Riverbrian

Agreed... Although... I'll say it. Injuries have a tendency to paint yourself into a corner but this righty/lefty matchup thing is the factory that is making the paint and Byron Buxton at DH is buying the paint.

OK... What do we have. Assuming no other injuries and we should never assume that. Lewis possibly returning on Monday? Correa possibly heading to the DL. That looks like a simple 26 man roster spot switch but we will have to get through the weekend. So we will need a rental. Lewis is coming off the 60 day so someone will have to go off the 40 man to accommodate. Who is that guy? Kepler coming back soon? Gallo... Who knows is current health status but he is still on the roster. That would be a simple roster spot switch but maybe Gallo doesn't need extended time off. Someone will have to go down to clear 26 man room for Kepler if Gallo is OK. The options are pretty limited. Gordon to the 60 to make room for Lewis on the 40. Weekend rental Miranda to the 26 -- Correa to the DL to make room for Miranda. Has to be Miranda otherwise we are dropping someone off the 40 man roster just for a potential short term rental with Lewis arriving on Monday. It should be Garlick that goes down for Kepler. Garlick would be a pylon on the bench with the string of right handers that are on the horizon. Maybe 2 or 3 pinch hit AB's in the next 9 games is the most we could expect and then they probably need to burn a defensive sub for Garlick if he hits. Castro would have to be held out of the lineup for that specific Garlick replacement duty. Toronto has one left hander in the pen (Mayza). Houston has 1 left hander in the pen (Long Man Mushinski). Cleveland has one lefty in the pen (Hentges... he's from Minnesota... he won't try hard because he wouldn't want to hurt us). Garlick will be a pylon. The Righthanders are coming and this platoon thing seems to be important to Rocco regardless of how everyone is hitting. Yes, sending Garlick down creates that Gallo, Kirilloff, Kepler, Wallner left handed thing. So they could send Wallner down for Kepler but keep in mind... Garlick will be gathering dust. Lewis comes up on Monday. Need to send someone down. This is where it should be Garlick if Wallner is sent down. I don't like the idea of calling up Miranda with an immediate expiration date. But if it's Garlick going down now you got that Farmer, Miranda, Lewis right handed thing. Julien should be safe until Polanco gets back because he is left handed and at least hitting a home run every 13 AB's. Whatever they do... I'll tell you this... They would have a much easier time figuring things out if Buxton could play some CF. Because the DH spot could be used for that left handed thing problem or that right handed thing problem. Although... I want to be clear... I don't personally think that the left handed or right handed thing are problems. WE NEED HITTERS.

We are about to face 9 right handed starters in a row. What we have is too many right handed corner outfielders. 😉 If Correa goes on the DL? Uff Da Well... Polanco and Gordon are already out. So... that was a cannonball rolling right through the infield. And...we are facing 9 right handers in a row and what do we have to work with. Farmer, Solano, Julien and Castro. Miranda is the only option on the 40 man roster. Any other move requires surgery. Who do you drop? Gordon to the 60? Once you find a spot. Severino is the only guy hitting the ball. A SS instead of 3B? Helman and Martin are hurt. So... Perez? Soto? I know this is where a lot of people will call for Brooks Lee. Brooks doesn't have to be added to the 40 man until Dec 25. Do we really want to start his clock this early? It has to be Miranda. Poor Helman... this was probably his moment. Who goes off the 26 man... when Kepler returns?

Every organization is wrong from time to time... if not frequently. I'm not sure why they are required to admit it. They know. Requiring them to admit such things is just giving social media the ammunition to tear them apart. Because we are bunch of jerks. They make mistakes... so does every front office. So do I... So do you.

On a scale of 1 to 10. That's 10 funny. Sadly... quite possibly true... but sadly funny.

I contend that injuries could be the most viable path to improving this team. Yeah... I know... it absolutely may not but at this point... it can't be discounted as a way to improve.

I'm not as worried about the bullpen. Yes... it can be improved and I hope it is improved some way some how. It's the offense that has my full concern and it's the offense that is going to almost demand perfection out of the bullpen because they are not creating moments for the bullpen to breath easy for a game or two.

This is a good point. If playing the platoon splits is the only card that he knows to play and assuming he doesn't know who will pitch the 2nd. Brebbia is the only pitcher that he knows where he will pitch. Lead off with your three left handers as you suggest. This probably forces Kapler to throw Beck in the 2nd instead of Manaea and he will get a string of right handers but why are we worried about Beck.... just like why are we worried about Manaea. Later in the game... it forces Kapler to throw a left hander against the trio of lefties at the top... Rogers or Alexander are available for use but they probably don't throw Manaea because it's just 3 lefties and Beck was his chosen bulk guy). Garlick and Solono are still available to pinch hit later in the game when he turns to Taylor Rogers or Alexander. When he pinch hits as early in the game. He has spent those moves... Kapler can now manage the game free and clear with the matchups that he wants. It was a bad move... but ultimately you are right. The team overall hitting was awful and there isn't much a manager can do about that. The only idea that I have to get this team hitting better... is to give Kirilloff and Julien a chance to see if they can do better and it shouldn't be a high bar to clear. Kirilloff just took the lefty Moore deep on Sunday. He's been our best hitter since he hit the roster. So... Nope... the platoon splits trump everything.

A simple usage chart would have pretty much laid out who was available to pitch last night. And... And... If they were fooled by a 30 pitch bullpen session. I'll add these considerations: A: Manaea threw a bullpen session and his ERA is 7.81. How long do you think Manaea was going to pitch? B. His ERA was 7.81 going into the game. That's the ERA you are setting your lineup for?

You are correct -- 10 baserunners total in the game. 4 hits, 4 walks and 2 hit by pitch. Solano with a single and two walks - Garlick with a walk and a home run AGAINST A RIGHT HANDER that Rocco never would have allowed to happen if he didn't paint himself into a corner by the third inning. Jeffers got plunked by a pitch as a pinch hitter for Gallo in the 9th. That is 6 out of 10 base runners in the game. The rest of the lineup managed: Castro 1 Single - 1 Double Vasquez 1 BB Buxton 1 HBP I'll add that the ERA's (prior to the game) that befuddled our offense were: 1 Inning - Brebbia - 4.26 (RHP) 3.1 Inning - Manaea - 7.81 (LHP) 2.2 Inning - Beck - 5.71 (RHP) 0.2 Innings - Tyler Rogers - 2.22 (RHP) (He's been good) 1 Inning - Alexander - 4.67 (LHP) And I'll echo what plenty have said - 16 strikeouts. Now that we got that out of the way. 😉 It was a stupid move.

The game inside the game. Pitchers want to throw the ball where it's difficult to drive the ball. Batters want pitchers to throw the ball where the ball can be driven. If you swing at pitches that the pitchers want you to swing at... You will turns balls into strikes and get behind in the count, you will foul off pitches, you will pop out, you will roll over into tailor made grounders and you will strike out. That's the game inside the game. Our struggles with the bases loaded are the same as the offensive struggles that we have no matter how many are on base. This team hasn't been very good from top to bottom when it comes to forcing pitches to work inside the zone. If they can get better at this... the numbers will go up significantly. If they can't... we got to get some new guys.

Farmer: 2096 PA's in the minors in a loaded Dodger system. .294 BA .789 OPS 1417 PA's in the Majors primarily with the Reds after the Dodgers traded him .258 BA .711 OPS The majority of his major league AB's came in the last two seasons (1,112 AB's) with the Reds at age 30 and 31 and his performance in those two seasons was average to slightly better than average. I'll take average right now to replace the below average and while continuing to look for above average.

I wish I could be as confident in these future assessments as you are. When if comes to Farmer and his track record. I would say... What track record? Can't really have a track record if you are not allowed on the track. The majority of Farmer type players become what you say because they are watching others get a track record. But... regardless if they revert back to a pumpkin in the future. I'll take the momentary production. It's better that watching those players put together an actual poor track record.

It's probably because you are writing letters. The U.S. Postal Service is probably delivering those letters to the parking garage next door.

Kyle Farmer didn't get any decent playing time until he was 30 years old. What they are at age 24 and 25 doesn't have to be a permanent affliction. It can become permanent if his controlling team makes it permanent by refusing opportunity to turn the page. 😉

I think the front office should listen to me and me only. 😎 On Lewis... If he keeps hitting like he is. Straight up to the majors. SS,3B,2B,OF... He can play in any of those 6 positions as far as I'm concerned. When June 1st hits, we will have a better idea on where he should play at that time. We need hitters. Static position or finding playing time at multiple positions are OK with me.

He's a switch hitter and he's been on the roster since opening day. He got into a couple of games back to back this week against the Dodgers and then injuries got him 3 more games for 5 in a row and he did good during that stretch. I have no idea if he is going to take this stretch and run with it or if he is going to revert back. There is only one way to find out what he will do. The only thing that I know for sure is that we don't have anyone on the team that has taken a stretch and ran with it and we have given some long long long stretches to players that did very little with it while Castro mostly watched. My problem with Castro has always been this: The Twins were not turning to him to help when they needed help. Castro has no value if he can't get playing time with a team full of players hitting .210. This is his moment... It's overdue and I hope he is in the lineup tonight for 6 in a row. Let's see what he can do, that way we can let the players decide.

When it comes to balls and strikes... I have been an advocate of automation for quite some time and I will remain an advocate. I think the umpires as a whole do an amazing job so I don't blame them because getting those calls right is nearly impossible. In the case of Kirilloff against the Dodgers with the bases loaded... there was nothing that Alex could do. The 1st and 3rd strikes of that at bat were quite a ways off the plate both inside and outside. Even if in protection mode with two strikes... you don't swing at those pitches. The ump rung him up. In the case of Jeffers yesterday. Ryan kinda cooked his own goose by swinging at that slider on the very 1st pitch. That very first pitch started low and broke down and away landing in the dirt somewhere around the chalk line in the opposite batters box. You can't swing at that pitch, especially on the first pitch and especially when you look at the trajectory of that pitch. It was low to begin with. There was nothing that should have triggered a swing and by doing so he put himself in a hole. The next two pitchers were also low sliders... Most pitchers are going to throw it again if you swing at the first one wildly. The 2nd strike was a called strike on a low slider that clipped the bottom of the zone. I assume that Jeffers learned his lesson after he swung at the 1st one so he let the 2nd one go and he probably wouldn't have done anything with it. He is now down 0-2 should be 1-1 and the third pitch was another low slider that looked exactly like the first one. Why not... the first two sliders produced two strikes. The 4th pitch... Outside fastball out of the zone. Strike three. Yeah the ump missed it but Jeffers got himself in that position with that first swing on a crap pitch. The Twins have to get the pitchers back into the zone. The chasing is the primary issue with this offense in my opinion. If he doesn't swing at that first pitch. He probably doesn't see the 2nd and 3rd sliders because the catcher doesn't want to go down 2-0 with the bases loaded. Since he was chasing... might as well go to that same pitch. With that said... hitting is a hard job. The balls are moving.

In the past 7 days: Castro played in all 6 games and he led the team in AB's. 25 AB 1 HR - 3 SB .360 BA .880 OPS In the other 41 games: Castro had 51 AB's. If he is only getting 51 AB's in 41 games... He has very little value to us. If Castro can't get playing time when the team is healthy and the scripted lineup vs. RH and the scripted lineup vs LH has taken our team straight to the bottom of most offensive categories... Castro has very little value to us. However... now that he is playing... it seems that he may have some value to us. There are times when injuries make your team better.

I applaud your post. I do believe that in order to be fair in criticism... posters should be at least aware of what the other 29 teams are doing. Applause was the main reason for my reply... however... I don't believe the offense compares very well to others and I do pine over Luis Arraez. 😉

Well: If Gordon is hurt. If Buxton is being load managed. If Gallo is a minus 1 million defensively and a plus one million in RF and LF If Castro can play every position but CF If Kepler refuses to play CF If Lewis is only getting reps at 3B and SS If all of that is true... We are on a collision course for Stevenson or a waiver wire grab to man the position as we gear up for the World Series.

I agree with you but I'm taking a different path. To be fair... I'd call Detmers splits closer to neutral. If the pitcher is neutral you still have to factor in each individual batter which could lead you to the lineup with 8 guys hitting from the right side of the plate. But I will continue to contend that the plain ole' ability to hit the ball trumps platoon splits. I don't care what the splits say if you are hitting .210 and we have a team full of .210 and we just added a .210 from St. Paul because... umm... there are couple of lefties heading to the mound. Sending 8 right handers to the plate didn't stop Detmers from no-hitting them for 5.2 innings with 12 strikeouts. We got no hit for 5.2 innings and we struck out 12 times because that is what we do. And I'd also like to point out that 8 batters (7 when Kirilloff pinch hit) hitting from the right side of the plate did not stop the Angels from utilizing two left handers out of the bullpen and two is the exact amount of left handers that they had in the bullpen. The Angels didn't seem to be too concerned about the splits. I'll even add that the Angels bench... besides Trout was all left handed (Thaiss, Phillips and Soto) with Ryan as the starter. The Angels went ahead and started 7 right handers against Ryan with a switch hitter and Ohtani the lone representative from the left side. I'm asking as loud as I can... Dear Derek, Thad and Rocco, What exactly are you doing? You are not going to finesse/platoon your way out of this when we are not hitting from either side of the plate. We need a hitter plain and simple. When Gordon got hurt... his 26 man roster spot should have gone to the best hitter available because we need the best hitter available and that appears to be Julien or Wallner but certainly isn't Garlick. I'm sure it's not the case... but it almost seems to be some form of OCD to me because it doesn't seem to matter if the batter is actually hitting as long as they are hitting the opposite hand. Just sticking to the script and let the platoon trump actual performance. That is backwards. It's like they can't help it and they can't break out of it or something. It's kind of like a friend of mine that has to keep his glass of water at the 10' O clock position of his dinner plate or he can't enjoy his meal. The actual hitting results are the part of the spreadsheet that is being ignored. Get off the script. Your batters are not hitting. You will not finesse/platoon your way out of this.

Does any team have that? It's hard but you have to keep working toward it by culling from the bottom. To find the teams that have it or are closer to it, simply sort by bullpen ERA or WHIP or whatever weapon of choice. The teams will low bullpen metrics at the top of the pile will reveal themselves. The top 3 arms in any bullpen will still only throw 50% of bullpen innings. You need a village to keep those overall village numbers down. Orioles, Mariners, Astros, Yankees and Guardians are pretty deep effective pens. The Orioles are interesting because 2 of those guys were ours once. The Mariners are interesting because they have a couple of good relievers on the injured list but keep humming along. Nobody has recognizable names, maybe the Guardians have some recognizable names but it's not like they are loaded with high dollar proven guys.

Low Leverage will pop up on occasion but not often enough to hide anyone in the bullpen waiting for safe harbor to throw. Low leverage will be even more rare in consideration of our offensive output this year, yes we've had a nice offensive explosion the past few games but it would be incredibly brave to conclude that our offensive issues are over. We will need to win some more 3-2 and 2-1 games in the future is my guess. This means that it will be high leverage the majority of the time when the starter reaches his limit. The offense simply hasn't created breathing room consistently enough. Pagan will see high leverage again as long as he is on the roster. Plus If Duran is going to be utilized as a traditional closer and it appears to be the approach they are taking with him this season. Duran isn't going to be an option in situations like last night because they are going to save him for traditional closer situations. Spots #2 through #7 have to be trusted. If the front office trusts Pagan... OK. I'm not sure why they would but if they do... OK. We will see how it turns out.

People fixing potholes, find it easier to do their jobs with a jackhammer. It's a lot harder to fix that pothole without a jackhammer. An electronic strike zone is a tool to help them do their jobs easier and better. For the life of me, I don't understand why Umpires would be apposed to an electronic strike zone. There will still be a home plate umpire so there is no loss of jobs. I assume that umpires don't want to miss calls ever and I assume that they know they do. This would be a tool to help them. Grill, Smrill... This fire will cook this steak just fine after I rub these two sticks together.