I love baseball. Always have. Yet with life being as it these days – dad, spouse, employee, dad again – I rarely make much of an effort to sit down and watch for any extended period of time. But I miss it. The rhythm of baseball gives me comfort and peace. So I made a deal with myself, to watch an inning a day for the duration of the 2017 MLB season. The daily dairy won’t deliver much in the way of research or analytics – there are enough high quality experts out there with an academic grasp of the sweet science – but I am hopeful it can provide some mildly interesting observations about a game that has given me so much.
April 17, 2017: Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
Bottom 5: Indians 3 Twins 1
Bert Blyleven is an announcer for the Twins. I don’t remember much about Blyleven the pitcher other than he was very good and had a beard.
Kepler pops up to 3B. 1 out.
Miguel Sano digs in. Is he still considered one of the Twins better prospects or has that bloom off the rose?
Sano flies out to left field. 2 outs.
Joe Mauer is now a first baseman now and this makes me sad because it was not that long ago when he was one of the best catchers in baseball. If we were to poll Twins fans today would most say that Mauer has over performed or under performed expectations? When Matt Wieters first came up with the Orioles scouts often referred to him as “Mauer with Power”. That ended up being kinda true because Wieters did hit more home runs than Mauer – which isn’t really saying much because Joe Mauer doesn’t hit home runs – but was never able to live up to the hype, fair or not, which most likely contributed to his leaving for the Washington Nationals.
Mauer singles to left. Runner on 1st. 2 outs.
But Joe Mauer can still use all fields! Danny Salazar pitching to Robbie Grossman. Salazar was one of those injured Indians players that made last year’s run to the World Series all the more improbable. He looks healthy now though. And with the high socks!
Grossman grounds out. 3 outs.
That was a quick half inning. Looks cold in Minneapolis. Which might be why there don’t appear to be many fans in the stands. When I visited Target Field years ago it was standing room only. Of course it was July. And much, much warmer.
Top of the 6th still 3-1 Cleveland. Gibson pitching for the Twins. I have not heard of really any of these Minnesota players which is as much about my ignorance as it is their reliance on young, relatively inexperienced talent.
Fly out to center. 1 out.
Paul Molitor is the manager of the Minnesota Twins. Always liked watching Molitor hit. Such an economical swing. Kept his body and hands incredibly still until BOOM!!! bat to ball with lighting fast precision and efficiency.
Yan Gomes hit by a pitch. Runner on first. 1 out.
Walk. Runners on 1st and 2nd. 1 out. Pitching change.
Francisco Lindor up. I enjoyed getting to know Lindor last October. He’s the best player on a Cleveland team that should be good for a long time
Lindor grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. 3 outs.
Oh well. Lindor is still the best player on the Indians and one of the most talented players in all of baseball. 3-1 Indians over the Twins as they head to the bottom of the 6th. I probably won’t watch the rematch tomorrow night – and judging from the empty seats in Target Field – the Twin Cities will be busying themselves with some other distraction (playoff hockey???) as well.