All good things must come to an end, and so must this season of Twins disappointments. But that's okay. You can't win 'em all. We'll get 'em next year. Since I'm working today and can't watch, I hope it doesn't turn out to be Joe Mauer's last game, because I'd hate to miss that. I'd like to offer a tip of the cap to eschapp for the game tickets Friday night. The Mrs. and I had a great time. Lots of early runs and layering were the keys. The Twins start Zack Littell today, Dylan Covey goes for the White Sox. I can't believe this is the last time I'll say it for six months or so, but... Play ball!
Mauer starting at first today. He's at 99 OPS+. One more good day at the plate should get him to average.
A-Stud is listed as starting at 3B. Huh?
How about that. He's played 35 innings at 3b, plus nine at 2b, 2.67 in LF and, hilariously, an inning in CF.
He started there last night as well.
Effectively tied for second most played position in the minors too. 1132 innings in 144 games at third and 1184 innings in 154 games at first. He's caught 2427 innings over 302 games in his nine minor league seasons.
I really hope Astudillo makes the 25-man out of spring training next year. Even if he's third behind Castro & Garver, he'd provide a great deal of flexibility. Given the contact he makes, having a guy like that available to pinch hit and then fill in anywhere* on the diamond is pretty awesome.
* I mean, he's played CF & 2b — I assume they could put him at short if they were shifting.
I can't fathom why he wouldn't be back. He'll be making the minimum plus maximal positional flexibility. Sure Báez can play anywhere in the infield, but can he catch? Zobrist has also played a lot of positions but never caught or pitched.
It seems likely that Garver and Astudillo are the catchers going forward. Castro is under contract for next year so assuming he's kept for 2019, I see it as a 50%-25%-25% breakdown for catching duties between the three. Castro will continue to lead with Astudillo playing somewhere in the infield on his off days and Garver would DH or play first on his off days.
Yeah, I put up that poll to force people to choose, but my 100% third option would be to have both.
The folk hero aspect he's got going would help out some extra butts in the seats.
I'm always appreciative of players who look a little bit more like the rest of us.
A "meaningless game", I suppose, but it would be cool to end with a six-game winning streak.
I hope Joe hits 4 home runs
What would be the most Mauer line to go out on? 2-2 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 4 runs?
That sounds about right
A single, a double, and two walks I think fits best. At least two plate appearances have to go to a full count too.
I'm having a late lunch while catching the game: two old-fashioned franks on multi-grain bread with fresh, homemade, whole-grain mustard, a cut of apple pie Mrs. Hayes baked yesterday, and a bottle of New Glarus' 2018 Wild Sour Ale.
non Twins nugget: Khris Davis has a chance to have 4 straight .247 batting average seasons
He did it. He went 0-2. Lucroy pinch-hit for him after that. He finishes with a 0.246527778 average, down from his 0.24738676 before the game.
Khris Davis's average is again at .247. I am really hoping he finishes the season at that.
That look on Mauer's face when he was waving to acknowledge the applause before he stepped in — seemed like a window into a mind made up.
I'd have to think it's like 90% considering they had that video package all ready to go.
One downside to letting Runner daughter drive this leg of the trip is I don't have control of the radio. Erg.
If I could guarantee he wouldn't take a foul tip to the head, I'd love to see Mauer put on the tools of ignorance for one more inning. Despite how good a defensive first baseman he's been, it's still sad that'll be our last memory of him playing a position.
Sheenie and I were talking about that last night.
He should go out to warm up the pitcher once.
My brother mentioned he saw a tweet last night suggesting Mauer start the game at catcher, receive an old-school intentional walk, and then move to first. That would've been pretty neat.
Tortuga
Who is Juan Graterol?
I'm pretty sure it's ch, although I don't see the bottle of new Glarus.
Cave, man.
No round of applause for Robbie Grossman's last day as a Twin?
Depending on how one feels about Terry Steinbach, Grossman might be in the top five wearers of #36 in Twins history. If the Twins had been good while Grossman was here, he would've been a nice bat on the bench. As it was, he was pretty okay at the plate. In the field, well...
Yeah, I mean he is a good batter, but not OF material and Im ready to move on from him.
Grossman's picture is probably in the dictionary next to PH/DH.
I'm not so sure. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if Grossman is back next season.
I see Dozier hit a 2-run homer today — though the Dodgers were already up 7-zip.
First pitch, eh, Mauer?
Joe: "Note to self — that's why you don't swing at the first pitch."
ha! joe made fun of himself for that at his press conference. kind of nervous so jumped on the first pitch, conceded maybe he was starting to listen to advice he'd been given over the years.
Hrbek's career ended with the Twins on a five game winning streak. It'd be nice to see the Twins make it six for Mauer.
KEPLER! hits it out to Thomeland
Hey, I spookied Kepler getting 30 doubles & 20 homers!
Dang, Kepler.
Gross, man.
YES! That was a perfect Mauer at-bat.
Opposite field double, yeah that'll do.
Looks like two game 163s tomorrow. Cool.
Watching Mauer soak in that double from the moment he made contact, as he rounded first, as he slid in ahead of the tag, & then as he stood up to cheers, the refrain of this tune hit me:
Oh my God, they did it.
This is the best
Wow. This is cool (although I'm leery of the concussion risk)
Wow.
Using Belisle to close it is less cool.
This is awesome. Why are we risking ruining it by running Matt Belisle out there?
Well, only having him out there for one pitch is maybe a little less awesome, but still a pretty good way to go out.
And why is Belisle still out there!?
Trevor May was right there!
Because he has to face one batter. The question is, why did he go out there in the first place?
My best guess is that he's also retiring.
Never thought about that, but it could be.
Trivia answer.
I think it makes it a little easier to be happy about it because any risk to his long term well being was handled really well.
Fully agree.
It would be kind of funny after all this if, a couple of weeks from now, Mauer said, "Guess what, guys? I'm coming back next year."
I switched over from DET-MIL because it seemed pretty well decided and figured I might as well see how the Twins finish up. Glad I did.
It should've been Belisle out after one pitch and Mauer staying in.
I turned on the mlb.tv for the first time in at least a month, maybe longer, just in time to see joe catch his last professional pitch. Man, what a class act.
*sniff*
funny, something got in my eye there for a second.
My eye and my throat.
Shut up! I'm not crying, you're crying!
Sure, love at the end. Better late than never, I guess.
HOPEFULLY THAT WAS BELISLE'S LAST TWO BAGGER AS WELL!!!11
This is the kind of on-field class I like: Mauer gets to catch one last time, Belisle gets to pitch one last time, and Gimenez gets to catch for what might be his last time, all in the same inning. Good work, Molitor.
That was lovely. A touch misty at my house.
Is that AMR rejoicing I hear?
😆
What did I miss?...
Oh yeah! Suck it one last time, Scioscia!
Nice, Trev. Couple more, please.
Nice Trev. One more please.
Not exactly a "meaningless game" after all.
Heh, "Seven" by Prince on the Twins Post-Game Report.
I'm finding myself wishing Morneau was there.
And Johan.
It would be awesome to see them dump the gatorade bucket on him...
I thought that for a second, then squelched it. Time for that silliness to end.
Still undecided, he says.
Joe Mauer says he is still undecided about the future.
That Mauer, always a prankster.
Apparently he's a comedian hosting the postgame awards.
Andrew Vasquez gets his first major league win. There's another trivia answer someday.
First spring training game is Feb. 23.
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." — Rogers Hornsby
Sounds like Mauer was the one who wanted Belisle on the mound for his last pitch.
In the postgame, Mauer says the White Sox agreed that whoever was at the plate for the pitch he caught would not swing. Given the rivalry between the clubs for most of Mauer's career, that's pretty awesome.
It was only fair that it was a ball not a strike.
Mauer says that he hadn't opened the bag containing his personal catcher's gear since 2013. He tried it on at home last night before bringing it to the ballpark today.
Big credit to May for chasing away any rain clouds at the end of the game. That's an intriguing closing option if he's up for it.
Closer or opener, depending on whether the newer strategy sticks.
Or high-leverage pitcher
Assuming May's arm is up to it, I would like multi-inning fireman best.
The jalapeño went to the game with a friend and had a great time--plus he came home with an awesome, ridiculous hat. I asked him what the highlight of the game was for him and after thinking for a minute, he declared it was Mauer's double. Maybe I'm doing something right in my parenting after all...