mini_tb

I'd much rather see the Twins try to revive the corpse of Ervin Santana than keep trotting De Jong out there.

An absolutely fascinating read! Thank you so much, Parker!

I'm bored. When do they start the innings with runners on second again?

I believe it was either the KC or Cleveland broadcasters who recently asked Kepler what to call a male ballet dancer, and Max replied with "soloist".

Falvey and Levine need to build a time machine, so they can travel back in time to keep Jason Kubel out of the Arizona Fall League. Only then will I be convinced they are good at their jobs.

Rosa Parks' (probably no relation to ByungHo) house in Detroit was recently slated for demolition, but an American feller in Germany bought it, moved it, and reassembled it in Berlin. Weird but true. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/10/a-house-without-a-home-rosa-parkss-detroit-dwelling-was-resurrected-in-berlin/?utm_term=.0ad800c5709b

Doesn't that finally move him 1 triple ahead of Buxton?

Let's stop and smell the roses. The Twins are playing meaningful games in the first week of September. Expectations going into the season weren't much rosier than previous seasons. With a strong minor league system, the future was bright, but the 2015 season was going to be another long one. After getting outscored 22-1 in a 3 game sweep by David Price and the division rival Tigers to open the season, things certainly looked predictably bleak. Yet here we are. It's the first week of September. The Twins are second place in the division with a realistic shot at the postseason. The Tigers, now without David Price, are in last place. This has been a really fun and unexpected season. I'm still tuning in on near nightly basis in September. I can't say the same about the final seasons of the Gardenhire era. And it should only get better in 2016 and beyond. This is a good time to be a Twins fan. There have certainly been some questionable decisions made this season. One thing guaranteed for the 2016 season is that there will be some questionable decisions made then, too. Like many others, I do think Berrios should have been called up earlier in the season. It just doesn't bother me. What I view as a missed opportunity doesn't send me into a negative rant about the Twins' management style. The bullpen? Yeah, disappointing at times. So be it. I choose not to dwell on these things much. Fien's performance against the Sox? It's just 1 game that ended in a disappointing fashion. There's no denying these do add up over the course of a season, but complaining/venting about it ad nauseum doesn't accomplish anything. Joe Mauer's lackluster performance and the crazy salary he is making? Yeah, it's unfortunate. When he grounds into his next double play, I promise not to turn red and have steam coming out of my ears. The Twins are still winning, and I'm enjoying it. I choose to move on and continue to enjoy my favorite team game by game. I'm not saying I don't question their moves, but I don't dwell on the negatives. There were good decisions made this season, too. They just don't stand out as much or aren't as readily noticeable. It's a 162 game season. A shot at redemption is just a day away. Let's try to be more positive. Step back. Look at the big picture. No matter how it ends, it has been one hell of a season for our favorite team. And I appreciate it. Enjoy the 162 game roller coaster of a ride. Besides, it could always be worse. We could have Hawk Harrelson as an announcer. Note: please don't interpret this as me calling out any individual posters.

It's September 3rd. The Twins are sill playing very meaningful baseball in a season where they were supposed to be in the cellar. Yes, having Berrios up to get his feet wet would have been nice. I'm not even remotely upset by this. I, for one, am enjoying the ride.

This really doesn't seem that difficult to sort out, but I think it involves jettisoning some dead weight from the roster. As much as I like Jason Kubel, I am really having a hard time coming up with a single reason why he should take even a single at bat away from any other player on this team going forward. He should be put out to pasture. Arcia and Pinto should be playing essentially every day. They are a large part of the future. Obviously, you play Arcia in the outfield, and you would probably like to see a 50/50 spilt between Pinto and Suzuki behind the plate with Pinto DH'ing a fair amount in between. Let Suzuki DH some when Pinto is behind the plate if you need his bat in the lineup most games. So then it comes down to finding playing time for Willingham and Parmelee. I think you play Willingham out in left to see what's left in the tank to try to showcase him for the trade deadline. Parmelee loses ABs for awhile in this situation, but he can fill in as a pinch hitter/4th outfielder/backup 1B/occasional DH. If Willingham can't be dumped at the deadline, then he's performing poorly enough that he can probably be replaced in the lineup by Parmelee anyway.

Can Pinto play a passable centerfield?

Perhaps they can coax Bartlett out of retirement?

"And now we learn Rosario has two little kids and a wife to take care of...cut him mn now..this guy is reckless and not worth the distress!!" He and/or his wife are obviously very fertile and should be removed from the organization immediately. Same goes for Mauer and his twins. As a matter of fact, family is nothing but a distraction. I bet that's why Mauer is striking out so much this year.

That makes you a grizzled veteran.

Do you consider yourself a beer enthusiast amused me on a questionnaire with so few questions. I would have thought there would have been more entertainment or employment related questions. Kinda makes me thing Summit might be one of the sponsors involved in this...

I think the Yankees' huge market, love/hate popularity, Jeter's own market saturation, and Fox's baseball coverage can be blamed most of the Jeter animosity (apologies if that isn't the right word). The cameras pan to him to see his reaction to seemingly every play over the course of the game. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have praised and/or fantasized about him on air so much over the years that it's absolutely nauseating. In fact, I am still annoyed by it, but I simply cannot blame the player. I think a lot of people have a hard time separating the unasked for media attention from the player, and I really can understand where they are coming from. Hold no animosity toward the great player - just the media and their portrayal.

This sounds like a great opportunity for Mr. Albers. Good for him. And thanks for the memorable first 2 starts!!

I like this idea!

Thank you for the interview. That's appears to be quite the inverted W.

I thought Minnesota was uninhabited north of St. Cloud???

Josmil Pinto keeps doing his thing while flying mostly under the radar. He is hitting .317/.420/.505 (.925 OPS) in 80 AA games. The .103 ISO discipline with a 61:48 strikeout:walk rate and solid power are very promising. I find him very intriguing if he can stay behind the plate. What's the latest on Pinto's defense? I'll admit I was never that high on Wilson Ramos in the first place, but what is it that made him such a highly regarded prospect compared to Josmil Pinto? Ramos was pretty young when moving up through the minors, so there is that. Pinto looks to be about 1 1/2-2 years older than Ramos on the development curve. Was Ramos supposed to be really good defensively?

What have you seen that convinces you he has some good years left in him? I love Morneau and hope you are right, but all I see are a lengthy injury history, an empty batting average, and tons of RBI opportunities.

Seth, have you heard anything interesting about Angel Morales? I know small sample sizes apply, and this is a slight exaggeration, but it seems like he has had more good offensive performances this season than the previous 2 seasons combined. He has 7 extra base hits in 8 games this season after hitting just 20 in 112 games all last year. He's repeating the league, and his strikeout to walk rate is still dreadful, so I'm just wondering if there is any reason for optimism.

Good read, Seth. Thanks! Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the Twins re-signed Capps following the 2011 season. The second supplemental pick came from losing Kubel.

Pedro Florimon is on pace to make 108 errors this year. Why is he in the lineup again?