Game Thread Twins vs. Cubs 8/31/21 7:10 Post Mortem Carpe Diem Time

[jkcarew]

5 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Hey, be fair. Odorizzi is actually a good pitcher.

Mmm…I’ll go as far as to say ‘consistent’. I know the numbers may lean toward that ‘g’ word you used. I just know that I’d hate to have to play behind him 25-30 times a year.

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I question who our pitchers are during this month of August. I couldn’t imagine being a Cubs fan and question who on earth are these players in our lineup? Only Jayson Heyward is left from their WS team. 

Gant seems to be holding his own against this AAAA lineup. 

Yeah, the Cubs' 26-man roster is not in a good place. Their farm system sure looks 100x better after the deadline, though.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Just now, jkcarew said:

Mmm…I’ll go as far as to say ‘consistent’. I know the numbers may lean toward that ‘g’ word you used. I just know that I’d hate to have to play behind him 25-30 times a year.

Oh, sure, but he can be both good and infuriating to play behind.

[stringer bell]

In his starts, just about every person Gant has allowed to reach base has scored. I don’t think he is anything special as a starter (or reliever) but he has pitched in bad luck. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 minute ago, stringer bell said:

In his starts, just about every person Gant has allowed to reach base has scored. I don’t think he is anything special as a starter (or reliever) but he has pitched in bad luck. 

I still believe he'd be a capable reliever. I also believe, with considerable evidence, he's a lousy starter.

Just call up Strotman because what the hell, why not.

[Brock Beauchamp]

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Why hasn't the anti-vaxxer been shown the door?

[Vanimal46]

What a piss poor bunt attempt Simmons. Good lord. 

[kydoty]

Simmons squaring to bunt like he’s tonight starting pitcher.

[kydoty]

Just now, Brock Beauchamp said:

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Why hasn't the anti-vaxxer been shown the door?

There is no reason why Nick Gordon shouldn’t be getting regular playing time right now.

[mnfireman]

And the veteran pops up a bunt......

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 minutes ago, kydoty said:

There is no reason why Nick Gordon isn’t getting regular playing time right now.

Nick Gordon's glove is not a capable MLB shortstop. I get that.

But I'm still really interested in seeing what his bat is capable of doing; not because it's going to be good but maybe it can be serviceable if he can rove the field and fill in positions as needed.

With that said...

I actually get why Simmons is still on the roster. The Twins are currently fielding, by my count, 37 pitchers with less than one year of service time. Having a vacuum at shortstop with a feeble bat may be infuriating to watch but it serves a legitimate purpose of keeping young arms on the field longer on average.

[mnfireman]

2 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Why hasn't the anti-vaxxer been shown the door?

What does this have to do with someone's ability (or lack thereof) to play baseball? 

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

What does this have to do with someone's ability (or lack thereof) to play baseball? 

It doesn't, at least not directly. But if you have a pretty bad baseball player who also created quite a ruckus by not being vaccinated and then causing a quarantine situation, that factors into whether said bad baseball player is worth keeping around.

If Simmons was actually good, you deal with his nonsense because he's laying it out on the field. But there's no reason to deal with problematic people who are eminently replaceable.

[kydoty]

4 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

It doesn't, at least not directly. But if you have a pretty bad baseball player who also created quite a ruckus by not being vaccinated and then causing a quarantine situation, that factors into whether said bad baseball player is worth keeping around.

If Simmons was actually good, you deal with his nonsense because he's laying it out on the field. But there's no reason to deal with problematic people who are eminently replaceable.

*Cam Newton has entered the chat*

[jkcarew]

17 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

…Only Jayson Heyward is left from their WS team…

And all his 609 OPS is costing the Cubs is $21M a year…more next year. Those two facts explain why he’s still on the team.

[Vanimal46]

Just now, jkcarew said:

And all his 609 OPS is costing the Cubs is $21M a year…more next year. Those two facts explain why he’s still on the team.

For sure. Only him and Contreras remain. Haven’t looked to see if Contreras is injured or just taking the night off. 

[mnfireman]

7 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

It doesn't, at least not directly. But if you have a pretty bad baseball player who also created quite a ruckus by not being vaccinated and then causing a quarantine situation, that factors into whether said bad baseball player is worth keeping around.

If Simmons was actually good, you deal with his nonsense because he's laying it out on the field. But there's no reason to deal with problematic people who are eminently replaceable.

So Kepler and the others who tested positive well after Simmons did are included in this group? 

[RpR]

14 minutes ago, kydoty said:

There is no reason why Nick Gordon shouldn’t be getting regular playing time right now.

Yes there is he is mediocre on most days and lousy the rest.

[Vanimal46]

Does Buxton’s future guaranteed money decrease $10,000 every at bat that he goes without a hit? Sounds fair. 

[RpR]

12 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

It doesn't, at least not directly. But if you have a pretty bad baseball player who also created quite a ruckus by not being vaccinated and then causing a quarantine situation, that factors into whether said bad baseball player is worth keeping around.

If Simmons was actually good, you deal with his nonsense because he's laying it out on the field. But there's no reason to deal with problematic people who are eminently replaceable.

Paranoia strikes deep , into your life it will creep....

[Longdistancetwins]

4 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

For sure. Only him and Contreras remain. Haven’t looked to see if Contreras is injured or just taking the night off. 

Well, there is David Ross….the only reason I know that is that I made a baseball pilgrimage to Wrigley Field very late in 2016, and it was—a very modest—David Ross Day.  So, I’m happy for the guy but wish him a better team.   

[Rick Blaine]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Does Buxton’s future guaranteed money decrease $10,000 every at bat that he goes without a hit? Sounds fair. 

Probably makes more money with every at bat.

[jkcarew]

3 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Does Buxton’s future guaranteed money decrease $10,000 every at bat that he goes without a hit? Sounds fair. 

He’s flailing away like he might think it does.

[jkcarew]

On a happier note, Balazovic allowed 9 baserunners in 4.2 innings tonight with 3 K’s.

Sigh.

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 minutes ago, RpR said:

Paranoia strikes deep , into your life it will creep....

What on earth are you even talking about? I'm not paranoid, I disagree with Simmons' decisions and believe he's not good enough to keep around the team.

But hey, if that's how you define paranoia:

[RpR]

Twins have three inning to stop playing like a AAAA team..

They also need a left fielder with a strong arm.

[Rick Blaine]

4 minutes ago, RpR said:

Paranoia strikes deep , into your life it will creep....

 

2 minutes ago, Rick Blaine said:

Probably makes more money with every at bat.

We better stop/ hey what's that sound

[Brock Beauchamp]

13 minutes ago, kydoty said:

*Cam Newton has entered the chat*

[Brock Beauchamp]

12 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

So Kepler and the others who tested positive well after Simmons did are included in this group? 

I don't think any of them actually tested positive, I recall they were contact quarantines.

Though I could be wrong, obviously. Only drawing from a hazy recollection.

But that still doesn't change that the infection point was likely Simmons.

Also, Kepler is a much better player than Simmons, which leads us back to my initial point.

[Rick Blaine]

1 minute ago, Rick Blaine said:

 

We better stop/ hey what's that sound

I am in the middle of a Buffalo Springfield song and I keep getting reply popups so I really mess up my reply☹️