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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Jeffers made an absolutely perfect throw today to nab a base stealer. I haven't seen many throws like that from him. If his throwing improves, I think he's pretty solid as a defender.
  2. stringer bell
    The score was 5-1. What is the "backend" of the bullpen? To me, the backend is the highest leverage guys. Yes, like most every team, the low leverage guys are not sure things to do their jobs. Alcala struggled with control, but shows good velocity and he has had success with his breaking pitches. I'm not terribly disappointed in his performance, Pagan is going to be a lightning rod for criticism as long as he is with the Twins. Moran needs to avoid walks and work ahead in counts to make that changeup a put away pitch. Mahle was certainly not great, but gave up a bunch of soft contact hits, two to Abreu, an infield roller by Dubon and the broken bat two-run single to McCormick. The homer went 354 feet, not exactly a moonshot. That's four straight starts of six innings or more for the starters. Getting the lineup healthier and more productive has to be priority number one.
  3. stringer bell
    Boy, I didn't think there was any problem with game-calling in '22. I thought Twins' pitchers overall overachieved considering the talent level.
  4. stringer bell
    It appears that Correa needs a day. Gallo is nicked up. Jeffers has started every third game (and hit very well), so this is a "B" lineup, throwaway game? You go with what you have and this is the best the Twins can do today. The alternates this year are pretty good players. I'm not delighted they are playing as much as they are, but injuries happen. I don't want to make this personal, it isn't, but there's honest criticism and there's falling back on wildly stretched narratives. No manager goes out and tries to lose a game. No manager goes solely on printouts and spread sheets, etc. It's really hard to beat a good team three times in a row and the Astros are a good team. I hope a couple of guys can do damage against Hunter Brown, whoever he is. Mahle needs to pitch deep and well.
  5. stringer bell
    Devin Smeltzer is back in the major leagues. His contract was selected today by the Marlins.
  6. stringer bell
    Dereck Rodriguez is one of the few Saints pitchers to have worked successful multiple innings so far. While he's not on the 40-man roster, in terms of performance perhaps the Twins should be giving him a look. He was also pretty effective in Spring Training for what it's worth.
  7. stringer bell
    Luis Arraez in games won by the Marlins: .167 BA, .542 OPS In games lost by the Marlins: .542 BA, 1.202 OPS
  8. stringer bell
    After eight games the Twins lead all of MLB in strikeouts. That is, their pitchers have struck out more hitters than any other team. Unbelievable.
  9. stringer bell
    I think the Twins good start and the obvious stuff that Moran has give him a pretty long leash. That said, I doubt we’ll see him in a late-and-close situation for a while.
  10. stringer bell
    Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball?
  11. stringer bell
    Nice win and the complaints about offense will abate (until tomorrow). Farmer and Solano are showing their worth, I just hope they aren’t full time players until May. Every player has at least one good plate appearance. Jovani Moran is about halfway to an all-expenses paid visit to Minnesota’s capital city. He certainly isn’t working his way into high-leverage opportunities.
  12. stringer bell
    I'm certain that Kirilloff will go on rehab assignment and that will be his proving ground as to whether he can help the team. The team believes he will hit if healthy (and so do I) and he'll have to prove it in the minors. If he's not driving the ball, they will option him. Larnach, to me, is a better player than Wallner right now--superior in the field, makes better contact, and evidenced by this year, much more selective. Maybe Wallner develops more skills, but he's not a finished product IMHO (despite his relatively advanced age for a rookie). I'd like to see Julien, but my guess is he won't get recalled until he can be the DH. If it's May and Buxton is playing center field, that might be his chance.
  13. stringer bell
    Reported elsewhere, Matt Wallner recalled, Kepler on the 10-day IL.
  14. stringer bell
    Thanks! Good stuff RB! Here is how I see it: The Astros and Yankees are good teams and probably will win more than 90 games, most likely somewhere around that 60% mark. During the season, they'll struggle sometimes and they'll play very well sometimes. Right now, neither team is playing that well. On Opening Day, the Yankees had three projected starting pitchers and nine total players on IL. They'll probably add JD today. The Astros seem to be in a post-championship funk. Their pitching in particular has allowed more hits than innings pitched, a marked departure from last year. It would appear to me that now is an ideal time to play both teams. Winning 40% of the games against New York and Houston should be the floor! The Twins' pitching can't and won't continue at the level they've started, but this is a good group. Except for Duran, there isn't one essential arm that isn't largely replaceable. I would like to see the Twins more than hold their own for the rest of the month and I think they will.
  15. stringer bell
    Agree that blocking pitches is important. Supposed defensive star Maldonado probably cost the Astros the game yesterday with three “wild pitches”. Mostly due to outstanding pitching, the running game hasn’t hurt the Twins, but some teams really have put their foot on the gas when it comes to stolen bases. We shall see.
  16. stringer bell
    If Ronnie Henriquez gets healthy, he could be a candidate as well. He’s throwing at Fort Myers, but hasn’t faced hitters yet according to the last injury report. Henriquez, Winder and Headrick are on the 40-man making their promotion easier.
  17. stringer bell
    He’s probably not an everyday player at 35 with limited power and so-so defense, but one can do worse than plug in a guy who has a fair to good chance of hitting singles against anybody
  18. stringer bell
    IIRC, Jax was up 0-2 when he threw the change ups. Adding another pitch for hitters to be aware of is probably a good thing. Ahead 0-2 (and 1-2) is probably as low-leverage as he will be in. As for Jorge López, the Twins now have had time to consider what might enhance his pitch mix. He’s looked very good so far.
  19. stringer bell
    It seems to me that the Twins are playing the White Sox, Astros and Yankees at the right time. Houston has struggled so far, the Yankees have a bunch of guys on the IL and the White Sox pitching staff is close to in shell shock.
  20. stringer bell
    I thought he could have caught one or both of the balls that went over his head. It takes more than a great arm to be a great outfielder. If that's all it takes, Cuddy would have had gold gloves to go along with his silver bats.
  21. stringer bell
    Gray got the win in his first start.
  22. stringer bell
    Here we go with the injuries. Those soft tissue muscle injuries are notorious for healing slowly.
  23. stringer bell
    “Here Comes Opportunity”
  24. stringer bell
    Six games is not nearly enough to be making pronouncements about a baseball season. I like some things about the club, but see plenty of potential flaws. Time will tell. The schedule gets tougher, but the team will be at home. Let's see how they do.
  25. stringer bell
    You're right, it's much too early to be making such pronouncements. As far as can be seen in the future, the Twins will only face one left handed starter in the first 15 games or so. Doesn't it make sense to get all the right handers who do have superior splits against left handers in that one lineup? Given how short benches are anymore, it is really tough to have strict platoons. Yes, Solano did hit for Gallo in Game One of the season (and got a hit!), but he hasn't replaced him against a lefty reliever since. He might at some point depending on the situation. Solano was a better bet to make contact and drive in a key second run when he hit for Gallo in KC. Regarding Gallo playing first base, getting the best offense in the game versus right handed pitching wouold have Gallo in the game and he's not a terrible first baseman and incidentally is a great target (6'5"). I would argue the the two choices at this time (with Kirilloff and Polanco both on IL and Buxton as the DH), the best offensive alignment is having Gallo at first base. I don't love it, but it is the best situation overall. Gallo might be a better left fielder than Larnach (not by much), but Larnach has never played first base professionally. I don't think Gallo is any better in the field than Kepler as a right fielder and certainly is not a better center fielder than Taylor.
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