Best thing about the win

[Shane Wahl]

The scrubs: Dozier, Carroll, and Escobar accounted for the runs created. That actually is a good sign as the top of the order is not going to continue to look like it is the beginning of March instead of April. Even Mauer out of those three at the top is acting like he has never seen a breaking ball.

 

I am sure this was covered elsewhere, but I am amazed that Carroll was the pinch runner and Escobar the pinch hitter. Escobar DOES have that potential to smack the ball far, though. The Tigers OF was simply not expecting that.

 

Also, cheers to Wilkin Ramirez, the vilified one, for that weird double.

[Shane Wahl]

Ok, I see that Escobar was originally a PR. That's fine.

[Shane Wahl]

This is the value of having a good bench. Naysayers about the 24th and 25th spots on the roster . . . . stifle. That is a win produced right there. WAR be damned. One win produced by the end of the roster.

[spideyo]

I am super pumped that Escobar hit them in with a good double. I think the kid has a lot of potential, but he's got to make an impact right away or else he'll end up being nothing more than the defensive replacement for Florimon's PH late in the game and he's worth a whole lot more to the team than that. Glad to see he's showing it.

 

And hey, isn't it nice to have a bench that's actually useful in a close game? Granted, it could always be better, but it's certainly improved from years past.

[spideyo]

Ok, I see that Escobar was originally a PR. That's fine.

 

Actually, he came in as a defensive sub after Ramirez batted for Florimon in the 7th

[PseudoSABR]

I am sure this was covered elsewhere, but I am amazed that Carroll was the pinch runner and Escobar the pinch hitter.

To be fair Escobar was a defensive replacement once Ramirez pinch hit. We were all surprised that Carroll pinch ran, and Gardy left Escobar to potentially hit--that said, Escobar did have a good Spring, and well, he did exactly what he was supposed to in that situation.

 

Honestly, Gardy's management of the bench and bullpen has been stellar; I'm not sure I would have done one thing differently. Maybe Gardy is actually adjusting his strategy based on convincing data, which would frankly be amazing, a goddamn boon.

[Riverbrian]

25 man roster... Play em all... You never know who will be Escobar in a given day.

 

If you are good enough to play in the majors... You are good enough to do something good every once in awhile.

[Paul Pleiss]

Honestly, Gardy's management of the bench and bullpen has been stellar; I'm not sure I would have done one thing differently. Maybe Gardy is actually adjusting his strategy based on convincing data, which would frankly be amazing, a goddamn boon.

 

I thought Gardy's use of the bullpen in the walk-off victory was well done, however in the first game I would have liked to see better use when the Twins were down just 1 run. Hindsight is always 20-20, and while I'm no Gardy appologist, I am a fan of his work and the small sample size this season seems to suggest better management of the roster. While I am not a fan of Escobar, he came up big today, and having him instead of Butera on the roster is a plus; today that payed dividends.

[PseudoSABR]

however in the first game I would have liked to see better use when the Twins were down just 1 run.

Not trying to be contentious, but the run of criticism was a result of Mauer's passed ball, though Roenicke's nervousness didn't help (Roenicke did manage the next inning cleaningly).

 

My point isn't so much that Gardy's management has been without flaw--rather it seems to me that Gardy is proactively managing in a way that he has not in the past. Maybe I'm eager, but it's difficult for me not to connect Mauer hitting second, the pinching hitting before the 8th inning, and the various substitutions for runners and defense late in the game--maybe there's not a pattern there, but I hope our old dog manager has learned some new, prudent tricks. After all, he's trying to keep his job.

[twinsfanstl]

As far as reading much into a possible new and improved gardy, let's hold judgement until we see getaway lineup.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Honestly, Gardy's management of the bench and bullpen has been stellar; I'm not sure I would have done one thing differently. Maybe Gardy is actually adjusting his strategy based on convincing data, which would frankly be amazing, a goddamn boon.

 

His bench management has been excellent. Bullpen? Eh, I'm not convinced about that.

 

But it hasn't been enough for me to complain about, either. Overall, I'm happy with all the managin' Gardy has been doing in the first two games.

[Willihammer]

I was happy to see him use the big guns despite being down a run. There are guys around the league, Fredi Gonzalez comes to mind, that won't do that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I was happy to see him use the big guns despite being down a run. There are guys around the league, Fredi Gonzalez comes to mind, that won't do that.

 

Eh, I viewed that more as "they need to get some work" than a change in philosophy.

 

But hey, I welcome the change if the latter is the case.

[Craig in MN]

I missed the end of the game, but my first thought when looking over how the game ended was "the piranhas are back".

[stringer bell]

Overuse? I don't speak in reverential terms about it (like Dick of Dickbert), but I don't think you want to wear out your top bullpen guys by bringing them in every time the team is within two runs in the seventh inning. Ideally, Perkins and Burton should pitch between 55 and 60 games each. They will likely pitch two and sometimes three days in a row at some point, but both guys have had arm problems before, so they shouldn't be pushed too much.

 

I wonder if that is why some guys with great stuff (Albuquerque of the Tiggers comes to mind) aren't closers, because their arms aren't resiliant enough to come back three and four days in a row.

[Halsey Hall]

I'll give Gardy +1 on that win. And it could be the biggest win of the year. We need to stay close in April. I really wouldn't have been surprised to see us start 0-6, but that's past us now.

[ThePuck]

1st time in the last three seasons we've been at .500 or better.

[Thrylos]

Two things to add:

 

- If Butera was still on the 25-man roster, this comeback would had not happen

- If Scottie and/or Stevie were still the 3B coach, they would had pulled the stop sign on Dozier and he would not had scored. Encouraging to see that Vavra is sending runners in aggressively and I hope it continues. (During ST the games I watched this was not the case.)

[Brock Beauchamp]

- If Scottie and/or Stevie were still the 3B coach, they would had pulled the stop sign on Dozier and he would not had scored. Encouraging to see that Vavra is sending runners in aggressively and I hope it continues. (During ST the games I watched this was not the case.)

 

Without knowing any of the men personally, it seems to me that Vavra is just better at his job (whatever it may be) than most of the coaches that have surrounded him over the years.

[Twins Twerp]

Without knowing any of the men personally, it seems to me that Vavra is just better at his job (whatever it may be) than most of the coaches that have surrounded him over the years.

 

Hahahaha, this made me laugh so much. After one game, Vavra is a better third base coach because he waved a runner home. Anyone would have done that. Anyway, for me, the best thing about yesterdays win was the performance of Kevin C. Sure he doesn't have dominant stuff, but a lot of haters at Twinsdaily had to have felt like jackasses after that performance against the best offense in baseball. KC 1, TD-0

[Brock Beauchamp]

Hahahaha, this made me laugh so much. After one game, Vavra is a better third base coach because he waved a runner home. Anyone would have done that.

 

Or maybe the observation has something to do with the seven years Vavra was hitting coach after following Ullger's "swing like a man" stint in the role.

[Twins Twerp]

Yup, how many strikeouts have we had in the past two games?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Yup, how many strikeouts have we had in the past two games?

 

God knows that Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, and an excellent Tigers pen had nothing to do with that.

 

What exactly is your point? Neither Ullger nor Vavra is the hitting coach.

[ashbury]

Bullpen? Eh, I'm not convinced about that.

 

But, so far, so good. The two relievers who haven't appeared are Pressly and Robertson, and I can see waiting for a lower-pressure situation to bring the former in and I can see having the latter be on a very short leash anyway.

 

And, though it's reasonably standard now, I liked our closer being in the game for the top of the ninth even though down a run.

 

It helped of course that the two starters didn't give him a reason to yank them in the fourth or fifth (although the first or second inning in the first game probably had him wondering).

[nicksaviking]

I have to disagree about the best thing about the win. To me, the best thing about the win was that it was only game two and the Tigers are already panicking about their closer situation. They just signed the powder keg that is Jose Valverde, the guy they had all offseason to bring in, but didn't because they knew he didn't have it anymore.

[nicksaviking]

Hahahaha, this made me laugh so much. After one game, Vavra is a better third base coach because he waved a runner home. Anyone would have done that. Anyway, for me, the best thing about yesterdays win was the performance of Kevin C. Sure he doesn't have dominant stuff, but a lot of haters at Twinsdaily had to have felt like jackasses after that performance against the best offense in baseball. KC 1, TD-0

 

So you Vavra can't be evaluated off of one performance but Correia can. Got it, thanks.

[Brock Beauchamp]

So you Vavra can't be evaluated off of one performance but Correia can. Got it, thanks.

 

It's not even that... Apparently, we're also supposed to ignore the 7+ years of play/coaching that both did prior to yesterday.