Linus

I was hopeful he would end up at first but that apparently not happening. I am interested in another poor fielder only if he hits like Tony O. Otherwise let’s be done with slo pitch softball lineups.

Why do they not play Larnach in RF? I don’t get it.

I just think defense is so much harder to measure than hitting or pitching. There are so many subtle things that happen when the ball is in play that are hard to quantify. Recently Buck got thrown out at third on a really close play. I actually think he was safe and for the sake of argument let’s say he was. The cutoff man on the play was nowhere near the proper spot to accept the throw from right/center field. Had he been ruled safe it would have gone down as Buck taking an extra base on the outfielder when it was the cut off man that screwed up. Proper cut position and Buck would have been out by 3 feet. Another example: ball hit in the RF corner and the batter tries for a double. The throw to second was pretty good but Keaschall set up behind the base so the extra length the ball had to travel and the extra time it took for Keaschall to lunge forward to tag the runner made him safe. That will be another demerit to the outfielder when it was Keaschall bad positioning that allowed the runner to be safe. How about infielders that have a bad pivot on the double play? Recent game where the hitter hit a high bouncer that Brooks waited back on instead of taking 1-2 steps in to get the ball to Keaschall who reaches out to get the ball then bring it back to cock his arm and unleash a rainbow to first. Announcers brush it off as too slowly hit when in fact multiple mistakes were made trying to turn two. Runner was safe by a quarter step and should have been out of the inning. Who gets what grade on that play?

I think Zoll is an interesting topic. When Falvey was around it was impossible to know who was responsible for what. It’s now clear we can attribute results to Zoll singularly. It seems his playbook is similar to Falvey which is not surprising as people tend to hire people who have the same ideas and beliefs. One area that appears to be different is addressing under performing players - Zoll has been quicker to make moves then Falvey IMO. It will take time to get a real read on this situation.

Unfortunately this is a very accurate assessment.

From my observations he has made several good plays coming in on balls, taking hits away. Going back on balls is a different story especially when it comes to catching balls at the wall where he has misjudged where the ball was. Nothing he would receive an error for but balls that many outfielders would make. His throwing seems okay when he manages to throw it to the right base.

Everything I’ve read is that he is not a good outfielder I was encouraged when they started playing him at first but that seems to have stopped.

And now I see Shelton mentioning that he will play some in right field. Huh? Runners will be going first to third at will on him. As my Dad used to say “you could tee it up twice and still not get there”

I will be interested to see Raya pitch - fingers crossed. Not so with Fundy.

To me, contention means fielding a team that is good enough to advance in the playoffs. Sneaking into the third wild card spot in a weird year does not qualify. I want the FO to be big boys and make the decisions necessary to open up a window where the Twins could be good for several years.

I completely agree that Keaschalls offensive profile is badly needed in the Twins lineup. Keaschalls getting on base and stealing some bases would help reduce the boom or bust nature of our offense. There is only one way to know for sure so run him out there and let’s see what he can do. I won’t comment on the defense other than I think he needs to stick at second for the rest of this season.

I said to myself whatever you throw - duck.

Yep. No question quicker reactions are required. People point to his arm injuries as a reason but his mechanics are a mess. He kind of clutches up and releases the ball with his hand somewhat under the ball. There looks to be a lot of tension in his throwing arm and so it takes him more time to get the ball out. No fluidity or throwing arm speed.

Looks like I underestimated the beating the Twins are willing to let Voth take.

Keaschall has two defensive challenges. His glove is inconsistent and he knows his arm is a problem so he makes goofy throwing plays. Julien had the same throwing issues - his arm sucked and he knew it so it caused all kinds of goofiness.

Jeffers is 3 months from being a free agent. There is no way he is signing an extension when he can let 30 clubs bid for his services. He’s gone after this season.

Nice

I think Luke looked up and got confused for a second. Looked like his flip was halfway between Royce and Voth.

Isn’t this your second game in a week?

My guess is unless the Twins put some on the board this half Voth is gonna throw 60 pitches and be dfa tomorrow

Freddie doesn’t seem fooled by Voth

Brooks starts strutting on the foul ball 😀

It was which is why Brooks needs to take 1-2 steps to get the ball instead of waiting. Luke has a slow release and threw a lollipop to first

That double play attempt was SLOW

He’s not a good hitter - look at his stats. As far as his “character” we have no idea. He’s gotten more chances than many and he’s 27 so no, we don’t need to be patient we need to find corner outfielders that OPS more than 660