Riverbrian

Was sending down O'Rourke not an option?

Nah We are clearly log-jammed and when you have all these players performing at the level they are performing... there is just no room for a player with a .955 OPS.

C'mon Escobar You are moving toward first and the pitcher is moving away from first. That's your ball. Oh... And Polanco... You got to cover 3B. C'mon Now... Play Ball Twins

Vargas... They just sent down the team leader in Slugging and OBP. So... I guess he had it coming. Only 85 AB's but the team leader in slugging and OBP. I realize that they have an emergency need for an arm and I realize that the choices of those who can be sent down is limited. I also realize that Vargas has cooled considerably and has gotten less and less playing time but I also realize that this less and less playing time is not his fault and is at the hands of Paul Molitor. I realize all of this but in the end... they just sent down the team leader in slugging and OBP. I feel pretty confident in saying that Vargas didn't deserve the lack of playing time or this little trip down to AAA. You ask a player to prove himself on the field and yet when he does... that chance to prove yourself is still taken away. Look out Rochester... Here comes a big dude with a .955 OPS.

My hysterics wasn't over the loss of Arcia. It was over him not getting playing time before he was dropped. When others playing in front of him were playing poorly. I was totally prepared for the possibility of this type of thing with his new club.

Dozier He's kinda warm right now

It's 7:35 on a Friday... The Regular crowd hasn't shuffled in.

A little Whatnot can really make a nice night.

The Twins packed up, left Atlanta and made the trek to Kansas City to face the suddenly hopeful Royals for a 4 game series. Suddenly hopeful because Danny Duffy and Wade Davis say they can do it. They believe that they can make the playoffs. Why not… the Twins came back from sub .500 in 2009. The Twins are their inspiration. The Royals are currently 7 games back from the last wild card spot… certainly surmountable… but they would also have to pass by the Yankees, Astros, Tigers and Mariners and either the Red Sox or Orioles or Blue Jays just to get there and that makes it less surmountable. Lloyd Christmas says: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance”. Here are some things to think about: The Twins packed up, left Atlanta and made the trek to Kansas City to face the suddenly hopeful Royals for a 4 game series. Suddenly hopeful because Danny Duffy and Wade Davis say they can do it. They believe that they can make the playoffs. Why not… the Twins came back from sub .500 in 2009. The Twins are their inspiration. The Royals are currently 7 games back from the last wild card spot… certainly surmountable… but they would also have to pass by the Yankees, Astros, Tigers and Mariners and either the Red Sox or Orioles or Blue Jays just to get there and that makes it less surmountable. Lloyd Christmas says: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance”. Here are some things to think about: 1. Unless you want to work forty hours a week – Giving 100% at work is extremely easy to do. It equates to about 20% each day based on a 5 day work week. There is really no excuse… so give it a try. 2. Fell off the jetway again – When it comes to boarding a plane… the airline industry understood that herding people onto a plane was more efficient if they approached it like ranchers herd cows. The cows go through a cattle alley and people go through a jetway. It’s only a matter of time before the airline employs dogs to help with the herding process. Without the jetway… you’d have some people scattered all over the tarmac and some people trying to leap into those 8 foot high doors. 3. I knew it started with an S – I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook. When I have recently… I’ve been noticing that it’s mostly videos now. It seems like Facebook is losing that personal touch. Facebook needs those personal posts. A friend of ours posted yesterday that it was their 20th anniversary. If it wasn’t for that post… I would have had no idea it was their anniversary. I also wouldn’t have known that he was… quote, “married to the sweatiest girl in the entire world.” end quote 4. Your Hands are freezing – Growing up in Minnesota… We all know what the cold hand treatment is. Come inside after being out in 10 below weather with frozen hands and what do you do? You apply those hands to the warm skin of someone else. Sometimes if you sneak up on them… you can make them jump quite a distance. Hindsight is 20/20… I know now that it was a bad idea to sneak up behind grandma and do this in front of the stairwell. 5. Big Gulps Huh… Alright see ya later – Small talk is very difficult to master. I think the key is to come up with a good conversation starter, so I thought I’d share some of my favorites: “Are those your real teeth?” “Would you like to hear a list of things that I’ve done when I’m drunk?” “Do you know any good conversation starters?” “I’m new in town can you tell me how to get to your place?” “Does this smell like chloroform to you?” “You look like someone I met in prison...” and finally “You know… I knew something was wrong and it took me around 8 hours to figure out what it was… I was wearing this thong backwards.” ____________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier [R] 2B Jorge Polanco SS Joe Mauer [L] DH Trevor Plouffe [R] 1B Max Kepler [L] RF Miguel Sano [R] 3B Eddie Rosario [L] CF Kurt Suzuki [R] C Robbie Grossman LF Tyler Duffey [R] P ROYALS Paulo Orlando [R] CF Cheslor Cuthbert [R] 3B Lorenzo Cain [R] RF Eric Hosmer [L] 1B Kendrys Morales DH Salvador Perez [R] C Alex Gordon [L] LF Alcides Escobar [R] SS Raul Mondesi 2B Dillon Gee [R] P Game-time forecast: Looks good to go. Clear, sunny, 88(93) deg F, winds from the S at 10mph. Go Twins! View full article

There are two teams and two teams only with winning percentages under .400. Normally, if you wanted to watch both of them live at the same time… it would be impossible because you can’t be in two places at once. However, for the next two days… the universe opens up and makes it possible. You can watch the Braves and Twins… at the same time and same location. I don’t have to tell any of you how special this match-up is. The two worst records in baseball… two opponents that rarely face each other… and the final trip to Fulton County Stadium because a new stadium is set to open up next year in Atlanta. The confluence of events that must align in order for all of this to happen… may never be seen again. This two-game series is a rare rare thing and it must be appreciated. Here are some things to think about: There are two teams and two teams only with winning percentages under .400. Normally, if you wanted to watch both of them live at the same time… it would be impossible because you can’t be in two places at once. However, for the next two days… the universe opens up and makes it possible. You can watch the Braves and Twins… at the same time and same location. I don’t have to tell any of you how special this match-up is. The two worst records in baseball… two opponents that rarely face each other… and the final trip to Fulton County Stadium because a new stadium is set to open up next year in Atlanta. The confluence of events that must align in order for all of this to happen… may never be seen again. This two-game series is a rare rare thing and it must be appreciated. Here are some things to think about: 1. Bigfoot Sightings – Sightings of Bigfoot are very rare and photos are mostly blurry. A few years back I decided to go out and try to find one, to prove once and for all the existence of these creatures. I started at Walmart because that seemed like a natural place to start. I found a few people that looked like possibilities for a while but in the end I had to pack up and move out to a nearby forest to continue my search. It was there that I saw a large, hairy creature walking on two legs toward me. It was about 9 feet tall… large eyes with a low set forehead. It had an incredibly powerful smell that got stronger as it got closer. I grabbed my camera and got ready to shoot some photos when I noticed that both of his feet were extremely large. Once I realized that both feet were of equal size… I then knew that it wasn’t a Bigfoot… it was a Bigfeet and the whole experience was a waste of time. 2. Alien Abductions – There are many reports of people being abducted by aliens but after extensive research it has been determined that this type of abduction is a rare occurrence. If you are worried about such things… there are a few things that you can do to avoid being abducted by aliens: 1. Stay in the house and never leave. 2. If you must go out… cover yourself in honey and walk backwards. 3. If you run into aliens… pretend to not understand what they are saying and they will leave you alone in frustration. 3. Vending Machine falling on you – According to statistics… only two people a year are killed by vending machines in the United States. This makes this a fairly rare occurrence. You know how it works… you want a Milky Way and you put in your money and you push G5 and the thing spins around and stops while the Milky Way hangs on the edge. You have a few choices at this point: 1. Pay for the product again to make it spin around some more. 2. Go find someone with a key and a heart. 3. Walk away and go without. 4. Take a baseball bat to the glass and grab as many Milky Way’s as you want. 5. Rock the machine back and forth until it falls over on you and kills you. Option 5 is viable but you should know that it is possible that someone will walk past your body and say "Hey Look... a Free Milky Way". 4. Winning the Lottery – We can all dream… right? You buy that lottery ticket with the hope that those numbers will come up and you can spend your life financially set. Whenever the jackpot reaches record levels, the excitement ramps up and the lines to buy tickets increase. Yep… a 500 million dollar jackpot will cause people to run to the convenience store and buy a ticket. A 32 million dollar jackpot… no lines at all… It’s simply not enough money to be worth the effort of putting on pants to leave the house. 5. Hole in One – In the sport of golf these are celebrated events. If you get one… you’ll get your name in the paper along with those who witnessed it. I have never done it and I have never seen anyone else do it either. (True Story) However… at age 22… I did pull off a double eagle and I’ve been told that is even rarer than a hole in one but I didn't get my name in the paper so it didn't feel as rare. Even rarer still was the 50-yard shot that I made. It was hole #18 and my short game had been (chipping over the green) frustrating me all day. I was 50 yards out… sitting at 98 strokes and I was pissed because I knew my score was going to be triple digits. I put my wedge back in the bag because I just couldn’t go through that again and I grabbed my putter. My friend said “What the hell are you doing?” I told him, "I don’t care anymore... I’m not swinging that wedge ever again… I’m just gonna putt my way in and go home." My friend looked around to see if anyone was watching because he wanted to know how embarrassed he should be. AND YES!!! I drained it from 50 yards with a putter for a final score of 99. My friend shook his head and said “Can I have your wedge if you aren’t going to use it anymore.” (True Story) I had a witness and that should have made the paper. ____________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier [R] 2B Jorge Polanco SS Joe Mauer [L] 1B Trevor Plouffe [R] 3B Max Kepler [L] RF Kurt Suzuki [R] C Eddie Rosario [L] CF Robbie Grossman LF Ervin Santana [R] P BRAVES Ender Inciarte [L] CF Erick Aybar SS Freddie Freeman [L] 1B Matt Kemp [R] LF Nick Markakis [L] RF Adonis Garcia [R] 3B Jace Peterson [L] 2B A.J. Pierzynski [L] C Joel De La Cruz P Forecast: partly cloudy, 88 (94) deg F, 15-30% chance of rain, winds from the SSW at 6mph Go Twins! View full article

I'd take a Pat Light for Kinzler.

I'm with ya but I'm not sure he will return enough considering that he was a freebie acquisition. Therefore... I'd be penciling him into the 2017 bullpen with a role TBD.

I agree with you completely. Ryan and his staff have always done a decent job of finding serviceable flotsam and jetsam floating about the place. I hope the new GM can continue to do that. While I am loving the performance of Kintzler as CLOSER. I am still bothered that we actually needed him to be the CLOSER. You are correct... Our bullpen problem was at the top. Terry Ryan blew this one badly. Perkins was horrible in the 2nd half… Jepsen historically spent his career as an occasional set up role guy, on the fringes of high leverage situations with other teams… Trevor May is too young to make a call on so nobody should bank on Trevor May with just a couple of months of pen experience. Terry Ryan should have supported the young talent that almost made the playoffs last year with two elite bullpen arms that could have been insurance for Perkins, Pushed Jepsen down a peg or two or even allowed May to have a serious shot at starting. Not addressing the top of the pen was a dice roll with bad odds IMO. With a young core of players that are trying to learn how to win together. A Bullpen is a great way to support that learning to win. With a Starting Rotation of Guys who are mid-level at best… complete games were going to be hard to come by… An elite bullpen was going to be necessary. So Yeah… I love that the job that Kintzler is doing… But I absolutely hate that he had to do it. With all of that said… I agree with you once again. PAY THE MAN!!! His Whip is under 1.00.. He has converted 11 out of 12 save opps. Just don’t go into 2017 thinking that Kintzler is your closer and there is no need to aim higher.

Nice post... very well thought out. I agree that Sano is pretty special. However... there are times when the TEAM will need him to make contact with the baseball. As he matures. I hope he gains the ability to simply hit a GB to SS with 1 out and a runner on third. I didn't read the Gleeman article but I plan to at your suggestion. Sano is pretty interesting. 2016 Stats PA 363 K's-BB's-HR's 191 Ball in Play 172 Personally I'm not going to spend a lot of time thinking about his BABIP when over half of his PA's are thrown aside. If I were to think about it... Sano is a BABIP contradiction. Yes he has the high exit velocity. However... He also a 19.6 launch angle and a high FB% and Fly Balls have historically been the worst way to get yourself standing on a base. I think his BABIP is just going to lower because it kind of has to as the sample size increases. He's very very very strong... More contact can only make him really really really better in my opinion.

Try it thick!!!

Tough play with Escobar running

How is Kintzler doing this... every night?

Damn Right!!!

Yeah... take a baseball to the body and get called blind and a bum at the same time.

WIth the mention of Sano's Hammy. I decided to make a ham sandwich for myself. Now I realize this might be controversial but I'm going to say it anyway. Ham Sandwiches are 10 times better when carved thick in comparison to the thinly sliced ham you pick up at the Deli counter of the supermarket. Same stuff but it just tastes better thick. You can pile up the thin slices until it's the size of a thick slice of ham and it still doesn't taste as good a thick slice. There I said it

Polanco and his arm strength is another example of why I never read some guys scouting report on anyone and believe it. And after this season... The Twins brain trust either.

There goes Polanco Showing off that cannon of a weak arm again.

Delicious http://primogrillforum.com/gallery/data/506/0814pulledham8.jpg