Willihammer

Mike Trout collected his 1000th hit yesterday. He also turned 26.

This is the double edged sword that is Eddie Rosario's aggressiveness. Love it. Even if he doesn't draw a balk, maybe he gets the pitcher to abandon his offspeed stuff for fear of the PB. That said, all the pitcher had to do was wait for Eddie to run up the line then step off and run directly at him. Probably Eddie wins a foot race back to third but maybe his brain freezes long enough to tag him.

Wow. Just wow.

Sounds like the Irving talks are pretty much over and the Wolves and Wiggins are close to a max extension. https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-owner-glen-taylor-confident-andrew-wiggins-extension-will-get-done/ Man, I sure hope Wiggins is worth the investment. I don't know much about the NBA cap rules. Would this deal stop us locking up KAT?

This is a common refrain around here but I'm not sure. Polanco is batting .581. Goodrum and Blankenhorn are organizational filler. You could plan for Gordon in 2019, but who takes over SS? And, if the trade price is low for above average second baseman, so would the FA price, methinks. Keeping Dozier for a few years after he hits FA could easily be the best option organizationally and not that expensive.

Hawk Harrelson retiring playlist

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/08/05/246659634/rangers-took-out-a-newspaper-ad-to-thank-yu-darvish?partnerId=sf61065111&sf61065111=1&sf61067143=1

The Rangers have unsigned players too. More than the Twins, by that list.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/2017-team-team-international-signing-trackers/ Twins started with $5.75. Kintzler trade raised the pool to $6.25 Jelfry Marte, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 13 prospect), $3 million. Luis Baez, of, Dominican Republic, $300,000. Nomar Urdaneta, ss, Venezuela Jose Andujar, of, Dominican Republic That would leave them with $2.95 at the moment, assuming BA's list is up to date. Right there with the Rangers.

You're talking about Urdaneta and Andujar. Are there others besides those two?

Interesting article about the Rangers' recent trades for international spending $$. The writer says they now have more then $3m left to spend, and speculates they are preparing to make a run at Otani this winter. https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/2017/08/05/minor-deal-help-rangers-potential-bid-acquire-major-asset-japanese-star-shohei-otani Following the Marte, etc signings, plus the $500k back from the Kintzler trade, how much international spending room do the Twins have left? And, is there any potential matchup where the Twins could trade Santana for a haul of international spending money? I know a number of clubs including the Dodgers and Cubs are basically out for blowing past their caps in previous years. Maybe the Mariners, Royals, or Brewers?

They're 3.5 back of the 2nd WC. They got 5 teams ahead of them. Would be cool to see them scratch and claw their way back into a playoff spot.

Oooo

Maybe there is some value to salvage out of Colon after all.

I would LOVE if Mejia became more "athletic."

What if one of your SP's throws 7 to 9 IP in his start and you don't need all 2-3 relievers? Do they get frontloaded onto the lineup? Or inversely, what if the SP gets knocked out after 60 pitches in the third and you have to burn through a bunch of your reserves to finish those game(s). Does the starter have to wait 4 more games to pitch again?

Just a batting lineup, only with pitchers instead. Should have been more clear. I'm extrapolating from the article above Maybe you make a lineup 9 deep instead of 12. Save 3 of the worst guys for "pinch pitching" to round out innings or guys with extreme LOOGY type splits.

Although Gardy had some epic 2nd half collapses so who knows.

You do wonder if Dozier beats out that high throw if the Twins hadn't traded Garcia http://www.twincities.com/2017/08/03/john-shipley-twins-are-ticked-they-should-be-says-derek-falvey/ Although you wonder if he would run that lackadaisically under a different manager too. Gardy in particular would have throw a fit.

I'm telling you people, at some point a team will just line up 12 pitchers like batters and go 1-2-3-4 through the order. Just a matter of time.

While improved, they're still kinda ugly. Maybe he'd do better from the stretch?

Jeez who knew 88 mph fastballs could be so hard to hit. When's this Griffin guy hit free agency?

Like the Rangers did?

How much of that WAA is tied to his offense?

They get injuries every year. That is the normal course of business for a baseball team. Last year it was Nolasco. Before that Santana was a PED suspension without pay. Morneau, Mauer, etc. Injuries to Hughes and Perkins in 2017 don't seem so far out of line with normal baseball ops that they should be accounted for in a special way. The 2018 payroll will be determined by prior year revenues, as it always is.