SkyBlueWaters

Regarding the small footprint of the ballpark, I'm always impressed by the wide and open concourses. Great job, architects! And anything that keeps my wife happy with going is a plus. Several years ago, they had an Indian concession and she still talks about the biriyani and naan as one of the best ballpark food experiences of her life. Sadly, when we went last year it was gone. I'm still a beer & sausage kinda guy, but when in a mixed marriage with a vegetarian you appreciate what keeps her jazzed about going to the ballpark.

I agree with you that it isn't a crisis mostly due to the bizarre schedule & situation we are entering. Two thirds of our games will be against KC, DET, CHW & CLE. Maybe the Tribe remains competitive, maybe the Chisox pull it together and contend, and maybe the pundits will be right when they say the Twins have the most patty-cake schedule in all of MLB, in a sprint, not a marathon. Even the Brewers, Cards, Cubs, and maybe Reds will have deeper competition. The coastal teams/media/fans whose teams have to face the Dodgers, Astros, Yankees, Rays, Braves, Nats, Phils, etc., are going to have a legitimate gripe when it comes time to weight the playoffs based on these records. So I agree that not having Pineda for roughly 2/3rds of the season isn't a terrible crisis. What's fascinating is how this plays out, including the new restrictions on replacing relievers. Quality depth in pitching may well soon matter much more than it usually does. What's a regular season's worth of IP, somewhere between 1400 and 1500 innings, on average? Teams usually need those middle relievers to soak up the long season. Games in extra innings now begin with a runner sprinter on 2nd. Unlikely to have many games going deep into extra innings, which innings stretch out the wear & tear for a single win. I haven't seen the schedules yet, but I heard some talk of doubleheaders. Even more compact. It's just a hunch, but this schedule may place a much higher premium on quality now that the quantity of innings won't happen. Yeah, if we can't dominate the ALC, we won't deserve the playoffs. And a rested Pineda might be a very nice thing this autumn. But aside from the uniqueness of the 2020 schedule, and how it works for the Twins, depth of above average pitching may be a big part of the 2020 MLB sprint to the MLB owners' playoffs *ka-ching* payoff.

Agreed. They match up well against the Royals, Tigers, and Pirates, and also the Reds. (1 game: Homer Bailey's triumphant return?) They could be well over .500 with the other 5 teams. The offense is obviously there. In a short season, depth of pitching works in the Twins favor. The eastern media's story could be that the Twins' record is a fluke. Remember the meme a few months ago that Atlanta would be swapped for Pittsburgh? It would have made the Central corridor more competitive.

If you go to Dodger Stadium, you will see pennants flying for titles won, including 1981. There is no asterisk explaining that the NL team with the best record that strike-shortened year was Cincy (4 games better than LA, 6 games better than Hou), who finished 2nd in both halves but did not make the playoffs. That might qualify that NL season as farcical, but as time passes it gets forgotten. (Except perhaps in southern Ohio.) Similarly, '95 was a strike-shortened season; and the '89 earthquake gave the A's an advantage, using their no. 1 & 2 starters twice. (Only 2 pitchers threw more than 2.2 IP in the series.) The ball is going to be in the air soon. Unexpected players will start hot, stars may struggle, there may be hitting streaks and pitchers taking no hitters deep into games. Key errors will happen, and incredible run-saving catches. Those who care will live in the heat of the moments once again. 9of12, I agree with you to a large extent; I dislike how this has gone down. Farcical might be a bit harsh, however ridiculous the owners' posturing was (I don't believe they ever intended to play more games, thus negotiated in bad faith). And hell yes, grave current events are vastly more important. I totally agree there. So was it a mistake to play baseball during WW2? NFL games the weekend after the JFK assassination? Probably the prior season closest to this is '94, when the poor Expos had a 6 game lead on Atlanta when it ended. We'll see if they make it to the playoffs this time. Rather than strike-shortened, it may be pandemic-shortened. But I lean toward wanting the players to try, to give them a chance. Some careers are short, some are stars only a brief while. Last, if I might take a weak stab at levity, a Twins fan for only 58 seasons? Where were you the other 2?

Knuckleheads on parade. It took them this long, and they won’t start until late July. Sixty game season creates a different dynamic, More compact. Also, apparently they are returning to the days of doubleheaders. Expanded rosters? What happens to minor leaguers? My hunch, and it’s only a hunch, is that we will see greater use of the “opener” strategy, and further break down of the traditional starter followed by relievers approach. With modern medicine, the coaching staff can monitor stress on pitching arms better, maximizing use of their best arms while hoping not to overwork them. Over the course of a six month regular season, with 162 games, teams could get a higher ratio of innings from their best arms. A more compact two-month regular season probably gives an advantage to deeper pitching staffs. So if you have a few stellar pitchers followed by a bunch of average or worse guys, this doesn’t benefit you. If, however, your staff isn’t dominated by aces but is fairly deep in above average pitching, this schedule benefits you. Of course, after the regular season the playoffs await, and that’s when quality like cream rises to the top.

Agreed about the glut, but drafting the best fungible talent makes sense. These days more than ever minor league talent is prized when it's time to make a deal. I'd say I like his chances of making *a* major league roster.

Wonderful news. We could use some good karma.

We needed more offense against Osteen or Drysdale (once each) or Koufax (twice. Yeah, good luck with that). As far as upgrades, I like the idea of either Arraez or Polanco at second. Neither has hit lefties great, however, so Koufax would have remained tough. I like Bob Allison, great Twin, but he didn't have a good series, going 2 for 16 (.125), with a pair of walks, raising his OBP to .222. He homered and doubled, but more hits would have been nice. Maybe adding Max Kepler to the outfield might have added some offense. Beyond that, hoping Buxton's defense and speed might have shut down the Dodgers and added some disruption on the basepaths (take that, Maury Wills) could have been fun to watch.

Yes, in August. I suppose it's a stretch to wonder what the team was capable of had it never happened. Boswell finished '69 in good form, but declined rapidly after that. Carew went down for a stretch in the middle of '70, and I think Tiant missed a couple months, too.

Perhaps the single worst inning of Jim Perry's career came in the first game of the 1970 ALDS. Perry won the Cy Young Award that year, but trailing 3-2 he gave up a grand slam to Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar. I've read that the ball was 10 feet foul before it hit a wall of wind at The Old Met, which "escorted" it down the line and dumped it just over the fence, beyond Tony Oliva's mitt. After winning 10-6, the O's never looked back. Hats off to the Orioles of '66 - '71. One of baseball's finer dynasties. But any team with Kaat, Perry, Blyleven, Boswell, Tiant (yes, Louie Tiant!) Perranoski, Oliva, Killebrew, Allison, Tovar and Rodney Cline Carew ain't too shabby, either. Injuries took a toll (as did an infamous fistfight). But they still went 98-64.

Agreed. But we're okay if a few of those above-average players are named Oliva, Carew, Puckett or Morneau, yeah? (A few others come to mind, as well, but I kept it brief.)

I would dearly love to be wrong about this, but so long as Cole, Verlander, Morton, Giolito, Bieber, et al. are in the league, the odds of a Twin winning the CYA are little better than average, as one out of 15 AL teams. With this lineup in particular, it would be sad to not see them play. But I keep thinking about autumn, and the playoffs, when dominant pitching comes to the fore. As deep and potentially dominating as our lineup is, I'd happily trade some of that for a bit more dominance in the rotation.

" ...with an already scheduled set of negotiations looming on the horizon, CBA talks could once again shelve the sport. ... it doesn’t seem to be the worst idea in turning a focus to the long-term game. If there can be some parameters established for the future of the sport, rather than just the reactionary 2020 version, we could all be better for it." Well put. Very proactive and an excellent idea. Have you ever noticed MLB owners and players to be that cooperative and proactive?

One big wild card in the owners v. players association negotiations is playoff revenue. It's a significant slice of the revenue pie. If a second wave of the virus hits (likely), and if players are infected (who knows?), that could mean canceling the playoffs. Not that I have much sympathy for the billionaire owners, but if they guarantee contracts, and playoff revenue isn't then realized ... Why, some of them might have to shop in the same places I do. (Naw, probably not.) It will be interesting to learn how the negotiations proceed--or fail. You'd think with all the money on the table they could work something out, but it isn't a done deal. I also get the sense the next CBA lurks in the background.

BTW, leadoff hitter Hosken Powell had a hit, two ribbies, and scored a run. John Castino had a double. Mickey Hatcher (in CF) scored a run and had a ribbie. Rob Wilfong and Butch Wynegar both had 2 hits. The only Twin in the lineup slugging over .400 was SS Roy Smalley. But the cavalry was coming. At the end of the year they got 24 games out of 21-year-old Kent Hrbek (up from single-A Visalia) and 22-year-old Gary Gaetti (up from double-A Orlando for 9 games in the bigs). Other call-ups included Tim Laudner, Lenny Faedo, Mark Funderbunk, and Ron Washington.

Great question. The Twins' last game of the '81 first half was June 11. Pete Redfern lost to Dan Petry of the Tigers. The Twins were 17-39, which goes part of the way to explaining the 4,623 in attendance at the old Met. (The day before they drew 5,495.) Not a very long wait for a Hamm's. The two sides reached an agreement on July 31. Negotiations were so acrimonious that Marvin Miller of the players association and owners' negotiator Ray Grebey refused to pose for the usual peacemaking photo. They played an all-star game on August 9th, and on August 10th Roger Erickson beat Rick Langford of the A's 6-2. Jerry Koosman threw 4 innings in relief to get the save in front of 15,414 at the Met. You get the sense that each team got back together, prepared as best they could, their all-stars going to Cleveland for the prelude, then each team traveling as necessary to resume their regular season games the next day.

Remember how teams that wanted to slow Maury Wills down would drench the basepath at first base? How teams with older, veteran infielders might let the infield grass grow a bit longer to slow down ground balls, or would leave the dirt hard at home plate to improve the bounce if they had hitters who can bunt? Those are great *baseball* stories. Baseball doesn't need to be uniform. Don't even get me started on Bill Veeck putting a minor league outfield wall on wheels and moving it in when his team came up to hit ...

Years ago Dusty Baker was asked if he favored the DH. He said he liked it the way it is, pitchers hitting in 1 league, but the DH in the other. Me, too. I wish the Twins had had a shot at Bumgarner this off-season. But he likes hitting, which I believe factored into his staying in the NL. Football is a cookie cutter sport. They have rules for how high you wear your socks. Everything made uniform. In baseball, the outfield walls vary. There's more variety. The individual is emphasized. A guy stand alone in the batters box. Fine for the universal DH in this coronavirus year, but I wish they'd go back to how it was from '73 to 2019 next year. If we're going to change anything, bring on the automated strike zone.

I guess it depends which plan is implemented. The first plan I heard of, which was to use Grapefruit and Cactus League parks, mixing NL & AL teams into divisions of five, called for universal DH. Which of course upset some people. I don't know if the 3 divisions of 10 each format would also include the universal DH. One thing I did like in that initial plan was using computers to call balls and strikes. I'm soo tired of seeing pitches far outside called strikes, or vice versa. Even if the digital strike zone isn't perfect, how could it be worse than what we've endured for years?

I believe MLB is planning what to do if a city has a covid 19 virus outbreak. The players want to be close to their families. Perhaps the driving factor is what to do if all of a team's home games have to be played on the road, due to an outbreak. The plan minimizes travel, particularly for the 10 west teams. Look at Atlanta on a map. Barely closer to Cincy. St. Louis not too much farther away. The two Florida teams would stay with the east. P'burgh is closer, on average, to the eastern teams. For example, in the northeastern 8 teams, look at the longest trip, Pitt to Boston. Now compare Pitt to KC, St. Louis, Twin Cities. I'm not advocating, just trying to see the rationale. Imagine the season begins, and crisis erupts again. Now they are back on the fence, trying to sort out: Do we keep going, or cancel? Perhaps the flexibility to play "home" games nearby (albeit on the road), with TV crews at the ready, in empty ballparks, is a consideration? My personal take: I'd watch it. Apologies to John de Vries' Desperate Housegraphs, but I'm unlikely to become a fan. Women dousing each other with champagne? I'd rather see Kepler & Sano.

I believe MLB is planning what to do if a city has a covid 19 virus outbreak. The players want to be close to their families. Perhaps the driving factor is what to do if all of a team's home games have to be played on the road, due to an outbreak. The plan minimizes travel, particularly for the 10 west teams. Look at Atlanta on a map. Barely closer to Cincy. St. Louis not too much farther away. The two Florida teams would stay with the east. P'burgh is closer, on average, to the eastern teams. For example, in the northeastern 8 teams, look at the longest trip, Pitt to Boston. Now compare Pitt to KC, St. Louis, Twin Cities. I'm not advocating, just trying to see the rationale. Imagine the season begins, and crisis erupts again. Now they are back on the fence, trying to sort out: Do we keep going, or cancel? Perhaps the flexibility to play games nearby, with TV crews at the ready, in empty ballparks, is a consideration? My personal take: I'd watch it. Apologies to John de Vries' Desperate Housegraphs, but I'm unlikely to become a fan. Women dousing each other with champagne? I'd rather see Kepler & Sano.

Great point about the Giants thinking of moving to Minnesota! Had O'Malley not talked Horace Stoneham into becoming the second team to move across the continent (the NL wanted 2 teams, to justify the road trip), Stoneham was looking at Met Stadium, when it was still new and hosted the Millers, as a new home. A number of guys played for both franchises; some might remember Al Worthington as the Twins' closer before saves were a thing. He had a long career as a Giant before the Twins. Some other names that stood out for me: Paul Giel, Wayne Terwilliger, Steve Bedrosian, Juan Berenguer, Billy Gardner, Bull Durham, Rob Wilfong. Denard Span, anyone? If this works, you can see a list, here: How about Boileryard Clarke?

As you had the '24 world series between the NY Giants and the Senators, you might also include the '33 series between the same 2 franchises. Future HOFer Carl Hubbell for the first time wins over 20 games that season, throwing 308 IP. Senators had some hitters who routinely show up in the franchise all-time offense stats, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, and great names like Ossie Bluege and Heinie Manush. Pitching staff was led by General Crowder. Still, Washington lost in 5, taking the fifth game to 10 innings. Player/manager Joe Cronin was managing for the first time and won the pennant, just as rookie manager Bucky Harris had won it in '24. Tom Kelly repeated the trick in '87, when the Twins might have faced SF until the Giants lost the NLCS to St. Louis. One of the few times a player on the losing team won the LCS MVP award, Jeff HacMan Leonard won it amid his one-flap down antics, drawing some love at Busch Stadium. Playing next to HacMan that year was a very talented centerfielder named Charles Theodore Davis, known as Chili. Which was a bit amusing, as he didn't like the cold at Candlestick Park much. Yet Kirby Puckett in the off-season of '91 managed to convince Chili that he'd fit into Minnesota's lineup well, which he did, all the way into October that year. Chili and Hrbek provided the thump behind Kirby, with table-setters like Knobby, Shane Mack, and Danny Gladden. Harper hit well from the catcher position. A deep lineup is a joy to behold, which reminds me ... Don't we have a deep lineup this year? Are we gonna play some games, or what?

How is it South Korea, Germany, China are all able to get enough tests to monitor their people and get on top of this thing, and we are so far behind? My understanding is that Germany is so far out in front of the coronavirus that they take sick patients from other countries to alleviate some of the pressure.

Remember the controversies when MLB-ready prospects are held down in the minors at the start of a season to extend team control? Guys not called up until later in the spring or early summer even though they tore it up in the minors? Might be less of that this year. If wealthy veterans would rather not be quarantined, there could well be some young prospects willing to live ensconced in hotels, knowing that millions will be watching them play on TV.