Thegrin

Usually, when a player has a sharp drop off in production there is a physical reason. Milone is a smart player and he is trying to "tough it out". Nothing has been said publicly. Maybe he hasn't even confided in the Twins coaches. Something is wrong and we will probably find out when the season is over.

I I'd love to read a more comprehensive account of what transpires. Do they have bunting classes ? How do they teach fielders (particularly outfielders) to react properly to a hit? Hitting the cutoff man drills? Communicating in the field? Do they have English immersion classes for non-native English speaking players ? Do they have extra Spanish coaches ? questions questions questions ???

LOL TEOLAWKI = The End of Life as We Know It A search can find out almost anything

Don't blame Twins pitching philosophy on Milone's struggles. He knows his pitches and so does Suzuki. If he has changed his pitching pattern, there is a reason. Probably we will find out in the off-season that he was hurt.

5 Ideas to improve Baseball 1) Let technology call balls and strikes. Hitters will be more confident that they know the strike zone. Pitchers will have to throw more "real" strikes. Nobody has to worry about the umpire. More hits and runs will result. Let fans see the pitch. 2) Strictly enforce the 12 second rule. If a pitcher doesn't throw the ball in time a strike will be called. Let the umpire signal when the batter is in the box. After that, let technology handle the details. 3) Add 2 more clubs. Make 4 8-team leagues. Each league plays some games against one other league for one season. Each season, Leagues switch opponents. EXAMPLE: 4 Leagues. A,B,C,D Year 1, A plays B. C plays D. Year 2, A plays C. B plays D. Year 3, A plays D. B plays C. Every 3 years you have a chance to see all the stars of the game, multiple times. Adding 2 more clubs would dilute the pitching and also result in more runs being scored. This would make for some good playoffs as well. 4) Make a deal with the players union. 55% of all baseball revenues will go to the players union. The players union will pay the players. Players would get a base amount based on the number of years in the league and the number of years with their current team. The rest of the money would be distributed based on production. The best players would get the most money. a) This would slow down the movement of players to the largest markets. This would cause fans to have more identification of a clubs players. (God bless Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, they will always be ours.) 5) Have all team owners sell out their clubs to the public. Let all baseball teams be like the Green Bay Packers. Let nobody own more than 2% of the shares. give season ticket holders first rights to buy. This will turn the regionalization of baseball into an asset. * This would actually be a good idea for all teams in all leagues. There is no reason any athlete should be "owned".* These are brief sketches of ideas that would, in fact, be difficult and complicated to accomplish, but it is fun to wish.

I have enjoyed your Brett Lee updates. I noticed last year that Lee was a lefty and a true pitcher so I started to follow him. You are right. The Twins should keep him, but I am afraid he will be exposed to the Rule 5 draft. I doubt, however that anyone will choose him, because he does not appear to be suitable as a Major League relief pitcher.

If Berrios has a strong Spring Training, I would not be surprised to see him to north with the Twins. However, I do think they will closely watch his pitch count, even in the majors. He is young enough to still have some growing to do.

I hated watching him pitch today. I remember when he pitched to Oakland. Either he is: 1) Hurt Traumatized by his demotion to AAA through no fault of his own and he has not been able to get his head screwed back on straight.

Well Dick... is it an EPA Dick ?

Well Dick... It looks like they are tied up in the Appy League playoff also. Its tied 4-4 in the 7th.

Well Bert...Ft Myers has scored 7 runs and the game is in the 6th inning. Thats right Dick. The problem is that the Miracle pitching has been a little off today and has also allowed 7 runs.

Well Dick... This has been a tough year for Milone. First he gets sent to AAA despite having a 6-3 record with a 3.55 ERA. Then he gets traded to a losing team far from California. You can take a man from California but you can't take California from the man. Its a tough cultural transition to make. That being said...he should be prepared top pitch one of his Oakland style games tonight.

I actually have hope for Milone to get his first hit tonight. I also hope the Twins continue scoring 5+ Runs per game.

Good pitchers throw strikes. Lets see if Milone and May can throw strikes.

lololololololololol

It has been stated many times over the years that a players top years of production is between age 28 and age 32. Why are people complaining that we have a lot of players in this age range, both with the Twins and at Rochester ?

I'd prefer to see the Twins trot out the same lineup they've been playing in August. Santana CF Dozier 2B Mauer 1B/DH Vargas 1B/DH Arcia RF Plouffe 3B Suzuki C E. Escobar SS Schafer LF Let the call-ups rot on the bench. I want to see if this line-up can play plus 500 ball for a month.

I want the Twins to have a + .500 record in September. I am always hopeful when Hughes pitches. These games against the Orioles have been like walking in a cold rain with no coat and feeling the water run down your back and knowing that its a long walk until you get home.

I just hope the Twins focus on winning games. I'd like to see them have a plus 500 record in September. I hope these call-ups don't keep our best players on the bench.

Meanwhile.... in galaxies far, far away ... http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?cid=&lid=&org=142&sc=&sid=milb&t=affiliate&ymd=20140829

We have seen that Schafer is a bad bunter, and when you see his bunts compared to Santana's bunts it is striking how terrible he is. Yet, he said in an interview, that he considered himself a good bunter. Can the Twins teach him how to bunt correctly ? Is he willing to learn ?

descriptive statistics and inferential statistics ??? It is time for a cliche. Since nobody else has said it, I will...Figures lie and lyers figure ... not that any of us is a lyer... but if I wanted to take the time, I could find a bushel of saber-metric apples to prove that we are seeing good baseball or bad baseball, depending on my whim of the moment

to see how they are doing down on the farm today http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?cid=&lid=&org=142&sc=&sid=milb&t=affiliate&ymd=20140824

Intellectually honest ? A fan, by definition can not be intellectually honest. A fanatic want his favorite team to win and the 24 hours after a win are a little warmer, brighter and happier. The 24 hours after a loss are dull, dreary and oppressive. Fortunately, baseball gives us a new result every day and that is one of the reasons we love baseball and we love our team. Every hit by a rookie is viewed with hope. Every good outing by a pitcher foretells victories to come. 1 of our scrubs is worth 2 of any other teams best prospects. A fanatic cannot be fair, objective or intellectually honest, or they would not be a fan.

Perhaps the emphasis on mid to high 90's fastball pitchers is the problem. When pitchers like Verlander lose that extra-fast pitch, they don't have the control or secondary pitch to compensate. They talk about control. They talk about moving the ball up and down and in and out, changing speed with every pitch, but who actually does that ?