HOU 7, MIN 1: Foregone Conclusion

I don't necessarily disagree with this... but what would they have done different? They knew that the move was happening the day before. They got Stewart there on time. Not sure what the alternative was?

The point is This. They waited until Tuesday night After the loss to even announce the roster moves. IMO, this could have been done on Friday night in Baltimore even after the postponement was officially announced. Easily any one of them could have gotten from Rochester to Baltimore in time for the nightcap. We already know it doesnt matter who the pitcher was. It could have been whoever's turn it was to pitch. Last fall we have been already been force fed Stewart, Gonsalves, Littel, Vasquez, DeJong..etc etc..Moe, Larry and Curly. At every opportunity Falvine tells us how smart they are. So one of two things happened. Either they dont care about winning(which many fans already think), or they failed to see the better options available to them when unexpected situations arise. Many people see the same options I do. This was an amateur move. They owe it to us to do better. They gave this game away and i am mad about it. You shouldn't back a first year manager into a corner like that and base his evaluation on wins and losses. The FO CAN NOT drop the ball like this again. One game can make a big deal in October. If you dont think so then reference the 2018 Chicago Cubs.

 

Not sure what that would have done... It probably would have pushed Berrios back another day, to Sunday ,to pitch against the O's and then he wouldn't have pitched against the Astros this week or next week.

 

Verlander dislikes the Twins. This means,

 

1) He wouldn't come here willingly

2) If forced to come here he would lay an egg to get the heck out

 

And yeah, there is no way the Twins pay his contract amount anyway.

I don't necessarily disagree with this... but what would they have done different? They knew that the move was happening the day before. They got Stewart there on time. Not sure what the alternative was?

 

Thorpe to make his MLB debut in Houston? Littell a day before he was scheduled to start? Stewart was the one that lined up ,and again ,he has shown some promise at times and pitched well in Houston last year. The other option was a bullpen game.

I don't necessarily disagree with this... but what would they have done different? They knew that the move was happening the day before. They got Stewart there on time. Not sure what the alternative was?

 

Thorpe to make his MLB debut in Houston? Littell a day before he was scheduled to start? Stewart was the one that lined up ,and again ,he has shown some promise at times and pitched well in Houston last year. The other option was a bullpen game.

I'm also sure glad we hoodwinked Houston into taking Pressly off our hands, strengthening our AA rotation

Do others think that Stewart's realistic role on this team will be in the bullpen. He just has never demonstrated enough command or consistency for me to consider him as a future part of a decent rotation.

Looking back on Romero's first three or so starts last year, I remember him being dominant. Did mgmt give up on him as a starter too early?

You can judge an era based on 1 game?

I can and I will. If they make anymore ill prepared moves like this with their pitching staff i will add it to my long list of 2018 fu¢* ups and i will have plenty of evidence.

It's nice that the Twins are relevant enough for people to wildly overreact to the results of a game and/or every managerial decision again.

 

Stewart was the logical guy to start, and had some success last year. And despite his poor command, he showed some flashes of how he could do that in MLB even last night, inducing some weak contact with that sinker. But he has to hit his spots to be successful and he couldn't do it last night and has struggled with it so far this season. He needs more work, but there's some interesting talent there.

 

It's not like this was an "abandon all hope" lineup; Astudillo is someone people clamoring to play more, so he got a start. And I'm totally on board with giving Buxton a day off against Verlander's slider. Heck, half of our hits came from the bottom three guys: the top 6 are the clear starters right now, so why not complain that Nelson Cruz left his boomstick at the hotel?

 

Gonzalez isn't hitting right now, but Seth is right: he's been making better contact lately and doesn't look like he's flailing at the plate. Moreover, he's been playing pretty excellent defense overall. (yes, he had the throwing error, but he's also the only guy on the team that would have been in a position to make that throw in the first place)

 

The reason it felt like a give up game is the offense produced 4 freakin' hits. Against Verlander, being down 4 runs can seem like 40. Let's come home and get well against Baltimore.

It's nice that the Twins are relevant enough for people to wildly overreact to the results of a game and/or every managerial decision again.

 

Stewart was the logical guy to start, and had some success last year. And despite his poor command, he showed some flashes of how he could do that in MLB even last night, inducing some weak contact with that sinker. But he has to hit his spots to be successful and he couldn't do it last night and has struggled with it so far this season. He needs more work, but there's some interesting talent there.

 

It's not like this was an "abandon all hope" lineup; Astudillo is someone people clamoring to play more, so he got a start. And I'm totally on board with giving Buxton a day off against Verlander's slider. Heck, half of our hits came from the bottom three guys: the top 6 are the clear starters right now, so why not complain that Nelson Cruz left his boomstick at the hotel?

 

Gonzalez isn't hitting right now, but Seth is right: he's been making better contact lately and doesn't look like he's flailing at the plate. Moreover, he's been playing pretty excellent defense overall. (yes, he had the throwing error, but he's also the only guy on the team that would have been in a position to make that throw in the first place)

 

The reason it felt like a give up game is the offense produced 4 freakin' hits. Against Verlander, being down 4 runs can seem like 40. Let's come home and get well against Baltimore.

What happens if they make the playoffs? Buxton never plays because they will be facing really good pitchers?

I don't have a problem with many decisions Baldelli has made.

I have a big problem with Buxton sitting the day before an off day.

Verlander dislikes the Twins. This means,

 

1) He wouldn't come here willingly

2) If forced to come here he would lay an egg to get the heck out

 

And yeah, there is no way the Twins pay his contract amount anyway.

How would he be forced to come here? He had a no full trade clause. Which he wasn't waiving to come here.

I think Romero was misused this series and against Baltimore as the 26th Man. I get that they wanted "innngs eaten". Romero was used for 2 innings in each game. He pitched to three only 3 batters in the first inning (7th) he pitched of each game. I thought, as he came out for the second inning each time, and at the time, that this was a bad managerial move. Against Baltimore's 7-8-9 batters, he gave up a second pitch infield single (one that I thought Gonzalez could have come up with) that was part of the subsequent double play, and then another ground out. Against Houston, he pitched the 1-2-3 inning against Springer, Altuve, and Bregman! But the goal was to use him to eat innings, and not his development, I thought and think. If used for just 1 inning each time, he comes away with great confidence, and we all know how important that is. Instead, just the opposite. I think this was playing an ill-advised short game concerning Romero.

Romero was handled well, he just performed poorly. It happens.

I don't necessarily disagree with this... but what would they have done different? They knew that the move was happening the day before. They got Stewart there on time. Not sure what the alternative was?
The point is This. They waited until Tuesday night After the loss to even announce the roster moves. IMO, this could have been done on Friday night in Baltimore even after the postponement was officially announced. Easily any one of them could have gotten from Rochester to Baltimore in time for the nightcap. We already know it doesnt matter who the pitcher was. It could have been whoever's turn it was to pitch. Last fall we have been already been force fed Stewart, Gonsalves, Littel, Vasquez, DeJong..etc etc..Moe, Larry and Curly. At every opportunity Falvine tells us how smart they are. So one of two things happened. Either they dont care about winning(which many fans already think), or they failed to see the better options available to them when unexpected situations arise. Many people see the same options I do. This was an amateur move. They owe it to us to do better. They gave this game away and i am mad about it. You shouldn't back a first year manager into a corner like that and base his evaluation on wins and losses. The FO CAN NOT drop the ball like this again. One game can make a big deal in October. If you dont think so then reference the 2018 Chicago Cubs.
 

A lot can happen between Friday and Tuesday, that's why all teams usually wait until the last minute to make roster moves. I've been around the game long enough where I don't become unglued when we lose a game to one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.

To me, they handled it perfectly. They put the worst pitcher in the toughest matchup of six games. They won 4 of the other 5, and predictably lost the mismatch.

Stewart might not have been the best AAA option (Littel, Thorpe, or even Brusdar), that is certainly debatable. But I think they chose the right game to start a AAA pitcher.

A lot can happen between Friday and Tuesday, that's why all teams usually wait until the last minute to make roster moves. I've been around the game long enough where I don't become unglued when we lose a game to one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.

To me, they handled it perfectly. They put the worst pitcher in the toughest matchup of six games. They won 4 of the other 5, and predictably lost the mismatch.

 

Stewart might not have been the best AAA option (Littel, Thorpe, or even Brusdar), that is certainly debatable. But I think they chose the right game to start a AAA pitcher.

Romero was handled well, he just performed poorly. It happens.

I totally agree, he should be on the roster and used for short bursts in low leverage situations for at least 30-40 innings IMO.