Otto von Ballpark

Obviously Gleeman isn't lying. But there is reason to be suspicious of BP's conclusion, without seeing their data or knowing their methodology. Big questions: - Does it account for projected playing time? Maeda has spent the whole year on the IL, but he also should have been projected for few if any innings this season. - Does it do anything to avoid double-counting? For example, if Sano was projected for 1.5 WAR at 1B and then got hurt, then Kirilloff was projected for 1.5 WAR as Sano's replacement, would it count the Twins as losing 3 WAR to the IL? I suspect it may be a simple equation -- number of games on the IL, prorated to a seasonal WAR projection for that player -- in which case it's essentially just restating the total days on the IL without really adding anything meaningful.

Definitely Gordon. Preseason projections had him no higher than a 90 wRC+, and he's at 113. Miranda has had a strong rookie campaign at 123 wRC+, but at least some projections had him in the 108-115 range before the season. Still an achievement, just not quite so unexpected.

The Twins did about as well as Radio Shack stock, but the TD forums were still full of Q's to which the Yankees unhelpfully provided some A's. Image courtesy of Twins Daily Playoffs?1, trade grades, stadium snacks, and intelligence (or lack thereof) were all topics of discussion in the community this week. @Trov leads off with If Twins do not at minimum split with Yankees, should we even care if we make playoffs? Looks like Trov's calendar for October just opened up. Although if you give the Twins a +2 game handicap, perhaps we could consider it a split? Second question goes to @alexlegge: Mahle for Steer/Hajjar/Encarnacion-Strand - How did the Twins blow this one so badly?? Okay, that sounds rhetorical, so I don't think we have to answer it. But Mahle rhymes with Bally so the Twins should have seen this coming. Next question: Is the Twins Pipe lined with ice or sludge? asks @Game7-91. Are those the only two options? Hey, Culligan Man! We may need to hire you as our scouting director. The final question this week comes from @mikelink45: Is Rocco really middle management? Next time you call Target Field to complain about a short start, perhaps you should ask to speak to Baldelli's supervisor. @strumdatjag reports there are No Vendors working the aisles at Target Field anymore. To fill that void, Twins Daily should volunteer to host those vendors in our forum. Instead of walking between rows, they could instead appear between our posts, maybe in the form of banners -- wait, nevermind! Over in the Other Baseball forum, @CRF shares news of likely Rule changes for 2023. I think my favorite might be the pitch glock, although moderns pitchers hardly need another weapon at their disposal. Finally, @ashbury demonstrates intelligence by leading a discussion of Baseball IQ. Is your Baseball IQ high? Or are you just high? Either way, share your knowledge in the forums. View full article

Classic 21st century Twins/Yankees matchup! Rumor has it the ghost of Mike Trombley was warming up in case the game went into the 14th inning...

The Twins gave a sliding lane to the TD forums by completing a successful homestand this week, gearing up for an AL Central grudge match. Community topics include forecasting, reflection, the dulcet tones of former Twins, the best ballparks to visit before you die, and the worst ballpark to visit while you are dying. Last Friday, @Thiéres Rabelo asked the community for their opinions on Rocco Baldelli's future; the Twins skipper responded by helming 5 consecutive victories. Who would we like to see in Thiéres' crystal ball this week? Instead of the future, @mikelink45 looks to the past, specifically Correa and the SS market from last offseason. Maybe Correa hasn't been the super-duper-star we hoped, but he's still ahead of his free agent competition. If he opts out, will the same hold true next year? What do you listen to during Twins games -- the TV broadcast, or the radio? @peterb18 isn't thrilled about the Twins color announcers, specifically the Justin Morneau and Glen Perkins back-and-forth, aka the "metronome from the Metrodome." Has anyone tried listening to the Twins Daily Game Thread with text-to-speech instead? Rumor has it that @Monkeypaws wished upon their namesake artifact last year, that our Twins wouldn't lose in the postseason again in 2021. Avoiding a curse in the minor league forum this week, they provide an update on the lesser-known players involved in a notable deadline deal from four years ago: Escobar for Duran, Maciel, De La Trinidad. As good as Duran has been, he may never be achieve a first- last-name basis with Nicolas Cage. Finally, ballpark connoisseur @Riverbrian, fresh off documenting an 18-day American odyssey in the Sports Bar (now with photos!), kicks off a lively discussion of Baseball Stadium Rankings. What's your favorite ballpark, and why is it the Metrodome? Share your stadium take or pennant race prediction in the forums! View full article

What game was on Fox in Portland, Maine? If you are talking MLBTV, then true national games are blacked out everywhere in the USA — the national TV broadcaster bought exclusive rights. However, these Fox Saturday games are “regional” so it has been my experience that they are only blacked out in the broadcast territories of the two teams involved. (That may not be official policy, but just a natural consequence of Fox and MLB having different broadcast maps.) Hence I was able to stream the other Fox game last night in Minnesota (Braves vs Cardinals, which coincidentally also ended in a walk-off walk!). If neither Fox Saturday game involves the Twins, I have been able to stream both on MLBTV in Minnesota.

What was the alternative? Thielbar is on a roll and just as important as Duran and Jax right now. Plus he's been our best reliever at stranding inherited runners, so he's better to save for Friday than have him start an inning on Thursday. Fulmer was on zero rest himself, as was Smeltzer. There's only so many times you can keep trotting out Pagan and Megill for multiple innings each before you're sabotaging your efforts to coax positive contributions from them too. And trailing 5-3 is not the same as trailing 9-1 -- it's hardly Nick Gordon to the mound territory. It didn't result in a win, and there are modest consequences to deal with tonight, but that's just an everyday reality in the sport -- you can't avoid it, you can only mitigate it. And we still have Thielbar plus other options to help mitigate tonight, if a no-rest guy needs help in a close contest.

Sometimes your top late inning arms need to pitch 2 innings, and sometimes they need to pitch back to back games. Last night, as the offense failed for 3 innings to close the gap any more than 2 runs, Baldelli judged that it was better to keep them all available for a potential back-to-back rather than stretch any of them to 2 innings in this particular game. Seems eminently defensible.

I'm not sure that any of the 3 are "unavailable" Friday night, based on pitching 1 inning each on Thursday after ample rest. This month, López has twice thrown consecutive nights coming off equal or greater pitch counts; Duran has two such recent games coming off similar pitch counts too (15 and 17). Likewise, any of them could have thrown more than 1 inning Thursday, if the offense had closed the gap at any point. The offense didn't, so it was better to limit each pitcher to an inning so they could still potentially appear Friday. We all know there are benefits to saving your best relievers until you need them, but there are diminishing returns to saving them for too long. And yesterday, having not held a lead virtually at all since Saturday, our returns on that strategy had diminished to basically nothing.

It’s easy enough to generate a draft schedule meeting either set of base parameters. But we know there are additional required parameters: if the contract with the players union mandates that you exchange a home game for a road game or insert off days or travel days in particular spots on your draft schedule, or teams or the league want particular accommodations due to travel/facilities/broadcasts, wouldn’t it be easier to make those adjustments when you have the flexibility to leave division home/road and non-division opponents slightly unbalanced? It’s like a path problem, and you have more potential paths you can follow. We know the schedule isn’t just spit out of a computer. There is a certain amount of finesse that goes into producing it, and I wonder if too much rigidity in the base arrangement makes the process more difficult.

With all of their fiddle players apparently on the injured list, the Twins and the TD forums both went in a deep funk, deep in the heart of Texas. In the land of Carlos Correa's ex's (ex-teammates, at least), a variety of Twins weaknesses were exposed. Some community members offered advice, while others seem ready to move on from this relationship. Still others helpfully provided some non-Twins content to distract us from struggles on the field. A week ago, @Number3 provided the modest suggestion to Just keep it close until the Twins can take the division in September. Since then, the losses have generally been close, but the gap in the standings is growing, so we may want to clarify the instruction! Relationship expert @sfe306 speculates that the Players like Baldelli as a person but.... Not to be outdone, @Emjay composes another breakup letter on behalf of players: So....Rocco, Analytics and the Twins underperforming. Will no one take Rocco's side here? Hopefully they can still be friends, in any case. How can the Twins improve? @USAFChief advocates outright theft (and better theft prevention), refuting the modern adage that "Stolen bases just don't matter". Bases would be great, but is there any way to steal some more pitching too? Looking around the league, @MMMordabito rails against a trend, or at least a glandular problem, as MLB Media Salivating over Exit Velocity is Getting Ridiculous. Then again, pitchers (and some motorists) have long enjoyed the thrill of radar gun readings, so it's no surprise that batters want to get in on that action. Finally, @Riverbrian is currently regaling us with an epic travelogue told over 11 parts (and counting) in The Sports Bar, beginning with Confessions of a Hit and Run Tourist - Day One. Be sure to read them all to gain a better understanding of the American experience, as well as the health challenges posed by the American diet. What's your dream baseball road trip, and why doesn't it include the Metrodome? Share it in the forums! View full article

That's interesting, thanks for the breakdown. I wonder if the slightly unbalanced/non-symmetrical schedule is slightly easier to put together, in practice? It gives them some flexibility to shift a few games around as needed to satisfy requirements of their contract with the players union. For example, perhaps an extra game against Baltimore in a particular series would allow the league to avoid scheduling the Twins for too many consecutive games or too long of a road trip elsewhere in the schedule? It could likewise help to accommodate some special requests by teams too.

Only because you were unable to negotiate an opt-out in your fan contract.

FWIW, Target Field was nearly a sellout for the two midweek games vs Milwaukee this year. Miller Park American Family Field didn't draw quite as well for the Tuesday game, but did quite well on Wednesday (for a day game, no less).

The Twins contract with Bally runs through the 2023 season, according to this article: https://m.startribune.com/twins-tv-ratings-bally-sports-north-dave-st-peter-streaming-cable/600087575/

The Twins returned home with a sweep of KC, but remained in second place. Meanwhile, the TD forums searched for a road back to first. Starters going deeper, bullpen consistency, good health, and matching leather outfits were just a few of the community suggestions intended to boost the Twins' chances. Despite a 9-0 win, @Battle ur tail off sensed trouble in paradise: Sonny Gray not too happy with Rocco... While Rocco's relationship with Sonny may be frayed, winning cures everything, right? @Brock Beauchamp advocates for a breakup -- not between Rocco and Sonny, but between Sonny's rotation mates Dylan and Chris. Baldelli needs to break up Bundy and Archer from pitching back-to-back games, to spare the bullpen from overuse. Twins relievers dominated the Royals all week with 13.1 shutout innings. We should enjoy it while it lasts according to @Trov, because The unpredictability of relief pitching means it may not last, as evidenced by some current and former Twins. Did you know that, in addition to their real-world roster, the 2022 Twins could have fielded an entire additional roster of injured players? @Game7-91 plays the part of Orpheus, seeking the return of the underworld Twins from Injured List Hades. Can the 2022 Twins play deep into October and even into November? At least some minor league Twins will, in the Arizona Fall League. @Seth Stohs kicks off the speculation about Who will the Twins Send to the AFL? The list could include some 2023 major leaguers. Do you remember 1987? @Brushback101 does. Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" ruled the airwaves, and nothing stopped our Dome Warriors on their way to a World Series title. Can the current club find some of that 1987 Miracle Juice We Need? A complicating factor is that the league tests players for "miracle juice" now. What's the Twins' missing ingredient -- or have they already found it? Share your recipe in the forums. View full article

Not quite? Here's what you'd get with each plan in Minnesota: MLBTV: every non-Twins, non-national TV game for $25/month MLBTV Single Team Package: just the non-national games for a single non-Twins team (for example, just the Brewers games): $20/month Bally Sports Plus: every non-national Twins game (if the Twins get on board), plus every non-national Wolves and Wild game, for $20/month

From my understanding, it's a bit of a two-way street -- neither the Twins/MLB nor Bally can launch an in-market streaming service without revising their current broadcast deal.

A single team out-of-market package in MLBTV is currently $20/month. Seems like a reasonable starting point for pricing a single team in-market streaming package. Also, the full out-of-market MLBTV package retails for $25/month, which suggests that most folks are primarily subscribing to watch a single team. Games beyond that team are probably not a motivating factor for most consumers right now.

I understand that concerns about pricing and priorities will be subjective. FWIW, I don't think either of us are representative of the "average" fan/consumer, so it's probably pointless to project ourselves too much. (I'd also caution against reading too much into polls or online comments about the issue, unless you also want to endorse Rocco's firing after every Twins loss ) All we really know is that Bally Sports Plus is literally an option/price that's never been available to consumers before. It's not for everybody, but in terms of general consumer choice and accessibility, it represents progress over what is currently available (and likely over what was available in the past too, given declining live TV package trends).