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Road trip

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Everything posted by Road trip

  1. Road trip
    All this sentence tells me is that you aren't a tennis fan, and you didn't watch the French, US, or Australian Open this year, comparing it to Wimbledon where player complaints SLOWED DOWN THE ACTION and frankly made both players and umpires look bad. Nobody is talking about adding replay. No game time will be added by robo umps. You are setting up straw man arguments and knocking them down. Peace, out, done.
  2. Road trip
    In an incredibly small sample size, Solano is 2 for 3 off of Urquidy. He was probably the right lineup call regardless of Kiriloff's injury. Hopefully Solano turns that into something like 4 for 5. (Because more than that just seems greedy)
  3. Road trip
    I doubt it is a phantom injury for Kirilloff, as the penalty is rather harsh. From MLB.com A club may request permission from the Commissioner's Office to replace a player who is injured during the course of a series, but that player is then ineligible for the rest of that round and the subsequent round, if there is one.
  4. Road trip
    This, to me, is possibly the best argument. I'm not certain how many on here regularly watch tennis, but the line calls in tennis are the closest comparison to ball-strike calls that MLB umps are forced to make. These calls are impossible to get consistently correct by utilizing the human eye. The margins are just too fine. Because of this, participants in both sports argue about calls on the margins. With the move to robo umps in tennis, the arguments have almost entirely ceased. Players (and fans) tend to accept the calls as shown on the camera replay, even when a ball is in or out by a fraction of an inch. It's hard to argue with a camera. The era of John McEnroe going off on a chair ump is over. The exception is at Wimbledon, which so far has stayed with human calls, while all of the other major tournaments have switched. And Wimbledon is now being rather heavily criticized for this decision, because the new system works so well at the other tournaments..
  5. Road trip
    I guess this is correct, as he did just barely pass the 3 year service time window this year. BRef had him as arbitration eligible in 2024, so my earlier post is wrong, or I misinterpreted BRef's listing. Either way, for 3.2M I wouldn't hesitate to bring Castro back.
  6. Road trip
    If getting calls consistently correct is so unimportant and change is so difficult perhaps baseball never should have abandoned the "good ole days" practice where a single umpire stood behind the pitcher and made all the calls on the field. I mean, this is a sport where tradition is more important than improving the game, correct?
  7. Road trip
    If not technically "good", he at least is "valuable". I'm not certain or confident he will ever be more than an average hitter, but because of his defensive versatility (where he is adequate just about everywhere) and his speed on the base paths he will have value going forward. He's not arbitration eligible till after next year, and not a free agent until 2026. Thus, the Twins can keep him at a relatively low cost until he is 30, which is about as long as you want a player whose strongest attribute is his speed.
  8. Road trip
    I'm not saying the Twins need to hit him, or throw at his head, or do anything to intentionally injure him... .. but Alvarez is way too comfortable at the plate. The first pitch from Ryan should be further inside towards his ankle or thigh. Make him move his feet a little. Make him hit the dirt. They have tried to pitch Alvarez inside, but it hasn't been inside enough to cause any discomfort, doubt, or fear. Wallner and Jeffers get hit all the time. It isn't wrong for Twins pitchers to create a little fear as well.
  9. Road trip
    You've over-rated Gladden quite a bit. He was aging and no longer very good in 1991, and the Twins let him go after the season (OPS+ of 80, Yikes!). Wallner has his issues as well to be sure. LF was not a strength for either squad. You've underrated Shane Mack, who was excellent in 1991. By WAR he was their second most valuable player, playing an excellent RF and slugging for an OPS+ of 140. Kepler has had a good year but for a brief period of time Shane Mack was an absolute stud. Mack should really be better remembered in Twins lore. But overall, I agree this team compares well with '91. Like then, something *feels* different about this squad.... or maybe I just feel different after watching two decades of playoff futility.
  10. Road trip
    Agree completely, set the d*#! game times. Ticket holders need to make plans. It's 2023, many/most of the tv watchers aren't watching it live on Fox/FS1 anyway. Between the FoxSports app, along with DVR's, a significant percentage of viewers are watching the game later in the day, even if it is a day game. I'll be doing so again today (work, y'know). By the way, significant bonus on the Fox Sports app: If you wait until after the game is over Fox Sports presents the archived game without ANY commercial breaks. Innings just roll from one to the next without any break.
  11. Road trip
    The decision to pull Berrios was a very poor one, but didn't cost Toronto the game. If you had told Schneider before the game "Do this and you will hold the Twins to 2 total runs", I suspect he would take that bargain. I certainly wouldn't have felt good about the Twins chances if I had known they were only going to score 2. Hitting and base running (and a little bad luck in terms of where their hard-hit balls went) cost Toronto any chance to win. When you score zero you will lose every single time. Jays players can understandably grumble about the decision, but the offense scored 1 run the entire series. That won't work.
  12. Road trip
    This is where I stand as well. Save Ryan for game 4 at Target Field. Outside of Denver, I'm not certain there is a worse ballpark for Ryan to pitch in than Minute Maid. It brutally punishes fly ball pitchers with that short left field fence. And then, after we beat the Astros we can line Ryan up to start in the big ballpark at Camden Yard 😁
  13. Road trip
    Overall this seems about right. It's close between Gray and Lopez for #1, and a razor thin margin between Ryan and Ober for #4. I lean towards Ober, but it's close, and probably believe Ryan to have the greater long-term potential. This is the deepest and likely the strongest Twins pitching staff since the 1960s, even if we may grumble a bit about perceived deficiencies in the bullpen. Enjoy it while we have it!
  14. Road trip
    Say what you will about Wallner's overall defense, but a lot of left fielders get run on when the ball goes to the corner like that. It's often a double. He's got a reputation already..
  15. Road trip
    Ok, yes, I think I'm convinced it is correct to stay with the original "Gray in game 2 plan", largely due to Flying Finn's argument on making every effort to get Lewis an extra day off. I still *really* don't want to see Ryan start game 1 in Houston if the Twins win today, but that is an argument for another day (hopefully). And it obviously isn't going to change at this point anyway...
  16. Road trip
    So would it be crazy to swap our starters for Game 2? The Twins have game 1 in the win column. IF the Twins start Ryan and win (Ryan would be on normal rest), they can start Gray in game 1 vs the Astros, followed by Lopez. If we start Ryan and lose, we still have Gray for game 3 vs Toronto. If Gray needs to be used in game 3 vs Toronto (and wins), it doesn't penalize the rotation for the Houston series, as he would still be on track to start game 3 of the Astros series (next Tuesday), just as projected if he starts game 2 vs Toronto today. Bonus #1 - If there is a high-pressure elimination game 3 vs Toronto, we have our most veteran starter available. Added Bonus #2... it means we can back Ryan up to game 3 or 4 (at home) of the Houston series, instead of a potential game 1 start if the Twins win today. Ryan has extreme home-road splits. He would be especially vulnerable to fly balls in Houston's band-box stadium. Is there any down-side to doing this?
  17. Road trip
    Indeed. And it didn't help that game times weren't announced until Sunday night. Tough for many to clear the work calendar that quickly. Maybe it maximizes tv revenue to not play all games at night, but baseball is increasingly a regional game. I'll watch all of the Twins games, but the other wildcard games this week...meh... maybe a bit, to whatever degree it is convenient. Seems the teams would make a lot more money at the gate if they played at night.
  18. Road trip
    Against a tough right handed starter I wouldn't be surprised to see Castro get the start in Center Field over Taylor. That has happened semi-frequently the past few months. Of course, this assumes that Lewis is able to come back healthy and Castro isn't needed at 3B. I suspect Castro will start at least one wildcard game somewhere, position to be determined.
  19. Road trip
    Well, sure, as professionals the Rays will try. Hitters will try to hit, and pitchers will throw as well as they can, but unless Baltimore loses their next four in a row the AL East race is over (magic # is 1). Management will be different though. I seriously doubt the Rays start Eflin on Sunday, which would be his normal rest. They will save him for game 1 or 2 of the wildcard round. Likewise, any regular who is nursing a minor injury will get a day or two off this weekend. Bullpen workloads will also be managed carefully on Saturday and Sunday, because a manager must put his own team's interest first. We would expect Rocco to do the same. Having said all that, could the Jays blow it anyway? Sure, it could happen. Just not real likely.
  20. Road trip
    FanGraphs has the Jays at 95% in the playoffs, using more advanced math than I have. It's possible for the Jays to miss out, but they'll have to flop pretty badly. Their last 5 are at home against the Yankees (who are a depressed mess...love it) and the Rays (who will likely be resting starters for the playoffs), so it seems likely the Jays should win at least 2 out of 5.. Then, the Astros and Mariners almost inevitably will lose a game or two given their difficult remaining schedules against teams fighting for playoff spots (one will certainly lose when they play each other tonight).
  21. Road trip
    I'll second comments choosing Funderburk over Paddack, especially if we draw the lefty-heavy Astros (Alvarez, Tucker, and Brantley) or Rangers (need a spare lefty for Seager). The Mariners don't have many scary left handers, nor do the Jays... so maybe you consider leaving Funderburk off the roster if either of them are the opponent. I'd really want to see two good appearances from Paddack before adding him. As nice as it was to see him throw hard last night, the 2nd inning was a pretty rough. Too many pitches down the middle that got hit very hard.
  22. Road trip
    Ober struggling? Last 5 games... Aug 15: 2 runs in 5 innings Aug 22: 2 runs in 5 innings Aug 27: 5 runs in 4 innings (yup, I'll give you this one) *** arm rest / reset*** Sept 15: 2 runs in 5 innings Sept 20: 2 runs in 5 innings Seems to me Ober has been remarkably consistent, in a pretty good way. The Twins were in a good position to win all of his starts except Aug 27. Even Lopez has a clunker in his last 5 starts. I can see why some consider Ober our 5th best starter. It's close after the top 2. However, I also think Ober (or Maeda, or Ryan) is likely the best 5th starter in MLB this year, and would be a solid #3 on most teams.
  23. Road trip
    The Twins alternating their catchers this year has been... genius (didn't expect that adjective, did you?). The Twins have only two major league caliber catchers in the system, and they managed to keep them both healthy for the entire year. That's remarkable, and lucky. They had depth everywhere else, but not at catcher. Just think about the injury list this year, based on the anticipated starting lineup back in March (going around the diamond): Kiriloff, Polanco, Correa, Miranda (and Lewis), Gallo, Buxton/Taylor, and Kepler. Every one of these players missed time on the IL, and many of them missed substantial time. Thankfully depth payed off everywhere else, while the two catchers stayed healthy and fresh. Partly this was due to the rotation plan, and partly due to luck. When do we ever get luck? This year at the catcher spot. As for the playoffs? I'd like to see more of Jeffers, but it is still a defense-first position and if there are starting pitcher(s) who really prefer throwing to Vazquez I'd be willing to consider that.
  24. Road trip
    Agree with Woof Bronzer. Great starters, but arguably the least reliable bullpen north of Arlington. Maybe Maeda will strengthen the pen. Maybe Varland will be great in his new role. But I can't head into the postseason confident that the Twins bullpen can consistently pitch 4 good innings, especially if it is the Pagan & Jax show for a good hunk of it. If starters are going to be pulled after 5 innings... well, hopefully the Twins offense continues to score..
  25. Road trip
    Regarding day games, MLB and the networks may choose wildcard game times depending on the size of the fan base of the road teams. Tampa will be the other host team in the AL (unless Baltimore falls apart and finishes 2nd). Tampa's fan base is even smaller than Minnesota's. In the NL, Milwaukee will host, another small fan base, probably smaller. The other host will likely be Philly or the Cubs, which I agree will be strong contenders for a prime time spot. There is also a chance Arizona hosts, which would be another small fan base. If the Twins were to draw Toronto... yup, almost guarantee a day game. If they draw Houston though? I'll bet that ends up at night.
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