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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    No doubt - Royce Lewis!! We’re used to CC - Buxton - Kepler and have stayed competitive with their wavy play. Same with piecing the Pen together without Thielbar. Lewis hasn’t been available but we are all assuming he will come back - he’ll start routinely - he’ll be effective. NEED Royce Lewis to contribute in September & beyond!! How big an X-factor if he continues to hit .325 through the remainder of the season?
  2. JD-TWINS
    It’s not being a DH - Right!! His head was maybe messed up with an impending birth??? He went for 7 hits in 4 games back after the Paternity Leave/birth of child - then hamstring. Can’t get a break!! Having lunch and watching MLB 50 top plays of the month of July. 3 of the Top 25 catches were against Buxton, All in the Baltimore series. Robbed of double, triple, & single……..diving catch - catch jumping off the wall - snagged a line drive respectively. He’s not getting breaks and then other times he’s just not executing - bad combination! Not mentally soft because he’s not playing CF.
  3. JD-TWINS
    I don’t mind seeing Kuechel after Lopez or Gray for an inning or two in playoffs …….maybe turn a couple guys around in middle innings - force pinch hitters to be used? He’s a Veteran - he’d potentially be great used against right piece of a lineup! How about an 8th inning between Jax & Duran……..pretty different look for opposition!! Long way to go to worry about the playoffs.
  4. JD-TWINS
    Ryan was 5th in the AL in K’s 2 starts ago at 148. His hard hit contact is different than Kuechel’s hard hit contact. I believe 17 dingers in last 7 starts. I like Joe & his leg or tired arm certainly have played into his problems. Kuechel gives up a line drive to Left at 88MPH and right after he strikes somebody out Ryan gives up 105MPH 15 rows deep. Kuechel’s used to not striking guys out - used to base path traffic - used to contact to get outs. My point is a guy like Ryan may get 5 ground balls per outing & Kuechel may give up 5 fly balls per outing. His approach & experience is of value.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Noted. Lopez & Gray & the rest of the Staff give up we’ll hit liners to Taylor & Kepler all the time. They are outs and part of the game. Kuechel got lucky on a liner to Castro at 3B to end an inning. He also gave up 2 bade hits in front of Julien which were both taps off the end of the bat. Kuechel’s value is his composure & his lack of HR given up.
  6. JD-TWINS
    Oliva cup to drink from routinely as a 4-5 year old. “Tony O!” My older sister was the Pillsbury’s nanny/cook for a couple years while at the U …….we got their tickets a few rows behind the Twins dugout a couple times. Jim Kaat playing catch 30-40 feet away in front of the dugout - I was hooked! Started playing baseball in summer of ‘70. Twins were good ‘69 & ‘70. Kaat - Peranoski - Perry - Blyleven Tovar - Carew - Cardenas - Oliva - Killebrew Great days!! Brothers were both into the game and were 14 & 15 years older than me so they were a big influence out in the yard. My Dad knew more baseball history than most, so that was fun as well.
  7. JD-TWINS
    Farmer is signed for ‘24. Lee will be on the club at some point in ‘24. Castro will still be on the club……part time player w/o a steal through most of April…..30 steals out of 34 tries on August 8. Position flexibility!! My assumption is that whichever plays well through playoffs will get his option excercised. Kepler seems to have a leg up on Polanco now because of the lean toward Julien &/or Lee at 2B in future and Polanco’s inability to stay on the field. Gotta be available! If he holds together - it’s Max in right in ‘24.
  8. JD-TWINS
    He had reasonable command Sunday. If he doesn’t walk guys, big ask, he can give a bunch of hits up and only 3 runs or less through 5 innings. That’s what we need. We need him to provide rest for others and “average” pitching results. He gave up 7 hits Sunday and 3 of them were rollers in front of our infielders and one was a flare over SS. He looked good. Best part is he’s 35 & experienced! He’s used to contact. He’s composed & I look for him to, not be perfect, but effective in a handful of outings. He may fail 2 of 8 starts?? - the rest for others is worthwhile in the end. If guys go out tired, they have a bad outing anyway, & they are still tired!
  9. JD-TWINS
    Exactly! Jeffers DHed between his last two catching stints - he’s playing well & used to days off. Don’t screw that up. Julien struggles v. lefties. Solano hurt his knee so the other available 1B goes into the game. These things are why there’s more than 9 guys on a team. What’s the mystery?
  10. JD-TWINS
    He missed a waste high throw from the catcher on a steal play at 2B about 3 days ago. Completely missed the ball - decent throw - looked like a fool. I like Julien, but he has no intuitive feel on the defensive side. He needs to get to Winter ball somewhere after season ends and he needs to work on his skills at 2B!!!
  11. JD-TWINS
    Farmer is signed for ‘24. Not a bad thing. Need a roster spot. Julien HAS to get better and able to play at least 50% of the time at 2B. He needs 2 weeks off after season and then he needs to go to the Infielder’s version of Driveline!!! Can’t complain about Buxton “clogging the DH spot all year” and then just park Julien there for next 10 years. Lewis - Castro - Martin ……..possibly Castro as best option ……….need to play CF. Gordon is a long shot to stick but he should certainly be given an opportunity in CF with this group above as well. Honestly, I don’t see us hanging on to an oft injured Polanco. Lee - Castro - Julien - Farmer seem to have 2B covered! Larnach or Taylor or both are out of the mix……more than likely, Polanco as well. Need the roster spots for youth………abandoning Solano??
  12. JD-TWINS
    If he stays healthy and gets in another 44-45 games the OPS+ of 110 should be attainable with 25 HR in ‘23. His BA should finish above .240. His defense is solid. Continuity with the club …….he seems enthused to play. Big cuts - good contact - even when making outs! He needs to keep rolling at some positive level, particularly in playoffs, & then Twins will have to pick up his option for ‘24.
  13. JD-TWINS
    This could be the best FO move to come to fruition in August! If he can get us 5-6 competitive missed starts between Ryan - Ober - Gray - Lopez, through August & early September, we are golden! We can carry him & Ryan in the Pen in playoffs along with Thielbar - Headrick - Jax - Pagan - Balazovic - Duran 12 man staff & we can carry an extra bat in playoffs as 4 starters is plenty. Really hope he can stay focused. He’s so different in today’s game that he will continue to give teams trouble if he can maintain command! Long way to go but his first outing was really solid!
  14. JD-TWINS
    Mahle - Maeda - Gray - Polanco - Kepler - Gallo - Taylor - Solano………That’s near $70 million gone from $153 in ‘23. Castro is cheap - Farmer is signed. Vazquez - CC - Buxton all sunk money, can’t change. Kepler’s gotta perform but he sure does seem to have found something. He’s hitting the ball hard on fly outs. Had been popping up to SS & hitting rollers to the right side for most of 3 months! Seems to have a purpose to punish the ball……that was lacking. I think they sign him or Polanco. Polanco can’t stay healthy and he’s not tearing it up. Whoever plays well through the playoffs will have a great chance of getting re-upped They almost have to re-sign Maeda & Solano - that’s maybe $15M & then Kepler for $10M….. that still leaves $45M to spread to pitchers (early sign Ober)……..Ryan needs to rebound when healthy to consider him. Duran & Jax deserve offers and it gets them security and keeps price down for Twins.
  15. JD-TWINS
    He’s here for ongoing chemistry - another “insurance” guy. He’s solid at 1B (No, Polanco - Julien - Wallner - Larnach are not playing 1B) and is around in case somebody else in the core group goes down. He’s been terrible - nobody can support him! FO wants him for continuity through the Lewis - Buxton - Kirilloff injuries……probably through August……..they may even IL Joey to buy time in August? They can then carry him as one of the extra 2 guys through September. He’s definitely done October 2, even though they will probably carry 14 position players in playoffs. Can’t have him taking up a roster spot at crunch time …….50 plus % strikeout guy is gone in playoffs.
  16. JD-TWINS
    Charmed life?? Maybe relative to push from fellow competitors? At least 6 pitchers out at times with ailments…… Stewart - Lopez - Mahle - Maeda - Winder Thielbar Polanco & Lewis alone have been a killer, not to mention Buxton & Kirilloff……..gotta be nearly 200 games missed between these 4 starters.
  17. JD-TWINS
    Going Old School with a Tommy John comparison to Kuechel.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Kuechel was solid! Better than solid - rest Ryan - Ober - Gray - Lopez over next month. 5 innings and 3 runs or less would be great per outings Keppler might be the best overall RF in the game for about 6 weeks! Hard to admit. Gotta get off his back……,he’s gonna hit 25HR & .240BA with a .320 OBP…………maybe a .750 plus OPS? Don’t want to hear about how we should have traded him at the deadline due to his “peak value”……,.we need him to win games!!! What a transformation over past 6 weeks!
  19. JD-TWINS
    Can’t “not catch” a waste high throw from the catcher!!! Looked like a distracted 7th grader playing 2B today. Really suspect defense, essentially on every opportunity. Gotta change.
  20. JD-TWINS
    FO has had some things come together by accident - they absolutely deserve credit for the veteran depth they added that was dismissed by most…….pitching is holding up & could be really good down the stretch with some rest. Taylor - Farmer - Solano have been really good as fill-ins who play almost all of the time. Castro was a huge pick-up. While planed upon contributors like Miranda - Buxton - CC - Polanco - Vazquez have underperformed at a minimum. DALLAS KUECHEL - 5 fabulous innings. Gave up 1 run after at least 3-4 weak hits out of 8 total with 2 walks. I don’t care what it looks like if we can get 5 innings & 1-3 runs, he’s capable of giving 3 other starters good rest during the Dog Days. No K’s - who cares!
  21. JD-TWINS
    I love the guy in the batters box!! Can hardly watch him on defense. Nothing looks easy. Nothing looks intuitive - ever. Sooo mechanical. Hope he can fit at DH…..doesn’t seem practical for a young guy! Needs WORK!!!
  22. JD-TWINS
    FO knows we go to 4 starting pitchers in the playoffs…….we play 21 games v. above .500 clubs here on out…….Guardians play 39 games v. above .500 clubs here on out. That alone should grant us the Division. Focusing Jeffers into lineup v. LH pitching along with Lewis being back, we should be capable! We still have 49 games to find ourselves v. LH pitching…….another maybe, 12 games v. LH starters. CC-Farmer-Lewis-Solano-Jeffers-Buxton-Castro-Luplow-Taylor vs. LH pitching Only 4 starters in Playoffs & the need for only 12 total pitchers…….Ober/Gray/Lopez/Maeda……… Ryan-Kuechel-Duran-Jax-Headrick-Pagan-Balazovic-Thielbar Seems crazy but they will try to keep Gallo rostered through August so they can carry him though September (roster expansion) and not mess up team chemistry……..need him for corner OF depth but more importantly at 1B with Kirilloff out another 2-3 weeks.
  23. JD-TWINS
    Same “K situation” with nearly every guy that plays MLB. They are up and it’s just starting to be discouraged after years of going the other way. Situational hitting has been essentially extinct in MLB for years. When do you ever hear the term hit & run………they made the bases 1.5” per side bigger & “the running game” has been reactivated. That’s 3” total between 1st & 2nd - has absolutely ZERO bearing on a stolen base. It comes down to what is emphasized. The bad news is what’s emphasized doesn’t produce wins/runs often times.
  24. JD-TWINS
    Nothing stopping them from just making an offer for next two years……should be done. Maybe $12M per year?
  25. JD-TWINS
    Fans can trust the Twins FO just as much as any FO in the game. None of them are transparent. Not a problem. Miranda - CC - Polanco - Buxton - Vazquez - Larnach all underperforming are not things that were nor should have been anticipated by the FO nor anyone. Gallo was a risk & squarely falls on the FO. They are dragging Gallo along to the roster expansion date just in case they need him due to injury. Now he’s filling in for Kirilloff at 1B…..not the end of the world. It gets very tricky from a roster standpoint when Buxton - Lewis - Kirilloff are all ready to play. May have to creatively “option” pitchers to get to September 1 roster expansion. Who knows, Gallo may “pull a hamstring later this month”?
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