bighat

Nicky Delmonico's 12-pitch AB is what knocked him out. Delmonico also knocked out Dobnak with a 13-pitch AB in the 2nd game of the series.

Agree that Donaldson's off to a slow start. It doesn't look like good contact to me. No zip on those ground balls to 3rd base and SS, at least not the ones I've seen. And he didn't run out that ball to start the game yesterday but was bailed out by Polanco and eventually Cave. I am sure he felt bad about it. Not hitting the panic button yet. I did see a great clip of Donaldson looking at Nelson Cruz after his 2nd home run like "this is CRAZY!" - it's taken him one series to confirm he made the right decision. This team had 2 games of 10 and 14 runs, and Donaldson didn't get a hit in either of them. How's that for a stat? Nice to know this team isn't desperate for him to get going. Maeda looks like he's just what the Twins need. Nice job taking 2 this weekend, now a big home series!

Over reactive post incoming: Already? Injuries (Buxton, Odorizzi) and coddling (Hill) already have the Twins putting together a bullpen game and duct taping a lineup together in the 2nd game of the year. Sending a soft-tossing lefty mop-up guy (Smeltzer) into the teeth of a right-hand heavy power-hitting lineup? For two innings? Huh? Where was Romo? And yes it's too early to panic but EARTH TO JOSH DONALDSON....uh, we're waiting bud

I mentioned this on the game thread. This is what happens when you have a utility infielder playing in the outfield. Many right fielders would have made that catch and it wouldn't even have been on SportsCenter - not exactly a "routine" play but a catch that I think Kepler makes for sure.

Great.

I don't mind the cutouts. In fact, I kinda like them better than the empty seats, just from a TV perspective. I think if I were a pitcher it would bother me. For example, if one of the pictures was getting under your skin, it's just gonna stay there and look at you with those empty eyes the whole game.... No Buxton again, disappointing. I saw a quote a few days ago where he said he was "feeling more confident", which you can translate to mean: He'll be back in 1.5 weeks. The Twins are so careful with this guy, if they keep winning they might not put him in until mid August. Disappointed to see Arraez on the bench but there is a lefty on the mound. And Adrianza, despite being the team's ultimate "B Squad" player, has often dazzled in these situations. Would like to see a couple big hits from Donaldson/Sano today. Get off the schnide.

Few takeaways: 1. Polanco and Arraez are not part of the Big Bopper crew but they may very well be the keys to the offense this season. Great to see them both with 2 hits and multiple RBI. 2. Kepler set the tone and showed the Twins offense "we're ready". You see teams like the Braves, Brewers, Rockies, Royals, Colorado all getting shut out on opening day. That's going to plant seeds of doubt. Kepler set the tone, the Twins followed and scored 10. 3. The White Sox aren't a joke anymore. Their lineup reminds me of the Twins, frankly. Anderson, Moncada, Abreau, Encarnacion, Jiminez, Robert....wow. Not much breathing room until you get to the 8th batter. They don't have the depth of the Twins, the pitching is a question mark, but they are going to be good. I would HATE to run into those guys in the 1st round of these expanded playoffs. They look like they could beat anyone on any day.

I think Sano could step in and be ready for opening day....anyone else?

This looks like a great Round Table that will be interesting and beneficial to many. Looking forward to it.

Yeah I think the issue is that with no Sano or Buxton, Marwin can only cover one of those positions. I suppose Tortuga could play first base but he's also on the Covid-DL. Get used to it. Teams are going to have guys come down with Covid-19 all over the place, there are going to be tons of games where only half the roster is recognizable, I fear.

Marwin plays right. Kepler moves to center.

Are you kidding? Rats.

How crazy is that that Eddie Rosario hit 30+ HR and drove in 100 RBI and he's 13th on this list....and that's exactly where he should be. How depressing is it that this is the best Twins team, possibly ever, and they are going to miss getting a shot at a memorable season due to a once-in-a-lifetime world pandemic?

"The best bullpen in baseball?" - uh, no. "A serviceable bullpen that might be decent if nobody regresses?" - more like it. How about Nick Gordon on that list? The guy was supposed to be the Next Big Thing and just can't seem to make it past that last step. Is development stalled? Will he ever be an MLB regular?

Good question. Mixed messages and thoughts so far from various owners/teams: AZ Diamondbacks: “My expectation and our expectation is we are going to be playing our games this year without fans in the ballpark,” he said on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo Wednesday. Chicago Cubs: “There was always a path to bring fans back into Wrigley — obviously a smaller group than would normally attend games,” Kenney said. “We do see that happening this year.” Houston Astros: "The intent at some point is to get the fans into the ballpark,” Crane said. St. Louis Cards: “I don’t know if fans will be able to go a baseball game in this abbreviated season. It seems unlikely today,” said St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.

Good: wow what a break against Cleveland, 7 home games vs just 3 away. Bad: Six against the Brewers, arguably the best team in the NL Central. Thoughts: How much does home field matter when there are no fans? Surely it will still make a difference, but not as much this year?

Someone on the Twins facebook batting practice feed said Sano was the other positive Twin. Just passing it on, total speculation.

Get well soon, Willians.

Thanks for this series! Great stuff.

It's never happened in the history of mankind.

I posted something like this on a thread a month ago and have been thinking the same thing all season. The Twins can't just "reload", they do have to rebuild. Is there any team getting shafted more than the Minnesota Twins during this stoppage? This is like the '94 Expos. Twins were lucky to pick up Nelson Cruz's option, grabbed that backup catcher, this was supposed to be THE YEAR. Poof, those guys are both gone, we get nothing. Pineda, get nothing. Odorizzi? Bye-bye. Plus we lose a year of production from Josh Donaldson. 2020 was supposed to be the year we got the most out of his contract, by the time 2023 rolls around he's going to be Albert Pujols and that's not what we paid for. Devastating, could be another 20 years before we see a Twins team like this.

One of my favorite Twins, he was always a tough out and played stellar defense. An above average MLB career, did well everywhere he played. Sad to see a player like him leave the game.

THANK YOU! Not thrilled. In the first round the Twins take a first baseman who can't play another position? Means his glove is very suspect. I saw some projections saying he's a future DH - which is fine I guess.....but in the first round? This guy is going to have to be a 30-40 HR player to stay up at the MLB level. Twins must have thought he was the best player available. Very strange pick IMO. Not a fan.

Baseball will always be my favorite sport and I do want to see it in 2020 - although if it's just going to be a shell of a season with players wearing hazmat suits, I'm not sure I would be interested....but I digress. Overall I'm utterly embarrassed for the game right now, especially in light of what all the other sports are doing. Take, for example, what's going to happen with football. This NFL season will draw more at-home viewers than ever. From a marketing perspective, they're going to get creative as heck: more mic'ed up players, online interaction, all sorts of "virtual experiences" and whatnot. It's going to be revolutionary and it's going to be such a hot topic.... Meanwhile, baseball had the chance to do it first. And they're too busy arguing! Owners look greedy and players look like awful cry-babies (just look at their tweets). The players, in particular, look bad here because they're the names we KNOW. Quick: who owns the Oakland A's? The Kansas City Royals? Most fans don't have a clue and they don't care. But we do know the players, and we listen to what they say, and all we're hearing from them is "NO". Even worse, baseball isn't a contact sport! So football, the most contacty-of-contact-sports is gonna put their product out there, meanwhile these guys in MLB won't budge an inch. And it's all surrounded by "union discussions", the mere mention of which bores the public to tears and makes people lose interest in the process. All in all the whole situation is a witches' brew of bad optics for baseball. Again, the best word for what's going on: EMBARRASSING.

I am with you. A 50 game season is the new idea they're trotting out there. 50 games? Seriously? And you're trying to tell baseball fans that this is a "baseball season"? That's a slap in the face. If they are really going to give us a 50 game season, I'd rather they just play a week-long exhibition tournament in Orlando or something, so it gets over with quickly and we don't have to watch for too long. Because 50 games is an absolute joke. 114? Not ideal but I'll take it. Less than 100? Joke city. Several leagues, including European soccer, the NBA and the NHL are all getting back to playing and are getting out there. The NFL is without a doubt going to play. For baseball to be the only sport (a non-contact sport!) to somehow fail to put a real product on the field is just embarrassing. Shame on all of them.