DJL44

Salas is a stud prospect. I'm shocked he was the throw in.

I don't know how they did it but the Twins might have received the two best players in this trade.

The exact same risk exists with him pitching max-effort out of the bullpen. The only way to avoid injury risk is to keep him from pitching.

Picture two relievers. One strikes out the 3, 4, 5 hitters in the bottom of the 8th when the team is behind by 5 runs. The team rallies and goes ahead by 1 run in the 9th. The next reliever walks the 6, 7, 8 hitters and gets #9 to line into a triple play to end the 9th. WPA would have you believe the 9th inning reliever did a better job than the 8th inning pitcher. WPA doesn't address fielding at all which means it is ignoring people who actually prevented or allowed runs (1/3 of the value assigned by WAR) and assigns all the value to the pitcher and the hitter. Just by ignoring fielding is it overestimating the value of the pitcher by at least 50%. It is a storytelling stat, not one that is useful to determine value. WAR awards leverage for circumstances out of the control of the pitcher but it doesn't address degree of difficulty. It is much more difficult to pitch 6 innings than it is to pitch 1 inning. The only reason the manager has the option to put a reliever in a high leverage situation is the starter was able to get them to that point in the game. I think leverage is a good way to determine whether a manager is using his bullpen correctly but it doesn't tell us anything about the effectiveness of a pitcher.

I went to an NFL game once and a guy in the row behind was complaining about the coaching. He actually said he coached Pop Warner so he knew what he was talking about.

I'm pretty convinced the WAR leverage index is overrating relief pitchers and WPA is a useless garbage stat like GWRBI.

So like watching at my uncle's house.

Duran's stuff is miles ahead of Lopez. If the Twins try Duran as a starter and it doesn't work out they can always move him right back to the bullpen. If it does work out they could have an ace at a minimum salary. It is hard for me to believe that they don't even want to try, especially since Duran wants to be a starter. It could be the team's biggest waste of talent since they released Luis Tiant.

Put Maeda and Ober together and you have a whole pitcher.

Ok. You'd have to pay me to watch pre and post game content.

If you're out of market you should be able to buy MLB.tv and watch the Brewers. The whole system of "local" providers needs to go. Just sell people what they want to watch. If they're a Twins fan in Cambridge, MN or Cambridge, England it should be the same app.

Kids will probably have more fun at a Saints game.

Are they going to let me sit there for 3 hours and not order anything? I usually don't eat at the Twins game.

I've never really understood SRO tickets. Is there a place I can still go and sit during the game or do I have to roam the concourse sneaking peeks over the vendors?

Arraez "didn't play 1B" until they put him there last season. An infielder at any other position can usually handle first base.

The Twins have near-majors non-roster offensive talent in the minors (Austin Martin, Brooks Lee) but no non-roster pitching talent above A-ball. If the Twins trade Arraez they are counting on one of Lewis, Larnach, Kirilloff, Wallner, Julien, Lee or Martin to step up and fill a spot in the lineup. They don't have 7 potential prospects to fill a spot in the rotation - just SWR and Varland.

He also has the potential to be a lot worse. Batting average is pretty volatile. If he only hits .270 next year and he still doesn't have any power he'll be below average at 1B.

Umm, yes. Angels pull off blockbuster by trading for Carew | Baseball Hall of Fame

Then every player in MLB under 30 is a prospect and the term prospect has no meaning at all.

Nope

It's completely relevant. If you just want the pitcher to hit a target, that's cricket, not baseball. The oval shaped strike zone called by umpires substitutes less hittable pitches in the corners for more hittable pitches over the plate. They're mentally substituting the "rule book strike zone" with "was the pitch hittable". The other problem your proposed rule has is it makes major league baseball a very different game than amateur baseball. Amateur baseball will never have an automated strike zone and will have to continue with the rule as written today. It will be even more difficult to figure out which 16 year old from Venezuela will be the best hitter in the majors. It also is a huge break with the past - players who are currently all-stars with huge contracts would become overnight washouts. If they make the strike zone a fixed zone I probably stop watching major league baseball.

I'm sure they could trade Sabato and Cavaco for someone about as good as AJ Alexy.

This is flat out wrong. Check 2022 Split G Batting 1st 92 Batting 2nd 18 Batting 3rd 11 Batting 4th 2 Batting 5th 9 Batting 6th 5 Batting 7th 0 Batting 8th 1 Batting 9th 6 Top of the order 121 times out of 129 games started. When he batted "bottom of the order" he was usually pinch hitting.

A strike - at the root of the rule- is a hittable pitch. A ball is an unhittable pitch. What is or isn't a hittable pitch changes based on the height of the athlete. The original rule for a strike (before 1870) A ball struck at and missed by the Batsman without its touching his bat. A ball legally delivered by the Pitcher and with in the legitimate reach of the bat not swung at by the Batsman. You want to up-end the second part of the rule and allow for strikes that are not "within the legitimate reach of the bat". Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball: The Rules: History of the Strike (19cbaseball.com)

Planning on attending the Twins game vs Tigers in Lakeland on Sunday March 12. Would like to avoid sitting in the sun. How far back do I need to sit to make sure we get shade?