Rays 7, Twins 2: Of Course They Lost at George M. Steinbrenner Field

[Whitey333]

The Twins are 3-4 since their 13 game winning streak ended.  Actually that's about what they are.  Average or slightly above average team with good potential but many flaws.

[David Maro]

Let's be honest here Lewis doesn't need time off,he is a shell of himself now. It's time everyone realized that. It's pop up or ground balls to SS or 3rd. He can't run to beat anything to 1st. He is a automatic out and time to move on. He has only played a little over 1 season of games in 4 years.

[tony&rodney]

3 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

McCusker is a real liability in the OF. He needs to DH or learn to play 1B, and stop striking out so much.

So I do not know if you have watched a couple dozen or fifty games with McCusker playing in the field in the minor leagues like I have, but he has actually been a decent outfielder. He is a little bit better on jumps than Wallner and a much stronger defender than Larnach. Unless the lights specifically were the cause of the difficulties in left field last night I would say McCusker catches all three. He has fair speed and is surprisingly athletic. 

In 9 days McCusker has been mostly on the bench and the strikeouts are not surprising. His K-rate in AAA is about what we saw from both Larnach and Wallner. Yes, we want him to strike out less but acclimating to MLB pitching is not so easy as Jackson Holliday found out last season. It is multitudes more difficult for a rookie batting once every other game. If the Twins just wanted a pinch hitter they should have called up Mike Ford.

I'm pretty certain that McCusker goes back to St. Paul soon and would suggest the Twins evaluate where he stands in their pecking order as an outfielder. If the Twins are not keen on Carson in their future plans I'm thinking there would be a decent opportunity to find a Dominican League, Rookie, or A ball player from some team's #10-25 prospect list or a dark horse that someone in the organization likes on another team. 

[Blyleven2011]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Everything that needs to be said is in the comments but I would like to add the paddock continues to look good. Makes me curious what will happen when he becomes a free agent or if we will trade him mid-season because he will become a free agent. 

Paddack has been really good his last 4 starts or more , yes he in the final year of contract with the twins , plus he is pitching for a big payday in free agency  ...

I can see the twins trading him at the deadline if he continues to pitch well for some decent prospects  , the twins haven't gotten much value from paddack since we traded for him  , so it's time at the deadline to trade him for some value and have him replaced with SWR  , Festa or Matthew's , just my opinion  ...

[mickster]

22 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Paddack has been really good his last 4 starts or more , yes he in the final year of contract with the twins , plus he is pitching for a big payday in free agency  ...

I can see the twins trading him at the deadline if he continues to pitch well for some decent prospects  , the twins haven't gotten much value from paddack since we traded for him  , so it's time at the deadline to trade him for some value and have him replaced with SWR  , Festa or Matthew's , just my opinion  ...

I don't see a trade at the deadline.   If they are in the race, they will want his arm.   Only way I can see it is if it adds to our offense and not sure Paddack will bring back the punch we need.    Now if we package Paddak and some prospects for an impact bat that would be good, but then it would make us buyers and not sellers.   

[Bad News TC Bears]

I get miffed at the thought of the Yankees. All those good years with Mauer, Morneau, Dozier, and Santana and then running into them in the playoffs. 

I'm encouraged by the win streak and the pitching this year. We need to keep winning series! 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

6 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

So I do not know if you have watched a couple dozen or fifty games with McCusker playing in the field in the minor leagues like I have, but he has actually been a decent outfielder. He is a little bit better on jumps than Wallner and a much stronger defender than Larnach. Unless the lights specifically were the cause of the difficulties in left field last night I would say McCusker catches all three. He has fair speed and is surprisingly athletic. 

In 9 days McCusker has been mostly on the bench and the strikeouts are not surprising. His K-rate in AAA is about what we saw from both Larnach and Wallner. Yes, we want him to strike out less but acclimating to MLB pitching is not so easy as Jackson Holliday found out last season. It is multitudes more difficult for a rookie batting once every other game. If the Twins just wanted a pinch hitter they should have called up Mike Ford.

I'm pretty certain that McCusker goes back to St. Paul soon and would suggest the Twins evaluate where he stands in their pecking order as an outfielder. If the Twins are not keen on Carson in their future plans I'm thinking there would be a decent opportunity to find a Dominican League, Rookie, or A ball player from some team's #10-25 prospect list or a dark horse that someone in the organization likes on another team. 

Thanks for that post T and R. I'm glad my observations about McC's fielding and speed were not correct. 

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Thanks for that post T and R. I'm glad my observations about McC's fielding and speed were not correct. 

No big deal. McCusker is being judged on being a rookie pinch hitter. I cannot remember another instance where this has occurred. It is a very strange situation and I'm sure someone else must have questions other than me. To say he has failed is too simplistic to even respond to. Nobody knows what McCusker can do at the MLB level because he just sits and tries to be a good teammate. Can you imagine if Matthews was called up and just sat in the bullpen for a couple of weeks and then was brought in as a closer with a couple of runners on base.