jbissell

I watch baseball for 2 reasons. 70% of my enjoyment comes from cheering for my favorite team, and 30% comes from following individual stars from all teams in their quest for legendary status. Shortening the season takes a large part of my enjoyment of the game away from me, and I would be vehemently opposed to it.

With the stuff Im hearing such as recommendations of no concerts until the Fall of 2021, if something cant be figured out this year, it might be wise to start praying that they'll be baseball in 2021.

Fair enough on the rules and precedent of gambling. However, Pete Rose is banned for life. Bregman and Altuve (And whomever else) are not suffering any tangible consequences. I just dont understand how they'll suffer nothing other than Booing at away games.

I feel really sorry for Pete Rose. What he did was far less, and impacted far fewer people than what the Astros players did. Pete Rose is banned for life from baseball, and Altuve and Bregman are continuing to get paid and play. That is major injustice IMO.

In yet another sign that Twitter is essentially a sewer, Scott Brosius's son tried to be a bomb thrower yesterday and stoke the flames by stating that Mike Trout was using steroids. He then deleted the Tweet or his account...I dont remember, but this cheating is a major mess that MLB needs to fix! Anyone want to buy a 2011 Topps Update Jose Altuve RC for a dime? :-(

I think it would be a bit naive to think the Twins have not been the victims of this kind of cheating. Its highly possible the Yankees have been cheating their arses off while waxing the Twins each and every time they played each other...

Fun article! Thanks!

I hate the idea of robot umpires, but I am fully aware its inevitable. It sterilizes the game in my opinion. I also hate "juiced" baseballs, but again, Im in the minority, and one of those fuddy duddy purists. I think it'll be funny when fans boo a marginal ball or strike call from a computer.

I think the article was well written. All I'll say is that Id rather that the Twins not suddenly have a reputation of having a bunch of starters who have been busted for banned drugs in a high profile way. It makes an organization look bad. Didnt someone from Cleveland take a shot at Polanco this past weekend? Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, and Clemens really soured me on baseball for awhile. Just my opinion. Like I said....it was a well written and interesting article.

Man, what a disappointing year for Royce Lewis. He'll certainly have something to prove in 2020.

Good article. However, if the bat flips from dingers end up being mere feet from the pitcher, there will absolutely be a beanball war.

Seriously! Its amazing how far Buxton has come to the point where we are on pins and needles about his lineup status now. What an awesome turnaround for the kid! Buxton WILL be an All Star in 2018. Im calling it now!

Just saw on the Star Tribune that the injury is a bone contusion and that Buxton is available off the bench! Thank God!! What a freakin relief! I feel like I could do a cartwheel in the office right now!

Am really really hoping Buxton's injury isnt serious. A lineup without Buxton right now has a huge hole in it! Plus, its been an absolute joy watching him become a star these past several weeks!

It would not surprise me if this game gets delayed or postponed. The weather forecast is looking ugly.

I stand corrected. Must have confused him with Morneau.

I remember Joe Mauer in one Home Run Derby, but Im pretty sure he did not scuffle.

Excellent article. Buxton is my favorite player on the team based on what I think he'll end up becoming, and how exciting he currently is to watch despite his offensive struggles. It does appear his K rate has gone way down at least.

So, am I seeing correctly that in the last 7 games, Joe Mauer, is hitting .545 with an OPS of 1.734 and Max Kepler is batting .478 in the same stretch with a 1.730 OPS? Thats insane, and I hope the good times keep rolling through at least 8-13, which is when I have tickets to watch them play the Royals. Hopefully Buxton is back by then as well.

I still think Buxton is a future all-star, and already pretty much is defensively (He needs to stop smashing into walls so much, but thats for another thread) I am seeing offensive improvement and am especially encouraged by the dropping strikeout rate. The media did him no favors with the early comparisons to Mike Trout. Mike Trout could easily end up one of the top 10 players of all time! No wonder people are so impatient with Buxton.

He did the bat flipping equivalent of going up to the Texas Rangers collective faces and saying "In your effing faces!" In my opinion, its human nature to recoil at something like that, especially in a playoff atmosphere. Im not condoning what Odor did, but it doesnt surprise me in the least that Odor did it, and it wont be the last time it happens in baseball in general.

That bat flip in the playoffs last year is going to stick in the Ranger's players and fans heads for life! Showboating to that extreme is a relatively recent phenomenon that is trending upwards in frequency, and we should be expecting these types of fights more in the future. If Texas was the home team in that playoff game, the fight would have already taken place at that game. And yes, I would not have put it past Bautista to do that bat flip in front of the Rangers fans.

Before that Triple by Mauer, his OPS was 1.021. I know its extremely early in the season, but Joe is off to an awfully good start!

Buxton is not hitting worth a darn, but the rest of the team other than Mauer is equally horrendous! Since Buxton is not the reason the team is 0-8, and since he's still an asset defensively, I dont think its a good idea to send him to AAA. I agree with others here. Let him take his lumps against big league pitching.

Man, that was a beautiful catch by Buxton! I have to wonder if he had begun his dive about 3-4 inches closer to the wall, would we be looking at a lengthy time on the DL with a neck injury?