Game Thread: Twins (Gray) v Mariners (Gilbert), 7/17/23 @ 8:40 CT

[mnfireman]

Just now, RpR said:

They do not make rookie unknowns good ball players either.

Neither does sitting on the bench or toiling in the minors night after night. 

Every rookie unknown that became a good ball player was given the chance do show it. 

[USAFChief]

12 minutes ago, RpR said:

His/their talent is as good as the Twins managers see it  to be, not you.

They know what he/they have shown they can or cannot do, you or those manager wannabes on the forum do not.

Wally Pipp concurs.

[USAFChief]

Gotta say, I'm growing as tired of watching Buxton K as I am Gallo. 

[RpR]

1 minute ago, mnfireman said:

Neither does sitting on the bench or toiling in the minors night after night. 

Every rookie unknown that became a good ball player was given the chance do show it. 

They earned the chance; there are a lot of boys that never make it out of AA or AAA becasue they did not have the ability to move up.

This is professional sport , not grade school every one gets to play.

[pierre75275]

Where's Wallner?

 

Ahh what could have been

[mnfireman]

1 minute ago, pierre75275 said:

Where's Wallner?

 

Ahh what could have been

According to RpR he hasn't earned the right to play because he is an unknown rookie and the manager already knows what he will do any given game.

[jkcarew]

Our back up catcher is having a good year.

[USAFChief]

Nice job Julien. You're not good, but that was a nice catch and turn.

[Schmoeman5]

3 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

According to RpR he hasn't earned the right to play because he is an unknown rookie and the manager already knows what he will do any given game.

Yeah and this isn't grade school. But you can hit .209 and .187 and earn that right to play.

[mnfireman]

2 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Yeah and this isn't grade school. But you can hit .209 and .187 and earn that right to play.

Their talent is known and the manager knows what he's going to get everyday...

[SwainZag]

Ayyy C4!

[RickOShea]

C'mon Tater!

[stringer bell]

3 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Our back up catcher is having a good year.

Yes. He seems to have developed a two-strike approach and chases less, getting more walks.  He still strikes out plenty, but I would guess his BA and OBP with two strikes are among the best on the team. 

[RickOShea]

Ok Buck, please don't take a K looking

[jkcarew]

So, as Buxton’s and MAT’s OPS’s merge somewhere in the high 600’s…should we no longer care that Buxton isn’t playing CF??

[LaBombo]

Watching the game with the FS1 announcers for a change, with their occasional objectivity and empiricism,  reminded me that Dick Bremer's voice is like a subconscious Manchurian Candidate trigger for my brain to not expect much from the Twins.

[RickOShea]

How bout a push bunt?

[Parfigliano]

42 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

So you are saying Wallner is being given an opportunity right now? His talent is as good as Gallo, Kepler or Buxton right now. Larnach's talent is at least as good as 3 of the 4 right now. So I call BS on this comment. 

Buxton blocking Wallner

[LaBombo]

2 minutes ago, RickOShea said:

Ok Buck, please don't take a K looking

[mnfireman]

According to the FS1 broadcast, Buxton is dealing with hip and lower back injuries, no mention of knee issues.

[RickOShea]

1 minute ago, LaBombo said:

Watching the game with the FS1 announcers for a change, with their occasional objectivity and empiricism,  reminded me that Dick Bremer's voice is like a subconscious Manchurian Candidate trigger for my brain to not expect much from the Twins.

That and his enthusiastic retort on warning track flyballs.

[stringer bell]

Just now, RickOShea said:

How bout a push bunt?

I haven’t seen Buxton bunt successfully in his career. 

[RickOShea]

Just now, mnfireman said:

According to the FS1 broadcast, Buxton is dealing with hip and lower back injuries, no mention of knee issues.

We are all dealing with hip and lower back injuries!

[jkcarew]

3 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

According to the FS1 broadcast, Buxton is dealing with hip and lower back injuries, no mention of knee issues.

Funny how that type of info gets out there when a player that you’ve signed to a long term deal is slumping. It’s BS until they IL him.

[mnfireman]

Kirilloff possibly robbed of extra bases by a non-reviewable play...and the ump.

[tony&rodney]

FWIW, Julien is only playing because of injuries or he would be playing for St. Paul. He  has been the Twins best player when he gets to play. Julien gets ripped for his defense despite only two errors and a couple of misplays and constantly is mentioned as a player to trade. Performance wins games and I'll take the guys who perform. Julien has shown value.

Wallner deserves some at bats because he has shown that he can take a pitch, has cut his K-rate, and has generally handled the pitching he has faced whether it was at AAA or MLB. I have not been a big fan of Wallner but he has a low bar to clear to show better than Gallo.

[Schmoeman5]

Nice job AK

[stringer bell]

Good PA AK. 

[Parfigliano]

1 minute ago, tony&rodney said:

FWIW, Julien is only playing because of injuries or he would be playing for St. Paul. He  has been the Twins best player when he gets to play. Julien gets ripped for his defense despite only two errors and a couple of misplays and constantly is mentioned as a player to trade. Performance wins games and I'll take the guys who perform. Julien has shown value.

Wallner deserves some at bats because he has shown that he can take a pitch, has cut his K-rate, and has generally handled the pitching he has faced whether it was at AAA or MLB. I have not been a big fan of Wallner but he has a low bar to clear to show better than Gallo.

Low bar compared to Buxton.

[LaBombo]

It was fun to watch the 1b ump's matter-of-fact facial expression as he explained to the rest of the crew how he made that foul ball call despite his junk's life flashing before his eyes.