SkyBlueWaters

First, I really hope you are right. I hope the full 60 games are played for everyone, and we have no further postponements. What concerns me is how one Marlin (the commissioner says they know who he is, but obviously are respecting privacy) introduced the virus which rippled through the schedules of several teams. How is it the NCAA can host multiple teams for the college world series but MLB, which is experimenting so much already--extra innings starting with runners in scoring position, 7 inning doubleheaders, etc., couldn't take similar quarantine measures? Is there some need for larger stadia that I'm missing? Again, I really hope they play all the games. I'm just concerned about another outbreak. The point wouldn't be to stop all travel, but to further what MLB has already done, minimizing travel, keeping people safe. I get that the regional networks want evening games. I don't think that would be so hard. I'm glad they're playing. So much bleak news of late. It's a joy to see the game again. A friend who initially disliked the cardboard cutouts now has grown used to them and compares it to the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Fun to see.

Good defense is a winner in all sports, and Bieber showed that last night. Poor Berrios made few mistakes, but we still lost. Last night's game showed us what we need to acquire if we are to advance in the post-season. And about that 3.2, the SkyBlueWaters household takes beer seriously. We're all for crafty veteran pitching, and craft-brewed beer over 3.2 beer any day.

I totally agree. Why other nations are so on top of this and we can't figure it out is not just baffling, it's deadly.

During the early days of the pandemic, MLB talked about keeping all of the teams in host cities, like other sports have since done. Phoenix and cities in Florida were mentioned. I get that this changed, especially when Forida and Arizona got hit hard by COVID 19. But it was still so very much the right idea on what to do. It was also my sense that the players themselves disliked the idea, preferring to be able to see their families. I get that it is a sacrifice. But with a little hindsight, it now sure seems like the right thing to have done ... or to still do. If MLB is serious about having a 2020 season, including those playoffs the owners are so eager for, they've got to put these athletes and staff in bubbles.

Buxton's injury and Sano's issues were both ... a concern. But ultimately we have so many good hitters and neither appear to be major setbacks, so it isn't too disconcerting (yet). But I think you can never have too much quality pitching. Especially guys capable of fronting a rotation. And if we are deep in premiere hitters, I don't see the same depth in our starting pitching. Last year the Indians were below league average offensively, but their staff ERA was 4th best in all of baseball (including the league that played without the DH!), which was huge for winning 93 games. Good pitching can keep you in every game. We have a lot of starters, particularly a large number who would benefit from showing durability, giving us good starts day in, day out. I love a no-no, 1-hitter, or shutout as much as the next guy, but I'd forego that flash for a rotation of durable guys who keep us in most games. What's happened with Hill and Odo is far and away the biggest concern in the short season so far.

Agreed. That article ranked the Dodgers the best lineup in MLB. They added Betts this off season. With players like Bellinger, Pederson, Muncy, Seager & Turner there's a lot of talent, and Smith is emerging as a catcher with some pop. They didn't see great numbers yet from 2B Lux in LA, but he sure tore it up in AAA last year (.392/.478/.719 in 232 PA). We'll see if Taylor continues developing in the outfield. Pollock is projected as the DH, which ain't too scary. The Twins will need to play at the top of their game to put up better numbers than that blend of veteran and developing talent. If we make it deep into the playoffs, it would be sweet to beat them in the world series with two pitchers who played in LA last year, Hill & Maeda.

Good notes about Mize & Manning.

Giants OF Hunter Pence had a good quote for this season, connecting to the concept of team in its largest sense, and all the new taboos on high fives, handshakes, or spitting: “We’re trying to take as few risks as we can and be as smart as we can. It’s a weird paradox. We’re 30 teams but also one team, because if any one person messes it up, he can mess it up for everyone. It’s one of those interesting seasons that’s pretty special in that we’re all working together and all these decisions add up in a big way.”

IF Buxton stays healthy, and IF Kepler doesn’t have to move to center for us, and IF our prospects can hit MLB pitching like they hit MiLB pitching, THEN we might have a glut of outfielders. But we’ve seen good hitting prospects peak at double or triple A before. if they do play let’s make a deal, I sure hope it’s for a front-end starter. Someone able to shut up Yankee fans in October.

Agreed. Remember, too, that after 36 games, Michael Pineda comes back. That's a ways off, of course, but if we assume some form of a 5-day rotation, with Berrios, Odo & Hill always involved in its front end, we'd go through that rotation seven times before Berrios's 8th start, with Pineda theoretically eligible the 37th game of season. Point being, the 5th starter spot or combo would be about seven games. All the more important in a short season, certainly, but I'd bet we see some variety in those 7 starts before Pineda gets a chance.

Randballs Stu wrote: “They’re paid to do two things: play a game, stand for the anthem, and shut up.” Long ago, on a planet not so far away, a DJ influential in starting underground FM radio named Tom Donahue said, "There are only two constants in the SF hippie scene. Music, grass and LSD."

“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.>

Aside from watching the game: a batter in the box, a pitcher going into the windup, I can't think of anything that gets to the essence of what I love about baseball more than a post like this. (Okay, maybe a close second: reading of how fans in Minneapolis and St. Paul used to attend doubleheaders between Nicollet Park and the other side of the Mississippi when the Millers and Saints played home and away in the same day. I want to take the streetcar from one park to the other. I want to buy a Hamms in each park and see games between the same teams on the same day.) To add to what Ashbury gives us above, many baseball historians say that the relationship between Clark Griffith and Cambria was unique. The pipeline of talent from Cambria to the Senators is noteworthy, but nowhere else in baseball do you have a guy operating, over the course of his life, so many minor league teams at different levels while selling up to an MLB team. It's the obverse of the fat cats. The 21st century version is called arbitrage, like how Tampa Bay works to develop then deal talent. Cambria operated between Boston and Baltimore, but by the end of his life he's bigger than life in Cuba, right through the revolution, because he knows Castro. Who was, as is well known, a pitcher. And yeah, Cambria still worked in Cuba after the revolution. I want to see the movie. Cambria had worked with Clark Griffith for so many years, he said he wanted to be buried in a Senators jersey. At the end, in Minneapolis, Calvin made a joke before the press about how it now had to be a Twins jersey. Cambria went along with the gag, until Calvin left the room. Then told the reporters: I'll be buried in a Senators jersey. He died in Minneapolis in '62; I hope he got his wish. Thanks, Ashbury, great stuff.

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

On some painful Twins teams, Brian Dozier was a bright spot. Gotta love it when a # 8 draft pick comes through for you, becomes an all-star, and hits 167 out of the park.

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.

Exactly. Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals know how many world series they won, and don't differentiate between those won during world war 2 and any others. Rosters were heavily depleted as many of the best athletes served in the military. Yet flags still fly at Busch stadium commemorating 1942 and 1944 without any distinction being made that those series were won with many who were essentially replacement players, who who won a lot of games against many other replacement players.

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'm with you. But don't stop there. Toss in the Bosox and Dodgers, too. Astros? Do I hear Astros, anyone?

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.