Week in Review: Mission Accomplished

I'm sure Cle thought the Angels were going to be cakewalk and ended up losing 3 of 4.  I agree that after Tampa the Twins have a favorable schedule.  However, the Twins seem to play to the level of their competition.  When we expect a team to roll over, they end up winning the series.

It was a good week  , entertaining  baseball  ...

Royce Lewis  is leading the youngsters  ...

Jorge Polanco  is leading the veterans  ...

We need Polanco in the lineup  , but we will miss him this week as he went on the bereavement list and returned home  ...

I'm not too worried about Julien.  He hasn't been hitting much, but he's been getting tons of walks and making the opposing pitchers work.  Wallner, on the other hand, concerns me.  I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a bad idea to send Wallner down and bring up Lanarch?  Or would that screw up the chemistry at this late date? 

The Twins will be challenged by Tampa Bay because the Rays are among the top five teams in baseball and attempting to catch Baltimore in the standings.

The offense needs to keep scoring a bunch of runs and the White Sox series should allow them an opportunity.

I am getting excited but still a bit on the cautious side.  I think making the playoffs is going to happen, NOT winning a series would be devastating.

Where has this team been all year????????????????

9 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Why would Gray start game 1? Lopez has been pitching the day before Gray for a while now, and they are already lined up nicely to start games 1 and 2 in that order.  

What kind of rotation rearranging are you suggesting? 

Regarding the order in which Gray and Lopez pitch in the postseason, if one is historically better in individual matchups with opposing batters then that’s who goes first. Also, Gray being more experienced may make him slightly better suited for the first postseason game. But beyond that I don’t think it makes much difference.

 I myself am optimistic about this postseason. I think our starting pitching is flying under the radar of most of the national media and I think some eyes will be opened next month.

Let's say that the Twins go 9-10 down the stretch, which would be disappointing given the level of competition that they are going to play. Cleveland would need to end the season 17-1 to claim the division. The Cleveland series last week was basically the last nail in the coffin. Now on to the next task: win a playoff game.

1 minute ago, Nine of twelve said:

Regarding the order in which Gray and Lopez pitch in the postseason, if one is historically better in individual matchups with opposing batters then that’s who goes first. Also, Gray being more experienced may make him slightly better suited for the first postseason game. But beyond that I don’t think it makes much difference.

 I myself am optimistic about this postseason. I think our starting pitching is flying under the radar of most of the national media and I think some eyes will be opened next month.

 

From the very beginning of the season they have treated Pablo like their #1 with an obvious eye on extending him. Knowing that Sonny would not be extended is what gave Pablo the leg up even though Sonny had the longer and stronger resume. When they reset the rotation order after the break it was with the intention of having Pablo first and Sonny second. Even with that being true there still is a chance Sonny is back next year on the Qualifying Offer or a contract extension. I would say this is unlikely. 

30 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

I myself am optimistic about this postseason. I think our starting pitching is flying under the radar of most of the national media and I think some eyes will be opened next month.

 

Maybe, but don't forget if we end up playing Seattle or Toronto both of those teams arguably have better starting pitching.

Under Falvine no starter has ever gone past 5 in the playoffs and my fear is that they will script the games in advance to turn it over to the pen in the 5th or 6th.   You'd think they learned their lesson on this but I'm not confident.  Starting pitching is our strength, for us to go anywhere in the playoffs the starters have to go deep.  

Saw this elsewhere and wanted to share

Quote

Lucas Giolito is the first pitcher to allow 8+ runs in a game for 3 different MLB teams in the same season since Bill Magee did so in 1899 for the Louisville Colonels, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators.

1 hour ago, minman1982 said:

Let's say that the Twins go 9-10 down the stretch, which would be disappointing given the level of competition that they are going to play. Cleveland would need to end the season 17-1 to claim the division. The Cleveland series last week was basically the last nail in the coffin. Now on to the next task: win a playoff game.

Actually, because Cleveland holds the tiebreaker going 16-2 would win them the division in that scenario. 

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Maybe, but don't forget if we end up playing Seattle or Toronto both of those teams arguably have better starting pitching.

Under Falvine no starter has ever gone past 5 in the playoffs and my fear is that they will script the games in advance to turn it over to the pen in the 5th or 6th.   You'd think they learned their lesson on this but I'm not confident.  Starting pitching is our strength, for us to go anywhere in the playoffs the starters have to go deep.  

Don't starters go shorter in the playoffs as a general rule for all teams?

10 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

To tell you the truth, I find myself forgetting that Buxton exists as I watch the current Twins team. They'd be better with a peak-performing Buxton in CF, but they would not be better with this season's strikeout-master Buxton at DH.

His biggest role this season has been "pay-role."

Pat Borzi mentioned that the knee injury keeps him from being able to load when he swings. 

Why are Minnesota Twins fans not celebrating the team’s 1st place standing? | MinnPost

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On good days, Buxton can still rake (17 homers). But on bad days, he can’t load up on his back leg. So he compensates elsewhere, leading to hip and hamstring problems.

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Nice summary Nick. 
 

I think it could be reported that a couple of rookies (Wallner and Julien) have hit a snag. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to be going good at the start of the “second season”. Most players are holding their own. 
 

It will be interesting to see who emerges as bullpen arms for the postseason. There would seem to be lots of candidates for eight spots. 

I don't think that Ober should be forgotten.  He needed rest and could be ready to help.

1 hour ago, wabene said:

Don't starters go shorter in the playoffs as a general rule for all teams?

This is exactly the kind of thinking I fear, and that leads to the likes of Zack Littel and Cody Stashak pitching in the 5th inning of playoff games while your best pitchers sit and watch.  I doubt fans need a reminder as to how this has worked out under Falvine - I sure hope we don't do the same thing and hope for a different result.  

There should be no "general rules" determined in advance.  Let the game play out, and let your best pitchers pitch.  I trust Gray/Lopez after 80 pitches far more than I trust a fresh Jax or Pagan or Floro.  

Sorry, Bux.

He's gonna have to sit this one out.

1 hour ago, Nine of twelve said:

Actually, because Cleveland holds the tiebreaker going 16-2 would win them the division in that scenario. 

Ah that's fine, given their level of play lately. Maybe they play .500 ball, I think Cleveland going 10-8 or 11-7 might even be a stretch. I expect to Twins to play at least .500 or a little better the rest of the way. Tampa will be a good test, maybe Cincy will put up a fight if they are still contending. Twins can just worry about themselves now and be in their best form for post season.

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

This is exactly the kind of thinking I fear, and that leads to the likes of Zack Littel and Cody Stashak pitching in the 5th inning of playoff games while your best pitchers sit and watch.  I doubt fans need a reminder as to how this has worked out under Falvine - I sure hope we don't do the same thing and hope for a different result.  

There should be no "general rules" determined in advance.  Let the game play out, and let your best pitchers pitch.  I trust Gray/Lopez after 80 pitches far more than I trust a fresh Jax or Pagan or Floro.  

Done blame the messenger, lol. Adding some facts to the conversation and would like to point out that the Twins do not have a quick hook compared to the league...

Edit: If you want to know my thinking, it goes like this. Win the first playoff game and end the streak. Then just keep winning series until you win it all. How they get there makes no difference to me.

This is from 2015-2022

On 9/11/2023 at 9:23 AM, joefish said:

Sorry, Bux.

He's gonna have to sit this one out.

Buxton or Stevenson will likely make the roster as a pinch runner/defensive replacement. If Buxton is able to go, I'll take him. He's a half a step faster with offensive potential if his spot comes back up. He doesn't need to have a starting role.

8 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Thanks for posting that. Suprised by 2021 - yikes

I think the point is that Lopez and Gray (and Duran) are the best available pitchers on this team. So when someone say "let the starters pitch deep" it generally means Lopez and Gray. The Twins probably won't get very far if Lopez and Gray don't turn in some quality starts. 

For certain and the postseason is the time to release the reigns on the starters.