Reider

I've been thinking about this lately.. I was 15 years old when I started pitching 60 feet, 6 inches (18.4 m) (aka MLB field dimensions) and I know for sure that I never had as much trouble throwing strikes as Meyer does now. Of course I couldn't (and still can't) pitch 97mph, but still.. I bet he's been pitching 60 feet, 6 inches (18.4 m) for over a decade now. If he can't hit the strike zone now, I don't know if he ever will.

Due to his control problems the other night I had a feeling that he wouldn't make it out of the 3rd inning tonight and he didn't. And when he got pulled I sort of felt bad because he was struggling a bit, but I've seen worse. I thought he did okay for his first start, but he definitely needs to hit his spots better. As for whether he got pulled too early or not.. I've seen managers leave pitchers in to battle through those situations plenty of times. Perhaps Molitor just saw enough. He's tall with a 97mph (that's the fastest I noticed tonight anyways) and a curve/breaking/slider + change up? There are some good tools to work with there, but he definitely has control issues. Also, when there's a hitter that struggles to catch up with one of his high heaters, I don't know why he doesn't use that as a strike out pitch instead of throwing a bunch of curve balls outside.

I've had the MLBTV Premium package for a few years now and love it. They reduced the price $20USD (due to a lawsuit result I believe) down to $109USD (Premium package). I have been able to watch a lot of the spring training games (SD) plus all of the regular seasons games in HD. The games are archived, plus condensed games are made, so if you happen to miss a game you can watch all the plays in a shorter amount of time. You can watch on or through pretty much any device that connects to the internet e.g. computer, phone, tablet, Playstation etc.

I'm not surprised that Murphy got thrown out after watching Murhy's last at bat. But Murphy wasn't wrong, it was definitely a strike. I'm just not sure if the umpire is calling a bad game or if that was personal. Either way, Berrios is paying the price, which isn't right.

Nice hit by Park. Nice bunt by Dozier. Speaking of Dozier, I like instant replay. Instead of Dozier being angry with the umpire at first base, they can have a laugh together thanks to instant replay. This umpire's strike zone appears to be a bit off, but like others on this board, umpiring baseball was my first job and it's not always as easy as it looks.

No. Players positioning themselves to where they think the ball is going to go is not cheating. Plugging one hole opens another one. Hit the ball there.

Where do you see the first place White Sox finishing?

I don't have any stats to back it up, but it seems like most pitchers have been avoiding Dozier's hot zone this year (e.g. fast balls over the inside of the plate). He's been getting a lot of pitches on the outside of the plate. If he doesn't adjust and start hitting the ball hard up the middle or off field, I don't see how pitchers are going to start giving him those inside fastballs that he likes. Thus, I don't see how he gets out of his slump. I do believe that Dozier is strong enough to drive the ball up the middle and off field for big hits. He won't hit as many home runs, but if he hits the ball hard up the middle and / or hits the gap/wall in right, he can still turn some of those types of hits into doubles/triples.

There's a reason why people say baseball is a game of inches. This game was no different. - Bottom of the 3rd inning with Joe Mauer on 1st and 0 out, Sano hits a ground rule double down the left field line. Mauer would have scored on the play, but he was put back at 3rd base. Neither Mauer or Sano would end up scoring that inning because Park and Arcia struck out followed by Escobar grounding out. The Twins need to score at least one of those runs! - I'm not sure why Dozier was out in center field trying to catch a ball, which he ended up dropping. The center fielder needs to run forward and catch those. - Joe Mauer hits the top of the wall and instead of bouncing over the fence for a home run, it bounces back onto the field. He ended up scoring anyways, so it's not a big deal, but that's how close he was to hitting a home run. - Iglesias gets called out at first base. In my opinion video replay showed that he was safe. The umpires in New York agreed with the umpires in Minnesota and ruled him out. The Twins got lucky here. - M. Cabrera makes a running error (by running to second base) on a single to the outfield. Sano catches the ball at second base well ahead of Cabrera getting to second base, but instead of applying the tag on Cabrera's foot, he applies it way up higher on his leg / thigh area. I thought Cabrera's foot was on the bag by the time Sano tagged him, but I could be wrong. I would have liked to see it in slow motion another time or two and from a different angle. Luckily the Tigers did not challenge the play. - Paul Molitor pulls Nolasco after he gives up a 3 run home run in the 6th inning. Hind sight is always 20/20. Fans are angry, but if Molitor pulls him before the home run and the Tigers still hit a 3 run home run off of the reliever, then fans would be angry that they didn't leave Nolasco in to at least finish out the inning. - What's going on with those balls hit over Rosario's head that hit the wall? - With two out in the bottom of the 9th and down 1 run, Sano hits a double down the first base line, but decides to be aggressive and turn a double into a triple. Sano gets thrown out at 3rd base to end the game. I don't mind when players are aggressive and try and make things happen, but when there's 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning and your team is down a run, you have to be content with your double and stay at second base. The risk was way too great in that situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKgy2j2uVpI

Imagine that.. Talking baseball in a Game Day thread on a baseball forum during a baseball game.

I know Sano had the ball way before Cabrera slid into second base, but did you see where Sano tagged him? It looked like Cabrera's foot was on the bag when he got tagged, no?

I thought there was enough evidence to prove that Iglesias was safe. I can't believe the umpires in New York got that one wrong.

Okay, I see what you are saying about Dozier. It wouldn't be the end of the world if they moved him down to the bottom half of the line up, while he works on things.

Nice two out hits from Park and Arcia. Not sure if Escobar was safe or not at first. That was very close. I don't think Molitor wants to burn his challenge so early in the game with the lead.

There is a lot of talent on the team (including the guys like Buxton-Kepler-etc.. in the minors), they just need to play through it like they did last year. The team isn't running on all cylinders yet and some of the talent is still in the minors developing.

What decision needs to be made about Dozier? The decision on Plouffe was already made. They're keeping him at 3rd base (for now anyways). The decision was also made on Sano. He's the Twins right fielder now.

Platoon, I think it's a combination of SSS and reality. SSS - Dozier got off to a slow start this year, whereas last year he had a solid first half. Perkins got off to a slow start to the season, then got injured. Jepsen got off to a slow start. Other hitters and pitchers have gotten off to a slow start. Plouffe got injured. Santana, Nunez, Nolasco etc.. got off to good starts. Not sure if these players can keep their numbers up for the remainder of the season. Arcia has had some clutch hits. Not sure if he's ready to be an every day player or if it's SSS. His stats are okay, but don't look great. Still early in the season. Reality - We knew there would be growing pains with Sano in RF. While he's made some nice catches (including at least one beautiful diving catch), he's also misread and misplayed a few balls out there. We knew Park may need time to adjust to the MLB pitching. While he's capitalized on some breaking balls left over the plate (crushing them into the seats), it would be great if he could get his AVG and OBP up. This may happen over time as he see's more MLB pitching. Not concerned at this point. He's on pace for over 30HR's this year. Buxton. In the off season I felt that he just wasn't ready (hitting wise) yet and sure enough he already got sent down. Hopefully he can turn things around and help this team at some point this season. Positives: Mauer appears to be seeing the ball better than the last two seasons (post concussion). Abad is a bright spot. I hope his success carries on throughout the season. Others that I already mentioned (Nunez, Santana, Nolasco, Arcia's clutch hitting, Park's power etc..) In Conclusion: There's just not enough players contributing yet. Last year there was a good combination of veterans and young player contributing (pitchers and hitters alike). This year a lot of those players are either injured or not playing the way they did last year. The Twins need their best players to play their best. Mauer is pulling his weight, but guys like Dozier, Perkins, Jepsen, Rosario etc.. need to play better. Also, what about the young guys this year? Sano has decent numbers, but I'd like to see him hit more HR's. And what about Murphy? He has 35 at bats and only 3 hits and a walk to show for it. A lot of the other young guys need to get going and help this team win games. Pitchers need to be better.

Mauer is definitely seeing the ball good again. Leading the AL in OBP is not because of luck.

Bi-son

Park is going to hit a lot of home runs this year if pitcher keep hanging those slow curves/breaking balls over the plate.

0-3 after the first, just like yesterday. Hopefully the ending is much different.

Agreed, which is further proof of why I don't like sitting Dozier for a week so Polanco can play at this point in the season. There was a point later in the season last year when I thought giving Dozier a week off would have been great. I just don't feel like this is a good time.

Buxton and Kepler obviously aren't ready yet because they both got sent down to AAA. The funny thing about Polanco is that if you look at his 2014/2015 SSS hitting stats, he has good numbers at the MLB level. It's only this year that his numbers aren't up to standards. So of course I am in favor of giving him an opportunity. My only issue is sitting Dozier on the bench for an entire week this early in the season so Polanco can play 2nd base for an entire week. If the Twins want Polanco to start more than a game or two, perhaps Polanco and / or Dozier could DH for a game or two? Not sure that's an ideal situation.

Dozier needs a day off or two every now and then so I am in favor of Polanco starting a game or two, but I don't think I am in favor of benching Dozier for a full week. He needs to get his work in too. Also, for those of you saying that Dozier shouldn't be the lead off hitter or the second hitter etc.. who should be hitting at the top of the line up? Span and Revere are legit lead off hitters, but they both got traded away. Buxton is a potential lead off hitter, but he's not ready to take the spot yet. For those of you who keep saying "Buxton-Polanco-Kepler," as the first three hitters in the line up, those guys are not ready yet. Please talk about the here and now and not your dreams of the future. Reality is that I don't believe we have a proper lead off hitter at the moment and I'm not sure who the #2 should be. But if you want to talk about hot hands, guys like Nunez, Santana, and Mauer have the best averages and OBP's this year. Santana and Nunez both have decent speed. I think it's pointless to criticize the top of our line up when the solutions people are responding with are dream / future scenario's. If you are going to complain, please suggest current legitimate solutions. Here's an example. Based on current stats and speed, I would be open to promoting Nunez to the #2 spot and see how he does. Please be objective.