tony&rodney

Kaat, Carew, and Blyleven were moved for the same reason that Calvin sold the team. Also why Judge isn't a Twin. CG made more than his share of mistakes to be sure.

Oh I'm a big fan of putting players who are ready right in The Show. I just have watched a ton of Prielipp and he is raw. Of course one cannot know but it also isn't a good idea to put a sheep in the pasture with wolves. FWIW, I never disliked Calvin. At a party during the 1987 World Series I has a nice little 45 minute visit with Mr. Griffith. I talked with him a couple of others times as well. He was as pure of a baseball guy as ever existed. It was all he knew. He was awkward as hell talking to people about anything else. It was Calvin who insisted that Rod Carew be in the lineup.

Tristan Gray needs to get some playing time even after Royce Lewis returns unless he turns into a pumpkin from now to when Lewis comes off the IL.

I'm not sure a pitcher throwing 99 (98.6) needs much more projection, especially if said guy has been seen as a control artist. He does need more refinement on his breaking stuff and I wish he could master a good change. Last season, Morris was tipping his pitches with his glove placement and he struggled to fix the issue (via Saint announcer). This season Morris opened the year working on breaking pitches, so he is definitely not a finished product. Hard to know where he could potentially slot, dependent on his ability to miss more bats, reduce pitch counts, and maintain health while throwing as hard as he does.

Prielipp puts quite a few pitches right down the middle. He has a good slider and changeup but his fastball has been getting hit. He has had good luck on balls hit hard at fielders. Prielipp has a bright future but has missed a ton of time and just needs innings. I think he might get eaten alive at the MLB level. He may come on quick though, especially as it warms up. If you watch the Saints, the bullpen is not pretty. Even though Matthews is starting he could be the next guy, but he pitched yesterday. Brebbia is not on the 40 person.

Good win for the Twins. Those big innings with a few added on are huge. The Twins have been playing about as good as they can and I'm pleased to see the run of action cutting way down on mental mistakes. Too much focus on Outman. No he has not looked worthy at the plate. I have watched most of the Saints games and while Roden has drawn a number of walks and is fighting at the plate he isn't hitting that well and he has looked lost in the field. None of the other outfielders are ready yet either. So .... suffer a little with Outman. Hard to get too down on Lee or others when they are going full out. Athletes have physical limits too. In addition to a few plays that we want Lee to make (he can't) there were a few balls that Martin catches in left field. However, Larnach also is playing hard in the field and working at the plate. We might like Ozzie Smith playing shortstop (in his prime, not now) and Kwan in left field but those guys are not a part of the Twins team. I'm shaking my head and wanting those plays made but also realistic about the odds. The Twins have three games versus Boston before a day off. There isn't anyone in the Saints pen worth calling up. .... really. Seven relief pitchers, all well rested, should be more than enough to cover the starting pitching. Morris would be ready to go next Saturday and maybe Friday night in support of Ryan and Bradley. I won't be surprised if the Twins call up a pitcher but four of the guys in AAA on the 40 person roster pitched yesterday or today. Maybe Klein but he is struggling a bit. Kent? I hope not. The best bet looking at the schedule is to keep Morris on the roster.

My first paragraph rejects changes to the current system unless they change to all ABS or back to umpires. I say keep it. My second paragrapg requests a reduction of time allowed to challenge outs - make it 5 seconds. That stops the obvious egregious calls.

The soft hits have been a problem for Morris in the last several years. Just a bit of refinement and he is going to be really good. Strong defenders would help too. Impressed by how focused the Twins have played recently. Some fun offense as well/ The pitching has been so impressive recently. We are likely wondering if that can continue. I think there is a chance that it can.

I hope Shelton lets Morris keep going. The bullpen could use a rest before the Boston series.

Blue Jays have a really good hitting team.

Too bad Varland is not a Twin. Rojas looked decent in 2.2 innings today for St. Paul.

Morris would be really tough if he can add a good changeup. I have high on Morris for several years. Hope he can do well.

Ok. I get it now. You have not seen him play at all but are sure he isn't good. I'm sure you also disapprove of Pittsburgh playing Konnor Griffin as well. How would you know what Julien's defensive play looked like in the minor leagues if you never saw him play in the minor leagues? Magic? What do you think about Pena's glove? Bringing players up early? I have specifically stated that my take on Culpepper is that he needs a few months at least. That is specifically based on watching him play. Everyone is free to have an opinion. If might help if the thoughts are based on seeing the player you have opinions on because not every player is the same.

Don't be so cheerful. Try a different bottle of whiskey, just one ounce per game which means only 162 shots per year. Also, Ryan Kreidler gets credit for turning two batted balls into outs today that nobody else on the team could have done. Does that make him 2-6? As far as luck goes, we are all lucky.

I asked if you were watching every or any Saints games. Hard to just look at numbers and create a reasonable opinion when it comes to an athlete. If you cannot, that is perfectly fine. Most people cannot spend the time. It seems harsh to level criticism on the unseen. Fielding statistics ceased being relevant decades ago. There is no person pushing defense on Twins Daily more than I do. Some may match my focus though. In fact, I have been a little annoying about stressing defense on this site. However, if you have not watched the games or go in person to see these players, it makes little sense to judge them based on subjective, non counting, numbers. If you have watched the Twins you have seen batted balls ruled base hits on routine plays or watched a missed catch by a first baseman ruled a throwing error. BTW, I have written that I would like to see Kaelen Culpepper gain further experience in AAA until June at the earliest, but defense is not a concern for me. He is better with the glove right now than all of Lewis, Lee, Keaschall, and Bell, but I'm not ready to call him up yet.

Have you watched the Saints games? Culpepper is playing a good shortstop right now.

The team is working hard. Mental mistakes are down. Guys are battling at the plate. Keaschall will never reach the top speeds of Buxton but he is pushing every time. The players are doing their best right now and that is a fair ask.

The Twins needed defense and thus you are correct. Hits and outs turned by by defenders don't always balance but pitchers are much more likely to feel comfortable with gloves behind them and less inclined to extend themselves trying to strike everyone out. Defense matters. FWIW, Roden has not looked good at AAA and seems lost in the outfield. I'm hoping he improves as the weather improves but right now he looks like a guy Toronto was willing to lose.

Lee and Larnach had the big punches, but Joe Ryan shut down the Blue Jays after the one faulty pitch to Varsho. The Twins are pushing.

Impossible to explain how stupid it is to adopt a system that is admittedly flawed (by MLB) and then argue to adjust the ways in which the ABS is administered. There are ways to change it: 1) use ABS all the time; 2) eliminate it and go back to umpires calling strikes but hold umpires accountable for egregious calls by requiring retraining or demotion while financially rewarding those who are extremely accurate. For those who want a change on challenges, reduce the time on base challenges to 5 seconds. If the call is egregious it gets challenged and overturned, otherwise these 5-10+ minute delays to eventually determine that there isn't enough evidence to overturn a call because it was too close are gone. Remove the video geek from the game.

Prielipp has good stuff but due to missing so much time from injuries he is behind the curve in his learning how to pitch. Prielipp can be a decent pitcher but Twins fans should be patient while he learns his craft.

Funderburk struggles with walks at times but his pitches move all over the place making for an uncomfortable plate appearance.

Makes sense that the Twins go to the bullpen here. I'm just wishing (against all evidence) that starting pitchers get to 110 pitches when they are rolling. However, it is a long ass season and with a 7-2 lead it makes sense to trust the pen for 6 outs. Big shutdown outing for Ryan after the early 2 run Homer. Ryan is an ace.

Not sure, but he made two outs in the field today that are base hits with any other Twin at third base. Defense matters.

Great throw by Valenzuela. Keaschall needs to square around to keep the catcher back a split second there, but give credit for a dart from C to 2B on a very close play.