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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Assuming that the position players return on schedule and without further incident, Godoy, Kirilloff and Lewis would be optioned to St. Paul in that order IMHO. There just won’t be enough playing time for Lewis if all but Sanó are healthy. Kirilloff needs to hit, but he could force the Twins to choose between himself, Garlick and Celestino.
  2. stringer bell
    I guess you’re right, but they haven’t lost anyone to a DFA since the season started. My bad.
  3. stringer bell
    Overall, the Twins haven’t played as well as when they were on their seven game winning streak. They aren’t hitting or fielding as well as they were. Probably, that is a function of playing call-ups and backups. They have had the good fortune of playing Baltimore and Oakland. Outside of Bundy and Pagán, the pitching has been solid. Again it helps to be playing the O’s and A’s. I keep seeing a roster crunch on the horizon and it never comes. Buxton is supposed to be back midweek, Larnach and Garlick are supposed to be on the IL for the minimum duration and if they are back, there might not be room for Celestino, but I’ll believe it when I see it. The same for the 40-man roster. Sanó could be transferred to the 60-day list and Vallimont has not performed well enough to continue to be protected. Yet, the Twins haven’t made changes in their 40-man and almost every MLB team has.
  4. stringer bell
    I think Wallner is still in line to be a functional major league player. I’ve seen a couple of good throws from him and he has major league power.
  5. stringer bell
    From the time he was optioned, the Twins were saying that he was on track to pitch in games in May.
  6. stringer bell
    Balazovic allowed seven base runners in 3.2 innings, but kept them off the board. SWR allowed six in 5.1, but four of them scored. Just glad to see these top prospects playing games and getting reps.
  7. stringer bell
    Thielbar, Duffey, Smith, Stashak and Pagán could all go tomorrow. Also, I’m wondering how likely the game is to be played.
  8. stringer bell
    Wallner and Miller have had nice weeks. I think Wallner’s upside is more than Rooker.
  9. stringer bell
    Okay, I was wrong and they will have to go with 40-man guys. That will limit the replacements. There is a possibility that they might move Sano to the 60-day list or maybe take Vallimont off the 40-man and add someone from off the current list.
  10. stringer bell
    Sanó is not on the 60-day list yet. Players brought up for COVID list players do not have to be on the 40-man roster. If the don’t want to mess with Lewis, Palacios could be a good choice. Smeltzer for Bundy makes sense.
  11. stringer bell
    Not mentioned was the five double plays hit into last night. They lost another base runner when Sanchez was hit by Celestino's line-drive single, that would have plated a run. The Twins were 8-28 for the game and only had three at-bats with runners in scoring position. Sometimes, it is not your day.
  12. stringer bell
    Bundy is a key to this in the first half of the season IMHO. He’s pitched great, but the lack of velocity makes his margin for error really small. I don’t know how he will hold up over a full season, but I was impressed by his adjustments after getting ambushed by Tampa Bay.
  13. stringer bell
    Let’s just have a little context for Joe Ryan. He’s a rookie. Who looked very promising last year and has followed it up with outstanding performance so far this year. Bremer and particularly Morneau seem ready to put him in Cooperstown based on less than 10 starts. Last night’s start was okay I guess, but he allowed a lot of base runners and threw a fairly high number of pitches in a pretty short start. Jeffers is what, 24 years old? He catches a good game and has good power. There are not going to be a lot of homers to left and left-center at OPCY when the wind is blowing in.
  14. stringer bell
    No question that Duran has great stuff. Can he go back-to-back? Will his arm hold out? Do the Twins want to put him in the bullpen permanently? Will they consider using him for two-inning saves?
  15. stringer bell
    It seems to me that it is on Kirilloff to make his way back to the Twins. While he hasn't been optioned, if he doesn't perform in his rehab, it seems that he certainly will officially send him down to St. Paul. Kirilloff needs to recover physically and mentally.
  16. stringer bell
    Disagree. Kirilloff had played precious little left field and when he and Larnach manned the corners, Alex was in right and Trevor in left. Neither guy is reputed to be a great outfielder, but Kirilloff has played plenty of first base and is solid there. Overall, Larnach is decent in the OF and with experience might become above average IMHO. Kirilloff is probably going to end up at first base.
  17. stringer bell
    Martin left the Wind Surge game early. Any report on that?
  18. stringer bell
    TBH, no I don't trust any of them more than what the Twins have. I think the Twins should think about trading a prospect for a proven relief arm, ideally a lefty. This would be particularly true if Alcala comes back healthy and effective and Duran continues to wow everyone while staying healthy.
  19. stringer bell
    Twins fans can take a breath and be very satisfied with where the squad is in the standings and how well they have played in the last 10 games. A 9-1 record in the last 10 games tends to relieve our anxieties. However, I think it is human nature to find something to worry about. Befitting the Twins 13-9 (good, not great) record, there are things to worry about--Miguel Sano's poor start, unsustainable success from youngsters and reclamation projects in the starting rotation and, of course, injuries. My greatest concern is the back end of the bullpen. With the expanded rosters, the bullpens have been both used more and used differently in April. The roster will be reduced by two today and pitching staff will be limited to 14 after today's game. So far, the disappointments have been confined to veterans. Tyler Duffey failed in a save opportunity and took a loss when he entered a game in the middle innings with a lead and gave it up. Caleb Thielbar has strung together several poor outings, featuring his lack of command--both walks and falling behind in counts--and although his numbers are okay, Emilio Pagan has given up a lead and had two ulcer-inducing saves as the de-facto closer. The title of this blog entry points out that all three of these guys are over 30. I do want to point out that two other 30+ bullpen guys have been very good--Danny Coulombe and particularly Joe Smith. I think that the track records of Pagan, Thielbar, and Duffey will allow their manager and pitching coach to give them some rope. Duffey and Thielbar started slowly in 2021, but performed better as the season went along. Pitching for San Diego, Pagan went the other way, as did practically the entire team. Duffey and Thielbar haven't closed games regularly. Pagan saved 20 games for the 2019 Rays and seems to be the preferred option for the manager right now. It doesn't make sense to me to trust any of these guys unconditionally at this point. Jhoan Duran would seem to be an obvious answer and perhaps Jorge Alcala could provide another reliable high-velocity arm in the second half of the season. To me, the Twins need to add someone to the mix that isn't on the roster right now.
  20. stringer bell
    Garlick is out of options, correct? So, if that is true, he would be exposed to be claimed if the Twins wanted to send him down. I have to believe that will not happen.
  21. stringer bell
    You’re discussing Sands correct? I would have had no problem with him working the ninth, but as I said earlier, the club seems committed to having the next man up for the rotation only to be a long reliever after a short start.
  22. stringer bell
    Reported elsewhere on the site that Winder will start the finale in Tampa/St. Petersburg. Beyond that, Winder and now Sands are on the team as starters-in-waiting and only in the bullpen to pitch long relief on a short start due to injury (Gray in Boston) or ineffectiveness (Archer against the Sox). My concern is that using a top prospect in a limited and low leverage role isn't the best utilization of their talents. This, of course, is complicated by the short Spring Training and expanded roster limits. As it stands right now, the Twins are on to their seventh starter (Winder), but it would seem to be temporary, as neither Gray's or Ober's injury would seem to hold them out for much over the ten day Injured List minimum.
  23. stringer bell
    They are 20th in MLB in runs scored (10th in the AL), they are 17th in team OPS. Below average.
  24. stringer bell
    Errors really don’t measure defensive efficiency. As of yesterday, the Twins were fifth in runs allowed, which would include both starting and relief pitching as well as defense. The offense has been well below average in total. My take is that the defense is that it is pretty good. Bremer noted that the Twins lead the league in outfield assists and I think they have also been fundamentally sound.
  25. stringer bell
    I think health is the decider for demotions after Sunday’s game. The team needs to have Sánchez available on a daily basis to demote Godoy. Celestino’s roster case is strengthened if Buxton can’t be a full go. On the pitching side, uncertainty about Ober and Gray probably is enough to assure that Winder sticks around as a starter in waiting.
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