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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    Slash line of .200/.298/.328 is clearly the problem ………. through a mere 4 games, the Staff has a 3.82 ERA ……. 2.73 ERA without Abel’s 3 1/3 on Sunday. …….. until TEAM produces runs regularly, I’m not going to fret over the defensive skill level.
  2. JD-TWINS
    Not much of a surprise that the struggles in the Win/Loss column are stemming from lack of OFFENSE. Without Abel’s 5 runs over 3 1/3 Sunday, the pitching staff’s ERA is 2.73…….3.82 including his debacle. The PEN & lack of velocity isn’t a problem, in a micro look,…….., so far. Anyway, pulling 4 runs together on 4 hits in the ONE win isn’t a recipe for success. TEAM is hitting a combined .200/.297/.328 slash with a .625 OPS. Preaching to the choir here………. Lack of trading for offense &/or spending another $15-$25M on offense (couple guys) this offseason is going to haunt the Team for 100 out of the next 150 games. Ownership - ownership is the problem! As a plausible example, what if Bader & Arraez were on the TWINS roster instead of Bell & Clemens? (just an additional $15M in salaries w/o Bell’s contract)…….I’d be more upbeat about being “competitive”.
  3. JD-TWINS
    Was Duran providing leadership? Was Louie Varland providing leadership? Was Dobnack providing leadership from St. Paul? France - Bader - Coulombe - Paddack - Castro were all free agents at the end of ‘25…….. July 31 had nothing to do with this issue in ‘26. The lack of mental strength coming from the “core” is the issue …….. Lewis - Lee - Wallner - Jeffers - Larnach - Martin ………. these guys have all been in Pro Ball for YEARS. If there is a leadership problem, these guys need to look in the mirror.
  4. JD-TWINS
    Wow………….these are nearly verbatim comments of mine describing Eddie Julien all of last year! “Sports psychologist…..” numerous posts here ………. I’m with you RE: Wallner, his mind & thus confidence are seriously scrambled………. he’s hoping to WALK……….. thus, the 40 RBI last year with 41 XBH (essentially impossible stat). Not exactly “active” in moving RISP in ‘25 nor very early ‘26.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Right - actions in game 3 are not habitual. He used 5 guys Saturday and didn’t have 5 innings of PEN bullets Sunday, with a game Monday. …… Am assuming Abel was aware of the approach AND that they actually speak between innings and he felt OK with pitching in 7th & 8th as well. …… “execution” is typically the fly in the ointment
  6. JD-TWINS
    The whining is unrelenting as usual - am a little surprised nobody found an opportunity to point to something that happened this afternoon that was “Baldelli’s fault”! Abel’s bullpen day today if he were last in the 5 man rotation …….. Ober was done through 4 and 5 relievers threw on Saturday. They used Abel’s normal workday to piggyback with Ober & keep the Pen fresh for K.C. ………Abel is supposed to be a better pitcher than our Pen guys……. he needed to cover innings and he needs to start figuring out how to work through trouble - nothing new here with developing pitching at MLB level. The off day last Friday allows Ryan to start the 5th game on regular rest - using Abel wasn’t some demotion. Anyway, Bell - Buxton - Gray all making outs on the bases after being in Scoring Position is not helpful for WINNING BASEBALL. Matt Wallner continues to disappoint with RISP ……… he seems closer to Eddie Julien as time passes with the “I sure hope I walk” approach. Very disappointing! Having a SS get a couple hits in the same game was a unique thrill! ………….I think, 12 total hits today…….. numerous guys had a pair of hits ………, scored 6 runs and didn’t play great so things are not ALL doom & gloom.
  7. JD-TWINS
    On Saturday the Team had 8 RH hitters v. the LH pitcher………that outta suffice.
  8. JD-TWINS
    I get that it may STILL be too soon but both Duran & Jax blew saves and took L’s Saturday. Falvey may have been doing shots somewhere, toasting the MN fan base. Bradley is flawed or the Ray’s wouldn’t have traded him - he’s got nice upside or the Twins wouldn’t have given up Jax for him. TIME will tell! The biggest concern, since August 15 of ‘24, OFFENSE! Root cause……..#1 Picks (other than Buxton) have been mediocre to just bad! Guys that need to look in the mirror are Larnach Lee - Lewis - Martin - Wallner …… that group of #1’s are the Club’s issue. Sure, all of them have had good 3 weeks here or there, but as a whole, they are ALL underperforming. Then there’s the Zero spending on offense! ……… Cannot “be competitive” when the stacked LH hitting line-up gets ONE hit from those lefties!! Clemens came through with the LONE left handed hit of the day, but relying on Kody is not the recipe for a “competitive Club”. I get that St Paul is not the same situation as Baltimore! TWO games in - the contrast between Culpepper and Lee seems to be tough to ignore for long. Hopefully, Kaelin keeps pushing and can contribute OR at least get some opportunity by mid-May. Keep pushing A. Roden!
  9. JD-TWINS
    😁 gonna see the Pen everyday, buckle up! Scraping 4 runs from 4 hits is commendable!
  10. JD-TWINS
    Buxton is really trying to lift the club with his efforts …… really impressive! 17 K’s by the Staff today (7K over 4 1/3 by the Pen) ……..3 runs allowed over 18 innings. “Keep the left handed line-up rolling…..”????? Lewis had one hit and Buxton had 2 today ……… that leaves ONE hit from our bevy of lefties. Scoring 4 runs on 4 hits was fortuitous!! Does Brooks Lee look even worse than last year, through (a not very fair) two contests?
  11. JD-TWINS
    Closing “by committee” is my assumption but probably need to see a couple weeks worth of contests to have any real feel. There’s a long line of “OK arms” in the Pen and nobody really deserving of being the Closer in week one or possibly through the whole season.
  12. JD-TWINS
    It’s Lee’s job as the cut-off man to direct Martin……no other scenario.
  13. JD-TWINS
    Funderburk & Topa both gave up weak contact ground balls ……. that’s what they are trying to do ….. just didn’t work out. LEE standing 8 feet off the line and one step onto the grass was THE problem on the fly ball to Martin. There’s no play at the plate nor at 3rd base….. what the hell is he doing? Lee should be in between 2B & Martin screaming for the ball to go to 2B. Opponents are going to score - period. Just like the 2nd half of ‘24 and all of last year, the offense is sooo weak that there’s Zero room for error. Can’t have the expectation to win games 1-0!
  14. JD-TWINS
    Rogers has the lowest ERA in baseball as a starter (100+ innings minimum) since start of ‘25. …… lower than Skenes, etc.
  15. JD-TWINS
    They had 8 RH batters in the line-up. Rogers has the lowest ERA of all starters since the beginning of ‘25 ………. I think that was the issue.
  16. JD-TWINS
    Didn’t read past “why he’s such a major target?” He was the one of two guys (Lewis) that we absolutely could not trade after the ‘23 season. Absolutely not!!! I bought into those thoughts 100%……… He spent this past Winter trying to get into shape. Hence the big target……….oh, & there’s the .285 OBP in ‘25 with mediocre defense. My slant, at this point, is he switch hits - has reasonable HR pop (20/yr in a full-time roll) - his glove and mobility are OK or better if NOT at SS……….. so, let’s transition him to 1B. He’s Carlos Santana/Josh Bell blend. You’re right, he has time to improve in the box - the power won’t go away. His defense could shine at 1B - he’s 6’2” and 215…….he needs to get his OBP to .325 Plus this year (.255 BA & 7% walk rate) and he can stick “somewhere” on the Club. His upside is considerably higher than Kody Clemens & many here have conceded he should see a bunch of games at 1B on this Team. I think it’s a reasonable longer term move for Lee & the organization.
  17. JD-TWINS
    I was also surprised by this choice/assumption A month ago I was pulling for Gray due to potential upside ….. Arcia went 3-4 the other day and that bumped up his average to above .270 for the Spring in not very many AB’s. He seems to be the right starting point. Gray, probably a similar risk for downside possibilities.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Gotta say ……… not much of a risk betting even money on nearly anyone coming up in next 2 years being better than Lee. Relative to his press clippings, he may be the biggest disappointment of anyone to date. Maybe he was greatly overhyped, and the criticism isn’t very fair? Regardless, he’s just now working on strength and agility/quickness skills. Seems he was coddled in college and with Twin’s development group, relying only on talent until this past post season - probably typical across the sport but it’s really hit home with him! I thought he was a “given” to be at least League average or better. Wrong!
  19. JD-TWINS
    I don’t disagree, it’s just that #1 Picks on the current 26 man roster were ALL thought of in the same vein……. Wallner/Larnach/Lewis/Lee/Martin ……. ALL highly touted “prospects”! The results, to date, with these 5 have us yearning for 5 “new guys” to help displace the fairly recent “prospective stars.”
  20. JD-TWINS
    Larnach is 4th on depth chart in LF. He’s on the Team to DH v. RH pitching (75% of opponent starters) Outman/Clemens/Martin will ALL play LF ahead of Larnach. At MLB level, he’s a better match-up than other LH hitters on the Team v. RH pitching! Nobody bitched about Nelson Cruz being kept as DH w/o any practical defensive spot. Larnach isn’t as valuable at the plate, certainly, but he can play Corner OF if needed. Outman will be DFA’d by May 15th, at latest, if he doesn’t hit .240 minimum! Enter Roden or Emma or both? The continual whining about “Roden not getting a chance after great success at AAA…..” is nuts! If he was that great, he would have been playing while in Toronto. He was 25 last summer and didn’t join Twins until August 1st. He got an opportunity in MN at MLB level and underperformed in a small sample size & then got hurt. Not the Team’s fault - he’s not been mistreated nor hindered!! The TRADE with Toronto was for ROJAS!!! Roden was a nice flier, throw-in and valued just like Outman …….maybe one of them will catch fire?
  21. JD-TWINS
    Didn’t read all the comments - went through the article quickly, twice. How is Luke Keaschall not mentioned at all when discussing/describing the potential upside for ‘26 and “key pieces of the future core”???? At this point, his style of play along with his capabilities, could be what the organization tries to get everyone else to try to mimic!
  22. JD-TWINS
    Completely agree - can Lewis do something “positive” on the field? Can Wallner not suck? Have some interesting potential pieces in St. Paul - may see a couple help out by mid-season? Buxton, success through July almost certainly frees him to a team of his choice, IF he would consider that for himself ….. he seems mentally locked in to MN though. Pablo going down was the gut punch on my optimism - good things can still happen (Bradley/Abel) …….. maybe Festa gets healthy and contributes at some point? Maybe Caratini ‘s bat wakes up? 🤞🤞🤞
  23. JD-TWINS
    Crystal Ball? ……. they’ll be different faces for sure.
  24. JD-TWINS
    Larnach, v. RIGHT HANDED PITCHING, is easily the 3rd best hitter in the line-up. Hate on him, talk about his defense, talk about how he didn’t hit well enough in ‘25 (because 20+% of his AB’s were v. LH pitching) ……… he can hit 2, 3, or 6, or 7 and fit well with other guys. How much does one value Bell - Caratini - Wallner v. Larnach is what it comes down to ultimately.
  25. JD-TWINS
    I get you said “maybe” but Wallner in the 4 hole v. LH pitching is like ……. giving up! Anything ever, above 6th for him, is an issue ……. unless he actually gets K’s down to 30% and hits .240.
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