stringer bell

Don't like the Garlick move in the fifth inning.

Stunning. Salvi Perez homers vs. the Twins.

C'mon, they have to pay the at least the minimum!

6 for 10 and some other hard hit balls. Pity it is only two runs.

Despite the long first, maybe five from Archer? Every time I speculate on how long the starter goes, he doesn't make it that far.

Now the Royals will drop a couple of bloopers and score two or three.

Ninja'd!

Shoulda had two runs, got none. Oof!

Nobody out, catcher running, why?

Failed framing costs strike 3.

The vibe I am getting from Archer is that he's really grateful to be back out on the mound and is kind of proving himself all over again.

I want to see Wes come out and talk to Ober. He'd need a stepladder.

I don't feel bad about walking Perez with a base open. However Benintendi tortured the Twins last year.

Salvi with a half swing on strike one.

I'll blame it on the WB.

The sound is behind the picture. Disturbing.

I think the Twins bats come alive in KC. Unfortunately, the pitching staff also takes a step back. Final score something like 8-6

First baseman Luis Arraez! A day off for Sanó. Well, whatever gets Luis four at-bats is a good thing.

I pretty much agree that the defense hasn’t been good. Errors are a less than good barometer for defensive ability and efficiency. I’ve long said Arraez graded out well at third, but he’s been a train wreck so far (SSS) this year. In the Boston series , Correa didn’t get to some balls that looked playable and Sanó made a pretty glaring misplay. That said, I’ve seen enough to believe Correa is a first-rate defender at short, Urshela is better-than-average at third and Polanco is a good second baseman. I think they’ll be a good defensive team if their best defenders stay on the field.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Closers are overrated. Firemen are the key parts of bullpens nowadays, especially if they are capable of going more than one inning.