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1985Fan

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Everything posted by 1985Fan

  1. Should add that the competitive window judgement by the FO takes into account the competition. Based on Cleveland throwing in the towel last year, the Twins underestimated Central division landscape. Everyone thought Cleveland wasn’t going to be in the running for playoffs this year. Credit to them for bringing in a new manager that is getting great results. Not sure if KC will be there at the end of the year. Twins thought they could take the Central with reduced payroll and basically standing pat. Could be that is a fatal mistake.
  2. I think roster management and player development strategy is based on the teams competitive window. Cleveland did not think this year would be a title contending situation, based on last year’s decisions to sell at the deadline. Twins are thinking that this year is their year to make a deep run in the playoff’s based on last seasons results. Two different scenarios that affect roster management. When you think you have a chance to go deep in the playoffs, you’re not in position to give young guys a long leash to see what they can do, you need reliable production. That’s why championship teams usually go with veterans. Argument can be made that the FO has misjudged the competitive window. There have been injuries that have derailed some of the veterans brought in. Falvine thinks this is the chance to go for the brass ring, so they don’t have the patience to let young players get their feet wet. Even though the young guys they have counted on aren’t producing either (Julien, Kiriloff). Nor are the veterans to this point (Santana, Margot).
  3. Letting SWR get one more out is how you build his confidence. Unless Abrams was hitting SWR hard in previous AB or some other indicator that disaster was imminent. The automatic decision based on some standard data is what frustrates pitchers. Remember Sonny Gray complaints? It’s frustrating as a fan to watch. I think the best managers are the ones that understand how to use data but also know that decisions have to accommodate players and game situations. That’s not Rocco.
  4. Duran giving up another home run is concerning. Wonder if he is not fully recovered or if he has another physical issue. I didn’t see it, was the home run off of another curve?
  5. In the Pioneer Press, Duran said “he would have preferred to throw a fastball”. He‘s also quoted : “it’s not my decision… I’m an employee here, so whatever I need to throw, I need to throw”. Someone dictated the curve. Rocco has also made comments about the detailed and thorough game plans not being executed when they lose. It sounds to me like analytics gone too far.
  6. It sounded like there is a scripted “pitching game plan” that is being dictated. Not sure if it’s Baldelli or pitching coach or someone else. If it is someone other than Vasquez or Duran, then shame on them. If you get beat on your 3rd best pitch to lose the game twice in a row, that person needs to quit calling pitches. I can’t understand why he wouldn’t throw his fastball or splitter after giving up the home run on Friday on a curve. Terrible call that has cost the Twins two games. I also wonder why the Twins beat writers haven’t asked about it.
  7. I would add the question of who is telling pitchers what pitch to throw and when? I’m concerned about Durans comment after giving up Sundays walkoff home run that he was just an employee following orders (I’m paraphrasing). Who called for a curve when he had just given up a game losing home run on Friday night on a curve? From his comment, it sounds like he didn’t agree with the call. You want your best relief arm confident in the pitch call with the game on the line. I thought pitchers had final say on pitches. It sounds as if calls are being made outside of the catcher or pitcher. That is extremely concerning to me. Even I know that Duran should be throwing his best pitch in do or die situations and it seemed obvious from the previous home run that Cleveland was sitting on his curve. If he’s still hurt and can’t throw his fastball at his normal velocity, then why is not on the DL? If Vasquez called for the curve, that is another question as to why he’s in the lineup. If he can’t hit and is making dumb calls, then why is Rocco playing him?
  8. Got to get this off my chest. Is it time to send AK down to St.Paul? He looks lost at the plate and is now costing outs on defense. When was the last time he had a hit? He looks terrible in the field and at the plate.
  9. Have to see how they respond in Cleveland. Cleveland took two of three back in early April. They were saved the humiliation of three game sweep when last game was rained out. If they don’t compete with Cleveland this weekend, that will show they’re really not a serious contender for AL Central or the postseason.
  10. Bad defense giving a good offense extra outs does not lead to good outcomes. What excuse do the hitters have? Made Stroman look like Cy Young. It is a confidence issue. Twins hitters get desperate when behind the Yanks and revert to pulling everything which leads to bad results. They can’t have three pitch AB’s! Try to look like a MLB team and show some fight. That was the most pathetic series since last years Braves series.
  11. I wonder how much Kiersey CF defense would benefit Twins, not even thinking about his offense. Castro does not look like a evetday CF, despite what the stats may say.. Martin doesn’t look better than Castro, so if Keirsey can improve the defense, that alone is worth the his promotion.
  12. Kiersey hit two home runs yesterday. He had a good year last year, but Stevenson was ahead of him because of MLB experience. At some point promotion has to be based on performance not prospect status. Sends a bad message when players doing well are blocked based on opinions or perceptions. You want to reward good performance to give the players an incentive. Can’t do worse than Margot….
  13. Can’t assume his current numbers translate from MiLB to MLB. Shouldn’t plug him into the Twins lineup with <700 MiLB AB’s! Maybe another full season and at least 500 AAA AB’s of excellent results. Player development isn’t a linear process. Look no further than Larnach, Julien, and Miranda. Looks like Larnach is finally making adjustments to MLB pitching. Hope this doesn’t jinx his progress.
  14. If the FO decides they need to convert a reliever to SP, Sands has the best chance at changing roles. He’s been good this year as a long reliever, so stretching him out a few more innings would make sense. When Duran and Topa come off the DL soon, there will be BP changes. Sands has options left to send him down to stretch him out and get ready. Sands has been a stater not long ago in the MiLB. Another candidate would be Winder. He’s is eligible to come off the DL end of May( I think). He will have to recover and stretch out to be ready, but he could be an option (if health allows) by end of June. Twins should focus on getting their Saints starters ready by fixing what ails Varland. If he can’t be fixed, then Festa is next man up. If he’s not going to step up this year, then the vaunted pipeline is broken and they’ll have to dip into the trade market to upgrade. No one wants to see this FO go that route again, so fingers crossed for all other options. Duran converting to SP only if the apocalypse happens!
  15. The poor performance this year is on the FO, owners, coaching staff, and players. Not in that order. Injuries happen, should be expected. They’ll get both Lewis and Correa back, so it’s not the end of the season. The schedule is always a gamble. The old saying “ it’s not who you play, it’s when you play them” proves true over a long season. Especially with the new balanced schedule. I blame the coaching staff more than anything. Players are going to go through slumps, that’s part of the game. But all the players going through at the same time?! This has happened two years in a row now, so it’s not a one time phenomena. I also look at how the manager reacts during team slumps. I don’t see Rocco trying anything different to give the team a jolt or squeeze out a run, batting order looks the same, same station-to-station play, etc. What’s the definition of insanity? Rocco doesn’t have the skills, personality, or baseball knowledge to work with a player to get them out of a slump. Definitely not at the same level as Kelly or even Gardenhire. Not in the same league as Bochy, Baker, or Francona. If the manager needs an all star roster to win, then fire Rocco and I’ll take the job. The owners can save the salary, I’ll take the job just for the season tickets.
  16. Twins led the league in SO last year. Instead of changing the hitting coaches they opted to bring in Santana and Margot? Not a good plan. As has been said here by others, this FO doesn’t like to admit mistakes, so don’t expect coaching changes anytime soon. There is always the notion that pitchers are ahead of hitters early in the season, but that hasn’t slowed down Twins opponents. The coach should be able to help these guys make simple adjustments and improve. Seems like a lot of the hitters trying to pull low/outside pitches that they’re pulling off of and striking out. Then you have the brilliant manager. Pulling López at 87 pitches?! This team badly needed to salvage a win. That’s supposed to be the job of the ace: stop the losing streak! Rocco wants to save him for something else. It’s terrible to watch these futile hitters waste good pitching performances, or the fielders kick the ball around, or good pitchers make an occasional mistake and blow it. Bottom line is Twins are going to have to score more than two runs a game! Tom Kelley used to say that 4 runs should win the game if the pitching and defense were big league caliber. Looks like the Twins have a ways to go.
  17. If Twins manager keeps pulling his starter after 68 pitches like he did yesterday, the BP is going to be wore out before the all-star break. Headrick might be a good piggyback starter with Ober, Paddack, or Varland. He can go 3-4 innings to stay ready in case of injury and get mlb experience at the same time
  18. Final score was 4-2, not 5-2. Pablo gave up three runs, all earned (I believe). I15 SO many with runners in scoring position. Not fun to watch. Wasted at bats by not even putting the ball in play. Correa hits a leadoff double and didn’t move. Down two runs they couldn’t get him over to third. Hopefully just one game, better results next time. Hope the reinforcements are getting ready in St. Paul!
  19. Have to view the current pitching depth chart in comparison to previous years, not last year. Last year was fortunate from an injury and depth standpoint. It’s not that long ago (2021) that JA Happ (19 starts @6.77 era), Matt Shoemaker (11 starts@8.06era) and Andrew Albers (4 starts@7.58era) were the #4, 5, and 6-8 starters. From that perspective, Headrick, SWR, Festa, and Dobnak are a quantum leap forward! Let’s see if the pitching development pipeline is going to finally pay off. Looks better now, I hope it is better when the dust settles.
  20. That must be the reason. He should be ready to accept less now that the season has started. Given that Falvine negotiated a raise for Gallo last year after he was DFA’d twice the year before, it’s likely Twins offer would be in the $15M/year range 😀
  21. Given Desclafini injury and Obers shaky start, I wonder if Falvey will deviate from his offseason blueprint. Or if he is allowed to. Too early to make judgement on Ober, but go sign Clevinger if he’s available. Lorenzen signed a reasonable one year deal. Clevinger should be signed for the same deal. He’d be a decent 5th SP and would move Varland back into a depth role. That is a much better looking depth chart than now. Unless there is something wrong with Clevinger? Strange that the Mets or others with pitching injuries haven’t been engaged with him. No rumors out there about him.
  22. Agree with previous commenters that his attitude plus his talent makes him a team leader. I think the Twins will do great things if they can get as many games as possible from him. I remember Molitor was injured often early in his career but eventually went on to a HOF career. Hope Royce recovers quickly and finally shakes the injury bug. What an amazing talent. Good luck and god speed Royce Lewis. Can’t wait to watch him play again!
  23. You can’t predict injuries. He’s on their depth chart, so if injuries happen, there is the 60 day IL. It’s not that long ago that Devin Smeltzer and Andrew Albers got starts for the Twins. I wouldn’t rule out anything.
  24. We’re trusting him as the #8 or #9 starter on the depth chart.
  25. Moot point since he is not the #5 SP, he’s already under payroll, and he’s depth at St. Paul. I said IF he found his sinker and IF he’s fully healed, he’s a veteran pitcher that, as the #3 depth piece, could fill in for injury if needed.
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