Twins Game Recap (8/14): Twins Can’t Sweep, Polanco Commits Costly Error

hello mrs. buxton. can byron come out to play?

There really aren't a lot of surprises here with the exception of the teams HR binge. Some of that is the juiced ball, but they still are hitting more than anyone. And, that juiced ball is likely a contributor to some of the "biggest hit of the year" HR's flying out of parks daily. No ones lead is safe. On defense most of the players are as advertised. Defense is sort of a constant. And the Twins IF has been consistent. You can hide a Polanco with the shifts to the point his bat makes him palatable. But his lack of arm and non dependable glove work still will show up. He has a glove like a third baseman, and an arm like a second baseman (barely). Cron temporarily surprised me at 1B, but that apparently was an illusion. You need more accurate IF arms to be able to mitigate his glove. Finally while I don't agree with the "batting order doesn't matter crowd", I am more concerned with the use of the pen. I do think RP would function better if they had an idea where they stood. As it is right now there is no apparent rhyme or reason to pen usage. Maybe the level of mediocrity makes usage a moot point? But it wouldn't hurt to find out.

If they could only have a shortstop as adept in the field as Gagne. These errors are just demoralizing. The first error where he just dropped the throw was almost inconceivable.

Yeah but he's also hitting .295 and if you recall he got the big 2RBI hit with 2-out and the bases loaded in that very same game. And he made a big defensive play on Tuesday. And in the Braves series he made a fantastic leaping catch.

I realize it's Polanco's turn to be the fall guy, and everyone's going to take turns bashing him and discussing his weak points because we're angry about the loss. But let's not tar, feather, and run him out of town just yet, please.

They're just not a very good team, they're good at hitting-but that's where it stops. Poor starting pitching, poor relief pitching, poor defense. The last 2 months they are a .500 team, that's more than just a poor stretch. The only reason they're even a .500 team is because of that offense. It's been fun to watch outside of the many horrible endings lately, better than I was expecting going into the year, but I don't see them having much shot if they make the post-season unless they get miraculously hot in October. Could happen, just like the Vikings could win the Superbowl this year-so I'll watch-just not likely. 

Gotta agree with this post.  This team can hit no doubt put the pitching is just piss poor and continues to be.

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Can we make a vote to abolish the last 3 innings of a baseball game?

Everybody pray for rain after the 6th is finished.

I'm starting to question the pitching philosophy from top to bottom.  1.  I do believe this year started as an audition for Odo, Gibby, hell all of them, to see where they were at, keep or dump.  I'll keep Berrios, Pineda & maybe Perez for a swingman.  2.  As the bullpen is constructed now, I'll take it.  But you can't have starters go 4-6 innings every game.  The horrible Utube broadcast even brought that up.  Baseball has to get back to starters going deeper.  Football has a concussion problem that is limiting participation, Baseball has an arm falling off problem that will drag it down.  3.  Twins pitchers have become very predictable.  Nibble, nibble, uncompetitive chase pitch & repeat.  Part of this is that they don't have anyone with wipe out stuff, but really there are maybe 10 pitchers in MLB that have clearly wipe out stuff.  With analytics, why are they not using better pitch sequencing?  If Wes wants to keep his job, I'd suggest that he start calling pitches.  I'm not sure there is a pitcher on this staff that should have the clout to shake off the catcher 4 times while the infielders just stand there and watch the same crappy nibbles over and over.  4.  Do you suppose the fielding would be better with more competitive starts?

Not sure it will happen next year, but I'm ready for Kiriloff at 1st, Polonco at 2nd, Lewis at SS.  Arraez may have to play third.  Rosario gets traded for pitching and Buxton starts playing in pads.

The old adage you better be strong up the middle. Arize at second, adrianza at Short.

Arraez is a below average second-baseman defensively.

At the game yesterday.  Lots of Twin fans!  A few observations:

1. Though not helped by Polanco's first error, Gibson was excruciating to watch.  His repertoire consists of sinkers in the dirt and 93mph fastballs, with surprisingly poor control.  Had no strikeout pitch.  Just have no confidence in this guy shutting down a good hitting team.  Rocco was right in removing him after five.

2. Baldelli's bullpen usage is erratic.  If your starter can only go five, you must have confidence in at least one middle reliever to go 2 innings.  Bringing Dyson in the sixth was just a waste.  We are 120 games into the season and there is no pattern to the mgr's bullpen usage.  Of course, he was dealt a poor hand by the FO to begin with, but Dyson/Romo are experienced relievers who should be saved for late innings.  Mgr. has to learn who can ( and can't) pitch on consecutive days!  Good relievers will blow games now and then(Pressly gave up GS homer yesterday to WS!), but good bullpen managment involves setting roles and sticking to it.  After 3/4 of the season, there is still no clear pattern.  I blame the FO and Mgr. for that.

3. Polanco's errors are piling up.  He is just too erratic - good plays followed by awful ones.  Can't see him as SS on a playoff team, nor does the roster give hope for someone else taking over.  As many have pointed out, infield defense has cost this team games and remains a sore spot.  Amazing that our high draft picks like Lewis and Gordon do not seem to be considered by mgt. to be major league SS's.

One person's opinion, but right now this is not a playoff team.  They would have to back into a spot if someone else falters.  Rotation is a mess as is bullpen.  Home run or bust offense not enough to carry them into October, with these other weaknesses.  Hope I'm wrong, but......

Twins are in first place, I think. I had to double check because this thread sounds like the subject is a last place team. Upcoming schedule is Rangers, White Sox, Tigers White Sox, Tigers. No question, Twins must put some more space in front of Indians as they play Mets and Yankees. If they don't, the tone of this thread is justified.

Short(er) start, errors, one relief pitcher craps himself. Rinse and repeat

If they could only have a shortstop as adept in the field as Gagne. These errors are just demoralizing. The first error where he just dropped the throw was almost inconceivable.

He wasn't looking at the ball at all. And after the 2nd error he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Not sure what is going on here ... pennant race, august doldrums, road weariness, nonchalance ... i don't know. The hardest part of being an athlete is having control of both your mind and body, and at the same time. It's one loss, but sometimes that's one loss too many.

Very frustrated at this point.

People can come up with whatever excuse they want. The bottom line is that awful decisions by front office/management personnel are going to cost this team dearly. They may even miss the playoffs because of it.

Falvine has shown their evaluation skills aren’t as great as everyone seems to think. They misjudged their own team coming into the year. If they couldn’t see what they had and supplement it appropriately, that’s on them. That’s the ine thing they were hired to do....and there is two of them doing the job one does in many organizations. Inexcusable.

The coaching staff in management is clueless. That’s becoming apparent. Baldelli’s in game moves are baffling at times. You can point to several decisions he’s made in recent weeks that were very costly. His refusal to hold anyone accountable (at least openly) is ridiculous. Why is so hard for anyone in the organization to admit Diaz made a boneheaded move by sending Adrianza? Do they think they’re fooling anyone? You don’t have to tar and feather anyone, but show some modicum of honesty and respect for the intelligence of your fanbase.

This is not on the players. They are what they are. The rotation and bullpen even overachieved during the first half. The facts are that many of the players keeping this team afloat were already developed by the previous regime (exception is Cruz). Cron and Schoop at now killing this team. Their major bullpen acquisitions at the deadline have blown 3+ games since being acquired. This goes back to Morrison, Lynn, etc.

It’s becomming more and more clear everyday that these guys don’t know what they’re doing. They hide behind their Excel spreadsheets, but don’t know what they’re looking at in real time. It’s getting to the point where I’d they miss the playoffs this year, I’d strongly consider a change. This has been one of the biggest botch-jobs by a front office that I can ever remember. Effectively, the incompetence stole a very special season away from this fan base, who has funded the stadium, filled the stadium, and shown a massive outpouring of support. It long running incompetence/small market self-fulfilling prophecy ingrained in the DNA of this organization has gone too far.

I don't think anyone is running him out of town, but it would be nice to have that player who raked in the 1st half and earned an AS game start.  

 

Since he hit his high water mark BA of .341 on June 12, he's played in 52 games where the Twins have gone 26-26, his triple slash line is .242/.307/.383, good for an OPS of .690.  Not to mention he's made 6 errors in 11 games in August, and the one yesterday was extremely costly.  The Twins could really, really use him to turn it around for the home stretch.

Polanco was a great story the first half of the season, and getting to start the ASG was a nice reward.

I was thinking about this yesterday as he committed another 2 errors: is Polanco the 4th best SS in the AL Central when all regulars are healthy? Lindor is possibly the best SS in baseball, Mondesi (2.2 fWAR in 82 games) and Anderson (2.1 fWAR in 85 games) might all be better.

Polanco was deserving of the ASG start this season, but I do not foresee that as more than a 1-time occurrence. 

Kepler is very athletic and played a lot of first in the minors. He's a very good outfielder, but we have lots of outfielders coming up.

Oh, I know Kepler could do it. But given Buxton’s injury history, Kepler pretty much has to be available for the OF.

Also, an earlier post suggested that it “seems like” doubles are down. The Twins are 4th in MLB with 240. They were 4th with 317 last year. Without actually doing math, the pace seems about right. Maybe slightly behind. There’s a little more than 1/4 of the season left.

This is not on the players. They are what they are. The rotation and bullpen even overachieved during the first half. The facts are that many of the players keeping this team afloat were already developed by the previous regime (exception is Cruz). Cron and Schoop at now killing this team. Their major bullpen acquisitions at the deadline have blown 3+ games since being acquired. This goes back to Morrison, Lynn, etc.

It’s becomming more and more clear everyday that these guys don’t know what they’re doing. They hide behind their Excel spreadsheets, but don’t know what they’re looking at in real time. It’s getting to the point where I’d they miss the playoffs this year, I’d strongly consider a change. This has been one of the biggest botch-jobs by a front office that I can ever remember. Effectively, the incompetence stole a very special season away from this fan base, who has funded the stadium, filled the stadium, and shown a massive outpouring of support. It long running incompetence/small market self-fulfilling prophecy ingrained in the DNA of this organization has gone too far.

The front office is not on the field playing the games. They put together a very competitive roster, and the players are the ones who have to deliver. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

I have a hard time finding a connection between Schoop and Cron slumping and the Morrison and Lynn signings prior to last season. As for the bullpen, it has been a weak spot all season and the FO made moves to improve it. All bullpens blow games.

This off-season will be the first time in a long time the Twins have the type of financial flexibility they will have. The FO has put themselves in position to make significant moves. I would reserve judgement of their "Excel spreadsheets" until next season.

This is NOT a WS caliber team (yet).  Period.  They're playing better, and in the race for a playoff spot, so I'll take it!  But too many weaknesses, and moments of poor execution occurring at the wrong time (is there ever a right time?).  Tendency is to over analyze when things aren't going your way. But they will definitely have to make some player moves in the off season.  They need to get better!

Oh, I know Kepler could do it. But given Buxton’s injury history, Kepler pretty much has to be available for the OF.

Also, an earlier post suggested that it “seems like” doubles are down. The Twins are 4th in MLB with 240. They were 4th with 317 last year. Without actually doing math, the pace seems about right. Maybe slightly behind. There’s a little more than 1/4 of the season left.

Not on the year, we had been good, and are on a pace, as you point out to be similar to last year.  I feel like in the last month plus our doubles are down for what we were on pace for.

The front office is not on the field playing the games. They put together a very competitive roster, and the players are the ones who have to deliver. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

 

I have a hard time finding a connection between Schoop and Cron slumping and the Morrison and Lynn signings prior to last season. As for the bullpen, it has been a weak spot all season and the FO made moves to improve it. All bullpens blow games.

 

This off-season will be the first time in a long time the Twins have the type of financial flexibility they will have. The FO has put themselves in position to make significant moves. I would reserve judgement of their "Excel spreadsheets" until next season.

How do you figure the Twins will have more financial flexibility this coming offseason when they had some $50 mil come “off the books” prior to this season?

How do you figure the Twins will have more financial flexibility this coming offseason when they had some $50 mil come “off the books” prior to this season?

The Twins currently have less than $40M committed to their 2020 roster. Their payroll this year is $123M, with $18.5M in dead money (Addison Reed, Phil Hughes, and others). Cruz's $12M club option will be picked up, but that only brings the payroll up to $50M next season. I have no idea about Perez's $7.5M option.

Plenty of guys will receive raises through arbitration. Some other guys will get contract extensions. But the Twins will have more money to spend this off-season than they have had for a long time.

They should be major players in free agency this off-season. They probably won't land the biggest fish in the pond, but they should be in the running for some guys just below the top tier.

The Twins currently have less than $40M committed to their 2020 roster. Their payroll this year is $123M, with $18.5M in dead money (Addison Reed, Phil Hughes, and others). Cruz's $12M club option will be picked up, but that only brings the payroll up to $50M next season. I have no idea about Perez's $7.5M option.

 

Plenty of guys will receive raises through arbitration. Some other guys will get contract extensions. But the Twins will have more money to spend this off-season than they have had for a long time.

 

They should be major players in free agency this off-season. They probably won't land the biggest fish in the pond, but they should be in the running for some guys just below the top tier.

I don't get how you, or anyone, can say the Twins should be major players in free agency and actually believe it. The Twins have never been major players in free agency, like ever.

And at $7.5M, no way in heck do I bring back Martin Perez.

I don't get how you, or anyone, can say the Twins should be major players in free agency and actually believe it. The Twins have never been major players in free agency, like ever.

The Twins aren't going to sign Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon (assuming they both make it to Free Agency), so if your definition of "major player" in free agency is signing the biggest names out there, then fine.

The Twins payroll the past few years has been around $125M per year. With only $50M accounted for at this point, that means there is around $75M remaining for the FO to work with. Sure, some of that will be chewed up in arbitration/contract extensions, there is a pretty substantial amount remaining to spend.

The Twins made some pretty smart moves in free agency this year with the multi-year deals for Gonzalez and Cruz, and a relatively harmless mistake in Blake Parkers deal. I suspect they will make some more noteworthy moves this upcoming off-season.