Cup of Coffee

20 June 2016: Terry Ryan Needs to Go

94 Comments

Ed Thoma:

Ryan, in his semi-regular radio appearance Sunday, said that the current plan is for Miguel Sano to go on a rehab assignment later in the week. And when the big guy returns to the majors, it won't be as an outfielder.

He'll DH, the general manager said, while deferring to the absent manager, Paul Molitor. He'll play third base some. He might even play some first base. But not right field, which was Sano's usual position before his hamstring pull, because of the leg issues. Sano's future? Said Ryan: "No question, it's third base."

94 thoughts on “20 June 2016: Terry Ryan Needs to Go”

  1. Sounds like Trevor Plouffe also needs to go.

    Although Baghdad Bob Bremer already hinted that what will happen is that Park will be sent down to keep all the relievers.

    2. Can't shrink down the bullpen, too many worn out arms!!!

      I do think Park going down will be the move since it will clear up some of the log jam and they can do it without exposing anyone to waivers.

    5. I think Plouffe is playing hurt. He's not an All-Star, but an injury is the easiest way to explain him falling off a cliff so quickly. But since the Twins weren't proactive about moving him before he got hurt, now they are probably going to lose him for nothing.

      1. The smartest thing for them to do is to put Plouffe on the DL and have Nunez play third until Sano is ready and then Sano can play third and they won't have to decide what to do with both Plouffe and Sano until Plouffe returns. Of course, they won't do that. They'll run Plouffe into the ground and ruin his value and/or covertly call him soft if he complains about an injury or tells them he's too hurt to play.

          1. Well, either way, if he's not hurt then he just sucks and his sitting on the bench shouldn't be an issue. Basically, he's been getting a pass for being really bad this year. Haven't even really heard criticism about Plouffe from the TV or radio guys, especially not on the level of Dozier who's now almost to league average in his OPS.

          2. ...and on the Twins' training staff to acknowledge he's hurt...

            ...and on the Twins admitting it to themselves, Plouffe, and the fans.

      1. Laugh about many of us dealing with snow all you want, but 104 doesn't happen. WUnderground says the high today is 79° F.

        1. I'd still rather deal with this. No shoveling involved and temps this high are rare, especially in June, and the heat doesn't impair driving (although you still need to be smart about toting water, etc., for emergencies). Plus it was down in the low 70s last night, so there is a nice range. I'd rather have 110 in SoCal than 95 in Minnesota when sweat would be pouring off me because it was so humid that it wouldn't evaporate and it would still be in the 80s at night.

            1. It probably happens more in St. Louis, but I've experienced that in Minnesota. I do remember being in KC one summer and walking outside and being hit by a wall of humidity.

              1. The Summer of '88 is burned into my memory, perhaps equaled only by the Summer of '12. Even then, I didn't find myself missing San Diego, much less Twentynine Palms.

                  1. Give me cold over heat any day.

                    agree. One can always layer up on clothes when its cold, but can only take so many clothes off when its hot.

                    1. Iaalwayshhearpeople that.Asonewho isfrequentlycold,Icantell youit's nottrue.Inthewinter, Icanput onasmanylayersas I can andstillmove,andI'mstillcold.

                  1. From what I've read of 29 Palms, you couldn't pay me to visit, much less live there.

                  2. what socal said. Unless, uh, you live east of the 805. Then it gets hot.

                    My routine back in the grad school day was sweatshirt and shorts in the morning, removing sweatshirt by mid-morning. But, IIRC, our apartment had no air conditioning, nor any need for it. I think We had heat in the second apartment, but I can't recall ever using it.

                  3. San Diego's shorthand. I was actually at Pendleton, on one of the inland camps. The ocean breezes never reached us, and the heat just soaked into the valley. Nowhere near as hot as 29 Palms was, but without any breeze it always seemed more stifling.

                    1. Pendleton ain't San Diego.

                      for those unfamiliar, San Diego County is 4,526 square miles. That is larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut. Combined. Larger than Minnesota's second largest,
                      (Koochiching, 3,154 sq. miles; Minnesota's largest is St. Louis County at 6,860 sq. miles).

                    2. Since moving here, I've always said that when it comes to StL weather, I would rather live the summer in San Diego than the winter in Florida.

                    3. Yes, I know they're not the same, but for most conversations (particularly in the Midwest) they're functionally equivalent. Pendleton's fifty minutes up the coast from San Diego. For most people unfamiliar with the communities between LA & SD (to say nothing of the distinction SoCal residents make between "North County" communities and "San Diego") it's simply more convenient to say "San Diego" than "Camp Pendleton; it's a base roughly equidistant between San Diego & Anaheim, but really more San Diego in feel than LA, and extending twelve miles inland from the coast."

                      It's the same reason Mrs. Hayes says she's from Chicago when she actually grew up in a western suburb about the same distance from The Loop as Pendleton is from the Gaslamp.

                    5. Reminds me of when NASCAR is at the Speedway in Fontana. A lot of the national writers describe the races as being in L.A. or Hollywood. Fontana is definitely not either of those. To me, it was like describing something in St. Cloud as being in Minneapolis.

                    6. To me, it was like describing something in St. Cloud as being in Minneapolis.

                      Yup. Or Fairbault == St. Paul.

                    8. Rhu's link is pretty awesome and accurate.

                      How Often San Diego Has Cold Temperatures
                      San Diego normally does not have cold weather. Every day in a typical year warms to at least 50 degrees.

    3. 4:00 update: 106.9. The temp dropped pretty quickly thanks to wildfire smoke drifting over us. Haven't heard of anything near enough to threaten us, for now, anyways.

    4. Final update, 3:11 a.m.: 73.8. That's a 40-degree difference from high to low, which is why it's real nice to live near the San Bernardino Mountains. I've got the windows open and the exhaust fan over the stove on trying to pump out the hotter air and create some air flow. Normally, we have wind to spare, but there's very little breeze now so it is still 79 degrees in my back office. I keep the thermostat at 78 when the family is home and the office tends to be 2 or 3 degrees warmer. So we survived the hottest day of the year on the longest day of the year. Today is supposed to be 15 degrees cooler, which means "only" in the upper 90s, which will be nothing to mention in a few weeks since that will be normal high temps.

  4. My wife got sick on Father's Day. She blames my mushrooms. I don't. Only new one was some Wood Ear, which is common on Chinese cooking so she's had it before without incident. She had just come in from gardening, so maybe ingested something from out there?
    She had been the scheduled as the cantor for mass but had to bail on that.
    At first we were going to meet her parents for a pontoon ride and fishing on Lake Osakis. At first that was scratched for just a late lunch in St. Cloud and then even that was cancelled.
    I took my kids on a nature walk and then a bike ride (with a stop at the "rocky beach" under the Coon Rapids Dam). We had Domino's for dinner.

    I got my card this morning. I'll be getting a GPS thing for geocaching and logging mushroom trees, bird nests, and just overall hiking paths (and thus areas I've not checked). I had used one on our Flandrau trip and I thought it was cool how the trails showed up when you just carried it around. It was also the only thing I suggested when queried, so I thought it was a strong possibility.

    2. My Father's Day gift was a bird bath. Just started some feeders last month. They are too successful. Grackles like my seed and it only lasts two days. Going with different seed once I am out.

      1. Suggestion: Wait out the grackles a week or so. Don't put so much out at once. They and Red-winged Blackbirds are kindof nomadic once their chicks fledge (which they have for Grackles).
        Crows are a different kindof problem (they're too smart).

        A birdbath (with heater!) was another thing I should have mentioned.

      2. I also put out feeders a month or two ago - refilled the nyjer thistle seed once (goldfinches!) and have to put a new suet cake in this week (lots of birds - don't know them all yet) but I haven't added any black oil sunflower seeds since I first filled the feeder.

        Also, hummingbirds are awesome. Two different kinds (I dunno which) have nearly emptied the feeder this week.

        1. Hummingbirds and orioles are both awesome.

          Unluckily, we have another raccoon with a sweet tooth. I need to figure out how to make a raccoon-proof pole.

          1. We use a sheet metal pivoting squirrel baffle on our shepherds hook which seems to do the trick for squirrels. Could work for coons too I suppose.

            I'm currently battling a groundhog family - undermining the concrete skirt around our pool and tearing up & scattering my compost. I trapped and killed two last week and had only seen one more. On Friday morning, I counted FIVE! of the critters outside the burrow. Shot at one but wasn't able to retrieve it for disposal (in the field across the road) as it went back down the hole.

            Maybe the smell will force the remaining members to relocate...

          2. Vaseline kept ours safe for quite a while. I've contemplated tabasco in the hummingbird nectar. Doesn't look like there's any information on whether that'd be a problem.
            (Few birds can taste or smell, so spicy suet blocks are fine for dissuading all but the most hard-core mammals while not bothering the typical avians. I have no idea if that's true for hummingbirds, who can at least taste sweet.)

  5. For your consideration. At the end of their age-31 seasons:

    Michael Jordan
    10 - playoff appearances
    7 - won 1st round of playoffs
    5 - won conference semifinals
    3 - won conference finals
    3 - won NBA finals

    LeBron James
    11 - playoff appearances
    11 - won 1st round of playoffs
    8 - won conference semifinals
    7 - won conference finals
    3 - won NBA finals

    So, is it better to lose in the finals, or not make the finals at all?

    2. Lebron had almost 4 full seasons on Jordan through age 31. The first 2 weren't MJ's fault because players just weren't drafted out of high school back then in the NBA. I think in the end, as long as LeBron stays relatively healthy, he will end up with better regular season career accumulative numbers than Jordan just because of the mostly prime years Jordan lost to his 2 early retirements. Jordan could have been at the top of his game for at least another season or 2 even after his second retirement because the season before he won the scoring title and played in every game. If LeBron wins a couple more titles, I don't think there will be much debate as who is the best ever. I think LeBron has had easier path to the Finals than Jordan did for the most part but LeBron has had to face great teams in the Finals (Spurs and Warriors).

          1. I think Jordan's retirements are just part of his record, not something he should get a pass on. If he decided to take a break from basketball then he's just giving everyone else more of an open door to do more than him.

            But anyway, I'm just stirring the pot. To me the most amazing thing about LeBron is that he was supposed to be incredible. How many times has someone gotten tons of hype only to fall way, way short of that hype? I love a good underdog story, but based on the media storyline from when he was 18 (or younger), him falling anywhere short of greatest-of-all-time was somehow going to be a failing on his part. Accomplishing that without the expectations is nearly impossible, but accomplishing it with the expectations is harder, at least in my book.

            1. How much of that is succumbing to pressure versus it just being really hard to predict who is going to be great?

              1. I think just very hard to predict, although it seems less so in basketball. Basically, I think anyone good enough to play in the NBA should dominate in high school and the it's hard to tell how much more dominate players are and also if there are underlying weaknesses that lesser competition is unable to exploit. I think what sets LJ and MJ apart from the rest is they both have unparalleled inner drive to go along with unparalleled athletic ability.

              2. I'm sure there's some of each, but I think it's harder to achieve big when people say it's a done deal. I suppose it's a personal thing, but I think the media undersells how hard it is to live up to expectations like that.

            2. To me the most amazing thing about LeBron is that he was supposed to be incredible. How many times has someone gotten tons of hype only to fall way, way short of that hype?

              Thinly veiled KG criticisms!!!111one111!!!

              *speaking of stirring the pot. It's been a while since we had an Emeritus sighting*

    1. Wait, this may be better for Independence Day. For one thing, I'll then be outside of any city limits.

    2. No, but I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me. Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o'clock this afternoon... with nail polish. These f***ing amateurs...

    3. I had never looked up the weight of a stone. It's 14 lbs. I think this is a very useful unit and I'll begin using it in almost all settings.
      While my weight fluctuates, it's almost always the same whole number of stone.
      One ton is about 140 stone.
      Re-imagined song: "2300 stone and what d'ya get? Another day older and deeper in debt."

      1. I've always thought stone was a useful bodyweight measurement precisely for what you point out--it's hard to be too neurotic about small fluctuations if you're measuring it in stone.

      2. Usually you'll list your weight in stone and pounds. For example, I'm roughly 165 lb, or 11 stone 11 pounds (usually pronounced "Eleven stone eleven", sorta like how £5.63 wouild be "five pounds sixty-three")

      2. I don't need science-experiment grade stuff here. Doesn't someone have any just taking up space in their garage or basement or something?

        1. I'm thinking...a bunch of nails, ice cream bucket, drill press with as big a bit as you can find...like a blender, but for nails. Depending on forces exerted...maybe something sturdier than ice cream pail...

          1. I have some thoughts about how to make shavings, but I think that we're working too hard. Let's just put up a kickstarter for the 1600 bones and buy the raw ingredients and have one hell of a forth.

    5. Reminds me a tiny bit of my grandpa, retired from the C&NW RR, burning his garden every autumn with leftover flares from his days working the road. Better choose a still day and keep the grass wet. Exciting stuff in the pre-Internet, basic cable days!

      1. Hmm...I could probably collect some steel at work. Something tells me, though, iron ≠ steel for this purpose.

    1. That was great defense by Love, but I think Steph easily had him beat once or twice if he just wanted to go the basket, which he didn't. It's always easier to play defense when you know the guy has to go for 3.

      1. As someone in the comments noted, Lebron was lurking and ready. Steph, not having had great luck with that matchup this series decided to try and heave it over Love instead.

    2. But damn if I didn’t choke up a little at the sight of this harried, humbled doofus, this neurotic basketcase whose game some idiot described as “the basketball equivalent of a just-adopted shelter dog”

      Yeah, I loled.

  9. It looks like my phone made a mess of the L T E above. Sorry about that. Here's more or less what it's supposed to say:

    I hear people say that all the time. As one who's always cold, I can tell you it's not true. In the winter, I can put on as many layers as I can and still move, and I'm still cold.

  10. Today was closing for the sale of our home. I know I've mentioned it before, but the couple that bought it had an offer contingent on the sale of their home a year ago when we purchased it out from under them. Glad they got a second bite at it (indeed, their house happened to sell within days of us talking to the realtor about setting up a meeting). Things really could not have gone smoother than they did, and we aren't saddled with a house we don't want in a rural community where houses sit vacant for long stretches. But man... It was still so hard to say goodbye. 3 days shy of a year in that house, and a very very good year in most ways. We will miss it. But we went to the school board meeting where Philosofette will be teaching and met people and everyone seems excited to have us in our new town. So things work out too.

    It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy ... Let's go exploring!

    1. Good to hear, brother. We're working closer and closer to buying the house we have our eyes set on. Could take two months, but it'll be ours soon. Several hang ups are causing heartburn, but we'll get there. Also, when a co-worker says, "I don't mean to offend you, but why would such a smart guy buy a house in New Orleans" the correct answer is not, "wtf, bro".

Comments are closed.