LaBombo

Probably that one where they have identical clothes and hairstyles.

Is there a precedent for a game thread Winner posted before the first pitch?

Not sure if... ...ok to 'Like' picture of dead bird.

Assuming that the scorers could tell the difference with the Cy Young candidates they'd send to the mound.

Especially when they hog the computer...

The 2016 Twins are a Total Ellipse of the Heart... http://www.transcodes.com/communities/5/004/011/811/275/images/4623934439.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ciEBzjPXJFI/Ue1MNfa0TGI/AAAAAAAAAIg/dqjqrWuiIgw/s1600/positive-thinking.jpg

"Craig, it's here. It really is here." http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/21084/22735730_9.jpg?v=8D28033D9AE56B0

If you liked the show or if you've ever heard the DNA remix of Suzanne Vega's 'Tom's Diner' (and you have, whether you know it or not), then you have to watch this short and very funny video of clips from the show. Also a good synopsis of the almost impossibly campy show for the youngsters who don't remember the it even from syndication. http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5800000/My-Master-the-Weakling-3x05-i-dream-of-jeannie-5819787-768-576.jpg

Either a Fool of a Took, or the entire 2016 Twins bullpen. Your call. http://corecanvas.s3.amazonaws.com/theonering-0188db0e/gallery/original/trailerpippin011004c.jpg

Twins 2016 front office mission statement: "Initiative comes to thems that wait!"

Tim Laudner assures us that the Twins won't lose all their remaining games. So that's a load off. Tim Laudner in studio is like a big, friendly, hairless mastiff, but with less focus on sabermetrics. Laudy Laudy's Insight of the Night TM: "If Sano keeps hitting the ball hard, it will continue to go a long way".

This made me think immediately of another 'could be worse' moment... http://andrewsidea.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/youngfrankenstein8.png But then it occurred to me that for the last couple of weeks, bad weather has really been the most reliable thing standing between the Twins and a loss on any given night. So no, not even if it were raining could it be worse. If nothing else, though, maybe each loss will subtract a little momentum from the apparently almost runaway 'Rob Antony for GM' train.

Second point first; the word "minutiae" probably doesn't apply here. Antony was wholly unfamiliar with the concept of batting average on balls in play, for heaven's sake, which has been a fundamental cornerstone of the effort to reduce random effects in player metrics for over a decade, as well as freely available even to the public by the time of that conversation. But that distinction is irrelevant if you believe Antony has since done his homework and is now either thoroughly educated on advanced metrics, or at least in possession of even just a working vocabulary, which he lacked previously. Two problems with that. One is that as recently as last spring, during his tenure as acting GM no less, he continued to discuss player valuations using only rudimentary counting stats and old, cigar-chomping scout phrases like 'the ball jumps off his bat'. With respect to Dozier in particular, he recited counting stats while discussing his contract extension late last year, choosing to ignore Dozier's somewhat paradoxical metrics, especially his worrisome sellout to an extreme pull fly ball tendency that is almost exclusively the domain of aging, one-tool power hitters. The second problem to me is that while I am totally on board with learning from mistakes, how on earth did Antony find himself that far behind his peers with respect to metrics in the first place? The common thread in the background of virtually all pro baseball GM's, coaches, and scouts is an absolute love of baseball that dates back to early childhood. Combine that with an almost universal thirst among executives in any field for 'insider information' about their trade, and a major league front office's constant drive to outsmart the competition, and it's almost impossible to imagine how an ambitious, hard-working front office exec could have such a large blind spot regarding even basic baseball metrics, unless he simply refused to allow that they are potentially of value. And that's not a guy you want running your franchise. An army of Jack Goins won't get through to a GM Rob Antony if he doesn't understand their language or believe their message.

It's a matter of record that Rob Antony's understanding of baseball metrics is 15 years out of date. So my question regarding Antony is simply... how does that work? Nobody expects a GM or other high level executive to pore over FanGraphs or proprietary quantitative analysis of players twelve hours a day in an attempt to break down the abilities and performance of hundreds of players and prospects. The Twins have grudgingly dipped their toe in the 21st century by hiring a staff to do that. But how can Antony the hypothetical GM apply the quantitative analysis he's given by his staff when he lacks even the necessary metric vocabulary to discuss the statistical breakdowns of players? His lack of knowledge is not an opinion. It's a fact relayed by a 2010 Aaron Gleeman interview that frankly should have both embarrassed and scared the hell out of Rob Antony, and most of all motivated him to roll up his sleeves and read everything he could about advanced baseball metrics, as well as learn everything he could from Twins staffers Jack Goin and company. But instead, Antony has continued to embrace what appears to be at best a casual disregard for metrics, and at worst an active disdain . When interviewed in 2015 regarding Brian Dozier's contract extension, he still evinced a quantitative analysis ceiling of combining random counting stats in the manner of a USA Today factoid, and still well below the level of knowledge of his front office peers in the industry. There are only two defenses that I can see of Antony as a prospective GM in light of this deficiency. One is that he's a 'big picture guy', and that he's only looking for a thumbs up or down from Goin and company regarding players of interest. The other is the 'He'd tell you but he'd have to kill you' defense; that Antony and Goin regularly engage in sabremetric summits that would leave NASA engineers' mouths agape, but that both the actual information and Antony's grasp of it are soooper dooper top secret. At the end of the day, with the information available to us 'outsiders', any discussion of Antony's qualification(s) as a future GM starts and ends with his being a trusted member of the Twins front office family. That's pretty thin gruel to anyone whose last name isn't Pohlad, and it's getting thinner with each embarrassing loss.

Nor do I, not right away at least. But given how much they invested in continually overestimating Hicks, it seems to me like they probably still valued him highly enough even after last season that they wouldn't have traded him if they felt they were getting just a disposable 'Butera 1.1' catch-and-throw guy in return. My guess is that they hoped JRM would learn from Suzuki in 2016 while giving them enough production to only ask Suzuki to catch 100-110 games instead of the absurd 130 he had in 2015, and then cross their fingers and hope that he might develop enough at the plate to take over for Suzuki before Zukes flamed out entirely. That's not to say the Twins were misguided enough to see JR as 'The Answer' at catcher, either right away or in the long run as the 120 games/year guy for a contender. Then again, it's the Twins, so who the hell really knows what they're thinking at this point.

On the other hand, Aaron Hicks was Plan A for two years running, when his floor/worst case scenario/tenth percentile projection was worse than it is now. I completely agree that Hicks would have been a less-than-ideal 'break glass in case of spontaneous prospect combustion' option this year to placehold in CF if Buxton needed to brew longer. But Hicks would also have been, at the very least, a step up fom the heady days of Clete Thomas trying to put out the fire in center field when Hicks himself flamed out in 2013. And yet despite the Twins ending up turning to a worse option in Mastro again, it's hard for me to be very down on the Twins for trading Hicks. But it's not because I don't think they gave up a strong 4th OF candidate in Hicks. No, my reason for being ok with the Hicks trade was that it showed a realization (albeit an awfully belated one) on the part of the Twins that their faith in Suzuki as a starter was dreadfully misplaced. That's how low my expectations have sunk with the Twins: didn't like that they gave up Hicks, didn't like who they got for him, and yet happy about the trade because it meant that the Twins had finally realized Suzuki < MLB starter. Baby steps.

Another point in favor of Hicks as the 4th OF would have been that he's already a pretty good hitter when batting right-handed (.257/.347/.418). That made him a good choice to platoon with Arcia and pinch hit for him, in addition to his ability to serve as an excellent defensive sub for him. It would also make him a good choice to spot start for Rosario occasionally against tough lefties.

D " There was something in the air that night, the lights were bright, Fernando. But it was not the ball, my friend, hide in the pen, Fernando".

Ftfy.

Yup, except if they were pulled off the field before finishing the game, NOBODY would chant "Let them play!" http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qYyQGkX4aVA/VcSgL2Hr7sI/AAAAAAAAtAA/8891VumwRes/s1600/LET%2BDEM%2BPLAY.png

And more to the point, are there openings next semester and can I count it toward a master's degree?

If we had a different Ryan running the Twins.... Dear Robin, Please stop whining about your guy getting plunked after you plunked our only guy who can hit, or else I'll come out there and put you in a headlock again. Sincerely, Nolan http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--qUq3OUhb--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1370958576900849808.jpg

From the Twins own website recap of the game on Wednesday: Dozier's homer not enough after pitchers falter In case you're one of the lucky people who had already forgotten, the Twins lost that game 16-4.

Yup. The games are brutal enough without any friendly fire casualties.