Woof Bronzer

Ope meant to reply separately to this one. Yeah I saw the same thing about Abel, dude was arguably higher on him than Bradley. The gloating after 3 starts is the best though, I thought it was an agreed-upon fact that 3 starts is a small sample size. We're living in the Age of Grievances. If you aint grievancing about something, you aint living.

Yeah I thought it was odd that you pulled a bunch of quotes around 8/24 and 8/25/25. Seemed oddly specific...so I put my crack research skills to the test and it turns out on 8/24 Taj gave up 7 runs on 9 hits in an 8-0 loss to the White Sox. This was one of the worst pitched games of the entire season. Why did you happen to single out this game thread? Coincidence? I guess I don't blame folks for being upset at his performance - a poop emoji is probably not negative enough. So, in an effort to improve the research skills you criticized, I took a look at another game thread from a month later. On September 24 Bradley went six, giving up a run and striking out 9. Here's every Bradley comment in that thread: "It was easily his most impressive outing since the Twins traded for him....flashed the front-of-the-rotation upside" "Very impressive and encouraging start....I think he will be an important part of the rotation in 2026." "Bradley was the only hope that can help us next season" "Bradley did well. This is the guy you signed up for when you traded for him, and he's probably got the inside track for a rotation spot." "excellent start...hopefully he can build on that." Not a single negative comment. But to be fair there was one comment that wasn't quite as effusive: "Taj Bradley still has some very good stuff. The issue has been the crooked innings." I'll let you guess who said that. I did notice through my (poor) research skills that you were very high on Mick Abel last fall too. For some reason you've been pretty quiet on him so far this year. How come? How are the "facts" looking on him?

I assume he means for Griffin. If he's half of what he's cracked up to be, and manages to stay healthy (both big ifs), making $15m/year in his prime (26-28 years old) will be one of the greatest bargains in MLB history. Juan Soto, the last teenage position player to debut, will be making $51m/year through his age 26-28 seasons.

I'm bored and off today, so for some reason I looked at the 4 articles you posted. #1 One comment about Bradley, fairly positive. #2. Not a single negative comment about Bradley, all comments are that he should stay a starter #3 Not a single comment about Bradley at all. #4 2 comments about Bradley, 1 suggesting that the BP is a backup plan if things don't go well as a starter, the other optimistic about him. You said people have been "trashing" Bradley on this site. Based on the evidence you provided that's unequivocally false. I'm very curious, why is it important to you to make up this anti-Bradley sentiment? Just to say you were right? Maybe it makes you feel better, who knows.

You mentioned offseason articles. There was 1, and the comments were mixed (in fact most were pro-Bradley). You're moving the goalposts but that's fine, we all do. I think it's awfully bold to drape the Mission Accomplished banner after 3 starts from Bradley. I guess small sample sizes are totally fine if they tell a story you like. Being a topline MLB starter means pitching just as well in September as in April. If you look at his monthly splits in his career, his 4 best xFIP months were May or earlier and his 4 worst were July or later. He has also had several great 3 game stretches in his career. Often followed up by terrible stretches. He still has a lot to prove. I do think the change of scenery helped him and if he has changed his mental approach to the game and dedication to his craft than I am optimistic about his future. Let's revisit this in September.

It appears there was a grand total of 1 article about Bradley in the offseason. Definitely some comments calling for the BP, but majority seemed to be in the "give him a shot to start" variety.

Sure, but I'm going to want more than a couple decent starts from Bradley before I declare him an ace. His problem has been consistency/meatballs and it's too early to say he's eliminated those issues.

A little early to hang the "We won this trade" banner, but early 2026 returns are very positive. I like watching Bradley pitch.

Sure they can. Prospects are always just that. There are thousands of examples of highly rated draftees busting out. And thousands of examples of guys who dominate the minors but can't put it together in MLB (there's even a name for these guys: AAAA players.) Does Brooks Lee look like a top 100 player to you? Quick, name a good MLB SS who was slow. had limited range, and couldn't hit. It isn't his fault that he was asked to start? At the position he was drafted to play? What???? There are millions of players who would give up everything they have for a starting MLB SS position. Poor Brooks Lee, how unfair for him to be expected to do the thing he's dreamed about since he was a kid!

I mean, SS is a pretty important position on a baseball team...are you saying Lee's performance shouldn't be mentioned anymore? Or should we pretend that he's better than he is? "It's not fair to criticize poor performance" is something you hear from loser organizations, so it fits with the Twins, but I guess I don't understand the benefit of ignoring bad performance from critical positions. This entire organization needs more accountability, not less.

Is there evidence that the Twins are telling guys if they strike out they'll get demoted? I agree, that would be ill advised.

I think Wallner is fine, a one tool player but it's a valuable tool, especially given his contract. Teams like the Twins are never going to compete for the big free agent sluggers, so they need to identify and leverage cost-effective alternatives. I also think his absolute ceiling is, what, 3 WAR? And his floor is AAA? I mean, it just seems weird to get worked up one way or the other about guys like Matt Wallner. It really must be the Forest Lake thing.

It's professional sports. You ARE under a microscope, always. Literally every single thing every player does on the field is recorded, viewed, analyzed. Baseball statistics are robust and easily available. Teams know every single detail about a player's approach, off the field training, diet/nutrition, etc. If an MLB player isn't good enough there are 10,000 players ready to take their place. If you don't feel like you're under a microscope you're probably not going to last very long in the league. Brooks Lee should feel like he is playing for his career as an MLB starter right now. Royce Lewis should feel the same. Baseball is not an office job. Accountability is good.

You know I respect you greatly...but I feel like you have much higher standards than crediting the team for not giving up on the season by April 6.

Is it his fault that he struck out in the 9th as the game winning run? 46%Ks, -0.1 WAR so far. Oh and I checked, his wRC+ is 97. Are any of these things his fault? Matt Wallner breaks brains.