Article: MIN 2, CLE 0: Berrios Dominates, Sets Twins Opening Day Record for Ks

[jimbo92107]

 

In Columbus, Ohio babysitting our young granddaughter while our son and his wife are on vacation.  So I got to watch the game on the Indians network.

 

Very complementary of Berrios and Rogers.  They weren't even homers when Berrios got several borderline pitches called strikes...as did Kluber.  Every time Gonzalez came up to bat they dwelled on his .455 average vs. Kluber (don't know if that is lifetime or from the recent playoffs).  When he came up with runners on base it seemed they expected him to get a hit.  Looking forward to more of their analysis this weekend.  Hopefully, they can split and win the opening series.

 

Loved the 4 inning save by Rogers.  Expect we will see Perez pitching 3+ innings in relief of Odorizzi.  Its gonna be interesting to see how Rocco uses his bullpen.

Berrios looked great, but you can see why Kluber is in the running for multiple Cy Young's. Kluber peppers the edges of the strike zone from all angles with every pitch, and he can throw a curve that bends a foot outside, or few inches outside. That kind of command will always give your team a chance to win. 

 

One thing I'd like to see more of is Berrios's two-seam fastball. I saw him throw just one, and it startled the Cleveland hitter. Mixing in a few more of those would make his other pitches more effective. Berrios definitely looked the part of an ace in his first game. His stuff looked great, and he kept his emotions under control, not trying to throw his heater more than 94, or trying to bend his curve three feet. If he mixes in a few more change-ups and two-seamers, hitters won't have a clue what's coming next.

[Tom Froemming]

My thoughts and some good visuals in regard to Castro's performance yesterday:

[Mike Sixel]

I'm very glad they didn't pinch run for their DH, the last manager drove me crazy doing that (though he often did it with 2 outs, and the DH on first, IIRC, which is not a good idea, imo).

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

My thoughts and some good visuals in regard to Castro's performance yesterday:

Awesome graphics.

[bunt_vs_the_shift]

 

A .695-ish OPS is neither miserable, nor a liability for a catcher. It's right around league average.

 

In looking at baseball reference, Castro's career OPS as a Twin is .681... but beyond analytics, he just never seems to do the little things offensively like advancing runners, putting the ball in play with a guy on 3rd, or let alone coming through with a big hit. So, his offense doesn't do much for me and I'm hoping he can make an impact behind the plate like it sounds like he did yesterday

[TKGuy]

My in person observations:

 

1. That was the most dominant performance I can remember since Ervin toying with the White Sox on a 1 hitter a couple of years ago.

 

2. Schoop is a monster of a man for a 2B. His fly to the wall may have been a homer in warmer weather

 

3. Buxton seems different, like he’s got a chip on his shoulder. The fans are really pulling for him to be our next superstar. It was electric in the stadium when he crushed that double.

 

4. LOved Rocco leaving Rogers in with all the lefties lined up by the Indians

 

5. After seeing Cleveland’s lineup, even with Lindor and Kipnis, is not that impressive. That OF is putrid

[bunt_vs_the_shift]

 

My thoughts and some good visuals in regard to Castro's performance yesterday:

Really great breakdown. Makes me rethink how I look at Castro and his contributions! (I still don't want him at bat in a tough spot, but I definitely want him behind the plate handling our staff!)... 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Really great breakdown. Makes me rethink how I look at Castro and his contributions! (I still don't want him at bat in a tough spot, but I definitely want him behind the plate handling our staff!)... 

 

I think there needs to be a balance between defense, and late inning offense......so after inning 6, I'm more than willing to PH for him if they need a hit or two....

[mickeymental]

at long last ... a much-needed off day.

[bobs]

I'm drinking the Kool Aid.

People will say Cleveland's lineup is diminished from last year and then no Lindor.  They DID bring back Santana.  BUT, Jose Berrios was completely dominant.  Will he pitch like this against a Boston or New York?  Likely not, but he gives this team a chance to beat any team with any ace on the mound.  Period.  Which is humongous if they reach even the Wild Card round.

People will say the lineup wasn't as explosive yesterday as we'd hoped.  THEY BEAT COREY freaking KLUBER!!  The lineup will be top 5 in the AL.

Last, how stinking good did Taylor Rogers look?!?!  Second half of last season was NOT a fluke people...we should probably give Garvin Alston a little credit for elevating Rogers.  There is hope Twins Fans!!!

[Doomtints]

Cooler weather favors pitchers. Don't read too much into what happened yesterday.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Doomtints

[Ebby Calvin Laloosh]

There have been lots of debates about whether La Makina is an ace or not....He's an ace. I'll stand by that until he proves me wrong.

 

Buxton looked good on that double. Nice quiet swing, squared it up and sure enough that ball left home plate 21lbs faster than last year.

 

I am completely refreshed, baseball is back and Rocco seemed to have no hesitation about a 4 out save. Not sure Molly would have done that.

 

Sure is fun beating teams in the AL Central, here's to seeing more of it.

[jorgenswest]

There should have been no thought to pinch hitting for Castro in the 7th with a two run lead.

 

He rewarded the team in the top 8 with that called strike 3 on a 3-2 count. That was so impactful. With another catcher it could easily have been ball 4. Rogers then needs to go deeper in the 8th with the top of the line up. Maybe he gets out of it but can’t finish the 9th as he would be facing at least Santana.

 

When the Twins are behind in the 7th pinch hitting would make sense.

[ashbury]

Cooler weather favors pitchers. Don't read too much into what happened yesterday.

2018 MLB splits for ERA:

 

March/April: 4.12

May: 4.05

June 4.05

July: 4.42

August 4.14

September/October: 4.15

 

I'm not seeing this short-lived cold-weather trend. Maybe that one month when it's pretty sure to be hot, OTOH....

[Doomtints]

 

2018 MLB splits for ERA:

 

March/April: 4.12

May: 4.05

June 4.05

July: 4.42

August 4.14

September/October: 4.15

 

I'm not seeing this short-lived cold-weather trend. Maybe that one month when it's pretty sure to be hot, OTOH....

 

What about in cooler areas of the country?

[Vanimal46]

Magic Number: 162

[Nine of twelve]

 

It surprised me to learn that one of the previous record holders for opening day strikeouts (with 8) was Brad Radke. Bert had that many on opening day twice, which was not surprising.

I don’t know what Radke’s career game high is but it can’t be much higher than 8.

I'm surprised Bert's opening day max was that low. Keep in mind that upon his retirement he was third all time in strikeouts. Third all time!!!

[PATwinsfan]

My thoughts and some good visuals in regard to Castro's performance yesterday:

https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1111676103918321672?s=19

Great video. Thanks!

[wallyrichards]

 

I was game-casting from work, so I didn't actually see the game. Are you being serious or sarcastic with Castro and his pitch framing? I haven't been a big Castro guy on account of his miserable offense, but I do think he is solid on D and handled the staff pretty well during 2017. If Buxton hits and our new additions produce, this is the exact kind of lineup where we could hide a good defensive catcher who is generally a liability with the bat... 

 

 

Great pitching performance and really good jog of framing pitches by Castro. Lets give credit where credit is due.

[wallyrichards]

 

at long last ... a much-needed off day.

Yeah what a buzz kill.

[ashbury]

Did I miss seeing a chart of Kluber's called strikes? It would be interesting to know if he and his battery mate stole any.

[Tom Froemming]

 

Did I miss seeing a chart of Kluber's called strikes? It would be interesting to know if he and his battery mate stole any.

Nope.

 

[Jham]

A .695-ish OPS is neither miserable, nor a liability for a catcher. It's right around league average.

... but every team carries at least 2 catchers with maybe a quarter of those at bats coming from backups. League average probably places you pretty low on the list of starting catchers I'd think.

[ewen21]

Berrios has a few great games against Cleveland. Reminds me a little of that lefty from Veneuela

[ashbury]

... but every team carries at least 2 catchers with maybe a quarter of those at bats coming from backups. League average probably places you pretty low on the list of starting catchers I'd think.

That's a good observation for any position, but especially at catcher. On b-r.com play index, the 26 MLB players who played at least 81 games in 2018 at catcher had a median OPS of around .730. Maybe a more careful analysis would give a slightly different result (e.g. the Twins' nominal backup was in this list while our starter was not, due to injury), but this quick-and-dirty approach is probably close.

[jorgenswest]

That's a good observation for any position, but especially at catcher. On b-r.com play index, the 26 MLB players who played at least 81 games in 2018 at catcher had a median OPS of around .730. Maybe a more careful analysis would give a slightly different result (e.g. the Twins' nominal backup was in this list while our starter was not, due to injury), but this quick-and-dirty approach is probably close.

You might be better looking to the median of 30 for those 26 for typical starter which is .712. I will take that difference in OPS in return for above average defense at catcher. I would do the same in center field. I would have said the same thing about shortstop but infield shifting may be lessening the impact of great defense at that spot.

[Mr. Brooks]

In looking at baseball reference, Castro's career OPS as a Twin is .681... but beyond analytics, he just never seems to do the little things offensively like advancing runners, putting the ball in play with a guy on 3rd, or let alone coming through with a big hit. So, his offense doesn't do much for me and I'm hoping he can make an impact behind the plate like it sounds like he did yesterday

His career OPS with a runner at 3rd base and less than 2 outs is .913, higher than any other bases occupied/unoccupied situation.

He's driven in 78 runs in 132 such opportunities. Without taking the time to look at a large sample size of players, that seems like a pretty good success rate.

[Mr. Brooks]

... but every team carries at least 2 catchers with maybe a quarter of those at bats coming from backups. League average probably places you pretty low on the list of starting catchers I'd think.

Even if it's a few ticks below league average for starters, it's still not even close to low enough to be classified as "miserable" or "a liability".

I guess some fans would rather we just put Nelson Cruz back there?

Outside of a handful at a time in the league, catchers don't hit.

[ashbury]

His career OPS with a runner at 3rd base and less than 2 outs is .913, higher than any other bases occupied/unoccupied situation.

He's driven in 78 runs in 132 such opportunities. Without taking the time to look at a large sample size of players, that seems like a pretty good success rate.

Slicing and dicing the data can lead to insight, but sometimes you just have to shrug and figure that SSS is getting in the way. He has 2750 career PA, and the situation you pointed out is just 140. Taking 140 PA for any player, in a variety of seemingly random ways, will usually lead to some kind of anomaly, such as a terrible inability to hit on Thursday afternoons but not nights.

 

His OPS for overall RISP in 893 PA is slightly higher than with bases empty, which is about what to expect of the league as a whole. He's good in the clutch, just like most players who make it to this level.

 

Aside from SSS, my first reaction to the stat with a runner at 3rd base and less than 2 outs was "well, maybe that's what can happen when the coach tells the pitcher, 'whatever you do, don't walk this guy.'."

[ashbury]

Slicing and dicing the data can lead to insight, but sometimes you just have to shrug and figure that SSS is getting in the way. He has 2750 career PA, and the situation you pointed out is just 140. Taking 140 PA for any player, in a variety of seemingly random ways, will usually lead to some kind of anomaly, such as a terrible inability to hit on Thursday afternoons but not nights.

Gee whiz, I didn't think at first to look up the league as a whole for this situation. Man on 3rd with 2 out, the MLB OPS is .864, versus .728 for all situations. Lots of sac flies result in higher batting/slugging averages. Nothing to see here, IMO.