Strange comment.

Dan is terrific.

Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, right? That is sort of the idea here. Feel free to share yours without needlessly deriding those of others. 

Anyway, I'll join the chorus in opining that Mike's coverage will be sorely missed. He hustled his ass off and produced a ton of content, catering to the types of diehards that populate this site. 

 

Beyond that, I disagree that Dan only writes puff pieces. Me saying “strange comment” isn’t allowed, that’s really crazy.

 

I flip flop on Dan.....I love a lot of his stuff, but there isn't much that doesn't come straight from the Twins, and I certainly don't recall much negativity unless the Twins themselves say it. Which, I guess if all I want is a beat reporter, that's fine. I do like his writing style quite a bit, most of the time.

 

but, like others, I won't be renewing my Athletic sub. But that has more to do with my getting laid off than there not being worth there.....

 

Also sad: this is a pretty clear indication that despite being a professional franchise, the Twins are below some (probably lots of) college football teams in the sports hierarchy.

Notre Dame is a different enchilada.  After all, they have a national deal with NBC.

Will miss Mike.  First met him at the back fields at Fort Myers many moons ago and had an interesting conversation about the way Fernando Romero throws his fastball and how it plays.  The only guy from the mainstream Minnesota media that publicly questioned Torii Hunter's homophobia and racism when he was brought back as a player.  And this says a ton.

 

Indianapolis' gain is Minneapolis' loss and now there is absolutely no reason to buy that paper...

If I wanted Twins news, he was the most reliable source for it.  I doubt anyone in the local market will replace his professionalism, accuracy, and reliability as a total package.

 

The Star Trib group leaves much to be desired in this regard. LEN 3 is very comfortable in his role with the team, and won't challenge authority. Phil Miller is just a guy. Never read or heard anything remotely controversial from him before.

I agree with the LEN 3 description. I think he goes to fewer Twins games then most regular fans. I don't live in the Twin Cities so I don't listen to local radio, but he only seems to write a couple times a week. Mike produced more stuff in his time with the Twins than anyone and I have been reading the paper since 1961.

****Moderator Note**** 

 

Please stay on topic, glib comments will only derail this thread.

He was the best beat writer we had, sad to see him go. 

Kind of odd to see him switch over to football given his knowledge of baseball - didn't he used to write for Baseball America? 

Kind of odd to see him switch over to football given his knowledge of baseball - didn't he used to write for Baseball America?

Not directly -- BA taps local beat writers for some team-specific lists, that's all.

I liked him.

 

There was a chunk of time where i actually took the time to follow news on the Twins rather than let it all percolate through here. And he pretty much broke just about everything as far as i can tell. I still didn't get much even then, though.

He was a general sports columnist at the Augusta Chronicle for 3-4 years before moving to the South Florida Sun Sentinel for 14 years to (mostly) be a beat/deadline writer (not generally covering sports).

 

He's kind of only been a Twins writer for the worst years of the franchise. I'd leave too.

 

He's a good journalist and he will do well.

He's probably burnt out by all the traveling a MLB beat writers needs to do. 

He was probably bummed out by the Twins play this season.

I was also sad to see this, really enjoyed reading his work. Best wishes to him. 

 

Also sad: this is a pretty clear indication that despite being a professional franchise, the Twins are below some (probably lots of) college football teams in the sports hierarchy.

Nothing to do with that. The Indy Star is a bigger/better paper than the PP.

Notre Dame is one of the most prestigious beats you can cover. This is a huge step up.