Muppet

There are times when they don't steal that make no sense... like when there are two outs and Arraez (who until recently is unlikely to hit anything but a single) is up. Get the guy on second and give Arraez the chance for an RBI. If they guy is caught stealing, Arraez leads off the next inning. But in a lot of cases... with Buxton at least, I think they assume a good hit can score him from first. So there is no sense in risking his knees or getting him out at second.

This stat would be more useful with a time scale. I feel like they have picked up on driving in their runs over the pat dozen or so games compared to early in the season.

I'd let go of Gordon. He's good enough to get consistent playing time with a team who needs his skills. If they aren't able to trade him, they should let another team grab him.

Is that the strategy where a pitcher starts, gives up 6 or 7 runs in the first inning or two, then gives way to a tired AAA bullpen? I think they should stop that strategy.

Furthermore, in most instances the Twins have shown that they are far more likely to score zero runs in these situations.

Remember Sano is going to come back at some point too. Think any other teams out there have a need for a poor defending 1B/DH who can't hit and has a history of behavior problems?

Stashak hasn't been bad. He's had 2 bad games in blowout losses, one of which he ate almost 3 innings. Other than that, he's been fine... even good. Too bad.

Oof. Gonna be a tough one. At least every inning Cole Sands pitches is an inning that Duffy doesn't pitch. Right?

Is it too soon to declare this team a pumpkin?

Oh good. I was hoping Duffy would get the chance to add another loss to his record.

I like to see them adapting to the game in real time. My guess (without having actual experience) is that base stealing and the running game take extra time to learn how to master so they've spent their time practicing other things, like beating the shift, etc... I have seen instances this year where it didn't make sense NOT to attempt a steal. When being throwing out is not the worst outcome. Like when you are on first, there are 2 outs, and the next 2 guys on deck are both hitting around .200. In the particular instance I am thinking of (can't remember who it was) the batter got a hit that would have driven in the runner from second. Instead of a run generated, the next guy got out. I also see people jogging back to first when the pitcher throws over indicating that he didn't have nearly a large enough lead. You don't need to actually steal the base to be effective. You can induce pitchouts, advance on the occasional bad throw to first, throw off the pitcher's (and sometimes the hitter's) concentration. I think for a team like the Twins to succeed, they have to play all of the small games within the game well. That's how they will beat the teams that have more raw talent. They're doing a pretty good job this year with defense, working counts, using the whole field, experimenting with their RP usage (which is risky and maybe not a long term thing, but things are going well so far). I hope they start working on other tricks soon as well. It's a fun season so far.

Meh. The opposition wasn’t that strong, but Duffy seemed to do ok. Can’t argue with a couple strikeouts and easy work if Schoop. Maybe he’ll end up pitching well soon.

I’d be interested to see them try this for awhile considering almost half of buxton’s hits are homers. But it is also equally as likely that what might end up a Buxton triple ends up with him at first and Arraez at second.

"Donaldson allegedly called Anderson "Jackie," a reference to Jackie Robinson, that he thought was an inside joke between the two players." Donaldson didn't think this was an inside joke. And I'm a bit disgusted at the media reports that gave him inches of space allowing him to make this allegation. Donaldson and Anderson aren't friends. They don't joke around. Dondaldson is attempting to gaslight the press into thinking that this is just on-field chatter and not blatant racist harassment. The Twins would have been better off without him ever playing on the team. They might not have been good last year, but I'd be willing to bet they'd be a lot better than they were. Who hasn't experienced a toxic work or school environment at least once in their lives? You know what that does to your morale. He probably had one or two other sidekicks egging him on too. Combine that with a losing record, these guys were probably just hoping for the season to end faster, or that they'd get traded. The Yankees can keep him. Better yet, they could just DFA him. They'd probably be a better team.

Absolutely. The only thing that has been constant in the playoffs is the Twins losing, usually at the hands of the Yankees. But really, anything can and does happen in the playoffs/WS. Long shot wild card teams take it all, people get injured, previously unheard of nobodies make clutch game winning plays, superstars miss games after getting in drunken fights after the games... Anything can and does happen.

Notice how runners coming to third haven’t been sent home to their inevitable doom lately?

I bet everyone else plays better when he is not in the team.

I recently watched an old game. It was game 1 of the 1987 nlcs. Cardinals and Giants. Danny Cox pitched for the cardinals. By the 8th inning the cardinals were up 5-0. Though they had a full relief staff, including closer stud Todd Worell, should they need him, Cox came out to finish the game. Probably threw 500-600 pitches. (Or 130-160… something in there). If I remember correctly, they might have said this was all on 3 days rest. Not worried a lick about the next game-possibly a clencher, or his arm in the WS. I know it is a different game now. But man… they sure did have different priorities.

I like to think of them as a team that has a lot of room to improve. They have all season for the rookies to learn, everyone to get in their grooves and get hot, and to learn from all the mistakes they'll make. Do teams like the Yankees and Dodgers really have anywhere up to go from where they are? Come August and September hopefully the pitchers will be dominating for 7 innings, Buxton will look like a superstar, Larnach, Royce, Miranda, Ryan, and Winder will be untouchable and they can make this happen. If not... oh well. It's only baseball.

Ok. Who had Urshela as the pick to click?

Polanco is never any good until July when he starts hitting .450 with a hr every 6 abs.

Maybe he’s been listening to Arraez and has learned how to hit the ball where the people aren’t standing. It might not be sustainable, but baseball is a game of streaks and they should ride this one as long as they can.

Who is this Trevor McGill guy? Maybe see him today? He can get 3ks and they'll send him back down.

From what I gather on the radio Kepler was actually trying to steal second base... leading to a passed ball? People are bunting (or at least trying)? There are sac bunts and sac flies? What is happening to this team? I guess this is how you win when your stars can no longer hit.

By the time he's done he might be as infamous as well.