stringer bell

I would say that the Cub hitters should know Gant well, since he pitched for the rival Cardinals, but who are these guys? I only recognize a couple plus Romine who tried to get a spot with the Twins this spring.

Pitchers: PLAYER W-L ERA WHIP IP H K BB HR Z. Davies 6-10 5.00 1.48 131.1 131 102 64 21 J. Gant 0-2 6.75 1.25 16.0 14 20 6 2 Cubs Lineup: HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG R. OrtegaCF 58-196 26 8 8 .296 F. SchwindelDH 35-113 20 6 0 .310 I. HappLF 71-357 41 16 2 .199 P. Wisdom3B 65-254 50 25 3 .256 M. Duffy2B 48-188 14 1 4 .255 J. HeywardRF 62-294 25 6 5 .211 A. Rivas1B 2-3 0 0 0 .667 R. ChirinosC 18-72 11 4 0 .250 A. RomineSS 10-52 5 1 0 .192

Twins immortal Taylor Motter designated for assignment by the Rockies.

Caleb Thielbar somehow has six wins (and no defeats) in relief and he has a decent chance to catch Berríos or even pass him.

There has been much turnover on the Twins' 2021 pitching staff. It is a near certainty that several hurlers who got the ball for the team this year will not be back in 2022. Many have failed--Garcia, Waddell, Burrows--and very few have succeeded. Somewhere in the middle is a subset of relievers who have done "okay", that is an ERA plus of 100 or better, but are over 30 years of age. The chance of a breakout by any of these guys is very small, but as 2021 has shown, even okay relief pitchers are better than sending out arsonists. I've included Caleb Thielbar with this group, he is the most unlike the others in that he's been with the club all season and is nearly certain to get a major league contract from someone in the offseason, as long as there is a bargaining agreement. The rest of the players have not had a full season with the Twins and if they aren't on the team would have to be released or designated for assignment (no options). Here's my list, with my two-minute analysis of each: Derek Law. Derek Law has logged only 15 low-leverage innings with the Twins this year. He impressed many with a good run in spring training, featuring lots of strikeouts. From what I've seen during the regular season, he has average stuff and no one dominating pitch. Law is currently on the major league IL, but is on rehab assignment in St. Paul. Law will have accrued over three years of major league service after this year meaning that he would be eligible for arbitration (under current rules). Danny Coulombe. Lefty Danny Coulombe has been with the Twins since June and has logged a 3-1 record with a 3.04 ERA. Coulombe has given up a majority of his runs as a result of the home run ball. He's fanned more than a batter per inning and his FIP is over a run higher than his ERA. Coulombe hasn't shown any real platoon splits this year (SSS), but in his career has done better against left handed hitters. Coulombe throws a lot of breaking balls and throws a fastball in the low 90s. Coulombe will be 32 in October. Juan Minaya. Minaya was signed by the Twins in 2020 and was on the roster for a few days, but didn't pitch. This season he has been up and down at least a few times and outrighted to St. Paul when sent back. His most recent stint with the Twins has been his most effective. Minaya throws the fastball up to 96 mph, and has a decent slider. Control seems to be his biggest hurdle and thus far this year, he's walked 14 in 25 innings. Under current rules, Minaya would be a Super2, eligible for arbitration this winter. He turns 31 next month. Luke Farrell. The right handed Farrell has good numbers in limited work with the Twins this year. In 15 plus innings, he has a 1.76 ERA, 2.97 FIP and a 1.17 WHIP. Farrell doesn't throw particularly hard (low 90s) but features a lot of breaking balls. He is also currently rehabbing at St. Paul. Farrell wouldn't be eligible for arbitration this offseason. Farrell wouldn't be eligible for arbitration this winter under the current bargaining agreement. Caleb Thielbar. As I mentioned earlier, Thielbar fits less with this list than any of the others. He's been with the Twins all season, except for time on the IL and is now considered one of their high-leverage bullpen arms. Thielbar has thrown over 50 innings this season and has an ERA below 4 (3.18 FIP), he's struck out 64 in 51 innings and has won six games, losing none (FWIW). Caleb features a variety of big breaking balls along with a sneaky low-90s fastball. He'll turn 35 this winter, It doesn't make sense for a team rebuilding their pitching staff to have all of these over-30 arms on the 40-man roster over the winter. That said, a case for each can be made that they could help the Twins in 2022. How many should stay on the roster? Should the Twins attempt to sign any of them to a minor league contract? Are there any who should be DFAed/released with no look back? IMHO, no more than two should be on this winter's 40-man. The lock is Thielbar and the one in doubt is Minaya. I think any of the five who aren't tendered a contract should be offered a minor league deal.

Aaron Slegers was DFAed by the Angels. Jason Castro hit the IL again with continuing knee problems.

As pitching-poor as the Twins are right now, I think he might stay on the roster going in to 2022. There are a number of over-30 pitchers who have had moderate success that the Twins will need to decide on--Minaya, Coulombe, Farrell, Law and Thielbar. They can't and shouldn't keep them all, but two or three of them might help the club in 2022.

Nice win. Minaya was impressive. I think he might have earned a 40-man spot with his performance in the second half of the season.

Let's get this half inning over with!

So many injuries! Calling Balazovic healthy ignores that he missed about two months of this season. The only player who has been healthy and in the Twins’ system all year is Miranda.

Only 2-12 with the bases loaded.

It's raining fairly hard here in SE Minnesota and my satellite TV has decided to shut down, so is there going to be a game tonight?

Oh great! I get the Albers game. Plucky Andrew Albers has made his way back to the major leagues (or the Twins rotation) and will get a start tonight against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Albers will be 36 years old during the playoffs this season. He has absolutely no future as a major league pitcher and there is very little to suggest that he will fare well against a Brewer club that has surprised me by taking a good lead in the NL Central. Of course, you never know do you? Maybe Lucy won't pull the football away as Charlie Brown approaches, maybe the Washington Generals will defeat the Globetrotters. And so it goes. It is hard to be excited with a rotation that includes (ace) Baily Ober, Griffin Jax, John Gant, Charlie Barnes and Albers. Even if one of them has a good outing, the game gets turned over to a bullpen that includes notables like Alex Colume, Edgar Garcia and Kyle Barraclough. All of the short starts overexpose a bullpen that is shredding in front of our eyes. There is very little hope of seeing much more than five innings out a starter and a good chance that no lead will be safe. Oh well, enough positivity! It's been raining in my neck of MInnesota for about 12 hours. In SE Minnesota, the conditions were dry, but not drought stricken, so the rain was welcomed but not regarded as saving crops and gardens. It's still raining in Minneapolis at noon, with showers expected to recur later. The game may be postponed or delayed depending on what the club wants to do. One factor is a wet, muddy track would probably delay the return of Byron Buxton by another day. Not ideal. The weather forecast improves for the weekend, so the Twins will likely get all three games in versus the Brewers. Left hander Eric Lauer starts for the Brewers, he is 4-4 with an ERA under four, so he would be a Twins ace. The Brewers have opened an eight and a half game lead over second-place Cincinnati and should coast into the playoffs. Milwaukee is playing better than .600 baseball, getting good pitching and decent run scoring. Could Milwaukee/Green Bay become the home of professional championships? Seems strange to mention Tampa and Milwaukee as sports hotbeds, but here we are. Apparently there will be a game today as the Twins have posted a lineup and Buxton is back! Welcome back Buck. Watching you play for the next six weeks might make some of the 2021 season demons go away. Lineups to follow--enjoy your Friday night everyone! Pitchers PLAYER W-L ERA WHIP IP H K BB HR E. Lauer 4-4 3.59 1.25 77.2 68 76 29 11 A. Albers 0-0 2.25 0.75 4.0 2 4 1 1 Milwaukee (78-50) HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG K. Wong2B 94-330 38 11 9 .285 L. UriasSS 96-387 57 17 5 .248 C. YelichDH 71-284 40 8 8 .250 A. GarciaRF 108-389 76 24 7 .278 L. CainCF 43-180 23 5 9 .239 R. Tellez1B 58-244 28 10 0 .238 M. PinaC 26-144 26 9 0 .181 J. PetersonLF 45-167 27 5 8 .269 P. Reyes3B 12-56 2 0 2 .214 Twins (55-72) HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG B. BuxtonCF 38-103 19 10 5 .369 J. Polanco2B 125-456 76 24 10 .274 R. RefsnyderLF 26-98 10 2 0 .265 J. DonaldsonDH 83-334 54 19 0 .249 M. Sano1B 75-349 57 22 1 .215 R. JeffersC 40-190 29 11 0 .211 M. KeplerRF 68-329 45 16 8 .207 W. Astudillo3B 44-171 20 7 0 .257 A. SimmonsSS 77-348 27 3 1 .221

Rubber game of a three-game series. Interesting to see the pitchers' lines in small sample size. Everything but earned runs allowed are very similar.

Through the Morris era, starters threw a lot of 88-90 mph fastballs. Now the average fb is 93 and guys with moderate velocity like Jax and Ober are throwing harder than 90% of pitchers in the 70s and 80s. It is a different generation and a different game. Not sure that I like it, but that’s how the game is played.

The Twins can only add two players. No one is a needed add, such as a third catcher. Ryan would have to be added to the 40-man roster (there is a vacancy I believe). There are also many players due back from the Injured List, including Alcala and Farrell. Dobnak is also probably ready to be activated, or at least sent on rehab assignment. Doing what is right for a good prospect like Ryan is the right move, but does that mean adding a month to his season to face big league hitters? I don't know.

Gant allowed only four base runners in 3.1 innings. Unfortunately, they all reached consecutively and all scored.

What has Refsnyder done since returning from the IL? Neither he or Cave has hit this month.

On Monday Arraez trailed Brantley by 16 points. He now trails him by seven. It is certainly possible that he can claim a batting championship this year, but he will have to average just over four plate appearances per game for the rest of the season,.

I would rather see Hamilton, Vasquez, Mason, Moran or Cano. Albers would give them some length maybe.

We really don’t need to see Albers again, but……. i suppose once Albers pitches, he’ll be designated for assignment, but I’d like to see someone else.

Colomé. Corrected in the original posting.

I'm not a medical professional, but one has to believe that there's something medically wrong with Thorpe. IIRC, he was hitting the low- to mid-nineties with movement and life on his fastball in spring training. He's not close to that now, so one would surmise that something is wrong with his arm. Yesterday was the first time I watched Garza Jr. and Garcia pitch on TV and I also hadn't seen much of Minaya. Garza Jr. was impressive with his odd arm angle and he put a lot of pitches in good places in the strike zone. Both Garcia and Minaya seemed to lose their release point and their command after looking effective early in their appearance. I also think the trashing of Colomé is a bit over the top. He was among the worst relief pitchers in baseball, but he has recovered to the point I expect he'll get a major league contract in the off-season. With a bullpen bereft of closing experience, he gives the Twins their best chance to get the 27th out with a lead. That is not a strong endorsement of his skills, but I think it is reality.

Okay, does anyone know who got on the plane to NY in place of Thorpe? It is possible that the Twins will take a couple of fresh arms from St. Paul. They do have one 40-man roster spot open, correct?

I checked Nakamura on BBRef and he was born in Japan, but graduated from HS in Australia. I remember that he had an Aussie accent.