h2oface

Best bullpen in MLB.

.....reeling Roccos..... calling the Twins "Roccos"? I still have some vomit in my mouth. "....on Wednesday. The Orioles will have former Minnesota prospect Tyler Wells on the bump and then will have their last off day of the month." Wells was placed on the IL this evening due to "elbow inflammation". Pablo Day Lopez for us. I hope his last two starts are truly "off" days, because this getaway game is where Baldelli plays the B team, and I'm not sure what that even looks like, now. Maybe, with the day off Thursday, he will have the guys be big boys and gut it out and field his best team possible.

Good thing this wasn't a close playoff game with that fan interfering. It sure looked to me like he reached into the field just a bit. Buxton's glove was right under it. We all deserved to see it play out without the nimrod reaching out there. But it really is a meaningless call for this blowout. Probably why the call stood. No reason to ruffle the hometown crowd. Still......... But get Buxton out of the game. No need for him to foolishly jump up against the wall in this game, for the 3rd time. It sure would be nice to have some heroes on the ball field this year like all these other teams have...... and score the runs when it matters instead of the low pressure game already over innings.

How does noting an odd occurrence happening tonight infer at all that one might prefer a K to a one pitch out? It doesn't in my book. But I am just an observing 3rd party,.......

THIS is the type of appearance Theilbar should have started this season on. Not in a high leverage game to win against Detroit. Looks like the "Paddack on a pitch count" supposition is not correct. No matter how horrible he is pitching, he is going to go around 90. Great catch by Buxton. I don't think it wise to give that dangerous effort in a game like this, though, as your manager threw in the towel long ago. I hope we don't hear tomorrow how he is hurt.

I heard that he dropped the 'J'. When asked why, he said " 'cause the cops were coming."

The Orioles don't care. They just swing at it, protect the plate, and hit it out! They don't wait around and whine about the strike zone. At least not in these two games........

The thing is, not only is the current FO philosophy and style creating a loser here at the MLB level, but the whole org is tanking at every level that could help this year. AAA and AA, with Wichita 1-8! What a treat to see players actually swinging at close pitches and getting hits, instead of our guys looking at them, whining about close strikes, even, and begging for walks.

Kirilloff watches the middle strike, and swings at the two change up balls. K in 3 pitches.

This is about where Baldelli gives up. Shades of the opener against Detroit.

Our guys like to just watch that stuff go by, this year, unfortuneately.

Varland pitches batting practice, and Baldelli leaves him in for probably 100 pitches. (with luck it will be 94, I hope) SWR is pitching fine....... and could go into the 7th, and he is pulled at 80. Makes sense to me.

I get it. I guess I just get stuck a little at the one stat that really counts, the 7-4/4-6 coming in and the 9-6/6-8 going out, and that total spanking in the first game with Lopez shelled that Rocco literally gave up and had Castro finish (and Detroit's team average is 32 points higher). And maybe the goo goo gaa gaa about Lopez is a little premature. It really takes more than last year and 1 of 3 starts this year, for me. I do hope Lopez does earn the ace status. Time will tell. We are our record. We really needed him to do the ace thing on Friday.

Was that what happened when the anointed ace, Pablo Day Lopez, opened that series? Struggling?

Are Twins' fans just conditioned to think that a 9.00 ERA after two starts "wasn't necessarily awful"? Personally, I don't think either one of them are gonna make it, long term, as starters. SWR curve sure was fun to watch, though. Results in AAA, not so much. But we will see a lot of suffering results along the way to that final outcome.

Theilbar hang a sweeper to Baez? Better look again. That was the very bottom of the zone inside third part of the plate - a pretty fine pitch - a hole in just about every right handed batter's swing, and especially the guys on our team, but Baez golfed it out to end his slump. Not the definition of a hanger. That was all Baez. Hell, our guys just watch that pitch and hope the ump gets it wrong and calls a ball, and would/should have been a called stirke three for 2 outs if taken! That was a good pitch that a batter protecting the plate with 2 strikes swings at and hopes for contact to fight it off and not get called out. That homer, however, was not a real problem. Still 3-1 with 5 outs to go and the bases empty. The second team infield (wait, Polanco is gone) except fielding challenged Julian at second, the infield all didn't make plays behind Theilbar. I wouldn't have put him in there in the game just coming untested off the IL, but he was not a "culprit" in my book. First Castro booting it, then Julian forced to position himself shifted to the right, but a grounder I would want the 2nd baseman to get to, and then Farmer totally eaten up and not in front of ball but trying to grab it from his side.... what a travesty of errors that weren't called errors. Talk all you want about the hitting. Games are situational, especially in the 8th inning. It could be 11-8 or 9-6 or 3-0. It is all on pitching and defense now. You have a 3 run lead with 6 outs to go. It is not on the offense at all at this point. (unless your defense and MLB best bullpen gives up 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th) Great to see Ober rebound for 2 fine starts after his first fiasco, and a poor ST. We need this Ober. Margot hitting clean up give me a break........ Cheer up Twin's fans! You have 0-2/9.00 Louie Varland on the mound to start the series in Baltimore!

There isn't an infield logjam. It is thoughts like this that a team uses as an excuse to make a trade like Spencer Steer because you have Miranda and Lee and Farmer and Castro and Lewis, etc. And now, you are left with the wrong guy(s) traded (for garbage as it turned out, who was hurt when traded for and hoped just healed) when you need them, and those you chose over a Steer might suck after a good 4 months. Hell, right now we have to play Farmer everyday. And Correa finally starts a season hitting and now is hurt, again (hmmmmmm) and so is Lewis, again, and Lee, and and and.......... no one has been taking SS reps and that is bad, too. So no........ there is missing depth, and no logjam. Same with the outfield. Arraez and Polanco gone, because of a "logjam". and we got Farmer and Castro and Martin starting. Margot leading off give me a break.....

Just curious, what do you consider "deep into games". Is 80 pitches deep? 6 innings? 7 innings? 80 pitches in 4 innings deep? Is deep by pitches, innings, or batters faced? Was SWR allowed to go deep limited to 80 pitches and 6 innings? Or are we talking 100 pitches regardless of the innings acquired.

Yeah! No food or jokes or house cleaning. Refreshing.

Well Funderburk gives up a lead off hit. Better pull him.

Sure. Defensible. 80 pitches, 14/15 in a row.. Cruising. Bullpen almost empty if they implode. Of course it will get a mostly traditional acceptance. But pisses me off he doesn’t even get at least one batter to see. That curve is nasty.

If SWR doesn’t get to start the 7th Rocco is (a) _________. Fill in the blank..

70 pitches in the 6th Rocco. Better pull him to be consistent.

About time! Go SILENT WILLI. Raises that average to .139. Movin’ on up.

They all count as one win. So yup, those count. Not really the point of the fun, but sure..