darwin22

Another 14 K's today...just pathetic! Twins will remain #1 in MLB in whiffs---now with 533 on the season. With 53 games played---our "misfit men with a bat" (I refuse to call them hitters) crested the "10" average per game (yippee!)--now averaging 10.05 whiffs per game. On pace to break the 2021 Cubs MLB record of team strikeouts (1596) by more than 30. On pace for 1628. Embarrassing and disgusting. All of this while our pitching staff (minus certain BP arms--Lopez, Jax, Pagan) continues to shine--with the following ranks PRIOR to today's game. K's: 516/ 1st Opponents batting avg: .226/ 1st ERA: 3.46/ 2nd WHIP: 1.19/ 3rd Quality Starts: 25/ Tied 4th with CLE Fewest HRs allowed: 50/ Tied 4th with TX & Cubs Even without having to face Astros top 2 SP's (Javier & Valdez), I'd set the over/under on runs scored for the entire series at 7.5. That might be high, I know.

Fire in the belly from THIS team? Hmm.....I agree with you 100%, but then again showing toughness, grit and accountability goes against the grain of this team's mantra: "Trusting the process"

Well......at least our collection of misfit batters ( I can't say hitters) remain consistent in one area: Whiffs!----Another 12 tonight keeps our MLB rank at #1! Now at 508 for the season. Others may disagree, but this group at this rate-------averaging 9.96 whiffs (imagine what that number would be with Sano still here!) per game--------has a REALISTIC chance to break the MLB team record of 1596 K's by the 2021 Cubbies. 111 games to play x 9,96 per game= 1105.56......add that to our current 508= 1613.56. Imagine the marketing opportunities if this dubious mark can be achieved.

Can only go by the "eye test"--but what I saw in person last in his start against SF Cardinals was very good! 6 IP---6 hits--1 ER---zero walks on only 76 pitches was very good. If he can sustain his recent solid outings over the next 6 weeks, I can project a deserved promotion to SP. He has the ability to be a viable part of Twins rotation/bullpen by 2025.

It was a quiet night---no wind to speak of. Lee's oppo HR was impressive. As described, it really was just a flick of his wrists. Ball carried at least 350 to clear the LF wall.

Seth: Thanks for another great report tonight. Informative and detailed as usual. Had the pleasure of witnessing the game in person as my spouse and I always enjoy making a short 3-hour drive from the KC area down to Springfield. Great seeing the Surge bats consistently produce with RISP! As impressive as the Wind Surge offensive attack was (barrage of 18 hits), I came away very impressed with the performance of Blayne Enlow. As you noted, Enlow needed only 76 pitches (walking none!) to navigate 6 strong IP. After escaping a 2 out jam in the 1st inning, Enlow retired the next 11 batters mixing his pitches and consistently working ahead in the count. Hopefully, Enlow can stay healthy and continue to build on his strong start. The final highlight of the evening was meeting the parents of Seth Gray, who had 3 hits including a ringing triple to left center leading off the 8th inning. Extremely nice couple who are spending the week in Springfield following Seth. They mentioned they've had the opportunity to meet you and spoke of you in good regards. After a rough (0-4) night at the dish last night, it was great seeing Brooks Lee go 2-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. His opposite field 2-run HR in the 3rd gave the Surge a 3-0 lead. As impressive as Lee was with the bat he was flawless at SS with 5 assists.

Agree 100%---------It can absolutely get worse. Imagine how quickly this team will plummet if two of Gray, Lopez, Ryan or Ober have a lengthy DL stint.

For some idiotic reason I thought literally distancing myself from the Twins by driving to Springfield, Mo (from KC area) to see the Wind Surge open their series against the Cards AA team, might be the tonic for some good fortune. Well, not only did the Twins gag away ANOTHER game courtesy of Lopez and the offense's continued futility, but I see our collection of misfit hitters whiffed 11 more times tonight while drawing 1 walk. For those keeping track, our #1 rank in whiffs is holding strong. Now 485 in 49 games. Just brutal. My plan to distant myself from the big league club in hope of seeing the Wind Surge play well (ie score runs with timely hitting) by putting the ball in play turned out as well as believing the Twins would get multiple KEY hits with the bases loaded. Not only did that fail to happen as the Surge were hammered 8-3, but Brooks Lee took an 0-4 --failing to get the ball out of the infield. Surge hitters channeled the "bad jujo" of the parent club by whiffing 13 times with every hitter in the lineup taking a hard left turn exit back to the dugout. Can't wait for ANOTHER exciting day of Twins/Surge baseball tomorrow.

This team is UNWATCHABLE trying to hit a baseball. Call me a fair weather fan if you want. Thats fine. Been a life long fan going back to the early 70s. Attended many games at the Ol Met as well as the Metrodome. Followed this team for 50+ years and have witnessed A LOT of bad hitters in Twins lineups since the early 70s. I know that game has changed. Many consider batting average obsolete. I don't. Many say that high whiff rates just have to be accepted. I refuse to accept that. Many more say that stolen bases are meaningless/ too much risk. Count me opposed to that belief. For those who've been strong fans of this team for even 10 years, let alone 50+---I have to ask the following: When was the last time that TWINS PITCHERS this deep into the season have been ranked in the top 4 of MLB in ALL the following categories: Prior to tonights game: ERA: 3.43/ 3rd Quality Starts: 24/ Tied for 1st HR allowed: 43/ 4th K's: 464--------1st Opponents batting average: .225/ 2nd WHIP: 1.17/ 2nd Answer to above question: I would venture with great certainty to say----NEVER! One would think with those IMPRESSIVE team pitching staff, you'd have better than a piddling 25-22 W-L record. Why is that the case? Simple answer: A team that is unbearable to watch hitting unless you just love an occasional SOLO HR. For those unaware---Twins hitters --not counting tonights AWFUL performance--had the following ranks in MLB---See if you notice a "theme" here, especially considering what the pitching staff has done: Total Bases: 14th/ 649 K's: 1st (or 30th) Pitiful 458----------will still lead MLB after 16 MORE WHIFFS tonight. Just pitiful. Just a quick note: Guess what MLB team whiffs the least? If you answered the team that moved to within 2.5 games of leading the AL Central, you'd be correct. SB's: 29th/ 16 AVG: 14th/ .232 OBP: 22nd/ .312 SLG%: 14th/ .408 OPS: Tied 15th (PIT)/ .720 Commonality: No rank anywhere the "top 10" in any of those areas. * For those who might argue I "cherry picked" these stats saying..." Hey the Twins rank #7 in HRs!" My counter argument would be. How many of those have been solo HRs? I'd venture at least 50% of the 63 hit before Garlick's solo job tonight. I sure as heck know we have ZERO grand slams as we've got to the WORST team in MLB this season with the bases loaded. At least count, I think it was 5-43---all singles for a robust .116 avg. It is just sickening to me that this collection of hitters continues to FAIL to make contact by whiffing at such a horrendous rate. Now, 474 whiffs in 48 games! Thats an average of 9.875 per game! Even with all the changes in MLB---one thing hasn't changed: Teams only get 27 outs. Right now this collection of misfits is recording 36.5% of "outs per game" by taking a turn back to the dugout. That is unacceptable no matter year it is. If this pace continues, this team...once AGAIN will be playing meaningless games by August into September. Pretty disgusting as this pitching staff (mainly the SPs) deserves so much better.

Not sure this is correct---but I'm sure it is--------Twins have a +43 run differential, but are only 3 games over the .500 mark. Baltimore is 15 games over (31-16) with a +41 run differential. Yankees (29-20)/ +31 Astros (27-19)/ +38 To me this further shows how inept our offense is and how this team should have a much larger lead than 3.5 games. CLE will---you know its coming---start to hit with their SP remaining strong in addition to a much more stable and productive bullpen. What this means? Another mediocre season playing out meaningless games in September.

I'm at the point the point that teams should intentionally walk the bases loaded EVERY inning. That wold ensure ZERO runs scoring. That would prevent the occasional solo HR---which is all this putrid offense seems to produce.

Steve: Excellent report on our affiliates tonight. Even better with all 4 winning! Great to see Lewis return to SP with a mammoth BOMB! Also nice seeing Brooks Lee have a strong night. Looking forward to seeing the Wind Surge in person next week as I'm making a road trip to Springfield for two games. Hopefully David Festa starts 1 of those games.

Seth: Thanks for the continued excellent reporting on our minor league affiliates. Was wondering if you know how long of a commitment Twins have in keeping Lewis at Wichita? Selfishly, I'm hoping he'll remain with the Wind Surge for another 10 days as I have a road trip (from KC area) to Springfield, Mo planned for May 22-23 to take in two games.

Remember being in college...1983 or 84 when RD on opening night at the Metrodome was heartily booed by 55,000 fans during pregame introductions. His crime? Blowing at least (if memory serves) 2-3 saves on west coast trip to start the season. Not the last time RD was deservedly booed.

A few other observations after ( I know its only May) a crucial series win after losing the last 2 vs. the Sox & Tribe: 1. Bailey Ober: Sure looks confident and ready to seize a rotation slot for the rest of the year and beyond. 6 solid IP without his best stuff. Like his aggressiveness. Seems that Rocco is trusting him to go deeper in games. 2. Farmer: As already noted---a solid vet who's bat and glove will provide needed pop and stability. Hoping Miranda gets things figured out at SP, but when he returns--he may be the "rotation" bat to spell in at 1B or DH (if Buxton returns to CF). 3. Pagan: Very few words--dont want to mess with his good karma since the beating he took in BST a few weeks ago 4. If this offense collectively can find a way to score 4+ runs a game 60% of the time.....not an unreasonable goal...this team POSSIBLY could be playing meaningful games late in the season. With today's W----------Twins offense has scored 4+ runs in 20 of 38 games---52.6%. Record is 15-5/.750 win%. Going into today--Twins offense was tied for 23rd (with SEA) in MLB in runs scored. That was 2 runs less than KC. Got to decrease those games scoring 3 or fewer runs, which has happened in 18 of 38 games. 5. With Ober's solid outing today----the rotation continues to perform admirably. Even with some recent bullpen struggles, it might surprise some that going into today's game that Twins pitchers were tied for 2nd place (with the Cubs) with the FEWEST RUNS allowed--135. Tampa pitchers have allowed only 116 runs through 38 games. When Twins pitchers allow 3 runs or less their record is 16-6...727 win pct. Not going to gripe about Twins being in 1st place, but it could be argued that their divisional lead should be much more over CLE and DET if the offense produced runs at a better rate. Of the Twins 17 losses--------only 7 occurred as a result of the SP having a bad outing. Two by Mahle, 3 by Maeda (one in which he was injured and Pagan got hammered for 6 runs), 1 by Lopez (loss to Nats) and 1 by Varland (vs. White Sox) In the other 10 losses---seven Twins SPs----pitched 58 innings and gave up ONLY 13 ER--------for an excellent 2.02 ERA! With better hitting, imo, at least 5 of those losses could've been in the W column. Time to move on and win the weekend series against the Cubs.

Count me in the camp of a resounding NO on signing Mahle back. Forecasting Lopez and Ryan as "locks" for the rotation in 24, I'm still of the belief that Gray's departure is not a foregone conclusion. Should he return, then the development of Ober and Varland will dictate what direction the FO goes in the offseason. SWR "could" be a viable option. Same is true for Balazovich. Investing major $$ for Mahle, who won't pitch until 2025 is not worth it.

Plethora of reasons for ANOTHER horrible offensive performance tonight. Normally, I try not to overreact by centering the blame on 1 player, but after tonight I've had enough of the continued pitiful ABs by our "supposed" franchise cornerstone: Carlos "take the money and chill" Correa. Correa supporters/apologists bring it on in his defense. I beg you. This is not a bad 2 week start. Nor is this a rough 3-week period. This is ongoing malaise that is horrible: 0-5 tonight without getting the ball out of the infield. 2 weak pop outs. 2 whiffs and a groundout. 0-4 with RISP. Where is the accountability? Is there any? Nothing changes in the lineup, which I know is filled with multiple others struggling. The FACT is Correa is guaranteed over $169m from this season through 2027. After tonight's miserable performance, Correa is at 124 ABs with the following #'s: AVG: .185 OBP: .261 SLUG: .363 K's: 30 K %: 24.1% WAR: 0.2 Don't expect any changes from Rocco other than Correa getting a "day off" soon to rest. Pathetic.

For everyone that was pleased (count me in the camp) with a winning record (17-12) in April, reality is starting to rear its UGLY head as this team offensively is HORRIBLE! The April record, as others have noted, was skewed by going 6-1 against the Royals. 4-35 with the bases loaded this year speaks for itself. I don't see any imminent signs of hope---a dangerous thing------with this team as it seems inevitable that Gray and Ryan will regress. We've already seen that recently with Lopez. Bullpen also showing signs of trouble with Jax & Lopez being very average over the last couple of weeks. Nothing like another summer of mediocre baseball followed by "excuses" to explain a spiral below .500 by seasons end.

Fair point on Moran's performance in 12th, but the DP was greatly aided by Anderson jogging (at best) to 1B. Maybe his legs were sore from booting Miranda's ground ball in the top of the inning?

Late getting tuned into the game as "golf weather" here in KC area was too good to stay inside---especially after the last 2 frustrating losses. My "top 3" hero's of the game: 1. Brock Stewart: Pitched his way out of a huge jam in the 10th---striking out the side after starting the inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Very impressive! 2. Nick Gordon: By far his best 3-game stretch of the season! His double to the gap extended the lead to 4-2 (should've been 2 RBI if not for Jeffers being the trail runner at 1B). With a plethora of bats know struggling---nice to see Gordon break out of his season long funk in this series------3 for 7 (2 HRs and todays double) with 3 RBI. 3. Pagan: Yes! The Human Sacrifice, Emilio extended the game to the 12th with a scoreless 11th with 2 Ks. Pretty frustrating losing this series to the Sox, who have been pretty awful all season. Can't be surprised losing 2 of 3 when the offense as a whole did literally next to nothing over 3 games AB: 106 Hits: 16 AVG: .151 K's: 38/ almost 13 per game RISP: 5-27/ .185 avg. Hoping the new surroundings in CLE will get the bats of Gallo and especially Larnach going.

Two pretty simple reasons for loss: 1. Offense goes 0-11 with RISP. Pathetic. 2. Walks will haunt---both leadoff walks in 8th (Jax) and 9th (Duran) both scored. Also, sure don't understand Rocco's thinking pitching to Perez in 8th with 1st base open. Not only has Perez demonstrated he's a monster at Target Field for years, but he was 5-7 lifetime against Perez prior to his AB. Very frustrating loss which hopefully will motivate Baldelli NOT to trot out the JV lineup tomorrow! Absolutely zero reason, with an off day Monday, to see multiple hitters sitting vs. Brady Singer.

Very concerned about potential DL stint for Mahle. With Maeda likely headed to IL it appears that not only Ober, but Varland will be back in rotation by next week. Good to see bats start early tonight and add on runs. Confused by Baldelli's use of Duran in 9th with a 6-run lead?

Late to join the conversation, but after the strong performance today by Headrick (5 IP/ 83 pitches....allowing only 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB to go with 8K's, imo, he's the man for the job. I have zero faith in Sands. Winder, though, merits strong consideration if Headrick moves higher in the pecking order as #2 LH RP behind Thielbar. This could be happening very soon as Moran needs to be demoted to SP. Moving Maeda into a long relief role is a pretty much a moot point now after getting lit up trying to pitch hurt. I expect a long absence is coming.

Always....repeat ALWAYS a good day when the Twins beat the Evil Empire! Beyond the amazing (bulldog) performance by Sonny Gray, Polanco is showing how important he can be to this lineup. Also nice to see Kepler hit the ball with authority tonight. Can't remember the last time Mad Max had a 3-hit game. As mentioned earlier, I thought the biggest positive from our offense tonight (minus Correa) was patience and taking good ABs throughout the early innings. This was most evidenced in the 3rd inning as Vazquez worked a walk on 7 pitches. Michael A. Taylor followed with the best AB of the night singling up the middle on the 8th pitch of his AB off Brito. Later in the inning, Larnach worked his 2nd walk of the night (12 pitches), which knocked Brito out of the game. If this offense can continue to work counts like tonight they MIGHT be able to survive the miniscule production their getting from Correa, Buxton and Miranda. Correa's 2nd and 3rd ABs----both whiffs---came in key spots with RISP---bases loaded and runners on 1st and 3rd. Just horrible! His (gift) triple in the 9th was his only productive AB of the night. Will finish with this. I hate to do this on Moran's birthday, but it must be said. He needs a reset NOW in AAA. I love his pitch mix, but his command is brutal. With Thielbar and Headrick as LH RP's what is the downside of demoting him to SP with the intent to get his mechanics/ confidence improved?

Correa has no clue. Just two consecutive HORRIBLE ABs whiffing when if you put the ball into play you can add on a run. My patience with him is running out very quickly.