Doubles

Unsliced bacon is called pork belly, and it is glorious. In retrospect, I do prefer it with some level of slicing. Carry on, as you were.

Ugh, ugly AB for Buck. Seems like when he struggles he is almost always behind in the count 0-2 / 1-2.

Holy moly, Chief.

Not sure this applies, but when I go into the MLB GameDay app I always have to enable my location...

Man, how great it is that baseball is back! Also, how great that we can now stream on our phones via the Fox Sports Go app? Love it.

Digging all those swinging strikes.

Thares, Pecota, Zips, & Steamer sound like a formidable pitching rotation.

An editor? For Twins Daily? About time! Finally! Errrr, long overdue! I mean, congrats, Tom. Love the game recaps, and all the other great content you bring to the mix. Atta boy!!!

Completely agree. Furthermore, if he didn't know, he's just as, if not more culpable.

Let's settle this: Sano plays 138 or more games this season, I won't question his fitness on this forum until Opening Day 2020. Sano plays less than 137 games, you stop being a Sano apologist until at least Opening Day 2020. Also, winner chooses the loser's avatar for the entire month of April, 2019. Deal?

I think Sano has the ability to be very good, if not great defensively. Not much denying his natural ability. Time will tell if he wants to put in the necessary work to excel in the field. Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau are two examples of guys that came to the Twins pretty raw in the field and through hard work made themselves excellent defenders. I'd love for you to be right about Sano's 'demise at 3B'. I just don't see it if he keeps packing on the poundcake. I believe Sano will crush at the plate (home plate, that is) regardless if he's 250, 280, or 300 pounds. That's what he does, and the fact that his is a large human being undoubtedly plays into why he's such a powerful hitter. But I wouldn't worry one iota about his abilities or power diminishing if he was carrying the equivalent of a bag of salt pellets less than what he currently is. I won't even pretend to understand what 'layman medical hubris' means. But I find it quite disingenuous to believe his chances of staying on the field, and in the field, are unrelated to Sano's fitness level.

Count me among those super-excited when news of the Lynn signing broke. At the same time, as exciting as it was to see him perform yesterday, I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Just as I would if he had gotten lit up. Spring training, especially for pitchers, is about ramping up and prepping for the 162 game grind. Still, it would be an awful lotta fun if yesterday's debut was a sign of things to come once the games start counting for real.

Sometimes people are as much, if not more, preoccupied with the messenger as they are the message. Does anyone freak out when Phil Miller or LaVelle mention Sano's weight? But some people lose their minds if Reusse or Souhan go there. Shoot, there was even a Sano article here on TD a while back that had the word 'Eat' in the title. Pretty sure that was no coincidence...

Curious to know your thoughts on these questions: * Do you think Sano can be very good to great defensively? * Do you think Sano's value to the Twins is significantly higher at 3rd base? * Do you think Sano's value to the Twins is reduced if he has to move from 3rd base to 1st base? * Do you think Sano's value drops even further if he moves to full-time DH? * Do you think Sano will crush at the plate whether he weighs 250, 280, or 300 pounds? * Do you think the higher his weight gets the more difficult it will be for him to stay on the field?

Blasted Perkins for what? He injured his arm. You’re either in the lineup or you’re not. Hard to help the team from the sidelines. Same as it’s hard to be a team’s best player only playing 120 games a season.

Name me any other Twins players on the verge of being moved off their most valuable position based on their lack of conditioning & I will light them up just the same.

I want Sano to get into better shape. I want him to play the position that maximizes his value to the Twins for as long as possible. That position is third base. I also want Sano to play more than 120 games this season, ideally around 150. As long as he is in the lineup, he will crush dingers. That's the easy part for him. I don't see anyone trying to "Ship him out of town." And I see zero issue with wanting to see the best possible Miguel Sano at the position that maximizes his worth to the team.

There will eventually come a point when Mauer & the Twins part ways. As iconic jet-set bartender Brian Flanagan said so profoundly in the cinematic classic known as 'Cocktail': "Everything ends badly. Otherwise it wouldn't end..."

I believe there are two ways to handle the Vargas situation: 1) Hang onto him through ST for as long as possible, using him as an injury-insurance policy in the event anyone ahead of him goes down. "Don't make a decision before you have to..." Release him / trade him to a rebuilding team that doesn't really believe it will contend for post-season play this year. Sooner the better, if they are doing Vargas a solid so he has as much time as possible to catch on with another club. Vargas turns 28 on August 1. He could be the kinda guy that a rebuilding team would take a flyer on, but not someone a contending team would feel comfortable plugging into their lineup.

Hitting dingers in spring training proves absolutely nothing to anybody. How about he tries to be on the field more than 70% of the time during the regular season? Now he's gonna be subjected to missing games this season due to his off-the-field behavior. I should probably know better by now, but the number of people who support athletes unconditionally flabbergasts me. I guess I should keep the root word that 'fan' is derived from in mind.

Congrats on being such a nice human being. Good on you for being so non-judgmental. You are willing to give Sano the benefit of the doubt far longer than I.

Why are you such an apologist for one of the most coveted Twins prospects OF ALL TIME putting less than his best foot forward?

Read between the lines. The manager/coaching staff is the conduit between the players & the front office. And if, in fact, the club is resorting to going public like this, I would fully believe they have tried addressing this stuff with Sano directly, probably multiple times, and have gotten nowhere. Now they're trying another avenue to deliver the message. If your 'concern' is durability, how is it you are giving Sano a free pass on his lack of responsibility / accountability to report to spring training in optimal physical condition yet again? Show me a player with exceptional durability in any sport who does not take meticulous care of himself. And no, pitchers don't count.

From this article by the Pioneer Press' Brian Murphy: *Meanwhile, manager Paul Molitor is still trying to establish a deeper relationship with Sano to help the talented but enigmatic cleanup hitter reach his full potential as a reliable run-producer and professional. "Talented, but..." speaks volumes here. *Molitor said he has enlisted teammates to help Sano focus and hone his craft, but that has produced mixed results. If a player was doing just fine on his own, it wouldn't be necessary for the manager to round up other players to babysit Sano to 'focus'. *“I think the trend has been he’s figuring some things out; some things have been a little harder to get through to him,” Molitor said. “At times I’ve tried to involve people that might be able to provide a voice that will penetrate. We’re just trying to get him to see the bigger picture. “He loves to play. It’s all in front of him. He, as much as anyone in that clubhouse, wants what’s in front of him, but I’m not sure he understands what is required to reap those rewards — of competing, winning, financial security, taking care of his family. We’re trying.” "Some things have been a little harder to get through to him"? To me that's coachspeak for 'No matter what we say, this is someone who has to figure it out for himself, and he either can't or won't do that on his own to this point...' The underlined statements above come across to me as general statements that may as well be red flags. Big ones. Sano has the potential to be a generational big leaguer. These types of talents don't grow on trees, especially for the Twins. I cannot understand why so many people are willing to give him a pass on his lack of conditioning and / or devotion to his craft. The Twins are going to have to decide fairly soon if Sano is someone they want to hitch their wagon to long term. Sano himself is making what should be a no-brainer of a choice for the Twins front office a real head-scratcher.

Well said, couldn't agree more. There seems to be a relief among some that Sano has been mashing in BP. Not sure why anyone would expect anything different from him. It's what he does. But he's capable of so much more, even in the field. He's selling himself, and therefore his team and fans, short by not staying fit enough to be an asset at third base. And I cannot fathom why so many are willing to give him a pass for that.