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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    IF they have just 3 runs, Ober goes out in the 8th. Can’t risk a loud drive nor a walk in a 2 run game with a guy that may be tiring somewhat. A reliever starting an inning with a clean slate is a much better situation than coming in with a guy on first and having the to g run in the box to start. While I understand Rocco’s reasoning to try and protect Duran after he got lit up by the Top of the K.C. order not long ago, I think it’s best to leave the back end duo in proper sequence so they feel comfortable in specific roles. The managing aside, and the meager offense set aside as well, this one is squarely on the shoulders of Duran! He continually comes in and tries to use his “pitch mix” to dazzle. He routinely pitches backwards - starting hitters with a curveball out of the zone, just to “surprise” the batter. He gets behind and is then overly excited and can’t locate his fastball. He’s pitching himself into jams routinely. He throws 100-102…..,,get your fastball over and pitch off that. Guys hunt his curve and splitter because they don’t think they can hit his fastball. Players gotta perform …..Baldelli didn’t give up hit off splitter - HBP with a curve, ahead in the count - and then a hung splitter that’s thigh high!…………can’t expect Jax to come in and wave a wand - he got 2 outs on 8 pitches. Tough to watch Royals get to 63-7 when they give up 2 runs or less……….they got it done in a desperate situation………they’re pretty good even without their best RBI guy.
  2. JD-TWINS
    Assuming health with the Top 4………Festa is the 5th starter next season and maybe 4th unless he has a bad Spring - can’t imagine them signing a FA for somewhere near $20M/yr. Neither Flaherty nor Kikuchi is signing a one year deal and seriously doubt a two year deal. Kikuchi is pitching the best he ever has since joining Houston. Paddack, in my opinion, is the long reliever with Matthews as the #6 guy to start the year. Varland too will be in the Pen to supplement Stewart’s role in ‘25, per my crystal ball.
  3. JD-TWINS
    As with nearly every sports franchise known to man!
  4. JD-TWINS
    IMO, what changed is Matt Wallner came back up and didn’t fail. He wasn’t an option earlier in the year and after 2-4 weeks through August it had become obvious that he was an everyday option that’s clearly better than Max. Then Buxton was out and the veteran presence and still very reasonable defense that Kepler provides - tough to ignore.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Team/Kepler took too long, particularly after Sept. 1, to put him on IL and not replace him with an able bodied player! Obvious for some time that Lewis is not trying to push his legs unless he’s running from a slow gate to a faster one, while on the bases. I think Miranda is physically just fine - his limitations at 3B are just based on his level of athleticism.
  6. JD-TWINS
    Pasquantino’s absence is really a hole in their line-up! Ya gotta hit and score to win though - Twins aren’t exactly tearing it up offensively lately……..even 1 of 3 wouldn’t be disastrous in K.C……..IMO.
  7. JD-TWINS
    “Under different situations, Keirsey would have made that catch.” …….. not sure what you mean by this? Reality rules. I think he’s really talented outfielder based on reviews and that catch was nearly impossible, granted. If it was an easy fly ball he definitely would have caught it routinely.
  8. JD-TWINS
    Anyone remember…. “Elizabeth, I’m coming to join you….” from Fred G. Sanford? That’s what immediately came to mind as I grabbed my chest in real time as Julien’s ball went out for a Home Run!!! April 25 - September 5 is a real drought……..so glad he was able to come up big…….hoping he can earn a spot to stay up after CC & Buxton are activated……at some point. Thanks Eddie! Griffin Jax is a stud! Ground ball to save Pablo’s inning and then after giving up a triple he K’s the next guy easily to get out of his own mess. He’s not perfect but awfully close.
  9. JD-TWINS
    May - July - September/October might work for ‘25………it’s a pretty sad situation!
  10. JD-TWINS
    Kiersey up until Kepler’s ready & Helman up until Buxton is ready……..,nice to have reasonable depth guys!!! Hope they both can contribute.
  11. JD-TWINS
    The good news is the Mariners - Red Sox - Tigers are all at the same record of 70-70. They’re all 6 games back in the loss column with 23 games left for TWINS. The malaise later in ‘22 mostly stemmed from having very few front line guys able to play due to injury. The OF was hardly AAA level. I agree, Baldelli doesn’t seem to be much of a vocal motivator but that can be OK as excitable, vocal guys leading a day in day out grind for 6 months could wear thin over time. Correa not being with the Team on the road may create a bit of a void on the leadership front………they just stunk over a 10 game stretch at home though with him in the mix every day. With the issues they’ve had with both rotation and Pen along with line-up guys being hurt routinely, they have probably just regressed back to early expectations. They started 7-13 and are now 11 games over .500 ……. after reaching 17 games over .500 couple weeks ago. If they go 12-11 over what’s remaining they win the 87 games many predicted prior to season starting.
  12. JD-TWINS
    It appeared the ump, after a clear procedural issue with the clock was the one who lacked maturity. One doesn’t toss a guy when the player is walking away and maybe 10 feet away when thrown out.
  13. JD-TWINS
    They have their 6th - 7th - 8th guys in the starting rotation (all rookies)…….that’s not counting DeSclafani. DeScla hurt - Varland didn’t pan out - still have an opportunity to win near 90 games. Correa has been out since July 13th. Lewis played in his 59th game tonight. Buxton has been out 3 different IL stints. Lee & Kepler have been hurt a couple times each as well. Topa & Stewart were to be key Pen pieces and the assumption was Thielbar & Okert & Funderburk would/could combine to add up to ONE decent lefty reliever. Kirilloff had a 116 OPS+ last year…. .348 OBP ….. .270 BA - he hit .201 in ‘24. Julien hasn’t hit an HR since April 20 something and Farmer has supplied nearly zero offense as well. Wallner was terrible until August 1st. As an organization, can’t have any more depth than what this team has/had in place. Can’t have an entire backup rotation in the wings. Can’t have proven vets for every position X 2 for each spot. 5-11 over last 16 sucks - stings! Hopefully, Lopez shows up and the bats don’t disappear on Thursday.
  14. JD-TWINS
    He retired 6 straight when he entered - that works. 96-99mph with the fastball. I have never thought he has the attention span nor patience to be a good starter. He walks around the mound like he needs a valium to calm down. Things go south a bit and his concentration/command goes out the window. He’s effectively got a 2 pitch mix and that doesn’t play after a few batters. I realize he wasn’t great in the 4th as an understatement but he got zero defensive help as well! I still think he’s good for 3-7 batters in a relief role (25-30 pitches). You’re right, ouch!
  15. JD-TWINS
    So, Larnach & Wallner pinch hit for RH hitters during the game and did nothing……….the pendulum has to swing both ways, can’t cover your eyes when they (LH bats) do nothing at the plate.
  16. JD-TWINS
    When are they going to put Kepler on the IL???? He’s obviously having a problem. Go retroactive to IL and he’s back by Wednesday the 11th. Need players available & Kiersey is available. Maybe just defense or pinch runner but at least available!!!
  17. JD-TWINS
    The one flip side that is never discussed is that you get the guy on the mound, who is often in a good rhythm, out of the game. Potentially, this is an advantage today …….. and seeing the other guy may keep him from being available tomorrow. Not perfect argument but part of the thinking in a 162 game season.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Exactly - guys gotta hit - pinch hitting & platooning are not the problem…….guys not getting the job done is the problem. I rarely say anything negative about how games are managed, but not moving guys over with 2 on and no outs is something I don’t understand after the 6th inning. Instead, a strikeout in that situation OR a potential double play kill the opportunity or at least make it extremely difficult to benefit from - we went with the strikeout.
  19. JD-TWINS
    Castro will get maybe $6M as a guess….. They need to get real value from Paddack or they should trade him. If Kirilloff seems healthy, he had a 2023 that lines up better than Larnach’s 2024………Kirilloff is worth running back and if he doesn’t have any value we can just release him at some point if that’s last result……he won’t cost much going forward in ‘25. Jax may be arbitration eligible? Ober & Ryan getting close as well? With Ryan presumed back - Matthews is the 6th starter on paper. That’s with SWR & Festa in the top 5 rotation. Paddack & Varland to the Pen in ‘25 with Alcala - Sands - Henriquez - Jax - Duran……maybe Funderburk? Lefty reliever or two could be the focus with our available $5 - $10M?? Will really miss some of the timely hitting and 100% of the defense that Santana has provided in ‘24 - he’s been great on the dirt! Don’t see him keeping Miranda off of 1B going forward though.
  20. JD-TWINS
    Typically, when he pitches outside the 9th it’s because the heart of the other Team’s line-up is due up and we need a stop at that point. Better competition and worse the outcomes…..,that’s my slant. I don’t think Duran has some 7th/8th inning phobia or hex.
  21. JD-TWINS
    You can’t just bring guys up …..roster spots are needed……can’t experiment in September. They needed a RH bat for Margot and that’s what role Helman fills. Everyone would like to see Kiersey at some point - it just isn’t practical IMO, unless Kepler goes to IL.
  22. JD-TWINS
    Same with Ober’s ERA - a number of games giving up 1 or 2 & then 8…….it’s an average, everyone understands that. If the Team is at their average over 7 games, regardless of wins and losses, it’s where they’re expected to be. If they are at their average, there is no regression to the norm with excellent %’s. Can always break things down into Series or Weeks or Months to get a desirable outcome for an argument/point……..I hope they get hot as well!
  23. JD-TWINS
    Agree - I think .245 is League average in all AB’s - guys aren’t going 4-9 just because that would be cool. Probably the Manager’s fault for not letting the guy that was sure to get a hit come up to bat.
  24. JD-TWINS
    Zero rest. From Tampa to K.C. with no rest. Then home to Angels with no rest until the 12th. Gotta suck it up - it’s a grind……….it’s obviously not working out for Boston, Detroit, or Seattle. They are now 5.5, 6.0, & 6.5 games behind the Twins. Am thinking Sands is down too as he’s pitched 2 straight days. Pen is scary today.
  25. JD-TWINS
    IMO, Rocco always looks good when the players do what’s expected. Players play - their output drives the Team’s success. Pitchers leave change-ups waist high (SWR) & guys get hits 26% of the time (that’s a good rate) so the Manager giving guys opportunities to succeed in varying situations is his job……..the results fall on the players. Farmer had a 6-7 pitch AB and hit a rocket at the SS……nothing wrong g with that move. If Farmer’s ball lands in LF the comment is “it’s about time”…..,no winning for him at this point.
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