wornsmooth

When I was young and following baseball, it was unusual to see a player moved to different positions day to day. Ceasar Tovar was a rarity in this regard. Killebrew did some back and forth between 1st and 3rd, but again, not common. One reason....get really good at that position, and in your home park. Is this part of the reason that fly balls to the warning track or fence go uncaught? Outfielders not playing the same position enough to "know" where the wall is? Kirrillof misplay of fly ball bounce turning a long single to a triple. I don't consider it his fault. He is being bounced first to OF like a manager can just plug a player into a slot. In my biased opinion it should only be done when no other option exists. lastly, i am beginning to suspect much of the poor hitting comes from switching players around. It is a HUGE distraction from your preperation for at-bats to also have to rethink how you play in the field. my personal opinion is this willy nilly moving players around costs 10 to 20 points to the teams batting average.

Good post. It is also hard to both beat a good team AND the umps. Taylor had an RBI walk changed by fiat to a K. A game changer. Instead of a one run game with bases still loaded, well, we had what we had. The Twins have been flat since umpiring took a well played game from them in LA, then changed a well pitched game by Lopez into a mess. Yeah, I know, good teams get over it etc. But this is getting old watching flagrant umpiring flubs.

That is sad news. I admire his tenacity. His hitting was starting to come back a bit. He hung in there while i am sure it was easy to get down on himself. Another lousy break for him.

Question. If the starter is doing ok, why is it some sort of law of physics to pull him after 6 innings? The Twins have a rotation of 5 starters. Why can't they throw complete games?

Love your comment "he shows no fear on the mound". So true. I suspect that is why he throws strikes. He knows (or at least is convinced) that he is good enough to not have to hit a 3x3 corner box on every pitch. Just "here it is...hit it if you can". Reminds me of Bob Gibson of yesteryears Cardinal's.

I was glad to see the author's comment on his back. It would not surprise me to learn that Correa has been playing with this nagging at him. Unfortunately there isn't much depth at SS, so he doesn't get much day to day relief.

Don't want to be "that guy", but PTSD is something that could develop. It happened to more than one player in the past. They get beaned and seem to be OK. As time goes on the pitchers use more brush backs with high and tight near-misses. They stand further from the plate, and a few years later they're a shadow of the hitter they once were. (see Jimmy Hall) Not a given. Everybody handles stuff differently. Also, I gather that the umpires police the throwing at hitters a bit closer now than in the past. Maybe a good thing because the pitcher never has to face retaliation, so the umps have to control it.

Correa has hit a rocket at least once in each recent game on the road. Most went for outs. Gallo was doing the same in his 0 for 20 stretch. Gordon is starting to. The hits will start hitting the gaps. Pitching, with just a little more timely hitting, will win more games. If the Twins could cut down on the whiffs, maybe a bit more hit and run could help.

How is his playing in St. Paul any less stress/risk to his wrist than if he came up and played for the Twins? If his wrist isn't healed he shouldn't be playing regularly anywhere. If it is healed, he should be with the Twins unless there is some fundamental technique fix that is still needed.

I have reached the point in my life where I route for the guys who have had adversity in their career. It is why I look each day to see what J Gallo does. Or N Gordon. Or B Buxton. Now the Twins CF ....almost leading the team in HRs, yet doesn't seem to get much credit. Now Stewart, amongst others.

I am basing on the video and on how he went overnight from being a productive hitter to flailing. I have zero inside knowledge, but have many stories of players who drop in performance and then find out years later they were playing with chronic injuries. The Twins Zoilo V. And Camilio P. Come to mind. For that matter, Killebrew during his very lengthy period waiting for HR number 500. All injury related

In 1966 the Twins were in a pennant race and Tony Oliva looked to be a lock for his 3rd consecutive batting title. Late in the season Tony O went into a deep slump, costing him the title, and conceivably, the pennant for the Twins. (being their best player). Many years later I found out Tony had been in a minor car accident and had suffered whiplash. Can you imagine trying to hit major league pitching when it hurts to turn your head? The results , in hindsight, weren't surprising. Now that I am older and realize that baseball players aren't supermen, I understand that performance will suffer when playing hurt. It just depends on the type, and amount, of injury. I look back on that year and ask myself: "why in hell was he being played with that injury? Surely someone else could have been in the lineup while he healed up." It strikes me as nuts to play someone with that kind of injury. The series (day?) before the Yankees series Buxton suffered a collision with him landing hard on his shoulder and head, twisting his neck. Since then he has hardly touched a pitch. (I think one hard hit ball-yesterday). To me it seems obvious he was injured in the collision. Possibly a neck injury. Of course he won't be able to hit with that kind of injury.. It strikes me as dumb to have played him while hurt. Not to mention a grave disservice to him both professionally and as a person.

Nagging injuries take their toll. Tony Oliva 1966. Late year slump cost him the batting title and possibly the Twins the pennant. Found out years later had been a minor car accident and suffered whiplash. It hurt to even turn his head.

I don't get to watch games on TV. All I see are highlights. It seems to me that opposing teams routinely have flyballs landing untouched on the warning track. Balls chased by outfielders because they misplayed the caroom. Throws from outfielders that are off by 10ft. If this guy can hit 220, play superior defense, and 60%of time turn a single into a double with stolen base, it seems to me he would be a plus. It seems that we routinely give up runs due to poor positioning or poor breaks on flyballs to the outfield. He might save some runs if he is as good defensively as the article states.

I was an avid baseball fan in the 60s to 1971. Then attention followed by interest went away due to 'life'. Now retired have begun following Twins again. I can't watch them on TV as live on east coast abd choose not to have cable. Some stats are new to me and am learning them. At risk of sounding as an old grump, I question if there is improvement on two of the old basics. RBI and runs scored. I came to believe, and still think so, that these as an aggregate are rhe best indicator of offense contribution from a player. I