Riverbrian

Many veterans struggle in their 87th taste of the big leagues as evidenced by our current offensive predicament. Julien had 27 AB's. His OPS during that small sample currently ranks 6th on the club. If that is a first taste struggle... OK... let's say it is. What term are we going to do use for the larger sample struggles from our vets that are worse than that. Are his first 27 AB's an indication on where he would be if he had 130 AB's like Correa and Miranda have received? While I agree that it is probably too soon and too much to ask Brooks Lee to rise up and lead us where we need to be. We need someone to come from somewhere and we are not in the position to write off help from AAA. Rookies can also do alright for a stretch, even if they came down to earth later. We were just beaten by two of them with the Cubs last night. The Cubs didn't seem to have a problem moving a decently paid vet like Hosmer out of the way for one of them and Hosmer's 2023 numbers look a lot like our entire big league team. Who knows if they have staying power but some of them have helping right now power even if it's just a little bit of help.

In regards to our current offense: I've never been in a baseball front office or had access to the numbers that they crunch but I'm going to go ahead and assume that they make projections. I am also going to assume that statistical projections in the sport of baseball are not a straight line. If a player is projected to hit .280... that player isn't going to hit .280 every week or every month. There will be good months and bad months fluctuation that requires the long game to reach those projections. Assuming the projections eventually come to fruition. I'm going to assume that the front office didn't project our hitters to be where they are over the long game. This means that the players that are currently below those projections (The entire team basically... I assume) are due for an incredible hot streak to reach the projections. The Twins should be hitting a nice long stretch of scoring 8 runs a game in the future. 😎😄 Considering this: My guess (strictly a guess) is that the front office will be reluctant to change course drastically because they would be selling low and cashing out before the good times bring the numbers up to the projections. Here are the potential problems with those long game projections. 1. Injuries - Players get hurt, we don't know who or when but they will get hurt. You can't play the long game, when injuries are a cannonball right through spreadsheet. 2. Accuracy of the projections- I'm going to assume that in 2022... That the Twins didn't project Nick Gordon to OPS .743 or Max Kepler to OPS .666 or they would have started Gordon in LF and Max Kepler on the bench on opening day... or they would have addressed the OF with someone that they projected to do better. The Tigers certainly had higher projections for what they got from Javier Baez last year. The A's, Royals and Padres (Twins as well) I assume didn't have Brent Rooker projected as high as he is producing right now. The A's for sure because he wasn't the opening day starter on one of the worst on paper teams in baseball. Yeah I know... the long game probably suggests that Rooker is going to go down hard in the future. I'm not saying the projections have no value, you have to do your math in the off-season to build a roster but no matter how often these projections end up accurate or close to accurate. I have no idea... how accurate they are. I'm just going to say that it's incredibly risky... to play this long game.

I'm not going to declare anyone an Ace in the sense that everybody uses the term Ace. I only care if they are good pitchers and Joe Ryan clearly is. However... in the sense that everyone talks about an "Ace". They were was a time when they were not an ace and then they become an ace. The Twins like all other 29 teams can grow an "Ace". If we want one or two of them... Growing one or two is the most likely path.

Coming from me... of course it does!!!

Gotta hang zeroes. 3.81 Bullpen ERA. 15th Ranked at the moment and that isn't going to be good enough. I'll bring more to the party. If Duran or Lopez hit the DL for 10 day stretch or two. How much fun will that be?

I was sleeping in med school so I have no idea about the physical side of what they are doing with Buxton and I won't pretend to... however, YEAH... getting Buck into CF some of the time will open up the DH some of the time... to... I don't know who... anybody... I don't care who... someone who might help. They have to get off the script. The adaptive cruise and the lane assist isn't sufficient for a nap... grab the wheel.

Agreed As a whole and in comparison to other teams... the bullpen is OK. The biggest problem the bullpen is going to face this year is... The offense. With this offense there is no such thing as low leverage. If low leverage is a rarity, there is no breathing room and the bullpen will need to be much better than OK from top to bottom. The offense is healthy right now. These contributors to the offense are in those off-season architectural plans that are laying on a desk or in a filing cabinet somewhere. Team batting average down to .218... 30th ranked. 367 team strikeouts now... 28th ranked. Oakland is 30th ranked with 5 more K's but they got a game in hand so... let's just say they are striking out more than everybody else because let's not quibble over a K or two as they battle with the bay area teams for the trophy. Team OPS down to .679... 23rd ranked Team Runs at 164 and falling fast to 23rd I don't believe, the front office, the scouts, the coaches, the players or the fans can use the term slump anymore. Last year in 2022, 25 different players swung a bat for our Twins, injuries were off the charts, we couldn't buy a hit in September with the chips down as 5 through 9 in the batting order were contributing absolutely nothing every single night. Celestino, Cave and Sanchez were being asked to bring us home and they didn't have a compass. Yet, we still finished mid-pack in almost all offensive team stats at the end of the year. I'm starting to feel like injury is the only thing that can help us out. I don't like this feeling.

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite reads on Twinsdaily. I would like to propose that slumps need a new term after they eclipse 100 AB's. Actually they may need a new terminology after 50 AB's.

I don't care. I'm not saying that to sound like a jerk. I'm saying it in a normal tone. I'll put an expressionless face emoji to indicate that I am saying I don't care with no emotion. 😑 I really don't care and I have no inclination to participate in dragging him further through the mud, This poorly reasoned article did enough of that. I was responding to an article that was titled "Donny Barrels isn't getting it done". An article that stressed 28 AB's over 19 games to make a poorly reasoned point. You want to get rid of him. OK... I'm not going to argue. I simply don't care about a short side platoon guy that the manager won't turn to when the 7 players on the strong side of the platoon have taken the offense to the very bottom of 30 baseball teams. I'm taking issue with someone who is slapping a guy who still has his warmups on, sitting on the bench, while Karl Anthony Towns doesn't pull down a single rebound for 40 minutes.

When I said aim higher.That wasn't directed as Mahle. I was talking about free agents or vets that we might bring in via trade. Vets that may be added in the off-season. I like the youth that we have bubbling up now. I really like that we didn't Archer or Bundy this year to fill out depth. If we are going to add pitching and we probably will because we have 3 guys hitting free agency. I'm hoping that we think big. If they can't think big... OK... let's let the youngsters keep coming. I was OK with the trade when it happened. We needed to add for the playoffs. Steer I believe had to be added to the 40 man and we had 40 man decisions to make. I wish E-Strand wasn't part of it but... it's the cost of doing business. The trade feels a little worse because of the struggles that Jose Miranda is having but at the time of the trade the club was in position to win the division and do some post season. We lost the trade... it happens. It had my full support.

Exactly

A. We lost the trade. It happens, wasn't the first time... it won't be the last. The trade was made to improve a contending club. Buyers Buy... Sellers Sell. It's how it works. B. The future is what matters now... Steer and E-Strand have no bearing on weather Mahle is with us beyond this year. C. With his pending free agency after the season. Mahle should have been a light consideration in future plans before the injury. He should only be a minor league deal consideration now. Keep the farm pipeline clear of obstacles because it is starting to produce. The last thing we want is a veteran coming off injury that has to be released to dispose of. D. If you want to bring in a vet starter... Aim higher.

Vazquez is playing 2 out of 3 games and Jeffers 1 out of 3. Vazquez is playing twice as much. Jeffers is hitting twice as good. Switch them.

Buxton has been doing alright in the DH role but the team hasn't. Buxton playing some CF will open up the DH spot for other considerations. This team needs other considerations,

I have a friend with two boys. Toby and Butch are their names. Whenever he needs someone to run an errand... he always asks Butch because he thinks he's the better driver. He had just sent Butch to pick up some garden hose at Menards. On the way back Butch got in an accident and came back with significant damage to his car. With Butch standing right there... He yelled at Toby saying that Butch got into the accident because he couldn't send Toby. That's what is happening with this article. Solano is not the solution because management won't let him be the solution. They rode the same players into the ground and did not go off the script.

I find it interesting that the team batting average free fall began once the team got healthy. We had Polanco, Kepler, Gallo on the disabled list. The offense wasn't amazing but it was functional. We get healthy, we face a boat load of right handers and the team offense craters. The past 15 days: Sorted by AB's Polanco - 50 AB - .220 BA Correa - 49 AB - .169 BA Kepler - 49 AB - .224 BA Buxton - 42 AB - .190 BA Gallo - 39 AB - .103 BA Miranda - 39 AB - .205 BA Vazquez - 34 AB - .118 BA Those are your 7 culprits. But let's get rid of Solano?

I don't know much about Helman but... Speed, Power and he plays multiple positions. OPS over 1,000. If you are going to give a guy a shot... when he is hot is the perfect time. When we need someone... also the perfect time.

OK You use his first 55 plate appearances. Ok... this takes him to April 18th. Solano was facing right handers and left handers and playing every day because of injuries to Polanco, Kepler, Gallo and Farmer which also led to Castro, Wallner, Julien and Garlick being called up to fill out the roster. After the April 18th game against Boston... he was sitting with a .756 OPS and a slash line of .314/.364/.392. This was over the course of 17 games. He made 14 starts. BTW... It Looks better after the April 15th game against the Yankees. 47 Plate Appearances. He was sitting with .815 OPS and a slash line of .341/.383/.432. He just went 1 for 7 during 8 PA's on April 16th and April 18th that took him down a tick before Gallo returned from the DL on April 19th. At this point Solano was back to the limited role he was probably signed for. Short Side Platoon dude. They have played 19 games during this stretch. He has made 7 starts - 28 AB's over those 19 games. That's 28 AB's over those 19 games. That is 7 starts and 5 games entering the game as a pinch hitter. Once again... Let me repeat... that is 28 AB's over 19 games. He has mustered up 4 hits over those 28 AB's over the course of 19 games which of course doesn't look that good when you pull it away from the rest of his work. Anyway... I thought everyone should know that your article is completing ignoring what he did... WHEN WE NEEDED HIM due to injuries to instead focus on a 28 AB period of time over 19 games... WHEN WE APPARENTLY DIDN'T NEED HIM. We have a team hitting a collective .219 and we have an article beating up the guy hitting .263 and not playing much while we are sending to AAA the guy who leads the team in AB's. Solano is not the problem. Right now I'd say play him more. By the way... we are 10-7 with 4 of our chosen starters on the DL and 9-10 with our hitters mostly healthy.

A bad contract that wastes the limited amount of money that you have to work with is one mistake and there isn't much that you can do about it after you have made it. I won't blame an organization if they make this mistake. These things don't work out sometimes. All organizations have made these mistakes. Playing that player with the bad contract every single day and allowing that player to ruin your season is a double down on the original mistake and there is something that you can do about that. I will blame an organization if they make this mistake. You can make one mistake or two. You have now spent a lot of money to have a player come in and ruin your season. Just spend the money.... you don't need to do the 2nd part. Correa... I'm glad they signed him but let's be honest here. If Garlick produced what Correa produced in April... he would be gone... he wouldn't see May. If Larnach produced what Correa did in April (he actually produced better) his May would be sent in St. Paul. Obviously Correa is going to remain in the lineup... I expect... I hope.... he won't Javier Baez the season away but until he starts hitting like he should... a day off wouldn't hurt the team... might even help the team. Vazquez... I'm also glad he's here... I remember last year with Sanchez but right now in Vazquez is playing two out of three games while Jeffers get one out of three. Vazquez is getting twice the AB's while Jeffers is hitting twice as good. If your team needs an offensive push... Switch it around. Jeffers twice and Vazquez once every three games. Get off the script. Gallo... It's going to be a roller coaster. I think his job is to go 1 for 6 with a 3 Run Homer every once in a while.

It would be shocking. I would add extremely unjustifiable... Or quite insane actually.

I'll start by saying that this is the right move. Something has to be done. How much it solves... we will see. However... to provide a different viewpoint on the significance of this move. Allow me to point this out: The guy that we just sent down was our team leader in AB's. I'd like everybody to sit back and think about that. The guy that we just sent down was leading our team in AB's. Our team is dead last in batting average and the guy we just sent down was leading our team in AB's. You can't whistle past this graveyard. You have to watch for the freshly dug holes that you may fall into. Dead last in batting average and the guy who gets sent down is the guy that was provided the most opportunity. That should never happen. That's driving 1,000 miles an hour into an abrupt stop. This speaks volumes about roster management and playing time allocation. Note to Rocco and the front office. I'm supporters of yours but you have to jump off the script right now and grab the wheel with both hands. You can't auto-pilot your way to the point where you are sending down your AB leader. Yet here we are. Sometimes players you expect to do well... don't and sometime players you don't expect to do well... do. This conclusion was 124 AB's in the making.

That's a good question. My gut feeling is that he's not going to be a major needle mover. We have to put a bat in his hands to find out. I'm hoping that he will produce better than others are currently producing and I'll take it. My expectations are in check because I'm not expecting current Brent Rooker production to just fall out of the sky. Bottom line... If Farmer can't out produce the bottom of our current pile. If he just adds to the bottom of the pile... we don't need him. So let's find out what he can bring us... see if he can help us be a little bit better so we can move on to the next guy if he can't. We can't afford to watch anyone struggle for 100 AB's. Cull from the bottom until the bottom is higher. That's how we get out of this.

We need offense. This is a What we need now move. Miranda's future is not in jeopardy because of this move. We will see Miranda again... if he starts hitting the ball again. We need offense... we are not in position to be able to absorb his struggles at this time. If Correa was hitting and Gallo was hitting and Vazquez was hitting and Kepler was hitting and Taylor was hitting and Polanco was hitting maybe we could absorb it. They are not... This is a no-brainer move. Donnie Barrels and Castro are not the problem offensively because they are not playing enough to be a problem offensively. If they not playing though... who cares what happens to them. This is as much a team problem as it is a Miranda problem. We need solutions.

Looking at the offense, On May 10, 2023... The Twins are healthy. Just Farmer on the DL. These are the guys. This is the roster that got us here and will have to get us out of here apparently. These 7 positions are seemingly primarily locked. 1B - Kirilloff 2B - Polanco 3B - Miranda SS - Correa LF - Gallo RF - Kepler DH - Buxton CF - Taylor and Gordon appear to be splitting time. C - Vazquez is playing 2 to 1 over Jeffers despite Jeffers being almost 2 to 1 better than Vazquez offensively so far. I have no doubt that they are working on getting better behind the scenes. However, on the stage they appear to be on auto-pilot. Here is our lineup against left handers and here is our lineup against right handers. Does anyone want to guess the starting lineup and batting order tonight? It's a right hander on the mound. I'll bet you can name 1 through 7. Catcher and CF batting 8th and 9th in the order might see some fluctuation like those guys are the reason we hitting .219 as a team. These are our players. The Twins are looking at these players to turn it around. Farmer is what is coming... It's a lot to ask of Farmer to be a difference maker when nobody else seems able to make a difference. We are on auto-pilot. Grab the wheel please. I don't believe the front office built this team with the intention of being at the bottom of so many Cats. It's looking like the front office doesn't have a back up plan in the case that they were at the bottom of so many Cats. We are over 100 AB's into the season. Slumps are 3 for 25 at the plate. We are beyond a slump.

Good Morning Everyone. .219 is the new number as of this morning. Lot's of talk suggesting (When Correa, When Lewis, regression to the mean) that these numbers will improve. Makes sense... the number has to go up because they are pretty darn low. However, I would like to talk about the possibility of sustainability. In 2022... The last place team... the Oakland A's... hit .216 as a team. In 2021... The last place team... the Seattle Mariners... hit .226 as a team. Team batting average... this is what last place looks like. Yeah... it should get better but let's not lose sight of the possibility of it also being sustainable.