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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    I’m think I’m with you on this one. My concern would be that my manager has more than one tool in the toolbox...in addition to the data which always speaks to the long run (and large data)...some willingness to experiment (and fail) with aggressiveness and learn which risks are worth taking on, and in which circumstances. The concern is that I have to squint really, really hard to see where Rocco is willing to do any such experimenting.
  2. jkcarew
    I guess it would depend on how he actually feels about his legs right now. But, yes...all things being equal, I’m sure he wasn’t thrilled coming out, and I’m positive the outcome pissed him off
  3. jkcarew
    Right. It served no strategic purpose. Donaldson is not known for being particularly slow, and Blankenhorn is not known for being particularly fast. Baldelli simply didn’t want Donaldson in a situation where he would be forced to kick it into the highest gear to win the game. He’s nothing if not consistent in his perpetual concern for tomorrow’s game and next month’s games. And maybe that’s smart...even though it’s extremely frustrating in the moment....especially when trying to snap out of a losing skid.
  4. jkcarew
    I don’t think Baldelli is good with in-game decisions. Position players or pitchers. It’s not a strength that he’s been able to demonstrate with any consistency so far. When the Twins have won games in bunches it’s been when the offense simply bludgeons teams into submission. Having said that, it’s become pretty obvious that this roster (at least how its played so far) doesn’t provide him with many good options. Alcala was probably the best option in place of Colome for the 10th...and he pitched yesterday and gave up a HR. Dobnak? And on the offensive side...there’s one or two regulars that consistently put balls in play where you could hit-and run, one guy that knows how to bunt, maybe two that can hit behind a runner...7 guys that strike out anywhere from often to constantly. The good news is this team isn’t going to lose many games...if any...where they hit like this. The starting pitching and defense are likely to settle down. Still, Rocco is kinda crippled in close games late, both from the standpoint of the bullpen and being able to manufacture runs offensively. If this club doesn’t hit HR’s in bunches, they’re not going to be good.
  5. jkcarew
    Or Sano, or....anyone...anyone. Rocco seems at a complete loss when the boys don’t hit two 3-run homers a game. And apparently Rocco loves Jeffers and his 52% k-rate in late leverage situations when moving a base runner could be the difference between winning and losing.
  6. jkcarew
    Twins took the high school kid with “protectable tools”. The Padres took the college guy that could play. (Padres traded Turner to Dodgers in a deal that netted Will Myers.)
  7. jkcarew
    If they had, there’s at least a 50% chance Garver would have gone to third, right?
  8. jkcarew
    Graterol activated and pitched Sunday. He struggled, but velo was not a problem.
  9. jkcarew
    Anyone heard Rocco’s rationale for not throwing his top two pitchers today? Both Maeda and Berrios worked 4+ innings 6 days ago. Not willing to subject them to such a massive workload? Why worry about winning today when you can always win tomorrow? All of the above?
  10. jkcarew
    It saves the guys with 89 mph fastballs for leverage situations.
  11. jkcarew
    Or recuperating hungry, as the case may be.
  12. jkcarew
    Last game I was able to bring my mother to. (She was at game 7 in ‘87 with me.) Good memories!
  13. jkcarew
    My “I was at the game.”... Twins score 19 against Sox in ‘77; Glenn Adam’s 8 rbi; Carew 4-5, 6 rbi Day Dave Kingman hit the ball that never came down. Thome flag-pole HR Oh, and game 7 in 1987. BAM!!
  14. jkcarew
    Heard a talking head driving around this afternoon that Baldelli liked the idea of squeezing another lefty in against the Angels...apparently they’ve (as a team) been stymied by a couple of lefties early this season. I guess we’ll see.
  15. jkcarew
    Lot of patience here for a 6-7 team struggling offensively and expected to compete for a pennant. In general probably the right attitude but I’m not sure it needs to apply to Jeffers. Many here want Sano out of the lineup. Sano’s K’ing at a 34.6% rate and walking at over 23%. Jeffers 52.2% and 8.7%. He’s been overmatched. It’s a small sample, but it’s not unreasonable that a team in the Twins position might want to get him ever-day at-bats (C/1B/DH) in AAA for a bit.
  16. jkcarew
    The spectrum... Play all the time even when tired or dinged, you’re still better than your replacement, you’re paid to play, and you owe it to the team and the organization to be in the lineup; Oganizations milk everything they can from players while they’re young and healthy. to... My first and only priority is to myself and my future earnings, and I’m getting paid either way; Organizations willing to defer wins today to protect (or at least THINK they’re protecting) investment and future payroll. The pendulum always swings too far.
  17. jkcarew
    IMO, all recent managers have had their strengths...even when the team has failed. And also weaknesses even when they were winning awards. Rocco’s no exception. Since the mid-80’s, the Twins have done overall better than most in the manager category. Rocco’s still learning IMO...and that’s probably the good news, as he’s already established some strengths.
  18. jkcarew
    You’re way more likely to win the game with the one-out at-bat than the two-out at bat. You can’t bat Jeffers there. Period. He’s K’ing in over 50% of his PA...that’s an actual statistic, not hyperbole...and he’s a rookie. If you’re not going to be aggressive with your bench in that one-out scenario...2nd and 3rd bottom of 8, one out, tie game, 5-game losing streak...when are you ever going to be? Even if they elect to walk Garver and you feel you HAVE to bat Riddle (lord knows why!) it’s still a one-out situation and Riddle has 800 career PA and MUCH lower K tendencies. At this point in time, even JT Riddle is an infinitely better option than Jeffers when you need a ball in play to win.
  19. jkcarew
    Arraez and Kepler take Baldelli off the hook for an atrociously managed game. Atrocious. If his excuse for sending Jeffers (and his 53% K-rate to the plate in the bottom of the 8th with one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd) was because he didn’t want to leave only one catcher available...then I’d use a different word: stupid. It’s the 8th inning and the extra-inning rule practically eliminates the possibility of anything close to a marathon. The things he’s good at have value. But he’s been pretty bad from the start on in-game management and doesn’t seem to be showing much improvement, IMO.
  20. jkcarew
    But nothing more ridiculous than a 7-inning game with 8 relief pitchers sitting in the bullpen. In a couple years time an average start would be 3 innings, batters would still face 5 different pitchers a game, and the 45 minutes saved would be down to about 15 minutes. I’m cynical of everything that doesn’t put a hard restriction on number of pitchers available.
  21. jkcarew
    It’s smart until it isn’t...at some point OBP goes low enough and K’s go high enough to make beating the shift the better play. And almost every game has at least a PA or two where it still is the better play. And agreed, eliminating shift will get you more K’s not less...and at the benefit of a small number of singles.
  22. jkcarew
    Yes. The batters can put an end to the shifts any time they want. For the most part they refuse. Don’t reward that by incenting even more pulling of every pitch in every count, against every pitcher and in every game situation.
  23. jkcarew
    Nightly.
  24. jkcarew
    That sh—‘s FUNNY!
  25. jkcarew
    I am concerned with the offense. On the other hand (going into today)... Polanco’s BABiP: 147...he’s likely to turn back into 2018 Polanco at some point. Garver’s BABiP: 143 Sano’s BABiP: 111...meanwhile, his SO% is exactly the same as 2019, BB% higher Twins OPS is 3rd overall in the AL; they lead the AL in OBP (you read that correctly) Twins team SO% is exactly league average and their BB% is better than league ave. It warps the mind, but this is what baseball looks like now. What the Twins haven’t done is make the big pitch, or the big play, or the big hit to turn close games. That will probably turn at some point.
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