38 thoughts on “December 18, 2014: Endless Hack”

  1. Last night was our dress rehearsal for this Sunday's "Hallelujah Chorus", and I was invited by one of the musicians to play in the St. Louis Low Brass Collective when they do their Holiday Low Brass Play Along this Saturday morning. It's open to anyone who wants to play, and it sounds like a lot of fun, so I think I just might do it.

  2. Apparently the Twins have expressed interest in Asdrubal Cabrera? If true, that strikes me as curious. My impression was that Danny Santana (suddenly we need to distinguish our Santanas!) was going to play short next season. The Twins obviously aren't moving Dozier off second, and Plouffe seems like he's finally well settled at third. I suppose they could put Santana back in center, but he's probably better at short than Cabrera at this point and that's just creating a problem down the road when Buxton takes over. Seems like it would be more effective to try to find somebody like Colby Rasmus to play center.

    1. Yeah that's a head scratcher for sure. Unless they're looking to perhaps trade someone it doesn't seem to make much sense.

      1. I'm not suggesting they should specifically try to sign Rasmus, just that I'd prefer they let Santana play short and sign someone to play center. Rasmus is similar enough to Cabrera as a hitter to fulfill a similar need in the lineup. (If a low OBP guy with moderate power is a "need.")

    3. Agreed. Middle infielders- Santana, Escobar, Dozier. I am ok with those options. I could stand behind Santana, or a platoon of Hicks and Schafer, keeping CF warm for Buxton later in the summer, or 2016.

      My bigger concern is LF, RF, DH. Is Hunter going to fade? Is Arcia going to adjust to MLB pitching and put up more consistent numbers? Is Vargas going to turn into a pumpkin? If any of those 3 struggle or get hurt, we have no depth at all on the current roster. We will be back to plugging in Nunez in left field or DH'ing.

      I hope they decide to ride with what they got for one more year. If the starting pitching over-achieves and we are in the mix at the break, then tinker with the roster. Everything right now needs to be pointed at 2016 and 2017 seasons. Instead of picking up someone like Cabrera, give at bats to who we have, plus the Polancos of the world if injuries arise.

      1. Is Hunter going to continue to fade?
        FTFY

        I wouldn't worry about DH -- we have several competent DH bats, and I have a whole lot more faith in Mollie to choose the right platoon for a given day than ever with Gardy.

    4. Even if they decide to put Danny Santana in center, I'm not sure Asdrubal Cabrera is significantly better than Eduardo Escobar.

      1. There were some rumors earlier that Escobar was potentially someone they were trading. Given the number of futility infielders the Twins have had as both starters and actual utility guys over the year, I absolutely love the idea of Escobar, a guy who has some positive value, as your 3rd infielder playing a few times a week. Getting rid of him to pay Adsdrubal Cabrera a bunch of money or put Nunez into that role is a pretty unwise baseball move in my opinion.

        1. I can see why they might think that trading Escobar now would be selling high, but I still don't think you're going to get enough for him to make it worthwhile. I agree, I'd rather keep him unless they can replace him with someone significantly better.

        2. Like any trade, it depends on what you get back. The Twins don't view Escobar as a long-term starting player. The bench is unimportant for a team not expecting to contend, so if they can get back quality pitching for Escobar, I would have no problem. But trading him just to bring in someone like Cabrera would not be good use of resources, to say the least.

          1. if they can get back quality pitching for Escobar, I would have no problem.

            I agree. I just don't think that's very likely.

    1. I'm listening! I can't watch that video at work, but I'll make sure to later. I like Sarah, but she's definitely ripe for parody. The first two minutes of the final episode are classic.

    2. I listened to the first three episodes, but I didn't care for it. I'm not a big "This American Life" person, so the last thing I need is essentially a TAL episode that takes 12 hours to listen to.

        1. I feel like I would've felt exploited while listening to it, so I've shied away thus far. I'll probably listen to an episode or two to make sure, but even then, Mags' caveat applies.

          1. Sometimes, this is absolutely true. Maybe it was the legal nature of the thing? Looking over my FB feed, it seems like there are relatively few of my attorney friends paying attention to/commenting on it. So maybe I'm just in that boat?

            Either way, I felt like there was some significant attention paid to fairly insignificant details. In the first episode the spent five minutes wringing their hands over why a witness wouldn't talk to them and then she did. That was 5 minutes of my life I wasn't getting back.

  4. FiveThirtyEight says that at the end of the 2013-2014 season, the Twolves had the 10th best expectation of championships in the next five years: 0.25*. Right now? That number is second-last, at 0.02 championships.

    *not the same as a 25% chance of winning at least one championship: it might have been something like:
    83% no championships
    10% one championship
    6% two championships
    1% three championships
    0% four or five championships

    1. Wow is right. I guess they think the future is now. With Bogut out indefinitely, there is going to be a huge fight in the West for home court. This makes Dallas a serious title threat.

      1. Kudos to the Mavs. I haven't said much, but the start to this NBA season has been absolutely terrific. I know, injuries, but that Western conference has EIGHT powerful teams (counting OKC). It's going to be a free-for-all.

  7. Home from department holiday happy hour at Keegan's with two tickets to Twinsfest won in the dice game. Also with a taste for New Holland Oatmeal Stout.

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