Cardinals 3, Twins 2: Key Error Dooms Twins in 9th, Cardinals Take Series

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

This is exactly why I hate rostering guys who can only hit lefties. You're making my point for me. Rostering multiple below replacement level players who you only want to hit left-handed pitchers and don't want to player a premium defensive position is a bad strategy. Because, as you laid out nicely, you don't actually get to just hit them against lefties and only play them on a corner. That's a fantasy. No team in the history of baseball has made it through a season without injuries and/or bad performance from their preferred starters (or so I assume). These guys will have to play against righties. It's a guarantee.

There are righties out there that aren't completely useless against righties. Or they can at least play a premium position at a gold glove level. The Twins choose to employ no- or bad-glove righties who can't hit righties every year. This year they're choosing to roster 2. And pay them a combined 10+ million. 

Can Severino hit .150 with a .485ish OPS against righties? Can he hit .240 with a .675ish OPS against lefties? There's your Farmer replacement already on the 40-man. Lewis can fill in at short or 2nd (they even said on the broadcast today he's been working pregame at 2nd). I'd bet with regular ABs all season long multiple of their lefties could OPS .675 against lefties. But instead they're rostering Farmer to do it while having him OPS .485 against righties. And to tie it all up with a bow and come full circle on "they'll have to face righties, too"...he has more PAs against righties than lefties. That means to ensure their lefties don't hit lefties they're giving a corner IF bat more PAs against righties while he OPSes .485 against them just to make sure he's there to OPS .676 against lefties.

Kyle Farmer is no longer a major league player. There's no defense for him being on the roster anymore besides their stubbornness with sticking to their preseason plan. And I'll actually be surprised if he isn't on the roster the entire season. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on the postseason roster even. They simply don't move off their preseason plans often. And I think it hurts them.

This is Falvey's team. It is what it is and never had anything to do with money. These are the guys Falvey decided on for 2024. Why? I'm sure we will never really know.

37 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Point made - never seen it in 55 years of watching MLB nor any other level of baseball. My impression was once the guy was announced he was in for the AB, period. That’s why the opposing mgr. waits for that occurrence before going to the mound to make a pitching change. I guess the same for pitcher though I’ve never seen two pitchers switched in same AB either.

Once a pitcher comes into the game (umpire signals and writes in his notebook) that pitcher must face a batter (three batter Manfredball now). Managers have always had the ability to pinch hit for the pinch hitter. I have done it myself as a manager in the past and have seen this done from time to time in MLB. It can be easy to miss though because the switch is often done while the pitcher is warming up and missed due to a commercial or storytelling from an announcer.

I’ve said this a gazillion times…. it’s really hard to admit, but at some point you have to put the old tired horse out to pasture.  She’s done a great job for a lot of years but there is just no more game left in her. It’s time to move on from Farmer.  He’s no longer capable of playing this game.  Period. 
 

The bigger problem is the inane inability of this team to admit it was wrong.  Sure it’s easy to dump Okert or Jay Jackson. They were really quite bad but they were cheap.  The problem here is that Farmer hoodwinked the Twins out of a lot of money in Free Agency.   The Twins nearly doubled his salary  without a track record to justify the raise.  Dumping him now just makes the front office look stupid.

well ….???

3 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Honest question. I'm not asking in an attempt to argue with you or anyone.

I'm asking because I don't know. 

Does the IL work that way? 

Can a team just use the IL this way? I've always suspected that the IL could be used this way. I can see how it would be helpful with roster management but then I think about the players union and I can't imagine the players union being on board.

If the players union isn't on board... front offices wouldn't be able to do it. 

Again... just a question. 

Farmer was on a rehab so if he had no setbacks, they would have had to activate him within 20 days once he started the rehab.  Lee's injury just accelerated the timeline.  He probably would have been back on the roster within a week of starting the rehab.

12 hours ago, USAFChief said:

He pitched well. Really well.

But of course the most pitches he's thrown in a game in his professional career is 92. So he's out of the game after five, and you need 4 IP from the pen, minimum, every time he pitches. Same for Festa.

They don't throw innings in the minors either (105 across all of 2023, for example) so here we sit worried about innings in August. For most of our starters. 

I will never understand why they choose to not prepare their pitchers for the big leagues.

Zebby is very ready to pitch up to 100 pitches. Physically so is Festa. They are trying to ease them into the bigs by not having them face the top of the order a 3rd time and have their last memory of the start getting shelled with the game on the line. Then over time, as seen with SWR, they gradually lengthen the leash. 

By the looks of Zebulon, I would not be surprised if his leash was lengthened more quickly than the other 2 rookies.

*This is the Twin's strategy not mine. I don't have one, as a long suffering Twins fan I don't have experience with watching a team break in multiple young promising pitchers, lol.

Very frustrating loss.  Too many of them lately.  Twins have now lost 5 of their last 7 games.  Twins are 10 games below .500 against teams with winning records.  Doesn't bode too well with a good but very injury riddled Atlanta Braves team coming to town.  

why was Castro paying so far up the middle on those game winning RBI's. youve got a flame throwing Pitcherin Duran..and you think he's gonna pull something to the left side?? Castro should have been playing straight up position. i know he was trying to keep runner close to second..but he should have shifted back to his right when Duran started his motion to the plate. weak chopper got through that should have been out # 3. BUT...more so, Julien cost us this one..and the lack of hitting

12 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Came here to type this... There is no reason for Farmer to be here. He'll survive, though, and Julien and Martin will go down when Lee and CC return. Ridiculous at this point. 

i think Lee will be up today 

15 hours ago, S Bart said:

Rocco needs to take a hard look at what is best for the team. Julian made a bad throw to Santana the other day, has bobbled the ball several times recently, and now makes a grave mistake that cost the Twins a game. I sympathize that bad plays happen but one needs to review his multiple fielding mishaps lately. Regardless, Lee will be returning soon, and Julian will be delegated back to St. Paul. Yes, Buxton is a good player when he is healthy but "resting him" upon his return almost every other day is ridiculous at this point in the season.  Farmer is a nice team guy, but he has a .192 average and continues to play on a regular basis. Correa has planter faucitis which can reoccur every season.  A person can at least bat in this situation. The team has reached the brink and smart strategy, and thought-out decisions will need to be made. If not, the team will not make the playoffs. Baldelli's constant strange chess moves are mindboggling and costly at times. The team will expand the roster in one week. KC will be on the schedule the very next day and Cleveland will soon follow.  Ultimately, Baldelli needs to be strongly evaluated on his managerial decisions at the end of the season. 

Where is TK when you need him.

9 hours ago, mnfireman said:

Just saw Kepler was unavailable due to knee soreness.... How many days will the team drag this out before putting him on the IL?

They can’t afford to have a wasted roster spot. Put him on the IL and get Lee back up. No reason for Lee to travel with the Saints to Omaha.

10 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Sorry, nonconcur.

How can Mathews be "ready to throw 100 pitches" when he's never done it? Not once, minors or majors.

And Festa? Festa has 8 starts. Max pitches? 82. He has thrown less than 80 in 5 of the 8 starts. He hasn't gone more than 5 innings in any of the 8 starts. He had a 2 hit shutout, with 9 K's against the Cubs...and went 5 innings. 

Even Woods-Richardson has thrown 100 pitches ONCE this entire season. Once.

SWR has thrown 90+ pitches 7 times this year and many other starts have been high 80's. So in my opinion he is already there as a mid-rotation starter in today's MLB. At 23 the young man will keep getting better and stronger. 

You got me on Festa, yikes. Get that kid on a steady diet of cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers. There is talent here but he needs to get some weight on that frame. 

Look at Ober. He has thrown 90+ pitches 9 times this year. Last year it was 14. This is modern starting pitching like it or not. (Don't blame the messenger, lol.) If Zebby keeps performing don't you think they will allow him to throw 90+ pitches every time out? I do. If so then he is prepared to be a MLB starting pitcher in today's game. If they upped the innings on these guys in the minors in meaningless games and there was a rash of injuries to our best pitching prospects, what would you say then?
These guys are all different and they are each handled differently. Look at the very young Charlee Soto's pitch counts vs Raya. Guys like Raya and Festa are limited because of their lack of strength. Soto gets more run because he is big and strong. Ober was limited because he couldn't stay healthy. There is some tightrope walking necessary and when the need is presented at the big league level, the guy getting the call my not be a finished product.

5 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I'd say there's no difference to the rash of injuries occurring now. There might end up being less. Teams used to ask more, and GET more, routinely. 

And at least the ones that get through, or recover, are prepared to pitch.

 

 

At 85mph. With less spin. I want what you want, young talented pitchers who throw 100 pitches and go 6-7 innings or whatever. We want the same thing. I see pitchers throwing less pitches and getting hurt more. Why do you think that is? Because they aren't ridden hard enough during development?