Merles Joseph

Just a local sports guy. social studies snob. Newbie to X. Trying to keep up.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@TownBallTuesday @JPAmann @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H Forget “they made State.” Explain why New Ulm’s actual roster belongs in the same classification as Minnetonka. Player for player, what makes them comparable? That’s the question you keep avoiding.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@TownBallTuesday @JPAmann @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H You sure act like you know everything about town ball all the time. You’re just another dude with an opinion, nerd. 😂

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@JPAmann @TownBallTuesday @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H Dude, nothing has to give. Player points. Population points. Done. The board got plenty right, but success points weren’t one of them. Sometimes the pragmatic answer is the simple one. They tried to reinvent the wheel.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@JPAmann @TownBallTuesday @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H Why complicate it? Eliminate success points. Keep player and population points. Saying a handful of teams will bounce between classes doesn’t make it right. Class teams based on what they actually are, not a few years of winning.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@TownBallTuesday @JPAmann @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H How isn’t it a problem? A good B team has a few successful years, gets pushed into A, can’t realistically compete with the established A powers, then drops right back to B. If teams are constantly bouncing between classes, the system isn’t actually classifying them correctly.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@TownBallTuesday @JPAmann @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H “Punished” is doing a lot of work there when you take it completely out of context 😂 Success should matter, but pretending every successful B team suddenly belongs with established A powers is a stretch, nerd.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@JPAmann @TownBallTuesday @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H That’s the whole point. If one pitcher changes whether New Ulm can compete in A, they weren’t really an A team. Now they’ll go right back to B anyway. You’re just creating a group of successful B teams that bounce between A and B every year. What does that accomplish?

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@TownBallTuesday @JPAmann @TBScheduleGuy @TalkinTownball @Tyler6H Case in point: Minnetonka 14, New Ulm 3. New Ulm is a very good B program, but they’re not an A team.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@SN1PE_fttr That’s fair, but if they’re operating within the player-point rules, that’s exactly why those rules exist. Success points basically say, “You followed the rules and won too much, so now move up.” That’s the part that makes no sense.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@SN1PE_fttr Nisswa has built a winner, kept its core together and followed the rules. Their reward? “You’re too successful, go play Class A.” That’s not competitive balance, that’s penalizing success.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@SN1PE_fttr Leave it to the state board to screw this up. The point system makes sense when it comes to player and population points, but Nisswa is far from a Class A team. We’ve seen fringe teams get bumped up the last few years and essentially have their seasons wasted.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@nickhays35 State tournament baseball never disappoints. 😂 Dad bod Mecca meets a live SNL skit. Cold beer, questionable heckling and grown men screaming at umpires like their entire livelihood depends on a 2-1 pitch. I make fun of it, but I absolutely love it. This is town ball.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

Brought my wife to state tournament baseball. 30 seconds of people watching: “Man… rural Minnesota isn’t very healthy, is it?” 😂

Beer bellies and dad bods as far as the eye can see. Exhibit A: 📸👇

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@TownBallTuesday @JohnGerads Know this: when the burners come out in full force, Town Ball Twitter is in a damn good spot. People care, people are chirping and it’s fun. Some guys have day jobs to protect—let Mr. Baseball Know-It-Alls cook from their burners.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@JoeGrose29 @MinnBaseball Wish you well too, looking forward to another great couple weeks of baseball, though a lot of my favorite teams have been eliminated, including Air Freight and Bird Island.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@swandoggy @JoeGrose29 @MinnBaseball Let’s not pretend the level of play is the same as A or B. 32 class c teams is way too many.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@swandoggy @JoeGrose29 @MinnBaseball Sir, I’ve seen what I’ve seen. During the Howard Lake game I felt like I’d wandered into a Saturday Night Live skit for a minute.
Class C just isn’t very good baseball. The state board added another class to give more teams an opportunity, which is fine.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@JoeGrose29 @MinnBaseball Joe, Chaska is the 4th site and only hosting the first weekend. Bummed because they had mostly Class A games. From what I’ve seen, A and B have more experienced, talented players. I caught some Class C this weekend and, as a casual fan, it just wasn’t for me.

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@JBGOOTER I’m pretty sure I saw your line twin today. 😂 He and his buddy crushed about 37–38 beers during the Howard Lake game. The State Tournament remains undefeated for people-watching. 🍺⚾️

[Merles Joseph @MerlesJoseph]

@AlexLogelin5 Lose a semifinal game there lately? You want a pinball machine, go play a game in Dassel-Cokato.