OldManWinter

Fun memories. I like Harmon #1, Kirby #2, and Rod #3. But, that is personal. I cannot fault your order. Again it is personal but I would remove Knobloch and add Morneau to my list. After his concussion, he was not able to return to the same level. I would project his dominance in placing him on my list. I have had two concussions in my life, in both instances I only was hospitalized overnight, but my family has described how disconnected I was during my outage. Some funny remarks they tell me I made to the doctor.. With my experiences, I do not penalize Morneau

There is no reason for anyone to be embarrassed by performance of a team we want to succeed. Or, for that matter to be personally embarrassed over any conduct of others. And, Baldelli is correct. This is a new group, they do not take any losing streak into this series. Losing to a team you have often lost to is merely a disappointment, that there were breakdowns and they did not play their best. Reusse is correct in his collumn, I think it has been a great and fun season for the Twins. I am happy they did not get into a bidding war for a rental, or a player who may not be good in the future. I am glad they did not give up valuable prospects for short-term gain.

You bet. He is a strong candidate, especially now that his concussion symptoms seem to be behind him and he is hitting like old Mauer. I have had two concussions that caused hospital admissions. Symptoms from the more serious of the two lingered for more than a few months. Processing things became slow, reading a newspaper became complicated. I did not have a profession that required me to bat against guys who threw 95mph gernades at me. The point is that the injury that dropped his BA should not be held against his HOF canadacy. His longevity is there before the injury. Same with Oliva, same with Kaat. They were workhorses for the Twins before the injuries. They are not the only ones. Those type of players should be HOF enshrinees.

Not to split hairs, but if it was Country, perhaps it is not correct, but country should be. If we speak of Montana, we can say it is a country of big skies.

There are problems with "she said, he said". In general, how do you determine the true facts? It is grossly unfair to publicly identify the accused without also identifing the accusser? In these particular circumstances, Sano will be punished. I think he will hear catcalls continually through this season and beyond. But, it is way past the time for these attacks to continue. May Sano spend the rest of his MLB career (and beyond) avoiding these setbacks in the future, but let's hope many others learn from it too.

I think we are too quick to assume he took a banned substance knowing it was banned. We have no evidence that he was doing what Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa and players of that era were doing to hit the home runs. He tested positive, he is being penalized. When he comes back he may or may not have a job. So, it could be an expensive mistake He made a mistake, he is paying for it.

Maybe the first offense is too harsh? But, if that is the price to play MLB, it is cheap.

It seems banning drugs (performance enhancers), that cause long-term health problems in athletes, is in the best interest of all young ball players. That is not racist! It is based upon the results being found (after the fact) by the medical community. It is in the best interest of these ballplayers that these restrictions exist! That they happen more often in the DR is not racist either if it is a fact. There could be many reasons for that, including pressure that players feel to insure they have successful careers, because friends and family are depending in them!

What is the liklihood of being caught? It must be pretty high. If so, I lean toward believing him. Personally, I do not take vitamins or generic meds, or drink energy beverages. But, for people who do, are you fully aware what you are taking? I will guess not many do. So, disappointing as it is, I will not crucify him for it. He will find it a very expensive lesson. Guys his age, looking to enhance performance, probably influenced by many around him who do not know and without him even knowing what substances are banned either? But, if players have agents, the agents need to make it clear not to take anything without checking with the agent.

One source said #75 Winston S.

... if some long-term incentives exist such as Twins HOF?

He has paid his dues here. I would hope he would accept a fair offer and stay. You wonder if there is any motiv@tion to stay

Not Those, should be Thome.

Sano's punishment should be far less than Chapmans. Choking someone and firing a gun irresponsibly are two much more serious offenses. Chapman got off lightly. That said, whatever Sano does get will be an important lesson for him. If the Twins do not have a dietician assigned to Sano, they should. He has too much ability for him to not take advantage of it all. The weight does him no good, he can already hit a ball like Those. But, it has many negatives:moving slower to make playes, more susceptible to injury, and career shortening. Sano is too valuable not to have an "eating counsellor" with him

That much surplus weight is never a good thing (except for an NFL lineman who keep a hippopotamus off their QB's, or noseguards that anchor their DL's. Hrbek's weight did not match what Sano is now at the same point in his career. If Sano does not lose weight he will be: 1) less effective; 2) be more injury prone; 3) be slower to move; 4) have a shorter career; and, 5) be hard on his heart and vascular system. None of that is beneficial.