Twins 4, Royals 3: Kody Clemens Turns Disaster Into Miracle With Walk-Off Grand Slam

[IndianaTwin]

37 minutes ago, Patzky said:

The team met. 

At home plate, in fact. 

In what was definitely not a meeting that could have been handled with an email.

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

"Go crazy folks! Go crazy!"

I don’t believe what I just saw. I don’t beLIEVE what I just saw. 

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, amjgt said:

I wasn’t sure that the Sano HR in Cleveland could ever be topped in terms of immaculate vibes, but damn if Kody didn’t try. 

I was driving down Interstate 57, windows open on a beautiful night. Most of central Illinois heard me yell. 

[Galen]

We do have expendable players...Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Roden, Krieder.  

[Patzky]

11 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

At home plate, in fact. 

In what was definitely not a meeting that could have been handled with an email.

"Met with widespread support"..

[HarmonK03]

12 minutes ago, Galen said:

We do have expendable players...Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Roden, Krieder.  

I am not sure why you think Lewis is expendable, he has been hitting well since coming back and doing fine at 1B.  He has also played a part in our last 3 late inning wins.

[chinmusic]

I'd never even heard  of an ultimate grand slam.

But ultimately, it was a lot of fun learning about it.

 So we've done 49-49, 54-54, 55-55

time to break on through to the other side.

[tony&rodney]

18 minutes ago, Galen said:

We do have expendable players...Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Roden, Krieder.  

I'm not sure what you have in mind but Ryan Kreidler is not expendable until someone else comes along, either via trade (unlikely) or next season (more likely). A good, at least decent, shortstop is a necessity. Nobody else on the roster can play the position.

FWIW, Vahn Lackey walked in his first PA as a pro and stole second base. Lacket looks big.

[RpR]

22 minutes ago, Galen said:

We do have expendable players...Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Roden, Krieder.  

Wallner and Roden , no great loss, the others have no reliable replacement.

Well, who is Krieder?

[Jack Pine]

2 hours ago, arby58 said:

Yeah, offense is quiet. A bat like Wallner makes more sense than Gray.

Or just about any other bat in St. Paul.

[Hashim]

We have a serious problem against lefties. I’m not complaining though because this was a miracle win. 

[Vanimal46]

 

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Royce has 1 good year as a hitter.....why are you confident in him? I'm curious. not judging. 

Because he’s got talent and shows it still, in flashes - FIRST year he’s been healthy in about 8 years total. He absolutely sucked prior to being sent down - certainly respectable since his return. Solid defense at all 3 positions.

Varland was terrible, to non- Minnesotans, until he was 27. Almost washed out at 26. He has guts and worked. Clemens - Lee - Keaschall all could have been sent down or DFA’d earlier in the year…… they kept getting playing time. Lewis hitting .165 through the first 9-10 weeks of the year isn’t going to be overcome in 6-7 weeks.

Nobody got a hit today - he had a hit last night - he won the game in 9th the day before. His plate discipline is terrible too often, but I’ve been watching Buxton with the same issues for 10 years.

 

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, JD-TWINS said:

Because he’s got talent and shows it still, in flashes - FIRST year he’s been healthy in about 8 years total. He absolutely sucked prior to being sent down - certainly respectable since his return. Solid defense at all 3 positions.

Varland was terrible, to non- Minnesotans, until he was 27. Almost washed out at 26. He has guts and worked. Clemens - Lee - Keaschall all could have been sent down or DFA’d earlier in the year…… they kept getting playing time. Lewis hitting .165 through the first 9-10 weeks of the year isn’t going to be overcome in 6-7 weeks.

Nobody got a hit today - he had a hit last night - he won the game in 9th the day before. His plate discipline is terrible too often, but I’ve been watching Buxton with the same issues for 10 years.

 

Buxton has outhit Royce and it isn't comparable. I'm happy you have hope for Lewis. I hope you are right n

[stringer bell]

When the Twins got Kody, I thought  I came up with a good burn by calling him “Bronnie”. I was totally wrong. 

[JD-TWINS]

59 minutes ago, Galen said:

We do have expendable players...Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Roden, Krieder.  

Larnach is expendable??

Wallner is at AAA - Roden is barely hanging on to a roster spot - Kreidler has stuck do to an absolute NEED at SS!

Lewis is finally healthy and he’s learning to deal with having to play every day and how to handle adversity. He’s still got solid upside.

Larnach is the 2nd best hitter on the Club ….., Jeffers missed 60 games & Buxton misses all the time …. estimating he’s missed 35 games. Those are the other two guys Larnach would be compared to this year. Not sure what he needs to do to get people here at TD off his back.

[JD-TWINS]

5 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Buxton has outhit Royce and it isn't comparable. I'm happy you have hope for Lewis. I hope you are right n

So did Rod Carew - what’s Buxton got to do with Lewis? ……… I too hope I’m right - no guarantees in Pro Sports.

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

So did Rod Carew - what’s Buxton got to do with Lewis? ……… I too hope I’m right - no guarantees in Pro Sports.

I didn't make that comparison...... You did. 

[weitz41]

Is now a good time to check todays scores?

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I think offense is the biggest need. I'm not sure how to fix that, though. First base and SS are the biggest possibilities. Culpeper is ready or almost, so he'll be up in three or so weeks. That leaves first. Maybe right field or left field. 

I'd probably trade Bell, move Trevor to DH and put Jenkins or Roden or GG in left. But I didn't think that fixed things enough. I'd also consider a 2b and move Clemens to first. Can't be hard to outhit Lewis. 

Definitely, if they are buying, a mid level prosprctt for a RP is happening. 

I agree with trading Bell. Moving Larnach to DH would be an upgrade there. Im also trading Lewis. Finding a big bat at 1B is usually one of the easier things to find at the deadline. Im leaving Clemens and his strong defense at 2B. 

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, IndianaTwin said:

I don’t believe what I just saw. I don’t beLIEVE what I just saw. 

I don't believe what you saw and I saw it to. 

[Hubie29]

I'm thinking we need bats more than pitching at the deadline. Look at the lineup we had to put out there today. (It wouldn't even scare Randy Dobnak!) However, we could use another SP that could slot in at the 3rd spot in the rotation at least. Ryan is struggling and everyone else is hit and miss. We could probably fly with the BP we have now. 

[Vanimal46]

5 minutes ago, Hubie29 said:

I'm thinking we need bats more than pitching at the deadline. Look at the lineup we had to put out there today. (It wouldn't even scare Randy Dobnak!) However, we could use another SP that could slot in at the 3rd spot in the rotation at least. Ryan is struggling and everyone else is hit and miss. We could probably fly with the BP we have now. 

Not sure I agree with that. Offense can be replaced by prospects when the time is right to give them a chance. Culpepper and Jenkins are 2 easy call ups. This organization is 1 Joe, Taj, or Bailey injury from bullpen games every 4-5 days. 

[Czelgert]

I’ll be the wet blanket here but the Twins haven’t hit a lick since the ASG.  If you take out a three error game and a four error game by Twins opponents they’d be averaging 2 runs a game since the ASG and many of those opponents were bad.  Walker Jenkins is the only top 7 2023 pick not to get promoted to the big leagues.  It’s time for him to get promoted to The Show because this team needs a shot of adrenaline.  Alex Jackson, it’s been real.  

[mluebker]

Amid all the talk about Kody Clemens’ modest statistics, low expectations, or whether a guy with his numbers even should be in the lineup regularly, he’s gone out there every day and done the best he can to help this team win. He’s made this season a whole lot more interesting than any of us had a right to hope or expect.

[tony&rodney]

46 minutes ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

I agree with trading Bell.

Apparently people have not noticed that Bell is the leader on this team. He is not just popular but is also adequate as a DH. Yes, I want Yordan Alvarez but Bell isn't going anywhere this season. Sorry to those people who think he is an anchor.

FWIW, I was not pleased at all that the Twins signed Bell, but they did and now he is on the roster. I will agree that there should be a better DH but Bell it is. 

[JD-TWINS]

57 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I didn't make that comparison...... You did. 

.209 - .225 - .156 - .224 - .207 ……. those are five years of Buxton’s averages for entire seasons …….. he’s struck out over 100 times 5 different years - 99 one year - if he hadn’t missed so many games this year, he’d be over 100 already in July. Proof that Byron has struggled at times.

He too is a great talent - more so than Lewis. He still struggles often with plate discipline on pitches down and away. Everyone has a weakness.

My comment wasn’t critical of Buxton as a player……. it was a comparison to Lewis's issues with swinging at bad pitches down and away……… just like Buxton has done for stretches every year over his 12 years in the Bigs. Lewis needs to improve that part of his game and if he can/does he’ll be a big contributor.

[Hubie29]

49 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Not sure I agree with that. Offense can be replaced by prospects when the time is right to give them a chance. Culpepper and Jenkins are 2 easy call ups. This organization is 1 Joe, Taj, or Bailey injury from bullpen games every 4-5 days. 

You can't count on rookies to improve this lineup. We need an established hitter or two. I also said we need another SP which would help keep us out of the scenario you proposed.

[Colbeh]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Royce has 1 good year as a hitter.....why are you confident in him? I'm curious. not judging. 

Everyone was saying the same thing about Buxton years ago. People seem to forget that in 2022/23 season he was absolutely awful. It took him awhile before everything started to clicked and that patience paid off.

I remember how alot of the people on this site wanted Buxton gone, just like they want Royce gone.

Royce has had a very similar trajectory as Buxton and I just believe we should once again be patient with him.

[Saxophone Joe]

Is this real life? Team of destiny! 🤣 LFG