Respy

I'll note that Severino is coming back soon.

Thanks for this article. I also collected when I was a kid. I have some time away from it while in college and grad school, and now I'm starting to look back into my collection. The best thing now, is the ability to go on Ebay and buy the exact cards you want at reasonable prices. There's no chance of that lotto pull, but no wasted money and no common cards to get rid of later. It's also great for building a collection (I'm trying to collect every pre-2000 Kirby Puckett card). Hobby shops are still great and I hope they stick around! And as you said, hobby packs offer special inserts and sometimes better odds, which makes them usually better to buy than the retail packs/boxes. Always read the label first to see what's possible in those packs!

Is Odorizzi returning for tomorrow's game? I predict the Twins take 1 and the Indians take 2. Should be a fun series. Let the nail-biting commence.

Another bit of evidence that the baseball is 'juiced.' What I'd really like to see, though, is a use of stats and tracking data which plot exit velocity and launch angle versus distance traveled, for the old balls versus the new balls. I'd be shocked if nobody has done this yet, but I haven't seen any plots like this. I tend to believe that we'll see a higher distance traveled from the new balls, but the paradigm shift in batting approach the last few years makes it really hard to judge from just the league batting statistics and total homeruns.

I agree with many other posters above about generally trusting Rocco, and probably leaving Byron alone for now in the 9th spot. One bit of information I'll add, that has not been mentioned, is that due to the current lineup construction, and the fact that Byron is a right-handed hitter, the Twins cannot simply move him up to any spot. To preserve the R-L-R alternating in the batting order (a batting order that I would NOT be messing with right now), Buxton would have to move up to 7th (for Schoop) or 5th (for Cron). Buxton should probably not be hitting ahead of Schoop or Cron. I think an injury to one of our starters is the only way Buxton gets moved up in the order.

4-1 record aside, Rocco is doing a lot with the lineups, in-game decisions, and bullpen management that look good to me so far. I haven't scratched my head much yet. This is the first time I've felt comfortable with the manager in many, many years.

The Twins should get Kimbrel if they can, but I'm guessing he doesn't want to be here. I'm guessing that was the same situation with all the other top free agent relievers. Those top relievers want to see a team committed to being a playoff contender, not the wait-and-see strategy from the Twins. We better hope for a bounceback from Reed, top form from Parker (which I'm optimistic for), health from May, and excellence/health from Romero (which unfortunately he'll probably be in the bullpen). Like you said, a very low floor here (like near-worst in MLB floor). But, I think above average ceiling is possible here. Honestly I think the only way of raising the Twins floor for the bullpen is to successfully implement the opener more frequently. The roster is full of average to above-average reliever-types who can go several innings.

Last time we were there (about 10-12 years ago) our favorite activities outside of games/practices were those on Sanibel Island, especially shelling. I remember driving into, and finding parking on, Sanibel Island was very difficult. Anyone know if Uber services the area nowadays? Any other recommendations? Do you have to pay to park at Hammond stadium on non-game days?

I put in a bid on this, seeing that this was a potential once-in-a-lifetime type of event. I just couldn't stay in at the final bid price. I might regret it later.

Pomeranz's fastball velo is way down, below 90 last year. I've never been impressed by his stuff or command. His FIP each year is also not very good. Buchholz is worth a shot and cheap enough, if we plan to have backup options for when he gets hurt, like Fernando Romero (if not already in the rotation).

I personally think that Max will turn things around at the plate next year. But, one thing I was wondering that's unanswered: Wasn't Kepler working with Barry Bonds this last offseason? That seems to have gone poorly...

I don't think it's relevant whether he plays at 2B or SS because they need to find the best player they can get at either 2B or SS, and put Polanco at the other position. Deciding first what position Polanco should be at, limits our flexibility.

I'm a big advocate for a latino manager, especially one with a Puerto Rican background, to vibe with our younger players. I don't have a problem with most other candidates, and I think that David Ross has a great personality for the job. The one I'd be most avidly against is Mark DeRosa. I've never taken DeRosa as being that smart of a person. He seems to have a lot of opinions and can get quite talkative and lippy, but I don't hear much insight/facts/evidence in his arguments. He can stay at MLB Network.

Well...it sounds less bad than before?

Well, bye Joe Mauer.

I can't speak to his leadership ability, but he handled his entire career with poise and class, and I appreciated that. I wish my kids got to watch him play and watch Joe's example on how to respect the game.

After a 3-game series against the Yankees where Willians Astudillo did not record a strikeout in 10 at-bats, the Yankees officially protested the game on September 12th. Manager Joe Girardi, and pitcher David Robertson, contended that the strike zone should be wider for a batter of Astudillo's girth. Seemingly, David Robertson was frustrated that he allowed his first earned runs since July, and couldn't figure out how strike out Astudillo in a key situation. "The strike zone is normally only 17 inches wide. Are you trying to tell me that someone as wide as that guy should have the same strike zone width? We adjust the height of the strike zone for each batter, so this just doesn't make any sense." After the game, Major League Baseball's Executive VP of Baseball Operations, Richard Alderson, released the following statement: "Major League Baseball, and the office of Baseball Operations, has denied the formal protest by the Yankees on September 12th. MLB Rule 2.00 states that 'The STRIKE ZONE is that area over home plate...' and is not dependent on the torso width, or fluffiness, of a given batter. Major League Baseball does not discriminate against certain players, including those who are more corpulent than others." MLB pitchers will need to find another way to get Astudillo out, who has only 2 strikeouts and 0 walks in 48 MLB plate appearances, and only 85 walks (9 intentional) in 2462 minor league plate appearances. Astudillo currently leads all of Major League Baseball with a #DIV/0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

"Of all the divisions in baseball, only the NL West has Fogo de Chão locations in every city, meaning likely suitors for Escobar could be the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, or Giants." I'm sure Escobar is delighted to now be part of the Diamondbacks organization!

I think it's a good idea. But, can you imagine how much more some of these pitchers will nitpick if they think they are only going 3 or 4 innings? Tell a guy 4 innings, and he might think he can now use 100 pitches over 4 innings. If piggybacking, I think I'd rather give them a pitch limit to incentivize efficiency. Then if one guy goes 5 innings on 70 pitches and another 4 innings on 50 pitches, then great! Bullpen would get a rest that day.

Many bullpen players for the Twins in the past, during successful seasons, have noted the importance of knowing their role and know which situations or innings they'll be called for. This gives them every chance to be physically and mentally prepared for their outing. I think next year it is important to get back to this model, and I'd expect the Twins to hire a free agent closer for next season. In the meantime, closer by committee is fine to try out different guys in the late-inning roles. That being said, I don't think it should always be a cut-and-dry 7th-inning guy, 8th-inning guy, and closer for every team. Teams without a clear closer should go by committee and leverage situations. Teams with bad offenses might be inclined to use their best pitcher earlier in the game to keep the game close. Etc.

Here's a front-view video in slight slo-mo showing this (@ 13 seconds): https://www.mlb.com/video/hildenberger-ks-jay/c-2097889483

Good analysis. I think the grip may also be visible during Hildy's 'backswing' (not sure if there's a better word for it). He brings his pitching hand way out toward first base where it's very visible. Watching your clip of Makita, he brings his 'backswing' shorter and toward second base to hide the ball the whole way.

Right, so it's up to interpretation of the umpire on 'intent to deceive the runner.' If the pitcher gets into the stretch on the rubber without the ball, certainly a balk. If the pitcher straddles the rubber to make it look as if they are in the stretch while they are not, umpire MAY call a balk. If the pitcher momentarily straddles the rubber in an attempt to walk across the mound and do something else like get the rosin bag, the umpire may (but likely not) call a balk, depend on apparent intent to deceive the runner. I'd say the way De Jong approached the mound could have honestly gone either way.

I remember doing the same thing when I was pitching in middle school. Never leave your bag until the pitcher steps his foot on the rubber! (which the pitcher can't do if the pitcher doesn't have the ball)

Any chance the Twins just dump Forsythe after the trade, similar to what the Rangers did with Austin Jackson?