tony&rodney

".... He was entitled as he rose ... " Wow! not a personal attack but that is rather egregious. Miguel Sano signed a rich contract that took him from abject poverty to wealth when he was 16. Entitled is not the case, not close. The maneuvers made on him and his family by professionals and the blatant racism he faced as a young kid under the eye of MLB was atrocious. Sano had to prove his age by agreeing to various tests that proved his age. It is amazing he managed himself through those experiences and years in my thinking. Certainly, I hoped Sano could hit .275 - .300 with 30-40 homeruns and a .900 OPS and so on, but he is still at least average. I loved K. Vargas and his style but there is a demonstrable difference between them as others have pointed out quite effectively. Lastly, I mentioned last year in a comment that Miguel Sano is one of the only hitters in baseball that strikes fear as he stands in the batter's box. As a former pitcher myself, Sano is the only Twin I would say that about. Sometimes I think umpires feel the same way because in a very non-scientific judgment I cannot ever recall seeing a hitter have more balls called strikes against him than we see when Sano is at the plate. Miguel has quite a way to go before he regains the fans and his long streaks of flailing are difficult for even the most faithful Twins fanatic. Still, we can relax and wait out his early season issues. Can't we?

Brandon is correct - let us all take a look after 200 at bats.

We need to check this on May 1; it is early. The big man is having some long at bats and a few quick ones.

Overall the Twins have looked pretty good. When you remember that 70 losses is a really good year you understand what a battle 162 games can be and the tactic of winning a series is always huge. Plenty of long at bats this series and players grinding through even when it results in outs. Polanco came up big. Nobody should worry about him if he can stay healthy.

To clarify my post above, I have no disagreement but am wondering if people think Berrios and/or Buxton would sign for the figured suggested.

My question in response is what it takes right now. Will either or both take a 6/$120 million offer? I think yes.

Feels like they are both playing it out, but offer 6/$120 to both. If you have to choose just one, Buxton is the better bet because he can morph into a gold glove corner outfielder with 40 hr pop. He hit for average coming up and seems to be progressing. We shall see. It's a long season and there isn't likely to be a quick, value signing with either of these two players. They and their agents are aware of the value each player possesses in the current game.

Slow pace to game with some credit to hitters for being tough outs. Kepler looked bad all day and had to get the ball in the air for a SF at least once. When Buxton hit his dribbler I thought Polanco should have held because the only play was at home. Detroit should be credited with two flawless plays at home though (poor JP). It's a long season and playing .600 baseball is a good thing. An unusual outing for Stashek, which will happen from time to time, but he is a cool customer; I like him in our bullpen. He throws darts most of the time. Eventually, leftfield will need to sort itself out as either a platoon or someone stepping forward. Rooker and Garlick look out of sorts right now, although it is really early in the year. I listened to the Tigers' feed on MLB.com. Kirk Gibson cracks me up.

Corbin Burnes and Jose Berrios were outstanding and the pitch sequences combined with their ability to execute were splendid viewing. Period. In early April there is zero chance at allowing a pitcher to throw over 100 pitches. It was obvious that both pitchers would be pulled, even if perfect, once those counts reached 80 by the end of the 6th inning. Both pitchers knew this walking into the dugouts after closing out the 6th inning. Hitters look to be working hard to make contact, while still attacking the ball. This accounts for some deep counts. When facing cutters at 98 though it is tough. A key improvement in the last 10-20 years is the number of pitchers who effectively tunnel their pitchers. While this practice goes back forever, the number of pitchers who successfully manage to disguise their arsenals and the velocity has improved. This makes hitting tougher. Still, the strategies and matchups are fun to watch. It's baseball and the number of people who love the game persists. Advertising and the fan experience in the park bring in a fair amount of people and winning teams get the bandwagon effect. There are 160 games left and the first two games have already provided plenty of action and created thoughts for a host of fans. Happy Easter.

April - win a few games and relax. My only big concern coming into this season was whether the Twins could manage their strikeouts and poor swings. I'm not worried in April even if 17 strikeouts is not a good sign. Hopefully JD is back soon because that was a sweet swing.

Both teams get a chance but this is a bull**** rule that does not belong in MLB. Yes, it shortens the extra inning games and reduce the time of game and number of pitches thrown by pitchers but it is an unnecessary rule. I do agree that managers have not adjusted. Bottom of 10th calls for an intentional walk to open a DP opportunity as suggested by a previous post. The rule was due to Covid control and this is not needed this season. MLB has a ton of problems with rules and decisions. The leadership by MLB is easily the worst of major professional sports, almost akin to the wasted work by the NCAA executives. As far as the game goes, it is just one game. Buxton and Sano looked good.

The games begin Thursday and we shall see what transpires for this team. Spring Training stats and even sometimes the at bats can be thrown out, but in the next couple of weeks we will be watching to see if a few of our players can get tuned in at the plate. Kepler, Cave, Rooker and Garlick have looked bad and Garver and Sano don't look too confident. Simmons is exactly as advertised, solid glove and hoping to hit a mistake. The Twins will really need their stars to step up and hope the smooth Kiriloff swings return. We are ready to see who brings it every day once the grind of 162 games begins.

Agree wholeheartedly. The projections are far away, so not really meant to spend too much time ruminating on right now, but such a solid move. If the bottom three slide away, Dobnak, Thorpe, and a Duran/Balazovic plus $20 million to spend fill in neatly. This is a good deal for Dobnak and the Twins, both now and going forward.

A huge win for all - congratulations to Dobnak.

An additional thought to the fine article by Mr. Nelson .... the last section nails it. "... positioned themselves nicely for a trade as the deadline approaches ...." -N.N. I too am excited to see if one of the young pitchers contributes this summer, but agree that there really is a chance at adding a significant player via trade.

The Twins top three look pretty good this year and we are hopeful they remain healthy and have excellent seasons. While I appreciate the positive energy towards the rotation, it is always a good idea to avoid superlatives unless we are talking about Mike Trout or Sandy Koufax. The Twins fielded superior rotations during the mid 1960s to 1970. While it is really almost impossible to compare players from fifty years ago to now, pitchers like Mudcat Grant, Camilio Pascual, Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Dave Boswell, Jim Merritt, Dean Chance, and a few others, like Bert Blyleven, were outstanding. The team seems to be building some future with Duran, Balazovic, Canterino, Winder, and more to supplement in time those current pitchers like Maeda, Berrios, Dobnak, and Thorpe, but a ton will need to go right before the Twins feature a staff as proficient as those staffs of a half century past. I'm as excited to go to a game again as anyone and am hoping for a big year by our Twins but there is going to be some testing of the rotation this summer.

Old timer is correct and the math checks out quite easily. Simple really. Anyone who spent any amount of time at 1B would have countless examples where using your foot on the edges of the bag on throws right or left would be familiar with the scenarios. Fifteen inches (the bag) doesn't seem like much unless you miss by a foot on a throw to the outfield side and your foot is on the infield (wrong) side of the bag. The common error of planting a foot in the middle of the bag costs just a few inches and will result in several throwing errors being charged to the infielders, because of a mistake at first base. The one that puzzles me is when we see the foot of a first baseman actually on top of the bag, in the middle, where the potential for injury is obvious. Hmm? The nuances at 1B take some time and Sano is a work in progress. Miguel is athletic and accomplished at picking balls from playing on the right side of the infield. He did fine last year and I expect improvement this year.

It is Spring Training, but the clips serve as a reminder of exactly how good Joe Mauer was at 1B. Each of those plays was totally routine without any effort displayed when Mauer was at the bag. This is not a dig at Sano, but a reminder of how talented and valuable Mauer was to the Twins.

It was apparent, very apparent, that Jorge was suffering from a leg injury of some type. Like others, I'm hoping he is an all star second baseman, but i think it is important to remember that his peers and coaches felt he was the best representative at shortstop quite recently. Love to watch Jorge and hope he can avoid the injuries this season.

Thank you for the wonderfully written essay.

Baseball had total control of all players until Curt Flood led to change. Clearly, it seems from the obvious manipulation of the current system by baseball management, a new form of change is now near. What that looks like will be up to the next CBA. The game is negatively impacted when a team uses a lesser player in championship competition due to an ability to extend years of control for a player's years of service. Individual careers are also affected. Baseball owners and management would be stupid to not seek a continuation of the current system and would be even more pleased with a return to the good old days. The union has to see that there must be some changes. A compromise of sorts will need to be worked out between the players and owners that each can live with going forward after this season. We, the fans, will live with that system in the same manner as other changes that have occurred down through the decades. A question that keeps coming back to me is how can people see a person's choice of employment, regarding location and working conditions, as reasonably tied down for a period of a decade. Why? There must be some parallels in different careers or jobs, but I cannot think of a job where one is tied to an owner who picks them and then controls their destiny for a decade or much more. Keep in mind that baseball is a closed system. I appreciate that owners deserve to make money like anyone else and repeatedly tell young people that they better hope that their employment offers some financial gain for their employer or they will soon be out of a job; no mon, no fun. However, I would expect to see a reduction in those service years in the next CBA. We can be certain baseball will survive no matter how radical a change. It is almost impossible to understand where the union will make a stand. If I had to draw an arbitrary line as the post discusses, a quick pick would be an age - free agency at 24/25. Then again, perhaps the union prefers arbitration years. Sure to be interesting.

Does anyone believe that service time, as it currently exists, will survive the next cba? The Twins need to field their best team, whatever that looks like, from Day 1. Rosario was cut loose to apportion funds elsewhere and open a spot for competition amongst a slew of solid players. May the best player or platoon system prevail.

Sano is athletic, but his simple fundamentals at the bag are lacking; look at the photo. His size and experience work against him but his glove work at digging grounders on the left side are useful at first base for scooping low throws. I hope he can make significant improvements this season. I love to watch him hit and am greedily wishing for 40 bombs, 100 walks, and a .275 average.

Well, they are doing a fairly decent job at this time. The time to reflect on the efficacy of their work is after the teams the front offices put together make a sustained run at competing for the league championships. The Twins have had a few runs: the 1960s, the late '80s/early '90s, and the first decade of the current century. Time will tell if the current team and those to follow come close to those competitive runs. I sure hope so and I am always hopeful for the Twins. The current front office has a ways to go before their reputations match their predecessors in the eyes of national judgment but currently their story is an open book. Like i said, I am very hopeful of a sustained run. The Dodgers are on a run right now.

Mike, we are about the same age. If you enjoy baseball you can find pleasure watching grade school, VFW, Legion, college, amateur, and minor league ball as well as relaxing while watching the Twins or other MLB teams. I'm sure you can do that. For example, Dundas and Miesville have wonderful parks and teams and it is a fun place to watch or play baseball. The money is irrelevant in most ways once the players are at the top level except for its undefined affect on the minor leagues. The complaints against Mauer's contract were 100% off base except as an idea that players should earn closer to a common salary, like a teacher, but ignoring that Mauer may have made triple his salary or more in business. Baseball is totally corporate and thus financially driven. The special exception status has created the game we watch today. If you haven't already done so, watch The Battered Bastards of Baseball. Despite the total manipulation of the product by MLB and all of its ridiculous faults (not setting rules a minimum of a year in advance being just one of many), baseball is still enjoyable to watch. Turn off the sound, which is almost exclusively advertising in one form or another, and let your mind wander. Bauer is fun to watch and that is enough. His salary has zero affect on our ability to enjoy the competition.