I Never Bet On Sports

Really curious if you know if other teams are experiencing the same thing as the Twins as far as starting pitchers throwing harder earlier this spring training. I have heard you talk about several Twins starters throwing harder earlier, but would appreciate context if you have it if other teams are experiencing the same or if this is somewhat unique to the Twins.

Great article and analysis. Twins have work to do. One set of stats here doesn't add up to me. What am I missing? How can opponents have a .122 BAA in two strike counts when he threw his sinker (which he threw 46.5% of the time in this situation) in Baltimore but also have a .044 overall average in two strike counts when he threw anything but his fastball in Baltimore? Was it supposed to be .144? If he did't get a hit on any other pitch including his fastball his overall 2 strike average would have to be at least .056(.122*46.5%= .056)

I was able to purchase by going to the home page and searching winter meltdown. Also, it looks like the link works now

I am not sure if the link is active yet, but as of 8:05 when I click it i get a message that Sorry your cart has expired and it doesn't allow me to purchase tickets

Agree it was questionable to send him there. I was at the game, and a few other things concerned me on that play: Sano was slowing significantly rounding third and seemed to be spent. After the play he was very, very, slow to take the field for the next inning. He seemed to take forever to catch his breath and leave the dugout. I don't know if he got a bad jump on the hit but believe he should have been able to score on that play with an average jump for him at first with two outs. I have tried to find a replay to confirm but haven't found one. After losing 25 pounds I was hopeful he would live up to his potential. Maybe he is dealing with a cold or other issue (might also explain his poor at bats) but that looked very alarming to me.

I think you have the rules wrong on Upton signing with the highest bidder. His old club (Angels) is responsible for paying his $14MM salary less whatever the new team pays him. So, unless someone wants to pay more than $14MM oer year, he will sign for the league minimum. He can't make more money unless he signs for more than the $14MM which won't happen. At this point he is probably deciding on best fit with salary not a consideration.

I, for one, hope Dobnyk makes the club as a sixth starter preferably in a piggy back role with JA Happ to start the season. In 2019 Jake Odorizzi was a solid pitcher but he never seemed to be able to pitch more than six innings. For comparison 2019 J A Happ 30 starts 161 innings Jake Odorizzi 30 starts 159 innings. Seems like a good fit then to piggy back the one lefty starter who rarely goes past six innings with the righty Dobnyk and ask each to go 4 innings or so as we start the season. Then adjust for injuries, etc.

Also, Berrios would not need to start game 3. He pitched Sunday and should pitch again this Friday on his normal 4 days rest, then would be available to pitch game 2 on Wednesday on 4 days rest again. What am I missing?

Great perspective - agree I would take Wheeler over Maeda but really like this move the more I read and hear. Here are my thoughts last night when I heard the news: 2019 stats: Maeda/Wheeler WHIP 1.07 / 1.26 Avg.202/.258 ERA4.04 /3.96 2020 Salary$3-10MM/ $21.5MM I like the trade and even more what it says about our front office balancing win now with sustainable roster. Seems like great value for the money over the next four years.

2019 stats: Maeda / Wheeler WHIP 1.07 / 1.26 Avg .202 / .258 ERA 4.04 / 3.96 2020 Salary $3-10MM / $21.5MM I like the trade and even more what it says about our front office balancing win now with sustainable roster. Seems like great value for the money over the next four years.

What do you think of having Graterol paired with Odorizzi for every start? Have Jake start the game and go his normal 5-6 innings (or two times through the batting order) and then bring in Brusdar for 3-4 innings or at least one time through the batting order. This protects Jake as he seems to struggle that third time through and gives Brusdar a starter like schedule with reduced workload. This would also limit your bullpen use during this one out of every five games. You could then move Brusdar into a starter role if needed due to injury, etc. Not your true opener model, but something I would like to see the Twins try. Curious if there are any analytics showing differences in performance of a pitcher following certain types of pitchers - is Jake the best to pair Brusdar with or would there be a better contrast on the staff to have him follow? Also thinking this may protect Jake for the full year as well limiting his pitch count to 70-80 max per start.

Is ti just me, or did Polanco seem tired this past week? I am a huge fan of his, but have noticed in the field he seems to be just missing grounders, made a few errors this month already but more concerned with the plays he is not getting to. Was glad to see him get a day off yesterday, We will need him to return to form. Thoughts?

19-10 Best record in the majors tonight, I think I will focus on that stat alone for the next 24 hours, great job rotation!

The Twins have the fewest losses in the majors so far this year. Let that sink in a moment, bring back the Lite Happy Music......

Wondering if 2019 will be the year of the "shared starter" role. The Opener role seems to be catching on. I would love to see the Twins pair two starters, lefty righty or pitchers with two different styles / speeds where they routinely go 4 innings / 60 pitches max and then always go to the other starter for the next 4 innings / 60 pitches. I understand that would take 10 roster spots for all five starts in the rotation but could see a team do this with 8 starters and a 3 day rest rotation or just do this for your 5th/6th starters always paired together.