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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    My assumption is Duran’s is by far the lesser experienced guy and the reason Vazquez is on the roster is his experience in all situations. Vazquez trumps Duran……. always pitcher’s choice but that’s the rationale, I assume. As a Team, they need to discuss approach Duran is using………can make mistakes with 100 but curveballs up are problematic. His curve is generally great, and never going to be perfect as an athlete, but they’ve (opposition) figured out that it’s their best shot to hit him.
  2. JD-TWINS
    Agreed! Umpiring can be unfortunate at times but nothing can be done about it so complaining or saying it’s the reason for multiple losses is weak. Our Closer that hadn’t given up a run in a handful or more outings gave up 2 game ending HR’s on his curveball……..,that’s something to be bothered about. Don’t expect Duran to be perfect BUT losing a second game in 3 days, to a non-power guy throwing a hanging curve is tough to stomach. The guy calling the pitches is culpable as well - surprising people with his curve is behind him if he can’t establish his fastball in the zone!
  3. JD-TWINS
    To me, the obvious lack of intuition at 2B for Julien is just something to get used to at this point. Every play looks somewhat mechanical. His bat is why he was the choice at 2B going forward. His bat sucks over most of last month and his approach seems to be a jumble of guessing on pitches. Missing in pitches up & down out of the zone and taking fastballs TOO often. Not sure if moving him down makes sense or not but his Team Value is pretty low right now.
  4. JD-TWINS
    He doesn’t use it enough - he’s in love (Team as well) with his Curveball. Both game losing pitches were curveballs………as a hitter, why not sit on the curveball since it’s the only velocity I can hit??? Obviously, Cleveland’s approach. He had the fastest TWELVE pitches in the game in ‘23. His splinker is 95-98 while dropping. His mid to upper 80’s Curve, if it isn’t down, is a hittable pitch. Gotta change or MIX the approach. OFTEN, he uses 2 pitches (principally) in an outing. If you are batter 3 in an outing and have identified this combination - you have a chance to sit in one pitch. Giving hitters chances for no reason! I know he walked a guy on 4 fastballs out of the zone…….gotta be able to throw 100 in the zone and live with those results.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Jackson may fit a team desperate for experience that has had injures. Who knows? His track record was “reasonable enough” for Twins to sign. He’s pitched for MN for 50 days……..his track record hasn’t gone away. He may turn things around and become a reasonable #7-#8 guy in somebody’s Pen. I think we have better options but it’s a big commitment to cut a guy loose - not saying it’s a bad idea - don’t think they’ll do it though. The “couple others” are not specific to Pen pieces. Miranda - Santana - Larnach - Kirilloff - Prospects ………there’s a broad range of possibilities. Depends how desperate Twins are to move guys - also, depends upon what they expect back in trade………They might just take a couple hundred thousand dollars and trade Jackson on July 25th?? Assuming the “bullpen pieces” you are referring to don’t include Jackson? I could see packaging Staumont & Jackson for a prospect if Topa is healthy and a couple other guys are more effective. Henriquez - Alcala - Jensen - Headrick - Varland - Topa - Winder (probably missed a couple) are all additional potential Pen guys for last couple months that aren’t currently on 26-Man.
  6. JD-TWINS
    Ober dug a hole yesterday - gotta consider pitching around guys occasionally as an approach from the staff………Rameriz and Judge have done some serious damage over last handful of games! No issue with Funderburk - pitchers give up runs regularly. He gave up a run scoring double to a left handed hitter on a flare that hit 4 feet inside the left field line. He had to get loose in the first inning when Ober got to pitch number 30. Then he’s brought in 50-60 minutes later in the 5th. Jackson has been pretty routine. 1-2 good outings - then a clunker. Pretty regular pattern. Thought with more even usage and time he’d work things out. He’s not a regular use guy……….not a good fit and needs to the “mysterious IL stint” or be released. Assumption is they are trying to get to July to trade him and a couple others but he can’t be in the regular Pen mix. That said, relievers are human - not really an exciting opportunity to come into a game down 7-0. Some of his issues Saturday may have started between his ears (little focus) and leaked into his physical performance?
  7. JD-TWINS
    Agree completely with statement #1 from Karbo!! The lefties coming up are always a concern ……could really use Lewis sooner than later. Could be a long 3-4 more weeks. Buxton has to contribute in batters box. Farmer has 2 RBI doubles in consecutive games and Margot went 3 for 4 yesterday. Guys need AB’s to get their performance back to the norm. Both Farmer & Margot are .255ish CAREER hitters. Last year Farmer hit .256 & Margot hit .264. Can’t get out of a hole without AB’s…………they play maybe 3-4 games per week maximum…….in range of 13 - 16 AB’s per week. Can’t quit on guys on May 1st………EVERYONE wanted Kepler to be DFA’d by mid-May last year and were almost rioting by mid-June. Often things work out over 6 months.
  8. JD-TWINS
    I get the fan’s reactions - it’s pretty frustrating (as you know) to see a guy steal 2B and have Castro TAKE ball 4 to get us to two on with one out………………only to have the ump call it strike 3. One guy on base with two outs - completely changes the feel of the inning!!! Ball was BOTH low and outside……..as you mention, there has to be a way to use something, maybe a challenge system a couple times per game? The fact that we hit into 3 double plays through 3 innings has as much or more to do with the loss than anything.
  9. JD-TWINS
    I have stood behind Baldelli for the past 3 years here. “Players play” has been my mantra for the most part - Baldelli (nobody) doesn’t have a crystal ball on how a guy is going to perform in a situation at the moment - just a track record & odds to play. However, the quality of baseball over the last 4 losses (mentally & execution physically) has been tough to stomach. Some of that blame has to go to Coaching STAFF! Guys throwing behind runners - not knowing how many outs there are - illegal alignments - dropped fly ball on the track - etc. ……..all, principally falls on the players. it there needs to be a tightening of the mental attitude. I get that being wound too tight as a Manager could lead to team pressing but real time reminders - interaction with guys on the field from the dugout may help? Jeffers hit a home run and stuck out the following 3 AB’s Tuesday. Julien & Jeffers struck out LOOKING on 3-2 counts on fastballs……..that can’t happen & it needs to be made perfectly clear, particularly with Eddie. Get somebody to watch some re-runs of his backward K’s - it’s gotta change! Duran has been flawless BUT not throwing a fastball to Rameriz and throwing 3 curve balls with a splinker mixed in just gets his timing set-up……don’t understand the approach. If concerned about his contact on a fastball, throw it high or wide but you gotta show it to get the curve to be effective. This is pitching 101 stuff - starts with the Coaching Staff!!!
  10. JD-TWINS
    IMO, with Buxton & Lewis out, Topa & Stewart out & the fact that it’s May 18th…….there are no musts. Could use a win, that’s for sure.
  11. JD-TWINS
    Sands isn’t a high leverage guy but with Thielbar hurt, and then somewhat spotty effectiveness, Topa not being in his role, Duran out - guys had to fill the void, & lately Stewart being down………high usage of Pen arms as there were many games to be won over 3 weeks……..all if this has pulled Sands into higher leverage situations. Personally, I think he just needs to re-set. His walks are way down from 5.4 in ‘23 to 1.9 per 9 in ‘24. His K’s per 9 are great at 12.1. His WHIP is down from 1.52 to 1.07 per 9.0 innings. He has more arrows in his quiver than Balazovic! Rest, for mental clarity, is often as important as it is for physical recharge. Did anyone see Jax last night after 5 days off? He looked awfully sharp/effective!! Hoping Sands time off recently is beneficial for him.
  12. JD-TWINS
    Isn’t Tonkin in another organization - back to Mets?
  13. JD-TWINS
    You stated you “generally agreed”…….my comment was directed at Doc Gast and the assumption that adding a good rotation piece is somewhat of a given…….if an organization chooses to go that route. I disagree with that - nothing personal.
  14. JD-TWINS
    Worked well ……we were trading from position of strength to dump salary when not competitive, not the reverse. I didn’t say there are no opportunities at the deadline but we aren’t trading a veteran for a prospect to improve long term………. it’s apples & oranges, hence the need to make you & others sigh. The point is, with expanded wild card spots, there will be (has been) a whole bunch of competition for any reasonable starters. IMO, not improving the Team in the offseason and assuming a pitcher, that’s going to improve your rotation, is going to be available is a stretch. It is extremely difficult pick up a solid guy at the deadline. It’s not just a formality of making a couple phone calls. Lastly, to get a guy that looks good on paper, it costs guys like Steer and Encarnacion-Strand.
  15. JD-TWINS
    “So far”, goes for Margot as well as anyone else. I get Gurriel should improve from where he is …….,,NOBODY has more room for improvement than Margot! Polanco is hurt - leading the League in K’s - hitting .192. How is trading those totals (& $10M) a bad deal?
  16. JD-TWINS
    They just won 17 out of 20 games prior to Yankee series……they started terribly and are 2.5 games out of 1st place in Division…….Sands has had a couple bad innings after being excellent for weeks ……..Kepler, since coming back April 21, has 7 hits for RBI with two outs and he’s hit near .400. Not sure what your expectations are?
  17. JD-TWINS
    Polo trade needed to be made regardless - Julien was going to play 2B & Lee is coming at some point…….either DH, 3B or 2B. Polanco, as of Thursday, was leading the A.L. in strikeouts and hitting .192…….,and needed some time off due to tight hamstring. They got a young kid that’s a top 100 prospect on neutral observer list. Topa has the capability to help win games…….maybe not until ‘25 - that would be a drag but it’s possible. I get it, gotta get in the field to help team. Same issue with Jorge. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting .231 with an OPS+ of 88……..2 steals & 5 homers. He’s making $14M/yr for next 3 years……………Margot costs $5.5M and a cheap buyout for ‘25……..he’s terrible…….can’t argue that, but no evidence that at 29 he was going to play like he’s 39. He’s hitting 83 points less than last year and almost 100 points less than ‘22. Lourdes is no savior though & at $14M, not a great value!!
  18. JD-TWINS
    I live in Cincinnati and watch every Twins game I choose to………any other game in MLB as well, daily. People have Apple TV to watch tonight’s game but refuse to get Prime? $149/year on Prime and MLB subscription gets you every game broadcast. …………maybe (my ignorance) there’s a blackout for local broadcast??Assume this works wherever one resides - maybe not?
  19. JD-TWINS
    Seems dramatic - the series absolutely sucked - however, we’re down our 6th/7th best offensive weapon and CF in Buxton as well as our best hitter in Lewis. The Yankees are down a diminishing D.J. LaMahue. Make a catch in LF yesterday (Kirilloff) & remember there’s only 1 out on the fly ball in game 1 (Castro) & we had 2 decent starts v. Yankees. The Yanks are the best team in the A.L. at this point and second best record in baseball. Still embarrassing but not end of the world. I think Twins will be fine in Playoffs if full strength. Concerned about Julien - still too many K’s. Were getting production with K’s previously - lately, not much of anything!! Kirilloff/Wallner/Larnach will give us one decent option in LF by October……this will sort out. Could use Lee’s bat from Left Side as DH sooner than later………any update on him starting to rehab?
  20. JD-TWINS
    I was the biggest proponent for 3 months to sign Montgomery. The Rangers are an odd example as they have Scherzer & deGrom on their payroll. The post is about the cheap ownership of the Twins……..not the hyper aggressive front office of the Twins (that doesn’t exist) Cole Ragans is now K.C.’s future pitching anchor. How did the Mahle trade work out for the Twins??
  21. JD-TWINS
    They don’t grow on trees - these “top starting pitchers” available at the deadline. With the aforementioned frugal ownership position, it’s going to be pretty difficult to be in the mix. We’ll use up a good player/prospect or three and it will be for a 2 month rental as there’s no intention of paying anyone into the future. Don’t see this approach as realistic, nor smart.
  22. JD-TWINS
    Canterino has never been healthy more than 2 weeks at a time. I see him as a stretch to ever pitch in the Show…….Varland is (has to be) starter depth until at least mid-August if not longer. He’ll be in the Pen by September 10th. Alcala will be back as needed for innings relief in the short-term…….don’t get the “sympathy” push for Alcala, due to his mistreatment? He gave up runs in one outing……..how badly mismanaged could have been? The long outing, where he did get knocked around, he got a bad missed strike call - he made some poor pitches - they were out of arms in the Pen and needed him to finish. If they bring Balazovic back, he’s got to be awfully good or he gets replaced and DFA’d……maybe in June if there’s a spot, a need. Jensen & Winder (if healthy) are both reasonable options as well!!
  23. JD-TWINS
    I would think they are independent of each other as they are both depth options at this point. ………If there’s an injury, Varland is up next. If everything is stable, I see Festa getting an opportunity in a month. Something will happen with rotation guys and Varland will be needed over next 12 weeks. Essentially a certainty aligned with history across any staff in the game. Once September arrives, assuming Festa is an option as depth starter, Varland can shift to Pen……..really don’t see that timing changing.
  24. JD-TWINS
    Mid-June is my assumption for him getting his feet wet in the Show. He’ll have an opportunity to throw 5 plus innings 2-3 times between now and then. I think he’ll come up for a game to get a feel at Target. Then back in August for a handful of starts over 4-5 weeks to let other rotation guys skip a start or two. Hope he stays on the right path!! Saw a couple short clips of him throwing and eye test seemed very positive.
  25. JD-TWINS
    Oh boy - as I said somewhere recently, he’s becoming icing on the cake at some point but not to be counted on…….,,thanks for the update. Bummer!
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