Happy Earth Day!

As Google so often does, its banner ties in with the current goings on of the world. In lieu of cute illustrations of Earth hugging itself or wearing a lampshade on its head after a few too many shots of ozone, today’s banner shows the effects of climate change over 20 years.

That got me to thinking. What else has changed over the past 20 years? Hairstyles. Fashion. Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl Championships. Oh wait . . . We’re here to talk about baseball. Forget I said anything.

Here is what our beloved baseball team’s roster looked like 20 years ago back in 2002. Recognize any of these names?

Those were simpler times. 20gb of storage on the iPod Second Gen was, like, a lot of storage. Kelly Clarkson was America’s first Idol. I had three more years to learn about the heartache of paying back student loans.

What are your favorite memories of the past 20 years?

Here is how 2022’s Minnesota Twins stack up against the Chicago White Sox:

Minnesota Twins:

1. Luis Arraez (L) 1B

2. Carlos Correa (R) SS

3. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B

4. Max Kepler (L) RF

5. Gio Urshela (R) 3B

6. Trevor Larnach (L) LF

7. Gary Sanchez (R) C

8. Nick Gordon (L) CF

9. Miguel Sano (R) DH

SP: Bailey Ober RHP 1-1 3.27 ERA

Chicago White Sox:

1. Tim Anderson (R) SS

2. Leury Garcia (S) 2B

3. Jose Abreu (R) 1B

4. Eloy Jimenez (R) RF

5. Gavin Sheets (L) RF

6. A.J. Sheets (R) CF

7. Andrew Vaughen (R) LF

8. Reese McGuire (L) C

9. Jake Burger (R) 3B

SP: Michael Kopech RHP 0-0 1.00 ERA

And, as always:

No Bux tonight?

1 minute ago, bighat said:

No Bux tonight?

He's getting his bubble wrap readjusted

Obviously 1 game of DH was too much for the guy. Time to shut him down for 5 games again 

Interesting that they're throwing Ober tonight, who last pitched on Sunday.  That would indicate the Twins are done with the 6 man starter rotation at the moment (Gray pitched last Saturday, and would have pitched tonight), electing to keep Winder in the bullpen.

Two things on that;

1.  Will the Twins go back to a 6 man rotation when Gray comes off the IL?  Theoretically, that could be next Tuesday.  Or will the Twins send Gray to St Paul to make a start before reinstating him?  If they don't stick with six, who gets the short straw?  I would have to think Archer, but if Ober stumbles tonight, it could be him.
2. I'm a bit worried the Twins are going to repeat the Dobnak 2021 treatment with Winder.  They seem uninterested in letting him actually start, but with the offense struggling to score, will Rocco feel compelled to pitch relievers as opposed to letting Winder finish a game despite coming in for the 6th or 7th?  We already saw it yesterday, so at this point, what is the plan to get Winder work?

Twins writers digging into the history books, checking weather and launch angles and everything in between to figure out why twins aren’t hitting…. 
Meanwhile Kepler hitting 4th in the lineup again…

1 minute ago, Azviking101 said:

Obviously 1 game of DH was too much for the guy. Time to shut him down for 5 games again 

This is sort of what I was worried about yesterday.  Hopefully this is just a precaution, to allow Buxton to ease himself back into action.  But it also shows that clearly the Twins are not 100% confident that Buxton's knee is good to go.  With most other players, I'd say sure, let's see what happens in game action, and adjust from there.  But with your $100M face-of-the-franchise, injury-prone superstar, he should never be playing if there's any question of an injury lingering.

Pretty sure I saw multiple people claim the twins will continue with a 6 man rotation when they can. Obviously with injuries that might not be often. 

1 minute ago, Azviking101 said:

Pretty sure I saw multiple people claim the twins will continue with a 6 man rotation when they can. Obviously with injuries that might not be often. 

People claiming it is all well and good, but the Twins have a chance to continue with a 6 man rotation tonight, by starting Winder.  They are choosing not to, which pretty clearly indicates that either the Twins are not committed to a 6 man rotation, or they don't currently view Winder as a viable MLB starter.

Just now, Cap'n Piranha said:

People claiming it is all well and good, but the Twins have a chance to continue with a 6 man rotation tonight, by starting Winder.  They are choosing not to, which pretty clearly indicates that either the Twins are not committed to a 6 man rotation, or they don't currently view Winder as a viable MLB starter.

Ober, Bundy and Archer all threw only 70, 71, 76 pitches the last start. With off day Monday I think Rocco wants experience starters against the white Sox and have winder in case of a short start

I think we should leave the Pale Hose 2 Sheets with a win.

I assume they don't want Buxton playing tonight because of the wet conditions. I'm ok with that. 

21 minutes ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

People claiming it is all well and good, but the Twins have a chance to continue with a 6 man rotation tonight, by starting Winder.  They are choosing not to, which pretty clearly indicates that either the Twins are not committed to a 6 man rotation, or they don't currently view Winder as a viable MLB starter.

I believe the statements from the Twins was that they'd go to a 5 man while Gray was out and figure it out from there. They were pretty clear they had no intention of putting Winder into his spot. I agree with your earlier comment that their treatment of him concerns me. I'd much rather he be in St Paul starting every 5th day and someone like Smeltzer was in Minneapolis crossing his fingers for a bad start so he could actually pitch.

20 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

I assume they don't want Buxton playing tonight because of the wet conditions. I'm ok with that. 

Yeah, even when it's not raining or misting, Baldelli has banned Twins players from spitting on the field.

8 minutes ago, RickOShea said:

Yeah, even when it's not raining or misting, Baldelli has banned Twins players from spitting on the field.

?

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

I believe the statements from the Twins was that they'd go to a 5 man while Gray was out and figure it out from there. They were pretty clear they had no intention of putting Winder into his spot. I agree with your earlier comment that their treatment of him concerns me. I'd much rather he be in St Paul starting every 5th day and someone like Smeltzer was in Minneapolis crossing his fingers for a bad start so he could actually pitch.

The six-man rotation was necessitated by having six bona fide starters, at least to start the season. The chances of five of these six all lasting and staying effective is near zero. Winder should be in AAA  pitching every fifth or sixth day. Smeltzer should be the long man, pitching multiple innings maybe once a week. I hope they option Winder to St. Paul on May 2. The bi-product of this system is limiting Winder’s innings for the first month. The starters are getting close to being able to go 6 or more innings if they’re effective. There hasn’t been the predicted need for Openers or have piggyback starts. Time for Winder to get to St. Paul to develop. 

I’m okay with going slow with Buxton. It is going to be wet tonight and he got some swings in yesterday. I’m still surprised he wasn’t put on the IL. 

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

I believe the statements from the Twins was that they'd go to a 5 man while Gray was out and figure it out from there. They were pretty clear they had no intention of putting Winder into his spot. I agree with your earlier comment that their treatment of him concerns me. I'd much rather he be in St Paul starting every 5th day and someone like Smeltzer was in Minneapolis crossing his fingers for a bad start so he could actually pitch.

 

14 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The six-man rotation was necessitated by having six bona fide starters, at least to start the season. The chances of five of these six all lasting and staying effective is near zero. Winder should be in AAA  pitching every fifth or sixth day. Smeltzer should be the long man, pitching multiple innings maybe once a week. I hope they option Winder to St. Paul on May 2. The bi-product of this system is limiting Winder’s innings for the first month. The starters are getting close to being able to go 6 or more innings if they’re effective. There hasn’t been the predicted need for Openers or have piggyback starts. Time for Winder to get to St. Paul to develop. 

I have nothing against a 6 man rotation, or a 5 man rotation.  I understand the need to not stress your starters as much in the beginning of the season (although having 6 guys making shorter starts definitely stresses your bullpen, as there's now one less guy there to absorb all the extra innings).  As such, I was fine with having Winder in the bullpen, on the assumption that he would pitch 3 innings every 3rd to 4th day.  Instead, he's pitched twice since the Twins came North, and one of those outings was only one inning.  If it was never the plan to get him consistent work, he should have been left in AAA, or converted to a reliever full stop, a la Duran.

20 minutes ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

 

I have nothing against a 6 man rotation, or a 5 man rotation.  I understand the need to not stress your starters as much in the beginning of the season (although having 6 guys making shorter starts definitely stresses your bullpen, as there's now one less guy there to absorb all the extra innings).  As such, I was fine with having Winder in the bullpen, on the assumption that he would pitch 3 innings every 3rd to 4th day.  Instead, he's pitched twice since the Twins came North, and one of those outings was only one inning.  If it was never the plan to get him consistent work, he should have been left in AAA, or converted to a reliever full stop, a la Duran.

For the month of April they have 15 or 16 pitchers, so there are plenty of arms to cover the innings. They brought Winder north with uncertainty about the rotation and how soon they would get up to 6 innings. It has gone very well and saved Winder most of a month of work as a bonus. He definitely should go back to St. Paul and Duran should stay and be a key ingredient of the bullpen. 

2 hours ago, Azviking101 said:

Twins writers digging into the history books, checking weather and launch angles and everything in between to figure out why twins aren’t hitting…. 
Meanwhile Kepler hitting 4th in the lineup again…

And Moonshot Miguel holding down the 9th spot with a .083 average.

Could just as well go with 8 batters in the line-up. Or let Arraez take all 9 spots.

Having two Sheets in the lineup is a bit of an abstract expression. Should it be Pollock?

Another installment of shopping with the enemy.

For the lady with questionable taste in sports teams:

With the promo code SINGLE you can get this fine park bench for the low low price of $315, you can ensure you remain single.

"You are number 6" is an underrated sentence.

I'd guess that "Almost Gone" means that they sold the other one...

Opening night (for show i am involved with)

 

Catch up a mite in intermission.

 

Y'all take good care of the game.

16 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

Another installment of shopping with the enemy.

For the lady with questionable taste in sports teams:

With the promo code SINGLE you can get this fine park bench for the low low price of $315, you can ensure you remain single.

I rather enjoy this Game Thread Shopping Network bit.

I need a little more pain after last night's Timberwolves game. Starting to feel that, as a Minnesota sports fan, I have passed on a hereditary disease to my children. ?

Yet another beautiful night for baseball here in the Twin Cities!

4 minutes ago, Don't Feed the Greed Guy said:

I need a little more pain after last night's Timberwolves game. Starting to feel that, as a Minnesota sports fan, I have passed on a hereditary disease to my children. ?

I heard there was a dramatic loss...

 

Was it just a game? Or a series?

Just now, sampleSizeOfOne said:

I heard there was a dramatic loss...

 

Was it just a game? Or a series?

(Prod week is insular. Glimpses of the outside world are rare.)