Joey Self

I'm in favor of putting whoever gets on base the most often (highest OBA) in the leadoff spot, with the 2nd highest in the 2nd spot, and so on. Of course, if there are players that are close in that stat, then OPS and the speed of the player may come into play as to where they hit. JcS

It feels odd rooting for Cleveland this time of year. I'll be out for church tonight, so won't be able to watch it live with the crew here. Root hard, guys and/or gals. JcS

I get what you're saying. And it won't happen. JcS

Thankfully, not too often!

Well, you missed three good innings. JcS

Second time through the lineup... JcS

Greetings, all. My first game as a member of this board. I normally watch them on the DVR so I don't have to do commercials, but I am live and in color tonight, at least for a little while. JcS

The question wasn't addressed to me, but my answer is: Not a bit. Never heard of him. Homer Bailey, on the other hand, was a known quantity to me (and I suspect many others here). But I agree, I think the braintrust knows what it is doing. If they saw something in the mechanics of a pitcher that Wes Johnson thought he could fix, then yeah, you give it a shot. JcS

You're right. So, the Twins need to catch the White Sox. JcS

Well, yes. And no. Pitching well against the Tigers doesn't tell us a lot about how he would do against the Yankees or any other playoff team. But...pitching poorly against them would tell us not to expect a great performance in the playoffs. JcS

Yep, that's why I asked. JcS

I will say right up front that Baldelli knows more about baseball in general and the Twins in particular than I ever will. I'm sure Wes Johnson has watched Bailey throw, and must have liked what he saw. But since when does that keep me from second guessing, even in advance? The Twins need to win, win, win, win, and then maybe take a day off. I'd opined at Twinkietown that they might consider losing their way away from the Yankees, but it's more likely they can win their way above either the A's or the White Sox--and maybe both. I hope Bailey is on a short leash tonight. JcS

I think you're right about that--for the most part. Those that keep stats on such tell us that there are some catchers that get more calls off the plate than others. I think those that yank the ball back to the center of the plate are doing themselves more harm than good, but I have no data to support that. The electronic strike zone will eliminate that, and I hope it comes sooner rather than later. The home plate umps in the recent White Sox series was awful for the most part. I've heard some object that it's not perfect, to which I rejoin "I'd settle for better, we'll work on perfect." JcS

I will admit it: I was not in favor of signing a guy that could only DH at this point. I figured that a fourth or fifth outfielder could be the DH, and play the field when necessary. In the immortal words of the comedian Ron White: I was wrong! So I don't want my opinion now to be tainted by that. If Cruz is available at the right price, AND seems to be healthy, I'd be fine for another year with him. If the NL goes to the DH, though, the first part of that equation may be a problem. 15 more possible suitors for him could drive up the price. JcS

I saw the Twins have a 21-5 record at home, and 12-17 on the road. That's 26 home games, 29 road matches. With 5 more at home, are any of them designated as a "home" game for the visitors--the one where the road team takes the field first. I know there was one like that in Detroit, where the Twins were set to play 5 games. At the moment, the Twins and the Tigers have played 4 games each where they took the field first. Nothing on the schedules I've seen have indicated that either of the Tigers games will be a "home game" for Detroit. Have any of you heard? JcS

Hi, Joseph Self here (I haven't outgrown my nickname of Joey with my friend). I didn't see the questionnaire before I wrote the introduction below, so I'll leave it. 1.) Where are you from? Western Arkansas 2.) Age Range? Early 60's 3.) What brought you to Twins Daily? Twitter 4.) Highest level of baseball/softball played? High school, although I did play a couple of games of American Legion, but quit when I wasn't good enough to play at that level. 5.) Favorite Twins Player, and favorite underappreciated Twins player, and if you want, favorite current Twins player? Of all time, Tony Oliva. Currently, I guess I'd go with Buxton, but Arraez is moving up fast if he can stay healthy. 6.) Favorite non-Twins Daily site/authors? Oh, I'm all over the place 7.) Favorite Twitter follows? @mzheminway @andrewcmccarthy @strongmarriages5 8.) Other interests outside of baseball. In addition to being an attorney, I'm also a fill-in preacher, and teach a weekly Bible class when we are able to meet. 9.) Favorite part of Twins Daily... forums, blogs, articles, topics... wahtever you like. Don't know, just got here. 10.) Tell us what we can do better. What features or other topics would you like to see in-season or out of season? Don't know, just got here 11.) Have you been to any of the Twins Daily "events?" No, I live a LONG way from Minneapolis. I'm a 62 year old attorney, practicing in Fort Smith, AR. I've been a Twins fan since 1966--not sure why, probably because I saw them play on TV some Saturday and they won. During the 70's, I had a transistor radio, and one night I accidently found WHO in Des Moines carrying a Twins game. I didn't touch the dial the rest of the summer for fear I'd never find it again. During the 80's and 90's, I still called them my top team, but I watched at least 80 Braves games a year on TBS, making them my #2 team. When they faced off in '91, I didn't hesitate to root for the Twins. Flash forward to a few years ago when I got the Extra Inning service on DirectTV (now on Roku), and I have been watching at least 100 games a year since then (almost all on the DVR so I can fast forward through commercials or between batters). Looking forward to chatting with more Twins fans. JcS (the little c is a tribute to my height challenged grandfather, whose middle name I share)