Twins 3, Guardians 4: Klutzy in Cleveland

[jmlease1]

7 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Love the Twins and follow them daily.  But I can't let my loyalty overshadow what I see on the field.  I like home runs but relying on them to play winning baseball seems a little counter productive.  We have very little clutch hitting , sloppy defense too often, no base stealing to speak of.  Station to station baseball is boring.   Yes they are in first place in a very boring central division.  That doesn't make them a first place caliber team. Correa is proving he is way overrated and overpaid.  The only time he hit well last year was when the Twins were well out of the race and he was facing a lot of sub major league pitchers trying to prove themselves.  It just bogles the mind how many Correa fans there are here.  No wonder he likes it here.  There's very little pressure to perform.  You don't get much for 33 million a year anymore.  It's time for the star players to start putting up the offense on a regular basis.  Since they started the season at 4-0 with 3 of those coming against a very poor Royals team, the Twins are 15-15.  Probably all that we can expect from this bunch.

That's just not true about Correa. His best months of the season last year were (in order) June, Sept/Oct, and May. It's not being an apologist to be accurate. (BTW, the first 10 games in September were against Chicago, Cleveland, and New York all teams in contention and not throwing out minor leaguers to pitch and the Twins were tied for 1st on Sept 4th, so they weren't "well out of it" either and Correa was hitting then too: 14-40 with 4hrs during that stretch.)

Correa has started the season slow at the plate (and did last season as well)...but he didn't just pad his stats at the end of last season. It's simply not true, and I cannot for the life of me understand why a Twins fan would embrace this lie about one of our best players. 

[Blyleven2011]

11 hours ago, chinmusic said:

Yeah, but not known for his fielding. He ain't no Brooks Robinson.

The ongoing evolution of the Twins this year, both offensively and pitching wise, is fun to watch. 

But defense really is a huge issue.

 

 

If arraez was still with the twins would you like arraez playing 3rd over Miranda ? ,  

I would , arraez head is always on the game  ...

And as far as the offense  , it has not been  fun to watch  , no runs on anything other than by a homerun ,,,

Cleveland today  had 4 hits in a row and got some runs against Ryan  ... 

Twins 1 hit , pathetic  

[Major League Ready]

21 hours ago, Johnny Ringo said:

To focus on Solana is misplaced. He was always intended to be a bit role player and likely only on the roster for a year, max.  Lewis is a younger, better, cheaper righty option. Rocco is waiting at the train station for him to arrive.

But what is abundantly clear and far more important are the problems with Miranda. He was thought to be a cornerstone piece for the franchise. But he isn't hitting and he can't field.

The FO flung players around this off-season like confetti. But I said then and I say now, giving Urshela away for nothing (our 4th best WAR player in 2022) makes no sense ever, even if you thought you had a sure-fire alternative.  I have never hear Miranda described thusly by anyone.  

Where does the FO make their money? Who cares if the A's fire their people and hire a banana to replace them? They win 40 rather than  42 games. So what? But for a team like the Twins a few wins represents the difference between the playoffs and another cold October.

Urshela wins that game last night. WAR!!!!!!!! What is it good for? Absolutely everything. 

  

 

Focusing on players with one year of control instead of developing young players is a sure-fire way to be mediocre or worse on an on-going basis.  You are also ignoring the fact that that Farmer gives us more flexibility and an extra year of control.  Then, if Hidalgo becomes a decent major player, trading Urshela goes from a good move to great.

[rv78]

23 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

From this comment you would think the Twins are in last place in the division rather than first!

Scoring runs by HR is a great way to put a lot of runs up on the board. Worked for Earl Weaver, he's only in the hall of fame.

It's a long season. Twins (and this is an organizational decision, not just Rocco, it's everyone, including the players) are trying to keep everyone healthy and fresh for the full season, and one of the ways you do that is using your entire roster. Burn everyone up by the end of May and the team will collapse in September.

Gallo has an OPS+ of 143. He's played excellent defense at multiple positions. Calling this one of the worst signings in Twins history is absurd. Batting average is not the only stat that matters. Correa has started out slow at the plate (his defense has been quality, though) but evaluating his signing and contract based on 30 games is kinda crazy.

This team will be lucky to finish the season above .500 and IF they do it'll be because of the pitching, which is starting to fall apart, not the hitting.

[Johnny Ringo]

2 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Focusing on players with one year of control instead of developing young players is a sure-fire way to be mediocre or worse on an on-going basis.  You are also ignoring the fact that that Farmer gives us more flexibility and an extra year of control.  Then, if Hidalgo becomes a decent major player, trading Urshela goes from a good move to great.

So the Twins were wrong to sign Jack Morris in 1991? I would avoid that conversation with TK if the opportunity presents itself. 

[stringer bell]

Solano is a one-year patch and depth piece. He hasn't performed much differently than expected at the plate, but the ball has found him and he hasn't caught it when he's been in the field. If he can't be trusted in the field, he doesn't have that much value at this point. 

[jmlease1]

10 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

If arraez was still with the twins would you like arraez playing 3rd over Miranda ? ,  

I would , arraez head is always on the game  ...

And as far as the offense  , it has not been  fun to watch  , no runs on anything other than by a homerun ,,,

Cleveland today  had 4 hits in a row and got some runs against Ryan  ... 

Twins 1 hit , pathetic  

I would rather have Arraez playing 3B than Miranda right now, absolutely. I think I would also rather have Lopez starting for us for the next several years, though.

I believe in Miranda's talent, but he looks like he needs a re-set. I think if Farmer hadn't gotten beaned he might have already been sent down to get his approach in order and his mind right, but the Twins don't trust Castro/Gordon/Solano to hold down 3B. Which I get. And Royce Lewis is still another 6-8 weeks away from being a realistic option. (Royce would probably say he'll be ready in 3 weeks, lol)

[stringer bell]

6 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

 And Royce Lewis is still another 6-8 weeks away from being a realistic option. (Royce would probably say he'll be ready in 3 weeks, lol)

Royce is going on rehab assignment in three days. While there could be setbacks, but that he is going on rehab is significant. The clock starts on his activation from the Injured List and the Twins would have to use an option to keep him in the minors after May 31 and they will have to make room for him on the 40-man roster. If he isn't possibly going to be ready to play by June 1, there is absolutely no point to sending him on rehab

[jmlease1]

31 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Royce is going on rehab assignment in three days. While there could be setbacks, but that he is going on rehab is significant. The clock starts on his activation from the Injured List and the Twins would have to use an option to keep him in the minors after May 31 and they will have to make room for him on the 40-man roster. If he isn't possibly going to be ready to play by June 1, there is absolutely no point to sending him on rehab

I really didn't think Royce was actually that close. It'll be interesting to see if they try to keep him in AAA for a while to be sure he's ready or if he bulls his way back on to the roster by hitting everything in sight. Hope he's really recovered and ready (not that i think the Twins would take any chances on pushing him early), I really like him.