Brewers 4, Twins 3: Lara And Bauers Are WPA Merchants, Twins Lose Series

[Saxophone Joe]

Seattle lost 5 of 6 games at home after playing us, so there’s that.

[1985Fan]

32 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

Allowing Kriedler to hit in the 7th inning with 2 runners on base instead of pinch-hitting Culpepper was worth of a major 2nd guess on Shelton's part.  Dont understand it.

Austin Martin is NOT worthy of a bench spot.  Rodon is on thin ice also.

It’s possible that KC was available only under emergency conditions due to being hit by two pitches yesterday. Or not wanting to use a rookie to pinch hit, or not wanting to lose Kreidler’s defense. 

[thelanges5]

Detroit won and Cleveland is losing so the Twins will be in a tie for third place with Detroit moving up to second place. Woof

[Saxophone Joe]

1 hour ago, wesnewy said:

to add on to this Royce cant go 0/5 with 4Ks when he is in the top of the lineup. - coming from a Royce believer 

My MLB app is trolling me: the top story on my page is “Lewis’ hot streak arrives at the right time for the Twins.” 

Glad he didn’t get the platinum sombrero though! 

 

[HarmonK03]

25 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Let me be clear, I want Walker Jenkins at Target Field tomorrow and in the lineup every day. I do believe his defense and overall play would be a shot in the arm. I'm also hoping that Kaelen Culpepper starts five days per week.

My thinking is that the Twins may be less convinced based on his inconsistent plate appearances. They may be concerned about Jenkins being overwhelmed. If Jenkins is up, I don't know who goes down or away. Austin Martin? However, I'm just guessing.

The other piece is that the Twins chose to keep three catchers. It reall isn't that automatic to find a catcher and thus the reluctance to just let Alex Jackson go, especially because the White Sox would love to have him. The Yankees just gave Mitch Garver a minor league deal and he isn't really much of a catch any more. I really was surprised that the Twins were unable to find a transaction that included Ryan Jeffers but we also have to give at least some credit to the organization for deciding that Jeffers is worth using for the next two months and then losing for no return.

Appreciate the comments but I do feel they are being a little too conservative.  And it's the same situations with the three catchers.  Jackson did a nice job in June with Jeffers out, but was that an anomaly or who he is.  Based on history I am not sure he could replicate that production.  If Jeffers or Caratini get hurt yet this year, there are catchers on the waiver wire, you are going to more worried about defense than offense at that point.  And I have to believe they could find a replacement in the offseason if needed.  

Yes there is some risk in DFA'ing Jackson, but Zoll said he wanted to give this team a chance to see what they could do.  He then needs to continuing making some moves that at least tries to help them.  Using a 12 man position roster is not helping them for this year.  Roden and Martin both are not producing and could easily be sent down for Jenkins.  They have to start taking some risks.  Bring up Wallner or Gonzalez, I don't know who but identify the need and get someone up here that can help in some role.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Galen said:

Good Culpepper got a rest today???

How do you call up a top prospect and not okay him every day? Was this about the HBP, or awful management?

[mnfireman]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

How do you call up a top prospect and not okay him every day? Was this about the HBP, or awful management?

After 2 HBP and a foul ball off is leg I think the term they use in the NHL is "General Soreness"....

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Yes, - if Austin Martin can’t lay down a bunt in that situation (and he wasn’t even close!), what’s he even doing on the roster? 

Gutsy team but just not ready for prime time. 3 walk-off losses that were each there for the taking, and yesterday’s game felt like a walk-off loss and was obviously winnable too.

 

Martin has potential to be a good 4th OF'er but he does too many little things poorly. Can't get a bunt down. Doesn't score despite being waved in on Friday etc. He's out of options next year, and I hope Gabby Gonzalez is ahead of him as the RH bench OF'er. 

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, h2oface said:

Tigers have an open door to push Twins to 4th in division today. (Tied for 3rd if Cleveland continues to lose). Twins are a whopping -120 in run differential compared to the Tigers. Cleveland is -110. Tigers are even +50 on Chicago! I still think the Tigers are going to win the Central. 

7-2 since Skubal’s last outing. And their “goodness” goes back to mid June. Still, they had the common sense to trade him. Pythagoras of Samos says they should have a 6 game lead in the division ahead of Chicago. And he’s rarely wrong about these things.

[jkcarew]

Twins played well overall in this series. IMO, you win the Orioles series playing like this. But, we’ll see.

Also…Louis Lara is 21 years old…I thought that was against the rules when in the postseason hunt. What gives?

[Bodie]

59 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

All the things 🤣

That is how ya' get the best record in baseball!

 

 

[NYCTK]

3 minutes ago, howeda7 said:

Martin has potential to be a good 4th OF'er but he does too many little things poorly. Can't get a bunt down. Doesn't score despite being waved in on Friday etc. He's out of options next year, and I hope Gabby Gonzalez is ahead of him as the RH bench OF'er. 

I don't think he is out of options next year, unless they option him this year, which they haven't done yet this season to my knowledge. So they are likely keeping that in consideration as well. 

[Mike Sixel]

1-2 isn't the end of the world. It's a tiny sample. They played well overall. 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

The Twins are showing themselves to be a very resilient bunch. The players are working hard on every facet of the game and played the Brewers tight in this series. The differences between the two clubs is rather stark. The Twins hustle to their maximum ability but can't reach balls, while the Brewers run down the ball with skill and speed. The plays by Chourio and Lara were Buxton at his best back in the day. A viewer cannot help but notice the speed of the Brewers in all facets of the game. Buxton and Keaschall are at or above 28 ft/sec in sprint speed. The Brewers have twelve (12) position players at or faster than that rate. 

The Twins will find success if they can keep focused and put pressure on like they did this weekend in Milwaukee. Those were three excellent baseball games in front of packed houses. The AL Central Division is still realistic but things have to go their way in a few cases. This next week is another big test.

Go Twins

Can I read anything into the tea leaves why Walker Jenkins sat out today's Saints game?

[Patzky]

20 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

7-2 since Skubal’s last outing. And their “goodness” goes back to mid June. Still, they had the common sense to trade him.

Melton is Ace of August

[jkcarew]

44 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

How do you call up a top prospect and not okay him every day? Was this about the HBP, or awful management?

Could be the HBP, I suppose. Maybe more likely protecting the fragile confidence of a new rookie from MIZ? If that, still not sure I agree with it. Would rather assume my top prospects/rookies DON’T have fragile confidence. Not like he hasn’t seen a handful (at least) of ugly results in the minors. It’s baseball. And you gotta assume he’s better than the alternative regardless. I guess we’ll see going forward. Orioles? The Phillies ace is a lefty. We’ll see.

[HarmonK03]

42 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

After 2 HBP and a foul ball off is leg I think the term they use in the NHL is "General Soreness"....

A lot of assumptions about why he is out, it would be nice to get an update.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Something else that ticked me off: How did no one from Prielipp’s family go to the game?! Lmao. 

Dude pitched well, all things considered. Steady as they come! 

Provus and Plouffe explained this during the game. Connor Prielipp's younger brother had his final game today. The family knows they can watch Connor next week. Makes perfect sense to me. I would do the same.

 

[HarmonK03]

16 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

A lot of assumptions about why he is out, it would be nice to get an update.

Dan Hayes said it was a planned day of rest.  He had played 5 days in a row including at St. Paul and coming off the injury, they wanted to give him a day off.  But they also said he was available so I am not sure why he didn't pinch hit.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, HarmonK03 said:

They have to start taking some risks.  Bring up Wallner or Gonzalez,

Josh Bell is the DH. If something happens to Bell or he needs a day there is a line - Larnach, Keaschall, Roden. Wallner would have been called up if there were a spot for him. Gonzalez is also a DH and not hitting particularly well at this time. Walker Jenkins is the last card left in AAA. 

It is difficult to watch Ryan Kreidler struggle at the plate but he remains valuable because he can turn batted balls into outs. I'm not feeling desperate. The trade deadline is over and the Twins replaced Tristan Gray with Kaelen Culpepper. The roster is what it is and there is really only one move left until September when a 14th position player and 14th pitcher can be called up.

If the Twins play as well as they did this weekend through the remainder of the schedule, they will be fine.

[HarmonK03]

9 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Josh Bell is the DH. If something happens to Bell or he needs a day there is a line - Larnach, Keaschall, Roden. Wallner would have been called up if there were a spot for him. Gonzalez is also a DH and not hitting particularly well at this time. Walker Jenkins is the last card left in AAA. 

It is difficult to watch Ryan Kreidler struggle at the plate but he remains valuable because he can turn batted balls into outs. I'm not feeling desperate. The trade deadline is over and the Twins replaced Tristan Gray with Kaelen Culpepper. The roster is what it is and there is really only one move left until September when a 14th position player and 14th pitcher can be called up.

If the Twins play as well as they did this weekend through the remainder of the schedule, they will be fine.

But this roster needs help, Kreidler came up in two key situations and they needed someone to pinch hit for him.  Wallner could be in that role of a pinch hitter, he can run into one and I would rather take a chance with him than Kreidler.  You can't keep losing games like today this time of the season.  And any moves they make may not work, but they have a player sitting on the bench not being used.  If they are truly a contender that they say they are, you don't stash a player on the bench.

And if not Wallner, than try something.  To do nothing is more discouraging than trying something and it not working out.  There are other options beside Wallner and they may not be optimal but this is the time to stop being conservative and back up the talk and try something.

[RpR]

5 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

But this roster needs help, Kreidler came up in two key situations and they needed someone to pinch hit for him.  Wallner could be in that role of a pinch hitter, he can run into one and I would rather take a chance with him than Kreidler.  You can't keep losing games like today this time of the season.  And any moves they make may not work, but they have a player sitting on the bench not being used.  If they are truly a contender that they say they are, you don't stash a player on the bench.

And if not Wallner, than try something.  To do nothing is more discouraging than trying something and it not working out.  There are other options beside Wallner and they may not be optimal but this is the time to stop being conservative and back up the talk and try something.

You have told us it is all Kreidler's fault ad nauseam.

[RpR]

[HarmonK03]

13 minutes ago, RpR said:

You have told us it is all Kreidler's fault ad nauseam.

I haven't said it was all Kriedler's fault but in two key situations the #9 hitter was left in without pinch hitting for him.  I have said multiple times, there were many poor at bats.  But in the context of having someone that can pinch hit on the roster would be beneficial because most teams would have pinch hit for their #9 hitter in those situations.  Read the posts, not just the part you want.

[strumdatjag]

For you Debbie Downers.   Remember what you expected from this team at the start of this season.  Today, they took on the best pitcher in baseball pitching for the team with the best record in baseball, in THEIR ballpark.    The Brewers needed two ridiculous plays by their right fielder Lara in order to win this game. Put Clemons throw a few feet more to Kody’s right and that last play is an out.

Meanwhile, the other Kody (Funderburk) is turning into a very good reliever   

I am having a lot of fun watching this team this year.   And it’s not just because I started with low expectations.  
 

Go Twins.  
 

 

[jorgenswest]

1 hour ago, howeda7 said:

Martin has potential to be a good 4th OF'er but he does too many little things poorly. Can't get a bunt down. Doesn't score despite being waved in on Friday etc. He's out of options next year, and I hope Gabby Gonzalez is ahead of him as the RH bench OF'er. 

No one has successfully bunted against Ashby this year. I am not blaming Martin. The blame lies elsewhere.

[mark allen]

3 hours ago, HarmonK03 said:

I know you have been watching the games more. But I have been following game logs for Jenkins and he is 18 for 50 with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs in one game.  There is never a perfect time to bring someone up, I don't really understand why he wouldn't be up here tomorrow.

We saw what outfield defense can do for you and we need a CF and Kreidler is not the answer to replace Keaschall.  I know he won't necessarily save the season by himself, but it increases the talent level on this team.  We are carrying Jackson and he has one pinch running appearance in 10 days.  I can't believe that Jenkins at least won't improve the roster and be extension maybe the bench a little more as well.

Jackson is a great bunter he should of been the one to move the runners

[HarmonK03]

31 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

For you Debbie Downers.   Remember what you expected from this team at the start of this season.  Today, they took on the best pitcher in baseball pitching for the team with the best record in baseball, in THEIR ballpark.    The Brewers needed two ridiculous plays by their right fielder Lara in order to win this game. Put Clemons throw a few feet more to Kody’s right and that last play is an out.

Meanwhile, the other Kody (Funderburk) is turning into a very good reliever   

I am having a lot of fun watching this team this year.   And it’s not just because I started with low expectations.  
 

Go Twins.  
 

 

So because expectations were low, we can't have expectations now.  You are correct this team has been more enjoyable to watch then the past two years.  But they raised the expectations at the trade deadline with the moves they made.  You don't trade Hill for a rental relief pitcher if you don't think you have a chance to make the playoffs.  And I agree with the trade.

But don't stop now, help the roster out, the margins for error are getting smaller every day.  Yes they played well this weekend.  But the if game goes both ways, they were two strikes from being swept by KC at home.  That is what is frustrating they just can't seem to turn the corner and get any consistency going.  And if they weren't fun to watch, a lot of people would have tuned them out by now, but a lot of us want them to do well but doing the same thing every day is leading to this inconsistency.  So why not try something different to see if that provide a spark or some life to the team.