Article: MIN 11, TB 7: Dozier Grand Slam Ends Wild Game, First Half

[D. Hocking]

After yesterday's somewhat ugly loss, losing today would have really put a damper on what was otherwise a good home-stand

 

I feel like if it were the 1980's Mauer and Go-Go could have stared in a sitcom of two unlikely roommates with slightly different personalities:

 

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1018603114541166592

 

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[jkcarew]

Putzing in the yard with the radio on, when the Twins made a mini-threat in the 9th, Provus made the comment “and a lot of fans are still here!”...as if the idea of fans sticking around for the 9th inning of a tie game was extraordinary...an afternoon game at that.

 

But, he’s right in this case. The 3rd out of the 9th inning was recorded at 4:18 minutes. Even without the bench-clearing shenanigans, this was 9 innings in over 4 hours. Embarrassing for baseball.

[jun]

I just saw the stats: 

this season when RISP Escobar bats .367 with 5 homers and 43 RBIs.

 

That's clutch.

 

Dozier is absolutely clutch in this game.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Putzing in the yard with the radio on, when the Twins made a mini-threat in the 9th, Provus made the comment “and a lot of fans are still here!”...

My favorite Provus comment, he initially mis-identified Busenitz warming up as Belisle, and quickly corrected himself, as if he realized that Belisle warming could suddenly cause him to lose a significant portion of his listening audience.

[IndianaTwin]

 

If they were rostering guys with options, though, they wouldn't have to worry about that. For example, Moya throws 40 pitches, and the rest of the pen is taxed too? Option him for Duffey. Or a AAA starter. Then rinse and repeat.

I don't think our pen is good enough or deep enough to hold a non-optionable guy in reserve all the time, and I'm also not sure Magill is good enough or has enough potential to warrant that kind of investment in him either.

 

I can buy that argument too. And maybe the shuttle has begun -- it looks like they just sent Romero back down. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

I can buy that argument too. And maybe the shuttle has begun -- it looks like they just sent Romero back down.

Well, I'd prefer the shuttle not come at the expense of the starters. After the all star break, we don't have any off days until August, so there are regular starts available, and Mejia and Romero at least are interesting enough that either could deserve a few turns.

 

If the 5th starter pool was Slegers, Enns, etc., you could probably rotate them with relievers.

[Riverbrian]

 

It feels really good to be mad at the other team for a change, lol. 

 

One more update: The Twins apparently didn't challenge that Cave was safe, per @MLBReplays, they were challenging that catcher Jesus Sucre blocked the plate. 1) That's embarrassing for the Twins/Molitor. 2) It's embarrassing for MLB to have such a ridiculous review system. Why can't you simply review whether or not the call was right? Why so specific? It's trash.

 

Ump: We got a challenge on that play at home. 

 

New York Guy: Yep, I've reviewed the tape. Frame 278 taken from Camera A which is the overhead camera clearly shows that the runner crossed the plate before the tag. Camera B shows that his foot touched the plate and was safe on the play. You can take your headset off and make the safe call. 

 

Ump: Wait... Hold On... They are not challenging the out call. They would like to challenge if the catcher was illegally blocking the plate. 

 

New York Guy: Seriously... Just tell him that he should challenge the out call instead. I don't want to review it again... He was safe. This game is already behind schedule and I got an immigration appointment in Miami tomorrow. 

 

Ump: Hey Paul... Are you sure you want to challenge the blocking of the plate?

 

Paul: Yeah... His foot was in the way.  

 

Ump: He wants to challenge the catcher blocking the plate. 

 

New York Guy: OK then... the rule states that the catcher can't block the plate unless he has possession of the ball. Video review clearly shows the ball entering his glove for possession of the ball and not leaving his glove which further indicates possession of the ball. Call Stands. 

 

Ump: Out

 

Paul: What you mean out. He was clearly safe. 

 

Ump: Yes he was safe but the call is out. 

 

Paul: Ok. 

 

 

 

 

[Riverbrian]

Ugly game or not... I absolutely enjoyed it. 

 

As for the bench clearing stuff... It doesn't matter to me who started it or what started it. I like it when the Twins show a little attitude. 

[TheLeviathan]

The Rays got mad that Dozier celebrated forcing a balk? Lame.

 

Dozier celebrated a balk huh?  Irony is rich there, but the hypocrisy is the least surprising part of the whole display of nonsense.  

[USAFChief]

I think it is to discourage some of the more frivolous challenges. Otherwise, you would get more teams challenging plays just hoping the umpires find something.

I don't like the manager challenge system in general (I'd prefer everything initiated by the replay official), but if you are going to do it, this seems like a reasonable part.

Just have a fifth ump in the press box who decides what and when to review what and when.

 

I thought the idea was to get the call right.

[Dantes929]

Replays don't seem to get it right as often as they should.   Makes me wonder sometimes if this play would have been overturned with video replay.

 

 

[Kelly Vance]

 

Per the post-game show, Rodney needed to leave the stadium by 3:15 because of a citizenship appointment.

 

Always good to know the whole story before assuming the MOY screwed up...

I thought he had a hot date or a graduation or something. 

[howeda7]

 

Sorry, but I have to ask if this is a joke.  Seriously.  This has to be a joke.  Right?

No. MAGA! (Just a joke, everyone relax). 

[howeda7]

 

That last sentence, that's what irritates me even more than who is used when. It's who is used how often over someone not being used at all. Why are they there then? This more than anything makes me ride the 'not a fan' of MoY bus.

Magill's use bothered me more when he was pitching well. He's been pretty bad lately. 

[KirbyDome89]

I agree with Tom, it's nice that the Twins are on the other side of the "play the game the right way," argument. 

 

I'd love to see Molitor, Dozier, and the rest of the team that was vocal about their displeasure towards opponents earlier in the season do the same here and call out Cash, Archer, ect. for acting like asses. Throwing at Escobar because you're pissed after imploding is one of the weakest things I've seen in a while. TB should be embarrassed but hey, Dozier shouldn't have clapped his hands.....

[yarnivek1972]

That would have been a viable option. But doing so would have also put two guys into situations they aren't used to -- Rodney starting, and Romero coming into a game when he doesn't know exactly when he'll be used. Starters are creatures of habit, and I'm not sure it's fair to a rookie with less than 10 MLB starts to have to guess at the +/-10 minutes of when the second inning will roll around.

 

In addition, with a rookie, there's a reasonable likelihood that he's going to need to be replaced mid-inning. Though that's not the primary way Rodney's been used, he's certainly been there before. And if Romero doesn't need to be replaced mid-inning, there's a good likelihood that he pitched a nice spiffy 5 or 6 quick innings.

 

So yeah, using Rodney as the "opener" would have also made sense, but I think this was a good approach.

There was no way of knowing that Romero was going to be out of the game early enough for Rodney to get in at all. As for Romero’s warm up procedure, have him do it as normal as if he was starting. The extra wait would be the same as having a long first inning on the road. Not that complicated.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I think it is safe to say the Twins will not be trading for Chris Archer.

[ThejacKmp]

1.) The Twins don't play the Rays again this year which is probably good but also too bad because it would be interesting to see if the bad blood carried over.

 

2.) I really don't get the catcher blocking the plate thing. I thought Cave was safe for two reasons. He didn't have the all and his foot was blocking access to the plate. What are they trying to stop if not that kind of a collision that can leave a catcher hurt (and looked like it did?) I'm not a traditionalist, as much as I liked Brian Harper vs. Lonnie Smith in 1991, I thought the rule change was a great idea. But now it makes no sense. There should be no being in the base path until you have the ball. Just make it easy.

[nclahammer]

Similarly, it looked like Escobar's verbal response after the strikeout was in response to one of their defenders mouthing off.

 

 

I always like to hear both sides, to get different perspectives, here's what the Rays are saying about the bench clearings on their team website: "When Castillo went down and low on [Escobar's] ankles, he stared at him again," Robertson said. "There was already a lot of chatter going on as far as the balk that happened right before that. Everyone was yelling at each other. He was looking back up at our pitcher again, and I just told him, 'Hey, quit staring at our pitcher. Nobody's trying to hit you; just get back in the box and hit.' That's about it, man. Then he kind of came back at me."

Order was eventually restored, and Castillo struck out Escobar to end the inning. But as he was headed back out to the field, Escobar and Robertson began jawing again, and benches cleared once more.

"I think it got escalated because [the Twins] seemed to be yelling at [Castillo]," Cash said. "We're going to defend our pitcher. They're going to defend their hitter. Saying that, I've got the utmost respect for Paul Molitor, his staff and those players. They played a really good series against us, got big hit after big hit. This series wasn't defined on [the altercations]. It was defined by a lot of good baseball and a lot of offense."

Rays catcher Jesus Sucre believed that the series of kerfuffles started because Twins reliever Ryan Pressly was claiming that the Rays were intentionally trying to hit Escobar.

"[Pressly] was the one that started it," Sucre said. "He was like, 'Hey, he's trying to hit him.' I was like, 'Hey, calm down, man. Shut up.'"

 

I don't think Pressly is mentioned at all by the broadcasters or by any Twins players.

[Otto von Ballpark]

2.) I really don't get the catcher blocking the plate thing. I thought Cave was safe for two reasons. He didn't have the all and his foot was blocking access to the plate. What are they trying to stop if not that kind of a collision that can leave a catcher hurt (and looked like it did?) I'm not a traditionalist, as much as I liked Brian Harper vs. Lonnie Smith in 1991, I thought the rule change was a great idea. But now it makes no sense. There should be no being in the base path until you have the ball. Just make it easy.

Didn't Sucre have the ball before Cave got there? He had his foot out before he caught the ball, yes, but Cave wasn't there yet either. But I am certainly no expert on this rule.

[Riverbrian]

 

Magill's use bothered me more when he was pitching well. He's been pretty bad lately. 

 

I'm going to add Magill to my list of poorly timed asset usage. 

 

I'm keeping the list on my fridge. Eventually... I'm going to need a longer fridge. 

[Riverbrian]

 

Didn't Sucre have the ball before Cave got there? He had his foot out before he caught the ball, yes, but Cave wasn't there yet either. But I am certainly no expert on this rule.

 

I believe the rule was designed to stop catchers from blocking the plate and forcing the collision. 

 

I believe catchers can stand where the ball is arriving.

 

I am also no expert on the rule either. 

[nclahammer]

For me, one of the best postgame quotes came from Rays third baseman Daniel Robertson:   "I wanna start off first and foremost by saying Escobar is a good dude, man. We talk all the time at third base. The guy likes Fogo de Chao, I like Fogo de Chao. So I wanna start off by saying that." -- Robertson, on the altercations with Escobar.  Love it, if you don't believe me, you can look it up.

 

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I hope I'm  wrong, because Bull Dozier is one of my my favorite players on the 25 man roster, but BD's recent surge has not only helped the Twins win games in July, but his surge has increased his chances of being traded soon. To quote what Falvey may be saying in response to teams inquiring about Dozier's availability: "Make me an offer I can't refuse". 

[Dman]

First of all to my eye I thought Cave was safe but I guess if the Twins didn't challenge that then not too much to complain about.  I guess I don't understand the blocking the plate rule.  To me it looked like the catcher had his foot on the plate without the ball but ultimately caught the ball before Cave completely made it to plate.  So the catcher can be in the baseline receiving the ball as long as the ball gets there before the runner?  Also by having his foot on the plate it looks like he might have gotten hurt so I am not sure how the rule is supposed to help with injuries then, but just like the Twins I probably don't understand the rule.

 

If the Rays were throwing at Esco they did a poor job of it.  I can understand everyone being on edge after the Balk call but bottom line they got in Esco's head and he struck out.  The Ray's said all the right things so it doesn't appear to be one of baseballs unwritten rules and I have no idea what to think other than maybe Esco did over react.

 

The Rays did not help themselves with the shift they put on with Dozier at third.  If they weren't going to hold him on then really they got what they deserved.  Maybe the Rays pitcher should have thrown a ball at the manager for that idiotic piece of strategy.

[ThejacKmp]

 

Didn't Sucre have the ball before Cave got there? He had his foot out before he caught the ball, yes, but Cave wasn't there yet either. But I am certainly no expert on this rule.

 

Oh I'm sure the umps have it right, it just seems incredibly complicated. If the goal is to not have injuries, it seems like the easiest thing is to say that (a.) until the catcher has the ball he can't be in the base path and (b.) the runner has to slide and can't barrel over a catcher.

 

But maybe there's some good reason that isn't it. It does seem like it would stop injury - Sucre's knee must've taken a beating with Grossman sliding through his foot and bending it back.

[gil4]

 

Magill is out of options. I suppose he could clear waivers, but it's not so easy to shuttle him between Minnesota and Rochester.

However, I don't think the criticism is about using Magill, per se. It's more like, if we're not going to use him, why do we keep him? The rest of our pen isn't good enough to support that. I think I'd rather use Magill's spot to rotate through Moya, Curtiss, Duffey, etc. Maybe even break in a AAA starter.

Belisle's spot would be first in line for that purpose, and I'm not sure we have enough useful arms to rotate two roster spots.

[Tomj14]

I was at the game as well, and everybody I was sitting around thought the Twins were challenging the out call at home and not blocking. Maybe the announcer should tell the fans what is being challenged.

I loved Rodney being brought in, but some of the fans around me hated it.

From behind the Twins dugout you could see Cash yelling at the Twins dugout but we really had no idea what was going on.

 

I have to say Kiermaier's catch was Awesome!

Also I never want to be at a game with 13 pitching changes again.

[ashbury]

I'm going to add Magill to my list of poorly timed asset usage.

Getting the most out of a team, by timing the usage of the mediocre players, so that they only play when they are hot and then sit when they are not, is a magical skill that no one has over the long term. The lucky rabbit's foot seems to disappear at the most inopportune moment. I'll take well-chosen matchups over the hot hand every time.

[Number3]

All in all, what a way to end the first 58% of the season. Post All Star, its a 9 game road trip and then guess who comes to town. By the end of July, we will know a lot.

 

I hope Berrios's last outing wasn't the Twins' All Star jinx before the game was even played. I am glad Rosario didn't make it.