Game7-91

Emerging star he is.....

Twins win percentage 92.7%, Mahle made it through 6 on 86 pitches. He's averaging 95 pitches per start. Can the BP get 9 outs without giving up 3 runs? I'm betting 92.7 is a little low.

6th and Twins SP still throwing, what's wrong with this picture?

This sums it up perfectly. Great article, love the topic, the detail, and getting to know Chris Tveitbakk.

And welcome back to TD Game Thread, August 12, 2022 variety, as our Hometown Hero's begin a 3-game set with the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles, or is it Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, or Anaheim Angels, or whoever they are. Let's just say they are not the Dodgers, and thank goodness for that, as our Twins are coming off a 2-game spanking at the hands of one of the very best in MLB. But that unhappiness is in the rear-view mirror, and tonight, the Twins have a chance to get back on track as they will face an Angels club coming off a 3-game sweep of Oakland. On the season, the Twins stand at 57-53, good for second place in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind Cleveland. With that, the Twins project a 46.8% chance of making the playoffs, and a 32.7% of winning the division. The Angels stand at 49-63, 22.5GB division leading Houston, and sporting a robust 0.1% chance of making the playoffs, less than that of winning the division, and even less than that of winning the 2022 World Series™. So, who would you rather be following this year? Thought so. It's August 12th, the Twins are still in the hunt, and who would have thought that on March 31st? So let's get after it fella's!! It is a cool 93 and sunny in So Cal today, perfect day to take out some frustration on the woeful Angels. The Twins start brand new acquisition Tyler Mahle, making his second start for the good guys. As we know, the Twins traded prospects Spencer Steer, Steve Hajjar, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand for 1.25 years of Mahle's services. While his first outing may have been less than spectacular, Mahle holds out promise as the top strike-out guy in the Twins' rotation going forward. His line so far in 2022 is: W5-L7, 4.49ERA, 110IP, 96H, 57 R, 55 ER, 40BB/1119K, 3.87FIP, 2.1 WAR. His counterpart, 25 year old Patrick Sandoval, has some wicked splits to show for his efforts, compiling a .195BAA, 16H, 23K ,7 BB, and 0, count 'em, 0HR against LHB in 2022. Less inspiring is his line against RHB: .277BAA, 79H, 38BB, 79K, 4HR. Quality contact and getting on-base from the right side will be key for the Twins tonight, which may be why Kepler takes a seat, and Celestino will fill in RF. Arraea and Gordon will try to solve Sandoval from the left-side. On the season, Sandoval owns a line of W3-L7, 3.41ERA, 95IP, 95H, 39R, 36ER, 45BB/102K, 3.10FIP, 2.1WAR. Finally, Aug 12th is a memorable anniversary in Minnesota Twins land, as Harmon Killebrew was inducted into the HOF, along with Louis Aparicio, Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese and Rick Ferrell. For all the old farts meandering through TD these days who remember, Harmon provided many seasons of enjoyment with his ferocious power and good-natured personality. Rest in peace HOF'er Harmon. One other notable moment about August 12th. In 1987 on this day, the Braves traded veteran Doyle Alexander to Detroit, receiving minor league prospect John Smoltz in return. The intricacies of baseball cosmic-connectivity brought the Twins, Braves, and Tigers together in memorable ways over next four seasons. Alexander went on a tear for Detroit late in '87, going 9-0 to help the Tigers win the AL East, only to get steam-rolled by our guys in the ALCS, including knocking Alexander around in game 1, Jack Morris in Game 2, and then Doyle A. again in the pennant clinching game 5 in Detroit.The Tigers went for it in '87, trading a future HOF'er for a chance to win it all with a really good SP in Doyle Alexander. Too bad for Alexander and Detroit they had to face the juggernaut that was the '87 Twins. Doyle would pitch two more uninspiring seasons before calling it a career. It seems the Twin beatings he took in the '87 ALCS were truly the end of the line of his career. Then flash forward four seasons to 1991, when Mr Smoltz and Mr Morris tangled in what remains in my book the most exciting game in modern MLB history. Morris' heroics get the headlines, rightfully so, but Smoltz, at the age of 24, also tossed 7 1/3 innings of shut-out ball, in Game 7, in the Dome, walking one, K'ng 4. Not bad for a guy Detroit felt was expendable, and who would go on to end his career in Cooperstown. Regardless of Smoltz's dominance, Morris was better that night, and single-handedly carried the Twins to their second World Series ™ title, leaving a chestful of lifetime memories for Twins fans through the ages. Back to 2022. Your starting line-ups for tonight: Angels RF Taylor Ward R DH S. Ohtani L 3B Luis Rengifo S 1B Jared Walsh L C Max Stassi R 2B D. Fletcher R LF S. Duggar L CF M. Sierra L SS A. Velazquez S Twins: CF Byron Buxton R SS C. Correa R 3B Gio Urshela R 2B J. Polanco S DH Jose Miranda R C Gary Sanchez R 1B Luis Arraez L RF G. Celestino R LF Nick Gordon L

"Rocco Baldelli revealed that his (Buxton's) knee has experienced increased swelling since an awkward landing on a jump in San Diego." SD series ended July 31st. By my math, 10 days prior to yesterday's game. So why not a 10-day DL trip for Buck? Ill-founded hope its day-to-day? One among many head scratchers.

Bean 5302 nails it, and deserves a TD standing O!

Great write-up and questions. Agree with Brock's take on the TV contracts. As the NFL is the gold-standard of competitiveness, and though not apples to apples comparison, it is pretty clear that balance in the NFL is served by equal shares in television revenues. Green Bay Packers reported 275 million in TV revenue sharing from the league for last season. Shares of similar magnitude in MLB would instantly and dramatically re-shape MLB competitive balance for the better, without any question. The problem though is that we are celebrating this year the 100th anniversary of MLB gaining exemption from anti-trust laws. The whole basis of retaining the exemption is the belief that MLB is not an enterprise that conducts inter-state commerce, so MLB has been and will remain businesses tied to local markets. This is the only reason why LA and NY can monopolize local TV contracts. I dont quite understand why the Pohlads of the MLB universe do not press to end the charade, but they too have financial interests in the current structure, just much more limited than NY or LA. I dont know how the exemption ultimately goes away. Congress makes noise every once in awhile, like, in election cycles. But never ever has anything seriously been attempted to rectify this situation. The continuance of the exemption makes a mockery of federal anti-trust law and judicial precedents, and it should embarrass those with power to make changes who do nothing. But given the recent move to integrate gambling-related revenues into the cash stream, and, dont even get me started on maintaining the federal tax credits our local ownership group, among others, continues to benefit from for building the stadium-with public money-it's really hard to see how there is any path forward in quashing the exemption. The quality of the sport itself suffers, but apparently the quality of the profit margins are enough to keep the ownership group satisfied, even if it means your team gets to be crushed without mercy on a regular basis by the Big Boys. So yes, I agree, MLB is broken from the perspective of the fans. The League, owners, players, and agents, not so much.

Agreed. To say the least. The question for FO is making good decisions on who to keep, who to trade or release, and who to sign in the off-season. If we are going into 2023 with the same cast of characters as 2022 we can fairly expect the same results.

Good examples, but color(s) can be interchangeably singular or plural. (But not always....see Blues, St Louis...but that refers not to the color but to an understandable state of mind of those who must live in or around St Louis.) So no, using a color to name the team doesn't bother me, at least not a lot, (although I think team names should point out the resiliency or toughness or something like that of the team...colors are lacking in that regard. If we want some real chuckles take a look at some of the team names in MiLB. Just sad.)....like in the same way if there existed the Seattle Sheep or Montana Moose wouldn't bother me saying or writing it as such. The plural is just contextual. The fix to the great RBI debate is to put the noun at the end of the phrase, where it is more naturally pluralized and colloquial, so Batted In Run(s), which is consistent with other stat's, like Home Run(s), etc........ Maybe MLB should just decree that from now on, it will be Batted In Run(s), BIR. Manfred can do it. He's king of the world in baseball. Just issue a decree, so let it be written, so let it be done. But that would be boring, and probably much more controversial than say creating an equitable international draft or establishing salary floors/caps.

Stanford Cardinal sounds ridiculous because it is. But there it is. Stanford! Plurals should be written/stated, not assumed. Or, we will strive for consistency: E.g., Buck of the Minnesota Twin has so far this season 47 rbi from 22 home run, producing 57 run on 66 hit and 302 at bat. ?

Sad and worrisome news. Thanks Lucas Seehafer for excellent explainer. Very much sounds like last thing to do to fix it, but also appears no other option. All the best to him, hope it works.

Yes, totally agree. Matthew is speaking truth. Personally I hesitate on Strotman, would rather see an extended period of success in BP, but his transition is promising. If he comes up though I wouldnt scream. Good with any of the others, even if a 40 man adjustment is needed. It's mid-August and we're still doing tryouts in the BP, but it has to be done, they need to release Pagan, today would be good.

It’s the stretch run of the 2022 season. Twins fans look forward to meaningful baseball in August and September, and maybe October too! Yet much commentary has been shared this year on the lowly state of the AL Central, and that the Twins may have had a different approach to the trade deadline if they played in either of the other divisions, while a team like the Orioles may have taken different decisions in they were in the AL Central. While opinions vary, it seems that divisional alignments play a significant role in playoff chances and related roster management decisions. Additionally, the expanded playoff format has created the unseemly arrangement of one divisional winner functioning as a wild-card entry, as the divisional winner with the lowest regular season winning percentage will host a wildcard series, while the top two divisional winners gain a playoff bye. Why have 3 divisions if one of the divisional winners gains no advantage in the playoff format? Is the current divisional structure serving MLB well? MLB is now structured like every other pro sport, as one league with two conferences holding two or more divisions, under a single commissioner, a universal rule book, and increasingly balanced regular season schedules.* With these developments, along with MLB and MLBPA further integrating gambling revenues, and the seemingly inevitable future expansion of franchises into two 16-team leagues/conferences, more change is coming, as the game and the business model for the league, owners, and players continues to evolve. One of those changes could be re-aligned divisions. It doesn’t seem likely realignment would happen prior to the end of the new CBA in 2028. But these discussions are undoubtedly already happening within MLB leadership. I say let them hear and consider the voices of the fans. So let’s help them out at TD,and provide well informed, common-sense wisdom for the power-brokers in MLB. What would a sensibly reorganized league/divisional alignment look like? 2 divisions in each league, 8 teams each? 4 divisions, 4 teams each? Mix up current AL and NL teams? What values should be prioritized in aligning divisions-geography, traditional rivalries, travel demands, weather, payroll/market size? Could divisional alignments create more fairness, so that each team would have a roughly equal chance to make the playoff field? How would you re-make the future of MLB if you were Commish for a day? *”Beginning in 2023, teams will play five fewer games against division opponents, instead playing one series against every team in the other league. Teams will continue to play their “rival” Interleague team four times, twice at each ballpark. Teams will face their four division opponents 14 times each season -- seven home and seven away -- for a total of 56 games. They will also face the other 10 teams in their league six times apiece, playing a three-game set at each ballpark. Rather than 16 Interleague games, teams will have 46 such games on the schedule -- four against their geographic rival and three each against the other 14 teams, alternating ballparks annually. As a result of the adjusted schedule, teams within the same division will have 91% of their games in common, an increase from 84% under the old schedule. Schedules among teams in the same league will feature 76% of common opponents, up from 52% in an unbalanced schedule. The new schedule not only will allow for more parity but also will help balance the home/away schedules within divisional series, which saw one team host 10 games and the other nine under the unbalanced schedule. Teams now will host seven games apiece against all of their divisional opponents beginning in 2023.” Source: MLB.com, 3-11-22. https://www.mlb.com/news/more-interleague-games-on-balanced-schedule

35 large would be better spent developing the pitching staff, but its not the Twins' decision to make. I would rather clear the decks for Lewis to return at some point next season, assuming the medicals support that hope. It seems odd that "...teams don’t value things like RBI's like they used to...", scoring runs seems to be the point of the game.

Hoping these guys can form the next wave of productive MLB pitchers. Long starts are a rarity at the Low-A level and Raya is no exception. All four of his starts in July were five innings or less and his season-long is six innings. Actually sounds a lot like certain SP's at ML level.

OTOH: "If it aint't broke, don't fix it".

This is a good-faith effort on part of FO to improve the rancid performance of the BP. It's a gamble, but so are all trades. The trade value for effective relievers is high. Twins were willing to pay a price in prospects, for controlled expense for 2.25 seasons. For their model of roster mgmt, this is a good fit, and good trade. Now just hope this guy performs as well as the #'s indicate.

Fulmer and Lopez have to be happy that they dont have to face the Twins again.

Ted and TD gets cited in MLBTR for breaking the Twins part of the deal, in the same sentence as Jon Heyman! Way to go TD and Ted! 2:50pm: The teams have agreed to a trade sending Mahle to the Twins, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ted Schwerzler of TwinsDaily reports that Minnesota is sending is sending infield prospects Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to the Reds, as well as lefty Steven Hajjar (Twitter link).

Yes, this Lopez guy needs to fix that. Priorities. He says he looks like Aggie---then its time to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Lopez looks like Rick Aguilera. Here's hoping he closes out games like that, because that would really help!

Are 'ya feelin vindicated today? You should, you called it? ?.... ...8th innings 2 outs, 2 down , 2 on, opposite field....thing of beauty......10th inning, pull the tying 1b to LF. So where do they pitch Miranda now, he can pull, go the other way, gap power, or park it. Sounds like the whole hit package.