jmlease1

Seriously? The bullpen has been excellent this season and is the deepest it's been in a really long time. And no one is giving away bullpen pieces right now except for stupid level overpays. Let not get too jumpy because the bullpen had a couple of poor games: no bullpen in the world shuts down teams every single night.

having a pipeline doesn't necessarily mean that all your starters are homegrown and that you're pumping out a new star pitcher every year. What it does mean is that you're consistently creating options for your team and having organizational depth available to you that can be reasonably expected to perform when called on, and we're seeing more of that now. It's hardly a completed project (it's never "complete", right?) but I'm feeling better about our prospect levels and pitching development than I did previously. I look back to where we were on the rotation 5-6 years ago and we were not only hoping for career years out of guys, but were filling in slots out of the bargain bin or throwing everyone into the fire to hope that we could cobble together enough innings. The prospects weren't that highly rated and were falling off the radar by the time they hit AAA and we were all talking ourselves into these guys being good enough (Gonsalves, Stewart, fernando Romero, Mejia, etc). we had 16 guys get starts in 2018. In 2021 we were still hoping JA Happ or Matt Shoemaker had something in the tank and again had 16 guys make starts. I'm a lot happier with a rotation where no one is over 30, we have a guy like SWR ready to go if a Varland falters, with someone like Festa available if Varland falters again in his next opportunity. We have guys like Raya, Matthews, and Ohl in AA right now...and it's not a total disaster that Lewis hasn't pitched yet this season.

The people that are bringing up soccer as doing things differently are, frankly, wrong. If a player on the opposite team goes down with an injury, the other team has no responsibility to stop their attack. Where you see them kick it out of play to stop the game is when nothing is on and the official hasn't stopped play for it being a head injury. Then the other team yields possession back on the ensuing restart to resume conditions as before. But if someone is on a breakout and a player from the other team goes down behind the play, the team with the ball still gets to try and score. And the referees only stop the game if the player who goes down is in the middle of the action and at risk of further injury or they see it's a head injury (or they're able to ascertain it's potentially a serious injury). They don't just whistle a stop, and they specifically try not to disrupt an attack. None of our sports stop the game immediately for injury unless it's something catastrophic or there's a specific rule for it (like premier league refs stopping the game for head injuries), and an ankle injury (or a knee or hamstring, etc) isn't that. Kepler is supposed to score there. He's a professional, and that's his job. You should feel sympathy for the injured guy, but things happen.

Kind of a strange game from Paddack, who racked up the Ks and wriggled out of trouble, but also gave up a lot of hits. He certainly showed he could get outs, and if he'd been able to keep the pitch count down and finish off some hitters faster, I think he would have been able to get through 6. nice to see the bats get some big knocks; Correa and Larnach going back to back was a fine way to start things out. A good win. Be great to take the series!

too soon to tell; Miller is currently hitting better than he ever has in his professional career, and I'm sure he's still playing excellent defense. Doncon is hitting a bit more (and better than he ever has since his very first pro year at 17 in the Dominican Summer League), but is a lesser defender (though hardly a butcher), and seems destined for 3B. We'll see how they land at the end of the season. Miller's numbers are a bit skewed from some out-sized success from the right side of the plate this season that seems unsustainable (his numbers from the left side track more like his career: low contact, decent patience, no pop). Doncon has shown much better power this season, so we'll see if that's sustainable for him; he is repeating a level but is still only 20, so it's hardly out of line for A-ball.

You also don't know if pride would get in the way there, which we've seen in pro sports more than a few times. Players have taken less to go to a new team rather than take a pay cut from their current one. And that's just pride effing with you, but it happens. Still a lot of ego in pro sports.

You know who managed "by the book"? Earl Weaver. (admittedly, he also wrote sections of it) i don't understand this desire for Rocco to be making more decisions that are based on instinct or guesswork or "feel". is it the hope that he'll get more of them wrong and get fired faster? Most of the time the "genius" moves by a baseball manager are good players playing well at the right time.

we also got one back. Miller's stock had probably dropped after showing minimal improvement at the plate. So far both players are doing better in their new environments, so maybe they both just needed a change. We'll see where that lands at the end of the season, but we didn't just hand over a prospect for Margot: Doncon has value too.

the one thing we all have to remember is pretty much everyone who is saying this about Margot this year...was also saying this about Kepler last season. (That includes me) We weren't just ripping the FO for hanging on to Gallo and letting him play when he was brutal at the plate, we wanted Kepler cut loose too. Max didn't get going until July when he made us all (including me) look stupid. Now, both Gallo and Kepler were playing better defense last year than Margot has shown so far, and we had more significant injuries to manage as well (I recall saying that Kepler was going to get to keep his job because we didn't have anyone else and was a better bet than Gallo so what the hell. But I certainly didn't see his second half coming, and very few people on these boards did either). but it's the FOMO with an example like Kepler that keeps teams hanging on to a Gallo or a Margot. When exactly is the right time to "know" that a guy just doesn't have it this year? With Margot being poor on defense and showing such limited utility even if he starts performing better...I think it's safer to be more aggressive. If Buxton is back quickly, I think Margot should be feeling the heat.

Frankly, it's what most teams do: stick with the veteran and hope they turn it around rather than pay them to go away, but especially teams with more limited resources. The sunk cost fallacy is a real thing in baseball for sure. I'm as frustrated with Margot as everyone. The fact that he's not trusted to play CF and has performed so poorly in the corners on defense is frankly a shocker. He's been a zero at basically everything he should have been good at. The acquisition was defensible if underwhelming at the time, but so far it's been a total failure. It didn't hurt much early in the season because Buxton was playing almost every day, but now that he's hit the IL (which was a surprise to no one, including twins management) Margot seems utterly incapable of being a contributor. He's substantially better against LHP, but hardly good. But it's balanced by him being unplayable against RHP right now. It's still a small sample, but there's little to suggest he's figuring anything out. Basically, the only thing he should be used for right now is as a PH against a LH reliever, and only when there's someone else available to replace him. That's pretty awful, when benches are only 4 dudes. I hope the twins are more aggressive about replacing him on the roster than they have been with veterans in the past.

there is no memo, there are no "my boys", there's no mandate like this, it's entirely made up.

McCusker sure had himself a day. he's hit ever since joining the organization, but he will need to keep the Ks manageable in order to keep climbing. Looks like we signed him out of the independent leagues? Good scouting to spot him as a potential hitter. Power is for real, even in the Texas League. He's not young, so he need to advance. Great news on Zebby Matthews moving up to AA! He's certainly earned it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does there. With Lewis on the IL it's nice to see another pitcher advancing.

Any time I see the "spreadsheets and algorithm" comments it's like Miss Othmar on the Peanuts cartoons. because now we're on a pre-determined course that doesn't even have anything to do with the game. I think it was a tough decision on Ober. he was effective in the game, but was NOT dominant (I was there, and he wasn't exactly dealing). He got through the 4th 1-2-3 but had a lot of trouble finishing off Garver & Urias. 5th inning was 1-2-3, but had 2 hard-hit balls to left and he had a number of balls hit to the OF last night that were fortunately right at guys. facing the top of the order in the 6th, I don't think it was a bad call to go to Sands. And that one worked out, Sands got through it clean. While I don't care for Rocco being as aggressive as he is with the bench in the middle innings, the Farmer sub for Julien is justifiable for the improved defense as he came in with the lead. I'm ok with that one. The one that was a poor choice and not particularly justifiable was going to Margot for Larnach. There's no defensive benefit attached to replacing your DH and Larnach is one of our better hitters right now, regardless of the platoon split, and going to Margot that early takes Larnach off the field. While I understand the idea of breaking a game open (and I don't disagree with it, really) going to Margot for Larnach with a runner on second isn't enough of an advantage to make it worth pulling Larnach's bat out of the lineup so early, when you know he's going to come up again. leaving Alcala in for a second inning is a tough one: he's pitched multiple innings before, and they seemed to be looking to have him be a guy who could go more than 1 inning. But the real question is whether they should have put that burden on Sands to come out for the 7th, and I think that was the choice that they got wrong. They should have at least asked Sands to come out for the 7th because they would have had options in Okert/Jackson/Alcala to come in had respond if Sands started to wobble, but by the 9th they've already used those up. but this one is more along the lines of "decision that looks bad because the results were sh!t" rather than "horrible process and decision-making". If you can't trust Jackson to face the 5-7 guys in a lineup, then there's no point in having him, and he's been fine in these situations this year. not elite, but a decent veteran option. I mean, who really had Mitch "my legs are so bad no one will let me catch any longer" Garver beating out an infield hit? Rocco deserves the stick for yanking Larnach for Margot in the 5th, though. Too early to pull a good hitter who has been swinging the bat well for a mediocre hitter who has struggled all season just for the platoon advantage. That's probably the biggest problem I have with Rocco's game management overall, and it went poorly last night.

A lot of us love defense. And the Twins organizationally value defense more than I think you believe, or they wouldn't have signed guys like Vazquez or Santana. Or kept running with Kepler when his bat didn't deserve it. At catcher they seem to have recognized that Garver wasn't going to stay healthy back there and weren't confident that Rortvedt could hit enough to be anything more than a backup. Since the Twins prefer to do a 50-50 or 60-40 share between their catchers, I can see how expecting Rortvedt to hold up a 40% share might have been hard. It certainly would have been a disaster last season. Jeffers has clearly been the better bet.

Yeah, last year he simply couldn't throw which ruled him out for 3B. And with lewis playing so very well at 3B it was easy to think of Miranda as being a 1B/DH guy especially since that's where he had the best chance of finding PT. But he's been looking solid enough at 3B for sure. he does still kinda swing at everything, which makes me nervous...but he does have very good bat to ball skills, so hopefully he can continue to work hits.

Yeah, last year he simply couldn't throw which ruled him out for 3B. And with lewis playing so very well at 3B it was easy to think of Miranda as being a 1B/DH guy especially since that's where he had the best chance of finding PT. But he's been looking solid enough at 3B for sure. he does still kinda swing at everything, which makes me nervous...but he does have very good bat to ball skills, so hopefully he can continue to work hits.

odd start from Festa, but it's one of those where you look at it and can see why he's a top prospect and why he's still in AAA. He's still under 150 total innings in the high minors, so there's work to be done. but the talent is there. Chourio and Doncon are both doing all right in the FSL, and Winokur is a nice fit along with them. Wish Jenkins was back, but there's no way the Twins take any chances with that hammy of his, so I'm not expecting him back until June.

Let's check back in on that Rortvedt opinion in July and see if you still prefer him? Because there's little to suggest that Rortvedt's out-sized success at the plate so far this season is anything more than small sample size. That BABIP isn't remotely sustainable, so once a bunch of those singles start turning into outs again his value at the plate diminishes rapidly. (I'm baffled by the idea that TB has a drastically different hitting approach than MN; Rocco cut his teeth in TB and clearly respects their development patterns and approach) I was a Rortvedt backer from the jump, but there's little in his history that suggests this is sustainable for him; he's always had the profile of a backup. Much as I've always liked him, I'd wager money he won't be a league average hitter this season, and I'd wager the same kind of money that Jeffers will be one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. The split that the Twins do on their catchers probably keeps Jeffers from getting the same kind of attention that some of the bets catchers get, but if he keeps hitting near this he will get his flowers. While I'd like more production from vazquez, I think the Twins concept of shared catching duties is a smart one and it's helped Jeffers flourish. We'll see where his framing numbers land at the end of the season, but he's doing a good job blocking the plate (a real concern a few seasons ago) and limiting the running game. I don't think any Twins pitchers have a problem throwing to jeffers. Twins had a big advantage with Joe Mauer's offense at catcher back in the day. It's a big advantage having Jeffers offense back there today, and he's been a key man in running the twins back into contention.

The wins keep a-rollin'! Gotta love it. Hottest team in baseball, and recovered nicely from the early season blues. Streaks like this aren't easy and I love seeing it. Be awesome if they can take out the BoSox again on sunday and sweep a 4th series in a row. Lopez has looked good this season and then had the one bum inning that messes up his line and makes it tougher for the Twins to pull out the win. Today he escaped without significant damage and got through his 6 pretty clean. Hopefully he gets on a bit of a roll. We've seen him dominate before, and 8 K's in 6 is pretty fine. Hope it's nothing serious with Stewart and this is more precautionary than anything else, but the bullpen depth sure makes it less worrisome. Just win, baby.

rotten news about Lewis. had real hopes for him, and the move to the 60-day is bad bad news. so hard to keep pitchers healthy. Maybe they really are taking the right approach with Raya?

I'm really happy to see him hitting well and looking solid at 3B. I do have some concerns that his approach isn't going to be sustainable as teams get more tape on him; better pitchers in MLB do tend to exploit guys who swing at everything. I don't expect him to take a ton of walks, but ticking up that box a little more could make a real difference. We'll see how he responds when he gets into a bad stretch, if he can adjust to the adjustments pitchers are making against him. But his struggles last season were clearly related to his injury status and he looks much much better this year. I can't really blame the Twins for being concerned about putting 1B in the hands of Miranda and Kirilloff out the gate; both guys hadn't been healthy and Miranda in particular had real questions whether he was fully healthy coming into the year. And beyond those guys the next man up in the minors would have been...Severino? Who had limited PT at 1B and no MLB experience (and he's really struggled so far in AAA this year). Here's hoping Miranda keeps making a decision on who to replace when Lewis comes back very very difficult.

Really good win. Jax and Duran look pretty great out there, and that's bad for other teams. I'm amazed how how easily Duran throws 101. There doesn't seem to be any extra effort or strain when he throws that fastball and then the gun shows 101 and you just shake your head. Excellent start from Paddack, and hope it's a sign of things to come. Maybe Keith Law will acknowledge Paddack as being a starter now. (unlikely) Good job breaking open the game but the offense, showed a lot of patience there.

I think so too. Prospect development is not linear. Miranda is looking good this season after an awful year in 2023, marred by injury. He seems intent on forcing his way onto the roster, which is great. Wallner will get it back together, but Larnach may keep him down in AAA anyways. These are the problems you want to have.

well, this is the difference between actually running a franchise and thinking about it like a fantasy club, right? Fantasy owners can be as cutthroat as they want with no long-term consequences for player acquisition. There's always a pool of players on the fringes to choose from to churn the back end of your roster to try to make marginal gains or catch someone for a few hot weeks and move on. Doesn't work that way IRL. Notably, Vazquez wasn't brought up here (mostly because with another year on his deal, no one realistically sees a way to move on from him), but he's so far managing to be even worse at the plate than last season and making it a 3-way race for "worst hitter" on the Twins between him, Farmer, and Margot. But at least the defense has been very good so far. It'll be interesting to see what happens if everyone is healthy when Lewis is ready to come back and if Miranda continues to hit. That's probably the first point where there could be a little crunch on the position player side. And if Margot keeps hitting LHP reasonably well, I doubt they move on from him. It would be interesting to see if Jackson would get through waivers. He's been...fine? he looks like a lot of middle relievers, I think someone else might take him if we tried that dance.

I'm happy to see success for Cespedes, who hadn't done a lot to this point and is having a breakout campaign so far. but to me it has to be Emma Rodriguez, who is putting up equally massive numbers, doing it at a high levels, and is 2 years younger. sure the hitting environment in the Texas League is better than the Midwest, but being older/younger for your level makes an impact too. Rodriguez is 3 years younger than average for his level, and Cespedes is nearly a year older. With the stats being what they are for both guys (Emma at 1.193 OPS vs Rubel at 1.104 OPS) even adjusting for hitting environments, I think I take the younger player at the higher level. be interesting to see if Cespedes can keep raking and earn an early promotion, though.