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Something about that redhead chick on the ExxonMobil commercials... I think she has a very dark soul. #commercialthoughts

I don't know about that. His average is effectively zero, Mauer is a near .300 career hitter. Go for the runs, hope you don't need another greate play in CF. Also, it wouldn't hurt to actually carry a 4th OF on this team who could play CF.

That... was a <expletive'n> curveball.

Yeah leaving Sano in at 1B, not pinch hitting for Buxton with two runners in scoring position... it's almost like Moliter isn't paying attention.

Nice play Eddie! That's a big start to a late inning in a close game.

They can trade us Nate Jones if they want to keep rebuilding.

I remember that, I only wonder if he's reciting Playboy Playmate profiles when he does it.

Gawd, the ChiSox catcher is good entertainment. Between falling down everytime he throws back to the pitcher and nearly going down on that last backswing... good stuff.

I thought that commercial about confidence might be about ED, but nope cars! Thankfully they followed with a boner commercial. Was starting to feel cheated.

Geesus, you were saying Bert? Someone give this guy a clue at the plate!

We'd better see Mauer for Buxton if there's runners on and less than 2 outs.

Gimenez was ready for 97!

Pretty sure Hughes called him out there last inning to tell him to stop treating him like a rook. "I know breaking balls should be down, you don't have to drag the signs in the dirt."

Hughes is really pitching well tonight. Not overpowering stuff, but he is hitting spots and mixing it up! I like it! Doesn't hurt to have Buxton to bail you out on some long outs too - those were huge!

Admittedly, I love playing the what-if-we'd-drafted-X game, but this is not a case where there's much blame for the Twins. We NEEDED pitching, preferably high-upside college pitching in the 2015 draft. People say they always take the best available player, but given our young OF logjam there was no way we were passing on the best lefty reliever in college who could reach 98 mph. Jay hasn't shown enough in the minors to be in the conversation with the best relievers in the major leagues, but that is not to say he might not get there. We'll have to see, these things are impossible to predict. But even that misses the larger point about constructing bullpens. Most bullpens feature several resurrection projects. Guys who started and failed, or just plain failed but were able to bounce back and find success in the bullpen. We need a plan for developing young pitchers, but we also should have a plan for resurrecting potential diamonds in the rough. The things that Craig Breslow did to reinvent himself are technically impressive. Why not employ those tactics as an organization with other pitchers? Could it be a selling point for attracting minor league FA's or 1-year prove-it type players?

Great job on these write ups, I really enjoyed them. I'm sold on Romero being #1... sounds fantastic. I hope they aren't too patient with him. No sense overworking him this year, but he needs to face challenging competition in order to become the best he can be. So if he's dealing, promote him.

Should be fine, everybody will be communicating via electronic devices anyway... That reminds me, who is going to transcribe group commentary for the game thread? Haha, no but really, people seem to become pretty fast friends at these things, that is unless you're pining for Gardy the sequel.

Thanks Brock!

So I got my ticket, but I have a question... what do we need to bring the day of the crawl? Our email receipt of payment, or is our name some how on a list. Please let me know what I (and others in my party) should bring. Thanks!

Love the design, perfect for this year. Maybe we should have crafts time at one of the stops where we can make our own bag masks.

Another game with no strikeouts for Polanco. Refreshing.

Downward plane. Drink!

I've been a very tough critic of the Twins coaching staff, but Dozier has been on fire lately and I think a lot of it has to do with a new bat hitch. So kudos to them. Kepler looks like he has a plan up there. We gapped a ton of balls in that Cleveland series. I'm not sure how much of that is on the coaching staff, but there's a lot to like lately. Now only if we can get Mr. Sano going.

Very nice work here! Nerds (me included) could pick nits about accounting for draft position, outliers, or other variables... but still this is tremendous stuff. It should be printed in Strib or Pioneer Press. A few questions spring to mind, since you've already compiled much of the data... 1. If you throw out the top 2 or 3 players for each team, how do the ranking look? 2. Who is the most consistent? Who produced the most ML +WAR players? 3. What about over/underperforming their slots? I think average WAR by draft position is available, that might be interesting? For the most part, I don't have much vitrol for whom the Twins have selected. I usually look at the video for many of the players we pick and many others each year, and usually think... yeah these new Twins look pretty good. However, I do wonder how the Twins compare to development vs. other teams? Maybe the problem isn't that they are picking the wrong guys, but that they are not coaching them as effectively as other clubs? Are they doing biometric analysis, injury prevention analysis for pitchers, pitch recognition/selection training for hitters? Case in point... I recently watched the Fastball documentary. Very interesting, highly recommend it. One point they made that seems straightforward but has big implications was how the faster a guy throws the less his ball drops. That's why high velocity fastballs seem to ride/jump up, because they end up higher than your'e used to seeing. So, if you're facing Cabrera from Atlanta, who throws 100 mph, you need to factor this in - not just in terms of being quicker but SWINGING HIGHER. Last night Sano struck out and when I watched the replay frame by frame his bat appeared to be on time, but he was under the ball by a few inches. If that pitch was 92 he probably would have crushed it, assuming his timing was slowed down a bit. By the way, mechanically Sano's swing plane is awesome, it's deep/back and very flat which allows him to wait longer on pitches and hit them hard even if his timing isn't right on. So, the takeaway is when you're facing a guy who throws hard... obviously you have to be quicker, but you also have to make sure you swing above where you normally would. Maybe this is rube stuff and they are doing all this, in which case please tell us! This team has always been big on "fundamentals" which has become too vague of a term. Sure, swing/pitching/fielding mechanics are important - but so too is anticipation and being prepared. I wonder how much time/resources the Twins spend on the cerebral part of the game. Some guys maybe do better if they just react (see ball hit ball), but at this level, you should want every edge available. That means pre-thinking things, trying to pick up 'tells', knowing tendencies. As Ted Williams said... "Did I guess? Hell yes!"

Winner!