PopRiveter

I’m headed to my daughter’s restaurant to watch a couple innings before I drive her home. I demand a rally or else… …I’ll probably just tune in tomorrow.

While I can’t pretend to be vegetarian, I’m in he middle of a plate of steamed vegetables and it’s downright delicious. I won’t be pitying you anytime soon.

Yup. This bullpen will look much more stable if he can revert to the guy he was the last few years. Seems like a really good, standup guy. Just need him to perform well enough to belong.

Nope.

Big moment coming up. Hope they can distance themselves from that baserunning meltdown

Sign me up!

That was due to actual outcomes on the field (actual runs being scored against him), not expected outcome (projecting how many runs would be theoretically likely to score against if one superimposes a league average BABIP.) If Pagan put up a lousy FIP during that outing while allowing 0 runs, it still would've moved them closer to a win. That's my point. I'd been reading your ongoing debate where you kept arguing expected future performance against TheLeviathan who kept arguing on the field, results-based value. You both make some valid points, but I don't think you're arguing the same thing. I'm personally more grateful for the quality innings that have been stacking up and helping the team than I am afraid that he may turn into a pumpkin. You certainly don't have to see things the same as I do. I'd gladly crack a beer with you and enjoy a few innings and some friendly debate.

I'd dance with the girl what brung me to the party. If Correa is just a one year player, let's squeeze all the juice we can from 2022. Who knows, maybe he decides he likes winning as much as he likes money and there is more of a chance at a future together than any of us think is possible right now? Then again, Scott Boras is Scott Boras, so I won't hold my breath. Having an elite SS for a one year push is not my idea of a problem.

Some folks here set the bar pretty high. And in fairness, I left the door wide open to that sort of comparison when I put the words "Iron Man" in the post title. Honestly though, it was tongue-in-cheek. I should have put a huge asterisk and made sure to denote I meant *2022 Twins nearest equivalent Bundy leads the team in innings pitched and he is 101st in mlb right now. The 2022 Twins have no Bob Feller. I'm glad they have Chris Archer. I don't find them to be particularly comparable pitchers.

I've never seen a team lose a game due to underlying numbers suggesting future regression. ?

Yeah, “Iron Man” wasn’t meant in a genuine, straightforward way. Blyleven and Morris probably throw up in their mouths a little when they see that a 4/5 inning starter is a close second on the team in innings pitched. My perception was that Archer’s been so limited by his usage plan, but the reality was that the plan has kept him on the mound more than all but one fellow Twin. That’s what I aimed to say with that title. “Isn’t it Ironic? Don’t ya think?”

On June 1, the TD news page featured this article… I didn’t agree with the opinion suggested by the headline even then, but one month later, it’s hard to imagine posting that article today. Since this, he’s thrown 23 innings with a 1.57 ERA in June. He’s now started more games than any other Twins pitcher and has thrown the second most innings on the team. There has been some concern associated with his underlying number (see his 4.72 FIP), but he keeps looking better and better in my opinion. He’s been getting a lot of outs by means of weak contact. That always makes a pitcher’s FIP look worse than his results, but it also makes for a much more efficient pitcher as long as he keeps the ball in the park, which he has. I have not been supportive of limiting his pitch count so conservatively, but what they are doing is paying off and here we are, about to enter July, and the strategy has resulted in 57 1/3 innings and a starter who seems to keep trending upward. I have to give props.

You won't miss Angel Hernandez turning an MLB game into a joke even a little? ?

The teams winning in October are often the teams benefitting from the bad calls going in their favor, not teams overcoming bad calls going against them. Should we also allow Astro's to steal signs and teams to field a roster full of PED guys because "The best teams can overcome" unfair competition? Of course not. It's why I stopped watching the NBA years ago. The star players and big market teams were constantly the beneficiaries of phantom calls. You knew in advance who would win each series just by looking at the names on the paper. The refs steered the games accordingly. I hear it is supposedly better lately, but I haven't returned to find out if that is true. The more we can remove that unfairness from the game, the more even the playing field becomes, therefore, the better the sport becomes. One man's opinion.

Thanks Jerr. We needed you in the stands, but we probably could have used you in the bullpen too.

Wish I could click "Like" 100 times

I appreciate the point even if it doesn't sway me to switch sides. It is insightful and needs to be weighed. I expect I'd be all for human umps influencing the game for drama and excitement if I were a fan of one of mlb's elite big market teams.

I can't imagine the technology will disappoint me more than the skewed crews and a slanted playing fields we've faced in recent playoff series. I want fair baseball. Feels like electronic strike zones will be an important step closer.

I'm really liking the game a lot better this year, but maybe my perception is skewed by watching primarily Twins games. Hope it keeps trending toward more action and more contact.

It's been a rough go for hitters for sure, but I think the 2022 version of baseball makes for a much better game to watch. There's been balls in play, defense, rallies of strung-together hits. The last few years, games have been 4+ hours of strikeout-strikeout-walk-home run-strikeout. Baseball feels like baseball again this year. Gah, baseball is so resurrected right now. You are, of course, entitled to your own opinions.

I don't like the thought of Cleveland leaving town in first place. Recent developments have me on edge

There we go Correa. Let's get him in so I can start to breathe.

Perhaps your best headline yet. Had me laughing even before I started reading the article. Well done!!

mikelink45 for the win!

I remember guys making that kind of argument a some years back. Saying Ichiro's batting titles meant little because he was just a hollow batting average and so on. However, it feels like we've arrived at a more balanced, mature understanding and appreciation of stats today. Discussions have become more respectful and nuanced and you'd be hard-pressed today to find any baseball lover who would claim a .350 batting average could be hollow.