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Riverbrian

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Everything posted by Riverbrian

  1. Riverbrian
    It's a poor choice if you miss the point. Agreed. All teams go through down stretches. Yes... The Dodgers haven't had as many of those things.
  2. Riverbrian
    There is a contention from many on this website that rebuilds (or re-whatevers) means a long period of darkness. I simply don't believe that is the case at all. It can result in that depending on the depth of the rebuild... for example trading everything not nailed down. But... I've been paying close attentioni to the youth coming into the other 29 teams and seeing success with youth. There are scales to everything. You don't have to trade everyone. The Brewers cashed out Burnes, Peralta, Hader and they added to the farm system in those deals. Some panned out... Some didn't but they cleared space for more incoming youth. Today they own the best record in baseball and the starting staff (even without Woodruff) is perhaps the best in baseball... Not on Paper but by measurement of 2026 results. The Brewers know they can't compete with the big boys in the big boys free agent market. All anyone has to do is look around the league at the other 29 teams and take note of what the Nats young offense is doing? The Cardinals have been tough to deal with. The Marlins, The White Sox. The Twins can't take the Dodgers, Yankees and Phillies approach. They can't unless the CBA changes drastically. They have to make a similar commitment to youth and they have to be good at it and that will mean that they have to trade peak value players to get peak value prices in return.
  3. Riverbrian
    I have no way of knowing so I can only guess like the rest of us. But... Yeah... I'm obviously making up a number but his value would have dropped significantly. His primary value was this year at 6 million and that primary value was largely eaten up by the Twins. Two years at 19 Million... Compared to a year and two months at 15 million? His pending arb raise alone is going to drop his value significantly. Not to mention two absolute dreadful performances where he gave up 12 runs right before the deadline that is going to plant that injury doubt in the nervous heads of buyers. You can only recoup that value with trade deadline desperation and then when you look around the league and notice that there isn't really a comparable but nobody was coughing up the elite prospects. Yeah... I think we took a trade value hit to the shorts.
  4. Riverbrian
    Well... You probably know by now but this is where the crux of my disagreement with the organization lies. Our spillage is my main concern. We need more than Jenkins and if prospects have to be Jenkins like to get a full shot at full development. We are doing Agbayani types a favor by trading him. With our utilization of Fedko and how we are going to be utlizing Martin. Those guys can go away. They will have no trade value even if they are successful at the very specific minimal task we ask out of them. Dasan Hill is the only guy we lost that bugged me and it's not that I'm a Dasan Hill expert. Hard throwing lefties. I'd hang on to them with all my might.
  5. Riverbrian
    On this we agree. Well... except this deadline part. The off-season was the time to set the correct course. Joe Ryan was probably half his January trade value at the trade deadline. That would have pissed me off more than keeping him using all of his trade value by hanging on to him until the very end and getting nothing at all.
  6. Riverbrian
    I understand your point. I'm in the crowd that says that ship sailed in the off-season. I wouldn't have done what they did but they did what they did and it wasn't a complete failure. It certainly didn't knock our socks off but they kept themselves in contention... Unimpressively in contention or impressively in contention. It is contention and there are peaks and valleys to come. I wasn't happy with the off-season approach but I would have been more pissed if they decided to go for it, stayed in contention and then did what we thought they should have done in the off-season. If they trade Joe Ryan at a significant value loss at the deadline instead of the off-season at peak value. That would piss me off. You can make the argument that they probably shouldn't do a thing. Which is a viable argument but I don't like standing still. It's tricky but the end result of it all... in my opinion. We just delayed the inevitable for a year. We are going to have to make a heavy commitment toward youth at some point because we are going to be graduated people through the arb system and we need replacements. Young replacements.
  7. Riverbrian
    There is the on paper viewpoint and the what is actually happening on the field viewpoint. My opinion is only my opinion. I won't use the terminology rebuild. But, they started a re-whatever in August and they didn't finish what they started and I would have finished what they started. The bullpen was almost completely gone and it was going to take time to rebuild that thing and with the rather large hole in the bullpen and a rather large hole in infield depth. Again... in my opinion... We had two players who had to be at the top of their trade value and hanging on to them was going to for sure lower their trade value... I felt it would have been a perfect time to move them to add some young talented talent to the system. Specifically I wanted a young SS capable of anywhere in the infielder and a young 1B and young bullpen arms. Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers could have plugged some of those holes. The front office decided to go for it instead. In the process of going for it. They found themselves in contention and being in a weak AL is not something you hold against them. The offense was good in comparison to their peers. The Bullpen while still not where I'd want it to be was improved significantly through the process of audition. The starting pitching was not what I was hoping. I think they are just delaying the inevitable because our players are going to age out and we need a clearer focus on development to keep the wolves away. No matter how I felt about the approach. I still believe I was right in the off-season. The team played itself into contention and I'll never question contention. I was OK with the trades because you don't declare you are going for it, not fail going for it and pull the plug anyway. The front office needed to support the effort of the players on the field. It doesn't always work but they needed to support it. Now... this coming off-season. I'm probably right back where I was last off-season. We are going to have to make a stronger commitment to youth before the walls cave in.
  8. Riverbrian
    I've been tracking opposing team starts. There are a lot of examples of scoring off the aces and getting shut completely down by guys with a 4 plus ERA's. The Miz has been exceptional but the Cubs just put a 5 spot on him. The Twins, The Cards, The Pirates and Red Sox have all put a 3 on him. A 1.97 ERA is incredible but a 1.97 means that there are occasions where he gave up two runs or more to create that average. Bailey Ober has a 4.37 but he has 6 starts out of 21 where he gave up 1 or less. While the Orioles, Pirates and Nats touched him up pretty severely. I'd say he had 9 starts were he was average and gave the offense a chance to win it. When you look at individual games. There are always these individual moments in key situations and they work in both directions. The Twins also probably stole a couple of games along the way.
  9. Riverbrian
    I think it's too soon to lock in but... as the season winds down... they've had an entire season to determine the best 9 and you are running out of time and space so you probably need to shorten. However... I still think it's too soon because our best 9 while doing alright. That alright-ness is only temporary because it is almost always temporary. Injuries will change that top 9 on a dime... hot and cold streaks start and stop on a dime.
  10. Riverbrian
    Yeah sure but the article was implying "another 2nd half collapse". The 2nd half has been pretty heavily influenced by that stretch of games that I highlighted. The Twins were 15-9 in July. 11-18 in August. 26-27 for both months. It's .500 ball and that is where you find most teams during most 30 game stretches or entire seasons. .500 ball is where half of them reside at any given time and .500 isn't a collapse... it's normal. Where does the 2nd half start? If it's game 82. The Twins were 38-43 in the first half and that means 29-30 in the 2nd half. If it's the all-star break. We were 48-49 at the all star break. We are 19-24 since. Season's are up and downs and if the Twins or any team can control the roller coaster. We would all have to find something else to complain about. Now... if the purpose of this article is to get the TD posters to attack prior decision making. OK... in that case... I have my criticisms... I would have taken another approach in the off season... However... my approach... your approach... anybody's approach wouldn't be immune to a sub par stretch of baseball at any given time of the season like our August has been. Case in point... The Dodgers are 13-17 in their past 30 games. The Dodgers like the other 29 teams do not have immunity from the ups and downs.
  11. Riverbrian
    The August 21 to 29 Stretch was bad. 1-7 over those 8 games was a body blow. Just a 4-4 over that stretch would put the Twins at 15-15 over the past 30 games because the Twins have been 12-18 over that stretch. The Twins were 12-18 over the past 30 games and the team would be 70-70 with a 15-15 stretch and a half game behind Cleveland. Cleveland went 15-15 over their past 30 games so there are a pile of teams in the middle during this 30 game stretch of the season. The margins are too thin to throw blame.
  12. Riverbrian
    If that's the case. Those 9 guys will have to carry the bulk of the water the rest of the season. If there are any injuries to those 9. Someone will have to be dusted off and put back into circulation... or someone has to be called up from St. Paul to be the new member of the 9. Right Now... Jackson, Kreidler, Ross and GGon are going to be late game maneuver options. Caratini is probably going to spell Jeffers at lower frequency than previous. Like I said earlier. The majority of the chosen 9 have been decent recently but the roller coaster is still in motion and doing decently now doesn't mean doing decently later. We seem to be locked in. These are the horses to be ridden.
  13. Riverbrian
    We will see what the Twins lineup looks like against the lefty Anthony Kay in the White Sox series. I'd expect Ggon to replace Larnach in LF. Let's see if there are any other adjustments. We've had a string of right handed starters and the lineup has been basically locked during this stretch. Only Caratini has a drawn a start out of the 5 who are firmly planted on the bench. Keaschall, Lee, Clemens, Jeffers, Bell, Larnach, Lewis, Culpepper and Jenkins. Until Buxton returns... these are the guys who will have to do it for us. They've been OK. But each player has roller coaster potential.
  14. Riverbrian
    Very solid first post
  15. Riverbrian
    Last Game Right Handed Starter September 2 - Drew Anderson - Loss - 6 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 4 RH 2 Switch 3 LH Season Record vs RH Starters: 49-49 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.83 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs LH Starters: 18-24 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.40
  16. Riverbrian
    None of these must be answered in September. We have players for 6 years of service time to utilize and September is a small dent.
  17. Riverbrian
    I teach punctuation to pupils who are looking to get worse at it.
  18. Riverbrian
    The sequencing of hits, walks and errors (not making outs) are often overlooked in this game that we love. We tend to look at team total stats for our opinions but I believe that the sequencing of positive results is what produces wins and losses. The MLB average OBP in 2026 is .315. The Cubs have the highest OBP with a .340 and the Mets have the worst with a .305. The Twins rank 10th currently with a .320, These numbers alone tell you that every 3 AB's in an average inning is one base runner and two outs and this is the scenario for all teams. If this occurs in exact static fashion without stringing together positive events that happen at a .315 percentage... teams will only score via home run. Sequencing is the the thing that defies these average results and produces runs. The average baserunners per game will be around 13.5 per game per team. If you space them out equally over 9 innings a lot of zero's will be hung. Last night we had 13 hits, 6 walks, 1 error and 1 HBP for a total of 21 baserunners. 12 Baserunners were produced in our 10 run 6th inning. That is sequencing on steroids. We also produced 4 baserunners in the 5th... Aided greatly by a big throwing error from Dingler. The 8th brought us 3 baserunners That leaves 2 baserunners total for the remaining 5 innings. Those events occurred in the 1st inning only one was necessary because of the Clemens solo home run. We went down in order in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th innings. Which is Ok because I'd rather go down in order for multiple innings and pile up that average allotment in single innings. Sequencing. It's the stuff dreams are made of. Without it... We need a lot of home runs.
  19. Riverbrian
    It's true that a 1 or a zero by themselves are not crooked numbers. However, when you combine them together they become a crooked number. I had some sodium but it wasn't winning baseball games. I also had some chloride and it also wasn't winning baseball games. I combined them together and now my food tastes a little enhanced. A ten spot crooked number in a single inning is like a having a left shoe and a right shoe. You can win baseball games with shoes on both feet. If you try to play with only a left shoe... it's much harder.
  20. Riverbrian
    The article was mostly about control problems in the bullpen but I agree with you. This club completely changed the bullpen and they did so via audition. Our top 4 most trusted arms in the pen according to utilization are Gomez, Morris, Minter and Hoffman and none of those 4 were here when the season started. I applaud the front office efforts to actively seek bullpen answers using an audition process and the necessary deadline deals. The result of all this change and in regards to the Article. Statistically: The Bullpen since August 1 Ranks 22nd with a 4.37 ERA Ranks 22nd with a 4.18 BB/9 The Bullpen from the start of the season to July 31. Ranked 26th with a 4.87 ERA Ranked 29th with a 4.67 BB/9 We still have control issues but despite the articles assertion... we have improved in that area as a group. Gomez and Hoffman with plus 7 BB/9 are the main reason that the bullpen walk rate hasn't improved a lot. Subjectively... I personally feel better about the bullpen today then I did at the start of the season when I was sick to my stomach. We will probably have to go through this same process next year. Guys we think we found will be lost and guys we thought lost will be found.
  21. Riverbrian
    Last Game Right Handed Starter September 1 - Troy Melton - Won - 15 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 4 RH 2 Switch 3 LH Season Record vs RH Starters: 49-48 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.67 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs LH Starters: 18-24 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.40
  22. Riverbrian
    We don't have Martin to pinch hit for Larnach. Roster decisions based on... other things. Roster decisions not based on talent. Roster decisions made today that were set in motion many years ago. Erod wasn't going to be the call up.
  23. Riverbrian
    Last Game Right Handed Starter August 31 - Jackson Jobe - Won - 11 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 4 RH 2 Switch 3 LH Season Record vs RH Starters: 48-48 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.71 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs LH Starters: 18-24 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.40
  24. Riverbrian
    Nothing a 15 game winning streak won't cure.
  25. Riverbrian
    I loved it. My son and I won a round trip to anywhere in the United States from Delta. A little SpongeBob knowledge on the big screen takes the edge off of 2 runs scored vs Fedde.
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