jimbo92107

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.

The odds shift in the batter's favor the more pitches they see.

I have a bill for the national legislature: If you can curl your fingers around a door handle, it better be a PULL handle. If you can't curl your fingers around a door handle, it better be a PUSH handle. Penalty for all violations is death by snu-snu.

A healthy Sano adds pressure to a pitcher. He works counts, and can punish mistakes with loud home runs. Yes, you bring him back as a DH, pinch hitter, off the bench, and as an emergency replacement at 1B.

Probably the Twins won't go far in the playoffs, but this is definitely a young team on the rise. Give them one more good starter, and this is a legit contender. That could be Stephen Gonsalves next season, or Fernando Romero, Kohl Stewart, Felix Jorge, Trevor May, maybe even Zack Littell. Most of these starters could be in camp next spring, and the best of them may be better than Mejia, who himself is improving. As much as we like Big Sexy, baseball remains a game mostly for guys in their early 20's to early 30's. To be a real contender, the Twins need to bring in a staff of young, talented starters to go with their young, talented position players. Then maybe we'll see them reach that next level. Skol Twins!

Tonkin was very effective in AAA. I would send him down to help Rochester. ;-)

A Killebrew award for each minor league team? Ghaaa, system overload! Too many good people...

Love these analyses, a lot of good figurin.' That said, I'd love to see the Yankees get beaten by a bunt. That would be sweet like sweet ain't never been.

Kevin Garcia sounds like somebody you want to have around...for any reason you can think of. Is this young man on the right stage? He seems like a person that should be a leader in a larger capacity.

Berrios's curve ball was breaking like crazy in this game. How the heck do you hit that?

Excellent article, really sums up how this whole team has improved, not just a few guys. I've been especially impressed with Joe Mauer's gradual climb back to the level of superstar. After the concussions and other physical problems, who among us predicted that Mauer would be anything more than an average player in 2017? Not me, that's for sure. Yet he quickly established himself as a top fielding first baseman, and then got even better. We carped about how often he hit two-hoppers to second, how his bat seemed a little late on too many pitches. Then around mid-season, Mauer's bat started to come around. He started squaring up more balls, driving them hard to left, to center, and even pulling some balls with authority. Last night's absolutely tattooed grand salami was not a fluke. It was a culminating statement from a former superstar catcher. He is now rising to superstar status as a first baseman. He now can bash pitches in all directions, and his defense is at the very highest level for that position. He has his eye back, his swing is back, and he appears to be pulling balls to right field with more power. Best of all, knowing Joe Mauer's history, there is no reason to think that he will suddenly develop some odd flaw in his swing. His approach at the plate has been incredibly consistent throughout his career. Joe Mauer is back.

I'd like to add one note about managers. Toronto pitcher Brett Anderson was pitching an excellent game, but as soon as he started losing it in the 5th inning, manager John Gibbons or one of the Toronto coaches should have noticed Anderson looking at his fingers and twitching his hand. That is a sure sign of a physical problem, as our own boys in the broadcast booth were commenting. Gibbons immediately should have sent the pitching coach out there to interrogate Anderson and demand to see the problem finger, not just accept a nonsense reassurance from Anderson. It's the job of coaches to see through jock bravado, for the sake of the team. Gibbons should have yanked Anderson the moment he started missing and glancing at his hand. They lost the game because they weren't willing to believe their own eyes.

Another excellent recap, mister Froemming. Thank you. Bunting is the issue; quality is the answer. If we recall bunting performance early this season, on a scale of 1 to 10, the Twins got a D. Especially Buxton, whose speed should have had him bunting baseballs since he first discovered he could outrun freeway traffic at the tender age of 5, to see such a man whiff on bunts, offer at pitches over his head, popping up bunts, etc... It was an insult to the Justice League. Where were the professional coaches when this lad was learning his ABC's? Anyway, Buxton and his sidekicks have gotten better at bunting, and I give much credit to Twins hitting coach James Rowson. Much as I liked Bruno, this new guy appears to be significantly more effective. Twins hitters now show better plate discipline, better form, and their bunting has improved. What this means is that our former complaints about bunting are now legitimately in question. The worst part about bunting is when it fails, right? Okay, but what if it works? We all know that a lot of games are decided by one run. If the odds of the bunt strategy are in your favor - when you have fast, skilled runners and fast, skilled bunters - then it does make sense to use that trick when it seems apt. Interestingly, it also makes sense for a guy like Kennys Vargas to be a good bunter. In last night's situation with Buxton and Rosie on 1st and 2nd, few expected Vargas to bunt, for he is large and slow. If he then lays down a good bunt, it becomes a perfect sacrifice, as the fielders are playing back at normal distance. If Granite comes in for Vargas, infielders would probably come in ten feet or more. On the other hand, that also means Buxton could steal third with ease... In any case, better bunting makes the strategy more desirable. Baseball games often are close contests, so a single run is a tempting goal. Molitor's decision to bat Vargas seems more like a hunch than a clever plan.

Mr. Anderson just swallowed the blue pill.

If you're the only Bullwinkle at a Rockies game, you should do quite well.