All Things 2021 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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Baseball is so dumb.

the white Sox catcher hits a home run in the 9th of a blowout on a 3-0 count off the twins catcher.

for that the twins throw behind the white Sox catcher in the 7th inning of a winnable game.

the umps gather and toss out the twins pitcher without any warnings. Only after La Russia came out and said they might hit him.

What a complete bunch of morons all the way around. Both managers, all the players, and all umpires.
 

I guess when you’re 13 games under 500 it’s not about winning it’s about respecting the unwritten rules of the game. The twins will sure showed the white Sox that tonight, just forget that they are losing and will soon be 12.5 games back and have a strong lead for the worst record in baseball.
 

Wow. Sano hits his third home run of the night. This one a two run home run tying the game at four.
 

We'll still need about three or four more to win however.
 

Sano hits three home runs after being down 4-0 to tie it at 4 in the eight. And the Twins walk off the White Sox in the 9th.

Didn't think it was possible.
 


Nice win, but still a massive mountain to climb just to get to .500. And Sano gets his leash extended back out.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
When the twins pitched a catcher they lost all rights to complain. There is nothing sacred about the game when a catcher is lobbing over 47mph pitches. Baseball should just say if you wanna give up after 8 innings no problem. I would rather see that than a position player pitching. It is scary how many times he has pitched already and we are only 1/6 of the way into the season.
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Did any of the Twins players or coaches complain or was it just Roy Smalley on the broadcast? My opinion is if a position player lobs one in there, the hitter has every to smash it.
 

Ope3 said:
Did any of the Twins players or coaches complain or was it just Roy Smalley on the broadcast? My opinion is if a position player lobs one in there, the hitter has every to smash it.
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It's a bush league move to swing on 3-0 with a lead like that. I'm mad about two things: That Duffy threw behind him and didn't hit him, and that the starter didn't plunk him his first AB.

And no, it was not "just Roy Smalley". When your own manager publicly throws you under the bus like this, maybe real baseball people know a bit more about how to play the game the right way.
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According to ESPN, it was the first time in the past 20 years that a major league player had swung at a 3-0 pitch as his team held a lead of at least 10 runs. Some 557 such pitches had been thrown in that span.

“With that kind of a lead, that’s just sportsmanship, or respect for the game or respect for your opponent,” La Russa said. “He made a mistake. There will be a consequence that he’s going to have to endure within our family. It won’t happen again.”

La Russa told reporters Tuesday that as Mercedes was setting up for the 3-0 pitch, the manager sensed “he was going to swing.”

“I took several steps from the dugout onto the field, yelling, ‘Take, take, take!’ … And the whole time he was rounding the bases, I was out there and I’m upset, because that’s not a time to swing 3-0.”
 

Unregistered User said:
It's a bush league move to swing on 3-0 with a lead like that. I'm mad about two things: That Duffy threw behind him and didn't hit him, and that the starter didn't plunk him his first AB.

And no, it was not "just Roy Smalley". When your own manager publicly throws you under the bus like this, maybe real baseball people know a bit more about how to play the game the right way.
_________________________________________

According to ESPN, it was the first time in the past 20 years that a major league player had swung at a 3-0 pitch as his team held a lead of at least 10 runs. Some 557 such pitches had been thrown in that span.

“With that kind of a lead, that’s just sportsmanship, or respect for the game or respect for your opponent,” La Russa said. “He made a mistake. There will be a consequence that he’s going to have to endure within our family. It won’t happen again.”

La Russa told reporters Tuesday that as Mercedes was setting up for the 3-0 pitch, the manager sensed “he was going to swing.”

“I took several steps from the dugout onto the field, yelling, ‘Take, take, take!’ … And the whole time he was rounding the bases, I was out there and I’m upset, because that’s not a time to swing 3-0.”
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Well, don't get behind by 10 or more runs in the the first place. Problem solved.
 



Ope3 said:
Did any of the Twins players or coaches complain or was it just Roy Smalley on the broadcast? My opinion is if a position player lobs one in there, the hitter has every to smash it.
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Impossible to know considering in the time of zoom interviews only the manager and the starting pitcher are available for questions.
 

Ope3 said:
Well, don't get behind by 10 or more runs in the the first place. Problem solved.
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This. If this were high school, you'd have a good argument to say you shouldn't be swinging. It's the pro's. Get over it.

I can get why LaRussa had the comments he did. 1. He's old school. 2. He doesn't want to start something and have his guys targeted in retaliation.
 

As expected, Sano and Babe Ruth have HR records in common:


Win Twins!!
 




One of the ironic layers to the whole controversy is that the White Sox used Mercedes as a pitcher earlier this year.

again - it's not about a position player pitching. it's about swinging on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game. if a HS kid did that, he'd probably get benched. if he hit the HR on 3-1 or 2-0, no controversy. As noted in post #548, this is the first time in 20 years a major league hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch in a game where his team had a 10-run lead.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
One of the ironic layers to the whole controversy is that the White Sox used Mercedes as a pitcher earlier this year.

again - it's not about a position player pitching. it's about swinging on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game. if a HS kid did that, he'd probably get benched. if he hit the HR on 3-1 or 2-0, no controversy. As noted in post #548, this is the first time in 20 years a major league hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch in a game where his team had a 10-run lead.
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I do think having a position player lobbing a beach ball up there changes the argument substantially. Taking a called strike on a pitch, less than 50 mph, c'mon man.

BleedGopher said:
As expected, Sano and Babe Ruth have HR records in common:


Win Twins!!
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I have always found how the Babe ended his career interesting, playing a handful of games in the city where he got is MLB start with the Boston Braves in the Senior Circuit. Age 40, hit 6 HRs in 28 games, to combine with the 708 belted in the Junior Circuit.

Always wonder if he had any juice remaining in his left arm to pitch.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
One of the ironic layers to the whole controversy is that the White Sox used Mercedes as a pitcher earlier this year.

again - it's not about a position player pitching. it's about swinging on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game. if a HS kid did that, he'd probably get benched. if he hit the HR on 3-1 or 2-0, no controversy. As noted in post #548, this is the first time in 20 years a major league hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch in a game where his team had a 10-run lead.
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If they want to have a position player throw batting practice during a game, then the hitters should treat it like it's batting practice.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
One of the ironic layers to the whole controversy is that the White Sox used Mercedes as a pitcher earlier this year.

again - it's not about a position player pitching. it's about swinging on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game. if a HS kid did that, he'd probably get benched. if he hit the HR on 3-1 or 2-0, no controversy. As noted in post #548, this is the first time in 20 years a major league hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch in a game where his team had a 10-run lead.
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As the defacto ruler of baseball's unwritten rulez, he applauds Duffy's pitch - I don't have a problem with it either as it was low and if you can dent a body part on the hind quart of that moose playing baseball then Bully! Also LaRusssa is a douche.

1621457663847.png
 

short ornery norwegian said:
One of the ironic layers to the whole controversy is that the White Sox used Mercedes as a pitcher earlier this year.

again - it's not about a position player pitching. it's about swinging on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game. if a HS kid did that, he'd probably get benched. if he hit the HR on 3-1 or 2-0, no controversy. As noted in post #548, this is the first time in 20 years a major league hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch in a game where his team had a 10-run lead.
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This isn't directed at you SON... just a comment in general. I find it odd that baseball has these sort of unwritten rules.... earlier this month the Pacers beat the Thunder 152-95. Should the Pacers have quit shooting when left open? Should the 49ers taken a knee for the entire 4th quarter of their Super Bowl win a few decades ago? They won by 45 so surely a 31 point pasting through 3 quarters was enough, right?

Oddly, I find a blow out game in baseball to still be tolerable to watch since the focus is primarily on the one-on-one match up between the pitcher and batter. Blowouts in the major sports that feature a running clock are simply unwatchable as everyone sleepwalks towards the end of the game. I would rather see a mercy rule put in place after 7 innings in baseball and wouldn't mind seeing something similar in other sports. Why risk injury with a bunch of clowns going through the motions?
 

ecoperson said:
This isn't directed at you SON... just a comment in general. I find it odd that baseball has these sort of unwritten rules.... earlier this month the Pacers beat the Thunder 152-95. Should the Pacers have quit shooting when left open? Should the 49ers taken a knee for the entire 4th quarter of their Super Bowl win a few decades ago? They won by 45 so surely a 31 point pasting through 3 quarters was enough, right?

Oddly, I find a blow out game in baseball to still be tolerable to watch since the focus is primarily on the one-on-one match up between the pitcher and batter. Blowouts in the major sports that feature a running clock are simply unwatchable as everyone sleepwalks towards the end of the game. I would rather see a mercy rule put in place after 7 innings in baseball and wouldn't mind seeing something similar in other sports. Why risk injury with a bunch of clowns going through the motions?
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Don't throw the pitch if you don't want someone to swing the bat.
 

I look at the whole thing on another level too. When I played baseball the point of taking a pitch on 3-0 was because you had a very good chance of walking and getting a free pass to first base. It was smart baseball as opposed to swinging at potentially a ball, grounding out, popping up, etc. when you could just as easily walk.

In a blowout game it would rub me the wrong way if a guy is taking pitches because it looks like he's trying to walk and extend the game. Get the game over with at that point and the only way to do that is to get guys out.
 


not like they will need one of their more reliable arms in the bullpen. I have to imagine Duffey did this on his own with nothing from the manager. Otherwise why would you not put some stuff in there knowing they were gonna get tossed and more than likely suspended. Hell it would have been a perfect time to use Colome.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
not like they will need one of their more reliable arms in the bullpen. I have to imagine Duffey did this on his own with nothing from the manager. Otherwise why would you not put some stuff in there knowing they were gonna get tossed and more than likely suspended. Hell it would have been a perfect time to use Colome.
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The Twins can't "afford" to lose Colome. He's been their best reliever in May, ERA of 0.00 in 7 outings.

Amazing but in this "Lob Ball" controversy, everyone looks like a bozo except The Turtle.

- I don't have an issue with Mercedes swinging, but he did ignore La Russa's edict to take.
- La Russa in turn throws his own player under the bus, having no problem with the Twins retaliation by chucking it at Mercedes' behind.
- Smalley whines about it over the air. Personally, I say in a 10 run game, swing the bats at anything hittable. It's not like they were doing a double steal or hit & run.
- Duffey/Baldelli get suspended for said brush back (or forward depending on point of view). Throw a real pitcher, and if that's not possible than so what if they swing at at a 3-0 meatball.
 

Ope3 said:
The Twins can't "afford" to lose Colome. He's been their best reliever in May, ERA of 0.00 in 7 outings.

Amazing but in this "Lob Ball" controversy, everyone looks like a bozo except The Turtle.

- I don't have an issue with Mercedes swinging, but he did ignore La Russa's edict to take.
- La Russa in turn throws his own player under the bus, having no problem with the Twins retaliation by chucking it at Mercedes' behind.
- Smalley whines about it over the air. Personally, I say in a 10 run game, swing the bats at anything hittable. It's not like they were doing a double steal or hit & run.
- Duffey/Baldelli get suspended for said brush back (or forward depending on point of view). Throw a real pitcher, and if that's not possible than so what if they swing at at a 3-0 meatball.
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Not sure there is any video evidence of Mercedes looking at the bench or the third base coach during the at bat to even see if there was a take sign.

twins look solid again today.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
Not sure there is any video evidence of Mercedes looking at the bench or the third base coach during the at bat to even see if there was a take sign.

twins look solid again today.
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La Russa indicated he himself was shouting to Mercedes to take/not swing. Not sure in what language.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
Not sure there is any video evidence of Mercedes looking at the bench or the third base coach during the at bat to even see if there was a take sign.

twins look solid again today.
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He probably didn't. According to Johnny Bench, Astudillo threw the first 3 pitches in 26 seconds total.

Twins took the nightcap 6-3 with Sano hitting a Grand Slam and Garver & Larnach each hitting solos.
 

Kirilloff has homered twice in two games for the Saints, so he should be back on the Twins this weekend. With Sano heating up a little, maybe this team will at least be a little more fun to watch.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Kirilloff has homered twice in two games for the Saints, so he should be back on the Twins this weekend. With Sano heating up a little, maybe this team will at least be a little more fun to watch.
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Kiriloff in LF. Larnach in RF. Arreaz at 2B. Polanco at SS. Simmons traded somewhere else.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
One of the ironic layers to the whole controversy is that the White Sox used Mercedes as a pitcher earlier this year.

again - it's not about a position player pitching. it's about swinging on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game. if a HS kid did that, he'd probably get benched. if he hit the HR on 3-1 or 2-0, no controversy. As noted in post #548, this is the first time in 20 years a major league hitter swung at a 3-0 pitch in a game where his team had a 10-run lead.
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Johnny Bench came up with another wrinkle in the story. Bench didn't think that Yermin had a chance to look for a sign. Willians Astudillo was quick pitching him. The 4 pitches he threw took only 26 seconds total. Not Astudillo's fault. Probably was told to get out there and get it over with. Not Mercedes's fault either. After seeing the first two two pitches come so quickly he wanted to be ready. As a 28yr old rookie bet he just didn't want to be embarrassed.

LaRussa had very right to be irritated. Should have kept it all in house though.
 

Alexander Colome come in the game bottom of the 10th and give up a walk off 2 run homer. Alexander Colome should never had been brought into the game.
 

gophersfan said:
Alexander Colome come in the game bottom of the 10th and give up a walk off 2 run homer. Alexander Colome should never had been brought into the game.
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He’d actually been pitching really well. The story again is their inability to score with a runner on 2nd. They’ve only scored in 1 of 8 extra innings games.
 

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