BigSkyTwinsFan

Nice article, Parker. Your usual good stuff. What are your thoughts about his higher walk rate more recently. It seems significantly better than earlier this year, and somewhat better than his career rate. SSS or sustainable because of approach changes you note?

I really enjoy the writing and perspective you bring to this site, Mat. Keep it coming. Good luck with the season.

Amen to that! Happy Easter.

As a partial answer to TwinsGuy55422's question, the article tagged below is about the new sports psycologist that the Orioles brought on board this year. The article states: "The Orioles are hardly alone when it comes to incorporating psychology. Though organizations aren't always forthcoming about officially having sports psychologists and other mental consultants on staff, more than half of Major League Baseball's teams have one in some capacity, with some having multiple psychologists, including for their Minor Leaguers." With the financial investment made in baseball teams today, it makes sense to me that a coach for the mind should be available to those players who will willingly take advantage of it. As for the original statement above - "Then there's Mauer, who hit 28 home runs in a shortened 2009 season, and who has hardly hit any since then. It's abundantly clear that the not-so-friendly confines of Target Field have gotten in his head" - I can't really agree w/ the premise. 2009 as an anomoly for Mauer compared to the entire rest of his professional career. A healthy Mauer will likely hit somewhere between 5 and 15 long balls based on his 10 other professional seasons. That is not to say, however, that he couldn't use some head help. Could be something he and many other Twins are already taking in - they just aren't likely going to advertise it. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120223&content_id=26829668&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb