Game Score (Game 1): Tigers 1, Twins 0

I was happy to see Charlie pitch well.  I watched some of the game on MLB.com.  He looked good. I think the lack of K's unfortunately tells the story that he is going to have a hard time breaking into MLB.  He only K'd one player in 4.2 innings so his stuff is pretty hittable.  Would be nice if he had a put away pitch in his back pocket and hopefully he finds one.

Still was very pleased with how well he did his first time out and he has to be happy he put the team in a position to win they just didn't come through for him.

It would have been nice to see Barnes pitch longer, but the Twins have a microprocessor with bent pins for a manager.  Pulling a rookie pitcher at that point shows a total lack of confidence, which is a terrible message to send, regardless of what your f$#king spreadsheet says.

Minaya should be on the bullpen chart, as he's rejoined the team and added to the 40 man roster... for some reason.  He's looked bad in AAA, bad in the majors, so why give him another chance? We have reliever prospects with more upside than him!

1 hour ago, MMMordabito said:

It would have been nice to see Barnes pitch longer, but the Twins have a microprocessor with bent pins for a manager.  Pulling a rookie pitcher at that point shows a total lack of confidence, which is a terrible message to send, regardless of what your f$#king spreadsheet says.

Does it show a lack of confidence if pulling a guy early is automatic? I don't like it either, but it seems to me that the rookies/guys who didn't pitch in 2020 are on pitch counts.

I will join the other complainers who are really tired of Rocco and his quick hook

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I will join the other complainers who are really tired of Rocco and his quick hook

See, saying "quick hook" implies that Baldelli is acting on impulse. Sparky Anderson had a notorious "quick hook." Baldelli is the exact opposite in my view - I imagine he pegged 70 pitches as his arbitrary "pitch limit" (saying nothing of the fact that Barnes pitched 90+ in his last AAA start), and he decided to pull the plug when there was a righty/lefty matchup that the "numbers" said it's best to avoid such a matchup. It was entirely planned, and that's what makes it so pathetic. You're dealing with professional athletes in the physical prime of their lives, getting babied to an obscene degree. Ugh.

The drama of the starting pitcher battling their way through 9 innings was one of the top-5 elements of dramatic action in baseball up until about 6 years ago. Analytics have purposefully killed that bit of drama in favor of parades of bullpen arms - the playoffs is nearly unwatchable now because of this. Yes, very "data-driven," "new-school," "smart," and "progressive" - entirely at the cost of entertainment and drama. It's sickening. 

I've set the introduction of robot umps as my point of no return for following baseball, but frankly I don't know if I'll make it another year or two. Game is a shell of its former self, completely caved to entertainment-sapping technocrats. Really, really sad. 

I totally agree with the gentleman saying how bad the game is now.  I too have said if they go to electronic ball and strike umps I'm done.  Been watching MLB games over 50 years and have never seen it at it's lowest point.  It's boring and unwatchable.  And you know what you can do with the analytics and gutless leaders who call themselves managers.

Question, Seth.  Any information available on which draft picks have signed?