jokin

I mean Mauer has the highest OBP in the league, he isn't exactly the guy we should be ripping on for plate discipline, if anything the Twins should be using that at-bat as an example moving forward. (i.e. Walks help win games to!) The funny thing is, if Mauer "mans up" and swings at that 3-1 pitch and hits a grounder back to the pitcher we would be getting posts and articles about how Joe wasn't clutch etc etc. Red herring. Also, does anyone think Mauer didn't have a green light on 3-0? Sitting fastball (sinker) and got one -- for a called strike. It's not as if the only strike he could swing at was the 3-1 slider. That was my only concern, as well. It was fairly obvious that the Mariners weren't giving in to Mauer after the first pitch was called a ball. By the end of the AB, besides the obligatory strike on the 3-0 pitch and the nasty slider for strike 2, with Luetge mostly nibbling and avoiding the strike zone and Mauer adamantly refusing to lift the bat from his shoulder, it appeared (to me, anyway) that both sides preferred the BB to giving Mauer something decent to swing at, implying the Mariners were firm disbelievers in the cliche that "a walk is as good as a hit", and- contrary to Gleeman's supposition of the odds going up dramatically in the Twins favor- actually preferred and liked their chances with Wilhelmsen v Willingham.

This issue keeps coming up and I'm not sure why. The Twins have made 40-man roster moves Ten Times this year, and what is the most consequential loss? Luke Hughes. I would argue that, given the club's fairly dire personnel situation, there should be more 40 man moves as it: 1) tells the club and the player if there is anyone that actually values their services 2) shakes up the complacency factor about job security 3) recognizes the reality that there are really only around 30 guys who deserve 40 man status 4) gets the deserving talent (look at the Orioles Manny Machado), and the yet, undiscovered talent, on a faster track to the major league club Obviously, turning on the arb clock for talent like Arcia and Hicks has to be taken into consideration, but the handling of Parmelee has been illustrative in the wasting of a year's service time- for what?- mending fences with the AAA affiliate?

Except both he and Florimon are starting tonight...? And both again on Saturday night.

RISP? Who the hell cares about that. What is the point of offering at a pitch in a 3-1 count (with Willingham! on deck) if you are sitting on a fastball the whole way? 3 things will typically happen. 1. Swing and miss. 2. Foul boul 3. Poorly hit ball for an out. Of course there is a chance that he could have offered at it and gotten a hit, but Mauer didn't become one of the best hitters in the game by "offering" at 3-1 pitches. This is stuff you learn in any baseball above Little League. The pitcher made a great pitch, it is what it is. Willingham has a .950 OPS on the season, I will take my chances with him at the plate and bases loaded any day of the week. Joe Christensen (http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/166676076.html), rarely critical of the Twins, but apparently crabby because of West Coast deadline issues, disagrees with your take. I'm in the middle, Mauer had 2 of 6 pitches close to worth swinging at during the AB but he wasn't having a good night at the plate and there likely isn't anyone in the game better at judging the strike zone, and there was no way that Luetge was going to give him anything fat. Let the controversy ensue: "I didn’t have time to ask Mauer about his plate appearance, but I’m just going to say this: He has to have more urgency to swing the bat there. His otherworldly .414 on-base percentage is a big reason for whatever success the Twins have had offensively this year. But sometimes, a guy making $23 million per year needs to take it upon himself to take his shot. If the Twins had one at-bat to win a game, the Twins would take Mauer/Luetge over Willingham/Wilhelmsen any day. Never mind that Mauer has 60 RBI and Willingham has 89. This was a spot for a batting champ, and Mauer is batting .319 compared to Willingham’s .259. Mauer has to recognize this and take a rip at that 3-0 sinker. Maybe he figured he’d get another crack at 3-1, and Luetge threw a pretty good slider for strike two, but after another errant sinker, Mauer was bending down, unhooking his shin pad, waiting for someone else to do the heavy lifting." http://apps.startribune.com/most_popular/?cmd=inc&type=view&section=/sports/twins/blogs&story_id=166676076

Good spot for your left-handed pinch hit bat......oh well.

And ruin our chance to moan and b#tch and groan about how bad this team is? Don't be ridiculous. A fundamentally perfect Sac Bunt? no way this Pokemon guy came up through the Twins org.....

I think they might have to recalibrate the computation variables of Range Factor if Pokemon sticks.

And ruin our chance to moan and b#tch and groan about how bad this team is? Don't be ridiculous. One positive learned so far this weekend is that the Mariners could be a good trading partner, these guys can pitch...but man oh man, do they need hitters ( and we got em).

I can't fault the umpire too much for that one. It was barely perceptible on slow-mo that Diamond got there a fraction sooner. At real speed, it would have looked like a tie, and that goes to the runner. I agree 100% -- I don't fault the ump. But it made me feel better to complain. It's good to unload that stuff - repressing it only makes it worse. Then I will also express my displeasure at Carson not beating the throw at third. That blunder may cost us this game. Yes, rather disalacritous of him.

I was wondering the same thing. Nice presence at the plate, his baserunning was fast but seemingly effortless cruising into 3B on that triple. Looked like a real take-charge guy on that play out in LF last night. I would like to see him click on some DPs, make the throws from the hole and charging the slow ball, but so far he's come as Seth advertised with his IL fielding credentials.

I think you're getting a preview of dog day baseball attention spans, it could get pretty lonely around here. When even all the mods/staffers have moved on, you get an indication of a team in the process of becoming a September afterthought.

The Twins could send down the #12 pitcher, call up Parmelle/Arica/whoever and then flip a different pitcher when Revere/Span are finally ready. Regardless, if as I agree with you, "these games don't matter", just DL Span and call up another bat already. Carson is a nice story. Handling his business with alacrity thus far.

15K/9 so far, but the naysayers keep screaming: "Low Ceiling!" I hope they're proven wrong. As in the above quote, wha't not to like how he's handling himself so far?

Wow, 6 bum trip flashbacks to 2011 in one post! Well done minn55441, well done.

Call them up for some hitting depth, there are two open bench spots tonight in Seattle.

More with the theme of a "different kind of crying altogether" alert for tonight's game on the Twins website: Span and Revere are "Day to Day" once again, only shockingly enough, not today. Carroll leading off, Mastro second, Carson and Pokemon at the bottom of the order. Bench PH "strength" again ably supplied by Butera and Casilla.

9 more (40) vs. 4 more (20) vs. 2 more (10). Who has the better shot at his own personal 2012 "milestone"? Willingham/Morneau/Mauer. The way Morny is swinging the bat since July 1' date=' I vote Justin most likely, the Hammer 2nd most, Mauer least likely.[/quote'] Agreed. I do think all 3 will accomplish those milestones. Those 3 deeds done, and a batting title (either Mauer or Revere, take your pick) would be some solace, merciful diversion and reasons for continuing interest through to October 3. Those, and about a half dozen of the prospects making a major-league level showing in the September call-up could offer some glimmers of hope and positivity heading into 2013.

Highest bidder I think the Dodgers deal set and raised the bar significantly higher for everyone else.

Given the outdated philosophies about how to compete on the field, I guess the TV deal "shoe" fits just as well on this franchise. I've said it before, this ownership is sitting on a sleeping giant of revenue that they are unable/unwilling/incapable of realizing......if only they would just sell out to real baseball/marketing people like the O'Malleys.

That's what's so troubling about the Padres valuation. The media markets are virtually identical in population of their metro area (Twin Cities rank 16/ San Diego 17), but the Twins obviously have a much larger geographical area beyond their metro nexus that naturally follows the team versus the Padres, who are a distant 5th most followed team- in their own state. I would think the TV ratings would be at least as strong, if not much stronger, than the moribund Padres franchise (with ticket sales and attendance stronger, as well). Do the Padres make quite a bit on Spanish programming to Tijuana? Or is that Dodger/Angel territory?

9 more (40) vs. 4 more (20) vs. 2 more (10). Who has the better shot at his own personal 2012 "milestone"? Willingham/Morneau/Mauer. The way Morny is swinging the bat since July 1, I vote Justin most likely, the Hammer 2nd most, Mauer least likely.

"And more than that"! Seriously, there are at least 8-10 other guys besides Nishi on the 40 man that no one would touch.

I'd like to see a few more chances going left and right and see some tests of his arm strength and accuracy, but, so far so good.

Well, actually, Prior provided most of the power on both those jacks, but it sure was nice to see that elevated swing from Joe.