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March 8, 2021: Wrap A Bow

22 Comments

With Odorizzi off the market, that pretty much settles any lingering questions. Looks like this is the team we'll have going forward. What are you hoping for from it?

22 thoughts on “March 8, 2021: Wrap A Bow”

  1. Tier 3 opens up in MO this week, and with luck Mrs Runner can snag me an appointment for a shot. She's already lined up shots for 6-7 people in the past by monitoring sites and through FB feeds.

    1. Did you tell her that "charity begins at home"??? 🙂

      Good luck getting in the queue. Things have been moving faster in recent weeks. It's looking more and more like the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming freight train (again).

      1. Well, home IS her primary mission, but until the point where we are allowed the shot (and are actually at home, which was yesterday), we're not on the radar.

  2. Looks like this is the team we'll have going forward. What are you hoping for from it?

    What I'm hoping for and what I actually think will happen are two different things. I'm hoping for a world championship. I'm expecting that they will finish second in the division and may not make the playoffs. I could be wrong, obviously--if enough things go right they certainly could win the division. But I expect them to be somewhat down this year.

    1. Well, everyone makes the playoffs, haven't you heard?

      I would like to see the team play some robust ball, and allow for the White Sox to self destruct and fall apart at the finish. Then I'd like to see some postseason success.

      1. I'd like to see the Twins beat the White Sox with a Boomstick, repeatedly.

        Beyond that, I am hoping for a division title and a playoff series win.

    2. Hmm. I'm curious what you're thinking is down from last year? I feel like they are slightly improved from last year.

      I think the rotation is slightly better (On paper I was more optimistic for last year, but some of the pitchers were out a little longer than I'd been thinking). Specifically, I think the depth of our rotation is a strength, and coming off of Covid/shortened season, I think depth might really matter. And I think our defense will definitely be improved.

      I think our offense is a question mark. It's going to be good, but will it be astonishingly good like 2 years ago? If Sano and Buxton hit, it could approach that. If not? Well, how far will they fall then is the question, right?

      But while KC and Chicago are improved, I think Cleveland is not, and Detroit is still Detroit. I don't really know how improved Chicago is really, but I feel like La Russa is one of the worst fitting managers that that club could have for its players. Maybe I'm wrong about that, and will be proven foolish. But I'm not as worried about Chicago as a lot of people.

      So I think there's plenty of reason for optimism this year, in what terms of what I think will actually happen.

      1. The Twins really didn't make any strong moves over the off-season. Essentially, they tried to replace what they lost. The guys they picked up are, for the most part, decent, serviceable players--I can't think of any bad moves they made. I just don't see any of them as players who move the needle in any significant way. One of my beliefs is that in sports, as in life, you're either moving forward or you're moving backward, but you're never standing still. If you think you're standing still, you're moving backward and just don't know it. The Twins tried to stand still. I think it'll result in a move backward.

        Could I be wrong? Most certainly. I hope I am. Maybe this'll be the year that Sano and Buxton finally take that step forward we've spent years waiting for. Maybe Kirilloff will be Rookie of the Year. Maybe Berrios wins the Cy Young Award. If enough things go right, the Twins could be improved. I just don't think it'll happen.

        1. I think Kirillof has a good chance of being a huge upgrade over Eddie. I also think Broxton could be good insurance for a Buxton injury.

          Simmons is a huge upgrade at shortstop. We really needed better infield defense.

            2. I think depth in pitching is more important this year than most since nobody pitched a full season last year. Hopefully, only playing a partial season will help Cruz hold off Father Time for at least one more season.

      2. It's hard to compare to last year, as last year was such a weird season. Between Covid and injuries, it is a hard base line to compare to. I think going into 2020, I liked the team better than the 2019 version. The 2021 team, in my opinion, is pretty darn good and deep. I look at it more like there needs to be some BAD things happen for them NOT to make the playoffs or be a top 4 team in the American League. Those our my expectations.

        My hope is that in the playoffs, the current roster has more "professional playoff at bats" built in it. Cruz, Donaldson, Arraez, Kirilloff all have potential to put up great at bats against elite pitching. If we get back 2019 Polanco/Garver and the defense performs as it should, we have a chance of winning some playoff games. So, my point is, we don't necessarily need things to go right to compete. We just need less things to go drastically wrong.

    3. PECOTA is heavily favoring the Twins to repeat as ALC champs by 5 games over CLE and 8 over CHW. ZiPS has the Twins and CHW in a virtual tie with CHW with +3 in run differential over the Twins.

  3. On Friday, our Sleep Number bed was delivered and set up. Our old bed was 24 years old and was so way over due to be replaced. So far with 3 nights on the new bed I have the following observations"

    We ordered the sheets that are supposed to help keep you cool. Not only do they not seem to have that effect, but they are slippery. Around 3am last night I woke up and apparently I had been snoring, so my wife hit the "partener snoring" button on the app and it raised my side of the head portion of the mattress to a steep incline. With the slippery sheets my body fell to the foot of the mattress and I woke up in a very uncomfortable position.

    I originally though my sleep number was a fairly firm 55. Night one I had fitful sleep, so I bumped it do a softer 45 and had a great second night of sleep. Night 3 is discarded due to the snoring even described above.

    I like the app, which tracks our sleep patterns. Kind of neat for a stat geek like me. I love the fact that when I get up to use the bathroom, lights under the bed come on to help me not stub my toe on anything on the floor.

    These beds are spendier than I would like, but my wife really likes it. It is SSS right now, but I think it will grow on me.

    4. Oh I thought this was a metaphor for post neo-capitalist materialism. Now I get it. Kinda.

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