Danchat

Oh, now I remember, I did read that somewhere...

I'm surprised they're pulling Andriese here. I thought they'd get another inning out of him. Maybe this means we'll get to see Jepsen at some point?

Well, the TV's fine, it was just the cable box. That needs to be replaced. But it's working now...

Well, my TV died, so I guess it's back to watching the game on MLB Gameday... I'll cheer for a 'In Play - No out(s)'.

Did something happen to Buxton on Friday? I saw he left the game in one of the middle innings... I've been busy the last couple days so I didn't figure out if he got hurt again. Uh, they're Twins?

Game Thread: Twins @ Rays, 8/7 @ 12:10 CT Probable Starters: Kyle Gibson (3-6, 4.94 ERA) vs Matt Andriese (6-2, 2.72 ERA) 1. Battle for the Best of the Worst Who is the worst team in the AL? Is it the Twins (44-66) or the Rays (45-64)? The Twins have been hot since June or the Rays who have fallen apart since then? Comparing them with Pythagorean W-L, the Twins are still the same distance back at 49-61 to Tampa Bay’s 50-59. I definitely believe the Twins are the better team at the moment though… but they’ll have to do better than last night’s game to prove that. 2. The Revenge of Kevin Jepsen and Oswaldo Arcia I was really hoping that Arcia was going to be healthy during this series, but alas, he is not. However, we did get to see Jepsen pitch a scoreless inning last night. I hope the Rays send him back out there and the Twins pulverize him into the dirt. Well… maybe that’s a bit harsh, but it’s frustrating that the Rays have Jepsen, Chih-Wei Hu, and Alex Tapia in their system and the Twins have nothing – only but a good run of Jepsen in 2015 and a bunch of losses in 2016. 3. Lineups Twins Kyle Gibson ® 1. Brian Dozier® 2B 2. Robbie Grossman(S) DH 3. Max Kepler(L) RF 4. Miguel Sano® 3B 5. Eddie Rosario(L) CF 6. Kennys Vargas(S) 1B 7. Jorge Polanco(S) SS 8. Juan Centeno(L) C 9. Danny Santana(S) LF Rays Matt Andriese ® 1. Logan Forsythe ® 2B 2. Nick Franklin (S) LF 3. Evan Longoria ® 3B 4. Brad Miller (L) SS 5. Mikie Mahtook ® CF 6. Corey Dickerson (L) DH 7. Steven Souza Jr. ® RF 8. Tim Beckham ® 1B 9. Luke Maile ® C 4. Random Stuff Hmmmm… let’s look at some random statistics for no reason. Let’s see… each teams’ top 5 players by WAR! (I’m not including traded players) (WAR stat from Baseball Reference) Twins Dozier 3.4 Kepler 2.7 Mauer 2.6 E. Santana 2.1 Kintzler 1.1 Rays Longoria 2.9 Forsythe 2.4 Kiermaier 2.4 Odorizzi 2.3 Andriese 2.0 The Rays starting pitcher is their 5th best player so far… that might not bode well for us. And now… for one more really random stat… WAR per PA! (I calculated the stat by dividing oWAR by plate appearances) Polanco .0119 Vargas .0107 Kepler .0092 Dozier .0075 Grossman .0055 Obviously we’re dealing with very small sample sizes for Polanco and Vargas, but it still shows how well they’ve hit so far. So remember! When Brian Dozier comes up to the plate, he will add .0075 WAR. Hooray for pointless numbers!! Alright, let’s win this one Twins!

When Plouffe is re-instated on Monday, I think they will send Polanco down. If not, then perhaps Buxton. I don't think it'll be Vargas because he's the primary DH and he's hitting really well.

The Twins CAN be good next season. Whether the GM improves this team over the offseason and the development of our young guys will decide whether this will be a good team or a terrible one in 2017. The team's ceiling is high but the floor is very low.

from Rotoworld I think Sano getting demoted is a little more realistic than I imagined.

It's clear the Twins currently don't view him as a SS. He played no SS in AAA and mostly played 2B there. So I think the Twins front office believe Polanco is a 2B, and since Dozier's entrenched at 2B, they might try to trade Polanco. Though that's just conjecture from me. I wouldn't trade Polanco.

Wow, I'm surprised I've never heard of that rule in my life. Now I know!

Question... why is Pressly being credited with the win? I thought Gibson would have gotten it because he lead the game at 8-6? What the specific rules about which pitcher gets a win?

Yep, that's why I keep watching, because it's so darn unpredictable.

The Twins have been simply tearing into two of the best pitchers in the AL this year. How is this the same team that got swept by the lowly Braves?

Kepler is finally getting some respect, as he draws an intentional walk.

Way to go Polanco! Now, will Berrios be able to blow this lead?

KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!

I'm not concerned yet. Our other starters (Gibson, May come to mind) struggled very badly when they first came up, and it took time for them to learn. Berrios will get better.

I think Kepler is my new favorite Twin. I kinda stopped having favorite players a while ago, but Kepler is transcending that decision.

Could you post the source? I don't get why the Twins would want Santiago right now...

I like the Abad trade. Getting Pat Light is a nice return. He's got a 10.5 K/9 in AAA with a 2.32 ERA. If the Twins can figure out how to get his pitches under control, then he could be a very good major league reliever. Hopefully Chargois will be going up and somebody like Duffey or Boshers will be going down. It's time to give J. T. a fair shake. Also, if Santana gets traded, it sounds like it'll be the Blue Jays. I wouldn't trade him unless I got a very good offer, so I'm interested to see what might happen.

For 2017, I see Santana, Gibson, and hopefully Berrios in the rotation. The other two spots will have to be filled somehow - perhaps Mejia wins one, maybe the Twins remember that May was a good starter, or they trade/sign a FA. I'd like it if the Twins didn't go into 2017 with Milone or Nolasco locked into a spot.

Nice to see Pressly getting his first save. He's got a future in this bullpen.

Wow, our defense is trying as hard as they can to lose this game.

The Twins are playing White Sox-like defense. 4 errors already!!! Ummmmm... Max Kepler? (ducks away, tries not to jinx Kepler) But yeah it seems like they all have had a glaring weakness and had to be demoted...