stringer bell

Surprising move by the Astros, but it also shows their confidence in their RH bullpen options. I expect Farmer, Castro and Solano to start against Framber, but otherwise AK, Julien and Wallner will be in there for the duration.

I presume the announcement of active rosters for the ALDS and NLDS is coming within a half hour. Bailey Ober will be added and someone needs to be taken off the active roster. My guess is Funderburk, although it could also be Paddack or Stevenson. Also of note, I believe the Twins have to activate Gordon from the 60-day list today. That will require making space on the 40-man roster. Keuchel and Gallo are free agents with little chance of being activated for coming series.

Terry Felton.

The Astros had a losing record at home this year. Minute Maid wouldn’t figure to be much of an advantage for them.

This is the best choice, without a doubt. It will be interesting to see the active ALDS roster with Ober added.

My view is subbing out Funderburk for Ober and starting the big guy in Game 1. Ober is rested and has been very effective since his time off in St. Paul. I'd start Ryan in Game 4 unless Maeda and Paddack have not been used, in which case they could go with Maeda backed by the Sheriff.

The Twins were behind Cleveland for one day. They were close for much of the time, but the Twins had the upper hand except for the last day before the All-Star game.

Many things went the Twins’ way and yet the two games could have been decided the other way by one swing of the bat. That’s postseason baseball. The hitters are facing the top starters and best bullpen options, so blowouts are unlikely and every run matters. On another matter, Ober is fully rested and could/should be an option for Game 1 of the ALDS. I would prefer he start Game 1 with López working Game 2.

19 years between postseason victories—gone. 21 years between postseason series wins—gone. Next comes the 32 year drought.

His dad was a pro linebacker.

If the Twins are going to make a long run, Stewart coming back is huge.

Congrats!!! I am sure you are enjoying France.

Roster comment: in my mind the last player picked was Funderburk over Buxton or Luplow. I guess we'll see Wallner face lefties (Jays have two lefty starters, at least one should make postseason plus Mayza).

Waiting for the official announcement of the Wild Card round roster.

I don’t think Polanco has been “just fine” at third base, but I think he starts Game 1 there with Julien at second and Correa at shortstop and Lewis at DH. Having Castro and Farmer to fill in later in games is nice. Hopefully, they can have their best defenders protecting a lead late in a game.

I'll add something about Willi Castro. He made two errors in the outfield in 83 games and none in around 50 games in the infield (286 innings). Castro made a number of highlight reel plays in the three positions he played most--left field, center field and third base--but was extremely reliable turning outs into outs. I'm certainly biased but Castro should be strongly considered for a Gold Glove as a utility player.

I don’t think Polanco has been “just fine” at third base, but I think he starts Game 1 there with Julien at second and Correa at shortstop and Lewis at DH. Having Castro and Farmer to fill in later in games is nice. Hopefully, they can have their best defenders protecting a lead late in a game.

Some interesting goals reached or just missed. Joe Ryan had 161.2 innings pitched, just a third of an inning short of qualifying for the ERA championship and rate stats. He also compiled 197 strikeouts, leaving him just short of 200 Ks and denying the Twins of having two pitchers with over 200 strikeouts for the first time in 56 years. Speaking of strikeouts, Pablo López finished just three Ks short of the AL lead. He will face the AL strikeout leader (Gausman) in the opener of the Wild Card round. The team finished with an MLB record of 1654 strikeouts, fifty more than the second-worst team. The rate stat of 27% Ks might be the worst ever, as well. On the flip side, the Twins set a team record and led the majors in strikeouts from their pitching staff. with all five of their principal starters averaging a strikeout per inning or more. Home runs--while Atlanta tied the 2019 Twins all-time homer record, the Twins tied Texas for the AL homer lead at 233. They did this with their top home run guy (Kepler) "only" hitting 24 bombs. They tied a club record with 12 players hitting double-figure homers and two who spent time on the IL (Larnach and Castro) just missing the ten-homer mark. They also tied the team record for grand slams, led by the rookies Lewis (4) and Wallner (2). The pitchers allowed 194 homers, giving the Twins a plus differential of 39. As a staff, the Twins did very well, As mentioned, they led MLB in strikeouts, they also led in Quality Starts. They were fourth in walks and WHIP, and sixth in ERA. The team allowed fewer runs per inning pitched than any team in the American League (tied with Seattle, but more innings pitched) and third overall in run suppression in MLB. Offensively, the Twins were tenth in runs scored and had a very respectable +119 run differential. Their Pythagorean 93-69 record indicates they lost more close game than they should have. Individually, Max Kepler ended up with a very good season. His .260 batting average was his best ever. He challenged his career season of 2019 in OPS, OPS+ and had his second best numbers in almost all of his offensive stats. Willi Castro had a breakthrough as a utility player, starting games in six positions and playing good defense in all of them. He became a force on the base paths with 33 stolen bases. Also breaking through was Ryan Jeffers. Despite playing slightly less than half the time, he put up career highs in every offensive category and improved his OPS to .858, an OPS+ of 134. Pablo López exceeded his career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts and he and Joe Ryan both threw their first career complete game shutout. Sonny Gray finished second in ERA in the AL and threw his most innings since 2015, while leading MLB with an FIP of 2.79. The team finished with 87 wins and rallied to end up 40-41 on the road. They won every series but one in September, but oddly failed to sweep anyone. The Twins finished 19-27 in one-run games, but did win 12 of 20 extra-inning contests.

Careers aren’t a straight line. Austin Martin (at 24) is showing the tools (and production) that made him a top draft choice, while Celestino has stagnated. I wish Celestino well, but I doubt that that the team will regret his DFA.

Are you sure? A Toronto loss would give them 89 wins while Texas and Houston would have 90. The only way the Twins get the Astros is if Toronto ties them in wins.

I don't like the Cubs' chance to hold them homerless for five innings.

Castro with his third bunt hit this month. Put that in your scouting report, Blue Jays.

Rays up 4-0 on Blue Jays. I think it's going to be the Blue Jays vs. the Twins in Round 1.

I believe Suter is the only lefty reliever for the Rockies. The Twins can overload with their left handers now.

Jeffers took a foul ball in the upper leg. I wish they could have a third catcher for today. The Twins will lead MLB in strikeouts, both by their hitters and by their pitchers. They are 24 ahead of Toronto for pitcher strikeouts. Quite a turnaround for a staff that had for years been "pitch to contact".