PDX Twin

And more remarkably, it is not a location where one can comfortably be on the field 12 months of the year.

IMHO, the HOF should not be just about statistics. It should be about which human beings should be recognized for extraordinary achievement on the baseball field. On one side, baseball is a game of numbers; one the other side it's a game of stories. Morris had multiple extraordinary achievements and the 1991 Game 7 was a historic performance, the kind that creates a memorable story for all of us who could bear to keep our eyes open to watch it.

Is that because we think Ohtani is our savior?

That was my first thought, too. I'm not sure Kubel was ever a speedster, but the injury made him a slow-poke and his range a liability in the OF.

If they don't spend on pitching this year, I'm going to assume it's because they are saving up for Kershaw next year!

I wonder if his very conspicuous and very costly error in Yankee Stadium had an outsized influence. Is the voting group NY-heavy? Would more voters have been watching that game? (I admit to not knowing exactly who votes on these finalists.)

And, of course, the Twins can keep the extra early-year money in the bank to be able to afford the later years. With an on-going, long-term organization, there is no reason why paying salaries that are 50-52% of revenues has to happen *every* year ... just on average. We are below this year (and probably have been for the last few) and should expect to be above that percentage as our currently-cheap prospects become expensive.

True, but I don't think that the media market is anywhere close to NY or LA. Plus (having lived in Houston for 10 years) baseball is an afterthought in Texas. Football rules.

I just read an article by Dave Sheinin in yesterday's Washington Post about the 7th game of the Astros/Yankees series. I found the first three paragraphs to echo the feeling that I've had every time one of my favored teams is nursing a lead in the second half of a game. Is it just me (and Dave) or does everyone have these thoughts? "HOUSTON — Once a precious lead is gained in Game 7 of a postseason series, everything else melts away, and all that is left, all that matters in the world, is the slow, steady, arduous counting down of outs. When the Houston Astros handed the ball to Lance McCullers Jr. in the final game of the American League Championship Series on Saturday, it was the start of the sixth inning. They held a four-run lead over the New York Yankees. They needed 12 outs to reach the World Series. "Twelve, 11, 10. Each out seemed to take an eternity to secure — 9, 8, 7 — each base runner a dire threat, every pitch a life-or-death proposition. And still McCullers stood and fired — 6, 5, 4 — until it was the ninth inning now, the Minute Maid Park crowd on its feet and building up to a hellacious roar. And finally, 3, 2, 1, the final out fell from the sky and into George Springer’s glove in center field, and the Astros had a 4-0 victory, the American League pennant and the franchise’s first trip to the World Series in 12 years. "The collective exhale felt like the building might come down." Here's a link to the full article.

This is exactly what the money men want: two biggest TV markets engaged, high ratings, bigger contract next time. The people who run baseball really only value teams like the Twins as novelties to fill up the schedule and make sure that the Yankees and Red Sox (or Dodgers and Cubs) don't have to play each other every game.

I agree that Portland will never adequately support an MLB franchise. They can get 20K out to see basketball and soccer games 20-40 times a year, but no chance of getting 30-40K to see baseball 80 times a year. And it seems like Oakland and Tampa Bay are already foundering in a death spiral, with Miami not too far above them. So if there were a market ready for a franchise there are several available without expansion. Without meaningful revenue sharing, I can't see the economics of expansion working out. They would just be adding two more teams at the poverty line as feeders and victims for the big-money teams. This might be very attractive to the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers/Cubs though. Two more teams to divide up the available young stars more thinly so that there is less competition for them and more young players being groomed as their next free agent stars. Maybe that's why it's being considered ...

When is the Twins' window? Teams other than the rich boys have to plan for a cycle if they want to win championships. Down-cycles bring high draft picks, which are then the core of the up-cycle contenders. Of the four teams still alive for the championship this year, the Dodgers, Cubs, and Yankees are rich and can buy all the toys all the time. The Astros (and the Nationals had they made it) are up-cycle teams who used a few terrible years with high draft choices to build the core of an excellent team that matured all at once. Their window is now. When is the Twins' window? As has been discussed here at length, the Twins will struggle to hold onto all of Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Polanco, Kepler, Rosario, etc. I see the Twins' window as opening in 2019 and lasting until about 2021, extended possibly by one year on either side. So I evaluate any transactions based on how they affect the likely quality of the team over the five-year period 2018-22. This period would correspond to Dozier's potential remaining career if re-signed. Given a bumpy first year (as nearly all of our rookies have), Gordon starts contributing maybe in 2020 and Lewis maybe at the end of the window. How do we get to the point that Gordon, then Lewis, are actually good? It seems like we have an incumbent who fits perfectly: excellent in 2018 and 2019, and probably a solid contributor (if not the team's MVP) in 2020 and couple of years beyond. Plus, he is the team's clubhouse leader (something that I think is very important but that we, as outsiders, don't know much about) and a very popular player. The same glut of great secondbasemen that drove down the trade prospects is also going to moderate his salary options as a free agent. I think they can sign him to a reasonable 4-5-year contract (counting 2018) and that they should. One more thing. We have been told for years that the money is there if the opportunity arises. Well, this is the opportunity. As we swing up the cycle, so does the marginal benefit of additional salary commitment. The Twins should be looking to increase the salary budget to take advantage of their window. For me, the key is to avoid (when they can) the long-term commitments like those that the Tigers gave to Cabrera (30m+) and Zimmerman (25m), which will eat up budget over the next 5 years of mediocrity. Good luck to the Twins in finding the sweet spot that brings in enough star power to contend for titles through the window without threatening bankruptcy if we fall short!

And ... he had 5 RBIs and 3 runs scored in 10 AB! That works out to 300 RBIs and 180 RS over 600 AB.

Kepler seems like he's quite similar to Dozier (at the time they signed him to a medium-term deal) in terms of development and promise. That one worked out quite well, though Dozier was far from an established player at the time he signed. I'd put a reasonable but generous offer on the table for Kepler sometime in the next 18 months and see if they can keep him in Minnesota for another half-decade.

Judge is a big target. How come our pitchers keep missing him?

Game over.

Except they have a lights-out bullpen. Win probability (adjusted for Twins/Yankees) went from 1% to 5%, and back to 1% in that inning.

Castro becomes the ninth Twin in double figures in homeruns. If Grossman hits one, we have 10.

We all know this, but Buxton is seriously fast. I think he could have stolen the pitcher's mound on that one.

New nickname: The Big K?

In the winter, the Dodgers decided that Logan Forsythe was an effective substitute for Brian Dozier at 2B. Dozier coming into today: .267 BA, 34 HR, 93 RBI (mostly as lead-off batter), .847 OPS Forsythe: .227 BA, 6 HR, 36 RBI, .685 OPS. I know which one I'd prefer in my lineup.

Marney doing nine different positions today. Hah! Watch out for your jobs, guys!

This article points to how lucky the Twins have been with position-player injuries this season. Until Sano went down in August, they really didn't have anyone miss significant time. How often does that happen? It's surely not likely to happen again next year. Escobar has been amazing as a general fill-in infielder. Adrianza has been surprisingly good and has not embarrassed himself in the outfield when needed. But I don't see a lot of position players at Rochester whom I'd be happy to see come up if someone did get injured. It's a good lineup but a fragile lineup, and if we were to have 2-3 overlapping two-month injuries next year the drop-off in run production (and defense) could be huge.

Just wanted to make sure Dozier got the RBis...

Dozier is spending a lot of time on the ground tonight.