Molitor

[DaveW]

How do you pull Milone there? Dude was dominant.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Milone was tiring, it was time. That Bullpen just stinks badly

[mudcat14]

99 pitches.  I guess it was the reason.  I'd have probably given him a little more rope.  Of course, I don't know how Milone felt.  Maybe he said he was done.

[DaveW]

Also why do you PH Nunez there!?!?!? What is the point of having Vargas on the roster if you won't use him in a spot like that

[Craig Arko]

The runners on second and third with two outs, having just scored the first run of the game, just might have had something to do with it too.

[blairpaul715]

I am fine with pulling Milone there, either way didnt really make a difference, Fien was going to pitch the 8th inning if we had a lead. He has pitched well, it was just one of those games, i suppose someone will complain that someone was taken out early when Perkins blows his first save.

[drjim]

 

Also why do you PH Nunez there!?!?!? What is the point of having Vargas on the roster if you won't use him in a spot like that

 

Nunez has been a better hitter this year. And a PH was absolutely the right move no matter how dominant Milone had been.

[Squirrel]

The problem wasn't pulling Milone when he did. The problem is not having a reliable bullpen other than Perkins.

[Squirrel]

 

The problem wasn't pulling Milone when he did. The problem is not having a reliable bullpen other than Perkins.

Oh, wait … you've started a thread about this, too … yeah, the bp did choke. Hmm … and maybe, just maybe, some of this was talked about in the game thread, too … hmmm … but I guess we need multiple threads to hash out today's game.

[USAFChief]

Every manager in the history of baseball pinch hits for Milone in that spot.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Something about this game today doesn't sit right with me. It was winnable.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Also why do you PH Nunez there!?!?!? What is the point of having Vargas on the roster if you won't use him in a spot like that

I can't begrudge putting Nunez in there. Not only has he been better than Vargas this season but a homer wasn't needed in that situation. A base hit would have been plenty of offense and Nunez gives you a better chance of scoring multiple runs.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Something about this game today doesn't sit right with me. It was winnable.

It was immensely winnable until the bullpen entered the game.

 

In 2015, you will lose the majority of games in which you allow your opponent to score five runs.

 

Milone: 0 runs, 6 innings

Bullpen: 5 runs, 2 innings

 

It's not hard to spot the goat in this game.

[jorgenswest]

Add the offense to the goat list. If they put up 3 runs instead of 1 the need to pinch hit becomes a lot less. Baserunning was awful. Nothing from Dozier except K's. Molitor using a challenge that wasn't clear and then didn't have one when it was clear. Lots of goats.

 

Escobar and Santana get a walk in the same inning. If that ever happens again the Twins have to figure out how to take advantage.

[Brock Beauchamp]

True but the reality of the situation is that you're going to lose pretty much every game where your pen posts an ERA over 20.

[HitInAPinch]

IMHO:  Alex Meyer should have been put in, instead of Fien.  After having an unsuccessful start in his 1st MLB game (which I think he deserves a mulligan) you just DO NOT let him sit on the bench the next game.

[Brock Beauchamp]

IMHO: Alex Meyer should have been put in, instead of Fien. After having an unsuccessful start in his 1st MLB game (which I think he deserves a mulligan) you just DO NOT let him sit on the bench the next game.

You don't swap out your eighth inning guy for a rookie with a single MLB appearance. Boyer, maybe. Fien, no.

[HitInAPinch]

 

You don't swap out your eighth inning guy for a rookie with a single MLB appearance. Boyer, maybe. Fien, no.

 

I got the wrong guy:  I should have said Boyer, not Fien.  Start of the 7th, got a 1 run lead and following a soft throwing Milone.  IMHO, perfect spot for Meyer.  I'd already have Fien and Perkins warming up, just in case. 

 

I'm also not on the side that says the Twins could make the playoffs.  I'm looking towards the future.

[DaveW]

I wouldn't have pitched Meyer there. The kid got lit up in his first appearance, ease him in a bit.

 

At this point I have lost all faith in Boyer. Fien is OK but shouldn't be an 8th inning guy.

[drjim]

 

I wouldn't have pitched Meyer there. The kid got lit up in his first appearance, ease him in a bit.

At this point I have lost all faith in Boyer. Fien is OK but shouldn't be an 8th inning guy.

 

I think Fien will get another couple outings before losing his job, but I think Pressly might be the second RH reliever, switching roles with Boyer.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I wouldn't have pitched Meyer there. The kid got lit up in his first appearance, ease him in a bit.

At this point I have lost all faith in Boyer. Fien is OK but shouldn't be an 8th inning guy.

Meyer: I wouldn't have pitched him there, either... I was merely pointing out that putting him in for Fien would be a mistake. As you said, you ease a guy into a later inning role... Which is why I wanted to see the Twins more aggressively promote Oliveros earlier in the season. You can't start a guy in the 7th/8th inning role. He needs to pitch in lower leverage situations and work his way up the ladder.

 

Boyer: I have no faith in Boyer as a 7th/8th inning guy... But as a 5th/6th inning guy, he's a pitcher you ride while he's hot and prepare yourself to demote him the moment he cools off. It's fine that he's on the roster, it's not fine that the Twins sat on the current pen for so long and set themselves up for implosion.

[nicksaviking]

 

You don't swap out your eighth inning guy for a rookie with a single MLB appearance. Boyer, maybe. Fien, no.

 

Meyer perhaps shouldn't be the answer.  But neither should two guys who throw about 90 MPH on a good day and miss bats at a historically awful level considering their job duties.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Fien does have a career 22.4 K%, and a 22.5 K% since coming off the DL.

 

Way ahead of Boyer, at 15.6 K% career and only 11.6% this season -- second lowest in MLB among qualified relievers.  (3rd lowest is Aaron Thompson.)

 

Worst K% is Burke Badenhop, who has bounced around to 5 different teams the past 5 seasons, being available in trade and free agency for relatively little cost despite a shiny 134 ERA+ across 2012-2014 (which suggests an upper limit for Boyer's value).

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Fien does have a career 22.4 K%, and a 22.5 K% since coming off the DL

Yeah, I'm not terribly worried about Fien or Perkins.

 

It's everybody else that worries me (Alex Meyer somewhat excepted).

[DaveW]

Fien will be fine (heh), but I would still like for them to get an upgrade over him to pitch the 8th. Fien as a 7th inning guy and a bridge to a guy like Clippard or Papelbon in the 8th would be my ideal situation.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Fien will be fine (heh), but I would still like for them to get an upgrade over him to pitch the 8th. Fien as a 7th inning guy and a bridge to a guy like Clippard or Papelbon in the 8th would be my ideal situation.

Absolutely. He's not the perfect eighth inning guy but he'll do in a pinch. He's better suited to the seventh.

[jorgenswest]

Fien is an extreme fly ball pitcher. He is going to give up home runs. The Twins know that going in.

[DaveW]

Another loss on Molitor. Great bullpen usage!

[TheLeviathan]

His closer blew his first save and his second best reliever blew the game.

 

The problem is the quality of his options.

[stringer bell]

Molitor's problem is that he doesn't have a "second best reliever". Huge gap between Perkins and everybody else. Even though Clippard gave up the lead in the ninth, I'd take him to pitch the eighth over anything the Twins have.