Platoon

The real question should have been: Would you rather watch Miguel Sano strike out se see Pete Rose hit a baseball consistently! FTFY

And…… if the robot starts calling that zone, it ain’t gonna improve the hitting stats. Then whom will we blame. The good news is the robot will make the idiotic catchers stance for "pitch framing" passé. Which is good. For example, the other day a local high school catcher whose father is on record insisting the kid catches in the one legged MLB manner let two balls past in one inning turning a one run win into a walk off loss. He has mastered the getting that leg out there, but he hasn’t figured out how to move after that! I sure hope he "stole" a lot of strikes.

He is Buxton. If he went into umpiring he would trip over a base, fall into a dugout, or get hit in an indelicate area whilst behind the plate. More and more I think Bud Grant knew whereof he spoke: You aren’t valuable to a team if you can’t stay on the field. Who would have taken 7 as the over/under before games were missed due to an injury?

I may look like a doctor, and I may play a doctor in TV, but I am not really a doctor! That said, for a promotional fee I will gladly push any product, procedure, or philosophy you desire! ?‍⚕️?‍⚕️???

The other problem is when does he launch these cookies into the stratosphere? Hitting something 485’ late in a close game is impressive. Hitting one like that when way ahead or behind off the #5 reliever in someone’s pen has no value whatsoever. There’s enough mediocre pitching in baseball for Sano to get his fill of cookies by the end of the season. But, good pitchers who execute get him out too often, too easily, and with little chance of even an RBI groundout. He remains my #1 choice to pitch against with the game on the line. I would rather see him up there than Arreaz, Polanco, or Buxton.

All this angst for a guy who is 0 for 1!

It’s quite possible this IS why everyone complains about Sano? That said I am very impressed by Winder, I checked his stats, still no runs allowed!

I may need remedial computer training at the Adult Learning Center! ???

Someone will dig up the stats on this but IIRC didn’t Rogers struggle on back to back appearances? If so, this diminishes his value as a closer.

It makes going back to look for a past quote easier, less page loading…. Otherwise I can’t see what else it would change. Although when I logged on I was surprised there were only 9 pages on an opening day?

I would have never noticed it, except it took me longer to get to the bottom of the page.

If Jake is jettisoned, where will we get our weekly video of someone diving for a sinking liner and coming up 12’ short?

George Will wrote an excellent piece last week in WAPO about baseball and addressed the issue of dropped velocity due to a pitch clock. As for robo umps, I see they are experimenting with using human plate ump calls, with the opportunity to appeal to a robo ump? Atlantic league? Enough with the appeals, and perfection. Look at the chaos in Mankato last this last weekend. The hockey game was over, the cup awarded, the players undressed, and half the fans at Mettlers, and they decided the winning goal was illegal? So they started up again something like 90 min later? I hope Roger Staubach can stil throw that 60 yarder when we redo that Cowboys game!

So are we now back to the 3 catchers on the roster situation if Sanchez is the DH?

Does having picked up two Yankees who are familiar with NY improve our chances when we meet them in this years ALCS? Maybe all this is, is an attempt to overcome the "jinx"? On a more serious note we seem to have again went to the possibility of a bat first SS? And since I read somewhere that pitching has a lot to do with winning in baseball, who’s gonna do that. This seems like a move towards a rebuild year, unless they miraculously pick up two top flight SP. Frankly I would find that preferable to getting stuck in the middle. Which I define as pretending to be competitive, and not going wholesale into the rebuild. I really don’t care which way they go, just don’t do it half a^~ed!

I am not sure what’s out there for SS besides Simmons, which didn’t pan out, but the bottom line is almost anything that keeps Polanco from SS is good. He had a nice year at second, I could see no upside in moving him back to SS. Maybe the real problem lies in the Twins long term inability to draft a legitimate SS. Almost all Twins SS draftee announcements come with the "but most scouts see him as a third baseman or CF" caveat. Add to this the logjam at first base and the fact that Sano has virtually no current trade value. You want to see pain and angst, wait till they start trying to trade for a SP!

Good point! There is so much interesting high school, legion, and even town ball to watch that I doubt I will miss any 4 hour MLB games. Are these games played at MLB levels? Nope! But you do get to see balls put in play, steals, the antiquated bunt, and even a SS playing between second and third. While it may be analytically bereft, it has an ingredient MLB currently lacks. Action! Last summer I saw some excellent Legion games at the district and state playoff level. And, if you are in MN and have the opportunity go see some of the good class B amateur teams. You will be surprised and pleased by the talent level, and intensity.

I was talking more about the inevitable slide to bat first catchers. Yes not having to contort yourself into that ridiculous one legged stance will help, but poor hands are poor hands no matter how you sit.

For what it’s worth, framing is not cheating. Also framing is not pulling the ball. Real framing is catching the ball in a manner to show it in the best possible angle to an umpire. Sure, let’s try the robots! What could go wrong. Look how instant replay and analytically driven changes have improved the game experience. We now have 4 hours of watching guys hit fly balls or strike out. Add in station to station baseball and 12 pitchers per game, and at least you get to bed earlier! The good news is that if nothing else action will increase what with a bunch of hit first catchers flagging away at the breaking balls off the corners.

This is obviously a very generational question….. and in my generation it was Harmon, hands down. In another era it would have been Carew, and in this era Mauer.

Actually a wonderful idea. Now all we would need is to identify one of each and then shell out the cash and sign them. And therein lies the problem……

My "baseball" son and I just discussed this just yesterday. It’s one thing to come in in the 7th or 8th in a 1-2 run game and give up the lead. Your team gets at least a couple more at bats. Now, come in in the 9th and give up those runs and you may get an at bat, or you may have to walk directly to the dugout with your glove covering your mouth, watching a bunch of opponents pouring Gatorade on one of their teammates. Being a closer takes a different mentality. Lots of confidence that you are unbeatable, and an extremely short memory if you aren’t that particular day. Not everyone has it. We discussed LaTroy Hawkins as an example. I am sure the game is filled with reliable middle inning relievers who couldn’t bring that to the 9th inning?

Well, their ability to make large, noteworthy, move the bar decisions remains unchallenged!

I would keep Garver and Jeffers much as it pains me to keep a catcher who can’t catch. The robo ump would help Garver somewhat, since he could abandon that idiotic one legged stance and block a few pitches. While this will help him, I imagine it will help every other catcher also, maybe him more as his athleticism is wanting. Come trading g deadline time would be the time to decide between Jeffers, Garver and Rortvedt. Our place in the standings, our end of the year needs, and our future would direct which way to go. Normally I abhor hitters who can’t catch, and prefer a mediocre hitter, who is an excellent defensive catcher. NeitherRortvedt or Jeffers qualify as mediocre. So it is what it is. That said unless the FO does the unimaginable on the SP front, I doubt little of this matters anyway.

Well deserved by both. And about time. Plus, both stayed in the game for years afterward and still are in one form or another. Oliva is virtually a walking talking Mr. Baseball and Kaat is easily the best baseball analyst the game has known.