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Obie

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Everything posted by Obie

  1. I was there at the '65 game. No, I didn't catch the home run, but I was in the left field stands near where it landed. I was in town because we had tickets to the all star game two days later. The Mpls paper headline the next day was "Forever Harmon," and we prepared a banner that said the same thing. We waved it from our right field seats after he hit a homer in the all star game also. I don't remember that the Yankees were that far back in the standings. I thought they were in second place, and the win meant the Twins went into the all star break with a five game lead rather than a three game lead. There was a collective exhale in Twins land in recognition that the Twins might actually win the pennant.
  2. Tony O and Joe Mauer introduced themselves by hitting .400 in the Appy League. Kirilliloff is approaching select territory. I just checked to make sure my memory was correct, and I was surprised to see that Tony was 22 years old at the time, and he was 25 during his MLB rookie season.
  3. One more stat from a slightly different vantage. Twins overall #3 hole in the batting order OPS .683 29th out of 30 teams.
  4. The following list shows Twins' hitter's OPS rank per position. Minimum 300 PA. All MLB. Suzuki C .610 OPS 25th out of 28. Mauer 1B .718 OPS 31st out of 35 Dozier 2B .751 OPS 14th out of 38 Escobar SS .754 OPS 7th out of 32 Plouffe 3B .742 OPS 20th out of 30 Rosario LF .748 OPS 14th out of 30 Hicks CF .721 OPS 17th out of 30 Hunter RF .702 OPS 29th out of 34 Sano DH .916 OPS 2nd out of 11 Overall team .704 OPS 13th out 15 AL, 23rd out of 30 MLB.
  5. Biggest criticism is that it is only one game for the wild card playoff. Two out of three would be better and wouldn't push the playoffs back that far.
  6. Obie

    Wow!

    I was there in the left field bleachers not far from where the Killer's line drive landed. It was more a psychological thing than anything. The Yanks had won the pennant nine out of the previous ten years, and the Twins had been frustratingly close. The game was kind of a "king is dead, long live the king" moment that made the team and the upper midwest believe it was actually possible to overcome the Yankee mystique. There was also a sense that we were a big league team in a big league city--a coming of age moment in the grand scheme of things. Two days later, we hosted the All Star game, and it was all of a piece.
  7. In related news, Yankee first baseman Wally Pipp reports a headache today, and he will be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Lou Gehrig.
  8. Tulowitski & Morneau

  9. This is outstanding news because Twins Daily is the best thing that's happened to the Minnesota online sports scene in a long time. I appreciate the content and the moderation. Kudos to all responsible.
  10. Excellent article. Really points out the glaring holes in the lineup--the four power positions: two corner outfield spots, first base, and DH. Hopefully, Mauer and Arcia can show significant improvement next year and perhaps Vargas.
  11. Mindful of Tim Tuefel's homer in the early days of the Dome. Was it a grand slam? Pop fly to short right field that bounced in front of right fielder, over his head, and all the way to the wall.
  12. Obie

    Right field wall

    Michael Rand today quotes extensively from an article by Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell. The gist of Boswell's article is to criticize the high wall in right center that makes home runs to that part of the ballpark much too difficult. Target Field is a lovely downtown home for the Twins, classy and comfortable if not breathtaking. But until that right field wall becomes remotely fair to hitters, especially in the 120-foot-long power-alley expanse from the 385-to-403 signs, this is a badly flawed design. I agree.
  13. I can't help but remember the posters here this spring who suggested we needed the edge in the locker room AJ would bring. It seems the edge may actually have turned out to be poison, according to this report from a Boston radio station: http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/rob-bradford/2014/07/10/aj-pierzynski-problem-was-worse-anybody-could
  14. His decision, not Twins, claiming he had no confidence batting left-handed. Shane Victorino? http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/260669531.html
  15. Why was Buxton out of the FM lineup? Any background info about Arcia's return to the lineup in Rochester?
  16. With favorite cousins living in Lakeville, we spent a lot of time at the park in the sixties. We'd come early enough to chase batting practice home runs. In the down times of the early '70s, we'd drive into the parking lot five minutes before game time, park in the first row, buy a $2 bleacher ticket, and go and sit in the boxes behind home plate.
  17. Anthony was asked whether the Twins would see this as reason to move to 1B, and the response was 3B only. DH was not mentioned in that context. DH was mentioned in the context of getting him some ABs later this year before returning to 3B. Anthony indicated that was a possibility for minor leagues but would be decided later.
  18. Let me speak for the over 60 crowd. I don't think the two oldest entries ('65 catch and '67 520 ft homer) equal Killebrew's '65 bottom of the ninth, two out home run in the last game before the all star game. That homer that beat the Yankees, perennial league champions, signaled that the Twins just might be for real. In an earlier day, that homer was voted the greatest moment in Twins history (25 year celebration?). I also have a personal attachment as I was in the left field bleachers near where the line drive homer landed. I also think Carew's 4 hit June 26 game that left him with an avg over .400 during his 1977 MVP year should have been on the list.
  19. Obie

    Miguel Sano L-R splits

    Sano's left-right splits at New Britain are backwards. His OPS against righties is .965, but against lefties, it is only .714 (overall .899). This would appear to be a positive stat in that his performance against lefties is likely to catch up and pass what he is already doing against righties. Anyone have access to his splits for earlier teams? Has this been a persistent pattern?
  20. Obie

    Miguel Sano L-R splits

    Sano's left-right splits at New Britain are backwards. His OPS against righties is .965, but against lefties, it is only .714 (overall .899). This would appear to be a positive stat in that his performance against lefties is likely to catch up and pass what he is already doing against righties. Anyone have access to his splits for earlier teams? Has this been a persistent pattern?
  21. It would seem you have just done precisely what you are accusing the media of potentially doing.
  22. In the summer between my junior and senior year of high school (1965), the All Star game was in Minneapolis, and Dad had four tickets. We spent the preceding weekend with relatives in nearby Lakeville, and we attended the Sunday afternoon game that wrapped up a three game series with the Yankees, the perennial champions. A Sunday loss would cut the Twins lead to three games going into the All Star break. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees had a one run lead, and quickly got two outs before a walk to pinch hitter Rich Rollins brought the Killer to the plate. He fouled off a 3-2 pitch, maybe two, before lining a homer into the left field bleachers, not too far from where we were sitting. Suddenly, the lead was five games, and the whole state began to believe that a pennant was possible. The Monday headline in the Mpls Star (then the evening version of the Star-Tribune) read "Forever Harmon," and we made a poster that quoted that line for the All Star game. We unfurled it and waved it proudly when the Killer homered in that game as well.
  23. Anti-Mauer venom is visceral, not logical. And, one can't use logic to rebut a position not arrived at by logic.
  24. On Sunday's Sid Hartman call-in show, Dave Mona referenced the recent Randball comparison of Kirby Puckett and Joe Mauer at the same stage of their careers. Mona suggested fans were astounded to learn that their stats were essentially equal--quite apart from the different demands between outfielder and catcher. The facts don't fit the anti-Mauer meme. All the "baby-Jesus" naysayers will be shocked when he is a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Mauer's career OPS ranks as good as or better than nearly all the great catchers, except for Mike Piazza who was a defensive liability and played during the steroid era.
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