World Series Game #5

[Vanimal46]

Congrats Texas. They were the team I was scared of all season to face in the playoffs. Their lineup was potent. Let’s hope the Twins build a fearsome lineup as good as them next year. 

[ashbury]

A worthy champ.

[Parfigliano]

2 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

That's a wrap.

Five long cold months ahead ......

Cant play hockey without ice

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Cant play hockey without ice

You are correct - I can't play hockey, especially in Mexico.

Haven't played a game of hockey since switching to basketball after Bantoms. I remember it was fun flying around the ice.

[RpR]

Two former Twins now have World Series rings.

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

The Rangers need WAY more media coverage for successfully buying a WS team via free agency. Yes, they also had depth and prospect development. That was the primary reason why it worked in Texas and not for the Mets. 

This is how the Yankees bought so many championships

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Same thing happened to Torii Hunter in 2006 against Oakland, ball under the glove in a big spot, if I recall. 

Didn’t he try to make a diving catch and missed?

[Nine of twelve]

5 hours ago, RpR said:

Two former Twins now have World Series rings.

Actually 3: Garver, Grossman, and Perez.

[Riverbrian]

AL 5th seed beat the NL 6th seed. 

The Rangers won 3 more games than the Twins in the regular season. 

The Twins won 3 more games than the D-Backs in the regular season. 

Texas ranked 9th spending 196 million. 41 million more than the Twins. 

Arizona ranked 21st spending 116 million, 38 million less than the Twins. 

The Rangers ranked 3rd in team OPS during the regular season with a .789. They had playoff OPS of .792  

The D-Backs ranked 17th in team OPS during the regular season with a .730. They had a playoff OPS of .734

The Twins ranked 7th in team OPS during the regular season with a .754. They had a playoff OPS of .672

The Rangers Ranked 18th in team ERA during the regular season with a 4.28. They had a playoff ERA of 3.83

The D-Back Ranked 20th in team ERA during the regular season with a 4.48. They had a playoff ERA of 3.49

The Twins ranked 6th in team ERA during the regular season with a 3.87. They had a playoff ERA of 3.40

Both teams got significant contributions from Rookies. Brandon Pfaadt produced a 3.27 ERA as the #3 starter over 22 innings striking out 26 in the playoffs, Brandon statistically performed better than Zac Gallen in the playoffs who tossed a 33.2 innings striking out 24 with a 4.54 ERA. Brandon Pfaadt threw a 5.72 ERA during the regular season. 

Both teams added at the trade deadline. Texas rebuilt their starting pitching staff at the trade deadline. 

Any explanation on how the Rangers and D-Backs did it or comparison to the secret formula used by teams who have reached the final series in the past... I will leave to others. But, I'm sure the Padres approach will still be the way to do it. 

My only explanation is that the Rangers won games at the right time better than the other 11 participants. Congrats to the Rangers on winning their first championship. The Rangers were the oldest active franchise in the 4 major sports without a championship. The new oldest active franchise without a championship now is... the Minnesota Vikings. 

 

[GeorgiaBaller]

I watched---it's the Great Game.  If its good ball, I will watch anyone.  

I would say that Defensive execution was glaringly obvious in comparison with the Twins roster.  And no, they were not high-priced free agents other than Simeon and Seagar.  Excellent D is just a priority for most of the teams advancing in the playoffs organizationally---that doesn't just happen when prospects get to the Bigs.  Its a priority for drafting and development, too.  

Was shocked early on at how much Evan Carter looked like Kepler when he set up at the plate.  

[nicksaviking]

21 minutes ago, GeorgiaBaller said:

I watched---it's the Great Game.  If its good ball, I will watch anyone.  

I would say that Defensive execution was glaringly obvious in comparison with the Twins roster.  And no, they were not high-priced free agents other than Simeon and Seagar.  Excellent D is just a priority for most of the teams advancing in the playoffs organizationally---that doesn't just happen when prospects get to the Bigs.  Its a priority for drafting and development, too.  

Was shocked early on at how much Evan Carter looked like Kepler when he set up at the plate.  

Pretty sure the Twins defense had nothing to do with them not winning the World Series.

Texas averaged 5.7 runs per game during the post season, the Twins averaged 3 runs per game. Half their games the Twins scored 2 runs or less. The Twins were never going to win it all with the hitting as cold as it was.

[Nine of twelve]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

AL 5th seed beat the NL 6th seed. 

The Rangers won 3 more games than the Twins in the regular season. 

The Twins won 3 more games than the D-Backs in the regular season. 

Texas ranked 9th spending 196 million. 41 million more than the Twins. 

Arizona ranked 21st spending 116 million, 38 million less than the Twins. 

The Rangers ranked 3rd in team OPS during the regular season with a .789. They had playoff OPS of .792  

The D-Backs ranked 17th in team OPS during the regular season with a .730. They had a playoff OPS of .734

The Twins ranked 7th in team OPS during the regular season with a .754. They had a playoff OPS of .672

The Rangers Ranked 18th in team ERA during the regular season with a 4.28. They had a playoff ERA of 3.83

The D-Back Ranked 20th in team ERA during the regular season with a 4.48. They had a playoff ERA of 3.49

The Twins ranked 6th in team ERA during the regular season with a 3.87. They had a playoff ERA of 3.40

Both teams got significant contributions from Rookies. Brandon Pfaadt produced a 3.27 ERA as the #3 starter over 22 innings striking out 26 in the playoffs, Brandon statistically performed better than Zac Gallen in the playoffs who tossed a 33.2 innings striking out 24 with a 4.54 ERA. Brandon Pfaadt threw a 5.72 ERA during the regular season. 

Both teams added at the trade deadline. Texas rebuilt their starting pitching staff at the trade deadline. 

Any explanation on how the Rangers and D-Backs did it or comparison to the secret formula used by teams who have reached the final series in the past... I will leave to others. But, I'm sure the Padres approach will still be the way to do it. 

My only explanation is that the Rangers won games at the right time better than the other 11 participants. Congrats to the Rangers on winning their first championship. The Rangers were the oldest active franchise in the 4 major sports without a championship. The new oldest active franchise without a championship now is... the Minnesota Vikings. 

 

The stats show how baseball has less of a difference between the best teams and mediocre teams than the other 3 major sports. The fact that a 5 seed and a 6 seed played for the World Championship shows that in this day and age a team's regular season performance has become not very important. Just do well enough to qualify for the postseason and go from there. Playing more games at home in the postseason is of little value. Yes, I know players and team officials always say they couldn't have done it without their fans but that's just pandering. The World Series winds up being won by the team that gets hot, or at least warm, at the right time. I'll refrain from commenting about whether or not that's a good thing.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

The stats show how baseball has less of a difference between the best teams and mediocre teams than the other 3 major sports. The fact that a 5 seed and a 6 seed played for the World Championship shows that in this day and age a team's regular season performance has become not very important. Just do well enough to qualify for the postseason and go from there. Playing more games at home in the postseason is of little value. Yes, I know players and team officials always say they couldn't have done it without their fans but that's just pandering. The World Series winds up being won by the team that gets hot, or at least warm, at the right time. I'll refrain from commenting about whether or not that's a good thing.

If its your team that gets hot its a good thing.

[GeorgiaBaller]

 

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Pretty sure the Twins defense had nothing to do with them not winning the World Series.

Texas averaged 5.7 runs per game during the post season, the Twins averaged 3 runs per game. Half their games the Twins scored 2 runs or less. The Twins were never going to win it all with the hitting as cold as it was.

A myopic look at the product on the field is where part of the problem is now.  You can't win with only hitting, either.  The Bomba Squad and previous high scoring versions of the Rangers both are good examples that.  Twins were not hitting with RISP, had starting arms that were over-used and declining the last month of the season as well as a failing bullpen, etc. 

 Twins are mainly trying to develop bats---and maybe not well--but continue to deliver the majority of their prospects to the Majors without a solid position.  Make no mistake, preventing runs is an important part of the game.  Sloppy fielding and only delivering on high probability defensive stops (rarely making great palys) allows runs that are unnecessary and are a differentiator when trying to square up with a similar team.   

[nicksaviking]

1 minute ago, GeorgiaBaller said:

 

A myopic look at the product on the field is where part of the problem is now.  You can't win with only hitting, either.  The Bomba Squad and previous high scoring versions of the Rangers both are good examples that.  Twins were not hitting with RISP, had starting arms that were over-used and declining the last month of the season as well as a failing bullpen, etc. 

 Twins are mainly trying to develop bats---and maybe not well--but continue to deliver the majority of their prospects to the Majors without a solid position.  Make no mistake, preventing runs is an important part of the game.  Sloppy fielding and only delivering on high probability defensive stops (rarely making great palys) allows runs that are unnecessary and are a differentiator when trying to square up with a similar team.   

You're understating the quality of the Twins defense, and really underselling it if you're concerned about the players they're developing.

Correa's at short forcing Lewis to 3B. Lee and Martin are knocking on the door and cut their teeth playing short but will be bringing their qualify defense to other spots on the diamond. There is no reason for concern about the Twins current or long-term defense, it is and will be fine. 

The offense, as always, is more important and most pressing.

[GeorgiaBaller]

@nicksavikingCorrea at short was your only strong defensive position in the infield this year.  I am admittedly not heavy into stats, but I would guess the Twins were in the bottom 3rd of the league in double plays turned and the same range for anything more than high probability outs created by the infield.

Please cite for me the prospects who have panned out in the last 5 years that are defensively strong?  Other than Royce Lewis? Lee may be great--but he still hasn't made it to the big league club yet.  Martin--same.  Herein lies the problem---they are all SS's.  Larnach--wash out in bigs and blow avg D, Miranda-same and less than avg defense, Kirilloff can't stay in lineup b/c of injuries, Julien terrible defensively and keeps Correa from turning DP's because he is constantly out of position and doesn't field cleanly.  Nick Gordon?  Wallner, pretty good bat but less than avg LF as he's stiff, slow to react and lacks range in Outfield.  Castro is the closest thing to a fully functional product without a position---Jeffers is the only successful "prospect" that has developed and continues to improve at his position from the "strong pipeline" all around ---besides Lewis (who has yet to stay healthy through a season in the last 3-4 years).  

The organization has one starting outfielder returning (Kepler) that much of this forum has been in favor of trading the last 3 years.  No 1B, question at 2nd, no CF, no LF.  You can't just move guys around day to day and have them be great defensively.  That's historically called a "utility" player---which is what the Twins have a lot of.

I am a Twins fan---love to see them play---but the organization has a deficit developing players who are multi-dimensional and it hurts them.  Add that to leading the league in SO's and I have to say the organization lacks identity.