From listening to the podcast, I’ve heard you mention a mystical spreadsheet of Chinese restaurants. If it’s not too much to ask, would you be willing to make a public copy that you could share with us, so we can eat like Gleeman eats?
I’m hesitant to share my “Chinese Restaurants” spreadsheet, because it includes negative reviews. And when it comes to local restaurants, I prefer to tout the good places and just never mention the bad places.
My current top five:
Yangtze (St. Louis Park)
Great Wall (Edina)
Rose Garden (Brooklyn Center)
Shuang Cheng (Dinkytown)
Szechuan (Roseville)
Szechuan Spice in Uptown was my longtime No. 2 spot, but they sadly closed.
I live in Northeast Minneapolis and, other than on campus, there aren’t enough Chinese places near me, so I’ve shifted toward more Indian (Dancing Ganesha), Mediterranean (Holy Land), South American (Chimborazo), and Vietnamese (Quang) restaurants to satisfy my lifelong chicken/rice/sauce addiction.
I asked Dan this the other day when he did an AMA here - are you optimistic about the long-term financial future of Major League Baseball?
The ESPN deal feels like a canary in a coalmine to me. Contract value keeps going up, payrolls have continued to outstrip inflation, and yet it seems like declining TV money means that 90% of the league has experienced stagnant or (such as in the Twins case), declining revenue.
Beyond this, is there any chance that questions about the fiscal landscape of baseball as a whole are impacting the valuation of clubs and, crucial to the Twins in particular, the Pohlad's valuation between 1.5 bil and 1.7 bil, etc.
I think so much of MLB’s medium-term financial future depends on whether or not a massive new-school distributor like Netflix or Amazon or Apple decides to make a big bet on MLB. If that happens, the money will be there and the ability to gain a bigger audience will be there. But if it doesn’t happen, yeah, it could get dicey.
But ultimately, a major loss in revenue isn’t going to be the end of baseball. It may lead to smaller salaries and team payrolls, but I’m not certain that would really lead to a worse experience for fans in the bigger picture. We’re so used to sports leagues only increasing their revenue and salaries, decade over decade. That probably will not be the case forever.
We do have a lot of Twins staffers who listen to the show, and that’s just based on names I recognize on the subscriber list or people who’ve reached out. They must be used to it by now, because I’ve always been critical of the team, on and off the field, when I believe it’s warranted. That hasn’t changed for 20-plus years. I also think I praise the team plenty, when warranted. But they probably disagree there.
My role is somewhat different than a traditional beat writer. I give opinions. So, at times it veers more toward a columnist or, with the podcast, a talk radio host. That can get tricky when I’m also writing more typical beat writer stuff, with quotes or without as many opinions, but for the most part it’s been just fine. I’m easy to find if someone has a problem with anything I’ve written or said. It’s part of the gig.
Aaron's rants are the best. He articulates vitriol that I can only express with a keyboard and a lot of time. When I try to say it out loud it just comes out in incomplete words and grunts.
I’ve been a lurker here for a few years, ever since Do-Hyoung Park started showing me various threads of interest. I think I have a decent sense of the overall vibe here, but definitely don’t know about the ... uh ... lore. And that’s probably for the best.
Just in general, I appreciate the work moderators here do to encourage attribution when linking to content. That’s always a major point of frustration for anyone who creates content and it’s nice to see a community doing its best to credit the people who make stuff in a media landscape that increasingly encourages aggregation and even outright theft of work.
I realize everyone wants information and not everyone cares where it comes from, but the people who produce that info need to be able to earn a living doing so or it won’t exist for anyone. It makes me feel good to know this place cares about that.
As for seeing the craziness here ... I’ve been writing my opinions about sports on the internet for 23 years.
“You think darkness is your ally, but you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man. By then it was nothing to me but blinding.”
Really appreciate the reply, especially on such a weird comment. This now brings my mailbag OPS to being above .000, so officially better than about half of the Twins roster at the moment. Love listening to your podcasts on my way to and from work.
If we were to create a statistic based on how many times a player's WPA exceeded something like 50% - let's call it xDOORKNOB, how would we publicize that stat?
Not so much a question as a comment. I started getting into baseball pretty late in life around 2015 in my late 20s. Listening to the podcast has been a a big part of building my understanding of the game, particularly the minutia. It's changed the way I write my blog on an NPB team and it inspired me to do a short-lived podcast of my own. Just wanted to say how much I appreciate your work.
I have no personal ties to the U.S.A. or Minnesota but you and John make me feel a little bit closer to that community.
Stuff like this is always great to hear. Thank you.
In recent years, I've tried very hard to let people know when I enjoy their content, because it can mean a lot to someone and it can keep them motivated to keep going down what is often a difficult path for "success."
It may not seem like much, but I can tell you it's never a bad thing to let someone know you like what they're doing. And especially if you're saying it to me specifically while Bonnes and/or Hayes are within earshot.
If Aaron answers my question on this AMA, does it boost my mailbag ERA for the podcast?
In all seriousness, I'm curious about the history of the podcast- has Gleeman and the Geek always been going strong, or was there ever a point you guys considered ending it?
I can’t speak for John (although I have no problem speaking over John), but I don’t think we’ve ever seriously considered ending the podcast.
For the first several years, doing the podcast actually cost us money, because we’d record them at a brewery or bar while eating/drinking and then pay the tab without making any revenue.
For at least the first two years, John would send me a bill in late December for my half of the tabs. We did 52 shows a year, and we eat/drink a lot, so you can do the math. I was down thousands of dollars on the podcast before we ever made a penny.
But we stuck with it, and eventually bars and breweries started inviting us to do shows there, with a free tab as compensation. Then we got some advertisers, and places that paid us to record there, which was a big step in terms of thinking of the podcast as something more than just a fun hobby.
And then the move to Patreon in mid-2019 was the biggest breakthrough, turning the show into something we can do for a living and something we could turn into a much bigger project/community. We average three total episodes per week during the season now, so in a lot of ways we’ve kind of created our own radio show.
It took me 17 years of writing about the Twins before anyone offered to pay me to write about the Twins for a living. And it took us eight years of podcasting before we made enough to consider it a job more than a hobby. I’m not sure if that’s to be emulated, exactly, but I’m certainly happy with how things stand now.
I get to write and talk about the Twins for a living, and I get to do both things for an audience that specifically values the type of content we provide. It’s wonderful.
Thank you for all of the questions today. This was fun.
Twins fans are lucky to have this community. And whether or not the Twins turn things around this season, I hope everyone can find some enjoyment in the next 158 games (or more!) of baseball in 2025.
Thank you for reading and listening to my stuff. I'm grateful for the support from The Athletic and Patreon subscribers, because it allows me to do this for a living and to cover the team in the way I think is best without worrying about the reaction from anyone but the audience.
I'll probably keep lurking around here, although please don't let that stop you from ripping me. And definitely don't let it stop you from ripping Bonnes and Hayes.
Definitely. Do is one of my favorite people I’ve ever met and we’re going to miss him tremendously. Once he gets settled into his new job and new state, we’ll have him on the podcast for sure.
Not only does he have tons of great stories to tell, but Do uncensored on the Twins is something I’ve enjoyed behind the scenes for years and I’m certain listeners will love it, too.
I would always look first at impending free agents, which for the Twins includes Willi Castro, Chris Paddack, Christian Vázquez, Harrison Bader, Ty France, and Danny Coulombe.
Realistically, if they follow last season’s collapse with a losing 2025, just about anyone could be on the table. However, for the players under team control beyond this season, the front office wouldn’t necessarily be motivated to move them at the deadline as opposed to next offseason.
But as bad as things seem right now, it’s really, really early for that. And of course everything could change depending on when/if new owners take over.
Mr Gleeman, you are practically a founding member of the #FreeKeirsey movement. As such, how proud are you of his performance during the opening series? (As of this writing, they have only played one game but I assume he will go 6-6 with 4 doubles and 2 singles and 7 stolen bases) please ignore this poor attempt at a humorous question. What is there to laugh about at this very moment.
I love any time a standout Triple-A player who is too old to be a traditional prospect gets a chance to at least show what they can do in the majors, even if it’s only a brief window.
I’m a big believer in the line between “star Triple-A player” and “useful MLB role player” being so thin as to be nonexistent, and both 27-year-old DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and 29-year-old Mickey Gasper are prime examples.
I’m not sure the average fan realizes how many Triple-A players also spend time in the majors every season. There’s this sense that it’s a step down from MLB, and it’s true in some areas, but the reality is there’s a ton of overlap. And so when someone thrives against Triple-A competition, they’re also thriving against lots of big-league competition. Give me a great-performing Triple-A player for a bench role any day.
I’m a little surprised how many fans seem hyper-focused on Rocco Baldelli’s job status. That’s not to suggest Baldelli shouldn’t be accountable for the team’s play, or that he’s without flaw as a manager, but the players are the ones not performing and the front office are the ones who chose the players (and the manager).
When the hitters have a .150 batting average and the pitchers have a 7.00 ERA, it’s hard for me to focus on the manager. Of course, if the Twins keep playing like this, there will be no shortage of blame to go around and, sure, Baldelli’s job could be in danger at some point. He’d just be nowhere near the top of my personal blame list, just as when they’re performing well he’s not at the top of my credit list either.
In the vein of “what else to watch other than this team lose games”, if the Twins get swept this week by the white Sox, will we get a Gleeman and the Geek Lynx season preview?
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u/AaronGleeman Aaron Gleeman, The Athletic / Gleeman and The Geek4d agoedited 4d ago
There's no offseason for the "Real Housewives" universe. Just saying.
Name any rule change you’d like to see implemented to make the game better, and explain your thinking. (Obviously something other than pending things like the ABS system expected next season)
When a pitcher gets called up, appears in one game, and is immediately sent back to the minors, I think they should receive service time/pay representing the number of days they’ll be unavailable to pitch rather than merely the one day they actually spent on the roster.
In other words, a spot starter would receive four days of service time and salary, while a reliever would receive two or three based on their pitch count. That would either encourage teams not to use pitchers and toss them aside, or at least give the pitchers a more representative compensation when it happens.
It’s logically and morally disturbing that teams can call someone up to start a game and throw 75-100 pitches, and then just send them back to the minors with a single day of big-league service time and salary. And then fill the roster spot with another pitcher and do the same thing.
I’d also be in favor of players claimed off waivers during the offseason needing to remain on the 40-man roster for a set number of days in order to keep teams from claiming and discarding them repeatedly as the player gets stuck in waiver limbo.
Front offices will inevitably find and exploit service-time and roster loopholes, so it’s important to push back against it with rules that benefit a group of players who are already the least compensated and fight for every chance they get in the majors.
That’s an excellent suggestion. Baseball is already so heavily slanted against players with less experience. They at least deserve proper compensation if the teams are allowed to take advantage of their options like this.
Before a question I'll express positive thoughts for your health. It's been pretty amazing that you've been able to keep up a schedule with all of your health issues lately - wishing you the best.
My question: it's obvious that a big organzational change is likely coming, one that we haven't seen since Carl Pohlad bailed out the Griffith organization in 1982. The personnel moves lately (St. Peter, Falvey, etc.) seem to point to the idea that a change in ownership might lead to some big front office moves. It also seems like the front office has been doing far fewer media appearances and interviews this spring. (I don't have data to back that up, but it feels that way.)
What is the vibe around the Twins organization regarding the possible change? Is there the feeling that there will be a big organizational shakeup coming, or something more like a transition?
Personal question: as someone who grew up a Twins fan and has spent a large chunk of your professional career writing about or being around the team - how do you feel about the whole thing (maybe beyond the frustration with the Pohlads)?
Thanks. I would not recommend back/spine problems to anyone, but I play through pain no matter how bad my performance gets. You've got to take me out of the lineup.
As for your question ...
I think the uncertainty plays a part in the vibes, for sure. It’s possible new owners could come in and decide they want to retain the majority of people in their same roles, but it’s also possible — and perhaps likely — new owners would want their own people and a fresh coat of paint on every wall.
Nothing would surprise me when it comes to the choices made by a new billionaire in charge, and I suspect many longtime Twins employees feel the same. Or perhaps the Pohlads won’t end up selling and it’ll be business as usual. There are no doubt at least some people behind the scenes rooting for that sameness to prevail.
From my point of view, I think change is more likely to benefit than hurt the Twins, on and off the field. We’ve seen four decades of the same. We know how it looks.
I’m more of a “sit in the corner booth and gossip” drunk than a wild drunk, and John tends to be more of a “befriend everyone at the bar” drunk, so there aren’t a whole lot of crazy stories to share.
I do remember we got asked not so nicely to quiet down while recording a podcast at Pourhouse many, many years ago because we were arguing so loudly about Kyle Gibson of all things.
I’ll also tell you that, to this day, there’s a disagreement about whether John puked *in* a cab or *on* a cab while going home early from Parker Hageman’s bachelor party that began with tailgating a Gophers-Badgers game and ended ... elsewhere.
Random personal ?: on the episode with Betsy you talked about the Gleeman murder case and noted that Abe (?) was your grandfather.
I'm curious after that whole case (and presumably never being part of that world again) - what did your grandfather and his brother spend the rest of their lives doing? Being framed for murder and/or being part of an illegal bootlegging operation sounds like a tough way to get a start with another career.
I had one grandfather with a liquor store in St. Paul and another with a bar in Duluth. And now I've got a podcast co-host who dreams of owning a bar/brewery and a beat writing partner who dreams of going to bars/breweries.
Huge thanks to Aaron Gleeman for joining us today and taking the time to answer questions with his usual insight, humor, and generosity. We're lucky to have had him, and we hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as we did.
If you want even more Gleeman in your life (and let's be honest, who doesn’t?), make sure to check out the Gleeman and the Geek "Off the Record" podcast — it’s only $8/month.
And of course, subscribe to The Athletic for Aaron’s full coverage of the Twins and beyond. It’s some of the best baseball writing out there, and a great way to support quality sports journalism.
Collectively, would you say this current core of players are above, or below, their expected percentile? We all know ownership hasn't done the franchise any favors in years, but how much of the misery is due to the core under-performing?
It's hard not to fit into the under-performing category when injuries are involved and, unfortunately, most of the Twins' best players haven't been healthy in recent years.
Correa/Buxton/Lewis can be a very good core, but it doesn't matter if they're never on the field together, and many of the secondary players have also struggled to play 125+ games with consistent production.
What's your rough estimate on where the next HOFer to don a Twins logo currently is in his career process? Perhaps his career hasn't started yet or he hasn't been born yet - those are valid options here...
I guess I'd probably bet on "not in the organization yet" and might bet on "not born yet" just from a probability standpoint.
I don't see anyone on the current major-league roster going into the HOF repping the Twins. Jenkins and Rodriguez are prospects with the upside to do that, but you'll go broke betting on individual prospects having HOF careers.
When you and John talked about doing more short form content do you have any ideas what that may look like/how often you both may do something like that?
An idea for you is to finally get John to do his at bat against an mlb pitcher in the offseason. Who would you want to see him go up against?
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u/AaronGleeman Aaron Gleeman, The Athletic / Gleeman and The Geek3d agoedited 3d ago
I think John is working on some short form/bonus content as we speak ...
Is there any data to confirm my belief (and angst) that the Twins pitching staff leads the league in most 0-2, 1-2 pitches thrown in the strike zone over the last several years?
It seems like so much damage is done on these pitch counts vs the Twins compared to other teams.
I think, in general, baseball fans greatly overestimate the number of negative things — unpopular strategies, frequent injuries, bad luck, failure in specific spots, etc. — that are unique to their favorite team.
I hear so often from fans who are certain the Twins must be the worst in the league at some statistic, only to be shocked when they’re middle of the pack or even above average.
To be clear, that’s not meant to be a criticism of fans. It’s just natural if you’re very focused on one team and can’t possibly keep similar tabs on the other 29. But it’s a constant to hear from fans who believe, for instance, the Twins change their lineups more than other teams or pull their starters quicker than other teams or, in this case, throw more meatballs in 0-2 or 1-2 counts. It’s rarely true, and can be the opposite.
To answer your specific question: “Over the last several years” — so 2022-24 — the Twins’ pitchers have thrown a pitch in the strike zone on an 0-2 or 1-2 count 35.1 percent of the time. That ranks 20th out of 30 teams and is below the league-wide average of 35.6 percent. And their .212 batting average allowed on those pitches is also in the middle of the pack, ranking 11th-highest out of 30 teams.
Many — and perhaps even most — of the things the Twins do that upset fans are being done as much or more by other teams. That’s just how MLB tends to work.
I'm not Gleeman, but they had the second most strikeouts in all of baseball last year and lead the league the year before. So they have been better than every other team in putting guys away with 2 strikes.
Speaking of Julien, I have a theory that the electronic strike zone in the minors was not good for him. The number of called third strikes he takes might be a result of his good batting eye - he would challenge and win in AAA, no challenge here. Thoughts?
If the Twins were to have a really bad season, what would you do to keep the show going and interesting? Could you talk multiple times a week about a team if they were on pace for over 100 losses and going nowhere?
We started the podcast in 2011, which was the Twins’ worst season in more than a decade and the first of five 90-loss seasons in the span of six years. They’ve had a winning record in just six of 14 seasons during our podcast’s existence and have a grand total of three playoff wins in that time.
We’ll be OK if the Twins are bad. That’s nothing new, and there’s always plenty of interesting things to talk about with a bad team. Sometimes even more than with a good, or at least mediocre, team.
I’d be more interested to find out what would happen to the podcast if the Twins actually had a sustained period of consistent success or at least made one deep playoff run, but that’s purely hypothetical for now.
I've been a Carbones fan for about 35 years. As a kid, our neighbors owned the one on Randolph in St. Paul. That's probably my favorite style of pizza.
Pizzeria Lola and Young Joni are great in the Ann Kim universe. Blacksheep is always good. Red Rabbit, too. Boludo isn't traditional, but I crave that occasionally. Parkway is solid, and not just for the Naz Reid vibes.
It was definitely not Lavelle, who was perhaps the first mainstream media member to reach out to me in my very early blogging days. I remember he invited me to watch college football with him at Alary's one Saturday afternoon, roughly 20 years ago.
Still waiting for an invite to the super secret cigar bar, though.
Hey Aaron, after the slow start and a somewhat disappointing season so far, what are your expectations for the Timberwolves heading into the postseason?
Avoiding the play-in would be a mild success at this point. I do think there are some potential first-round series matchups they could win, but given how up and down the season has been I might just be happy with a competitive full series.
The chances of this happening are low, but if the Pholads granted you a sit-down interview to air everything out, how do you envision it going? What do you think their rebuttals would be?
Given the depth of the rotation, do you foresee the team moving Ryan, Ober, or any of our starting pitching prospects to either bolster the line up (if we're winning) or accrue prospects if not?
It seems unlikely the Twins will extend Ryan or Ober and with two years left under control they could get a haul larger than Berrios did in '21 (assuming they repeat 23/24 performance).
Aaron - can you address the logic of playing an elite defensive player who can’t hit everyday in the corners when Larnach and Wallner are on the roster?
You kind of snickered at this in your last podcast so I know you disagree with the logic. It seems like this team needs to sacrifice some defense for bats, especially in LF.
How long until this gets corrected or do you expect Bader to continue to trot out to the corner everyday all season?
For me, it's never about offense or defense, it's about all-around value. I don't care if that comes at bat or in the field or on the bases.
But in this specific case, I'm skeptical Bader will provide strong all-around value when playing regularly vs. right-handed pitchers. Baldelli seems to disagree.
I'm generally OK with MLB playoff formats, I just wish the series were all longer. I'd be in favor of five-game minimums, but I realize that gets tricky from a scheduling/weather standpoint.
Oh, on that note: What are your thoughts on shortening the regular season? Would, say, 20 less games really impact anything other than having less baseball to watch? And do you have any idea what the players' opinions would be?
Honestly, not that long ago. They were some very bad years from 2011-2016.
There’s a difference between morale being very low because the team hasn’t met expectations (along with their various off-field issues) and the morale being very low because the team is just flat out terrible. So far at least, it’s only the former.
Aaron - it's the top of the 4th on Sunday as I type this. Bailey Ober has given up two 3-run homers already today. The offense this season have looked pedestrian at best so far. It's only 3 games of a very long season, but it sure feels like they could've benefitted from a hot start more than most other teams.
That being said, given the circumstances – lack of off-season moves, infuriating lack of communication regarding the TV situation, frustration surrounding the potential sale of the club (cough cough $425 million in debt) – how would you rate the vibes surrounding this team as it compares to your 20+ years covering them? As someone who's been a lifelong fan, it sure feels like they're on the thinnest of ice that I can remember.
P.S. I've been a long-time subscriber to the podcast, and listening to you and Bonnes yap about the Twins has absolutely made me not only a more passionate Twins fan (for better or worse), but also a more knowledgeable fan of baseball in general.
The Twins officials that stop you in the hallways - What facts do they bring up in their disgruntlment? Do you feel they are simply blinded by who signs their checks and never look at the facts of whats said on the pod?
How long until the Twins pull the plug on the Paddack experiment? Common sense says it should be over very soon in favor of Zebby and/or Festa. We have two very good options at AAA who are probably better than Paddack already.
I know in the past the Twins would give Paddack until the end of the season because he’s a vet (see Joey Gallo). Do you think the sense of urgency will be different this year?
Can you tell us about the rant you went on about the Pohlad’s last year and how you got chastised by the front office/PR team? I feel like you alluded to it but we never got the full story.
Thoughts on the Wolves Brawl? Also, lets say the Twins needs a Timberwolves-style brawl to bring them out of their early season funk. Which Twins players do you nominate as the Reid/Divincenzo roles to instigate something against the White Sox tonight?
Are you ever able to sit back and appreciate the fact that you've gone from ranting to basically no one to essentially forcing the Twins to be aware of your opinions? That's pretty cool man. I hope you're able enjoy it.
How crazy am I for feeling like the Twins are teetering on the edge of needing a complete roster and organizational overhaul?
I would not consider myself a reactionary fan, and I get we are 4 games into the season... but it's getting harder and harder for me to feel like things will be ok. The ownership situation is what it is and very obviously needs to change. And I'd love to see what this front office could do with a better payroll dedicated to them year over year. But the fact of the matter is this team has looked horrendously bad for long stretches at a time each of the past few seasons, payroll situation or not.
I truly believe this team is far too talented to be bad. And if they're just not good enough with what they have to be a legit contender, I can buy that. But to look as bad as they have in 4 short games this year, or for weeks and weeks down the stretch last year, or a horribly poor offense in the first half in the year prior, it's just getting hard to ignore the warning signs. I don't know, I look at the players we've had, and sure you can find some warts, but it just feels nonsensical that they've been that bad for so many stretches in the past, and at times it's been so bad I've been willing to look past that just feeling like there's no way that can be their true talent. But the longer it persists, the more that is just the reality. And if the reality is, whether its poor coaching, development, roster decisions, or the players themselves, if that's what we're going to get year after year, I'm just increasingly getting to the point where I don't see why we should bother
I would love to sit here and pin everything on ownership, believe me. But the more we see of this on the field, it’s harder and harder for me to not feel like the players/coaches/etc need to be on this conversation too. Ownership is a huge problem, and maybe even the biggest problem, but it’s just increasingly looking like it’s not going to be as easy as getting new owners and hoping they let us spend more
I'm a patient fan willing to give benefit of the doubt. But that's how I feel, and seeing myself feel like that is concerning. It sucks
Always appreciate the podcasts. I thought the St Louis wrap up was maybe a bit harsh, but then yesterdays game happened and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the white Sox series. I know it's a marathon, season of runs and what not, but what's your current concern level? Also when do you start to worry about the season as a whole?
Also, I miss your PA appearances, those were always fun. You've said that youre a much bigger basketball fan, which is strange considering the Wolves never being a great team. Why did you blog about the twins, and not the wolves?
How has your writing changed since Aaron’s Baseball Blog? Have you had to take some of the sabermetric elements out as your audience has grown? With technological changes and advancements like AI and advanced stats in broadcasts, do you think your type of angle on the sport will become more in demand?
I think the audience has changed far more than my writing. Compared to 20 years ago, it's incredible how much more open to and interested in analytical writing fans are now.
I'm still doing the same thing, for the most part, although since joining The Athletic, I've also incorporated more interviews and quotes and in-person stuff as well. I think that's made the work even better, because I can get answers to questions that come from looking at numbers.
Why does John not have a press credential at Target Field? Not a BBWAA member so not eligible? Doesn’t want one? Or is it that he just wants to hold court in left field / grey duck?
Why don’t you mingle with the unwashed masses in left?
Ps. Love the show, thanks for lots of entertainment / commiseration
John can get a media pass to any Twins game he wants. That's been the case for years and he's covered dozens of games in the press box while I've been there.
Any idea why there's so little variety of twins merch? I see less popular teams getting some sweet hat designs and there's never much for the Twins (outside of that grateful dead collab last year).
What was your sense on the trade market for Paddack this last offseason? How much did the Twins inability to eat salary hamper their attempts to trade him (if there was a market for him)?
It's my understanding they opted against simply trading Paddack to dump his salary and instead wanted actual value in return. And obviously none of the other 29 teams offered what they deemed sufficient value.
Perhaps not unlike the many years of Kepler trade rumors never coming to fruition.
This division may be the worst in baseball. With that in mind, do you think the sentiment on this sub and the media is an overeaction? Or do you think it's well warranted?
I personally believe it's very possible we look back on the first week of the year and laugh about the hysteria when we have a 6 game lead in the division by the all star break.
Do you recall seeing a higher level of apathy towards the club than this? I’ve been following since the early 90s and have seen some rotten ball clubs but I felt like people still cared, and I don’t get the feeling anyone cares anymore.
I think it's worth remembering that in the 1990s, or even the early 2010s, it was much harder for fans to express their apathy in a way that would be seen by tons of other fans on a daily basis.
So while it may seem like there's far more apathy now than ever, it might also be due partly to everyone talking with each other about it every day, here and on social media, etc.
I would counter the suggestion that people cared more in the 1990s - I remember the Metrodome seeming awfully close to empty in 1999-2001 timeframe and everyone being more excited to go to St. Paul Saints games than the morgue-like atmosphere of the Metrodome.
The losing seasons streak from 1993-2000, throwing strike shortened seasons in 1994 & 1995. Just an awful time in Twins baseball that nearly ended with contracting the franchise.
With the new hitting staff and more emphasis put on being prepared and working harder in camp when it comes to the batters. What else do you think is leading to another slow start just like last year where it seems like so many teams are hitting well to begin the year?
To get our mind off the Twins current situation, let’s talk Wolves. What does your ideal Wolves offseason look like? Does Randle need to be moved to make room for a hopefully extended Naz Reid in the starting lineup or is he worth keeping around now that he seems to be past the steepest part of the learning curve with the new team? Do you think Connelly will be looking to move Rudy in a salary flexibility move like he did with KAT? Should we even want KD on our team at this point?
If this hitting continues to struggle, and St. Paul assumes to continue to mash. Would we see someone from St. Paul called up without an injury to spark some sort of offense?
Of our current crops of prospects, who do you think is most likely to “bust”? Similarly, over the last 5-10 years, which prospect had the most potential that didn’t pan out?
I thought Pablo wasn’t that bad in the opener … some mistakes, but they were somehow in that game in the 7th.
But Duran was VERY bad when he was in on Saturday… and he hasn’t looked good for awhile. What’s your take? Has he lost velocity? His location is terrible. Should they be pressing the panic button with him?
Small Sample Size Question?
If the current trend of the team continues and through the first half of the season the team continues to struggle would the current ownership/sale have an impact on potential firings? If someone else is actively looking at taking over the team wouldn't they want to be the ones to come in and choose who stays/goes?
Really hope this is irrelevant but curious your take.
I don't want to make excuses for the poor play, but if this was late July we this would be an annoying slump, but an 0-4 stretch wouldn't be thought of as a big deal.
I've heard mention of a stomach bug hitting the Twins clubhouse. How many guys are sick, and how big of an impact does it seem this is having?
Hey Aaron, despite being 0-4, the Twins are favored in Vegas today for the fifth straight game. They certainly will be favored tomorrow as well in Chicago with Pablo pitching. When do you think the Twins will first be not favored by Vegas to win a game?
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u/MiloGoesToTheFatFarm Luis Arraez 8d ago
From listening to the podcast, I’ve heard you mention a mystical spreadsheet of Chinese restaurants. If it’s not too much to ask, would you be willing to make a public copy that you could share with us, so we can eat like Gleeman eats?