Game Thread: Twins (Keuchel) @ Phillies (Sanchez), 8/11/23 @ 6:05 CT

[wsnydes]

[chpettit19]

I know it's a lefty, and Luplow and/or Castro will get hit for as soon as a righty comes in, but seeing those 2 at the top of the order is super depressing. Legit playoff teams aren't hitting Castro-Luplow in the 1-2 holes, sorry.

[USAFChief]

Lots of smoke, plenty of mirrors, Dallas. 

[Vanimal46]

So, is the season Schwarber is having what Falvey envisioned for Gallo? 

[CRF]

Lineup roulette. Got a real bad feeling about this Philly trip. I hope the baseball Gods smile down upon us. 

[mnfireman]

58 minutes ago, CRF said:

Lineup roulette. Got a real bad feeling about this Philly trip. I hope the baseball Gods smile down upon us. 

Might miss Harper, he's day-to-day with back spasms...

[Road trip]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

So, is the season Schwarber is having what Falvey envisioned for Gallo? 

I guess, but if you ignore the homers, Schwarber has been pretty awful.  He leads the league in strikeouts (yes, far more than even Gallo).  His OPS is a hair higher than Gallo's.  Schwarber's a defensive disaster in LF where he usually plays... so much so that he currently has an accumulated WAR of -.8 

If I was forced to choose one.... nah, I'd rather not. 

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, CRF said:

Lineup roulette. Got a real bad feeling about this Philly trip. I hope the baseball Gods smile down upon us. 

They miss Wheeler and Lorenzen. 

[KirbyDome89]

Julien and Wallner sitting. The Twins know Gallo bats from the left side right? Right?

[CRF]

13 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

They miss Wheeler and Lorenzen. 

The only thing I want them to miss...is Philly's bats with their pitches. 

[2wins87]

7 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Julien and Wallner sitting. The Twins know Gallo bats from the left side right? Right?

Gallo is more or less the same vs lefties and righties, not just this year but over his whole career.

I wouldn't mind having the young LHH at least get some experience against lefty pitchers until it's proven they can't hit them though.

[CRF]

Somebody needs to get Larnach a first baseman's glove and give him some time there in StP. 

[NotAboutWinning]

The Twins are starting a lefty and yet the Phillies have their everyday starting line-up. Contrast that to the bench clearing line-up of the Twins. Does their manager not know the secrets of the the lefty-righty match up? Lest anyone be confused, this is snark!!

[USAFChief]

31 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Julien and Wallner sitting. The Twins know Gallo bats from the left side right? Right?

Pretty clear at this point it's about playing 1st base.

Should have IL'd Solano by now though. 

 

[USAFChief]

5 minutes ago, NotAboutWinning said:

 Lest anyone be confused, this is snark!!

Now wasted.

[KirbyDome89]

21 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Gallo is more or less the same vs lefties and righties, not just this year but over his whole career.

I wouldn't mind having the young LHH at least get some experience against lefty pitchers until it's proven they can't hit them though.

Ok, but more or less the same = atrocious at this point.

If Julien and Wallner's handedness, and not their performance, disqualifies them, it makes zero sense to trot out lefty Joey Gallo. 

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, CRF said:

Lineup roulette. Got a real bad feeling about this Philly trip. I hope the baseball Gods smile down upon us. 

I hope the baseball gods smile equally down upon TB

[KirbyDome89]

2 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Pretty clear at this point it's about playing 1st base.

Should have IL'd Solano by now though. 

 

It isn't Gallo or bust at 1B. They could choose to put a better lineup on the field, but for some reason they're content not to. 

[shabbos1]

6 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

It isn't Gallo or bust at 1B. They could choose to put a better lineup on the field, but for some reason they're content not to. 

They seem to be more focused on the ineptitude of the AL central as their key to success rather than actively improving the roster at this point.

[USAFChief]

42 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

It isn't Gallo or bust at 1B. They could choose to put a better lineup on the field, but for some reason they're content not to. 

Obviously, in their eyes, it IS "Gallo or bust" at 1st. That's the "some reason."

And quite honestly, I wouldn't put Julien at 1st either. I have no idea about Wallner, but they do. And they've spoken clearly.

What I WOULD do is have Solano on the IL and an actual option on the roster. And Gallo wouldn't be on the roster, for quite some time now.

But he is, and it's no mystery why he's in the lineup. Given the options, who should Rocco have at 1st tonight? Vazquez?

[mrtwinsfan]

1 hour ago, mnfireman said:

Might miss Harper, he's day-to-day with back spasms...

I want to see the best, and Harper is one of them,  

[USAFChief]

2 minutes ago, mrtwinsfan said:

I want to see the best, and Harper is one of them,  

Eh, I can wait till October to see him.

 

[GCTF]

[KirbyDome89]

15 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Obviously, in their eyes, it IS "Gallo or bust" at 1st. That's the "some reason."

And quite honestly, I wouldn't put Julien at 1st either. I have no idea about Wallner, but they do. And they've spoken clearly.

What I WOULD do is have Solano on the IL and an actual option on the roster. And Gallo wouldn't be on the roster, for quite some time now.

But he is, and it's no mystery why he's in the lineup.

I don't disagree that this FO, for whatever reason, seems to think they're mining value with Gallo, but reality says otherwise. 

I wasn't kidding when posted in another thread that anybody with a pulse would be an upgrade. I'd run with Julien, piss poor glove/hands and all. I'm fine with Wallner. Give one of the utility IF'ers a 1B mitt too. For sure IL Solano unless they think he's back this weekend too. 

[RpR]

Disregarding the wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth by some who know more about baseball than those whose occupation it is, the Twins will win tonight.

Joey, Joey your my man, if you can't do it Garlick can.

[chpettit19]

38 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Obviously, in their eyes, it IS "Gallo or bust" at 1st. That's the "some reason."

And quite honestly, I wouldn't put Julien at 1st either. I have no idea about Wallner, but they do. And they've spoken clearly.

What I WOULD do is have Solano on the IL and an actual option on the roster. And Gallo wouldn't be on the roster, for quite some time now.

But he is, and it's no mystery why he's in the lineup. Given the options, who should Rocco have at 1st tonight? Vazquez?

Farmer. Farmer to first and Julien in the lineup. I do think they're actually looking at defense first in this one, though. Want their best defensive infield with Keuchel on the mound. Wouldn't be my strategy, but it does look like theirs.

[chpettit19]

Just now, RpR said:

Disregarding the wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth by some who know more about baseball than those whose occupation it is, the Twins will win tonight.

Joey, Joey your my man, if you can't do it Garlick can.

There are people on these boards whose occupation is baseball. Are they allowed to wail, moan, or gnash teeth?

[RpR]

2 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

There are people on these boards whose occupation is baseball. Are they allowed to wail, moan, or gnash teeth?

Actually no, UNLESS, they are with the Twins org., THEN, they have inside info that what goes on , is a true consternation to them.

When I landscaped, I would have owners or arm chair landscapers come up to me and say: "Heck, all you gotta do is...." so many times, I wanted to hand them a shovel and say, "SHOW ME".

[IaBeanCounter]

5 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Farmer. Farmer to first and Julien in the lineup. I do think they're actually looking at defense first in this one, though. Want their best defensive infield with Keuchel on the mound. Wouldn't be my strategy, but it does look like theirs.

I agree with your thought that the Twins are going defense first.  With Keuchel pitching, it's going to be a test for Keuchel to get 3 outs before the Phillies get 3 hits/walks each inning.

 

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

Actually no, UNLESS, they are with the Twins org., THEN, they have inside info that what goes on , is a true consternation to them.

When I landscaped, I would have owners or arm chair landscapers come up to me and say: "Heck, all you gotta do is...." so many times, I wanted to hand them a shovel and say, "SHOW ME".

Your analogy doesn't work there. For that analogy to match your first set of rules there it'd have to be people who worked at another landscaping company coming up to you and having thoughts. 

But I'm off to the Saints game (hoping to stay mostly dry!) so I won't even be watching the Twins tonight. Hope it goes well and everyone enjoys!