jimbo92107

Santana's home run was impressive. Tight, quick swing. You know what was even more impressive? Grossman's walk. Eovaldi is throwing the ball 100 mph, and Grossman had 2 strikes right away, still managed to squeeze out a walk. That was really impressive.

I haven't swung an Axebat, but I have tried hitting with a modified tennis racket where the handle was bent about 20 degrees from straight relative to the racket face. The result was instant topspin strokes with the naturally lagging racket head. It also allowed much more spin on serves when angled over the ball. Adjustments to the handle can have a big effect. I think the Axebat allows a freer hinge action of the wrists, flipping the bat in a flatter plane, which results in more line drives. I wondered in a game thread if that might help Byron Buxton, who appears to think that "hitting down" on the ball means you should attack it like you're chopping wood.

First couple months, pitchers were relentless pitching Dozier down and outside, almost never anything inside, except ankle high. For some reason they are starting to pitch him more around the zone, I don' know why. I would NEVER give him anything inside, other than chin music or throw it at his foot. Despite a relatively hot month, I'm skeptical that Dozier is going to stay hot. There is nothing stopping pitchers from returning to what killed his average so far this season. I would always make him prove he can take the ball the other way. He's just not that dangerous going oppo.

Congratulations to Oswaldo Arcia. He has escaped the Stalag 13 of major league baseball. Maybe the Rays can get him back to being a regular baseball player. The Twins utterly failed this young man.

We might lose Jepsen on waivers...if we try? Got my vote. Jepsen is one of those frustrating guys that looks great one day, disastrous another day, and it's hard to tell exactly what's causing either one. Arm feeling better or worse? Mood? Good or bad plan? Some subtle mechanical issue? At some point, you have to let an experiment end. That time has come for Kevin Jepsen. He's not going to stabilize into a reliable relief pitcher.

If I'm the Mets, Royals or Indians, my first pick for 3rd base is Plouffe, not Nunez. Plouffe is a much better 3B fielder, and his power (usually) is better than Nunez, who still profiles better as a utility infielder. As for the price of either of these guys, I don't look for anybody near the MLB level. I look for athletic teens that can fill up the lowest levels of the minor league system, then invest in better training. This season already is completely shot, and the next wave of Twins talent is already emerging from AAA and AA. We don't need any more blocking by mediocre veterans.

Escobar, Kepler, Suzuki, Plouffe.

That was a thing of beauty by Byron Buxton. I love how he and Kepler look like good buddies. Laughing to each other after that crash into the wall. Oh, to be young, fast, and supremely talented... Or at least to feel that way, once in your life...!

Notice how there's zero up-down bobbing of the head when Kepler's running hard. Very smooth athlete.

Seriously, I really would like to see Buxton pick up one of Suzuki's Axebats. If that flattens out his swing plane, he might start mashing some liners like Zuki. Right now Buxton does look like he's trying to axe murder the ball. Anything down and in looks like he'd be lucky to foul it off his own ankle.

Rogers is looking more and more like a good pitcher. Does he have the stuff to start?

You saw it, too! Huge hole in that swing, down and in...

Is there an antiviral med for Pipeline Fever? Seems like it's blazing through the Twins pitching staff this season.

The Twins winning percentage today is .314. That's a really good batting average! ;-)

Love these pitchers duels with the Phillies. I assume they're playoff bound, too...?

I wonder if Buxton could use Suzuki's Axebat to straighten out his swing plane. Right now his swing comes through looking a little cockeyed.

I've been watching Plouffe for the past few games... I get the impression he's trying to showcase himself so he can get the hell out of Minnesota. I hope he lands with a good team. The man has paid his debt to society.

Duffey needs to solidify his mechanics a little more in AAA. Right now he's got pipeline fever, where too many pitches are going right down the middle. Can't do that in the Show. Every hitter can kill a pitch right down the middle. Even a guy like Eovaldi for the Yankees can't survive down the middle, and he's got high 90's heat. Duffey will get back to dominating within a couple weeks of taking the pressure off. Give him a month in Rochester, then bring him right back up. The man's got mid-rotation starter stuff. He just needs to cool his jets for a bit. One thing I think I noticed: Duffey's posture at the set is stooped over too much, which creates too much muscle tension and burns energy. It looks very uncomfortable. If he'd stand up straighter, in a more relaxed posture, he could take his time centering his balance, which might allow him to command his pitches better. Just stand a little more normally on the mound.

Max Kepler's power isn't like Mauer's at all. Kepler knows how to turn on an inside pitch and drive the crap out of it. Kepler isn't like Buxton, either. Kepler knows the strike zone, and he doesn't flail at a lot of curves outside the zone. His balance is amazing, and his swing is compact, fluid and powerful. It's actually as sweet a swing as Mauer's, but geared for center-right, where Mauer's swing is designed to go oppo.

Signal failed for the Twins broadcast, so I switched to the Yankee broadcast. Interesting comment about Centeno last night. Because he let two pitches get past him, they said that allowed the Yankees to win. I agree Centeno needs to get A LOT better at blocking balls in the dirt. That may be the one saving grace of Kurt Suzuki, who otherwise is a mediocre catcher with a weak arm. The NY announcers are actually very professional. Better than Dick and Bert. Their comments on the Twins players are more honest and revealing than what we're hearing from the home town boys.

The one thing every player can control is hustle. Santana did not hustle for that ball. He drifted back, then had no time to adjust for the windage.

Santana looks strong, and his poise looks good. 95 mph at the knees, with sink.

Buxton is still meat for outside curves. Against RH guys he flails on curves that start down the middle, then bend off the plate. Against skilled LF guys like Sabbathia, he stands and watches curves that start a foot off the plate, then bend inwards to nick the outside corner. He also maintains a high whiff rate, which might make you wonder if he's doing something fundamentally wrong with mechanics. Both problems come down to a lack of experience facing the next level of pitching. The best pitchers have enough control to work the outside corner with curve balls. It's basically a requirement. In AAA, most of them can't do that consistently, which is why they're not in the Show. AAA pitchers also typically lack the command to change speeds, spins, and move the ball around the zone while doing all that. Plus the number of nothing balls down the middle is drastically lower for pitchers at the highest level. LH pitcher Tommy Milone is a good example of a marginal MLB arm. His stuff is mediocre, but his command is very good. Milone can nip the outside corner just like Sabbathia and get a lot of standing strikes on guys like Buxton. That's why Milone dominates in AAA - consistent command. Unfortunately, Milone lacks the one thing that would let him dominate at the highest level: velocity. If Milone had a 92 mph heater, he might win 15 games. But then he'd be pitching for some other team. Buxton has indeed been improving at the plate, but it's a long process to develop pitch recognition and have a plan for every pitch. Sabbathia showed us that Buxton doesn't have a plan. The last time he struck out Buxton, anybody could have predicted those outside curves nipping the corner. Why? Because CC saw that Buxton never moved a muscle to offer at them. That's easy pickings for a guy like Sabbathia, who has owned that back door curve his whole career. A smarter (more experienced) hitter would have sat on that pitch and hit it oppo to right field. Pitchers and catchers study video, plus they remember how they got you out last time. If you don't make an adjustment, they'll just keep doing what got you out last time. The dilemma for the Twins is that Buxton has already learned to hit the frequent mistakes of AAA pitchers. At this level he must now learn to hit a certain percentage of pitches that are not mistakes. Buxton is supremely gifted physically, but this last tool is the hardest to develop. He must learn situational hitting, pitch recognition, and setting up a pitcher. He must learn to be a clever hitter. Meanwhile, guess how the next lefty with a back door curve will strike out Buxton. I wonder if the Twins ever have open discussions between their pitchers, catchers and hitters. Topic: How I'd get you out. Might be a good learning experience.

I blame - - Canada - Wisconsin - The designated hitter - The Pohlad family - Pitch to contact - Passive hitting - The Twins Way

Why is Jepsen still on this team?