Twins-Tigers Postgame
Posted on May 4th, 2008 – 9:27 PMBy La Velle
While the Twins have inexperienced hitters in their lineup like Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez (and Matt Tolbert, when he plays). But, overall, they are good enough to hit good pitching a few times.
So it was impressive to see how they made adjustments against Tigers lefty Kenny Rogers.
Rogers retired the first 11 Twins batters he faced using all his pitches but effectively using his changeup in particular. One change floated in at 71 miles an hour.
Twins players realized that they needed to look for the change and take it to the opposite field. Nick Punto’s two-run double in the fifth came off a change that was up in the strike zone.
Craig Monroe said that hitting coach Joe Vavra encouraged them to think up the middle and opposite field at the plate.
“It says a lot about Joe and having a plan and what he believes would work,” Monroe said n unsolicited response.
If the Twins can make in-game adjustments like they did on Sunday, they’ll have success against pitchers better than Rogers.
Five game winning streak. Seven straight against A.L. Central opponents. First place? Enjoy.
For those of you with absolutely nothing to do tonight - and who are brave enough to see my face on television and still not have to sleep with the light on - I will be a guest on Rosen’s Sports Sunday tonight. The show begins at 10:35. I’m not sure when I’ll be on, but I will be on if you want to check it out.
187 Responses to "Twins-Tigers Postgame"
if baker goes to the dl who comes up
Feels like 06!
“Craig Monroe said that hitting coach Joe Vavra encouraged them to think up the middle and opposite field at the plate.
“It says a lot about Joe and having a plan and what he believes would work,” Monroe said in an unsolicited response.”
Holy crap!!
Professional hitters praising the work of Joe Vavra while amateur outsiders berate him. How do you know who to believe?
Re: Starting pitching. Think about the past year and a half performance since late in 2006 to the present. Compare the records of Bonser vs. Guerrier. Not sure Bonser has the staying power for a good 6 innings end to end, regardless of his weight. Guerrier is getting better each year. Why not put Boof in middle relief and Guerrier in the rotation?
sane-Of course the bloggers on this site know more about hitting than Monroe!They are on a hot streak,wait till they lose 5 in a row, bc and the anti-Vavra crowd will be back in force blaming Vavra.You can take that to the bank!
Great to see Boof suck it up and not fall to pieces. The team really needed him to step up today with Baker out and Bass unavailable. These kinds of starts build character.
Sane
keep believing your amatuers. LOl
Win Twins. Sweet Sweep!
LEN3 - you’re the best in the business. Rosie should have you on all Twins season long.
Its also nice to follow a team that isn’t in a league like the NFL with nothing but criminals and thugs. As a father I do like to see the MLB has fewer problems and the Twins are a class outfit. Yes, there has been steroid use, but that is fading thankfully.
GENO,
“the anti-Vavra crowd will be back in force blaming Vavra.You can take that to the bank!”
Nothing that I have ever taken to the bank has as much dead-on certainty and reliability as that statement.
Some of you negative posters are really on a roll!There has only been 10,321 negative posts about Punto in the last year and one-half.Gomez could not improve after age 22,Nathan has to be traded because he will not get enough chances for saves.Last time i checked,he had 11.You guys are something else!That why they play the games!
Vavra taught Mauer how to hit that seeing eye hit up the middle to win today’s game. The Tigers hitting coach did a heck of a job in the first inning,but sucked after that!These statements should be perfectly logical to some on this board
I love having pitching depth.
GENO,
Are you saying its illogical that a coach’s IQ would vary by 200 points up or down during the course of a game?; a season?; a career?)
If a hitter goes 5-for-5 today and 0-for-5 tomorrow, is it because his hitting coach is not consistent?
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, something to think about.
To respond to a couple things over the past few days: I love both DicknBert and JohnnDan.
It was kinda funny to read the comments from Sunday. It went from: Twins Suck! Boof Sucks! Well, now I can go do something else…to Oh my god, it’s 6-3. 6-4! 7-6! We won! We’re awesome! God Bless the United States of fricken’ America! Kinda funny.
I called it. I said, IF Boof gets out of this inning, he’ll pitch well the rest of the game. I didn’t, however, think the Twins would win. Kept watching though. Twins win=bliss for the day. Revenge for 1 of the 2 gamesin Det Roit.
“Ace of the staff” likely goes on the DL. Big blow. Slowey should do well. Not “Ace of the Staff” well, but sufficient enough.
Twins should beat Gavin Floyd in Game 1 of the Chi. series, as he has a career mark of 0-2 record in two starts against the Twins, allowing 10 earned runs on 15 hits over 11 1/3 innings in the process, and that win could propel them to a sweep over the Sox, who aren’t playing very well.
I feel like I’m doing Tidbits…
To whoever commented on me using willn’t:
Do not= Don’t.
Should not= Shouldn’t.
Would not= Wouldn’t.
Can not= Can’t.
Will not= Wont?!? Wrong.
It’s Willn’t. Period. End of argument.
P.S.
Not worried about B-B-Boof at all…Mauer is really coming on strong. This is what I needed to see THIS year for me to believe in him. Has to sustain it a whole year (and injury free), but so far, so good.
P.P.S.
Sorry for the long, randomized post. I just got going and didn’t stop. Thanks for your patience.
the reason bonser is a starter is just that…he is a starter…guerrier is a very good long reliever…but not a starter at the major league level….Vavra does not and has not taken the swings for the twins hitters….I am certain he does everything he can to help them succeed…looks to me like he does his job very well.
Hate to contradict you on the grammar, TK(2), but while “willn’t” isn’t technically incorrect, it stopped being used commonly in the 1910s. “Won’t” comes from the much more common (in the 19th and early 20th centuries) word “woll,” which essentially was the past tense of “will.”
Call me an English geek (I won’t take offense, I teach it), but you can’t analogize rules of grammar from similar words. Canons of word usage vary immensely, even just in the English language.
For example, a few irregular contractions:
can not = can’t, not cann’t
shall not = shan’t, not shalln’t
I had = I’d, not Ih’d
will not = won’t
There you go, getting me started on something totally unrelated to the twins. But I have to go teach now!
Joe Vavra thinks? Joe Vavra talks? Joe Vavra does something other than teaching this offense how to fail?
It’s going to take more than a 5 game winning streak to get me to believe that. 21 shutouts in 180 games, and some of the most horrible atbats I’ve seen in all of major league baseball belong to this team over that period of time.
The lack of hitting and running…
Joe Mauer coming through in the clutch yesterday almost sent me to church as the 2nd miracle of Baby Jesus (one was his first full healthy season).
The horrible on base percentage this team has… had over both Vavra and Ulger’s tenure as hitting coaches.
I love watching the team win, but winning only masks the deeper flaws. Look in the leader boards for OPS, and OB% and you will see in the top 20 in the AL you will see Angels, A’s, Red Sox, Yankees, and when healthy, and playing well, Tigers dominating 14 of those top 20 spots most years. Those teams have hitting philosophies, and they always have players on base. Some of those teams are blessed with amazing power so pitchers fear them, but for the most part… pitchers are forced to throw strikes to them so that the team can generate power.
If the Twins could couple their speed with the ability actually get on base… this team could be the reincarnation of the 1985-1987 St. Louis Cardinals with Justin Morneau being our Jack Clark. The problem is that we don’t have a hitting philosophy, or an adequate MLB hitting instructor. Our scouting department has focused so much on pitching, and our owner so much on being a cheap old bastard that the team’s hitting philosophy has been taught by our pitchers.
Don’t walk anyone because walks are bad. Not everyone can be Kirby Puckett, Ichiro, or Tony Oliva. I was, and continue to be morally offended by the Delmon Young Twins commerical. It proves my point in HD Clarity.
And one of mthe big whiners and complainers even after a nice win streak has shown himself.
Nice job on Rosen’s last night La Velle!
I was at the game with my family yesterday and the top of the first put a damper on things for my oldest son. Seeing how the Twinks came back really showed him something though and it turned out to be a super exciting game and great time for him and rest of us.
Was nice to see Boof put a big string of zeros on the board after the first. The 5 pitch 2nd was a dandy way to rebound. Gotta be happy as a Twins fan to see them on top of the Central at this point.
This weekend was a great example of what it takes to be a professional player. On Friday night the Twins had a lead and Mauer took a walk and the Twins ended up tacking on runs late in the game. Gladden on the radio kept saying that the Tigers needed to have good at bats and their players seemed to not care. Yesterday when the Tigers had the Twins down they came out in the 2nd inning and Boof only had to throw 5 pitches to get out of that inning. They let the Twins chip away at the lead and lost. Overall a very nice weekend for the Twins and nice to see the Sox and Tigers look over rated.
i sure need an apology to joe v. with this nice win streak we are 16-14 = 83-81 at seasons end. we should be ready to anoint the twins division champs. it was a very good week and every one should be happy but to suddenly think all the hitting problems this team has are some how cured?
out of 14 al teams: 10 slg; 12 so; 13 runs; 13 hr; 14 bb; and 14 obp.
its a long season and one week doesn’t make it a sucess, as one bad week doesn’t make it a disaster. not that anyone on here would over react.
be happy we’re in first place enjoy!
Statistics are important, but there are a lot intangibles that don’t reflect in statistics that go into winning baseball games. That’s why they play 162 games a year. The team that wins the World Series isn’t always the team with the best OPS, OBP or the most home runs. I think even if the Twins won the World Series there would be people complaining about the team’s statistics.
bc-Is the glass every half full with you?I’ll repeat till i’m blue in the face,Vavra can’t hit for these guys!
Joe Vavra stinks they should have me coach them I can even hit if needed
gobbledygookguy
Actually if you take the Twins winning percentage out over 162 games they would be more like 86-76……….
ES16-Good point about intangibles.While OBP and WHIP for pitchers are usually good long range indicators,it can deceiving.If Cuddy for example get picked off first after a single,his batting average goes up as well as his OBP.We can get to hung up with stats!
Marty Cordova,
“I can even hit if needed”
You couldn’t even hit when YOU needed to, in order to save your career.
Your baseball career, not your current career as a bag boy.
I was supposed to be the next Chuck Knoblauch remember.
Just like Delmon is supposed to be the next Torii Hunter.
i have to apologize again the number of runs you score rarely influence how many games you win.
charlie i was using 2 gms over .500 sorry for be off by 3 gms.
actually, I would be VERY, VERY happy with a 86 win season after everyone seemed to leave this team for dead. Seems that Hunter/Santana were the life of this sub.500 team last year, and with a smaller payroll, younger players, if they were to put up a better year, that would just go to show that a young team without the contract demands, equal a more exciting team.
The Twins may not win their division, but it won’t be because they don’t play hard. We were at the game on Friday night, very impressed the the hustle. Miquel Cabrara is something else, he’s nothing but a cancer on that Tigers team, never have seen someone so disinterested when they got down a few runs. Feel sorry for the other players who have had to change positions to accomodate his lazy but.
I’m still in awe that Vavra actually talks to his hitters before they hit and that he actually had a plan. Props to you Joe Vavra. Now if we get shutout by the Sox i’ll be calling for your head again.
Nora and Geno,
I am not one of the biggest complainers. I am THE BIGGEST COMPLAINER!
Geno, of course he can’t hit for them, but when you see a team that has been shutout more times than any other team in baseball last season and this season, and I see so many WASTED atbats someone has to be responsible for finding someone that will get them to listen.
Just because they have a nice little winning streak doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist. Vavra is still there, and Nick Punto is still getting too many atbats (though he’s playing much better at the plate this year than last year).
Tolbert has shown the ability to play defense, and to hit. When you see him up at the plate he has a clue. Gomez and Young are all talent, but it’s not even about those two players… it’s about productive outs, it’s about clutch hitting, knowing the pitchers, knowing the situations, and with all the time these people have been playing baseball all their lives, it’s about taking them to the next level, and Vavra has not come close to that. I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear it, but the truth is the truth whether you want to hear it or not.
Vavra is this team’s new Dick Such. Incapable of making the product on the field better, so therefore he needs to be replaced, and after seeing the lack of plate discipline throughout the organization it has to be addressed from scouting all the way through the majors.
MLB shouls step in and not allow the Twins to have an outdoor stadium. Dumbest thing I have ever ever heard of. Minnesota is know for horrible weather. Can’t wait to see the Twins split 1/2 of there games between Florida and Minny
Marty,
NEWS FLASH: This just in, the Twins played in an an outdoor stadium for 20 years.
ES16 says:
May 5th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Marty,
NEWS FLASH: This just in, the Twins played in an an outdoor stadium for 20 years.
Then why did they build the dome
“it’s about taking them to the next level, and Vavra has not come close to that.”
In 2006, Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer, Bartlett, Punto, and Hunter all had career years which would seem to indicate - the NEXT LEVEL.
Their hitting coach - Joe Vavra.
One more career year in 2006.
Jason Tyner
sane lets live in the past, when bush took office gas was $1.50 +/- gal. i guess we shouldn’t complain about the price of gas either. it will be ok he’ll get the price down agian! if you hadn’t noticed this is 2008 not 2006!
Just because they have a nice little winning streak doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist.
That’s your problem BC. When things are going well, there’s always impending doom right around the corner.
They beat Verlander, they beat Rogers, they beat Galaragga, they beat the bullpen.
They swept the Tigers, holding them to 8 runs over three games (6 of which came in one game) and scored 22 of their own.
But nope, still not enough, you still want to come on and whine and moan. And then when they lose a game (because that happens over the course of 162) you can come right back and say “I told you so!”
For as much grief as you give people such as myself that are upbeat and enjoying the season for what it is…you seem to be equally on the opposite side, continually finding some problem here or some problem there even if things seem to be proving you wrong otherwise.
You and Jason are honestly the worst. Nothing’s ever good enough.
Marty,
It was a politically motivated mistake that we have had to suffer through for more than 25 years. The Twins never had nightmare problems getting games in during April at the Met. Sure you’re going to have some bad weather in April, but it isn’t really that different than Detroit or Chicago.
sane lets live in the past
Judging by the last week or so, I’d say sane’s living in the present with the rest of us.
Sweeps of the Sox (previous division leaders) and Tigers (just swept New York and were supposedly offensive juggernauts)
Bullpen just got done giving up 1 run over the entire 5 game series. Both Livan and Boof recovered from rocky starts to give amazing performances during the Tigers series (and Boof pitched very well against the Sox)
The division is going ot be a tighter race than anybody thought this year (The Tigers slow start stopped them from setting the pace early in the season)
Chicago’s hitting is currently slumping…and slumping ugly (Here’s to hoping the Twins don’t do the same thing to the Sox that they did to Detroit back in April)
I still don’t think they’ll win the diviision however. They’ve got a good record in the Central, but they’ve yet to play well outside the Division (3-7 in the AL West? Yowch)
In the end, I think that will be what costs them.
BC the only team that will finish behind the Twins this year will be the Royals.
T: the problem is sane keeps refering to 2006 like it’s today it’s past. The team is doing much better record wise than i could have hoped for. That doesn’t mean that we don’t still have hitting issues organization wide. one week doesn’t make a season because the week before was bad. lets hope they keep it up, piching is better or as good without silva, garza and santana, who would have thought that? overall we have to be happy but that doesn’t mean you stick your head in the sand.
This series was big for the Twins especially since the Tigers had just swept the yankees. I know it’s early but i don’t think the Tigers will live up to there pre season hype. I will be more impressed if we can sweep the Red Sox this weekend because they’re still the team to beat IMO.
The Twins will spend May 3rd thru at least May 6th in first place. A longer strecth than most of us expected coming into this year. Enjoy the ride for a bit. We will have plenty of time to bitch when they lose.
T,
I (for one) am more than happy that the Twins are winning, that they have an 1.5 game lead in the division, and that they built a really nice 5 game streak. (Now we need 4-5 more of those!)
but
it does not mean that there are not flaws with the coaching staff, the manager, and the team’s hitting philosophy that prevents them to reach the next level.
Let me explain:
will I be happy if they win the Division? Of course. Will I be happy if they lose in the ALDS? No. And that’s where the difference is. Gardy’s team of coaches and organizational philosophy has been able to take the team that far. That’s their ceiling and it is unacceptable to me. Plain and simple. We need personnel to get a WC trophy in the Cities. Gardy/Vavra and team have proven that they cannot do that.
Thus the complaining.
Why should a Twins’ fan keep its team in lower standards than a Yankees’ or Red Sox’ fan who aspire to win it all? And why the T.C. media, keep the Twins manager and coaches in lower standards that those of NY and Boston? If you want to win big, you have to make people accountable for not winning bit.
As far as Vavra’s/Monroe’s comment about hitting the ball in the middle and trying to go the other way is an indicator of the epitome of the issue:
Correct. If you hit like that, you will hit singles. And you need 2-3 singles in a row (which is not an easy thing to do), to score a run. If you pull the ball and have power, like Monroe does, you can hit home runs that score a run with one swing. It might be tricky, but here is the heart of the problem:
A major league hitter should be able to adjust between hitting at the opposite field like Vavra teaches and pulling the ball, depending on the situation. This is not happening. And this is not taught in the Twins organization since Terry Crowley left.
gobble,
If you want me to use FUTURE stats to judge the hitters, I don’t have those numbers available.
And 2006 is only one year past 2007 when judging the past.
I am not ignoring 2006 on your suggestion.
Before you fire Vavra, you should fire the White Sox hitting coach.
He has Thome, Konerko, Dye, Crede, Quentin, Swisher, Uribe, AJ, and Orlando Cabrera to work with.
So we would be better with the White Sox philosophy of hitting HR and having the lowest BA in the league?? I see how well that is working for them.
hitting the ball in the middle and trying to go the other way is an indicator of the epitome of the issue: If you hit like that, you will hit singles.
No, If you hit like that, you will stay on the ball longer and hit more power alley doubles, triples and HR’s also.
The Twins hit fewer HR’s than the White Sox because their lineup doesn’t have Thome, Konerko, Dye, Crede, Quentin, Swisher, Uribe, AJ, and Orlando Cabrera.
The Twins teach the approach that they must teach with Morneau, Cuddyer and the Seven Dwarfs.
Former Twins update:
Tyner .213/1HR/6RBI (Buffalo)
L-Rod .400/1HR/8RBI (Portland)
Anyone know what happened to Josh Rabe?
If Baker goes to the DL the Twins should bring up Brian Duensing. He is the guy that all the scouts rave about and is the guy that is asked for a lot in trade discussions. That kid has lights out stuff and has been pitching well for Rochester. The Twins pecking order is Perkins next after Slowey but I think Duensing should finally get his shot.
The Twins teach the approach that they must teach with Morneau, Cuddyer and the Seven Dwarfs.
And the White Sox teach the approach they must teach with their power hitters who can’t run or handle the bat well enough to hit oppo.
Sane is right,
Good luck trying to pull an outside fastball or breaking pitch. If anything, that is what we see to much of. Lazy grounders out to second and short. When hitters are locked in, the outside pitch gets laced down the line or in the gap for extra bases. A guy with power like Morneau can hit them out of the park if they are up. That being said, I wouldn’t mind seeing guys pick some spots to turn on an inside pitch and put it in the left field seats. Our right handed hitters haven’t launched many this year.
I want the Twins to trade and try and get chase utley
Last year the White Sox hit 72 more homers than the Twins, but scored 25 fewer runs and had 4 fewer RBIs. On days when they were up against a pitcher who wasn’t going to give up the long ball, they had no other way to produce runs.
re: Rabe
he had shoulder surgery last year and attempting to come back. He has a contract with the Camden RiverSharks of the Atlantic League (independent), is playing mostly as a DH and hitting .370/.379/.556 . In the Atlantic league, the level of competition is probably between A and AA with much older players (for example, one of his teammates is Jason Phillips)
Marty Cordova,
“I want the Twins to trade and try and get chase utley”
I agree.
Problem is the Phillies have to agree.
And they won’t!
Even if we offer Punto, Rincon and Span.
sane even if we add Boof to the mix
After 1 month:
Carlos Silva - (3-1), 45 IP, 51 H, 21 ER, 9 BB, 19 SO, 4.20 ERA, 1.33 WHIP. Investment - $48M
Livan Hernandez - (4-1), 42.2 IP, 53 H, 21 ER, 9 BB, 17 SO, 4.43 ERA, 1.45 WHIP. Investment - $5M plus incentives.
you’re right sane those runs and hits in 2006 will win us a lot of games this year. if you feel this is a great hitting team with no room for improvement there is no need to talk about it further.
how can you trade punto he just got his first 2 rbi he’ll probably get a contract extension after that?
I honestly don’t think anyone believed we would miss Silva as much as Hunter and Santana but so far so ggod for Livan. I think were going to have to take the good and the bad with Livan.
its great the twins play hard for the most part but in watching d young and c monroe run out an infield grounder or run the bases, they sure don’t look like charlie hustle. they aren’t as bad as manny ramirez either, but come on, run it out hard.
want to see how happy the tigers fans are?
http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/05/leyland-to-make-drastic-change-to-lineup/#comments
BC Beneke must be the unhappiest guy i have ever come across. He could win the lottery and still complain about taxes on it.
gobble,
“you’re right sane those runs and hits in 2006 will win us a lot of games this year.”
The original question was whether Vavra could improve hitters under his tutelage.
My point was that, in his first year, (2006), he did.
Answer to the question - yes.
If the question is now:
Due to early onset of IQ deterioration, can Vavra do it AGAIN?
My opinion - YES.
My evidence - Not conclusive at this time.
Then why did they build the dome
They built the Dome for the Vikings. The old Met was falling down and the Vikings needed a new place to play. Calvin Griffith got in on the act and managed to convince them to build a convertible stadium. But they did it on the cheap (the initial budget was for $55 million, I think the total cost is something like $150 million counting upgrades). The Dome has never been a good place for baseball. It was worse in the beginning, before they figured out that baseball would need air conditioning, and those folded seats needed a cover to prevent easy homers.
The worst aspect of the legacy is not the building itself, but the lease the MSFC negotiated with the Vikings that took a sizable chunk of the Twins’ revenue away and gave it to their favorite clients. That has resulted in the lowest revenue per customer in baseball as long as the Twins have played in that dump. It also resulted in all kinds of scheduling problems–like 11:00 a.m. games in a playoff race–as the MSFC views the Twins as a fill-in client and gives every other team that shares the Dome scheduling preference.
The unreported story is that the MSFC forced the Twins’ hand. If they had been fair to the Twins, maybe they don’t need a new stadium. Well, they just lost their best client. Serves them right.
I really really enjoyed 2 things this weekend
1. Seeing LNP play center field
2. Seeing Boof in a brand new haircut
cmathewson - Are they going to need 2 locations for games due to The horrible weather here in Minny. We have to play a certain amount of games so are we just going to have a ton of double headers on decent days
between innings,
Do you hold Morneau and Mauer to the same standards when running out grounders?
Or do they get a pass?
Gobbledygookguy-
This is really delayed but in response to your post earlier when you said in regards to the Twins record, “16-14 = 83-81″… yeah, that’s not true. Both of those records are 2 games above .500 but a 16-14 record equals an 87-75 pace. Regardless, I agree with you.
To sustain success, plate discipline and the ability to get on base is key. The Twins and Vavra have never shown a desire to teach that philosophy. They encourage taking your hacks and they frown on driving the ball. It’s a serious flaw and unless their approach changes, it’ll be really hard to be consistent. Look at all the best teams in the league. They’re selective at the plate. They work deep into the count. They get into bullpens early. The Twins do none of those things.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic we’re in first place in May. I think we’re playing great baseball right now. You can tell the guys are having fun and they’re playing with confidence. It’s great to watch and this right here is what I dream about November through February. I just think it will be hard to maintain this with our free swinging ways.
Find the post on Aaron Gleeman where he talks about plate discipline, Gardy, DY, and David Ortiz. He gets it exactly right.
between innings that did come off as a sort of racist comment and sanes right they’re not the only ones who don’t hustle out every grounder.
Marty Cordova,
“I want the Twins to trade and try and get chase utley”
“I agree.
Problem is the Phillies have to agree.
And they won’t!
Even if we offer Punto, Rincon and Span.”
Haha, this is funny. We could offer them Rochester and the Phils wouldn’t agree. There aren’t two players on our roster who they would take for Utley. Maybe Morneau and Mauer. Maybe.
Between Innings says:
May 5th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
its great the twins play hard for the most part but in watching d young and c monroe run out an infield grounder or run the bases, they sure don’t look like charlie hustle. they aren’t as bad as manny ramirez either, but come on, run it out hard.
Where is the racism in this?? He didn’t say the black players don’t run out grounders and are lazy. And he threw in a latino as well. So it’s racism if you don’t throw in a white player in your critisms. Oh my
Patrick I think Go go and Young and a pitching prospect would be enough for Chase Utley
Chase Utley is untouchable. Period.
Robert says:
May 5th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Chase Utley is untouchable. Period.
That is what I thought about Santana
My point is that running effort is not easy to measure. Some runners are effortless gliders - whether fast or slow. They just look like they aren’t putting out max effort.
Think Randy Moss.
Other runners are grinders - whether fast or slow. They look like they are running all out.
Think Adrian Peterson.
chase utley cant hold morneau’s jock!
national league is a joke!
Marty,
The Twins played 1,671 games at Met Stadium. Only 82 were rained out, an average of four per season.
Man, you are really reaching if you consider that comment “sort of racist”. Either you are just trolling for something, or you are truly in need of consoling. As far as running out balls, many older players are guilty of it, but I can say with certainty that DY was called out by his coach last year for it, so it probably has merit. As far as Monroe, has he really played enough to get chastised on it?
Mauer and Morneau, yep they get a pass, and not because they are white, but because they are the “stars” of this team. Doesn’t make it right, just the way it is.
“Chase Utley is untouchable. Period.
That is what I thought about Santana”
Utley IS untouchable
.. until he nears FA like Santana.
Then Utley and the Phillies will decide whether or not he is touchable.
ES16 much more would have been rained/snowed out this year.
ES16, don’t try to convince people here with facts and evidence, it won’t work. This is a group of very angry bitter people that like to be miserable no matter what.
Twins win - “Doesn’t matter, they suck, they’ll just lose again someday”
Twins lose - “I told you so, fire the coaching staff”
New Stadium - “It’s going to suck becuase all the games are going to be rained out.”
sid,
agreed.
Delmon is a bigger guy, and has good speed evidenced by his SB. He doesn’t look like a gazelle out there, though. And maybe he did loaf it up the line. But that doesn’t mean the guy who said it gets to be labeled a racist by BC of ND.
“Mauer and Morneau, yep they get a pass, and not because they are white, but because they are the “stars” of this team. Doesn’t make it right, just the way it is.”
Kirby did not get a pass, so no one gets a pass.
If the stars get a pass, then it is not “the Twins way”. It is just crap.
es16 how many games did you see at the met? there were a lot of really miserable games played with very very few fans in the stands. that’s not to say i like indoor baseball. there were lot of games we went to i’d wished we stayed home.
sane,
Thanks for fighting the battle here. You have more patience than I would. I think coach Vavra is being over-analyzed and has enough of a track record to prove his value to this point. Let’s see how the offense does going forward and go from there.
I did a little exercise today and took the Twins individual stats and carried them out over a 162 game schedule. It looks pretty good to me. The point is, I wrote in this blog some time back that I thought this team would be around .500. Perhaps a little better that that if the starting pitching held up, and a little below that if the starting pitching did not. I think that’s the way it’s going so far. I like what I’m seeing overall, and I hope to see continued improvement this year.I sure hope the offense continues to heat up. If so this could be a better year than I thought.
Are they going to need 2 locations for games due to The horrible weather here in Minny.
No. The only reason the Twins will keep a 2010 lease is in case of construction delays. After that, it’s one stadium for baseball.
I think it’s a myth that April weather in Minnesota is much worse than Chicago, Detroit or Cleveland. The Great Lakes warm up slowly, so cities that are close to the Great Lakes tend to warm up more slowly than cities on the prairie, like Minneapolis. They’re also subject to lake-effect snows every time a Canadian low comes through. They’ve had outdoor baseball in those three cities for more than a century. Why do you think outdoor baseball in Minnesota won’t work, when it has worked in those cities?
Before we determine that it won’t work, maybe we can look at some data that suggests that the average April daytime high in, say, Detroit is lower than Minneapolis.
that type of attitude has no place on these blogs.
It’s time you get with the program. I recommend a high dose of BC Beneke posts to be read aloud to you 24/7. That ought to fix your glass half full attitude. I would recommend buying an umbrella though, for the raid cloud that will be following you everywhere.
Having an outdoor stadium in Minny would be like having an outdoor stadium in Seattle. It can be done but it is just not a very good idea. Oh well!!!!!
The above post was directed to Robert
I would think that a 20 year sample size would take care of the much more would have been rained/snowed out this year statements, since a 20 average is exactly that, an average. You will have your good months, bad months. Good years, bad years, but yet, in the end, you will get somewhere around that 4 to 5 a year mark.
Quite frankly, I live in SD, and would have a problem with a rain-out, but I can tell you, when I go to a game, it isn’t just one game, I stay in the area for a series, since it never made sense to me to drive that far to watch 1 game. Surely, most people that drive up for a weekend, are planning to see more than one game. If you can’t handle a rain-out, you probably aren’t much of a fan.
I have driven down to KC to watch games there, and I can honestly say, I have missed 1, count that 1 game in probably 40+ games over the last 8 years. Granted, there were a few rain-delays, but I actually don’t mind them, I get a chance to actually talk with other fans that are at the game too. Usually a really good Twins fan contingent down there. I actually watch more games down there because I love the outdoor stadium, and am really happy that we will soon have that option in 2010.
This year, we are also going to make a trip out to Denver to watch the Twins there, and I guarantee that I am not driving out there to watch only ONE game either.
Kevin
dang, seems I didn’t close my font. Sorry
RE: on pace for 83 or 87 wins. Twins have been outscored 124-130, ‘on pace’ to finish 79-83. How full is my glass?
Where does that mathematical formula come from, where you are able to translate a 124-130 run deficit into a 79-83 record. Would be interesting to see those calculations.
Is Liriano starting tonight? Like everyone else I am anxiously awaiting every start of his hoping he can find his old form sooner, rather than later.
mlb.com standings page, expected record, read the footnote for the calculation. Extrapolate the expected record over the remaining games and add to the current standings.
gobbledygookguy,
I went to a lot of games at Met Stadium. I’m not sure how many, but they were all miserable, even in July. I think I was at one game where it snowed on July 4. I don’t think I ever saw the sun during a game at Met Stadium. It was awful watching outdoor baseball in Minnesota. The Metrodome is a dream; it’s sterile, environmentally controlled and its gray teflon roof is far superior to a sunny summer day. You and Marty are right, this new outdoor stadium is a mistake. Where is Calvin Griffith when you need him to end this non-sense of playing outdoors.
Me Too
For some reason on these blogs the italics don’t close out, no fault of yours.
sid,
agreed.
Delmon is a bigger guy, and has good speed evidenced by his SB. He doesn’t look like a gazelle out there, though. And maybe he did loaf it up the line. But that doesn’t mean the guy who said it gets to be labeled a racist by BC of ND
I didn’t say he was a racist i just said that it came off as a racist comment because he only mentioned Young and Monroe and there not the only ones on this team who seem to dog it at times. Hell Morneau looks like he’s pulling a plow when he runs i think Gomez would lap him around the bases.
diamondback were outscored last year and won 90 games. How does that extrapolate
The Rochester paper says the Liriano is going tonight.
There you go ES16, now you fit right in!
Yeah and the Twins were outscored in 1987 and won the World Series. It’s an extrapolation. It’s not a guarantee.
ES16 that was nice. I would rather sit out a 2 hour rain delay then watch a game in the dome.
Go go Gomez will be running even faster in the new stadium when a few lightning bolts and Hail keep on zapping him while running. LOL
Check the run differential in the 1960 WS won by the Pirates over the Yanks.
The Pirates won four close games and got the crap kicked out of them three times.
Old cliche - Good teams know how to win close games.
es16 this is a quote from my post:
“that’s not to say i like indoor baseball”
i was making the point that with our weather outdoor baseball is not always wonderful. however the dome is a dump and always has been.
Now, to be fair, I would rather watch a game in the dome than sit out a 2 hour rain delay.
I much, much prefer the outdoor games to the indoor variety, except when it is raining.
I feel that the good of the outdoor stadium far outweighs the bad, at least in my opinion. Since I am a paying fan, I feel that my opinion has some merit.
Of course, but in the long run if you score more you win more.
Add’l here. It’s wiki but actual it’s not a bad one page summary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_expectation
3rd order record per Baseball Prospectus 75-87. How full is there glass?
Marty Cordova,
Lightning bolts can’t catch Gomez - too quick.
Now when you played, paper airplanes flew past you.
I love outdoor games far better but in Minnesota it is not very practical. This would be like Seattle having an open air stadium. Just not very practical.
Marty,
That’s not funny. Tony Oliva had to retire, because lightning hit him in the knees at Met Stadium. The weather was so bad, he spent as much time dodging lighting as he did running the bases. And why do you think Rod Carew wanted out of Minnesota? It wasn’t the money, it was the weather. He could have hit .400 if wasn’t for the snow on the field at Met Stadium.
“He could have hit .400 if wasn’t for the snow on the field at Met Stadium.”
And that was in July and August.
I guess the extrapolation works when a team remains true to that formula for a full season.
However, if a team has a strong bullpen, and can get it into the 7th. with a one run lead, you can almost chalk that one up in the win column. Consider the role of our closer. If we can get him a 1-0 lead, the odds are much better than 50-50 that we will get the win. If you take that, and offset it with a 10-0 loss, guess what, you are 1-1 after being outscored 10-1. There is the problem with extrapolating data. There are always going to be faults with any formula, but one that takes runs scored for and against, and basing a won-loss record off it, is fraught with inaccuracy, especially when using such a small sample size (30 games into a season) to project from.
One would hope that a team would win more 1 run games with the bullpen that we have, and if so, the runs for and against becomes a VERY poor predictor of future results.
sid says:
May 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
“He could have hit .400 if wasn’t for the snow on the field at Met Stadium.”
And that was in July and August.
LOLOLOL
Marty,
Minneapolis gets 34 inches of rain a year. Seattle gets 37 inches. New York gets 47 inches. In general, the East Coast gets more rain than the Pacific Northwet. The reason Seattle is known for a lot of rain is the number of cloudy days. But you don’t see Safeco closed all that often. For every game in the Dome when you can hear raindrops on the roof, there are 10 gorgeous partly cloudy days. It’s just not that big of a problem.
Mathmatical formulas sure take all the fun out of baseball!
cmath,
In Seattle, it rains often, but seldom the huge downpours seen elsewhere.
Many days with rain but fewer inches totaled.
Well we’ll just go with ‘one would hope that a team would win more 1 run games…’ because that predictor doesn’t have any deficiencies.
Run differential is a better predictor than record, BPs third order records (based player runs created data, adjusted for SOS, and park effects) are better yet. Probably none of them are going to be spot on, there’s a tremendous amount of luck involved, players can improve or decline, injuries, etc.
It’s rediculious to say based on a 16-14 start that we’re going to win 86. It’s less rediculious, given the underlying performance data, to say that we’re going to win 75.
Since baseball is all about stats we should hire a mathematician to be the mgr so he will always make the most logical choice. I would like to nominate cmathewson as he has a good handle on the weather as well.
bc-you are almost proud to be the biggest complainer.Sorry,can’t help you there!Baseball is a GAME.Game=fun.If baseball is so painful,why bother?
Does anyone know why Bert was talking about the foul ball territory in Oakland this weekend?
Marty, good question, he does seem to get a huge kick out of the fact that they have a lot of foul territory in Oakland. That’s all DickBert will talk about when we play in Oakland.
Thank’s Robert!!
I can almost hear Dick and Bert talking non-stop about the right field overhang in the new stadium ad-nauseum.
Marty,
Oakland has a huge distance from the baselines to the stands.
Many more popups become outs at that park.
The same popups are out of play foul balls elsewhere.
Kenny Rogers learned how to field better by playing in Oakland I guess
cmath,
i worked in Seattle in November and December one year, doing Construction. It would rain just enough to ruin a job many days….. but, all told, you are right… it didn’t rain more than an hour or so most days…. also i think Winter is their rain season, which has nothing to do with baseball.
who is this new Marty Cordova character. He seems to have a lot of spunk
French Toast.
Tigs designated Jones and his 6.3mill contract for assignment Monday.
Jones hasn’t done anything for the Tigers, but he’s hardly the key to the team’s slow start.
That’s right ES16.
Jones takes the fall for a horrible bullpen. He’s only one of a few guys that don’t field/throw well on that team.
Are they going to need 2 locations for games due to The horrible weather here in Minny.
You are correct. The graphs show most of the rain falls between October and March. The average April rainfall in Seattle is 2 cm, or about an inch. It is less in every other month of the baseball season. If they had outdoor baseball in Seattle, they would have few rain outs. They might have a few postponements…
…I mean rain delays, but very few rain outs. That is similar to Minnesota. The bigger issue is cold. But I think we covered that pretty well.
I guess baseball is sometimes backwards thinking. An example for me would be why is Tampa Bay’ stadium indoors also why is Arizona’ stadium indoors? Why do the Twins want to play outdoors. Why do Minnesota and Milwaukie play indoors but Chicago and Detroit outdoors?
Sane
sorry it’s taken me a bit to get back, it’s far too nice to want to go back to work.
They attributed Bartlett to putting the pressure on himself to finally stick as a major league ball player.
Morneau and Hunter both credited a healthy Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer is Joe Mauer, and as much of a Wade Boggs/Tony Gwynn type of slap hitter (which at 6-5 and 230 you shouldn’t be a slap hitter), but he has amazing plate discipline.
I never read a single instance where anyone really credited Vavra. It could also simply be that Ulger was so god aweful as a hitting instructor that Vavra could have looked like walt Wrinhiak as well for a season?
It could have been 2006 was a fluke considering the team still doesn’t hit and run, still has far too many terrible at bats, and as hitting coaches don’t swing the bat as someone so cutely pointed out to me.. hitting coaches can’t hit their way out of not having talent either.
When a team struggles a head has to roll. It has to. You people have been living in McHale land too long… FAILURE in minnesota is rewarded.
I want the team to win, and believe it or not I am happy that the team is winning, but they are not fixing the problems. As I said, to a friend of mine if you are 20,000 dollars in debt and someone hands you a 1000 dollars you are going to feel awesome, but the problem isn’t going away. That is the Twins with Joe Vavra.
Could be wrong but I think Tampa gets a lot of summer rain. Arizona has a roof because it’s hot as hell even at night, ditto Houston, and the Rangers wish that they did too. Pitchers just wilt down there by August w/out air conditioning.
Marty the only major sport that was intended to be played indoors is basketball during the dead of winter. Of course now the NBA playoffs last untill July so maybe they should have the playoffs outside that would be cool.
Marty,
Have you ever been to Florida or Arizona in the summer? Do you know why you can get some really great vacation deals to either state during the summer? I’ll give you a hint: It’s really hot.
Folks in Chicago and Detroit know that baseball should be played outdoors.
BC I think it was the Suns this year or next year that will officially have a game outside. I actually would think it was cool also. I would love to actually see how “an and one” team would do against a real NBA team outside for the game
“As I said, to a friend of mine if you are 20,000 dollars in debt and someone hands you a 1000 dollars you are going to feel awesome, but the problem isn’t going away. That is the Twins with Joe Vavra.”
If it’s good enough for the federal government it’s good enough for the Twins.
I recall a lot of positive comments for Vavra. He at least had the good sense to tell the hackers to try to emulate Mauer. He’s the only guy in the organization who’s routinely quoted talking about patience. The rest of the organization stresses aggressiveness, none more loudly than Ulger (though Gardy comes close). So the hackers chose not to listen to him because his boss wants them to swing at everything.
“I would love to actually see how “an and one” team would do against a real NBA team outside for the game”
Did you see Celtis-Hawks on Sunday? There’s your answer.
It rains all summer in FL
I think the PGA should try playing an indoor event.
Marty that would be fun to watch. I know you think the weather is an issue but be honest sitting in the stands in the open air with natural grass is far more appealing then looking up at a roof. I say that because those of us who live in the great white north get sick and tired of being cooped up all winter. Give me as much sun as possible.
BC of ND says,
Amen.
GENO-
Baseball isn’t painful to me, but it’s a heck of a lot more than just a game to me, so while I’m over the top with my complaining, and yeah I have no problem being considered a complainer, whiner, crabby, angry, grumpy, impossible to satisfy however…
It doesn’t make me wrong. I love the Twins. I have since I was a little kid, but I don’t look at things like other people (kind of obvious)… I’m a perfectionist… it’s an issue, but when I see problems I want to see solutions. That’s all. And I grew up with watching Berman, and I’m naturally sarcastic, so learn to take how I say things with a grain of salt. I keep the personal attacks to the ball players, coaches and the management.
I want perfection, ask Sane… he’s a coach right now… A coach doesn’t sit back and just enjoy wins, they are always on the players to get better… to improve…
I have not seen any improvement from the Twins hitters. Why is this team scoring more runs? Because Mauer’s hot, and Morneau is regaining his MVP form… Which reminds me that maybe 2006 was good simply because Mauer and Moreneau were 100% healthy?
I don’t trust Joe Vavra with prescious young hitters like Gomez and Young, and expect him to make them better.
Give Sheik Mohammed bin RAshid Al Maktoum
“Sheik what?”
A little time. Check out this link about two paragraphs after the last photo.
“It’s only a matter of time before we build an air conditioned indoor golf course here.”
grew up watching Berman? gotta cleanse that guy, he stopped being fresh about 1990…..
quit buying me and selling me off
My mom would never let me play baseball indoors when i was a kid. She would make a lousy baseball owner.
When i went to the U, we played baseball in the house, broke the fish tank….. alcohol might have also been involved
If we had an outdoor stadium statistically how many games would have been cancelled this year for us
It’s about time you guys lay off Punto after he single handedly won the game yesterday. 2 big rbi, best infielder in the majors. I was surprised he didn’t slide into first on his double just to add excitment to the game.
I agree, Punto is having a pretty good year so far. I don’t think he should start but he is doing great coming off the bench and spot starting.
I grew up going to the old met and let me tell you it was sooooo bad.
Really? HOW BAD WAS IT?
I once saw Carew picked off first because his spikes froze to the grown.
The “Killer” hit a pop-up so high that when it came down it was frozen and broke into several pieces.
Martin got Carew to steal home by waving hand warmers at him.
Dean Chance threw a No-No by letting spit freeze on the ball which made it drop a foot!!!!
Tony once kissed his bat going to the plate and his lips froze to it. And .. And ,..And.. the bat was WOOD!!! Not even metal!!!!!!
Blah, Blah Blah
I loved the Met and outdoors baseball. It is going to be great !!!!! The only reason for a retractable roof would be for all the people that drive in from ND,SD, etc for the weekend and end up getting rained out. I am one of them and it happened once or twice at the Met but to have outdoor baseball again. Man it is still worth the risk!!!!!!
i agree K-bach, i will be trekking to Minneapolis from NY state, or whereever the hell i live in 2010, to see one of the first games in the new digs.
i think jj will end up a padre. they’ve been looking for a lh outfielder for a while. he’ll be ok he’s still collecting a nice paycheck.
The Twins should sign Jacque!!!! I just want to be able to wear my Jones #11 jersey again!!!!
Gobble-
How about Jacque on the Pirates?? it could be Jacque, Rivas, and Dougie Baseball all on the same team!! ha ha ha ha. they would be my 2nd favorite team!!
don’t forget chris gomez
BC,
When Mauer, Morneau, Hunter, Cuddyer, Bartlett, Punto, and Tyner all have career years under Vavra in 2006, I refuse to believe he did not contribute.
The chances of him being a non-factor in 2006 are just too statistically remote for me to accept.
He hasn’t gotten dumber, so I won’t write him off until he gets fired.
That may happen this coming off-season, but it will be handled by the Twins FO, who know what he is teaching. And I’ll bet what he is teaching is nearly identical to what the “good” hitting instructors are teaching on other MLB teams.
BC,
“maybe 2006 was good simply because Mauer and Moreneau were 100% healthy?”
And maybe the following year(s) were bad because Mauer and Moreneau were not 100% healthy.
Conclusion:
Fire the trainer and keep Vavra.
it might just be me but i dont see how cutting Jones help the Tigers that much
it’s great to have mauer back over .300 but why can’t the guy -all 6′4″ 225 lbs of him- put the ball over the fence once in a while ? Homeruns change the complexion of the game in an instant and most power numbers come from 1st 3rd catcher outfield. so far its 10 or less per year for a big boy with talent.
You have a batting champion at .347.
He’s the first AL catcher to ever do it.
He’s an excellent defensive catcher.
That’s not good enough.
Twins fans would rather he risk his stroke by pulling the ball to produce more HR’s.
They want him to change positions to become a below-average third baseman.
They want him to become shorter.
Its like your wife trying to change you after she has married you.
does anyone know how Scott Baker MRI go today?
Its an old story. Punto is not the best infielder in the majors. It was nice to see him contribute. And as Gardy himself said, punto seems to respond and play better when he is not the everyday starter. Spot start. Late inning defensive subsitution. He could be a nice player for us. If he’s relegated to that role.
I’m not sold on Varvra. As I’ve said earlier, I’m not calling for his head. The Twins brought in Lamb to upgrade 3rd, Young to upgrade left, Harris will hit more at 2nd, and Kubel and Monroe will be much better than last DH numbers. Even losing Hunter this team should produce more than last. If at the end of the year there are no signs the hitting on the team has improved, then I hold the Twin’s coaching accountable and specifically Varvra.
even though Korecky is going to be sent down this week when Slowey on thursday i think he did well enough if the Twins need a anther pitcher in the ballpen i think he would get called up
If we had an outdoor stadium statistically how many games would have been cancelled this year for us
One game would have been postponed by rain. Thing is, it’s April, so we have five months to make games up.
NEW TWINS HITTING COACH-BC BENEKE.Has there every been a team with 8 players hitting 400.Move over Ted Williams!He’ll even make a great hitter out of his buddy Nick Punto!
It’s not JUST the rain (or god forbid, snow) outs. It’s Minnesota. It can get (expletive) cold here!!! If the skies are clear they will play the game. Now, are you honestly going to sit there and tell me that you’ll have fun going to see the Twins play on a day when it’s 40 degrees and windy? Football is constantly exciting. You stand up- a lot. You cheer- a lot. You boo- sometimes a lot. Players are running everywhere constantly. In baseball, there are quite a few games where, for loonngg periods of time, there is little to get up for. Nothing to do but sit there and become frozen on the out and inside. Even if you can tell me that you’ll do it, how many will join you? Attendence will be terrible on those days.
God Forbid (again) this team is actually good in 2010 and we make the playoffs. The World Series even. Your talking about playing an outdoor game in Minnesota in October. (Expletive- again). 50 degrees and below is just not fun to sit, or play in. 30 degrees is just miserable. Outfielders standing out, barely moving for long innings. Fans just sit there in a very low scoring game. Everyone’s frozen; Everyone’s miserable.
Not putting a retractable roof on the new stadium is just another case of the Twins being cheap. They didn’t even put air conditioning in the dome at first. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
It’s a game that was meant to be played outside- just not out side in cold weather.
HAVE FUN PLAYING OUT DOOR BASEBALL.
“I never read a single instance where anyone really credited Vavra.”
*reads article*
“Craig Monroe said that hitting coach Joe Vavra encouraged them to think up the middle and opposite field at the plate.
“It says a lot about Joe and having a plan and what he believes would work,” Monroe said n unsolicited response.”
Wow, on the same web page no less.
Dano,
“it might just be me but i dont see how cutting Jones help the Tigers that much”
It’s not just you…Leyland’s “shake-up” last night was about as earth-moving as a squirrel passing gas.
(If that makes much sense)
T,
When a 10-year MLB veteran, who has the 2nd most AB for a Tiger OF this year is released, it might qualify as a “shake-up”.
I’m pretty sure that Jacque Jones was shook up.
its game day…bring on the sox…lets get s some fresh news here…whats the latest on baker?? whats new after the day off??
Yeah, the Twins have flaws. Major flaws, in fact. Over the winter, I predicted the team’s flaws would be serious enough that the club would finish with somewhere between 70 and 75 wins. That may still be where the team lands, but I hope not. The Twins are currently the only team in the division over .500. Yes, they are flawed, but if they keep up this pace, they will win 86 games. It’s very early, but it does appear that 90 wins will win the division, and maybe as few as 85 will win it. Thus, even though the Twins are flawed, they may very well be in the division race this year because the team is a little better than anticipated and the division is a lot worse than anyone thought it would be.
Man, I could only hope to be “shaken” up and still collect my $6mil paycheck for this year.
I am sure his agent is out there shaking the tree, trying to find another gig for him right now. He will be able to keep the Tigers money, and sign with another team, and play for comparitive pennies. No pressure on hiim to produce, and maybe, just maybe, he will have a reasonable year, and collect another paycheck next year. Yeah, I really wish I could get “shaken” up like that too.
Money is good.
Being told you are inadequate at your life’s career - not so good.
If you are already rich, the money is less important than the other thing.
Sane,
your thoughts are too straighforward and contain too much common sense. Please replace them with irrational calls for drastic change. Example: Joe Mauer would be better with Adam Dunn’s 45 HR swing.
LNP4Life,
Thanks.
Irrational is on deck.
