bunt_vs_the_shift

I'm a big Polanco guy. In spite of some defensive limitations, I feel he's brought a lot of value at SS and given us offensive production from a spot that the Twins have rarely gotten it from. Along with Schoop (who has delivered surprising results and has my vote as the team "glue guy"), the middle of the infield has been great this year.

I am speechless... Does our analytics department know how to build pitching? And if so, can they build some more bullpen arms?

Great game and the best April we've had in a long time. Nothing wrong with enjoying a great W, but there's a lot of season left... Now to keep our head down and continue stacking months like this we'll be playing some October baseball!

Are we going to gloss over 2011-2013 and pretend that never happened? Kevin Correia, Jason Marquis and Clete Thomas beg to differ... I'm not ready to talk about 2016 (too soon)

My dad took me to my first game at the Dome in 1986 when I was in 3rd grade. We were driving up from Duluth and he got a speeding ticket, so we were late. I'm pretty sure they got crushed, but I remember that Ron Washington hit a home run and between that and "Walks will Haunt" on the jumbotron, I thought it was the greatest thing I've ever seen. The next year I was all in on the Twins and I listened to almost every game on the radio before I went to bed (didn't have cable, so I got to listen to Herb Carneal and Gordo). So, as a 10 year old, my first emotionally invested season as a Twins fan, we won the World Series. I thought it was going to happen every year after that, but sadly I had to wait 4 more long years for their next championship... it's depressing that it's been 28 years since. Aside from Kirby, I always liked Gladden for his scrappiness, Hrbek as the steady big guy and Viola, Berenguer and Scott Erickson for their style on the mound.

How 'bout some love for Polanco? He doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, which is probably why it seems like he can get overlooked, but he's just flat out smooth and he can get Rosario-like hot at the plate. I always felt like he was the key guy a couple years ago when we went on our run and chased down the wildcard and also a big part of what was missing last year when he got suspended. But PEDs aside (and yes, I realize that may factor into his public image), I just love how he just consistently makes plays day in and day out and he's the same age as Buxton (25)!

I'm a believer in body language, so the body language comment on May is interesting. I haven't noticed any poor body language stand out, but I haven't been looking either. I also didn't see the game yesterday, so I'm curious how he looked in his scoreless inning and whether/how much that differed from the following inning given the results? This is going to be on my radar looking forward and I really hope he can figure it out, because we're going to need guys like May to step up! As a separate observation, I love the Ryne Harper story, but Jack Morris was commenting the other night on how he's got very little margin with his fastball and this seems spot on. As good as his array of curveballs look, I think Jack's take is on point. I'll be pulling for him and I'd love for Harper to be Matt Guerrier 2.0, but he's going to have to stay effective with some other pitches to do so.

I know it's fun to play armchair manager when we lose, because that's what we do, but the fact is that in spite of all of the levers Rocco pulled or didn't pull, we just didn't execute. We are going to need more than what we got from Gibby and the bullpen is our weakest piece, but in the 9th we're down 1 run with a guy on 1st and nobody out... Cron can't move him to 2nd with his force out and we waste the pinch runner, then Garver can't even put it in play... Buxton came up with a clutch hit, but Toronto executed - we didn't. And we had plenty of chances, which is frustrating. The silver lining is that we've got some fight to us, but we can't let the margin for error get to this point.

It was definitely a dump at the end of its run, but it was our dump and it was a distinct home field advantage for both the Twins and Vikings... Plus, as a kid I always liked that you could get major "air" by jumping as you left the Metrodome. That said, I'll take Target Field and its ambiance over the predictability of the Dome

A lot of good topics here, but we're 1 week in and I just want to see how many times I can force "our first place Minnesota Twins" into my various random work conversations today. Who knows how long it will last, but we've got the right combination of circumstances with a down division, a little depth and maybe even a little pitching...

This pretty well summarizes how I've been thinking through this. Castro's D definitely has value, but even with Tom's awesome pitch-framing graphics, there are a lot of intangibles at work and it is hard for me to quantify overall defensive contributions from one catcher to another (and having never played catcher, it's a tougher read for me than other positions). Offensively, with Astudillo eclipsing 100 ABs, it sure looks like his bat can play at more than just catcher but if he can catch, he adds a lot of value offensively to the lineup. Defensively, he doesn't seem out of place - or at least he doesn't look any worse than Garver to me and IMO he actually appears to be the most athletic of the 3, which in theory should give him the most upside to improve there if he gets enough reps. I'm excited to let this play out a little more and see what we have!

Really great breakdown. Makes me rethink how I look at Castro and his contributions! (I still don't want him at bat in a tough spot, but I definitely want him behind the plate handling our staff!)...

In looking at baseball reference, Castro's career OPS as a Twin is .681... but beyond analytics, he just never seems to do the little things offensively like advancing runners, putting the ball in play with a guy on 3rd, or let alone coming through with a big hit. So, his offense doesn't do much for me and I'm hoping he can make an impact behind the plate like it sounds like he did yesterday

I was game-casting from work, so I didn't actually see the game. Are you being serious or sarcastic with Castro and his pitch framing? I haven't been a big Castro guy on account of his miserable offense, but I do think he is solid on D and handled the staff pretty well during 2017. If Buxton hits and our new additions produce, this is the exact kind of lineup where we could hide a good defensive catcher who is generally a liability with the bat...

That. Was... Awesome. Great article

I think Vegas hit the nail on the head with 84.5 wins... I feel like they'll be better this year, but they still have some deficiencies, especially on the pitching side of things. They're just not quite there yet. In addition, a lot of things need to break right for any team to make the playoffs and even aside from pitching, there are too many questions with Sano, Buxton and now Polanco... I think this is a "see where we're at year" for the FO and if they show signs of improvement they'll start to spend more $ to shore up the roster

X2 on this. You've got to love the "guy who wasn't supposed to be here" getting a shot. For whatever the reason, they don't fit the profile for what a professional should be and yet they persevere in spite of it. Sometimes they're drafted in the 37th round and sometimes they may bare a slight resemblance to younger, distant cousin of Bartolo Colon... Either way, I'll be pulling for Harper and Astudillo

My kinda team, Charlie... My kinda team

I'll throw my hat in the ring on Austin. The power he has doesn't come around every day and he's exactly the type of guy that we should turn into a "project", similar to a big guy with potential on a basketball team. I'm sure we're trying some things, but why can't we spend some time on him and deploy our new technology towards fixing some of his issues? Small sample size (and I acknowledge the 42 SO as something needing to be addressed by the technology referenced above) but 9 HR in 35 games is hard to ignore...

Buxton has always seemed like a decent, humble guy, but this year he definitely seems like he's got an edge to him, which is refreshing to me. Up to this point, I think he's felt the need to live up to his prospect hype, but after last September it seems like he's shifted into "I'll show you" mode and is showing some fire, which is a mindset that some people need to have to be productive. In a perfect world, if he could parlay some early success into a true leadership role, it would be transformative for this team. I know the Torii comparison has been made and I don't know how fair that is, but how great would it be to see a world where Buxton takes exception to getting thrown at and chucks the ball back at Danys Baez? I'm not advocating for brawling just to brawl, but I am advocating for Buxton standing up for himself and finally being the guy he can become.

In my 30 years as a Twins fan, it's hard to think of another player like Rosario that I've done such a 180 on. He's dramatically reduced the cringe-worthy defensive lapses and improved his pitch selection at the plate. On top of that, the way he consistently barrels up pitches when he does swing outside the zone is reminiscent of Kirby back in the day. He's gone from a guy who would drive me crazy to one of my favorite guys to watch and someone who will only occasionally drive me crazy... That said, the Minnesotan in me just automatically thinks about the possibility of injury. if he did have to miss any significant time, what kind of does anyone know if Kiriloff plays any LF? Who knows where Gonzalez may be needed and Cave seems like a decent backup, but not someone I'd want to give extended run to if it can be helped.

Lower achilles sounds scary. As a past critic, I do feel bad for Sano. By all accounts he committed himself to the process this offseason and I really felt like he was going to come in with a chip on his shoulder and start to play to his potential, so let's hope this is just a minor setback. Sure would be nice to have that Escobar guy to just step in and be productive... Go get em Marwin! (and of course, Astudillo)

Is there skill required to drop a bunt down? Yes. Is there skill required to take a walk? Usually. Is the same skill level required to drop a bunt down vs. a normal alignment as with a shift when you have the entire left side of the infield open? Of course not. It is considerably less difficult to push a ball to the left side when no one is playing 3rd or even short sometimes. If you put it in play and don't pop it up near the pitcher or catcher it's a hit. But let's take your premise. Yes, you give up the opportunity for that extra base. You are trading that for extending the inning for your team and giving the next batter an opportunity, just as with a walk. I believe that even a player who bunts infrequently should be able to get down 1 of 2 successfully (and yes, I believe against a pronounced shift, that means it's a hit), but for argument's sake, let's say it's 1 of 3. You asked, who would I like to see do this for the Twins? The answer depends on the context of the game (the inning, score, etc.) but if I'm using a 1 of 3 success rate as the number, I believe only Mauer and Escobar had a higher OBP than .333 of the starters. I'm not saying I want Sano to start laying down bunts, but rally killers like Castro when they're shifting? Guys who are scuffling, especially if they have a little speed? Yes. It's the same concept as a slump-busting bloop or a seeing eye single and I would argue that any sort of hit has a psychological impact on the confidence of the hitter, so you have an intangible value there, not to mention how it frustrates the opponent. Finally, if this were done more consistently within those parameters do I think teams will adjust their alignment? Yes.

I'm sure this is shocking given the handle, but I agree. I don't understand why a walk is considered a win when it comes to getting on base, but a bunt is somehow a lesser achievement. Not only did it require more skill, but as mentioned, it also plays with the psyche of your opponent. I'ts simply adjusting to the adjustment of the defensive alignment. Even showing them that you'll do it once or twice a game could open up the field for your more standard approach. There's obvious context you would have to apply in terms of who is on base and when you would do this, but why would you swing the bat when they are in essence, giving you an intentional walk? The fact that there's reduced defensive emphasis on it should only make it more effective.

What is the ceiling for Astudillo as a catcher? From an entertainment factor alone, I'd like to see more Astudillo at the park, but I don't know if he brings enough defensively to be a backup to the backup if Garver gets hurt