49 thoughts on “April 9, 2021: Fridays Without Twins Baseball”

  1. Yesterday LaVelle E. Neal tweeted and then today Reusse mentioned in his "back in the day" column that fans were chanting MVP when Byron Buxton came up to bat late in yesterday's game. Both of them basically said Stop it.

    I get that it's silly to chant MVP in game 7 of a 162 game season but Jesus you two, read the room. We are just coming out of a year long pandemic where we had to stay in hour house, some got sick, some lost their jobs, some died. A bunch of racist babies tried to violently overturn a fair election and we haven't been to a game, concert, party for 13 months. If we want to be silly, have fun, chant MVP, boo Mickey Mantle, eat a fried pickle on a stick and drink Bud seltzer, just let it go.

    1. Well said. For the next couple of years I should probably turn down the "get off my lawn" opinion I have on the wave and beach balls.

          1. Personally, I've never understood the hate for the wave. I remembered loving it as a kid, and I know my kids enjoy it now. The hate feels so cynical, and we've already got more than enough cynicism for my tastes.

            1. My opinion has evolved over the years. If it's early or the game is a yawner, then hey, yeah, have some fun. It's just really annoying when it gets started in a close game in the 8th inning where I want to keep my eyes peeled on the plate

              1. That's my opinion too. If it's a boring game and you're looking for a distraction to keep the kids occupied, go for it.

                1. This may come as a surprise, but I was mostly joking. The Wave doesn't particularly bother me, and I am all for keeping kids interested and enjoying going to the ballpark.

                  I'm not Brian McCann, for goodness sake. I can Re2pect Teh Game without being a GOMLer.

              2. I can understand this opinion, but I think I fall more into the Bart Giamatti Take Time For Paradise school of thought, where sports is ritual ,and liesure says something about us as a people. So while the contest on the diamond is the focus, the raison d'être runs deeper, and the wave is another expression of that depth.

                Also, everyone here should read Take Time For Paradise if you've never read it.

    2. A fucking men, boys. This last year has sucked. Buck has been great this week and we should enjoy it. If I had been there, I would have led the chant.

      1. and it's not like this is Chris Shelton hitting 9 homers in two weeks and people getting over-excited. Buxton is an MVP-caliber player.

        1. Yep. Buxton twice has received votes for MVP. He led a division-winning team in rWAR just last year despite missing a third of their games. He's already won a Platinum Glove. No one would be at all surprised if Buxton is well considered the Twins' most valuable player this year and the Twins are considered as strong contenders for the best record in the AL. Why would a team with high expectations having its fans chant MVP for one of its best players getting off to a historic start be questioned? And Buxton is not known for good starts. He had one career HR in April coming into this season. Including this start to the season, his career OPS in the first half of the season is .664 compared to .814 in the second half.

        2. Saw a graphic today that shows that since the beginning of the 2020 season, Buxton has the 2nd highest slugging percentage in baseball. Ahead of Trout, ahead of Freeman, ahead of Abreu. The only person he's trailing is Soto. It really feels like he turned a corner.

          Also, their point is stupid as hell, because Buxton has the potential to be a superstar style player. Newbish LOVES Buxton. He gets excited when he does anything. I show him Buxton highlights, and he loves it. The dude is an electrifying player of the kind we haven't had in forever. Forgive us for enjoying that a bit.

          1. Question: Buxton is the most electrifying player that the Twins have had since _________________________________.

            For sure, Johan was more electrifying. How about Joe? Was he electrifying or just really awesome? Thome? Hunter? Morneau?

            1. Mauer? (I would argue maybe that while Mauer's excellence was legitimately awe-inspiring, it was not always "electrifying"?)

              Johan? Kirby?

            2. ever? Caveat: I didn't see Carew play. And while Puckett was electrifying, he wasn't as fast, and wasn't as good a fielder. He robbed a few homers, but partly that's because he usually played back. Buxton plays up and can still get back and left and right. Plus his stolen base percentage is ridiculous.

              1. Go back and watch Puckett's 10-for-11 series against the Brewers. I wouldn't put Buxton ahead of stuff like that. Puckett also threw out the tying run trying to score from third base on a single in the ninth inning.

              2. Puckett. 1986. Electrifying. I'll never forget it. He just exploded onto the national scene. Bob Costas named his son after him (okay it was like a second or maybe third middle name). Kirby was everywhere.

                1. It made me a lifetime Twins fan. 1986 was the first season I watched or listened to games on a daily basis. I started paying attention because of Kirby. 1987 was the first season I followed the Twins every day from Game 1.

            3. It probably depends on your definition of electrifying. Buxton is really fun to watch just running around. I would say watching Nelson Cruz hit is pretty electrifying. If I'm working and have the Twins game on the TV, when Cruz comes up, I stop and turn on the sound. I'm doing that now with Buxton as well. It was similar watching Jim Thome hit in 2010. Carlos Gomez was more of a lightning rod. He could thrill you and make you want to strangle him all within the same game. I think Buxton has become what we hoped Carlos Gomez could become.

              1. A healthy Buxton is electrifying in all facets of the game. I caught the last few years of Rod Carew in Minnesota and he was electrifying, but I was still too young to truly appreciate it. He was the last Twin, for me, who was electrifying in all facets of the game. Santana on the mound was stellar. Cruz and Thome at the plate. Mauer behind the plate and quality at bats. Nick Punto's versatility and headfirst slides...

          2. Since the beginning of 2020, Buxton is slugging .658 and has averaged homering in every 9.17 PAs. If he just gets 500 PAs this year, that would mean 54 home runs.

    1. Got Pf#2 today. Hooray! No side effects other than my arm getting sore at exactly the same time as my previous round. I am crossing my fingers that I don't get ill off this one. I have to work through dinner tonight, then golf on Saturday and Twins game on Sunday!! Anyone else going on Sunday??

  2. Good to see the team getting their jabs right after yesterday's game. The "I'm Planning on It" radio ad was bothering me -- stop planning to and do it already!

    Oh, and don't read the comments.

    1. Maybe stagger them just a little bit? We don't need the whole team on vaccine hangover tomorrow.
      (I know it's unlikely they'll all get hit with the slow-mo side effects, but good chance there will be a few. I suppose they're feeling everybody out today and will make moves if they must.)

      1. Gio Urshela is out today with vaccine side effects. He was placed on the COVID IL, but I'm not sure if there's a minimum time you have to be on that.

        1. Lourdes Gurriel pulled from the game today with Vaccine-related symptoms. DTD.

      2. I really wonder if players will opt for the J&J shot to avoid the experience of the second Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech shot.

        1. With travel, scheduling of a second Moderna or Pfizer might be more difficult, too.

  3. Charlie Blackmon was just ejected for being called out on a ball out of the strike zone. It wasn't really an egregious call, but it was a ball. Maybe the best argument for robot umps is that it will prevent star players from being ejected from the game. People come to see Charlie Blackmon play, not some scrub off the bench. Replay has reduced ejections because players just call for a replay if they disagree with a call on the bases or fair/foul calls. Having sensors call balls and strikes will reduce ejections even further.

  4. I'm still a little disoriented by the SCSU Huskies' win over Minnesota State yesterday. It was a really well played game, fast and physical and the officials let the ponies run. The Huskies got a big break with inside a minute to play, feeding a pass from down low to the point for a big slapshot that got deflected in front and just found the top of the net. I was hoping for an all-Minnesota, all-NCHC championship game, but that'll have to be another year.

  5. For those interested: The US Men's secured the third seed for the playoffs in the Men's World Curling Championship this afternoon. Games are being broadcast on the Wold Curling TV youtube channel, although you'll need a VPN to watch the US.

  6. Second jab kicking my butt this afternoon, fatigue and slight body aches. nothing that some Tylenol cant take care of.

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