Twins (Bradley) vs Red Sox(Moran): 5/23/26, 3:10 pm CDT

[h2oface]

13 minutes ago, ashbury said:

If a member of the bullpen can't be trusted to get 3 outs while holding a 3 run lead, they don't belong.  Bad things will still happen from time to time, but that's when you go get him and put Taylor in.

Horrible?  I don't usually believe in absolutes like that.

Well , that is at least half of this pen. Yet, on the roster and forced to be used. 
 

Rojas started and went 46 pitches in 4 innings 5 days ago. Pulled at 45 today after 3. I don’t pull him to start the 9th. If he is limited at 50, (assumption), I at least give him the first batter. The pen is a total risk at any point. 
 
Tragedy narrowly averted. Perfect decision with hindsight. 
 

 

[Patzky]

7 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

PSYCH 101 says masochistic tendencies.

Alcala still has a locker here too

[tony&rodney]

12 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I don’t have any bones to pick yet with the manager. I think it’s been a big improvement with fewer quality ingredients 

Absolutely, Shelton is doing a good job. He is showing quite a bit of belief in his young pitchers. These fellows are learning on the job and the talent is a clear improvement. This team is so much more interesting than what we endured the last two years, forget wins or losses. The club is competing hard. Today was a sweet win.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Late to the party again, but nice win despite the nail biting 9th. 

Sure it's been discussed but I liked Caratini showing some emotion there and standing up for himself. 

Best part of that whole sequence was SWR running in from the pen. Guy was going full speed just looking to take out frustrations.

[Western SD Fan]

1 minute ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Late to the party again, but nice win despite the nail biting 9th. 

Sure it's been discussed but I liked Caratini showing some emotion there and standing up for himself. 

Best part of that whole sequence was SWR running in from the pen. Guy was going full speed just looking to take out frustrations.

I think Caratini was standing up for the team on Contreras's antics.  I've seen that a lot with catchers, especially when it looks like they are acting up around the bases.  Contreras backed down quickly after Caratini confronted him.

[lecroy24fan]

Caratini was doing the veteran thing by talking to Contreras. Calmed down the situation before it escalated.

[Western SD Fan]

And now the game is over just in time for AAA action from St. Paul!  Also, for people here who have signed up for the full MLB package, you can now watch the national game on FOX tonight as well!

[tony&rodney]

13 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I think Shelton is doing a terrific job. He’s giving young guys a shot in tough situations, not afraid to bench vets that aren’t performing, and it looks like he’s really put together a tight, unified team. There’s no chance Rocco would’ve moved Lee to third base where he belongs and set up a chance for Culpepper to come up and play short later in the year. Look, this is not a contending team, but if Shelton can get this team to around .500, while giving the young guys a chance to play to see what we have and set ourselves up for the future,that’s a good job of managing. 
 

Also, good to see the front office be willing to pull the plug on struggling guys like Wallner and Lewis. Even better, they cut Topa and Garcia so that Rojas, Morris, and Adams can all stay in the bigs and learn their craft. Don’t think that would’ve happened with Falvey still in charge. Good to see.

This is what I'm thinking also. The times they are a changin'.

 

[Western SD Fan]

2 minutes ago, lecroy24fan said:

Caratini was doing the veteran thing by talking to Contreras. Calmed down the situation before it escalated.

Absolutely!  Contreras may not think it, but Caratini probably saved him from getting drilled in his next AB.

[amjgt]

2 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

I think Caratini was standing up for the team on Contreras's antics.  I've seen that a lot with catchers, especially when it looks like they are acting up around the bases.  Contreras backed down quickly after Caratini confronted him.

The stuff he was doing when he was batting was whatever to me. Trying to get under Taj’s skin and it worked. That’s baseball.

The crap with the slide into 1B and taking out Clemens is completely unacceptable 

The play at home… a little over the top, but it WAS a pretty close play. I actually think if he would have just slid, he would have beat it. Did us a favor by looking for contact (assuming Caratini’s hand is ok going forward)

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

No issues with Shelton going to and sticking with Morris. Those situations show you what a player is made out of and it's invaluable experience.

[ashbury]

15 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Perfect decision with hindsight. 

Thoughtful response, until you added this strawman.

[h2oface]

1 minute ago, ashbury said:

Thoughtful response, until you added this strawman.

Glad I can still disappoint your standards. 

[ashbury]

28 minutes ago, amjgt said:

The play at home… a little over the top, but it WAS a pretty close play. I actually think if he would have just slid, he would have beat it. 

He was out by four steps, dead to rights.

In the screenshot you can see a trace of white in Caratini's glove that represents the ball being secured.  Not sure how Houdini himself could have come up with a slide that would tally the run. 

Going in standing up and hard was a Richard move that had a greater chance of injuring one of the two players than of dislodging the ball. Our guy explained that to their guy afterward, in his particular dialect of Spanish I suppose (Puerto Rican versus Venezuelan), and the two bullpens came along a bit later to express their nuanced views on the fine art of base running as well, after the chaps in the dugouts had had their say.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Contreras is a former catcher, right? Could tell by his reaction to Caratini that he knew it was a d*** move and risked injury to both players.

[h2oface]

41 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Absolutely, Shelton is doing a good job. He is showing quite a bit of belief in his young pitchers. These fellows are learning on the job and the talent is a clear improvement. This team is so much more interesting than what we endured the last two years, forget wins or losses. The club is competing hard. Today was a sweet win.

Well, Rojas is 23 and Morris is 24. So does it then follow Shelton showed lack of confidence in the younger of the two by pulling Rojas and replacing with Morris?

I don’t think Shelton is that deep. I do believe he hopes for Morris to be better. 3 walks, a hit, and an earned run while getting 2 outs and leaving with the bases loaded and going with the now struggling 35 yr old journeyman vet to escape the tragedy impending is not so scripted. 

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Well, Rojas is 23 and Morris is 24. So I guess he showed lack of confidence in the younger of the two by pulling Rojas and replacing with Morris?

Rojas has a pitch limit.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Longest road trip of the season. Against teams the Twins can compete with. Winning trip is essential if they're going to stay in the wildcard race and possibly the division race. 2-0 is a great start. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Also, what the heck happened to Duran? He looked like a future star a couple of years ago. Has regressed the last couple of seasons to the point where I'd be surprised if he's in Boston beyond this year.

[h2oface]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Rojas has a pitch limit.

Right. Based on pitching every 4th day. Today was the 5th day since starting on May 18. He was at 45 today. 
 

Maki: “With Kendry, we have a very specific roadmap for how we're handling his build-up. Coming off the hamstring issue early on, we committed to a four-day schedule. Because he's throwing on shorter rest, we are intentionally keeping him in that 45-to-60 pitch window. You saw it against Houston—he gave us 4.0 brilliant, scoreless innings on just 46 pitches, and we took him right out. We're not going to push him past that ceiling right now. It's about preserving the quality of that 97 MPH fastball and making sure he stays healthy for the long haul."

[tony&rodney]

13 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Right. Based on pitching every 4th day. Today was the 5th day since starting on May 18. He was at 45 today. 
 

Maki: “With Kendry, we have a very specific roadmap for how we're handling his build-up. Coming off the hamstring issue early on, we committed to a four-day schedule. Because he's throwing on shorter rest, we are intentionally keeping him in that 45-to-60 pitch window. You saw it against Houston—he gave us 4.0 brilliant, scoreless innings on just 46 pitches, and we took him right out. We're not going to push him past that ceiling right now. It's about preserving the quality of that 97 MPH fastball and making sure he stays healthy for the long haul."

I love the way that the Twins are using their pitching staff. 

Tomorrow we could see Gomez, Orze, Rogers or more, as needed, after only using Rojas and Morris with a key short appearance from Rogers today. Maybe Ober is as effective as Bradley too.