Royals 2, Twins 1: A Duo of Decent Debuts Ends in Defeat

[D.C Twins]

Buckle up... regression to the mean of BA to RISP and W/L to run differential are about to run into a string of quality opponents. 

This was Exhibit A for those of us who wanted to trade at least Jeffers and Larnach at the deadline. 

I hope that those on the other side will eventually have an Exhibit B that shows that the Twins were able to defy the odds... but I wonder... and worry. 

[Jacksson]

42 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

He’s been discussed as possible Gold Glove guy in the N.L. this year …….. he starts every day at 2B for TWINS. Clemens goes to LF - with an available Buxton, Keaschall plays RF.

He’s batting 4th for the Phillies - .382 BA with RISP this year & .352 with RISP for his career. Poor RBI guy, obviously!  He’s hit 1st or 2nd most of his career so nobody’s on when he comes to bat.

Yep, he’s worthless……. that’s why he’s squarely in the middle of the Phillies line-up.

Remember too; the Phillies changed defensive positions of 3 players to accommodate Luis being able to remain at his preferred 2B position.  Since Keaschall bombed out at 2B and is now patrolling CF until Buxton returns, Luis could have filled the 2B vacancy with Clemens moving to RF.  IF/when Buxton returns send Keaschall to St Paul to learn how to play CF.    

[VivaBomboRivera!]

55 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

? Second base.

Tough call there, as neither he, nor Clemens nor Lewis are outstanding at the position. The durability of Arraez' legs has apparently improved from where it was in his later years with the Twins. Here are his defensive stats (Baseball Reference, may not include tonight's numbers) compared to Clemens (OBP .292, SLG .474) and Lewis (OBP .308, SLG .418).


To be clear, my pick for a righty addition would have been Randy Arozarena. 

[LastOnePicked]

There's just something about this team that struggles at the first sign of expectation of success. I was hoping it was just a Rocco thing, but it seems to run a little deeper in the culture. We'll see.

This team has positively surprised me a few times this season. Here's hoping for a few more. But it's possible that the gas has finally run out. And, of course, at just about the worst possible time.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, darwin22 said:

Mentioned in other threads, but what is THE REASON to keep Culpepper, Jenkins and to a lesser extent Wallner in SP?

Deleted, never mind.  My alleged "insight" was based on a faulty analysis of the 2020 season.

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Nice debut for Kremer. If he can do that every time out, the trade will look great for us. 

I like Kriedler and his defense is great, but we need some offense. Its time to send Gray back to AAA and call up Culpepper. If nothing else, maybe the new energy can wake some of the guys up. Added bonus, Kriedler is also our best defensive CFer and can keep Keaschall in a corner OF spot. 

I was really hoping Caratini would've been traded. Hes fighting hard for title of the worst hitter on the team. This season, Jackson seems to be a better hitter so far. He played 1B once already, see if he can do it more. 

Get the guys that are ice cold off the field as much as possible. Try to bring in some new energy. Gotta do something. 

[wesnewy]

This team needs a spark point blank period. Honestly, I would take anyone at this point, even like a Gabby Gonzales, or Erod once his rehab stint is done. The help against lefties would be nice.

[howeda7]

Call up Jenkins, Culpepper and Gabby Gonzalez. Cut Gray. IL Caratini and demote Roden. Relase Orze or Woo Suk Go for the other 40 man spot.

[David HK]

So happy for these recent bullpen upgra....

Oh, wait... 🤔

[Peter]

The 2 walkoffs are still lingering-awful difficult to get over that. That was obvious in first game with KC-last night you can’t with with 2 hits!!! Bats need to wake up!!! Buxton needs to be back in lineup! Bad bad bad time to get into losing streak as schedule gets way more difficult-we are lucky to only be 1 back in wild card and 4 behind Chicago-need to get back to winning ASAP 

[I Never Bet On Sports]

In the fourth inning when Clemons grounded to second and Josh Bell stopped, the Royals threw to first too late to get Clemons, then threw back to second, but Witt missed the tag on Bell and he was safe. Anyone notice that was still a force out at second so no need to tag Bell? If Witt had just had his foot (or knee in the position he was in) on the bag when he caught the ball Bell would have been out easily. His knee almost touched the bag before Bell but he was safe. Unusual play, but the Royals missed an opportunity that led to our only run. 

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, 90stwinskid said:

Post deadline record: 0-2

Overall: 56-59

 

Good thing we're done facing the Royals after tomorrow.

Thur got our number. It's 1. 

[Patzky]

4 hours ago, wesnewy said:

This team needs a spark point blank period. Honestly, I would take anyone at this point, even like a Gabby Gonzales, or Erod once his rehab stint is done. The help against lefties would be nice.

We're facing two lefties in Milwaukee and the other pitcher is Miserowski.. Good times!

[DJL44]

6 hours ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

I like Kriedler and his defense is great, but we need some offense. Its time to send Gray back to AAA and call up Culpepper. If nothing else, maybe the new energy can wake some of the guys up. Added bonus, Kriedler is also our best defensive CFer and can keep Keaschall in a corner OF spot. 

Kreidler’s bat is so bad that the only position he can justify starting in the lineup is at SS. If he isn’t the starter at SS, he needs to sit on the bench and wait to enter as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in the 8th inning. He should never be in the starting lineup as an outfielder with all the options the Twins have available.

 

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, jkcarew said:

I’m sure we’ll make a run when we start playing better teams.

Seems to fly in the face of common sense but yeah, we beat the Bostons Yankees and Rangers just fine. The Royals and Reds, not so much.

[Coach]

Going back to last year, the Twins have had so much trouble when they face pitchers with slow breaking pitches and change ups.  Just an observation, no solution.

[Coach]

9 hours ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Good debuts by Kremer and Hoffman. The blame in this one is entirely on the offense. They couldn't get anything done today. Even the run they did score was on a double play with the bases loaded. Good job by the pitching staff, but it is hard to win games scoring just 1 run. I think now is the time to call up Jenkins or Culpepper to give this team a spark. I understand the service time concerns, but the Twins can't let this race slip too far away from them. Cleveland and Chicago both fell so somehow the Twins are only 1.0 game out of the wild card, but they need to start winning some games if they want to make a serious push. 

At least get Jenkins and Culpepper up, so they can hit the ground running next year.

[HarmonK03]

9 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

It would be a shame if the acquisition of four quality pitchers is overshadowed by the failure to trade for a right-handed bat.

What is a right-handed bat going to do for this team.  We need offense, it doesn't matter what side of the plate they hit from.  We had 7 righties and it should have been 8 in the lineup.  Maybe we need more quality instead of just someone who stands on the right side.

[Coach]

9 hours ago, Saxophone Joe said:

OK, I’m gonna leave my negativity in the game thread and hunt the good: Kremer was solid and steady, if unspectacular. 

Best I can do.

Interesting that all the Twin's pitchers were recent acquisitions.

[William K Johnson]

Caratini and Martin need to go.   IMO Jackson is the best option at backup catcher after we extend Jeffers.  Talking about catchers, I see where Seattle DFA'd Garver.   When Lewis bunted and loaded the bases last night, I instantly thought we had a chance to break out against Cameron until I saw Victor strolling to the plate.  My hope was that he would strike out to avoid the DP.    Nope, he had to hit a ground ball to second.    As far as Martin goes, I really can't recall his last hit and do not think his early success should guarantee a spot for the entire season.   Everyone may talk about his catch against the fence in the late portion of the game, but had he not got completely twisted around, the catch would not have been that difficult.

[HarmonK03]

7 hours ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

Added bonus, Kriedler is also our best defensive CFer and can keep Keaschall in a corner OF spot. 

That is a pretty low bar if Kreidler is our best defensive CFer, he is average at best out there.

[Coach]

I thought we were going to see a copy of the ninth inning heroics like the other night.  Started with a walk by Bell followed by good heads up running.  Good hustle by Clemens. Beautiful bunt by Royce!  Caratini with bases loaded.  Oh well....  I wonder if things would have been different if Keaschall were in the line up instead.  Doesn't matter if he would have batted after Royce.

[laloesch]

9 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Luis Arraez is on fire for the Phillies since being acquired.  Just saying…..of course, he’s a lefty batter. 

I was all for the Twins acquiring him.  Prior to the deadline the biggest glaring weakness on this Twins team was bats, still is.  The lineup played wayyyyyy OVER its head in the first half of the season.  They should be calling up reinforcements now from AAA otherwise all of the bullpen acquisitions were a complete waste.

[laloesch]

32 minutes ago, Coach said:

At least get Jenkins and Culpepper up, so they can hit the ground running next year.

One would think.  But my guess is they figure next season is a lost strike season so they are holding back calling them up.

[laloesch]

9 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

This is getting ridiculous call up the prospects

Yep.

[umterp23]

2 hours ago, I Never Bet On Sports said:

In the fourth inning when Clemons grounded to second and Josh Bell stopped, the Royals threw to first too late to get Clemons, then threw back to second, but Witt missed the tag on Bell and he was safe. Anyone notice that was still a force out at second so no need to tag Bell? If Witt had just had his foot (or knee in the position he was in) on the bag when he caught the ball Bell would have been out easily. His knee almost touched the bag before Bell but he was safe. Unusual play, but the Royals missed an opportunity that led to our only run. 

By attempting the out at first base, they in turn forfeit the force play at second. Just like a first baseman steps on back for ball in play out, the runner to second has to be tagged out. Either way, gift by the royals but not executing on their end

[Saxophone Joe]

Pretty funny watching the postgame presser with Shelty. He's like, I thought we had some good at-bats against Cameron. How many strikeouts did we have against him? Media member says, Nine. Shelty: Nine? Oh (chuckles), that was a lot more than I thought. 

Yeah, Skip, it was, and is, that bad. 

[thelanges5]

33 minutes ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Pretty funny watching the postgame presser with Shelty. He's like, I thought we had some good at-bats against Cameron. How many strikeouts did we have against him? Media member says, Nine. Shelty: Nine? Oh (chuckles), that was a lot more than I thought. 

Yeah, Skip, it was, and is, that bad. 

Batters couldn’t see his pitches either I guess. Cameron had a 32% CSW (called strikes + whiffs)

[MMMordabito]

Call up Culpepper and Jenkins!!!

[Major League Ready]

I am as pro prospect as anyone.  However, Jenkins and Culpeper have an OPS 150 points lower than Wallner and Sabato.  Why should we believe they are ready to impact a pennant race?  Rodriguez makes more sense to me.  It's time we get a look at him.   I would give him 3 games back with the Saints and bring him up.

Now, had the organization recognized they were not a contender, they could make moves like this that are designed to develop and build a contending team.