mikelink45

nice addition - who is our Joe Kapp?

Somehow I am trying to get my head around sixty games - and I keep coming up with the number 60 must have some significance or the curmudgeons that rule baseball might have taken the players options like 104 games. And of course 60 is the magic number - It is Babe Ruth. Sorry but 73 is a number I have to look up to remember Mr Bonds, maybe I need steroids to improve my memory. And Mark McGwire your 70 was really fun because you and Sammy smiled every day, but it was like a fantasy game and we never really believed in you. And of course 61 made a great movie, but all Maris got was clumps of hair falling out. 60 is still celebrated. It is still the holy grail. Sammy Sosa had 3 seasons with more than 60 HRs, McGwire had 2, Ruth, Bonds, and Maris had one each. And then there is the sixty yard dash. It is a test for baseball - I do not know if anyone else cares. The Baseball Training website says - "And for a good reason, we need this type of speed to steal bases, beat out a drag bunt, and get under the ball if we’re far away and in the outfield. Speed training for these reasons (and many others) is incredibly important for baseball performance." And this is quite funny since the space between bases is 90 feet so be as fast as you want for 60 - you better be able to go that last 30. And we have Byron Buxton who is so fast that he almost doesn't notice second base as he flies around the field. What happened in 1960 - the Yankees lost to the Pirates. Bill Mazeroski hit the winning home run and is the HOF because of it. Our team had not traveled west yet so they were in DC and finished 10th of 16 (71 - 63). Harmon hit 31 HRs, Bob Lemon hit 38. Lenny Green led in BA with 294, Harmon Killebrew was second on the club with 276. In OPS+ Killebrew had 142, Lemon 129. Pascual and Ramos were the pitching leaders. This was the final season of 154 games. In sixty games the 2018 Yankees and Red Sox were 41 - 19. Wow. In 2011 Jose Bautista had a 1.226 OPS. In 2008 Chipper Jones hit 408 In 1999 Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez struck out 143 batters - think what could happen in this K happy season. In 1998 Juan Gonzalez drove in 76 runs! https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-players-first-60-games-big-performances In 1936 Charlie Gehringer hit 60 doubles! The problem was - Earl Webb hit 67 in 1931 and Paul Waner, Hank Greenberg, Joe Medwick and George Burns hit 62 - 64 doubles in the thirties too (Burnes was 1926). In Triples there is the Pythagorean triple which I cannot understand https://mathworld.wolfram.com/PythagoreanTriple.html, but no one in MLB had 60 triples in a season. In Australia you can sign up for Triples - "The draw for the Men’s Over 60’s Triples is now available. Fifty two teams will battle it out to be crowned the 2019 champions. In a change from recent years sectional play and the alignment round will be played Monday 25th November at Como and Osborne Park Bowling Clubs with the finals all held on Tuesday 26th November at Osborne Park Bowling Club, meaning the competition will conclude in only two days instead of the usual three." Of the 162 Major League Baseball players who have hit 100 or more triples, 69 are members of Baseball's Hall of Fame. Who ranks number sixty in the career stats? Dale Murphy with 398 HRs, Roberto Alomar is number 60 in doubles with 504, Tony Perez is number 60 in hits with 2732 (yes he does belong in the HOF), Willie Keeler and Harry Davis are tied for number 59 which means they are also tied for 60th in career triples with 145. Chick Hafey is number 60 with a 317 batting average. Old Hoss Radbourne won 59 games in 1884, but wait a minute. "The classic MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia, as well as other sources credit Radbourn with 60 wins (against 12 losses), other sources place his win total as high as 62." Bert Blyleven fell short of the record only giving up 50 HRs in one season (and he is HOF?) Number 60 is filled with two names who are also tied for number 59 in wins all time - Mordecai Brown and David Wells with 239. Jay Bruce is number 60 in striking out with 1535, Eddie Plank is the pitcher ranked number 60 with 2246 Ks and in those days batters did not want to strike out like today. Since there are 15, 213 people who have played in MLB since 1871 according to SABR, ranking number 60 is pretty good. Also according to USA Today Dallas Kuechel is the best player to wear number 60. According to Baseball Reference 1860 is when baseball was born - I know they played in the civil war and Tom Custer (George Armstrong Custer's brother) was a good pitcher. Baseball Reference has Sam Thompson as the best of the players from that time with a 44 WAR and in the HOF. John Ward with 34 WAR is second and also in the HOF. Does that justify the 60 games? No - I doubt if MLB is even aware of these connections.

I love speed on the team both in the field and on the bases. I loved the Aparicio/Fox go-go White Sox, the Whitey Herzog's Cardinals with Vince Coleman and Willie McGee. In 2019 we were ranked 7th fastest among the teams - KC led the way and then it is all playoff teams https://www.mlb.com/news/fastest-teams-in-baseball-for-2019 Please stay healthy and tear around the bases, but not into walls.

I love slime molds. As a biologist I watch for them in the woods and I had to read this article because of them - not Trevor. But if Trevor likes this share this video https://youtu.be/Nx3Uu1hfl6Q and if you are curious - watch and enjoy.

I am for Kiriloff. I do not need someone to provide Sano's strikeouts.

What thoughts can you have for 60 games except - Play Ball!

I love the enthusiasm and the home team bias. Every bullpen is filled with players that no one outside the fan base knows - that includes ours. Cleveland might be writing the same thing about the Twins that we are writing about them. Bullpens are tough to analyze because performance in the pens is erratic from year to year. If the projection is that the starters will go less innings, the use of the BP arms will increase in frequency and length. Who will stand up to this wear and tear? https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/17/bullpen-workloads-increase-mlb-teams-are-struggling-find-relief/ I look forward to the year, if we can have all our players Covid free and actually playing the entire 60 games.

Sad addition to his career and life. The will be the season of uncertainty and disruption.

I would put Garver at #4, Kepler 5, Sano 6, Polanco 7

I have just learned of a few friends and their family that have contacted Covid around the country. This is bigger than we want to believe and there will be more infected.

I will go with Jeffers, but the other two don't make it for me. I give Gordon the first replacement slot and I think OF could see Kiriloff if someone goes down.

Please note the updated beginning of the essay.

Your evaluation is valid and I have no problem with it. But separation is just one of many issues and that separation will increase without the disease for the players asked to go through this experiment. We will have to see how they all handle the emotional aspect. Here is an article that explores the real issues of going home after surviving covid. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/health/coronavirus-recovery-survivors.html

The Covid sickness that hit coach Tommy Hottovy created a memorable video https://www.espn.com/mlb/ as he discussed his case - it is good to watch since so many act like the Covid-19 is just another flu. As the TD contributor Doctor Gast states - the video is mostly about the pain of separation. Should you want to know more about the survival from this virus you might want to read this San Francisco report - https://www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/What-they-don-t-tell-you-about-surviving-15347792.php or this description of the Brain Fog that comes after the virus by the American Psychological Association https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/09/aftermath-covid-19. The choices of Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman and Jo Ross not to play should be applauded for their courage just as the Twins decision to protect their oldest coaches was wise and prudent. As much as I want to see and read about baseball I do not want to read about tragedies. When we are young we all make poor decisions based on our own sense of mortality. I made climbs, ran rapids, and pushed the envelop thinking that nothing could happen to me. My son, at age 21 did the same thing, and he died as a result. Age does not protect us. Nor does physical fitness. This is a serious time and now we learn that there is a new swine flu that might follow Covid. It is frightening. And maybe time to remember how we can be chopped down by microscopic organisms in the prime of our life. Baseball players are constantly facing injury - concussions, thoracic injuries, Tommy John surgery, broken bones. The good thing about them is that they heal. Bad backs ruined careers and freak accidents like the gas that Christy Mathewson was exposed to during training. His respiratory system was weakened and resulted in contracting tuberculosis, from which he died in Saranac Lake, New York in 1925. He was only 45. Tuberculosis also took seven other players who are mostly lost to memory because their careers were too short and too long ago. We watched drugs ruin careers like Doc Gooden and Daryl Strawberry, two more who had a HOF path ahead of them. And Sandy Koufax had his amazing career stopped at its peak because of arthritis. Like so many elderly people I can only relate too well to the pain that he suffered from this debilitating disease. I remember when J R Richards suffered a stroke and had to leave the field. This great Astros pitcher seemed like a sure HOF player, a person who would hold all the Astros records - he averaged 16 wins per season his first five years. In 1980 he was 10 - 4 with a 1.90 era and he was in magnificent physical condition. In two years he was homeless and sleeping under a bridge. He went on to the ministry and preached to those same homeless individuals. It was a big fall from the top. Jimmy Piersall suffered from mental illness and a potentially great career was ruined by bipolar disorder and still he was so good he managed 17 years. When it comes to disease what baseball fan does not know of Lou Gehrig and ALS - now called Lou Gehrig Disease. The Iron Horse was toppled and dead at age 38. He seemed invincible but disease does not avoid the strong and healthy. Ross Youngs died at age 30 of Brights Disease (a kidney disease). He played 10 years with a 322 BA. Dave Parker, former Pirate and one of my favorite players lives with Parkinson's disease a serious and long term disease that impacts so many aspects of your body functions. Kirk Gibson lives with Parkinsons and Dee Gordon plays baseball with it. But this is serious and life changing. HOF pitcher Addie Joss from Wisconsin attended St. Mary's College (later part of Wyalusing Academy) in Prairie du Chien and the University of Wisconsin. "In April 1911, Joss became ill and he died the same month due to tuberculous meningitis. He finished his career with 160 wins, 234 complete games, 45 shutouts and 920 strikeouts." Wikipedia provided this list of type 1 diabetes sufferers from MLB Ron Santo, Chicago Cubs (1960–1973) and Chicago White Sox (1974) infielder, type 1, deceased (2010 at age 70). Sam Fuld, Chicago Cubs (2007–2010), Tampa Bay Rays (2011–2013), and Oakland Athletics (2014–) outfielder, type 1.[13] Mark Lowe, Seattle Mariners (2006–2010, 2015), Texas Rangers (2010–2012), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2013), Cleveland Indians (2014), Toronto Blue Jays (2015), and Detroit Tigers (2016–) pitcher, type 1.[14] Brandon Morrow, Seattle Mariners (2007–2009) and Toronto Blue Jays (2010–2014) pitcher, type 1.[14] Dustin McGowan, Toronto Blue Jays (2005–2008, 2011, 2013–2014), Philadelphia Phillies (2015), and Miami Marlins (2016–) pitcher, type 1. Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–1956), type 2, deceased (1972 at age 53). Bill Gullickson, Montreal Expos (1979–1994), type 1[15] Adam Duvall, Cincinnati Reds (2015–), Type 1 James "Catfish" Hunter, Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1965-1974) and New York Yankees (1975-1979) pitcher, type 1, deceased (1999 at age 53 of ALS) There are more stories of Alzheimer's that may have come from concussions, cancers, and other, but finally, we should look to the Spanish Flu - "the flu took: Cy Swain, a minor leaguer from 1904 to 1914 who slugged 39 home runs in 1913; Larry Chappell, a big league outfielder for the White Sox, Indians and Boston Braves between 1913 and 1917; catcher Leo McGraw, a minor leaguer between 1910 and 1916; catcher Harry Glenn, a minor leaguer from 1910 to 1918 who spent time with the 1915 Cardinals; minor league pitcher Dave Roth, who played between 1912 and 1916; and minor league pitcher Harry Acton, who played in 1917." https://baseballhall.org/discover/1918-flu-pandemic-didnt-spare-baseball The Twins have their own tragic stories too - Danny Thompson, a promising shortstop was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 26, in 1973. He played four more seasons and died ten weeks after his final game. Walter Bond - died of Leukemia in the closing weeks of the 1967 baseball season — a year during which he had made the Twins' roster coming out of spring training. Wikipedia entry says this about the end - "Bond made the team and batted .313 in part-time duty during the season's first month. But the Twins released him on May 15, and although Bond caught on with the Jacksonville Suns, his declining health forced him to the sidelines after only three games.[2] He entered a Houston hospital for treatment, but died there at age 29. Said his physician, Dr. Hatch Cummings: "He showed the strength of character and will that only champions possess. It was an exhibition of courage, and in the best tradition of baseball." We want baseball, but we can live without it if it comes down to a threat to players health and lives.

Now the question is - which two decades is the best? 60's - 70s with the 1965 World Series and a few years of dominate baseball, but no wild card options, the 80s-90s with the 1987 World Series and all its wrestling matches on the bases and the 91 World Series with some of the most dramatic games and events in series history or the 2000s? We all look to our childhood as you did in your essay. I was beyond childhood - young adult - when the Twins arrives so the first twenty years will always be the greatest. But overall the thing that this series presents is the fact that there is always a chance the team might overcome the odds and be a world champion and in the mean time there will be the all stars and heroes that find a permanent place in our memory.

I think I see a poor Pineda post almost daily, but it is not something that bothers me. He was suspended, that is a fact, he has to deal with it and so does the team. I do not think it is really a terrible crisis. Romero is one of those really frustrating baseball stories. He looked so good, then the team decided to shift him from starter to reliever (like putting a 3B in RF) and it did not work. He never seemed to regain his equilibrium and now it appears that there are some very extenuating circumstances that will impact his career.

I think Romero is done - too many issues and the Twins mishandled him. I am sorry to say this, but he needs another club to give him a try.

Where is Balozovic?

My question is - how frequently can you change your 30 man with your taxi squad? If you can do it everyday you change it with the next days starter and load up with relief and bats. Why put 5 starters on the squad if you aren't going to use them and have access to daily change?

"The first cases of COVID-19 among Twins players were detected this week, President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey announced Thursday, and those players — “it was a few,” both major and minor leaguers, Falvey said while declining to be more specific — are quarantined until they can clear MLB’s virus protocols." - from Phil Miller in today's Tribune

I think the old Minnesota fear that comes with every team in the playoffs suddenly hits for this playoff length regular season.

Why?

I like to look at lots of sources and see how our biased predictions compare with other biased predictions and https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29360566/mlb-predictions-thrive-struggle-60-game-season really does not respect our Twins, in fact we are only listed in the negative except for one prediction that Sano will lead in HRs. Otherwise it is East Coast and Los Angeles biased as usual. This is so volatile that I have not idea who will win or lose. And of course Mighty Covid could still take all the bats away with the surge that is happening right now.

I doubt that the taxi squad will do much if anything this year. 60 games really means injury replacements, except for pitchers who we like to rotate on and off. So I lean more to MLB ready pitchers and the team needs to think about this as the minor league season and put all their best prospects on the list. I really hate the way MLB is treating minor leaguers and the minor leagues.

I believe the next contract will call for home run derbies to replace games and we are ready.