jimbo92107

Sad part is, again if Buxton bunts it hard at the SS, everybody is safe. Problem is, he doesn't know how to do that.

I can relate to cheering for the Twins, but come on DickBert, Mauer was out.

This team is still a long way from looking good at the plate.

Arcia didn't get cheated on that swing. Trying to hit it 600 feet.

May pitches best when he hits the four corners with fastballs, like Nathan used to do. Like the big Z from Zorro. Corner 1 (high left), corner 2 (high right), corner 3 (low left), and corner 4 (low right). If you can do that, and mix in a decent off-speed pitch or two, you can look great as a reliever or a closer. This was a good example. May hit the high right corner, then finished with the low right corner. Very few hitters can deal with fastballs to the four corners.

Once again, if Buxton bunts it hard at the SS or 2B, game over. Not even an option, Paul Molitor?

I was hoping Arcia would bunt the ball down the 3rd base line. No way they get Buxton on that play, only one out...

You now, Park has probably seen a fair number of pitchers about like Weaver...

Since that collision with Nunez, I have already seen both Nunez and Rosario defer to Sano rather than get anywhere near him. Notably, Sano made the catch in both cases. Sano is very determined to be a good outfielder, and it's not a good idea to get in his way.

Given the team's performance so far, I see no harm in having Murphy catch 50 percent of the games. Just let Suzuki and Murphy take turns going once through the five-man rotation. We need to find out if Murphy is a good defensive catcher, and keeping Suzuki relatively fresh through the season was the main rationale for this trade, wasn't it?

"Shut yer trap before the flies lay eggs." - my Daddy, rest his soul There have been lots of suggestions how Paul Molitor should cure the team's early offensive woes, but most of them were far sillier and more reactionary than simply letting them work through their early struggles as young players must do. Currently Sano, Park, Buxton and Rosario are batting like Drew Butera on a bad day. Maybe we should send them all to AAA. Maybe they should all bunt. Maybe they should stop trying to pull everything. Lotsa maybes. You can tell them they should go up there with a plan, but what does that really mean? Yesterday Joe Mauer gave an eloquent demonstration what that means. By politely questioning a couple borderline outside sliders, Mauer was able to snooker the pitcher into throwing a third one in exactly the same place, which was just what Mauer wanted. Bang, single, run scored. In his polite, understated way Joe Mauer showed Miguel Sano that if you're going to complain about a call, do it for a tactical reason, not because you're really frustrated. Don't ever tip your hand. Thing is, while we noticed that outstanding example of gamesmanship, Paul Molitor understands the game just as well as Mauer does. He sees that he's got some young players that are just now learning to play the game at the highest level, and he's giving them lots of slack to figure it out. They will lose, and lose, and lose, but they will learn. 2016 is going to be an even bigger transition year than 2015 was. We will see more progress this year, but not all of it will manifest as wins. As fans, we have to be willing to burn this season and enjoy the Twins for what they now are - a very young group of very promising, but very inexperienced players. We will see plenty of exasperating failures, along with glimpses of what they will become in just a couple more years. We must decide to enjoy it for what it is, which is a developmental cycle of what will become a very good baseball team. In about 2018.

That's one stat you don't see - the Jeter factor. Some players are so good at the _game_ that they see things other players don't and think of ways to win that other players don't. Luke mentioned one example, here's another: When Nunez and Sano collided in right field, how many other players would have instantly recognized the situation, raced out to grab the ball, then fired a perfect strike to third for the out? Very few. Some would chase down the ball, then throw it to the pitcher to prevent a home run. Some would throw it badly, allowing a home run. Mauer got there quickly and threw it perfectly. At the plate there is one confounding factor. With plenty of power hitters batting after him, Mauer's job this year is to go back to his original style. His assignment is to get on base ahead of Miguel Sano, and drive in runs with line drives. He is not attempting to pull and lift the ball anymore, an experiment that changed his swing too much. The combination of returning to his strong suit and the reduction of his concussion symptoms (they may still be there, but reduced) appears to be bringing back a lot of the Joe Mauer we once knew. BTW, in case anybody wondered if Mauer could play right field, imagine a guy rounding second just as Mauer is picking up the ball in right. Do you challenge that arm? Joe Mauer may not be 100 percent over his concussion symptoms, but he's close enough to remind us just how amazing he can be.

Now Meyer needs to grow his hair really long and get some scary tattoos, like a zombie Bugs Bunny...

Some may not remember that Joe Mauer was a star quarterback in high school. He was considered the best college prospect in the nation, but everybody knew he was committed to baseball. Mauer is a great athlete with a genuine golden arm. He also was an excellent HS pitcher. Probably could have been a pro pitcher, too. I'm really glad he appears to be finally getting past those nasty concussion symptoms. Let's hope we get to see some of the old Mauer magic at the plate this year. Early signs are very good - he appears to be recognizing pitches quicker and getting the bat to the ball with more precision.

I never doubted. Sometimes I lie.

Good test for Jepsen. Let's see him attack the zone. Nothing passive.

This bunch of guys is getting angry like a nest of hornets. It's been kicked a bunch now, and they're about ready to swarm.

Aside from the current score, I'm starting to see some encouraging signs at the plate. When players start hitting sizzling liners to outfielders, they are close to breaking out with some hits.

Next time Sano shouts, "I got it," Nunez definitely heard him.

God created Dune to test the faithful. Then He said, "How shall I test baseball fans?"

As fans, we have officially entered a Roman wilderness of pain. h/t, Jim Morrison

Early chiropractic. I can fix that sore back!

The look of relief on Plouffe's face. It's like you just spent ten days digging a hole. You're tired, you're dirty... And then your shovel hits something solid at the bottom. You wipe away the dirt to find a little trap door. You open it to find a single cold can of beer. The look of relief on Plouffe's face.

This Twins team is due to jack about twelve balls over the fence.

If anybody deserved a little reward, it was Nunez. Nice swat by Sano.