PDX Twin

Why would he let such sentiment infringe on St. Urho's Day celebrations?

As always, Nick, thoughtful, interesting, and well-written! I know I probably sound like your mom, but I really enjoy what you contribute to the site.

Does he have options left? If not, an indefinite trip to the DL could be advantageous. By the time he is 100%, someone else is likely to be injured.

Just curious: Is TD abandoning the written word? I love reports from Spring Training, but I hate listening rather than reading.

The pitch clock may force me to pay attention to the game! This could be good or bad. I'm nearly always doing something else on my computer and have the Twins on in the background, often muted. The balance of downtime to action has been such that I can keep my mind on the other activities and still see nearly every pitch---like blinking and not losing track of what you're reading or watching. That balance will change, and it might force me to choose between whatever else I'm doing and watching the Twins. I'm not sure which I will choose. I might actually end up watching the Twins games less!

And unless he is batting right at the top of the lineup, Solano is likely to get at most two AB against a lefty starter before the (likely RH) bullpen takes over.

We are stockpiling Grade C players. Unless there are major injuries or outgoings, this makes no sense to me.

Nine pitches and grab your gloves.

I usually prefer slower basebaths anyway. Otherwise it splashes too much.

What about the interior makeup? Is he Luiz Arraez, listening to and working with the likes of Carew to get better every day? Or is he Miguel Sano, ignoring advice, swinging for the stat line, and burning himself out trying to hit 500-foot bombs? That's going to go a long way toward determining his long-run success.

It's not the baseball tradition, but there's nothing wrong with ties. I hate the American tradition (which has now spread to American football and hockey) that there must be a winner and a loser in every game. USSF even had American pro leagues doing tie-breaker shootouts for regular-season games a couple of decades ago until FIFA overruled them saying (correctly) that it was contrary to the uniform, international Laws of the Game.

Wonderful stuff.

Maybe this was covered in other articles, but how many other hitters have had this surgery and what were the results? It's nice to know that there is an example of success, but if it is one out of 50 I'm less optimistic.

If they all seem too high, maybe we just don't have a very good list from which to pick! :)

Lovely tributes and great stories. Some tell you as much about the story-teller as about the subject.

To answer your specific question: Presumably a general, overseen by the Secretary of Defense.

Yes. Count me among that "many." I'll give the 2023 Twins a chance to win me over, but my prediction is that my MLB.TV subscription will not be used much this year. Watching three-outcome hitters is about as exciting as watching someone roll Strat-O-Matic dice.

https://www.startribune.com/twins-trade-luis-arraez-batting-craftsman-doesnt-set-well-patrick-reusse/600245265/ Says is all, and well.

So instead of watching Arraez work the count and play intelligent baseball, I get to watch Gallo strike out. No thanks. I'll watch fewer games this year.

I wonder if Boras has secretly taken an ownership interest in the Twins. He suddenly seems to be great pals with the Twins' FO.

His perfect position is in the league in which the Saints formerly played. He'd be a gate attraction, hit a bunch of ooh-aah homeruns against bad pitching, and salve his ego. I doubt he needs much money.

Don't you mean a glut?

I am in favor of robo umps, but I dislike the challenge system because it embarrasses the umpire, takes time, and requires the challenging team to ration its challenges, which isn't really fair if there are lots of mistakes. When it's feasible, let's get the call correct the first time and not embarrass the umpire by overturning it. The umpire has an earpiece (or buzzer or something) that gives him the call from the automated system. He or she can then make the call on the field just as always. If there is a glitch in the automated system (which is bound to happen occasionally, maybe in strange weather or if piece of equipment gets near the strike zone), the umpire simply ignores the machine and gives the correct call.

That's easy. Follow the Manchester City model: Get bought out by a sports-mad sheikh who uses every trick in the book to plow hundreds of millions of dollars into the club (sponsorships, overpriced luxury box subscriptions, even buying the stadium from the club). And that's in English football where there are (ineffective) "financial fair-play" restrictions that attempt to punish clubs that have expenses far in excess of revenues.

TD seems to have forgotten about him completely. Lots of articles about pitching going forward have not even mentioned his name. I had to go back to the Twins' site to make sure he was still on the roster. But you are totally accurate that he is a potential boost for the next two years, when we will seemingly lack veteran starters.