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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    It’s early. A 4-4 game would change the perception on every position player on the roster. That said, the trends are not good. Trevor Larnach has been among the team’s best hitters, but he should be DHing and he hasn’t done that so far. If Larnach is a platoon LF, then Martin becomes a short-side platoon player. Outman has essentially assumed the Keirsey role, pinch running and playing defense and this year more than last, more is needed from the 13th position player. The definition of base clogging is having Josh Bell, Ryan Jeffers and Victor Caratini hit in succession—three of the slowest runners in MLB and subpar base runners to boot. Ground balls are going to routinely be double plays with those guys. i think Shelton has to decide if he wants Martin to be more of a regular, and if so, what to do with Larnach. Another decision is how much rope to give Lee and maybe Lewis. The pitching staff is a different mess. They don’t have any real late-inning, high leverage guys for the bullpen. There is going to be a lot of shuffling and guys like Funderburk and Banda are going to be asked to get out a lot of good right handed hitters. Abel has not clicked and Ober has only gone four twice in a row. Sim has a small margin for error and Bradley has a history of not living up to his potential and stuff, but he’s been great so far. A lot of puzzles to solve and not a lot of apparent answers. Maybe promoting prospects will provide answers. Contention seems a pipe dream.
  2. stringer bell
    Pitchers, particularly the bullpen, are walking a tightrope because they don't have much talent. 94 mph fastballs are substandard these days and that is about all most of these guys can produce.
  3. stringer bell
    It seems to me that you have to regard the current roster as a team in transition. The fan base will have a much better view of the future after the All-Star break and trade deadline. It is also very evident that the club has changed from a mid-market team to a small market team. Since the "right sizing" comments, the Twins haven't issued multi-year contracts, and haven't pursued players in the top third of salaries. We are looking at a club trying to compete with a real payroll number of considerably less than $100M. Right now as @UpstateNewYorker pointed out, they don't have enough of anything to have an identity or brand of baseball. It is a collection of potential and loose ends with little connection. The addition of the top position player prospects some time this year as well as subtractions might give the team more of an identity. I expect the current group will slog along until those changes are made. The 3-6 start is unfortunate in that several guys the Twins thought reliably could contribute offensively have sputtered out of the gate (Buxton, Keaschall, Jeffers and probably Lewis). With better production from those four, the record could easily be 5-4 or maybe 6-3. Long term, this club has issues that won't permit them to be good--lack of team speed, defensive soft spots and a jigsaw puzzle bullpen,
  4. stringer bell
    I think they were talk in’ ‘bout the six-pack.
  5. stringer bell
    7.5 innings and only 8 Ks. Sorta like the old days.
  6. stringer bell
    Shelton unable to change the trend where the Twins are the absolute worst hitters at the start of the season.
  7. stringer bell
    Nothing since first pitch? Well, not much to comment on, outside of a good outing for Woods Richardson and a Walker solo blast. Late innings tilt the Rays’ way, but 1-1 in the seventh.
  8. stringer bell
    Are you inventing these numbers? I don’t remember Jeffers being charged with a single passed ball.
  9. stringer bell
    Congrats to Buxton on reaching ten years of big league service time. Rogers is next, in two weeks.
  10. stringer bell
    Why do I feel that for every start, Sim is flirting with disaster?
  11. stringer bell
    As long as he's hitting, he could give Lewis and or Keaschall a day off with all the consecutive games coming up. Good for Tristan Gray so far.
  12. stringer bell
    Explains two consecutive non-starts.
  13. stringer bell
    Those were instructions to me.
  14. stringer bell
    "Push the 'submit reply' button once."
  15. stringer bell
    Agree 100% about relief pitchers. Right now, Jax for Bradley looks like an absolute steal for the Twins. A month from now, we might be singing a totally different song.
  16. stringer bell
  17. stringer bell
    I think Caratini is worth the money in what is looking very much like a transition season. It is very possible that he is the primary catcher in four months and he is the most likely person to start at catcher in 2027. That he is an acceptable first baseman gives him a chance to get more plate appearances and blocks no one in the Twins’ system. He won’t win a Gold Glove, but he’s decent behind the plate and he’s been a much better hitter than alternate catchers behind Jeffers. I’ll believe Jeffers catching over 100 games for the Twins when I see it. Having a capable alternate catcher behind Jeffers is necessary and there wasn’t anything in the system to fill the role.
  18. stringer bell
    That is what baseball is supposed to be--a break from daily life, which is often sad and sometimes overwhelming. I'm glad your brother is going to be okay, so the damage was to the vehicle more than him? Best wishes to him.
  19. stringer bell
    Who is this Cody guy? Laweryson? The first baseman/second baseman is Kody Clemens. Is that who you are referring to? It's already sad that his last name is misspelled so often, given his famous father. Apologies for being the spelling police.
  20. stringer bell
    Most of us didn't realize until he was gone that Ty France played a really good first base for the Twins last year. He was especially adept at scooping low throws. Clemens didn't make plays that often are made by first basemen today, but he grades out decently on the defensive metrics, certainly better than Bell. I didn't see Caratini's error last night, but prior to that (SSS) I thought he looked okay at first. He looks okay behind the plate as well IMHO.
  21. stringer bell
    Kind of hate to keep watching, knowing what is in the Twins’ bullpen.
  22. stringer bell
    Okay, I'm a guy who respects anybody that makes it to the big leagues. They play the game better at the top level than I could in high school. I understand it is a long grind of a season so perhaps the mind can wander. That said, what I've seen this year is unacceptable. These are foolish outs on the bases when trying to advance provides little advantage. Josh Bell and Victor Caratini have <fifth percentile sprint speed. Those guys shouldn't be aggressive on the bases. What I'm seeing is a team with some talent that is put together in such a way that the results will be less than the total of their middle-ish talent. The front office didn't address some truly weak spots on the team and the younger players have failed to thrive. It is totally understandable that the Twins are last in MLB in the hope-o-meter.
  23. stringer bell
    I am not saying he should, but I wonder if Shelton will shake it up at all after two poor performances against left handed starters. Tristan Gray had reverse splits (SSS) last year, for instance. I also speculate whether Jeffers will catch in both games when a day game follows a night game. Perhaps Caratini catches one game and Jeffers is the DH, with Bell at first? A lot of guys haven't done much hitting so far. The Twins have only scored more than four runs once and exceeded five hits once in the four games.
  24. stringer bell
    Add these two to Altavilla and Bowman and you have four thirty-something relievers with big league experience. I'm sure the idea is for lightning to strike once or twice and all four guys have something that can give hope, but the likely outcome is release at a predetermined opt-out date.
  25. stringer bell
    The stop-start of early season really makes it hard to evaluate players IMHO. I don't think the current Twins FO and ownership will be that patient and I don't think they should, but I think you have to give it more than a week road trip before making decisions about players. I agree with @Greglw3 that Austin Martin should be given a chance to see if he can be a full-time player and perhaps full-time lead-off man, even though there is considerable talent waiting to play in the outfield corners. The Twins have enough decent right handed bats that they should hit lefties, but so far it's been more of the same. The roster construction remains problematic and although the pitching staff has been okay, I see a lot of danger signs for both the rotation and the bullpen. I said it before the start of the season and I'll say it now, this looks like a poor ball club as composed right now. The lack of enthusiasm for this club is justified.
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