80 thoughts on “June 27, 2019: Great Debate”

  1. It comes down to Buxton for me, I think. Lots of guys are playing at a higher level, but it's just such a relief to see Buxton playing so well.

      1. I think I would have to third this. Partly because of how fun he is to watch and partly because of how his presence clearly (based on the ol' eye test, full disclosure) impacts the team.

    2. Berrios. The past 2 years he was very good, but this year he looks like a true ace on a playoff team.

    3. My favorite Twin this season changes from day to day. I'm enjoying Arraez right now, but I guess I'm kinda pleased with Harper. He beat the odds, and has done a credible job.

    4. I'm gonna third (or whatever we're up to now) Buxton. I have caught myself tuning into his at bats almost the way I did Mauer's. Not quite, but close. I want Buxton to come up in a big spot, I love his defense, and his speed on the bases is just pure fun.

    1. I also really, really like watching Buxton play. He makes difficult things look easy,and impossible things look feasible.

  4. Nice headline to this cup of coffee. I was wondering if you were referring to the presidential or great food debate. I click and it is favorite Twin. Nice.

    1. Yeah, it's cool to see everyone so passionate about food, but we're always going to disagree on things like should avocados / green paste guacamole be eaten, ever.

      1. OMG... you did not... I mean...did you really just type...arghhhh!! A freshly toasted mini-bagel. An over medium egg. 2 slices of hickory smoked bacon. A smear of roasted tomato. The key component of the worlds tastiest breakfast starter is sliced avocado.

            1. Whoa. They're usually about $.69 at the Pig here. You getting the gold crusted ones?

              1. This may not be the case everywhere, but I was thinking about grabbing one or two last night and immediately said nnnnnnnnnnnnnnope!

              1. Dessert is my kryptonite. Luckily I have a couple talented ladies who excel in that area.

        2. First Korean Barbecue tacos, now this. I think I need to hang out at zoom's more.

    1. 90% confidence they'll finish with 94 wins. I'd take the under on that. It's so easy for things to go wrong.

      1. I dunno. There are a lot of things that could go wrong, but there are also 49 remaining games against the AL central.

        If our central opponents carry their current winning percentages in the games they play against the Twins, that adds up to 29 wins right there. I'd actually guess that they'll win 30+ against the Central the rest of the way, but if they only win the 29, they'd have to go 13-21 against the other opponents to get to 94.

        Not saying that they couldn't run into an extended slump, but I'd take the over on 94.

        1. I believe the 90% confidence on worst case is too high. I agree with nibbish that ~97 wins feels "right" based on the division and how well they're playing.

      3. Yeah, I would take the over on 94 wins. Yes things could go pear shaped, but they have already to some extent (injuries) and we have the depth to still play great ball. I am going to project 100+ wins solely because I believe we will make a move or two in the bullpen.

        1. Weathering this recent injury bug at an above .500-ish clip is pretty confidence boosting.

    1. Huh. I guess I can see it after getting the answer. I absolutely did not have the first or second initials correct, though. He wouldn't have been in my top 10 guesses.

  7. I haven't had much opportunity to follow the team the last two years or so. Last night I listened to 3 or 4 innings while I was cleaning the garage.

    It was a lot of fun, but I recognized so few names.

    1. More and more, I hear names around the league that I recognize, only to realize (frequently) that I recognize the name because his father played. That wasn’t the case for me for Griffey or Ripken, but only because I didn’t watch their fathers play.

  8. I haven't gotten to watch as much as I'd like, but I'm going to go with Odorizzi. First, his name is just plain fun to say. While I love Berrios flexing his ace muscles, Odorizzi had such a stellar first half that I feel like we might actually have a decent 1-2 punch come playoff time.

    Also, everybody loves La Tortuga.

    1. I love Odorizzi's performance, as he was been spectacular this first half. I can't pick him as my favorite simply because he looks like he is about to fall asleep on the mound. No emotions might be the key to his game, but he puts me to sleep.

  9. Ok, I am going to skirt the boundary of forbidden zone, but it is not about the politics, but social media games.

    I saw a book of face post today by a friend. He was forwarding a story (with Pelosi's picture) about the Democrats blocking a Veterans Health Care Bill. I hadn't heard anything about this, so I clicked on it. It was a Fox News story from March of 2018. A version of that bill was successfully passed by Congress and signed by the President in May of 2018. So I text the guy to say it is an old story and the bill passed over a year ago. His response is "Well the Dems do this to Trump all the time". I responded that "I am not taking sides. Just wanted to make you aware that it's an inaccurate, and untimely post. Thought you would want to know". 2 hours later and it is still up and getting all kinds of rage from the uninformed.

    My angst on this is not about party. There are people on both sides of the aisle that play these games. Unfortunately, I believe a vast majority of the general public take the headline for face value and do not attempt to seek the truth at all. I believe that there are foreign actors who are putting this stuff out there and hoping Americans forward it. I believe that foreign actors do this, and have done this to help/hurt both parties and a lot of our population are just sheep who eat it up. I believe there is a whole slew of domestic actors doing the same damn thing. I remember a long time ago reading one of the Enders Game sequel books. Basically, one of the characters was skewing and controlling public opinion from behind his computer in a global way. Back then, I thought "Well that's pretty far fetched". I guess Orson Scott Card was onto something.

    1. I don't pay much attention to complaints about a particular politician's one specific vote. Sure, he/she may not have voted for a bill that gave more money to orphans, but that same bill may have also disbanded the VA. WTH??

        1. Back in the BBS days, I was friends with someone that used Demosthenes as a handle. After I finally read the book I was like, ooohhh, that's where she got it from.

    3. There's plenty of this stuff on the non-political side, too. I don't know how many times I've seen the "pray for Greg Comer" post. In about five seconds of checking I found out that Mr. Comer passed away eight years ago. But nobody takes five seconds to check.

            1. I have a book on the Orthodox church at home (that I believe you recommended) that I should get around to reading. I'm reading fiction now, previous book was autobiography, so a good non-fiction learning book sounds about right.

            2. Right. I was just trying to be colloquial.

              Real question: do the Orthodox use the phrase "the Communion of Saints" or something similar? Obviously with the iconography and all, it's a very real part of their practice. But I don't know how they refer to it?

    4. Your experience, and frustration, here mirrors my own. I don't know if there is a solution other than keeping chins up and doing your best to keep pointing the way towards better engagement. I try to remind myself when I engage on deeply-held matters (politics, religion, Trekkie-ism, etc.) that I'm never going to win someone over in that conversation. But I might plant the seeds of change. Both for the person/people I'm engaging with, and for those who come by and happen to read what we've written. Short term pessimism, long term optimism.

          1. I've gotten some pushback on Snopes for two different reasons. The first is, "Yeah, but how do you know they're not making stuff up?" And the second being, "Quit trying to correct me."

    1. Yeah, according to fWAR, he's been the best pitcher in the AL (and the second best in baseball).

      I'm thinking back to an old Square One episode and thinking that they should be checking the sidelines looking for a guy with a remote control.

      1. Oh, not saying he wouldn't be a good representative, but it's been a while since he was a Twin. They list those three as Twins pitchers -- should have mentioned that.

    1. Astudillo to the IL? Weird.

      Rosario is still on the active roster, then. They really must not think it's a bad injury, but since they're calling it a "sprain", how do they figure he'll be available to play within the next 10 days?

      2. He did not roll the ankle from what I saw, so I am guessing it isn't as bad as it first seemed. Took a while to announce the corresponding move, so maybe they waited til this morning to evaluate.

  13. The matriarch of St. Anthony Park, KiKi Gore, has died. She was a dear friend to us and to pretty much everyone whose life she touched.

    Here is a little taste of who she was and what she meant.

    Her children are carrying on a huge legacy. Son Paul is an educator. Daughter Lia (the missus's college roommate) a leader in pediatric oncology.

  14. If anyone is interested in doing the Ragnar road race from St. Paul to Duluth on August 16-17 let me know. I have a pretty fun (Tech oriented but that doesn't really matter right?) team that we're trying to fill the last couple of spots. eschapp at googlemail. We're not planning on being competitive and we have a wide swath of running experience.

  15. "We Will Rock You" played during a commercial and the boy said, "Oh, it's that 'We will we will rock you' song by Prince!"

    I said, "Actually, that song is by Queen... though I suppose they're both members of the royal court." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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