MIN 6, DET 4: More Grand Slams, Please

Season-changer? Sano checked his swing and took a walk before Adrianza's blast.

Then doinked a hit to right his next time up to drive in a run.

Will need more of that. Against good teams.

Sano went opposite field on purpose...... yay!!!!!!

The offense is still putrid. Get Dozier tf out of the lead-off spot. On the all too frequent days Grossman plays, at least bat him lead-off. Try Adrianza there. Or get Gordon up here. I'm not sure what to do with Kepler. Maybe try him in the 2 spot. Get Dozier down to 5-6. 

Current OPS:

Cave 1.000

Rosario .903

Escobar .901

Adrianza .748.

Kepler .747.

Dozier .717.

Sano .693

Morrison .647

Grossman .647 

Garver .639

LaMarre .623

Wilson .510

I don’t generally pay attention to slash stats in season but Adrianza caught my attention above.

Though not predictive for the future, his 101 RC+ and positive defensive metrics thus far are far better than I expected. I am not sure that they should expect better overall production from Polanco.

It was nice to escape that disastrous 7th inning. It seems like whenever Duke of Earl enters the game everybody starts throwing the ball around (including him). I was so happy MOY didn't opt for Reed to try and save the day. I was calling for Hildenberger (even though my voice can't be heard from this far away).

To your point ...

 

Ehire Adrianza in 118 games as a Twin

.261/.322/.403 (.726 OPS, 97 OPS+)

 

Jorge Polanco in 211 games as a Twin

.266/.322/.417 (.739 OPS, 98 OPS+)

 

Ehire is hitting .340/.404/.723(!) over his last 53 plate appearances. That's obviously not sustainable, but he's been a breath of fresh air for an offense on life support.

I know it is still not predictive but Adrianza adds a better glove to similar production at the plate.

Projecting forward it is important to realize that this is Adrianza’s prime and likely ceiling and Polanco is a few year away from his prime.

I've been an Adrianza hater - but he must be working at his craft because he has improved this year.  Hopefully it inspires those whom aren't hitting.

The offense is still putrid. Get Dozier tf out of the lead-off spot. On the all too frequent days Grossman plays, at least bat him lead-off. Try Adrianza there. Or get Gordon up here. I'm not sure what to do with Kepler. Maybe try him in the 2 spot. Get Dozier down to 5-6. 

Horrible idea

While I hope Sano's single portends better things to come, it will also serve as a useful footnote when assessing the Twins' record in one run games this year.  I wonder what their record is in games where they've been able to tack on that all-important insurance run.

Adrianza gets a lot of deserved crap here but he's not a bad utility infielder. You could ask for a bit more speed on the basepaths (most shocking statistic of this year is that Grossman is faster than him) but he handles the glove well and is a switch hitter. He's just been overmatched playing everyday.

 

Too bad his days are numbered when Polanco comes back. Hard to see him sticking on the roster then.

Is there some metric that says Grossman is faster than Adrianza? It certainly doesn’t pass the eye test. Ehire is pretty quick.

I don’t know how much more time the Twins are willing to give Logan Morrison. My guess is the Sano to 1b/dh starts when Polanco gets back. With Mauer also likely back by then, Morrison is the logical odd man out.

I will be surprised if Polanco is anywhere close to what he was last year. Two reasons why; 1. No PED', this year. 2. Not only no spring training preparation but way behind pitching by missing 80 games.

 

He is not going to just resume where he left off.

Suspended players can still participate with no restrictions in Spring Training.

I’m not sure I buy into that methodology for comparing speed. They are basically comparing the absolute top speed for guys. Sure, for one second Grossman could be 9 inches per second faster than Adrianza. But going from first to third on a single, I’ll bank on Adrianza getting there faster every time.