longstrangetrip

Back to back home run games for the Hammer is a really good sign. Big difference with Arcia and him in the middle of the lineup. Don't we have a rookie catcher that's supposed to be kind of strong too?

Santana will be fine. Batting helmets are dangerous though. I think that's why they were outlawed until the 50s.

Did you see how easily Santana got to second on that hit...man, he is fast!

Could the rain be fortuitous for us?

I'm getting bored with the repetition, so I'm not going to mention that J(O and 1) again took the fat fastball for strike 1, and then waved at two tough curveballs...jeez. Ray of hope: Yankee announcers said Joe was working on pulling the ball in batting practice:jump:

Wow...Santana, Dozier and Mauer going 1-2-3. They must really like the rookie...letting him leadoff in Yankee Stadium. I kind of like it. He had some great at bats in the Texas series. Who was it here that just called for moving Mauer to the 3 hole, in a reminder that we want him to be a run producer? Wasn't it just yesterday? More proof that Gardy is an avid TD reader!

Great question...I can't think of any examples of pronounced reverse shifts. I play senior men's baseball here in LA, and there are guys at the bottom of the order who can't turn on fastballs anymore. And outfielders will usually swing around in a manner similar to what Joe sees. I think that is why I am so offended by this shift for Joe, and why I want him to find a way to foil it. It's difficult for me to equate our $23 million man with the bottom of the order guys in my amateur league! I don't think shifts were used much 40 years ago, but I think a Mauer shift would have been reasonably effective against a slap-hitting guy like Rod Carew.

If Joe watches more tape than anyone else, wouldn't he notice that 88% of the time he's taking the first pitch...and often it's the fattest pitch of the at bat? And wouldn't he then adjust to that? Don't players watch tape in order to find ways to improve? Whoops, I think I may be in the wrong thread...

This armchair umpire was signaling "fair ball" until I got to the last sentence. I was thinking that this was a business transaction, and with free will, you decided that the cash was more important to you than the All-Star experience...nothing wrong with that. Plus you gave somebody else that really wanted to see the game the chance to see the game, at a price they were apparently comfortable with. But then you said seeing an All-Star game is a bucket list item for you. It's a bucket list item, you held tickets to see the game in your favorite team's home park, and you passed on a bucket list item in order to make a $2000 profit? What you are telling us that putting $2000 in the bank was more important to you than scratching an item off your bucket list. FOUL BALL!!! Now that's my original call, but under the new rules, you can challenge and ask for the call to be reviewed. I will change my call to fair ball if you can provide either of these clarifications: 1) You are about to lose your house, or your best friend needed the $2000 for a life-saving operation, so you desperately needed the 2 grand. You believe you will have many more opportunities to see a game. 2) You have changed your mind about seeing an All-Star game being on your bucket list, and it's actually just something that you were mildly interested in. I would understand this. I went to the 1985 All-Star game in the Dome, and that day doesn't crack my top ten baseball experiences. Overrated in my opinion. That's my call...do you want to appeal to the replay guys in NY?

We can't lose sight of the fact that prior to his suspension for smoking dope, Eddie was a top 5 prospect in the system. This isn't the kind of guy you just plug into any position so that a less highly regarded prospect can move to his more natural position. Not that Kepler isn't an intriguing prospect too...he just isn't top five. Unless the Twins are also smoking dope, a lot of thought went into where they see Eddie's most likely future, and where they wanted to employ him after he served his 50 games. I'm not a fan of knee jerk analysis of a specific player based on small sample size, but I don't think that's what we have here. I think the Twins are sending a strong signal that they see Dozier as a long-term solution, and want Rosario to try to make it as an OF.

Blindeke, I would characterize this thread less as Mauer bashing, and more as recognition of his extraordinary ability to hit a baseball...combined with an impression that he is not doing as much with that innate ability as he could.

Yeah, that bugs me too, beezer. But that usually happens when an overly-aggressive hitter hits the pitcher's pitch on the first pitch. Mauer is too good a hitter to do that. If the first pitch is a tough breaking ball or not right down the middle, I want Joe taking. But when he takes that first pitch fastball, the chances of his being forced to hit a tougher pitch later in the at bat increase...and too often the result is a 2-strike rollout to second.

Would you guys have found it interesting he was on the mound in his first game?

True, JB. But I would have been surprised if he had started the 2013 season in center...it's early, but it seems to foreshadow a change.

The 50-game suspension has been served, and former top 2b prospect started his first game in months. But it was in CF, not at 2b. This is very telling to me on two different fronts. One, it seems to me to be a commitment to Brian Dozier at 2b. I like this. I see Dozier as a Jeter-like player, the kind of guy who contributes to a team beyond his skill level. I hope he is our second baseman for another decade. Second, it's an admission of the terrible job this club has done with CF, and continuing concerns about Aaron Hicks. We need depth at CF, and maybe Rosario's future is backing up Buxton or playing a corner outfield spot.

I have noticed that J(0 and 1) Mauer does seem to be swinging at more first pitches this year, but the fact remains that he doesn't swing at that first fat pitch often enough. The league average is 26% (down from 33% in 1988) so Joe swings at the first pitch less than half as often as the typical major league hitter. And pitchers know this, and are using it more frequently to put Joe in a hole...with the logical resulting drop in his performance. Mauer might be the most skilled hitter that I have ever had the pleasure to watch. But I also think he is one of the dumbest, and most stubborn. Pitchers and defenses have changed their approach quite dramatically, and it is working well as evidenced by Joe's drastic dropoff in performance. The cat and mouse game between the opposition and Joe highlights what I love most about baseball. Yes, it's a physical game, and Joe has a physical gift for hitting a baseball. But it's also the most cerebral game, and it is becoming increasingly cerebral with teams embracing advanced statistics...and I would argue that Joe is losing the cerebral game. But Joe is such an elite hitter that I am optimistic about his ability to change and win this battle. We are already seeing it, in the increase (albeit insufficient) in his first swing % and also what appears to be an attempt to pull the ball more frequently. We saw it against Scott Baker, when he uncharacteristically jumped on a fat first-pitch fastball and jacked it into the RF corner. And I saw it live in San Diego, where they applied an absurd outfield shift, and Joe clearly tried to alter his approach to try to pull. Joe is skilled enough to alter his approach and make opponents pay for what they are doing...serving up first pitch fastballs and employing a wildly unbalanced outfield alignment. But I frankly don't think he is smart enough to do it by himself...he has Ted Williams' physical skills without Williams' brain. And let's face it...Tom Brunansky was never a cerebral hitter. I would like to see Paul Molitor get involved more here. Molly knew how to win the head game with the pitcher, and I would love to see him work with Joe more. Sit down with him and show him video of all the first pitch fastballs he is letting go by, and ask him why he isn't attacking that pitch more frequently. If Molly can teach Joe to hit his pitch, rather than the pitcher's pitch like he currently is doing, I believe Joe can become an elite hitter again.

Good morning, good afternoon, good night for Kubel. Funny how after 2 terrible swings, Bert adjusted his request for a HR to a request for "a little flair somewhere"...Blyleven realism.

Anybody else notice the fans all yelling "Ploooooooooof" after Joe's latest clutch at bat. Or did I misinterpret it?

And yet another opportunity for Mauer to help us out. Listen to the fans if he taps to second...

A fabulous drag bunt...man, he gets down the line fast!

That's an inning-ending DP if Kubel hits the cutoff. Let's hope choo lets him off the hook...or Sardinas, rather.

Gotta agree, tn...he takes an hour to get rid of the ball, and then misses the cutoff man.

You know, we may be on to something...worked well for HRbek

Try it again next time HRubel is up. Too greedy?

It's amazing to me how many of Joe's outs are liners to left or 4-3's. An infield shift is not a good idea for Joe, but you're right about the effectiveness of the outfield shift.