Platoon

I don't think Mitch should read Twitter. Its reputation for allowing shall we say "less than coherent" statements is well known. I don't have a Twitter account, and any inclination I ever had to get one was buried in 2015. btw, I don't think Mitch's tweet will improve the situation at all.

It's early, it's cold, and Pineda had TJ. Nothing wrong with getting him out of their ahead of the game. They also made it clear for quite awhile Perez would be a stretched out reliever, then starter. Other than that, so far pretty confused by Rocco. He didn't PH for Kepler the other day, used a bottom of the order RP with a full compliment of relievers, and writes the same lineup 3 days in a row, with the exception of catchers who simply bat in the 8 hole. Looks more like a 1960's guy than an analytical wizard? Who knows, maybe it's simply early, he doesn't want to rock the boat, or over manage. It will be interesting once the games pile up and the pen gets stressed. As for La Tortuga, it's getting to the point where he is going to have to show management why he SHOULDNT be playing. He's already shown them why he SHOULD be playing!

I need help with the Garver balls and strike chart. I see three "balls" called strikes and 7 "strikes" called balls? 5 in one corner. Cuzzi was not giving that corner apparently? Or Garver was not framing it? Or both? But that chart didn't show me that Garver had a great day on a plus minus type of rating.

There are players you can't punch hit for. Kepler has not yet achieved that status.

It would have been best if this sentence had ended with the word 'comments'! . But since it didn't, I am puzzled whether the Chief is Classic, or the joke(s) would be? And no, 'both' is not an acceptable answer!

There is something inherently backhanded about the term, "technically speaking".

Btw, I assume no one will ever dredge up these numbers in mid September? :)

That 84ish range. A lot of reliance on pitchers with no solid history of success, backed by an IF which won't improve any pitchers numbers. An offense without much on base talent, hoping solo home runs occur in massive numbers? The weak division improves the count considerably, maybe 6 games at a minimum.

Teds point about the team not giving some MiLB relievers a shot is certainly valid. Frankly it seemed a continuation of precious years also. When you haven't been a truly competitive baseball team in more than several years, you need to take a flyer once in awhile on young promising raw talent. There is nothing to lose. All a bullpen full of low level, long term arms will do for you is guarantee your commitment to mediocrity. I am on board with a plan to scout, develop, and promote. But that process requires some serious roster management, always looking to upgrade the talent level. Frankly it's a lot harder to do than buy someone else's player who had 3 good years, two years ago. i hope they can make it work. The potential ceiling is much higher. Of course the potential floor is bottomless!

Its already too late to delete the responses, nor keep your correctness under wraps. Someday, decades in the future, this will be brought yet again to the forefront, prefixed by "and I remember when you................" This will likely occur during a totally unrelated 'discussion' and will set you back on your heels, as by then you will have absolutely no idea as to which she is referring. But trust me, she will!

Looking at the picture of Harmon brought a couple thoughts. 1. He still has to be my favorite Twin. 2. I wonder how many HR's he would have hit had they worked harder on his launch angle? 3. I think it was Jim Buning who called Killbrew the "little fat kid"? While Willian Astudilo will never be a Harmon, it should be a reminder that not all athletes look 'athletic'! .

But it's not wise to take any of it! :)

DieHard has an astute observation. Without the contributions of either Sano or Buxton, I doubt 92 is going to happen. I think Buxton will evolve into a major contributor. I hope he does, his talent is scary. Sano is another matter. It's been very hard to figure out exactly where he is at a lot of the time. If he can get everything together health wise and mentally his ability to mash baseballs is profound. But I think the getting it together thing is far more in question with him than it is with Buxton.

From those of us in the back: "In theory you always start away from the zone and move in. Your goal is to give the guy the best look possible" As my quote from early in my piece said, yes I do understand the theory that starting away and moving in is very productive in presenting the ball. And frankly that's all this is about. Presenting the ball in its best light. Not about deception. None of this is new! Get low, set up for the proposed pitch, start out and work in subtlety, and don't pull pitches that can't be retrieved. While there are certainly new metrics, and I am sure exercises that will emphasize this, the concept isn't rocket science. The fact that Garver came up here using his glove like it was a frying pan is an indictment of both the Twins coaching and evaluation staff. It was almost embarrassing to watch him catch a baseball. I have no doubt that Mitch Garver works hard at his craft. Whether that will translate into a decent MLB starting catcher is yet to be determined. Catching is all about the hands, and some have them, and some don't.

You want to show the umpire the ball if at all possible, face of glove to plate makes it look better. In theory your always start away from the zone and move in. Your goal is to give the guy the best look possible. As for Garver, some of those pitches he pulled six inches were insulting to an umpire. The old "if that was a strike why do you jerk it that far"? come to mind. And yes, after you do that it diminishes your more fluent efforts. You can't turn a pigs ear into a silk purse should be remembered. Lastly, if Robo umps do become a part of the MLB game, there would seem to be no value in framing whatsoever? Then? A return to blocking and throwing? Second lastly. Some of this stuff is simply repackaged. Getting low as you can? That's been a prerequisite for a decent catcher umpire relationship since catchers started wearing masks. You better not have heard this for the first time in A ball if you had any experience behind the plate whatsoever!

I would note that we also were subjected to R. Grossman in RF, yet another situation where the guy with the arm (Rosario) was left in place. And Willingham in LF because of 'veteran deference'? Sort of like Dozier leading off. Putting players in positions they prefer vs positions that help you win is one of the reasons you are no longer managing a MLB team. And rightfully so.

Here's an observation based on history for you, despite the fact that I have no records whatsoever on this topic. . It's generally not a good idea to plan a major outdoor event in MN for late March, outdoors. Add in the necessity of intricate athletic machinatitions and the likelihood of a large group of people sitting for three hours mostly unprotected, and the odds of it being a comfortable event or experience are historically poor. :)

I dread to consider what you consider "old people", but I do acknowledge that ice (and concrete) are far harder than I remember them to be in my past!

Astudillo could end up playing with the other tortugas on a farm, in Upstate New York. Rochester to be specific!

If you want to enjoy the average Twins season, it's not raisins you need in brownies!

Allowing the Yankees any more than a maximum of 8 men would be fatal for our boys. Also, Yankees not allowed to throw their gloves unto the field prior to the game, as that generally is all that is required for yet another embarrassment of the Twinks!

[quote name="Riverbrian" post="825004" timestamp=" Astudillo was called up June 29... He plays in 4 straight games... goes 5 for 14 and then he was placed firmly on the bench... collecting 5 at bats over the next 16 days before being shipped back to Rochester. Meanwhile... Bobby Wilson goes 5 for 31 over the time period that Astudillo is rooted to the bench as Wilson's batting average sits at a robust .114 on July 5th. As simple fans outside of the room... we assume that obviously... Astudillo can't catch... but when he comes back up August 24th... this time as a catcher... it turns out that he can catch and he goes on to hit .355 over 93 AB's. Kennys Vargas... same thing... He is called up in July 2016... Goes on a month long hot streak where he has an OPS over 1.000 while the Twins are dead and gone. And as soon as the players (who caused the disaster of a season) return from the D.L... Vargas is benched and eventually back to Rochester. I have absolutely no idea how Rocco will run this team, nor how much influence he has on rosters. I will assume he has less than Molitor did. Molitor was often quoted using "I" decided to send so and so down. Like he was making the decisions? Delusions of grandeur? Or did he have an unusual amount of leverage in those decisions. That and the fact that his doghouse seemed large and occupancy of it was not a short term lease make me yet again happy he is collecting JP cash at home. Besides the fact that fans are puzzled by some of these type moves, another issue is that players see through unfairness and coaches pets faster than anyone. If you want to lose your clubhouse, that's a sure way to get started!

Well if you had said that in the first place............ Geez I wish I could tell that Ole and Lena joke!

The Pete Rose thing was originally tongue planted firmly in cheek. But on second thought if the commish can give an early heads up to the bookies on lineups, there doesn't seem to be any reason Pete couldn't have used the same inside info to replenish his bank account. Maybe he was simply ahead of his time?

Winning a WC spot is fine, winning the division is likely better. But what is really great in such a long season is seeing a team play truly competitive baseball against all teams and divisions. Not just winning a low in talent division such as the current Central. Seeing a team play heads up, fundamental, well managed and inspired ball al year is in itself enjoyable. After that you see where you ended up in the standings and move on. Strategizing to simply win a crappy division is a direct road to mediocrity and a well deserved exit from the playoffs, if you are even lucky enough to get there. The Twins of yore could educate the Indians on that tactic!