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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    To my way of thinking, you have to ‘earn’ your way to the all star game...despite the fact that we know it’s been a popularity contest for quite some time. So, no to Buxton with his 98 PA...and not having even started a rehab assignment yet. That leaves Berrios. But it would be a token appearance.
  2. jkcarew
    Notice that when Sano starts hitting bombs, the batter in front of Sano (in close games) gets lots of fastballs over the plate. This has been easy to observe for about a week now. This is a good development, obviously, and is a reminder that the offense COULD possibly catch fire...particularly if Cruz and/or Buxton can get healthy. Don’t know that it can matter for this year given the hole, and given the pitching. But, maybe the club can become more entertaining to watch. (Still, Monday’s game is a tough matchup, especially without a healthy Cruz.)
  3. jkcarew
    Yeah, the lack of a 2020 season...especially for guys coming off major injuries...sure made Rule 5 decisions complicated. But, in the end, this is what Rule 5 is for. Wells gets his deserved opportunity. Good for him!
  4. jkcarew
    This was a case of a highly resistible force (Cleveland’s offenses), running into a very movable object (Twins pitching). We won this battle of titans, but I wouldn’t draw too many favorable conclusions regarding Dobnak or the bullpen quite yet.
  5. jkcarew
    Wow, everyone gets a mention except the 2006 AL MVP.
  6. jkcarew
    And just like that, Sano has an OPS better than Arraez and Polanco (among others). This is why you just keep putting him in the lineup. The power is ridiculous. Meanwhile, we can dream of consistency.
  7. jkcarew
    I mean, I can enjoy baseball, simply for the sake of baseball. Probably done it that way at least half of my years following the club since the late 60’s. It’s not what I thought I’d be doing this season, but it’s not the end of the world. The Twins were bad in 1990. They didn’t require a rebuild, just some tweaks and a reset. Similarly...as disappointing as 2021 is...I don’t feel like this is likely to carry into 2022 and beyond.
  8. jkcarew
    Berrios wasn’t terribly impressive, but he did something hugely important (especially for this club) that he hasn’t been able to do all year...he got through 7 innings.
  9. jkcarew
    It’s amazing how we still are influenced in terms of context by 2019. 2019 is over and it’s never going to happen again. Not just for the Twins, but for the league. In the context of 2021, the Twins offense is fine. Not great, certainly not ideal, but fine. Easily in the top 20% (or better) in numbers that matter (even in K%, the Twins aren’t near leading the league; R/G top half of AL) And they’re likely to get better given the return (maybe?) of some players and as RISP/clutch results move toward norms. Twins three biggest problems... 1. Relief Pitching 2. Relief Pitching 3. Starting Pitching. (like the offense, SP HAS to be a strength as it was expected to be...and hasn’t been)
  10. jkcarew
    Wow, we’re desperate! Cano is 27 years old and from Cuba, which means there’s a non-zero chance that he’s older than that. Assuming he’s 27, he’s over two years older than the average AA player...and more like 5-7 years older than the top prospects at that level. Maybe there’s something there. But, we don’t know based on anything we see from a player that age in AA ball. My question is...does anyone know what Cano was doing in 2016, 2017, and 2018? (besides defecting from Cuba, apparently)
  11. jkcarew
    Next, let’s rank the world’s largest deserts by how much rain they get!
  12. jkcarew
    Nope, Berrios faces more left-handed at-bats than right-handed at-bats...basically every year he’s been in the league. The information is readily available on Baseball Reference or Fangraphs under ‘splits’. I think your number for lefties is probably low, but in any regard, you’re not accounting for switch hitters and platooning.
  13. jkcarew
    Let’s not give the starters a pass. Those numbers against lefties for Maeda and Berrios are totally unacceptable. Over 50% of the at-bats against these two will be lefties. It’s not like you can platoon them like you could a batter with poor splits. Twins starters have the second-lowest bWAR in the American League. Only Seattle is worse...and barely worse. Short and/or bad start after short and/or bad start. I’ve seen Berrios’s last start defended here, because he only gave up two runs. No. He’s your ‘stud’. He took 105 pitches to get through 6 innings against (by far) the worse hitting club in the league...and in a situation where the club was desperate for a starter to take control and take a game out of the bullpen’s hands. Fail.
  14. jkcarew
    Btw...the new tags indicate that I must ‘love’ a post rather ‘like’ it. That seems an unnecessarily high bar, doesn’t it? As a properly reserved and ‘seasoned’ Minnesota Scandinavian, I’m not sure I’m comfortable displaying this type of raw emotion, and particularly not something as unabashedly agreeable as “love”. Community members, you may notice me not tagging your posts as frequently as in the past. But, know that I still LIKE you.
  15. jkcarew
    Could this be what turns the club around? As an old guy that can’t accept any type of change whatsoever...it’s worth a try. Appreciate it!
  16. jkcarew
    So, you were about 17 when your club won a World Series, and about 21 when they won another? Not bad. That’ll make a loyal fan out of many a non-resident follower! On behalf of the entire state of Minnesota, I’d like to sincerely apologize for the rest of your 20’s, your 30’s, and your 40’s. And looking at the current landscape, preemptively for your 50’s. Hang in there, friend.
  17. jkcarew
    Remember the 2020 Twins team that was 36-24, playing all their games in the Central? Was that team really an above-average team? This year the club will play less than half their schedule against the Central. They’re 5-4 against the Central, and 6-15 against everyone else. Good for Gordon, it’s been a long, slow journey. But, he did himself, and the family, proud today.
  18. jkcarew
    Sano, vs rest of lineup through May 5 (a small sample for everyone concerned)... Players with lower OBP than Sano: Garlick, Astudillo, Polanco, Kepler, Garver, Cave, Kirilloff, Jeffers, Rooker Players with HIGHER K-rate: Garver, Cave, Jeffers, Rooker Sano: 33.9% (against a 36.9% career average) Kirilloff this year: 29.5% Players with lower BABiP: None (accept Rooker) If Sano continues exactly what he’s been doing in 2021, and his BAPiP and HR% normalize even close to career norms, he’ll help the club.
  19. jkcarew
    Graterol is not a RP1. Graterol, much like Buxton through his injury-plagued years, is only good in theory. He’s been shut down (again), with Dave Roberts most recent comment being “we don’t know when he’ll pick up a ball and play catch”. In what little action he’s seen so far this year, he was ineffective. Based on where they’re at right now, easily the biggest needle movers would be May and Pressly. Baddoo has hit a major wall, although there may be plenty of time to regret him in the future.
  20. jkcarew
    He’ll play first base. This is the kind of article I’d expect from the Trib. It’s not that complicated. Kirilloff will go to the outfield, and Arraez will move around spelling people and play nearly every day. And sometimes, against certain righties, etc, Kirilloff will be at first base. Sano doesn’t replace Kirilloff...and he doesn’t replace Arraez. He replaces Jake Cave.
  21. jkcarew
    One thing not being talked about enough, IMO, is just how sneakily bad the STARTING pitching has become. Heading into tonight’s game, 3rd-worse in Baseball by bWAR. We’ve entered a pattern where starts are either bad or ‘good’, but WOEFULLY short. It’s the opposite of what we need...and what we thought we had going into the season.
  22. jkcarew
    Apparently, we’re watching two different Dobnak’s. The one I’m watching has progressively done worse each year as the league has seen more of him. The one I’m watching still has a K ratio well below league average and has given up 4 HR now in 14 innings...fly balls that go over the fence, not ground balls. He has atrocious numbers across the board and has amassed a bWAR of -.7 in only 14 innings, a pace that’s worse than Shoemakers -.9 in 23 innings. If that’s the standard, go with Duran right now. I’m sure he hasn’t been golfing the last several weeks. He won’t do materially worse than what Dobnak has been doing...and at least you’re developing a realistic potential top-end arm.
  23. jkcarew
    I don’t know what they should do about Shoemaker. But I know they shouldn’t give his slot to Dobnak. Dobnak?
  24. jkcarew
    And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how this Twins club is going to win. Don’t have to mash quite like this...but gotta mash and need to average more than one home run a game. And Buxton having a positively Puckett-like game. Not just the ‘what’...but the ‘when’. Club needed a spark. Good for him.
  25. jkcarew
    It so easy to manage when your club is hitting 307 home runs. Beginning last year, Rocco actually had to start the process of learning how to manage in the majors. It hasn’t really gone well. He’s gone from anything works to nothing works. Most of this predicament is on the players (and FO). But, Rocco...oh my!
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