Game Score: Twins 3, Cleveland 0

Simmons wins the game.?

No Baldelli and Twins win again, hmmmm.

1 hour ago, LastOnePicked said:

I have dogged the FO for darn near everything lately, but the Thielbar signing really seems like it needs to be appreciated. If this team were on the cusp of another division title, he'd be one of the crucial and maybe unsung heroes.

AND ... it seems like they totally won the Happ/Gant trade. A little lemonade out of the lemons of 2021. Build on the bright spots. See, I can be positive!

Might be a tad early to declare the Twins the "winner" in the Happ-Gant trade, but it appears to be trending in the right direction after Happ a not so wonderful start, albeit versus the Dodgers tonight. I have to tread carefully around the house on this one as my spouse of 28 years is a lifelong STL fan.  At the time of the trade----she was, to put it mildly---not happy that STL would trade for Happ.  Then to my chagrin Happ pitches like the guy Twins fans at the start of the season hoped for in his first 5 starts.  Now that he's got rocked his last 2 starts, I feel much better.  With so many spots available in our rotation next year, Gant, could make a strong claim for a slot if he can string together several solid starts over the last 4 weeks of the season.  I'd personally prefer him in a bullpen role, but at this point I'd be happy if we can get through April 2022 with being buried in last place.

gant's nickname should be mudcat.

9 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

And another save for Everyday Alex. 

Indeed.  I was kind of surprised Colome was used 4 days in a row - even though two of them were very efficient outings (11 and 9 pitches respectively).

It is nice to see the good competitive games we all love.  Just a question.....by all this recent winning are they moving down in draft pick order?  It doesn't seem like they could move to far either way. 

I would be fine giving Gant a chance next year, but no matter what he does the rest of the year I do not say he has a spot for sure.  He has pitched several years, will be 30 next year and has never established himself as a starter.  Some of his numbers may be connected to pitching in new league for first time and once hitters see him again they will adjust.  Maybe the Twins figured something out for him, but I am concerned this is SSS.  Should we give him an invite to camp next year if he wants, sure, but if another team is willing to give a full MLB level contract as a starter I would not stand in his way. 

So I must have missed this somewhere, but what was the impetus for making Gant a starter?  Is it basically just an experiment since the season is shot anyway?

1 minute ago, SirLoin said:

So I must have missed this somewhere, but what was the impetus for making Gant a starter?  Is it basically just an experiment since the season is shot anyway?

Twins wanted to win a game , not have a rookie blown out.

A shutout! A SHUTOUT! AGAINST THE INDIANS!

22 minutes ago, SirLoin said:

So I must have missed this somewhere, but what was the impetus for making Gant a starter?  Is it basically just an experiment since the season is shot anyway?

They need to fill 4 spots next year.  3 if Ryan establishes a spot in the rotation.  If he shows he can be relied upon to start and If they intend to use 2022 to develop pitching prospects, he could bridge the gap until additional prospects are ready.  A reliable starter in his final year of arbitration to bridge the gap until a prospect pushes their way on to the team would be a nice asset. 

Filling one of those spots for roughly $3M leaves more budget for a front of the rotation SP or a SS.

12 hours ago, DocBauer said:

4] Please don't make me duck and cover for this, but I'm starting to think the Twins would be smart to pick up Colome's 2nd year. (Initial and obligatory duck). Despite a few bad performances...which happen...the numbers for his last 30 games are pretty stellar:

2-0/ 2.73 ERA/ 11SV/ 1.21 WHiP.

I believe his 30G dates back to around June 1st. Since then, he's pretty much been what he was supposed to be despite a few hiccups. I absolutely want the Twins to bring in a quality RH arm for $5-7M to work with Rogers, and another $2-3M version of Robles that can, hopefully, be more consistent. Can't believe im saying this after April and May, but maybe keeping Colome as a veteran performer in a set-up role isn't so crazy if you look at his career and the past 3 months. 

You can probably back up all the way to May 1st and his aggregate numbers aren't terrible. That said, I want nothing to do with him next year. I still see a guy who struggles with command, doesn't strike out enough hitters, and just seems to wilt in any sort of leverage situation. He isn't the historically awful pitcher we saw in April; I also doubt whoever pays him next season gets the 4 even-ish months we've seen. 

14 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Love and enjoy every game the Twins win. But a few comments to toss out there: 

1] I've been pleasantly surprised by Gant. I saw him as a toss-in when the trade was made. But not only have I been pleasantly surprised thus far, but I've looked at his career numbers a couple of times. They are nothing special, but they aren't bad either. His career K/9 is nothing great, but career ERA, AVG, and WHiP are solid. I get the Twins are looking at him as a POSSIBLE SP, and they kind of have to right now out of necessity. But everything about him just screams to me as him being a quality, dependable middle man. And there's real value in that. I hope that's where he ends up.

2] Good for Rooker. Just wish he could do that more often, as well as just make better contact. There's still something there to like and work with. It's all up to him at this point.

3] Anyone else paying attention to Alcala? Despite some good highs and really bad lows, he had a couple pretty good games before his IL stint. Since his return, he's had a few really good performances. I'm taking 2021 as a good building block for his future. 

4] Please don't make me duck and cover for this, but I'm starting to think the Twins would be smart to pick up Colome's 2nd year. (Initial and obligatory duck). Despite a few bad performances...which happen...the numbers for his last 30 games are pretty stellar:

2-0/ 2.73 ERA/ 11SV/ 1.21 WHiP.

I believe his 30G dates back to around June 1st. Since then, he's pretty much been what he was supposed to be despite a few hiccups. I absolutely want the Twins to bring in a quality RH arm for $5-7M to work with Rogers, and another $2-3M version of Robles that can, hopefully, be more consistent. Can't believe im saying this after April and May, but maybe keeping Colome as a veteran performer in a set-up role isn't so crazy if you look at his career and the past 3 months. 

I concur.  I have been shy about saying it myself, but Colome has looked pretty good for awhile now, and I am finally starting to trust him in the 9th again.  And Alcala has good stuff, he has just given up too many gopher balls; since that has settled down he has looked good as well.  And I am liking Gant as back end possibility; I wouldn't write his name in ink just yet, but a light pencil seems appropriate until he proves me wrong.    Good observations.  

I thought Rortvedt caught a good game.