Twins 5, White Sox 1: Zebby Matthews Stops the Bleeding, Twins Avoid Sweep

[Wedman13]

4 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

I have said multiple times, Tom P. needs to walk across the street.  Tim C. is willing to make moves to make the team better even if it is not the conventional move.

Chess not checkers.  And we do (twins) have the pieces.  I do believe that.

baseball does need to fix itself though so all teams  have the ability to have kings and queens.  Otherwise we're left fighting over Roden, Jackson, Fedko, our ridiculously bad bullpen to begin the year while 3-4 teams have zero of those arguments.  Just my opinion 

but today was a good day

[RpR]

[GNess]

23 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

From the grave, Don Baylor disagrees with you.

 

I agree with both of you - super old guy not awesome.

But the Twins have had some success over the years with the super old guys - Davis, Thome, Cruz in addition to Baylor all come to mind.

[mark allen]

Great game by Zebby. Great month also. Everyone saying to not resign Bell, butt if we had to pick a player to come up with a clutch hit, he's the one I would want to be batting. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

22 minutes ago, Coach said:

Resign Bell. Talk done.

Re- sign or resign?

[RpR]

38 minutes ago, MeleMouth said:

I like Zebby and he got great results today, but we should go a little slower on projecting anything for him from this game, because the Sox hit him pretty hard.

Royce was en fuego the first half of August, then his great luck on batted balls flipped to bad in the second half of the month and the league started pitching him a little differently. His results for the last two weeks are probably somewhat bad luck, but his actual OPS for August 13-29 (not including today's 0-3) is .392 and even if he had normal luck it would be below .550. Historically, he has struggled to make adjustments. It's going to be an interesting September for him.

I'd also go slow on writing off Culpepper at SS. He's a great athlete and a smart guy; what we're seeing now might just be growing pains. He's also by far the most likely of all known candidates to start at SS when the 2027 season begins, so he's going to get more learning opportunities. 

Another version of Lee at Short Stop would be silly.

Keaschall can hit but sucks with his glove; if Culpepper turns into this , one has to go.

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

WTF? Comparing him to SWR after a great start. Why? Why not just be happy?

Yeah, I'm probably the most pessimistic jerk here and even I thought that comparison went too far. :)

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, Danchat said:

My initial thought is that Ober gets traded - not for a big return, but for something because teams need starting pitching.

Won't the Twins also need starting pitching? I can see Ober sneaking in quite a few starts as a #5 or #6 next year.

[MeleMouth]

5 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

Why don't you look at Matthew's results for the season, he has had 15 good starts out of 18 and is averaging almost 6 innings a start.  And he keeps his team in almost every game.  And he has gotten stronger in August.

And good job of cherry picking stats on Lewis.  Yes he has struggled the last two weeks of August but still has a batting ave of .277 and OPS of .708.  And he has been one of our top hitters since coming back from St. Paul.  Yet Clemens who has been ice cold the month keeps hitting in the middle of the order.

 

OK, look at Zebby's results for the season. The Twins have the 23rd ranked pitching staff in the league. Of 17 pitchers on the Twins with at least 20 IPs, Zebby's FIP is 15th on the Twins, with only Paredes and SWR below him. League-wide, of 108 pitchers with more than 100 IP, he's 95th in FIP. Again, I like Zebby, but this hasn't been a stellar year for him.

Boy, you really defend Royce, despite the fact that his wRC+ just since his return would tie him for 18th among qualifying 1B on a full-year basis. To compare him to Clemens, between Aug 13-29, Royce's OPS is .392, while Clemens, whom you said is "ice cold," has an .853 OPS. It seems reasonable that this .450+ OPS advantage for Clemens over the last two weeks could be a factor in batting order today. Yes, since Royce came back, his OPS is a decent .763, versus a slightly lower .743 for Clemens, but much of the "S" in Royce's OPS came in June. You say that since Royce came back he's been "one of our top hitters," but his OPS is 5th out of 11 players with more than 100 PAs, which is decent, but being in the middle is not really being "one of our top hitters."

Also, we shouldn't act as if Royce's awful start to the season didn't occur and shouldn't be taken into account when deciding batting order, particularly when his hitting is awful once again and he has a history of struggling to turn around slumps. Not to defend Clemens too much, but Royce's stats are mostly comparable to the "ice cold" Clemens and Clemens actually exceeds Lewis in several areas. Finally and most importantly, the target for Royce's offense is supposed to be much higher than Kody Clemens, whom, we must also recognize, contributes much more on defense.

[LastOnePicked]

29 minutes ago, Coach said:

The numbers dictate it, plus have you ever noticed the other players are always in his ear in the dugout?  Chili Davis reincarnated.

Re-sign him. Let him put up solid numbers, then trade him to the Rays for a starting pitching prospect. 

[TheLeviathan]

Great to see a start like that from Zebby.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, HarmonK03 said:

Why don't you look at Matthew's results for the season, he has had 15 good starts out of 18 and is averaging almost 6 innings a start.  And he keeps his team in almost every game.  And he has gotten stronger in August.

And good job of cherry picking stats on Lewis.  Yes he has struggled the last two weeks of August but still has a batting ave of .277 and OPS of .708.  And he has been one of our top hitters since coming back from St. Paul.  Yet Clemens who has been ice cold the month keeps hitting in the middle of the order.

 

Looks like you consider any start under a 10.50 ERA to be a good one. I guess we have different definitions of "good"

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, HarmonK03 said:

First we have no idea of the direction of the team, because they need to figure out a lot things.  And one of those is get more athletic, why sacrifice that for a league average DH.  Bell has done ok, but it's not like he is elite or outstanding.  And based on his history will he be able to repeat his production.

Bell has put up minus 1 win above average. He is one of the reasons their record is below .500.

[stringer bell]

According to The Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saved, Brooks Lee is +7 at third base. I don’t think second is ideal for Brooks, but he’s been very good at the hot corner. As long as he hits acceptably, he should be the regular 3B.

Culpepper is -3 DRS in 18 games. That figures to be -27 for a full season. He looks like he has the range and arm, but honestly he looks pretty raw.

Keaschall is -5 in right field and a whopping -9 in center in limited play. I think a corner spot or maybe first base are his future.

Two or three weeks ago, it looked like Lewis was well on the way to estabishing himself as a regular, probably at first base. Now he has four more weeks to make that claim.

In 2027, I would in expect Keaschall and Lewis to be better defenders at their spots where they had very limited experience going into this season. 

[SE23]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Re- sign or resign?

Let Bell walk. Sign Yandy Diaz as an upgrade.

[TJSweens]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

WTF? Comparing him to SWR after a great start. Why? Why not just be happy?

Lee has been very good since moving to third. How is this even a debate? KC moves to second when Houston comes up. 

I wouldn't classify Lee's defensive performance at 3B as very good. Maybe adequate, definitely better than he was at SS, but not very good. I could easily see Culpepper with his quickness, reflexes and big arm sliding to 3B if and when Houston reaches the majors. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

I wouldn't classify Lee's defensive performance at 3B as very good. Maybe adequate, definitely better than he was at SS, but not very good. I could easily see Culpepper with his quickness, reflexes and big arm sliding to 3B if and when Houston reaches the majors. 

I was also talking about his hitting. But, he's been well above average at third on defense also. 

[stringer bell]

Nice comeback month for Zebby. He’s tied with Bradley for the most wins on the staff and he was 5-0 with a 2.90 ERA for the month.

I think he’s a safer bet than Prielipp, but the lefty might have more upside. Most pitchers fell off in August for the Twins. i would like to see them audition a couple more bullpen guys and have improved health in in their staff in 2027. 

[Nashvilletwin]

Glad we won today.  Don’t get me wrong about that.

However, the hope might be that the win doesn’t prevent the team from more directly accomplishing really important objectives in the last month - namely, seeing what they have in their prospects.

With Buxton going on the IL, I really hope they bring ERod up on Tuesday and let him play RF every day the rest of the year alongside Jenkins in CF and Keaschall in RF.  Ideally, that would be our starting outfield in ‘27, so let’s make sure all three get as many innings and ABs as possible as we wrap up the year.

[knothole61]

8 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I am a big Zebby fan - maybe it is the name - I teach a lot of history and Zebulon Pike is fascinating.  No SWR comparisons.  I no longer believe in the WC - but I would like a nice end of the season,  

Yeah 45, as you probably know, Zebby Pike acquired the land for Fort Snelling via a treaty with the Dakota who actually ceded a tract of land including a sacred site called Bdote in 1805...just a bit before my time.

Where do you teach?

[Linus]

The Twins need to upgrade the talent level in the lineup: ideally by adding a couple impact bats. DH and First are the greatest opportunities. I don’t understand why people are interested in running back an entire lineup of league average hitters. 

[mikelink45]

5 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Yeah 45, as you probably know, Zebby Pike acquired the land for Fort Snelling via a treaty with the Dakota who actually ceded a tract of land including a sacred site called Bdote in 1805...just a bit before my time.

Where do you teach?

I taught for St Cloud - Northland College - Hamline and ran the Audubon Center.  Now I am a guest lecturer on a cruise line.  

As you probably know as well - Pike made an expedition to discover the source of the Mississippi during the Lewis and Clark expedition and decided the source was Leech Lake. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

14 hours ago, Wedman13 said:

In the oddest of ways, and I'm being vulnerable here, Bell has really worn on me in a positive way.  I hate even watching him swing but he's a pro.  Not quite man-crush level but I'd consider running him back despite having zero timeline with the new corp.  Some vets are needed.

Jenkins will be good and I'm glad he has young running mates.  Keaschall, no idea where he plays but the kid can rake and is a baller

like someone mentioned earlier, I think #23 is odd man out unfortunately.  Clemens would be a great utility guy, and I do like his swing, but that's his best role.

opinion only

I like Bell a lot too. He has been an RBI machine most of this season, plus I like the vibe he brings to the team, plus that much-valued "veteran influence," which some may scoff at, but I think it DOES help the team overall. Does that warrant bringing him back next season? Maybe. It all depends on our options. Guys like Lee and Clemons might have a few years in the league, but I don't think they truly qualify as vets. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

10 hours ago, SE23 said:

Let Bell walk. Sign Yandy Diaz as an upgrade.

Yandy Diaz would be a huge upgrade, but that ain't gonna happen. 

[SteveLV]

Comment above is correct:  Until MLB fixes the financial side of the game, we are all just arguing about which chairs to put where on the Twins Titanic.  This boat 'aint gonna float competitively.  It can be a cute and fun boat, but it is never going much of anywhere.  Maybe a runabaout.

[Woof Bronzer]

9 minutes ago, SteveLV said:

Comment above is correct:  Until MLB fixes the financial side of the game, we are all just arguing about which chairs to put where on the Twins Titanic.  This boat 'aint gonna float competitively.  It can be a cute and fun boat, but it is never going much of anywhere.  Maybe a runabaout.

The Milwaukee Brewers are playing in the same ocean and their boat seems to be floating just fine.  

[laloesch]

15 hours ago, HarmonK03 said:

Why don't you look at Matthew's results for the season, he has had 15 good starts out of 18 and is averaging almost 6 innings a start.  And he keeps his team in almost every game.  And he has gotten stronger in August.

And good job of cherry picking stats on Lewis.  Yes he has struggled the last two weeks of August but still has a batting ave of .277 and OPS of .708.  And he has been one of our top hitters since coming back from St. Paul.  Yet Clemens who has been ice cold the month keeps hitting in the middle of the order.

 

I always find it hilarious how Twins fans get all defensive about certain players (Lewis, Buxton, Sano, etc.) and any criticism of their slumps magically becomes cherry picking and personal and their rebuttal is to push forward a utility player like Clemens.

[laloesch]

23 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

The Milwaukee Brewers are playing in the same ocean and their boat seems to be floating just fine.  

For now.

[TJSweens]

12 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I was also talking about his hitting. But, he's been well above average at third on defense also. 

No he hasn't. Lee has been about league average defensively at 3B. His hitting has definitely profiled well at the position. I just always envisioned Lee's defensive home to ultimately be 2B. 

[HarmonK03]

24 minutes ago, laloesch said:

I always find it hilarious how Twins fans get all defensive about certain players (Lewis, Buxton, Sano, etc.) and any criticism of their slumps magically becomes cherry picking and personal and their rebuttal is to push forward a utility player like Clemens.

Clemens should be a utility player that they are playing every day and hitting in the middle of the lineup.