obtusebanter

I've been camping with my kids back to Minneapolis (Black Hills) and will be camping back to Denver in a week (Lake Scott). That's different from a ballgame though. It has been curious to engage with different states. We socially distance and use masks. Different places take it different ways. It's been a trip.

Me and my Ma was trying to predict what the three divisions would look like should this short season happen. And we nailed it. Except ... the Pirates are to be in the East and the Braves are to be in the Central? WTF? If they gonna mix things up why prevent Pittsburgh and Cleveland from having a nice little one year rivalry in baseball? I used to live in Pittsburgh. I know for a fact that Pirates fans would revel in the opportunity to derail a good year for the Tribe. Those games at PNC Park would be electric. Ain't no one in the Midwest clamoring for shots at the Braves in the regular season. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlbs-possible-three-division-monte/

I was trying to find that Don Baylor slide from game 7 in '87 for contrast (Baylor was safe! Steve Lake cradled that ball up against his chest! That tag was pure garbage). But alas... I did find that lone home run though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGqlEL54hr8

Mark Salas blocked the heck outta that plate. https://twitter.com/MNTwinsZealot/status/1246511424828067842

I like that CSW too. Looking at Maeda by CSW per pitch over his four seasons was pretty revealing too. His change-up wasn't worth a darn his rookie year but he excelled with a good fastball and great slider. Still didn't have a change-up in 2017 but his fastball wasn't getting results either and that slider was his only plus pitch. Found his change-up in 2018 but the fastball was still garbage and, well, the slider is always great. Got the fastball back in 2019 but the change-up fell off again. Maybe 2020 is when he puts it all three pitches together...

I always think of Torii Hunter in these situations. He didn't put up stats until he was 22.

I got two kids. Sometimes they like to help me cook dinner. I let them stir the pot. No harm. No foul.

I've always wished someone would do the work to compile a fielding WPA. Maybe someone is? If they are, I haven't found it. A lot of gray area to navigate but it's at least conceivable.

This is all true but also touches on a point that has yet to be discussed. Namely, the minor leagues are not functional without real ballplayers. Prospects cannot develop without such a system in place. Scrubs are necessary. The very lucrative industry of Baseball has available the wealth to spread to whom the industry relies upon.

Aye. Eff it. Okay. 1) Where are you from? Northeast Minneapolis. 2) Age? 35 3) What brought you to Twins Daily? I first interacted with the Twins' commentariat about a decade ago at the old strib blogs. I took a hiatus during the doldrums. Started looking for a place to talk now that they good again. 4) Highest level of baseball/softball played? High school. American Legion. Minneapolis Edison. I was a soft tossing RHP, played 3B when I wasn't on the mound, and could put the ball over the fence when I was lucky enough to get served a meatball. 5) Favorite Twins Player, and favorite underappreciated Twins player, and if you want, favorite current Twins player? Jeff Reboulet, Brad Radke, Miguel Sanó. 6) Favorite non-Twins Daily site/authors? Michael Rand, Betsy Helfand, Do-Hyoung Park (this will become dated). 7) Favorite Twitter follows? @cjzero and @PitchingNinja 8) Other interest outside of baseball? All kinda stuff. 9) Favorite part of Twins Daily... Having a well-run website wherein I can cheer for my team. 10) Tell us what we can do better. What features or other topics would you like to see in-season or out of season? Stay humble. 11) Have you been to any of the Twins Daily "events?" Not yet.

This is going big. Graterol in the pen is a luxury. Homer Bailey (not to mention the quad-a fellas) should now just be depth once Pineda and Hill join the rotation. Berrios / Odorizzi / Maeda / Pineda / Hill are all feasible post-season starters. We'll see who stays healthy and proves worthy. Big upgrade.

I'm in Denver. This sounds fun!

Having Bailey signed for a year beats having Gibby signed for three. This lineup is gonna mash Donaldson or not. Last year proved it. It's not hard to remain optimistic going forward. The big picture is still bright. All that said, the risk aversion still drives me nuts. I sure hope an impact arm can be won come the trade deadline. Fair value (much less an overpay) is apparently anathema. This FO only sees the forest when felling that sequoia is all that matters.

That's my best guess. This particular ballclub is too good to be that risk averse. It's criminal. Ryu could have been had.

I'm of the opinion that running back the roster from last year, which our squad has done thus far, is a fine strategy. I mean, they won 101 games! That said, winning another 101 games with the same squad in 2020 is optimistic. 90+ wins is realistic and that means its a d*mn good ballclub. And having a d*mn good ballclub is the time to roll the dice on getting an ace. I'd hope the FO is haggling in the range of 4/90. edit: Why must the double-space truncate the text? *shakes fist*

Every arm blows out eventually. Ryu's went around 1500 professional innings and it's since been maintenanced and proven to run well upon repair. Bumgarner has been a workhorse for 2000 professional innings. That connective tissue gonna fray at some point. I hope and pray last year's NL Cy Young runner-up gets paid enough to lead this staff even if there is significant risk on the back-end of the contract. Ryu is an ace.

So lets say the Saints became the AAA affiliate (given, perhaps, a financial incentive). Would that not make shuttling pitchers from the 40-man roster back and forth a bit more convenient? The article below comes to mind. http://www.startribune.com/twins-class-aaa-rochester-pitchers-know-the-6-44-a-m-delta-flight-to-msp-well/533395872/

...Ahem... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceR0JpLgvk

From the Baseball America article: "The proposal even suggests a pair of independent league clubs—in St. Paul, Minn., and Sugar Land, Texas—would be brought into affiliated ball." For whom might the Saints become an affiliate? There is an obvious candidate.

As much as I'd like to monitor this spring training exercise, I gotta bounce. My daughter got basketball games this afternoon. Take care y'all. Go Twins!

If one were arguing from stats sure. I think the eyeball test suffices in this instance. Gibson's inclusion would be a feel-good story and dead weight on the roster. Can't do it.

If he belongs on the post-season roster. I'd say this outing would doom that prospect.

Are you talking about the 10 scoreless innings he tossed against the Giants in 2012? He deserved that win but Antonio Bastardo and his O let him down in that one.

Real curious to see how many innings Gibson eats.

That Jesse Jefferson shutout is a fun one too because Jesse Jefferson was garbage and matched up with Mike Norris in his only good, shoulda been Cy Young campaign. Those two dueled into the 11th tied 0-0 and both threw complete games.