Buxton 3HRs in last 3 ABs. Ober giving up a bunch. High offense and poor pitching – now this is what we were expecting!
The pitching has actually been MUCH better than I expected so far. The bullpen has given up two runs. That’s it. Ober was Ober. I’m not expecting much from Bundy today though. I’ve been impressed with the pen but it’s early.
Royce Lewis is hitting .357 and hit his first HR so far at AAA. He’s made a few really nice defensive plays at SS also.
Royce Lewis is hitting .357 and hit his first HR so far at AAA. He’s made a few really nice defensive plays at SS also.
Unless there is a key injury or trade, I think he’s AAA for the foreseeable future. He needs the at bats and to make plays in the field. He missed too much time last couple years..
^^ for sure I mean he hasn’t played since fall of 2019…
I think he’ll be up next year when Correa is gone. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him in Sept either.
How about this pitching staff???? 
I think he’ll be up next year when Correa is gone. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him in Sept either.
How about this pitching staff????
I’d like to think it’s a good indication, but probably more because it’s spring/cold which favors pitching over hitting. We should all enjoy the temporary euphoric feeling though…
I am looking forward to seeing what kind of stuff Paddack has –
I watched more games this year already than all of last year! This Duran guy is quite the specimen. Officially threw the highest speed in Twins history with a 102…..and he throws strikes! I’ve been waiting for an arm like that since the Jesse Crain days.
I watched more games this year already than all of last year! This Duran guy is quite the specimen. Officially threw the highest speed in Twins history with a 102…..and he throws strikes! I’ve been waiting for an arm like that since the Jesse Crain days.
Of the two, I think Duran is long term a better bet than Brusdar Graterol was. Both throw 100, its a question of who lasts longest without injury. Maybe we’ll see both of them pitch the next couple days to compare ~
Duran is really fun to watch. He’s already better than Graterol. Graterol just threw hard. Duran throws hard, locates, AND has two plus off speed pitches. Hopefully keeping him in the pen will limit his injuries.
The pitchers vs hitters in spring argument is fair in this situation but the thing that has me believing a little more is the fact that the pitchers have been locating their pitches AND getting out of jams, something our pitchers have struggled with the last few seasons. It is just four games though. We’ll see if they can keep it up.
Now if the Twins could only catch pop ups!! 
Now if the Twins could only catch pop ups!!
They won 4-0. I can look past the fat kid missing a fly ball. I’m still wondering where the 3rd baseman was on it.
I just noticed that Cleveland changed their name. Wow.
I don’t know. I will always cheer for the Twins in my heart. But the MLB needs to make some wholesale changes. They should have moved faster and added the pitch clock this year. Probably need a few other changes to speed up the game too.
Sad to see Target Field so empty
Sad to see Target Field so empty
It’s 45 degrees and rainy. Attendance will pick up if they start winning. Which I think they will a little this year. And the only thing that will speed up the game is throwing analytics out the damn window. You don’t need to make a change or a shift every play of the game.
Now get off my lawn.
There’s the bullpen we know and love!
The shift is my biggest issue with MLB. Rest is just baseball stuff.
Well that and starters lasting 4-5 innings and putting 7 different mediocre pitchers out there the rest of the game.
The shift is not the problem, but hitters not taking the free base and bunting down the third base line when nobody is near. A game a go Kepler had 1st and 3rd with two outs and had the shift where the 3rd baseman was the only one on the left side of the infield playing over by second base. Arraez was halfway to home before the pitcher would pitch the ball all Kepler had to do was bunt down the third base line and we score a run. No he decided to pull the ball into the shift and ground out to the second baseman. Do you think they would continue to shift if the hitters would take the free hit. Most of the players today can not bunt can not slap hit. This is what has ruined the game.
The shift is not the problem, but hitters not taking the free base and bunting down the third base line when nobody is near. A game a go Kepler had 1st and 3rd with two outs and had the shift where the 3rd baseman was the only one on the left side of the infield playing over by second base. Arraez was halfway to home before the pitcher would pitch the ball all Kepler had to do was bunt down the third base line and we score a run. No he decided to pull the ball into the shift and ground out to the second baseman. Do you think they would continue to shift if the hitters would take the free hit. Most of the players today can not bunt can not slap hit. This is what has ruined the game.
I guess I would rather see the big boppers hit and swing for the fences rather than bunt…as would most fans.
If Kepler is a big bopper than I must have missed that. Attendance has been going down, I think they all think they are big boppers that is the problem.
Most of the players today can not bunt can not slap hit. This is what has ruined the game.
I guess I would rather see the big boppers hit and swing for the fences rather than bunt…as would most fans.
I agree Walleye Man, plus when they can’t shift because you could go oppo, that opens up the gaps. Which mean doubles and triples, which are far better than HR’s. To rework a Crash Davis quote, “Homeruns are boring! Besides that, they’re fascist. Hit some doubles and triples – it’s more democratic.” 
The shift is not the problem, but hitters not taking the free base and bunting down the third base line when nobody is near. A game a go Kepler had 1st and 3rd with two outs and had the shift where the 3rd baseman was the only one on the left side of the infield playing over by second base. Arraez was halfway to home before the pitcher would pitch the ball all Kepler had to do was bunt down the third base line and we score a run. No he decided to pull the ball into the shift and ground out to the second baseman. Do you think they would continue to shift if the hitters would take the free hit. Most of the players today can not bunt can not slap hit. This is what has ruined the game.
Don’t disagree but I think a rule change is more likely than an overall MLB philosophy change. If they haven’t done it by now then I doubt they will.
If Kepler is a big bopper than I must have missed that. Attendance has been going down, I think they all think they are big boppers that is the problem.
Didn’t realize Kepler is the only one teams shift against. Good to know..
There’s the bullpen we know and love!
X 2 
The shift speeds up the game. Quicker outs.
The batter doesn’t need to dink around after every pitch either. Tighten the gloves once and forget about them. Step out of the box, preferably one foot, look at the 3rd base coach and get back in the box. Easy peasy.
Pitch clock, pitch clock, pitch clock. From the baseball reference, in 2010 each team averages 146 pitches per game.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/7533.html
That’s almost 300 times where the game can be sped up. If each pitch was sped up by 5 seconds, that’s 24 minutes/game. I hope it’s sped up more.
Now if the radio would only synch its broadcast with the TV, I may turn down the TV volume and listen to their broadcast. I’ve checked it twice this year and each time the radio was ~40 seconds (2 pitches) ahead of the TV. The worst ever.
Kershaw has a perfect game going through 7 innings which includes 13 strike outs.
Back to back to back homers for the Dodgers in the eighth.
Kershaw has a perfect game going through 7 innings which includes 13 strike outs.
Back to back to back homers for the Dodgers in the eighth.
That’s what real, dominant starting pitching looks like. Something we haven’t had since maybe Santana. And the kind of arm you need to actually win a playoff series, let alone one game.
Yep. The Dodgers let us know where we still stand. We didn’t belong on the same field as them. Pitching wasn’t horrible until the end of the game last night and today.
Was glad to at least see Paddock reign it in to finish out his start. They need to get the bats going. Again, it’s going to be HR or bust with this team which isn’t going to bode well.
I totally agree with walleye man. I’m so sick of watching HR or strikeouts. It’s so damn boring. No strategy at all in the game anymore. Really not much skill either. I played college and amateur ball against guys throwing 85-95 and could still place the ball where I needed to. You can’t tell me professional hitters shouldn’t be able to do the same. Look at Arraez. He does it constantly. Wish it would rub off on the rest of the team.
Kershaw has a perfect game going through 7 innings which includes 13 strike outs.
Back to back to back homers for the Dodgers in the eighth.
Good thing they only brought Pudge Rodriguez’ son up to eat up some innings today.
Anyone happen to hear which exact ligament Kirillof re-injured in his wrist? I’ve had 3 repaired surgically and the prognosis for them can be drastically different depending on which one.
Anyone happen to hear which exact ligament Kirillof re-injured in his wrist? I’ve had 3 repaired surgically and the prognosis for them can be drastically different depending on which one.
I read somewhere he is getting a second opinion from another specialist so that don’t sound good. I have a feeling he is going to miss an extensive amount of time?
Kind of an unrelated rant:
I’ve watched bits of a few games this year, and it’s tough to care anymore. The MLB is going the wrong way. The product just isn’t as appealing as it once was. I’m a Brewers fan, generally root for the Twins next as an organization I grew up watching, and grew up playing baseball at all levels right though amateur stuff after HS. It’s hard to recognize this product as the same sport that many of us grew up playing. Strikeouts are the worst, along with the horses**t attitudes that accompany them. There are professional athletes playing the field that might go multiple innings in a row with hardly moving! I am not sure what will fix it, but the MLB is losing out more and more each year with younger generations. I’d love to see a pitch clock that’s shorter than anything proposed, along with some type of rules about batters completely leaving the box, adjusting themselves, retightening their gloves 7 times in an at-bat with 1 swing, and so on. Leave the shift in and make all-stars out of the first athletes of this generation who can again bunt or take an outside pitch the other way.
In 2021, the league broke a record for average length of a 9 inning game, with 2020 coming in second. Simultaneously, the postseason viewership is trending downward each of the last 21 seasons. The average fans don’t have 4 hours to sit on their behinds to watch from the first pitch and national anthem until the final strikeout. There is more down time in today’s game than there has ever been.
Last year the average game lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes – with the fewest balls put “in-play” ever. We have added 30 minutes of downtime to the game in only 2 decades. I know the game at this level has changed with analytics, pitching, training – I get that. But has it changed for the better? Maybe I am just selfish and old school wanting to see action during a game that keeps moving…but viewership numbers show I’m not alone.
2022: 3 hrs, 11 minutes
2021: 3 hrs, 11 minutes
2020: 3 hrs, 6 minutes
2019: 3 hrs, 10 minutes
2018: 3 hrs, 4 minutes
2017: 3 hrs, 8 minutes
2016: 3 hrs, 4 minutes
2015: 3 hrs, 0 minutes
2014: 3 hrs, 7 minutes
2013: 2 hrs, 58 minutes
2012: 2 hrs, 59 minutes
2011: 2 hrs, 56 minutes
2010: 2 hrs, 54 minutes
2009: 2 hrs, 55 minutes
2008: 2 hrs, 55 minutes
2007: 2 hrs, 55 minutes
2006: 2 hrs, 51 minutes
2005: 2 hrs, 49 minutes
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1975: 2 hrs, 25 minutes
1974: 2 hrs, 25 minutes
1973: 2 hrs, 19 minutes
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1940’s and earlier: games lasted less than 2 hours
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