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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    The Twins only struck out nine times in the entire Rockies series. That seems like a throwback to another era.
  2. stringer bell
    Average MLB OPS is between .710 and .720. I believe Kreidler is an asset with a number lower than .700 with his good defense at two of the three most important defensive positions. Provus has mentioned Kreidler's improved bat speed as a major factor in his offensive improvement. Another factor would be a much improved K percentage.
  3. stringer bell
    Gotta like what Kreidler is doing. Since Culpepper hasn’t played in over a week, it is unlikely he’ll be recalled soon. Keep it up Ryan! Clemens keeps producing no matter where he plays. The best news of the day was probably Prielipp’s outing. If he keeps his arm healthy, he might still be something special.
  4. stringer bell
    Whatever happened to Julian Merryweather? Is he still on the IL for St. Paul? IIRC, his injury was a pulled muscle in March.
  5. stringer bell
    I was hoping to see Raya pitch the ninth inning with a nice lead last night. Didn’t happen. Maybe tonight.
  6. stringer bell
    For the season, Funderburk has been a disappointment. He's a case where ERA doesn't tell the whole story. He's been behind on way too many counts and walked way too many guys to have secured an MLB role. That said, his outing yesterday entering with a 7-0 lead was more bad luck than poor pitching. He didn't walk anyone, worked ahead and the two hits he allowed were soft contact. I had to step away and missed what Orze and Banda did, but Banda has been pretty good since April. As far as Orze goes, the lower the leverage, the better he looks. Hard to trust him with any lead in the late innings.
  7. stringer bell
    When the Twins win games like this, with so many players contributing, I really want to believe. However, I also saw the eighth and top of the ninth and that still leaves me unconvinced that the Twins are capable of contending.
  8. stringer bell
    I, for one, was very glad that Ryan Kreidler was playing shortstop for the infield roller with one out in the top of the 10th. He made the play look easy. I've seen a number of Twins infielders make that play look almost impossible.
  9. stringer bell
    I've been a Martin backer at least since he debuted with the Twins. It is great that he grades out so well defensively, after struggling early in his career, but it appears the Twins don't consider him a center fielder at all, which is strange (the numbers back this up SSS). Also, he makes more than his share of mental mistakes like throwing to the wrong base and his value as a base runner hasn't been good despite his good speed.
  10. stringer bell
    It is a pretty small sample size compared to defender who play in excess of 150 games at nine innings per game. Also, I don't know if it is poor fundamentals such as not backing up bases or covering first on ground balls to the right side or if it is gloving balls hit up the middle. The Twins, as a team, have had real problems with their pitchers throwing to bases, particularly on balls in play, but I don't remember Ryan being particularly bad at that.
  11. stringer bell
    Jackson has superior defensive tools to either Caratini or Jeffers when it comes to limiting a running game--stronger arm and quicker pop time. I think it is hard to measure throwing at almost all defensive positions, but particularly catcher.
  12. stringer bell
    Gray and Lee rank dead last in DRS in MLB, with Gray only playing a bit more than half of the innings that Lee has played there. Kreidler ranks neutral, but that is a huge improvement over Gray or Lee.
  13. stringer bell
    These rankings mirror Defensive Runs Saved posted daily by The Fielding Bible, with some minor variations. The Twins "trouble spots" have been pitcher, shortstop, right field and second base. Keaschall has gone from slightly below average to bottom quartile in the last few weeks, with some blooper reel misplays recently. Larnach has gone from a positive DRS to -3. With Martin and Clemens playing right field recently, the numbers for right field have improved dramatically and a shorter term improvement has happened at shortstop with Kreidler getting the lion's share of playing time for the last week. Clemens was on track for recognition at first base, but the move of Lewis there has limited Clemens' playing time there.
  14. stringer bell
    It all really depends on whether the front office wants to pursue making the playoffs this season. The negatives are well documented--bad defense and poor bullpen--and it is unknown if ownership will spend more money. I suspect the team will flounder enough to justify selling. I keep seeing a club ready to fall into the abyss and then extricating themselves. I wonder how many down cycles ownership will see before they see no hope. It is admirable to believe in the players they have. They've played hard on the whole and have stayed in the race despite a number of injuries and disappointments. They've been helped by the mediocrity of the American League where a .500 record could be a ticket to the playoffs. My opinion is that the weaknesses are too much. What is best is to cash in Larnach, Jeffers and Ryan, and perhaps veterans like Bell.
  15. stringer bell
    I think it's safe to say that Keaschall has been a disappointment this season. As a hitter, his extra-base hitting has dried up and he's made a lot of soft-contact outs. He does get on base a fair amount and he's a good base runner, but the fever dream of a .300 hitter with 20 homer and 30 steals isn't happening. Defensively, it seems Keaschall has lapses, maybe it's taking at-bats to the field, maybe it's something else. I've seen enough good plays to say he can more than survive at second base, but I've seen enough bad plays to say without a doubt he needs a lot of improvement. I don't think he should be compared to Arraez. Arraez is a unicorn in 2026 MLB. Nobody makes contact as often, get so many singles as Arraez.
  16. stringer bell
    There is some value there for all of the players mentioned, but not enough to really change the trajectory of this or next season IMHO. There is certainly a replacement waiting in AAA for Larnach--Alan Roden--who is a better runner and fielder and would profile to be Trev's equal (at least) with the bat. I hesitate to use the word "logjam", but Wallner, Mendez, Rodriguez, Jenkins and Roden is a lot of corner outfielder with all but Gonzalez hitting left handed.
  17. stringer bell
    One more 40-man slot cleared with the Voth DFA and they can add Abel to the 60-day IL if they need a second. 😔 As far as the bullpen goes, it would appear Gomez, Morris and Banda are the back end--not great but more often then not capable.The other spots are up for grabs with Fundy entering "last chance" territory. I think Rogers is cooked and that Adams is a best a last man in the 'pen. Congratulations to Raya. He's finally getting a chance after encountering a lot of detours on his way to the majors. Good for him.
  18. stringer bell
    MLB has someone named Klein as the Dodgers’ pitcher. Late change?
  19. stringer bell
    Step One is to get off the injured List. It wouldn’t be out if the question for him to put in a week or so of good play after that.
  20. stringer bell
    Bell has bottom quartile sprint speed, but in the last two days he aggressively took the extra base, scoring on a ground ball single on Saturday and making third and advancing on the overthrow on Sunday. I was surprised he tried both advances and both worked out. Bell has to hit to help the team, but both his defense and base running have been better than I expected. Also, he's hit well with runners in scoring position. He's nearly on a 100 RBI pace. and the club hasn't had a 100 RBI guy since the Bamba Squad.
  21. stringer bell
    I’ll give a serious answer. Culpepper has a first round pedigree, he has plus tools, including both speed and arm strength and he’s improved year over year. There is no guarantee that he’ll be good, but by every measure, he looks like an improvement over the shortstop play the Twins have received thus far. I fully expect Culpepper to struggle some as a hitter and I’m not sure how good he’ll be as a defender. I also think the TD faithful have probably overestimated how ready he is to contribute.
  22. stringer bell
    The Twins are one game back of a Wild Card slot and just 3.5 behind the Guardians in the division. If they are at a similar spot on August 1st, they can't sell can they? Looking back a couple weeks or a month reveal why patience is usually the best answer when it comes to transactions. Josh Bell, Victor Caratini were viewed as bad signings and a waste of money, but now they are key guys in another run of good baseball. Austin Martin was very good for the first five weeks of the season and has hit like James Outman since. Ryan Kreidler was mocked and the Twins were ridiculed for having a player with a lifetime OPS of under .400. The Twins have one of the top two offenses in the AL with no one really standing out other than Buxton. However, you don't have to look too hard to see reasons why they can't sustain good play. Defense and bullpen are not good. Playing Kreidler and the emergence of Gomez help, but half of the bullpen is really not worthy of being in MLB.
  23. stringer bell
    Roden for Martin? I really think Martin is a far better player than Fedko, but Kyle hasn't had much of a chance. Meanwhile Martin's role has been reduced substantially. Back to my wild speculation about Martin. Two lefties are starting for the Dodgers, so I doubt a move in the next couple of days.
  24. stringer bell
    I old enough and old school enough to remember teams with shortstops like Mark Belanger and Eddie Brinkman, guys who batted eighth or ninth, and when they provided offense it was a bonus. Defensively, Kreidler looks the part of a plus-plus defender. As noted above, he's a pretty big guy and when he makes contact he can clear the fence. 90 plate appearances doesn't undo the almost 200 he had with the Tigers, but he has reduced his K percentage and hit the ball harder than he did in any of his three previous seasons, With average defense from shortstop, pitcher and right field, the Twins are an average defense. In those three positions rank them among the worst in MLB. I think Kreidler improves the defense dramatically.
  25. stringer bell
    Platooning has its place, but isn't optimum for the middle infield, where the shortstop and second basemen really have to work together for the infield defense to be at its best. Asking Gray to become the primary shortstop when he was always regarded as an infielder who could play short was a stretch.
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