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GAME THREAD: 4/1/21 Minnesota Twins @ Milwaukee Brewers, 1:10 CDT

Mill1634

By Mill1634
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Mill1634 Minnesota Twins

Mill1634

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April 1st...the day of office pranksters and foolish little kids all around the world. That jar at work that you think is M&M's probably has a mixture of skittles with it. Your fridge? Better make sure it's not running away. However, there is one thing today that is not a joke. BASEBALL. IS. BACK. The Twins travel to Milwaukee for a three day set against the Brewers, which means that the Twins will not be able to use Nelson Cruz because the league hates the game. Nor will a majority of fans across the league be able to tune into todays game because Fox Sports  Bally Sports (Whatever the heck that is) hasn't made a deal with television or streaming providers. They also made the best game of the year (besides the playoffs) at 1:10 PM on a Thursday afternoon because the league hates the game. 

 

But enough about whats wrong with baseball. Twins Baseball is back. It's the season of optimism. That playoff drought? This is the year. The year Byron Buxton plays 150 games? Yeah, thats this one. Miguel Sano putting it all together again? 2021, baby. Fans back in the ballpark? You bet. This is the reason we play baseball. It sells us hope, and today is the start of our dreaming. Let's get into it.

 

The Pitchers - RHP Kenta Maeda (6-1, 2.70 ERA, 80 K's, 66.2 IP) vs RHP Brandon Woodruff (3-5, 3.05 ERA, 91 K's, 73.2 IP)

 

The Twins hand the ball to Cy Young runner-up Kenta Maeda on opening day. The right hander was acquired via trade last offseason and absolutely blew through our expectations. He had a great mix of pitches, and even added another one this spring that has been talked about plenty. Certainly there is some sort of regression coming, but he is in no doubt the Twins ace. On the other side, much like King Kenta, Brandon Woodruff is one of the most under appreciated starters in baseball. The 28 year old relies on 5 different pitches, but leans heavily on a fastball and sinker, and plays his changeup off of it. Expect him to sit above 95 miles per hour with the heater, and bring the changeup in 10 miles an hour slower. Much like most Twins pitchers, he has an effective putaway slider which had a whiff rate of 32.7% in 2020. This is a battle of unheralded aces. 

 

The Lineups

 

Twins

 

LF Luis Arraez L

3B J. Donaldson R
2B J. Polanco S
1B Miguel Sano R
RF Max Kepler L
CF Byron Buxton R
C Mitch Garver R
SS A. Simmons R
P Kenta Maeda R

 

Brewers

 

2B Kolten Wong L

1B Keston Hiura R
LF C. Yelich L
RF A. Garcia R
3B Travis Shaw L
CF Lorenzo Cain R
C Omar Narvaez L
SS Luis Urias R
P B. Woodruff R

 

The Twins lineup looks about how everyone expected it to look. There were some questions throughout the spring over left field, but most of that question was answered when top prospect Alex Kiriloff was optioned to the alternate site after a poor showing in ST. It could be service time, or it could be the fact that he has minimal at bats at the upper-minor leagues. Either way, his replacement is Luis Arraez, who is a fan favorite and a perfect leadoff hitter, even in the modern MLB. With no Cruz, we see Jorge Polanco hit in the three spot, who is looking to bounce back from an injury riddled 2020. Max Kepler slides to the 5 hole with Arraez in the lineup, but will likely leadoff when Luis is on the bench. New addition Andrelton Simmons hits 8th today, only because Kenta must hit 9th. 

 

The Brewers have new second basemen Kolten Wong leading off after a successful stint with division rival St. Louis. Christian Yelich, a perennial MVP candidate will hit 3rd and is also looking for a major bounce back year. I am all aboard his hype train once again, but I have requested it not to leave the station until Monday. The rest of the lineup is full of names we are familiar with. I give the advantage to the Twins. 

 

This Day In History - 2008: On Opening Day in Los Angeles, Juan Pierre's 434 consecutive game streak, the longest current one in the major leagues, comes to an end when the Dodger outfielder does not play in the 3-2 victory over the Giants. New skipper Joe Torre plays Andre Ethier in left field in place of the highly paid but light-hitting fly chaser.

 

Pick to Click - Josh Donaldson starts the year with a bomba.

 

GO TWINS!!!

 

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Squirrel GOAT

Squirrel

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They also made the best game of the year (besides the playoffs) at 1:10 PM on a Thursday afternoon because the league hates the game. 

Well ... I guess I'd rather play in the sun when it's only 35 deg out ... but since I'm not back to work full time yet, it's okay by me. Play ball!!!! (so excited!)

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wsnydes St Paul Saints

wsnydes

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Well ... I guess I'd rather play in the sun when it's only 35 deg out ... but since I'm not back to work full time yet, it's okay by me. Play ball!!!! (so excited!)

That, and there are only 3 night games league wide anyway. And they're all on the west coast. The Yankees have a 1:05 start time, and I'm guessing the league doesn't hate them so much.

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wsnydes St Paul Saints

wsnydes

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I'm torn between seeing Maeda pitch but also have to hit, and seeing Cruz hit but also have to pitch.

 

I'm hoping they seriously considered option #2.

My brother and I used to play the original RBI Baseball using the All-Star teams. We made a rule that every pitch had to be straight down the middle, effectively creating a home run derby in a game setting. We'd have some absurd scores. Perhaps the league should explore that option too!

 

(Worth noting that I'd absolutely hate the game if they did implement that.)

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nicksaviking All-Star

nicksaviking

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Arraez is the right choice for leadoff and left field

 

Speaking of leadoff left fielders, I was just thinking how crazy it was that Dan Gladden kept that job for five years and the team won two WS with such a player who struggled to carry a .310 OBP. 

 

Gladden and Randy Bush probably would have had their roles swapped in today's game.

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stringer bell MVP

stringer bell

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I'm really excited for the start of the year. Nice to see Arraez at the top of the lineup. Go get 'rm guys!

 

We're in the regular season now and more people are paying attention so---we could use more people to do introductions for the game threads. The more the merrier and the more perspectives offered, the more people join in. We're open to people who haven't ever done an introduction or for those that have the experience of doing it previously. If interested, send me a message and we'll try to fit you in. Thanks for those that already have volunteered!

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Sielk Draft Eligible

Sielk

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Disproof by contradiction: me*.

 

My pick to click: Maeda runs the bases.

 

*- freely grant i am in the hopeless minority, and no, i don't want any resultant injuries...

And here I thought I was the only one on this site who likes the game without DH. But if you so freely admit it, so do I.

 

My pick to click: Kenta does not run the bases, he jogs around them after hitting the first Twins bomba of the season.

 

(And yeah, I know, it's unlikely. But that's what a pick to click is for. :) )

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Squirrel GOAT

Squirrel

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And here I thought I was the only one on this site who likes the game without DH. But if you so freely admit it, so do I.

My pick to click: Kenta does not run the bases, he jogs around them after hitting the first Twins bomba of the season.

(And yeah, I know, it's unlikely. But that's what a pick to click is for. :) )

Well ... in batting practice the other day, he hit 3 or 4 of them out ... so ... it could happen :)

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Squirrel GOAT

Squirrel

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But..this game is played in a field with a roof on it.

Great ... it will be colder then by blocking out the sun ... I doubt it's a heated building? Well, maybe the dugout is ... but I wonder if the roof closed, blocking the sun, if the field temp is that much warmer?

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MMMordabito GCL Twins

MMMordabito

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Got a growler of Monkey Grinder from Fat Pants and a garage invitation ... Let's play ball!!

 

My pick to click is Jake Cave with a pinch-hit RBI single late.

 

If I was a gambler, I'd take the under on 7.5 runs.

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Cap'n Piranha Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

Cap'n Piranha

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Watching Cleveland-Detroit aka as the ex-Twins reunion. Eddie rolls out to Schoop to close the top of the first. Jack Morris is in the announcing booth for Detroit.

Also in the game: Robbie Grossman, Wilson Ramos.

 

I knew getting rid of Eddie was the right decision.  He's on pace to post the worst OPS of all time!

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wsnydes St Paul Saints

wsnydes

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I knew getting rid of Eddie was the right decision.  He's on pace to post the worst OPS of all time!

They should DFA him now to save themselves the frustration of the rest of the game!

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