Brewers 3, Twins 2: Rally Runs Short for Minnesota

[rv78]

1 hour ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

With the Twins having serious question marks in the rotation, it remains to be seen how often Baldelli will need to lean on his bullpen group. For right now, those arms are depleted as well, and that can’t be something that Minnesota lets snowball early in the season.

With better management of the pitching staff the bullpen wouldn't be depleted. No reason why Varland couldn't have been long man out of the pen for the first 2 weeks of the season. The fifth spot in the rotation isn't needed until the 12th of April, the 2nd game against Detroit. Again, poor managing!

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

So Varland is #4 and Paddack is #5?

Or did Rocco make up his mind that he was going to use all five (even though he wouldn’t have “needed” to) on this pass as a ‘tryout’ for the 4th spot going forward?

They've always used the extra rest at the beginning of the year 

[darwin22]

51 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I thought the Duran injury was bad…the Lewis injury could be a catastrophe. The bullpen looks solid enough where maybe they can cover his loss. But The offense is punchless.

I know only 4 games in, but this offense without Lewis is pathetic. 

We've scored a GRAND TOTAL of 3 runs (1 of those Lewis' HR) over 4 games in the first 6 innings. Thats 3 runs in 24 innings, which is absolutely horrendous. Moreover, its gives our pitchers zero margin for error.

Easy to 2nd guess front office offseason decision making at this point, but it sure appears investing in Hoskins and MJT would've been the better move, but then again Falvey and company are much smarter than me,

 

[chinmusic]

13 minutes ago, rv78 said:

it is more important for him to pitch opening day in Minnesota than it is to win a game in Milwaukee. It amounts to more games being thrown away by the Manager.

They also happen to be playing a division rival for the home opener.

[sweetmusicviola16]

I'm in the camp of it's 4 games. I'm fine with 2-2 in those 4. I wasn't expecting a sweep in KC and it's always tough to beat someone in their home opener. Let's see what we look like in a couple of weeks.

[rv78]

2 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

They've always used the extra rest at the beginning of the year 

Just because they do it, doesn't mean it is the "right" thing to do. Circumstances sometimes require change. Not being smart enough to recognize them and make that change when it needs to be done only amounts to stupidity.

[chinmusic]

1 minute ago, darwin22 said:

 

I thought the Duran injury was bad…the Lewis injury could be a catastrophe.

Agreed. But the biggest debacle  of all was ownership cutting payroll. What a shame.

[Mike Sixel]

11 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Just because they do it, doesn't mean it is the "right" thing to do. Circumstances sometimes require change. Not being smart enough to recognize them and make that change when it needs to be done only amounts to stupidity.

Yes, they're clearly stupid for not worrying about one extra start for Lopez

[Aggies7]

20 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

I know only 4 games in, but this offense without Lewis is pathetic. 

We've scored a GRAND TOTAL of 3 runs (1 of those Lewis' HR) over 4 games in the first 6 innings. Thats 3 runs in 24 innings, which is absolutely horrendous. Moreover, its gives our pitchers zero margin for error.

Easy to 2nd guess front office offseason decision making at this point, but it sure appears investing in Hoskins and MJT would've been the better move, but then again Falvey and company are much smarter than me,

 

We’ve lost 84 home runs from last year’s team that finished 1st in the AL with 233. These are guys not on the current roster or injured. Santana and Margot had 15 between them in 23. I would expect a decline this year in HRs, just hope it isn’t too pronounced 

[rv78]

2 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Yes, they're clearly stupid for not worrying about one extra start for Lopez

They're stupid for not giving them the best chance to win by using their best players as much as they can. They're stupid for not using their roster better. The bullpen WOULD NOT be depleted if they would have used Varland in long relief when Ober had a short start on Sunday. Nothing would have been bad with that decision and having a rested bullpen would have been gained. Being able to adjust due to circumstances on the fly makes you a good Manager. Not adjusting is the exact opposite. Your kool-aid colored glasses are showing.

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, rv78 said:

They're stupid for not giving them the best chance to win by using their best players as much as they can. They're stupid for not using their roster better. The bullpen WOULD NOT be depleted if they would have used Varland in long relief when Ober had a short start on Sunday. Nothing would have been bad with that decision and having a rested bullpen would have been gained. Being able to adjust due to circumstances on the fly makes you a good Manager. Not adjusting is the exact opposite. Your kool-aid colored glasses are showing.

That last line is hilarious and personal for some reason. 

[stringer bell]

31 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

So Varland is #4 and Paddack is #5?

Or did Rocco make up his mind that he was going to use all five (even though he wouldn’t have “needed” to) on this pass as a ‘tryout’ for the 4th spot going forward?

It’s really immaterial at this point. No one will get skipped or anything. I think the Twins will try to limit Paddack’s innings whether he’s fourth or fifth in line.  

[BsuNemo]

I know it's early... Least runs scored, least hits in spring training in the AL... They showed a stat about teams that finish at the bottom of spring training only one of the bottom 8 (or maybe it was bottom 6) in spring training last year made the playoffs.

I'm very concerned with our offense. Some of it may be on the players but I think some is on the hitting coach and general approach to hitting and some is on the way Rocco, predictably, pulls his best players early in the game because of a single inning match up. Teams read this like a book by now.

I love watching baseball, especially when the twins are playing great... I'm scared that the pitching will need to carry us and we're not as good of a staff as last year...

[stringer bell]

8 minutes ago, rv78 said:

They're stupid for not giving them the best chance to win by using their best players as much as they can. They're stupid for not using their roster better. The bullpen WOULD NOT be depleted if they would have used Varland in long relief when Ober had a short start on Sunday. Nothing would have been bad with that decision and having a rested bullpen would have been gained. Being able to adjust due to circumstances on the fly makes you a good Manager. Not adjusting is the exact opposite. Your kool-aid colored glasses are showing.

The bullpen isn’t depleted with all the off days. Bouncing pitchers around in the first week of the season seems very much shortsighted to me. 

[Doctor Gast]

The problem is we aren't hitting in the clutch. The Brewers didn't hit any HRs they just got hits when they needed to. 

IMO Varland & Paddack should have piggybacked today & have Lopez pitching tomorrow. There is a thing of having too much rest between games & having Lopez pitching in more games sooner is more beneficial to the team.

[stringer bell]

The Twins have a lot of good position players. They’ll score enough runs. I am much more concerned about their pitching. Hitters are much more predictable and reliable. 

[Sutter50]

Good God people it's 4 games in to a 162 game season. Chill out!

[Shaitan]

3 hours ago, RpR said:

How the record looks after facing the Dodgers, Tigers and Orioles the next few weeks, will say much about how this team may do.

The times they are a-changing.

2/3 of these names still surprise me when I read it in print.

[AlGoreRythm]

2 hours ago, rv78 said:

They're stupid for not giving them the best chance to win by using their best players as much as they can. They're stupid for not using their roster better. The bullpen WOULD NOT be depleted if they would have used Varland in long relief when Ober had a short start on Sunday. Nothing would have been bad with that decision and having a rested bullpen would have been gained. Being able to adjust due to circumstances on the fly makes you a good Manager. Not adjusting is the exact opposite. Your kool-aid colored glasses are showing.

Are you advocating for Rocco to change the whole plan for Varland as a starter on the fly mid-game to relieve Ober?

Or are you suggesting they should have planned for a 4 man rotation to begin the year?

Do you have any idea how long Cole Sands was in the roster last year and how often he pitched as the long reliever? Long relief isn't generally something you can plan for, because no one is planning to immediately give up 5 runs or have to pull the starter after 2 IP. There's no way they could ensure Varland would get in the major league work in a long relief role to stay stretched out and move to a starter role 2 weeks in.

It really sounds like you're just looking for something to blame on the manager lol

[jmlease1]

It's still early, but the offense needs to get it going. Yes, losing Lewis hurts but they still should be able to do better than this. Hopefully they'll be able to get it going soon.

I'm glad to see Alcala have a solid start to the season and showing good velocity. I'm a fan of his, think he can be a real contributor.

 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

What, no whinging about Vazquez' throw to second today?  🤨

[wabene]

They clearly have Paddack in the 5th slot only to facilitate having him miss starts to limit his innings. 

[AlwaysinModeration]

9 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

The Brewers didn't hit any HRs they just got hits when they needed to. 

Well, except for the one home run they hit.

[AlwaysinModeration]

2 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

What, no whinging about Vazquez' throw to second today?  🤨

It was both perfect and way off line!

[Patzky]

11 hours ago, rv78 said:

So Varland pitched today, Paddack tomorrow. That gives Pablo 6 days rest. My guess....the ONLY reason...... it is more important for him to pitch opening day in Minnesota than it is to win a game in Milwaukee. It amounts to more games being thrown away by the Manager. No reason why Lopez couldn't have pitched today or tomorrow improving the chances to win those games, but evidently it's not important. Sorry, but I don't agree with this kind of logic. Is there something wrong with using your best players as often as you can? Even an Ace Pitcher isn't important enough for Rocco to use when he can. Poor managing again. 

If you're worried about one particular game beating Cleveland is much more key.

[bighat]

When we call a 1-run 7th inning a "rally", you know we're starving for some offense. Jake Junis is about as hittable of a pitcher as there is in the majors. To get just 3 hits against this team is inexcusable. 

Even in the games where they scored 5 and 4 runs against KC, most came on ducksnorts and dribblers late in the game. Royce still has the only HR? 

Last year it took until August for the bats to wake up. We don't have Sonny Gray to keep us competitive while we wait. 

Santana, Julien, Jeffers, Kirilloff and Castro are going to be in the lineup daily. We need some of these guys to hit. 

 

[Karbo]

Only 4 games in, but the hitting is starting to remind me of the 1st half last year.

[rv78]

8 hours ago, AlGoreRythm said:

Are you advocating for Rocco to change the whole plan for Varland as a starter on the fly mid-game to relieve Ober?

Or are you suggesting they should have planned for a 4 man rotation to begin the year?

Yes. I know it is difficult to comprehend for some of you. Bringing in Varland in the 2nd inning of Obers short start and having him pitch 4 innings verses having him pitch 4 innings as a starter 2 days later is a huge difference. 

Yes, a 4 man rotation could have been used the first 2 weeks of the season. There are enough off-days to make that work.

[Riverbrian]

21 minutes ago, bighat said:

When we call a 1-run 7th inning a "rally", you know we're starving for some offense. Jake Junis is about as hittable of a pitcher as there is in the majors. To get just 3 hits against this team is inexcusable. 

Even in the games where they scored 5 and 4 runs against KC, most came on ducksnorts and dribblers late in the game. Royce still has the only HR? 

Last year it took until August for the bats to wake up. We don't have Sonny Gray to keep us competitive while we wait. 

Santana, Julien, Jeffers, Kirilloff and Castro are going to be in the lineup daily. We need some of these guys to hit. 

 

Correa, Buxton, Kepler, Santana and Castro are going to play close enough to every day.

Our season will depend primarily on those 5 players or whoever replaces them with every day roles during times of injury due to roster size limitations. 

13 positions players - 2 are a catcher rotation - 6 players are part of rigid platoon combos. That leaves 5 players who play nearly every day. 

Rocco was rigid with his execution last year and he has started 2024 with the same rigid sensibilities. 

Julien, Wallner and Kirilloff not only won't start against left handers but they will be yanked mid game when left handers like Milner hit the stage.

Julien, Wallner and Kirilloff won't be around in the ninth to get a needed clutch hit against a right handed closer because they were lifted early. 

When the ninth comes it will be Margot in the box instead of Wallner to face Abner. 

 

 

[Whitey333]

Only 4 games in and Twins are 2-2 but already look flat.  Remember they had the second worst spring training record besting the lowly White Sox by one game.  Rocco continues to prove why he is one of the poorest managers in baseball.  Poor lineups, poor pitching decisions. Why not challenge the play on first in the 9th inning on the double play?  It was very close and at that stage of the game would have cost the team nothing.  It's sad that that the highligh of the day was Buxton nearly getting run into by one of the sausage racers.  Not to mention the ridiculous amount of coverage it got.  Go Twins.