Vanimal46

This Super Nintendo baseball game was near and dear to mine and my brother's heart. Super Baseball Simulator 1.000. We spent a majority of our childhood playing that game. It is certainly more arcade like than realistic, as players had super powers attached to them. A batter could have a bomb super power that will explode if a fielder attempts to catch the pop fly. Or the pitcher could throw a frozen rope 185 MPH... Regardless, we spent countless hours creating teams and playing against each other. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPeYb5gQLlI

I will echo MVP Baseball series being the best sports game of all time. The early 2000s were the golden age of sports video games to be frank, because companies like EA and 2K Sports actually competed against each other to make the best football and basketball game. Sadly until these exclusive deals with EA (football), 2K Sports (basketball), and San Diego Studios (baseball) expire, all of our favorite sports games will continue to be stagnant.

It certainly doesn’t hurt. Though I think the better benefit is on the player development side. No one else in baseball is able to drive 15 min to their AAA team and check out their players in real time.

The White Sox, specifically their owner Jerry Reinsdorf, needs to take the PR hit right now and find another manager. JR can back pedal by saying he got ahead of himself and will allow the professionals he hired to interview for a better fit.

I don’t see how any team can make a move without knowing when the 2021 season will start, how many games they’ll play, if fans will be in the stands, etc. Unless they’re just shedding salary. The flurry of activity in Feb/March is optimistic IMO assuming they start spring training on time. Until we get more clarity on Covid and revenue that could get captured in 2021 there’s going to be a lot of waiting around.

Nice list to start. Others will continue to make the list soon enough. This winter is going to be brutal for non-tenders. Charlie Morton’s option was declined today by the Rays. The Twins, and collectively Twins Daily, will have months upon months to analyze the names.

Baseball fans pushing back on a rule change? You don’t say... I’m all for it. Ban the extreme shifts. Limit how many players can stand in the OF. Something needs to be done to generate more hits and excitement. Bunt hits? Lol, that’s going to bring in the big money.

I understand that B1G teams started out in a lose-lose situation. Getting the season canceled, then back pedaled to start over the course of a couple months. Like most every sport that has returned, I don't think it's smart to do during a pandemic. The higher ups decided money was more important, and here we are. I'm shocked, quite honestly, that the NFL has made it 7 weeks without a catastrophic outbreak. If they can pull it off, I don't see why college football can't. So now that the season is underway, yes, Fleck needs to make sure the team follows the protocols and protects them.

Mixing small ball with 3 true outcomes makes for a more exciting ball game. It just doesn't happen enough. The Rays this postseason are hitting .214 as a team. The Dodgers are hitting .258. When the very best teams are unable to secure a hit 3 out of 4 times, there's a problem. I think you're really overestimating batters adjusting to 100 MPH pitches. There's almost no reaction time available to decide whether the player is going to swing for the fences or slap a single to the opposite field. That's why I was talking about moving the pitcher's mound back to give the hitters a chance at making contact.

I understand and empathize with several of your frustrations. I think baseball needs to do something to increase balls in play and more hits. The three true outcome era isn't exactly thrilling baseball to watch. On the other hand, what exactly are hitters supposed to do these days? Hitting in the MLB hasn't been this difficult since the dead ball era. It was rare for a pitcher in the past to throw 95-100 MPH. Today, half of the pitching staff is capable of throwing that velocity. Pitchers are able to throw 99 MPH sinkers and 92 MPH sliders from the exact same arm slot. No wonder why players are selling out for the home run... So it's easier said than done to say slap the ball the other way, or hit it where they ain't. How do they fix this? Maybe they need to use analytics to find out the reaction time players had in the past with upper 80's fastballs and move the mound back to give the hitters a chance. Maybe they need to ban the shift. I don't know... But something needs to be done to get more excitement in the game.

Didn’t watch a second of the game. Just catching up now reading that the entire special teams kicking unit, half the OL, and others were unavailable due to Covid. Clean it up, Fleck.

Not sure I’m willing to double down on the good stories of Wisler and Thielbar. 3 things are certain in life: death, taxes, and baseball teams making adjustments. What other tricks does Wisler have up his sleeve when teams adjust to his absurd 80% slider pitch mix?

I think $130 million will be the ceiling payroll level. More than likely settling into the $120 range. Which, in pre-covid times would be really depressing for year 3 of a contention window. Alas, nothing was normal in 2020, so I anticipate a decrease from a vast majority of teams. While we hope the 2021 season starts on time, is 162 games, with fans in the stands, no one knows if that will be the case. I imagine most teams are going to budget like there won’t be fans in the stands. Or optimistically, 20% of capacity.

I think Buxton's injury history is more concerning because the Twins are still counting on major upside from him. He's still not locked into a long term contract and I don't know how they even begin those discussions when he is injured every single season. Donaldson is on the downswing of his career and my assumption is he has maybe 1 year left at 3B before transitioning to DH full time.

Dozens of relievers... The JT Chargois types we used to have in this organization. As far as position players, CJ Cron and Jonathan Schoop were non-tenders last year I believe.

We could say in hindsight they needed another bat in the lineup. However, at the trade deadline it wasn't a big priority. The only one on the trade block this year that appeared to be an upgrade was Starling Marte. Even then, he would have been a part time fill in. A RH bat is much needed this off-season to break up the monotony of 75,000 LH hitting corner OF in the organization.

My answers to the article: 1. Probably not, unless a miracle happens in the next 5-6 months. 2. I'd love to see Cruz back for one more year. It's risky to continue counting on his unrepaired wrist, but the team needs a strong veteran presence like him to look up to IMO. 3. Gonna go outside the box and say their biggest need is sorting through the gluttonous amount of LH hitting corner OF in the organization. Need to make some tough choices this winter. 4. I would certainly look elsewhere for a new hitting coach. When the entire team underperformed at the plate, it's time to find a different voice. 5. I would look at doing a re-tool this winter. I think the core has been around long enough to make these tough calls and add different voices in the clubhouse. None of us will have these answers besides immediate staff... They need to think back to this last week, and really dig into what each person did. Were they vocal pumping up the other players? Were they visibly scared and the moment was too big? We've got to figure out why the offense has shown up completely flat the last 2 playoff series.

Concur. We will have plenty of time to discuss in the coming months, but I think we will need to clear out the gluttonous amount of LH hitting corner OF. Perhaps 1 or 2 veterans are included in that purge.

Clicking ‘Open for New Opportunities’ on his LinkedIn profile, I would imagine.

I wonder if any reporter is going to press him for more than just “Buxton isn’t 100% today.” ? Who’s feeling 100% this late in the season?

Buxton on the bench? Wow.

Another huge head scratcher was Buxton's PA in the 5th inning. Marwin and Arraez draw walks in their PAs. Valdez can't find the strike zone without google maps... What does Buck do? Goes up there hacking at the first pitch. Then swings at a no chance curve in the dirt. He didn't swing at a single strike in the at-bat, and thus, gave Valdez confidence to settle down and get out of the jam.

This stat is taken from Aaron Gleeman’s article in the Athletic: https://theathletic.com/2103111/2020/09/29/twins-astros-game-1-bats-hitting-cant-wait-any-longer/ Last year, the Twins scored more than three runs in 75 percent of their games, consistently providing the pitching and the defense with at least a reasonable margin for error. This year, the Twins scored more than three runs 57 percent of the time. Game 1 adds to that total, and to that frustration. You should win home playoff games when you allow one run in nine innings, but Polanco kept that from happening and things unraveled from there. But flip that same stat around: MLB teams scoring one run in playoff games since 2000 are 14-156, winning just 8.2 percent of the time. - - - Hard to win when you can’t score runs. The offense has been a concern all year, and we’re seeing it again in the playoffs.

Not to mention the core of this lineup and several pitchers have been here for the 0-5, even 0-6 lapse.

It’s almost like someone bet Baldelli he couldn’t find a way to use 4 catchers in a game and he said Hold my beer... The most egregious head scratcher is Astudillo pinch hitting in the 9th. I mean, come on. He’s been mostly bad since late 2018. I understand a lefty vs lefty matchup isn’t ideal for a 1st MLB PA, but I would have gladly taken Kirilloff in the 9th, or literally anyone except Astudillo.