Make it Official! Twins 10, Nationals 0: Ryan Backed by Blasts

6 hours ago, bean5302 said:

So  you're saying Baldelli is not trying to win in the regular season? There is utterly no value in trying to get Margot to replacement level while the team loses games because of Margot's existence on the 26 man.

no, they are saying that Baldelli isn't managing every regular season game like it's a playoff game. The roster is different in the regular season and you have to play the long game when it's still May. The season doesn't end if you lose 2 of the next 3 and you simply can't get through a season if you work everyone to death in May rather than try to extract value out of every part of your roster.

Margot has been bad this season and that acquisition isn't looking good. But against a LHP, he's not a terrible option when you look at our outfield. Kirilloff has been struggling and Kepler has always been much weaker against LHP, so if you want to give Kepler a bit of a break...it's all reasonable. Baldelli doesn't control the 26-man roster (or the 40-man). I'm sure he has input, but the final say is with the front office, and they're not ready to cut bait on Margot. Trying to find ways to use him that will help the team and/or not hurt the team is Baldelli's job. remember, refusing to ever play a guy on the roster can cause clubhouse problems too. And if they can get Margot going to where he's value-added against LHP, there's at least a role for him. Defensively he looked better last night too. I'm still not a fan, and I think as the roster gets healthier with Lewis getting closer you need to think hard about whether he's worth hanging on to...but for now, you need to still use your whole roster.

Nice to see the team steal a couple of bases last night. There are some good runners on this squad and I'd like to see them attack the bases more. Of course, this requires guys to get on base consistently.

So frustrating/maddening that they need a team meeting to play like professionals.

During the Twins' win streak, I had the good fortune and opportunity (and luck) to speak with former MLB pitcher Dan Ford, who was in town with his wife. We were talking about the win streak, and he imparted the following bit of wisdom: "In sports, the losses can be just as important as the wins. You learn more about yourself and your team from how they handle a loss, than how they handle wins." And this seven-game slide showed the Twins something that they discussed in their players-only meeting. Now to see if it can continue (again). 

9 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

The implication being Baldelli is trying to win playoff games because they're important, but he's not trying to win regular season games because they're not important. Baldelli has a methodology he and the front office follows. There might be a little wiggle room for an injured pinch hitter in an emergency situation in a must-win playoff game, but for position players, it doesn't change much. Platooning will still take place, just like it did last year in the playoffs. I don't care. That's what they do.

What I'm addressing is the assumption it's somehow valuable to play negative value players because it makes them smile or that there's some value in playing a -0.5 WAR player a bunch so they can get this year's Tim Anderson into a 0.0 WAR player or that a 0.0 WAR player with no options is somehow ever valuable.

If you believe that the -0.5 WAR defines that player and who they will be for the rest of the season at this point in May...then no, there's no point in playing them or likely having them on the roster any longer. but this is where MLB roster management gets very challenging, because players aren't static and having a rough first 2 months doesn't necessarily mean they're bad for good. the Max Kepler example is instructive: Kepler in May of 2023 looked a lot like the left-hand version of Margot. Couldn't hit his weight, wasn't great in the field, only played RF...a lot of people (including me) were ready to move on. And we were wrong: Kepler was great in the second half and huge contributor to the team. The other side of it was Gallo, who after a hot start just stopped making any consistent contact, drove everyone crazy with the whiffs, and his OF defense had declined some as well. We wanted him gone...and we were right. He never really got any better, but stuck around because of the injuries and was left off the postseason roster.

Do you know for sure exactly who Margot is? Do you know for sure that he's going to be helpless against RHP, mediocre against LHP, and no real value added in the OF for the rest of the season? that's the conundrum for the Twins right now, and I presume why they're going to keep playing him against LHP to see if he can add value and is worth keeping. because the other options are hoping Wallner or Larnach can handle LHP or that Martin (who has not played to his ability in the OF and been sadly fairly similar to Margot in production) is ready for another go.

the only reason Margot got left in after Corbin left was because the game was looking out of reach, otherwise we would have seen Larnach (who has cooled off substantially and has been pretty bad during this losing streak).

It's not about making him smile. It's about trying to get as much data as possible to see whether there's something worth keeping once guys get healthy. I still lean towards no, but let's see how it goes until Lewis is back.

6 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

His historic numbers are better than our other options from left side v. LH pitching. If guys don’t play in their optimal circumstances it’s impossible to get their “average” to where it’s supposed to be………I never said anything, and could care less about the smile! He got a hit and hammered a ball to the track in right and to CF - both caught, but it’s promising.

I don’t love his results to date but he’s 12 points in BA behind the wunderkind Eddie Julien and level with Kirilloff. Not trying to lower the bar - just saying he’s not the only issue. Jeffers average has dropped 60 points in 10 games - alarming!

June 5th-15th - Kiersey & Lee & Lewis displace Kirilloff - Julien - ???? unless something dramatic happens. Thoughts?

I was dead set against trading Julien - assumed his talents were “can’t miss” offensively. Even with probable regression - expectation at minimums were .240 BA - 20 HR - .340 OBP ……..he’s struck out 56 out of 143 AB’s. He plays a lot more than Margot…..it’s a problem!

Kirilloff is hitting .198 …….he needs to start heading north with that number TODAY or why not give, with hesitation, Wallner another shot? At least Kiersey!

 

The only thing Joey Wallner is doing in AAA is increasing his strike out total.

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Margot needs plenty of opportunities to prove himself, so when his average reaches .200 the Twins can try to trade him for anyone they can get. 

I'm sure there's a dumpster level starting pitcher that is hiding an injury this FO has their eyes on.

Where does Miranda go when Lewis comes back? DH? Who goes down? Kirilloff since Miranda could be the backup 1B? We all know the FO loves it's veterans and only leave as a last resort, so Santana is here for the long haul. Julien definitely needs a reset, just as much as Kirilloff. Can Miranda play 2B? Maybe keep him at 3B and put Lewis at 2B. Something is going to have to give and Miranda has shown he belongs here.

Watching a few of Jax's devastating sliders, I wonder if the Twins should think about stretching him out. He's got a very good heater, and I think a change. Is that enough? 

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

If you believe that the -0.5 WAR defines that player and who they will be for the rest of the season at this point in May...then no, there's no point in playing them or likely having them on the roster any longer. but this is where MLB roster management gets very challenging, because players aren't static and having a rough first 2 months doesn't necessarily mean they're bad for good. the Max Kepler example is instructive: Kepler in May of 2023 looked a lot like the left-hand version of Margot. Couldn't hit his weight, wasn't great in the field, only played RF...a lot of people (including me) were ready to move on. And we were wrong: Kepler was great in the second half and huge contributor to the team. The other side of it was Gallo, who after a hot start just stopped making any consistent contact, drove everyone crazy with the whiffs, and his OF defense had declined some as well. We wanted him gone...and we were right. He never really got any better, but stuck around because of the injuries and was left off the postseason roster.

Do you know for sure exactly who Margot is? Do you know for sure that he's going to be helpless against RHP, mediocre against LHP, and no real value added in the OF for the rest of the season? that's the conundrum for the Twins right now, and I presume why they're going to keep playing him against LHP to see if he can add value and is worth keeping. because the other options are hoping Wallner or Larnach can handle LHP or that Martin (who has not played to his ability in the OF and been sadly fairly similar to Margot in production) is ready for another go.

the only reason Margot got left in after Corbin left was because the game was looking out of reach, otherwise we would have seen Larnach (who has cooled off substantially and has been pretty bad during this losing streak).

It's not about making him smile. It's about trying to get as much data as possible to see whether there's something worth keeping once guys get healthy. I still lean towards no, but let's see how it goes until Lewis is back.

Or an even more simple answer - if we need to use a different right handed hitting outfielder that player would be?  Probably Martin. If I’m betting I would bet Margot is going to contribute more over the next couple of months. 

2 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Watching a few of Jax's devastating sliders, I wonder if the Twins should think about stretching him out. He's got a very good heater, and I think a change. Is that enough? 

he's got a good fastball when he only has to throw it for about an inning. Jax couldn't make in MLB as a starter and they already tried it. he might do a little better now having refined his slider, but his fastball would almost certainly drop off. He's become a great bullpen arm. Trying to reverse course with these guys almost never works and would almost certainly do little to help the rotation while simultaneously weakening the bullpen. Seems extremely bad.