twinssporto

It's reassuring to see one of our catchers batting .083. Can only go up from here!!! Go Murphy!!

Thanks LaBombo. No, Ikea stuff does not count. Hard wood only (oak, maple, cherry, etc.) Formica, glass, plastic and Cambria is excluded.

The next time I make such bold statements before game time I would appreciate a Moderator deleting my post and giving me 3 or 4 warnings...

I should have kept Crappie fishing tonight instead of coming back in to watch the game.

I want to know who knocked on formica! C'mon! know your hard surface. Pathetic.....

Young Master Meyer is going to pitch a great game (everyone knock on wood)...Go Twins! Good Lord I love baseball!

Buxton will be fine. He just needs a little more time to develop. Practice makes perfect...(hopefully).

I was speaking with another Twins fan today about the current state of affairs and I think I came up with a good description about our current situation: "this is a good bad team. Sound crazy? The reason I call them a "good bad team" is based on some of the following observations: 1.) There are some great athletes playing in the outfield. Some are tremendous defenders that can't hit and some are good hitters that play poor defense. What's the plan? It doesn't seem like there is one. 2.) You have some very talented hitters in the lineup but playing in the wrong positions defensively. I think some players are confused or unsure of their role now but more importantly their role in the future. 3.) Pitching staff (both rotation and pen) have some exciting young talent yet they are not very consistent. It seems like some of the pitching staff are uncertain or confused about their roles too. 4.) There are some great arms in the minors that I think could help the pen. Why not bring them in to help out? I think pitchers have an easier time adjusting to ML hitting than hitters adjusting to ML pitching. 5.) There is a lot of talent that could play 1st base for the Twins but do we have the right personnel on the bag? 6.) 3rd base is up in the air. Sano plays there a little then RF. Plouffe comes back then what? You better believe the players think about the same things we do here on Twins daily. What will tomorrow bring and where do I fit in? 7.) Conclusion: It seems like Twins management/coaching staff is having a hard time creating a cohesive team with well defined roles and expectations for the players. Just an opinion but I'm starting to think this is more of a management/coaching issue than talent issue.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush...Interesting way to bet/invest in a player. It's like buying a put or call option in the stock market.

I for one love the shift! Long live the shift! I'm utterly amazed it wasn't employed earlier. As others have already pointed out in this thread, it's up to the hitter to make the defense pay for shifting on them. This shifting strategy is going to force the young kids coming up through the ranks to start "hitting the ball where they ain't" It's going to make the game more fun and exciting to watch as well. Remember when Tom Landry invented the shotgun formation? Changed the game of football and made it even more fun to watch...

At least Duffey looked good today. I'm actually excited about him and Berrios in the rotation. Duffey looked like he was in control while he pitched today. Last thought - Sano looks much more athletic and graceful at 3rd base versus RF...

Randy Bush Jr.!!! Sweet!

I thought the kid did ok considering it was his first start and the cold weather. His change up could turn into something special. Talking about flat, I think his curveball was a little flat. Didn't seem to have as big of a break on it. Again, the cold could have had something to do with it. Bottom line, Berrios is going to do great. He really looked calm and in control. I liked his quicker delivery too.

Great article Seth. It's nice to read about the guys coming up through the ranks. I may have missed it but what position does he play? Sounds like OF based on comment from twinssouth.

Thanks for clarifying. I'm not really bright. Thought it meant Season Sucks Spectacularly

Just a few minor observations after watching the game last night: 1.) Sano looks like he actually belongs at 3rd base. Does anyone really think he looks graceful and smooth in RF? 2.) Park is going to be a hitting stud. Its impressive that he's hit as many home runs as he has being so new to the league. If he keeps up this pace TR is going to look like a genius (can't believe I'm actually writing that). 3.) Although he can't hit at the moment I think Buxton would have had that ball hit in the left center gap last night. I thought Santana would have stretched out and gone for it but he didn't dive.

I'm having a hard thym writttting these post. Have tears in my eyes I am soon happy!!

I don't think Buxton will be a bust. As most of you have already said, "the kid is only 22"! Look at what he did a few games back when he stretched a single into a double and ultimately scored a run based on his speed alone. That's what I call "manufacturing a run". That was impressive....His defensive skills in CF are awesome and I don't think anyone will argue that. He truly looks like he is playing at another level when on base or patrolling CF. With some time and a little more instruction this kid will hopefully be able to start hitting. In reality the only issue this kid seems to have at the moment is hitting ML pitching (yes, I know thats a biggie). However, he had good numbers in the minors so I don't see why he won't eventually start hitting at the ML level too. Hitting at the ML level is difficult and takes time (for many players both good and great) to excel at. This kid will eventually turn into a superstar...Lord willing.

It might just be me but Arcia reminds me a little of Jose Canseco...They seem to share some of the same mannerisms.

WOW!! A walk off win. Nice for Arcia...

So your saying there's a chance!?

Kepler really should have stayed. I agree that he wasn't given enough time...If we are going with the youth movement then lets stay the course with the exception of Buxton. He clearly looked overmatched at the plate. I really don't want to watch Murphy play. I'm already yawning. I would also start bringing up some of the young arms we have in the relief corps in AA/AAA. The bullpen is a disaster.

Brandon - good article. You bring up some very good points that T.R. and Molitor need to address: I will start by addressing the first one. Plouffe, to trade or not to trade? At this point I don't think I would trade the guy. If we trade him we need to fill that position. The logical thought is to put Sano there. Fine, move Sano to 3rd but if his defense isn't up to ML standards then what? I'm still suspect on Sano's ability to play great defense at 3rd. Obviously the Twins thought Plouffe was better playing 3rd base than Sano. If they didn't think that they would have moved Plouffe to RF. In addition, I'm a capitalist (sorry Bernie Sanders) but there does not seem to be a market for Plouffe at the moment. It would be nice to get a good prospect or two for him. Why unload him now for marginal players or nothing in return? Regarding the corners and DH: If we want to strengthen/improve our defense (which was the original intent of Brandon's article) then make some moves. If the Twins think Sano will be the cornerstone of the team in the future than I like the idea of sending Mauer to RF and moving Sano to first base. I know Sano hasn't been given a lot of time to play RF but he just doesn't look comfortable or graceful out there. Ultimately Mauer is the cause of this bottleneck. Move him off of 1st base and the bottleneck improves....In order to totally contradict myself and my comments above, what if we did this? Mauer (RF), Park (1B), Sano (3B), Arcia (DH), Plouffe (RIP).

I agree about Mauer. Looking much better from the prior two years. There is no reason to suspect he can't win another batting title in the next couple of years. What I find interesting though when discussing walks is that Sano is right up there as well (12 BB when I last looked). I know his strike outs and BB/K ratio are ugly but that issue has seemed to start improving. Sano had 3 walks in his last game...Plate discipline looks impressive to me for such a young guy.

I saw the same thing on TV and laughed out loud. This has been an ongoing joke between the two of them for awhile now. FSN had an interview with Dozier last year that explained how those two like to joke with each other and act mad. If I could find the link to that interview I would post it. No luck yet.