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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Duran's usage hasn't been the pure closer role that we see for most teams with a top arm. He's worked multiple innings several times and come in before the ninth on occasion. Baldelli probably would use him more traditionally if he had more arms that he could count on. Because of this, Duran hasn't put up the kind of save numbers other relievers have put up. That doesn't make him less dominating.
  2. stringer bell
    Ryan would be a candidate to replace someone, but he is scheduled to pitch on Sunday.
  3. stringer bell
    K% is a better indicator than raw strikeouts. If a team gets through their order five times (45 PAs) and Ks 10 times, it is a 22.2% K rate, about league average. I always get peeved when Bremer quotes strikeouts percentage per at bat as it should be pegged to plate appearances. Percentage of games with 3 runs or more and 4 runs or more would be interesting as well.
  4. stringer bell
    Larnach is really going well right now, as is Wallner and it happens to correspond with upticks from Gallo and Kepler.
  5. stringer bell
    It doesn’t seem to matter if the Twins are facing 4A starters or All-Stars. They’ve handled Gausman and Strotman, attacked Williams and got Pressly to blow a save. They’ve been shut down by a number of no names. No team is on top of their game every day and the Twins had at best, a mediocre, inconsistent first half. If they can look like they did today in 70 of the last 77 games, they’ll be just fine.
  6. stringer bell
    I wouldn’t object to adding a major league arm or two in the bullpen, but right now with López, Thielbar and Stewart all on IL, simply dumping Pagán won’t happen. It could be a bumpy ride until the All-Star break. There isn’t much help available in St. Paul and teams usually don’t make significant deals until closer to the trade deadline.
  7. stringer bell
    Only one game, but more evidence there is an effort to make contact with two strikes and to use the whole field. Seven Ks in 39 PAs is not bad. I wonder if they'll use Jax tomorrow after he got up to throw twice (and pitched on both Saturday and Sunday). I think everyone but Duran will pitch if needed tomorrow with Maeda taking the ball. The chances of him going as much as six innings are pretty remote.
  8. stringer bell
    I expected that there would be mostly pushback from a pro-Rocco piece at this time. The prevalent thought among those posting was that the manager and front office should be fired and that they are responsible for the underwhelming below .500 record. I was hoping for something significant, but really the Twins need to go with the position player roster they have, for now. I think there were signs in the Baltimore series that better times are ahead. Both Correa and Buxton hit the ball hard and reduced their strikeouts in Baltimore. The key to the Twins' offense going forward will be increased contributions from those two guys. I thought there were better at bats from several players and that the team hit in poor luck (and good defense from the Orioles). Three games does not a season make, and the ship can't be turned around on a dime. This roster is loaded with high strikeout guys and they've been slow to making adjustments to getting balls in play. Will there be more contact, better two-strike hitting and more hits with runners in scoring position? If there isn't, the Twins won't win the woebegone Central Division and one of the team's all time best starting rotations will have been wasted.
  9. stringer bell
    López has provided a lot of innings and that alone has value. His underlying metrics are as good or better than his previous seasons and yet his ERA and runs allowed are up. It would make sense for things to normalize, but sometimes they don't over the course of a year. Some guys constantly underperform their metrics (ex-Twin Ricky Nolasco comes to mind), but usually things do normalize. As long as Pablo stays healthy, I would expect his W-L and ERA to improve.
  10. stringer bell
    Congratulations to former Twins Luis Arraez, Yennier Canó and Brent Rooker. All are All-Stars—Rooker and Canó were named today, Arraez was elected to start.
  11. stringer bell
    In another thread, there was reference to a tweet pointing out how great the Braves offense this month. I looked a little deeper and eight players started every game, with the catchers splitting the ninth position. That’s hard to fathom.
  12. stringer bell
    Miranda is in the Twins’ starting lineup, playing third, hitting seventh. Pretty much makes it official that Lewis on the IL and Miranda recalled. Verified on the Twins’ mlb.com website.
  13. stringer bell
    Pretty harsh take on Ober and the front office. Every pitching staff suffers injuries in the course of the year. Having seven acceptable starting options is the bare minimum and has been proven by the Twins with the injuries to Maeda and Mahle. Ober was known to be a quality starter but there wasn't room at the very beginning of the season and he could be optioned, so he was.
  14. stringer bell
    So, Miranda for Lewis. Time to give the young man another chance, I suppose. Matt Wallner probably is saying "what do I have to do?" but it would be hard to get him at-bats.
  15. stringer bell
    Not a depressing win outside of the injury to Lewis. Ober, López, Gray, Ryan and Maeda really do give the club a chance every time out.
  16. stringer bell
    I looked at June stats for both the Twins hitters and pitchers, in a losing month. Probably the most damning statistic was the strikeout disparity--275 for the hitters vs. 233 for the pitching staff. In the course of an entire month, things level out a bit. Surprisingly, Willi Castro only had a .555 OPS in June, worse than any of the usual suspects--Gallo, Kepler, Buxton or Correa--for the month. Just not outstanding production from the corner outfielders or first base. Of course, the guys with the big guaranteed contracts continued to underproduce. Yes, they can part with a Gallo or Kepler and probably get similar production from Wallner, but for real improvement for the rest of the year, Buxton and Correa need to be closer to the top of their game than the bottom. The team ERA for June was just over 4 for the month, certainly not terrible. Ryan and Gray regressed to the mean and López continued his mediocre results despite better than that advanced metrics. The starters ate innings with the exception of Maeda and Varland. The bullpen was pretty good with the exception of Jorge López. If the Twins can continue to pitch with around a 4 ERA, it should be good enough to be above .500 for the next month. Speaking of the next month, the schedule looks pretty .....soft with the exception of the Orioles. Baltimore is the only team that currently has a winning record on the Twins July schedule and the Twins play nine games against Oakland and KC.
  17. stringer bell
    Well, today we can turn the page, to July. It is an incredibly long season. The Twins spent the majority of the first half trying to push back against the rule changes and win games with the three true outcomes approach. They've been blessed with good health with their top four starters and bullpen ace, making them competitive despite a woeful offense. I think there's enough talent to be better in the second half offensively. Let's hope that some hitters make adjustments to have a more consistent offense.
  18. stringer bell
    Still too many strikeouts (11 in 43 PAs), but it seemed a couple guys tried to go oppo with two strikes and there was 2 strike hitting and hits with RISP. The guys who have been singled out for poor hitting (Gallo, Correa, Kepler and Buxton) all had good games. Carry it over for a week guys and build some good habits.
  19. stringer bell
    Starting lineup is posted and both Kepler and Gallo are in there, as well as both Correa (leadoff!) and Buxton (3rd), so it appears no player transactions will happen. I guess we'll see if there is a better effort. I don't want to say that the effort hasn't been there all year. It is hard to appear engaged when walking back to the dugout after a strikeout. I think there is a real need to adjust their approach. Tonight's starter for Baltimore averages less than a strikeout per inning--maybe the team should also strike out less than once per inning.
  20. stringer bell
    Maybe this is nit-picking, but I would dispute the word "destructive". The Twins subtracted an All-Star level hitter and added an above average starting pitcher. Both players have injury histories. The two positions that Arraez would have played have been filled by Polanco/Kirilloff/Julien, who have been among the better hitters on the team (certainly not on the level of Arraez). I don't think the trade "destroyed" anything and still could wind up to be a positive. The results thus far have certainly benefited the Marlins, but the season is only half over.
  21. stringer bell
    I agree with a couple of criticisms of Carlos Correa. He doesn't bust it down the line on ground balls which is a bad example to the non-established players on the club. Most players don't run as hard as they can on routine grounders, maybe they are conserving energy or trying to avoid injury, but it's not a good look. Correa is also really slow home to first, with a big swing where his momentum is pointing away from first base, which contributes to his high GDP rate. Correa's attempts to be a team leader are fine, but he has to back it up on the field and aside from a couple of big late-inning homers, he has hurt the team in those opportunities. He's only 28 years old and like both Buxton and Polanco, seems to play like he's much older. Less than a week ago, I saw he was still wearing a back belt in the dugout--perhaps that injury and his plantar fasciitis have hindered him so that he's been this bad.
  22. stringer bell
    I very much fear that day will never come. If he had knee surgery in October and eight months later, he can't play center field, I think it is more likely he'll never play center field again than he'll be back out there five or more days per week.
  23. stringer bell
    I wouldn't think that Kirilloff's injury woes are over. If he can get through the season with a minimum of discomfort, then he might be able to consider the injury as in the past. I do wonder if the strength in the wrist is such that he can't drive the ball as he did previously. So far any discomfort he has experienced is not keeping him out of the lineup and that is huge progress. As pointed out above, AK's hitting for the month of June is subpar. Walks are down, strikeouts are up and hits have been scarce with extra base hits pretty rare. I think the lack of hard-hit balls and extra base hits might be what Alex is at this stage in his delayed major league career. He has just not done much to balls on the inside of the plate that many lefty hitters punish, but it might be an adjustment he can make in the second half of this season. I don't think Kirilloff has been underused so far since he was recalled. He has been spotted against lefties and frankly hasn't looked much better than any of the other suspect left handed hitters. I still expect him to flourish both in general and against southpaw pitching as the season continues as long as his wrist cooperates. AK will turn 26 in the off season and his development has clearly been delayed by injury. If he is past the wrist miseries, I still believe he will be a far above average hitter, if not elite. His approach is superior to almost the entire team. As with the entire team, it is exhausting to be patient, but I think Alex Kirilloff will be worth the wait.
  24. stringer bell
    Great analysis Nick. The meager contributions of Correa and Buxton are a huge factor in the team’s poor record. The performance of the pitching staff has been outstanding. Willi Castro has helped the team and is a big surprise. I suggest that at least one on-field personnel move and one in the coaching staff needs to be made. I can’t fault Rocco for failing to have a regular lineup. It is a function of how the team is built and who has contributed thus far.
  25. stringer bell
    I couldn’t agree more Ted. The deeper one looks into López’ stats, the more the record and ERA look like outliers. The key is health. If López stays healthy, the Arraez trade will look better and better.
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