on Saturday morning at 6:30 I have to share a few of the things that go through your mind on when you are alone in a stand, and you don't see anybody for 13 hours, and you don't talk to anyone for 13 hours. I wanted to throw out some of the things that I thought about most in the stand for the 2 days, 13 hours one day, 5 hours the next, keep in mind I saw 2 deer the entire time.
     
    1. I am having a baby in 3 weeks, you can't help but to think about how my life would change with the baby coming, and how excited I am to be a father. I don't know what the sex is, so I got to think about what it is going to be like having a boy or a girl. I think that would easily be number 1.
     
    2. Sex, yes I am a male, sex is going to go through your head even out in the cold, I am not going to go into detail around this part, but I think I would be lying if it wasn't part of my thought process.
     
    3. Minnesota Twins---- Now I am having a baby, I mentioned that earlier, since my wife doesn't want to find out what we are having I have had to try and buy neutral clothes, well baby onsies in my mind are all neutral, and all the clothes I have purchased are Twins clothes. I thought about our lineup, and thought about our pitching rotation so stinking much in the stand it was a joke. I get 1 small bar of service in the stand and I was trying to see if there was any news about who the Twins may be going after, and the name I saw most was Earvin Santana. There are going to be a lot of names out there, I realize that, nothing is really going to happen any time soon I don't believe, but I am really trying to see where this team is going to go. I truly believe we have a 2 year window with the guys we have here, that includes Morneau, Mauer, Willingham, Doumit, Span. We have some tools that can make a contender. Can we get a pitching staff in free agency that can win a championship? I really don't think so unless you go after Greinke, and that is a really big chance. Or do we unload the key players? Well one thing for sure, is we are going to have too much money tied up into Mauer to make a run in Mauers career with the Twins, unless we take a chance now. It would be hard to think we can unload the likes of Morneau and Span to help with the rotation, you are just robbing Pual to pay Peter, unless you think Parmalee is as good offensively and defensively as Morneau, I dont' think so. I would love to keep Span, he wants to stay here, but if we can somehow get pitching for him, we can move Revere to center and Parmalee to right. Are we really going to get starting pitching for Span? I think the answer is no? At that point I really think we need to draft well this year, which means we will have 2 consecutive draft classes that should be promising, and go for it this year in free agency. I don't know the cost of Greinke, but if it is the only chance we have other than staying in medicrocy than dont' we have to go for it? I don't even know if I like it, but it seems our only option due to Mauers contract, unless we can unload Mauer to the Red Sox. I understand if we can't get Greinke, my next choices to look at would be McCarthy, Villanueva, Dice K.
     
    4. What if I saw a Sasquatch in the Woods? This is where the ridiculousness of sitting in a stand comes into play. I was sitting there hearing noises and I randomly thought about what would I really do if I saw a Sasquatch. I need to say I watch the "Finding Bigfoot" show, and I can't not watch it because of how ridiculous it is. But there is a 2% chance I am giving it, that it could be real. At least imagin with me sitting there and you see an animal that is standing on 2 feet walking towards you that looks like Bigfoot. What are your options. 1. Shoot it. 2. Watch it and do nothing. 3. Try and get your cell phone out to record it. Lets explore option 1, Ok nobody has ever had in captivity or found a BigFoot, this would be the biggest story ever to actually have a Bigfoot. Would it be illegal to shoot the Bigfoot? Would it be considered a human, and you get a murder charge? There are lots of problems with actually doing that. Let's look at option 2, Watch in awe at this thing and have not one person every believe you, and maybe hope you can see tracks of the animal, this I don't think could ever be an option. 3, if you spook it you don't get a chance to watch it, and what if it started coming up your stand as you are trying to video tape this thing. Do you try and talk to it, or do you have to just shoot it? Pretty crazy things go through your head, the funniest part of this whole scenario is when I get home and I look on Yahoo!'s page there was a really interesting Sasquatch video. http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/39929/hikers+take+flight+when+what+they+thought+was+a+bear+resembles+bigfoot/ if you haven't seen it.
     
    5. Why the hell am I sitting here staring at the same places for hours on end hoping to see an animal I have seen for 32 years quite consistently? I am only here to shoot a trophy, and the odds of that are pretty slim. I had a doe sit in front of me for 15 minutes I could have shot, but that isn't why I am out there. I am out there because of the adrenaline rush you get when you are out in the woods with a weapon, for the opportunity to see a big animal that you have paid a registration to the DNR to shoot, and brag to your friends that this is what I shot. There are two unknowns that are really exhilarating, 1, when the bobber goes down and you have sucker minnow on it, there are lots of options of what that fish could be, and it could be a 30" walleye, 40" Northern, or a 50" Musky. 2, when you hear the sounds of what could be a deer walking towards your stand, and it could be a small fawn all the way up to the 30pt buck, and I guess that is worth sitting in the stand that long every year.
     
    6. The Book-- The "Book" of Baseball-- This went hand in hand with the Minnesota Twins lineup, which I am going to talk about in my next blog post, along with the Twins Handbook.
     
    I thought it would be a fun post, as it was a long weekend sitting reflecting on things sitting in a cold deer stand seeing only 2 deer. If you went hunting this weekend or any weekend and have some fun thoughts thorw them out there.
  24. rogrulz30
    I am a very frustrated Twins fan right now. I am looking at what could be a complete overhaul, or a spending spree for 2013. I am not sure what to root for. As of this second you have to look at what the Twins could throw on the mound next opening day roster.
     
    Gibson?
    Baker?
    Diamond
    Walters?
    De Vries?
    Deduno?
    Hendriks?
    Duensing? (Please no)
    Blackburn? (Please no)
     
    So lets look at diving into free agency this off season, and see who I can peg off the list. I am going to just shoot out the top 10 names and my opinions of what I think, and knowing the Twins for years what they might think, and lets put together a SP rotation.
     
    Greinke-- $21 million a year, I don't think I would do it, I am pretty sure the Twins will not do it. I would consider a 4 year $80million, but he is going to get way more than that.
     
    Peavy-- I like Peavy, He would get about $18 million a year. I am pretty sure this is too steep for the Twins as well, although I would also try for a 4 year deal around $75million, he is going to get more than that.
     
    Kuroda-- He is too old, his value is too much for the Twins for a 2 year player, he will get about $15M a year.
     
    Dempster-- Not a fan, going to be paid too much $15M a year
     
    Lohse-- Former Twin, always consistent, I like him, he has found a comfort zone in the NL, I think he will get overpaid, I don't think the Twins are interested in $14M a year
     
    Sanchez-- Talk about a down year for a highlight player, whoever signs him is going to take a gamble, I don't think the Twins are gambling $13M a year
     
    Jackson-- same name that came up last 2 years for the Twins, value is at $11 M, if they haven't gotten him yet, I don't think he is coming.
     
    Colon, Saunders-- I wouldn't take either of these guys, already in down parts of careers.
     
    Feldman, Lewis-- both World Series guys, both have a 2.2 WAR, both would be getting paid around $9M a year. Neither of these guys were really impressive this year for the Rangers, Feldman is still relatively young, if I were to take stab it would be for him, even though he is throwing up a +5 ERA so far this year.
     
    So those are the top 10 Free Agents on the board, do you see any one of those guys in a Twins uniform? I really don't. I am going to throw out 3 names that are past the top 10 that I would take a chance on. First:
     
    Villanueva- 19th best SP in free agency, he has pitched for the Blue Jays, and anybody who pitches in that division gets about a .5ERA nock off, pitching anywhere else IMO. 3.42 ERA in 14 starts, 118 IP, his value is $6.4 Million a year. About a K, an inning. This guy is 29, and I would take a chance on somebody like this.
     
    Dice K- I know what you would think, we don't need another injury bug, but the deal is, if we are going to gamble on somebody, which we do every year, I say lets give him a chance. He is 32, coming off injury, he didn't put up good numbers right away, I think he is coming back strong, reports are good, I would even overpay, to take a chance at him. We need a top of the rotation guy, he could be it at a discounted price.
     
    Pavano- I really think Pavano wants to stay, I would not pay an extra penny of his expected worth, which is tough to say because of injury. I don't think it is a big chance on him, I mean look at the 3 years previous he has had 200 IP, if we can get him at a (I like the organization, I want to stay) price, I don't think that is a problem as long as he is recognized as a number 2-3 guy.
     
    So after all of that searching, and by the way here is the list in order, to take a look at and have your own opinion. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=sta&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2012&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=945,6428,1937,583,1,1142,1650,2073,6176,718,45,8219,46,126,548,8585,81,4849,6387,4759,1995,4022,1412,1855,4788,2179,906,813,2467,375,1571,1243,1767,273,185,2047,517,1392,1771,555,4251,1442,278,6283,1601,3886,3912,4684,1906,429,3263,1077,818,1845,520,1794,1793,1943,521,2072,1573,1926,1875,1772,1757,729,4593,1116,3273,1305,8245,1307,1213,731,8267,607,470,656,2437,1841,8645,2234,1702,96,332,19,3856,1930,3283,1698,3731,243,1259,563,4604,3201,739,4556,3114,199,7416,1260,1312,1852,6204,105,4616,1659,7775,4662,106,25,1467,1091,962,1658,3057,1556,296,206,1638,745,571,1617,2886,964,2918,2129,790,1051,934,535,2332,443,746,1176,2170,1824,7986,1475,7619,843,844,1642,970,754,1760,1551,6021,3284,7507,3200,4366,795,3469,1555,3867,2197,4606,6941,1101,4599,10091,3811,409,1135,2265,5015,1726,1677,4138,411,2074,1012,1491,1017,976,715,1935,3196,2140,305,1904
     
    At this point all I can say is this is what I would do!?!
     
    I would take the biggest chances on Villanueva and Dice K, lets say we got those guys. I would say Baker wouldn't be ready to go opening day, I would give hope that Gibson may be, we will be optimistic, so then you would have the void of one of these guys, (Pavano, Hendriks, Deduno) I am just putting one of them in there. It could look like this.
     
    Dice K
    Villanueva
    Gibson
    Pavano
    Diamond
     
    How much would that cost the Twins next year to have that starting rotation, then having Baker coming back off of injury, and pay him the $9.25M next year, which I don't think will happen, but I think the Twins will try to resign him for less, and do so. Is $25.5 to little to say that could happen, is $25.5 too much to completely revamp the starting lineup? The Twins spent $24 on SP in 2012. What can you expect, if you find an Ace, that is $20 for one pitcher, if you look at this we added 3. You take Span off the books, which you may be able to swap one of those guys for a pitcher if that is what he gets traded for. I am not sure, but I think this is what I would do. To be competitive next season you are going to have to spend money, if you don't completely gut everything including the managers, and start over if you can.
  25. rogrulz30
    First off, I finally got a chance to watch T.K.'s speech after retiring his number. I have to say I haven't seen a more nervous person give a speech. I thought when Hrbek said that a lot of his number being up there has a lot do with the number standing next to me was pretty cool. I thought T.K. had a decent speech, I would have liked to hear a few more stories. I thought Morneaus enthusiasm about the entire thing made me really want to keep him around, he is one guy who I think appreciates baseball more than a lot of players. I only know T.K. and Gardy, I am expecting a baby in November, boy or girl, I hope they play sports and I hope I can teach my kids about all the little things that you do right to play well.
     
    There is obviously going to be a lot of talk about Morneau in the offseason. I really would like him to stay as a fan. Terry Ryan is going to have a lot to think about this winter. Parmalee had a year in AAA that should give him a spot to play in 2013 regularly, which I am hoping is right field. I would still like to see Morneau stick around. He has been my favorite Twins since he came up. For the first time in a few years I think we can be pretty close to looking at this for a lineup with defensive positions.
     
    1. Revere (CF)
    2. Mastroanni, (wish it were Mauer) (LF)
    3. Mauer ©
    4. Willingham (DH)
    5. Morneau (1B)
    6. Doumit/Parmalee
    7. Plouffe (3B)
    8. Escobar (2B) ???
    9. Dozier (SS) ???
     
    Yes the bottom 2 guys are going to be a few question marks, but I don't see it changing to significantly unless they go out and get a SS. My biggest hopes for the Twins next year are keeping Morneau, trading Span, keeping Doumit, and giving Parmalee a chance to play most days, rotating between RF, 1B, DH. It would be really nice having that extra bench option rotating guys in there.
     
    The Baltimore Orioles!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last game I officially watched that didn't include the Minnesota Twins in the game was in 1995 when Ripken broke the record, and I still remember Berman doing the game and calling it when he made it. So that was 17 years ago! As I write this the Orioles are 1 game behind the almighty Yankees who had a 10 game lead in August. How can you not root for Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles. They get a new/(old) look this year, with 40% of the payroll the Yankees do, and they have a chance to win the East. It looks like the East is going to get 2 into the playoffs, and it is going to be very interesting. If I could hope for anything it would be Orioles #1, Rays #2, Yankees go packing. I root for 2 things in MLB, the Minnesota Twins first and for most, and the Yankees losing as often as possible, the Minnesota Twins play the New York Yankees from 24th of September to the 26th and September and all I can hope is the Twins taking at least 2 of 3. The team I am rooting for going forward this MLB season is from the AL East, which will always be a rarity, but go Baltimore Orioles!
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