Padres 6, Twins 1: The Hits Just Keep Not Coming

[hitterscount]

Is a slump broken with 1 hit? Miranda, Correa, Gallo, Vasquez, Taylor,,, really the whole team has been in a slump for the last 4-5 weeks. One hit in 20 AB's is not a slump breaker. 

Something is wrong with the team, whether it's chemistry or they just are this bad. Arraez wouldn't move the needle. What's really frustrating is the SP is top 5, but poor fundamental baseball and the inability to manufacture runs is killing them. Duran and Lopez should be well rested though. 

SD is a .500 team and has looked the part so far this year. This was a pathetic display of baseball to open a home series. As the weather finally starts heating up there will be plenty of great seats come early summer... i won't spend a cent to watch this lifeless team. 

Final rant.... Rocco should have been let go last year. It was time for a change when they overhauled the roster during the offseason and should have happened. Firing a manager this time of the year has been done before with mixed results, however, other than a few minor league call ups it is the only move that could jump start this train wreck. 

[MGX]

We have enough talent to be a contending team & yet we're not playing like it.

In the field we play with a lack of awareness, making mental errors on a consistent basis.

On offense we don't seem to have a plan at the plate or don't show any plate discipline. Opposing pitchers must rarely feel any pressure against this team because we don't force them to throw strikes & we don't get a lot of baserunners. Lack of execution.

Management's reaction to these mental mistakes & extended slumps is too continue starting players & even bat them at or near the top of the lineup. A day off for someone who doesn't run full speed for a ball in the field, who doesn't run out a ball on offense or is in an extended slump isn't a bad thing. They're out of the lineup for a day & it sends a message & gives the player a chance to reset. Lack of urgency.

The talent is there.

 

[John Belinski]

How long is Rocco going to keep batting Correa at the top of lineup? Having a batter hit in 3 spot with a average below .200 is a joke.

When will manager or hitting coach have batters stop swinging at so many pitches out of the strike zone? Until batters stop swinging at so many pitches out of strike zone the other team's pitchers will just keep throwing pitches that can't be hit. I am sure all the other teams know the Twins players swing at bad pitches so they will keep throwing pitches out of strike zone. 

Our winning record is going to turn into a losing record if Rocco doesn't improve as a manager.

[Little Piranhas]

Our team BA is .219.  Dead last in the MLB.  

We are not going to be confused with Murderer's Row anytime soon but look at the lineups of the teams ahead of us in team average.  I don't really want to hear how we hit for power when the team is batting .219.  It seems as if the the collective line-up swings for the fences despite the count or if there are runners in scoring position.  Our opponents certainly don't take that approach.  Which brings me to our hitting coaches - Popkins and Hernandez.

I'm not sure what the job description calls for but the results speak for themselves.  I realize that this is anecdotal but every time I see them in the dugout they appear to be shooting the **** or playing grab-ass with the players.  I have yet to see them talking to a player on deck or in the hole talking about an approach to a given at bat.  Every time a batter has an IPad in their hand analyzing their swing the HC is no where to be seen.

When you have the bulk of the hitters (particularly the young guys) regressing you have a coaching problem.

I also agree with the poster above regarding Baldelli's post game presser.  No passion and very corporate.

 

 

[wavedog]

Frustrating to watch bad fundamental baseball - just not playing smart.   Team has been in a funk (with the exception of pitching) for the past week - I was hoping the day off would help them reset but we are returning to some of the frustrations we have seen in recent years in poor fundamental play and hitting woes.  Hello Manager and coaches - please help the players! 

A couple of notes:

Every time Jax comes in this year seems like the wheels fall of - combination of dinky hits, walks and errors lead to runs.  Last night - thought he could have made a better play on Kirilloff's throw and the error should have been on him - then he walked a batter - then weird throwing error not sure if Vazquez should have thrown but the ball was there for Miranda to catch

Horrible at-bats - we are swinging at balls and watching strikes and seems like we are trying to hit 6-run Home runs each time up.     

Really impressed with Taylor - solid defense and he takes good at-bats.  He is not the best hitter but he can bunt, run and patiently take the ball the other way.  I also like Kirilloff's approach at the plate.    

Don't know what the heck is going on with Correa but he is absolutely a black hole in the offense the past week - needs a day off.   I am pretty confident he will be back to his numbers by year end.  Hopefully it is not too late by the time he kicks in.  His defense is still solid.   

Need to see more Jeffers now and maybe less Vazquez for the short-term.    

I would bring Farmer up and DFA Solano - seen enough of Solano's defense  

  

[Blyleven2011]

I can't disagree with any of the posted responses to the written article  ...

It's sad and repulsive that the twins defense and offense are playing so poorly and seem to be regressing , I hope the pitching doesn't follow ...

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, William K Johnson said:

Why can't Buxton play centerfield?    

Well according to an article in the Star Tribune, Carlos Correa decided it's best for the team if he DHs.  I wish I was joking :)

[lukeduke1980]

9 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Well according to an article in the Star Tribune, Carlos Correa decided it's best for the team if he DHs.  I wish I was joking :)

He and Buxton discussed over lobster dinner, which he ate several times a week

[Woof Bronzer]

For those who have long defended Falvine and Baldelli.  What would it take for your mind to be changed?  I think it's glaringly obvious by now that the group is just not competent - their entire philosophy begins and ends with "grip it & rip it" whether it's a bat or a ball.  That's it, that's all, there is nothing more.  They don't value fundamentals, so they don't teach them.  They don't value situational hitting, so they don't teach it.  They don't value pitching, so they only teach velocity.  Their bullpen management consistently gives worse relievers more innings than better ones.  They have an extreme reliance on analytics but do not seem to understand statistics well enough to properly apply them, and simply cannot react on the fly and adjust to the situation at hand.  

My concern is that the longer we keep rolling with these guys, the more damage is going to be done in the Twins system by turning every hitting into a 1-tool player and every pitcher into a chucker with a damaged arm.  I'm afraid it's going to take years to dig out of the Falvine hole.  

Ok rant over :)  Go get 'em tonight!

[Woof Bronzer]

2 minutes ago, lukeduke1980 said:

He and Buxton discussed over lobster dinner, which he ate several times a week

He shops at Christian Dior, eats lobster on the reg, and never breaks a sweat trotting to first after yet another groundout.  Pure class! 

[CoastiePilot08]

Season would be over in any other division. 
 

Agree with most posters. They suck and it’s boring to watch. 

[Whitey333]

I've been saying for the past couple of years that this team is one of the most boring, undisciplined, lifeless Twins team I've seen in many years.  Yesterday just shows how bad they are.  Correa has been here his second season and really has only played well the last month and a half last year.  That was against a lot of minor league pitchers playing out the season.  It is fair to mention his salary.  Don't we expect at least some level of competency in a player earning 33 million per year?  He's like 1 for 17 with two outs with runners in scoring position.  Last night he left 6 players on base.  I believe he makes up about 25% of team payroll.  Same with Gallo and Buxton. Together the three of them are making around 61 million this year.  It's amazing what little 61 mil pays for now days.  This team is disgraceful and shows no signs of enthusiasm and discipline.  That part of the problem lies with Baldelli.

[Ricky Vaughn]

If this keeps up the pitchers will start feeling the pressure to be perfect and then the wheels will really fall off.

[rwilfong86]

I wonder what it will take for some major changes, because after the last 2 years results and what we are seeing so far in 2023, this isn't working. 

[jmlease1]

Varland did the job last night, which was good. Wacha was what I feared: threw a lot of slop, got a lot of extra strikes, and a lot of hitters did little to punish him.

Really disappointed in where Correa is right now. He's got to turn it around soon. he's way too talented to hit this poorly, but very much looks like a guy who is pressing on every AB. he's taking pitches he should be driving, and swinging through fastballs. Thankfully he's not taking it out into the field with him, but he needs to do better. he's earning the boos.

Alcala looks pretty unreliable right now, not that it matters when your team can't hit. The "3 errors in one inning" was shambolic, even if Kirilloff's gets changed today.

I also cannot wait for electronic strike zone. castro getting rung up on a pitch nowhere near the zone was abysmal. I'm sick of the inconsistency, I'm sick of the obvious errors, and it's got to stop.

[Aggies7]

I feel like it might be time for an organization reset.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

That 7th inning last night will go down as one of those innings “never to forget” like that inning in Oakland in April 2021, when Colome walked all those batters and the infielders threw it away.

Fortunately those innings do not happen every night. 

[Schmoeman5]

13 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

This whole thing ain’t working, gang. 
 

That 7th inning can’t happen in the big leagues. 

And yet how many times have these types of innings occurred over the past several years. Relief pitchers allowing BB followed by bad defense killing a good start. 

[Kummel]

After all these years, the starting rotation is fantastic.  I don't want to lose sight of that.  The offense is lifeless.  Hoping for a spark.   

[Aggies7]

1 hour ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

That 7th inning last night will go down as one of those innings “never to forget” like that inning in Oakland in April 2021, when Colome walked all those batters and the infielders threw it away.

Fortunately those innings do not happen every night. 

Omg I forgot about that. How about a trigger warning next time you post like that lol 

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, Kummel said:

After all these years, the starting rotation is fantastic.  I don't want to lose sight of that.

 

Sonny Gray gets called a "solid #2 starter" in this thread but he's pitching as well as anyone in all of baseball - leading the league in ERA and #2 in pitcher WAR. The starting pitching has been very good.

 

For the offense, many people commented that Gallo might be a good piece to pick up if they didn't already have 5 other players with the same skill set on the roster (Kepler, Larnach, Kirilloff, Wallner, Julien). That feels like a bug in the spreadsheet. Lefthanded hitters who can put the ball over the fence are valuable, but having 5 of them is not as valuable as having a mix of different skill sets. If an opposing pitcher can get one of them out he will be able to get ALL of them out.

 

They decided Miranda was their starter at 3B and that decision isn't helping. They knew (or should have known) coming in Miranda's glove would be below average but were betting on his bat. Carlos Correa is definitely underperforming at the plate but I doubt he is this bad all season. Those two (and Buxton) were supposed to provide the RH hitting to balance all the lefties elsewhere.

[HerbieFan]

37 games is no longer a small sample size.  This offense and the offensive approach, with the strikeouts, lack of hard contact and inability to hit WRISP, is officially a problem.

[Minny505]

15 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Give Correa credit. He said the booing is acceptable right now. 

He should get moved to 5th or 6th until he gets his bat going again. Kind of feels like the Gardy days right now with him batting second.

[John Belinski]

Alcala doesn't belong with the Twins. Time after time he pitches poorly. It appears we have some help in St Paul.

[John Belinski]

6 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

For those who have long defended Falvine and Baldelli.  What would it take for your mind to be changed?  I think it's glaringly obvious by now that the group is just not competent - their entire philosophy begins and ends with "grip it & rip it" whether it's a bat or a ball.  That's it, that's all, there is nothing more.  They don't value fundamentals, so they don't teach them.  They don't value situational hitting, so they don't teach it.  They don't value pitching, so they only teach velocity.  Their bullpen management consistently gives worse relievers more innings than better ones.  They have an extreme reliance on analytics but do not seem to understand statistics well enough to properly apply them, and simply cannot react on the fly and adjust to the situation at hand.  

My concern is that the longer we keep rolling with these guys, the more damage is going to be done in the Twins system by turning every hitting into a 1-tool player and every pitcher into a chucker with a damaged arm.  I'm afraid it's going to take years to dig out of the Falvine hole.  

Ok rant over :)  Go get 'em tonight!

 

6 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I can't disagree with any of the posted responses to the written article  ...

It's sad and repulsive that the twins defense and offense are playing so poorly and seem to be regressing , I hope the pitching doesn't follow ...

It just seems this team lacks leadership.  Fielding mistakes, swinging at bad pitches and poor base running.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Minny505 said:

He should get moved to 5th or 6th until he gets his bat going again. Kind of feels like the Gardy days right now with him batting second.

He's looked worse at the plate lately, suggesting that he's pressing and maybe dropping him down would help. There's definitely some data to suggest that he's been pretty unlucky so far (looking at his profile on Baseball savant is instructive) but at the same time the quality of his ABs has looked worse the last few games.

[umterp23]

6 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

He shops at Christian Dior, eats lobster on the reg, and never breaks a sweat trotting to first after yet another groundout.  Pure class! 

Buxton does break a sweat every now and then but also does a lot of walking to and from the batters box after a K.  Some days he doesn't need to shower and just uses fancy cologne that Correa recommends.

[Minny505]

8 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

He's looked worse at the plate lately, suggesting that he's pressing and maybe dropping him down would help. There's definitely some data to suggest that he's been pretty unlucky so far (looking at his profile on Baseball savant is instructive) but at the same time the quality of his ABs has looked worse the last few games.

Love chatting baseball with people who use BS! It's my #1 resource these days for players.

And yes, he has been unlucky, but that's just compounding the fact that he's also been bad.

[David Maro]

This team looks more like a beer league team than a MLB team. Why do we have to see Correa and Gallo run out on the field day after day. I remember a time when if you hit under the Mendoza line you didn't see the field. This team is wasting good pitching game after game. If Rocco can't see it step down please. I did see they finally sent Miranda down,something that needed to happen weeks ago. If they don't turn it around tonight look for under 500 this weekend.