Platoon

Jason Castros HR rate is accelerating this year, as is Andrianzas and approximately 300 other players in MLB. From the numbers put up in May, they must be hitting golf balls!

Swinging hard for the fences on every pitch will increase the SO rate of any hitter, regardless his talent level. It's just not rocket science! As a hitter you have to adjust to the count, just as a pitcher adjusts what he throws to the count. Trying to hit a 5 run home run with no one on base simply makes the pitcher lick his chops. As for the idea that outs are all that matter? Yup, I get it. As for the idea that a SO is basically the same as a batted ball out? Hmmmmmmm. Let's see, the BABIP on a SO is .000. (Yes I know there is no BABIP during a SO) Take that versus the BABIP of the hitter in question, and my advanced statical analysis leans towards hitting the ball somewhere, somehow!! This is where situational hitting and RBI's actually prove their existence. If I have a guy on third and less than two outs, there is no one I would prefer at the plate more than a Sano. Of course I am speaking as an opposing pitcher. Almost 4 chances out of 10 you get a K? I'll take those odds, versus a contact hitter!

Ahhhhh the new baseball! Where striking out almost 40% of the time is acceptable. There is no doubt he will destroy a ball that he guessed right on. But oh those sliders off the plate are still irresistible! He sort of hits like the pitcher with the big fastball and no control. It's amazing to watch and the potential for the big play is always there. While it doesn't happen often, you just can't turn away!

Oddly during a discussion on Andrainza and the idea of releasing him, someone who was posting made the comment that Gonsales would be an adequate backup to Polanco because the Houston manager considered him there best defensive SS? Do I know this for a fact? No! In fact I found it odd having watched him play. I think his defense overall is over rated. My point being that defensive ability remains very subjective. And defensive abilities also are colored by the players bat. I did not imply that Garver was a catcher who could hit, I implied that he is a hitter who can catch. He is the behind the plate version of Polanco who is a hitter who can play SS. Neither is particularly adept at their defensive positions, but their obvious success with the bat covers those shortcomings. I am not suggesting they shouldn't play, I simply prefer to differentiate between the two different aspects of the game. It's similar to the old bugaboo of giving a Gold Glove to a ham handed first baseman who hits 32 HR's, even though he didn't hit them with his glove! And yes, even I cringed at some of the balls Astudillo swung at recently. He needs to narrow down the zone, but that zone for him like Rosario doesn't include simply the strike zone. He won't ever have the power Rosario does, but one has to have a short memory not to remember the hacks Eddie took for a couple years. You could have filled a book the size of War and Peace with the calls for his demotion both offensively and for his route running on fly balls. Patience in baseball is a virtue!

Astudillo has impressed me as being a "baseball player". He is aware of what goes on during a game, and is involved. Like Rosario, Puckett, Oliva, and some other "bad ball" hitters he needs to determine which bad balls to lay off of. I think he will. I am a little surprised by the shade thrown at his glove. One comment was that he had flexibility but wasn't good at any position. That comment on itself doesn't make sense. Players who aren't good at any position aren't flexible, they are likely the 4th OF. You don't get sent to three IF positions, two OF ones, and catch if you aren't any good at any of the positions. That doesn't mean you are a gold glove winner at anyone of them, but you are easily adequate. If that were not the case Sano would be an OF, Gonsales would catch, and Buxton would be at second base. Trust me, none of this will happen! Lastly, while Garver has worked hard and made his glove work less offensive, I don't see anything remotely giving him an edge behind the plate defensively. Garver is a hitter who can catch. He is not a catcher who can hit. And yes, there is a difference.

Without being Danny Downer, one has to remember a few facts: The Twins have been healthy overall. The Yankees on the other hand have an injured list that could possibly win the Central Division. Houston has some serious history in the playoffs, we don't. The Twins have an abundance of players operating at or above career highs. There is no upside. Baseball is littered with offensive teams that flame out in short series playoffs. When quoting odds, remember this one: Good pitching (usually) beats good hitting!

The BP problem isn't simply the one that is currently here. It's the question of where is one going to get replacements. There doesn't seem a viable option at the time. No MiLB barn burner in the wings, and no FA left. That leaves trading prospects for a RP. That's somewhat dicey. but something has to be done. Miggy won't be hitting "pop ups" like the one last night all the time.

The 4 man no no muted the whole issue. But no matter the rules, unwritten or not, if the defensive team is in a shift, then those rules are off the table. Bunt! If they don't want you to bunt, put someone at third base!

My daughter is in radio and was able to fly with one of those groups on a promo flight. Blue Angels? It was in Oregon, and the pilot took her over Crater Lake, she said it was awesome. They made videos from the cockpit, and of all the rolls and loops and screams.

Totally concur! In the context of baseball this was stupid! The fact that he didn't catch the ball before he hit the wall is a moot point. While this ball was sort of a straight on run to the fence, some of his other collisions are the result of not rounding off his route on the way back so he runs parallel to the fence. He can be a great player, but as Bud Grant often reminded us you can't be a great player unless you can stay on the field. Buxtons value is greatly enhanced by his speed. That attribute will be the first to go if he tears up a knee senselessly. And this one was senseless.

I think it's very difficult to determine whether Rogers will end up being overused. Brock noted he was somewhat over burdened early in the year, but not recently. That could be due to the difference in game margins. Lately it's been blowout city, I coulda have pitched the 9th. More disturbing to me is that Baldy has a penchant for using him when behind, or after he gets them behind. IF he is your best, you save those pitches for a later day. Will be interesting what happens now that both Hader and our version of Hader threw last night.

I am not sure if it's a recognized psychiatric condition, but MN sports fans need their teams to be acknowledged by the rest of the US. (Read: Both coasts). When, if and by the time that rare feat happens, it's generally followed by a very loud collapse! We then yell "Phil Cuzzi" or "he pushed off", while the rest of the country shrugs and says "oh well". I used to be frustrated by this issue also. But once one realizes that the only true stat ESPN analyzes is market share and advertising revenue it's easier to understand.

2:53? Well there were 76 runs scored. I wonder if they sold beer and brats at the game? How was the "park experience"? Any statues of former greats in the Plaza? Was Sid there.? So many questions.

It's Friday evening. I just got done watching Polanco air mail a toss over Crons head. So not everything is quite fixed. But he can hit, there is nod out about that. I am not sold on him at SS, and likely never will be. But with the proliferation of shifts, range becomes less of an issue by the week.

This makes me wonder whether it was something heavier than an apple that hit him in the head!

He will be a success even if he never steps on a MLB mound! .

The amount of HR's the Twins are hitting seems almost bizarre. Some players are approaching career highs, in the first quarter of the season. It's going to need to continue if they want to cover up for the pitching. The FO office seems to have been able to make some good finds on the offensive side, hopefully they can duplicate that on the mound. As for Royce: I watched some video of him at SS, seems very impressive. Good arm, and athletic. While it may have not been an intent to "show up" the other team, doing push-ups on the bag at second base isn't a good idea in any league. Disrespectful is disrespectful, anywhere. This isn't about the unwritten rules in baseball. You do anything that sophmoric in any sport, the other team will retaliate. Baseballs way is just more visible.

It's like they are taking batting practice. . I see Rocco has a little TK in him. I know Berrios pitch count was high, but removing a starter who is underperforming given the situation at 4 2/3 innings to deprive him one in the win column was one of TK's motivational tools.

Well when a pragmatist looks at something that's too good to be true, he would tend to be cynical or skeptical. When he looks at something that at the time looks worse than it is he would tend to be hopeful and positive. I will say this though. Long term MN sports fans have learned the pitfalls of positivity!

I assumed it's the hitting coach that turned light hitting players into bomb throwers. But when I thought about that for awhile. I wondered why the hitting coaches didn't do that ten years ago? Then I wondered if maybe it isn't the hitting coach? Maybe it's just a SSS of the first part of a season. Then I took a nap!

Some of the power numbers being put up by the hitters seem unsustainable, and the underpinnings of both the SP and RP don't appear to support the results. Will it all cave in? Hard to say. Magical seasons occur in baseball. But the pragmatist in me still thinks if it's too good to be true, it likely is. Baseball history is full of half season wonders. I do think they will still win the division. Frankly with the injuries Cleveland has sustained, and the rest of the division it's almost impossible not to win it. As for a playoff run? Give me pitching over hitting anyway!

This morning I read in another blog, that there is some sort of an Austin guy going to Seattle for the roster? Or was he from Austin? Mn? Tx? Or maybe it was someone named Albert Lea? Doesn't matter, he will likely be back in Rochester by Saturday.

It will be! I am in the process of putting out a strongly worded post on the subject as soon as possible.

I am not an analytical savant! (I know, a shock to some of you) So, when analyzing the defensive contributions of, say, a SS, how does the fact that he is already deep in the hole during a shift, affect the analysis of his ability to go deep into the hole and make a play? Is it analyzed by the amount of feet he travels from start to gloving the ball? Or is it the slot the ball is hit into? It just seems to me that either way, any positive, or negative, aspects of range that the SS displays is muted by the restricted lack of open range. If the club sends the 3B to the right of second on a left handed shift, then his range comes into play moreso.

Some notes. To me Polanco is a second baseman playing SS. With the shifting the import of defense at that position has been diminished, and the hitting aspect becomes even more important. You can't compare today's shortstops to those of ten years ago, defensively. Even I have the range to play the position with three guys spaced in 90'. I have always liked Polanco as a hitter, and think he will only get better. But to compare him to Sir Rodney at this stage for his career seems a little premature. Rod Carew was one of the best hitters in the history of MLB. I don't think Polanco even has a batting title tacked to his name yet?