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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    The left handed hitters did well last night, so the calls for Kirilloff now won't be quite so loud. I guess Nick Gordon should be feeling some pressure about now in that he hasn't played much at all in a week and the two guys that can replace him (Farmer and Kirilloff) are getting healthy. On the pitching side, other than Josh Winder coming off the IL, I can't see a clear choice for a relief pitcher to be added. Whoever he is, that pitcher will probably be working in the next 30 hours.
  2. stringer bell
    Miranda might feel a little nervous if Gallo starts taking ground balls at third. Also, I'm waiting for this Friday's satire piece which should be entitled "Are the Twins too Healthy?"
  3. stringer bell
    Great job by Gray. The offense did enough to win most games. Great formula going forward.
  4. stringer bell
    Oh no! Bases loaded, nobody out.
  5. stringer bell
    Nope. Optioned this afternoon.
  6. stringer bell
    Ober optioned tonight. I think it will end up being Josh Winder added, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to know.
  7. stringer bell
    How many times has a player with a "minor" injury come back and in the first game back that minor injury took them out of the game. Maeda might have gone through a bullpen session just fine, but with 100% effort on every pitch, a gimpy ankle could effect him. That would be a reason to keep Ober around and of course, he could take Maeda's spot in the rotation in that scenario.
  8. stringer bell
    Wolters is hitting very well at St. Paul so far. He's supposed to be the prototypical good glove-no hit third catcher. If he can hit at something resembling league average (in the event of an injury to Jeffers/Vazquez) he would be fine. Long term, I'd love to see a switch hitting or lefty hitting catcher develop to pair with one of the two catchers the Twins currently have, more likely Jeffers since he is only 25.
  9. stringer bell
    I hope the front office is looking everywhere for more relief pitching. The starters have more than met expectations and I feel more comfortable with the assembly line of Jax-Thielbar-Lopez-Duran than I have with any bullpen since the early '00s. The trio of Moran, Alcala and Pagan has been underwhelming. I had hoped for improved performance from at least one of those three, but right now they just aren't trustworthy. The front office built a roster with depth in starting pitching and position players, but I don't see a lot waiting to step up in the bullpen.
  10. stringer bell
    Not a fair statement at all. Willi Castro is a utility guy and he's already played second, short, third and left field, I think starting games at all of those positions. With Kyle Farmer on IL, Willi is the #1 backup at shortstop and third base. Alex Kirilloff won't be a utility guy when he returns from IL or option. Kirilloff has played exactly one nine-inning game since he's been on rehab and has only twice played on consecutive days. We don't know if there is still discomfort, pain or soreness. We do know, the surgery was kind of a last resort, so being cautious with his recovery makes sense. AK mashed two homers yesterday, and today is an off day. He'll most likely be in the lineup tomorrow in Rochester NY and if he keeps hitting and plays in consecutive games, I sure hope they call him up. If it goes slower than that, I wouldn't be surprised to see him optioned to St. Paul.
  11. stringer bell
    ESPN is listing Maeda for Wednesday's start. He's been okay for his two-plus starts. I think it's a bit presumptuous to give Ober a rotation spot based on what has transpired so far this year.
  12. stringer bell
    If I'm guessing, I think they will activate Josh Winder in a couple days. He pitched three innings yesterday, so he won't be available for a couple days I would presume. The Twins options on the 40-man roster due to the 15 day limit on options without injuries were limited to Jordan Balazovic and Trevor Megill. Megill has a 13.03 ERA at St. Paul and Balazovic has been used in the bullpen for really the first time in his career this year.
  13. stringer bell
    Comparing team stats between the Twins and the Yankees is interesting. Despite playing in the bandbox they call Yankee Stadium, the Yankees have only outscored the Twins by two runs and, in fact, they have a lower team batting average. Pitching for both teams has been strong, with the Yankees being slightly better, having allowed seven less runs. They are the third best is strikeouts with 214, the Twins are right behind at 213.
  14. stringer bell
    For the second time in a week, the Twins have chosen to go short in their bullpen. After Headrick threw three full innings and was unavailable, they kept on the active roster and were short on bullpen arms when Maeda went out after two innings due to injury. Today, as of 4 PM, they've kept Ober on the active roster and again will be one arm short in the bullpen as a result. Due to limits on options, they don't have many good choices, but it is a gamble.
  15. stringer bell
    Seeing the offensive numbers for the last few years of Saints players and then seeing them come up to the majors and not perform well makes me wonder if CHS Field is extremely hitter-friendly. Are the ratings for minor league Park Factors as there are for the Big League stadiums?
  16. stringer bell
    Pretty much agree, but Nick did an OK job defensively at second base for the first week of the season for what that is worth and he can play an acceptable center field. That amount of positional versatility might be why Gordon would be preferred to Larnach.
  17. stringer bell
    I might argue that's ... not the worst thing? Obviously Gordon is not as bad as he's looked so far, but even at his best he's sort of an odd fit on this roster – not the 1A starter at any position and maybe not even the top backup anywhere. To me this is the key quote. Nick Gordon isn't really the next man up anywhere. I'd make the case that as a utility player, Willi Castro is superior. Castro is younger, faster and more versatile, especially because he's a switch hitter. Willi probably is what he is as a hitter--substandard with very few free passes--but he plays an acceptable second, short and third as well as all the outfield positions. Nick Gordon as a platoon player on a fair to poor team is about right. I'm not ready to give up on Trevor Larnach, but certainly his leash is getting shorter. He started well for the first week and I thought that maybe he was on the road to establishing himself as a major league regular, then came about two weeks of low productivity.
  18. stringer bell
    With the encouraging news about Alex Kirilloff, a topic that has been talked about off and on is back on. The Twins appear to have four left handed hitting players to man three positions--first base and the two corner outfield positions. Kirilloff and Joey Gallo can play first base and both corners, Trevor Larnach can play both corners and Max Kepler has settled in as a right fielder. Kirilloff and Larnach have options. Gallo and Kepler are both on the last guaranteed year of contracts. So far, Kepler has hit poorly, Larnach has hit better than Kepler and Gallo has done well, while Kirilloff is rehabbing in the minors and hitting very well. What should the Twins do? And what do you think they actually will do?
  19. stringer bell
    Kenta Maeda is apparently good to go for his next start. With that news, the Twins can send Bailey Ober back to St. Paul and add another bullpen arm. However, their choices are limited. Due to the 15-day time limit on an option, Alcala, Woods Richardson, Varland and Sands are not eligible to be recalled at this point. That leaves only two active pitchers in the minors, Jordan Balazovic and Trevor Megill, who can be recalled and are on the 40-man roster. Josh Winder has more than a week remaining in his allotted rehab time, but he could be recalled as well, however he pitched three innings yesterday at St. Paul. The other move the Twins could make would be to clear a 40-man space and recall someone not on the 40-man roster. Sands and Megill would be candidates to be removed from the 40-man and Ronnie Henriquez still isn't pitching and could possibly be moved to the 60-day IL.
  20. stringer bell
    Kirilloff's rehab runs 20 days from April 11, so that would be May 1. AK has an option remaining that could be used and as I noted, he has played on back-to-back days infrequently and yesterday was his first nine-inning game. I would think the Twins want to see him play nine innings on back to back days before activating him. I've been watching Miller's results in box scores for the last week or so. He is doing very well. I think most of the fan base should take a breath when 19-year-olds struggle when playing against older competition.
  21. stringer bell
    One other positive note—this is as healthy as the club has been in a year. Kirilloff and Winder are more than half done with their rehabs.
  22. stringer bell
    I don't think there's much question Varland is ahead of Woods Richardson at this time. SWR is quite a bit younger and still might be the better prospect, but for a rotation spot or a spot start, it is Varland, then Richardson.
  23. stringer bell
    The second homer was the first extra base hit that he pulled in his rehab. To my knowledge, he has played on back-to-back days only once and today was his first nine-inning game. He does have another week allotted for rehab and I wonder if full games back-to-back and more hard-hit balls to the pull side would convince the front office that he is ready.
  24. stringer bell
    Good win! Still not getting much production from the lineup top to bottom. The rotation still looks solid and the four high-leverage bullpen guys look outstanding. A good defensive game is necessary as long as the offense is so hit-and-miss.
  25. stringer bell
    Nice win. The back end of the BP looks outstanding. Nice to have Polanco in the lineup and he did his damage right handed today. Across the river, Alex Kirilloff is 2-3 with two homers and a walk through seven innings. There is another left handed bat pretty close to ready to help.
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