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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    Buxton improved his BA (and thus OBP) 63 points from .183 to .246 in two ball games. Jeffers did a similar thing starting maybe 5-6 games ago, even with a couple days off. Lee is in the midst of a nice run of half dozen games. Gray has been a nice occasional shot in the arm & Martin’s filled his role extremely well! If Keaschall can get his energy and decent contact into a few more base hits, they’ll be humming about as well as anyone could have imagined. OFFENSE, to me, has always been the probable weakness of this Club - primary weakness. Recent BROAD results across the line-up are encouraging & it’s understood things will ebb & flow. The fact that they are hitting Skubal - Valdez - Crochet - Gray makes it feel more real going forward. Caratini & Bell are working out as well as possible. The EVIL extension of Trevor Larnach seems to be a good move when using him in a platoon role!
  2. JD-TWINS
    I appreciate you taking the baton on posting Matt’s strikeout stats today - I was tiring. I am routinely critical just because he doesn’t seem to be able to “change anything” in his approach! Surprise ……. in his defense, the Team has decided that he’s going to be the LH bat to face LH pitching……… probably not fair to a guy who already strikes out at alarming rates in a platoon situation …….. he’s seen 10 of 18 guys from left side. Now, back to being critical, he hasn’t hit any better v. RH pitching in ‘26. He has options - he’s somewhat fixed himself with AAA stints in the past. They won’t do this until they move Outman …….. nor until somebody at AAA is on fire. Can’t upset the “vibe”. If things go south in win/loss Matt may head East to St Paul soon after. Reality ……. he’s tied with a HITLESS, yes hitless guy, Outman at -.500 WAR to this point. That says a lot!!
  3. JD-TWINS
    LEE - I’ve ridden Brooks, and still wonder at how SOFTLY he hits the ball to 2B nearly every game, but his emergence from the right side of the plate has helped his confidence and stat line! It’s also starting to shift over to the left side of the plate. We all know he’s not Greg Gagne at SS but he’s got legit 20 HR power with 500 AB’s. An RBI in 6 straight games ………. hopefully, evolving into what Team thought they drafted. SMALL sample but very encouraging! 104 OPS+ ……. will take that from him forever.
  4. JD-TWINS
    Seriously? If ANYONE on the staff is in the 5th - 6th - 7th innings without surrendering a run (in any season) nor having any dips in velocity, they aren’t getting pulled. This is the 2026 Taj Bradley profile. Bradley & Ryan’s actual RESULTS are what’s driving innings - Abel’s scoreless 6 last week - Ober’s last two outings with a bit of success - same with SWR when sharp. Not sure what you don’t get about having a MUCH, Much stronger PEN in ‘25, at least through July. If one has a strong PEN (strength of the Club) one uses it………regardless of the Manager’s name. After July deadline they had Bradley (mediocre) Festa - Matthews (both hurt off & on) - Abel a couple starts - ………….guys that are tender or not getting hitters out are going to get pulled, again, regardless of Team nor Manager’s name. You gotta substantiate the, “even with big leads Rocco had a quick hook” …….just saying things doesn’t make them true. When a manager has little choice with a fairly putrid PEN, he’s going to lean on starters for innings.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Martin is playing routinely because they’ve faced 10 LH starters in 17 games. Keaschall & Buxton have been in some combination, in the Top 3 spots, and neither have been nearly as productive as expected. It’s much more about fairly consistent AB’s …….,, whether a guy hits 2nd - 5th - 7th doesn’t really affect guys IMO.
  6. JD-TWINS
    Gotta say that not too many players/agents are pursuing “below market extensions” when they hit below .230 with not much power and have an inability to stay on the field more than 30 games in a row due to frequent injuries. Lewis, while showing energy regularly and occasional flashes of greatness, may be the most disappointing guy on the club with the talent he has.
  7. JD-TWINS
    Seems like a lack of context to me. Rocco had Stewart - Jax - Varland - Duran ……. with Topa - Sands - Coulombe - Funderburk. This year’s PEN is truly mediocre and NOT a strength, regardless of Team’s record to date. Hence, any Manager would try to avoid using that group and certainly they wouldn’t “overuse” them. Also, Bradley & Ober had 7 & 9 run leads going into that extra inning that pushed them both toward 100 pitches. It’s not Managerial rocket science to send those two guys back out for another inning. Line-up consistency being a BENEFIT is a bit of smoke & mirrors view, IMO. Lead-off hitter (previously #3) is hitting .200 & current (prominent) #3 hitter is hitting .215. Larnach has hit 7th & 2nd ….. Wallner occupied 4th spot many, many games while charging to the League lead in strikeouts. He’s been in the 7th spot over most of last handful of games. His contribution last night was taking one in the ribs. They started 3-6 ………guys haven’t been profoundly shuffled to a “new set line-up” over last 8 games that’s created 6 runs plus per game. Players play - things are going well right now! The Manager’s control over the outcomes in the batter’s box are minimal at best.
  8. JD-TWINS
    A bit skewed. Players play. Line-ups were altered routinely LOOKING for somebody to hit. There was no Caratini - Bell - Keaschall (routinely) ………….different animal. Team started 3-6 and scored 1 run in 4 of those games. They are now hitting and it’s not the batting order, IMO. Keaschall & Buxton are routinely in the 3 & 1 spots …… .215 & .200 BA’s.
  9. JD-TWINS
    I try to be positive about the Team. I am often not supportive of the sum of the parts. Lee frustrated me much of last year, for a number of reasons that don’t need to be run through now. Wallner has frustrated me for much of his 3 plus years with the Team. He started ‘24 terribly - went down for 10 plus weeks and then came back gang busters. ‘25 didn’t start well nor did it go well through the season (hurt a couple times). He had some nice “peripheral numbers” but he had 40 RBI with 41 XBH. Right now (last 10 days) he is actually showing signs of being able to get a half dozen or so hits per week - that’s the start of potentially something good! Wish him well! He still has 29 strikeouts in 64 PA’s and leads baseball ……….. he is also TIED with a HITLESS Outman with -.400 WAR on the season. To me, Keaschall realizing some statistical success with “all these hard hit balls” & Buxton hitting .255 with some pop instead of his current .180ish BA, these would go a long way for consistent Team success. I think the PEN will be an adventure all year! I don’t think anyone at TD is surprised by “how well they are playing” because they have yet to play really well. They’ve had some timely pitching - some key hits - have managed to draw walks - but they haven’t shined a bunch in any 1 phase and the defense has been generally mediocre. They CAN play better and they currently lead the A.L. in total wins! Reason for continued optimism!!
  10. JD-TWINS
    Nice problem to have but he did have to sit in between innings a couple times - so that didn’t help with any “groove” a guy may want to get into………can’t miss the zone by 2 feet a half dozen times, seemed to be overthrowing, often. Showed some intestinal fortitude in a couple innings while working through issues. They were 2-14 with RISP - some were his, could have gone sideways. TEAM tied for most wins in the A.L.!
  11. JD-TWINS
    “Also why Judge isn’t a Twin” …… ???
  12. JD-TWINS
    “If SWR was managed right” …….. not clear on that one? By the way, Boston has won 4 of last 5 scoring 16 runs in last two games. Only recent loss was 3-2 on Friday. They seem a touch warm to me……. am concerned, particularly since they are throwing Crochet tonight.
  13. JD-TWINS
    I think Martin is a valuable piece - not sure if the closing statement of him being “a plus outfielder” is substantiated over any length of time? My caution for expectations come from the fact that Team has faced 8 of 15 starters throwing from the left side. This will normalize to a typical 4 of 15 starters very soon. If he can maintain a .370 plus OBP through the season (100 starts) and play good defense he’s a nice piece! ……. singles & double are just fine!!
  14. JD-TWINS
    Blyleven was a stud over his first 6 seasons ……. came up at 19……….threw a ton of innings - tons of complete games …….was traded 25% of the way into his HOF career. Griffith was cheap - bottom line! Carew was a 7 time Batting Champion & 32 when traded and then went on to have an average OPS+ of 120 or more through age 38. Carew was an All-Star his first 6 seasons with the Angels. Again, Calvin was cheap - bottom line. Killebrew didn’t “leave” in or after ‘72, as was suggested above. He played for the Twins through ‘74. He was pretty much washed physically and going to be 39. Calvin should have worked something out with Harmon. He had the MOST HR’s as a right handed hitter in the History of the A.L. ……… he was 2nd in the A.L. only to RUTH in all-time HR’s. He deserved better. He had most of one season with the Royals in ‘75.
  15. JD-TWINS
    The Guardians are down to Atlanta 9-1 in middle of Sunday night’s game - if they lose, the Guardians and the Twins are tied for first in the Central AND they will be tied for the most wins in the A.L. at this point!!
  16. JD-TWINS
    All ANY PITCHER needs to do at the beginning of an inning is get 3 outs - yet there are multiple runs scored every game. Wonder why?? Another upbeat contributor at TD - great!
  17. JD-TWINS
    Lee went from the “cusp of being sent down” (IMO) to, two games later the guy with a 99 OPS+ - which I’d gladly take for the season! Success from right side ……… 70%+ AB’s are going to be from left side……..🤞
  18. JD-TWINS
    IF Outman could hit, he’d play more. ……. Buxton is hitting .180ish and has been facing many LH pitchers - not good! Could use a day-off occasionally. Would be nice to have someone that can hit as an option for Larnach in LF (Larnach then as DH) …….. Wallner played the first 14 games straight, leads baseball in K’s…….IF Outman could hit, he’d have fairly regular playing time. Emma, if he can hit, could play fairly regularly.
  19. JD-TWINS
    SWR was apparently ill from what I’ve seen here, so given a pass. Wallner’s spinning pirouette in RF gave Toronto fuel and flustered SWR, apparently. The Cardinal Sin was throwing a belt high fastball to Giménez on a 0-2 count………reeked of immaturity……… then the homer a pitch or two later……..He lost command in the zone and then his ability to focus. Again, in the moment, his actions, expressions, and performance seemed immature - unusual for him as a rule. Again, if he was gutting out a start, while ill, he deserves a break.
  20. JD-TWINS
    Not sure why one would think Wallner (other than experience at Target) would/could be a “better” OF than nearly anyone playing OF in the Twin’s system? No instincts and slow are no way to play OF……..while often throwing the ball to nobody!
  21. JD-TWINS
    Defending Matt Wallner is “not my thing” but having to face 8 lefty starters in the first 14 games is not in his wheelhouse…not really a fair situation for a guy that’s pretty limited.….. However, he was 5-20 (.200) going into last night v. lefties and he’s hitting .220ish overall, so he’s not a bunch different v. either side. 46.6% strikeout rate and still leading the League with 28 total in 60 PA’s. I agree - would like to see an alternative - the Kriedler call up may allow for this?
  22. JD-TWINS
    Potentially auditioning Kriedler to be able to make a move with Outman ………. Clemens over the next couple weeks?
  23. JD-TWINS
    That cannot be correct as Derek Falvey was the GM……….and we all know he did nothing right!
  24. JD-TWINS
    Might be because they use Orze to protect leads??
  25. JD-TWINS
    Almost wrote an apology in real time last night - hanging sliders is not part of a good pitch mix. He has been bad visually and in the scorebook for at least the last two appearances!!
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