umterp23

$10MM per year roadblock with Vazquez contract will be a problem. Jeffers has adjusted quite nicely and has a solid game all around. Nice problem to have with AAA guy waiting in the wings due to an injury

Camera showed him glancing as he was about 5 strides to the bag and everyone thinks he dogged it out of the box and not running hard. Glance sure, but the odds of beating out a 102.4 barreled ball as the catchphrase goes when you are 6'-4" 235 lb catcher is a blink of an eye close. The fault we could have is that he was aggressive on first pitch fastball down and in vs something a little more over the plate. Not sure the last time I saw him swing at a 1st pitch but I haven't watched every single game of his career. Last man to bat gets all the blame but Jeffers to me has shown he has matured as a batter. Other than Lewis' one hit, Jeffers had the best at bats as a collective in the game. Single first at bat 102.2 off the bat. Drew a walk instead of chasing a couple close pitches in 2nd at bat. 3rd at bat fought off a couple pitches and got hanging slider low and hit it a mile high straight up. Pretty sure Jeffers loves playing the game and was aggressive on 1st pitch in the 9th inning which anyone could say after Castro gets beaned on a sweeper aka as a slider but hey sweeper new catchphrase of '23. I'd say yes. Does Correa, Buxton, Larnach, get the same question walking down the hallway when they K as much as they do, can't hit with runners in position to score or just are hurt to often to play the game the "love". Jeffers is the least of my concern at the moment. FO and their moves and non-moves and Baldelli having no gut clue on managing a game is more concerning. Imagine if Wallner was demoted and Kepler, if still on the team was your bench player to get a lefty vs righty in that moment. But no, we had a Garlick pinch hit for Kirilloff who is batting near .300 and promptly K's and looks awful. So much for the presumed "Lefty Masher". Last guy left on the bench was paper bag hitting Vasquez who not sure has hit a ball over 100mph yet this year. If he grounded into Jeffers DP swing he would be 1/2 way down the line. Tough night for sure, could have stole the game. Love your commentary but one swing and a glance is the biggest issue on this team.

One could argue on Arraez did we get enough impact value in the trade? Lopez in April, yes seemed so. 2 young guys in minors, TBD.

Commentary on Arraez at the time of the trade was he didn't have an everyday position on defense, So yes, still stand by he wasn't a guaranteed starter on defense with the guys that I mentioned. Bad knees, didn't have great range with the ban on shift positioning. Doesn't mean he isn't a great bat to have but he isn't the cog that we were going to be successful with. He lead the AL in batting last year and where did that get us? Didn't win the division, didn't make the playoffs. He is good, not questioning that. We needed pitching and we made the deal. Right, wrong or indifferent - he was viewed as a spare part by FO with young guys on the horizon that are deemed to be better.

Another would of, could of, should of article about Arraez. Great for him that he is hitting .400 at this point of the year. Let's not forget when this trade was made, we had no position for Arraez in the lineup on the defensive side. He was not going to play 1st with Kiriloff & Gallo there. He was not going to play 2nd with Polanco He was not going to play 3rd with Miranda being the heir apparent and how did that work out for us? Great, Farmer held serve until Lewis was ready. He wasn't going to be DH, because FO already promised Buxton to that role due to his always broken, never 100% body. So, one .400 guy isn't changing this offense for one simple reason, we would need 5 other guys to hit behind him consistently. We don't have that. We have 8 other guys who swing the bat. We rarely move guys over, hit behind guys, protect with 2 strikes kind of guys. Arraez isn't a base stealer, doesn't have great power but can pop one out every once in a blue moon. Pitching has put us in the position we are in to date this year and I don't think Arraez gives us but 1 or 2 more wins to our total and that is a maybe. Happy for him, but he isn't here, so time to move on.

Rays are the best team in baseball. So, yes result was to be expected and the Twins have their faults. All stats lead to a slow death by 1,500 K's the rest of the year, but everyone has to play the Rays. So good for us to get this over with early in June

completely empty must have a new definition. granted it shouldn't be this bad, but I get your point

I'd give up Miranda in a heartbeat since he has no defensive position and give up a high AA/AAA Pitching arm. Pretty sure not enough but poke the bear. Austin Martin? Woods-Richardson? Are they fits here?

Wallner vs Kepler, and Twins chose Kepler and sent Wallner down vs keeping Wallner and putting Kepler on the bench as utility. Roster crunch sure but Gallo went IL, should be putting Buxton or Correa on IL to get them rest vs having one/two bench players while we wait for "Super Stars" to show up. Wallner has nothing left to really prove at AAA, let him earn his learn or fly in RF.

What I find interesting is that they gave up on Garver at age 32 but signed Vazquez at 32 for $10MM a year. Yes needed a catcher but it does appear to be an severe overpay at the moment. Last 8 games is 2 wins and 6 losses as the starting catcher. Jeffers is 5-0 in his last 8 as the starter.

simulated of course... Miranda may be one hit wonder and he really has no defensive position. Celestino isn't a full time CF. Pagan isn't a good sweetener but can't hurt. If they want lanarch, would do that as well. Just don't buy that he is a good fit for us long term.

Spot on Riverbrian, spot on.... Correa told Buxton be the DH. Buxton told Correa swing and miss like Sano. They traded frequent mall shopping buyers cards for cologne all while laughing when they get their direct deposit of a paycheck each month. Turning it on. Correa 0-5 in Twins win vs Astros with Lewis and Jeffers being clutch. Buxton not in the lineup for the win, but I heard he is on pace for appearing in 90% of the games this year! Whoop-de-do. Almost $45MM a year for these two and we have to allow them to play themselves into better shape into June each year. What a bad commentary of let's write another feel good article and would of, could of. Can't wait to see the next Arraez article.

Buxton is breaking out as an everyday DH and, more importantly, staying in the lineup with a relatively outstanding bill of health as evidenced by his ability to play in 90% of games so far this season. One of the funniest parts of the article, comparing Buxton to full time DH's and saying he is breaking out! Breaking out the K stick is more like it. FO didn't sign him long term to be a full time DH. He has better chance of getting hurt at DH as he does playing in the field. Playing in the field, running, throwing the ball and mentally staying in the game keeps your body loose and muscles engaged. Walking to the plate and 45 seconds later coming back to dugout is not influencing the game. On pace for 90% of the games this year is so false of a statistically measure of his importance. 4 at bats that may last 5 minutes if he never touches first base and 150 minute ballgame and he influences the game 0.0333% of his appearances. Game changer of a player, absolutely not day in and day out. He is doing his best Sano impersonation. So let's say he rips a double down the line in his last at bat of the game after sitting the bench for 2 hours, good chance he can pull a hammy and break a finger with his ugly sliding techniques. DH is tougher than playing the field due to lack of concentration by watching the game vs playing a full game. 90% pace is a kids participation trophy at best

If Maeda comes back soon enough, send him to the bullpen. Allow him to get back up to strength vs 3-4 inning start in the rotation.

One game doesn't make a season, but it does initiate confidence for Julien, Castro & Wallner. So let's say we need bullpen help at the deadline and these guys are continuing really good play, do we dangle Miranda, Larnach, Pagan and Jorge Lopez to see what we can grab? Not opposed to it but Twins have to be in win-now playoff mode. Just me enjoying a Sunday morning thinking out loud

%'s to describe something over 100% is worthless. The max you give on any given day is guess what 100%, not anything over that. Plain and simple if he confident and ready to go, then he is 100%. If not, then he can say less than 100%. Glorified % doesn't mean anything. If he is ready, throw him in the lineup.

I would part ways with Miranda in a heartbeat. His defense is offensive and his offense is just as offensive. He doesn't have a home defensively and with Buxton being full time DH, where does he fit long term. Not sure he does. Miranda, Kepler and Lopez for Hader? not sure it is enticing enough. Throw in Wood-Richardson as well.

This team very well could be in 2nd or 3rd place by end of May and snowball to KC level by July. Team as a whole has no plate discipline to put any pressure on opposing pitchers or their defense. Swing and miss or caught looking, Twins are excellent at it. Managerial musical chairs of a lineup day in and day out is quite laughable. Bullpen pitches in tight sphincter moments every game and with no rest for the weary or room to give up a one or two runs. We have 13 batters and 0 Hitters on this team. Blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then, so maybe we have one good hitter in each game, but I'd be hard pressed to find one. 485K's on the year confirms he have plenty of swingers. The Moran experiment, when will we move on from this guy? Not soon enough.

1 run or 10 runs doesn't matter, just need one more than the other team and it is a W. A couple breaks here and there and the road trip is 5-1 or at least 4-2. Umps gave the home teams a couple favorable calls vs Dodgers and Jeffers gets rung up on pitch outside with bases loaded which then has Gallo having to protect anything close late in game yesterday. We benefit from time time and when we don't always seems to be in the wrong spot. Time to move on and keep battling. Correa has to turn into something more than he is, which at the moment is an 80 lb lighter weight version of Sano. No matter what the count is, his swing is so long and not quick at all and then he stares at the ball once he hits or stares at the video screen to see himself K again walking back to the dugout. Farmer sure has stepped up in a big way on left side of infield. Glad we have him. Go Twins

Buxton CF Train retreating back into the station. It never left the station to begin with.

Gordon getting injured (not a fan of injuries or losing time because of it for any player) but is a good thing for the Twins at this time. He just wasn't hitting like he did last year, pretty simple when you look at .176 avg, .319 slugging & .504 OPS. Yes, he helps in pitching matchups by playing some CF but doesn't have a strong arm to play that position. So tough that he suffered an injury but could be a good thing for us in long term with limited value in positions compared to others.

The Buxton experiment as I keep calling it to myself, truly has created a trickle down effect of position players. Still not buying that can't play CF mantra spewed by FO, as clearly they didn't extend him handsomely to be just the DH. With that being said, I'm not sold on Gordon as part of the future plans to man CF consistently on daily basis. Taylor has acclimated himself very nicely in that role. Come Mid-June, if Buxton isn't playing some in OF, then Lewis has to be looked at again there. Farmer is more than capable of staying at 3rd to Lewis if ready can spell him on his needed days off. Castro has surprised me some here lately and gives the team a multi-position backup. Miranda is the wild card and only for his hitting if he gets back to last year. Off-season he would be a nice trade bait option because he is no matter what a liability in the field.

Farmer a really good story for the Twins this year. I know people are clamoring for Lewis to take 3rd in June, but if Farmer keeps playing the way he is, why bump him off the bag? Castro under the radar type of contributor and Solano has his moments. Do we try and trade Gordon for minor league prospect if we bring Lewis up? Tough decision and but nice to have to make one vs a necessity move because guys aren't worthy.

My understanding of the challenge is that the electronic call can overturn a bad human umpire call, thus the challenge capability exists in the minor leagues at select levels and games to work out the kinks. While yes umpires had their moments last night of being awful, let's not forget that we were 4-17 with RISP. If we could have come up clutch prior to the extra inning opportunities we wouldn't have to worry about umps getting in the way. Tough road ahead, character of the team will be on display tonight

Vazquez superior defense isn't that superior and for game calling, how do we measure something like that? I have no idea. In the other post about Jeffers, I summarized it as such for games they have started: So everyone makes it sound like Vasquez is so much better than Jeffers on defensive side and or calling a game: Vasquez - 15 wins / 12 losses as starting catcher, 8 assists, 2 DP's, .986 Fldg %, 4 - 18 caught stealing for .222 CS %, ranked 18th in MLB in catching defense category Jeffers - 10 wins / 8 losses as starting catcher, 5 assists, 2 DP's. 1.000 Fldg % - 5 - 12 caught stealing for .417 CS %. ranked 14th in MLB in catching defense category So it looks like Jeffers isn't as crappy as majority think on the non-hitting side of the position. Quality backup that has given way to a $10MM starter. Jeffers has earned more playing time than just being a get-away day catcher as he is positioned now. By no means is he the weakest link or catcher position is weakest link on the team at the moment. For some reason wins don't add up to team total so maybe Vasquez had a DH spot in there somewhere. One can say small sample size for Jeffers but he hasn't been brutal behind the plate. Calling the game is part of the battle, pitchers executing is the other half based on pitch selection. Go Twins!