REPETE

"Hunter has said some things off the field that have really rubbed me the wrong way. And while I'm very much accustomed to setting aside the personal dispositions and quirks of professional athletes in order to enjoy them as performers, some of his outspoken remarks regarding gay marriage and homosexuality in general have been off-putting to me on a rather visceral level." On the field, Hunter was the consummate Pro (except when he picked up the ball he was just hit with and threw it back at the pitcher). On the field, no one could say anything bad about Torii. He came to play! Off the field, Hunter was outspoken. Everyone loves that, right up to the point the outspoken person is asked about a subject important to you (the general public "you", not said author), and their views don't mesh with yours. It doesn't make them necessarily wrong, it's just they disagree. We have to remember, these are athletes with an outlet most people don't have (mainstream media), and if they're asked a tough question, and they answer it, we have to respect that answer, regardless of whether it's the answer we agree or disagree with. Otherwise, we end up with a bunch of Joe Mauer/Crash Davis watered down cliches. I'd much rather hear an opinion, even if it disagrees with mine. At least it gives us something to talk about during 162 games, other than "We need relief pitchers". That said, I couldn't agree more, that Torii came back to his roots for his final season, and performed much better than most could have hoped for. I hope there's room in the organization for him!

Six games left, with two teams to climb over. They're going to need every pitcher to do exactly what Mayday just did. I've got a feeling they'll need to go 5-1 to have a chance.

I LOVE Eddie, and was hoping for good things. That said, as good as some of his OF plays are (all the assists), he makes some bonehead plays out there (the other night's "double", plus the circus catch he made going back to the track, then catching it off his kneecaps, etc). These are things I think are correctable, and I hope his defense gets even better. As for hitting, who doesn't like a "hacker"? Never met a pitch he didn't like. I had the good fortune of sitting in 114 a week back, among a bunch of scouts. Eddie got a 2-0 count, and one of them looks at the other and says "that's not easy to go 2-0 on Eddie." Next pitch, SMACK! to the RCF gap for another triple. Gotta love the guy!

Personally, I hated the one WC game. If memory serves, I believe it was SF & LAD battling it out on the last game of the year for the division. The announcers were building it up as this exciting moment, when in reality, both teams were already assured of making the playoffs, 1 as division winner, 1 as the Wildcard. The 2nd WC game is incentive to WIN your division, and means the teams that really don't deserve to be in (since they DIDN'T win their division) at the very least will usually have to burn their best pitcher in the hopes of moving on to the real playoffs. The 1st WC game was an abomination. At least the 2nd WC game somewhat levels the playing field, at least in theory.

This article was great, but I find it hilarious it creates outrage, from both sides! Number 1: the wave is stupid. Don't do it! That said, stupidity is rampant in far more areas than a baseball game, and I'm sure I do a lot of stupid things in other areas that are probably more offensive than this. Number 2: I've never seen the wave at a soccer game. That's because I've never been to a soccer game. But I highly doubt the wave would catch on, as it would either wake up the people attending, or worse yet, cause a riot. Number 3: I have the good fortune to travel quite a bit, and usually get to attend 1-2 other team's ballparks each year. Sadly, this is not a MN only epidemic. I've seen the wave at multiple ballparks. Turns out there are a lot of stupid people around the globe, and I've since come to terms with the fact that I'm an Elitist Jackhole that knows better. The burdens we have to carry...

The :07 start time is a delay of 2 minutes for the extra song..

I couldn't agree more. Gardy got tossed FAR too often, and was usually on the wrong side of every argument. However, this case seemed to be different, as I believe Molitor was attempting to make the point the Home Plate Ump should NOT make that call unless it's 100% obvious. Also, he was apparently told by the ump that he couldn't hear him three times, basically making Moli come out of the dugout, which is the automatic toss. To me, it's just another example of umpires abusing power, which drives me insane. These guys should NOT be part of the show. The best umpires are the ones you never hear of.

Couple points: 1. Torii has been solid in the OF. Not spectacular (the throw from RF to LF really showed his age), but certainly not worse than Arcia or others would've done. 2. Trading away an expendable piece from the Minors for immediate Relief Pitching would be helpful on many fronts. Perhaps this team is a few years away from serious contention, but before we become serious contenders, that growing process includes "Playoff Experience". If giving up one prospect to get us to the playoffs, or even deeper into the playoff run, that's experience that benefits this team, and the future. 3. Any time you're talking playoffs after the All star break, you have to try. How many times do you see a Cinderella team that's talked about being a force for years to come, and that run never repeats itself? I'm not saying trade the whole future, but everyone keeps bringing up Ramos for Capp. That was one horrible trade I hated at the time, but that was a trade for a supposed ace closer, not a decent setup relief guy. The price shouldn't be nearly as high.

Dozier is having a great year, no doubt. Much of the Twins hopes lie with him, so if he goes south, there's a good chance the team isn't making the playoffs. However, I have to disagree with the "Batting Average" comment within the premise of the article. Trout (287) was the last MVP with a BA less than 300 since Don Baylor in '79 (296). We can argue about the merits of the BA stat, but it does matter to the voters. If he continues at this pace, though, he will certainly be in the discussion. More importantly, that means the Twins are probably talking playoffs!

one more thing to consider beyond what they do with two strikes is how fast they get to two strikes. 0-2 vs 1-2, 2-2, 3-2... Seems like there's some guys (not just Twins) that you could put 0-2 on the board after one step out of the On-deck circle.

If/when they do call up Buxton, the worst thing they could do may be to put him in the leadoff spot. TK always preached put guys in a position to succeed. We did the same thing with another AA player by promoting him, batting him leadoff, and watching him flounder, resulting in a revolving door to the minors.. If/when Buxton comes up, he should start batting 8-9th, until he proves he can hit ML pitching. If he crushes that, start moving him up in the order, eventually to leadoff. So while I'm anxiously awaiting his arrival, I'm not sure he fits "need" right now.

Agreed, there is a "secret sauce" at work here. Hunter brought an attitude, but also is playing great. The young guys are improving, and I still think a lot of that credit goes to Hunter & Molitor. They're back to the TK ways of making other teams pay for mistakes, and winning the games that are handed to them, and not blowing games they're ahead in. As for the "weakness" of not hitting Cy Young candidates, I think that's what makes them Cy Young candidates. This team may not win the world series, and may regress. But they're really starting to feel like the '91 team. Nobody thought that team could sustain their success, until the season was over. Then, in hindsight, everyone "knew" that was just a good team.

I have often thought the "roid" policy has gone too far. I'm all for banning substances that make huge arms & bulging foreheads, but if i twist my knee, and go to the doctor, what do they prescribe? Steroids! So a fat, out of shape guy that gets hurt getting off his couch can take something to go to work without pain, but guys playing sports 162 games per year can't take something to keep them on the field? These are the type of things that keep guys on the field, which in turn, keeps people sitting in the stands. Who wants to go watch Doug Bernier playing MLB because the young guy in front of him twisted an ankle and is out for 2 weeks, when the guy working at the post office can be back doing his route in 1? (nothing personal towards the post office or it's workers, mind you).

I have a feeling if Meyer, Berrios, and/or (to a lesser extent) May are up here for long periods, this team may be farther from contention. That said, I'd still rather see these guys learning on the job than Milone, Pelfrey, & Stauffer's Lasagna. At least then we can be talking about contention in 2016.

I also believe Nunez stays on the roster, if for no other reason than a bat off the bench. So far, in Hermann's limited ABs, he hasn't shown much. Nunez at least poses the threat of getting a hit. They could probably throw his glove away.. As for the bullpen, I couldn't agree more. If the old guys falter, I hope TR is on the phone quick. I'd much rather see the young guys come up and get bloody noses in a learning experience than the old guys get bloody noses before they're knocked out of the league.

Love the September angle. We have a full season tix package, split by 15 people. I purposely got multiple games late in the year, just to enjoy the young kids, and look to the (dare I say "bright"?) future!

My hope is they keep Graham on the major league roster, if for no other reason than he wears stirrups. I do have to say, it's nice to be talking about keeping a 5th starter, not because of potential, or the future, but the fact they may actually do something, like win 10 games. Last year, they kept Gibson (against ALL odds). This year, by all accounts, Milone & Pelf (besides his last outing) have looked good. They could do worse things than send the youngster down for a month or two, as whoever they keep will know they are on double secret probation.

I could never figure out why Santana was in CF last year. It was another Gardy gaffe. He should've been playing SS every day last year to determine if we have our SS of the future. I love his arm at SS, and hope he sticks, but had Gardy played him at SS, we'd have a much better idea of the future today! IMHO, Escobar is an nice player, and I think he has great value as the utility player, and he's good at it! But I can't help but think he falls into the category that TK was quoted on others; "He's a nice player, but you put him in the lineup every day, and he'll play his way right out of the majors."

I do agree. $130K is NOT $130K, I'm assuming they're walking away with about $70K after taxes/agents (give or take). But it's an opportunity to pursue a dream. If the dream comes true, that's when the big payoff comes. They know this going in. Most guys know (especially college draft picks) in about 3 years whether they have a legitimate chance at the show. That's where the signing bonus helps. If it's a High School pick, they're getting paid something. In college, they don't even get a stipend, They're paying their dues, and hoping for the best. I don't know how many minor league players each team has, or what the financial impact would even be for a MLB owner. And I certainly won't begrudge anyone for making more money. If they can get it, more power to them. Again, all i'm saying is, the article mentioned they make $1100/month. I just didn't think it was 100% accurate, portraying these guys as making $5500 annually..

No, but that's a 9th round pick. For higher picks, i'm sure they make a little more, picks below that make less. But for a chance to chase your dreams, I'm just saying it's a trade-off, and they have 7 months out of the year to earn more than their $1100 stipend.

I'm not saying $130K for 4-6 years is great, but it's not as dire as the article suggests. "$1100/month" doesn't tell the whole story. Plus, the schedule isn't as long & grueling as the Majors, so these guys can, and I assume have to, get "offseason" jobs to make ends meet. So it's not nearly as bleak, when you consider it an opportunity to live out your dream, and potentially earn more than most of us could hope to make over 20 years at a regular job..

If Eddie earns a spot out of Spring Training, I still believe he's only keeping the spot warm for Buxton. So using him as an every day CF for half the year, then moving him to a corner spot would be OK. Sano in the OF? That could be the 2nd coming of Delmon Young...

after reading the article on Max Murphy, I'm a little confused on the Minor League salaries. He was a 9th round pick, and "quickly signed for $130K". I assume that $130K is a signing bonus, meaning the stipend he gets for playing in the minors is just that, spending money. The $130K is what he should be planning on thru his duration in the minors. Am I looking at this all wrong?

Using the eyeball test (very scientific), Plouffe did improve. But improving from terrible to OK is not what this team needs. My issue with his throwing errors weren't the "hurried" throws. The people in Section 108 were in danger when Plouffe got a routine grounder, and made the casual throw. Again, by the "eyeball test", he seems to rarely make a great play. 3B is a great place to be flashy, and he certainly doesn't have Flash.

"Lowest rate of fly balls leaving the yard? That will bounce back hard." I don't believe this is necessarily true. The move from Yankee stadium was undoubtedly good, esp moving to TF, but the decline of "roided up" hitters he faces will keep that number in check. HRs in general are going down.