Doubles

Observation: Kepler not the most dynamic interview.

Not to split hairs here, but Polanco's was way more 'jam shot' than 'rocket.'

oh my. Not exactly what i had in mind as far as a 'signature win' goes, but we'll take it. Wow.

Twins lucky to stay out of DP on that ball back to the mound.

Yuuuuuge hit, Rosey. Atta boy!

Would be pretty cool if the Twins could squeak out a couple of runs here. Haven't had one of those 'signature' wins in a while.

Really.

Terrible AB by Granite, whether you like the call to bunt or not. Bunting is the easiest thing to do in baseball.

Biggest sigh of relief in Twins Territory since Bill Smith was told to box up his belongings.

Not talking about injury cause. Speculating on injury recovery.

Remote or no, I don't think I could possibly disagree with a take more than I do this one. I will, however, submit that Buxton's defense is so absurdly good, that he was rushed to the big leagues with a bat that needed considerably more seasoning than his glove. At the same time, I don't blame anyone for wanting that glove in the lineup, even at the expense of the bat.

If Sano is out of the lineup for significantly longer than first thought, will that give credence to the notion that Sano needs to drop some poundcake? And, if Buxton is injured and misses any significant time, I would really have to wonder why the Baseball Gods hate us so much.

The 1987 season was a magical ride for the Minnesota Twins and their fans. The 162 game baseball season is often referred to as a “Marathon, not a sprint.” Thirty years later, one game on a Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee still stands out in my mind above all the rest. The Twins entered play on Sunday, August 30th, 1987 in a virtual tie with the Oakland Athletics atop the American League West Division, with a record of 68-63. (Coincidentally, the 2017 Twins also enter play on August 30th at 68-63.) Twins manager Tom Kelly sent pitcher Frank Viola to the mound, facing the Brewers Juan Nieves. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Minnesota. Dad & I had gone fishing that afternoon, and we had the ballgame on in the boat. Just a wonderful day. A first inning RBI single by Kirby Puckett, followed by a solo Puckett homer in the 3rd staked Viola and the Twins to an early 2-0 lead. The Brewers answered with three runs in their half of the 4th, taking a 3-2 lead. The Twins responded with a three run inning of their own in the fifth, reclaiming the lead 5-3. A one-out single by future Twin player, Manager, and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, brought another future Hall of Famer- Robin Yount- to the plate with the bases loaded. Yount sent a towering fly ball to center field. It looked like a sure grand slam. Enter center fielder Kirby Puckett: https://youtu.be/o-YeunaFKyA The Brewers still managed to score three runs in the inning, taking a 6-5 lead after six. But Puckett’s clutch catch kept the inning from getting out of hand and also kept the Twins within striking distance until they could muster up another rally in the top of the eighth inning. Greg Gagne lead off with a single, followed by Puckett’s second double of the game. Gary Gaetti was intentionally walked to load the bases. The Twins went on to scratch out three runs on a Kent Hrbek sacrifice fly and a two-run single from Gene Larkin to take an 8-6 lead. Relievers Keith Atherton and Jeff Reardon combined to shut the Brewers down in the eighth inning. The Twins looked to tack on some insurance in the top of the ninth. With two outs and nobody on, Brewers All-Star Closer Dan Plesac got Gagne to swing and miss and strike three. However, the inning was extended when Brewers catcher Bill Schroeder was charged with a passed ball, allowing Gagne to reach first base. That set the stage for Puckett’s final at-bat. Puckett was cleary in “The Zone” during this series in Milwaukee. The day before, on August 29, 1987- Puckett went 4 for 5 with two home runs in a 12-3 drubbing of the Brew Crew. During that sixth at-bat on Sunday- the one that shouldn’t have even happened in the first place- Puck put an exclamation point on one of the best two-day stretchers a player has had in Major League history. Kirby jumped on an outside fastball from Plesac. Twins fans knew his patented bat-flip was a sure sign that Puckett had gotten ahold of one, and indeed he had. The ball rocketed into the right field bleachers at County Stadium. Six for six. A perfect day. https://youtu.be/bu-9xO0nMZk All told, Puckett finished the game with two singles, two doubles, two dingers, four runs scored, and four runs batted it. And don’t forget about Puck’s outstanding catch to rob Yount of a grand slam and to set the stage for the Twins eighth inning rally. This was, without a doubt- the single most dominant performance I have ever seen in baseball by a position player. The win enabled the Twins to take sole possession of first place in the AL West over Oakland, a lead they would not relinquish. This was the game that really started hooking Twins fans on this team. This was the very moment that Minnesotans started doing something very dangerous: wondering if their team was on the verge of something very, very special. In one of the rarest of all seasons, the home team delivered the goods, as the Twins capped the 1987 season as World Series Champions. If anyone wonders why baseball is important to me, there are plenty of reasons for that. But days like August 30th, 1987 certainly come to the front of my mind: Fishing with Dad, listening to the Twins on the radio, and the greatest performance by a position player kick-starting the Minnesota Twins to a division title and ultimately a World Championship. A perfect day, indeed.

Good discussion here- lotta really valid points brought up, even if we are not in unanimous agreement.

You make many good points above, and you worded it way better than I would have been able to. Avi is The One, The Only, The Crusher!

Errrr, I didn't say anything about not spending money. They absolutely have to spend. But they have to spend wisely. Jumping into another big-money contract, and having that contract go sideways, would set the franchise back several years.

Consider this: the Twins are approaching one calendar year away from being out from under a $23MM salary that some have blamed everything from the Twins struggles, to global warming, to whatever other stupid thing I could insert here. Does anyone really want the Twins to jump right back in to an even bigger contact, on an ever older player, who very likely is headed for a decline, through the 2020 season? I myself do not.

Polanco also made a very heads-up play by keeping the tag on whichever White Sox player hit the double & over-slid the bag. Good stuff.

If there was any sort of guarantee that JV could perform at a high, injury-free level for the duration of his contract, I'd be all in. But the reality is he'll be 35 years old before the 2018 Opening Day. Bringing him in would be a huge risk. In fairness, bringing him in would be a huge risk/reward. When long-term contracts are signed, it's pretty much accepted by the team that the front-end of the contract will be the player's most productive years, and the hope is that the player will be productive enough to off-set the inevitable decline that is expected over the final years of the contract. Taking on that contract, not to mention losing the assets it would take to bring Verlander in, is just not worth the gamble to my way of thinking. I think the FO is taking a long-term view, and gambling so much on ONE player- doesn't seem to prudent to me.

Got my phonetic pronunciation from that bastion of Canadian culture, Kingston ON's own Don Cherry.

I asked Nick about this via Twitter. His response was that perhaps Gibson is settling in with some mechanical adjustments made in the off-season. The White Sox are in the bottom third in the AL for batting average, and Toronna is dead last. Yes, they're big league hitters, but still. Combined K/BB ratio of 15:2 is probably the most significant uptick. 17 swinging strikes vs the Whiteys, and 12 vs Toronna. 13 had been his previous season high, on Aug 11 vs Detroit. Probably the biggest pitch Gibson threw against Toronna came in the bottom of the 2nd. Right after Polanco dropped the flip from Dozier on a sure DP ball to load the bases, Gibson got leadoff man Carrera to hit another DP ball to work out of a jam and keep the game tied at 1 after 2. Huge confidence boost for Gibson to pick up the Twins' defense for once in his life. Not only got the Twins out of trouble, but then they came back and scored two in the top of the 3rd to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Good Lord, what am I even doing praising Gibson like this? I don't even know me anymore.

If the FO can't find five starters between now and next spring that don't eliminate Colon as a viable option, I'd consider that to be a major failing on the FO's part.

Gleeman should learn to let some things go. Trying to make other people look or feel foolish isn't a good look. Just as I should learn to let go the inability of others to let go.

I don't think the gist of the column was necessarily to be in the current tense. I read it as more of a cautionary tale of where Sano may be heading in the near future. "Sano is 24 and until this week he had not suffered any injuries related to his bulk, but even his strength and assorted other athletic gifts will not allow him to be the player he should be if he isn’t careful."

I don't get why this is being framed as being some sort of egregious breach of confidence or 'leak' of classified information. Sano's a big rig- that shouldn't be a revelation of any sort to anyone with sight.