|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 12, 2021 15:19:01 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 10m Cora -- 'Everybody understood the decision. Now we're at the hotel and we're waiting to hear from MLB and the Twins.'
'We have no idea right now. We're in a waiting pattern.'
Said Chaim Bloom has been in touch with the Twins. #RedSox
Cora -- 'Our thoughts and prayers to the Wright family. A very tough situation -- sad situation. Especially in this area.'
'As far as the decision, it was a simple one.' #RedSox
|
|
|
Post by Kimmi on Apr 12, 2021 16:24:45 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 2m #RedSox-Twins postponed. @nesn reporting game was banged about 10 minutes ago. Boo.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 12, 2021 16:39:19 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2m J.D. Martinez is the AL Player of the Week.
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 12, 2021 19:55:02 GMT -5
I guess it`s time to eat some crow after bashing JD all through ST.
I was expecting almost nothing, but he did start to settle in late in ST. But nothing like this craziness.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 2:56:45 GMT -5
Red Sox-Twins opener postponed April 12th, 2021 Do-Hyoung Park
Do-Hyoung Park @dohyoungpark Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins and Red Sox postponed their scheduled series opener on Monday following the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, on Sunday by a police officer in the suburb of Brooklyn Center.
Amid the greater context of the ongoing murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd last May, Wright’s death sparked protests in Brooklyn Center and unrest in the Twin Cities throughout Sunday afternoon and into the night.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz set a 7 p.m. curfew for Hennepin County, which contains the city of Minneapolis. The Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA and Minnesota Wild of the NHL also announced the postponements of their scheduled home games on Monday.
“Out of respect for the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Brooklyn Center, and following the additional details in this evolving situation, the Minnesota Twins have decided it is in the best interests of our fans, staff, players and community to not play today’s game,” the club announced in a statement.
“The decision was made by the Minnesota Twins after consultation with Major League Baseball, and local and state officials. Information regarding the rescheduling of today’s game, and corresponding ticket details, will be released in the near future.
“The Minnesota Twins organization extends its sympathies to the family of Daunte Wright.”
No makeup date has been announced for the game.
The Twins have also not determined how the remainder of the four-game series could be impacted, and the organization will remain responsive to developments around the Twin Cities and communications with local authorities, government and Major League Baseball through Monday night and into Tuesday as they make their decisions.
"We’re in the hotel and waiting to hear from MLB and the Twins to see what’s next as far as the series," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We don’t have too many details.”
Twins president Dave St. Peter said there have not yet been any discussions about moving the series to Boston. There is also snow in the forecast for Tuesday in Minneapolis.
According to St. Peter, the decision to postpone the game came both out of respect to the Wright family and in the interest of the safety of fans, players and employees.
"We’re in regular communication with law enforcement as well as people within the governor’s office and elsewhere, and it's something we’re monitoring," St. Peter said. "We would obviously like to play games when it’s appropriate to play them, but at this point, those are decisions that will be made here in the days to come."
The postponement also had the support of The Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization comprised of more than 150 active and former Major League players.
"We are deeply saddened to have to issue a response condemning the loss of yet another unarmed Black American at the hands of police," the organization tweeted. "We support the Twins' decision to postpone today's game and send our most heartfelt condolences to the family of Daunte Wright."
The decision to postpone the game wasn't made until very late in the pregame sequence, when many fans had already settled into their seats and the Red Sox had taken batting practice. But both the Twins and Red Sox were fully aware of the situation once the Twins came to a decision and are prepared to react to the developments over the next 24 hours.
"Our community has been through a lot," St. Peter said. "We have a trial taking place just blocks away from Target Field. Emotions across our community, emotions across our organization are raw. Based on the events of the last 24 hours and as information has started to come to light, playing a baseball game today felt a little less important.
"When you add a level of public safety to that, particularly the safety for fans, our players, our staff, again we thought the decision we made today was the right call. History will maybe tell us otherwise. But today, this moment, we're pretty confident we're doing the right thing."
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 3:20:17 GMT -5
We’re seeing a familiar version of J.D. Martinez — one who was absent for all of 2020 By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated April 12, 2021, 5:35 p.m.
So yes, it appears that a 60-game season represented a small sample.
Just 10 days of the 2021 season have been sufficient for J.D. Martinez to demonstrate that his alarming 2020 performance did not represent the start of an irreversible decline. The 33-year-old Red Sox DH continued his transcendent season-opening run Sunday by going 4 for 6 with three homers in Baltimore — his third career three-homer game.
He’s now hitting .472 with a .500 OBP and 1.083 slugging percentage, with five homers and 12 extra-base hits. Martinez has an extra-base hit in each of his eight games this year, tying Alex Rodriguez (2007) and Sandy Alomar Jr. (1997) for the longest season-opening run in major league history. On Monday, he was named MLB Player of the Week — the ninth time he’s been recognized, tied for the second most honors by an active player.
Many contended that Martinez was a single hot streak from getting his 2020 season to normal performance levels, but the compressed 60-game season — plus the uncertainty of how to stay prepared during the shutdown and the loss of access to in-game video once the season did reboot — denied him the opportunity. His start to 2021 underscores the point.
“This is a guy I saw in ’18 and ’19,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I know he talked about last year and he’s on a mission to prove people wrong, but it was only 60 games. He was one month away from getting his numbers right. Right now he’s locked in and I’m glad he’s swinging the bat the way he is.”
Here are a few of the details of the remarkable start to his season:
▪ Among the most alarming things last year was Martinez’s inability to hit fastballs. After he led the majors in average and slugging against fastballs from 2017-19, those numbers plummeted to .179 (one of the lowest averages in the majors) with a .366 slugging mark last year.
This year, Martinez has had no issues with the heater. He’s hitting .529 with a 1.000 slugging mark and two homers against fastballs.
▪ At the same time, Martinez is hitting everything this year. His three homers on Sunday, in fact, came on two curveballs and a changeup. He’s hitting .400 and slugging 1.067 off breaking balls, and .500 with a 1.500 slugging mark against off-speed pitches.
▪ He is back to hammering the ball. His average exit velocity has been 95.2 miles per hour, a jump from 89.5 in 2020.
▪ His swing is once again grooved to drive the ball to all fields — a hallmark of his success. A year ago, just 22.7 percent of the balls Martinez put in play were to the opposite field. This year, that number has jumped to 35.7 percent. His five homers include three opposite-field shots (one more than he had all of last year) and two to straightaway center.
As impressive as those signs have been, perhaps the most impressive thing is that they aren’t a once-in-a-lifetime asteroid but rather typical of what Martinez looks like at his very best. This is Martinez performing to the upper end of his known capabilities rather than beyond them.
Martinez has played in 1,130 career games. He has never before had a run with 12 extra-base hits over eight games, as he has this season. Nonetheless, a case can be made that he’s had more dominant surges.
Had he ever hit .472 over an eight-game stretch, as he has done to start this year? Emphatically, yes; in fact, he’d done so 23 times, topped by a run in 2016 in which he hit .538. Had he ever reached base at a .500 clip? Why, yes; in fact, before 2021, there were 45 different eight-game stretches in which he reached base in more than half of his plate appearances, topped by a .647 OBP over eight games in early 2017.
His 1.083 slugging mark is the ninth-best of his career over an eight-game stretch; during an eight-game run with Arizona in 2017 that included a four-homer game, he had eight homers and slugged 1.267.
In short, Martinez is opening the year with a reminder of what he looks like at his very best — something he never displayed in 2020. This sort of run represents an extreme example of his abilities, but one that is consistent with other times in his career.
“J.D.’s one of those guys that can literally carry a lineup for an entire season,” said Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo.
That’s not a guarantee that the rest of the season will be like this (and it’s worth noting that he does have at least one hickey on his early 2021 résumé, having swung and missed at 18.3 percent of all pitches he’s seen, the 18th-highest rate in MLB). Nonetheless, Martinez has offered compelling evidence that the skills that made him one of the game’s elite power hitters from 2014-19 remain present.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 3:22:45 GMT -5
red sox notebook Alex Cora keeps the outfield combinations coming for the Red Sox By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated April 12, 2021, 6:45 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Red Sox have played nine games and used nine different defensive alignments. Before Monday’s game against the Twins was postponed, manager Alex Cora had drawn up a 10th variation.
This time it was Kiké Hernández in left field for the first time, Hunter Renfroe in center field for the first time, and J.D. Martinez in right field for the first time.
Part of the thinking was to give Marwin Gonzalez and Alex Verdugo days off in the middle of a stretch in which the Sox have 16 games scheduled in as many days.
The Sox have already used four different players in left field, two in center, and two in right.
Cora said he’s not concerned with defensive chemistry because he tried different groupings during spring training.
“Enrique and Hunter are great communicators out there,” he said. “They take charge.” Go for a ride
Going back to roughly the final third of last season, Sox players have celebrated home runs by riding a laundry cart pushed by teammates in the dugout.
Backup catcher Kevin Plawecki came up with the idea, with some encouragement from catching and game-planning coach Jason Varitek.
“Last year we were trying to have some fun in a situation that wasn’t the most ideal,” infielder Christian Arroyo said. “We just carried it over to this season. We’re definitely having fun with it.”
The Sox hit six home runs Sunday in Baltimore. The cart they appropriated from the visitors’ clubhouse was a bit deep, so they lined it with towels to make for a more comfortable ride. Progress for Santana
Danny Santana is back on the field at minor league spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., after recovering from surgery on his right foot to treat an infection. Santana was signed to a minor league contract in March. The 30-year-old MLB veteran is doing well physically. “Hopefully he can get some at-bats soon,” Cora said . . . The Red Sox have arranged four more games for the players at their alternate site in Worcester. Mets players are scheduled for two games at Polar Park this weekend, with the Red Sox going to Brooklyn for two games at the end of the month. The Triple A season is not scheduled to start until May 4.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 3:25:35 GMT -5
Next steps for Twins unclear after postponement
By Betsy Helfand | bhelfand@pioneerpress.com | St. Paul Pioneer Press PUBLISHED: April 12, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. | UPDATED: April 12, 2021 at 5:06 p.m.
The Twins are unsure what this week will look like for them following the postponement of Monday’s game. The game was supposed to be the first of a four-game set — all day games — against the Red Sox at Target Field.
The Twins made the decision shortly before their 1:10 p.m. game was scheduled to start to postpone the series opener against the Red Sox following the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was shot by a police officer in Brooklyn Center during a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon. They say the decision was rooted in respect for the Wright family, as well as for the safety of fans, staff, players and the community.
As of early Monday afternoon, team president and CEO Dave St. Peter said the Twins had not had any discussions about moving the series to Boston.
The Twins also have not made a decision yet regarding Tuesday’s game. St. Peter said they felt it was in the best interest to allow everybody to go home on Monday and assess where they are on Tuesday before making that determination.
“We’re in regular communication with law enforcement as well as people within the governor’s office and elsewhere and (this is) something we’re monitoring,” St. Peter said. “We would obviously like to play games when it’s appropriate to play them, but at this point those are decisions that will be made here in the days to come.”
The decision to postpone Monday’s game came together relatively quickly. Manager Rocco Baldelli met with the media around 10:30 a.m. and that time, he was under the belief that the Twins would be playing later that day.
As the morning wore on and the Twins received more information, they decided the decision was for the best, alerting first alerting J.A. Happ — Monday’s scheduled starting pitcher — and the Red Sox, with Baldelli walking over to the third-base dugout to inform Boston manager Alex Cora.
“Our guys are very professional in a sense that they know that when we’re making decisions, they’re well thought out,” Baldelli said. “They know that there’s a lot of attention to a lot of different things when we’re pulling this together, and they respect the decision. And our guys will be ready to go tomorrow if we are deemed ready to play.”
The Twins say information on the rescheduling of Monday’s game and corresponding ticket details will be released soon. DONALDSON RETURN
While third baseman Josh Donaldson was eligible to come off the injured list on Monday, poor weather conditions were part of the reason the Twins did not make that decision before their postponement.
Should the Twins play on Tuesday, the weather likely will be a factor in whether the Twins activate the third baseman from the injured list, considering frigid temperatures and potentially even snow are in the forecast. Donaldson, who has been rehabbing after straining his hamstring on Opening Day, went over to CHS Field to participate in a sim game on Sunday.
“He’s mentally prepared, ready to play. With a muscle injury, with the weather that we’re dealing with, the conditions are not ideal,” Baldelli said Monday morning. “I do think that today, maybe tomorrow are tough days to come back from a muscle injury and go out there and play. It’s going to be pretty nasty outside.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 3:41:36 GMT -5
Twins, Red Sox uncertain if Tuesday game will be played According to STATS
Following the postponement of the Monday afternoon series opener because of the potential of more civil unrest in Minneapolis, it was unclear if the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox would play their scheduled Tuesday afternoon game at Target Field.
The strife-torn city, already on edge with the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd taking place less than a mile away at the Hennepin County Government Center, had to deal with more unrest following a Sunday police shooting that killed a 20-year-old Black man, Daunte Wright, about 10 miles northwest of the city in Brooklyn Center. Protests and looting broke out in Brooklyn Center after the shooting.
A 7 p.m. curfew was announced for parts of the metropolitan area for Monday. The Minnesota Wild, who play across the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, also postponed their Monday night game with the St. Louis Blues while the NBA also postponed the Minnesota Timberwolves-Brooklyn Nets game at Minneapolis' Target Center.
Twins president and CEO Dave St. Peter said a decision on Tuesday's game likely wouldn't be made until Tuesday morning. The Red Sox also are scheduled to play games in Minneapolis on Wednesday and Thursday.
"We're in regular communication with law enforcement as well as people within the governor's office and elsewhere, and (this is) something we're monitoring," St. Peter said. "We would obviously like to play games when it's appropriate to play them, but at this point those are decisions that will be made here in the days to come."
One other thing to factor about a potential Tuesday game: the weather. The forecast is for a high of 37 with 10-20 mph winds and a chance of snow showers.
It remains to be seen whether Monday's scheduled starters, Red Sox left-hander Martin Perez (0-0, 5.40 ERA) and Twins lefty J.A. Happ (0-0, 2.25), would simply be pushed back a day and start Tuesday. Happ had just begun to warm up in the bullpen Monday when Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli walked over to the Red Sox dugout to inform manager Alex Cora of the postponement.
"Emotions across our community, emotions across our organization, are raw," St. Peter said. "So based on the events of the last 24 hours and as information started to come to light, playing a baseball game today felt a little less important."
Cora agreed.
"Our thoughts and prayers to the Wright family," Cora said. "Obviously a very tough situation, a sad situation. Especially in this area, right? It's been tough the last 12 months with everything that has been going on from that end."
Happ is 13-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 27 career games (26 starts) against the Red Sox, including 5-0 in six starts with the New York Yankees over the previous two years.
Perez, who went 10-7 with a 5.12 ERA while pitching for Minnesota in 2019, is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career games (four starts) against the Twins.
Should the managers decide to stick with their regular rotation plans, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 1.46 ERA) would start for Boston on Tuesday and be opposed by right-hander Kenta Maeda (1-0, 2.61).
Eovaldi is 3-3 with a 5.05 ERA in seven career starts against the Twins, including 1-2 with a 7.88 ERA in three starts at Target Field.
Maeda is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in one career start against the Red Sox, an 8-1 loss at Boston in 2019. Maeda also pitched in three 2018 World Series games against the Red Sox while with the Dodgers, and he allowed four hits and one run over three innings while striking out six.
Red Sox at Twins Tuesday, at 2:10 PM EST Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 35° F with a 13% chance of snow and 14 MPH wind blowing out in Minnesota at 2:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
--Field Level Media
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 3:44:49 GMT -5
Can not even hazard a guess if there will be a game today or not just stand by....
will be a couple other afternoon games now cuz of PPD games yesterday
Mariners and Orioles Phillies and Mutts as well, will all play 2 today
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 8:57:08 GMT -5
Betsy Helfand @betsyhelfand · 10m The Twins will be play today as scheduled and they are anticipating a doubleheader tomorrow.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 8:59:49 GMT -5
danhayesmlb Hearing #MNTwins and #RedSox are on for 1 pm today and yesterday’s game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.
It’s a straight doubleheader. Assuming that likely means two 7-inning games for you. Only 30 minutes in between games. No time to clear the park and bring in a new crowd. More info coming soon.
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo 6m Sounds like this is the plan. Doubleheader tomorrow would be two 7-inning games likely starting at 2 pm CT. Nothing announced yet.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 9:01:09 GMT -5
an Browne @ianmbrowne 3m Hopefully everyone brings their winter coats. Weather forecast I saw doesn't show anything higher than 36 degrees today.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 9:13:47 GMT -5
Jen McCaffrey @jcmccaffrey 7m Wednesday doubleheader and Thursday day game is going to be a tough turnaround for both sides
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 13, 2021 9:24:50 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7m #RedSox-#Twins series now:
Today at 2:10 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday straight doubleheader at 2:10 (ET). Two seven-inning games.
Thursday at 1:10 p.m (ET)
It's 34 degrees here at the moment with a chance of snow.
|
|