spanman2

Great read thanks for the time in writing it. It would be interesting to probe into the minds of pitchers in facing Miguel in certain situations. Do they think they have to strike him out to have a punchers chance at retiring him? How carefully do they pitch to him knowing when he puts the ball in play it is going to be crushed. He seems to be gaining the confidence in himself that if he puts the ball in play hard he is getting on base. It would certainly be nice to see the strikeouts drop but I think that is just the hitter he is. High strikeout/walk % and crusher of the ball. Sure am glad he wears a Twins uniform.

For me it is the 4th of July timeframe. Like you I am enjoying the ride. Fantastic season thus far.

Agree 100%. I would also say let's see where they are at on the 4th of July. You are roughly half way through the season. If they are in it at that time then I consider pulling the plug on a trade as you mentioned. Please do not mortgage the future on such trade. I can't imagine the new front office would do so. What a fantastic fun start to the season!

An unfortunate IALTO.

IALTO

We often here the terms 'Don't give up an AB' or 'Making the pitcher work etc.' On the flip side pitchers need to execute competitive pitches. Being accurate within the strike zone is imperative. You don't have to throw it by everyone to be competitive within the strike zone. I think if you show you can hit your spots early in the game it benefits later in the game in getting hitters to expand the zone. Fantastic start by Berrios. Lets hope it is the beginning of many more to come.

IALTO

It sure is and classic Dazzel man copyright John Gordon. Certainly refreshing from time to time when a former player of Gladden/Bert or Jack's stature aren't afraid to call people out...be it a player/member of the coaching staff/manager or scorekeeper. I enjoyed the back and forth banter between Bert and Dick about Mauer's reluctance to change his approach during an at bat. Jack is great as well no doubt about that! When things need to be called out or discussed they should be. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Love the wife bit...that deserves an IALTO!

I want to see them play good consistent ball. Buxton improving his AB approaches would be great. Sano improving in the field to name a couple. Thus far they have played very fundamental ball compared to last year with the exception of one game I believe anyway. Six games is what we have to go by. Certainly not a large sample size but things within those six games to be encouraged about for certain. Four upcoming against Cleveland in the next home stand should give some more insight as to how far this team is progressing or not. A competitive record around Memorial Day would be a great sign heading into the summer months!

Fantastic article. Very entertaining.

Always thought he would have looked fantastic in a Twins uniform.

IALTO

Under...I don't see a 22 game improvement. It would an incredible turnaround I just don't envision primarily on the pitching side improvements made to warrant that degree of optimism. I think a more realistic number on the optimistic side would be avoiding a 90 loss season. Maybe 73 wins? I would love to eat crow on this one!

IALTO

Sounds like the price of poker just went up!

If that source is correct what a source it is.

For my money they are 'bringing back the band' to teach these guys how to be professionals. You don't have the type of careers these guys had by mistake. These 3 too were once immature and probably took the game for granted to a certain extent. They had to be taught by pro's like Kirby what it takes to succeed. Once they learned what it take to be a MLB player they did quite well for themselves. I would be quite pleased if during spring training they offer on the field pointers. Last time I checked Torii won multiple gold gloves and was considered a top 3 or so at worst CF during his prime. LaTroy had a 20+ year MLB career and Cuddy won a batting title. You don't do that by mistake. With that being said we need to upgrade the talent levels on this club sooner rather than later especially in the pitching world.

Not that I want to see Dozier gone but you have to make hay while there is hay to be made. He will never be a hotter commodity! Do the right thing for Dozier by putting him on a team that has a chance to win and at the same time sure up the pitching depth on this roster! We need pitching/pitching and more pitching!

We could use some of that talent and attitude on the current roster. Besides 87/91 my favorite Twins team was the 2002 version. They had the bleep you attitude we came to play with heart/determination and sheer love of playing baseball. Like the 87/91 team they grew up together took some lumps together and leaders developed over time. The current Twins roster lacks that big time! Hopefully that develops sooner rather than later.

October 24th 1987 my dad remarried after having been widowed for 5+ years. I was a 10 year old kid in Fulda, MN staying up late watching the game at a relatives awaiting a move to South Central PA where my dad was with my new step-mom. It was their wedding day and years later my dad and I were reminiscing about the '87 Series. You talk about certain plays etc. His most 'memorable' moment was hoping he didn't 'end his marriage' before it began by watching game 6 on his wedding night! His excuse was 'these things just don't happen every day'. I guess you could say that is true about getting married and watching our beloved Twins in the World Series! Nearly 4 years later I was a 14 year old staying up late watching the ALCS/World Series games cheering loudly and waking up the step-mother. I think the old man used the same excuse in 91 as he did in 87. Baseball and sports are a beautiful thing! I have a 3.5 year old son and hope he gains that enjoyment of the Twins staying up late and driving his mom crazy by doing so.

IALTO

IALTO!!!

He needs AB'S...lots of them. He needs to get some quality AB'S to get his confidence up. You don't ascend to the Major League's as Buxton did without being a big time talent. Like Yogi said "Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical." He has the physical tools. Time to work on what is between the ears. I truly think it is all mental with him. WIN TWINS!!!

IALTO...