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Old Twins Hat

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  1. Old Twins Hat
    I may be the only one, but do not go to sleep on Kreidler. He is hitting for average and power right now, albeit mainly in AAA. What if he shows up as a capable MLB hitter? What then? Personally, I would go with an infield of Kreidler, Lee, Culpepper and Arcia. Sort the positions out how you will, but those are the ones playing the best baseball right now and the Twins wanted to figure out how to be competitive.
  2. Old Twins Hat
    Ober is really fun to watch from the CF camera. If no CF camera, it would be very hard to understand what is happening. It's hard to understand anyway. Not only just needing 89 pitches to complete a game, but throwing only a few of them above 90 mph? C'mon, in modern MLB, this a form of apostasy: the rule of velocity is actually being exposed as a fraud, with all its arm-injuries, surgeries, and career-ending debilitations. Every aspect of pitcher development is premised around achieving higher velocity, greater spin, more max-effort arm action. How can one pitcher defy all of MLB with a series of change-ups, cutters, curves and a handful of mediocre, if well-located, sinkers and fastballs? How? Radke had the same kind of deception/magic. It took him an inning or so to get it to work, but after an initial trial or proof of concept, Radke would lock-in and have batters eating out of his hand, 91 or 92 mph max. It must have something to do with Ober's height, the angle the pitch comes in at, and the extension he achieves as he releases the ball. Whatever, I guarantee, this will be studied. All of MLB, every team, and their many staff, technology, and budgets will be all over trying to understand how this can possibly work as a theory of pitching. Because the upside of not enduring the costs of max-effort throwing is too-high not to go all-in on learning if Bailey Ober is a one-off freak of nature, or actually on to something that can, once again, change the way the sport is played.
  3. Old Twins Hat
    I would give anything to have an exciting, extra-base type lead-off hitter named Spain. It certainly runs circles around having France, Germany or England hitting first.
  4. Old Twins Hat
    Went to bed after the top of Eight thinking to myself: Twins are going to go hitless in the ninth, meaning, with Buxton's leadoff homer, they made 27 outs without a hit. I was watching what amounted to a no-hitter of a losing team, without a bullpen and in last place in the division. Pathetic. But, turns out it may have been one of their better games this season. Somehow. Baseball. Kind of crazy game.
  5. Old Twins Hat
    Lee is the kind of fundamentally sound player that ends up on the Yankees later in his career.
  6. Old Twins Hat
    The Buxton homer on a high cement-mixer curve ball was at 41% launch angle. He wind-milled it high and deep into the night, impossibly far, one of those homers that you dream about, wondering if it will ever come down. Buck was just crossing second base when it landed.
  7. Old Twins Hat
    In theory, bullpens are the easiest/least expensive part of MLB to rebuild, and yet, oddly, the most difficult to maintain year-to-year as pitchers move in and out of having good seasons, workable contracts, injuries, etc. That means a high quality, low cost, injury-free, controllable reliever is the gold standard. But, as the Twins 2026 shows us, the hard part of putting a bullpen together is showing up with high quality relievers -- pitchers who can miss bats and shut-down potent offenses. In other words, a bullpen that is as elite and a good team's offense. Even a weak dribbler of a hit in the 9th inning can be a team's undoing, as the Twins figured out yesterday. Twins will probably do okay against average teams in terms of relief pitching, but average teams don't win divisions, don't make the playoffs and certainly do not make playoff runs. Varland is the type of arm that can be a solid part of a very good baseball team that can beat other good teams. Twins do not have that kind of arm right now and, in fact, have the fewest bullpen K's of any team in the league. They gave up what they most need for a couple of solid prospects. Hope it works out but whatever Falvey was drinking that day, it must have been strong stuff when you figure in Varland's hometown status and years of control.
  8. Old Twins Hat
    Last year it was Festa and Matthews. Now it's Abel and Prielipp. Let's hope some of these guys stick and grow their stuff. On Prielipp, I think his curve falls off the table to such a degree that he cannot keep it in the strike zone. If he can control that pitch, keep his slide-piece handy and develop a quality change off the fastball/sinker, there's going to be a whole lot of guessing going on in the batter's box.
  9. Old Twins Hat
    Lewis looked awful last night, on offense and defense. But, what really chaps my ass is that he gets a bloop hit and he's all smiles and jokes and doing fancy hand-slapping at first base with the coach to the extent that there is no way for him to even think about stealing 2nd base on the first two pitches. Then on the Buxton homer, you see him in the dugout hugging and jumping up and down. It's the 6th tinning! And he has two more strikeouts yet to come, and some more lousy defense to play. What is he so over-joyed about? Can't Sheltie tell him to keep a lid on until we at least win the game?
  10. Old Twins Hat
    Maybe no one catches it, but there is such a thing as going all out in the bottom of the 8th to make a play, even a short hop into a throwing motion and a rifle to the plate. Hey, it's make a play or take a loss for the whole team. I want to see a do-or-die effort at least.
  11. Old Twins Hat
    Who is Ben Ross and why is he not a top 30 prospect? Doesn't he lead AA hitters in a bunch of categories?
  12. Old Twins Hat
    Let me help you with the syntax on that quote: I'm not sure how he continues to be someone we can't count on.
  13. Old Twins Hat
    In his 2nd AB of the game....
  14. Old Twins Hat
    The Twins are not a great team, but pitching, defense and 3-run homers can carry anyone.. Still tinkering with the bullpen, but Morris looks like a keeper. Sometimes a group of young guys start to believe, in themselves and something more. One or two rookies show up, a couple of veterans step up, make a trade for another pen arm -- pretty soon, you become a surprise team, dangerous and fun to watch.
  15. Old Twins Hat
    I didn't care for Correa, or his attitudes about wealth and how much he deserved to be lavished with money -- despite having been "in" on that cheating scandal. What was that quote about him comparing himself to Christian Dior jewelry? Yuck. I don't think he was good for the Twins clubhouse, with all the young players coming up having to listen to his bossy chatter about every little thing. I'm not saying he's a bad person; maybe especially now that he has found more religious purpose in this life. But, having someone like Correa over the top of a team was not, in my opinion, good for morale or infused with the scrappy, underdog aesthetic that I appreciate in a small-market team.
  16. Old Twins Hat
    With Ober, now he is throwing under 88 on his four-seam, and still occasionally getting a swing and miss. If you watch closely, he's got great movement on the slider and change, but as he goes along, the movement in the 5th and 6th gets loopy and now he's vulnerable. I understand the arm, the legs, a pitcher starts to labor, and that is something that can't be helped. But, if he can hold up the other team's offense with that off-balancing act into the 5th or 6th, that's enough to be effective. The bullpen will have off-nights and the Tigers were smelling blood in the water. We still need one or two more guys who can get outs reliably, maybe even strike-outs. Drew Smith and that Bash fella' are in line to get a shot at filling those spots.
  17. Old Twins Hat
    Twins are off to a bad start, not just cold. Neither Buxton, nor Keaschall are hitting the ball. Jeffers is a no-show, Lewis, sure, a couple dingers and doubles, but questionable on defense and he can't hit a single. Wallner hogging challenges when he lets good pitches go by, then takes the cake by K'ing five times in a game. The lefties, Clemens, Larnach, Outman -- just not enough talent there. Lee not good on offense and worse on defense. There's just no where to go with this line-up. The pitching is competitive for the most part but where's the heart in this team? Shelton talks about "intention" but it sure looks like the coaching and management are the ones with no intention to make this team better. Roden is the best lefty outfielder in the organization but he's got options so he plays in St.Paul, while the Twins have no option except to take it on the chin. Not going to waste any more time on this team until they bring up their youngsters and quit putting such a lousy product on the field. Are you watching Joe Pohlad? You said you would make the Twins competitive? It's not happening.
  18. Old Twins Hat
    Another ugly game among many. Shocking how awful the Rays look and have played this early part of the season -- leading the league in errors, and in bullpen ERA. Junior Caminero with 7 errors already? Kevin Cash, longest tenured manager in MLB, must be feeling insecure. Sorry, but Ober's velocity does matter. The Rays had four hard-hit doubles in four innings. Ober threw 80 pitches before being pulled. We can hope that a 6' 9" right-handed Jamie Moyer will be able to hold a spot in the rotation, but, reality is, with fast ball velocity dropping below 90, below 89, it's just not going to play against good teams. I have loved watching him pitch, but now, it's cringe-worthy. Wallner? Five K's, some in big situations, and the Twins still score 10? What an ugly game, only slightly more palatable than the 12-9 disaster in KC amidst a typhoon. Will see what happens, but Keaschall is the Twins best player, and the next best 3 or 4 are currently playing in St. Paul. Hope Buck is okay but he has been striking out all spring, in WBC and now in the regular season. Not a good look, and not looking good for the Twins -- terrible baserunning, indifferent defense, spotty hitting with RISP -- the best part of their team, hilariously enough, has been their bullpen!
  19. Old Twins Hat
    I don't mean to be negative, but, the Twins didn't play a good game today. Three homers in the 9th is what people will focus on but prior to that, except for Bradley's pitching, they were pathetic. The Twins scored a run when Cody Clemens looked for all the world that he lost track of the count to Royce Lewis, thought he had struck out and was reaching to remove his batting gloves and walking toward third when Salvador Perez threw the ball to 2B to pick him off. Cody realized that he had made a mistake and broke toward 3B, the throw was high and glanced off the 2nd baseman's glove and Clemens scored. Clemens' mistake was trumped by Perez' bad throw or this would have been a totally different game. Tristan Gray played SS for Lee, who has been poor at fielding and not great at the plate. Results: Gray struck out three times and popped out, made one bad throw to 1B allowing Perez to reach, and in the 7th, made a terrible throw on a Perez ground, which, without a stellar reaction play by Keaschall would have been a game changer. Clemens by the way dropped a pop-up off Witt's bat with the tying run on base, and muffed the poor throw by Gray, and, as well, bloodied his face in an awkward slide into 2B. Caratini made a stupid baserunning blunder in the second and was out by a mile at third. On and on. They don't look well-coached. They don't seem to know the most basic things about how to win at this level. WTF? They haven't had a lot of luck to start the year, but they aren't creating and cashing in opportunities either. Hope something changes or this team will rise to the level of their talent, which in this case means: no-wheres-ville.
  20. Old Twins Hat
    Using Caratini to generate a RH bat against Lefties. So, Jeffers and Caratini and Bell and Lee against Lefties. Sorry, that's weak, slow and lacks power. Throw in Martin in LF -- if I am the opposing manager, I would bring up a AAA lefty to face that lineup. They need a RH stick, like GG or Culpepper, and in general, they need some better energy, talent, speed and even body language. I mean, I am happy Royce has two dingers, but he runs around the bases as if he has just single-handedly won the World Series. If I am a major leaguer, and admittedly I am an old timer, but if I am on a losing team, I don't go wild celebrating until we start winning games.
  21. Old Twins Hat
    Prospect Promotion Incentive whereby a team loses a year of player control by bringing in a rookie to start or almost start the year, but because of their performance in Rookie of Year voting, the team gets an extra draft pick. How high? How close to Rookie of the Year to win it? No idea, but, it's out there and both Cleveland and Detroit are going for it with De Lauter and McGonigle now in the lead. How crazy if the Twins could win the PPI with someone like Culpepper but give up on it without even trying.
  22. Old Twins Hat
    Kind of funny that every baseball expert, and much of the TD illuminatti, bashed the Twins as losers because of trading their Bullpen at the deadline last year. Zero percent chance of making the playoffs, and less than that of winning the World Series. (Trump math.) It's early, but the Twins bullpen, affectionately known as the Pagans, after former reliever Emiliano Pagan, is doing okay. And for those who want to continue to bash the pen, there are potentially high-end replacement parts: Prielipp, Klein, Raya, and now Drew Smith, formerly a pretty good Met, Altavilla, Bowman, Brebbia, and in the mother of all coincidences, a guy named Bash. So, go ahead, bash the Bash, or, I guess the Pagans, but this is why insiders keep saying it: rebuilding a bullpen in MLB is a hell of a lot easier, cheaper, quicker and generally more doable, than trying to put together five good starters. And the Twins may get to five good starters yet, even without Pablo. Can Sands close? Maybe. Will Drew Smith? Who knows? We just know that over time, quality will rise to the top and they will have credibility as a group. It's the offense that will need to step up. And if they don't? There's Jenkins, Culpepper, Gonzales, Rodriguez and Roden waiting in the wings. Could be an exciting year. And yes, in the immortal words of Tom Pohlad, another guy whose name is regularly "bashed", a competitive year. Go Twins.
  23. Old Twins Hat
    No panic. Baltimore got a couple seeing eye hits; the Twins swung early with runners on base and hit it right at 'em. No one wins a game by going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and usually they are massacred. Twins need a RH bat, one that is hitterish and can put the ball into gaps. That means Gabby Gonzalez needs to play, even if mainly DH. We got to hope an outfielder in MLB gets hurt and the team and will take Larnach or Outman for a single A pitching prospect. Also, and obviously, Twins need someone who can throw hard in the Pen, preferably Right Handed. The bullpen will be a season long project to rebuild, and while that's doable, it will mean incurring some losses on the way. But, it's a lot more exciting to be rooting for young guys on their way up, like Keaschall, Martin and Wallner, plus guys who should be better, like Lewis and Lee. Come on guys, put on your big-boy pants and prove you belong.
  24. Old Twins Hat
    IT's not just Royce's spring struggles, it's his struggle in general, to stay on the field, to hit the baseball, to become a positive contributor to the team. That's the issue(s), and they all point to a basic question: is Royce going to make it as a baseball player in this league? I hope so. I root for him. I believe if the Twins are going to go anywhere in the next number of years, they sure need him to be at least average. So, Royce, bring it baby. And be a sturdy member of this squad.
  25. Old Twins Hat
    This year's team is way more exciting than last year's team, for me. Baseball has become a young man's game and we got that. No more Carlos Correa ruling the clubhouse. The kids have to step up and play like men, hit like men. And if not, there are young guys behind them to take their place. No excuses, no man-splaining: it's do it or back to the minors. Well I remember when Gaetti, Hrbek, Larkin, Bartlett, Pucket -- they all showed up and you could see that there was potential there. Every win, every home run, every rally -- you could see that they were coming up and would be a force. Two World Series later, we had an era that will never be forgotten. Keep an eye out for kids that can play.
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