Mariners 5, Twins 3: Taj Bradley Shines Bright, But Twins Can't Get to Out 27

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

RISP bats are lacking too.

If we put up 11 every night the bullpen issue is a nonstarter

[DJL44]

48 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

1. Decent job sorting through guys nobody wanted? Huh? 

2. There's no such thing as "fine as the 7th or 8th guy." There's no such thing as "low leverage."

They traded for castoffs and didn’t sign a free agent reliever for more than $2M. They spent the whole offseason sorting through the stuff left on the curb at the end of the garage sale. They added those pitchers to the guys nobody wanted last summer at the deadline

There is no “low leverage” but there is also no bullpen with eight closers.

[mikelink45]

I have no criticism for leaving Taj in - pitchers give up runs in some innings.  He was not out of gas and when he came in what did we have?  Orze had the best ERA of the three relievers. 5.25 

Wallner now at .168 and Outman is .111 - the OF competition is getting fierce. 

[Colbeh]

I was a big Favlvey supporter, but him getting rid of King Varland was a mistake. Maybe the return will be good in the long run but you need a guy like him in your bullpen to shut things down.

At some point we just need to throw Festa, Matthews, Rojas, Klein, SWR/Prielipp (Maybe) into the bullpen and just ride it out.

I like Sands and Orze, Morris could be solid in a 1-2 inning role, but we need real bodies in there and maybe we could get something cooking late in the year and have some real fun next season.

[mrtwinsfan]

1 hour ago, Over The Hill Again said:

I’m officially on “Wallner Watch”. He should be sent down this week. 

fedko just hit a homer saints game-   need him up here  r/h bat 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Great start from Taj! Absolutely loved that he got to stay in the game even after the run scored in the 7th. The bullpen only needed to get through 2 innings...and still couldn't do it 🤦‍♂️. Banda actually looked acceptable, his velocity was better. Maybe, maybe if he can keep up with the increased velo he'll put up more zeros. 

Another good day for Clemens. Seems to be playing much better this week. Another trend i hope continues. 

The team put up a lot of hits today, but still couldn't push enough runs across. Really a disappointing game we should have won. 

[tony&rodney]

I'm feeling more optimistic about the Twins today than I did in late March. The players are busting it and doing what they can to make the plays they are capable of making given their talent. The mental mistakes have been decreased quite a bit from the last two years and even from early in April when they won more games.

The starting pitching looks very promising. Taj Bradley was still very good in the 7th inning. Credit to Shelton for letting him pitch. Well conditioned pitchers who throw easy can go past 110 pitches. Taj had great stuff right through the last batter. Give Seattle some credit for hitting (4 hits) and battling a tough arm.

Perhaps as sonn as May or June there may be some new players in uniform. A regular playing in the infield and another in the outfield plus maybe three arms could give the Twins a big boost.

I can hang in and wait until the troops arrive. This team is more fun than the last two years.

[mikelink45]

Thank you KC - we are not in last place

[HarmonK03]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I actually think the front office did a decent job sorting through the pitchers nobody else in the league wanted to cobble together a bullpen that isn't the absolute worst in the league. The problem, of course, is they didn't add anyone to the bullpen who was wanted by another team. It's a bunch of guys who are fine as the 7th or 8th guy in the bullpen.

This is a perfect example of why Falvey was a failure and you can't blame it all on ownership.  He could not make good use of the resources he was given.  He gives $7m to Caratini and could've used that money to sign at least one reliever if not two.  He had a backup catcher who was not a great bat but there was one in place.  Instead he just went after castoffs and left Zoll with a cluster to try and clean up.

[HarmonK03]

10 minutes ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

Another good day for Clemens. Seems to be playing much better this week. Another trend i hope continues. 

This is who Clemens is, he will have a few good games, then you live with the flyballs and strikeouts.  But this is what you should expect from a bench reserve.  The problem is they are trying to make him a regular at 1B and that is not what he is.

[Vanimal46]

45 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

They traded for castoffs and didn’t sign a free agent reliever for more than $2M. They spent the whole offseason sorting through the stuff left on the curb at the end of the garage sale. They added those pitchers to the guys nobody wanted last summer at the deadline

There is no “low leverage” but there is also no bullpen with eight closers.

And the most expensive FA signing we had is the one I'm ready to move on from now. Rogers was a nostalgia signing anyway and it's not working out. He's getting hit hard 

[Nshore]

Those "crowds" in Target Field have been scary bad.  I've been a fan from the beginning of the Twins and I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.  There are many things that play into it outside of the Twins control.  Hopefully things heat up with the temperatures.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

 

- Pulling infield in with one out in 9th, and guys on 2nd & 3rd. Team (Manager) increases the opponent’s BA greatly when brought in on the grass.

- WHY is Rogers on the Team if not to come into pitch to their hottest hitter (LH hitter) with one out in the 9th & guys on 2nd & 3rd? Orze was struggling with control - not his day. Right/Left match-up. Rogers had been up a few minutes…………they may counter with Mitch Garver but the kid IS their hottest hitter. Take your chances with Garver - not with leaving Orze in the game. That said - pulling infield in, nearly made Orze’s job “strikeout or bust” ……… not fair to a guy with his stuff. The hitter slapped a roller just past Keaschall - Orze didn’t make a bad pitch.

Can’t score less than 4 runs/game and expect a real shot at winning ball games! (2-8-2-2-1-11-1-3 is 30 runs in 8 games, an average of 3.75 runs/game) Only went over 3 runs twice in last 8 games. Not “competitive” - which is Tom P.’s goal.

Small nit to pick. With the infield back, the tying run scores. Even with the infield back, it’s not a certainty that Keaschall makes the play to get the batter out. It was a medium ground ball almost directly between the middle infielders. 
 

Orze stayed in to get a strikeout. Rogers K numbers have shrunk considerably. Still, I think bringing him in there might have been a good call.

This is the worst Twins bullpen in my memory. There is no one who has generated trust in the ninth inning. 

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

This is the worst Twins bullpen in my memory. There is no one who has generated trust in the ninth inning.

The 2016 Twins had Brandon Kintzler until the trade deadline and Pressly. The dark ages from 2010-2014 had Glen Perkins closing out games. Yep, this year looks pretty bad when the team leader in saves is 1. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, karcherd said:

This is a perfect example of why Falvey was a failure and you can't blame it all on ownership.  He could not make good use of the resources he was given.  He gives $7m to Caratini and could've used that money to sign at least one reliever if not two.  He had a backup catcher who was not a great bat but there was one in place.  Instead he just went after castoffs and left Zoll with a cluster to try and clean up.

Pretty sure Zoll owns this offseason 

[Aggies7]

The twins allowed the mariners runner (forget who) to steal second uncontested in the 9th inning. He was the go ahead run, didn’t even make an attempt. Sad.

[Hunter4848]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm feeling more optimistic about the Twins today than I did in late March. The players are busting it and doing what they can to make the plays they are capable of making given their talent. The mental mistakes have been decreased quite a bit from the last two years and even from early in April when they won more games.

The starting pitching looks very promising. Taj Bradley was still very good in the 7th inning. Credit to Shelton for letting him pitch. Well conditioned pitchers who throw easy can go past 110 pitches. Taj had great stuff right through the last batter. Give Seattle some credit for hitting (4 hits) and battling a tough arm.

Perhaps as sonn as May or June there may be some new players in uniform. A regular playing in the infield and another in the outfield plus maybe three arms could give the Twins a big boost.

I can hang in and wait until the troops arrive. This team is more fun than the last two years.

You think this listless crew of castoffs is funner thsn the last 2 years!?!?!

With fans like this it's no wonder the Pohlads think we are all suckers....

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, Over The Hill Again said:

I’m officially on “Wallner Watch”. He should be sent down this week. 

Been there myself, most of the past 3 weeks.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

This is the worst Twins bullpen in my memory. There is no one who has generated trust in the ninth inning. 

The bullpen was worse just last season after the deadline.

[jkcarew]

3 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Buxton has 7 HR & 12 total XBH ……. all appears great! Bad news is he’s around 0-20 w/RISP and only has 10 RBI.

He obviously needs to get it together with RISP! Also, he needs to move out of the One Spot in the line-up……….it can’t be that big of a deal for him psychologically - it’s not a good strategy for Team’s run production!!!!!

You forgot the .292 OBP and 1 stolen base through 28 games played. He’s a real headache for the opposition at the top of the order right now.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, karcherd said:

This is a perfect example of why Falvey was a failure and you can't blame it all on ownership.  He could not make good use of the resources he was given.  He gives $7m to Caratini and could've used that money to sign at least one reliever if not two.  He had a backup catcher who was not a great bat but there was one in place.  Instead he just went after castoffs and left Zoll with a cluster to try and clean up.

Gotta disagree.

Cannot go from $155M player spend in ‘23 down to $106M (according to FanGraphs)  in ‘26.

IF an organization wants to run their team with these types of economics, it takes years of planning and strategies in place to have some mild success.

To me, OWNERSHIP did not give the FO the tools to succeed. The SPEND this year is $106M ……. of which $10M is paid against Correa’s salary & $21.5M is paid against Lopez salary (injured for the season). That means the Club on the field has a $74.5M spend…………that’s 47% of what was spent 3 seasons prior. It’s laughable …… if you’re not part of the FO that’s trying to make things work.

The $74.5M (actual spend for active players) is between Miami and Cleveland at $73M & $84M respectively at #30 & #29.

Caratini is a switch hitting Catcher/1B ……. he was playing well until 2 weeks ago - bat went cold. Should have had game winning RBI today! Being upset about $7M this week but not 2 weeks ago is just 20/20 hindsight. It’s the same with Larnach - essentially everyone bitched about him being paid $4.5M ….. now that he has been playing a reasonable LF with an OBP in the mid .400’s ……. the detractors have disappeared.

With 5 position guys being pre-arbitration and only Buxton making real money, at $15M, Bell - Caratini - Larnach totaling $18.5M is a bargain! It’s 2026 MLB!

The ‘26 payroll is ridiculous!

$133M in ‘20 - $122M in ‘21 - $134M in ‘22 - $158M in ‘23 - $135M in ‘24 - $124M in ‘25 - $106M in ‘26

[knothole61]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Thank you KC - we are not in last place

In fact we are just 2 losses behind the Tigers and Guards...after all of this ineptitude the Twins are just a couple of games back. With a weak division and a potentially strong starting rotation t's a crime that ownership doesn't see fit to bring in a couple of decent relievers and make a run at this thing. The AL Central is there for the taking right now.

"Let the thing be pressed," A. Lincoln 

[knothole61]

4 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

And the most expensive FA signing we had is the one I'm ready to move on from now. Rogers was a nostalgia signing anyway and it's not working out. He's getting hit hard 

Yeah, he's topping out around 91 on the FB, I think.

[David HK]

The Twins whenever the BP comes in.

This is gonna be a Charlie Brown season, yo.

 

[KirbyDome89]

4 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Gotta disagree.

Cannot go from $155M player spend in ‘23 down to $106M (according to FanGraphs)  in ‘26.

IF an organization wants to run their team with these types of economics, it takes years of planning and strategies in place to have some mild success.

To me, OWNERSHIP did not give the FO the tools to succeed. The SPEND this year is $106M ……. of which $10M is paid against Correa’s salary & $21.5M is paid against Lopez salary (injured for the season). That means the Club on the field has a $74.5M spend…………that’s 47% of what was spent 3 seasons prior. It’s laughable …… if you’re not part of the FO that’s trying to make things work.

The $74.5M (actual spend for active players) is between Miami and Cleveland at $73M & $84M respectively at #30 & #29.

Caratini is a switch hitting Catcher/1B ……. he was playing well until 2 weeks ago - bat went cold. Should have had game winning RBI today! Being upset about $7M this week but not 2 weeks ago is just 20/20 hindsight. It’s the same with Larnach - essentially everyone bitched about him being paid $4.5M ….. now that he has been playing a reasonable LF with an OBP in the mid .400’s ……. the detractors have disappeared.

With 5 position guys being pre-arbitration and only Buxton making real money, at $15M, Bell - Caratini - Larnach totaling $18.5M is a bargain! It’s 2026 MLB!

The ‘26 payroll is ridiculous!

$133M in ‘20 - $122M in ‘21 - $134M in ‘22 - $158M in ‘23 - $135M in ‘24 - $124M in ‘25 - $106M in ‘26

Falvey was here for a decade. The Twins missed the postseason 4 of the last 5 years, even with one of, if not the highest, payrolls in the division. That doesn't happen just because ownership is terrible. I mean, who gave Correa that contract and then traded him? 

A couple weeks of poor playing isn't that upsetting, but awful roster construction is. The FO had a limited budget, no doubt, and yet they (Falvey) chose to spend a significant portion to retain a player who is essentially a left handed DH,  then another chunk on a backup C, and finally another DH who can't hang at 1B all while having a roster that already included a RF that was essentially a DH and an oft injured CF & 3B that will need time at DH. Oh, and the defense at 2B, SS, and even C don't come close to league average. 

The 2026 payroll is ridiculous, but Josh Bell and Victor Caratini have a combined 0 WAR right now. 

[Hunter4848]

9 hours ago, Colbeh said:

I was a big Favlvey supporter, but him getting rid of King Varland was a mistake. Maybe the return will be good in the long run but you need a guy like him in your bullpen to shut things down.

At some point we just need to throw Festa, Matthews, Rojas, Klein, SWR/Prielipp (Maybe) into the bullpen and just ride it out.

I like Sands and Orze, Morris could be solid in a 1-2 inning role, but we need real bodies in there and maybe we could get something cooking late in the year and have some real fun next season.

You must be Falveys one and only fan!

[HarmonK03]

9 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Pretty sure Zoll owns this offseason 

Falvey didn't leave until the end of January, a couple of weeks before spring training.  He set the tone and plan for the upcoming season starting last fall.  Zoll had to pick up the pieces.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

And the most expensive FA signing we had is the one I'm ready to move on from now. Rogers was a nostalgia signing anyway and it's not working out. He's getting hit hard 

Sadly, we may need to say goodbye to Rogers before too much longer. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Speaking of that bullpen, or what could have been our bullpen ... Varland is pitching like an All-Star in Toronto. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Bradley had control, and marched through seven innings in which he allowed two runs on just four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Derek Shelton trusted his newfound workhorse, letting him throw more pitches than any Twins pitcher had since Kenta Maeda was chasing a no-hitter during the 2020 pandemic season.

I thought that Bradley's pitch count was quite high, but wow, that comparison truly puts it in perspective. Thanks for doing the research!