Platoon

A great mind once said: "Deja Vu all over again"

I pilfered this Alex Cora quote from another blogger: ""We live in an era that hitting .210 with 30 homers and 70 RBI is acceptable and it's a good season. We don't believe that." it outlined my viewpoint of MLB in its current form to a "T"

I think playing third now requires more range than previously. Sano's biggest weakness? Lack of concentration. It was evident in Beloit when I watched him drop an easy pop up, and it's been evident in MLB when that still occurs. That results in kicking the easy plays and making the hard ones. Hands are there, arm is there, concentration on the simple plays is not.

They are putting a 20x20 addition on the water treatment plant in the town in which I reside. They finally got the side walls up and the structural roof beams in place this week. No roof! No floor! No doors! No heat! This is the result of about 4 months of labor. Sadly, having watched the Goopher FB this year, the construction guys are having a more productive year than our striped rodents! ROW THE BOAT!

I was talking to another baseball oriented fellow the other day. And we were discussing catchers "calling the game". Our question/observation was this. If catchers are truly calling the game, why do they spend time looking into the dugout before most pitches? Especially if no one is on base? And using a stat based managing philosophy that question becomes even more pertintnet. What catcher could ever memorize all the advantages certain pitches in certain counts offer? They are looking into the dugout for a reason. I highly doubt it's to see whether the Dominies Pizza guy showed up with his pepperoni, green olive special.

IF analytics is what it is supposed to be, then the strategy of the game should be in those books the coaches all now hold. I am not being snarky either. The match ups and order of lineups is now mathematically delineated. Assuming you are not going to deviate excessively from those numbers, that leaves the managers importance more in the realm of organizing procedures and managing "people". While that always has been an important part of coaching any sport, it's import is now more pronounced.

What strikes me is that after not reading the article, and having watched this team since Calvin rolled into town, that the last 8? years would make anyone excited about this team. Interested? Possibly. Excited? That's kind of a stretch.

He must have an overwhelming ability to sell both his view on pitching and himself. I agree with Chief, this is an all in choice. Nowhere to hide if it fails. This seems another indication that the first two years were look, learn, and evaluate. Now it's time to implement.

The fact that there is a convention for MLB mascots is disconcerting. That said it does open up some possibility for Joe's continued Twins employment. Hopefully his girls aren't afraid of bears? Butt really? So they send the people there? Or just send the costume and fill it with someone from the temp agency?

Maybe we need to start our own rumors. If we repeat them enough they could become true? Or at a minimum alternative facts. I'll start: Bryce Harper is coming to Minny for 6 years @ 180M. Feel free to mention this anywhere, but leave out the part that I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.

Yes

Sometimes positive abberations cause negative problems. Mauers 29 HR year is one, and that crazy month of May the Twins enjoyed is yet another. Not all good things, are good. I never saw Mauer as a true #3 hitter, as he lacked natural power. His numbers are more suited, it seems, to the leadoff spot. Something it took 14 1-2 years to get to. One of the issues that many had with Joe was his low key approach to apparently just about anything. While his on field success, and numerous comments from family and friends, make it obvious he is uber competitive, he managed to keep that under a bushel. A sideways besmirched look back at an umpire was likely the most visible form of consternation anyone has ever saw from him. Which by the way makes that look one of the last things a MLB umpire wants to see from a player. To continue on that track, many thought that because Mauer was a well paid, athletically successful team member, he had to be a vocal out front leader of the clubhouse. Sort of a quote machine like Brian Dozier was in the last year or so. Those expectations have always puzzled me. He never was vociferous, flashy, or openly opinionated. To expect him to transform himself into something he wasn't soley because he could hit a baseball at an elite level is simply unrealistic, and Mauer had no responsibility to make those visions a reality. I, like many, followed his whole career. I hope he makes it into the HOF. I do think he deserves it. If for some reason he doesn't, it will not be as much Joe Mauers loss, as that of the HOF.

I knew the story of The Babe playing ball in Sleepy Eye those many years ago is fairly well know. But the fact that there was a surviving spectator, especially one with Babe's autograph on a HR ball wasn't known until a few years ago. At least not well known. Randy Kryzmarzick wrote in the New Ulm Journal about himself and a couple friends driving to Virginia, MN and visiting Mr. Youngman. He said it was a wonderful experience. Enough so that they went several more times, just to chat. His column on the visit was wonderful reading. Regrettably I don't have access to either the column, or the picture that was attached to this article. It didn't copy and paste. Regardless, it's a good read about someone who apparently lived a full life, with a sound mind to the end. SLEEPY EYE — A 107-year-old Sleepy Eye native photographed with New York Yankees players Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel at Sleepy Eye Baseball Park in 1922, died Oct. 16 on the 96th anniversary of the major league baseball player barnstorming game with local stars. On a chilly day at age 11, Leonard Youngman chased down a home run ball hit by Ruth on Oct. 16, 1922. He can be seen on a photograph, standing between Meusel and Ruth, amidst a band that was part of the event. Perhaps it was what Youngman did away from baseball that really set him apart. Youngman defied his age and served others in his life. He was cited for volunteering at the Virginia hospital for 25 years and served as a eucharistic minister and reading at the nursing home Mass at 105. He lived in his Virginia home from 1950 until just a few months ago. In addition, Youngman said he felt volunteering was better than sitting home by himself. He said he wanted to serve God, live a clean life and that he enjoyed life. He said his mother told him that in order to have friends, he had to be one. Youngman said he didn’t take any pills until age 104. On that chilly day in Sleepy Eye in 1922, Youngman was playing with friends behind the outfield fence at Sleepy Eye Baseball Park when Ruth hit his one of his two homers. Youngman said he heard the large crowd at the game yelling before he saw the ball fly over the fence. He grabbed the ball, got Ruth to autograph it, and kept it over the years. Youngman moved from Sleepy Eye in 1940 after getting a sales job with the George A. Hormel meat company. He and his wife Millie (Mathilda) Hillesheim were married for 59 years before she died in 1997. They had three sons, David, James and Robert, seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren, and a sister, Marge Sykes. Several years ago, Leonard’s grandson Joel received the autographed baseball from his grandpa as a gift and recognized a story done by Fox Sports North’s Pat Fischer. Joel contacted Sleepy Eye Area Historical Society Board President Randy Krzmarzick and told him his grandpa was in the photo of Ruth and Meusel taken in Sleepy Eye in 1922. Several years ago, Krzmarzick and Sleepy Eye baseball enthusiasts Dean Brinkman and Scott Surprenant were featured with the Youngmans in Virginia on KARE 11’s “Land of 10,000 Stories” with Boyd Huppert. The report won a regional Emmy award in February 2016. Brinkman talked about how he felt traveling to Virginia with Krzmarzick and Surprenant to visit Youngman. “From the minute we met him, it became an instant friendship,” Brinkman said. “I know he enjoyed reliving his Sleepy Eye days with us. We sure enjoyed reliving them with him! His photographic memory and attention to detail is impeccable. His wonderful sense of humor, kindness and caring for others was truly remarkable. The three trips in three years were not enough, but for that, we are grateful.” Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com

We don't differ in the desire to "get there". But we do differ on the possibilities of how to get there. Since nothing in Twins history indicates they are willing to take the premium FA route to getting there, I personally spend little time imagining the Twins signing a Bryce Harper type FA(s). Nor ahould Falvine. They know the constraints ownership has placed on them. Plus they must fortify themselves with a mood altering beverage or three, when they make the obligatory "JP has assured us we have all the means necessary.....blah blah blah". The Twins can put together a competitive orginisation with a long term basis. It's going to take time, which isn't easy to accept. But that impatience isn't really, as yet, Falvines fault. It's from years of Terry Ryan simply selling the vision of being a "contender" in the generally mediocre central division. That philosophy had its merits. It kept him employed, it kept the turnstiles spinning, and it made the bottom line on JP's P&L black. While Pohlad hasn't actually thrown the vault wide open, he knows he has to do something to reverse the attendance (read revenue) downturn. So while Flavey and Levine won't be given unlimited funds, they will get a chance to build a sustainable and effect operation. But no matter how much wishin and hopin goes on, Harper isn't coming here.

It wasn't long ago that Rosario would have been shipped out for a warm left handed pitcher.as for Sano and Buxton? I will keep Buxton, and others who aren't interested may keep Jake Cave. It's a deal I would make any day. Sano is a little more difficult. Talent isn't the issue. Commitment and work ethic appear to be a possible impediment to his reaching his potential. If he figures that out, he will scare MLB pitchers for a decade. While he may well do it, I am not anywhere near as confident of him as Buck!

And why will the next free agent be better than Morrison? Or (fill in the blank). One can wish until hell freezes over that the Twins will go out and fill all their holes with some of the big names on the market. But if you continue to do that you are ignoring 58? years of history. Not all, but too many FA will not come to this locale, all momentary considerations being close to equal. And neither Calvin or the Pohlads have given any indication they are going to spend money out of their own pockets at the level needed to even begin to entice that level FA. So you can sit and wish for something that won't happen, or at least go a route that is available. I used to want a Lamborghini. I decided if I couldn't have a Lamborghini I wouldn't have anything. One day it dawned on me that refusing to acknowledge not being able to have a Lamborghini wasn't getting me anywhere. Literally. So I bought a Ram pickup.it ain't no Lamborghini, but at least I now have a chance of getting somewhere!

I am completely with you on the theory that being caught in the middle is worse than either extreme. That was probably Terry Ryans biggest weakness, although he likely preferred the term "competitive"? I don't want the Twins to be able to possibly compete with Cleveland for the Central title, or for the #2 WC slot. I want them to be able to complete for the whole deal. Watching the teams involved this year leaves one with a clear vision of how far away we are from that goal. That is if we could see that far. Don't cobble together something in 2019 for another faux playoff run. Hoping that another year of rebuild won't happen won't make the necessity for one go away. Nor will the Twins ever walk away with a major difference making FA. Wishing for, or operating on, that happenstance is both disappointing and foolhardy. Take the time to build a solid foundation, draft and develop, and move pending FA for something more that lottery choices. That's the sensible process in this market. Which leave this remaining question: Can Falvine acoomplish it? To that matter, the jury is still out.

Your suggestion that the odor of weed emanated from the media pool should weigh heavily on the proprietors of this site!

It's not an easy job. They all work for the "company", so there take is somewhat colored by their desire for continued compensation. I can live with Bert, Morris not so. But no matter who comes in as a replacement, the surest bet is that he, or she, will wear thin not long thereafter. You can only describe certain happenings, and regale with past experience the masses so often, before they come calling for your early retirement.

The contact part is important. Not making outs was the genisis of Moneyball. Managing and evaluating talent in baseball should still be identifying who has the physical tools to drive a ball out of the park, or deep into a gap, regularly. Then encouraging and refining that tool for those players. It should also include a reiteration(s) of an age old, but never will change, fact. When you are down in the count, you are hitting the pitchers pitch. And unless it's a horrid mistake, it's not gonna be your pitch. There are some constants that cannot be changed or altered by a new approach. Bases are still 90' apart, and pitchers don't throw the same stuff 1-2 as they do 2-0. If you don't believe me, ask Sano. But you had best wait till he figures it out himself.

I thought Romero got sort of the shirt end of the deal considering his arm talent and the Twins place in the standings. I agree that you can never have too many pitchers. But if you restrict them to labels such as SP or RP your list can get bogged down. With the emphasis on short starts, and "openers" some of these guys should be converted to BP arms, or packaged for a MI. The Twins cunundrum is they have plenty arms. But will any rise above the level of mediocrity. Avoiding attrition should not be the main reason you keep a pitcher.

To get the most out of an existing roster, players have to believe the guy leading them. They have to trust him, but they don't have to "like" him. They may think he is an *^*hole, but they have to think he is everyone's *^*hole. And the very first way a manager starts to lose the clubhouse is with playing favorites, and dishing out out discipline unevenly. That's not about evaluating talent or strategy, that's about managing people. If 12 year old kids can sense this, MLB players certainly can. Next would come strategy which in any sport is always somewhat subjective. No one will agree with every move, but you have to minimize the "WTF" moments. Judging any sports manager, for me, has always been sort of a reverse process. Meaning, I don't think I have ever saw a good manager make a bad team good, but oh lord I have seen an awful lot of poor managers make a good team bad!

I used to play ball with a first baseman I referred to as "The Refridgerator". Not only because he was the same size, but also the same mobility. If you hit him with a throw, he caught it. Off target by a couple feet? Not a chance. While no one in MLB is on that level, like everything else, it simply based on a sliding scale.

I don't have any specific data to argue yours on the "scoops". But I wondered what a "scoop" is? Any ball in the dirt? And it just does not seem possible that the Twins IF only throw one ball every 4 games into the dirt? I am not saying the data is wrong, but that number seems extraordinary low.

I echo Rosterman in that it makes a difference who you have in the IF in how good a first base glove you should have. Yes, it's a bat first position without a doubt. But in the existing possibility that someone in Twins management still thinks Polanco is a MLB SS, the glove part of the postion does grow somewhat. Hopefully everyone remembers Vargas' play at that corner, and how accepting everyone was of his leather shortcomings. And while his bat never did carry his glove, the comments on his defensive play will likely sound familiar come this summer. I am still trying to get the idea of Robbie Grossman at 1B out of my head. It's doubtful I will be able to sleep tonight, the thought is that disturbing!