Squirrel

Moderator note: To everyone, this is not a Mauer thread. Move it elsewhere as there are plenty other threads out there to discuss Mauer. Or start your own. This is the game wrap up. It was a good game with some much needed good pitching, a pitcher making his MLB debut, ending with a walk-off homerun. If all you can talk about from that is how Mauer wasn’t in the middle of the scrum, post it elsewhere.

Wish I had stayed one more day in Fort Myers for that one.

Chief is so old he’s... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tH2w6Oxx0kQ

We should play a game within the game tonight. Finish the phrase ... Chief is so old he _____________________ .

He may have been advised by his manager not to talk to anyone until they decide if they will file a grievance. It’s been a tough and disappointing year for all of us but likely more so for him. I don’t blame him for taking some time off and away to be with his family. I also think it better for him to take time and not give out immediate responses in anger or disappointment as that really would be immature. Bottom line, we don’t know if this is a character issue or not so maybe it’s best not to jump to conclusions.

When it comes to age, Chief is in a league of his own.

I don’t think that anyone is arguing that his defense cancels out his not hitting, as he has been this year. I think what people are saying that his elite defensive skills can’t be negated as you and many others seem to be saying by only focusing on his hitting. He doesn’t need to be above or well above average as a hitter to provide good value to the team. But he does need to be at least average, which he isn’t right now.

I don’t disagree with that at all. I was just thinking more along the lines of ... whatever is being done now seems not to be working ... unless nothing will. What could it hurt? Except maybe putting too much stuff in their minds.

You’d think. And you’d also think they wouldn’t be smart enough or bother enough to be that ... ‘clever’ with their deceptions ... but, the way things are going, I don’t put it past them, even if it’s not likely.

A note or two on the Miracle game. Miranda’s HR was high and deep, landed behind the berm in left field, a no-doubter off the bat. Miranda also made a really nice play at third. And the Whitefield throw was great. That fly out he caught wasn’t deep but it wasn’t short, either. Considering the play before he double/triple bounced a throw to the cut off man, I thought the runner on 3rd was going to score easily. But Whitehead’s throw was a spot on delivery - Rosario couldn’t have done it better. It was a very close play, too. In the 8th, it just seemed to be one miscue after another ... the passed ball on the strike out was the first. And that was the only runner to score. Then the HBP on the first pitch of the next batter. The first out came with runners on first and third when the batter hit a high pop up between home and 3rd. Miranda comes in, he’s under it, and the ball drops right behind him. He quickly picked it up and threw the runner out at 2nd. No harm really, as there were still runners at the corners as before but now with one out; I was starting to get the feeling this might not end well. Then Moran walks the next one to load the bases. Then Moran just seemed to hit a groove and struck out the next two. In the top of the 9th, a high pop up was hit to the 1st baseman. I don’t think he had to move more than a step. He’s under it ... and the ball lands right in front of him. It had the home crowd ‘oh no-ing’ and ‘what the heck-ing’. Then Moran just delivers it. It was petty exciting. But either the Tortuga batters were just over anxious or Moran is a very deceptive pitcher, because there was a lot of swinging at high and in the dirt balls over the 5 strikeouts he got. It also felt like he needed to strike out everyone because the defense didn’t help in a few spots, and neither did Moran himself before he struck out the final two in the 8th. But it was a very good game to be at, and it didn’t rain despite lots of dark clouds all around.

Nope. Snepp had a beard then.

You and Ash were so cute in that photo!

Well, if you count you in your Halloween costume last year, that was her last performance.

Miracle won, 3-1. The top of the 8th was a bit of a nail biter, but Moran came through.

Through 7 and the Miracle are up 3-0.

And that’s it for Barnes. 6.2 scoreless innings, 7 hits, 5 SO, 1 BB

MIRANDA!!!! Very long 2-run HR. Miracle are up 2-0 in the bottom of the 6th

By the way, if you didn’t see my post in the minors forum, nice article by local writer David Dorsey. https://www.news-press.com/story/sports/2018/09/06/minnesota-twins-prospect-alex-kirilloff-leads-surging-fort-myers-miracle/1210227002/

Talk about trolling ...

Top of the 5th here in Ft. Myers. No score, a couple of good plays and timely strike outs.

No opener tonight! We’ll see how Gonzalves does without one. I’m at the game tonight. In Fort Myers. Game one of the championship series. You enjoy the Twins game and I’ll enjoy the Miracle game!

I thought the work and concepts his Dad taught him were interesting. And further thought, ‘Hmmm, I wonder if he could work with Sano and Buxton!’

David Dorsey is a writer with the Fort Myers News-Press. Ive never read anything of his I didn’t like. Today he wrote an article on Kirilloff that I found to be no exception to how much I like his stories. https://www.news-press.com/story/sports/2018/09/06/minnesota-twins-prospect-alex-kirilloff-leads-surging-fort-myers-miracle/1210227002/ “Alex Kirilloff hits in the day. He hits at night. He hits on the road. He hits at home. He hits against right-handed pitchers. He hits against lefties. The outfield prospect for the Minnesota Twins hits about as often as Dr. Seuss wrote short, declarative sentences in his children’s books. Rarely does the Fort Myers Miracle’s leading producer of hits, doubles and batting average not hit.”

Well, technically, it is, unless you are a DH sitting on the bench the whole game except to bat. A team spends half an inning trying to produce runs, and the other half inning is spent trying to prevent runs. You can argue which is the more important half, and give it a higher percentage of importance to the outcome of the game, but that’s a different discussion. I don’t think Buxton needs to produce as much offensively because of his defense, however, his defense doesn’t make up for where his offense currently sits. He needs to figure that out and there needs to be a positive balance before he provides what this team needs. As for his reckless play in the outfield, I guess I wouldn’t describe it as that, or as haphazard. By definition that implies a lack of care or thought for what he’s doing, that he’s just running randomly into walls. I’d say he cares very much for what he’s doing, maybe too much, that it’s not random at all. You can say his goal to try and catch everything out there is detrimental to his well being and thus to his team, and I might agree, or at least accept, but I’m not so sure it’s either reckless or haphazard. But his injuries this year ... the migraine, the broken toe and the wrist strain ... were not caused by his outfield play. That said ... he does need to work on his hitting. That is undeniable and no question. But how much of a hitter does he ‘need’ to become and does sending him home now help accomplish that? If sending him home accomplishes that, then sending him home was the right thing to do.

Doesn’t PR have to vote for statehood? Haven’t votes in the past failed? Would it pass now?