Make It Official! Twins 3, Astros 2: It's Christian Vázquez's World, We're All Just Living In It

[William K Johnson]

Anyone know why Miranda hit for Farmer?   Did it have to do with the ball off his wrist in an earlier at bat?   Or was it the two awful looking strike outs?  

[stringer bell]

Very impressed by Lee's hitting and even more impressed by his fielding. The Twins had several good performances today and secured a win against a good team. 

I was about to comment on Margot's failures as a pinch hitter--some of that is bad luck, but some guys just have a knack and he might not. It is odd that the most frequent pinch hitter is the least productive.

[IndianaTwin]

25 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

 

...But would someone please tell Cleveland they aren't this good and it's time to lose a few games.

They've put enough wins in the bank that it's hard to see them not making the playoffs, but I still don't think they are sustainable. They are on pace for 103 wins, for goodness sakes. 

Only five of their nine starting position players have an OPS+ over 90. One of those is Steven Kwan with a 173 and that's definitely not sustainable. 

Only two of their five most-used starters have an ERA+ over 80 and those are just 109 and 127. They've had great health, with the exception of Gavin Williams, who just came back, so they haven't needed to dip very far into depth.

The bullpen has been lights out though. However, a couple are on pace for 75+ innings, a couple more at 70+ and a couple more at 65+. It's hard to see not having some of those guys breaking down and having some serious overall regression.  

[stringer bell]

9 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Anyone know why Miranda hit for Farmer?   Did it have to do with the ball off his wrist in an earlier at bat?   Or was it the two awful looking strike outs?  

Yes.

[Riverbrian]

6 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Anyone know why Miranda hit for Farmer?   Did it have to do with the ball off his wrist in an earlier at bat?   Or was it the two awful looking strike outs?  

No idea but I assume it was because the game was tied and it was late in the game and Miranda is twice the hitter and hot hot hot. 

I fully endorse that pinch hit.

I don't endorse pinch hitting Margot for Wallner in the 6th because a lefty showed up. Because than you got Margot again in the 8th vs a right hander. 

Oh Well... TWINS WIN!!!!

[IndianaTwin]

3 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Yes.

And realistically, some of both. 

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, IndianaTwin said:

They've put enough wins in the bank that it's hard to see them not making the playoffs, but I still don't think they are sustainable. They are on pace for 103 wins, for goodness sakes. 

Only five of their nine starting position players have an OPS+ over 90. One of those is Steven Kwan with a 173 and that's definitely not sustainable. 

Only two of their five most-used starters have an ERA+ over 80 and those are just 109 and 127. They've had great health, with the exception of Gavin Williams, who just came back, so they haven't needed to dip very far into depth.

The bullpen has been lights out though. However, a couple are on pace for 75+ innings, a couple more at 70+ and a couple more at 65+. It's hard to see not having some of those guys breaking down and having some serious overall regression.  

They've played most of the bad teams already and do have a tougher go of it than the Twins, but just when I think the Twins can make a move, Cleveland wins some games they shouldn't. While being a wild card isn't ideal, it does give the club a chance to make noise in the postseason.

[akmanak]

Can Cleveland please go on a losing streak?!?!?

[Shaitan]

20 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

No idea but I assume it was because the game was tied and it was late in the game and Miranda is twice the hitter and hot hot hot. 

I fully endorse that pinch hit.

I don't endorse pinch hitting Margot for Wallner in the 6th because a lefty showed up. Because than you got Margot again in the 8th vs a right hander. 

Oh Well... TWINS WIN!!!!

Lee's positional flexibility is what allowed them to hit Miranda there too.

How is Lee's defense looking? I only watch on Gameday.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Props to Sim. He did a great job of making in game adjustments against a very tough line up. Would not have thought that Sim, not Lopez or Joe, would have given the Twins their best start this weekend.

[Riverbrian]

13 minutes ago, Shaitan said:

Lee's positional flexibility is what allowed them to hit Miranda there too.

How is Lee's defense looking? I only watch on Gameday.

He made a couple nice plays coming in from third. I see no concerns. 

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Batting .276 when he's not pinch hitting. Subtract his pinch hitting and he's had a decent season.

His role includes pinch hitting. That is what bench players do.

[Squirrel]

4 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

He made a couple nice plays coming in from third. I see no concerns. 

Wait … you can watch now?

[Riverbrian]

Just now, Squirrel said:

Wait … you can watch now?

Yep I'm stealing it

[IndianaTwin]

49 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

He made a couple nice plays coming in from third. I see no concerns. 

I'm curious. It's only been a few games, but how is the defensive comparison between Lee and Lewis at 3B? 

[weitz41]

After the last year and a half of reading that we need to trade or DFA Vazquez..this is very disappointing...He plays good to great defense, hit's in the 8 or 9 spot..Is So expensive compared to Sean Murphy's 9 mil per for a .213 BA, OR Jame McCann's 12.1 mil and his .211 average.  AND now he helps win a game or two...Jeez...Next thing you know that guy we should have traded last year..yeah you Miranda..Is going to a good too great player...Where to focus my frustration next???

[jkcarew]

Nice series win. I would have pinch hit for Vazquez😅. But, good for him!

[jkcarew]

16 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

I'm curious. It's only been a few games, but how is the defensive comparison between Lee and Lewis at 3B? 

It’s an interesting question. But I’m pretty sure Lewis is your third-baseman regardless…if he’s not DH’ing. A matter of limiting the ground he has to cover defensively.

[Riverbrian]

23 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

I'm curious. It's only been a few games, but how is the defensive comparison between Lee and Lewis at 3B? 

I would play both of them and I wouldn't lose sleep.

Lee seems to be less likely to get hurt making a play but... It's only been a few games. 😉

[USAFChief]

6 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I would play both of them and I wouldn't lose sleep.

Lee seems to be less likely to get hurt making a play but... It's only been a few games. 😉

Interesting: when Correa left today's game and Farmer entered, Castro went to SS, Farmer to 2nd. Lee stayed at 3rd.

When Miranda entered for Farmer, he went to 3rd, Lee to SS, and Castro back to 2nd.

So it appears to me Castro is ahead of Lee at SS defensively.  Both are ahead of Farmer, and they're reluctant to put Lee at 2nd.

As far as 3b, Lee has looked great, IYAM. 

[Riverbrian]

3 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Interesting: when Correa left today's game and Farmer entered, Castro went to SS, Farmer to 2nd.

When Miranda entered for Farmer, he went to 3rd, Lee to SS, and Castro back to 2nd.

So it appears to me Castro is ahead of Lee at SS defensively.  Both are ahead of Farmer.

As far as 3b, Lee has looked great. 

That would make him 4th on the SS depth chart. 

The 4th QB on the depth chart is usually the guy who transfers from Alabama to William and Mary. 

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Yep I'm stealing it

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

[Riverbrian]

1 minute ago, Squirrel said:

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Indeed.

Here's a photo of my living room

 

[USAFChief]

3 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Indeed.

Here's a photo of my living room

 

Are you sure you didn't spend more on wires than what a 4 month FUBO subscription costs?

[Riverbrian]

1 minute ago, USAFChief said:

Are you sure you didn't spend more on wires than what a 4 month FUBO subscription costs?

I never priced FUBO so I'm not sure. 

Those cables, along with the servers, switchers, software, power system, cooling system, networking, etc. etc. 

It only cost me about 64 grand since I did the work myself.

Well worth it because I'm watching the games for free. 

[BsuNemo]

23 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Interesting: when Correa left today's game and Farmer entered, Castro went to SS, Farmer to 2nd. Lee stayed at 3rd.

When Miranda entered for Farmer, he went to 3rd, Lee to SS, and Castro back to 2nd.

So it appears to me Castro is ahead of Lee at SS defensively.  Both are ahead of Farmer, and they're reluctant to put Lee at 2nd.

As far as 3b, Lee has looked great, IYAM. 

I think next year we will see Miranda at first, Lee at second, C4 at SS and Lewis at third with Castro filling in for everyone. I think that means Julien is trade bait or is out of position - obviously injuries happen, and I truly think Julien is a mlb player. Just hard to see where he fits right now. 

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, BsuNemo said:

I think next year we will see Miranda at first, Lee at second, C4 at SS and Lewis at third with Castro filling in for everyone. I think that means Julien is trade bait or is out of position - obviously injuries happen, and I truly think Julien is a mlb player. Just hard to see where he fits right now. 

Quite possibly, but it's hard to predict next week in MLB, much less next year. 

I just found it interesting they specifically went to great lengths not to put Lee at 2nd today.

Even with your infield above, there's room for Julien as extra right side infielder. Castro covers everything and the OF. 

[Hubie29]

3 hours ago, Verified Member said:

I think I think SWR is the real deal after today’s performance. Happy for the young man!!

He will be the real deal when he can command the strike zone more consistently. Gets himself into trouble when he struggles throwing strikes.  Then he will have a 10 pitch inning.  Great stuff, needs better command. He will get there. 

[stringer bell]

If Lee continues to hit and field as he has for the first five games, he may force the issue. I thought he looked really good at third base and he handled the bunt attempt flawlessly. Gleeman mentioned that Lee had done quite a bit of work at second, but not in games. 

[Riverbrian]

10 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Quite possibly, but it's hard to predict next week in MLB, much less next year. 

I just found it interesting they specifically went to great lengths not to put Lee at 2nd today.

Even with the above, there's room for Julien as extra right side infielder. 

With Royce they sent him down to AAA for a week to practice first.

Brooks hasn't done that.😁