Drake2020

When Nick Gordon hit that home run tonight and I saw Jake Cave in the background on the on deck circle watching it... I was remined of Delmon Young watching from the same on deck circle as Jim Thome hit a bomb against the White Sox about a decade ago!

First of all, congratulations to the entire Twins organization, fans and friends for winning the AL Central! This was a tough division in 2020, and the final standings prove that point. Before the final day of regular season games today, all we knew was that the Twins were headed for the post season, but we had no clue who we would be playing in the first round. We know now that it will be the Houston Astros, starting Tuesday at Target Field, best of 3 after losing today, 5-3, vs. the Reds. I always enjoy listening to the post game interviews, win or lose, but they are usually filled with cliches. Not Tyler Duffey tonight however. He was fun to listen to, and he made some really good points. He's a nice spokesman for Twins baseball, and his 1.88 ERA and mid 90's fastball doesn't hurt at all. I remember back when the Twins were trying to market the team with the "Get To Know 'Em" campaign, Torii Hunter, Jones, Mientkiewicz, Pierzynski, Punto, Guzman, and all the piranhas. That worked very well, and I have fond memories of that era. Well, we have all read about Kirby Puckett's early life growing up in the projects of Chicago and Kent Hrbek's storybook childhood of growing up a few blocks away from the old Met Stadium. But Tyler Duffy's road to the top is pretty inspiring, so I just wanted to post this link for all to read. Because we all have moms, and moms are the best. Here's the link to his story: https://www.thegazette.com/2013/04/07/kernels-no-hit-beloit

Thanks for checking on that ashbury. The problem I have with stats as related to the automatic runner on second, is neither team did anything during the course of play for him to be there. It would be as abitrary as saying 'let's put a free runner on base every time Mike Trout comes to bat if the bases are empty.' If he hits a two run homer, he is credited with two RBIs. I just don't like how that is going to be recorded on the score sheets.

For the 2020 season only, I can live with putting an automatic baserunner on 2nd base for each inning after the 9th. But I think MLB should iron out some qualifying rules to the scoring plays if that runner scores, picked off, runs into a double play, or steals a base. First, if any batter drives in the ghost runner, said batter should not get credit for an RBI since the runner didn't earn his way on base via hit, walk or error. He's just a free duck on the pond sent out there to speed up the game. By not awarding an RBI to the batter for driving in the ghost runner, career RBI stats would still be legit when comparing across the decades. All other scoring plays after the ghost runner scores should be counted the traditional way. Second, if the ghost runner scores on a base hit or scores on a bases loaded walk, the run should not count against the pitcher's ERA. It's not the pitcher's fault he was on base to begin with. All other earned runs after the ghost runner scores should be counted against the pitcher's ERA the traditional way. Third, a ghost runner can steal if he wants, but should not get credit for a stolen base because he did not earn his way on base and did not take the place of a previous runner that earned his way on base. Likewise, if a pitcher picks off the ghost runner, the pitcher should not get credit for a pickoff, nor should a catcher get credit for a caught stealing if he throws out the runner on an attempted steal. The ghost runner should not get a mark against him for being caught stealing either. Finally, if a batter hits into a double play involving the ghost runner, it should count as two outs, but it should not be recorded as a double play. My reasons for the above is to maintain the integrity of historical statistics. MLB can come up with revised box scores for 2020 to document the scoring action, maybe add some new language or columns in the stat boxes. These are my thoughts and maybe it has already been addressed. Do you agree?

I am in favor of the three batter/end of inning rule. It's a compromise between the era when starting pitchers threw 300+ innings per season vs. 200 innings as it is now. I also think the infield shift should be addressed. Each infield position should be set according to defined parameters. The best defensive players know how to position their opponent which is more valuable and more interesting than calling for the full shift.

I think the Twins got a solid starter in Maeda for a reasonable contract. For years, I was hoping that Kyle Gibson would live up to his first round status so I'm ok with him going to Texas. As far as I have researched, Maeda doesn't throw hard, but he misses alot of bats. With our upgraded infield and the speed in our outfield, that should be a huge plus.