jimbo92107

I have a feeling Royce Lewis could jump straight to AA ball and by mid-season he'd dominate. The kid is a major star in the making.

Paul Molitor was a student of the great Dick Siebert, one of the finest college baseball coaches in history. Siebert literally wrote the book on baseball fundamentals. In the early 1970's my dad used to coach little league kids right out of Siebert's book, and among the photos demonstrating correct fielding, throwing, and base running technique was a young college player: Paul Molitor. For a team loaded with young, impressionable talent, it's hard to imagine a better teacher than Paul Molitor. It's true that baseball has advanced since Siebert's time, but Molitor is a Hall of Fame example of how to play the game right. Especially in an organization that depends on developing its roster through its own minor league system, you need a manager at the major league level that is also a teacher of the game. As this generation of Twins players matures in their expertise, perhaps the team will be better served by a more demonstrative emotional manager. But for now, at least the next few years, Paul Molitor can teach these young guys a lot about baseball.

Right choice for number one. Second place is a tie between Mejia and Busenitz. Twins need next year's ROY to be Stephen Gonsalves. If not, then it could be a rough season. If so, they might just have a chance to cause a ruckus in the tournament.

Byron Buxton's improvements truly were extraordinary this year, if you compare the level of his technique at the beginning of the season to the end. Among the specific areas I saw: Bunting. His technique went from poor to expert. In April Buxton commonly would poke at the ball. He would pop them up, whiff, or offer at pitches well out of the zone. Around mid-season, Buxton became far more selective, and his bunts got much, much better. He was setting up earlier, meeting the ball farther out front, and waiting to finish the bunt before breaking for first. Weight transfer at the plate. April, Buxton's weight transfer was a confused mess. He was in the process of eliminating a big leg kick that wasn't doing him any good because he would kick his leg, then rotate his front hip away from the plate, making him meat for pitches outside. Gradually during the season Buxton began to get it right, more and more shifting his weight into the pitch, while keeping his torso level, like a balanced skate step. The outside hole disappeared, and as this happened Buxton's confidence rose, allowing him to become far more selective at the plate. These improvements combined into a sharp rise in good contact rate, power, average and OBP, as well as setting the stage for another huge asset. Base stealing. Buxton clearly got by early in his baseball life with nothing other than blazing speed, and you can't really blame him. Even sans technique, nobody in the minors could hold him, so he frankly didn't need to improve. That changed when he hit the show, where pitchers hold runners better and most catchers have quick, powerful arms. Suddenly his speed wasn't enough by itself, so Buxton stopped trying to steal. For this improvement I give tons of credit to Paul Molitor, who spent time teaching Buxton every aspect of base stealing, from correct form to careful film study of pitchers to figure out their cues. Around the All-Star break, Buxton was becoming impossible to stop going from first to second. Next season it will be fun to watch Buxton learn to steal third with equal impunity. Buxton is now prepared to break records. Fly ball catching routes. Not as noticeable as some of Buxton's other improvements, his routes to catch fly balls got better as the season progressed. This not only helped Buxton make more impressive catches, it also helped protect him from some of the more violent wall collisions we saw earlier, because now he was able to better control his bursts of speed, slowing down as he neared the wall on deep drives. Even on Buxton's last collision, clearly he timed his leap and squared his body to the wall, allowing him to make the catch without the ball popping out of his glove. He did get injured, but his improved technique may have prevented a more serious injury. The future looks incandescent for Byron Buxton. His awesome raw tools got him to the major leagues. With continued good coaching and Buxton's enthusiasm for learning how to do it right, he appears destined for multiple years of MVP-level play.

Good season, major improvements for the core position players. Solid second year for Berrios, plus a possible good mid-ro guy in Mejia. Surprising production and improvements from Polanco, better plate discipline from Rosario, Mauer's bat is back, Sano's future looks bright. Young team on the rise, needs more pitching. See ya next year!

If at all possible I would love it if a Twin hit a homer while the Yankie kissers are interviewing Girardi.

Here, use my Synonymicon. It's...Hey, it bit me!

Stick with Berrios, if possible. He's got whiff stuff, even when he's not locked in.

These announcers have almost no shame pimping for the Yankies. That's right, from now on it's the Yankies.

Whoops, right down broadway. Bang.

I like what I'm seeing. Twins players are here to mix it up. They're battling. That right there makes it worth watching.

Love it with Rosie on 3rd...

Berrios is a rookie? I had no idea.

Last couple pitches to Judge, it looked like Santana was starting to find his slider. Too late, Erv.

Twins don't have as many pitching options as the Yanks. Molitor has to take a risk, let Irv go one more, maybe two.

Tie game because once again an ump blew the call on a beautiful strike three. Time for electronic balls and strikes, my friends.

Beware the dreaded synonimitcon, written by the mad poet, Abdul Alsoran, to summon half-remembered denizens of the dark tomes of English literature. Deep is its well of obscure jargon, vast is its ocean of conjured conjugates. Use it sparingly, lest you summon something unexpected, inexplicable, and downright incoherent, leaving you gibbering in a corner, pondering inexcusable oxymorons that slither and hide amid syntax both hopeless, yet alluring.

I'm sure it was just an oversight to put the Yankees in the smallest font you could find. Stuff happens! The big, bad Yankees. That's right folks, it's time once again to face our old nemesis, our Oglethorpe, our Goliath. But just as the Hanson Brothers hit Goliath over the head with hockey sticks, it is possible to defeat a larger, more muscular foe, if you are willing to do...questionable things... Bunting early. Curve balls in fastball counts. Stealing bases. Unexpected shifts...why is Buxton playing third base?? Hit and runs. The hidden ball trick, played seven times. The baseball is round, and full of terrors. Can Santana throw a knuckleball?

Think of it like the mafia. You want to be done with it, but then there's this wild card game that pulls you back in. Yup, just like the mafia.

I hope they have Berrios and Hildenberger ready to go on a moment's notice. One of those two guys may need to put out a fire. I wonder if Molitor is going to use Sano tonight. I wouldn't; he was flailing too much, and when he did make contact, clearly he didn't want to run faster than a jog on his hurting leg.

Buxton: Foot race? Judge: No thanks. Home run contest? Buxton: No thanks.

Daily Norseman does a weekly Stock Market Report. If somebody here did one, I'm pretty sure there would be a lot of Blue Chip Stocks on this team.

Actually, I agree with you, his stuff seemed to degrade sometime after mid season. Could be they over-used him early on, and now he's fighting either arm fatigue or some kind of soreness.

The most encouraging thing about Sano's AB was that he didn't pull up lame running (jogging) to first.

I'm a little concerned about Duffy's stuff. It doesn't look as sharp as early in the season, like he's got a tired arm. He's still getting some guys out, but his command and movement are not as good as earlier.