InsideCoroner

I’m very grateful that Hicks had been able to play so well in Mullins’ absences, but man, his Kryptonite with two strikes is off-speed stuff below the zone. He flails at it every time.

Maybe, but as total newcomers go, Brach made a good first impression. He looked/sounded nervous for the first couple innings but quickly settled into the flow, and it doesn’t hurt to have someone with a little first hand experience about things like spin rate, metrics and the modern game. I’d like to see him thrown into the mix again.

It felt to me like Devo had very little broadcasting experience before this. The first couple games were pretty awkward, like they brought someone into the booth for an inning who just stuck around the whole game. There wasn’t much insight, and not even many good stories. Whereas I felt like Brian Roberts was much better on the analytical side or taking you into the mind of a hitter. Devereaux was a bit better yesterday, but hopefully he learns quickly from someone like Ben, who just seems completely natural and at ease. I generally like a three-man both, but it’s like a pot luck: everyone’s got to bring something.

Also, players back in Belanger’s era had far more fielding opportunities than in the “three true outcomes” era. In Mateo’s career he’s handled .47 chances per inning, whereas Belanger had .58 cpi in his 18 years. That’s 23% more activity before you even get into other factors like field condition and lighting.

I grew up in PA about 75 minutes outside of Philadelphia. As a teenager I went to quite a few games at Veterans Stadium with my Phillies-loving friends, and it really didn't take many games for me to start saying that Phillies fans were just the worst. I didn't hate the team -- we won the World Series, after all -- and they had some exciting players, but man oh man, their fans were awful... and they loved their Zuba pants. They would turn on their own in a heartbeat, like Yankees fans (but without the success). A couple months into 1985, Mike Schmidt was struggling and fans started robustly booing him every at-bat or missed play. He was in his 14th year with the club and the greatest player the team has ever seen, mind you -- but they let him have it for struggling in April and May. Of course he finished the season strong and thus all was forgiven, but that was what sealed the deal for me. And by all accounts, they never got better.

Jonathan Schoop was just released by the Tigers. He’s “only” 31, but a .559 OPS since the start of last year. I hope he catches on with another MLB team… just not us.

I was just joking, I think he’ll be okay. He recovered from Adam Duvall, and that game mattered. The one guy I constantly see being (too) hard on himself is Gunnar.

Bautista may have bruised his ego.

Mullins is 0-for-8 lifetime against Gray. Might have been a combination of that and that he’s not really hitting since returning (.502 OPS). He looks great in the field but might need some more time with the bat.

It’s pretty stunning to think this team is on pace to win 97 games, just two years after a 52-win session. And if we trade for some pitching… who knows?

I can definitely see myself re-watching this game during the offseason when it’s been a tough week and I need a pick-me-up.

I wouldn’t judge Hicks by his return to New York. He was surely pressing and trying to prove something. Patient or not, he did hit a homer (which had to feel great) and a drive to the wall in right center which required a really good catch. I suspect he might be more patient again once he leaves town.

My opinion of Melanie has zero to do with her gender, and everything to do with her broadcasting style and ability (which detracts from my enjoyment of the game). Nobody thought it was sexist to say Jim Hunter was a bad TV play-by-play guy. It was just the truth.

He wasn't fooling anybody yesterday with 9 baserunners in 5 innings, but he pitched well under pressure. The Twins hit a lot of balls hard against him, and there was really no room for error there in a one-run game., so I wasn't unhappy to see him replaced. Definitely, if he puts up a mid-3 ERA I would be very happy. I still feel a lot better having him pitch at home (.766 OPS against) than on the road (1.099 OPS).

Irvin really danced out of trouble yesterday. Credit to him for keeping it together through five, but if Mullins had not made that ridiculous catch in the 1st, and if the wind had been blowing (or basically in any other ballpark) that would have been a bloodbath. He was not inspiring confidence. The Twins hit 9 balls at 99.9 Exit Velo or higher, 5 of which went 360+ feet. He escaped with a better line than he deserved.

It’s still here today. It almost seems time-based, as it will pop up when I’m watching a video or reading a paragraph (rather than clicking through or scrolling).

@Tony-OH, since this morning I’m getting pop-up ads on my phone (iPhone using Chrome as I always do). It’s only happening to me on OH and you can’t seemingly close the ad. I’ve had to use the “Back” button to get around them, even while writing a comment. I just updated Chrome but they’re still coming. Not sure if it’s a German ad server issue but it’s never happened before (or at least the pop-ups always had a “Close” button). This is how it looks, you can see 20% of the OH screen above it, but clicking there doesn’t close it either. Just FYI.

Now Devo can do a live update of his Why Not? highlight video quote: “Come on, ball… stay fair… stay fair…”

But… why? Some players might enjoy it, but truth be told, a lot of the guys would probably rather have the extra day off and less travel instead of playing in a mostly meaningless exhibition game.

It seemed like Gunnar made a dramatic improvement once he became less passive at the plate and started attacking early strikes. You get the feeling that Adley enjoys going deep into counts and running up the pitch count, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him sacrifice patience at some point and starting to drive the ball more.

I really, truly hope we hang on to Kjerstad and that he can adjust to MLB pitching. He’s such an exciting hitter to watch.

Ryan was due that moment of redemption. Weirdly, whenever the home team scores a ghost runner in extras, that just doesn’t feel like a real “walk-off” to me. But hitting a homer? Now that’s a walk-off. It was also cool to see Santander (who McKenna replaced) out there as one of the first guys to shout and clap him on the back at home plate. Hopefully the whole thing fires up the team.

When Frazier drew the walk in the 9th yesterday and Mateo pinch-ran, I was excited as I couldn’t imagine a better pinch runner. Then Mateo steals and doesn’t watch that Mullins hits a pop foul out to the catcher, and easily gets doubled off first, sending it to extra innings. Oof.

In his last 42 games: 21-for-133, 13 runs, 0 homers, 40 Ks, .158 average, .375 OPS. Just one walk in his last 22 games.

I suspect you're right on each of these counts. There was little other reason to explain the local mlb.tv blackouts in the times when relatively few people were going to Camden Yards. Honestly, if they offered the chance to subscribe to "MASN+" from afar, I would probably do that and give up my long-standing mlb.tv subscription, since 99% of what I watch is Orioels and especially now that mlb.tv removed access to all postseason games. If this is indeed the truth, we can only hope those cable contracts run out sooner rather than later.