Nationals 3, Twins 2: Jorge Polanco's Return Soiled By Blown Lead Late

[Squirrel]

8 hours ago, Twins_Fan_In_Texas said:

I know it’s just a game, but I get so invested in this team, and get so frustrated/disappointed when they underperform like this….maybe we need to overhaul the coaching staff? 

Underperformance I put 95% on the players. 

[Jeff D.]

The team cannot win them all, but uggghhhhh, they are eerily beginning to resemble last year's team and that is frightening with the exception of starting pitching.

Injuries are creeping in. We keep being told that from top to bottom this is a competitive team that ranks with the best rosters in each spot in baseball. Hopefully that will show itself soon.

Hitting is simply anemic. Strikeouts of our batters are as common as housefly's. There is absolutely no inclination to run. The team has actually bunted 2 or 3 times this year and that in itself is worth keeping an eye on. 

I would strongly suggest that someone spend some time teaching Miranda how to hit the ball to the opposite field. Mr. Buxton will be a .230 - .240 hitter and be among the tops in MLB with strikeout ratio. Mr. Kepler will not crack .240. I will, however, be rooting for them when they are at bat. The team looks as though they are in emotional pain when the camera pans the dugout with the exception of a homer or run scored. Not sure what the hitting coach must be thinking when a guy steps up and makes an out after one or two pitches or simply whiffs. It has to be frustrating or perhaps he has not noticed. At any rate, this team right now looks flat in most aspects.

Pitching to start the games has been superb. Most of the relief appearances have been ok. The other thing to cheer about is the powder blue sleepwear uniforms have gone away. Let's hope the next 9 games at home improve.

GO TWINS! Twins Geezer...........out.

 

 

[Squirrel]

9 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

You don’t have to be great but you can’t be BORING. 

It’s an athletic event not a Broadway show. I’m not sure what you found boring. Maddeningly frustrating, yes, but I don’t find it boring, even when the offense is so what it is,

[DJL44]

6 hours ago, Aerodeliria said:

 We must have the worst BA in the league at this point, don't we?

Nope. 25th, almost the same as Seattle and better than the Dodgers, A's, Padres, Tigers and Royals.

[USAFChief]

25 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

It’s an athletic event not a Broadway show. I’m not sure what you found boring. Maddeningly frustrating, yes, but I don’t find it boring, even when the offense is so what it is,

you can watch this stagnant offense and not be sure what's  boring? 

 

[Old Twins Cap]

Yeah, never as bad as you look on your worst days; never as good on your best.  Remember when the Twins rocked the Yanks for 9 runs in the first.  Was that last week?

But, heavens, their hitting is profoundly lost right now.  If I were Popkins, I would keep my resume up to date.

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, Boswell said:

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th, no outs, runners on first and second?

Yeah, back in the 70’s you’d lay down a sacrifice bunt… seemed to work then!

 

I get it - many of us were thinking the same thing! If Polanco gives up an out, they walk Miranda & we’re a double play away from ending the game…….also, a sac fly from being tied. Decisions made in today’s game are just different - sometimes very difficult to justify!

[OvertheHill]

42 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

It’s an athletic event not a Broadway show. I’m not sure what you found boring. Maddeningly frustrating, yes, but I don’t find it boring, even when the offense is so what it is,

Maybe not a Broadway show, but it’s supposed to be entertainment nonetheless. Im not alone in finding this brand of Twins baseball painful to watch. Rocco hasn’t shown any feel for the “moment”; his in-game decisions are uninspiring to say the least. That Gordon AB was classic. 

[Alex Wilde]

10 hours ago, Boswell said:

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th, no outs, runners on first and second?

Yeah, back in the 70’s you’d lay down a sacrifice bunt… seemed to work then!

 

Have Polanco bunt over the runners so your worst hitter right now (Miranda) has to hit in the biggest spot of the game? I don’t mind the decision I guess because then Gallo gets a chance atleast. Either way you can’t come up and swing at the first pitch off a wild pitcher who already walked a batter and that’s besides the point being down 1 in the bottom of the ninth….don’t you always take until you have a strike at that point? Dumb throw by Larnach making the winning run possible anyways. The Twins are not getting beat, they are losing these games on their own.

[silverslugger]

There's this little concept called "situational baseball".  Under Rocco Baldelli's management, the Twins don't participate.

[Aggies7]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

It’s an athletic event not a Broadway show. I’m not sure what you found boring. Maddeningly frustrating, yes, but I don’t find it boring, even when the offense is so what it is,

Lol what I find boring is having the 6th most strikeouts in the league and fewest stolen base attempts. There’s NO ACTION. MLB changed the rules for more offense and we got even worse than last year. 

[wabene]

Ugly loss to be sure, but this thread is depressingly Stribian, lol. Damnit Rocco heh

[MGX]

I know it's early so some of the struggling hitters will get better & our offense will be better. With that said watching this team right now makes me think same thing game after game...

Lack of awareness, lack of execution & lack urgency.

We make inexcusable mental mistakes & then the player who made them is not only in the lineup, but batting leadoff in the next game. We have a manager who feels it's perfectly OK to just throw away games. I'm not talking about the lineups, but the late game decisions in close games. Refusing to use Buxton (who was hitting at the time) in the 1-0 game in Miami, not allowing RP's to get more than 1 IP so you're forced to leave a struggling Moran in. Where is the urgency to win games regardless of what time of year it is. 

As a manager one of your primary responsibilities is to put your players in the best position to succeed. For me Rocco fails in this repeatedly.

 

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Or a hit and run (do they do that any more?) or a stolen base (not the Twins).

I think that the sacrifice bunt and hit and run plays were banned last off-season as part of the rule changes.

[John Belinski]

What a wasted pitching effort from the starting pitcher.

Having Nick Gordon pitch hit is a joke. He is a wasted at bat. Three swings and he is done.

Not having Lopez pitch the 8th inning ( 0 runs allowed in 2023) and then the closer pitch the 9th inning  probably cost the Twins a win, but what can we expect from a manager that has no clue on how to handle pitchers.

Twins continue to hit into double plays (Twins hit into 3 and Washington 0) and make mistakes in the field. Hopefully one day Rocco will go away and the Twins can hire a real manager and not a trainee manager who seems to be a slow learner.  

[chpettit19]

Contract the team.

[wabene]

It's easy now to say they should've used Lopez instead of Jax. Did you watch Lopez pitch for the Twins down the stretch last year? He is now incapable of allowing a run? We have a clear top four in the pen and the manager is going to have to rely heavily on all of them. 

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

you can watch this stagnant offense and not be sure what's  boring? 

 

I don’t find it boring. But you obviously do, so why watch?

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, OvertheHill said:

Maybe not a Broadway show, but it’s supposed to be entertainment nonetheless. Im not alone in finding this brand of Twins baseball painful to watch. Rocco hasn’t shown any feel for the “moment”; his in-game decisions are uninspiring to say the least. That Gordon AB was classic. 

So don’t watch. It’s that simple. If you aren’t entertained as you expect to be, turn it off and find something else. I do do that from time to time. Yes, I find the offense frustrating, disappointing and maddening. More so because the potential is there and the players themselves are underperforming, I’m always hopeful it’s different and disappointed when it’s not. But I am not bored.

[Craig Arko]

For people who are bored I have a long list of books I can recommend.

By the way, happy Earth Day. Be nice if the Earth were happier, too.

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

you can watch this stagnant offense and not be sure what's  boring? 

 

 

59 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Lol what I find boring is having the 6th most strikeouts in the league and fewest stolen base attempts. There’s NO ACTION. MLB changed the rules for more offense and we got even worse than last year. 

Lol. So don’t watch. You have a choice.

[GNess]

Whoa good to know - last night's loss confirms that as of April 21 and 20 games the Twins' season is a lost cause...

[Aggies7]

5 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

 

Lol. So don’t watch. You have a choice.

I watch when I can but it’s not really appointment television anymore. Wasn’t last year and doesn’t appear headed that way now.
 

You’ve yet to convince me that the team ISNT boring. Duran is the only guy (and possibly P Lopez) who are can’t miss. Buxton could be that guy but hasn’t been. Fans want to be entertained. If I’m not entertained I’m bored. I guess that’s on the fans and not the FO though since you seem perturbed that some of us find the team boring and listless

[chpettit19]

1 minute ago, Aggies7 said:

I watch when I can but it’s not really appointment television anymore. 
 

You’ve yet to convince me that the team ISNT boring. Duran is the only guy (and possibly P Lopez) who are can’t miss. I guess that’s on the fans and not the FO though 

Legitimate question: How many "can't miss" players are there in MLB in your view?

This team is not fun to watch when they're making mistakes and 'K'ing 15 times. Totally agree. Wish they had some more athleticism on the base paths. Wish Buxton didn't give me a heart attack every time he slid (seriously don't understand how an athlete of his caliber can be so bad at sliding). Wish Correa could hit for more than 1 out of 5 games. All that said, I don't find them boring because I simply don't find any baseball boring. But I understand I'm an outlier.

The idea of "can't miss" just got me curious what players (on the Twins or other teams) fans find to be "must watch" players. I have quite a few I make sure to tune into on mlb.tv when I can, but curious who other fans like.

[Squirrel]

11 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I watch when I can but it’s not really appointment television anymore. Wasn’t last year and doesn’t appear headed that way now.
 

You’ve yet to convince me that the team ISNT boring. Duran is the only guy (and possibly P Lopez) who are can’t miss. I guess that’s on the fans and not the FO though since you seem perturbed that fans find the team boring and listless

I’m not trying to convince you because it’s subjective. I don’t find it boring. But I also don’t watch every game because of my schedule and life things, but when I do, I’m not bored. I’m disappointed and frustrated when they lose games, especially so because their offense is as bad as it is, but no, I’m not bored. If I were, I’d turn it off and do something else. That, for me, is the best way to register complaint to the FO for a product that is unacceptable … don’t watch and don’t spend money on it until it is. But, that said, not every player is going to be Duran. If you are expecting that, then I think you could be bored for the rest of your baseball watching days.

I will add the pitch clock has helped immensely in this regard. 

[Aerodeliria]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Nope. 25th, almost the same as Seattle and better than the Dodgers, A's, Padres, Tigers and Royals.

LOL! Thanks for covering for my supreme laziness of not searching it myself. I'll say this to the Royals... we're coming for ya!

[Aggies7]

7 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I’m not trying to convince you because it’s subjective. I don’t find it boring. But I also don’t watch every game because of my schedule and life things, but when I do, I’m not bored. I’m disappointed and frustrated when they lose games, especially so because their offense is as bad as it is, but no, I’m not bored. If I were, I’d turn it off and do something else. That, for me, is the best way to register complaint to the FO for a product that is unacceptable … don’t watch and don’t spend money on it until it is. But, that said, not every player is going to be Duran. If you are expecting that, then I think you could be bored for the rest of your baseball watching days.

I will add the pitch clock has helped immensely in this regard. 

That’s been happening, hasn’t it? Bottom third in attendance most years. Currently 22nd (weather not great). 

[Aggies7]

10 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Legitimate question: How many "can't miss" players are there in MLB in your view?

This team is not fun to watch when they're making mistakes and 'K'ing 15 times. Totally agree. Wish they had some more athleticism on the base paths. Wish Buxton didn't give me a heart attack every time he slid (seriously don't understand how an athlete of his caliber can be so bad at sliding). Wish Correa could hit for more than 1 out of 5 games. All that said, I don't find them boring because I simply don't find any baseball boring. But I understand I'm an outlier.

The idea of "can't miss" just got me curious what players (on the Twins or other teams) fans find to be "must watch" players. I have quite a few I make sure to tune into on mlb.tv when I can, but curious who other fans like.

I don’t find the game boring at all. Especially now with how much quicker the games themselves are moving. 
 

Buxton and correa should be can’t miss. Duran is. Arraez was. Some of the SPs have been exciting early on.

[Squirrel]

12 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

That’s been happening, hasn’t it? Bottom third in attendance most years. Currently 22nd (weather not great). 

I haven’t really paid attention to the numbers tbh. Personally, I think our 2019 season has created the wrong kind of expectations in regards to what is entertaining. While fun to watch a team hit tons of home runs, I find interest in a lot of other aspects of the game and want that balance. But for me being disappointed and frustrated with the hitting and play on the field and the outcome is different from being bored. Maybe what you are bored with is being disappointed too often. Oh the ennui.

But isn’t baseball kind of … well, there just isn’t a lot of action sometimes. A great play here and there, a burst of something, then a lot of waiting for another great play and a burst of something. That is kind of the nature of the sport. But I still don’t find it boring, I’m sorry that you do. 🙂

[jkcarew]

Poorly played game by Twins.

But, in general, the lack of situational plays, like bunting and hitting and running isn’t as much of a Twins thing as it is a MLB thing. There just aren’t many players around anymore that have the skill set to play small ball…even when it’s the ‘right’ or ‘best’ approach for the situation.

Glass half-full….

The pitching keeps our head above water into June. The bats start warming up at least a little…and Kirilloff and/or Lewis provide a spark, setting the stage for a stronger, more balanced team in the second half.

That’s what a successful season is starting to look like. Maybe not likely, but still seems relatively realistic/possible.