JW24

Miami at the end of July! Let's make it happen! This was the reaction my friends and I had last September when the 2019 MLB schedule was released. July might not be considered the peak time to visit Miami, but there really is not a bad time to go. Plus, the flights were darn cheap. We originally looked for a weekend trip that would work, but a quick look through the schedule yielded no great choices. We generally do not take this trip prior to Memorial Day weekend, so despite interest in going to Philadelphia, that option was not going to happen. Coupled with prior trips to Seattle, Texas, Kansas City and last year's trip to Chicago, we pivoted to what the most fun location would be. Considering our preference is to attend games at an NL park due to how infrequently the Twins play each NL team, Miami jumped off the schedule. Trip logistics: Like I mentioned previously, it did not cost much to get to Miami from Minnesota in July. I flew in and out of the Rochester, Minnesota airport due to proximity, but both Rochester and Minneapolis offered very affordable flights. Once in Miami, we used Lyft and Uber to get around, which I would recommend highly for this city. I consider myself to be a pretty good driver, but I would have struggled in Miami. The naming convention of the streets is weird, there was a lot of construction which led to many detours, and every single local driver's vehicles turn signals were broken (or so it seemed) so merging and changing lanes was always an adventure. We stayed at the YVE Hotel Miami which was perfect for us. We basically used it to sleep and shower. We were across the street from Bayfront Park and Bayside Mall, which are both pretty touristy spots. Lots of good food/drink and shopping opportunities. A couple of the food spots we went to in this area that I would recommend were Station 28 and The Egg Spot. We spent one morning/afternoon in Miami beach. It was about a $10 Lyft ride to get there from the hotel we stayed at. We had brunch at one of the dozens of places that line Ocean Drive, and later had a couple drinks at a different place. There are so many options for food and drink on Miami beach that I will not name specific places we stopped. The beach itself is beautiful, and was not terribly crowded the day we were there. After one of the Twins/Marlins games we attended, we went up to the Wynwood Walls area to see the art. There were a lot of people out and about in this part of town, considering it was 11 pm on a Wednesday night. One of our Lyft drivers mentioned it was one of the best places to experience the culture of Miami, and I would say he was right. The graffiti was stunning. Finally, we spent a little time in the Brickell area, just south of the hotel we stayed at, the final night of our trip. Having spent a little time in Brickell, the only thing about the trip I would change is that I would have looked for a hotel in that area. Granted, it was less than a mile from where we actually stayed, but the nightlife and energy was just a little different. Marlins Stadium and the games: My goal here is not to provide game recaps since the writers for Twins Daily already do that and do it much better than I ever could. Instead, this will be my thoughts on the stadium and surrounding areas, and a couple of notes regarding the games themselves. Prior to game 1, my buddies and I went to Nightlife Brewing Company since it is right next to the stadium ($8 Lyft ride from our hotel). There were less than 10 other people in there. As we were looking for some sort of pregame atmosphere, that was a let down. The beer was fine. The plaza area around the stadium is really nice! The landscaping looked great, and there were a lot of open areas that, should the Marlins ever draw a decent crowd again, could be a great spot to hang out before and after games. Marlins Park is a nice stadium as well. It is, perhaps, unconventional in regards to stadium design, but it has a lot to like. There are big glass windows out in left field that provide a great view of the Miami skyline. The Bobblehead Museum was a lot of fun to look through, and the Budweiser Bar in left field offered a really nice vantage point of the games for those who like standing. With wide concourses and small crowds, walking around the stadium was easy. There are a couple of concession stands in right field that offer "deals" on select items. Hot dogs, for instance, were $3 at this location and $6 elsewhere, so there is some affordability of eating at the ballpark if you go to these areas. Unfortunately, the Marlins removed the home run sculpture after last season, so we did not have a chance to see it in person. I would have loved to see that thing! Additionally, the roof of the stadium was never opened, so we did not get the experience of outdoor baseball, which would have been nice as well. We did not purchase tickets ahead of game 1, choosing instead to scalp tickets to avoid fees. We got lower level seats for $12, which felt like $11 too much given the attendance, but the cheapest available seats either online or at the box office were $10, so we did alright. Our seats were for a section down the right field line, which we sat in for a couple innings. Those seats were actually quite good. I do not think there is a bad seat to be had in the stadium. We did decide to give ourselves an upgrade and relocated behind home plate about 20 rows up. Game 2 was easily the best ballpark experience we have ever had on one of our trips. We decided to purchase tickets to the Dex Club, which is the Marlins equivalent to the Champions Club section at Target Field. As we normally spend a good chunk of money for tickets for 1 game per Twins road trip, and then buy cheap seats around the park for the remaining games, this was our big ticket purchase. The seats were $225 each, and worth every penny. The Club itself was beautifully set up with a bit of a beachy vibe; plenty of tables to sit at, a lounge area, and some standing tables all blended together. The food was all excellent, the beer and wine was unlimited, and there is even a view of the Marlins batting cages from inside the club. We sat in seats in the section right next to the Twins dugout, which gave us a great view of the masterpiece Jose Berrios threw that night. Game 3 was a bit of a repeat of game 1. We scalped our tickets for the same price, but instead of sitting in seats, we hung out in left field at the Budweiser Bar and watched from there until the 8th inning or so. One item of note from this spot is that we had a great view of Buxton crashing into the wall in right-center. He slammed into that wall at full speed, and almost made an incredible catch in the process. I could not believe he stayed in the game after that play, or that his next at bat resulted in a huge 2-run double (we had a good view of the chalk kicked up from the ball landing on the line) given how hard he hit the wall. Game 3 was also a noon game, and there were about 25 groups of kids from various summer camps at the game. Whenever the stadium scoreboard would call for fans to get loud, these kids went crazy. That was the only time considerable noise was made inside the stadium. One of the really fun things about these trips are getting to see players making their Twins (or MLB) debuts. I was in Kansas CIty in 2015 for Miguel Sano's debut. I was at Wrigley Field last summer for Willians Astudillo's debut. In Miami, I was able to see Sam Dyson's debut. I will never forget his first game as a member of the Twins, that is a fact. Overall: Miami was a blast! There is a lot of energy and culture in the city (although there is almost none at the ballpark). The ballpark itself was very nice, though not particularly memorable in any way.

I think this is a better idea than a platoon, moving Polanco down in the order. I wouldn't be opposed to Rocco moving Buxton (when healthy) up to 2 against a lefty and dropping Polanco down to 9.

Chapman is able to pair his fastball with a pretty good slider to keep hitters honest and prevent them from trying to time his fastball. Chapman also has a fairly high career walk rate, so it isn't like he is a guy that spots his pitches. Elite velocity plays well just about anywhere in the zone. If Graterol can mix in his secondary stuff for strikes, he will be great. Should he get called up (fingers crossed!) I would rather see him get hit a little because he is throwing strikes than put guys on for free.

If you throw 100, it doesn't much matter where the ball comes across the strike zone. Location is overrated for a 1-inning guy; just don't walk guys and any trouble you get in will be minimal.

It is great, after years of Vking pre-season football dominating the August headlines, to have meaningful Twins baseball this time of year. I cannot wait to tune in this weekend. Nothing beats playoff baseball, and this is the closest thing we will get until October.

I think, based on value, that would be Martin Perez today

Perez attacking the Braves with 92, down the middle, at the belt, is probably not what the scouting report recommended...

I don't know if he has done anything to highlight ineffective pitchers. I imagine that would mostly just be a gif of someone hitting a homer. One of the really cool gifs Pitching Ninja created was of Adam Ottavino's slider and 2-seem FB ending up in the exact same spot (low and away to a righty) despite taking drastically different paths to get there.

Can you elaborate on the percentages further? I don't understand what you are saying regarding BB% using his fastball or strikeout% using his fastball. Is this the percentage of the walks/strikeouts he issues when throwing that pitch as the final pitch in an at bat? Love Pitching Ninja. The overlays he creates really help to show how difficult hitting MLB pitching (especially of Berrios' caliber) really is.

I think if there was a draft, with every player available, Correa would be drafted before Buxton, so I agree with the notion Correa has more value within the league than Buxton. Looking at the Twins current depth at SS within their organization, I think a Buxton-for-Correa trade would be a minor upgrade to SS and a major downgrade in CF for the Twins, which is why I, personally, would not do that deal.

Do Jorge Polanco or Royce Lewis impact the Twins willingness to do a Buxton-for-Correa swap? I wouldn't want to give up Buxton for Correa at this point as Correa has had some injury issues of his own. Giolito seems to be figuring out how to pitch at the big league level, but I still wouldn't trade Buxton for him either. Great post, this is fun to discuss!

Hey everyone, I have been kicking around the idea of starting this blog for a while and decided to just go for it. If there is another blog like this on Twins Daily, I apologize for duplicating any content or stepping on any toes. Each summer, a group of friends and I take a trip to watch the Twins play in a visiting ballpark, with the goal of seeing the Twins in all 30 MLB stadiums. I am hoping this blog can provide a space for others to share their experiences, either at the ballpark or in the cities of various teams as a reference for others, as well as a way for me to remember the trips taken with my friends. I have made it to 14 ballparks outside of Minnesota to see the Twins play so far, so I have some catching up to do entry-wise. I just got back from this summer's trip to Miami, so I will try to write about that experience as my first real post while the memories are still fresh. Some trips were done on tight budgets (started doing this back in college). Some trips were spread out over long weekends, and others were single-game experiences. Some summers were more memorable than others (2015 was my summer of Tommy Milone -- I went to 9 games in 4 different ballparks and Milone started 5 of the games), and some Twins teams were better than others. Through it all, my love for baseball has grown. I hope you all enjoy the future posts and comment with your experiences/recommendations as well.

I'm not trying to say Smeltzer is the next Verlander, simply that Verlander has one of the best fastballs in baseball, and that Smeltzer's compares in terms of RPM/MPH, which will result in similar pitch behavior. Verlander is extremely effective with elevating his fastball in the zone and above the zone, and that is where Smeltzer was getting a lot of whiffs yesterday as well, perhaps in part because of the similarity in Bauer units. Looking at your list of pitchers, Bauer units don't tell the whole story, certainly. However, there is an emphasis on finding pitchers with high spin rates (Houston targeting Ryan Pressly, for instance) and figuring out how to help them pitch more effectively. Smeltzer was a great trade target by the FO last season.

Parker Hageman made this point on Twitter yesterday after the game -- Based on Bauer units (RPM of a fastball compared to velocity of a fastball), Smeltzer's fastball acts similarly to Justin Verlander's. While Smeltzer's raw velocity might not blow you away, the way his ball behaves is part of the reason for the awkward swings he generates. Average fastball in MLB is approximately 24 Bauer units. Smeltzer's is 27.4.

I like outside the box thinking, and I don't think this is a bad take necessarily. I do know, however, that I do not envy the job of whoever would be tasked with telling Royce he is going to be a super-utility guy. I suspect he views himself (rightly so) as a guy who will be put in the lineup at the same spot for 150+ games per season.

Tough week for the Twins coming up, time to see what they are really made of. Need to split with Cleveland at worst. 2-1 against ATL and at least 2 W's against Cleveland would be a pretty successful week in my opinion.

Great recap, and a huge week ahead for the Twins. Cleveland sees both Minor and Lynn during their 3 game series against Texas prior to the 4 games in MN. Hopefully the Rangers are able to take one or more from Cleveland. The Twins needs to take care of business this weekend. Hopefully the Twins lead in the central is bigger next Monday than it is today.

Thank you for breaking that all down. I agree a trade of that magnitude is quite far-fetched. Cano's contract is so terrible, good lord.

It would be steep, that is for sure. Perhaps the Mets would also send a prospect or two. I am always surprised to see 3-team deals transpire because of the difficulty 2 teams have in making trades. I also don't like the idea of the Twins replenishing the Tigers farm. I would never advocate for sending both Lewis and Kirilloff that direction because having to face them both 19 times per year sounds awful. Again, this is just an idea I had, not something I am pushing for.

Quoting myself here, I apologize already. Here is my proposed 3 team deal: Twins receive Noah Syndergaard Tigers receive Robinson Cano plus prospects Mets receive Matthew Boyd, Jonathan Schoop, plus prospects I don't know what prospects are needed to get this done, but the Mets get a young, controllable pitcher that they are requesting in a Syndergaard deal. The Mets give Cano to Detroit, who will have both Cano and Cabrera come off the books at the same time while having a tremendously cheap 23 other players (once Jordan Zimmerman is off the books). The Twins get the ace they are after without (hopefully) giving up both Lewis and Kirilloff. I need someone who knows what all 3 organizations have in their farm systems to help figure out what prospects need to go where, but doesn't this help all 3 (Detroit gets worse as part of the deal, but that is what they are trying to do).

Certainly no one wants to take Cano at this point, but if the Mets are truly trying to shop Syndergaard before the deadline, they can still ask for major prospects, maybe just not quite as many. If the Twins were asked to take on Cano as part of a deal for Syndergaard, I would say absolutely not. Maybe there is another team out there willing to eat that salary for a haul of prospects. It might have to be a 3 team deal to make it all work. The Mets will have to get creative, but if I were in their front office, I would be looking to unload Cano in any major deal.

I don't think the Mets need to do a full-on rebuild because of the young core you have highlighted. If the Mets are trying to trade Thor, in my opinion, it would make sense for them to try to package up Cano and/or Cespedes to shed some salary. The Mets are still somewhat major players in free agency given their market. Take the money saved from a salary-dump type deal and use that to bolster a pretty solid core.

Good luck to Blake, I hope he catches on somewhere else. And I hope the Twins get to play that team a couple of times before the season is over. #Bombas

I am all in on Robbie Ray. His strikeout rate is something the Twins haven't had in a starting pitcher since Liriano/Santana. Lowering his walk rate a bit so he can pitch deeper into games will be the area he needs to improve the most, and I think Wes can help him with that. Ray, to me, feels like the Twins would be getting a Patrick Corbin caliber guy prior to the break out year Corbin had last year. Trade for him, extend him, and try to turn him into a front of the rotation guy behind Berrios. I would also be interested in Archie Bradley as another relief arm for the Twins. I think he could help the pen out a bit.

I don't think it can be emphasized enough that, should the Twins land Thor, he would transition from an organization with an 82-year-old pitching coach to Wes Johnson. I think the Twins would get a better version of Syndergaard than what the Mets have gotten this year.