Twins 6, Yankees 1: Gray Freezes Yankees Lineup

[DJL44]

7 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm not ready to give up on Moran. 

I'm not either but I also think he's not likely to get a whole lot better. He's sort of useful but unlikely to be a high leverage guy.

[wabene]

27 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

That's a good catch.  The pick would be just a few picks later than Petty.  Even if he pitches to the same level as last year he would be worth a qualifying offer.  An overpay on a one-year deal is generally going to be better than signing a 34 y/o SP to a 3 or 4 year deal.  I agree, either way, this should work out favorably for the Twins.  Let's hope he stays healthy.

Say Gray accepts a qualifying offer and pitches a 3rd year for the Twins. Is 3 years of this Sonny Gray a good swap for Petty? How many late first round pitchers have 3 years like this in the majors? 0.5%? At first losing Petty stung a little bit. The longer I have looked at this trade, the more I appreciate the move. This would be a very sustainable strategy. This is chess not checkers. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, bighat said:

Joey Gallo right now in the running for best cheap free agent signing of 2023. Twins may have guessed right on this one. 

I still like the Christian Vazquez signing more.

[MABB1959]

The Yankees are a bad team this year!

[Nivaboy]

6 hours ago, Melissa said:

The OP mentions a low strikeout total for Gray. But 8 Ks in 7 innings seems fine to me.

Went to see The Godfather movie tonight, at the Heights Theatre here in the Twin Cities, so I’ll have to watch the game on “tape,” as we used to say.

We have two SRO tickets for Wednesday afternoon. Hope the weather’s warmer, but it’ll be fun no matter what!

I was also at the Heights last night! Awesome to be able to see that movie with the full theater experience

[BobAzar]

I dont watch the yankees much at all, but is their defense always that bad? they were like the White Sox out there botching plays.

[Eephus]

If Moran were to not get sent down and then proceed to stick in the majors, it would be about as close as you can come to getting shipped out. I thought one more ball and he was getting pulled and sent down. Now, he might stay and who knows where he goes from here.

[wabene]

Man Gray gets wound up for the fight, lol. What an interesting interview and so unlike the average sports cliche-fest interviews we are usually subjected to. 

[John Belinski]

After 7 very good inning it was hard to believe the Twins were just 1 swing of the bat away from maybe losing this game. The bases were loaded in 8th and 9th inning. Moran almost lost the game with the 2 walks and I was surprised that Rocco left him in the game.  There is no excuse to walk one batter much less two batters in 9th inning with 5 run lead. This is 2 outings in a row that Moran has pitched poorly and  not sure how many chances he should get. Every game is important so Twins cannot have pitcher on roster that pitches poorly like Moran has.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

9 hours ago, CoastiePilot08 said:

Moran has gotta go. 
 

If correa and Miranda can ever get going, I’ll be real optimistic about this lineup. 

Not if, but when.

[Alex Wilde]

8 hours ago, CoastiePilot08 said:

Check out Coulombe’s stats vs Moran/Pagan. 
 

not frustrating at all. 

And check out his savant profile...

[Major League Ready]

35 minutes ago, wabene said:

Say Gray accepts a qualifying offer and pitches a 3rd year for the Twins. Is 3 years of this Sonny Gray a good swap for Petty? How many late first round pitchers have 3 years like this in the majors? 0.5%? At first losing Petty stung a little bit. The longer I have looked at this trade, the more I appreciate the move. This would be a very sustainable strategy. This is chess not checkers. 

If Petty ends up an Ace, you could say we would have been better off keeping Petty but I agree with you that the odds are not good for a high school pitcher and this was a smart trade.

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Did Gray want to pitch 8?  Felt like he could keep going. 

He threw 107 pitches. I don’t think he wanted to pitch the 8th. He seemed really appreciative that he was allowed and able to get out of the 7th, imo, from hearing him speak post-game. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

38 minutes ago, wabene said:

Say Gray accepts a qualifying offer and pitches a 3rd year for the Twins. Is 3 years of this Sonny Gray a good swap for Petty? How many late first round pitchers have 3 years like this in the majors? 0.5%? At first losing Petty stung a little bit. The longer I have looked at this trade, the more I appreciate the move. This would be a very sustainable strategy. This is chess not checkers. 

The strategy of trading away young prospects for more expensive veterans kind of flips the table on the original strategy the front office came here with —  I am happy to just enjoy what we have in Gray this season and let the offseason take care of itself 😊

(PS the chess ‘World Series’ is taking place right now with only a few more games before a new world chess champion is decided )

 

[tony&rodney]

Moran has not been good thus far but he is not totally getting lit up and often misses by inches. It is easy to see where people get frustrated with Jovani Moran but I'm still thinking he has the pitches to make a difference in the Twins pen. That said, his next two outings need to be in line with expectations; control the strike zone and limit hard contact.

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, William K Johnson said:

Miranda's defense at third base in almost comical.

Jose has had some decent plays this year. I'm not sure why he was unable to make the throw in the 8th inning last night. It wasn't going to be that close of a play. In the 9th inning, Miranda did get the out, but ironically the far easier play was at home for a quick force out. Those two plays and a very weak throw off balance recently obscure what has been mostly fair defense thus far  this season from Miranda. However, one does wonder if his hitting affects his defense and whether the shadow of Royce Lewis is a thing. Miranda should be playing with a ton of confidence after the team cleared the position for him.

[Battle ur tail off]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I still like the Christian Vazquez signing more.

Both have looked fantastic so far. Gallo has massive power and a good eye at the plate. Vasquez has been excellent behind that plate and has hit very well for a catcher also. 

[Battle ur tail off]

11 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Jose has had some decent plays this year. I'm not sure why he was unable to make the throw in the 8th inning last night. It wasn't going to be that close of a play. In the 9th inning, Miranda did get the out, but ironically the far easier play was at home for a quick force out. Those two plays and a very weak throw off balance recently obscure what has been mostly fair defense thus far  this season from Miranda. However, one does wonder if his hitting affects his defense and whether the shadow of Royce Lewis is a thing. Miranda should be playing with a ton of confidence after the team cleared the position for him.

His best position was always going to be 1st or DH. He isn't a butcher in the field, but I would feel much better watching Royce Lewis over there. 

His bat so far has been his problem more than his fielding IMO. He hasn't hit for much power, and to me it seems like he is chasing a bit much and ends up getting himself into unfavorable counts leading to the lack of power. 

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, MABB1959 said:

The Yankees are a bad team this year!

11th best record in all of baseball. They're not as good as they were last season, but they're not a bad team. (as so far they're only 2-3 vs the Twins; last year they went 5-2 vs us. we're one of the reasons they don't look as good)

[dex8425]

10 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Sonny Gray has been fantastic thus far. Let's hope he is in the discussion for a Cy Young at the end of the year. Gray deserves to test the free agent market though and he is likely to do so.

Eligible for a qualifying offer though, I believe. At least the Twins will do that. 

[Craig Arko]

Putting players in AAA with the objective of working on specific issues is not giving up on them.

[tony&rodney]

5 minutes ago, dex8425 said:

Eligible for a qualifying offer though, I believe. At least the Twins will do that. 

They certainly may ... it is an option.

[stringer bell]

Miranda might feel a little nervous if Gallo starts taking ground balls at third. Also, I'm waiting for this Friday's satire piece which should be entitled "Are the Twins too Healthy?"

[tony&rodney]

10 minutes ago, Battle ur tail off said:

His best position was always going to be 1st or DH. He isn't a butcher in the field, but I would feel much better watching Royce Lewis over there. 

I'm wondering about Lewis as well as a potential third baseman too, but Miranda is really poor at first base as opposed to being actually playable at third base. I won't dispute whether Lewis might be a far better defensive player than Miranda but using Miranda at first base will have unintended consequences that hurt the team. If Miranda can refine his approach at the plate with more patience and become the gap hitter needed he should be able to hold down his current spot. That would leave the team with options as to how they incorporate Kirilloff and Lewis.

[Battle ur tail off]

Any dummy can play first base though if they can hit. I know, I know. But I would rather have my worst infielder there than at 3B.

[stringer bell]

12 minutes ago, Battle ur tail off said:

Any dummy can play first base though if they can hit. I know, I know. But I would rather have my worst infielder there than at 3B.

For the rest of the 2020s, I have forseen the infield as Lee/Lewis (3b), Correa (ss), Lee/Lewis (2b) and Kirilloff/Julien/Miranda (dh/1b). There is a ton of positional flexibility there, but five guys now in their early to mid-twenties around one of the better shortstops is a good mix, especially since CC is only 28 right now. One or two of these guys might not pan out and they still would be well-stocked in the infield.

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, Battle ur tail off said:

Any dummy can play first base though if they can hit. I know, I know. But I would rather have my worst infielder there than at 3B.

Maybe in softball, but when you see a guy like Kent Hrbek pick every bad throw, come off the base when needed, field his position, run down balls in foul territory, take cutoffs properly, and generally leave the infielders unworried about their throws ..... it makes a bigger difference than imagined. A first baseman is involved in more plays. Gallo is ok and actually makes the 3 - 6 - 3 play smoothly. We have seen him struggle with throws in the dirt though and off the bag. Solano is weak there and Miranda had a whole bunch of glitches at first base. Joey Gallo should play until AK is fully ready. Alex Kirilloff is very smooth with the glove and if he can wave his magic wand starting in May the team will reap the benefits of a strong glove at first. 

[stringer bell]

24 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm wondering about Lewis as well as a potential third baseman too, but Miranda is really poor at first base as opposed to being actually playable at third base. I won't dispute whether Lewis might be a far better defensive player than Miranda but using Miranda at first base will have unintended consequences that hurt the team. If Miranda can refine his approach at the plate with more patience and become the gap hitter needed he should be able to hold down his current spot. That would leave the team with options as to how they incorporate Kirilloff and Lewis.

Miranda doesn't have great first-step quickness and only an average arm. If he wants to be a third baseman, he'll need to hit. He didn't have a lot of experience at first in the minors and it showed last year, but I think with work he will be a decent first baseman. It isn't incredibly easy, but the skills required aren't off the charts. 

[Mortimerkenny21]

2 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

The Yankees are a bad team this year!

It does feel good to say and think, but I don't think they are bad. And it is very early in the season. They'll be like a snake in grass, get hot the second half of the season. And Moran, Idk I'm on the fence. Seeing the 9th inning I'm thinking get rid of this guy!! He's gotta knock off all the walks! But maybe he should get a few more low leverage spots to prove himself. I mean not every single RP can be high leverage. Tighten up Moran, show us you belong in the bigs!

[LA Vikes Fan]

10 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm not ready to give up on Moran. 

I don't think any of us want to give up on Moran. The question is whether he's ready for a steady big league relief role on a (hopefully) contending team. It frankly doesn't look like he is. I would like to see him back at AAA working out his inconsistencies. We just don't have the bullpen depth at the MLB level as long as we insist on keeping Pagan. 

I just saw that Brock Stewart is up.  Let's see how he does since really the AAA relievers worth calling up appear to be Stewart, De Leon, or maybe Shulfer. If he does well, Moran can go back.