ewen21

As far as Clemens is concerned, he is 30 years old and has 838 plate appearances. With that much exposure he has a .203 lifetime batting average and a ,263 OBP. That is pretty awful. If he were to be DFA'd today no one should be unhappy about it.

I understand your point of view, but in this case why not "anyone"? Banda has a (well) below average career WHIP even after having two solid years in LA in his 30 and 31 year old seasons. Subtract those two seasons (relatively late in his career) and consider what he has done in all the other seasons as a major league reliever. It is actually very ugly. This isn't to say I am advocating for this particular move right now. A guy like Banda should be expendable at any point if this team is actually seriously going to contend for winning the division.

Hahaha. Really now. I will actually be at the game this evening. This is fun brief little interlude in my day. Lighten up I was not the one shouting that at Duran and I do not think the fan was right. Perhaps Duran should take leave and get some psychotherapy. His reaction wasn't that big a deal, although it was unprofessional and he needs to get over it.

I am being a bully somehow? How? I am taking the unpopular side of an issue here and I knew full well how this would go down. I do not feel threatened or bullied. Do do not understand how a grown pro-athlete blows their composure the way he did.

No, wrong. I do not have it backwards because the context does not excuses Duran in my view. It was not an appropriate reaction in my mind. Period. I also think for a grown man who is supposed to be a professional it is WEAK for him to get wound up over that particular comment. To be blunt, what I reacted to was all the negativity directed toward "Obsvr" post. In no way did he defend the fan, nor have I. I think the trust of what he said about Duran's reaction being soft and weak was 100% accurate. Grow thicker skin, handle it better. Flipping the bird at a fan for saying "go kill yourself" (clearly not meant to be taken literally) was an overreaction. And again, for the third time, I am not condoning the fan. That is what Squirrel insisted I was doing and that is entirely false.

I know you are a moderator, but you are out of line with that bolded comment. I do not go to ballgames to scream and yell at players and I do not appreciate fans who do. You mistakenly took my criticism of Duran's lack of professionalism as a defense of this kind of fan behavior and you couldn't be further from reality. I literally made this clear in my first reaction to "Obsvr's" very unpopular post (which I saw as entirely reasonable)

This right here. The Twins are "investigating" the fan comment: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48496143/mlb-twins-investigating-red-sox-outfielder-jarren-duran-allegation-fan-comment Seems as if holding Duran to some kind of professional standard in this situation is a problem here. As if two things cannot be correct at the same time. Like you said, "no justification for the heckler" but also Duran needs to do better. As it is he has had a fan incident where he was suspended two games already: https://www.mlb.com/news/jarren-duran-suspended-two-games-by-red-sox My criticism of Duran isn't a defense of the fan although some people here appear to have made that leap. Whatever.

What an absurd notion. You'd engage in that behavior if you could? I doubt poster known as "Obsvr" is a professional athlete making millions of dollars to play in front of paying customers. When you have literal thousands watching people are going to shout at you. Furthermore, Duran is a guy who was already suspended for having a verbal confrontation with a fan. It doesn't make the fan right, but the reaction was unprofessional and childish.

I agree. I would never do something like that and wouldn't appreciate it if I had to see it while at the game. Then again, no threat was made and I have seen and heard things much more horrible than this. Plus, Duran is the same guy who was suspended for this: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40836911/red-sox-star-jarren-duran-suspended-2-games-anti-gay-slur It could very well be a fan that is gay or someone who supports PRIDE. Doesn't make it right, but let's not make Duran a victim here. He is not.

I don't and I won't care about improving "diversity" in baseball. I could not care less about it. I would have actually preferred the Twins kept Torii Hunter and Johan and not signed Michael Cuddyer. It wasn't because of diversity, I can assure you. It was because I liked both Johan and Torii better. The events were not necessarily related, but if you think you have me all figured out and am going to by into your logic because you are saying I should? How about you think how you want and I do likewise. What is the problem with that? Have a pleasant evening

First, I was born in April of '66 so I started watching baseball in the early 70s when players like Henry Aaron, Bob Gibson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, etc....were all still playing. They were well-respected and held in high regard by the league and young fans such as myself at that point. Some teams had lineups that were predominantly African American at times. I was drawn to teams like the Pirates and so were many other kids I knew in my area who loved baseball. These race counts are kind of maddening to me now. What is the point? There are no racial barriers for black players in baseball today as much as the imagination can run wild as to why there has been such a decrease in the numbers. There is nothing pernicious afoot. The truth of the matter is that baseball, by and large, among black youth is considered "corny" as far as my experience goes. I worked in the NY state school system for thirty years. Some things to consider: Baseball has no quick entry, you cannot get to the majors without surviving the grind in the minors or playing college and the reality is this makes baseball a less attractive option. Sandlot baseball fields in mostly black areas do not exist now as that once did. This is not because of system racism, exclusion or any imagined "systemic racism". It just how tastes evolved. Black America went from Soul Train to hip hop. Things change and baseball just isn't an activity chosen by young black kids. If there isn't an honest interest in the game it cannot be forced. I would say for the numbers to change it is now up to black Americans to connect with baseball rather than baseball embark on yet another campaign to spark interest among black youth (who have chosen other options besides baseball). Baseball has been trying to make baseball more "accessible" for young black men, The poverty rate among for blacks in America during the late 60s and early 70s was twice as high, so the "less accessibility" reasoning doesn't wash. They are not as interested as they once were as open, diverse and accepting as baseball is. That is the reality. The fact is, young white men aren't as interested as they once were either. The game has become international now. I miss baseball the way it was in the 70s and this includes some of my favorite players who played for teams I didn't root for. I love guys like Jimmy Wynn, Ralph Garr and even Dick Allen when I first started following. This is kind of a non-topic in my mind and I know many would find that upsetting. It makes as much sense to me as a conversation about "let's make football whiter". I couldn't give a damn about "diversity".

HIs brand of satire and comedy was great for its time. I missed the cutoff of the Boomer generation, but I had Class Clown and AM/FM on vinyl. I actually thought he was hysterical from about 1979 to about 1989 and then I grew up. He wrote some good comedy for the time but he was very bitter and twisted in the end to the point where I couldn't like him. It was the same thing with Hunter Thompson.

The parody department here has long been something I viewed as amateurish and weak although a lot of people seemed to think it was brilliant just a few years ago. I think getting rid of it entirely would be an upgrade here. HOWEVER, for you to say "find something else to write about" is infuriating, What? We can't critique or mock his lack focus or work ethic? Who are you? We as fans are allowed to rip the players within reason and that was well within reason (even if the comedy was pathetic). There seems to be no shortage of "fans" here who want to cry about other fans who "question a player's character" Screw it. I will question a guy's character any time I want when something comes up that shows me the guy 's approach is weak. What's wrong with that? It is as though some here feel players are beyond reproach. Not ALL of them, but certain ones.

If that were the case then why did the Twins feel the need to send Rocco Baldelli down to meet him during the offseason in the Dominican Republic? How did he balloon to 300lbs. Was through hard work, effort and diet?

The dude ate his way out of the league and made some really awful decisions as a professional. I was actually one of his defenders when he was accused of sexual assault and people wanted him to fry. I hope he turns it all around and comes back, but that doesn't seem possible at this point. Nothing is owed to Miguel Sano by Twins fans and this includes our respect.

Buxton shouldn't be load managed at all. Use him like a 2004 Camry with 200.000 miles on it.

Martin could be childish, petty and blind drunk, (sometimes all three at the same time) but his priorities were always to win first and it had nothing to do with maintaining some legacy privilege. The fact is, Al Kaline was 37 years old in 1972 and there wasn't a DH. Martin needed to give Jim Northrup and Gates Brown at bats somehow. Kaline had a brilliant ending to the season in 1972 and maybe Marin's "load management" was a good thing for him. Martin had a had a great deal of respect for Kaline from what I can tell in the quotes I found. He was no longer and everyday player, The decrease in playing time had to do with age rather than some perceived perniciousness toward Kaline on the part of Martin.

I am not Minnesotan, so my first memory of Rich Reese was his 1972 baseball card. He was wearing a warmup jacket underneath his jersey and he pointed the end of the barrel of the bat right at the camera so as to obscure his face. Very strange pose. The only other baseball card I can remember like that is Walt "No Neck" Williams on his 1970 card.

He's a RESERVE Zoolander. Cannot stay on the field.

It's timbre for a conversation. I believe they call it "hot stove" talk

His WAR literally means nothing to me. If WAR is what you want to use then fine: Hunter had 26.5 WAR from his age 25 season to his age 30 season Buxton had 18 WAR from his age 25 season to his age 30 season. YOu still want to say Buxton is better? No, he is not even in his wildest dreams. The PROBLEM Buxton presents is that he's given special treatment, special considerations and rules and tons of leeway. You cannot treat a player this way not create accountability issues across the board. If he were a first ballot HOFer who is a team leader that polices himself then you can,

Sorry to disagree, but I do not think it is an extreme take. The Twins have basically given Buxton his own set of rules and that is destructive to an organization. If Buxton were like on a Derek Jeter level I might understand. Jeter was a player who earned the right to have "special treatment" but in the case of Buxton it was bestowed upon him. Buxton gets way too much consideration and is treated as though he is the Hope Diamond. It is actually extreme to have a backup plan for a player who is supposed to be in the prime of his career. I also disagree with you on your Buxton/Hunter comparison. Give me Torii Hunter in CF over Buxton every day and twice on Sunday. This "when healthy" stuff doesn't cut it. THere are 162 games on the schedule and if you can't even play in 100 of those you become a problem. Byron Buxton is a problem

The notion we have had to think about a “contingency plan” for this player since he was in his 20s tells you all you need to know. He’s 31 today and this isn’t going to magically get better. The mere fact the Twins have to think this way dilutes his value immensely. About a month ago there was an article about Buxton somehow becoming Torii Hunter. How can a Twins fan with any merit make such a comparison? It’s actually insulting. The Twins lowered bar so much for Buxton that is had a cumulative NEGATIVE affect on the team.

And then we let him walk after that season. Hit almost .290, played amazing defense and drove in 107 runs. Buxton hasn’t come close to that ever because he’s not a full time player. Case closed Sorry but it’s an insult to compare these two players.

Since Buxton hasn’t had a career resembling Hunter’s in any way, how can we expect him to suddenly change course now? By the way, it was literally a full four or five years before Hunter moved. No way on Gods green earth would Hunter have been asked to move from CF in his 31 year old season. Factually speaking, Hunter was regarded as the best defensive CF in the game and played in 160 games at age 31.