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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    Also mentioned in the ex-Twins thread, Nick Anderson has 12 Ks vs only 1 BB and 1 run allowed in 5.2 IP for the Marlins so far. Also in low leverage, though (maybe the Marlins don't have a lot of high leverage innings?).
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, Kinley's still being used in mop-up situations -- .58 gmLI so far in 2019. About the same as Perez, or Belisle last year, etc. But he had a good spring too.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, when the Mets pitcher came up to bat, there was only 1 out, and after consecutive walks, he probably wasn't going to swing the bat to make a DP possible. So at that point, the Twins had to assume the top of the order was going to come up with runners on base that inning, and could make their reliever warm-up decisions accordingly. (McNeil made the second out of the inning on the bases during the pitcher's at-bat.) Also, an official Quality Start™ requires 6 innings, not 5.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, he only pitched 102 innings last year, so not too many bullets, at least. And now that he's at AA, and he requires a 40-man spot after the season anyway, perhaps we'll see him in MLB before too long. Alcala and Jax are in a similar spot at AA.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    True, although the 5 walks in this game stand out a bit more. He did that once last year too, but it was in 4 shutout innings.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    That's another thing to keep in mind here -- Balazovic is repeating the level. Not that he's old, of course, but he has faced this level of competition before, which might explain some of his hot start. Also, while he's been very good through 2 games, he hasn't been as efficient as one might like to see. 83 pitches and he didn't finish the 5th inning in this start. Outs and strikeouts are nice, but it seems like the best prospects can put away minor league hitters with a bit more efficiency. Obviously still very early in the season, and early in Balazovic's career, so plenty of time for him to improve -- but it's also probably still early to say Law was right and others wrong too.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, the Astrodome is still alive. I assume the Metrodome is speaking to us from the stadium afterlife. The Silverdome is dead, although that was just over a year ago. Maybe it's still in purgatory? Or maybe it's taking some time coming to terms with its long, unsightly demise: https://architecturalafterlife.com/2014/12/01/the-pontiac-silverdome-apocalypse-stadium/
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    Players who are optioned to the minors have to spend at least 10 days there (or the first 10 days of the season, in this case) before they are eligible to return to MLB. (With the exception if someone goes on the DL/IL.)
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    That average is dragged down by starts like his Philadelphia start, where he struggled out of the gate. What's his average IP when he retires 13 of the first 14 batters on 51 pitches, like he did last night? This wasn't some situation where a guy is laboring leading up to the 5th. Nothing egregiously wrong with his 5th inning leash last night, and in fact it could have worked out just fine with a different choice of reliever.
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Kimbrel's career WHIP is 0.920. Last year it was 0.995.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    No one is arguing that Odorizzi shouldn't have been pulled. But the manager bears some responsibility for selecting the right replacement, especially given the circumstances here with Vasquez.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    3 baserunners (after a leadoff out) and the pitcher due up isn't that different. The key is who you warm up and bring in.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    What game? What's baseball?
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    They wanted to pinch hit for him in the top of 5th because there would have been a runner on base in a 1 run game. And in the 6th he would have been the leadoff batter too, another good spot to pinch hit. Not just because they wanted Odorizzi out of the game. Remember, Odorizzi had allowed only 1 baserunner through 4 innings, on 47 pitches. Mets only had 5-6-7 due up, and if batters reached, it only meant the 8-9 spots would come up, and we knew the Mets weren't going to pinch hit for Thor either. Seems absolutely reasonable to expect Odorizzi to get through that 5th, and if he can't get 8-9 out, pull him for the top of the lineup. We even managed to pull him before a run scored! The problem was not so much *when* we pulled Odorizzi, but *who* we brought in to replace him.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm all for aggressive bullpen ideas, but no way a pitcher's PA, in the 5th inning, requires your best reliever. I could see the argument, though, for getting Rogers or another top reliever warm at that point, ready to come in when the lineup turned over.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    Astudillo hasn't started 5 straight games. He only started one game in Philadelphia over the weekend, and didn't even appear in Sunday's game. He actually only has 5 starts for the season so far.
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Benson was hurt a bit in his last 2 seasons in the Twins org. Not sure if it really affected his defense -- his bat was bad enough those seasons that it probably didn't matter! I just noticed that Benson was drafted out of Joliet Catholic Academy. It's a shame he didn't stick around, he could have been known as "Joliet Joe" and on a mission from God!
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, Benson was primarily a CF in the minors for the Twins, and I don't believe he was considered a liability there defensively.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, ZiPS projected Cron at 112 wRC+ this year, and Steamer at 115. As compared to Austin's 101 and 100, respectively. Roughly a 0.6-0.8 WAR difference over a full season, it seems?
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    The game risked was with Pineda on the mound, on Saturday afternoon, after a bunch of relievers were used on Friday night. That's the game for which we called up De Jong. And an injury insurance player is not necessarily more valuable than 1 game in the short term (i.e. your reference to April 12). And over the long term, the cost of the roster spot will put more than just a single game at risk.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm not sure most of the complaints are based on actual robbery, but rather perceived robbery...
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Baltimore didn't have a chance to claim him, since he was traded before we had to put him on waivers.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    Thanks for sharing. That pre-injury 2018 line was a super small sample of course (86 PA), but a few of the underlying peripherals certainly weren't unsustainable: 12.8 BB%, 23.3 K%, .333 BABIP. He hasn't sustained anything close to that .246 ISO yet, of course. FWIW, it looks like he had a similar cooling off in 2017, without injury. His 2017 OPS by month: June: 1.001 July: .665 (further split into .754 first half of the month, .592 second half) August: .539 Not that I necessarily buy that monthly splits are all that indicative of much... Edit to add: also, this information would have been more encouraging if we had acquired him in the offseason. I don't like to appeal to authority, but I'm guessing the Giants wouldn't have traded him for Tyler Austin (to play outfield?) if Ziegler showed anything like that 2018 pre-injury line in camp this spring.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Personally, I don't mind the imperfections of human umpires, but I'm starting to endorse robo-umps, in the hopes that it would reduce the "we wuz robbed!" fan commentary.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    Perhaps Tyler Austin can attend!
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