LHP Coulombe added to start bullpen game Friday

[USAFChief]

8 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Oh boy!

Yeesh.

[Danchat]

Coulombe has good numbers at AAA, but he’s yet another 30+ year old reliever from the scrap heap. Getting tired of this.

[Dodecahedron]

15 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Coulombe has good numbers at AAA, but he’s yet another 30+ year old reliever from the scrap heap. Getting tired of this.

The Twins are putting numbers before brains again.  Cleveland is stacked with lefties.  

If the Twins looked outside of their top-level algorithm that made this decision for them, they'd see that Cleveland's lefty hitters are ineffectual and Cleveland's two switch hitters dominate lefty pitchers.  

The Twins would be better off putting whoever their best pitcher is out there instead of penciling in the nearest lefty they can find.

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, Dodecahedron said:

The Twins are putting numbers before brains again.  Cleveland is stacked with lefties.  

If the Twins looked outside of their top-level algorithm that made this decision for them, they'd see that Cleveland's lefty hitters are ineffectual and Cleveland's two switch hitters dominate lefty pitchers.  

The Twins would be better off putting whoever their best pitcher is out there instead of penciling in the nearest lefty they can find.

Or he's the only healthy option of a guy they might lose if they put him on, then off, the 40 man roster..... And it isn't about numbers at all. 

[Dodecahedron]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Or he's the only healthy option of a guy they might lose if they put him on, then off, the 40 man roster..... And it isn't about numbers at all. 

Hm, bad move in this case.  Coulombe is a reliever, not a starter, and he appears to be the best reliever on the team.  1.77 ERA, 0.93 WHIP.  Would be a shame to lose him for ~2 innings of major league work in a "bullpen game."  I would probably choose Albers as the burner guy.  Wouldn't you?

Also, why the heck was he in St. Paul with those numbers while the bullpen in Minneapolis sinks?

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, Dodecahedron said:

Hm, bad move in this case.  Coulombe is a reliever, not a starter, and he appears to be the best reliever on the team.  1.77 ERA, 0.93 WHIP.  Would be a shame to lose him for ~2 innings of major league work in a "bullpen game."  I would probably choose Albers as the burner guy.  Wouldn't you?

Also, why the heck was he in St. Paul with those numbers while the bullpen in Minneapolis sinks?

Not being in the FO, I was merely offering another possible reason, other than "the Twins use numbers and are stupid". I have no idea why they are doing this.....I was just offering a possible reason.

[Dodecahedron]

6 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Not being in the FO, I was merely offering another possible reason, other than "the Twins use numbers and are stupid". I have no idea why they are doing this.....I was just offering a possible reason.

I don't think the Twins are stupid.  I think they are wrong. 

By "basic" I mean they are not considering the full picture.  I'm assuming this is because they are playing the numbers.  Baldelli defended putting in his best lefty last night in the later innings, after all, saying he would make the choice of lefty v. lefty always.  I'm assuming the decisions made today are based on the same criteria as yesterday.

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, Dodecahedron said:

I don't think the Twins are stupid.  I think they are wrong. 

By "basic" I mean they are not considering the full picture.  I'm assuming this is because they are playing the numbers.  Baldelli defended putting in his best lefty last night in the later innings, after all, saying he would make the choice of lefty v. lefty always.  I'm assuming the decisions made today are based on the same criteria as yesterday.

The platoon advantage/disadvantage is real for almost every hitter in baseball history. And for those few hitters that it isn't, it will be, given time. Seems an odd bone to pick. 

In this case, I don't know why Coloumbe, but given the complete lack of even reasonably decent options, a platoon advantage seems as good a choice as any, if that's a reason.

 

[Dodecahedron]

37 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

The platoon advantage/disadvantage is real for almost every hitter in baseball history. And for those few hitters that it isn't, it will be, given time. Seems an odd bone to pick.

No dispute here.  But, as I alluded to earlier, that's "basic."

Let's look at the Indians starting lineup in particular, using the proven theory of platoons:

- 4 lefties with OPS+ ranging from 53-86.  They are simply not threats.
- 2 switch hitters that dominate left-handed hitters, put in the lineup to outsmart managers like Baldelli who go by the basics instead of looking at Cleveland's lineup.
- 3 right-handed hitters who are largely mediocre.

So, v. lefties:
- 4-5 nonthreatening hitters, 4-5 threatening hitters

v. righties:
- 6-7 nonthreatening hitters, 2-3 threatening hitters

Which do you do?  

Last night, wasn't Cleveland held at bay until Baldelli started putting in lefties?  Sure, Cleveland's left-handed hitters should be better against right-handers, but that is a quite different thing from the players being good.

[Otto von Ballpark]

4 hours ago, Dodecahedron said:

Let's look at the Indians starting lineup in particular, using the proven theory of platoons:

- 4 lefties with OPS+ ranging from 53-86.  They are simply not threats.
- 2 switch hitters that dominate left-handed hitters, put in the lineup to outsmart managers like Baldelli who go by the basics instead of looking at Cleveland's lineup.
- 3 right-handed hitters who are largely mediocre.

So, v. lefties:
- 4-5 nonthreatening hitters, 4-5 threatening hitters

v. righties:
- 6-7 nonthreatening hitters, 2-3 threatening hitters

Which do you do? 

What are you basing this on? Cleveland's two switch hitters have no platoon difference for their careers.

Hernandez: .732 OPS vs RHP, .731 vs LHP
Ramirez: .852 vs RHP, .845 vs LHP

I'm also not sure where you are getting the idea that the Coulombe decision is entirely platoon-driven. As you seem to acknowledge in an earlier post, he may have been the Twins best promotion candidate right now:

8 hours ago, Dodecahedron said:

Also, why the heck was he in St. Paul with those numbers while the bullpen in Minneapolis sinks?

Coulombe is no star but he might be worth a look, and this would seem to be a good opportunity.

Also, a platoon consideration wouldn't necessarily be limited to how Cleveland performs vs LHP. It also gives them a different look from the Twins relievers who will likely follow in the game tonight, especially since Rogers pitched last night. Also gives them a different look between RH SP Berrios yesterday and RH SP Maeda tomorrow.

[Nine of twelve]

This game is 0.6% of the 2021 season. And if Coulombe has a really good outing he will pitch 3 innings, which is 0.2% of the 2021 season. I don't think it's anything to get too worked up over.

[jorgenswest]

Charlie Barnes was the St. Paul starting pitcher and he got hit hard by Columbus today. I suppose they could have added Barnes. Like Coulombe he is out of options. Who do you want to expose to other teams when trying to return them to St. Paul?

My answer to that question is Shoemaker but I would rather keep Barnes than Coulombe. 

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

24 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Charlie Barnes was the St. Paul starting pitcher and he got hit hard by Columbus today. I suppose they could have added Barnes. Like Coulombe he is out of options. Who do you want to expose to other teams when trying to return them to St. Paul?

My answer to that question is Shoemaker but I would rather keep Barnes than Coulombe. 

 

Barnes isn’t out of options, his option clock just hasn’t started yet since he’s not on the 40-man.

[jorgenswest]

Thanks for the correction on Barnes. The Twins would just need to keep him on the 40.

Jax was effectively the starter tonight with Coulombe the opener. I hope he gets this win.

[old nurse]

16 hours ago, Dodecahedron said:

Hm, bad move in this case.  Coulombe is a reliever, not a starter, and he appears to be the best reliever on the team.  1.77 ERA, 0.93 WHIP.  Would be a shame to lose him for ~2 innings of major league work in a "bullpen game."  I would probably choose Albers as the burner guy.  Wouldn't you?

Also, why the heck was he in St. Paul with those numbers while the bullpen in Minneapolis sinks?

Look up his career numbers and you have an answer

[strumdatjag]

Great! Another Twins player with a name I can’t pronounce and can’t spell.   Colome, Kirilloff (spelling!!!), Rortvedt (???) - it took me three years to get the accent in the right spot for Berrios.   I’m still not sure about Andrelton but I think I have the pronunciation and spelling of Simmons figured out.   Or do I?

[Dodecahedron]

This went about as expected.  I hope the Twins give Coulombe a chance to pitch in a situation where he has a chance to succeed.

[insagt1]

got a chuckle out of not being able to spell or pronounce many names on the roster! I agree. I can't spell or pronounce our backup catcher. Is is some kind of cheese people use for salad dressing??