SkyBlueWaters

“There are exceptions, like Curt Schilling and Aubrey Huff, but most of them are just lazy. Nothing’s going to change my mind.” Snorting lager out my nose. Too funny. And I loved Huff in 2010. Loose cannons are one thing. But when they bounce free among helpless radio dj's, it's going too far.

<in the tone of a teenager>: I'm ready now. What do you mean, I have to wait until July 24?? I want baseball yesterday. <knocking on wood. Knocking again.>

Agreed. And a pitcher--although a pitcher who has had a lot of issues since last autumn. As a baseball fan, I hope he deals with all that bothers him. Ranking prospective baseball talent is a notoriously rickety adventure. I loved one sportswriter's assessment of Sparky Anderson's eye: Every other guy who walked in the clubhouse door was the next Mickey Mantle. (The thing is, for someone, they were, they were.) Regarding MLB's assessment, I see Kopech as the 2nd of the Chisox' three in the top 40 here: https://www.mlb.com/prospects

I've heard people compare Polanco to Versalles: top-tier offense, hamstrung by the defense. I feel a bit defensive about Zoilo, because of how much he meant to the '65 team. People think of him as one of the weaker MVPs in MLB history (someone once told me he wasn't even the best on the team, it was Oliva). I believe that's belied by his contribution that year: leading off daily for 728 PA, leading the league far and away in runs scored, but also in extra base hits--as a shortstop. Yet the defense at times was ... exasperating. Polanco was 13th last year in MVP voting. Yet Fangraphs has him as a negative defender, far behind shortstops like DeJong, Baez, Story, Semien, Rojas and Lindor. With all the clout in our lineup, Polanco could easily be among the best table-setters in baseball, among the top ten this year in numerous categories. Lately the guys I see ranked highest in national listings of best SS are guys like Story, Semien, Lindor, Baez, among others. If Polanco could tighten up the defense, he deserves future consideration for breaking into that group of top 3-4 SS in MLB. postscript: By the way, those BR comps you mention are for batting, and 9th on that list is catcher Stephen Vogt. Which leaves me flabbergasted--hadn't really thought of Polanco and Vogt as that similar in anything except maybe ... they both play baseball?

Watching the Twins lineup, hoping to see everyone rake. A deep lineup is a joy, opposing pitchers get no easy outs.

Nick, you wrote: "I happen to believe the White Sox will be a sneaky riser in the shortened format, and would bet on them winning more games than Cleveland." I share your concern about the Chisox. Expanded rosters and veterans opting out create openings for young talent, and we've heard for a while how good their top prospects are. Adding Yasmani Grandal made the lineup deeper and could help the pitching staff. Some of the dead weight is gone from their rotation, guys with +5.00 ERAs. They've retained Giolito and prospects Lopez & Cease, adding Keuchel & Gio Gonzalez. Their pitching could be much better this year.

Good points about the tough spots in the schedule. Conversely, between August 7 and Sept 7 the Twins play all 10 of their games v. Kansas City and 8 v. Detroit. Eighteen of 30 games played in that stretch are against those two. Hopefully they will come out of the gate strong and assert themselves. Because I’m guessing if they don’t open up a comfortable lead by Sept 7, it will be a dogfight the rest of the way. You could start that stretch against last year's bottom feeders with all 4 games against P’burgh, 2 home, 2 away, starting August 3rd. So that would be 22 of 34 games against Pitt, Det, and KC. I don’t want to take anything for granted, as others have pointed out, there is lots that could go wrong. But if the Twins stay healthy and play to their potential, I think the stretch from August 3rd to September 7th just might be comparable to the hot start they had last year, where they came out of the gate 47-22.

The most doubles by a franchise player (Senators/Twins) is Mickey Vernon's 51 in 1946. Morneau leads the Twins with 47 in 2008. Last year, Nick Castellanos set the all-time record of 58 playing for the Tigers & Cubs. Somewhere recently I read that Buxton says he is going to be more mindful of fences. If that helps keep him off the IL, I'm all for it!

Regarding the small footprint of the ballpark, I'm always impressed by the wide and open concourses. Great job, architects! And anything that keeps my wife happy with going is a plus. Several years ago, they had an Indian concession and she still talks about the biriyani and naan as one of the best ballpark food experiences of her life. Sadly, when we went last year it was gone. I'm still a beer & sausage kinda guy, but when in a mixed marriage with a vegetarian you appreciate what keeps her jazzed about going to the ballpark.

I agree with you that it isn't a crisis mostly due to the bizarre schedule & situation we are entering. Two thirds of our games will be against KC, DET, CHW & CLE. Maybe the Tribe remains competitive, maybe the Chisox pull it together and contend, and maybe the pundits will be right when they say the Twins have the most patty-cake schedule in all of MLB, in a sprint, not a marathon. Even the Brewers, Cards, Cubs, and maybe Reds will have deeper competition. The coastal teams/media/fans whose teams have to face the Dodgers, Astros, Yankees, Rays, Braves, Nats, Phils, etc., are going to have a legitimate gripe when it comes time to weight the playoffs based on these records. So I agree that not having Pineda for roughly 2/3rds of the season isn't a terrible crisis. What's fascinating is how this plays out, including the new restrictions on replacing relievers. Quality depth in pitching may well soon matter much more than it usually does. What's a regular season's worth of IP, somewhere between 1400 and 1500 innings, on average? Teams usually need those middle relievers to soak up the long season. Games in extra innings now begin with a runner sprinter on 2nd. Unlikely to have many games going deep into extra innings, which innings stretch out the wear & tear for a single win. I haven't seen the schedules yet, but I heard some talk of doubleheaders. Even more compact. It's just a hunch, but this schedule may place a much higher premium on quality now that the quantity of innings won't happen. Yeah, if we can't dominate the ALC, we won't deserve the playoffs. And a rested Pineda might be a very nice thing this autumn. But aside from the uniqueness of the 2020 schedule, and how it works for the Twins, depth of above average pitching may be a big part of the 2020 MLB sprint to the MLB owners' playoffs *ka-ching* payoff.

Agreed. They match up well against the Royals, Tigers, and Pirates, and also the Reds. (1 game: Homer Bailey's triumphant return?) They could be well over .500 with the other 5 teams. The offense is obviously there. In a short season, depth of pitching works in the Twins favor. The eastern media's story could be that the Twins' record is a fluke. Remember the meme a few months ago that Atlanta would be swapped for Pittsburgh? It would have made the Central corridor more competitive.

If you go to Dodger Stadium, you will see pennants flying for titles won, including 1981. There is no asterisk explaining that the NL team with the best record that strike-shortened year was Cincy (4 games better than LA, 6 games better than Hou), who finished 2nd in both halves but did not make the playoffs. That might qualify that NL season as farcical, but as time passes it gets forgotten. (Except perhaps in southern Ohio.) Similarly, '95 was a strike-shortened season; and the '89 earthquake gave the A's an advantage, using their no. 1 & 2 starters twice. (Only 2 pitchers threw more than 2.2 IP in the series.) The ball is going to be in the air soon. Unexpected players will start hot, stars may struggle, there may be hitting streaks and pitchers taking no hitters deep into games. Key errors will happen, and incredible run-saving catches. Those who care will live in the heat of the moments once again. 9of12, I agree with you to a large extent; I dislike how this has gone down. Farcical might be a bit harsh, however ridiculous the owners' posturing was (I don't believe they ever intended to play more games, thus negotiated in bad faith). And hell yes, grave current events are vastly more important. I totally agree there. So was it a mistake to play baseball during WW2? NFL games the weekend after the JFK assassination? Probably the prior season closest to this is '94, when the poor Expos had a 6 game lead on Atlanta when it ended. We'll see if they make it to the playoffs this time. Rather than strike-shortened, it may be pandemic-shortened. But I lean toward wanting the players to try, to give them a chance. Some careers are short, some are stars only a brief while. Last, if I might take a weak stab at levity, a Twins fan for only 58 seasons? Where were you the other 2?

Knuckleheads on parade. It took them this long, and they won’t start until late July. Sixty game season creates a different dynamic, More compact. Also, apparently they are returning to the days of doubleheaders. Expanded rosters? What happens to minor leaguers? My hunch, and it’s only a hunch, is that we will see greater use of the “opener” strategy, and further break down of the traditional starter followed by relievers approach. With modern medicine, the coaching staff can monitor stress on pitching arms better, maximizing use of their best arms while hoping not to overwork them. Over the course of a six month regular season, with 162 games, teams could get a higher ratio of innings from their best arms. A more compact two-month regular season probably gives an advantage to deeper pitching staffs. So if you have a few stellar pitchers followed by a bunch of average or worse guys, this doesn’t benefit you. If, however, your staff isn’t dominated by aces but is fairly deep in above average pitching, this schedule benefits you. Of course, after the regular season the playoffs await, and that’s when quality like cream rises to the top.

Agreed about the glut, but drafting the best fungible talent makes sense. These days more than ever minor league talent is prized when it's time to make a deal. I'd say I like his chances of making *a* major league roster.

Wonderful news. We could use some good karma.

We needed more offense against Osteen or Drysdale (once each) or Koufax (twice. Yeah, good luck with that). As far as upgrades, I like the idea of either Arraez or Polanco at second. Neither has hit lefties great, however, so Koufax would have remained tough. I like Bob Allison, great Twin, but he didn't have a good series, going 2 for 16 (.125), with a pair of walks, raising his OBP to .222. He homered and doubled, but more hits would have been nice. Maybe adding Max Kepler to the outfield might have added some offense. Beyond that, hoping Buxton's defense and speed might have shut down the Dodgers and added some disruption on the basepaths (take that, Maury Wills) could have been fun to watch.

Yes, in August. I suppose it's a stretch to wonder what the team was capable of had it never happened. Boswell finished '69 in good form, but declined rapidly after that. Carew went down for a stretch in the middle of '70, and I think Tiant missed a couple months, too.

Perhaps the single worst inning of Jim Perry's career came in the first game of the 1970 ALDS. Perry won the Cy Young Award that year, but trailing 3-2 he gave up a grand slam to Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar. I've read that the ball was 10 feet foul before it hit a wall of wind at The Old Met, which "escorted" it down the line and dumped it just over the fence, beyond Tony Oliva's mitt. After winning 10-6, the O's never looked back. Hats off to the Orioles of '66 - '71. One of baseball's finer dynasties. But any team with Kaat, Perry, Blyleven, Boswell, Tiant (yes, Louie Tiant!) Perranoski, Oliva, Killebrew, Allison, Tovar and Rodney Cline Carew ain't too shabby, either. Injuries took a toll (as did an infamous fistfight). But they still went 98-64.

Agreed. But we're okay if a few of those above-average players are named Oliva, Carew, Puckett or Morneau, yeah? (A few others come to mind, as well, but I kept it brief.)

I would dearly love to be wrong about this, but so long as Cole, Verlander, Morton, Giolito, Bieber, et al. are in the league, the odds of a Twin winning the CYA are little better than average, as one out of 15 AL teams. With this lineup in particular, it would be sad to not see them play. But I keep thinking about autumn, and the playoffs, when dominant pitching comes to the fore. As deep and potentially dominating as our lineup is, I'd happily trade some of that for a bit more dominance in the rotation.

" ...with an already scheduled set of negotiations looming on the horizon, CBA talks could once again shelve the sport. ... it doesn’t seem to be the worst idea in turning a focus to the long-term game. If there can be some parameters established for the future of the sport, rather than just the reactionary 2020 version, we could all be better for it." Well put. Very proactive and an excellent idea. Have you ever noticed MLB owners and players to be that cooperative and proactive?

One big wild card in the owners v. players association negotiations is playoff revenue. It's a significant slice of the revenue pie. If a second wave of the virus hits (likely), and if players are infected (who knows?), that could mean canceling the playoffs. Not that I have much sympathy for the billionaire owners, but if they guarantee contracts, and playoff revenue isn't then realized ... Why, some of them might have to shop in the same places I do. (Naw, probably not.) It will be interesting to learn how the negotiations proceed--or fail. You'd think with all the money on the table they could work something out, but it isn't a done deal. I also get the sense the next CBA lurks in the background.

BTW, leadoff hitter Hosken Powell had a hit, two ribbies, and scored a run. John Castino had a double. Mickey Hatcher (in CF) scored a run and had a ribbie. Rob Wilfong and Butch Wynegar both had 2 hits. The only Twin in the lineup slugging over .400 was SS Roy Smalley. But the cavalry was coming. At the end of the year they got 24 games out of 21-year-old Kent Hrbek (up from single-A Visalia) and 22-year-old Gary Gaetti (up from double-A Orlando for 9 games in the bigs). Other call-ups included Tim Laudner, Lenny Faedo, Mark Funderbunk, and Ron Washington.

Great question. The Twins' last game of the '81 first half was June 11. Pete Redfern lost to Dan Petry of the Tigers. The Twins were 17-39, which goes part of the way to explaining the 4,623 in attendance at the old Met. (The day before they drew 5,495.) Not a very long wait for a Hamm's. The two sides reached an agreement on July 31. Negotiations were so acrimonious that Marvin Miller of the players association and owners' negotiator Ray Grebey refused to pose for the usual peacemaking photo. They played an all-star game on August 9th, and on August 10th Roger Erickson beat Rick Langford of the A's 6-2. Jerry Koosman threw 4 innings in relief to get the save in front of 15,414 at the Met. You get the sense that each team got back together, prepared as best they could, their all-stars going to Cleveland for the prelude, then each team traveling as necessary to resume their regular season games the next day.

Remember how teams that wanted to slow Maury Wills down would drench the basepath at first base? How teams with older, veteran infielders might let the infield grass grow a bit longer to slow down ground balls, or would leave the dirt hard at home plate to improve the bounce if they had hitters who can bunt? Those are great *baseball* stories. Baseball doesn't need to be uniform. Don't even get me started on Bill Veeck putting a minor league outfield wall on wheels and moving it in when his team came up to hit ...