Make It Official! Twins 3, Cubs 0: David Festa Makes His Case for the Rotation

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

you weren’t getting paid $700,000 to know how many outs there are and to take off on a fly ball (contact) and hustle around second and pick up your coach

I will point out that $700k is minimum wage in MLB.

[Dman]

34 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

One thing I found odd: top 9, Twins lead 2-0. Twins put runners on 1st and 3rd, no outs. Cubs play infield halfway in, closer to double play depth than in...Jeffers hits a sharp ground ball to short. They elect to turn two, granting the Twins a 3rd run.

Why would they do that? I think you HAVE to play to prevent that run from scoring.

Odd.

Yeah and looking at the replay it looked like he had plenty of time to get the runner at home. It's great to get two, but giving us a run that late was really gonna make it hard for them to come back.  I would have tried to keep it a two run game. Felt pretty do or die there for them IMO.

[Craig Arko]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

So what you're saying is, the Twins are not a well coached team.

I hope if any of the rest of us ever achieves perfection we’ll remember to wave.

[JD-TWINS]

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

I will point out that $700k is minimum wage in MLB.

Correct, not really sure what the pertinence is there?……whether it’s $450K or $3.8M it’s that he’s getting paid well to focus for 6 second stints over 2.5 hours per day……..maybe the emphasis from the 1B coach needs to be accentuated?  My point is guy’s referring to amateur ball, Legion ball, High School or college and equating mental mistakes they made to what Larnach did are not apples to apples.

I’ve watched sports for 55 years - I played handful of sports …….I understand that mental mistakes happen and they become part of the game, every game. None of the rationalizations make it any easier to watch/experience. I saw the replay again this a.m. in MLB & the voice background from Provus was complete disappointment & surprise.

I don’t hate Larnach - he’ll be fine. The mistake(s) he made not getting to 2B on the wild throw to the plate that was 20 feet in the air, and then not scoring on the fly ball that landed on the track gives the impression that he really needs to be coached up when on base.

[Nate Palmer]

10 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

According to the Bullpen chart it’s Sunday again, but it doesn’t feel like Sunday

Good catch. I am trying to get over a summer cold and will blame the medications being deployed for the miss. 

[Beast]

I have to say, I’m impressed with how they’ve responded.  I’ll start to gain some optimism if they can take another game in Chicago.  But, obviously, the series after is going to tell us a lot and they still have a difficult schedule coming up.  A couple bad series still could have them on the outside looking in.  A lot of work to do, and it remains to be seen whether the baseball they’ve been playing will get them very far against good teams that can score runs.  I’m not taking anything away from the White Sox series in terms of encouragement.  They are an absolute dumpster fire.  Going back to the beginning of June, the Twins are roughly 5 games under .500 against teams with a record .500 or better (quick math, may be off slightly).

The Cleveland and KC series are basically the playoffs, and the atmosphere should reflect that.  Absolutely have to win at least 4 of the 7 to stay afloat. Should be a lot of fun to watch.  If they don’t make any hay in those series, following up with road series against Texas and SD, then at home against STL, Atlanta and Toronto, then again road series against Tampa and KC are going to be very difficult to make up significant ground.  A lot of talented teams getting to the point of desperation throughout the remainder of the schedule.

They control their own destiny and will get tested in playoff-like environments.  Can’t ask for a more eventful stretch run as a spectator.  

 

[TFRazor]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

One thing I found odd: top 9, Twins lead 2-0. Twins put runners on 1st and 3rd, no outs. Cubs play infield halfway in, closer to double play depth than in...Jeffers hits a sharp ground ball to short. They elect to turn two, granting the Twins a 3rd run.

Why would they do that? I think you HAVE to play to prevent that run from scoring.

Odd.

Probably some analytics sheet that said they have a better chance of winning by allowing the run and turning two

[Trov]

Shota started off crazy good, but he has had a bit more up and down since his last May start.  He has either been pretty good, or very bad. Hopefully he is the very bad version. 

[roger]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I will point out that $700k is minimum wage in MLB.

Isn't it actually $740k?  Or is it $720k?

Add me to those who were impressed with Festa's outing.  Could he be this good?

[JD-TWINS]

FESTA sure looked good over 5 innings. Got out of a bit of trouble a couple times. He really kept the ball down well for the most part. Couple curves up in zone he got away with for strikes. 9 K’s in 5 innings….wow.

Slider - change combination starting in zone and finishing below zone were really good!! Dotting his 96 MPH fastball at the knees 7-8 times really made the off-speed work.

He’s maybe going to be up and down with control through September and inconsistent with his performances but he sure has a great upside looking forward!

[MMMordabito]

Larnach gets completely ripped for his baserunning blunder, but he should be praised for probably the best PA against Hendricks on the evening.  I'm not old enough for Dan Ford or even Bombo Rivera, but I have seen Eddie Rosario (who I will mostly remember fondly).  Larnach wasn't the first and won't be the last to lose track of the count or outs and look silly doing so.  

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

29 minutes ago, TFRazor said:

Probably some analytics sheet that said they have a better chance of winning by allowing the run and turning two

Depending on the source, the Twins win probability dropped by 0.4-1% after that GIDP, plummeting down to 96%.

Basically, the Cubs were in a terrible situation regardless and it didn't really impact their chances of winning. 

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

So what you're saying is, the Twins are not a well coached team.

No, what I typed was pretty clear. We just watched the White Sox, other teams exist.

False binaries make conversation impossible.

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

8 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'll take it easy on Larnach.  Stuff happens and nobody is perfect.  BTW... I missed that play but why did Watkins send him if he was out by so much?

Also, it brought back a memory of an outfielder (not a Twin) who as I recall flipped the ball to a fan in the outfield stands after the second out thinking that it was the third out.  Again, nobody is perfect.  Anybody remember this play and recall the player that I am referring to?

Take your pick lol

Puig, Milton Bradley, Larry Walker, Acuna

[Swing Batter-Batter]

3 hours ago, USAFChief said:

One thing I found odd: top 9, Twins lead 2-0. Twins put runners on 1st and 3rd, no outs. Cubs play infield halfway in, closer to double play depth than in...Jeffers hits a sharp ground ball to short. They elect to turn two, granting the Twins a 3rd run.

Why would they do that? I think you HAVE to play to prevent that run from scoring.

Odd.

I noticed that as well. Very strange.

 

[MMMordabito]

41 minutes ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

Take your pick lol

Puig, Milton Bradley, Larry Walker, Acuna

Nice links!

Would have expected nothing less from Puig or Bradley, but Walker and Acuna show that anyone can do something dumb.

Vogelbach looks extra fluffy in that Acuna video.

The Bradley video has a fan that would have probably "lost it" on Cubs Daily, if it existed at the time.

 

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'll take it easy on Larnach.  Stuff happens and nobody is perfect.  BTW... I missed that play but why did Watkins send him if he was out by so much?

Also, it brought back a memory of an outfielder (not a Twin) who as I recall flipped the ball to a fan in the outfield stands after the second out thinking that it was the third out.  Again, nobody is perfect.  Anybody remember this play and recall the player that I am referring to?

It was pretty darn close, and Larnach almost made a great slide and put his hand over the tag. The play was a pretty basic deep fly bar, but both the outfielders lost the ball (CF actually ducked and covered his head) and it took two really good relay throws just to make it close. I am not going to rip Larnach too much, besides it was a bone head play,  99.9% of the time that ball is caught.

[jkcarew]

Definitely room for improvement. Winning is always a good thing. Just need to continue to make baby steps getting better, more consistent, etc. The August schedule going forward looks challenging. Looking forward to the return of Correa. Need him.

[jimbo92107]

I wanna call David Festa, "Elbows." He's so rangy and gangly, seems like his elbows stick out half a foot farther than average. When he pulls his hands in, he looks like a preying mantis. Elbows, knees, pointy shoes...How does he make a baseball go anywhere?? And yet, seems he does it with little problem. All those angles turn into pitches pretty much where he wants, plenty fast, spinning about right, etc. Gangly angles, lanky limbs and all, David Festa is getting it done. 

[Craig Arko]

1 minute ago, jimbo92107 said:

I wanna call David Festa, "Elbows." He's so rangy and gangly, seems like his elbows stick out half a foot farther than average. Elbows, knees, pointy shoes...How does he make a baseball go anywhere?? And yet, seems he does it with little problem. All those angles turn into pitches pretty much where he wants, spinning about right, etc. Gangly angles, lanky limbs and all, David Festa is getting it done. 

Young Bert Blyleven was like that. Except with the tongue stuck out.

[jimbo92107]

1 minute ago, Craig Arko said:

Young Bert Blyleven was like that. Except with the tongue stuck out.

My god, you're right. 19 year old Bert was a gangly young man, all elbows and knees. What a curveball...I think he got about 19 whiffs on curves in his first game. Maybe Bert can give Festa a few tips... ;-)

[TwinsDr2021]

@USAFChief what part do you disagree with?

https://sports.yahoo.com/cubs-nab-trevor-larnach-home-004755855.html

[USAFChief]

8 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

@USAFChief what part do you disagree with?

https://sports.yahoo.com/cubs-nab-trevor-larnach-home-004755855.html

It wasn't close. And it was ridiculously bad baserunning. He apparently forgot how many outs there were. Should have scored standing up without even a thought of a throw.

Even if he thought there were less than two outs, he ran the bases poorly. He had rounded second when he stopped, for some reason, and had there been one out and the ball caught, he'd have likely been doubled off first. So even the "forgot how many outs" excuse was bad bad baserunning.

And all of that ignores him not being at SECOND base to start that AB, which he should have, since he should have tagged from first on Lewis' sac fly immediately before the play in question. 

It cost the team a run. Ended up not costing a win, but that's beside the point.

 

 

 

[Blyleven2011]

5 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'll take it easy on Larnach.  Stuff happens and nobody is perfect.  BTW... I missed that play but why did Watkins send him if he was out by so much?

Also, it brought back a memory of an outfielder (not a Twin) who as I recall flipped the ball to a fan in the outfield stands after the second out thinking that it was the third out.  Again, nobody is perfect.  Anybody remember this play and recall the player that I am referring to?

Milton Bradley  playing for the cubs ...

The twins were play in Wrigley  when that happened  ...

I remember it well ..

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

It was pretty darn close, and Larnach almost made a great slide and put his hand over the tag. The play was a pretty basic deep fly bar, but both the outfielders lost the ball (CF actually ducked and covered his head) and it took two really good relay throws just to make it close. I am not going to rip Larnach too much, besides it was a bone head play,  99.9% of the time that ball is caught.

as Hawk noted on the broadcast, it's probably the first time that's ever happened to Larnach...and will never happen again.

It wasn't good, but I'm also pretty sure he was extremely embarrassed and mad at himself over it. If he makes that kind of a baserunning botch again, then we can get mad at him. This one you can laugh it off. ("Nice baserunning, Trev: don't ever effing do it again.")

[JD-TWINS]

Already posted twice on the Larnach base running miscue - it is what it is - to me it’s really poor, others don’t think it’s a big deal - can have differing opinions, no problem.

I would like to let others know that the Noon Eastern show on MLB Network,  “MLB Now”, hosted by Brian Kinney, spent 2 minutes of their show trying to emphasize how completely “unbasebally” the play was. The two former players were equating it to things you learn as a little leaguer and were completely aghast……they showed the field from the Press Box view and it looks even worse…….actually hard to believe. At one point, Wallner was 2/3 of the way to 2B and Larnach was a step or two past 2B, standing still.

[Craig Arko]

Just now, JD-TWINS said:

Already posted twice on the Larnach base running miscue - it is what it is - to me it’s really poor, others don’t think it’s a big deal - can have differing opinions, no problem.

I would like to let others know that the Noon Eastern show on MLB Network,  “MLB Now”, hosted by Brian Kinney, spent 2 minutes of their show trying to emphasize how completely “unbasebally” the play was. The two former players were equating it to things you learn as a little leaguer and were completely aghast……they showed the field from the Press Box view and it looks even worse…….actually hard to believe. At one point, Wallner was 2/3 of the way to 2B and Larnach was a step or two past 2B, standing still.

Well I guess we could have him shot, if you think that will help.

[wabene]

33 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Well I guess we could have him shot, if you think that will help.

Maybe drawn and quartered?

[Craig Arko]

12 minutes ago, wabene said:

Maybe drawn and quartered?

Madame l’Guillotine.

[Shaitan]

3 hours ago, Craig Arko said:

Young Bert Blyleven was like that. Except with the tongue stuck out.

And his middle finger.