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VivaBomboRivera!

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Everything posted by VivaBomboRivera!

  1. VivaBomboRivera!
    Coaches who transformed Sano into a more disciplined hitter ought to be able to help Rosario, as well.
  2. VivaBomboRivera!
    Rogers is good, but he's not Reardon or Aguilera, nor even Nathan or Guardado. Today's performance on no rest was too shaky to be trusted when it's time to go big or go home. The Twins are going to have to platoon him with other throwers in order to secure late-inning lockdowns. Dyson should be another member of that team, but at this moment he is not the performer his numbers said he was before the trade. This and the missing teeth in the gears of the starting rotation are a problem to be solved before the Division Series begin. The good news is that the team has 24 games and a rack of arms to solve the problem. It may be that the idea of starter and reliever get thrown out in favor of a matrix that accounts for opposing lineup matchups, endurance, rest, L/RP vs L/RB, leverage, pitch repertoire, contingency, etc. In this arrangement, all that matters is how to mix-n-match the best set of pitchers to get the team 27 outs on a given day. Every game becomes a puzzle to be solved.
  3. VivaBomboRivera!
    After today the Indians' division hopes are pretty much sunk, being 7 losses back and having played one more game. They could take all 6 remaining against Minnesota and still be down. That won't happen anyway - the Twins are 20 - 10 (only Yankees are better at 21 - 9) over the last 30 and 15 - 5 (!) in the past 20 games. Winning 100 games now only requires them to play at a paltry .583 pace. Cleveland is nowhere near the Twins' recent clip, and now must win 20 of their last 23 to reach 100. No further posts on this topic - turn out the lights, good luck in the wildcard chase, case closed. Gained a game on Houston, now 3 back, but stiff-armed by New York at 4.
  4. VivaBomboRivera!
    Overlooked the fact that there were _no_ walks today. Cannot take that for granted.
  5. VivaBomboRivera!
    An even .600 clip for the last 25 games gets Minnesota to 100 wins. Magic number is 20 unless the Chisox get hot in their last three innings tonight. If the Twins hit that 100 win pace, the Indians _must_ win 22 of 25 (including today) in order to finish ahead. If the Twins go 13 and 12 for 98 wins, Cleveland still has to win 20. We are in the driver's seat for the division title, folks. Overtaking HOU and NYY is a tough problem at 4 games back. If both play .500 ball to go 102 - 60, The Twins must play at a .720 clip to catch them. They don't call it the final stretch for nothing.
  6. VivaBomboRivera!
    Nothing to apologize for. If he's wrong, that's his fault. The guy's a pro after all. Good on you for having the facts straight.
  7. VivaBomboRivera!
    Another issue worthy of mention: The Tigers beat the Twins on the base paths today like rented mules. The pitching didn't give us a chance to win, but fielders could very well have themselves to blame if they don't increase their awareness and connect their throws better. To borrow a meme, 'tighten it up' before the Astros, Indians or Yankees make you look foolish.
  8. VivaBomboRivera!
    Please have a look at the calendar and reconsider this justification.
  9. VivaBomboRivera!
    .353 average vs RH pitching, and Garver up behind him. I liked that call. We didn't need a dinger, we needed our best chance of keeping the inning going.
  10. VivaBomboRivera!
    Apparently, Rocco had not... :-(
  11. VivaBomboRivera!
    How does any team jack six balls out and still (mis-)manage to lose? Perez gets direct blame, of course, but Johnson and Baldelli are on the hook for this. Stashak should have been warming on the Rodriguez homer and swapped in after Dixon doubled. No guarantee of a comeback down 2 - 6, but no reason not to immediately stop the bleeding either, since the bullpen will be stacked with fresh arms to face a bottom-feeding team again tomorrow. There is no excuse for what happened today. What good is a major league home run record when the team loses in such shameful and preventable fashion? Let the little girl in left field keep that ball. Good news? Magic is 23, still a chance to take 3 of 4, and 100 wins is still in reach. However, retaking the AL lead grows tougher with the Yankees now 5 games ahead. See you at the ball park again in a few hours.
  12. VivaBomboRivera!
    Ladies & Gentlemen, meet Kyle Gibson, the man with an 8.1 million dollar arm and a 50 cent head. Truly a talented pitcher who is, "all over the place." Somebody puh-leez call Annie Savoy to send this guy some garters. Gotta take your victories where you can get 'em, though. Now 17 wins away from 100 with 28 games left. Magic number is 24. Pressure is shifting from chased to chaser.
  13. VivaBomboRivera!
    Encouraging, to be sure. The man was Jekyll and Hyde today. Showed in his facial expressions and body language all the way through. Confident, fast working when he was on, slow and uncertain when he was off. You could see him cringe after the ball came out of his hand on one of those WPs, and likewise it was clear when he was pleased that he hit his location. Though there are signs of progress he is still out of sorts. Wish him well - Winter is coming. But compared to Cease? _That_ guy's a head case. Running through my mind as I watched: 90% of this game is half mentalDon't think, just throwI wouldn't dig in if I were youIt's going to be a long stretch until the next off day on 9 Sep, great to see the bullpen rest being managed so well. Can only get better after the call-ups.
  14. VivaBomboRivera!
    Cave (.275 / .373 / .493) has barely 30% of Rosario's (.283 / .306 / .508) PAs this season, but it is safe to say that these two players are rapidly approaching parity both offensively and defensively. Assuming Buxton stays healthy (knock wood!), looks like four choices going into 2020: Four-man platoon (i.e., do nothing)In a three-man OF, keep Rosario if he develops more plate discipline and earns more walksIf Rosario does not improve, keep Cave assuming he develops better defensive awareness and judgementOffload both for bigger talents (least likely for a host of reasons)
  15. VivaBomboRivera!
    Twins are 4th in ML overall pitching WAR. Doesn't take a genius or any searCH-fu to identify at least two of the teams above us. ;-)
  16. VivaBomboRivera!
    Buxton's on DL, Kepler's held out with a sore knee, Sano has a HBP bruised elbow, Margo's tummy aches and the TWINS STILL SCORE 8 RUNS. As has been said elsewhere, assuming Polanco (19) and Margo (15) both reach 20 jacks, that is a full lineup of batters with 20+ HRs. NEVAH, EVAH BEEN DONE. Our offensive depth frightens other teams. Now that the bullpen is stabilizing confidence can build. Hope they ran some baserunning drills on the off day this week. If the starting rotation regains its edge it's going to be a great September. Thirty games left for a 100 Win season. Take 19 and we're in great shape for playoffs.
  17. VivaBomboRivera!
    A pitching duel like this is just _so_ much more interesting than games that drag on because one team scores two touchdowns and the other puts up three field goals worth of runs.
  18. VivaBomboRivera!
    Fixed yer post. ;-)
  19. VivaBomboRivera!
    It isn't a real lead until our staff has given it up. Disgraceful. Far worse than losing to Giolito and Abreu. Go ahead, somebody try to tell us again that it is not pitching (or lack thereof) that wins games. Evidence to the contrary has been mounting since the extra-inning loss to the Yankees. If Castro keeps his foot on the bag before Cave's first dinger, and today's pitchers give up just two fewer runs, the game is tied in the 9th on Cave's second jack. The team has the offense to make up two runs in any given inning. Berrios was done when the bases were loaded, and everybody knew it. Why Harper was left in to pitch the top of the 9th is difficult to comprehend. Two takeaways: Twins pitchers do not deserve the offensive support they are receiving. Batters should be demanding better from them.It is up to Baldelli and Johnson to get the most from this stable of arms. Thus far they are not.
  20. VivaBomboRivera!
    Gotta tip your cap to a pitching performance like that. Then you resolve to stick him next time. The hard lesson from this game is that pitching (or lack thereof) is what most consistently wins games, more so late- and post-season. Our staff has to improve from "good" to "good enough."
  21. VivaBomboRivera!
    As fantastic as Mad Max is, we are not getting the best we could from him in the number one spot. He swings at a good number of first balls. Often the results are gratifying but there are also a large number of leadoff outs that were never worked as opportunities to go deep in the count for walk (now 53 in 468 AB) as well as a hit. This shows up in his .334 OBP, 11th on the team behind names like Adrianza, Arraez, Cave and Polanco, players he could push around the base paths . Kepler is second on team now in RBI (84) to Rosario (85). Imagine where that number might be if he was in the 3rd or 4th spot. How many of his 34 HR are solo shots? We are cheating ourselves.
  22. VivaBomboRivera!
    O faithless Squirrel! Thy perfidy!
  23. VivaBomboRivera!
    Where there is squirrel, Boris, there must also be moose! Mandatory baseball content: Pineda's pitching line tonight (esp. _no_ walks 80% strike ratio) should be pinned above the locker of every other member of the staff. The team is not getting enough of that.
  24. VivaBomboRivera!
    Where there is squirrel, Boris, there must also be moose!
  25. VivaBomboRivera!
    That conclusion was not drawn. The point is, as long as he is on the club, he is going to get playing time. The expectation is that his offense will improve so that he will not be a liability when he is in the lineup. The problem to be solved as a manager is how to get the best out of him for the team.
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