Western SD Fan

This was my argument yesterday about going full ABS without a 3D plate. I believe Jeffers wins that challenge if the ABS system was 3D. That ball looked like it caught the front corner of the plate. Because of where ABS is measured, it was called a ball.

Zebby is from another era in Twins pitching: the Rick Anderson days when he stressed pitching to contact. That philosophy only worked if you had a great defense behind you. The Twins did back then. They do not now (although it has improved lately). There will be balls put into play that our defense will not be able to get to. This is likely the normal for Zebby. Giving up 2-4 runs and getting through 6 innings. If the offense does its job, that should lead to more wins than losses.

It's nice to see a team who is willing to foul off pitches and not think they have to swing out of their cleats.

Don't worry Royce, even though I'm just watching, I'm chewing my nails with you at 2nd as well.

My view of Bradley has been that he just cannot handle traffic on the bases. Gives up a solo HR, he's fine. It's the people on base that seem to get him out of rhythm and he will melt down. Not exactly a #2 starter.

I don't know where that pitch was supposed to be. Jeffers didn't move much like he was expecting that pitch there. If that's the case, it was bad selection rather than bad execution. You usually try not to hang an off-speed pitch right in the swing of a power RH bat.

In Shelton's pregame discussion about what he hopes to see out of Zebby today, he remarked about the Cubs being a very patient hitting team. Two batters in and 4 pitches. I wish the Twins could catch that patience virture.

For many of us, including me, the one thing that Tom could do that would show confidence in the team would be to sign Joe Ryan to an extension. The remaining discussion almost doesn't matter if Tom can get this done. We wouldn't have to worry about all the trade rumors anymore. There would be some certainty going into the upcoming CBA negotiations. This was not a team primed for a playoff push, and we are performing a bit above expectations. If they solidified their core for the future this year, I'm willing to let the chips fall where they may and have this team sink or swim on what we currently have.

And of the two, I would rather have someone hustling (Lee) than someone dogging it (Bell). Bell only kicked it into gear when Caratini almost passed him. Caratini, last I checked, is a bit slower than Buxton so there shouldn't be much excuse for Bell when Caratini is pushing you.

They had announced that Caratini had almost passed Bell on the basepaths. This is on Bell.

Could be if they believe that Sands is ready to go. Not sure who will start Tuesday in Cleveland then. I would hope they learned their lesson on not going with bullpen games anymore.

I haven't watched many minor league games where they are doing full ABS. I would have to see how it affects the pace of play first. We see in the majors during a challenge that it takes about five seconds, per pitch, for ABS to make the call. Again, I am unfamiliar with how it works for the full ABS works in the minors. Does it only apply to the calls within a few inches of the strike zone as they assume the ump should get the rest of the calls? Do we have to wait for ABS to call the ball when it goes to the backstop or down the middle of the plate? Using my time of 5 seconds per pitch and the average number of pitches per game being 300. That adds 1,500 seconds to the game, which comes out to 25 minutes, essentially negating all of the gains we have made by implementing pace of play rules. Another question is whether MLB can implement full ABS under the current CBA with the umpires. I believe they can, but I am not certain. I do think the seven umps that are retiring are doing in part of the expectation that ABS is here to stay and they don't want any part of adjusting what they do. I also think that the current ABS system (with challenges) gives the fans some extra engagement that has been lacking in baseball over the years. They have been desperately trying to change rules to increase engagement, such as banning the shift, pace of play rules, larger bases, and so on. It has responded with increased attendance (MLB average) and increased TV ratings. Ultimately, I think there are some kinks that need to be worked out before going to full ABS. I foresee at least another year of this type of setup before a decision is made on full ABS. That year would also give MLB a chance to make ABS better and potentially be setup for a 3D system when they decide to implement full ABS.

I've never umped a game in my life. I try to look at situations based off of what I could do, even with all of the training and skills necessary to do the job. I would find it difficult to get those calls right at the MLB average of 94%. I am still in the camp that full ABS will need to wait until they actually cover the entire plate. Current ABS only gives a 2D zone in the middle of the plate. There are plenty of actual strikes that ABS will miss because they do not cover the entire plate. I could see a scenario where umpires are actually more accurate than we give them credit for when a full 3D zone can be implemented.

I'm actually somewhat impressed on how well some umps get the bottom end of the strike zone. If you consider where they have to lean over the catcher and the angle that many of them see the pitch, it's easy to miss that low strike. There was a spirited discussion earlier in the season about catchers receiving the ball sitting down and part of the reason was for umps to better see that low strike. Getting that call was more important to them than trying to throw out a base runner.

And if Bradley had pitched to Amaya like he should have, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Bradley has more control on how he pitches than Lee has in trying to start a double play. Double plays are never guaranteed and even less so when you have an above average runner out of the box.

I didn't think they would get Swanson even if it was a clean pick. Swanson is one of the fastest players in the league. EDIT: All Bradley had to do was be aggressive to Amaya and the inning would have been over, regardless of the fielding behind him. Should have got it done with a nine hitter that runs slow.

Also nice that a Twins fan caught the HR ball by Clemens. Don't have to worry about the pressure of throwing the ball back onto the field.

Yes. He was in camp at spring training and was released since he wasn't going to make the team. But we have all seen this nostalgia tour before with many players and hoping that they don't do it here as the bullpen has been performing better as of late.

Our old friend, Liam Hendricks, was just released from the Cubs today. He was pitching in Iowa and had only started ramping up 3 weeks ago. I hope the Twins stay away from the nostalgia tour and continue working with what we have.

There's only one real answer that makes any kind of sense for why you are playing Bell over Lewis here. Lewis will be here after the trade deadline, and maybe there is an actual market for Bell behind the scenes that we just don't see. Hell, we were able to trade Ty France last year when it looked like there was no market for him, so anything is possible. Otherwise, it is foolish to have Bell over Lewis. As Lewis showed last night, he has made tremendous efforts to learn the position. I don't think there is much of a difference in either offensive output and I'd rather have Lewis's defense than Bell's. EDIT: That makes a bit more sense on why Bell is in there now. Stinks for Lewis. Hopefully, it's not a long-term setback.

It's all that high-end talent we have! As Declan from Skor North Twins Show always states, "Don't let the Twins get hot!"

The Twins finally took their allergy medication today! They are not allergic to .500 ball!

Counsell officially challenged the out call at 2nd AND 1st. Lost the challenge at 2nd but won the challenge at first. I don't understand how he doesn't lose his challenge by losing the one at 2nd.

Interesting. You can challenge multiple things with one challenge, lose one, win another, and still maintain your challenge. Didn't know that.