Jpete

I really like the Simmons' signing. They needed to get better defensively at SS and the difference with Polanco is striking. That said, I really hope we see Royce Lewis this year enough to get a sense if he is ready. As for Schilling, I think he pretty clearly deserves to be in the HOF based on his performance. Not just due to the regular season WAR of 80.5, but add in 11-2 2.23 ERA, .97 WHIP in the postseason. Plus, 5-0 with a 1.73 ERA in postseason elimination games. I understand and agree with exclusions for gambling on the games or using steroids, but I hate to see it for someone being an outspoken conservative.

This comment is very frustrating to me, and the fact that it got several likes makes it especially disappointing. Conservatives have a different view of the world and how to improve things but that does not mean we are against humanity. I don't know exactly the best way to solve the problems facing our country but assuming that people who disagree with you are lesser people surely is not the right approach.

In fairness, it is pretty tough stuff. All the leagues are struggling to getting everything right. The PGA has been applauded for the job they have done but even there they have had a number of issues and have been constantly changing policies. One big difference is that the golfers and leadership are working together. Here they hate each other. Manfred deserves plenty of criticism and he does not seem like the right man for the time, but the union and top players have not been helping either.

I have been very unimpressed by Manfred - the tone, strategy, consistency of message, etc. have all been poor. Slow-walking the initial proposals was outright bad faith. However to hold the players blameless does not seem appropriate either. They have stuck to their position of pro-rata pay even though circumstances have changed with no fans being allowed in. Furthermore, they said "tell us when and where to play" and then said they would file a grievance. That is incredibly bad faith. There was a comment earlier about players and fans not seeing a dime of increased revenue but that is only 1/2 right. Ticket prices are higher than a generation ago (not sure if they are adjusted for inflation) but in any case players salaries are dramatically higher than they were over the comparable time. It is in players best interest too to grow the game, not just owners. At this point the owners and players remind me of a couple divorcing who are so bitter and mad at the other party they just want to fight and cannot think about what is best for the children or how petty they look.

Nick, you're article almost seems designed to alienate people who disagree with you instead of bringing at least some of them closer to your view. For instance, you say it is not political but then quote a very liberal political journalist and brother of a very liberal Democrat Governor (if you are having trouble relating to my comment, maybe ask your reaction to an Ann Coulter quote even if you agreed with the quote). Further, you criticize Max for staying silent immediately after a quote where he condemns racism. He clearly was not silent, if you don't think he said enough, perhaps you should define how many words or how posts are required to pass your standards. I think about everyone was horrified by the police officer's actions. And I am greatly saddened by the targeting blacks face by police officers every day in this country. On many other topics related to the protest and riots and police in general we may disagree but I think most would say specifically for police brutality that we have to do better. I think there at least some solutions that the vast majority of people will agree with (such as repealing qualified immunity partially or fully). However to do that, we need to work harder to build bridges instead of pushing people away. Jeff

Love it? Not sure about that, but it is better than nothing. The extreme precautions our country is demanding leaves me shaking my head. I understood early on when this was just taking off but at some point I think we need to stop being curled up on in our closets and learn to live (and die) with this like we do other activities. Have very strong measures to protect the most vulnerable, reasonable measures to protect the rest of us and get on with life. For people who are risk averse, I respect that and each person needs to make their own decision. For MLB, maybe it is daily testing and all players, coaches, and umps where masks. All workers and fans must where masks. Sales are limited so that people not part of the same family are not sitting close to each other (should generally not be much of an issue anyway as attendance would be way down as it is). Warning signs discouraging high risk people from entering. Etc.

But something Thad Levine said was a bit deflating to me. Levine told Hayes that if Sano and Buxton take a step forward "I think we have primed ownership to then give us the green light to take more of an aggressive step forward with this unit of players." I am actually good with this. If Sano and Buxton have another year like last year, it is hard to see the Twins being able to spend enough money to compete and then all these young guys are blocked again. If they do come back strong, there is still plenty of time to be add pieces and in the meantime maybe one or two of the guys on the farm also breaks through. What has been deflating to me is how several guys who should be getting a chance (or 2nd chance) have not gotten it because fill ins are blocking their path. Maybe some was on Molitor but still. Look at Niko Goodrum and Dereck Rodriguez who have gone elsewhere and have gotten off to a good start in their major league careers. Everyone gets worked up about Hicks being traded but at least he was given multiple chances before the Twins gave up. Toward the end of last year, several guys finally got some time with the Twins, let's see what they and others can do and maybe we can be more selective in FA, or maybe they establish more value for the Twins to use as trade bait. Good roundup by the way, I enjoyed reading it. And I agree with the point from a long term perspective that they need to buy or sell, I just think we need to give it some time.

Interesting article and right on point – having two guys that we have been pinning our hopes on take huge steps back is a killer. The Twins have had more than their fair share of disappointments over the last few years, or does it just seem that way? It would be interesting to compare other teams or perhaps overall top 100 prospects from a few years ago and see how well they have done. I ran across a list of top 100 prospects from Baseball Prospectus for 2013 preseason: 8) Buxton 21) Sano 46) Aaron Hicks 60) Oswaldo Arcia 64) Kyle Gibson 88) Alex Meyer Hicks and Gibson are now doing well but of course Hicks isn’t helping the Twins and they didn’t get anything in return. Add in other things like Kepler not doing as well as hoped and top 10 draft picks Tyler Jay and Kohl Stewart being disappointing and I think Twins fans have a right to be disheartened. Berrios and Rosario are doing great but overall a lot of guys that I had high hopes for over the last 3-5 years and not getting it done. There will always be guys who don’t pan out but hopefully the hit rate on this group is much better than on the last one.