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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I think that would be Larnach, with Garlick starting against left handed. The Twins made room on the 40-man for him and he has a history of hitting LH pitching. Again, the Twins wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) be concerned about sitting Garlick for days at a time. They should worry about same with Celestino.
  2. stringer bell
    If Buxton returns is Celestino long for the active Twins roster? He would be limited to being a defensive replacement at best from what I can see and I think he needs at bats. The Saints don't have a RH hitting OF on the roster, do they? I suppose if there is another injury to an outfielder Celestino would stay (or return if he is, in fact, optioned). With the cut to 13 pitchers happening, three guys will be sent to St. Paul in less than two weeks (I'm counting on Gray returning to the rotation after a minimum IL stint). So there is more subtracting than adding for pitchers. However, Smeltzer was good in spring training and also so far for the Saints. The Twins staff is RH heavy (no LH starters and only two LH relief pitchers). Even though I don't hold out long-term hope for him, hasn't Smeltzer done well enough to be at the front of the line for non-rostered pitchers?
  3. stringer bell
    As I occasionally do, I checked MLB statistics today. I wanted to see how the team stacked up to the rest of Major League Baseball. Most teams have played about 10 games, so we have an idea of trends, although some things are out of whack. Baltimore has good pitching? Cleveland has the top team BA in the American League? Nah, those things won't last. What about the Twins? Well, with a 4-6 record and and -6 run differential, I figured the Twins would profile poorly on offense and middle of the road on the run prevention side, Here's what I found. Pitching. Far from a disaster, but not league average. The Twins are 20th (of 30) in team ERA and 15th in runs per game. That difference is explained by only allowing three unearned runs despite 8 errors in 10 games. They haven't played any extra inning games and unearned runs really happen there due to the "ghost runner". Other stats--23rd in walks per nine innings, 21st in strikeouts per nine innings, 15th in Opponents Batting Average and 20th in WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched). The starting staff has been better than expected, but the bullpen ERA is over 4.50. This looks like pretty good luck to this point--they're allowing more balls than average to be put in play, walking more than league average and still at the median for allowing base runners and runs. Hitting. The only stat where the Twins are significantly better than league average is home runs. They are sixth in the league in homers per plate appearance. Other key stats--third in strikeouts per plate appearance, 25th in team OPS, 22nd in runs per game. Hitters are more predictable and projectable that pitchers. The Twins have been projected to be a good offensive team, probably enough to make up for their pitching deficiencies and hang around .500, so far that isn't the case. To summarize, it is early. The offense has been a major disappointment, but will improve. Pitching has been better than expected, but there are some number that predict a downturn. After playing three straight 90-win teams (from 2021), the Twins will face a less daunting schedule in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully, the record and stats improve over that time.
  4. stringer bell
    Yes, but a couple of injuries can use up the depth. You didn't mention it Seth, but Palacios played at least two games in the outfield for the Saints this week, probably indicating there aren't many OFs left on the Saints roster with the promotions of Larnach and Garlick. Catching seems to have a bit of a bubble--pretty good prospects in A ball and below, but only two catchers on the 40-man roster. Pickups Cisco and Godoy could probably fill a backup role if there's an injury, but (my guess) the catchers in AA and AAA don't profile to be major league starters.
  5. stringer bell
    The Twins will face starters 4-5-1 in the Kansas City series and will throw their (now) 4-5-1 starters against them. #1 starter for the Royals (Grienke) doesn't throw much harder than Hill, but he has a few more pitches. I think the offense will pick up, but fear a bit of a letdown in the pitching department.
  6. stringer bell
    There is a lot to sort out, particularly with the bullpen. Giving a job to Pagan to close games seems a bit of a stretch, but with Alcala injured, Thielbar (so far) ineffective and Duran quite a question mark (single or multiple innings, can he be used on consecutive days?) I don't know if there are any better options. Most likely, a starter or two will eliminate himself, as well. Glad to see the good work by the starters.
  7. stringer bell
    Hill was out of the game and the Red Sox used all their lefty relievers on Sunday. Kepler hit for Garlick as soon as a right hander came into the game.
  8. stringer bell
    Looking at the pitcher usage, if the Twins can continue to get 6 innings from their starter or long man, they can use three relief pitchers per game and still be used every third day. Coulombe, Romero and Pagán haven’t been used since Saturday and should be ready to go for Tuesday for sure. Duffey, Thielbar and Stashak had today off. Lots of options. The key is to average less than three innings out of the bullpen per game. Edit to add: this is counting Winder with the starters. He and Gray worked 7 innings on Saturday.
  9. stringer bell
    Well, we all knew we should have kept Liam Hendriks.
  10. stringer bell
    He’d probably win a batting title like Moreau and Cuddyer. ?
  11. stringer bell
    I don’t think you can give enough credit to Joe Smith today. Second and third, one out and the heart of the order coming up and he gave them nothing.
  12. stringer bell
    Nine games. Not nearly enough to make final judgments on players. Yes, players like Sánchez, Kepler and Sanó have reinforced doubts about them in the nine games, but I would predict that one of the three (at least) will exceed their production of recent years. I understand the doom and gloom. When a team isn't hitting, their pitching and defense deficiencies are magnified, such as pinch hitting and weakening defense in two positions and using less effective relief pitchers when trailing by multiple runs. It's darn hard to be patient, but that is really what needs to be done. The front office and manager need to decide who to be patient with and who to bench or let go. They have much better information than we do and they know more about baseball. Of course that doesn't mean that they're always right. Alexander Columé is a great example.
  13. stringer bell
    Watched the last half of the Saints game. Chi Chi Gonzalez was effective, as was Megill and Hamilton. That makes me suspect any pitcher. The step between Triple A and the majors could be huge.
  14. stringer bell
    Maybe not so wrong. If he’s healthy and can’t get people out, maybe it’s time to cut bait on Stashak.
  15. stringer bell
    If one thing concerns me, I just don’t see who’ll get key outs out of the bullpen. I wonder if Thielbar’s pixie dust has run out and whether Stashak can regain his 2019 form. Romero really didn’t impress either. Maybe the plan is to try a lot of options and see which ones pan out, but in the meantime watching the struggles is pretty painful.
  16. stringer bell
    Weather is not an excuse to be 3-5, but I think the offense will improve with warmer weather. The flip side is that the pitchers numbers might not good so good a month from now.
  17. stringer bell
    Well, I might be wrong about Stashak. He was recalled to replace Sonny Gray.
  18. stringer bell
    Agree about Vallimont, but the Twins went to the trouble of adding Garlick to the active roster and I doubt they will both demote him and take him off the 40-man roster. I think the next guy would be Stashak, perhaps as soon when he completes his rehab.
  19. stringer bell
    It's early, but oh my! A lot of great offense and plenty of good pitching. I doubt Vallimont is on the 40-man by May 1 and there are candidates to be promoted to the majors, although they would have to be added to the 40-man roster.
  20. stringer bell
    I would expect that Gray is put on the Injured List. 10 days means he only misses one start and the Twins do have an extra starter (two if you count Winder).
  21. stringer bell
    Larnach wasn't pulled for a pinch runner and in fact got a third hit in the ninth.
  22. stringer bell
    Seth, TD ranked Martin as the #1 prospect in the system. You've seen a lot more of him than I or most of the fan base has. How close do you think Martin is to being a big-league ballplayer? Do you think both Miranda and Lewis are closer?
  23. stringer bell
    Yeah, I'd like to know what the evaluation is and what the plan is. If he can help the team in the next year+, I would think it would be as an outfielder. There are four players for the three infield spots (Arraez, Urshela, Correa and Polanco) and two prospects at AAA (Miranda and Lewis). What I am getting is that Martin isn't as close to ready to help this club as I thought.
  24. stringer bell
    With the Twins and St. Paul not playing, not too many top prospects were in action last night. It is nice to see that only three of the prospects are on the injured list and only one on it for a long term. Good to see the Surge get a win and also see Varland pitch well.
  25. stringer bell
    This is a recurring issue. While we see more of it with the home team, I think all teams deal with it to some extent. When do you play through some pain or discomfort and when do you go to the training staff and say "I can't go"? I don't think the Twins have all the answers and I don't think anybody really does.
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