Game7-91

Jeez, I leave for an hour and look what happens. Twins should be paying me to just hang out, share the good karma. Cie la vie. How often does it happen your team scores 9 in one game and loses the next one 2-1? Sox should have saved some of these runs because they will need them tomorrow and next.

Legend has it that Sir Rodney once stole Homebase 7 times in one season. Wouldnt it be something if Buck took the measure of some of these hitchy-gitchy windups and ripped off a few home steals. A lost artform if you ask me.

I'm not watching, and its still painful.

Question for MLB is, if videos show a call was clearly wrong, why should reversal depend on a challenge? I understood the purpose of replay was to get the calls right for the sake of being right. Should just be overturned by the league office when its clear.

Do you really want to know?

I'm looking forward to the break this week. Admittedly I pay no attention to the ASG, but am very happy Buck and Arraez have well deserved honors this year. The next 10 weeks will be interesting. Central feels like a default division this year, Twins seem clearly the best of the bunch, but that in itself is not a lot of bragging rights. CWS have had injuries, but also just not a good team, probably most disappointing compared to expectations in MLB. Not expecting much to change with them. Detroit too just a dud season. If Twins can stay mostly healthy no reason why they should not be in 1st at the end. Looking ahead to October: AL Central vs AL west/east in playoffs since 2017: 3 wins, 17 losses. ALC vs E or W in AL playoffs 2010-2016: 34 wins, 23 losses. We need the pendulum to start swinging back to the midwest, here's hoping 2022 will be so?

Jamie, thanks for the time and effort putting this together. Love the concept. Not sure what to add beyond what you are doing. Comparing H/L ratings is very cool, unbelievable variances throughout. Imagining that will be less so closer we get to top 10. But makes one wonder what the actual draft boards look like in MLB draft rooms. Eye opening. Couple things caught my eye: 1. Twins should nab a high ceiling catcher in 1st or 2nd round. 2. Pitchers are eating Jack the Beanstalk beans or something.....lots of lanky hurlers. 3. Surprised change-ups are not part of more reportoires. Not sure why, I just assumed a change was standard to high prospect checklist. Those without would seem to have longer developmental time in MiLB, so wonder if lack of that pitch adversely impacts draft order. Love the content, look forward to seeing top 26!

Thanks Jeremy, youve done the homework and have an impressive history of correct picks, great stuff. I know nothing, zero/zilch about the propsed picks here, I just hope your emphasis on loading up on pitchers will actually happen. If they can find some lefties even better. Law of averages says a couple of these guys will have positive impact in MLB someday. Hope it is with the Twins.

Might be worth giving Jobu a try, save young Stashbury in case there's a curse brewing: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jobu-major-league-movie-rum-cigar-1478333720

Sod Poodles? WT? They need a new name. And I thought Wind Surge was goofy. Just cut to the chase, rename the team the Wichita Flatus. Team motto: "Blowin' 'em away." Team Mascot: "Wee Willy Windy," shaped like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, except poke his belly and something comes back besides cute giggles. 40' mechanical Wee Willy atop the scoreboard, who bends over to produce a fusillade of fireworks from the back side with each home team HR. Accompanied by finale to 1812 Overture for grand sslams.Draw big crowds with Pull My Finger promotional Tuesdays, giving tooting Wee Willy bobbleheads, Wee Willy air horns, and free hot dogs to the kids. And everyone who comes to the park can make fun of the Amarillo Sod Poodles, who would still have the worst name of a pro sports team even while sharing a field with the Wichita Flatus. And the play by play guy really shouldnt plagairize Gordo's patended HR call.Too close to Game 6 - 91 HR call, which is a national treasure. No imitations allowed.

Great fun to do it. Now hope our guys will help the party with a big win?

The heat is on, in the immortal words of Glen Frey! Our hometown heroes venture into the sizzle and swelter of mid-July Texas heat to take on the Rangers tonight. It's a cool 106 degree day in Arlington, 62% dewpoint.....when the word sultry was developed Texas in July surely was in mind. But...gametime temps estimated to be 85...Whew, what a relief. Though the Texas skies are sunny this will be a Gray affair tonight, as our man Sonny takes the hill for the good guys and Jon, formerly Jonathan, tries his luck for the Rangers. Tonight is the the first meeting between the two teams this season. So who is hot, and who is not? as the Twins prepare to take on the Texas heat and the baseball Rangers. Read on to find out! Gray vs Gray, both former #1 picks (Sonny #18 overall in 2011 to Oakland, Jon #3 overall in 2013 to Colorado)...between these former #1's, who has the better of things tonight? Sonny is tossing some seriously good ball for the good guys as we know. One random stat to ponder for tonight: Sonny in away games is at 19.2 innings pitched, 13H, 1.83 ERA with 2 BB/12 SO. (Better than he does at TF, by a lot, where his ERA is 2.83 on 35IP, 30H, 11ER, 12bb/42so). Jon, at home, is at 18IP, 15H, 3.44ERA, 4BB/25SO Jon started slowly, very slowly, but picked it up in June and has been throwing it well of late. Last 7 Jon is 3-2, 2.70 ERA on 43IP, 32H, 13 ER, including his last game, a loss to the Mets where he went 5.2 IP, 6H, 3ER, 1BB/7SO. J Gray lives on the 4 seamer, tossing it 51% of the time, and a sometimes really good, sometimes not so good slider at 34%. This will be interesting with Mr Polanco tonight, as Jorge makes his living on the 4 seamer....strength against strength. Should be an early tell tonight of J Gray stuff. I look for Polanco to hit it really, really hard at some point. On the other hand, our sinker baller Sonny, throwing it 32% of the time, comes up against a feast or famine Rangers offense. One would think Corey Seager would anchor the offense, but he (and Mr Semien) have to date been a disappointment, considering the Rangers committed 1/2 billion in salary over the next 10 years to these two. Plenty of time for them to reclaim the level of performance they enjoyed the last few seasons, but both are far behind their production of last year. Texas is led instead by 1B Nathan Lowe, who has never faced Sonny Gray, and RF Adolis Garcia. The Rangers are tied with the Twins in HR', at #7 overall in MLB, (though having played 5 fewer games than Twins) but lag behind our guys in OBP and runs. If Sonny can keep it in the park, Twins should prevail. Twins players to watch tonight: Polanco, and Arraez. Sonny "go this distance" Gray can manage this Ranger lineup, look for solid results from SG tonight, and 6 innings plus is very doable. Neither team is particularly familiar with the SP's. Correa has a 5 AB's against JG, that's it in our starting lineup. On the other side, Semien has 9PA's against Sonny, but Lowe and Garcia, zero.........so I give advantage Twins, because they are just a better team overall. Here's hoping Twins hydrated well yesterday, and will enjoy the thrill of victory in the sun and fun of Texas swelter. Your starting lineups tonight: Twins (47-38) Sonny Gray R 4-1 2.47 ERA Confirmed Lineup 1B Luis Arraez L SS C. Correa R CF Byron Buxton R RF Max Kepler L 2B J. Polanco S DH A. Kirilloff L LF Nick Gordon L 3B Gio Urshela R C Ryan Jeffers R Rangers (37-43) Jon Gray R 4-4 3.96 ERA Confirmed Lineup 3B Josh Smith L 2B M. Semien R SS Corey Seager L RF A. Garcia R 1B N. Lowe L C Jonah Heim S LF Kole Calhoun L DH Mitch Garver R CF L. Taveras S It's another day of baseball in July, folks, our guys are in first, and it just doesn't get any better than this! So everyone is invited to this party, kick up with a tall cool one, flip the burgers, bring the J Geils level of energy, and come as you are! (And if you happen to come across a video idea that expresses your opinion of the game tonight, please do share as the comments roll. Be creative, and have fun!)

Win probability went up to 79.3% for the good guys with Jose's mash. This Miranda guy has a future here.

Suspended games are now part of cba, so no more 5 inning rule. It's a good thing I guess. No 5 inning victories, or losses.

Soooo, top of 4th, Twins lead, and win probability sits at 53.6% advantage White Sox. Is this stuff just real-time betting odds, or is it some kind of stat algorithmimy stuff?

Much like Gandalf, who is never late, but arrives precisely when he means to..........

Agreed, his name is Taylor Rogers, for whatever reason, we did not feel the urgency to spend and extend his contract, or, if not extending, let him pitch his final year here, because we were going to contend this year, right?, and gee whiz, wouldnt it be great to have elite-level back-end guy on an expiring contract with all the motivation that comes with it anchoring the 9th along with Duran. But NNOOOO, we didnt need him...lets get a guy on the cusp of TJ#2 and a DFA quality guy to lose some games at the back end of the pen. Sheesh . Now we will pay that cost in prospects, and hope we land someone who can approximate Rogers' production and value. Whiplash-syndrome in a big way. I just hope FO can next year figure what direction they're going and make a friggin' plan. Thanks, I feel better now.

Didnt see it but have had similar wonderings. The 7th inning base running fiasco, while still ultimately on the players, does reflect poorly on their coaching and prep. Given their scheduling advantages, they would normally be in prime position to make a run. But given what we've seen of them, the Sox play a lot like their manager looks, and that doesn't bode well for them.

Great discussion, agree with Nick the comps between the 2 are amazing and unexpected. Gordon is our utility guy for the forseesble future- he'd proving his value is in versatility and productivity every day. Since rosters expanded players with his profile are much more valuable, and I am really happy he's on the good guys team.

This from MLBTR reinforcing the point generally....extensions, or risky trades, have similar profile, Twins FO took a red flag risk and sacrificed a piece of BP that may define the FO's season, not in a good way: "...as the Mets reportedly were in discussions with the Padres this offseason on a deal that would have sent Dominic Smith to San Diego in exchange for Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan, Eric Hosmer and $30MM to help cover Hosmer’s salary. The deal ended up falling through due to the Mets’ medical staff growing concerns with the medical records of Paddack,..."

It's the second straight year in which Baldelli – who managed outstanding bullpens in his first two division-winning seasons – has been sabotaged by his front office on the relief front. Sums it up perfectly Nick. Waiting 4 more weeks is not an option. Also agree White Sox are the looming threat. FO needs to act soon.

It is hard to believe, but here we are, at the 1/2-way point of the 2022 season, our hometown hero's having completed 82 games of the schedule. So it is mid-season review time. What has most surprised you about the Twins' season so far? Whether its the standings, W-L record, break-out players, disappointing performances, the AL Central, "dead-ball" baseball...whatever. What are the most surprising or unexpected things from the 1st half of 2022? For me, its that our guys are in first place. I was not bullish on this season back in late March, and so have been happily eating a healthy dose of crow. I love to see the emerging future core beginning to establish themselves. I have been surprised mostly by the demise of Detroit. I thought they would be competitive. Our guys have benefited from their downfall. Too bad, so sad....we have been there on our end. Somebody else's turn for a change. Finally, any predictions for the 2nd half? Division winners, playoffs, player performances, other teams? Here's mine: I dont want to be all Debbie Downer here, but reality is what it is: The White Sox have 7 games in the 2nd half against high quality opponents: 4 against Houston, 3 San Diego. They are done with the AL East. Clev has 18, including 12 against AL east other than Baltimore. Twins have 22, including 11 against AL East other than Baltimore. It all sets up as a challenging 2nd half of the season to maintain leadership of the AL Central. Stranger things have happened, but my gut says the White Sox are well positioned to make a run in spite of themselves. They are getting some of their guys back from IL. And given neither the Twins or Clev have been able to create meaningful distance, I give better odds to the Sox defaulting into the division title than our guys or Cleveland. No matter how it turns out, it should be exciting, and especially so for the great crop of young talent our team is developing for 2023 and beyond. What are your surprises and predictions as we enter the 2nd half of 2022?

As luck would have it, I am dusting off my bi-lateral Ephus delivery, and dusting off the knuckleball. I could toss a mean knuckler in peewee whiffle ball league. And, I'm willing to negotiate down on the signon bonus. Just need an agent rep....anybody on TD available?

Great summary Ted, thanks. I will be happy with anyone who can get outs and protect leads in the 7th-9th innings. Anyone. Chatlie Brown. Sid Finch. Mickey Mouse. Just help, please.