Make it Official! Twins 6, White Sox 5: Minnesota Resolve Walks it Off

[Riverbrian]

41 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Something that struck me as strange is when Rocco said it was 'conviction' issue with Pablo. What the hell does that mean? I get the guy getting tired especially after throwing a lot of high-leverage pitches in the 4th. Maybe he wasn't trusting his stuff or something. Either way, odd word choice.

I'm not sure... good question... let's try and figure it out.

Conviction has multiple uses in the language. We will have to consider all of the ways the word is used in the English language. 

a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed

Typical usage suggests a higher probability of this being a recent court decision but yet doesn't rule out the teams Kangaroo Court handing down a ruling of sorts. So... he may have parked in a handicap zone and lost in traffic court or less likely he wore orange shoes with a blue suit entering the stadium today and the team levied a fine and he carried these burdens with him to the mound.   

an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence

He either stepped on the mound all wishy-washy which could explain the orange shoes because he just was to apathetic to care or he stepped on the mound convinced that the orange shoes he wore to the stadium was all that was needed to beat the White Sox. 

It's certainly open to debate but when you break it down and consider all possible angles. I think Rocco is saying that he is a terrible dresser. 

 

 

[Whitey333]

It's hard to knock a Twins win because they don't come very often.  The best part was coming from behind in the last couple of innings and walking it off.  Otherwise it was a pretty poor game.  And yes this is the White Sox.  The now 3-20 AA team embarrassing themselves and MLB masquerading as a major league team.  Concerned about Lopez.  He hasn't been sharp lately.  Oh yes people are blaming the weather for his poor start?  I think the weather was the same for the Sox pitcher Fedde and he shut us down with no problems.  It is just hard for me to get too excited by beating such a terrible team in such an ugly fashion.  But yes a win is a win and we need a lot of them.  Only 11,000 fans there.  Attendance so far is a problem.  Go Twins.  

U

R

[wabene]

10 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

It's hard to knock a Twins win because they don't come very often.  The best part was coming from behind in the last couple of innings and walking it off.  Otherwise it was a pretty poor game.  And yes this is the White Sox.  The now 3-20 AA team embarrassing themselves and MLB masquerading as a major league team.  Concerned about Lopez.  He hasn't been sharp lately.  Oh yes people are blaming the weather for his poor start?  I think the weather was the same for the Sox pitcher Fedde and he shut us down with no problems.  It is just hard for me to get too excited by beating such a terrible team in such an ugly fashion.  But yes a win is a win and we need a lot of them.  Only 11,000 fans there.  Attendance so far is a problem.  Go Twins.  

U

R

I just spent a week with the family in Florida visiting my father. The boys and I golfed 18 holes with the old machine (Dad). The three of us northerners barely made it to the 19th hole, dragged down by the oppressive heat and humidity. The 87 year old Floridian just cruised while pacing us all on the scorecard. 

I was going to say that with Pablo being from Venezuela and Fedde from North America, the cold might effect them differently. Then I checked and Fedde is from Las Vegas. Go figure, 😂.

[Woof Bronzer]

40 minutes ago, Minderbinder said:

48 degrees at time of first pitch.  Almost anyone's arm muscles (except Fedde's apparently) would stiffen in that.  Too dam cold to play ball at night.

I agree, the cold is not an excuse.  

[Woof Bronzer]

What are we hearing on Lopez?  Declining velo, arm soreness....I hate to say it so I won't....but color me extremely nervous.  

[David Maro]

There needs to be some concern with Lopez and his 1 inning blow ups.This season it has happened in 3 of his 5 starts.And last night Rocco waits until the hole was already dug to even send Maki out to the mound.The White Sox only have a handful of players that are Major League players.Hopefully Ryan will pitch a strong game tonight and the team will back him up with some timely hitting.

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, singlesoverwalks said:

Was that not a bit of brainlock on Rocco's part when he chose NOT to pinch-run for Santana when he was standing on first with one out in the bottom of the ninth? (Sorry to be a spoilsport.)

He wanted to make sure he had a 1B if needed going forward & Kirilloff was already the DH. …..he decided to go ahead after Jeffers came through - could let Jeffers play 1B if needed.

My assumption. I too was assuming Martin would enter the game running for Santana.

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Thankfully we were playing the White Sox.  It is hard to celebrate a victory over this AAA team (am I putting them too high?  Should it be AA?) when we struggled in so many ways.  

Loving Larnach doing so well. But 169 Castro batting sixth?  What am I missing?  And 149 Santana batting seventh???????????????

Of course we had them followed by Farmer .073 and Vasquez 150 so I guess it makes sense?

Gotta bat somewhere if they are in the line-up 

[JD-TWINS]

32 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

It's hard to knock a Twins win because they don't come very often.  The best part was coming from behind in the last couple of innings and walking it off.  Otherwise it was a pretty poor game.  And yes this is the White Sox.  The now 3-20 AA team embarrassing themselves and MLB masquerading as a major league team.  Concerned about Lopez.  He hasn't been sharp lately.  Oh yes people are blaming the weather for his poor start?  I think the weather was the same for the Sox pitcher Fedde and he shut us down with no problems.  It is just hard for me to get too excited by beating such a terrible team in such an ugly fashion.  But yes a win is a win and we need a lot of them.  Only 11,000 fans there.  Attendance so far is a problem.  Go Twins.  

U

R

Lopez - born in Venezuela & pitched in Miami prior to last year - when he struggled in a few cold weather games. I feel good about him….,,he hung a curve and it Bit him!! ………maybe lost concentration early in 4th and it all blew up.

[JD-TWINS]

9 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

What are we hearing on Lopez?  Declining velo, arm soreness....I hate to say it so I won't....but color me extremely nervous.  

1.4 mph on average for the night …….cool evening, poor outing & it blew up in the 4th.

18-10-10 pitches in first 3 innings - 38 in the 4th. Lost concentration & didn’t execute on a curve that hung to Jimenez.

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Or he could lose the DH and put Kirilloff at first. I think in one of the recent telecasts, Provus quoted Rocco as saying that Martin would be an option at third, but behind Farmer, Miranda and Castro.

If Martin isn't trying to steal a base, I think it is defensible to not pinch run until Smooth got to third base. Third base with one out would likely have the contact play on for ground balls and the extra step or two that Martin might provide could be the difference between out and safe. Pretty much the same thing on a fly ball and with the second out being recorded, sending the runner on a 50-50 play or less is likely. 

All solid considerations. 

Personally I'd rather not lose the DH if you don't have to lose it because extras can stretch out and bring that spot in the order around and we were burning bench. 

He had a few ways to play that hand. These decisions are made in real time and there are times when I would have made a different decision with more time to consider everything so I'm not attempting to be overly critical. Just having fun thinking about what could have been done. There were options. 

With that... Here's what I would have done after thinking about all the possibilities. 

1. After the Buxton homer... the worst outcome of the inning was we were going to play a 10th. After Castro was retired with one out and nobody on and the bottom or the order (that hasn't been hitting) due up. I would have been thinking about the 10th inning and thinking about Martin pinch running to start the 10th because the last out of the inning was going to be made by either Farmer or Vazquez and you'll want a pinch runner for those guys. I'm not prioritizing the 10th over the 9th as much as saving bullets for the 10th because hanging a zero on offense in the 10th is not a good thing and again the worst outcome in the 9th is that we go to the 10th. The runner on 2nd base to start the inning in extras increases the pressure by quite a bit so it's OK to think about the 10th in that situation.        

2. Once Santana draws the walk with one out... the odds of scoring increase dramatically. Now I am pinch running Martin and I am pinch hitting Jeffers. I still have Margot to pinch run in the 10th if needed. The choice is do you pinch hit Jeffers for Farmer or Vazquez. Vazquez is a clean defensive switch. So... I probably leave Farmer in to hit so I don't have to turn the world upside down defensively in the 10th. I may attempt a hit and run with Farmer to stay out of the double play and at least advance the runner in the case of an out.  

3. Of course... Rocco pinch hit Jeffers for Farmer... So once Farmer is pinch hit for and Santana is left to run and Jeffers hits a chip shot double. Creating 2nd and 3rd with one out. I leave Santana running at 3B and I go to contact at the plate. Martin is the guy I'm sending to the plate to pinch hit for Vazquez because he has our best strike out percentage and I have Jeffers in the game to cover the catcher spot.   

Rocco's move worked out... we won. What I would have done doesn't matter. 😉   

[Doctor Gast]

A win is a win but against any other team, it'd be a loss. Seriously, it was much needed win. Hopefully it'll jump start Buxton & the crappy cold weather get behind us.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

It's hard to knock a Twins win because they don't come very often.  The best part was coming from behind in the last couple of innings and walking it off.  Otherwise it was a pretty poor game.  And yes this is the White Sox.  The now 3-20 AA team embarrassing themselves and MLB masquerading as a major league team.  Concerned about Lopez.  He hasn't been sharp lately.  Oh yes people are blaming the weather for his poor start?  I think the weather was the same for the Sox pitcher Fedde and he shut us down with no problems.  It is just hard for me to get too excited by beating such a terrible team in such an ugly fashion.  But yes a win is a win and we need a lot of them.  Only 11,000 fans there.  Attendance so far is a problem.  Go Twins.  

U

R

I saw a game at 43F & another at 36F…….April in Minneapolis……not sweating attendance yet - getting near .500 would help for sure 

[JD-TWINS]

7 hours ago, UK Twin said:

Bit of an ugly win, but it's always fun to walk off the White Sox! And that would have been a CRUSHING loss for them. Larnach looks like he's got a point to prove - Wallner may struggle to get back on the team for a while. 

Buck's found his swing as well. That HR left in a hurry! 

Slightly concerning about Pablo's FB velocity dropping, Hopefully he just wasn't feeling it.

Gonna happen when a guy reaches 38 pitches in an inning with a pitch clock…….

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I find it interesting that our 5th starter in the rotation Paddack can throw a shut out followed by #1 starter Pablo Lopez struggling so we go to the bullpen early and have to rally from a 3 run deficit. 

The thing that is interesting about that is that their numbers don't suggest these outcomes. Lopez should have shut out the White Sox. If we need to rally from 3 runs down in the final two innings... that should have occurred on Paddack's watch. 

We watch the opposite happen because this sort of thing happens all the time in baseball and yet we don't take notes because we still post like beating the White Sox is no accomplishment. Like we better beat the White Sox. 

A win is a win... there are major league players competing against us at all times... can we please not diminish our victories. We haven't had enough of them to have people ruining the few we have with their spit. 😁

Guardians - Tigers - Royals all play the SOX as well…..seems fair.

[IaBeanCounter]

I'm going to give Lopez some slack.  The hit to start the 4th was a play that i thought Farmer should make.  Farmer isn't here for his bat, he is here for his defense.  I believe the inning is much different had the play been made and Lopez wouldn't have burned so many pitches. 

[Woof Bronzer]

57 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

1.4 mph on average for the night …….cool evening, poor outing & it blew up in the 4th.

18-10-10 pitches in first 3 innings - 38 in the 4th. Lost concentration & didn’t execute on a curve that hung to Jimenez.

Thank you sir for talking me off the ledge.  I feel better now :)

[UK Twin]

19 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Gonna happen when a guy reaches 38 pitches in an inning with a pitch clock…….

Ah. Wasn't aware he threw that many in one inning. Just one of those nights where he wasn't sharp then.

[Riverbrian]

13 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Guardians - Tigers - Royals all play the SOX as well…..seems fair.

Yep you gotta play them all and the ball is still going to do random things at random times and when you play them... is going to be a consideration because hot streaks and cold streaks stop and start on a dime. 3 and 20 doesn't necessarily mean that they won't go 10 and 6 over the next 16.  

I don't expect the White Sox to play at .130 clip all year that would be incredible. The worst record of all time is around a .300 clip. A great team still loses 4 out of 10 and most teams are going to crowd around the middle with a .500 winning percentage. The margins are thin. The White Sox will beat a 100 win team at some point this season. The National just took a series from the Dodgers at Dodger stadium. 

With the margins that thin over a 162 game schedule. It really doesn't make much sense to look at the weak sisters expect an easy pushover.

Gotta strap it on every day and compete. 

 

[stringer bell]

López was off yesterday. He couldn't throw anything for a strike except the fastball and he didn't get the chases he usually gets. The drop in velocity might just be a blip, but until he's back on the mound, I'll have some concern.

Kirilloff has tailed off after a really good start and the four Ks were concerning, but he got the big hit. I would like to see him go on another tear and get the BA back to .300 and the OPS back over .900. He hasn't hit an opposite field homer yet this year and he's pulled most everything. Has there been a change in his approach?

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Minderbinder said:

48 degrees at time of first pitch.  Almost anyone's arm muscles (except Fedde's apparently) would stiffen in that.  Too dam cold to play ball at night.

That cooler weather after the rain took away Lopez's velocity and his stuff from the article? Yeah... except the opponent's pitcher, who had no issues. Lopez was down 1.5-2.0mph from his average start. That's a huge red flag. Hopefully, we don't hear about forearm/elbow issues in the next couple days.

[bean5302]

7 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'm absolutely loving what I am seeing from Larnach.  I have always been in his corner and feel that he has the talent to succeed.  What I am confused about is that the book on him is that he has issues hitting a breaking ball but I'm seeing a lot of fastballs coming his way.   Did our opponents loose their analytics paperwork on him from last year?

Honestly? Probably SSS. Larnach got a few big hits against breaking stuff last year early on before it all went sideways again. His biggest weakness is the changeup. I, too, am happy to watch Larnach succeed, but the track record on him is pretty long at this point. Maybe he altered his swing which is helping him. Too early to tell.

[USAFChief]

18 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

López was off yesterday. He couldn't throw anything for a strike except the fastball and he didn't get the chases he usually gets. The drop in velocity might just be a blip, but until he's back on the mound, I'll have some concern.

 

Concur. 

More than a little nervous about Lopez. 

[Mike Sixel]

20 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

López was off yesterday. He couldn't throw anything for a strike except the fastball and he didn't get the chases he usually gets. The drop in velocity might just be a blip, but until he's back on the mound, I'll have some concern.

Kirilloff has tailed off after a really good start and the four Ks were concerning, but he got the big hit. I would like to see him go on another tear and get the BA back to .300 and the OPS back over .900. He hasn't hit an opposite field homer yet this year and he's pulled most everything. Has there been a change in his approach?

I'll be shocked if any twin hits near .300 on the year. Almost no one does that anymore. I remain hopeful on AK, but I'm not as certain as I'd like to be 

[dex8425]

14 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Honestly? Probably SSS. Larnach got a few big hits against breaking stuff last year early on before it all went sideways again. His biggest weakness is the changeup. I, too, am happy to watch Larnach succeed, but the track record on him is pretty long at this point. Maybe he altered his swing which is helping him. Too early to tell.

He did alter his swing/stance from last year. His hands are a bit lower and his stance isn't quite so open. He's a little shorter to the ball and doesn't have the big bat swing before his swing.  

[bean5302]

11 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'll be shocked if any twin hits near .300 on the year. Almost no one does that anymore. I remain hopeful on AK, but I'm not as certain as I'd like to be 

 

7 minutes ago, dex8425 said:

He did alter his swing/stance from last year. His hands are a bit lower and his stance isn't quite so open. He's a little shorter to the ball and doesn't have the big bat swing before his swing.  

Larnach has always been a line drive hitter (like Joe Mauer or Alex Kirilloff) so the potential for a .300 batting average is there, but the K's are going to have to come way down to do it.

Hopefully, less noise in his swing and a shorter stroke will help him hold off on decisions a few microseconds and that'll help him identify pitches better so he can sustain the success. Time will tell.

[Woof Bronzer]

16 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Concur. 

More than a little nervous about Lopez. 

This isn't helping Chief!

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

 

Larnach has always been a line drive hitter (like Joe Mauer or Alex Kirilloff) so the potential for a .300 batting average is there, but the K's are going to have to come way down to do it.

Hopefully, less noise in his swing and a shorter stroke will help him hold off on decisions a few microseconds and that'll help him identify pitches better so he can sustain the success. Time will tell.

Nine players hit .300 last year......that's why, imo, it is unrealistic to expect it. 

[RpR]

21 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'll be shocked if any twin hits near .300 on the year. Almost no one does that anymore. I remain hopeful on AK, but I'm not as certain as I'd like to be 

Even Arraez is struggling this year to get there.

Do you think maybe they replaced the home run ball with ball that automatically find a fielder?

[bean5302]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Nine players hit .300 last year......that's why, imo, it is unrealistic to expect it. 

For sure. It's primarily the K rate here. No qualified hitter over .282 had a K rate of 24.0% or higher. Incredibly difficult to hit .300 with a K rate north of 20%.