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darwin22

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Everything posted by darwin22

  1. darwin22
    Great W all around with the solid return of Ober, timely hitting---Thank u Royce! and another impressive night from our bullpen. Time to keep grinding. No reason to think about or focus on what CLE is doing. Hitters need to keep taking professional ABs and our pitchers to attack the strike zone. Lets get another game tomorrow night! Go Twins!
  2. darwin22
    Nice to see the offense kick it into gear the 2nd time through the order as the first trip produced nothing. See Ober is being recalled to start tomorrow night. What is the corresponding move? I'd seem to think it will be Headrick getting sent down as Thielbar and Funderburk provide enough help out of the bullpen. If thats the case, will Keuchel be moved into a long/middle relief role? Or...will Keuchel remain in rotation with Twins going to a 6-man rotation for remainder of year? Sorry for the questions as I wasted my evening watching the Vikings play another inept game. Need to take care of business this weekend in CHI before moving onto Cincinnati.
  3. darwin22
    The only positive from today was seeing the Guardians gag away a 3-run 8th inning lead to lose 6-5 in the 10th!! Former Twin---------wish we had him back----Lamont Wade, Jr---coming through with a professional AB (sacrifice fly) for the W.
  4. darwin22
    Didnt see the end of the game as I had an afternoon tee time. Can't say the golf experience was satisfying (it seldomly is), but, like others, I would've been cussing out our fearless leader for sending Vazquez up to pinch hit for Julien with 2 outs. I can understand pinch hitting for Julien as he's been abysmal against LH pitching (9-42/,214 avg with 1 RBI in addition to 13 K's and zero walks. What I can't understand is pinch hitting Vazquez when Correa was available!!!! Did Rocco forget Correa was there? Did his spreadsheet have some hidden nugget telling him Vazquez was the better option? Was Correa in the clubhouse? Vazquez sure battled in that AB...didn't he Rocco? 3 pitches= game over. Ugh. Just ugh.
  5. darwin22
    On pace...with 22 games left.....to end regular season with 1663 whiffs, which would topple the 2021 record set by the Cubs of 1596. With recent play...8-5 record vs. TX and CLE over the 13-game stretch that I thought would be worse, I'm choosing to remain optimistic.
  6. darwin22
    Unfortunately had to miss the game due a meeting. Was beyond elated with the comeback victory that once again was spurred by some clutch hitting, a good start by Gray and three shutout IP from Jax, Thielbar and Pagan. I need to give deserved props/apology to Christian Vazquez. After calling him out/asking for a minor league replacement for next season (which I was rebuked for by numerous parties) after his 0-5 performance Sunday, Vazquez shut me up by poking a game tying HR in the 6th. His hitting line also included a single and two walks. Nice job Christian! After producing the biggest hit of the game can our front office just go ahead NOW and sign Solano to a new contract with a nice raise? Where would this team be without his contributions all season? Hitting a team leading .294 ( Not counting Lewis due to limited ABs) with a .376 OBP, Solano has more than earned his $2m salary. Having won the first two games of this series, I sure hope Rocco goes for the jugular tomorrow with our "A" lineup. Joe Ryan should be amped (hopefully not too much) for his start. Main bullpen arms should be available tomorrow with possible exception of Jax as Thielbar (10) and Pagan (12) both had efficient one inning stints tonight. Cliche time: 1 game at a time boys. 23 to go. As a former legendary high school basketball coach I used to work for would say: "Focus on the task at hand."
  7. darwin22
    As others have noted---this counts as only 1 win. Resounding....yes, but still counts as 1. Need Gray tomorrow night and Ryan Wednesday afternoon to pitch effectively into the 6th inning and beyond. Hopefully our hitters will review their recent performance against Bibee in which they got his pitch count up to 90 after 5 IP. Get your rest boys and come out hungry tomorrow night!
  8. darwin22
    A few thoughts after a frustrating loss today: 1. Thinking back to consecutive road losses at MIL (8-22/23) with the prospect of 7 games against TX, I was HOPING for a home split and 1 road W. Now that we've completed those 7 games, I would say like most fans, I'm extremely happy winning 5 of those 7 games. 2. What is the MLB record for most GIDP in 1 season? Correa has to be getting close to that dubious achievement. 3. How long of a rope does Kuechel have moving forward as a member of rotation? I think he's earned another start despite getting lit up in his last start. Keuchel has alternated very good starts (Game 1 vs. AZ and game 3 vs. PIT) with 2 horrible outings (starts at PHI and the other night vs. TX). In between those starts, he entered in relief of a very ineffective Ober and tossed 5 shutout innings in a game the Twins came back to win. His upcoming start against the White Sox is make or break, imo, with Ober sitting ready at SP. From what I've seen, Ober has NOT pitched at all for SP. Hopefully the rest will get him the reset he needed. Finally... 4. Are there others that are sick and tired of seeing Vazquez continue to fail on a daily basis when he's in lineup? I know he hit a key solo HR last night, but his performance today was BRUTAL. It was really "Gallo-esque" in terms of futility. 0-5 this afternoon with 2 Ks--both in key spots--runners on 1st and 2nd in 4th and with bases loaded in 5th. At the time of his signing, I was "ok" with it, especially after watching Sanchez's mercurial performance last season. I was surprised with the $$ amount (3yrs/ $30m), but understood it as management expected a rebound from him. Furthermore, Jeffers had done nothing BEFORE this season to establish himself as the bona fide #1 catcher. Now that Jeffers has done that, my question is---Does the front office have the guts to ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE and release him in the off season? Considering our FO has failed to admit their OBVIOUS ERROR in signing Gallo, I doubt seeing ownership eating the remaining $20m owed to Vazquez. Saying that---should Vazquez get released, I believe 2 catchers in our system warrant the opportunity to serve as Jeffers backup next season: Prospect #1: Jair Camargo/ Age 24. Acquired with Maeda in 2020 trade from Dodgers. RH bat that, I believe has spent the entire season at SP with the following numbers: AVG: .247, HR- 18, RBI-56, OBP- .315. No idea of his defensive abilities--strengths or weaknesses. Prospect #2: Alex Isola/ Age 25. Rd. 29 pick in 2019 amateur draft. RH bat. Played all season at AA Wichita with the following offensive stats: .271 avg, 18 HR, 54 RBI with a .361 OBP. I know my last point isn't a concern to many at this point in the year, but I'm beyond ready to jettison Vazquez off this team for 2024.
  9. darwin22
    A BIG win, which could've been made even better if the Rays hadn't BLOWN 2 leads---9th and 11th inning. Huge props to Solano! Hopefully a guy our FO puts an emphasis on to re-sign in the offseason. Great to see Correa come through in a clutch situation in the 10th. Same for Kepler. He sure appears to be producing his way into the Twins picking up his $10m option next year. Never thought 2 months ago I'd be typing that previous sentence. Hate to spoil a significant W, but is there really ANY REASON why Gallo is still on this team? 0 for his last 17, 13 of those AB's ending with a whiff. His last RBI came on Aug. 12th. What is the downside of DFA'ing him and bringing up Austin Martin? With Taylor hurting, Martin could spell Stevenson as a short term replacement in CF. Is it too much to ask that TB step up and win a game tomorrow?
  10. darwin22
    As thoroughly disgusted as I am with the result of today's game I know I know I need to keep it in perspective as the Twins still have a 5-game lead over CLE. Saying that, can we cease and desist with the belief that its inevitable that this team is winning the AL Central? Don't get me wrong, as much as today's loss is still stinging, I believe this team CAN win the division. Will it? Who knows. What can't continue to happen includes: 1. Scoring 3 runs or less and expecting to win. 4 runs combined the last two games. Thats even worse as CLE RP's had to cover 8 IP last night and another 4 today, but gave up only 2 runs. The warts of this team offensively, namely failing to produce with RISP was proven by the fact of going 1-18 over the last two games and FAILING to make productive outs (14 more whiffs today) is a big concern. 2. Continuing to see late inning RPs fail in key spots. My confidence in Jax is diminishing. Same with Thielbar. Duran is also showing a regression. If he cleanly fields the groundball back to him in the 9th--its a DP and the Twins head off to TX with a 7-game lead. His 2-out/2 strike wild pitch was a scissor kick to the groin. I'm sure I'm in then minority here, but I wasn't upset that Pagan was hooked for Funderburk. Easy to second guess Baldelli now, but how many people would be posting ripping him if he'd left Pagan in and Calhoun had gotten the go ahead hit? I'm sure more than a few. When the count got to 3-0, I honestly thought walking Calhoun was the best move. Rough result for Funderburk, which I hope he'll learn from. Not intending to continue on a pessimistic note, but with our next 6 games on the road against TX (winners of last two) and CLE, how many games do realistic fans seeing the Twins winning? I'm hoping for two. Need some help from Tampa Bay this weekend against the Guardians. If the Twins can keep their division lead over CLE at +3 games at the conclusion of their series next week, then the remaining 22 games for each team turns the Twins way. Over the final 22 games the Twins face only two teams with a winning record (TB- 3 at home and CIN- 3 away). The other 16 games are against sub .500 teams---Mets, Angels and A's ( 9 at home)/ White Sox & Rockies 7 on road). Over that same 22 game stretch (after September 4) the Guardians have 12 games against FOUR teams with a +.500 record-- TX, BAL, CIN and SF. Their other 10 games are all on the road against the Angels, Royals and Tigers.
  11. darwin22
    Please cease and desist with this nonsense! There is beyond zero chance the Twins are even in the next room to the conversation of Ohtani signing in Minnesota.
  12. darwin22
    Not to be off topic, but in somewhat of a surprising move the Angels released the following players today: SP Giolito RP Lopez RP Moore OF Grichuk OF Renfrow Wondering if ANY of these players would be of interest to the front office? Despite the likely return of Castro, Buxton and Kirilloff over the next 10 days--------do either of the RH hitters offer an upgrade? Would either Lopez or Moore help? No certainty Stewart returns anytime soon. Is Funderburk a better option than what Matt Moore would offer? Is Giolito a short term upgrade over what Keuchel offers, especially with Ober seemingly getting an extended reset in SP? Not strongly advocating for ANY of these to be added as I understand the importance of team chemistry. Saying that---would be interested in hearing the thoughts of others.
  13. darwin22
    With Twins in 1981 and 1985---------95 career ABs with 77 coming in 85 season. Had 2 HRs and 13 RBI while hitting .314. Big dude/ 6'4/226-------OFer and DH. Now 66 living in Charlotte, NC per Baseball Reference profile.
  14. darwin22
    Considering that I was busy with my fantasy football draft earlier today, I can't say I was shocked when a buddy of mine, who has Ober, mentioned Twins were trailing 5-0 midway through the game. Honestly, before the series I would've settled for a split. Absolutely gave game away yesterday, which was quite disappointing considering the team battled to tie it while getting Scherzer out of the game. Although I did peek at the score ....seeing Twins facing only a 1-run deficit in the 8th....I decided to enter our draft results instead of being disappointed seeing our hitters fail to tie the game up. Only after I finished, did I notice that the game had moved to extra innings, although at that point, the Twins trailed 6-5. Thought Polanco had an excellent AB fouling off several two strike pitches before MAKING CONTACT to score Taylor. What I couldn't fathom was how Solano ran into the first out! My only guess was he "thought" the ball was a single to LF. Thankfully, I wasn't watching in the latest episode of the "Gallo follies"---has to be a "top 5" in Twins history of WORST baserunning blunders. Echo comments of a few others as the pitching hero of the game was Keuchel. What a fabulous performance! Not ready at this point to support an "Ober reset" at AAA, but his propensity to serve up HRs ( 6 in his last 5 starts) is becoming troublesome Overstating the obvious, but next three games are crucial. CLE is getting key (and unexpected) contributions from Laureano & Calhoun. Time to have a laser focus from our manager all the way though the clubhouse. Would be great to see some BIG crowds come out and give this maddening team a home field advantage.
  15. darwin22
    Not intending to get into a p*ssing match, but in case you missed it----Keuchel more than proved his status to stay on pitching staff today with his 5 shutout innings in relief of Ober. As for Varland, he had 3 consecutive good starts for SP in August, but his most recent start (8-22) was a stinker vs. Omaha ( 4IP, 7 runs, 4 ER with 6 hits allowed and 3 walks). Funderburk as a starter? He's not started a game this year. Soley used as a RP--and a very good one for the Saints this season.
  16. darwin22
    Not posting as a member of the Dallas Keuchel "fan club," but have to mention that he absolutely EARNED his promotion from AAA as his command was pretty darn good as evidenced by these numbers over 6 starts: IP: 32 ER allowed: 4 ERA: 1.13 K to BB: 28/12 WHIP: 1.25 Opp BA: .233 IMO Keuchel has earned a spot with the Twins at this point either as a member of a 6-man rotation or in a role to bolster Ober who's pitched the most innings in his career this season. Keuchel is a professional PITCHER still in 2023. His start in PHI was brutal, but his other 2 starts were good to above average. Just asking---------who at SP right now would be a better option than Keuchel?
  17. darwin22
    As much as many want to place the blame on the bullpen for ANOTHER blown game, I place 90+ % of blame on 1 person: Derrick Falvey ( feel free to insert/add Thad Levine) to this When you're (supposedly) a contending playoff team how do you explain fielding a bullpen at this point in the season when 50% of your RPs are NOT USABLE/TRUSTED in a close game? The quartet of Ortega, Winder, Floro and Sands are NOT MLB quality RPs. They are AAAA players at best. Although I find NUMEROUS faults with Baldelli's pitching decisions (ie hooking Ober last night at 78 pitches), I can't blame him today. Simply put, Pagan, Thielbar and Duran failed to protect leads. Which brings me back to Falvey (front office) for failing to make upgrading the bullpen a priority in the offseason. What was done? I can't think of ANY effort to bring trade for or sign an established RP. I can only surmise Falvey believed that 3 pitchers would rebound to strengthen the bullpen: Jorge Lopez, Jorge Alcala and Jovani Moran How did that work out Derrick? Answer: Complete failure Lopez became so bad (5.09 ERA) that he was traded for Floro at the trade deadline. Alcala: Only pitched 15.33 innings (6.46 ERA) before going on the IL in mid May. Moran: 5.31 ERA in just over 42 IP. with 27 BB. I will give the front office credit for the signing of Brock Stewart. Saying that, Stewart last pitched on June 25th. Which brings me back to Falvey's failure to upgrade the pen at the trade deadline. You did nothing! What was the plan? Trust that Stewart would have a miraculous recovery? Trust that Moran would somehow be able to find the strike zone? I really don't enjoy being such a pessimist, but with a 4-man bullpen for the last 35 games, who honestly believes this team will win the division? Out top 4 arms can't pitch every night. The way Baldelli has managed recently, get ready for a bunch of games that the pen will need to record 12 outs. Its not happening. The next 13 games----7 vs. Texas and 6 vs. CLE--------will be the season. I hope I'm wrong, but when you combine a VERY inconsistent offense with a bullpen that has only 4 reliable arms, I don't see much in the way of any positive result for this team by the end of September. Thanks for nothing Derrick.
  18. darwin22
    Which brings our MLB leading total to 1273 for the season. Still on pace...1663 K's...to shatter the 2021 record of 1596 by the Cubs. Absolutely brutal watching this collection of misfit hitters.
  19. darwin22
    To further quote Chip Diller (Bacon) regarding the upcoming 5-game homestand. "Thank you Sir, may I have another"-------4 would be great. 3 at least.
  20. darwin22
    One short week ago after Twins improbably finished a sweep against the Snakes, I tempered my rising hope for this team hoping they'd come away with at least 3 wins o n their road trip to DET & PHI. After cruising to a comfortable W on Monday---the reality of this maddening consistently inconsistent team reared its head with three straight brutal losses. Coming into to face a hot Phillies team with Keuchel pitching, I expected the worst and received it. Thankfully---Pablo Lopez stepped up BIG time yesterday (quietly becoming staff ace) and Sonny Gray came through with a great performance. Never would've predicted even a 3-run output from our offense today when I saw Luplow hitting in the 3-hole. Glad he proved me wrong with a 1st inning BOMB off Suarez. Like others, I was a tad baffled by Gray exiting after only 80 pitches. Although Thielbar saved our bacon with a whiff of Bohm (thanks hp ump!), I was beyond frustrated with Jax's inability to put hitters away after Farmer's excellent play for the first out. 1-2 pitch to Cave: single to RF 0-2 pitch to Stubbs (Catcher) hitting .208------serves up another line drive single, which was followed by Jax plunking 9-hole hitter Rojas on ANOTHER 0-2 pitch. Thankfully, Thielbar (and not Moran) was able to come in and extinguish the rally. Absolutely need Thielbar to be a key part of pen over the last 42 games. Not be forgotten, I will give props to Pagan for blowing away Castellanos and Stott for the last 2 outs in the 8th. That brings us to Duran. He got the SV, but for the 10 straight appearance he failed to pitch a clean inning. Duran hasn't pitched a clean inning since July 15th. Is that a reason for concern? His WHIP has soared to 1.61 over his last 10 games. I know we've been spoiled with him, but it does seem that he's throwing fewer and fewer fastballs over the last month? His K's are still there---14---over those 9.33 IP Looking forward this week-----2 HOME vs. DET and 3 more vs. PIT. Is it too much to expect 4 wins in those 5 games? Probably so as one thing this team continues to do is play down to their competition. Any word/report if Lewis has progressed to the point that he's activated this week?
  21. darwin22
    Since his awful start in OAK after the ASB (7 ER in 5.2 IP), Lopez over his last 5 starts has been flat out outstanding as evidenced by the following numbers: W-L 3-1*---should've got another W from 7-25 start when bullpen (Moran) gagged away a 6-2 lead IP: 31 ER allowed: 5 ERA: 1.45 WHIP: 0.935 K: 35 BB: 4 If Twins have any hope to be playing into October, Lopez MUST be the staff ACE over his last 8-9 starts. Will be hard to continue to put up these numbers the remainder of the year, but he can do A LOT to quell the ongoing critics that continue to lament the loss of Arraez.
  22. darwin22
    Because Rocco's spreadsheet instructed him to play for games this weekend.
  23. darwin22
    This---the last 2 nights---is EXACTLY why I refuse to re-invest any time or energy into this team. Staring head on at another L tomorrow with Skubal pitching and the same Friday night in Philly with Sanchez getting the start. Yeah, I know CLE lost tonight, but I refuse to believe that this season will end with a happy ending.
  24. darwin22
    Jeremy: Thanks for the detailed week in review. Great report. Keep them coming.
  25. darwin22
    Great to see Jeffers "heater" continue! His massive 3-run bomb was huge giving Lopez some breathing room to go out and be aggressive. Correa's night was also not only needed, but hopefully the beginning of a hot streak. Haven't researched this, but I would bet that Correa's 6 RBI over the last 2 games was the 1st time he'd done that this season. Victory was also crucial in that it gave our main bullpen arms---Duran, Jax, Thielbar and Pagan---a needed day off. Rodriguez will offer a tougher challenge tomorrow night, but he has proved to be susceptible to giving up runs since the beginning of July. 1 game at a time boys....get a good nights sleep and bring the bats out ready to thump tomorrow.
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