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rv78

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Everything posted by rv78

  1. rv78
    Most games the bullpen is being asked to pitch 4 or 5 innings, not 6 or 7. Big difference. Even so, it is still too many. The starters need to start pitching into the 6th and 7th innings much more frequently so the bullpen only needs to cover 2 or 3.. As for Rocco hurting Duffey's confidence, that's a laugher. First you have to earn the Manager's confidence in you to be used in close games. Right now, Duffey should only be used in a blowout loss and if he doesn't understand why that is, that's his problem.
  2. rv78
    Not sure I completely agree with everyone. I watched the game until Dudfey served up his gopher ball to Rizzo. According to Bremer the Twins had Thielbar warming up before Rocco even went to Dudfey. With all of the analytics that Rocco is so well known for using, why did he not bring in Thielbar who is a lefty to face the lefty Rizzo? Especially when Dudfey was showing he was clearly struggling. Using Thielbar for 1 batter would not have hand-tied him against using him again the next game. Either way Rocco was wrong. Analytically (lefty verses lefty) and in "game management" as he watched Dudfey struggle ..... again. Call it a 50/50 coin flip if you want but there is a reason why Rocco is usually wrong more often that he is right. He's a poor manager.
  3. rv78
    Why isn't Duran the closer? Because Rocco won't use rookies in high leverage situations such as the closer role if he has a veteran that is half as good. Even last year when they were in last place he went back to using Colome as his closer and didn't even try Alcala in that role until the last game of the season. If there ever was a time to start grooming a player for a specific role such as a closer, the time was then. Alcala could have been closing games all of September. Another Rocco mistake that was made last year that he continues to make this year.
  4. rv78
    Good arguments both ways. Everyone has their own opinion including Jim Kaat. Question is, if Rocco wasn't resting guys as much as he is or changing lineups as much as he does, would they be hitting the ball better? We'll never know because Rocco will never try to find out. Here's an idea he should try: Play the same guys at the same positions hitting in the same spot in the lineup for 2 weeks straight regardless of who they are facing as a pitcher, a righty or lefty. At the end of the 2 weeks if they haven't found their hitting stroke by then, I'll admit I'm wrong. Maybe Kitty will too.
  5. rv78
    You are in the minority. So you are saying Kaat doesn't know what he is talking about? Is resting 3 of your main players all on the same day NOT Rocco's fault? If it isn't, who's is it? Why did Rocco use the excuse of a shortened spring training for his hitters not getting off to a good start? Because they didn't get enough at bats on a consistant basis, yet here we are going into June and they still don't get enough at bats on a consistant basis because he doesn't play them on a consistant basis! Is limiting their playing time keeping them from being injured? Right now the Twins have more injuries than any other team in baseball. Is his constant resting of players keeping them healthy? Not even close.
  6. rv78
    You hit the nail on the head with that first sentence. Although I don't think it has so much to do with the pitchers as it does with the lineup. Rocco thinks he is outsmarting the opponent by creating lineups that should be favorable matchups against the starting pitcher they are facing that day. Kaat explains why it isn't a good thing to do, which is what I've been saying since Rocco has become Manager. This year he is taking his daily lineup changes to the extreme. Kaat also mentioned the other day that in the first 49 games the Twins have played this year that they have had 45 different lineups. I would like to think Kaat has seen more good baseball in his lifetime than Rocco ever will. I'll believe Kaat on this one.
  7. rv78
    1.Sometimes you get more than what you pay for and all of what you Hope for. 2.Sometimes you get exactly what you pay for. and not quite what you Hope for. 3.Sometimes you don't get what you pay for. or what you Hope for. I think Archer falls somewhere between #2 and #3. The Twins didn't pay much for him and I'm sure they Hope he'll be the Pitcher he once was, making them look like geniuses. It's the ol' Terry Ryan "Hope and a Prayer' signing that very seldom if ever works.
  8. rv78
    Bottom line is, the Twins won't spend for quality arms. Bundy and Archer were cheap and like someone said above are possibly heading towards Shoemaker and Happ status here very quickly. Gray was the best signing/trade and he's not much above Berrios talent wise at this point in his career so they really didn't upgrade much there. I wasn't upset they traded Rogers. Coming off a finger injury who knows how effective he'll be. What was upsetting was what they got in return. Of all the relievers they have returning from last season, Alcala was the only one who showed much upside. Guys like Duffey, Thielbar, Coulombe, Stashak, are as good as they'll ever going to be and unfortunately it isn't good enough for as much as they are used and needed. To top it off, a tough part of the schedule is coming and the Twins could be tied with the WhiteSox at .500 before you know it. Struggling to beat teams like the Royals and Tigers shows where they are headed.
  9. rv78
    Unless Smeltzer tells me he's gassed he goes out to pitch the 8th. At least to start it. Rocco has it in his head that pitchers can't go beyond a certain pitch count no matter what and if they are close he'll replace them with another pitcher to start an inning rather than let them go 5 or 10 pitches past his predetermined cut off point. That is not good game management. The only way to stretch him out is to have him throw more than the last time. Seems that isn't or wasn't being done. Not only is it poor game management but also poor player management. Is bringing in a reliever and having him throw 2, 4, or 5 pitches and then getting pulled for a different pitcher good management? Don't think so. Pulling guys in your starting lineup for pinch hitters that aren't any better hitters makes no sense. His constant rotation of players playing and then not playing and then getting pulled for pinch hitters and such only shows his inability to go with his best lineup everyday. Don't tell me he is only resting his players and keeping then fresh. It hasn't kept injuries away so that is not a legit argument. What it quite possibly has done is deter the hitters from getting in any kind of a groove hitting wise since they don't get repetitive at bats on a consistant basis. Maybe that is why they are struggling to get the big hit when they need it. They have played 45 games and my guess is he's used at least 40 different lineups. A good manager plays the best players every day possible to give your team the best chance to win. Does putting a .200 hitter at DH every game when you have a .300 hitter sitting on the bench tell you his level of competancy? Kinda makes you wonder why they can't score runs, right?
  10. rv78
    Imagine how you would feel as a player when you get pulled by the manager in that situation. It's got to make you wonder if your manager has any confidence in you at all. It would be one thing to get pinch hit for by someone like an Arraez but Gordon? Really?
  11. rv78
    Just when I was starting to think Rocco had turned over a new leaf and was actually bunting guys into scoring position and trying to manufacture runs that produced wins he wakes up and goes back to his usual incompetant self. How many mistakes did he make in last nights game? 1)Pulling Smeltzer, No reason not to use him in the 8th. 2)Using one of your least reliable relievers in a close game, aka Dud-fey 3)Not having another reliever warming up after inserting Duffey because of #2. 4)Not pulling Duffey because of #2. 5)Never bunting anyone into scoring position. 6)Pulling Celestino, one of your hottest hitters for a streaky Kepler who's hitting almost 100 points less. That does not improve your chances. 7)Not using Gordon as a pinch runner for Sanchez in the 8th. 8)Then using Gordon as a pinch hitter for Jeffers with the bases loaded. Jeffers has a .400 BA with runners in scoring position. Seems Rocco uses analytics to "try" to win games but ignores them to "actually" lose games. It's easy to win MOY when your team sets the record for HR's in a single season. When you actually have to manage games correctly to win, Rocco fails more than he succeeds.
  12. rv78
    The only one I'd consider is Lopez. Eovaldi is plodding along this year just like the Boston team as a whole and Bell would take playing time away from Arraez. I think the Twins and their thick skulled Manager have finally started to figure out that you need to manufacture runs instead of trying to win every game with the long ball. I like Arraez at 1B. He hasn't shown me anything yet that proves he can't play the position and everyone knows his bat needs to be in the lineup every day. Unlike Sano he gets on base and produces runs almost every day. I for one do not miss the rally killer and strikeout king Sano. Trade him for a bag of peanuts or DFA him. The team has proven it can win without him. He was costing the Twins more than just his $9M in salary, he was costing them wins.
  13. rv78
    Nothing surprising here with this FO. They value veterans that don't perform over rookies that do. This move proves it. It's comical they won't DFA a veteran player that doesn't produce, I am assuming, because they have millions of dollars tied up with that player, like a Sano, yet they pass over, send down, or just won't commit to a young player that does. If you DFA a player and play a different player that out-performs him isn't the cost still the same? Did Royce get a big raise when he came up to the majors and then get less money when he went back down? Don't think so. If it isn't about service time then they have a lot of explaining to do, since other players, (like Arraez, Gordon, Polonco, Sano) have learned or are learning different positions at the major league level. Lewis is more athletic than any of them but he's not qualified to do what they did or are doing? The comedy duo of Falvey and Levine have struck again. Should we say Buxton 2.0. Laughable!
  14. rv78
    I find it quite ironic that an article like this comes out after the Twins win and the players performed making it look like Rocco made all the right moves. Would it have made the column if Gordon wouldn't have executed the bunt? Or Cano imploded? Or Duffey would have blown the 9th. How many times has Rocco asked anyone to bunt before last night? I don't remember one, but now he's a genius? How many times has he wasted a pitcher on any given night by having them throw 2 , 4 or 5 pitches and then goes to someone else the next inning? A Lot! Easy part of the schedule right now followed by a run against the best of the Eastern division. Well see how great Rocco is when his team plays against the best. So far he's hasn't looked any thing like a MOTY against the them, (Dodgers & Astros).
  15. rv78
    So you are saying there are more Managers that don't know how to manage besides Rocco? Just because more than 1 person is doing something doesn't make it right!
  16. rv78
    Twins win despite another short stint from a starter and Rocco mismanaging another game. Managers worth a hoot don't have a player leading the league in homeruns batting leadoff, they bat 3rd or 4th in the lineup so when they do go deep it might actually produce 2 or 3 runs instead of one. Then leaving Jax in to pitch as long as he did was another mistake. He was clearly gassed in the 7th, waits too long to replace him with Smith and then only uses Smith for 1 out on 4 pitches. Instead of using Smith to pitch the 8th as well he uses Duran in the 8th and Pagan in the 9th. Why use an extra pitcher in that situation when you can't get 5 innings from your starters on a consistant basis? Smith hadn't pitched since Sunday and he only threw 12 pitches then so he shouldn't have been tired. Rocco doesn't know how to use a bullpen.
  17. rv78
    Do the Twins really think they can be contenders this year? The Dodgers and Astros have pretty much shown where they stand in that department. I too am getting tired of seeing Sanchez get an over-abundance of at bats in the DH role when there are other options. I'm fine with him catching every 3rd or 4th game but that's all he deserves at this point. Gordon, Arraez, and Celestino have been much more productive when given the chance to play yet Baldelli seems to find reasons to limit their playing time. With Lewis. Miranda and Arraez all able to play 3rd base, and I wouldn't count Gordon unable to play there either, they should be getting more playing time in the field also. I am all in favor of a total youth movement for this season. Why not give these youngsters the benefit if playing more in a season that will likely die in the playoffs anyway, if they get there, to the likes of the Astros and Yankees, so we know what we have for 2023 and beyond. I know no one wants to throw a season away in May or June but we have seen what this team can do against the power teams and that has been little to nothing. Let's give the young kids a chance to prove themselves instead of wasting another season playing guys that continually struggle or under-perform like Sanchez, Urshela, Sano, Kepler.
  18. rv78
    I suspect the only reason why he was brought up was because Luis Arraez got sidelined due to Covid. He needs to go back down to AAA and stay there until he gets his groove back, if it is possible. If not, his days of playing professional baseball are numbered. I definitely hope that is NOT the case.
  19. rv78
    It will be interesting to see how Lewis does. I hope for the best. If he takes off with a great start both offensively and defensively does anyone else besides me then consider signing Correa a $35M mistake? That money could've been used to sign an Ace pitcher. Correa hasn't exactly been raking it so far this season and might actually have just been starting to get where we were hoping he'd be from the start. A hot start by Lewis could make everyone not miss Correa and make Falvine wonder why they did what they did and spent what they did for Correa. Garver with Jeffers behind the plate with Donaldson at 3B and Lewis at SS might have been better with an Ace in the rotation.
  20. rv78
    You can hang this loss on the coaches. Having 2 runners thrown out at home is strickly a 3rdbase coach problem. Also, why was Thielbar the choice to pitch in the 5th inning when the first batter (Mateo) is a right-handed batter, the only lefty he was going to face was Mullins. Wouldn't Joe Smith have been a better choice? Even using Duran I go to Smith instead if I haven't used him already. What about Pagan? He had 2 days off like Smith verses Thielbar at 1 day off. The starters also need to start pitching into the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings. These 4 inning stints are not going to work long-term. We are a month into the season. If the starters are not stretched out enough to start throwing 90 pitches or more by now then something is wrong with their conditioning.
  21. rv78
    The Twins need to move away from the bomba squad mentality and take good hitting players and let them be good hitting players instead of trying to make every one of them Sano type strikeout/homerun machines. Maybe thse young players would make it to the majors a lot faster if the Twins wouldn't try to make them into something they aren't. Larnach is a great example. Last year he was trying to pull everything to right-field and into the seats. Who's idea was that? This year he is spraying the ball all over and hitting .300 and helping the team win. Let Martin be a hitter, not a homer,
  22. rv78
    Extremely disappointed in Bally Sports coverage of Twins games so far this season on my local broadcast network. The Guide shows that the Twins game is scheduled to be broadcast only to find other programming instead. I will not pay additional fees to watch Twins games in addition to my local network fees. I am sure my local network, supplying the Bally Sports channels is paying their fair share to have them available to their customers. Now it feels like we are being targeted for more fees just to get what we already are paying for. The Twins organization needs to take a long hard look at this. Alienate your fan base and your customers and they will go elsewhere.
  23. rv78
    Twins are 2-5 against teams with a winning record and 9-4 against teams with a losing record. So they can beat the bad teams but can't beat the good teams which means they will finish somewhere around .500 unless they get better. Can't blame Bundy since everyone knows he is going to have games like this. He isn't an Ace and won't pitch like one every time out. The offense needs to get better and be more consistant or every time they face a Kershaw or a Kluber type pitcher this team will lose.
  24. rv78
    "If Kepler can adjust his launch angle slightly, he may see better results that correspond to his increase in average exit velocity. " If Kepler can adjust his launch angle slightly, he can go back to hitting weak popups.
  25. rv78
    Talk about bad luck. If the Tigers would have had a good rightfielder in the game Sano's hit would have been another out and the Twins lose. Bad luck for the Tigers. We've seen Robbie Grossman play defense and he doesn't belong on the field. All of the numbers you throw out about exit velocity and hard hit rate only mean to me that he is the same ol' Sano and won't ever be a good hitter except for those 2 or 3 weeks when he finds a good luck streak and can raise his batting average to .190. Are we to expect Sano to get off to a good start, ever? Do the games in April mean nothing? He has struck out in his career at a rate higher than anyone ever has in the history of the game. I've watched him so many times swing at pitches he shouldn't and watch pitches go by that he should swing at that I can't stand to watch him bat anymore. His approach at the plate is almost exactly opposite of what it should be. Let's face the facts, he's always been an average to poor hitter regardless of how hard he hits the ball and that is what he is. If he hasn't changed by now he never will. I say good riddance and the sooner the better.
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