The seemingly inevitable return of Gibson to Gibson-like futility in the 5th almost kept this from happening for me. But something about the fun mix of plunk-magnet Cruz, Astudillo's one-man circus, Baldelli's unfolding influence, and everybody else seemingly forgetting that they sucked last year has made this waaay more interesting than I expected.
Yup. Like the commentator said... everybody knew it was coming, and yet the results are the same. If Buxton had debuted in the early 80's, we'd already be thinking about his chances of breaking Brock's record. Well, I would, anyway.
I'm probably hoping for a little too much by wanting to see the late-inning heroics trifecta of a hit, a steal, and a catch. Because "Chubby people also run." - Willians Astuldillo, 2018.
Yup. Bad Twins offenses used to be able to load 'em up with no outs and then go scoreless the old-fashioned way, with strikeouts, force outs at home, and fly outs too shallow to tag on. This offense is a pale imitation. Pale, I say!
Erring on the side of caution? Maybe not even erring, just caution. I've not kept up with Baldelli's stated intentions, but Pineda's arm is potentially as fragile as it is powerful at this point.