Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The two time World Series champion Minnesota Twins won a baseball game last night against the one time World Series champion Texas Rangers.

How did they win it? Rangers manager Bruce Bochy likely "punted" the game. This is something Twins manager Rocco Baldelli often does, and there are some fans who get angry whenever it happens. But last night shows that other managers do it too. Even guys like Bochy, who have a reserved spot in Cooperstown.

Minnesota was leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth last night. Former top prospect Jack Leiter surrendered a lead-off double to Byron Buxton, and was lifted at just 87 pitches. On paper, it's a very crucial moment of the game. The Twins have a (very fast) runner on second with nobody out. 2-3-4 in the order is coming up. Texas is trailing by a run, but the game can quickly slip away.

So who does Bochy turn to out of the bullpen? Jacob Latz! Your classic Quad-A left handed reliever. The Rangers version of Kody Funerburk. He made his Major League debut in 2021, but has only accumulated 64 big league appearances in that time frame. In that same stretch of time, Latz has pitched in 102 minor league games. And that was while spending 2022 primarily as a starter in the minor leagues, which kind of caps the amount of appearances you can make.

Putting Latz in that spot last night went exactly how the common Twins fan would expect Funderburk to do in a similar situation. The Twins very quickly expanded their lead to 6-2, and the game was pretty much over right there. Jhoan Duran and all the top relievers were rested after a day off on Monday and blowout loss on Tuesday. Bruce Bochy punted that game. He decided in the fifth inning that his better arms would be saved for a later date, and he just handed Minnesota an easy victory. 

Yes, Baldelli will punt games going forward. But don't think too much of it. Every manager does it. Even Hall of Fame managers like Bochy. And he's managing a Rangers team that, honestly, really needs to win games. Every game is important to the Twins, but that might go double for Texas. They're 32-36 right now.

And it's an old(ish) roster too. A window might be closing pretty soon for the 2023 World Series champions. If they can't be a playoff team now, maybe it'll be awhile before they're back. The pitching staff has Jack Leiter. But look at everyone else. Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi are 35. Jacob de Grom is 37. Their two best relievers are 33 and 34. Offensive centerpieces Corey Seager and Marcus Semien are not getting any younger either.

They got their ring, so it's all worth it. Not hating. You'd trade the fall off in later years for a ring every single time. But that fall off might be here, and Bruce Bochy is out here punting some games, possibly helping close the window even quicker.