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jmlease1

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Everything posted by jmlease1

  1. jmlease1
    You wanted Wallner to bunt Brooks Lee to 3rd in the 4th inning? Because that's the actual situation before Jeffers grounded into the DP. And with Correa being the runner at 1B, there's a real possibility they could have turned a DP on the bunt, and then you're looking at a runner at 3B with 2 outs. Yes, it sucked that Wallner struck out and Jeffers grounded into a DP, but playing for an insurance run in the 4th is a strategy that's going to lose more than it wins. Next inning we got the leadoff single and didn't do anything with it, but how much benefit do we get with Clemens on 2B and giving up the out? Unless one of the next 2 batters gets a hit, the bunt means nothing. The next opportunity is when Royce gets the walk in the 7th to lead off the inning. Nice job by him. But he's coming off a hammy injury and doesn't have the speed he used to. Is Jeffers supposed to bunt Royce over to 2B to avoid Ty France hitting into a DP there? Say he does: 2B and 1 out doesn't get us further unless France gets a hit. The DP sucked but bunting probably doesn't help much. 9th inning, Twins tried to be aggressive in get the insurance run: Castro tried for the steal with 2 strikes (good time for it, he's got good speed and an ability to steal) but he got caught. Lee's been one of the better hitters over the last month, why take the bat out of his hands with no outs? If Castro had stolen 2B before Lee K's, then you have Lee send him to 3B with a bunt. Bunting is an exciting play at times and can put pressure on the defense, and I'm fine with players with good speed bunting for hits. I'm fine with playing for 1 run late in the game to either get the win or an insurance run, when the situation makes sense. But there's this obsession around here about bunting that makes no sense to me. Most of the time, you're trading an out for a base at best, and when it's only moving a runner from 1B to 2B, it's just not worth losing the out. Yes, it sucks when the other team turns a DP, but the idea that it's fixed by bunting is really just hindsight talking and damage mitigation, not actually getting us an advantage.
  2. jmlease1
    SWR did a nice job. The miss on the homer was frustrating (it seems like we have no ability to keep a hot hitter from smashing homers sometimes) but overall he pitched quite well. Bader's defense was excellent, really fun to see. It's why we signed him for sure, and good to see him have that kind of impact in LF. The offense still needs work for sure. The DPs killed them, and they were never able to get a knockout on Junk, who threw a ton of it early. (I truly disliked the home plate umpire's zone early, though, where he was very inconsistent on the outside of the zone and was missing pitches. Both teams were simply guessing at what was a strike or a ball on the outside of the zone against that clown for the first few innings, and I'm guessing it was driving both teams nuts) Castro looks in the zone right now, but we need a few other guys to get going. Taking the win. Let's keep it going, win the series. That's all they need is a few series wins.
  3. jmlease1
    Good. It needed to happen. Ober wasn't doing anyone any favors by continuing to try and gut through this and try to find mechanical fixes while compensating for a ding. Hells bells, some people around here were ready to throw everything he'd accomplished in his MLB career prior to 2025 out the window because he'd struggled so much for a month. Get some rest on the hip, try to get right physically, and then adjust the mechanics in a rehab assignment. See you after the all-star break, Bailey. Funderburk for now seems fine, but wouldn't mind seeing Adams get a chance He'll be back. And I think he'll be good again.
  4. jmlease1
    Beltre has really been struggling this season, so nice to see him have a good day. You just never know with the kids in rookie ball. Julien is doing great. Who knows how he'd do in a return to MLB, but I'm sure after he takes his first K people will demand for him to be cut. With Lewis back and Lee having been playing well all June, Julien probably won't get another chance until someone else gets hurt in the infield. It's too bad for Julien, but this is why you can't stink out the gate in MLB: someone will come and take your job. Klein is doing a nice job this season and it's fair to say it's been a breakout. He's increased the K's while dropping the free passes, and that's almost always going to be a recipe for improvement. Since this is his first taste of AA, I'm not going to get too spun up if he rolls there for the rest of the season; if he keeps pitching like this he'll be well-positioned to go to AAA in 2026 and see what he can make happen for himself. Wichita looks like the team to watch right now for the Twins minor league system: bunch of fun hitting and pitching prospects to track. Jenkins continuing to swipe bags suggests the ankle isn't bothering him, and the fact that he's allowed to do it suggests the club isn't worried about him reinjuring it. Hoping for a nice long stretch of health for him, but he's looking good otherwise. I was momentarily excited about Fedko's steals, and then I looked at Rosario (not exactly a speedster, IMHO) and saw he was at a pretty similar rate, so I'm back on the "maybe don't take minor league steals too seriously" train.
  5. jmlease1
    If you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
  6. jmlease1
    I'm not really convinced on Chaney. As with all Twins prospects, I'm rooting for the guy, but...eh. Klein is interesting, if he's able to sustain the velocity up around 97mph consistently and get swings and misses on the fastball, then you never know. At the very least, he's putting himself in contention as someone who could be a hard-throwing reliever. He should be fun to watch. Fedko is the one who has really impressed. He seems to need an offseason to make adjustments to a level, which has definitely held him back, but he's having a very nice run of it in AA this season. I'll be interested to see if/when he gets a promotion up to AAA and what his reaction to it is.
  7. jmlease1
    It doesn't matter whether what's going on now is better or worse than what happened previously, it's unacceptable. It doesn't matter what's going on politically in this country, this behavior is unacceptable. It doesn't matter if you paid for a ticket, placed a bet, or purchased a broadcast, this conduct in unacceptable. It doesn't matter if it's being communicated through the internet, it's unacceptable. It doesn't matter if it was intended to be taken seriously or someone was "just blowing off steam", it's unacceptable. I'd say the line gets drawn at booing while you are physically at a game. That's it. Anything more than that and you should think about doing a re-set on your brain and maybe getting some therapy. (and even then, maybe calm the eff down a little) This behavior is despicable and people need to stop. Period.
  8. jmlease1
    Culpepper is very deserving. He's having a good season, proving that he can stick at SS and impressing with the bat. Earned his promotion to AA in his first full season of pro ball, and has done just fine so far at a tougher level. Congratulations to him!
  9. jmlease1
    Yeah, that was absolutely brutal. But Barreiro is notorious for covering for guys who show up on his show and burying guys who don't. National media treat Mauer better than the local guys, which is pretty abnormal, especially in baseball...unless the player gets into a real feud with a specific reporter and things get personal, which never happened with Mauer, who by most accounts is too bland to ever get into something like that. It's a shame that Mauer still doesn't get more credit, but if they're going to let fans vote StL has a much bigger fan base than MN: much longer history, much bigger tradition. St. L is still a baseball town, and in MN the Vikings & hockey outrank baseball. But the idea that Molina was better than Mauer is silly. Better defensively and more durable, sure. But not better, because hitting matters too and Mauer was an outstanding hitter, and not just "outstanding for a catcher". Stupid concussions. What an awful and unpredictable injury.
  10. jmlease1
    Truth. Led by a member of the media actively leading the charge against him and running him down at almost every opportunity (partially because Joe didn't have any interest in going on his show. Not that Mauer had much interest in going on anyone's show, really). Having the MN media whine about Mauer taking too many walks and not getting enough RBIs is still one of the dumbest things that's ever happened in MN sports. (part of my ongoing series on "Why Dan Barreiro should never talk about baseball", part XXXVII)
  11. jmlease1
    I'm on the ":send him to the IL to try and get right" train. The hip is an issue, but he mostly needs a re-set, and he's not really going to get the opportunity in MLB if he's getting his brains bashed in. This is easily the worst he's been in MLB and it almost doesn't matter what the issue is at this point: use the IL to get him a break and cite the hip. Give him some time to get a mental and physical break, and then work on the mechanics and give him a rehab start or two and let's try this against after the all-star break. Give Adams a shot. Even if he gets his brains kicked in (and he might not), it'll be valuable experience for him, and frankly he might give the team a better chance to get a win right now. Ober's been a good pitcher. I'm not letting a rotten month wipe all of that out. He needs to be protected from himself right now and the team needs him to work on things away from the rotation. It sucks that Pablo, Matthews, and Morris are hurt right now and Raya & Lewis aren't ready, but letting Ober give up moonshots isn't the answer either. Give Adams a shot, see if he has a future. Give Dobnak a look; he can certainly chew up some innings (did a good job coming in for Ober in a game Ober shouldn't have started in the first place).
  12. jmlease1
    I don't have a problem with Posey at all. Great player, will be in the Hall one day. The fact that Molina got picked over Mauer is a joke. Molina had 2 great seasons and a lot of ok to good seasons. Most of his all-star appearances were undeserving, and most of his career he was a good to great defensive catcher who didn't hit all that much. It's great that he was in St L forever and they love him, but this is why you can't have a fan vote for important things. Mauer won 3 batting titles as a freakin' catcher and they ignored it because Molina played for a million years. 10 (over half) of Molina's seasons in MLB he had a bWAR under 2 (aka, starter quality). Mauer had half as many, and most of them were after he'd moved to 1B and didn't get the advantage of positional differential that Molina had. Mauer & Posey were the best 2 catchers of the last 25 years, period. Johan's case is complicated; I think he deserves a mention, but excluding him isn't a crime considering the company. Nathan on the other hand deserves more credit, but the injuries and lack of post-season success probably dropped him out. But I'd take Nathan over Kenley Jansen every day of the week.
  13. jmlease1
    Skubal demonstrated that he's a great pitcher. I don't think his manager had anything to do with what happened out there today. Do you think Paddack would have gotten the win if we'd switched managers yesterday? This team struggles against LHP for sure but Skubal is the reigning Cy Young winner and pitching like he wants to go back to back. He's been great all season. He's put up a Game Score under 50 only 3 times this season, never had a single one under 40. by contrast, nearly half his starts he's put up a Game Score of 70 or better. He's absolutely dominant. Hope Lewis is actually ready, but won't miss Bride, who sucked. Offense is healthy, no excuses left for them.
  14. jmlease1
    Because we know he's been fighting a problem with his hip this season. He's not fully healthy, and going to the IL might position him to get right as well as fix the mechanical issues that are plaguing him. Hopefully it gets his velocity back up if he can get some rest, therapy, and heal. This isn't hard.
  15. jmlease1
    He's been awful in June for sure, but has been a quality pitcher the previous 2 seasons and has been good in MLB basically every season except for this one. He's had good outings this season as well. He was quite good in April and had an inconsistent but decent May. Which is more likely: Bailey Ober is cooked after having a terrible month and will never be good again, or that his mechanics and health aren't where they need to be for him to be effective? He needs to go to IL for a couple of weeks and get right. They're doing him no favors by continuing to let him gut through the hip issue and try to battle through the mechanical adjustments. Yes, the starting pitching depth is depleted, but right now, you really can't expect Ober to do anything other than eat innings...and they probably won't be good ones. I'd rather see Adams get a shot that continuing to punish Ober, who is clearly not right and unlikely to get there by continuing to start. Props to him for battling, but time to protect a player from himself. Buxton continues to be awesome. He's worth the price of admission all by himself, I think. Love that guy.
  16. jmlease1
    Fedko is having a terrific season. Interesting player, seems to be one of those guys that needs that second look at a level in order to figure it out? He struggled in his first stint at Ft. Myers, then hit well in his second shot. Same thing at Cedar Rapids. Doing the same thing now at Wichita. The power breakout this year is intriguing, and he's always been good at grabbing walks. At his age, he's never going to make a prospect list, but he might be an intriguing late bloomer who could add some right-sided thump. Hope he gets a chance at AAA this season (especially if he stays a guy who needs an offseason or something to make adjustments to a new level!) DeBarge is doing DeGreat! Only concern is whether he's making enough contact; the low BA makes me a little nervous. Without more pop in his bat he'll get less of those easy BB's at higher levels of the minors. He's clearly got the ability to swipe bags (though pitchers in the minors are generally iffy at holding guys on and a lot of the catching isn't impressive at throwing guys out either) but that speed won't play if he's not getting on base. Still some work to do to get that promotion, I think. But he's young and doing fine for the level in his first full season of pro ball. Going to be interesting to see who gets the call back up to MLB first: Julien or Martin. Julien would likely offer more as a hitter, based on their previous exploits in MLB, and Ed looks locked in and striking the ball with confidence again. Martin gives a little more positional flexibility, and is seen as a more quality runner (though Julien has been a fine baserunner and swiper bags efficiently in the minors) which might make more sense for one of the last spots on the bench. Good problem to have? Either way, would rather have either of them back in MLB over Kiersey (who can't hit) or Bride (who can't hit).
  17. jmlease1
    Maybe if it was already 4-0 Festa gets a little more rope? I'm guessing Rocco wanted to get him the win, have him leave with that in play and maybe boost his confidence. But also with the team having gone through such a bad patch, you're trying to do everything you can to get the win. I would like to see Festa given more of a chance when his pitch count is low and he seems to be cruising pretty well, but coming off a rotten start against MKE and an inefficient start against Cincy I don't think this was a bad call. He threw a very nice game, the slider was effective in getting outs, and the sinker he's been working on showed effectiveness. Hopefully, he's back on track.
  18. jmlease1
    Very fun game to watch. Thought Festa pitched quite well. Would not mind seeing him get a little more rope when he's throwing this well to go a little deeper, but can't argue with the results. He had a nice rhythm going (and it was nice to hear the announcing team picking up on that as well). When the Twins starting pitching is going well, everything goes easier. Brooks Lee's play at 3B is one of the better ones I've seen all season, really looked great. Baez thought he had a hit and ended up out by 4 feet. That's pretty fun. All good to see a Buxton Bomb fly out of the park! He got all of it, for sure. keep it going, boys!
  19. jmlease1
    Alcantara is a guy who is likely to improve coming off a major injury, but he also looks like someone who is going to be inconsistent at best for the rest of this season, so I don't exactly see the Twins adding him when he's still owed $17M for 2026 (plus the additional costs in 2025) and a $2M buyout for 2027. There's simply no way this ownership tacks on that kind of money...and it's unclear it would even be a good idea. I dunno, not much on these teams that's acquirable is all that exciting if the Twins are buyers to me. I mean, what do we get by re-acquiring IKF? I have more hope for Keaschall when he returns. I don't see this ownership group authorizing a significant salary add for this season, so in order to add a real piece, we'd have to send money out (Castro, presumably, maybe Paddack?) which creates an additional hole to fill, and while I like the options in some of the younger guys to fill some things, I'm not sure we net out as better, really. Blegh.
  20. jmlease1
    While I don't think that would be a crazy decision...I doubt France gets dealt to open up a spot for Sabato, and the team seems to really like France. (I'm less enthusiastic; he's been fine for what we paid, but he's a below average regular. But this organization is so snakebit from late season injuries that they simply won't shed a veteran player, and they've been uninterested in clearing space for a rookie to take a shot in the past) But I would love Sabato to keep hitting and force the issue. It's a great story right now: high draft pick who struggled early, got labeled a bust, was written off by almost everyone, now on the cusp of realizing the dream of being an MLB player? Let's hope he realizes it by playing so well in AAA that they have to promote him. (things have been so negative around here lately, it almost feels like some people would prefer that Sabato collapse, because then they wouldn't be able to point to Sabato as a failed pick by the front office...)
  21. jmlease1
    lol. It is the issue, isn't it? But Sabato has had a good start at AAA, following promotion from AA where he finally put together a good half season. He's still got a lot more failure on his record than success, and I'd think the Twins will want to see more to show this isn't just a small sample size success in AAA. That said, I tend to agree that if Martin can keep hitting for another few weeks he should get some real consideration to come up and replace Kiersey (since he can pinch run, play OF, and might actually be able to get a hit). Much as I don't think Bride deserves a spot on the roster, I think he hangs on until Lewis is back. I think it's a mistake, but Twins management would prefer to keep a crappy player on the end of the bench than lose the depth.
  22. jmlease1
    Nice to see Martin back and doing well out the gate. He was playing really well before getting hurt and would have almost certainly gotten a call-up if he'd hadn't gone on the injury list. Bummer for him to miss that window, but hopefully he can pick up where he left off. Looking forward to seeing where he's at in a month or so after he gets some ABs back under him. Sabato has been a pleasant surprise this season and he's continued his hot hitting in AAA. Good for him! Nice to see him make people pay attention to him again. The next leap is a big one, but he's gone from being seen as a bust to a possibility again. Bohorquez has the stuff to be an interesting pitcher, but he's got to improve his command, because the walks are unsustainable. But he's still pretty young, and it's usually the last thing that comes together. Would like to see him get to a point where he earns the promotion to Cedar Rapids, rather than get there on scholarship.
  23. jmlease1
    I don't exactly understand why people come to a game thread, after a Twins win to make note of various former Twins that are doing ok in other places. Just have to find every opportunity to take a poke at the front office? Got to rain on the parade of anyone who enjoyed the win? It was a very good win, and making Seattle give up on the game is great to see. Finally managed to have some runners on base when the big flies went out too. SWR pitched well. Threw strikes, missed some bats, and got through his innings. I'm definitely a little concerned about Sands at this point; he has really regressed this season. The K's are way down and he's yielding way too many baserunners. You can tell that he's gone from being trusted to handle high leverage situations to no leverage situations, and you have to wonder what's going on with him. Mechanical? Fighting an undisclosed injury? Or is he like a lot of relievers: not consistently good year over year?
  24. jmlease1
    I hope Lewis gets back on track; I'm always rooting for a knuckleballer. But he's been rotten so far this season, and the large number of xbh's he's surrendered suggests that the really high BABIP isn't a result of bad luck/weak contact/poor positioning etc but instead a result of guys teeing off on him. When they hit him, they're hitting him hard. He's got to find the zone more consistently, because the walk rate is awful. The K's are good and make him look viable, but his WHIP is unplayable. He's got a lot of work to do, and his prospect stock is dropping rapidly. He fooled guys plenty in the lower minors, but AAA hitters aren't being confused by it right now and are able to wait on pitches in the zone that they're crushing.
  25. jmlease1
    Rosario has been on a heater for a while, and it's great to see. Pretty rough start (he was awful in April), but he definitely seems back on track. Hope he can sustain it. Be great to have his right-handed power be a real option, even if he's not much of a fielder. I think AA is a major speed bump for a lot of players. You see guys all the time where their athleticism carried them through A ball and when they started facing more advanced players struggled. Or the older, college guys with more experience beating up on younger kids in A ball fall off when they hit AA and are facing more of their peers all the time. But it doesn't apply to everyone. Culpepper is doing great and showing why he was the Twins first round pick. And the toughest jump has always been AAA to MLB.
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