Doubles

I agree that this season has been an absolute blast to watch. Man, having the Twins relevant again makes summer SO much better! And this team in particular, is very entertaining to watch. I've been watching the Twins since the late '70's, and Buxton is the best defensive outfielder I've ever seen. I'mma pump the brakes on the trade deadline stuff a bit. Kintzler was effective & Garcia was a fun notion, but let's not pretend they traded Mariano Rivera and Sandy Koufax in their respective primes. And yeah, maybe playing 'sellers' at the deadline rallied the team a bit, I'd say a team that needs any additional motivation has a weak constitution to begin with. But, yes- this team has been a blast to watch, and seems like they're primed to be competitive for the long haul. Especially when they upgrade the pitching.

I've had some of these same thoughts, too. Now I'm trying not let what I've seen most recently over-influence what I know from watching Gibson's entire body of work. The major kicker being the Twins will have to decide, if they haven't already, whether to QO him this winter or let him walk. A lot of Gibson's recent success can be attributed to missing bats. Last night, he didn't strike anybody out, walked one, and gave up 8 hits in 7 innings. And I was very nervous / neurotic about Molitor leaving Gibson in after Cabrera& Hosmer started the 6th with back-to-back singles. Why on earth would Molitor leave Gibson in, at a critical juncture in the game, with Perez & LH Moustakis coming up? Because pop-up & inning-ending DP, that's why. So yeah, Gibson's outings lately have been a major upgrade from what we've traditionally seen from him, but last night may have been smoke & mirrors as he didn't miss hardly any bats (4 swinging strikes) and danced out of trouble with 3 DPs.

One thing about Mauer- he has had several periods in his career when he hits .400 and gets on base at a .500 clip. I mean extended periods- like more than a month, sometimes probably even two month stretches like that. That is really hard to do in baseball.

You might think so. I don't.

Also worth noting is the guy who infuriated many of us by bunting in the top of the 8th, is the same guy that drove in the GW-RBIs in the top of the 9th, because, baseball.

The underlined part is what I love about the above comment. I believe bunting has a place and can be useful at times. You'll never hear me say, "Don't bunt, simply because I hate bunting & it's stooopid!" Actually, you might hear me say that, but there's more to it than just that. You have to look at how the inning could play out and assess your chances from there. Chief nailed it above. Well done. And that doesn't even take into account the long-standing debate about bunting a runner to second base. Especially when batting as the visiting team.

Couple things on the play Gordon scored on: *The new rule where catchers can no longer block the plate definitely came into play here. Castro was positioned up in front of the front line of the right-handed batter's box when he caught the throw. Accordingly, Gordon's head-first slide to the outside part of the plate necessitated Castro to have to reach back try the swipe tag. I thought he had time to secure the ball with his bare hand while protecting the ball with his glove. Difficult play for sure, but one I'd bet Castro would say he should have made. *I totally get the new rule and its purpose in keeping guys safe, but I believe this rule has led to runs being scored that otherwise wouldn't, and I'd submit this play last night as Exhibit A. Is it worth upping player safety? No question. But I wonder if there isn't a solution somewhere that keeps catchers safe without compromising their ability to make a play. *Lost in all of this was how aggressively Kepler played this, got to the ball, came up throwing, and fired a one-hop strike. Fantastic play that we'd all be raving about had the outcome been different. Kepler is well on his way to really being an impact player here for years to come. Big-time like.

Late to the party here, but totally agree. I look forward to these each morning, and the interesting convos that ensue. That's a fun part about baseball to me- bantering and second-guessing. Baseball was made for that.

On Gibson- IF he can put up 3-4 more effective starts the rest of the way here, do we truly know what he is? May be worth a deep- dive to analyze what has made Gibson successful over his last several starts. May also be worth trying to determine if it is in any way remotely possible that it's sustainable?

Huge win that came in a big time of need. Gotta say I hated Polanco bunting in the 8th inning after Mauer's lead off single. ESPECIALLY given how dangerous Polanco has been lately. Hate giving away one of the six outs you have left, hate trying to only TIE the game, just hate everything about it. Now you have essentially the same situation in the 9th inning. Kepler leads off with a single, bringing up Esco. If you chose to bunt in the 8th inning, why wouldn't you choose the same thing an inning later? I'm not 100% adverse to bunting. I just didn't like bunting in that spot last night.

I've seen Gleeman RT a Tweet someone sent, something to the effect of Granite hitting better than Buxton and being just as good defensively, and that Buxton should be traded. I've seen him RT that multiple times. For what purpose? To make himself feel better by tearing others down? Is that what Gleeman is all about?

I acknowledged it's not cool. Not sure what more you want me to say. Gleeman went on KFAN this morning and claimed he wouldn't get into personally insulting anyone or criticizing their appearance, etc. Really? Since when? Since going nuclear himself on Twitter & calling Souhan's initial column on Sano 'Bull----'? Since making the blatantly false accusation of claiming Souhan called Sano "soft" & "blamed Sano" for being injured? Since calling Souhan a "----head" on his podcast on Sunday? I've said it before, I think Gleeman could have come out of this smelling like a rose had he taken the high road all along here. He's trying to go down that path now, only after making plenty of his own personal attacks, then taking to the radio waves to denounce such behavior while claiming to be above it. Now that the toothpaste is out of the tube, taking the high road tack looks awfully disingenuous, at best. As I've said, when things deteriorate at such a personal level that goes way beyond debating the merits of a newspaper column, nobody looks good.

From Reusse's article: "The No. 1 flaw for the Twins in their Sano strategy was not the idea of putting him in a corner outfield position. The No. 1 flaw was making no impact with their pleas to Sano to get in prime condition." I happen to completely disagree with Patrick's statement above. The Sano to the outfield experiment was ill-fated from the get-go, and it seems Twins management were the only ones who refused to figure it out. That notwithstanding, in no way does that absolve Sano of being culpable for reporting to spring training above the weight his team wanted him at, and furthermore for not appearing to work to remedy the situation during camp.

It's amazing the heat Mauer took, even as he was well on his way to a career that could have ended with him as one of, if not THE best-hitting catcher of ALL TIME, and surely enshrined in Cooperstown. Between the big contract and then the injury / conky issues, Joe had little, if any chance, to escape considerable criticism.

Now this I can agree with. Well done, Riv!

After all this, here's where I'm at: * I have zero issue with Souhan's initial column. Does anybody really think a third baseman approaching three bills is not a dicey proposition? Twins would be completely naive to ignore this issue. And more than one media member- including LaVelle- has corroborated Sano's weight IS a cinder for the org. Nowhere did I read Souhan was calling out Sano for being fat or was weight-shaming in any way. * In the initial column, Souhan writes: "Sunday night, the Twins placed Sano on the 10-day disabled list because of a stress reaction in his left shin. The injury was caused by a foul ball. His recovery might be affected by the amount of man that shin must support." The longer Sano is out of the lineup, the more it appears there may be something to wondering if Sano's weight may be prolonging his recovery. With regard to the timing of the column, Souhan absolutely would have been trashed for writing that Sano's recovery was prolonged after the fact. Instead, he was criticized for trying to get out in front of the story. * I think Gleeman was over the top with his critique of Souhan's column. You don't have to like or agree with everything you read. But at least be fair & rational about what you take issue with. Gleeman accused Souhan of writing things- that Sano was "soft," that Souhan blamed the injury on Sano's bulk- both claims that were patently false. * I think Souhan's blog response to the criticism went too far. I totally get a journalist wanting to defend his integrity & professionalism. I don't think going nuclear with weight-shaming, name-calling, & cheap shots was the best way to get his message across. * Gleeman seems to be thriving on the attention from all of this. I submit he could have gone about criticizing the initial column in a more dignified way that didn't thrust himself into such a negative light. The fact he keeps engaging in "kimono" & "Cinnabon" references as punchlines leads me to think he is reveling in the attention brought to this. * I still think the initial column was met with resistance more so because of who delivered it, than what the message was. Even the column John wrote- "On Velvet Ropes"- that I believe contains many great points made by an extremely talented writer that I have the utmost respect for- made a leap referring to Souhan's initial piece as the "Sano's Too Fat" column. I think this has deteriorated into personal issues between the parties involved that has gone way beyond debating the merits of a newspaper column. In the end, no one looks good when it reaches this point. Wait a second- what are we all arguing about again?

Joe Mauer is on the short list of most-polarizing athletes to ever hit the Twin Cities' sports scene. His 2009 MVP season is probably the only season he hasn't been subject to one level of criticism or another. To wit: "Singles are great & all, but why can't / doesn't Joe drive the ball more?" "Why doesn't he pull the ball more?" "Pitchers know by now they just tube the first pitch and start his ABs 0-1. Why doesn't Joe jump on that first tasty-looking pitch? We all know it's coming!" "A six-foot seven-inch singles hitter? Really?" Even in his best seasons- 2009 aside- Joe has always heard these criticisms. As he winds down a pretty GD good / great career, I doubt those impressions are gonna change in the twilight of his career, even if they rightly should. Don't believe that? Keep your ears to the ground the next time Joe has a big AB with a runner on first & rolls over a grounder up the middle. You'll hear more frustration vented than for almost any possible outcome for any play in a Twins game. Guaranteed. Joe is always gonna be a lightning rod here in the Twin Ciites. He's been here too long for fans in general to change their opinion of him. Generally speaking, whatever most fans impressions of Mauer is at this point, is what it will be whenever his career ends.

I mentioned in another thread that I've seen all I care to from Perkins at this point. I would much rather see what these youngsters are about. Not only that, but as Seth mentions, guys like Hildenberger & Busenitz have emerged as guys who have earned shots in high-leverage situations. I'd much rather see someone who has a chance to be a critical part of the Twins' future than see a guy trying to get back to near what he used to be, & should be doing it elsewhere aside from the major league club chasing a playoff berth.

If Souhan is to be reprimanded for fat-shaming, is Gleeman calling him a *feces* head on his podcast somehow any better?

Also from the article: "The injury was caused by a foul ball. His recovery might be affected by the amount of man that shin must support."

Agree, and this point furthers my belief that people had as much, if not more issue with who wrote it than what was written. Messenger-killing.

Yes, the access thing has been bantered about here. No, I don't consider access to be the end-all, be-all. But I definitely believe it to be a sign of legitimacy. In other words, you can crank out good content without access. But you ain't gonna get access without proving you can put out quality content. We tried for two years to get access to the Minnesota Wild. Their PR Director was set in his ways and wouldn't budge. Now that's not the reason our blog went under, but I firmly believe having access would have been additive to our product. Good on the Twins for being more progressive in giving legit media- mainstream, digital, or otherwise- a look behind the curtain.

I think it's worth calling out Twins Senior Director of Communication, Dustin Morse. Dustin was smart enough to recognize a site like Twins Daily providing outstanding content, whether they use access or not. To that end, good on Twins Daily for building their brand by cranking out consistently high volumes of great content. Dustin has recognized the Twins would be silly to discount the value Twins Daily brings to Twins fans, and therefore the ball club. Also, good on the guys at Twins Daily. The TD spot as a legit outlet has been well-earned. And good work in rewarding Dustin's faith in getting credentialed. To me that says a lot.

Think I've seen about all I need to see from Perk this season. He just doesn't look like he has the stuff to get big-league hitters out at this point. I give him props for making it back- I tore the labrum in my non-throwing shoulder. It's a painful surgery / recovery and rehab process. Can't imagine throwing a ball again after having done that. That said, I'd rather see him take the off-season to see if can fully make it back. Don't need to see him on the Twins mound the rest of the way here.

I get what you're saying. But the initial Sano column is where this all started. Agree, the fat-shaming in the follow-up blog was out of bounds. So was Gleeman's Twitter tirade alleging Souhan blamed Sano for his injury and called him soft, when neither of those things happened. Just my opinion, but I lose a measure of respect for Aaron every time he mentions his kimono or Cinnabon. I don't blame him for feeling insulted, but it was at his own behest. He went after Souhan, questioned his professionalism & integrity. Jim took the bait with an inflammatory blog post that crossed the line. I'm not saying that makes it right. But now it looks like Gleeman is reveling in all the attention, and in my opinion, looks worse for doing so. As I said earlier, there are no winners here. Everyone looks bad.