darwin22

For those who didn't see the game today, I had the good fortune to give a 1st hand account as I was at Camden Yards today with a tour group (Jay Buckley Tours out of LaCrosse, WI) of around 40, which included a good number of Twins fans. This game, as most would agree, was a microcosm of the Twins "Ground Hog" 2023 season: 1. Get a very good/excellent performance from our SP. Gray looked very good today. I was most impressed by him keeping his pitch count down this afternoon. I think he got through innings 1-4 with only 49 pitches. His pitch count climbed over his last two innings on a very warm and humid day in Baltimore. Got to give him a lot of credit. He battled all day long and deserved better. 2. Fail to deliver in key spots with RISP Jeffers whiff with bases loaded seemed to give Cole Irvin (and his 7.18 ERA) confidence. 3. Continued failure to make adjustments hitting throughout the lineup. I personally counted 8 lazy fly balls or pop ups against Irvin over the first 5 innings. Other than those things, I was encouraged by the ABs (early in the game) from Buxton & Correa. In first inning, Buxton absolutely crushed a bomb to right center field at least 375ft plus that Mullins made an amazing catch against the wall. That ball drops, Solano would've scored from first base. Buxton walked in his 2nd AB and lined a clean single to LF in the 5th. Correa started game with a hard hit single to LF than hit an absolute roped line drive to Hicks in the top f of the 2nd. Understood Baldell's decision to go with Duran in the 8th. Got unlucky when Rutschman's dribbler--hit maybe 30 feet up first base line (with an exit velo of 25mph) resulted in an infield hit. Santander followed with the key AB of the game. After getting behind 1-2 in his AB, Santander worked the count to 3-2 then fouled off two pitches before lining a single to CF on the 9th pitch of his AB. Now sitting at 21 pitches in the 8th with only 1 out, Aaron ^#$# Hicks came back to haunt Twins again with a softly hit single--again with two strikes to tie the game. If not for a great stop by Kirilloff on a rocket off the bat of Mullins---the Orioles would've taken the lead. As we all know now Duran was human and forced in the go ahead run on his HB. Witnessing this loss IN PERSON was no worse than the countless other games that have gone a similar route. Seriously pleased though I dont have to see another exhibition of this putrid offense for the remainder of our trip. Onto New York tomorrow night followed by a July 4th afternoon tilt at Fenway then a full afternoon at Cooperstown on Wednesday. Have that to look forward to, but also hoping Twins can somehow find a way to win upcoming series vs. KC.

Great W today and hoping to personally see another victory tomorrow as the tour group I'm currently traveling with will be in Baltimore for the series finale. Tomorrow will be Day #3 (of 11) on Jay Buckley tour. Started at Wrigley yesterday and witnessed the Brewers win a slugfest today at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. For those not aware, Jay Buckley Tours are in their 41st year. They are based out of LaCrosse, WI and offer around 25 different trips this season. Major bummer to hear of Lewis' injury/IL placement. Hopefully Miranda will use this opportunity to prove he belongs on the active roster.

It was once said, "Losing is a disease....as contagious as polio" A healthy Roy Hobbs wouldn't help this team as he'd have been traded in the offseason or would be stuck in AAA.

Losing 3 of 4 to a +10 games under .500 divisional opponent without ANY quality starting pitching leaves me: 1. Frustrated to say the least 2. Angry to be understated but most of all........ 3. Indifferent: I'm done with investing any amount of time and energy into this team. Where's the leadership? Does this team have any fire/guts? I sure don't see it from anyone top down from the front office to the coaching staff and to the players.

Putting in perspective how BAD this offense is--consider the following MLB ranks by our pitching staff through 70 games, which doesn't include the 2-0 shutout "W" today, which pushed our record to a less than dazzling 36-35. ERA: 3. 23---3rd/ only behind Astros and Rays Quality Starts: 34/ Tied for 3rd with TOR/ Trail SEA and HST by 1 Fewest HR's allowed: 70/ Tied for 4th with TX. CHC & TB. SEA 1st at 65 Fewest BB allowed: 199/ Tied for 4th with Dodgers K's: 666/ 2nd--trail TOR for 1st place by 5 Lowest Opponents Batting Avg: .229/ Tied for 2nd with Yankees/ Rays pitching staff #1 at .224 WHIP: 1.18/ Rank-1ST! These ranks are even more incredible considering they include the pitfalls (being nice) of the Pagan Sacrifice (4.06 ERA in 31 IP) and Lopez (5.00 ERA in 27 IP).

Yes, the WHIFFS continue at an epic rate. 11 more today solidifies our #1 rank in MLB. Now at 728. Average of 10.25 whiffs per game. With 91 games left------Twins batters (cant call them hitters) are on pace for 1661, which would shatter the 2021 record of 1596 by the Cubs.

I was NOT advocating for Maeda over Varland. Saying that, I see the front office wanting/hoping Maeda can regain his form as a SP so they could then use him as trade bait to bolster the bullpen. I want Varland in the rotation, but he's got to pitch better/get deeper in games.

Echoing a few of the comments on today's W: 1. As long as Ober can limit HR damage to solo shots while having excellent command (only 1 walk), he's looking like a dependable rotation piece for years to come. 2. Next 4 home games against DET are crucial! Need to win 3 of 4. DET pitching "should be" gassed with a dh this afternoon. My understanding is that they plan to throw 2 LH SP's (Boyd and Wentz) with the other 2 being "bullpen" games. With Gray, Ryan and Lopez lined up to pitch tomorrow, Friday and Sunday---I like our chances. 3. What is the status of Varland getting the start Saturday? He's had 2 rough starts in a row. Is Maeda lined up to get recalled to start Saturday? 4. Will say this very quietly----Its nice to see Correa's bat start to wake up! If we have ANY hope of playing meaningful games in September and possibly into October-------WE NEED CORREA to produce! 8 RBI by C4 in his last 5 games. It took Correa 18 games to produce 8 RBI (May 11 thr June 7th) 5. See previous point----very quietly, its nice/wonderful seeing Griffin Jax return to his form of 2022! 10 scoreless appearances since May 9th. 9.2 IP over that span with zero walks and 12K's. Keep it going Griffin! 6. Finally, just asking: Any projection of Buxton's return date from IL? As with Correa------we NEED Buxton producing (starting up would be welcome) if we hope to win this division.

I totally agree with your assessment. The biggest thing that can't be ignored is the FACT that Polanco has made 5 trips to the IL since June 2022. As much as I (and many others) like Polanco we can't wish him back into the consistent hitter/ run producer he was. He has played a grand total of 30 games this season. My question to you (and others) centers on his "vested" option for 2024. Are the Twins mandated to pick up his $10.5m salary if he plays in 100 games? If that is the case then Polanco has some work to do. 94 games left to play. The earliest Polanco can return from IL is June 19, which reduces games remaining to 89. As a result, if I'm understanding his "vesting option" for 2024---Polanco would have to play in 70 of 89 games (78.7%) for the rest of the season. What happens with this "vesting option" if Polanco plays in fewer than 100 games? Can they just walk away from him? Not saying I'm in support of that--just need some clarification.

Excellent list of other Twins OFers that were very good players! I would like to add 1 other OFer that many have forgotten about: Bobby Darwin Darwin was my favorite player as a young fan growing up in northeast Iowa in the early to mid 1970s. Although not in the territory of Hisle or Bostock, I'd argue that during his 3 years as the starting RFer for the Twins (1972-74) he put up good numbers. GP: 147 average 72-74 AB: 1648/ 549 per season Hits: 430 AVG: .261 (respectable for the time) EBH: 129 over those 3 seasons which included 65 HRs....just under 22 avg per season RBI: 264/ 88 avg per season which was excellent for some very mediocre Twins teams. K: Averaged 136 per season, which was high for that era. Today, he'd fit right into this lineup Darwin started in the Dodgers system in the early 60s, then disappeared for a number of years before pitching a few innings in 1969. Came to Twins in 1971 then was full time starter before getting traded to Brewers in 1975. Wondering if Darwin is the answer to the following question? I seem to remember he became only 2nd hitter (Killebrew was the only other) to hit a HR into the 2nd deck at Metropolitan Stadium. Intended for the memory of "old time" Twins fans. Is that correct?

Your #5 remark regarding Pagan: I'd venture a strong guess that the vast majority of fans "tuned out"/ "turned away" from game with Pagan entering. To clarify point in earlier post, this was the 1st game Pagan pitched in with the Twins holding a lead since his nuclear meltdown in LA on May 17th. Not seeing a large number of fans defending the decision to bring him in, but there's a BIG REASON why he doesn't pitch in these high leverage situations. Plain and simple, he chokes! I could care less about his 7 effective appearances between May 17- June 6th as they were all LOW LEVERAGE situations (Twins trailing by 1+ runs). Pagan IS the modern day version of Ron Davis. Twins have jettisoned other RPs that failed-----Joe Smith, Addison Reed and others------what makes Pagan the exception? Is it really an ego thing with Falvey and the front office? Admitting your mistake and DFA Pagan immediately.

Understatement of year, but a gut punch loss. Those being honest had to see this coming with the "Pagan Sacrifice" coming in to pitch the 8th with a 2-run lead. I don't care that Pagan had recent success as this was his 1st appearance since May 17th (remember that game against the Dodgers) when he went walk--walk to force in tying run followed by 1st pitch grand slam to Outman). With an OFF DAY tomorrow, I have to ask why Stewart wasn't brought in? I know he pitched Friday with around 20 pitches and appeared yesterday, but only threw 1 pitch. Anyway, back to the Pagan Sacrifice. Can't put Kirk away ahead 1-2 in count--line drive single to right. Gets ahead of Espinal (8-hole hitter) 0-1 and then gets ripped for another single. The inevitable then happened. Falls behind 2-0 to Biggio (hitting .186 entering game) and throws a center-cut fastball-----------BOOM!! There goes the game. When will Falvey have the guts to admit the acquisition of Pagan has been a colossal failure? 7 blown saves last year before being pulled from closer role and now his 2nd BSBV this year. For those wondering, this is only the 5th game that Pagan appeared in with the Twins holding a lead. His pitching line: 4.0 IP/ 10 hits/ 7 ER for a tidy mess of a 15.79 ERA Saying all that-------Varland is also responsible for this loss. Given a 6-1 lead entering the 5th, you have to get through that inning. Yes, there should've been a DP without any runs scoring, but those plays happen. What can't happen with 2-outs and a 6-2 lead is hanging a slider to Chapman on a 2-2 count.

For as much criticism as I've reaped on Correa and Kepler this season, I will give each their "necessary props" for delivering clutch and crucial hits today! Nice work boys! As veterans of this team it would be awesome to see this game to be a springboard to good days ahead. With Buxton out for a long period, Polanco back to the IL and Gallo needing time to rehab at SP---your bats are desperately needed to support our strong pitching! Very good job today. Thank you

Unlike others, I had every opportunity to watch the game, but opted not to for a multitude of reasons, but namely my desire to maintain positive mental health. Great to see losing streak end. Saying that a couple of questions anyone wishing to answer: 1. Why was Gray pulled after 5 IP with his pitch count at only 76? 2. Not easy to answer, but have to ask: Why on earth would Baldelli insert (AAAA) Garlick into the 3- hole, while Lewis is stuck hitting 7th? What has Garlick done (other than NOT being Kepler) to be in spot when he was 3-19 (.158) against LH pitching BEFORE the game started? With his 0-2 against Kikuchi (down to .143 with an abysmal SLG %) how long must we endure him on this team while Wallner continues to RAKE at SP? One other question---that I'd appreciate anyone answering: What is the number of plate appearances that Polanco needs to reach for his 2024 vesting option of $10.5m to require Twins to bring him back? Twins are already locked into nearly $70 million next season for 5 players---Correa, Buxton, Vazquez, P. Lopez and Paddack. I've been a strong Polanco fam for years, but with his continued injuries and other/cheaper alternatives he'll be brought back.

Nick: Very good analysis of the woes of this team. After reading your story I was interested in researching how the "lack of significant HRs," especially over the last month plus has cratered this offense. I couldn't find an easy way to research this so I reviewed the box scores of all 63 games played. Going into today the Twins were tied for 8th (with SF) at 78 HRs. The (meaningless) solo shots today has team to 80 HRs. My math might be a tad off, but I found a few interesting things: 1. To nobody's surprise----zero, nada, zilch of the 80 HRs have come with the bases loaded. I would guess that the Twins are one of a small number of teams that hasn't hit 1 grand salami all year. 2. All 7 of Correa's HRs have been solo shots. Zero with anyone on base.....ALL SEASON!. Heck, even Kepler has two 2-run HRs. 3. Of our 80 HRs....47 have been with nobody on base, which is almost 60% of the time. To be precise, 58.8% of HRs have been solo dingers. 4. 25% of HRs (20) have been 2-run HRs. Only 1 of those this month courtesy of Lewis. 5. The Twins have hit thirteen 3-run HRs on the season (16%), of which 9 came in April when the Twins stood at 17-12 at the end of the month. Gallo and Buxton each hit three 3-run bombs in April. Since May 1st, Buxton has none and Gallo has one. Larnach had two in May. Team has a total of 4 since May 1st. Not sure how our 60% solo HR rate compares to other teams, but I'd venture when you combine our HIGH whiff rate--#1 in MLB at 641 with our poor OPS (.708/ rank 22nd), its no surprise to this die hard fan (since the early 70s) that THIS TEAM AS PRESENTLY CONSTRUCTED is destined for ANOTHER sub .500 record. My interest/investment of this team is waning. I'm sure that includes many fans on this site.

Wallner update since his demotion on May 29th (As most know this was after Wallner went 6-6 over his last 2 games prior to being sent to AAA) Games played: 8 AVG: .424 (14-33) EBH: 9......5 doubles, 1 triple and 3 HRs RBI: 12 Total Bases: 30 Slug Pct: .909 I could possibly/maybe understand Wallner toiling away at AAA if Max Kepler resembled ANYTHING close to an average MLB hitter. That is NOT the case as evidenced by Kepler's performance over that same eight game span: GP: 8 AVG: .115 (3-26), which includes 7 K's and 1 BB EBH: Take a wild guess? ZERO! RBI: 1 (same number as Correa--in his last 10 games) Total Bases: 3 Slug Pct: same as his average--an unsightly .115

Trying to maintain positive mental health, I must admit I didn't watch the entirety of the game. A few remarks after tonight's edition of Ground Hog Day. 1. Another solid/excellent SP start (Lopez owed the team this) wasted. 2. 5 runs scored in last 5 games. 3. 5th games this season that fell into the "L" column when our pitchers allowed 2 runs or less. 4. Last 20 games: W-L record of 8-12. Since May 15th Number of games scoring 3 runs or less: 12/ W-L record: 1-11 Games scoring 4+ runs= 8/ W-L record: 7-1 5. Question asked: Is this the worst offensive version of Correa's career right now? Answer: YES! His last 10 games----continue to mirror his inept bat all season. 8-37 (.216) 3 doubles, 0 HRs, 6 BB's and 1....yes..... 1 RBI over that span with a .297 slug %. If he's injured----there's a BIG DIFFERENCE between pain and injury---then put him on IL and move Lewis to SS in the interim with Farmer going to 3B. That would allow for Wallner's recall to move Kepler to the bench....where he belongs.

Answer: In Buffalo--mashing for the Saints! Since his demotion to activate Kepler (insert sigh) all Wallner has done is: Hit .423 over his last 6 games (11-26) with 26 total bases in 26 AB's. A slug % of 1000 is pretty decent. Wallner has 10 RBI over those 6 games.

Groundhog Day emerges AGAIN on June 4th. Just so frustrating to WASTE a great start by Ryan. As mentioned the game was basically over when CLE increased their lead to 2-0 on Gimenez's double off Thielbar. Count me in the minority here, but I'd have preferred Moran facing Gimenez instead of Thielbar for two reasons. First. Gimenez was 1-7 against Moran. Second, coming off IL in 1st appearance, I'd have rather seen Thielbar in a less high leverage situation. I'm guessing Moran having pitched in last 2 games led to that decision. Not going to criticize Castro's last AB, although better discipline may have had a better result. Pretty hard if not IMPOSSIBLE to beat any team (let alone) CLE when your top 5 "guys with a bat" (I cant call them hitters) go a collective goose egg for 18 with 10 whiffs! Just brutal. What is the updated report, if any on the status of Correa and Buxton being ready to play at TB Tuesday night? For all the faults of Rocco (and there are many), you cant blame him getting stuck with a short bench. I also refuse to agree with the decision to bring up Garlick over Wallner. I don't care about CLE starting a LHP as THE reason why Garlick got the call. Prior to today our "lefty masher" was anything but that as evidenced by his 3-16 performance (with 8 Ks) against LH pitchers this year. Time to DFA Garlick and move on. Finally on the bright side (sarcasm intended), I will leave with this nugget: Our 16 whiffs this afternoon further increases our MLB lead in K's to 613! Now averaging 10.22 whiffs per game. The whiff record of the 2021 Cubs of 1596 is absolutely within reach. Now to get there----we need Gallo, Correa and Buxton back in the lineup ASAP! On pace...with 101 games left to get to 1645. Twins fever...Catch it!

Not THE reason for another poor offensive performance (21st time in 59 games with 2 runs or less), but can someone explain why Garlick was called up to replace Gallo? Wallner has been raking for the last week plus. Larnach has also been hitting well. Makes ZERO sense to me.

Call me an old f*rt---I am-------but NOT being able to watch Ober's excellent performance, Moran and Stewart pitching well and Duran SLAMMING the door on the Guardians was disappointing. Paying a fair amount of $$ for MLB baseball package thr DirecTV, in my OLD MAN world should've allowed me the chance to watch the game. Anyway, a GREAT W with our big bats (insert laugh track here) missing--Correa, Buxton and Gallo, it was satisfying to see the Twins record their 4th shutout (2nd over CLE) victory this year. Did anyone notice that with the "big 3" out tonight that our hitters whiffed only 7 times? Correa & Gallo accounted for 5 K's last night. Time for Sonny Gray to build on his last start (1st stat of 6 IP since April 30th) tomorrow by harnessing his command and getting through 7 quality innings. With Duran (26 pitches) and Stewart (15) likely being unavailable tomorrow, who will Baldelli turn to in likely another low scoring game? re

For those keeping track----team K's now up to 560! The 12-45 Oakland A's have 538.

As much as credit (deservedly so) as Lewis should get by his performance today, I was interested to see how "BAD" our bullpen has been this month as it seemed quite a few losses can be centered on their failures. I found the following "pieces of information" that other may/may not find informative/interesting: 1. No surprise here: Jax and Lopez have been dreadful. Jax: 11 games/ 1-4 W-L record/ 0 holds/ 6.10 ERA in 10.33 IP. WHIP has soared to 2.13 this month. K to BB ratio is "ok"..12-6. Hopefully his last 3 appearances---0 runs with 0 BB and 6 K's is an indicator of him turning things around. Lopez: 12 games/0-2 W-L record/ 1 hold/ 1 SV, but 3 BLOWN SAVES in 11.0 IP with 3 HRs allowed. ERA in May has soared to 7.36 and his WHIP is awful (1.727). Far too many walks--6 in those 11 IP. His late inning work today was good to see. If these 2 key arms don't correct things very soon, any hope of playing meaningful games past the ASB won't happen. As much recent blame can be put on Jax and Lopez, I place as much OR MORE blame on the FO for totally ignoring adding to this pen in the offseason. Far too much confidence was placed on Alcala returning in an effective set up role. After some early season success---in May he got hammered ( 4 games/ 10.13 ERA/1.689 WHIP in 6IP with 3 HRs allowed). 2. Duran has been what we hoped for but hasn't pitched enough. He has the SAME number of saves this month (1) as Lopez and Stewart. Would it surprise anyone that including today Duran has only appeared in 8 games this month? Jax, Lopez, Stewart, Moran and Pagan have ALL appeared more often than Duran. When Duran pitches, he's VERY GOOD! In those 8 games, 0.00 ERA in 10.67 IP with a miniscule 0.75 WHIP and a K to BB ratio of 5:1 (15-3) 3. Brock Stewart has been terrific. How many fans even knew who he was or who he had pitched for before getting called up in late April? I didn't. Despite his allowing the grand salami to (cheater) Altuve, he's been a godsend to this pen in May with the struggles of Jax and Lopez. 13 games/ 4 holds/ 1 SV/ 1.50 ERA in 12.0 IP. Very good numbers. What is concerning is high walk rate (10). which has pushed his WHIP to 1.50. 4. Jovani Moran: Very quietly Moran is shutting up the doubters (myself included) by putting these numbers up in May. 12 games/ 6 Holds, which leads the pen/ 12.0 IP with a 2.25 ERA, which includes an excellent 0.917 WHIP. On top of that, he appears to gaining command as evidenced by his 14-4 K to BB ratio. Moran has been even better recently. Over his last 6 games: 5 holds/ 0.00 ERA in 6.2 IP with a 0.60 WHIP. With Thielbar returning soon from the IL, Moran has made the case to stay in this bullpen. 5. Emilio Pagan First to admit, I've wanted Pagan GONE/DFA'ed from this team for a long time. Saying that, his numbers THIS MONTH say he'll be around for a period of time. 11 games/ 2-0 W-L record/ 11.0 IP with a 3.27 ERA and a very strong 0.91 WHIP. I'm not saying I want to see him pitching in a high leverage situation (ahead or game tied from 7th inning on), but he's been "ok". 6. Jose DeLeon I'm sure I'm in the minority on DeLeon, but his performance, albeit in only 5 games this month, imo, shows he's worthy of some higher leverage situations with Jax and Lopez having issues. Only 7.2 IP, but has a 3.52 ERA--which would be 1.17 if not for Pagan's implosion on May 17th---with a good WHIP (1.17). Most impressive to me is his 10-2 K to BB rate. Overall for the month of May---for those interested, these final numbers for our bullpen. W-L record: 4-9------------Team is 11-14 this month as a "group" not good. Lopez and Jax responsible for 6 of those 9 losses Saves: Only 3---1 each by Duran, Lopez and Stewart Holds: 12/ Moran with 6 and Stewart with 4 IP: 86.67 over 25 games. To me, a telling stat as it indicates our pen is having to cover on the average 3.47 innings per game. Over the 25 games this month none of our 5 starters are averaging 6 IP per start. Today was the 1st start this month that Gray had a quality start. Need our SP rotation to give us more innings. That also goes to Rocco not having too quick of a hook. I would've like to see Gray stay in today with his only at 79 when he got hooked in the 7th. ERA: 3.531/ Not sure how that ranks with our teams. But it appears respectable, especially considering the trainwreck that Lopez and Jax have been. WHIP: 1.292/ Not sure of what numbers were in April, but this number is too high. K's: 98/ 1.13 per inning. Good. K to BB rate: 2.33/ 98-42

I flipped the game on right at the moment Kirk's ducksnort "double" barely eluded Kirilloff's glove giving the Jays a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning. Said at the time, "well, the way we hit, this games over." Sadly, I was right.

Not an unreasonable thought to express in any way. This team is to put it mildly rudderless. Where is the direction from the front office? Where is the accountability? This is for the coaching staff as well as the manager. Unless there is a DRAMATIC turnaround in the next 6 weeks---around the ASB---imo you absolutely explore trade avenues for Gallo, Polanco, Kepler, Gray and possibly Farmer. I doubt Buxton will be considered to be dealt due to backlash from (younger) fans as well as the fact that I dont see many contending teams willing to ante up fair value for an unproductive bat that offers nothing defensively. As many are hoping the future of this team lies with our youth. In the present that would include Lewis, Julien and to an extent Wallner. I've seen enough of Kepler. Time to cut bait with him. Hopefully, the bat (and glove) of Brooks Lee will prove he's MLB ready by the start of next season.