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Bark's Lounge

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Blog Entries posted by Bark's Lounge

  1. Bark's Lounge
    I have long been a steadfast Gardenhire supporter. He has been a very good to great manager during his tenure. I realize a lot of fans are calling for his dismissal because of the last year of Twins baseball and some having been wanting his head on a platter for a much longer period of time. At this juncture, I now agree it is time for a change in coaching and managerial leadership.
     
    Ron Gardenhire:

    Gardy has lost his voice: No matter how hot around the collar or critical Gardy is about the play of his team, they do not seem to respond to his heated calls. Bad at bats, lapses of judgement in the field and non-execution of a strategic plan by the pitchers all fall on his head. (although it is impossible to blame him for the pitching as it is the worst in Twins History)

    His Staff:
     
    Rick Anderson:

    Rick has done a nice job in his tenure, but his advice and expertise are not paying off anymore. Maybe Liriano is his undoing, but whatever it is, it does not work here anymore. I commend him for his work with helping to develop Santana into the best starter in the AL and turning Nathan into one of the best closers of the late 2000's. That is now ancient history.

    Joe Vavra:

    This guy has over seen a few impressive offensive showings in his 6+ years as our hitting coach. Ranging from Mauer-Morneau-T. Hunt-Cuddyer-Span-Kubel. It should not be lost that these players have tremendous upside and it can be easy to coach very good talent. It is the stragglers that have brought concern to me (Valencia, Plouffe, Hughes, etc...). Vavra is a good hitting coach, but a change is needed.

    Weirdo Ullger:

    Scotty is a strange cat and I have to the utmost degree enjoyed his Q&A sessions as the manager after Gardy has been ejected or is on a leave of absence. What I have gathered he is most suited as a career AAA manager.

    Steve Liddle:

    Don't know to much, but he is a mediocre 3B coach and I cannot believe he is a very good bench coach

    Jerry White:

    Jerry has done a good job with the outfielders for the most part. He is in my opinion the guy that least deserves to lose his job. Maybe there is a scenario in which he stays,

    Final Analysis: I believe there needs to be a shake up. If it is to happen it will not happen until this upcoming offseason. Our only certain in-house candidate for a coaching hire is Brunansky as hitting coach. I would consider Ryne Sandberg or Tim Wallach as managerial candidates. I had good times as a MN Twins fan with the above mentioned Twins staff, but with it being how it is, being it Bill Smith's, Terry Ryan's or ownerships fault. A change of voice is needed and a change of culture is necessary to maybe reinvigorate some players or to have a completelt new schematic change - hitting and pitching wise.
  2. Bark's Lounge

    Disengaged

    By Bark's Lounge,

    I must declare from the onset of this article that I am a Twins fan tried and true. from 1997-2000 I was a victim to their horrible performances, In 1998 a burgeoning slugger made the team following spring training. His name was David Ortiz, he didn't do too much offensively to warrant any negativity and he was sent down. From what I can remember, he was not doing things the way they wanted them to be done. The Twins that year had a horrible offense and if my memory serves me right, Molitor was our best hitter at a .285ish kind of clip, It was his last year... good job. 1999 was even worse. Mientkiewicz hit around .220, Chad Allen was our LF, T-Hunt was lack luster and our pitching sucked. Jacque Jones and Corey Koskie were the ones to provide future hope from that year. Although 1998-1999 were bad seasons, I did not mention 1997 or 2000. There is no need to open unhealed wounds as far as I am concerned. It seems to me that was the beginning of the new phase of Twins baseball that lasted until 2010. After another Yanks Playoff series loss and the impending Free Agency of some of our best relief pitchers, I knew they would not be resigned as the money they would warrant would be not worth their salt. We certainly did miss them, but that would have been all for not. Dateline 2012: We have no pitching, nothing at all. We have a couple of Franchise type position players who are doing alright, but have some work to do. My point is that we all know this 2012 team is going to suck and suck to an extensive degree. The success of a franchise is based upon wins and sustainability. This lull we are in might not last much more than 3 years and I cannot be kept captive again. Minnesota Twins take this to heart, feel it, realize it, take it for truth. There are a few of us who will walk away because we are disengaged. Win us back with a call to arms. Drafting effectively and using the free agent market to put us back in the fore front. God Damn it, we are your fans!
  3. Bark's Lounge
    This just may be a waste of everyone's time, but what the hell - it could be fun, boring or whatever... Let's Do It!
    Opening day Line-Up 2015 (I will include a closer):
     
    C - Chris Herrmann
    1B - Chris Parmelee
    2B - Eddie Rosario
    SS - Brian Dozier
    3B - Miguel Sano
    LF - Joe Mauer
    CF - Aaron Hicks
    RF - Joe Benson
    DH - Justin Morneau
     
    SP - Mark Appel
    C - Glen Perkins
     
    Let the games begin!
  4. Bark's Lounge
    If the Dominoes continue to fall like they are on April 22, 2012 in Mid-Late June. What will the Twins Brass do? Will they ride it out or will they gut the roster - trading veterans and cutting middling players, bringing up the young fellas to test their engines?
     
    Pros for Gutting the Roster:

    Getting a little value for the veteran starting pitchers and position players we have through trades. Maybe Span, Willingham or Morneau could bring something of exquisite value. All of the other veteran players - Pavano, Liriano, Marquis, Doumit, etc. won't fetch much, but something can be better than nothing.
    It gives the Twins a chance to see what they have in a Joe Benson, Ben Revere, Brian Dozier, Deolis Guerra, etc. and get them important MLB game experience.

    Pros for Riding it out:

    The offense looks like it could be fun. We will still lose, but a 10-7 loss is better than a 10-2 loss.
    Trading Span, Willingham and especially Morneau could be a P.R. disaster.
    We don't have any depth in the minors to replace the theoretical starting pitchers we could trade. I certainly would not consider the brigade of starting pitchers we have at AAA or AA a treasure chest of Riches by any measure. Scott Diamond and Luke French are probably the cream of that crop. (Blah!)

    It is only April and anything is possible, but if the dominoes continue to tumble over and it is appearing that might be this years trend something will have to be done to veer the course of this franchise in a direction that brings some kind of promise in the next 3 years.
  5. Bark's Lounge
    Wooooo... how do I even start this thread/blog/or whatever. It seems that most think Parmelee should be in AAA or they think he is a butcher on defense. How did this happen? Parmelee for the most part, if my memory is correct was projected to be a good defensive 1B from the time he was drafted and he has done nothing to prove that statement any different, Parmelee must now prove himself to be an efficient outfielder, he might not have wheels, but he seems to have a proficient arm, not much different than SS drafted Cuddyer or Plouffe.
     
    1. Cuddyer is slow like Parmelee. What Cuddyer gained with experience was base running savvy. Cuddyer runs the bases well and can read situations better than most to take a bag. Molitor should be commended for that development. Cuddyer is slow, but a smart baserunner, who is to say Parmelee cannot be the same with some experience?
     
    2. It took Cuddy 4 years before he was able to show some offensive fortitude. Plouffe has been over matched in his 2 years in the bigs. Parmelee looks comfortable and has NOT shown a propensity towards being an offensive burden. This guy hits and he hits with authority.
     
    3. Parmelee is going to have to become comfortable with playing RF or even LF. Morneau is on the books for this year and next and Morneau definitely falls into the category of a player to resign based upon his popularity and production. If he clears his ailments off the dockett, to me this is a given and Parmelee will not play 1B, unless Morneau becomes a David Ortiz type. Parmelee is a very good ballplayer and can make the OF adjustment as he has played as much OF in the minor as he has played 1B.
     
    The moral of this post is to let Twins Fans and analyst know that:
     
    A. Parm is Ready for the Big Time, does not need anymore seasoning in the minors
    B. Parm is a good defensive player and will execute where he is dictated to play
    C. He adds a fearful bat to a line-up that has looked pretty good but would welcome it because of our horribly atrocious pitching staff - horrible, horrible, horrible!!!
     
    Parm is MLB ready. Jump on board or be left behind.
  6. Bark's Lounge
    5 games in and this road trip has already surpassed mine and I am sure most Twins fan's expectations. Without the jacks, Liam looked pretty good tonight. His control was somewhat off, but he attacks it. He pitches fearlessly and intelligently. I like what I see and I hope to see some more with better results. Hendricks, as we all know will not miss a lot of bats, but he has something we have not had in a few years - a pitch to contact pitcher who is not afraid to attack the strike zone and for the most part he has been damn effective, more so without the long balls. Not lost in this shuffle is the fact that he has the best stuff on our current starting staff this side of Liriano. Cudos to Beef Willingham and his game winning 3 run double and 14 game hitting streak. We know, in the long run, you won't hit .300, but here is to hoping for 30HR's and 100 RBI's. This road trip is already a victory, if we can win one more, it can be a THRILLING victory, but that's it. The offense is gaining momentum and that will win some games or at least make them interesting. Our pitching is our achilles heel and that won't change. 75+ wins... Maybe. 81+ wins... unlikely, but it could be fun to watch!
  7. Bark's Lounge
    Let's cut to the chase - Jim Bowden is an arrogant, self obsessed ball bag that has no business working in Major league baseball, let alone on a major sports reporting network. We should not have to hear or read his opinions on the Twin's situation or any other ball club. He is an opportunist who has taken advantage of 3rd world country baseball talents and looking back at his past photos from the early-mid 1990's, he dresses like a wanna be 1980's Jet-Set Millionaire (which he most probably is), he most definitely would be the perfect anti-hero in a 1980's John Hughes' Teen Film. He should never be a GM again and if any MLB team hires him in some front office capacity - integrity is not one of their prerequisites. Keep your collar up Jim - Let's rock to some "Flock of Seagulls" in your Frat House.
  8. Bark's Lounge
    Whew... glad to get that out of the way. This is how the Twin's are going to have to perform to win games. We will need to score 5+ runs for the most part to win a game, but at least Carl gave us some innings. The inside job by Bourjos was a knee to the nuggets, but what the heck, it all worked out. Kudos to Willingham and Parmelee for their big hits. I have been an opponent of the Willingham signing, not because I don't like him or his contract, but more so for philosophical reasons on how I think the club should transition from the shamples of last season. Willingham seems to be a good power fit at Target Field so far - as some have predicted. The HR tonight was a BOMB! Big Time hit by Parm (The kid can hit). Pavano gutted it out and Perkins looked great and it was nice to see Capps get the save without blowing one first (confidence). Nice Win... On to game 6.
  9. Bark's Lounge
    Let's say Joey V. gets the axe. Who takes over his position? Is Bruno called up from AAA? Or would it be Scott "Weirdo" Ulger to assume that position? I assume the latter, although I would be pro for the former. What's your take?
  10. Bark's Lounge
    I agree with the majority that Target field is a fantastically beautiful modern facility with a nostalgic/old-time feel, but I am perplexed as to why they planned out the dimensions the way they did. Usually teams who have procured the financing to build a new ballpark build it around their star players and their strengths. I cannot remember if the Twin's were given the thumbs up to build the ballpark in 2006 or 2007, but at that time they at least knew Mauer's strength was as a gap to gap hitter and Morneau is a left handed hitting power hitter that when he is going good hits the ball to all fields, but can pull the ball very often also. They have made the ballpark way to difficult to hit out of the yard in the power alleys and right field is a nightmare for power hitters. Petco Park (Padres) has served as an example to not build super-pitcher friendly parks in a mid to small baseball market. No decent free agent hitter wants to sign a contract with them and they seemingly always have middling teams at best with pitchers who's stats don't really tell the story (Good Luck Matt Latos in the Great American Band Box). Do the Twins have a stubborn attitude about adjusting on the fly to accommodate their star players and strengths? Was it too late in the process to make the dimensions friendlier to their star hitters? They definitely did not have a star pitcher to accommodate as Santana was gone when he reached Free Agency and everyone knew that. What happened and what was reasoning behind the ballparks design? Unbalanced ballparks ruin the baseball enthusiast's realistic point of view, reasoning of the box score's end outcome and overall feeling that player performance cannot be judged by results, but by theory based upon a generic ballpark's dimensions. MLB should have standardized dimensions on how each team builds their ballparks. Based on Climate, Wall Height, and Length of the turf. Target Field is Astheticly beautiful, but in baseball fairness.... ugly.
  11. Bark's Lounge
    Here is something interesting about game 2 of the 2004 Division Series against the Yanks:
     
    CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the longtime Sports Illustrated baseball writer, talked to Hunter and Michael Cuddyer about the Yankees’ hold on the Twins. Hunter, while getting the situation slightly wrong (the Twins weren’t trailing by a run, the score was tied), said that someone on the bench was asked to pinch hit for Kubel but declined.
     
    On the bench at the time were catcher/first baseman Matthew LeCroy, who pinch hit later in the game; outfielder Lew Ford, who batted .299 in 154 games that season and started at DH the other three playoff games; and infielder Augie Ojeda, who didn't appear in the series.
     
    Either Torii is yackin' just to yack or something went unacceptably awry. I cannot see LeCroy refusing this assignment as he seemed to be a pretty good natured team guy. Augie Ojeda in his career was always fighting for a roster spot (don't see it). That leaves us with our formerly beloved Twins favorite Lew Ford. Is that smug lil' bugger the culprit of refusing to pinch hit? If T-Hunt isn't just running his lip and this did happen, he would be my guess. Thoughts?
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