terrydactyls

I have a question for those who are actually at spring training. Given that there is a game nearly every day, how much actual time does Kirilloff get to work on his mechanics? If he doesn't get too much time to practice, maybe a month at the alternate site would be far more beneficial than sitting on the end of the bench at Target Field?????

No wonder I fell asleep watching the game.

If nothing else, he will make Sano's job easier. Every throw seemed to be a chest-high bullet. No bending, no stretching for Sano.

I hope the Twins avoid the free agent shortstop stampede and sign Simmons for another year or two (dependent on how well Lewis comes back from his injury). I can see the free agent frenzy turning into a situation similar to when my wife and I were at an antique auction. When a particular piece we were eyeing came up for auction (let's call it a Lindor), we happened to be on opposite sides of the auction and ended up bidding against each other and driving up the price. We ended up with the piece but didn't have enough money left for anything else. I hope the Twins avoid this bidding war and use their money on front-line pitching instead.

After looking at these three plays numerous times, my perception is that, although the throws weren't perfect, a lot of the blame should be placed on the first baseman. Let me clarify before you bring out the pitchforks and torches. I played first base for many years, in an era most of you think of as prehistoric. We were taught a completely different method of preparing for throws from our infielders that is used today. And I'm still convinced it is a far more versatile method. Today's first basemen are taught to plant an anchor foot on the infield side of the bag, squarely in the middle, and take a step towards the person about to make the throw. That works great when the throw is good. However, if the throw is off-line, the opportunity to adjust is compromised. You can see in the video that Sano has trouble adjusting on all three throws. The new style of play is not compatible with rapid adjustment. On the first play, because Sano has already made his stretch before seeing where the throw is going, he winds up catching the ball too far away from the baseline to tag the runner. On the second play, having again already done his stretch before the throw is made, he has to cross over his body to try to backhand the throw in the dirt and fails to do it. On the last play, he does the same awkward move but does manage to catch this throw. Back in prehistoric times, we were taught to straddle first base with the heels of our feet in contact with the outer edges of the infield side of the bag. When the fielder catches the ball, we held our arms up and yelled to the fielder (what you yelled was a personal option - I usually just yelled their name) to give them a reference point. After the throw had been made, we would then adjust our feet with a simple slide step to the side of first base to which the throw was heading. For example, on the first throw in the video, I would have shuffled my feet so that my right heel was now in contact with the home plate side of the bag but still on the infield edge. I would have then stretched parallel to the baseline to see if I could catch the throw without losing touch with the bag. If not, I would step off to make the catch and still be close enough to the baseline to possibly tag the runner. On the next two video examples, I would have shuffled my feet the other way, placing my left heel on the outfield side of the base and stretching towards Polanco. On the throw Sano did not catch, this would have put my whole body behind my glove (and in Sano's case, that's a lot of body). That provides a way to block the ball in case I fail to make the clean pickup. The same is true for the last throw. I would like to see any coaching staff perform the following simple experiment comparing the way I was taught and the "modern" method. Have a first baseman assume the position currently being used of one foot planted on the bag and the other in a minimal stretch towards second base (any base will suffice). Next, assume the throw is up the home plate side. Have the player make the furthest stretch he can towards home plate and mark the spot to which the end of his glove reaches. Repeat this experiment for a wide throw to the outfield side of first base. Next, do the same two experiments using the mystical methods of our ancestors. I am willing to bet that the ground covered is far greater using ancient folk lore. Try it. I double dog dare you.

Wasn't Hansel Robles one of the male supermodels in Zoolander?

I prefer Arraez over Kepler for several reasons. But the primary reason is I would rather have the first batter make the pitcher throw a bunch of pitches right out of the gate than a one-swing lead-off appearance even if it sometimes results in a 1-0 lead. Let the rest of the team see what the pitcher has.

I see no reason why the starting lineup listed below can't remain in contention for a long time. 2023 1B Roller 2B Arraez SS Camaro 3B Miranda LF Kirilloff CF Celestial RF Larnach DH Santo SP Duran SP Balazovich SP Winder SP Sands SP Canterino RP Duffy RP Rogers RP I ran out of thoughts. Good night.

The New York Giants kept Willie Mays in AAA until May in 1951. He was hitting well over .400 by the t,one they brought him up. I doubt that service time was an issue back then. I just think they wanted him to get his legs under him before he started his MLB career.

At shortstop? I value defense far more than offense. A great glove at shortstop will provide far more wins than w weak glove with offensive potential (or why move Polanco to second?).

Sign Odorizzi and the Central crown is ours!

Remember Luis Tiant? As I remember, he did "okay" with many weird movements in his delivery.

Whenever the strike count hits the magic number of two, the crowd begins to chant: "Here comes the slider - low and away." And strike three gets put in the books.

He makes fat guys like me watch baseball. Go Turtle!

By my rough estimate, Bauer will make about 150K per inning pitched. That's about six or seven years of a teacher's salary. If he completes seven innings, he will "earn" more than a teacher does in their entire career, Something isn't right.

From everything I've read, it is Cruz who is doing the waiting, not the Twins. Ergo (as we used to say in high school Latin class), Cruz shouldn't take a late signing as "personal".

2018 the left side of the infield was Sano and Polanco. Now it's Donaldson and Simmons. The team ERA just dropped 30%. Great signing.

Does anyone else have the feeling that the front office is just going to sign some low-cost relief help and put their faith in the "prospects" they've been protecting for the past several years? I could live with that but I just wish they would announce it and quit getting our hopes up.

Maybe you should have put a smaller TV in the garage and kept DirecTV?

I live in Maine and I am the only sports watcher in my house. In 2019, I bought the MLB.com single-team package for about $100. The only games that were blacked out were Red Sox games which NESN carried. So I had access to every game. What I discovered was, that for personally, baseball was too slow to watch. After about a month, I started to tune when I thought it was close to being completed, fast forwarding through games waiting for the score to change, and then rewinding to see what happened. For me (again, personally), baseball is a game to be seen in person or with a group on TV. I cancelled my subscription before the 2020 season (and was that a great decision).

Dr. Gast - Would you please explain what you mean by: "I'd rate Castillo& Gray lower because of the counter weight of Moustakas or Castellano." I just don't comprehend what you mean. Thanks.

$50M available to spend? Bauer, Hand, and Gregorius would fit and still have $$$ left for other low-end pieces. Geez, do something so I can quit thinking about the pandemic, unemployment, and losing my house.

I was worried that this article was going to be about the hitters embracing striking out as often as they do. I'm glad it was about pitching instead.

Most guys signed for less than expected. Look for a push for Trevor Bauer.