Doubles

I find it even more curious that Garver has played more first base than catcher. In fact, I've been critical of Garver playing first base- and Vargas, too, for that matter- and two critical misplays in two losses last week while a gold-glove first baseman has watched from the bench.

I don't see where anyone, anywhere, has stated that Sano's injury was related to his conditioning. I have seen mention made, including in Souhan's column- that a guy carrying extra weight can negatively impact recovery from a leg injury. Again, no medical evidence of this, but it sounds logical. And if Sano's injury is progressing as slowly as Molitor seemed to mention yesterday, and if Sano is out for any stretch of time beyond the 10 days- this narrative is only gonna gain more steam.

From Nick's article: "To write these kinds of columns for a Minnesota sports audience almost feels treacherous, and hugely ill-advised when you think about the big picture. We should all collectively be trying to woo this generational hitting talent into sticking around. One day in the not-too-distant future, Sano will be approaching free agency, and will more than likely have suitors lining up for his services. If he chooses to go elsewhere, Souhan and Reusse will surely be lamenting another star player who left the small market via free agency to chase the spotlight and the big dollars. Maybe they could've tried harder to appreciate what they had, while they had it." Nick- I enjoy your writing very much and have the utmost respect for you and your work. But I believe you are a bit off-base in the passage quoted above. I look to the media to cover what they see, offer up some info as why we are seeing what we see, and to share their platform with the teams & players in serving as a conduit between the team & its fan base. I don't believe it's the media's role at all to influence matters of team composition or player personnel. I may be being a bit idealistic here, but I want the media to "Tell it like it is," & "Call it like they see it." Paying any mind to or trying to influence whether a player will re-sign or be retained would seriously compromise what I want from my local scribes. Columnists get more leeway to opine than beat writers, but the point remains. And I don't think Reusse or Souhan would give it a nano-second of thought if Sano ended up signing elsewhere someday. They've seen hundreds of players come & go in their day. I seriously doubt they'd see Sano any differently than any other player that has moved on from the Twin Cities. Sorry to be critical, Nick. Again, I enjoy your work thoroughly and always look forward to reading your stuff.

I've already been down this path on another thread in this forum, so I should probably just let this go. But I can't help myself. Here is what I think is the climactic passage of the column in question: "Sano should play at about 260 pounds, if not 250. He would have more energy, would run better, would have a better chance of staying healthy and would remain powerful enough to hit the ball out to any field in any ballpark. He would also be able to remain at third base, where his strong arm is an asset." While I don't know of any scientific fact that would back up any of the above, I find the logic hard to argue with.

Sano is one of my favorite players, and one of the Twins organization's biggest assets. The front office would be negligient not to have concerns about the physical condition of all its players, much less one of its most vital. I'm still not seeing what all the fuss about Souhan's, and Reusse's columns is all about. They said the organization has concerns. And the organization should have concerns. Lavelle corroborated those concerns across multiple platforms, but I don't see anyone hammering him.

Another day off from fielding for Mauer, another key misplay at first base costs the Twins.

Side note: I had surgery to repair a torn labrum back almost 20 years ago. Can't imagine having that surgery on my throwing arm. The recovery & rehab sucked. Very, very painful.

On its face, I'm not a fan of bunting either, but it does have its place. In the case of someone like Buxton, getting his speed on base is imperitive. Usually only takes one more hit to get him in once he gets on. That's huge.

I put some time & thought into trying to frame an answer to your question with some context & perspective. Sorry you didn't care for my response.

Hawk pointed it out on the broadcast last night, but I think it bears repeating: even through his considerable offensive struggles & learning process to master hitting, he's never let it affect his defense. That takes an incredible amount of mental resolve. If Buck can continue to evolve at the plate- yeah, she's showing signs but has a ways to go, of course- his ceiling has no limit, and he could end up being the most important offensive player in the Twins lineup as well.

I seem to say this a lot, but again, I don't think most people realize how difficult hitting a baseball really is. One thing I know for certain- the vast majority of people, even baseball fans- have no idea the long hours of work & repetition that go into honing a professional ball player's swing. A baseball swing is very much like a golf swing. Players work endlessly to make their swings effective, efficient, and repeatable. Now let's take Mauer's case in particular. Number one overall pick out of high school. Universally praised as the top catcher and hitter in his class. Only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles. 2009 AL MVP. Remember when Gardy would be asked about Joe's swing, and how maybe he should focus on being more of a power hitter / run producer? Grady's standard response would be to roll his eyes, read off Joe's resume, and say something to the effect of, "Only a fool would mess with that swing." So, up until 2010, Mauer was 100% on a Hall of Fame career arc. Putting up heretofore unprecedented numbers for a catcher. Then stuff happened. The move out of The Dome and into Target Field seriously impacted Joe's power numbers. Think of all those warning track fly balls; those would fly into the first five rows of seats in The Dome. Then the conky issues. Impossible to quantify, but impossible to deny their impact. We all know Joe hasn't been the same hitter since. That said, he's still pretty damn good. Now we're in the age of defensive shifts. I would bet Mauer is on the short list of players who have been most adversely affected by exaggerated shifts. That swing he has spent countless hours maximizing and making so repeatable- is kind of working against him in a weird way. Teams are using the uncanny repeatability of his swing against him to narrow down the areas where he has the most tendency to hit the ball. One last thing- Joe's also now 34 years old. Lots of things are working against him now, many of which I've tried to explain here. And yes, Joe has taken plenty of criticism- including from Twins TV analyst Bert Blyleven- about not making certain adjustments over time. I'm not really sure how I want to wrap this post up, other than to point out that Joe Mauer's swing, for all the criticism that it's taken, has been many, many years of hard work and countless hours in the making. I'm not so sure changing it up at this point is nearly as simple as saying, "Ahhh, think I'mma become a pull hitter now."

I like that the players personalities are encouraged to shine through. I don't always appreciate that part of the game, but I am taking the opportunity to do that this weekend. I didn't like the jerseys / uniforms. They looked like something you would pull off the shelf at WalMart. Yuck.

I submit Byron Buxton as the Twins all-time defensive GOAT, regardless of position. That is all.

Fair.

Ahhh, gotcha. Sorry I mis-read.

I know there's a faction that wants to see Mauer snap a bat over his knee, bust up a cooler, or spike a helmet in frustration. That's not me. I couldn't care less about that kind of stuff. Do I believe Mauer cares & wants to win? Yeah, for sure. Seeing him break something won't sway me one iota one way or the other as to his level of commitment. I don't specifically know for fact how Molitor handles his lineup, but I think Joe has the pedigree of a guy that should be able to say, "Hey, I know it's supposed to be my day off today, but we've been hit by some injuries (or whatever circumstance), we really need this game, and I think I can go. Put me in there." And again, I don't think anyone should be so scared of Holland to necessitate sitting one of your 2-3-4 hitters, regardless of a lefty-on-lefty matchup. I don't have any idea as to what the dynamics of this team are behind the scenes. I have on past teams, and regardless of what anyone says, I believe it matters. Last night's lineup would've been a great spot for a veteran team leader to step up and say, "Hey, put me in, Mollie. I got this." Whether anyone cares to acknowledge it or not, that kinda stuff goes a long way inside a clubhouse. I don't know why that's coming across as so unreasonable, over playing a guy making his MLB debut this week with 3 games at a position he's played less than 10 times all season. It may not always look like it, but first base is an extremely difficult position to play. And, oh by the way, to get OTJT at the major league level is an awful lot to ask of a young player, even moreso in games that are hugely relevant. But I guess players are off-limits to criticism on this forum.

Not sure Colon, a pitcher, is a fair comp to a third baseman. But ya gotta realize Colon- by body, age, & performance- is a huge outlier by pretty much any standard. That's a major reason he has built up almost a cult-like following.

Just watched Molitor's post-game presser from last night. He seemed to bristle a bit when Berardino asked about being able to trust Garver at first base. Interesting reaction.

No thanks on Valencia. He's played on 7 teams since 2012. Think there's not reasons for that?

Thanks for posting this, Tom. Also, props to you for your work on the TD Gamers. Great stuff, especially for somebody who isn't on the inside. Thanks for all the time & thought you put into these write-ups. Didn't Joe get hurt down the stretch last season? And for a season as dismal as last year was, there was no urgency to get back into the lineup. Yes, I get and believe there is something to keeping a 34-year old guy as healthy & fresh as possible. I just question throwing an inexperienced player- especially one with such little time spent at the position- to the wolves. Not really much fair to the player- in this case Garver- as much as anything else.

Yes, it is speculation on my part. As I'm not on the inside, it's what I do. I made zero mention of Mauer's contract, but thanks for adding that in there. From Berardino's gamer: "After Yoan Moncada drew a four-pitch walk and stole second one out later in the fourth, first baseman Mitch Garver booted Nick Delmonico’s soft grounder to his right for a run-scoring error. Garver was playing first for the third time since being called up last Friday, but before that the natural catcher hadn’t played there since June 9 at Triple-A Rochester. In five games (four starts) at first for the Red Wings this year, Garver had been charged with one error. “I think it was a broken bat,” Garver said. “I knew I had to get over there and try to make a play on the ball. I think it hit off the heel of my glove and I ended up slipping.” The ball kicked away far enough for Moncada to score from second. “He’s going out there and he’s working on his defense,” Molitor said of Garver. “We’re trying to make him as versatile as we can. We don’t have a lot of options against left-handed pitching right now. He’s made some plays.” So you're saying you're okay with running a guy out to an infield spot- who has a lot of learning to do about the position- over a guy many people feel is playing defense at a Gold Glove level? Sorry, but I'm not. And unless Joe is dealing with some sort of malady that makes it impossible for him to strap it on- then yeah, I'm demanding more. I'm not blaming Garver at all. I'm questioning why a guy with only a handful of games played at first base this season is being asked to learn an extremely difficult position on the fly at the major league level. Meanwhile, Mauer, and his remarkably good glove- sits two games & DH's another in the last week.

Anybody else disappointed Mauer wasn't in the lineup? Easy to pile on given the error at first base, but come on, Joe. Team is fighting for a playoff spot. No idea what Mauer's numbers are vs Holland, but it's not like he's Randy Johnson out there. This should be a time of year when a manager has to drag a guy out of the lineup, kicking & screaming. That's not the feeling I get from Mauer.

Extend a player who is still under contract through the end of next season? Unless he is a franchise cornerstone that could be build around for years to come, I would ask why? Did we learn nothing from Phil Hughes? Or, Wild fans, Jason Pominville? Locking up guys long-term is great. Extending guys before their contract ends, only to have them hit the wall in performance with years to go, and now you've got contract millstones hanging around the franchise's head. Let it play out, then go from there.

I'd like to see another big bopper to protect Sano as well, but Vargas ain't it. Can any team withstand 450+ whiffs in the middle of their lineup?

Buxton has been tasked with trying to figure out how to hit against the absolute best pitchers on the face of the planet at the absolute highest level of the occupation. I tip my hat to him for having the mental toughness to stick with it, and especially for not letting his offensive struggles get in the way of playing the best centerfield I've ever had the privilege to witness. I guess I'm not always convinced that most people realize how hard hitting is, and how incredibly good and talented major league pitchers are.