Dantes929

Could be. Though they were 12 games over .500 against the NL Central last year. White Sox and Indians have winning records against teams out of the division but the other three all have losing records this year.. 0-7 in extras and other blown games have been a team effort. I think the Twins are capable of scoring more in the late innings, especially with a runner on second. They are capable of playing better defense and they are capable of pitching better. I haven't given up on them but playing better is up to them.

9.3 SO/9 supports your comment on stuff. His 4.7 BB/9 supports your comment on locating. If you don't have enough command to get the ball to the strike zone, your command in the strike zone probably isn't going to be all that great either which is why his WHIP is so high. I remember Jesse Crain once saying he had no idea where his pitches were going. He was sent down for a little and when he came back he reeled off like 22 appearances without a run and I could see something like that happening if Colome figures it out. Of course after 22 scoreless appearance, when he did give up a run we immediately saw the Crain wreck comments. Fans have a long memory for poor performances and often seem to not notice the good ones at all.

Yeah. It would be nice to have May instead of Colome right now. On the other hand Graterol has a 20.25 ERA right now and is on the disabled list. I look at Colome's stats the last three years and think it was a pretty solid get. Sometimes good choices get bad results. Just think about what a difference it would have made if he was solid rather than terrible so far. If one person steps up it would make a big difference. If two people upped their game we would go from feeling lousy about the pen to feeling pretty good about it.

Wait. Are you saying there is another team that has talented players that is on the other side trying to win also? If Rogers had thrown an 89mph nothing fastball down the middle of the plate that was either missed or scorched out to Buxton for an out fans on here would be saying its nice Taylor did his job. And I get it. Results based analysis is reasonable but then they also get on Thielbar who did not give up a run.

Who has said that and why I wonder. 8.5 SO/9. 2.73 ERA in his career in 129 innings.. Tonight he gave up a walk and a double but didn't let them score. I'm not saying he's great but major leaguers do give up runs. This year he has 1 bad outing in a blow out loss. That's it, against 8 good outings.

I am probably alone in seeing more positives here. Twins can't win all their games by 5 or more. They haven't just been losing games late because of bad relief pitching. They have also lost because of bad fielding and not adding runs on late. I had a great high school coach that used to say you don't learn much in blow out wins and blowout losses. Its the close games, win or lose, that test you and help you figure out how to play in those games. . The Twins need to have close games to figure out how to win close games. Give credit to Duffy for limiting one run in the 8th. Give credit to Rogers for closing out the game despite the error and despite bending with the two run homer. Give credit to Polanco for driving in the much needed insurance run. I've seen the Twins fans be down on the pen before many times and then certain guys step up and right the ship. Winning a close game is more important to this team right now than winning a game by 5. Just my opinion.

Probably a little early for musts but as always, a good week now makes the battle easier later. Also, it could work the way you outlined but, it being baseball, it could just as easily be Maeda winning twice, Shoemaker once, Thorpe once and squeezing a win out of Berrios, Pineda and Happ.

He's not just good. I watched that 2nd play and just thought it was a good catch but no way was it going out. Then I watched the replay several times and thought it was a great catch but still don't think it was going out. I think he saved a double but it was closer that I first thought. The first one I wonder if anyone else in the game or in history makes that catch from where he was. Definitely a 5 star catch..

There is nothing about Kiriloff or the Twins that a good 10 game stretch can't fix. Of course, they actually have to go out and have that good 10 game stretch. A win tonight would be a good start.

Nuts to that. The 1991 Twins started the season 2-9. 2006 Twins were 12 games back in August and had been written off by Mike and Mike in early June. We are 4 games behind in April to Kansas City. I can only assume anyone writing off the Twins at this point is new to the game. Also, I remember the 2009 loss to Oakland after leading 12-2 and losing 14-13. That was worse at the time.

Of course no one player or even two can just carry a team in baseball but a spark can be provided by anyone getting hot. I remember i think in 2010 when Mauer and Mornea were both putting up MVP numbers but we were hovering around .500 half of the year. Then we actually lost Morneau but Punto, Cuddyer, Young, Valencia all stepped up and they took off. If Kiriloff can get hot iit would likely be taking a spot that has not been performing and turning it into a strength. Two relievers finding their groove could make a huge difference as well. I remember just two years ago for much of the season the bullpen was considered horrible but then with very little change they were considered very good just 6 weeks later. The team we've seen the last two weeks doesn't have to be the team we see the rest of the way even if no changes are made to personnel. Baseball isn't consistent that way. Just ask Boston or Oakland what they thought of their team the first week or two of the year. We need a spark. No guarantee that we will get one but the talent is there to come from a lot of spots.

Savior? No Building block? Perhaps. Spark plug that could get this team going? Who knows. Shannon Stewart was a nice get back in the day but no one really thought he would be a big key in turning that season around. Morneau in 2006. Valencia in 2010. Arraez last year. Who knows what the spark will be, if any. This season is still young. Just a reliever or two stepping up and turning things around and a couple of bats heating up are needed.

Of course it was a horrible loss. When Donaldson was pulled for a runner I had no problem with it. Odds were he wasn't going to bat again and his injuries have been mostly calf strains. It was a totally justifiable move. Yes, you can't walk guys but two routine grounders, either of which could have ended the game is on the fielders not the pitcher. Mariano wouldn't have been considered an elite closer if ground balls were routinely booted. So I guess the only criticism of how Baldelli managed would be putting Arraez at 3rd base. Likely, it wouldn't affect the outcome of the game statistically but when I heard the 2nd baseman and 3rd baseman booted grounders I assumed it was Arraez at 2nd and Blankenthorn at 3rd,. Blankenthorn has played more games at 3rd in his career than Arraez and a higher % of his games at 3rd vs 2nd. I would have hesitated having one guy change his position mid game but maybe Baldelli wanted to put the rookie in his slightly more comfortable position. It was defendable and really, both plays should have been made anyway. Its sad, because I can hardly remember two plays in a row being misplayed in a row like that. Hopefully this is the low point of the season. Hardly giving up on this group now. The players are there to succeed. Its totally up to them to do so.

I think playing Morneau 163 games along with all star game and home run derby probably wore him out and having 7 or 8 games off over the course of the year might have been the difference between making the playoffs vs having to play a game 163 and losing. I also agreed with the way Mauer was handled though I know I was in the minority. I believe there is an argument to be had for the other side in terms of keeping guys in a routine and playing regularly. If Buxton had health issues then sitting him is the right thing to do. If not, then it is pretty silly to sit him this often while he is playing so well. Playing 11 games in 10 days probably warrants resting everyone for a game or two. The 6 game week schedule probably should be more like a game of rest every few weeks for the best players. You do want your bench players getting game time as well to keep them sharp.

Just watched the replay. Really hard to tell if it was over his head but quite possible that if he were traditionally guarding the line it would have been high and to his left rather than high and to his right. If it had been right at him would you acknowledge that it was analytics that saved the runs? Either way the ball was misplayed in left field which might have cost the third run. Analytics might have said guard the line in the same situation in the 9th inning but not the 8th. Analytics often defy 100 years of baseball strategy. 100 years of that strategy might well not have existed if they had the technology back then to know better. The problem with analytics is probably mainly with the viewer and the fact that the percentages are too thin. The viewer problem is that it is human nature to notice when a hit like that beats you and you remember it because of the emotional response. When a shift works you might notice it, you might not, but it doesn't trigger the same emotion so you maybe forget about it even if you do notice it. The percentage problem is easier to illustrate than explain. Sorry if this sounds like mansplaining but it is all based on odds and I am pulling them out of the air. If one manager goes old school for a season he is likely to win 3 games the analytics driven manager would lose but the analytics manager wins 5 games the old school guy would lose. It comes out to about a 1% over all difference. If applied over the course of a season the analytics approach wins two more games which might be the difference in playoffs or sitting at home. The percentages are probably greater than that but you get my drift. Now you might say the best approach is a combination of the two and in some aspects of the game I would agree with you but mostly I would refer you back to the viewer problem.

I know I am going to sound like a condescending A but here goes. The idea that there exists a person who could be manager of the Twins that would not get ripped on here for his decision making is as absurd to me and less likely to appear than a unicorn. Twins have had 4 managers of the year that I can think of in Kelly, Gardy, Molitor and Baldelli. Every one of them was ripped on by Minnesota fans. I know how bad many of you think Baldelli is but just think about how bad all the other managers in the major leagues would have to be to be considered worse. I'm not really defending him but I would love to see the comments of a different universe where Pineda stayed in for the 8th and got shelled or if Robles came in and was great and shut them down. I know with some it is not 2nd guessing and I often say out loud what I think the moves should be just to keep from falling into the hindsight game. Of course its hard to judge some outcomes because if I think a guy should stay in and he is pulled there is no telling what my guy would have done and all sorts of scenarios like that. Needless to say, though that if I were the manager it wouldn't take long for fans to be calling for my head.

I didn't see the at bat but I did see the hit on replay and the announcer said it was a 10 pitch at bat. I wouldn't go so far as to say awful that he gave up one hit in a 10 pitch at bat. Sometimes you give some credit to the hitter and a bit unlucky for the Twins that it was in a spot that netted 3 runs. Also, he then struck out the next guy which I give him credit for. My high school coach preached battling because you never know how many you are going to need or give up to come out on top. Even if it was after the big hit he did get out of the inning without letting the guy on 2nd score which turned out to be exactly enough. Lets give some credit to Colome and big props to Arraez.

I am fine with him in almost any situation because he appears to be a battler. Being the guy to come in with the new rules of inheriting a guy on 2nd with no outs doesn't seem suited to him. Normally a guy that would welcome a ground ball and take the chances, a ground ball in that situation just puts a guy on 3rd with less than two outs with the odds another ground ball is coming up with a fair chance of scoring. I think he is a pretty good pitcher and EVERYONE give up runs but time will tell. Of course it might have to do with the fact we've lost every game under the rules but I am not a fan of that guy on 2nd in extra innings. I kind of like the reliever limits. I want a faster paced game but not necessarily a shorter game.

Small Sample Size folks. I would have given him one of the starting spots over Happ or Shoemaker but there is real value in having a long relief guy like Dobnak and two appearances doesn't define anything. Long relief also should suit a guy expected to make spot starts. Maybe not ideal for him but I would wait 40 games into the season to come to any conclusion. Not 10.

They are not tasked with throwing twice as many innings as last year. They are tasked with throwing the same number of innings as two years ago and every year before that. They also have twice as long a time to do it. Build up to 6 or 7 innings for the starters. 7 or 8 relievers should then be able to handle 2-3 innings most days.

Not sure what pocket protector means but probably pointed at me. If 50 year history with 20 of those reading on line posts means anything, we can expect that when the pen gives up leads it is the worst pen ever and when they come in and simply hold onto wins they are overlooked. Same happens with the manager. Most of our losses have come as a result of not scoring league average in runs. Some of our wins have come despite scoring less than league average in runs. Most good teams tread water for much of the season combined with a few good hot streaks. 1991 started out 2-9. I wonder what commentors would have had to say about that back in the day.

See? Its too early for me to even get his name right. I'll get better. I'll cut him the same slack.

LOL. Well, He did win a lot of division titles so hard to argue that he was wrong. Also, Cleveland is in 1st place and KC is in 2nd. Are we really concerned that it is going to stay that way? A little history. If we had started 5-4 in 2008 we would have won the Central without having to play the Sox in a one off. In 1987 we started out 4-5 and in 91 we started out 2-7. I don't think there is a season in my 45 years of being a fan where I wouldn't have banked a 5-4 start to the season if given a choice.

Well. In the wins they gave up under 3 a game or are we ignoring the wins? In the Opener the relievers held them scoreless for 4 innings. In the next game they held them scoreless for 4 innings and only gave up a run with an automatic runner on 2nd. In their next loss they gave up 1 run in 3 innings and then gave up an run with an automatic runner on 2nd. So, in your question, not once could the pitching staff hold for just one inning the answer is yes they held for many innings.

Calume has a 3.00 lifetime ERA and much better than that the last three years. I might be missing something here. Did he have surgery or something? You don't usually become a bum overnight for no reason. Not ready to pull the plug yet. Its a long season.