Cubs 6, Twins 2: Ineffective Bats Go Gentle Into That Good Night

[Nashvilletwin]

The way the Twins are currently playing is a bit like my golf game. I’m not putting very well, so there is tremendous pressure on my iron game to have to hit it close. That pressure is not improving my iron game, per se.  Or it’s similar to the Vikings last season - the D was so bad, the O felt like it had to score each time it had the ball.

Right now, the Twins relief staff must feel if they give up any runs, the bats won’t pick them up.  It’s not a helpful feeling. IMHO, I’d think a pick up in our bats would improve the quality of our relief pitching. The two go together to some degree.

Having said that, championship teams in the modern era of baseball almost always have shut down pens. Some of us have been harping on this point for some time. It’s clear, we do not have anything near a shut down pen at the moment. Ergo, this team, especially when combined with its poor hitting and short outing, albeit superior, starting pitching, is not built to compete for a championship.

[Squirrel]

9 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Maybe just me, but the bullpen concerns me.

It’s not just you. Many on here have commented on it since the FO said they weren’t doing anything in the off season to address it. And we’ll play the AAA merry- go-round, again, this year. 

[jmlease1]

9 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

I thought Gray cruising.  Is 91 pitches really a reason to pull someone with 9 strikeouts in 5 innings?   

Gray was very effective but not cruising. He was also at 94 pitches, not 91 if that makes a difference. He did a really good job but it wasn't easy for him to finish off a lot of those guys, and he definitely got the occasional "strike" that was out of the zone, which gets dangerous later in the game if you don't keep getting them. Think it's a coin flip whether you let him try and finish the 6th, but considering Happ had already gotten Gray twice I can understand not liking the matchup.

The offense is the real problem, though. They've got to get more hits, they've got to put more baserunners on. Disappointing from Buxton who just couldn't seem to adjust to Smyly's stuff; he wasn't off by much, but those towering pop-ups were frustrating. The bullpen wasn't great, but I'm not going to bark about them not holding the lead when the offense only puts 2 on the board and looks very toothless all day.

[Riverbrian]

9 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Maybe just me, but the bullpen concerns me

Agreed

As a whole and in comparison to other teams... the bullpen is OK.

The biggest problem the bullpen is going to face this year is... The offense. 

With this offense there is no such thing as low leverage.

If low leverage is a rarity, there is no breathing room and the bullpen will need to be much better than OK from top to bottom.  

The offense is healthy right now. These contributors to the offense are in those off-season architectural plans that are laying on a desk or in a filing cabinet somewhere.  

Team batting average down to .218... 30th ranked. 

367 team strikeouts now... 28th ranked. Oakland is 30th ranked with 5 more K's but they got a game in hand so... let's just say they are striking out more than everybody else because let's not quibble over a K or two as they battle with the bay area teams for the trophy.   

Team OPS down to .679... 23rd ranked

Team Runs at 164 and falling fast to 23rd  

I don't believe, the front office, the scouts, the coaches, the players or the fans can use the term slump anymore.

Last year in 2022, 25 different players swung a bat for our Twins, injuries were off the charts, we couldn't buy a hit in September with the chips down as 5 through 9 in the batting order were contributing absolutely nothing every single night.  Celestino, Cave and Sanchez were being asked to bring us home and they didn't have a compass. Yet, we still finished mid-pack in almost all offensive team stats at the end of the year.   

I'm starting to feel like injury is the only thing that can help us out. I don't like this feeling.   

  

      

[USAFChief]

2 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Agreed

As a whole and in comparison to other teams... the bullpen is OK.

The biggest problem the bullpen is going to face this year is... The offense. 

With this offense there is no such thing as low leverage.

If low leverage is a rarity, there is no breathing room and the bullpen will need to be much better than OK from top to bottom.  

The offense is healthy right now. These contributors to the offense are in those off-season architectural plans that are laying on a desk or in a filing cabinet somewhere.  

Team batting average down to .218... 30th ranked. 

367 team strikeouts now... 28th ranked. Oakland is 30th ranked with 5 more K's but they got a game in hand so... let's just say they are striking out more than everybody else because let's not quibble over a K or two as they battle with the bay area teams for the trophy.   

Team OPS down to .679... 23rd ranked

Team Runs at 164 and falling fast to 23rd  

I don't believe, the front office, the scouts, the coaches, the players or the fans can use the term slump anymore.

Last year in 2022, 25 different players swung a bat for our Twins, injuries were off the charts, we couldn't buy a hit in September with the chips down as 5 through 9 in the batting order were contributing absolutely nothing every single night.  Celestino, Cave and Sanchez were being asked to bring us home and they didn't have a compass. Yet, we still finished mid-pack in almost all offensive team stats at the end of the year.   

I'm starting to feel like injury is the only thing that can help us out. I don't like this feeling.   

  

      

Absolutely, positively 100 percent concur the offense is a problem. 

However, last night the offense handed the pen a lead. Whether the lead is 6-5, or 2-1, the job is the same. The pen gave up a five spot last night, and for the 9th time already took the L.

It'd be nice to give the pen a bigger lead, for sure. Or increase the lead once on a while. But ultimately it's the bullpen that failed, again, last night.

[Riverbrian]

9 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Time to kick off the training wheels and welcome Buck back to his rightful home in center field. 

This will make the team better (and more specifically the line up).

Buck was never, is not, and will never be a good candidate for permanent DH. 

I will gladly take 80-100 games of real Buck over 150 games of bubble wrapped DH Buck.

Enough already. Ferraris were not meant to sit in the garage (even Farris Bueller knew that)

I was sleeping in med school so I have no idea about the physical side of what they are doing with Buxton and I won't pretend to... however, YEAH... getting Buck into CF some of the time will open up the DH some of the time... to... I don't know who... anybody... I don't care who... someone who might help.  

They have to get off the script. The adaptive cruise and the lane assist isn't sufficient for a nap... grab the wheel.   

[USAFChief]

Just now, Riverbrian said:

 

They have to get off the script. The adaptive cruise and the lane assist isn't sufficient for a nap... 

Wait...WHAT??

[Riverbrian]

3 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Absolutely, positively 100 percent concur the offense is a problem. 

However, last night the offense handed the pen a lead. Whether the lead is 6-5, or 2-1, the job is the same. The pen gave up a five spot last night, and for the 9th time already took the L.

It'd be nice to give the pen a bigger lead, for sure. Or increase the lead once on a while. But ultimately it's the bullpen that failed, again, last night.

Gotta hang zeroes. 

3.81 Bullpen ERA. 15th Ranked at the moment and that isn't going to be good enough. I'll bring more to the party. If Duran or Lopez hit the DL for 10 day stretch or two. How much fun will that be?   

[John Belinski]

I think we all know the Twins can't win every game, but when we have a number 3 hitter hitting below .200 we will not be a winning team.

I looked at all the number 3 hitters in games last night and the Twins had the worst number 3 hitter plus it wasn't even close. Correa hit into another big double play last night and has hit into several double plays when a hit was needed. What other manager in baseball would have a number 3 hitter batting less than .200. I can answer that question NO other manager.  It appears the whole team is in a batting slump, but some players are hitting .250 or better so why are we having a player batting in the important number 3 spot with a average below .200? It appears Rocco will not make changes that will help the Twins win.  He seems to be so set with his way even if it is not working and is not willing to make changes. Without changes the Twins will be lucky to have a winning record when the season ends and will finish just like last year.  It is really disappointing to watch the Twins play when they have the talent to be a winning team.  I know the Twins will not make a change, but really think a management change would help the Twins win more games.

 

[Whitey333]

Jax is a decent, perhaps good reliever.  He is not a great reliever.  Great relievers get great results and don't whine a out "bad luck".  I've said this since spring training:  this team is a mediocre team, with a mediocre manager playing in a mediocre division.  I keep hoping our star players wake up.  I keep hoping our hitting as a whole wakes up.  I keep hoping our mediocre bullpen holds up with its overuse so early.  Just like last season.  We're approaching the time when the players need to produce.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Our permanent full-time DH (DH stands for ‘Designated Hitter’) is now ranked 7th out of 11 of all qualifying DH in OPS, and is closer to 8th place than 6th. (in HR ranks 5 of 11 and RBI, 6 of 11).

Anyway. I’m ready for the Twins to try someone else at DH, and maybe see if there is a position in the field that our current DH can go play. 

[David Maro]

It is time for Jax to St. Paul to learn a change up. Throwing 80% sliders is not working. The Gallo at bats have become way too hard to watch. He makes Sano at bats look good. Need to do what Baltimore did with Chris Davis release him. I'm tired of watching hitter after hitter swing out of their shoes. Watching the Cubs hitters go the other way is called baseball. They put the bat on the ball and won the game. All 29 other teams know throw the ball up out of the zone and the Twins will get them self out. The West Coast swing is not looking good for this team. May be 5 games under 500 on return home.

[joefish]

13 hours ago, jkcarew said:

To say the club is vulnerable against anything more than decent left-handed pitching is a bit of an understatement. Probably not going to get fixed until Buxton and Correa are both clicking at the same time…AND Farmer/Miranda and/or Lewis become factors.

As is…I don’t know why you don’t just start two of Kepler/Kirilloff/Gallo rather than bother with Solano and Castro. At least you’d have a puncher’s chance of one of those guys running into a mistake pitch or two.

Gray wasn’t getting hit, but he wasn’t aggressive enough or efficient enough. Too many pitches for Gray. Too short of a start.

Too many strike outs?

[NotAboutWinning]

A question for those with much more baseball knowledge than myself regarding bullpen management... Has the AAA merry-go-round approach become the norm? How many teams these days set a bullpen roster and stay with it, barring injuries?

[LastOnePicked]

2 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

I've said this since spring training:  this team is a mediocre team, with a mediocre manager playing in a mediocre division.

I hadn't watched a game all season, so I hopped on to Apple TV to watch last night. One game may not tell too much, but what it did tell me backs up your thoughts exactly. This is a classic Baldelli team: slow on the bases, sluggish in the field and unprepared to hold or expand a lead. There will be no playoffs if this kind of play continues.

[jkcarew]

52 minutes ago, joefish said:

Too many strike outs?

Trading the threat of more strikeouts with the potential for hits that actually score runs…for ground ball outs and and an occasional single might not fit your idea of what looks good. But it will win more games.

[Larry Janisewski]

As all Twin fans know the offense has been awful so far this season. Time to change hitting coaches??? Going into the season, I thought the team offense, on paper at least, looked like it would be strong. WRONG!!!

After 39 games:

  Team batting average .218----last in the majors.

  3rd most strike outs, barely better then  the very weak Giants and A's.

Statistically the Twins are averaging 7 hits per game---I have a hard time remembering the last time they actually got

  7 hits in a game.

  

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I hadn't watched a game all season,

Hard to make any comments on the season, team, or individuals if you haven't been watching the games. For example, I don't watch football at all, so I'm not going to suggest that the Vikings ......

[joefish]

5 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Trading the threat of more strikeouts with the potential for hits that actually score runs…for ground ball outs and and an occasional single might not fit your idea of what looks good. But it will win more games.

But more strike outs will usually run your pitch count up.

That was my intended meaning.