MIN 5, DET 4: Take a Bow, Joe

Well played, Mauer.

It seems like we go nuts whenever Joe hits a home run, they're so rare. That's not necessarily a knock against him, and he is great in clutch situations. I'd just like to see him hit one out of the yard more than once a month.

Ah the great debate with Joe.  Big spot, great hit, clutch.  But if it were not for some questionable calls, he would be on first base, more than willingly.  

Best in MLB with RISP this year.  Kind of sums up Joe, always a great hitter with RISP...but very willing to talk a walk with RISP too.

It worked out great tonight.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the Mauer bashing. It wasn't his fault the Twins offered him the contract. 6 time All Star, 3 Gold Gloves, 1 MVP and 5 silver slugger awards. It is not all about homeruns.

If you look at the stats, Mauer's are rather surprising.

Mauer's BA is something like .426 with RISP. (in that particular category, last I looked, he was 2nd among all AL 1B.)

He is a pitchers nightmare in that scenario.

Good job, Mr. Mauer.

One of the funner games this season. Vulture wins are sweet.

If you look at the stats, Mauer's are rather surprising.

 

Mauer's BA is something like .426 with RISP. (in that particular category, last I looked, he was 2nd among all AL 1B.)

 

He is a pitchers nightmare in that scenario.

 

Good job, Mr. Mauer.

Well, to me it's not really surprising.  And It's not just the BA. The OBP is over .500 and the slg % is over .600.

Thing is, he only has 78 PA with RISP this year.

BTW, which AL 1B has a higher BA w/RISP?

Any analysis of the BP usage tonight?  I.e was Magill getting a special look see?  Rogers was brought in facing a switch hitter, correct?  Looking at Tom's excellent spreadsheet, it seems that Hildenberger was just as rested on this night.

I guess developmentally, I'm impressed with the last two days of managing the BP.  I was one that lamented letting Erv comeback out and get into trouble, but I think that situation is exactly what we want to see May master--so why not now when it doesn't matter.  Same with last night--get a really good look at Magill, and if that doesn't work, see what Rogers can do in a tight situation.  I like it.

The HR was nice...notable for its rarity.

The home run was awesome.

I wasn’t expecting a home run but I was expecting Joe to come through. He is the Twin I want up in that situation.

In a lost season like this one, these sorts of feel-good moments (Mauer's pinch-hit homer in particular) seem all the more sweeter. A fun game indeed.

So, why did we sign all those F.A. in the off season?  I hope this shows the F.O. to trust the Farm System we have.  I've got no problem bringing in guys to S.T. but we don't need to Sign So-So F.A. 

One of the reason for signing free agents is to be able to flip them for prospects in July.  Not something we did much of prior to this year, but they did a great job in the last month with Lynn, Duke and Rodney.  

Yup. Even if against the Tigers, it's fun to see a win in this manner. And it was the first pinch-hit home run by the Twins all season.

The first pinch-hit homer by the Twins all year?! Yikes! Now I'm depressed all over again.

Ooops ... sorry ... at least that's what I thought I heard the broadcasters say. I'd be more than happy to be wrong on that.

Mauer has come to the plate 78 times with RISP this year and walked only 13 times.  That's, what, a hair less than 17% of the time? And two of those walks were intentional.  So really, more like 14% of the time.

So I wouldn't expect him to look for a walk in that situation. Nor would I expect a HR :-) 

But I am happy for him and the team he hit the HR.

Going for 5 in a row today, all aboard!

Just stopped at home to pick up some change for work -- my wife and I run our own clothing store -- and fired up the remote to see when the Twins play today. But first the replay from last night was on, and they were just at the 7th, so was mighty fun to see how delirious everyone was greeting Joe in the dugout after his blast. Adults playing a kids game, yes, but it's a joy always to watch pure joy.

My reasons for brining back Mauer for 2019:

- still a very good defensive first baseman

- Rooker has not taken an at beatable AA, may take another year before he is ready for an everyday role.

- we have a hole at 1B and DH for 2019. Austin should have one of the spots. Sano will spend some time at both. Mauer can rotate in.

- who will be the lead off hitter in 2019?