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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    1) Buxton is 29 years old, hardly ancient, but the number of players who have better health in their 30s than in their 20s is pretty small. 2) The Twins’ plan for Buxton hasn’t worked because his lower body injuries didn’t improve with he limitations of being a full-time DH. Being shut down for the hamstring injury could possibly improve his other injuries hip & knee) to the point where he can play some in the field. 3) As @chpettit19 has pointed out, the Twins now need to worry about 7-9 weeks of games rather than a majority of the season. 4) Buxton has always been a streaky hitter and he’s been cold much more than hot as the team’s DH. If he gets perhaps another 100 at-bats there might be a period where he is absolutely crushing the ball. Does DHing make him a worse hitter? Maybe, but there was no discernible difference in 2022, the first year when he was used extensively as a DH.
  2. stringer bell
    I think that is a move to be made next year in the off-season.
  3. stringer bell
    Certainly Rooker was never considered an all-around talent like Lewis. Sanó looked like he could be an elite power hitter, but it soon became obvious he had major bat-to-ball contact issues.
  4. stringer bell
    I'm happy for Martin, but there are more major league players returning from IL than there are spots to put them, so I doubt Martin is promoted. While I don't expect the Twins will totally clear a place for him, I think it will affect who the Twins keep and pursue in the off-season.
  5. stringer bell
    Not a Floro fan. Not off to a good start tonight
  6. stringer bell
    Lewis is in a little snag. 0-10.
  7. stringer bell
    Farmer is supposed to crush lefties and has been ordinary so far this year. I hope he picks it up in the last quarter of the season. 2-2 today.
  8. stringer bell
    I wonder how a relay like Correa made works in defensive ratings? Same with outfield arms.
  9. stringer bell
    Frustrating to see Ober fail to finish off all these hitters after getting ahead.
  10. stringer bell
    Bad luck on the Yelich double compounded by a walk after being up 0-2.
  11. stringer bell
    I was just going to criticize Vázquez starting instead of Jeffers.
  12. stringer bell
    Maybe Correa's problem this year has been his bats!
  13. stringer bell
    Regression to the mean for Ober. No one should expect him to carry a sub-3 ERA through an entire season.
  14. stringer bell
    Good on Eddie Rosario. However, as recently as two weeks ago, he had a negative WAR. I saw an article out of Atlanta speculating that he was playing his way out of the Braves organization (for 2024).
  15. stringer bell
    With 13-man pitching staffs, platoons are limited. Pure platoons, where one player always starts against lefties and his platoon partner always starts against right handers are very rare. Much more common is the usage of hitters that get the majority of their starts when they have the platoon advantage. Given their stats for previous years, it would make perfect sense to get Farmer and Solano in the lineup every time against left handed pitching. This is reinforced by the dismal numbers that several Twins left handed hitters have put up against left handed pitchers--Kepler, Kirilloff, Wallner, and Julien. I would add Royce Lewis to the everyday player list and note that the catchers on the Twins alternate. Taylor gets some days off against right handers, but he is also pretty much an every day player. As for pinch hitting early, I agree with @chpetit19 that having an opener does change things and might necessitate an early move to the bench. Outside of an opener scenario, I also recoil when Baldelli goes to the bench in the middle innings, particularly when the Twins are ahead or a superior defensive player is removed. I wish the Twins had a more set lineup where 4-6 guys were always hitting in the same spot, but given their roster, that will not be happening at least this year.
  16. stringer bell
    For those of us old enough to remember, one of the top practitioners of platooning was former Twins manager Gene Mauch. He platooned Rob Wilfong and Bobby Randall, Mike Cubbage and John Castino, Glenn Adams and Jose Morales, Hosken Powell and Bombo Rivera and the list can go a lot longer than that. Yes, the Opener concept throws a wrench into the normal platoon operation, as well. As mentioned above, the "bulk" guy was a right hander and only one other lefty was in the Pirates BP, so Rocco started Luplow and hit him leadoff to assure that he'd get an at-bat against a lefthander. What I predicted in the game thread and still would like an answer to is why Baldelli didn't pinch hit Kepler and move Wallner to left field in the third inning. Kepler has hit very well lately and would be a superior choice over Gallo to hit or field. With all the off days, I don't think he really needed a rest.
  17. stringer bell
    I really don’t want to defend Rocco or Joey Gallo, but even with all the empty at-bats, Gallo has a .751 OPS, which is above league average. He dovetails this positive stat with decent defense. I heard no word on Kepler’s status today. I presumed he was available to play and would hit for the right handed hitting Luplow, with Matt Wallner moving to left field. Baldelli will use all of his position players and Gallo’s skills merit some playing time. Solano has started games at first against right handers. Gallo has been benched against right handers, but situations have allowed him at bats and kept him on the roster. I presume he will eventually be benched or DFAed when more players are healthy. Time will tell.
  18. stringer bell
    I think it was the plan all along. He was going to give Luplow one at-bat against a left hander, that's why he had him leading off. They knew Borucki wasn't going to be in the game too long. Rocco has pinch hit early in games and said things like he wanted to get the favorable matchup even if it was early. I don't necessarily agree with that plan, especially if bringing in a pinch hitter will hurt the defense later in the game. Also, I thought he might use Kepler to hit early and move Wallner to left field.
  19. stringer bell
    Keuchel can't just be sent to St. Paul, he would have to be DFAed and then outrighted. Given he just retired 19 out of 20 hitters in a game, somebody might well claim him.
  20. stringer bell
    That “most reliable reliever” title seems to be a jinx.
  21. stringer bell
    Why? Either Gallo would K or homer.
  22. stringer bell
    From where I was sitting, it looked like the ball hit well out of Wallner’s reach. Taylor was there to back up.
  23. stringer bell
    Hold the lead!!!
  24. stringer bell
    It really doesn’t matter if everyone strikes out behind you.
  25. stringer bell
    One hit since.
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