Twins Fall 5-4; Five Crucial Plays

"Everybody wins 50, everybody loses 50, it's what you do with the rest of them that decides your season".  It isn't clear if this was one of the 50 losses, or one of the 62 that is fought over.  Starting Hughes tonight with virtually no activity was asking for it--and that decision should be one of the five "plays" that determined the outcome. 

I disagree with the five selected--and their assigned weights.  DET's fifth run has to be one of the five.  Sano's 9th inning strikeout--I don't think that belongs.  The first two outs made were likely more important in determining the final score.

I  will never understand why a pitcher or a batter just gets inserted into the lineup after a month off.   The rotation has been just fine of late but they pay Hughes a lot of money so they need to put him in there?    Put him in the pen.   See how he does there for a week in lower leverage situations and then see how he does.    Duffey's arm is just fine as evidenced by how well he has thrown.  Stop making such a big thing about innings.    As Bert says, his arm hasn't fallen off and won't fall off.     I am guessing he is more likely to hurt his arm in the first two months of next season than he is the last month of this season.   I don't have any evidence to back up this statement but I doubt there is any to refute it.    Arbitrary innings limits are just that.  Arbitrary.

How much concern should we have regarding Sano's decreased productivity? It seems the league might have "figured him out" after his initial splash.

I understand where John is coming from, but...Duffey is approaching his innings limit for the year. Santana is not eligible for post-season. May is in the bullpen and not available to start in the playoffs.

That leaves Pelfrey, Gibson and and Milone to start in the playoffs, should the Twins get there.

Like it or not and even though the Twins are in a playoff race, the Twins probably need to get Hughes some innings just in case.

Baseball is a cruel game and sometimes there just are not any breaks.

Which is why baseball is the best game in the world.

Sano better get used to curve balls and sliders because they are going to rain down on him until he proves he can handle them.

Baseball, game of adjustments.

What about Dozier's K with the bases loaded.  Sano bailed him out, but seriously, how long can we send him out there at the front of our line up?

Not necessarily at that frequency. It is a real skill for some players. Relates to speed, contact, GB/FB.... heck, some guys can probably change their approach in DP situations just like they can in sac fly situations.

Yup...look for a pitch you can elevate, or hit it behind the runner.

The manager could help by starting the runners early.

I would add as number 6, pinch hitting Danny Santana for Buxton in the 9th.  Santana has had 4 PA's (including last night's) since July 31, all as a PH, all of which resulted in outs.  He has a greater than 13/1 k/bb ratio, and OPS's .490 against righties.  Buxton was already 2-3 on the night, and is actually better against righties, OPS'ing .638, and has a better (but still bad) 8/1 k/bb ratio--fun fact: both Buxton and Santana have 5 walks on the year.  Buxton needed 121 PA's to do that, Santana 267.  By just about any metric, Buxton was a better bet to get on base to lead off the ninth.

I would add as number 6, pinch hitting Danny Santana for Buxton in the 9th.  Santana has had 4 PA's (including last night's) since July 31, all as a PH, all of which resulted in outs.  He has a greater than 13/1 k/bb ratio, and OPS's .490 against righties.  Buxton was already 2-3 on the night, and is actually better against righties, OPS'ing .638, and has a better (but still bad) 8/1 k/bb ratio--fun fact: both Buxton and Santana have 5 walks on the year.  Buxton needed 121 PA's to do that, Santana 267.  By just about any metric, Buxton was a better bet to get on base to lead off the ninth.

Plus I had called for Buxton to get 3-4 hits in the game, and it was a lot harder for him to do that from the bench.

That game last night was just "one of those games."  Twins hit a bunch of balls really hard in the first 2-3 innings, and they were all at people.   Dozier's double down the line in the first - how is that caught (by anyone other than Alex Gordon)? Tigers, on the other hand, hit at least a few seeing eye base hits. Would be good to check the hit speeds of Sano's GIDB and Victor Martinez's single.   If you reverse the outcomes of those two plays, the Twins would likely have been ahead in the game.

I would add as number 6, pinch hitting Danny Santana for Buxton in the 9th.  Santana has had 4 PA's (including last night's) since July 31, all as a PH, all of which resulted in outs.  He has a greater than 13/1 k/bb ratio, and OPS's .490 against righties.  Buxton was already 2-3 on the night, and is actually better against righties, OPS'ing .638, and has a better (but still bad) 8/1 k/bb ratio--fun fact: both Buxton and Santana have 5 walks on the year.  Buxton needed 121 PA's to do that, Santana 267.  By just about any metric, Buxton was a better bet to get on base to lead off the ninth.

I saw Santana come to the plate and my thought was "what, we're not even TRYING to win?"

Hey, stuff happens. Sano learned from that at bat, I guarantee you.

How much concern should we have regarding Sano's decreased productivity? It seems the league might have "figured him out" after his initial splash.

Miguel Sano has been facing mostly junk since his first at-bat in the majors. Pitchers knew then, and they'll never forget what Sano can do to a fastball. For his part, Sano will always have to work the count just the way he's been doing, trying to corner the pitcher into that fatal 3-2 count, then mashing anything in the zone... or taking his walk.

What's unusual is seeing a rookie that is so experienced playing the cat and mouse game of pitch counts. Part of that game for Sano is not letting pitchers see a predictable pattern in his approach per pitch. Just as pitchers work to avoid tipping their pitches, a hitter must work to avoid tipping his intention to swing. If you take a deep breath, dig in a little more, or get a certain look, pitchers pick up on those signs and adjust accordingly. Also just like pitchers, hitters can bluff these signs and try to "set up" the other guy.

I haven't spotted anything specific about Sano's intention to swing, with one possible exception: When you see a big grin on his face, as a fan don't look away. When a pitcher sees that look, I can scarcely imagine their reluctance to throw a baseball in the zone.