Joey Self

Yes, from the small sample size of the lowlights, it appeared to me that Sanchez either hadn't been taught how to get his body in front of the ball, or decided not to do it and count on his bat to get him a good contract. The mechanics can be worked on IF he's willing to do it. JcS

The baseball card triple crown is interesting, but batting average is not as telling as on-base percentage and RBIs are one of the most overrated stats in baseball. So, I don't really care one way or the other. JcS

Ahhhh, that's different. Thanks! JcS

Right. So Trout should have been forced at second. Donaldson didn't catch the ball. I went to the Angels telecast this morning, and they also said an infield fly was called. The home plate ump looked like he made the hand gesture that the ball was dropped as it was being transferred, but that clearly didn't happen. JcS

My point is that it wasn't an "infield fly" by the definition of the rule. There was only one man on base. A runner on first can be forced at second; the batter has to hustle down the line to make sure it isn't a double play.

Anyone figured out yet why an infield fly was called in the 6th inning with only Trout on first? Donaldson made a great play in not catching the ball, and forcing Trout at 2nd. I looked up the rule at https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf on page 149, it says: "An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule." I've known since Little League that there had to be runners at 1st and 2nd or the bases loaded for a ball to be an infield fly. The ump that called it needs to be instructed on that--AGAIN. JcS

I'll be so glad when the electronic strike zone is implemented. Until then, having a catcher that can "steal strikes/fool the umpire" is important to a pitching staff. Any idea what the final numbers were for Twins' catchers? The tweet was August 22. JcS

I agree with this, especially having Kepler as a leadoff hitter. I don't remember exactly the number, but it's something like the leadoff hitter will get 18 more at bats every year than the #2 hitter, and so on down the line. I want a lineup where the guy that get on base the most hits first, the second most hits second, etc. I'd make some allowances for speed (i.e. if it were Cruz then Buxton, I'd flip them to keep Cruz from clogging the bases in front of Buxton), and to mix up the righty/lefty hitters to make it harder for relievers under the 3-batter rule, but by and large, I want the guy that reaches base the most frequently in the batter's box the most often. JcS

The save may be the most worthless stat in the major leagues, right up there with the RBI and the win. Pitchers should be used based on the situation, not the inning.

That is a wonderful analogy. Except I don't want him thrown out on the bases at the % that Henderson was. Still, speed with demonstrations of power often enough to make the outfield play back would be nice. JcS JcS

[i wrote this for another Twins site in 2016--different hitting coach than who the Twins have now, but otherwise, I still think there is merit to it.] "I start this by saying I know Tom Brunansky knows more about hitting in general than I do, and he knows more about the specifics of a given player than I ever will. There may be a good reason why what follows wouldn’t work for a particular Twins player. Look at this line: .231/.274/.299. This player was when he was 26 years old. That year, he had 351 plate appearances, with a BAbip of .248, striking out 28 times. At the conclusion of that season, he had over 1000 career PA. And then this one, the very next year by the same player: .342/.373/.421 with a new team. He had 578 PA. His BAbip was .368 with 44 strikeouts. Who made this amazing jump 50 years ago? Matty Alou. Leaving the Giants in 1965 to go the Pirates, his approach to hitting was changed by Harry Walker. (I note the rate of strikeouts was a bit higher the second year--maybe as a result of pitchers being a bit more careful with him, more breaking balls, etc. I readily admit, I don't know if the strikeouts were early in the season when he was learning the new approach to hitting.) I post this for thoughts from those of us that can remember Alou in his prime, and ask if Buxton might need to get a heavier bat and stop swinging so hard." In 2021, I think I'd prefer to see Buxton reach first twice in a game instead of touching all four bases with one swing every few days. JcS

That's the one I thought of immediately. And I understood it, because the Twins weren't in contention. First time I heard of it was with Kris Bryant, and I thought "short term gain, but long term pain for the Cubs--he'll leave as soon as he can."

The save is among the most worthless stats in baseball, ranking right up there with the RBI and the Win. I'm glad Baldelli doesn't subscribe to the "one guy is a closer" line. Use the best pitcher in the situation where he can do the most good, and don't worry about who gets the "save."

I hope the Twins don't think like this. I don't like the idea of a "closer" when the game may be lost by the set-up men. I want to see the best pitcher against the best hitters whichever of the last three innings they come up. The matchups for an inning is more important than the inning itself. JcS

As a Twins fan, I'm glad Lindor is gone. As a guy that watched a lot of Twins/Indians games, I'm going to miss watching him play. Easily one of my top 10 favorite non-Twins. JcS

I'm in Arkansas, and have Roku with the MLB Extra Inning package. I only miss Twins games when they play Houston, Texas, Kansas City and St. Louis. The Houston ban is goofy. It's 7:40 from my house to the stadium in Houston according to Google Maps, but I guess since South Arkansas is closer, the whole state gets put under the ban. St. Louis is 6 1/2 hours, but I get why Arkansas is included; even though the Rangers and Royals are closer for a lot of us, this is Cardinal country. EDIT: I just looked, and Oklahoma seems to have the same teams under the blackout; that doesn't make sense that West Memphis (extreme eastern part of Arkansas) and Tulsa have the same restrictions. I can--and do--watch the games an hour and a half after they are completed. If I make it to the next morning without hearing the score, I watch it like I do any other--with my finger on the advance button. JcS

Any sentence that has "trade Arraez" is one I don't like, unless preceded by "The Twins won't trade Arraez." Then it is a good one. Unless some other teams goes brain dead and offers Mike Trout-like quality, then the Twins should at least listen... JcS

Arraez has to be factored into the equation. Where is he going to play, because I've seen enough to know that he needs to be in the lineup. JcS

I have to agree with those that say that it appears to be a slight advantage to the Twins so far. But I write not to echo others but rather to say that I enjoy these kinds of pieces. Good work. JcS

As a Twins fan, I'm more concerned about the Hinch hiring than I am that of LaRussa. The latter makes no sense to me, either from a baseball or a PR perspective. The former has its obvious (Glad) baggage, but Hinch understands the modern game. JcS

That's not the point of bunting for a hit; the idea is to punish a defense for shifting. Get a runner on and then have a long ball, it hurts twice as much. After all, the mission of the hitter is to reach base (or in the contra: Not make an out). JcS

Amen to the second one. A guy doesn't swing, and has to step out to adjust his gloves? Makes no sense. JcS

No, there should be no such rule. Teams can start bunting for hits to beat the shift when they want to. Want to increase the pace of play? Start using the electronic strike zone. I'm not listening to "it's not perfect yet" arguments; the criteria should be "is it better and more consistent than what we have now?" and when the answer is "yes, it is," start uing it. Hitters will go to the plate knowing what the strike zone is from the first pitch--and pitchers will also know. There will be more balls in play, because pitchers won't be able to rely on a catcher "framing" the pitch to fool the human eye, and will have to bring the ball over the plate. More strikes means more hitting.

I wondered the same thing. JcS

Exactly--find the right spot in the order to bring him in. The idea of a "closer" is bad thinking to start with.