Cup of Coffee

September 12, 2018: Monthly Features

43 Comments

I'm going to repost this LTE from yesterday as we're still looking to fill a few spots. And perhaps some rebranding.

THE NATION HAS AN APPETITE*: What does everyone think about turning this into a monthly rotating author cooking post? It could be a recipe, or a style, or a particular piece of equipment or ingredient, whatever. I'm thinking second Monday of the month as we have an opening there. Any volunteers?

September (whenever): meat
October 8: brianS
November 12: Pepper
December 10:

(* Same name? Name change? Like "America's Half-Baked Kitchen" or something?)

FATHER KNOWS BEST: I'm thinking to move this to 4th Monday so it's evenly dispersed with the other features. Also need volunteers and probably a new name as well. I like the joke, but it just feels like it should be called something different, right?

September 24: Mike
October 22: Zack
November 26: zooom.x
December 24: (xmas theme?)

43 thoughts on “September 12, 2018: Monthly Features”

  1. *Older People Know Best*? J/K

    I won't sign up for the TNHAA, but I like to cook and when I do something fun I think I'll just write a draft and leave it in the hopper for whenever.

    1. Related, it's possible to create posts under someone else's name if you have the right privileges (editor I think). You can email hj and he can edit then schedule as needed.

  2. With both the Twins and Clevelands winning last night, the Twins' magic number only drops 1, to 34. (Their elimination number is 3... Cleveland could clinch at least a tie tonight.)
    Their magic number to finish ahead of the Angels is 24 (vs 13 for the Angels to finish ahead of the Twins).
    And they need 16 wins to finish with a winning record. (4 Losses clinches a losing record; there are 18 games left. I'm not sure if there are any rainouts remaining that have not yet been made up and which may not ever be.)

    1. Twins are currently 66-78 (Pythag has them at 65-79 .... winning!!!111!11) & have not had a record over .500 since April 22.

      Looking at their remaining schedule with 14 games against sub-.500 teams, it's still possible, though highly unlikely, that they'll avoid their 3rd losing season in the past 5 years. This would be more compelling if they weren't closer to the Central's 3rd & 4th place teams than the 1st place team.

      1 against NYY (90-55, .621 PCT)
      3 against OAK (88-57, .607 PCT)
      6 against DET (59-86, .407 PCT)
      4 against CWS (56-89, .386 PCT)*
      4 against KC (49-95, .340 PCT)

      *double-header scheduled for the 28th as a makeup for an April 14 postponement.

  3. I thought this discussion on the Twins FO was interesting. Where do you think the blame for this season goes?

    I'm becoming less and less of a Manager Molitor fan. I can't understand how someone with his baserunning savvy can have a team with such mediocre results; all the pickoffs, and sixteen straight games without a successful steal. His lineups can be headscratchers, too.

    1. Basestealing league wide is down. The Twins have been especially bad at it (13th in stolen bases, 5th in caught stealing) and I think underscores that the manager can only do so much and this has to be instructed in the minors. Plus there actually being a greater need to steal bases.

      Jeff asked this question a few months ago. I think my opinion is roughly the same as it was then.

      1. All that is true. And I also wonder too if Molitor is just not a great baserunning coach. Just because someone can do doesn't mean they know how to teach. Could be he overestimates the talent of his players. Could be things he thought were obvious as a baserunner aren't obvious to his players (perhaps because they've never been taught in the minors) or perhaps he was just a genius and can't bring himself down to others' levels. Or could be none of that.

        Gardy was a pretty good defensive shortstop, but he didn't seem to have an eye for who was actually good at short (Hardy) and who wasn't (Castro).

    2. For me, the front office decisions have been a mixed bag. As the article points out, there have been some really good moves, some moves that seemed really good at the time but didn't work out, and some moves that leave me wondering what in the world they're thinking.

      I'm pretty much neutral on Molitor. I'll be okay with it if they bring him back, but I'll be okay with it if they don't, too.

      1. I thought their offseason moves were all pretty good (knowing now that certain high-end players were never going to go to the Twins), but their in-season moves more than not have me confused.

        1. Me too.

          I don't blame them for Lynn, Morrison, etc. having terrible seasons. They made reasonable decisions that didn't work out.

          The Buxton thing is so confusing that I think there are facts missing from our knowledge. I don't see that being entirely about service time.

          1. and yet, I saw a story yesterday about how they were pushing to get Sano back active. If Buxton were just about protecting his health, what's the difference with Sano? Has he yet tipped over the 3-year mark for service time? He's got to be close.

            1. BR lists him at 2.095 entering 2018. I see 70 games played so that puts him at a minimum of 2.165. I assume there are at least seven other days he was just on the bench so it's very likely he has his three years of service time already. I'm counting six times he had a day off. That means he had to be on the team for one additional day before going on the DL to reach the necessary 172 days this year. Considering the Twins propensity to play shorthanded, that seems like a given.

  4. Speaking of features, I gave the Our Features page a long overdue update, mostly consisting of moving things down to the re-purposed "Intermittent and/or Retired" section. If anyone wants to revive any of these old columns, you are more than welcome.

    Anyway, we should be updating all of the rotating authors there, so if you've ever curious about when your turn is, that can be the first place to check.

    1. An exhaustive series of posts curated by the Pastor.

      I read that as "exhausting" and said, "hey, that's not quite right." 🙂

  5. File under "what a crappy afternoon." So, I went home yesterday afternoon to meet my AC guy (he's becoming a regular visitor) and he loaded a crap-ton of refrigerant into our unit so that it will keep running, but basically told me that we will need a new unit by the time it gets hot next summer. While I'm hanging around watching him administer first aid to our AC unit the vet calls. Seems the mass that we had removed from our Boston, Asta, was malignant. So, now it's a round of x-rays and such to determine if she is cancer free. A very expensive & depressing afternoon all around,

    2. That's got to be tough for the pitcher. If there was any way he could have thrown the pitch out of the zone but so the catcher could catch it, that could have at least momentarily saved the day. Although, I don't know if he stumbles but throws the pitch if they might have called the balk anyways.

    1. I was watching the NASA TV live feed from the space station a few days ago and realized how massive this storm is. While I'm hoping for the best, I can't help but expect the worst.

    1. 1. Royce Lewis, SS, Twins (No. 1)
      The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 Draft had no problems handling pitching at two Class A levels at age 19, may have more power than expected and looked better at shortstop than anticipated.

    2. 3. Alex Kirilloff, OF, Twins (No. 30)
      After missing last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Kirilloff led the Minors with 44 doubles, 71 extra-base hits and 296 total bases while looking like the successor to Guerrero and Jimenez as the game's best all-around hitting prospect.

        1. Well, he certainly owes us nothing. But I am selfish. I want more counting stats to solidify his HoF case.

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