Riverbrian

He Did 2019 - Oklahoma City vs RHP 234 AB's - 19HR - ..308/.374/.637 vs LHP 99 AB's - 8HR - .292/.364/.708 2018 - Tulsa/Oklahoma City vs RHP 297 AB's - 15HR - .259/.289/.478 vs LHP 105 AB's - 7 HR - .257/.313/.514 2017 - Tulsa vs RHP - 255 AB's - 14HR - .246/.333/.478 vs LHP - 61 AB's - 4HR - .246/.314/.475 There is nothing in his minor league stats that says platoon. He came up in the Dodger organization and was called up in 2019 with the following list of outfielders in front of him: Cody Bellinger - OPS 1.035 Joc Pederson - OPS .876 Alex Verdugo - OPS .817 AJ Pollack - OPS. 795 Chris Taylor - OPS .794 Kike Hernandez - OPS .715 Playing time was obviously tough to find and he was strictly platooned for a total of 15 games. In 2020 Alex Verdugo was replaced by Mookie Betts while the other 5 remained. Kyle was out of options and DFA'd... he was picked up by the Phillies and was given 22 AB's, hitting .136 and released while the minor leagues were shut down. In 2021... The Twins signed him and kept platooning him despite Jake Cave bringing a hot OPS of . 541. He had been a platoon expert for 15 games with the Dodgers. Yet... Somehow Branded. In 2022... The Twins kept platooning him. The same eyeballs that decided he should be platooned because of some undemonstrated lack of ability to hit RHP are the same eyeballs who decided that Jake Cave could hit RHP despite a .541 OPS saying that he couldn't. Same eyeballs who decided to ride with Martin Perez over Randy Dobnak in September 2019 only to pull the plug on Perez right before the playoff roster was to be set and finally commit to Dobnak in the playoffs. Same eyeballs who chose half a season of Matt Belisle instead of 6 years of Nick Anderson. I am pro front office... they know 200 times more than I do... But they are not infallible. If they were infallible... we wouldn't be worried about the Guardians and White Sox right now. In 2022... Kepler was not good enough to keep the bat out of Garlick's Right handed hands and now we need Kyle Garlick to do something that he wasn't allowed to do. Why wasn't he allowed? Strict adherence to the platoon concept? Jake Cave?

He probably is just a platoon guy. 18 AB's vs. RH's in 2019 with the Dodgers 8 AB's in 2020 with the Phillies. 40 AB's vs RH's in 2021 with the Twins Now 67 AB's vs RH's this year. I would never make a declarative statement on sample sizes like those and I'm pretty sure that nobody should. Someone decided that he was a Koala Bear and fed him nothing but eucalyptus for 4 years. That mold has been setting for quite some time. Meanwhile... in 2022... the guy getting those left handed swings... is worse.

My jokes worked better in the 60's... That's for sure. ?

I'll agree with you if the left handed hitting options were indeed playing like better options against RH pitching. If they are not demonstrably better options... all you have accomplished is give all the playing time to someone (someones) who is (are) not playing better at the expense of someone you will eventually need due to "not much Rocco can do" during a September pennant race. Unfortunately you have been starving that person that you end up predictably needing due to the injuries that occur every year without fail.

Sometimes Humor has a point and Sometimes it doesn't. And obviously sometimes Humor goes down swinging on 3 straight pitches. ?

Kyle Garlick is the most under appreciated player on this team. He leads the team in OPS (.835) and yet Rocco can't seem to get PLATOON out of his head and apparently it doesn't matter how many people get hurt or struggle. OPS Vs. RH Garlick - .734 - 57 AB's Cave - .730 - 54 AB's Larnach - .711 - 113 AB's Kepler - .680 - 277 AB's Kirilloff - .680 - 120 AB's Celestino -.673 - 150 AB's I am very pro front office and I remain supportive of Rocco because we all make mistakes in life. However, if you consider the injuries that we have had, we have certainly reached the point where the Twins need to take responsibility for intentionally putting Garlick to sleep due to stubborn adherence to unfair type casting. With all the injuries and Max Kepler's continued weak performance, there is no justification for it. Garlick is at the top of the list of who Falvey, Lavine and Baldelli under appreciates while Garlick is also on the top of the team's OPS and SLG list.

You didn't directly. Indirectly... it leaves that impression. ? Personally, I don't spend much time worrying about the strength of any division. The playoff format is in place, it is what it is and in is in.

37-43 is a .462 winning percentage. 31-41 is a .430 winning percentage. How does 46% become a reason to give up?

How about that... it does. Sounds like you agree with me that these things take time to determine. Yet... 3 seconds into something... we have a loud declarative topic title.

To me - Baseball IQ is the ability to quickly assess the baseball dimensions of time and space correctly. The game is truly a game of inches and the right decision happens fast. Knowing if you indeed have time to get the lead runner with a throw at the risk of getting nobody out or a trailing runner advancing is one example of that IQ.

How did the Twins blow this one so badly?? Have They? Was Steer or Encarnacion-Strand going to help us in the playoffs this year? Are Steer or Encarnacion-Strand guaranteed to be major league producers beyond this years? Is Mahle guaranteed to never pitch a decent major league inning forever more?

Contention means competition and competition leads to desperation. The Twins could be 20 games up and they should still be shopping to get better.

I went to Middle School with Franklin. He was talking about baseball. ?

And those guys drank until 6am before a 1PM start, they played through ring worm and still managed to hit 85 mph fastballs.

Does anyone remember a year that injuries were not a major story.

Agree that the jury is still out. It used to be Smith, Duffey, Thornburg and Pagan in high leverage. I hope the jury considers this when sequestered. ?

I'm not comparing Jorge Lopez to Josh Hader but Josh hasn't exactly been lights out for San Diego since the trade. We needed bullpen help badly and the front office went out and got bullpen help. We are better team with him. The rest is just the circumstances of having to face teams that are trying to beat you every at-bat.

I agree with you on Wrigley. I loved Fenway though, the Green Monster hangs over that park like a full moon, it just dominates that park beautifully. PNC... was perfectly placed in the city, on the river with the best view of any city skyline in the game. It's a must see. Go up on Mount Washington for a nighttime city view and get a Primanti Sandwich when you are there.

Absolutely Not. The Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo is "warm and comforting on a cold day". ? BTW... We love Marilyn Hagerty. She is a town treasure. She must be in her upper 90's now and she has NEVER written a bad review. I never doubt her reviews either, all those restaurants have served her proper nutrition because she has lived a long life. If I don't like a restaurant... I must be wrong! Her weekly column always ended with an awarding of the "cheerful person of the week". Just think about that for a second, in a world, that is just looking for a reason to be angry, she steadfastly celebrated cheerfulness. I was granted that designation once and I was congratulated many times by random acquaintances that I crossed path's with, which reinforced cheerfulness and that's how it can spread in the wind. She went viral because of social media condescension, and the innocence of her review is absolutely funny but still ironic because the world doesn't seem to realize just how badly it needs people like Marilyn to find the good in us. I've never been to a city council meeting. When I finally attend one... it will be to request that her statue be built and prominently placed. ?

Personally, I wouldn't let "Some guy on Twitter" fool you. But, that's just me. ?

You make a good point although, players like Gordon are like water. They fill in the low spots. Not many have played RF apart from Kepler. Urshela has been healthy and Miranda has been demanding AB's so 3B is pretty well covered. The low spots have been LF and CF because of health issues so that is where Gordon spends the majority of his time. However, Gordon has been performed well enough to ask the question... If LF and CF were healthy with Buxton and Kirilloff or whoever, Would you play Gordon over Kepler. Gordon is earning that consideration, while Kepler is earning the right to be challenged for it.

Playing meaningful baseball games in September!!! Every Year... This is what I ask for... I have received. I'll go with the odds... 6-4

He wasn't a left fielder or centerfielder prior to becoming a left fielder and centerfielder. ?

If you had to choose between Gordon and Kepler. Who would you choose? Nick Gordon's performance has made this a legitimate question.

Beautiful Stadium