IndianaTwin

Hawk is so painful to watch, but I actually like Jason Benetti, the guy who does the home games. His humor is just quirky enough to make me think he's probably using an assumed name to post on TD during games. And Steve Stone is much more enjoyable when working with Benetti than when working with Hawk. He's actually got a sense of humor as well.

The answer to any question that concludes with "...a horse [Hawk] has been beating for a while" is going to be "Yes."

Chevelle. Sounds okay so far, but how about if I tell you that paint job was described by my dairy farmer father as "calf scours yellow." Really made the dark green interior look spiffy.

I love Jesus too, but I would NEVER wear a White Sox shirt, period. In fact, there are basically two things that all the major world religions (and those who claim none) can agree on: 1. Treat others like you want to be treated. 2. Don't wear White Sox stuff.

in response to... Warning: The following link has some religion and perhaps a little politics implied, but I found it a very thoughtful essay from someone who I haven't particularly cared for as a TV host -- Tony Reali. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/03/04/ive-worn-ash-on-my-head-on-espn-for-16-years-this-year-was-different/?utm_term=.1c0dea72a1f5#comments We now return to your regularly scheduled mayhem.

I'm up north, about 20 miles from the Michigan line, but this is a great idea. Victory Field is an excellent park. Alas, there's a good likelihood I'll be traveling for work when Rochester comes to town in late July, but Monday evening might be a possibility. It wouldn't be the first time that I've tinkered with my schedule to catch a game somewhere. Similarly, how about coming up to South Bend when the Kernels play July 15-17? I've not been to SB since they've become the Cubs and made some upgrades to Four Winds Field, but I understand it's also great. The Kernels don't get to Fort Wayne this year, apparently.

Thanks. And I'd definitely concur if it that's late in the year.

Where do I find service time on the new layout for baseball-reference.com? Elsewhere, it looks like Berrios got 74 service days last year. I don't know the ins and outs on the CBA well enough. What is the date at which he'd save a year of arbitration eligibility? With 74 days, I'm guessing it's much further into the year than is practical to consider a factor.

When I clicked on my profile a couple days ago, I discovered that I was coming up on my 100th post. It seems, then, that this is the most appropriate way to acknowledge this milestone. By saying, “Thank you.” Thank you to the folks who got this Web site rolling. Your stories at the five-year anniversary mark were great. You continue to provide awesome material. Thank you to the folks who give us stuff like the Off-Season Blueprints, Prospect lists, minor league reports. What a gift to get all this Twins stuff at one place, especially in the dead of winter when I’m tired of watching Little Big League for the umpteenth time on MLB Network. Thank you to the moderators. In my opinion, you set the perfect tone. You allow people to disagree (vehemently, sometimes), but you know when it crosses the line to mean-spirited or uncivil, and you step in appropriately. Thank you to the folks who’ve been starting these incredible game threads. I rarely read them last year, but I’m hooked. They are the perfect blend of insight, cheering when things go well, whining when they don’t (we’re fans, after all), and hilarity. Especially the hilarity. Even my wife has been laughing at some of the stuff that gets posted, she of the “I don’t like baseball, but I like some people who like baseball” beauty. Oh, and the great gifs. Where do some of you come up with those? You’re more pathetic than me (and I mean that in a good way). And thank you to all who post and comment. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. On virtually every other site that I go to -- whether sports, religion, or politics -- when I read the articles and then go to the comments, I make it about three lines deep before I want to start puking because of the vitriol, profanity, incivility, and general lack of class. Not so here. Though the moderators help by stepping in occasionally, the beautiful thing is that it seems they rarely need to do so. That speaks to the positive spirit that pervades this place. To everyone – I thought I loved baseball, and I thought I loved the Twins, but both those loves have been enhanced tremendously by this site. I’ve thought of game strategy differently, learned new ways of using statistics, saw the human side of players and fans alike, and considered some both sides of arguments. You’ve brought a new level of enjoyment. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the clever names and descriptions people have for themselves. I thought about putting a Top 10 list of my favorites, but didn’t get around to it. However, when I saw someone refer to themselves as “Hosken-Bombo-Disco,” I knew I was at home. So again, “Thank you.” And if you concur with any of this, rather than giving it a boring, old “like,” add a word of thanks for your favorite piece of the Twins Daily pie. And don’t say “chocolate.”

Thanks for the behind-the-scenes insights.

Why do Eskimos wash their clothes in Tide? Because it's too cold out tide.

The Reds (+25) and the Twins (+20) leading the majors in run differential. Yeah, we all saw THAT coming!

Then they add hurdles.

How do you catch a tame one? The tame way.

My son just pointed out that the Twins almost have 10 percent of last year's win total.

Apologies for sounding redundant, but "You can put it on the boooooaaaaaarrrrrddddd, YESSS!!!!" No, wait. No apologies.

You can put in on the booooooaaaaarrrdddddd, yes!!!!

ChiTownTwinsFan and any others at the game, come on over to Section 147, Row 35, to join me in standing to announce that "You can put it on the board" each time the Twins homer.

He watches four pitches that are out of the strike zone. It's what they used to do before holding up four fingers.

He's got amazing speed, and I'd love to see him get 15 or more -- they are incredibly exciting to watch. About the only thing better is watching him get inside the park homers.* I'm thinking of it more in this context -- before getting sent down the last time, 4 of his 38 hits were for triples. In September, he had 29 hits, but only two of them were triples. Said another way, it was two triples in 113 plate appearances during September, which would be 10 in 565 PAs. That's too small of a sample to be meaningful, but I wonder if it's representative of teams starting to play him deeper as he demonstrated more power. I could see that continuing and becoming even more of the case. In addition, if he starts to hit more homers, he may nudge towards more of an upper-cut swing. Higher flies don't lend themselves to triples as much as line drives. More homers also means fewer balls still in play. But hey, I'd love it if this evening you'd post this email: "See, I told you so -- he's got three triples already, and it's only April 3!" *One of my all-time favorite baseball quotes -- a Braves announcer (Joe Simpson?) once said, "Watching Greg Maddux leg out a triple has replaced the Kentucky Derby as the 'most exciting two minutes in sports.'"

I don't think he'll have a huge number of triples, maybe 8-10. He's got decent power, so teams will be likely be playing back in their no-doubles (triples) defense. The guys with lots of triples (see McGee, Willie) didn't tend to have that much power. However, that could also lead to even more bloop and ground ball singles turning into doubles.

On one hand, we could argue a long time about the "best" lineup, but the reality is that there will likely be 100+ different lineups used over the course of the year. Last year used 148(!), with no single lineup used more that thrice. All five ALC teams used at least 100, even Cleveland. On the other hand, keep arguing, because that means we're within a week of Opening Day! So my preference is, "Whatever lineup comes after the words, 'Play Ball!'"

Mom always said, "If you can't say something nice..."

Whenever that happens to me, I switch to ice cream. Happy wife, happy life.

I don't know -- I kinda like "playoff birth." Postseason baseball and becoming a parent both involve a lot of pain and putting up with a lot of crap along the way, but they're pretty amazing and a lot of fun when they come to fruition! :-)