tony&rodney

Thank you for all of the draft coverage. Those of us who watched (via TV/internet) a few college games have seen a number of these players in the past few months. Crews, Skenes, and Langford have stood out. Picking at #5 should force the Twins to choose an athletic talent with superstar potential and a high floor. Yes, we all know that even the best choices can fail. Players like Wilson or Gonzalez are legitimate picks at the end of the first round. I can imagine Teel or Lowder, but the consensus for months has been for the Twins to gobble up whomever is left of the top five. Just do it.

Wallner will always look awkward in some ways. I have watched a bunch of his at bats (via milb.com) with the Saints and he has a good eye to go along with that prodigious power. His last time up tonight he flipped a line drive single to left field but acted like he had fouled the ball off before realizing he had to run to first base. Yesterday, he crushed a ball to the fence in centerfield that the centerfielder made a nice play to grab, while Wallner acted as if he had popped up. He just seems like a quirky guy. When someone takes a load of walks, hits .300 with a load of extra base power and good speed, it might be time to see what he can do over three months in bigger stadiums with better pitching. Wallner somehow seems to adjust. It is time to see what he can do playing right field for the Twins.

Nash, you have written so many good posts. The Lopez-Arraez trade and the 2023 season are wobbly right now and the rehashing of missing Arraez makes its way into the comments of virtually every post now for weeks. Are you calling for the removal of Falvey & Sons? There has to be a way to move on from past trades. If the decisions are indeed ruinous, which may be argued, then it is a call for the Pohlads to step in and correct course asap. I can see that discussion. I have a ton of respect for those who write the articles and make the videos for Twins baseball and for Twins Daily. It just seems like Luis Arraez is omnipresent in so many ways with the Twins, yet he no longer plays for the Twins. The Twins chose to draft Kyle Gibson and did not pick Mike Trout in 2009. The Luis Arraez of 2023 does not play for the Twins. I miss him too. So I can watch him play for the Marlins via mlb.com. As a call for a new management for the Twins, the article makes sense. There are some beautiful, well constructed sentences in the post and I always click on a Nash Walker article right away. Respectfully, I'm just thinking that Twins Daily needs a recess from discussing the trade of Luis Arraez. I'm more concerned that the Twins are currently linked by some (Keith Law) to choosing a player with the #5 pick in the upcoming player draft who is generally ranked closer to #20 as a baseball talent.

I would send out Gallo before Kepler. At least Kepler can hit into a double play with bases loaded and nobody out, which scores a run. Max is a better defender and base runner as well. Gallo is working hard. You can literally see him straining to do well. I feel bad for him, but he is toast. The hitting coach? That is reaching to put the poor at bats on him. Not defending the guy but MLB batters should be better prepared and aware than what we often see from out Twins offense.

The post is totally valid. As a former pitcher, I'm biased. Put Pablo Lopez on the Braves and he has an 11-5 record or better. Lopez has had a few rough outings and a number of innings where he lost control but overall he is really good at his job. I also believe he will have a better second half as well. The command and control of his pitches is fine and the pendulum will swing in his favor. Pablo is a damn fine starting pitcher and I enjoy watching him pitch. It is really remarkable that our pitching staff has done as well as it has given the mediocre defense and the woeful lack of support from the offense. A little surprised that folks are casting any negatives towards the staff that has given the team a chance in nearly every game this year.

I think the starting pitchers are for real. We are halfway though the year and the starts have been well above expectations on the whole. which is truly amazing when one considers the poor offense and largely mediocre defense. Pablo Lopez has been decent and might be better in the second half. I think Ryan and Ober should be close to their first half performances. Maeda and others will fill in with respectable fifth starter stints. Gray was so good the first half that one would expect some decline, but Sonny is fired up for his chance to be a free agent and his focus will be at a high level. Good things can happen.

About as accurate of a wrap as possible. Almost every game there is an at bat where a key hit would turn the game. Almost every game ... failure with risp. There are a couple of players who can be jettisoned right now. The pitchers keep us in every game. In other news, St. Paul was fun to watch hit today. It just felt like the team was going to win from the beginning and then to walk off on a comeback grand slam was fun. A couple of these guys can help now.

Maeda looks ok thus far.

This is part of what I used as a baseball coach. When a batter swings the bat there is always a result. The optimal end in my view was a ball totally squared up, hit into fair territory. A foul ball or a swing and a miss are just strikes. A wind blown home run or a ball lost in the sun or misplayed for extra bases is nice but my data recorded the relative manner in which the batter was able to successfully hit the ball. It is a goal of all hitters - hitting the ball. The exit velocity stat is nonsense as is the framing stat among others. Of course individuals have their opinions on a range of plays. I favored defenders getting outs, throwing to the right base, and range. If someone looked awkward but was effective, that worked for me. A guy who steals bases and goes first to third or knows where the fielders are when a ball is hit beats a burner who doesn't know where to go or when. And so forth. Data has always been kept in various forms but data fans now collect information on just about everything so it is true that there is more data than ever. As the specialiststeve argues, the way in which the data is collected and used can be very misleading which creates numbers that make a player seem decent when they are actually not very useful. The job of the front office and field staff is to discern which players put together will produce the best results. The Twins have one of the best records in baseball if you use the expected wins totals. This stat really demonstrates some of the futility of chasing all of the numbers. None of those expected wins count. The games are played and there is a result in the end, either a win or a loss. I sometimes think the Twins actually look at their expected wins to mollify or soften the blow of their mediocre record. You know, process being the point. There is another game tomorrow and the guys who dig through the data can find a stat for every Twin to show us that our guys are in the top ten of something to flash on the screen. But even they get frustrated and put up the RISP stat.

Keirsey just needs to keep putting up good numbers on a consistent basis and hopefully get a boost to St. Paul in July. I'm certainly not holding his age (26) against him and have enjoyed watching him play (via milb.com) this season. I agree he is underrated.

Perhaps the most appropriate response is, who is Derek Falvey?

Grip and rip only works if the pitcher throws the ball in your swing path. A batting practice pitcher or the machines deliver predictable locations ideal for high quality contact. Unfortunately for the Twins, MLB pitchers are not providing enough "grooved" pitches to accommodate the team philosophy on hitting. The Twins will begin to win series when they put the ball in play more often. Until that time, the pitching staff is all that keeps the team from plummeting in the standings. Baseball provides multiple avenues to win games and limiting the options just reduces the odds of gaining wins. The apparent narrow focus on analytics only results in positive expected win totals as opposed to actual victories. In the meantime perhaps the Twins organization might be concerned about attendance in August and September, but then again maybe not. It looks like the team is chasing a .500 record.

July, August, and September are an easier schedule in theory than April, May, and June. 85 wins is possible.

He definitely is, yet he threw more balls in the hit zone than Gray. I would say Gray pitched better.

Pinch hit for Gallo?

Nice tag by AK.

I guess the Twins look at 1-2 as a sure loss, thus Pagan instead of Stewart. Pagan has been decent recently .... it is just his luck.

Kirilloff has had some tough plays to make tonight. He has made a couple and missed several, but every one has been difficult and I'm confident that nobody else that has played in a Twins uniform in several years makes the plays.

Gray has pitched great. Our bats are woeful.

I literally just said out loud, " Don't give in Sonny, Eddie will hit in a DP".

Gray will want to show that he is equal to the task versus one of the top (if not best) offenses in baseball.

When a pitcher puts the ball in Gallo's swing path, Joey can cause damage. I would just throw him waist high fastballs and an occasional change. Stay away from the low ball against Gallo.

This game is a prime example of why it is important to get the bat to the ball. Stuff happens: hits, errors, deflections, bad throws, etc. And .... the fans can actually be entertained, which is important too.

The Twins need to score runs to win. The pitching and defense may let the team dow from time to time but expecting to hold teams scoreless or close is a plan that won't work. I see the defensive blunders, the fails by the pitchers, and mistakes. The Twins will not rise above a .500 record if they just continue to leave runners on base, score few runs in so many games, and strike out at a record pace. So yes, the bullpen has blown a few games, Julien and others are less than stellar in the field, and Pablo Lopez is not throwing shutouts. However, offense is the main culprit. It was the problem last night and has been all season to date.

Kepler has been very frustrating to watch the last few years. This year he has dropped down even further. The Falvey philosophy is totally baffling. Kepler struggles in 2022, Gallo is toast in 2022 - the Twins roster both of them on the same team. Max has been a guy who I have enjoyed watching, but it is time to turn the page.