The Athletic grades all 30 MLB teams through Memorial Day Weekend

[TwinsDr2021]

10 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Performance compared to what? The past years of pitchers, how other pitchers pitch? 

An A isn't "the best you can do". You can always do more of an A....but if A means the best (like 5 Cy Young winners, I guess), then I see how they don't get an A. Thanks for the polite conversation, even if we disagree.

Their performance on the field that is what I am grading them on.

I gave you the grade of each pitcher and the starting rotation an grade of B+/A- and you are making that sound as if it is a kick to the face. Disagree with my grade thats awesome, your right to have whatever opinion you want.

Do you think Gray's last 4 performances are worthy of an A, that is 40% of his starts, Do you think Pablo Lopez would say at this point his season has gone as good as he hoped for? (I sure hope not), I think Ober would pretty darn happy so far (maybe not being taken out of the last game after 76 pitches, but that aside) and I think Varland would be as well minus a pitch here and there. Mahle and Maeda probably not so much, and I have to include them in my grade (They have started almost 20% of the Twins games)

 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I'm a B-.  Starting pitching  is an A.  I'm not sure when we've had starting pitching like this, certainly for the top two, but the others are no slouch either -- and that's with starting two guys who started the season in St. Paul.  Bullpen is a C.  We've got some really good stuff at the top like Duran, but also a little Pagan at the bottom.  There's been a lot of bad luck and also a lot of pressure trying to protect a 2-1 lead so if they allow two runs in four innings, they blow it.   They need a PR person working for them.  Offense is a C-/D+.  Situational hitting sucks, but we're middle of the pack in runs scored, and ultimately, that's pretty important. 

It's easy to get frustrated, because we all want the team to go 162 - 0 for the season, but the baseball season is ridiculously long and every team will have at least a dozen absolutely stupid losses due to errors/bullpen blowups/etc.  We're playing at an 85 win pace, which was about what the oddsmakers said at the beginning of the season (not me, I was at 90 for the over under).  My disappointment factor is high right now, but I also know that it is a LONG season and if we can play at an 85 win pace, just a regression to the mean in the hitting will put a lot more games in play for us.

[Nine of twelve]

They are on an 84-win pace. That is the only criterion I am using. C+. If I happen to be in a kind-hearted mood and give them credit for another win they earned but did not get against the Dodgers they are on an 87-win pace. B-.

[OvertheHill]

For all of the angst I've expressed here (and elsewhere) its a little surprising that I'm giving them a C.

Going into the season, I assumed that both Twins and Cleveland would be neck and neck with better records so far. I believe in the talent, especially the younger guys, but I have serious reservations about the incessant line up tinkering and lack of continuity. Some of that is injury driven, but they're more or less where I expected them to be with health. The rotation is doing better than I expected, but I didn't see (or listen enough to the warnings here) how shallow the bullpen was. The batting is, well, underwhelming and disappointing 

[Nine of twelve]

15 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

They are on an 84-win pace. That is the only criterion I am using. C+. If I happen to be in a kind-hearted mood and give them credit for another win they earned but did not get against the Dodgers they are on an 87-win pace. B-.

I just wanted to be a little more clear on this. I gave a C+ because I think the grade should be based only on actual win-loss performance. Before the season started I cast a poll vote for 90+ wins. I think that was a reasonable prediction based on the talent this team seems to have on the roster. The pitching, fielding, and base running have all pretty much met my expectations but batting has not. If I were grading based on the team meeting or not meeting expectations I would give a D.

[davidborton]

19 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

I'm a B-. 

I gave them a C.

Twins are playing .500 ball in the worst division in ball. Can't move the needle past the "Ol' Charley."