Game 23. Detroit at Minnesota. 7:10pm.

The NFL started its THREE DAY draft yesterday. 3 days to go through 8 rounds. The over coverage of every slightest bit of smoke GMs send out (99% of it is false info) gets blasted on ESPN. One tries to tune out the sports nets, but it gets filtered trough social media. Its all very annoying. Am I'm saying this as a person who still likes to watch football (although my fandom is waning the older I get). I do dislike everything else that surrounds the game.

Why am I bringing this up? I am very happy that baseball's draft hasnt become this huge spectacle of banality. I get heavy coverage of the first round, and to an extent the second (its where the bigger contracts are offered) but after that, its just a bunch of names and the hope that a few of them sign to fill out minor league rosters and hope you hit a gem.

This is all a half formed idea, but it comes down to this : I really dislike draft coverage of all sports.

 

On to the game.  If you take out the 0-9 start to the season, the Twins are 7-6. Thats not bad! Most games have been watchable (although heart pounding and clenched teeth when the Twins have a lead late and the bullpen starts to come in). Maybe the Twins can claw their way to .500 by the 4th of July.

I am also very happy Joe Mauer is back to Joe Mauer Super Baseball Player . Coming into the game he is leading the American League in OnBasePercentage (.459) and is just off the leaderboard in OPS (.907).

57 thoughts on “Game 23. Detroit at Minnesota. 7:10pm.”

  1. Oh goodie Jack Morris in the booth. I prefer Bert over him, but at least Morris gets most of the names right.

  2. I wonder how many of the batters Phil Hughes has walked has gone on to score.
    I'm going to look this up

    1. 37 walks in his Twins career. 13 have scored (35%)
      His only IBB went on to score.

  3. Hmmm. First Twins game I have been able to catch from pitch one, and they are down 3-0. Is it me?

  4. Still trying to process whether or not I like Audra Martin, for Wild or Twins, but I do miss Jamie Hersch

  5. So, out of habit, I check AG's site almost daily. His last 5 posts have been links to the podcast. I hoped between writing jobs, he would put up some Twins articles on his blog, but I guess tweeting about brunch, cats, etc takes a lot out of a guy.

    1. I stopped following him last season. He became too political-minded & less baseball. I don't give a rat's about his opinion on anything besides baseball.

      And maybe brunch.

      1. Ok, that's a fair point. The Mauer-bashing is so out of proportion, it's almost comical.

        On the other hand, it's been fun this season to hear boos from the crowd while Mauer is at the plate & it's because he's being intentionally walked.

        Those Nike sunglasses & 1 1/2 years post-concussion are the right combination. I'm predicting #battingtitle

            1. Discontinued Nike glasses I saw. Two other players also tried them this year too: Buxton and Rosario.

  6. On the grill: Stuffed peppers relleneos style. I have no idea what the hell I'm trying here, but it's an egg batter poured over stuffed peppers (spicy chicken, rice and black beans with some soft white cheese) and baked on the grill. we'll see.

      1. Recipe in development. This was pretty outstanding, and will be a great regular addition to our rotation once we nail down the spices / appropriate cooking utensils

  7. Poor Phil. The Twins seem to always have one pitcher each season who pitches respectably and would get negative run support, if that was a thing.
    TWINS BASEBALL!!!!

  8. Of the ten people sitting closest to me, at least four at constantly checking their phones for draft updates

    1. one thing I love about baseball is that when a player makes a great play, the opponent might laugh it off, tip their cap, or even sometimes clap in encouragement. It's a long season and players are able to enjoy the little things in addition to the big things. Don't think you'd see a cornerback clapping the quarterback after he got burned on great pass

      1. That is something I love about baseball too!

        Heard on NPR about the Mpls city council investing big money in the parks system. Acknowledging that the masses might prefer soccer to baseball and should therefore turn diamonds into pitches...damn near broke my heart.

        1. I live 7 blocks from a park baseball field where the Twins came and fixed up. It's used for baseball but it's also used just as much for pick up soccer. Also I know someone in Bloomington Govt and they are struggling with the fact that they have pristine baseball fields spread throughout the city that go virtually unused.

  9. Danny Santana has no clue where the ball is going off the bat. His jumps and routes ate horrendous.

  10. I've already packed my TV so I can't hear it myself, but Miami's Adam Conley pitched seven and two-thirds innings of a no-hitter before getting pulled for his pitch count (116). I always love/fear the announcers' comments at times like that.

      1. It worked for Johan, of course, it also pretty much ended his career and any chance at the Hall of Fame. But at least he (and the Mets) have a no-hitter.

  11. Is anyone else baffled by Molitor's use of the bullpen? Why pull a pitcher in 9th down 5 runs?

    1. My question is why pull Phil Hughes after 5? He had only thrown 81 pitches and had only given up 1 run since the first on an opposite field home run to Cabrera. We have all these rookies in the rotation and had just last week been forced to go to 14 pitchers. It would seem like you would need to rely on your veteran starter to get through at least one more inning.

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