Twins

[Steve-o]

  Taylor isn't going anywhere, he's too good in CF. Castro will be back soon too, his versatility in the field allows Rocco to make a lot moves when they're batting. Plus, he leads 'em in stolen bases. Lewis at 3rd, Polanco at 2nd, & Solano at DH last night. Wallner was sitting on that fastball & when it got a little more of the plate than they wanted, he crushed it. 

So does that leave Byron on the bench pinch hitting/running  (assuming he can hit and run when he comes back )?

[Gunner55]

Was a fun game. 

Sssssh!!!!!!1 Don't tell glenn. 

[Gunner55]

 No, he'll still be DH most of the time against LH pitching when he's healthy IMO.

[dutchboy]

With the heat returning it will be good to get Buxton back fanning the air.

Seriously tho, if the Twins were to make a run it will be his bat that leads the offensive way.

[Gunner55]

They had their chances yday in the 3rd & 4th innings when they stranded 5 guys. Both Gallo & Wallner struck out instead. To be fair, they both had tough pitches to hit.

[Gunner55]

 Check this out, somebody's livin right. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/twins-player-drilled-by-foul-ball-while-standing-in-on-deck-circle/ar-AA1fmhow?ocid

[mike89]

lucky guy!!!   

[Steve-o]

With the heat returning it will be good to get Buxton back fanning the air.

Seriously tho, if the Twins were to make a run it will be his bat that leads the offensive way.

Maybe we're saying the almost the same thing, but I think the Twins can make a more serious push this year without Buxton.  However, they won't make it very far.  How many teams have make deep playoff runs without any production - offense or defense - from one of their star players.   

Buxton is an emotional leader and if he catches fire, I like their chances to be playing their best team baseball at the most important time of year. 

If not, they'll be a .500 club playing against the best teams in baseball. 

[Gunner55]

Lopez was only 13/26 on the 1st pitch but he only walked 2. It was Jax bailing out Thielbar yday & 4 of the 5 RBIs came with 2 out.

[Steve-o]

That Pirates pitcher, Andre Jackson, who was supposed to be some sort of a pseudo 'opener' was cruisin' right along.  The Twinks were fortunate to nick him for 2 runs.

The broadcasters made a big deal about the hitting approach - go after him early they said, cause he won't be in the game for more than a couple innings. 

Well, he pitched into the 5th and held the Twins to 2 runs.  Not bad.

Nice to see the boys keep grinding and tack on a few more runs.

[Gunner55]

Yeah, I thought Jackson looked good too. Morneau no more than said Taylor was due & it was gone.

[Steve-o]

I can't remember if it was Saturday's or Sunday's game that seemed to have really bad ball/strike calls.

Then I see this article/compilation.  Some of the calls Angel Hernandez makes in these video clips reminded me of the bad calls in the Twins game.  They are worth watching if you feel your blood pressure is too low.

I wish MLB would just get over themselves and figure out how to use the dang electronics on a full-time basis.

MLB ump Ángel Hernández under fire over egregious strike calls during Braves-Giants

[KEN W]

They were really bad that day. They really need the electronic strike zone.

[Steve-o]

Speak of the devil...  This post is one hour old...

Sports Illustrated:  MLB Fans Crushed Umpire Laz Diaz After Another Abysmal Game Behind Home Plate

Major League Baseball has a serious umpiring problem right now, and most of it has to do with two veterans who continue to be really bad at their jobs - Angel Hernandez and Laz Diaz.

These two guys were both working behind home plate in separate games on Sunday and they both put forward some of the worst performances that you’ll ever see.

[Steve-o]

MLB evaluates its umpires like Angel Hernandez with an impossibly lenient grading system

MLB employs a team of auditors to assist in its review of each game. The auditors set a unique strike zone for each player based on his setup in the batter’s box. The top of the strike zone is his beltline and the bottom the hollow of his back knee, both determined when he’s loading and preparing to swing. The margin of error is implemented off the corners — 2 inches on each side of the plate.

When you add a fuzzy 2" margin for error around the strike zone, Diaz's called strike accuracy jumps from 73% to 92% or maybe higher - depending on how lenient the evaluators are.  Not good, but apparently not bad enough to get guys like him and Hernandez fired.

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[dutchboy]

The electronic strike zone is just another joke MLB will refuse to explain. Has anybody, anybody at all ever watched a replay of a play that was challenged and said " thats a no brainer they will overturn that" only to have it upheld with no explanation.

I'm 1,000% against replays, challenges and any electronic zones. It's a game played by humans, let it be officiated by humans.

[glenn57]

The electronic strike zone is just another joke MLB will refuse to explain. Has anybody, anybody at all ever watched a replay of a play that was challenged and said " thats a no brainer they will overturn that" only to have it upheld with no explanation.

I'm 1,000% against replays, challenges and any electronic zones. It's a game played by humans, let it be officiated by humans.

i gree dutchy...except this hernandez guy!!!!!!!

been watching some of the little league world series......umps there are way better then him!!!!

[Steve-o]

I pine for the old days too, but there is too much money riding on each play in all the big sports to not do what they can to catch egregious mistakes. 

[Gunner55]

Even Bremer who has been calling Twins games for 41 years calls for it at least twice a week because of the inconsistency of the calls. It has been in the minors for a while now, so it's just a matter of time IMO.

[Gunner55]

Getaway day today, Maeda @ 1:10.

[Steve-o]

I was going to ask what happened last night, and I saw this.  The team was "Baldellied" again.   

Baldelli's decision to pull Bailey Ober blows up and Twins get blasted by Brewers

Bailey Ober gave the Twins five innings while allowing just two runs on two hits. Ober needed 78 pitches to get through five innings and he had set the Brewers down 1-2-3 in both the fourth and fifth innings, but manager Rocco Baldelli elected to go to the 'pen and give Floro a try.

Dylan Floro entered the game and gave up five runs on six hits.    

[KEN W]

May not be that he pulled Ober to soon.....but that he pur in the wrong guy out of the pen.

[Steve-o]

Good point.  And I realize that Baldelli needs to find out who he's got.  Plus he has the luxury of doing so in a division where no one seems motivated to win.  Sometimes its just fun to stir the pot with typical, knee-jerk fan reaction.

[Gunner55]

Castro starts a rehab today & Kirilloff probably will early next week. Ryan's about to come off the IL & could start tomorrow. Currently it's TBA for Saturday, Gray goes today @ 7:10.

[KEN W]

Right handed hitters came through for a change....5 home runs. Nice to see Louis back in the  lineup.

[Gunner55]

Some nice work by Winder yday too  as Lopez was getting knocked around pretty hard.

[Steve-o]

Last night's game is what fans should hope to see from a team with playoff aspirations.  No one gave up and the offense kept on putting pressure on the Texas pitchers and defense.  Jeffers is turning into being quite the pinch hitter.   

Nice to see Correa come thru with a clutch double.  I am really growing tired of him hitting weak grounders to short.  It seems like the only time he doesn't hit into a double play is when no one is on first.   

Ump knew he was making bad calls behind the plate last night and I'm pretty sure he made some intentionally bad make-up calls against Texas to even things up. 

How about this...  They keep talking about a challenge system for balls and strikes.  Instead of the manager losing the team's challenge when they get one wrong...  For balls and strikes, how about if the plate ump loses 3 challenges, they swap him out with the 2nd base ump.   

[KEN W]

Challenges would not be needed with a mechanical strike zone. Works in the Minors. Why not MLB?

[Steve-o]

I thought Bremmer was talking (again) about a balls/strikes challenge system that they were also evaluating.

It may be that because of the collective bargaining with the umps, they have to do a challenge system instead of replacing them outright behind the plate.

[KEN W]

AAA is using Automated Balls and Strikes. Or Robo Umps. It includes cameras around the park that send a signal to the home plate Umpire. The strike zone is adjusted by the batter's height. They can be challanged 3 times during the game.