Monkeypaws

Hurrah! Like to see loyalty and perseverance rewarded. 2nd rounder makes it all the way to the big leagues. Twin bench has a lot of that versatility right now.

That looks like playoff baseball right there.

Sad thing, but Tony O coulda woulda shoulda had a hall of fame career but for knee injuries. Kubel could've been stellar but he wrecked a knee in the minors. I just hope Buxton can keep his legs healthy. I love watching him race crazily toward the wall and making fearless, hi-light reel grabs, but there is a certain risk. His speed is his WHAT?! factor. Hopefully we get to enjoy it for years.

I think Andrew McCutchen is a better comp than Trout. Trout is an alien. McCutchen has a similar skill set, and is an NL MVP.

Reusse and Souhan can write some nice nostalgia pieces from time to time. Take them seriously?! Couch potatoes do not great players or coaches make. Doom and gloom from columnists like them and Tom Powers are part and parcel of the old Minnesota defeatist sports complex that waaaay to many fans buy into..

Our crew is spot on: this outfield has a chance to be something special. Rosario might be the floor!

Remember earlier this season when it looked like Buxton wasn't even looking at the ball as he was whiffing on the curveball in the dirt? There was a thread. The slo mo of that last HR, you saw him tracking that mofo into the seats.

Wild card 2 contenders are all around .500. Yankees will move to 70-59 today. Boston will fall to 73-57. That's the race. Cleveland has 7 games on the Twins. Forget about Boston, NY Cleveland. It's LA, Seattle, KC, or any of the horde of teams just under .500 at the moment that are battling for a chance to play in Boston or NY.

I think the Yankees have forgotten about the Wild Card and have set their sights on Boston. Only 3 or so back.

Still, these last 2 starts give hope - the guy has big league stuff. As Duke and Satchmo noted, he has gotten a LOT of swings and misses against a team that routinely his Twins pitching pretty well.

Polanco is another who has benefitted from some patience from the coaches this season.

He hit 9 dingers in September last year. All things seem possible for this young man, not 24 until December.

I think we've seen with Berrios and Buxton this season that at some point they have to figure it out at the MLB level. Berrios had his 8 ERA last season, and Buxton was hitting .195 as recently as July 3. Credit to the coaching staff for helping these guys stick.

Latroy is such a good commentator. Makes it a treat to watch even what is starting to look like an ugly loss.

Yeah I thought he was headed for thoracic outlet. And yeah, Rooker is looking like the real deal.

Watching the O's A's: was wondering about Tim Beckham and discovered he was #1 overall 2008. Rays gave him away much like the Twins gave away Hicks....tie-in, it was also the year the Twins drafted Hicks! So, looking at 1st round 2008 the standout is Posey, 8th overall by SF and 3 WS championships later. However, sorted by WAR, I found these results: 1. Posey 37 2. Lawrie 15 3. Lynn 14 4. Hosmer 13 5. Forsythe 12 6. Cole 11.7 7. Jason Castro 11.6 8. Chisenhall 9 ... 15. Hicks 5 We got the catcher we needed, just not in the trade. Here's to Castro, better than Beckham(who started the thread) at 5 WAR, Smoak, Cashner, Alonso, Crow, etc. He ain't chopped liver. BTW, Castro was 10th overall that year by Houston, and Hicks was 14th.

The magic isn't in the method, but the results. Wild card in August as opposed to on the way to 100 losses. Maybe the current regime has better data on our scrap heap finds than TR ever had, or knew what to do with. Just a guess.

What is the process for deciding who wins a gold glove? Is it journalists who vote, players, or something else?

Terrific, using my metrics of "never heard of this third rounder," and "hey, nice numbers as a young player for his league."

As a fan of small sample sizes, I am really digging Lewis's .400 batting average at Cedar Rapids. Although he has dropped .400 points in the last week....

Pitching Geometry 101, by Bert Blyleven: "Planes and angles baby."

Berrios showing how to pitch with a 5 run lead. Throw strikes, engage your above average defense, allow fans to be entertained, and still have the panache to whiff a guy like Lamb with 96 mph heat. This team....

Buxton has tripled his number of triples the last couple games.

Miranda is quietly having a terrific season for a 19 year old in E'town.

Well, Buck is up to .240. What he is doing sure looks sustainable to me. This is gonna be fun.