The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

Imagine how much older Yeager would look if he ever took a ball to the throat!

 

The Twins were actually the first franchise basically in major professional sports to take the name of a state instead of a city, and for obvious reasons. There is a 0% chance then or now that you could have put Minneapolis or St. Paul by themselves on a uniform without pissing the other city off royally (and their home from inception until 1980 was in Bloomington, which was neither). Minneapolis/St. Paul is awkward and too long, and Twin Cities (even though they have that on their alts now) is not specific enough.

Meanwhile, hot crowd mics are often terrible except when they're great:

 

1974? That's the closest most of those Tigers guys ever came to a World Series.

And that's why the Twins did this deal, even if the stats already have them pissed at the front office. Arraez has masterful bat control, but more than 80% of his hits are singles (and only two are homers), he doesn't have speed and doesn't have a defensive position. He's a slightly smaller version of Tony Gwynn in an absolute best case scenario. Granted, that's still pretty damned good but the Twins already have about 2-4 guys who either don't or, quizzically in the case of Byron Buxton, can't play a defensive position, and they were desperate for pitching last offseason. Unfortunately for them, Pablo Lopez has been only OK this season (he'll shut out the Tigers tonight, for sure), but you have to give up things to get things sometimes.

 

Arraez just homered. LOL.

 

I denounce myself.

 

Orioles doing Mariner-like things in the ninth inning.

Ahead 4-3 with two outs in the ninth, Mike Ford jumps on a Bautista fastball to tie the game.

Then after Seattle walks No. 9 hitter Adam Frazier with one out, a pinch runner comes on … and promptly spaces out as the hitter fouls out to the catcher. Standing on second base after a steal attempt, had plenty of time to get back to first. Instead, an inning-ending 2-3 DP.

 

And … in the bottom of the 10th, defensive replacement Ryan McKenna belts a two-run HR for the win.

Been that kind of season for the O’s — and the Mariners.

 

That was a classic solid baseball trade. Both teams got better--as you noted, Lopez's peripherals are far better than his overall numbers, but he's a big reason why the Twins have a much better rotation than last year. Both teams have a real shot to make the playoffs after being nowhere close to that last season.

 

Arraez homers. Marlins win. Coincidence??

 

Baltimore has a few guys who are like McKenna. You look at the stats, and they're bleak. But every time you look around, they're doing good things. Frazier's like that. The Josh Lester kid has been like that. James McCann. And of course, Gunnar Henderson is still looking up at .250 despite being about as hot as any third baseman this month.

 

It wasn't a guess for me. I knew all of those guys.