PDX Twin

Ragans has already doubled Gray's pitch count, and we just now finally scored.

Kepler working on a record for runners left in scoring position with two outs, He's at the "max" right now.

Just tuned in a bit ago. What are all the white things flying around on the broadcast? Bugs? Plant matter?

The Sano line!

Sounds like a lovely day for outdoor baseball. I have for many years read the obits in my Minnesota hometown paper. Sadly, over the years it's gone from listing my classmates' parents to listing my classmates.

Taking on a negligent teenager to weed = Wrong garden hire.

Yes?

Interesting. You are clearly ranking based on the expected ability to be the star, but I expect if the Twins excel in September that looking back it will be someone from the lower part of your list or even not on the list who will be regarded as crucial. Getting key production from unexpected places is often as (or more) important than the big guns doing what we expect them to do. Eddie in the postseason last year is a good example. I'd say that if Bundy and Archer (and/or whoever returns from injury to replace them) is at least as critical as the more lauded starters on your list. Sanchez and Urshela similarly can make a huge difference and, like Kepler, have higher ex-ante uncertainty than the hitters at the top of the list.

One of the advantages of the relegation system. They'd be trying a lot harder if it meant staying in the majors next year.

A Piranha run!

Given the Twins' luck, perhaps surgery is more likely.

I wonder. Can someone more informed than I suggest how he compares to other prominent rookies?

One other factor that I didn't remember (and that is no longer relevant) in choosing Aston Villa is that instead of having a gambling enterprise or something similar on their shirts, they played for several years with a local children's hospice displayed there. Class.

Good morning/afternoon, Twins fans! A two-game winning streak has rekindled a few embers of optimism in Twins-world. Is three in a row too much to ask? * * * Today I’d like to throw out the following discussion topic, which is related to the Twins for those who weren’t born into Twins fandom. How do/did/should you pick a favorite team when obvious factors such as geography don’t matter? I am a Twins fan because I was 7 years old when the Senators moved to Minnesota and it was obvious that our family should switch allegiance from Cleveland (where my father was born) to the new local nine. Similarly for the Vikings and the other Minnesota sports franchises with which I’ve lost contact. (Anyone remember the Minnesota Muskies?) A more cerebral choice of team happened for me in 2008 when cable TV returned to our empty nest after a few years’ absence. In the previous decade, I had become a huge fan of the game everyone except Americans calls football. The Fox Soccer Channel had Premier League games from England on Saturdays. I quickly fell into watching the English games on Saturday mornings; after a month or two I decided that it would be more fun if I chose a team for which to cheer. But how to choose? My patrilineal ancestors came from the region of Essex, north of London, but that was 370 years earlier, when witch-burning was more popular than football, so there didn’t seem like much of a connection there. So what criteria would make sense? Here are some of the things that made led me to Aston Villa Football Club: Not the Yankees! I couldn’t root for one of the then-current Big Four: Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. That also worked against other London clubs and other mega-rich clubs. Villa had a rich American owner (Randy Lerner, infamous for his ownership of the Cleveland Browns), but nothing like a Russian oligarch or an Arab sheikh. Not the Pirates! I didn’t want to root for a hopeless team through seasons of losses, relegation, and descent into obscurity. Villa were solidly in the top half of the Premier League and were challenging for the “top 4” spots that qualify for the Champions League. There was definitely hope! Club history and personality. William McGregor, chairman of Aston Villa, founded the English Football League in 1888, so there are few older teams and none with more illustrious history. Villa Park in Birmingham is renowned as one of the best grounds in England. A traditional, four-sided football ground, it has stood in basically the same configuration since 1897, with obvious upgrades over time (such as seats). Team personnel and style of play. The 2008 Villa squad played aggressive, high-tempo football with numerous exciting players (including Ashley Young, James Milner, Gareth Barry, and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel) and a likable manager in Martin O’Neill (currently managing Ireland). They won more than they lost and usually made even the losses exciting. Villa and I have been through a lot together in the last 14 years. A couple of years of success, followed by steady decline and relegation in 2016, when they posted the second-worst record ever since the Premier League was founded in 1992: Just 3 wins (and 8 draws) in 38 matches. Dawn came with the purchase of the club by a pair of wealthy and engaged owners, one of whom also owns the Milwaukee Bucks and has led them to success. Now back in the Premier League, the new season is only two games old, but there are sure to be a lot of ups and downs ahead and you know that I’ll be watching every minute, except the games that start at 4:30am PT, which I’ll watch later! Have you ever deliberately chosen a team? Did you choose the Twins rather than having them chosen for you? How did you decide? * * * On the mound for the Twins is Tyler Mahle, in his third start since becoming a Twin. In his first start, he looked like a Twins’ pitcher; in his second he looked like the pitcher the Twins hoped he would be. We’ll hope for more of the latter today. For the Royals, it’s lefty Daniel Lynch, who most recently shut out the Dodgers for 5 innings. We all know how easy that is. Today’s starting lineups are below. Another “real” lineup for the Twins, despite the day game after night game and no off days. Go Twins!

It won't matter.

I'm here because I'm interested in the Twins for the long term. It's not that I don't want them to win. But if Chicago or Cleveland get hot and pass them in the standings, it won't bother me. Whether they get another banner to hang up or not just doesn't mean anything to me. I didn't watch the playoff games in 2019 and 2020 because I knew what was almost certain to happen and just didn't want to witness it. I haven't been watching (or posting) as much lately because, frankly, the games are not very interesting right now. I'll have them on if I'm at my computer and doing something else, but am not going out of my way to watch any more. Next year? I'll be back to hope that some of the interesting players are actually on the field for most of the season. With all the injuries, the lineup is often AAA and AAAA players. Buxton has transformed (perhaps because of injuries) from an exciting player into a boring one who strikes out repeatedly and hits a lot of fly balls, which occasionally leave the park, nothing that raises the heart rate as when the fastest player in the game beats out a hit or takes second on what would be a single for most players. The young stars for whom we have been waiting for years are almost all injured. The club's big splurge in free agency has struggled to be an above-average player. In either of the other divisions, they are below .500 and already waiting for next year. So the Twins' games are either against good teams that will beat us most of the time, or against bad teams where we have a chance of winning, but where the quality of play is mediocre. Neither excites me. I'm sorry. It's just my opinion, but it's how I feel.

I'm curious how many people actually care at this point whether they make the playoffs or not. I think I don't. If they sneak in by winning a really poor division, we all "know" that they will not make it past the first round anyway, and all indications are that they will extend their streak of futility. I like to see the team win, but at this point making the post-season really doesn't mean much to me.

He lost me when the harassment allegations hit. Such allegations are rarely proven, but in my experience usually true. That his play since then has spiraled downward has made me less conflicted about disliking him.

Thanks! Great news!

Is there a post somewhere on which of the high picks signed? I've lost track.

This was in February during ST, not the one last weekend. The discussion of Sano was short. Maybe one or two sentences to the effect of "he doesn't listen."

This. The lack of progress or any kind of learning or response to his failures was the most frustrating thing to me. It didn't seem to matter whether he was hot or cold, whether the club needed a single/walk or homerun, or who the opposing pitcher was, he just seemed to go up there and swing as hard as he could at every ball. Rod Carew made a telling comment on a preseason broadcast about how Arraez took on everything Rod said and improved day to day as a result, but that Sano never seemed to listen to what anyone was telling him. That rings true to my observation of his results.

There are so many differences: (1) He is playing in a much more spacious park, where he won't get as many cheap extra-base hits. (2) He does not have a killer lineup surrounding him, where he is just one of many top hitters. (3) He does not have anyone banging on a can to tell him about curve balls. (4) He does not have Verlander and company to make sure that his offensive production leads to lots of wins. Unfortunately, he is not a Strat-o-Matic card that works the same regardless of environment.

Maybe he and Arraez could teach Buxton and Correa how to hit?

Coal Sands seem to be toxic to Blue Jays so far.