Brock Beauchamp

Doesn't it make sense that it took pitchers some time to build a book on him, though? He only had 134 PAs last season and played in just 46 games. Last season, pitchers threw him a fastball 58.1% of the time. This season it's 54.8%. Last season, pitchers threw him a slider 15.4% of the time. This season it's 21.0%. That could be SSS variation or it could be pitchers opening 2016 with a more comprehensive book on Byron, one that says "this kid can't hit a breaking ball". The fact that Buxton *might* be adjusting and overcoming that pitch selection is promising. Lots of speculation, few answers.

It's a legitimate point and one that is hard to quantify. I think it boils down to personal outlook. Again, I'm not saying the Twins shouldn't trade Santana, only that they should demand a solid return if they do so.

Buxton is taking roughly half a pitch more per plate appearance this season. 2015: 3.72 2016: 4.16

Agreed. But all it takes is a decent-to-pretty-good Berrios and the staff suddenly looks much better. It won't win any awards but it might be enough to get by. Gibson, Santana, Berrios, Duffey, Pitcher X isn't a postseason winner but it might be enough to keep the Twins in the game provided the offense is adequate. And we shouldn't ignore how much better the defense is today and how much that's going to help a staff that struggles to miss bats. The infield is acceptable but that outfield of Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler is going to catch a lot of baseballs. Again, not saying the Twins are on the verge of contending, only that I wouldn't rule it out, either.

We've all had our moments while watching Byron. Is he a bust? Will his talent transition to MLB? How has he been this bad? Well, there might be a small light at the end of the tunnel. Here are Buxton's splits between his AAA stint this season: Pre-demotion: .156 / .208 / .289 / .497, 49 PAs, 2 BB, 24 SO, .333 BABIP That's... Horrible. Just shy of striking out a full 50% of the time. Everything about that stat line makes you cringe. Post-demotion: .236 / .272 / .396 / .668, 115 PAs, 6 BB, 37 SO, .343 BABIP Okay, still kinda bad... But the strikeouts have dropped from 50% to 32%. Still high but perfectly within reason for a 22 year old player with 300 career MLB plate appearances. His BABIP is steady so he's not getting lucky with balls dropping into the green parts of the field. And oddly enough, Buxton's splits tell a story of struggling to figure out LHP: LHP: .167 / .241 / .313 / .553 RHP: .233 / .259 / .388 / .648 Buxton had a similarly odd MiLB handed split in 2015 but lacked that split in other seasons (primarily 2013 and 2016, as I disregard his injury-plagued 2014 season entirely). Is there something about lefties that confound Buxton or is this a SSS blip? Given how his MiLB track record is mixed, I'm not sure. To open the season, I said I'd be happy if Buxton finished with a .700 OPS. I'd be satisfied if he reached .680. Well, it's an uphill battle for him to get there but here are his two week splits: .267 / .313 / .467 / .779 Now, no way in hell do I expected Byron to go down the stretch with a .780 OPS but... Are we finally seeing the emergence of that prodigious talent we've waited years to witness?

I just don't know about next year, which is why I'd strongly consider hedging the Dozier and Santana bets until next July (but, again, if the offer is generous you take it...). People watched the first half Twins stumble and bumble their way to one of the worst records in baseball. It was awful. Well, there's still half a season left to be played. What happens if the Twins play a second half with a healthy Sano, an emergent Kepler, and a steadily improving Buxton? What if Berrios comes up in two weeks and posts league average numbers? What if the season closes out with a .500 record in the second half? At that point, do we still consider the 2017 Twins a failure before the offseason begins? I don't believe I'm ready to make that call. But, again, any and all offers should be heard. If the offer is good, Ryan should take it. I'm skeptical the 2017 team will be able to contend but I also think it's foolish to write off their contention in July of 2016.

I have a strict "No Onomatopoeia" rule when it comes to food and drink.

Yep. Average pitchers don't pitch only average starts. They pitch phenomenal starts and they pitch clunker starts, often stringing together one or the other for brief periods of time.

The Twins have a glut of mid-level prospects coming through the system (and will add more next June). If that's all they can get for Santana, they should keep him. If they can't get at least a top 75-100 guy relatively close to the majors, I don't really see the point in trading Ervin. He's not the problem in the Twins rotation; once Nolasco and Milone are cleared out of town, there's plenty of space for the youngsters in the rotation.

I doubt Molitor sends signals to Mauer when to swing.

I spend most work days actively working on company projects.

Well played. Both you and Schaefer.

Ick. That's all I can say. Ick.

Bah. It's a nice night to spend a bunch of long innings out on the mound. Basically a vacation.

I thought the same. As long as the kid isn't striking out, I'm okay with it.

Tuesday.

I just noticed TD passed 500,000 posts.

That's what happens when the team ends the first half with a 1-80 record.

All of you are only pawns in game of life.

It's absolutely necessary because reasons.

I have to say that the iPad multitasking with the MLB app is pretty outstanding. I can listen to the game, participate on the forums, and check in with just a swipe.

Okay, let me lay this out clearly because obviously, nick didn't get his point across: If you're such a sanctimonious ass that you feel the need to attack Neil Allen or another poster for not piling on Neil Allen, think long and hard for a moment. No one here is condoning drunk driving. It's an awful thing to do and puts innocent people at risk. But addiction is a real thing and it sucks. So, if you really feel the need to rip Allen to pieces, HERE ARE THE RULES: 1. Post every bad thing you've ever done in your life. I mean, the really awful stuff. The things that make you embarrassed to be in the same room with another human being, the things that make you want to crawl into a hole and never leave again. 2. Wait for other people to view the thread and rip you to shreds for being such an awful piece of walking, talking human excrement. 3. THEN AND ONLY THEN can you say mean things about Neal Allen. Have it it. You've earned your stripes. No one here thinks it's okay to drive drunk. That's not the point. Showing compassion for someone in pain is not the same as accepting their behavior.

I guess that just boils down to difference of opinion. If Sano, Berrios, Kepler, and Buxton all post good seasons, the Twins are a pretty good team in a hurry. I'm all for shedding veterans in a smart, controlled way but given how many young players are on this team and how quickly they can break out, I think blowing it all up is knee-capping yourself unnecessarily. It's unlikely, but not impossible, for the Twins to compete in 2017. It's more likely in 2018... And if you've shed every decent veteran player and haven't restocked with free agents by that time, it could be hard to win. Basically, I'm down with trading several of Nunez, Suzuki, Santana, Dozier, Abad, etc... But not all of them. The trick is to choose the right guys to keep (several of those decisions are NOT hard but Santana and Dozier are a bit trickier).

I could be wrong but I think GM has a higher dividend. I invested in GM about a year ago... Static stock price, nice dividend.

I think it's a byproduct of a few things: 1. Apple has more money than they know what to do with... No point in leaving it in a bank to waste away. 2. Apple is too stringent with their purchases of other companies (as I pointed out in a later thread). 3. A nice byproduct of investing in yourself is that your stock is unlikely to be as affected by market fluctuations and it shows stability. 4. Apple, at least outwardly, has lacked imagination since Jobs died and doesn't have enough good ideas to consume all that money in R&D (though their R&D expenditures have exploded in recent years). Mostly, I think it's number one. It's mind-boggling when you realize that Apple has enough money to pay for 80% of Amazon's market capitalization in cash.