Twins had an off-day; let’s watch Jose Berrios curveballs

Jose Berrios is patently unfair. When the ball crosses the plate, it does so like a goddamn frisbee. If you’re tasked with facing him, what, exactly, are you supposed to do with this?

It’s been a decade since the brief prime of Francisco Liriano. That’s the only recent comparison for a Minnesota Twins pitcher with stuff like this. It’s only been three starts, and it’s legitimately surprising when a hitter squares up a Berrios pitch. Those three Orioles solo dongs during Wednesday games seemed more like outliers or Berrios tiring than anything else. Because, really:

How sustainable is this? Pitches aren’t supposed to move like this. The Liriano mention above was purposeful. Berrios’ delivery looks smoother than Liriano’s original, violent throwing motion, but who knows what’s going on in those ligaments and joints? It’s natural to be paranoid about elbows and shoulders and a laughing, unjust God who would rather see Cleveland blow another 3-1 lead in the World Series than let the Minnesota Twins come in from the wilderness of close to a decade of clown-shoes baseball.

But I’m not going to worry about that right now, and neither should you. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, and the team has to weigh whether moving Brian Dozier and Ervin Santana for prospects would interfere with their playoff chances. That is not something anyone anticipated. Maybe PECOTA, but even they had ‘em at 78 wins.

Also, please send your regards to Mark Trumbo’s family, as this at-bat killed him to death and he will be missed.