jimbo92107

Miguel Sano has been facing mostly junk since his first at-bat in the majors. Pitchers knew then, and they'll never forget what Sano can do to a fastball. For his part, Sano will always have to work the count just the way he's been doing, trying to corner the pitcher into that fatal 3-2 count, then mashing anything in the zone... or taking his walk. What's unusual is seeing a rookie that is so experienced playing the cat and mouse game of pitch counts. Part of that game for Sano is not letting pitchers see a predictable pattern in his approach per pitch. Just as pitchers work to avoid tipping their pitches, a hitter must work to avoid tipping his intention to swing. If you take a deep breath, dig in a little more, or get a certain look, pitchers pick up on those signs and adjust accordingly. Also just like pitchers, hitters can bluff these signs and try to "set up" the other guy. I haven't spotted anything specific about Sano's intention to swing, with one possible exception: When you see a big grin on his face, as a fan don't look away. When a pitcher sees that look, I can scarcely imagine their reluctance to throw a baseball in the zone.

For some reason while I was reading Brian's intro I was hearing professor Harold Hill (Robert Preston) do his "Trouble in River City" speech from the Music Man. Rollicking prose!

Honorable mention addition: Trey Vavra.

If Drew Storen is that good, why did the Nats get Papelbon?

Hicks didn't start until after the ball hit the ground. Waaay too late. Good throw and tag.

The feed from mlb.com is the worst yet. Really hard to follow the action with all the reloading of the page. Sucks.

Dang, that was a home run Garcia just took away. Eddie's gotta hit it about two feet higher.

Stewart Turner is a great defensive catcher, and his hitting improved in the second half. He's not ready to be a good hitter at the mlb level, but his glove right now is the best in the Twins organization. Looking forward to the playoff push, would Turner behind the plate be better than Fryer or Herrmann? Yes. Would his hitting be worse? Hard to be much worse. If Suzuki can't go, then Turner could be the least bad option.

Twins veterans are battling late-season fatigue, and their younger players are striving to improve and keep up the good play. Is the team set up for a late season push? Miguel Sano's home run trot was a very good sign. Both his swing and his trot looked like a guy whose hamstring didn't hurt. Eddie Rosario loves the moment. Lots of high-drama moments coming in the next couple weeks. Brian Dozier has a shot at 30 home runs, first time for a Twin since Josh Willingham's 35 dingers in 2012. With Sano around, this will be Dozier's last chance to lead the team in home runs. Aaron Hicks has now proved that he can send a baseball over the fence from both sides of the plate. Can he turn it on from the left side towards the end? Can he hit his targets from right field? Byron Buxton has showed steady improvement at the plate and as a base runner. Will he continue to improve over the last weeks? Kennys Vargas is a sleeper candidate for a late season hero. He's got the size and the swing to hit balls as far as Sano. Can he find the discipline to get favorable counts, then hit his pitch? Torii Hunter appears to be swinging the bat with more vigor since he's had a few days off. With more rest, could Hunter get back just enough for a few more key hits and plays? Joe Mauer also looks a bit fresher after having a key day off here and there. Will he remain steady, or does he have a late-season surge in him? Trevor Plouffe has played a lot of games this season, hit clean-up, protected Sano, played first when Mauer needed a break, etc. If he does more during the closing stretch, that would truly be heroic. Eduardo Escobar has looked great since he got his shortstop job back. Justice! This guy could easily be a late season hero. He's playing happy baseball. Danny Santana and Eduardo Nunez are mostly riding the bench these days, but both of them are capable of doing heroic things. The pitching staff has been all over the place this season, but some guys that might step up are Ervin Santana, Tyler Duffey, Jepsen, May, Milone, Boyer, and maybe even JR Graham. Kyle Gibson showed that he's capable of shutting down the Kansas City Royals if he'll pitch the way he knows how, after getting chewed out by Neil Allen. Would it help to get chewed out an inning earlier, or will he remember next time?

Ricky Nolasco has been a good pitcher in the past, and next spring he should be completely healthy for the first time in a few years. Who knows, maybe he'll look great. Twins have gotten stung both ways by injuries - guys getting hurt here, and guys getting healthy after they leave.

Pelfrey's problem has been command of his fork ball, which he lost after the first half. Before this season Pelfrey was basically a two-pitch guy that struggled after the second time through the order. His fastball is his bread and butter, bending left and right low in the zone. Unfortunately, after seeing it a couple times, hitters barrel it up and start driving it. Pelf's benders are at best average, and he doesn't throw them well enough to strike out a lot of guys. Enter the fork ball, Pelfrey's third and most difficult pitch to hit and throw. When he had command of the fork, Pelf could dangle it belt to ankle, getting lots of whiffs. Now without it, he's back to being a two-pitch guy. Frankly, that's bull pen stuff. This might be a very good time to give a starter tryout to Logan Darnell. Maybe he's better than we realized, like Tyler Duffey. Why not find out.

Nice game. A little surprised that Tommy Milone held the Royals down. Good show.

Dirtball from Jepsen. Filthy dirtball!

Ferrari outfield. Speed and gunz.

Hunter still isn't swinging the bat like before the All-Star game, but he's got about 75 percent of it back. I don't disagree with giving Buxton a day or two off, but Hunter still isn't back to even what he was earlier, which was a slow outfielder with a fading bat and a below average arm.

Bremmer was right about their radar gun. Kansas City's is at least a couple mph optimistic.

Looks a bit dubious on weather radar. That rain isn't going to stop for the top of the ninth inning.

Whoa, May just threw a 98mph heater. Spicy meat-a-balla!

Idle speculation at Twins Daily! For shame!! ;-)

I would sentence him to five days of hard hot tub and massage. Ride the bench, gimpy! Unfortunately, the team doesn't do too well without Sano in the lineup.

His weight transfer looked awkward, like he didn't want to drive hard off his rear leg. Is it the right hammy that's sore? Looked like it.

I wonder if Sano's hammy has been messing up his swing.

Great play by Rosie and Plouffe. I hope his arm isn't hurt too bad. Crashed into that wall pretty hard.

Ever since he got his SS job back, Eduardo Escobar has been playing very happy baseball. Like a man who finally gets justice, he looks liberated and joyful with every play and every at-bat. I say leave this guy at short as long as he's wearing that big 'EE' t-shirt under his uniform.

Luck won out over Dick's jinx! Blooper from Super Escobar!