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JD-TWINS

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  1. JD-TWINS
    If Paddack has enough command to make the roster it’s a big deal for the Pen! (35 - 50 pitches) Varland looks very sharp for 1-2 inning stints! (35 - 50 pitches) Maeda is a solid option! (60 pitches) If Stewart gets rostered & pitches this week our Pen is loaded on paper!!! (15 - 25 pitches) Pagan - Jax - Thielbar - Duran Funderburk may stick for spot duty v. LH hitters.
  2. JD-TWINS
    Have 5 good arms……Maeda’s experience makes me want to lean toward him for game 3. Good note from someone yesterday showing Ryan’s very positive splits at home & Maeda’s success on the road. Sure sounds like organization has made the decision & Maeda is in the Pen. Paddack worries me - he needs to get on the mound soon to see where he’s at with his head & command. I like keeping Funderburk in Pen for spot uses v. lefty batters. Kuechel will probably get a start on the weekend in Colorado but I think he’s done after that point. Looks like Twins are leaning toward a Pen consisting of these guys: Jax - Pagan - Paddack - Duran - Thielbar - Maeda - Varland - (Funderburk &/or Stewart) Could only roster 3 starters for WC & carry 11 or 12 pitchers……..14 or 15 bats? How the guys pitch remains to be seen & it could be good or bad………however, I don’t think anybody in the Post-Season has a better 8 or 9 guys in their Pen! CC - Lewis - Castro - Buxton need to get healthy this week.
  3. JD-TWINS
    So resting guys - starting a lesser line-up, is not unusual. Not pinch hitting later in the game, after guys didn’t come through with bases loaded in first & second, was strange. Out of character for Baldelli. The thing I was bothered by was when Farmer got hit to lead off the 9th & Taylor came up with no outs (with a bench full of potential pinch hitters) & he didn’t BUNT to get tying run to 2B with less than two outs. Why are we not playing for a tie at home???? It’s 1-0, if we tie, anything can happen. Go extras & we have a shot with a bit of momentum going to 10th. Did not - do not understand!!
  4. JD-TWINS
    I was at Cincinnati game in RF seats, Wednesday afternoon & the ball that was hit for a triple off the base of the wall v. Winder should have been caught by Taylor. It was waist high on the wall…..Taylor called off Kepler. Not running real well since back. Does seem off. Swinging through a lot of pitches.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Didn’t read any other responses, so this may be redundant? Can’t say Lee has a .608 OPS v. LH pitching & then later say he mashes SOUTHPAWS. Southpaws are LH pitchers. A mistake, no big deal. He hits RH pitching better than Farmer. Get it. Farmer was earmarked to be our starting SS in ‘23 until Lewis/Lee or another would be ready to take over in ‘24 sometime. Farmer has played well……..a rational mind doesn’t go away from experience and a solid capability to “see how things work out” with a kid that was in AA until 5 weeks ago. I believe Lee will be a long time starter and big time performer for the Twins in the future, but making line-up/roster changes with 7 days left in the season ………particularly with a clubhouse “glue guy” like Farmer doesn’t make good sense. Should/could Lee be on September roster instead of Stevenson - YES…..would love to see him get some play this coming week with CC & Lewis down! Do not think there will be room for him on October roster regardless of others health.
  6. JD-TWINS
    In my mind it was Maeda for the 3rd game of the Playoffs, regardless of where. Ober then being the 4th starter. Your analysis on location splits is obviously valid and am sure management will consider. Overall, I had been thinking Ryan was the best of our lower 3 starters to be used in the Pen. Uses fastball lots and might gain a couple ticks only going one or two innings in relief? If your numbers are what you say they are, I agree that Ryan should be considered for a home start in one of the first 2 series.
  7. JD-TWINS
    The article makes sense - did the FO think things through to get to this Division winning end or did they just get lucky? One has to assume they were conscious of the circumstances around them, since it’s their job. They moved Jorge Lopez and remedied a bad situation. Cleveland was the only team near us July 25-31. They traded Josh Bell - traded Civale - Bieber & McKenzie on 60 day IL until September 15. No reason to fear them if one has any confidence in the Twins roster. Guardians gave up! Not getting relief pitching seemed crazy to me at the time but I had crossed Stewart out for balance of the year and I didn’t realize Funderburk could be as effective as he’s been. With Ryan & Varland ……the core 4 there now……adding Funderburk & Stewart to our October Pen puts us in a very good spot!! Balazovic - Alcala - Headrick - Henriquez - Moran are all 2024 options in the Pen. We are not in a baron situation. I think FO see this and managed the situation accordingly. 1/2 the guys I thought they should try to sign as FA in January-March had terrible years or got hurt……1/2 we’re pretty effective. To me, the 5 guys above that are on our 40 man have similar chances for success in 2024……they just need seasoning/experience. 4 good starters - 8 competent guys in the Pen………….really nothing to complain about from my view!
  8. JD-TWINS
    I only read your last sentence…….who hired the players that made a difference in the second half?
  9. JD-TWINS
    Also, an assumption would be that Varland would give up dingers to a squad that had been up once already or studying him for a few batters. The jump from 94-95 to 97-99 on the four-seam is big but the 91-93 cutter to go with it, makes him tough to feel good about hitting, if he’s only facing 3-5 of your guys at a time. It’s intriguing. The real attraction is that he throws his fastball the proper amount v. Duran. Varland is up around 60% while Duran is around 46%. 46% of your pitches - with 1/2 of them wildly high out of the zone does not do his fastball justice! He needs to throw for more strikes & more frequently! He’s still pitching like he’s a starter as a closer. Great curve - really good split - outstanding fastball…………gotta pitch to get ahead & not to look cool. Understand it’s gratifying fooling guys with the curve or to get a swing & miss on a splitter. Getting guys out is the job - 102-103Mph is flashy enough!!!
  10. JD-TWINS
    Maybe in a Playoff Series going forward if Duran is spent. Interesting thought for ‘24 & beyond……the “bulldog” attitude fits a closer mentality. With those 2 guys alternating the mental challenges of Closer with Jax complementing would be really something to see………..similar to the Reds Pen of ‘90…..nasty boys!
  11. JD-TWINS
    Don’t like their starting pitching…..meaning they can be good! Valdez - Javier - (3rd guy?) - Brown in the 4th spot……….they can all be dominant when they are on - not just decent - dominant.
  12. JD-TWINS
    Q: Is Luplow an option to bring back for October if Buxton cannot contribute. His .250 Average & .795 OPS is something that we should consider from a depth standpoint. Carrying 15 bats - we’ll probably have teams target lefties against us to neutralize our LH hitters - Luplow may be a valuable option? I’d rather have his RH bat v. Stevenson from the left side.
  13. JD-TWINS
    Glad we have his glove at 2nd while Julien develops………may need it at 3B if Royce is out very long. Solid hitter that extends our line-up with other competent guys like Kirilloff - Solano - etc.
  14. JD-TWINS
    I was in 7th row off 3rd base dirt and he looked fine. This was after the run down to 1B where it did look like some lower body problem. The heel - then hamstring explanation makes perfect sense. He was riding bike and apparently comfortable doing so on Wednesday pre-game. He sits the Angels Series and re-evaluate this weekend for last handful of games.
  15. JD-TWINS
    Gotta start somewhere. Mildly encouraging. Him DHing v. LH bat & being a PH is worthwhile. Needs to be effective. Easily fits on roster if we carry 15 bats in WC round. Depending upon his health, along with CC & Lewis, he may stick in 2nd round. If we get to AL Championship he’ll have to have contributed or he’ll be dropped as we will go to at least 12 pitchers in a 7 game series……..no deadwood at this point. He could be a nice surprise but he’s not needed for us to succeed - it’s not Byron or else.
  16. JD-TWINS
    TWINS fan - live in Cincinnati - was at the game. Great win for the Club with broad contributions! Greene deserved a win.
  17. JD-TWINS
    That was great - I was in Great American & was laughing big time when we pulled the double-steal. David Bell must have nearly had a stroke. Aggressive move - not sure we do that if Rocco’s in the dugout? Big win! Jax needs to trust his stuff!! Can’t come into games & walk guys.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Julien - Polanco - Lewis - Kirilloff - Solano - CC - Farmer - Taylor - Castro - Kepler - Wallner - Stevenson - Vazquez - Jeffers - Buxton (15) Lopez - Gray - Maeda (non-roster Ober) Varland - Ryan - Funderburk - Jax - Pagan - Thielbar - Duran - (either Stewart or Kuechel)(11) …………………. Paddack Gordon Alcala are all guys we need to wait on until 2024.
  19. JD-TWINS
    Don’t see any bias in choosing Cole for Cy Young. Gray is having a nice season - maybe his biggest attribute is he’s taken the ball every time when it’s his turn. His mental adjustments (strategy) between starts have been impressive in 2nd half. For some reason (outside of lack of run support) the Team’s record is in the neighborhood of 14-18 when Gray starts. Maybe he’s up against best pitching competition? Not sure. At any rate, I too would like the Twins try to sign Gray for 2 year maximum contract, somewhere around $47M total. Maeda for 2 years and 1/2 that amount is another option to maintain depth! Paddack - Ober - Varland - Lopez - Ryan looks great on paper but another guy would be smart for the organization. Qualifying offer of $20M to Gray - getting the draft pick when he walks - signing Maeda probably is best strategy. Hope Sonny gets some votes!!
  20. JD-TWINS
    He’ll start at SS 6-8 more games. He’ll rest as much as possible. Too many others need AB’s & they’ll be DHing the remainder of the year. He’ll feel better but far from feeling good! More concerned about getting pitching lined up! Am assuming we’ll exchange Buxton for Stephenson on active roster for September 25 through remainder of the year.
  21. JD-TWINS
    Pretty sure it can be assumed the medical staff is involved daily.
  22. JD-TWINS
    I like Maeda potentially followed by Ryan in a playoff game. Very different styles. Maeda has experience & I like Ryan’s stuff out of the Pen. It seems to take more cuts to damage Maeda v. the Big Swing with Ryan. We’ll see over the next 10 days…….I think Ober sits first Series to get maximum bats on roster. Kuechel is too much risk to bring into a playoff game - not sharp enough, consistently. Ryan’s fastball command was poor last night and he can’t lean on his other pitches enough to be effective without his velocity in the zone. His high fastball has to be called or swung at 70% of the time. Last night it was a “take pitch” and then the splitter was getting tagged when it was up!
  23. JD-TWINS
    Outscored opponents 102-58 since September 1st…….last 16 games. Playing at home. Kirilloff - Polanco - Lewis healthy…….Kepler - Solano - Julien - Walner - Jeffers all in place……..CC & Buxton as our 2 weak links. Taylor - Castro - Farmer for depth pieces. Varland - Maeda - Funderburk added to the Pen. I like our chances in the first series!
  24. JD-TWINS
    Miranda to 3B???……gotta have a better plan than that to be successful. ‘23 season: Didn’t hit, poor defense, & hurt………a lot like Buxton only he hit 17 HR hobbling around for 50% of the season.
  25. JD-TWINS
    I don’t see Celestino seeing our active 26 man ever again. Martin has to get seasoned more to be an option…….maybe by mid-June or later in the summer. Rodriguez as a Call-up in September of ’23.is a possd Buxton will have perpetual health issues - as he has in 8 of his first 9 years! Can hardly play 50% of the games as a DH. Can’t move him so therefore we try to keep him healthy and DH him as appropriate and have him play CF in 40 games HOPEFULLY! Taylor makes sense as a depth OF in Center or either corner. Castro will be back - I saw in the Athletic today that he’s tied for 3rd as fastest time when stealing at 28.6ft per second…….4th in AL in steals, with 31, as a part-time player.
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