Twins 4, Red Sox 2: Bradley, Rojas and the Twins Stay on Fire in Boston

[David HK]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

The runner still has the opportunity to run through the play as I understand it, but not if the catcher has the ball in hand. And from what I've seen, Caratini had the ball in hand. 

But I will admit it was a sorta bang-bang close play. But almost ANY runner would be looking to slide and hope to be safe doing so, avoiding a tag. Contreas decided a collision with Caratini made more sense. Sorry, that's Contreas being an A-hole.

I also have a real problem with him sliding in to 1B...usually a stupid move...and choosing to shove Clemens foot off the base. In review, ball to glove would have him safe anyway. But for whatever reason, he thought diving in to 1B instead of running through was smart...it NEVER is...and he was safe. Regardless, it was a BS play by him.

In my humble yet honest opinion, I have less of a problem with his home plate business than with his 1B business.  That was a dirty business.  Clemens is stretched in a vulnerable position, concentrating solely on digging out the throw coming in, and that could easily have been a serious groin, hamstring, or knee or ankle injury waiting to happen.  You're right, that was truly a BS play.  

Watching him play soccer on that subsequent grounder was poetic justice.  

[Parfigliano]

39 minutes ago, David HK said:

In my humble yet honest opinion, I have less of a problem with his home plate business than with his 1B business.  That was a dirty business.  Clemens is stretched in a vulnerable position, concentrating solely on digging out the throw coming in, and that could easily have been a serious groin, hamstring, or knee or ankle injury waiting to happen.  You're right, that was truly a BS play.  

Watching him play soccer on that subsequent grounder was poetic justice.  

Purposefully hitting the catcher OK that's baseball.  Purposefully sliding into the first basemens ankle that's bullsh!+.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Contreras was trying to intimidate Bradley earlier in the game. Then Contreras intentionally hit Clemmons' foot as Contreras slid head first into first base. But Contreras' actions were to no avail. I liked Trevor Plouffe's comments about the actions of Contreras and reactions of Bradley before the Contreras hit on Caratini at home plate. Contreras wanted to be all bad, so I was glad to see him boot the grounder later in the game.  Karma is a bitch.  Or  as Plouffe said, "The ball will find you".

[jkcarew]

If they had lost the lead in the 9th, all the talk would have centered on Morris’s outing.

But 2 earned runs scored on 12 hits plus a walk?? Ish. Contreras’s blunders were the deciding factor, although they shouldn’t have needed to be.

[David HK]

3 hours ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

Welcome back Taj! Great start. Could tell he was running out of gas in the 5th with 5 straight out of the zone. Nice recovery to finish it out. Rojas had 3 effective innings. He's a bit wild but he's getting it done. Rogers coming in and shutting the door.

 

Kendry needs to drill the mascot once in a while to make that wildness work for him. 😂

[Aggies7]

23 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

If they had lost the lead in the 9th, all the talk would have centered on Morris’s outing.

But 2 earned runs scored on 12 hits plus a walk?? Ish. Contreras’s blunders were the deciding factor, although they shouldn’t have needed to be.

It was a bit surprising to me to find out the twins have had the most opportunities in the league with the bases loaded. I’m sure it’s been mentioned before but I must have missed it. Without larnach’s slide, even more meat would have been left on the bone, as Kris says 

[knothole61]

5 hours ago, shimrod said:

Fun watching them hang on. The team is exceeding my expectations for wins. I agree with the praise for Shelton. The Rocco teams frequently felt like they were not playing to their potential. This team, as flawed as it is, keeps getting wins in unlikely spots. 

That said, my main take away from the last couple days is that Boston really sucks. 

And their yellow uniforms?

[knothole61]

I've been watching MLB since 1958 and that was the shortest ump I've ever seen! By the way, she did a great job. She called the close play on Larnach at the plate correctly (a tough call, indeed) and even had the courage to end the game on a pitch that barely scraped the top of the zone, and again she was proven right.

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend!"

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

10 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Whether Rojas remains a high velocity late IP arm, or transitions back to the rotation at some point, I absolutely love trusting in the kid's STUFF and letting him get his experience at the ML level at this point.

Agreed, Not sure what the Twins are planning at this point, but Rojas has looked pretty poised and impressive thus far. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Caratini took exception to Contreras' bump at the plate, and Contreras took exception to any human interaction that ensued. 

And then of course the rest of the players rushed off the bench and the bullpen dudes jogged over and nothing else happened ... but another embarrassingly juvenile tradition continues. 

[karcherd]

9 hours ago, nova_twins said:

It's happening across MLB, just gonna have to accept it. 

 

8 hours ago, Western SD Fan said:

I agree.  The multi-inning reliever has been making a comeback for some time now.  I'm not sure we will see 3 inning relief appearances being as common as they were when the save was created as a stat, but definitely 4-6 out appearances are becoming more common.  As for his usage, it sounds like they still want him stretched out in case they do need him as a spot starter.  Won't be the first or the last pitcher to toil in mid to long relief before getting his chance to be a full-time starter

I am not against multi-inning relief appearances.  It is the plan they have with Rojas as stated by Maki.  They are committed to a four day schedule with 45-60 pitches  You can't come into the game with a preordained plan.  It almost blew up on them in the 7th inning yesterday, similar to what they did with Abel in the opening series.  You can't just keep a guy out there in the 7th inning or later just because you want them to get work based on a plan.  You have to manage based on the game situation.

If they want to keep him stretched out then send him to St. Paul.  They currently have no starters there because every pitcher down there is on the bulk plan pitching no more than 4 innings per outing. My issue is this bulk pitching plan, it needs to be phased out in AAA and the major leagues at a minimum.

[Bodie]

11 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Back when they played baseball!

We all know the White Sox need this on a daily basis...

[tarheeltwinsfan]

6 hours ago, David HK said:

Kendry needs to drill the mascot once in a while to make that wildness work for him. 😂

Someone should have drilled Contreras.

[thelanges5]

6 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

It was a bit surprising to me to find out the twins have had the most opportunities in the league with the bases loaded. I’m sure it’s been mentioned before but I must have missed it. Without larnach’s slide, even more meat would have been left on the bone, as Kris says 

Twins are 6th in OPS and 7th in RBI w/RISP

[Jack207]

It is fun watching this team play now. Hopefully they continue to improve and stay in the hunt for both WC and division. 

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I didn't see the first 6 innings  , sure was nice to have Bradley back from IL list and sooner rather than later ...

5 very good innings that I missed from Bradley ,  I liked what I saw from Rojas today , a few wild ones in 3 innings of work ...

Offense was hitting , nice to see double digit hits in a game , last year they could barely get 3 or 4 hits a game ...

The team is slowly putting baby steps down  , the hope is will they sustain it and keep improving ...

Like I said in another thread article , the Twins are competive in their division but are not contenders in the league ...

They are playing better than any of us expected except for PETER ...

Nice win and guaranteed a series win , win tomorrow and it’s time for a sweep ...

Right now, TWINS are tied with Toronto for the last Wild Card in the AL. Competitive in a weak League, not just weak Division.

There are 3 “good” teams in the AL & that’s it ………… as things continue to get squared away in the PEN & with Lee at 3B (better fit) & Keaschall slowly creeping to reach his capabilities…………I like the path forward.

Abel & Festa still have a chance to be very helpful in the 2nd half!

Can either Lewis or Wallner hit .245 at the MLB level in 2nd half?……….. it would be a huge step up from their current .160’s……..not holding my breath.

[mark allen]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Someone should have drilled Contreras.

still should today

[mikelink45]

Caratini was in the wrong.  Clean good play - a runner is not obligated to slide, but the catcher is not supposed to block the plate.  Sorry to see that - Caratini has to clean that up.  Otherwise great game. 

[shimrod]

16 minutes ago, mark allen said:

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Someone should have drilled Contreras.

still should today

The play at the plate was aggressive. The play at first base was dirty. 

Clemons had his foot on the side of the bag where it belongs. 90% of the bag was available for Contreras to touch and he went for the ankle. 

I don't know if MLB has a post game fine regime like the NFL but if so that play warrants action.

[jorgenswest]

They can’t let Contreras get in their head. That’s his goal. It doesn’t seem like it did yesterday. Let it go and come play baseball today.

[Parfigliano]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Twins Fan said:

Caratini took exception to Contreras' bump at the plate, and Contreras took exception to any human interaction that ensued. 

And then of course the rest of the players rushed off the bench and the bullpen dudes jogged over and nothing else happened ... but another embarrassingly juvenile tradition continues. 

It should be auto ejection if you leave the bench or bullpen to join in.  You also lose the next days pay.

[JBK]

They left Morris in too long

[stringer bell]

11 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Contreras was trying to intimidate Bradley earlier in the game. Then Contreras intentionally hit Clemmons' foot as Contreras slid head first into first base. But Contreras' actions were to no avail. I liked Trevor Plouffe's comments about the actions of Contreras and reactions of Bradley before the Contreras hit on Caratini at home plate. Contreras wanted to be all bad, so I was glad to see him boot the grounder later in the game.  Karma is a bitch.  Or  as Plouffe said, "The ball will find you".

Clemens. He's been with the team for over a year and every day we get two or three alternate spellings. On top of that his dad was a great major leaguer for two decades. It shouldn't be that tough,

[Linus]

I was never a Falvey fan and I’m glad he is gone. However, he may end up being the hero with his moves at last years trade deadline. Taj is electric and if he refines his command a little can be an elite starter. Same with Abel and even Rojas. They need one more bat to emerge and this could get interesting. 

[stringer bell]

2 minutes ago, Linus said:

I was never a Falvey fan and I’m glad he is gone. However, he may end up being the hero with his moves at last years trade deadline. Taj is electric and if he refines his command a little can be an elite starter. Same with Abel and even Rojas. They need one more bat to emerge and this could get interesting. 

Health, a bat and an above average relief pitcher (or two).

[CoachDW]

Kody Clemens challenge on the FIRST PITCH of his at bat was just stupid. Nobody was on base at the time and only would have reversed an 0-1 count to 1-0. It left the Twins out of challenges that they could have used later. What if the home plate umpire had called the last pitch a ball? The Twins couldn’t have challenged. Players have to know the game situation before mindlessly making a challenge on a pitch that has no major bearing on the game as a whole. That Clemen’s boneheaded challenge could have been a killer, and for really a minuscule advantage. That can’t happen again. 

[ashbury]

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Clemens. He's been with the team for over a year and every day we get two or three alternate spellings. On top of that his dad was a great major leaguer for two decades. It shouldn't be that tough,

Cody Klemens is a mere shadow of his illustrious dad.

/ edit - I got a thumbs-down for misspelling Kody's name? 😀

[tarheeltwinsfan]

5 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Clemens. He's been with the team for over a year and every day we get two or three alternate spellings. On top of that his dad was a great major leaguer for two decades. It shouldn't be that tough,

My bad. Sorry for the  angst my poor spilling caused. Really.

[stringer bell]

3 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

My bad. Sorry for the  angst my poor spilling caused. Really.

Not angst or frustration, just puzzled that a name that has been in the majors for decades and with this team for over a year can't be spelled correctly. Nothing personal @tarheeltwinsfan.