h2oface

Same here! I pay way too much attention and probably shouldn't. I would probably have lower blood pressure and like people more. When I had several different radio shows, each with a niche (Folk & Beyond, Zydecajun Conspiracy, Acoustic Windows, and Jazz Songlines), people would come up to me all the time and say "hey, do you know so and so? No? Oh you gotta hear them!" I always felt like I should, like wtf is wrong with me..... until I realized it is OK to not know everything. One just can't know everything, no matter how hard they try. I had no idea there was a blue lives matter flag/symbol/emblem or mask. And I am not going to punish myself for being ignorant in that regard. I am certainly not going assume Kepler did, or should if he didn't. Nor am I going to assign "leader" to baseball players or any athlete just because more people might know them because the are a professional athlete. I fear for the world being left to our grandchildren and children. Nothing will be solved on this thread, that is for sure. I am grateful for the post, though, for now I know so much more about those that post here. Made some good notes. Thanks for the post. "Today I’m sad. Sad that conditions were such that such events as happened in the last week were inevitable. Sad that people who love and are loved by others hate some on sight. Sad that sometimes that hate is perhaps justified. Sad that an expression of a righteous message is tinged by, conflated with and justifies acts of violence, destruction and theft in so many beautiful cities and on the eve of the reopening of some of the businesses now destroyed. Sad that some of this destruction has nothing to do with the dynamic and is being brought by other factions trying to stir things up. Sad that I’m told I “dont get to have an opinion on this” because I’m white. Sad that I can’t quite agree with this when so many whom I respect do. Sad that my perspective is so incomplete. Sad that I am part of the problem, Sad that I don’t know the solution. Sad that knowing the solution would not make it so. Sad that I believe that."

I agree, totally. And I hope he gets in on the first ballot. I fear, though, it will be a struggle. If, like Puckett, and had no choice but to leave the game because of the freakish injury, and he would have retired with concussions that forced him out of the game early, I think he would have been a lock. Absolute lock. But the relatively mediocre seasons at first....... didn't do him any favors for the HOF. They also count, now. Instead of being forced out as one of the best catchers to ever play the game, he added seasons that were not HOF material. Bilateral Voting Syndrome. He has my vote, though.

Still all hope and dreams, so far. Something to write about. Something to talk about, but until they do anything in the bigs, it is all talk.

Sano/3B with Cruz/DH. By far.

It really doesn't matter if a player only played one season in the decade in my opinion. Outlandishly stellar for his total performance on the team? If I am selecting a team to represent the Twins, and could have Cruz on it, I certainly would have him in the DH slot. Same with Sano over Plouffe at third. And seriously, this is fantasy, so if I could have a healthy Buxton playing center, I wouldn't pick anybody else. Not even close. Not happy to have Buxton in center field? I am happy anyday he is playing in center.

1- Nathan - hands down. Nobody even close. 2- Reardon 3- Aguilera 4- Worthington 5- Perkins Eddie? I can't shine that up like some can. He was lucky to have a manager that kept using him.

Am I the only one that expects a couple of bonafide starters as good or better than Bauer (it appears the 2018 is an outlier, no?) coming from our system, and surfacing this season or next? I mean, isn't it time that the "pitching expertise" lauded in the article starts to be performance of the pitchers developed, and not just talk in the Twin Cities? It happens all the time around MLB, and we salivate about it finally being farmed here. It's time.

His cheeks do the Dizzy when he throws the ball........ I like it.

Outfielders, like the all-star team - and this is a all-star team of speed - are outfielders. Top 3 outfielders. It doesn't matter which field they played the most of. Plug them in and let them run.

Is there a game log and box score for this game? "You can find the box score and pitch-by-pitch results for Game Seven attached below."

Is there a game log and box score for this game?

All other teams thank you for this article.

You can keep playing because you love the game, and you want to get back to the greatness you once were. But if you finish your career on a prolonged slide, and not even close to the greatness that puts you in the HOF..... you have knocked yourself out of the Hall, and diminished your 7 year greatness. Mauer will have the same problem, regardless of his greatness as a catcher. I think it is a snub to be a one and done on the ballot for Johan, absolutely. I don't think he would have ever, or will ever, eventually be elected to the HOF, however.

Yet Dizzy Dean had 150, Sandy Koufax 165, Roy Halladay 203, Don Drysdale 209, Pedro Martinez 219, Whitey Ford 236, Bob Gibson 251, just to name a few. In fact the "average pitching HOF'er" has 246 wins. While the relievers that are factored into that average will skew that a bit, (perhaps a stat guy can filter out the relievers), just a look at the list and it is blatant. I think the 300 wins thing has been the "automatic" number (only Clemens has 300 and is not in), but not the only counting stat that matters..... https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_pitching.shtml

Koufax also pitched off of a 15 inch pithcer's mound, and in Dodger Stadium, it was more like 18 inches (legendary). Koufax had 6 pretty pedestrian years to start his career, but the final 6 were the ticket. Santana, like Mauer, finished his career on the slide. Best to go out in glory for a ticket to the HOF. Mauer was a lock, like Puckett, if he would have retired after the concussion year. Now.......? Best to go out in glory.

.....and in only one month! 8 decisions. Must have pitched every 3rd or 4th day.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Moya pitched anymore. Apparently Baldelli got hit in the head by a foul ball during batting practice. Harper has pitched in 3 games, and Moya in 3. Magill in 3. The 2019 fans are livid. Smeltzer and May in 2, Rodgers and Duffey only in 1. Romo hasn't pitched. They will either be rested.. or rusty. Erickson hasn't pitched at all.

Hill could be a bonus, but I, for one, am not planning on him contributing. Thanks for the amazing discussion of the procedure and options, Heezy. I love this stuff.

A Play-off! Next up, 1965 against 1987, the two winners play for the title. You might get the 87/91 matchup you are looking for. But some adjustment needs to be made. Rosters can only be 25 players, not everyone that played for the team at anytime during the year. If a player was suspended (like Pineda), they don't get to play. If they were traded during the season, or released or sent down and didn't finish the year on the team..... not on the roster. I don't mind those that may have been off the playoff rosters of the teams because of injury being able to be on the active roster for the simulations. But this simulation seems to allow for many of the above, and unlimited rosters, and therefore pretty unrealistic.

As much fun as this is, and the write ups are great, it has just gotten absurd. First Neagle, who had pitched all of 20 inning as a rookie in 1991 with a .329 average against is lights out and started instead of Scott Erickson (20-8, 3.18 ERA, .248 average against) for game 3, and then Erickson is skipped and Tapani gets game 4 on 2 days rest! NEAGLE WASN'T EVEN ON ANY OF THE POST SEASON ROSTERS (and never pitched for the Twins again past those 20 innings)! And neither was Pineda. Come on! I don't care who wins, and the premise is really interesting, but the computer games should at least be representative of resonable choices that would be made, and the whole Erickson debacle the computer has picked is just not. At least it didn't have Magill pitching in relief for the 4th game in a row...... (as if he would have pitched in the first 3.... after being sold to Seattle in July). Buxton playing in the post season, too. I guess non of that matters. It is just for fun. I have too much time on my hands these days.....

Having Harper and Magill (who has appeared in all three games!!!) even on this 2019 post season roster is seemingly not representative of what that team would field for this most important series..... The 2019 bullpen must be laden with rust by now. And seriously..... what do you expect from Pineda, fresh off his suspension..... he was suspended right? Does the computer know that? Again I ask... how many players on on each team's roster?

EDDIE! EDDIE! Good thing Buxton is healed and playing. Let's see if you can make it through this series. And I love the box score and game log attachments (except the box score isn't generating the average, home run, and RBI totals for the series). Moya and Magill pitching in both games 1 and 2? How many players are on these rosters?

Exactly.... and Harper wasn't even on the team at the end of 2019, so how could he pitch in the Series? But all good fun. It's only one game.

Fascinating. Thank you very much! I found it very compelling, and the diagrams are also very helpful. I love this stuff!

This blog entry really gets buried. I couldn't find it today, and then I went to my content, and posts (since I knew I had commented and that would be quick, right?)..... and the comment didn't even show up there! Had to go to your personal page, and finally found it from the blog tab. This really needs moved to the article page, especially in these times of no baseball......