Diesel

Arraez seems a bit faster this year

Let's hope Sano can get hot now

Twins legend Bartolo Colon is in the stands

*knock knock knock* "Is this thing on? Are we live?" Given the Miami Marlins fiasco the past few days, I had my doubts that the season would be able to continue just a couple days ago. However, the Twins will continue to fight for one of the million postseason spots available this year. The last game thread I was supposed to do was actually cancelled, but not because of COVID-19. A team that won't be named killed off the Twins' World Series hopes in quick fashion. However, it is a new year, and as we have all seen, ANYTHING can happen in 2020. For example, did I see myself working 40 hour weeks while having a full college schedule online for 2 months at the beginning of the year? Of course not! A lot of crazy things have happened to all of us this year, so I hope this baseball season can continue on to give us a sense of normalcy through all of it. Luckily for us, we get to see our team at its maximum potential tonight. "The Death Lineup" RF Maximilian Kepler-Rozycki 3B Josh Donaldson SS Jorge Polanco DH Nelson Cruz LF Eddie Rosario C Mitch Garver 2B Luis Arraez 1B Miguel Sano CF Byron Buxton (HE'S BACK!) SP: Homer Bailey St. Louis Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong 3B Tommy Edman 1B Paul Goldschmidt SS Paul DeJong DH Matt Carpenter C Yadier Molina RF Dexter Fowler LF Tyler O'Neill CF Harrison Bader SP: Carlos Martinez It surprised me when I found out that this is Martinez's first start in 2 years. This guy was an up and rising ace a few years ago! Elbow injuries can hurt pitchers though. I expect this game to be an offensive showcase for both teams, with the better bullpen performance nabbing the win. As a resident of South Dakota, it intrigued me when I found out that SD Governor Kristi Noem recently launched an ad campaign in Minnesota inviting businesses and residents to come to my state. It turns out that our two states have had our governors arguing for decades! During the 1980s, governors Rudy Perpich and "Wild" Bill Janklow had an extensive feud that reached national attention. Minnesota Governor Perpich claimed that "South Dakota is 50th in everything," while South Dakota Governor Janklow said that "I suppose they'll claim they have major league baseball in Minnesota." Of course, we know what happened just a short time later: Let's play ball!

kepler could have probably gotten that one, but I’m OK with being careful out there in a 9-0 game

That was a loud crack of the bat. Dick was right to cover the ears

Jake Cave will be a starting outfielder somewhere next year.

Dobnak passed the eye test for me last year. Has legit movement on all of his pitches and has enough velo and spin on his fastball to make hitters sweat. Wouldn’t be shocked if Homer Bailey moves to the pen once Odorizzi returns

Winner winner chicken dinner

Sano barely had time to get at bats this summer. He will catch up

1 hour for 2 innings... yikes

Kepler rules over Giolito AND Bauer now. Nice

This lineup is scary. Giolito is rattled

Eddie took a walk!?!

Kepler doing his best Brian Dozier impression

This is definitely going to be an interesting year. 2020 has been wild, but this will be a fun few months. Go Twins!

Apparently its 10 games each against division foes, 4 games each against the NL Central. We won’t lose to the Yankees this year (in the regular season at least)!

Keep in mind I said if the sexual assault allegations are true. I guess I’m just sick of child molesters and pedophiles getting away with crimes. In my state, a former state legislator who used his power to sexually assault high schoolers (and has been accused by three different people with credible accusations) just got elected as mayor in his hometown. Those kids will have to deal with the pain this event has caused them for the rest of their lives. I don’t personally feel bad for anyone who would hurt children in this way.

If Sano’s brother did get sexually assaulted by this man, I honestly don’t care what Miguel did to him. Child molesters are stains on this Earth. As sad as it sounds, I think he needs to get his family out of the DR

I am going to go out on a limb and say that the Pohlads aren’t one of the owners wanting to cheapen salaries to players by this much. This is shown by their large donation in honor of George Floyd and their willingness to have a higher payroll this year, along with being one of the leaders in paying minor leaguers. Since the Twins had nearly a decade of mediocrity, I’m guessing the team is trying to bring in as many new fans as possible. I am hoping for a season soon.

twins probably need to trade at least one of their power 1b/of players before 2021 season starts..... I hope these guys can show their potential in the minors sooner rather than later

I think for everybody, three things should be pretty obvious. 1. George Floyd was murdered. 2. Police brutality is an issue in this country that should be addressed. 3. A few violent looters and rioters are destroying the image and the communities of thousands of peaceful protesters doing the right thing. I don’t understand how people can support violence of any kind, whether to business owners (some who are POC) currently in America, to the police officers tear gassing peaceful protesters, to the violent oppression of women and LGBT people in the Middle East, to the disgusting regimes of China and North Korea. Siding with a certain political party with absolutely everything shows you are a sheep. We all have to figure out our own political viewpoints and have discussions with one another. That isn’t happening in our America nowadays, and I place blame on both sides of the political spectrum. The refusal to have civil discussions by both the moderators/owners and the commenters is just another example of this.

Another omission that I see is The Knoblauch/Gagne decoy in the 8th immediately before that 3-2-3 double play. Lonnie Smith would have easily scored without the confusion.

Out of Santana’s era (peak between 2000 and 2010), there are only two other starting pitchers that will probably make the Hall of Fame: CC and Roy Halladay. Johan Santana is the 3rd best pitcher of that era from accolades. Johan and Joe Mauer are definitely Hall of Famers.

It’s ridiculous that Torii Hunter will probably get a larger percentage of votes this year than Johan did. Hope the Vet’s Committee gives him a long look. What other pitchers from that era will get in otherwise? Santana, Halladay, and Sabathia sounds about right.