Sousy

That's certainly one way to avoid anyone claiming him on waivers.

Man, Kelly's Pub. I haven't been there in a loooong time. The funny thing: my first job out of college I worked in downtown Minneapolis as a consultant and spent a bit of time around some of the various technology user group / networking types of things. At some point working around the area I met (and chatted with briefly) John Bonnes. It wasn't until years later I listened to my first episodes of Gleeman and the Geek and thought "why do I know that laugh...?."

Sure… but wouldn’t the building need to be unnaturally large?

IMO, that's the right attitude to have. The Hall of Fame is a tourist attraction first, something fun to talk about and debate about second. There's no fixed criteria for "this and that guy should be in against this and that other guy" - it's all going to be who the writers admire or abhor or who the players (through the veterans committee) respect or do not. The problem with Bonds and Clemens is that many writers who are still personally involved in the careers of these two men just can't put a positive vote in place for either of them. Some writers can put a vote in place and justify it based on strict baseball production, another sizable group can't look away from the off-field disasters that they both carry around. (PEDs, abuse, underage girls.) I can argue either way with the various groups of writers, but I also can't say that any of them are wrong in their vote justification. (Just like there aren't enough that are going to write glowing things about Curt Schilling in 2022.) Maybe in decades to come the veterans committee will look at things differently - but they also might not.

FWIW, another comment about video games: in my limited sample size, MLB: The Show is quite frankly the best sports video game on the market. My youngest is absolutely enthralled by the way they mix arcade like quality with simulation style play.

I certainly think that MLB could use more voices in a national booth that are both engaging and educational about the nuances of the modern game. Thinking of the football parallel, John Madden also came at a time when football broadcasts themselves were changing. Football television has always been more 'national' than baseball has - it's on once a week and a national broadcast team decides (well, especially at that point) what goes on the air and what doesn't. Madden and Summerall were certainly two broadcasters that signified a must-watch football game. In that sense, viewers tuning in to watch the game were just as interested in the play and analysis of the play as they were the players. (The Vikings fan tuning in to an Oakland Raiders game probably wasn't as familiar with the players, but could still appreciate / be entertained by a particular blocking strategy - BOOM.) Baseball broadcasts are different. We tend to watch our teams (there are usually a lot of games running every day at the same time through the season), get to know the players and be just as interested in their stories as much as we are in the intricacies of the slower speed of a baseball game. When those things are gone, the broadcasts seem much, much different. (e.g. how frustrated people get watching an ESPN televised game vs. Dick Bremer on BSN.) I think having a national broadcast try to follow more of a "football" model would be fantastic - a broadcast where the 'analyst' is there to break down the particular hows-and-whys of technique and why certain things happen on the field the way that they do. (e.g. why does a team shift like crazy against Max Kepler?) It seems most analytics in baseball focus on the fun graphics like an exit velocity, launch angle and those flight path diagrams without explaining how a manager / scout would care about those particular stats rather than just looking at the admittedly cool pictures.

I certainly don't think OF depth is the biggest issue the roster faces in the offseason. Just off the top of my head, people the org has that have been at least playing some outfield at AA/AAA/MLB: Larnach (hope the offseason has him working on breaking balls) Kirilloff (seems to be a good fit at 1B, too - but will probably be platooning there with Sano) Rooker (not at great defensive OF, needs some hitting work) Celestino (called up from AA unexpectedly, gained a lot of useful experience and grew in AAA) Miranda (IIRC, the Saints had him trying some OF - might be a slot there given where corner infield depth is as well) Martin (been playing some CF in AA this year since being acquired.) Cave (ahem) Those are at least the guys I can name off the top of my head that should be immediately available if needed - and there is not (as of yet) a starting LF penciled in to the MLB lineup if Buxton / Kepler are locks for CF/RF.

Every labor dispute will involve marketing a particular case to the public - Manfred's letter here isn't much different. Where I don't see the players being able to make any traction (I'm struggling to see how this actually does improve competitive balance) is in changes to the revenue sharing system. Those rules weren't just players-vs-owners, there was a lot of owners-vs-owners in getting to any kind of agreement on splitting the MLB pie in the first place.

Sometimes you go looking for the next developmental prospect to fill the minor league roster, sometimes you just need a Rob Whalen to fill a few weeknight innings in St. Paul.

That would negate a good chunk of the value Buxton brings as an elite center fielder. As much as we can be in awe of what he can do on offense, it's shocking how big of a difference having Buxton in center field makes on defense. (Even down to pitching strategy.)

Sign Marcus Foligno to a journeyman contract. Anyone who pitches Buxton hard and inside should brace for getting their ass kicked.

According to reporting, it was the Twins offering the no trade clause that sealed the deal - nothing else about the offer apparently was a significant change in terms of guaranteed money / incentives. Buxton wanted the team to invest in him as a player - not as an asset to be traded. This kind of deal is certainly that investment. The thing I really like about this contract is that there is a lot of mutual benefit here: if Buxton maxes the thing out, the Twins are obviously reaping huge benefits in terms of winning games and fan interest.

Given the market, there's no way an elite starting pitcher signs a contract like this.

Buxton's view of this has always been pretty clear: I want to be here, I want you to invest in my future. There's a lot of reasons that Buxton should be angry enough to want to leave - but now the Twins have made the commitment he wanted all along. Here's hoping it all works out. Related: now that this is settled, where's the best place to buy an eleven year old a Buxton jersey for Christmas? ?

I don't think we know yet - it all depends on Lewis' recovery and how his play continues to develop. Something we've learned this year: you just can't have enough middle infield / centerfield depth. Hopefully Lewis stays on track to be a dependable everyday shortstop.

WE GET BUXTON FOR CHRISTMAS!!

The whole situation is funny in a way because it certainly led to the most awkward five hour drive in history.

My memories of the Metrodome have a few different phases: 1. As a kid, the place seemed like magic. Baseball games with dad / uncle / occasional school group because the knothole prices were cheap. At that age when major league baseball was special, the Metrodome was special. I even remember watching the Timberwolves play their first NBA games in the Metrodome, though upper deck seating for those games wasn't great. I think Michael Jordan was playing in one of those games, but you couldn't really see anyone's jersey or have any idea who was going in and out on that basketball court way down there.... 2. As I got older, so did the Dome. After the '87 and '91 teams when Minnesota baseball went into a decade long slump everything just felt worn out and tired about the experience in the Dome. The lackluster baseball probably had a lot to do with it, and by the time the late 90s rolled around "fun" was in St. Paul; the Dome felt empty and kind of sad in comparison. 3. The Dome also had the memories of trips to see Iowa @ Minnesota football games, when the Dome was a giant roadtrip for Iowa football fans. Of course, said roadtrip also meant the Metrodome became a code word for joking about idiots realizing that you can't take the goalposts out of an indoor stadium, or drunken bathroom trysts. (I've been in those bathrooms - yuck city.) 4. The stadium fights. The Metrodome became a symbol of all the things that didn't work by trying to keep the Vikings happy, the Gophers happy, the Twins happy... and no one was happy. All in all, I have a certain nostalgia for things that happened there - but I don't really have a nostalgia for the place itself.

It seems that signing a full-time DH is (and should be) on the bottom of the priority list. Next year they'll be in a position (assuming no trades / moves) there are several players that could rotate in and out of the DH slot; and having that spot for players to rotate in and out of in order to allow for a bit of rest without being out of the line up was a pretty good feature in the last half of the year. * Donaldson struggled with being an 'everyday in the field' guy with leg issues; being able to rotate to DH was huge. Being able to rotate Miranda into 3B would be helpful. * Sano is a guy that has struggled with particular scenarios, and it seems that Kirilloff is waiting in the wings to take up some time at 1B, if not become a full time 1B / OF player. * Arraez was in a few spots where having his bat was great, but having his knees in the field full time wasn't. Short story: I like Cruz, would love to see him come back in some role if the desire is there, but it's certainly not something the front office should (or would) put a lot of time / money / priority into.

100% in agreement. I've never really understood the "don't plan to compete" especially when the core of the current team (especially in the lineup) is certainly capable of being a competitive team in the AL Central. Even in the expanded playoffs this year, the Red Sox are a team no one had pegged into one of these 'competitive windows', but being in the right place and getting hot at the right time can go a long way.

That's the Joe Mauer deal. That's why I'm a little surprised that the contract news from earlier this year that Buxton seemed happy with in terms of guaranteed money was a little surprising. Maybe the incentives didn't add up to Mauer money, but I'd argue that: * Even a 1/2 time Buxton would be worth that supposed $8-9 million in guaranteed money. * A healthy Buxton is just as (if not more) valuable to the team that Joe Mauer was when he signed the big money deal.

Agreed with all of this. Rogers / Duffey are both the type of pitchers that are solid relievers that the team could put on the free market, but then have to replace them with what? It actually seems like in the latter half of the year the Alcala / Duffey / Theilbar (and presumably Rogers) group could give the team a pretty solid core in the bullpen. The team is also a markedly different team when Buxton is in center field (and the plate) that would go a long way to resolve some long term problems if he can even stay in the lineup for half the year. I would imagine that at some point his style of play will also adapt to be less 'hard contact' that seemed to be the case for most of this year. (Not sure how the hip injury happened, but getting hit in the fingers with a fastball was freakish bad luck.)

Is this where I can insert a Hansel Robles crack?

Missing velocity has been pretty evident in where the team is with closers. It seems we haven't had a really strong swing-and-miss closer for a long time.

Yup. The most memorable short performance by a reliever I can recall offhand was marveling at Tyler Duffey in his first appearance since he got a little heated in New York. The movement on these pitches is mind blowing for not having 'sticky stuff'. On the flip side, there was Duran early in the year throwing straight gas: