Week in Review: Wrapping Up and Moving On

Good wrap up.  And it ought to be an interesting 3 days ( I believe we will win the series 2-1).

But I do wonder if we are as good as we think we are.  After the All Star break we had a pretty soft schedule, including, what was it, 19 games against teams that lost over 100 games?  Are we as good as our 87 wins would suggest?  Or are we better, now that we have our pitchers back?  I, for one, will stay tuned to find out.

Now, I don't know if I will get in trouble for making this comment on this article, it is a little off topic, but I was more than a little disappointed in using Luplow in the 11th inning of the game yesterday.  Ends the season on a weird note, to me, just conceding the game and going home.  I know I am old school, but it just feels wrong.  Am I?

1 hour ago, Mark G said:

Good wrap up.  And it ought to be an interesting 3 days ( I believe we will win the series 2-1).

But I do wonder if we are as good as we think we are.  After the All Star break we had a pretty soft schedule, including, what was it, 19 games against teams that lost over 100 games?  Are we as good as our 87 wins would suggest?  Or are we better, now that we have our pitchers back?  I, for one, will stay tuned to find out.

Now, I don't know if I will get in trouble for making this comment on this article, it is a little off topic, but I was more than a little disappointed in using Luplow in the 11th inning of the game yesterday.  Ends the season on a weird note, to me, just conceding the game and going home.  I know I am old school, but it just feels wrong.  Am I?

I think that we were able to get our offense going at all is the important thing. A team that couldn't buy a clutch hit against literally anybody in the first half of the season found guys they could rely on to get those hits, and jettisoned players that weren't up to snuff.

As for the Luplow thing, I understand why they were doing it, they had a plan for who they wanted to pitch today and when they reached the end of that list, they went with whoever they thought would end the game soonest. I don't like that we just gave the game up, but we also had the opportunity to win with an actual pitcher on the mound and we couldn't get it done.

For the sake of the fans I really hope Lewis is able to play at his full potential. Correa's defense would be good to have but offensively he hasn't made a difference to this team, not that a hot bat from him wouldn't help. As for Buxton I see him as probably more of a detriment than being able to help this team. His struggles this year offensively and inability to play defense, his most valuable attribute, make him a non-factor. His spot needs to be taken by someone who has been and is able to contribute at a complete and healthy level.

The only important thing yesterday was getting through the game without injuries to key guys and using any pitcher that you didn't want to get work. Bailey sure made a statement about his ability to face off against the well rested Astros should we get that far. 

I agree, Lewis is our "X" factor.  Of all the players we are wondering about as the post season begins, he is the most vital.  I don't know what to think of Buxton.  The fact that there is considerable and legitimate debate over whether he should even be on the roster is telling.  If this FO doesn't have a plan for CF next season that doesn't include Buxton they should be held criminally liable.  He just cannot be counted on.  

I also agree that Joe Ryan pitched himself OUT of the rotation and into the bullpen and that Ober pitched himself INTO the rotation as a game #1 starter in the next round.  We better win this series in 2 games.  

Lastly, I'm happy for Larnach but HE's the guy getting traded this off season, not Kepler or Wallner.  Kepler has earned his option being picked up.  They can let him play out next season and then determine if it's better to go with a younger guy or offer an extension.  Track the development of Rodriguez and Jenkins.  Wallner isn't going anywhere.  With Larnach's pull heavy power swing, I'd monitor how Frankie Montas looks and put together a trade package that included Larnach to the Yankees.  Larnach as a corner OF could hit 25 HR's for the Yankees.  If Montas gets healthy, he could be the rotation replacement for Sonny Gray or Maeda.  It could be a trade that benefits both teams.  

5 hours ago, William K Johnson said:

Part of Polanco's ankle is issue is that he seems to twist his ankle on every swing.   Perhaps a more even approach at the plate is warranted.

Agree. Over the last couple of weeks he has taken some all or nothing type swings and has finished very off balanced and over twisting his ankles and entire body. The announcers have commented about it also.

I want to mention this: 11-4 (.733) in our last 15 regular season games. Level of competition notwithstanding, this team seems very capable of taking care of business.

On an unrelated note- how did we get a position player to pitch in a non-blowout game? Is that only allowed at the end of the season?

6 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Can’t afford to use up Pen arms Sunday after a Bullpen game on Saturday. Only one off day prior to Toronto Series & don’t want guys to be off limits for Tuesday’s first game.

Entirety of baseball played each other this year. We did play our Division 13 games each. Every other team played their Division foes 13 games each.

Thinking whether we played Oakland & Colorado and others in 2nd half has more weight than if we played them in a different portion of their season seems silly to me.

So we’re 4 better before the break & 4 worse after the break…….still 87 wins.

Stay tuned is right……hoping for a Saturday game!

All very true to a large degree.  Where you get your 87 wins over the course of a long season doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but we spent the last few weeks beating up on bad teams' bad bullpens; I simply wonder how good we really are going into the arena of equal or better teams in the playoffs.  Our overall record is almost identical to Toronto's, but we all know who we played 52 games against and who they played 52 games against within each division.  As I said above, I think we will win the series 2-1, but I can't help but continue to wonder how good are we, really?  Let the test begin.  

30 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

I want to mention this: 11-4 (.733) in our last 15 regular season games. Level of competition notwithstanding, this team seems very capable of taking care of business.

I like the sentiment, but the level of competition means everything.  12 of the 15 games were against teams that lost over 100 games; how does that play in October, when we play teams equal or better than us?  I like our chances because of the format of the first series and only needing our best 8 or 9 pitchers or so, but get into a best of seven later on against top competition and I wonder how good we really are.  We won't be seeing many RP's with an ERA of 4 or higher to pile on late in games.  Again, I think we have a decent chance this year; I am just a little cautious in thinking we are better than maybe we really are.  Bring it on.  

29 minutes ago, big dog said:

On an unrelated note- how did we get a position player to pitch in a non-blowout game? Is that only allowed at the end of the season?

Normally you have to be a certain number of runs ahead or behind to use position players, but the rule allows it in extra innings regardless of score.  Personally, I don't see a whole lot of difference between conceding the game the way we did yesterday and saying no mas and just leaving the field.  Knowingly losing a game, regardless of when or why, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but apparently that is just me.  

29 minutes ago, big dog said:

On an unrelated note- how did we get a position player to pitch in a non-blowout game? Is that only allowed at the end of the season?

Normally you have to be a certain number of runs ahead or behind to use position players, but the rule allows it in extra innings regardless of score.  Personally, I don't see a whole lot of difference between conceding the game the way we did yesterday and saying no mas and just leaving the field.  Knowingly losing a game, regardless of when or why, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but apparently that is just me.  

The Twins are a better team right now than they were in the first half and it's born out by the numbers. @Mark G makes some good points of caution. In our favor we have played competitive baseball against almost all the good teams. The Jays split with us and if we advance we won the season series against the Astros. If the large influx of big stuff relievers works out and the offense continues it's second half run, this could be fun. 

9 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

I think a big factor in deciding to use Luplow to pitch in a tie game in the last game of the season that meant nothing was, “whaddya gonna do about it?”

I didn't realize it was allowed in an extra-inning game. I think it was a merciful end to a game that all the players probably wanted to be over anyway. I was watching with my mother and I predicted that some pitcher would be asked to throw a meatball in the bottom of the tenth. The shadows were bad no one could probably have hit it anyway. This was a reasonable solution.

9 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

I think a big factor in deciding to use Luplow to pitch in a tie game in the last game of the season that meant nothing was, “whaddya gonna do about it?”

I didn't realize it was allowed in an extra-inning game. I think it was a merciful end to a game that all the players probably wanted to be over anyway. I was watching with my mother and I predicted that some pitcher would be asked to throw a meatball in the bottom of the tenth. The shadows were bad no one could probably have hit it anyway. This was a reasonable solution.

Speaking of shadows, here's hoping the Twins can see right through them

Speaking of shadows, here's hoping the Twins can see right through them

4 hours ago, big dog said:

I didn't realize it was allowed in an extra-inning game. I think it was a merciful end to a game that all the players probably wanted to be over anyway. I was watching with my mother and I predicted that some pitcher would be asked to throw a meatball in the bottom of the tenth. The shadows were bad no one could probably have hit it anyway. This was a reasonable solution.

Knowing I am a majority of one in this area, allow me to ask one more question:  with all the money bet on pro sports today, is knowingly conceding a game ethical on any level?  Regardless of standings, etc.  Did any money change hands Sunday because of that loss?  Or will we ever know since we could have lost the old fashioned way?  

Personally, I believe in competing to the best of your ability until the final gun goes off (so to speak) so no one can ever question the integrity of the game itself, or the team/players/coach/manager competing.  Extra innings come with the territory.  Never give up an at bat, and never give up a hitter if you are a pitcher; the integrity of the game depends on competing every pitch/batter/inning, etc.  I am sad we didn't do that, that's all, strategy or not.  There wasn't one pitcher to put in that would not be in our plans for game 1 or 2?  I will bet there was.  For an old school guy it was not a good way to end a season.  Sorry, folks, for the rant.  Let's play ball!

I get that, but

a) teams better not care about the outcomes with respect to bettors; for example, Mahomes slid to end the game on Monday night instead of scoring. Was he wrong?

b) it's a long season, and the Twins were playing to the end of it. They just aren't at the end of it yet. The Rockies were, let them play hard.

Was Toronto supposed to use their top pitcher on Sunday because it was his turn?

We're in the playoffs, gotta play the long game, IMO.