White Sox 4, Twins 3: Twins Cease and Desisted Against White Sox

Did Vasquez bust it down the line in the 8th. Kinda looked like he got a late jump after assuming the ball was going to bleed into right.  Ah, maybe not. 

Considering we had a "C" team (not even JV) lineup against Cease, I was surprised to lose by 1-run.  Sure didn't think by 10th game of season we'd have a lineup missing 4 starters that were in opening day lineup.

Other than a center cut spinning slider that Alberto crushed for a 3-run bomb, I thought Maeda pitched ok.

Despite some command issues, I was pleased to see Moran throw 2 shutout innings.

Hopefully certain players are healthier and rested and in lineup tomorrow night.

Here's what's annoying...

OK, you can't play Gallo, and you find out maybe late that Correa can't go.

Then, be willing to adapt to deviate from a ridiculously rigid maintenance schedule with your DH. Let him have tomorrow off, or the day after, or the day after that. Is he going to spontaneously combust? Give your team a chance. Especially, when...at least at this point...you have to assume the pitching staff is going to keep you in games.

Other than that...another pretty well pitched game overall. If Maeda stays healthy, it looks like he's going to be very solid in a #4/5 slot.

Thanks David for the informative report. I was going to say that neither team wanted the game but the Twins wanted it the least. Resting Correa probably had some merit in it but resting Buxton against Cease seems to me as waving the white flag. And CWS making those big errors really open the doors for the Twins to win this one.

27 minutes ago, mrtwinsfan said:

I blame the twins mgmt for Mirandas recent struggles , the worst thing  is putting him a 3-4 spot batting, he then seems to think he needs to do more IDK ?

I don't know. I don't see him flailing away...his BB/K rates are so far better than last year. He's not getting anything to fall...low BABiP...and the power hasn't shown up yet. I think he'll be fine. Might help mentally, to drop in the order...but hard to do until Polanco, Correa, Buxton, Gallo/Kepler start showing up and playing on a consistent basis.

The lineup was not good today.   Even without Buxton and Correa.  NO WAY should Gordon be hitting 4th.  I am not a fan of Gordon and was hoping we would trade him before the season.  Farmer, Wallner, anyone would have been a better option at cleanup.   The boys battled and Kenta and the pen threw well.    Gordon and Castro need to go away soon.   Hurry back Jorge

1 hour ago, mrtwinsfan said:

I blame the twins mgmt for Mirandas recent struggles , the worst thing  is putting him a 3-4 spot batting, he then seems to think he needs to do more IDK ? And he also is playing almost a new position also this year, Miranda will never admit it, But to me it shows , They did the same with Sano for  A  Few  years , How did that work out , we all seen it. , Rocco and Mgmt if they cant see it, And so far they dont, , , We all want Miranda to do well but lets not make him more than he is at this early point in his Career, 

As far as I know, Miranda came up in the minor leagues as a 3rd baseman. Urshela held down that spot last year, so Miranda was either DH or moved to 1B much of the time. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that his move back to 3B this season will be for the best.

Nick Gordon might hold the honor of being the worst player in the entire MLB.  

What does that say about our brain trust that throws him in the freaking lead off and cleanup spots?  Unreal.  Dude cracks a .700 OPS for the first time in his decade long professional career and they give him the world.

This drops us to 6-4. Keep in mind that this is MLB, where 6-4 is outstanding.

1 hour ago, jkcarew said:

Then, be willing to adapt to deviate from a ridiculously rigid maintenance schedule with your DH. Let him have tomorrow off, or the day after, or the day after that. Is he going to spontaneously combust?

He's rehabbing the injury on the off day. That's the best explanation for the rigid schedule.

57 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

He's rehabbing the injury on the off day. That's the best explanation for the rigid schedule.

What injury, his knee was surgically repaired back in November.  If he is unable to play 4 or 5 days in a row and only DH'ing then he should be on the IL.

44 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

He's rehabbing the injury on the off day. That's the best explanation for the rigid schedule.

I'm sure there's a rehab program. There's always going to be justification for sticking with the plan no matter what. And there's frequently going to be circumstances that warrant consideration of some flexibility and adaptability to the plan. It's a balancing act...unless it isn't, and you just go with what you perceive to be the zero-risk approach every time regardless of circumstances. It's early. We'll see if things become more flexible as time goes on. And we'll also see if this maintenance program (on top of the diminished DH role/demands) results in him playing significantly more than 50% of the season.

Days like today are why I have no faith in Rocco, period.

16 minutes ago, silverslugger said:

Days like today are why I have no faith in Rocco, period.

I agree, what happened to the emphasis on the running game stealing some bases? They’ve tried three times this year. Also, what about trying to suicide squeeze with Castro on third and Taylor up with two outs in the eighth. I would think that would be a better chance to tie it up than Taylor getting a hit. At this point he looks pretty clueless.

1 hour ago, Beast said:

Nick Gordon might hold the honor of being the worst player in the entire MLB.  

What does that say about our brain trust that throws him in the freaking lead off and cleanup spots?  Unreal.  Dude cracks a .700 OPS for the first time in his decade long professional career and they give him the world.

No Corra, Gallo, or Kepler. Buxton was scheduled off. Who was going to hit 4th in this lineup and change the outcome today? Should Farmer have gone 0-4 in front of Gordon instead of behind him? Spots 4-9 mustered 1 hit and 2 BBs in 9 innings. They were 0-5 with RISP and only one of those ABs were Gordon's. Yeah, the dude is struggling, but you're talking about shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic here.