Game Thread--Twins @ Royals 7:10 PM 4/21/15

[stringer bell]

This is my inaugural run at the mighty Game Thread.  I thought I would follow Brian's design since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but decided against it.  A copy of a Rembrandt is a pale imitation.  Brian's format can be imitated but not duplicated IMHO.
 
I instead will talk about why the Twins are 5-8 going into tonight while the Royals are 10-3.  Maybe we can summarize and say "they have better players", but what fun is that?  I don't claim to be a stats whiz, but we can see why what has happened has taken place.

 

Royals:  They are 10-3 because they have hit well and pitched well.  How well?  They are first in runs scored, have a team OPS of .810 (.66 better than second-best Oakland), and while notorious for their lack of power, they have hit some long balls. The team batting average is .310, far better than any Twins regular.  Their pitching is also ranks highly.  They are fourth in team ERA, and have held opponents to a .221 batting average.  The Royals' staff has allowed 13 homers.  We know that the Royals are strong defensively, as well.  Their fine defense probably makes the pitcher numbers more gaudy.

 

Twins:  Comparing the Twins stats to the numbers the Royals have put up shows a pretty stark contrast.  The Twins are dead last in the AL in runs per game and have the league's worst team OPS.  They are last in homers and RBI.  There isn't a silver lining with pitching either.  The Twins rank last in team ERA, having allowed the second most runs and hits per inning, while striking out the fewest hitters. We also know that the Twins' leaky defense hurts the numbers that the pitching staff manage to post.

 

Today the pitching opponents are Tommy Milone and Justin Vargas.  Milone has had one fine start and battled his way through his second outing when he opposed Vargas.  Milone has the only road win for the Twins.  Vargas owned the Twins last year, but they touched him up for 10 hits and four earned runs in 3+ innings last week in Minnesota. 

 

The only Twins swinging a remotely hot bat of late is Trevor Plouffe.  He was hitting .118 when he hit the walk-off homer against the Indians on Friday night.  Since then, he is 5-7 with a couple of doubles. With a team BA of .310, almost everyone is swinging well for the Royals. 

 

I want to thank all involved for the opportunity to post the game thread.  I will try something completely different tomorrow, but I don't do zany.  BTW, happy birthday to Ashbury John.  A lot of people I know have April birthdays, maybe it has something to do with those hot July evenings.  Let's bring home a winner tonight or at least have a good time trying!

[stringer bell]

Lineups to follow:

 

Danny Santana -S SS
Torii Hunter - R RF
Joe Mauer - L 1B
Brian Dozier - R 2B
Kennys Vargas - S DH
Trevor Plouffe - R 3B
Oswaldo Arcia - L LF
Kurt Suzuki - R C
Shane Robinson - R CF

  Tommy Milone - L SP

 

Alcides Escobar - R SS
Mike Moustakas - L 3B
Lorenzo Cain - R CF
Eric Hosmer - L 1B
Kendrys Morales - S DH
Alex Gordon - L LF
Salvador Perez - R C
Paulo Orlando - R RF
Christian Colon - R 2B

  Jason Vargas - L SP

 

- taking the liberty of filling this in for you - thanks for a great opening writeup - ashburyjohn

[jimmer]

In today's Fangraphs Chat, Dan Symborski (creator of ZiPS) was on his game.  There were a few questions about our Danny Santana.  Not sure how many will like the answers, but they seem pretty spot on.  There's also a great gif.

 

Here's a random question and answer:

 

'which baseball skill do you think is most underrated?'

Dan Szymborski: 'Keeping your dumb mouth shut.'

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dan-szymborski-fangraphs-chat-42115/

 

[ashbury]

'which baseball skill do you think is most underrated?'

 

Dan Szymborski: 'Keeping your dumb mouth shut.'

Or this. "Who is the hottest chick on Game of Thrones?" He'd be right at home at a game thread. We should invite him.

 

_{^{(Quiz Answer: Mary Ann, of course.)}}

 

 

[jimmer]

 

Or this. "Who is the hottest chick on Game of Thrones?" He'd be right at home at a game thread. We should invite him.

 

_{^{(Quiz Answer: Mary Ann, of course.)}}

yeah, that came from the lightning round of the chat. I love that part of the chat. I liked his answer too.  I've loved Natalie Dormer since 'Tudors'. I was surprised with his answer about the Ninja Turtles though.  I would have guessed he'd say Donatello.

 

I will invite him next time I chat with him.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

How's everyone doing tonight? 

 

Having a good day???

  

[Hrbowski]

 

In today's Fangraphs Chat, Dan Symborski (creator of ZiPS) was on his game.  There were a few questions about our Danny Santana.  Not sure how many will like the answers, but they seem pretty spot on.  There's also a great gif.

 

Here's a random question and answer:

 

'which baseball skill do you think is most underrated?'

Dan Szymborski: 'Keeping your dumb mouth shut.'

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dan-szymborski-fangraphs-chat-42115/

I LOVE participating in fangraphs chats.

[Squirrel]

 

I brought up this off topic subject a few days ago and got a couple of responses that I thought were interesting.  

 

I am an Arod skeptic. The media is going gaga about how the ball is jumping off his bat and how remarkable it is for a 39 year old man on the decline of his career to be performing at such a high level.

 

One of the responses was that he is probably being tested multiple times a week.  Actually, he will be tested randomly 9 times this year and every year that he plays - 3 blood tests, 6 urine tests.

 

Also, I'd like to point out that Arod has never tested positive for PEDs, even though he has admitted to doing them.  He was only caught because the lab he was working with was busted.  He knows his way around the testing.  Just saying...

You should start your own topic thread with this in the Other Baseball forum. This would be perfect for there and you'd likely get broader discussion there than in a game thread. In a game thread you're likely to just get a bunch of us chiding A-Rod because, well, it's a game thread.

[Willihammer]

For anyone else listening on the radio tonight, drink when Gladden says "Al-see-dees" like he's some kind of STI

[Hrbowski]

Herrera was suspended, but he will appeal it so he can pitch to us.

[Bark's Lounge]

Raise the flag!

 

[Bark's Lounge]

And...

 

And...

 

A new one for you Mr. Brian

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

For anyone else listening on the radio tonight, drink when Gladden says "Al-see-dees" like he's some kind of STI

I find it works better if I drink BEFORE Gladden speaks.

[Willihammer]

Which is less likely. Paulo Orlando gets a hit that's not a triple, or Suzuki gets hit?

[Craig Arko]

How's everyone doing tonight? 

 

Having a good day???

Not too shabby a day. We had a scare at work where there was a gas leak reported and the building was evacuated. Most people in my area went home to login from there, but three of us toughed it out.

 

Since most of the bosses were gone, I did take the liberty of following Mr. Meyer's performance. Pretty impressive. Now just do it two or three more times and we may begin to think he's ready.

[Willihammer]

Which is less likely, Kelvin Herrera throws behind a batter by accident, or Morales goes the whole game with his shirt tucked in?

[Craig Arko]

Because every game thread needs a bit of musical accompaniment.

 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Because every game thread needs a bit of musical accompaniment.

Truer words have not been spoken! Anyone else have recommendations for the listening enjoyment before the game starts?

 

And i have not watched enough Doctor Who in my time!

 

I have been loop champion on a Doctor Who pinball machine, and i suppose that must count for something.

 

With all the excitement in Oakland, would it be worth joking that KC has signed a Dalek as the new closer?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

oy, and you had the hazmat alert on your street recently too (I think that was you)

[ashbury]

 

Because every game thread needs a bit of musical accompaniment.

 

I always play the first few bars of this theme on my nose when a rerun comes on.

[Platoon]

I am pleased to tune in, and see that the conversation is at a far higher plane than last nights! While I know it would be a surprise to some, I have extremely high standards and was appalled by the tenor of the thread last night. Admittedly the Twins defense was disgusting, but there was no reason whatsoever to so openly discuss it, as there might have been ladies and small children watching! Btw, i did find the discussions about urinal etiquette hilarious!! .

[Jerr]

 

I find it works better if I drink BEFORE Gladden speaks.

But, isn't the drink when he says it, in ADDITION to the before????

[Minniman]

The Royals have six players hitting better than Joe Mauer including five players batting .300 or better.

 

The Twins are officially Mount Crushmore no more.

 

[Tibs]

Does Tommy Milone lead the starting pitchers in K/9?

[Jerr]

 

The Royals have six players hitting better than Joe Mauer including five players batting .300 or better.

 

The Twins are officially Mount Crushmore no more.

But, they only have 2 hitters batting more than  Robinson.....

[Riverbrian]

 

Which is less likely. Paulo Orlando gets a hit that's not a triple, or Suzuki gets hit?

 

 

Where is Chief to Answer "Yes" 

[gocgo]

Tommy Milone for the AL Cy Young...you heard it here first.

[Riverbrian]

 

Not too shabby a day. We had a scare at work where there was a gas leak reported and the building was evacuated. Most people in my area went home to login from there, but three of us toughed it out.

Since most of the bosses were gone, I did take the liberty of following Mr. Meyer's performance. Pretty impressive. Now just do it two or three more times and we may begin to think he's ready.

 

Gas Leak? 

 

Umm... Ok... I'm not going there.

 

Nevermind

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Tommy Milone for the AL Cy Young...you heard it here first.

and last

[gocgo]

 

You should start your own topic thread with this in the Other Baseball forum. This would be perfect for there and you'd likely get broader discussion there than in a game thread. In a game thread you're likely to just get a bunch of us chiding A-Rod because, well, it's a game thread.

Done.  Thanks for the input.