Brewers 5, Twins 2: Streak Ends as Matthews Gets Ambushed

[bean5302]

Alcala didn't make a difference in this game. Not sure why people are losing their minds over it. I don't think he's going to be successful in a Twins uniform, and I don't think trying to option him would be successful, and I don't think it would help if Alcala did go to AAA. He needs a new organization who isn't competitive and will continue to give Alcala chances. Not sure he has the control to be successful anywhere, but he won't have it here.

[Jeff K]

2 hours ago, MMMordabito said:

"Clemens keeps contributing with his near-home run and clutch leadoff double against Mears in the eighth. Willi who?"

What a dumb ****'in take. A couple good weeks from a player that has struggled to be relevant in the big leagues up until two weeks ago, and you're ready to cast aside the All Star utility player that has contributed in many different ways the past two seasons. And, that's right after suggesting that a center fielder may need to go on the IL.  I'm sure Kody's got that covered in place of Willi too though with all those 8s in his defensive history.

Nonsense.

No need to be nasty.

[bean5302]

Having DaShawn Keirsey starting games is just no bueno. The biggest concern about Bader was whether or not he'd be healthy when Buxton was invariably injured. Anyway, the Christian Vazquez of the outfield certainly doesn't help us win games, but with Bader hobbled, Buxton on the IL, Martin and Keaschall down, not sure where the Twins go.

[LambchoP]

Twins have to find a way to avoid losing streaks while trying to slowly but surely get healthy again. Bader looks like he needs an IL stint but we just don't have the depth. I really am hoping Buxton and C4 can return after about a week. We need our best players out there. I hope Lewis starts hitting for some power now, he could really help carry this team for a week or so until reinforcements arrive. Bummer about losing Coloumbe. Alcala inspires no confidence. I think our pen is going to need some help soon. Adams or Morris? Do we look to bring in someone on a trade? Having another late inning guy would go a long way ....

[MMMordabito]

1 hour ago, Jeff K said:

No need to be nasty.

I guess it's just OK to be nasty to Willi Castro.

Action -> Reaction

[mickster]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Alcalá has too much service time to be optioned without his consent. If the Twins want him in St. Paul, he would have to be DFA'd.

Philadelphia needs a BP arm

[Fatbat]

@bean5302 I get down on lots of guys that get a long leash and don’t up their game to even be moderately successful. Margoh and Gallo along with the former whitesox pitcher Colume? And Pagan. Sands was also a head scratcher a few years ago. Some guys are just better playing for someone else. 

[cheeseheadgophfan]

10 hours ago, MMMordabito said:

"Clemens keeps contributing with his near-home run and clutch leadoff double against Mears in the eighth. Willi who?"

What a dumb ****'in take. A couple good weeks from a player that has struggled to be relevant in the big leagues up until two weeks ago, and you're ready to cast aside the All Star utility player that has contributed in many different ways the past two seasons. And, that's right after suggesting that a center fielder may need to go on the IL.  I'm sure Kody's got that covered in place of Willi too though with all those 8s in his defensive history.

Nonsense.

Pretty sure it was a tongue in cheek comment........ RELAX!!!

[h2oface]

12 hours ago, MMMordabito said:

"Clemens keeps contributing with his near-home run and clutch leadoff double against Mears in the eighth. Willi who?"

What a dumb ****'in take. A couple good weeks from a player that has struggled to be relevant in the big leagues up until two weeks ago, and you're ready to cast aside the All Star utility player that has contributed in many different ways the past two seasons. And, that's right after suggesting that a center fielder may need to go on the IL.  I'm sure Kody's got that covered in place of Willi too though with all those 8s in his defensive history.

Nonsense.

Personally, I feel the "all-star" horn tooting for Castro is always over the top. "All-star" Castro was only an all-star by default. That is an important distinction, almost always not considered by the home town writers, announcers, and fans. Correa was the 2024 "required" administative pick to complete the one player from each team rule (he will struggle to be picked by fans or players no matter how he performs now because of his reputation as an unapologetic cheater, and there are so many really good shortstops available to chose from). "Carlos Correa chose to attend the 2024 MLB All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, despite not playing due to an injury. He was named to the American League All-Star roster but was replaced by Corey Seager due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Correa opted to attend the event with his family, allowing his young sons to experience the experience."  Castro only got the nod as an administrative replacement pick for, ironically, Correa's former complicite teammate, Jose Altuve (who chose not to play because he suffered a 96mph HBP on the left hand from now former Twin, Josh Winder, on July 5, and wanted to let it rest - and probably avoid the incessant boos that would happen on the national broadcast)! It was known Correa was not going to play, so Castro became the unwritten default pick. His .219/.298/.329 (.627 OPS) post All-star game line failed to keep up on what was already certainly not one of the shining stars that the game is designed for. He did get one at bat. Hyping "All-Star" for Castro always feels contrived, to me. 

Clemens production is welcome, and I hope it continues and if nothing else, lights a fire for Castro, because Castro's past two years could very well be his finest, and I would hope we can find much better.

[Mike Sixel]

9 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Although I respect your opinion, I humbly disagree with you & your premise. I was taught that if A=B & B=C, then A=C. If a player is playing well under normal conditions, then he hurts his arm & or he's still recuperating & he plays badly. You can't tell me that his poor performance has nothing to do his hurt arm. & that it doesn't affect how I handle this player, & that he's just a bad player. Twins no doubt believe the same analytical premise, at least for some players.

Ya, you got that logic totally wrong. You need at least two if statements in there. 

[MMMordabito]

28 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Clemens production is welcome, and I hope it continues and if nothing else, lights a fire for Castro, because beause Castro's past two years could very well be his finest, and I would hope we can find much better.

And Clemens last two weeks may very well be his finest. He's actually older than Willi, way less versatile and probably less likely to improve. Willi's just been injured this season.  

Clemens should be wearing a Culver's Flavor-of-the-Week arm band, since they do those uniform advertisements now 

[stringer bell]

12 hours ago, h2oface said:

Personally, I feel the "all-star" horn tooting for Castro is always over the top. "All-star" Castro was only an all-star by default. That is an important distinction, almost always not considered by the home town writers, announcers, and fans. Correa was the 2024 "required" administative pick to complete the one player from each team rule (he will struggle to be picked by fans or players no matter how he performs now because of his reputation as an unapologetic cheater, and there are so many really good shortstops available to chose from). "Carlos Correa chose to attend the 2024 MLB All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, despite not playing due to an injury. He was named to the American League All-Star roster but was replaced by Corey Seager due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Correa opted to attend the event with his family, allowing his young sons to experience the experience."  Castro only got the nod as an administrative replacement pick for, ironically, Correa's former complicite teammate, Jose Altuve (who chose not to play because he suffered a 96mph HBP on the left hand from now former Twin, Josh Winder, on July 5, and wanted to let it rest - and probably avoid the incessant boos that would happen on the national broadcast)! It was known Correa was not going to play, so Castro became the unwritten default pick. His .219/.298/.329 (.627 OPS) post All-star game line failed to keep up on what was already certainly not one of the shining stars that the game is designed for. He did get one at bat. Hyping "All-Star" for Castro always feels contrived, to me. 

Clemens production is welcome, and I hope it continues and if nothing else, lights a fire for Castro, because Castro's past two years could very well be his finest, and I would hope we can find much better.

Willi Castro had a nice half season in 2024 and was rewarded with an All-Star nod due to injuries. His versatility has been on full display since he became a Minnesota Twin. His development into an everyday player who has a whole locker full of gloves that he uses is a nice story. Was he one of the top 60 players at midseason in 2024? No, but he might have been in the top hundred. All good for Willi.

The Twins have had several guys that were only given an All-Star berth because somebody had to be on the team. Dave Engle and Ron Coomer are probably the best examples. José Berríos and Michael Cuddyer might be others and I'm sure there are more. I don't think there's any reason to criticize the players for being named, but the term "All-Star" is diminished when less than deserving players are named and only because every team has to have a representative. 

[bean5302]

15 hours ago, h2oface said:

...was only an all-star by default. That is an important distinction, almost always not considered by the home town writers, announcers, and fans...

There is some truth to this, but there is also a flip side. If we left it purely up to voters, teams with a weak national fan bases would rarely see "All Star" position players. I look at it in a couple stages.
1) Was the player voted in?
2) Did the player deserve to be in, even if they didn't win the popular vote?

The AL Shortstops as of July 3rd, 2024 (when voting ended) were:
(BAL) Gunnar Henderson .284/.379/.593 wRC+ 175 - 5.3 fWAR (MVP-like pace)
(KCR) Bobby Witt, Jr. .314/.366/.543 wRC+ 149 - 4.8 fWAR (MVP-like pace)
(NYY) Anthony Volpe .256/.310/.384 wRC+ 97 - 2.5 fWAR
(TEX) Corey Seager .260/.344/.451 wRC+ 122 - 2.0 fWAR
(TOR) Bo Bichette .228/.282/.330 wRC+ 74 - 0.4 fWAR
(HOU) Jeremy Pena .277/.323/.389 wRC+ 105 - 1.6 fWAR
(CLE) Brayan Rocchio .218/.313/.315 wRC+ 85 - 0.8 fWAR
(MIN) Carlos Correa, .310/.379/.512 wRC+ 152 - 3.2 fWAR

Clearly behind Henderson and Witt, Jr. who were on MVP caliber paces, Correa wasn't going to be one of the shortstops, but his season was All Star worthy at that point even though he missed quite a bit of time with injury.

Any player on pace to produce 4.0+ WAR in a season is All Star worthy IMHO.

[h2oface]

On 5/20/2025 at 8:55 AM, bean5302 said:

There is some truth to this, but there is also a flip side. If we left it purely up to voters, teams with a weak national fan bases would rarely see "All Star" position players. I look at it in a couple stages.
1) Was the player voted in?
2) Did the player deserve to be in, even if they didn't win the popular vote?

The AL Shortstops as of July 3rd, 2024 (when voting ended) were:
(BAL) Gunnar Henderson .284/.379/.593 wRC+ 175 - 5.3 fWAR (MVP-like pace)
(KCR) Bobby Witt, Jr. .314/.366/.543 wRC+ 149 - 4.8 fWAR (MVP-like pace)
(NYY) Anthony Volpe .256/.310/.384 wRC+ 97 - 2.5 fWAR
(TEX) Corey Seager .260/.344/.451 wRC+ 122 - 2.0 fWAR
(TOR) Bo Bichette .228/.282/.330 wRC+ 74 - 0.4 fWAR
(HOU) Jeremy Pena .277/.323/.389 wRC+ 105 - 1.6 fWAR
(CLE) Brayan Rocchio .218/.313/.315 wRC+ 85 - 0.8 fWAR
(MIN) Carlos Correa, .310/.379/.512 wRC+ 152 - 3.2 fWAR

Clearly behind Henderson and Witt, Jr. who were on MVP caliber paces, Correa wasn't going to be one of the shortstops, but his season was All Star worthy at that point even though he missed quite a bit of time with injury.

Any player on pace to produce 4.0+ WAR in a season is All Star worthy IMHO.

? ?? ?

  On 5/19/2025 at 5:34 PM, h2oface said:

...was only an all-star by default. That is an important distinction, almost always not considered by the home town writers, announcers, and fans...

 

That was a weird edit of my quote, leaving only Castro out of the sentence......   Castro was only an all-star by default. And then nothing at all about Castro. I get it though, and very interesting data summary, thanks for that, I did show how Correa was involved in the progression that lead to Castro representing the "no real all star available" Twins, and Correa was also the official required administrative pick, and Castro wasn't his official replacement, but Altuve's. Correa will probaly only ever be an administrative pick, regardless of his first half seasons, as fans and players hate him (except most in Minnesota now and Houston) for his choices and not apologizing for it. And in my opinion, he deserves that unwritten punishment, as he got away scott free from any penalty for his long term extended cheating. Plus even a future administrative nod will probably be rare, because mostly Correa has proven to suck at the plate in the first halves, last year being the sole exception since he left Houston. And when his absent second half of 2024 is included.........

I have always had a problem with all-star picks only being considered, whether voted by fans, sportswriters, or players throughout baseball's history, .....only being considered according to the months of April, May and June, and a few days in March and July, and all the arguably more important months of July, August and September never even being considered and added on to the first half of the next year for the next all-star game. It always seems that half the all-star teams fielded wouldn't have even been considered on a full years play, and the hot second halfers never get credit for it the next year to go with their first half. All-star Teams fielded are cheapened by it, and we end up too often with too many guys sporting the only 3 month hot streak of their career. And the multiple fan votes - voting 25 times and then using a new sign in and doing it again....... I don't even vote now, I just enjoy the game for what it...... isn't.

[h2oface]

On 5/20/2025 at 6:25 AM, stringer bell said:

Willi Castro had a nice half season in 2024 and was rewarded with an All-Star nod due to injuries. His versatility has been on full display since he became a Minnesota Twin. His development into an everyday player who has a whole locker full of gloves that he uses is a nice story. Was he one of the top 60 players at midseason in 2024? No, but he might have been in the top hundred. All good for Willi.

The Twins have had several guys that were only given an All-Star berth because somebody had to be on the team. Dave Engle and Ron Coomer are probably the best examples. José Berríos and Michael Cuddyer might be others and I'm sure there are more. I don't think there's any reason to criticize the players for being named, but the term "All-Star" is diminished when less than deserving players are named and only because every team has to have a representative. 

Yes. All good for Castro. And many other teams have their lists of back door all-stars, for sure. Many more than our Twins, perhaps. I don't mean to criticize Castro, as he had nothing to do with it all. But for the writers and announcers who so often talk of him and introduce him as "All-star Willi Castro"....... I think that falls into "the term "All-Star" is diminished" when it is done so cavalierly.

[bean5302]

11 hours ago, h2oface said:

Yes. All good for Castro. And many other teams have their lists of back door all-stars, for sure. Many more than our Twins, perhaps. I don't mean to criticize Castro, as he had nothing to do with it all. But for the writers and announcers who so often talk of him and introduce him as "All-star Willi Castro"....... I think that falls into "the term "All-Star" is diminished" when it is done so cavalierly.

I get what you're saying. Castro wasn't elected and he wasn't really a default choice by the team (Correa), Castro was an alternate for the default. Kind of a round-about way to make it to the All Star Game. That said, Castro's performance at the point voting ended was All Star worthy, and he was selected by MLB, not the Twins if I understand correctly.

Carlos Correa got a $100k bonus as a result of making the All Star Game so that might have influenced the Twins' decision making?

Castro was at .274/.361/.448 wRC+ 133 while owning 2.7 fWAR, which was 13th highest in the American League among position players. Given he played pretty much everywhere, he'd have been electable for nearly any position.