Game Thread: Twins @ Royals, 3/28@3:10pm CDT

[weneedneshek]

11 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Wow, Jeffers in the two hole and they're already keeping Julien and Wallner from hitting against lefties? 

If they don't see any of our young leftys as everyday players then just trade them for some starting pitching

[ashbury]

6 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

Ash needs extended spring training because math in game threads...

What's all this about meth in game threads?  That's terrible.  Meth is bad for any living... oh wait, what?  Well that's very different, then.  Never mind.

[wsnydes]

1 minute ago, ashbury said:

What's all this about meth in game threads?  That's terrible.  Meth is bad for any living... oh wait, what?  Never mind.

[Craig Arko]

43 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

How are we all doing? Are we in the best or worst shape of our lives?

I got out of bed this morning. I take this as a positive indicator. 

[nicksaviking]

6 minutes ago, weneedneshek said:

If they don't see any of our young leftys as everyday players then just trade them for some starting pitching

Agreed. If these guys will only platoon that's how the rest of the league will see them and you're just throwing value down the drain.

 

[IndianaTwin]

54 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

How are we all doing? Are we in the best or worst shape of our lives?

Yes.*

*Actually, probably not either, but "yes" was the required answer. 

[MMMordabito]

29 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Wow, Jeffers in the two hole and they're already keeping Julien and Wallner from hitting against lefties? 

Lefties hitting against lefties?  

FALVINATOR 4000 DOES NOT COMPUTE

[stringer bell]

Who had Manuel Margot as the Opening Day DH?

[IndianaTwin]

Opening Day should be a national holiday.

I feel like Chuck. 

[nicksaviking]

3 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Who had Manuel Margot as the Opening Day DH?

I suppose if the rule is that left handed hitters need to be 30-years-old to hit against left handed pitchers, that means either Margot or Vazquez will be the DH in such games. Bomba Squad redux.

[stringer bell]

16 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I can see not starting Wallner against a lefty given how he hit in ST.  Let's get his first start off on the right foot against a righty.  As for Julian, he will be in there pinch-hitting as soon as we knock out the lefty.

The surest way for the younger left handed hitters to get starts against a lefty is to hit left handers when they get the chance. This problem for the Twins is exacerbated because the RH platoon partner in each case is regarded as the superior defender. 

[Vanimal46]

46 minutes ago, danielp19653 said:

Lineups are up 

This lineup is wrong. Below is the correct lineup for today:

[chpettit19]

Will be interesting to see how Rocco handles Kirilloff and Wallner today, and how KC manages their pen in response.

Is Kirilloff going to pinch hit for Margot against a righty? Wallner taking over for Castro against a righty? Is there a situation where Kirilloff hits for Santana?

How long does Ragans go on opening day? Who are the backend relievers for the Royals? All the lefties will be stacked at the bottom of the order once Ragans is replaced by a righty so there's a situation where he's done after 5 and the pinch hitting begins which could lead to a situation where the game is on the line late and the lefties are all lined up to take on Will Smith or Angel Zerpa if the Royals want.

Also a situation where the lefties all only hit once and there's no concerns at all from the platoon strategy. Glad to have real baseball back so we can be discussing in game strategy instead of payrolls and trades!

[ashbury]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

This lineup is wrong. Below is the correct lineup for today:

Who gave you this?

[ashbury]

3 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The surest way for the younger left handed hitters to get starts against a lefty is to hit left handers when they get the chance. This problem for the Twins is exacerbated because the RH platoon partner in each case is regarded as the superior defender. 

So then the second surest way is for the younger left handed hitters to get better at playing defense.

[Vanimal46]

2 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Who gave you this?

Why

[ashbury]

16 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Who had Manuel Margot as the Opening Day DH?

Um, Rocco, obvii.  Although Jayce Tingler may have offered some input.

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, Vanimal46 said:

Why

Well that sure came out of left field.

[Jerr]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

How are we all doing? Are we in the best or worst shape of our lives?

Way past my prime years, but as to a Twins fan... I'm still that 8yr.old kid fan, when they first arrived in Minnesota

[wsnydes]

14 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Who gave you this?

Yes, just this morning.

[Jocko87]

21 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

This lineup is wrong. Below is the correct lineup for today:

Evergreen post.

[weneedneshek]

30 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I suppose if the rule is that left handed hitters need to be 30-years-old to hit against left handed pitchers, that means either Margot or Vazquez will be the DH in such games. Bomba Squad redux.

Hey now, it could be Buxton at DH... and Margot in center

[Road trip]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Margot at DH, and our nightmares are true already. 

On the bright side (and I have to hunt pretty hard), Buxton is able to play center, and I do like him in the lead off spot.  A worse scenario would be Buxton DH'ing with Margot in CF.

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

Wow, Jeffers in the two hole and they're already keeping Julien and Wallner from hitting against lefties? 

So if you operate under the assumption that pretty much everyone is going to get at least one start in the opening series, would you propose giving Julien and Wallner the start against the lefty today and Farmer and Margot the start against one of the righties they will see Saturday or Sunday? 

[cmoss84]

First game of the year.

Double down the left field line.

Please hand me a beer.

[ashbury]

19 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Evergreen post.

[nicksaviking]

11 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

So if you operate under the assumption that pretty much everyone is going to get at least one start in the opening series, would you propose giving Julien and Wallner the start against the lefty today and Farmer and Margot the start against one of the righties they will see Saturday or Sunday? 

If I had my druthers Margot, Vazquez, Santana and Farmer would maybe each start once a week and only to give the other players a day off, not to avoid learning to hit left handed pitching. That is until the better players in St. Paul come and take their jobs.

I've come to terms with rarely getting my druthers though.

[Jocko87]

21 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Will be interesting to see how Rocco handles Kirilloff and Wallner today, and how KC manages their pen in response.

Is Kirilloff going to pinch hit for Margot against a righty? Wallner taking over for Castro against a righty? Is there a situation where Kirilloff hits for Santana?

How long does Ragans go on opening day? Who are the backend relievers for the Royals? All the lefties will be stacked at the bottom of the order once Ragans is replaced by a righty so there's a situation where he's done after 5 and the pinch hitting begins which could lead to a situation where the game is on the line late and the lefties are all lined up to take on Will Smith or Angel Zerpa if the Royals want.

Also a situation where the lefties all only hit once and there's no concerns at all from the platoon strategy. Glad to have real baseball back so we can be discussing in game strategy instead of payrolls and trades!

I like the lineup.  I like getting the lefties at bats against lefties here and there but against an opening day quality lefty isn't the spot.  When you actually play out the game theory it might not be hard to work the early season pitch count up and then target with the lefties off the bench in big spots.  Julien might play half the game still.

I'm watching the lineups for where Rocco has built a late game spot to get 3 lefties in a row against a RH reliever.  I see a 6th or 7th inning spot where a RH reliever might have to stare down Kepler/Julien/Wallner/Kiriloff.  I like that for us. 

I don't know much about Angel Zerpa but having two lefties in the pen should make it an interesting managerial chess game.  It could just as easily be a lefty on lefty in the Royals favor depending on how the game goes.  I'd rather not pull the PH trigger as early as Rocco might but if there are ducks on the pond lets try to break it open.  The later game situation might never come.

I need a "don't make me tap the sign" meme for lineup creation.  Its not about starters anymore.

[Jocko87]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

If I had my druthers Margot, Vazquez, Santana and Farmer would maybe each start once a week and only to give the other players a day off, not to avoid learning to hit left handed pitching. That is until the better players in St. Paul come and take their jobs.

I've come to terms with rarely getting my druthers though.

If I had my druthers the whole team would be switch hitters with neutral platoon splits and power plus defensive versatility. 

My druthers are also left wanting.

Also, this is the big leagues, learning is secondary to winning.  Later, when Rocco gets out-managed™️ by (check notes) that other guy, we may well get to see the lefties get at bats against Will Smith. 

[Azviking101]

I hope twins brass knows what they’re doing. What an odd lineup. Castro playing the field over Margot?

Ragans had extreme reverse splits last year. Metrics run organization should know that. They love the metrics until it doesn’t fit  the narrative they push