DocBauer

Infield insurance in case Donaldson doesn't rebound?

My only question is why not the 6th inning for Dobnak? Is it getting everyone a chance to pitch and stay sharp? Is it to keep confidence up for the SP, Dobnak in this case?

Not going to further debate whether Berrios is a pending ACE or not or what constitutes what an ACE is. And to be real, this entire season has been so weird and probably will end up being so weird, that I'm not sure we can or will ever be able to conceptualize the entirety of this season. IMO, I believe Berrios did deserve his 2 All Star appearances. I believe we still have not seen the best of him. I believe be was beginning to make adjustments at the end of 2019 to maintain his stuff for a full season and would have continued to do so if this was a normal year. I am making NO excuses for a poor/decent but not great start to 2020. But each and every player is still an individual. And each and every one of them has had to deal with an interrupted ST and a short summer ramp up. And there just is no way to explain or quantify each and every player and how they have been affected. If Berrios is average for the first month with velocity and poor control but settles in and finishes really strong, will we be happy and re-visit this arguement later?

Time to right the ship and forget the past 4 games. It's up to the coaches and players to forget and look forward. Can they do that? I think from injury and performance, it's obvious the short ramp up proves how important a normal ST is. Guys all over baseball are still trying to figure stuff out while playing games that count. Who settles in quickest may determine how this season turns out.

I'm in the majority here, and guess I was before the season even began. With a short season, so many teams looking to be hot and have a shot at the playoffs and any season suddenly shoved off the rails due to injury or illness, I just don't see many moves. And I don't see the Twins or anyone renting a player for 4 weeks. I think most teams are what they are, and have what they have, unless they are willing to over pay for 4 weeks and a couple seasons beyond of which only 2021 is more or less locked in as to actually happening.

I'm not upset the Twins blew the 4th game against Pittsburgh. What little I saw, which was only late, if memory recalls, nothing got hit hard and 2 of our best relievers had bad days. It happens, we win 3 of 4 Despite not playing great, you won't play great all the time. You will lose games. Losing all 3 to the Royals stinks! To be fair, I am not worried long term about IF, but they always play the Twins surprisingly tough. And I commented about that in a thread before the season began in relation to the schedule. Now that 4 game losing streak has happened, it's time to move on. The problem is, are we ready to move on? Offense is down across baseball. Every team, not just the Twins, are dealing with injuries. But this team has better depth and talent than most to overcome those injuries. And there is no Redmond to walk naked through the clubhouse, no Hunter to lead a dance party. And guys have to play to get in a groove. But it's up to Rocco and his staff to find a way to jump start the lineup. Shuffle the lineup? More batting practice? Less? I have applauded Rocco's usage of the pen. But I am confused about some of his usage the past few days. Nobody has been overworked. But it feels that with Hill, Bailey and Pineda out and Odorizzi just coming back, he is "saving" his best arms for ties and leads and letting the "rest" of the pen pitch while behind. But the Twins don't have just 2 or 3 really good arms, even with Littell out. Even with the offense struggling, could a game or two have been different if the game had been kept closer despite being behind? I don't have the answers. Alcala is looking like a keeper, so him pitching is not the reason we have lost, as an example. We have been in all of these games but never gotten over the hump. Despite massive mistakes of walking or allowing a regrettable single to a speed guy who ran rampant on the basepaths and created something few teams can...and speed will come back to the game again one day...the biggest problem, IMO, has been such a poor performance from a lineup that should almost accidently score 4-5 runs. We are still in 1st place and have a talented team. I am not upset or panicking, but I am disappointed. It's a weird season for EVERYONE. But we don't care about EVERYONE, we care about this ONE TEAM. There is a lot of this short season still left. There is so much talent here, and guys who will come back healthy at some point. But this is where Rocco and his staff will earn their stripes. What do/can they do in this weird season to get guys untracked?

Do you want to be a pessimist after losing 3 in a row? It's easy to be one right now. And believe me, I'm NOT HAPPY choking 1 to the pirates and then losing 2 in a row to KC. Not happy at all! (Deep breath) The Twins are still 10-5. Points to consider: 1] As good as the pen has been, not everyone will be perfect all the time. Witness the last Pirates game and tonight. Do we bail on Romo, Rogers and Stashak because they suddenly had a couple bad appearances? Absolutely not. 2] No matter the Twins pitching depth, at some point you get nailed when you have 3SP on the IL along with a RP you were counting on. Yes, Oddo is back now. But I'm not surprised his first game back was poor. 3] I am very disappointed in Thorpe so far. I think he needs to go down/over and work on his stuff. Something just isn't working right with him right now. On the other hand, Alcala was supposed to be the 8th or 9th option out of the pen, if not the 11th or 12th. (Dobnak, Smeltzer, Thorpe ahead of him with a full rotation). But we have seen flashes that can't be denied. Is he here to stay? 4] The hitters are still not producing as they should be. Guess what? Offense all across MLB is down so far. Buxton is getting in to a groove and hit a HR in 3 straight games for the first time in his career. Arraez had a good game. 5] Despite disappointment and frustration and injury, the Twins are still 10-5. BTW, despite some wildness, I've seen enough pure "stuff" from Poppen to think he's going to make it once he settles down. Sort of reminds me of Littell when he first came up. I appreciate Rocco working with the lineup and mixing things up. For the most part, I think he's handled the pitching staff as well as be can considering some rotational issues. As stupid as it may sound, this team needs something "silly" to happen to make everything come together. There is no Redmond to walk naked through the clubhouse and I doubt there will be a Hunter dance party anytime soon. But it feels to me as though this 10-5, deep and talented team is just waiting for a "spark" to just jump start them going forward. (FWIW, I commented before the season began that I thought the Royals would be a thorn).

In an era of power arms, HR swings, high SO totals, it would make perfect sense that a bulldog with heavy stuff would/could succeed by being different. Dobnak just seems to know how to pitch. He's got good control, decent velocity, and his stuff is heavy and low...generally...creating that weak contact. He seems to be the type who will be durable and be able to consistently hit 90-100 pitches per start. He doesn't have to have high SO numbers to be successful as long as the BB and HR numbers stay low. What is key for him though, IMO, is refining his stuff just enough to avoid those long AB where the batter just fouls off pitch after pitch. The ability to put those guys away quicker will determine just how successful he can be.

Pretty sure I saw a couple FB above 90 his last time out, but tend to agree it looks like his velocity is down somewhat. Of course I'm concerned, but I'm not worried. And I won't be until 2021. Why? Simply because there are so many outliers in 2020 that it's really hard to quantify any sort of regression for a young player. Did his missed time in ST 1.0 and a short ramp up in ST 2.0 have an affect on him? Will we see increased velocity again later in this short and wacky season? It's just too hard to predict. Right now, I'm more worried about control/command. Forget some of his final peripherals in 2019 as there were games he was extended to take one for the team. There were at least a couple appearances he looked really good but didn't seem ready to handle that 3rd or 4th inning. But the guy I saw in his 1st start didn't look like the guy I watched last year. Command was way off and it looked like he was pitching tentative or nervous. Did he need to work out some anxiety? I hope that's the case. I've always felt his floor was a really good bullpen piece. But I think he's got the ability to be a really nice back of the rotation starter. But 2020 could end up being an outlier for a lot of guys.

I watched both Twins WS victories and a trio of Husker football national championships. Never saw any of them in a loud bar setting. Watched a couple with family and friends. Never attended a parade. Didn't need to. My team won and I was overjoyed! I've even shed a few tears of happiness at the conclusion. I expect more of the same if the Twins do it again this year. With everything going on in the world right now, it might even mean more.

The old axiom that you can't judge a trade for a few years, though tired and worn, is still accurate. I was not in favor of the trade at the time as I felt the Twins were in good shape to rebound in 2019 and would need Pressly. The pen could used him the 1st half for sure, though they held together via duct tape and wire and did OK. Was he needed the 2nd half? Not really. But would it have been nice to have him. No doubt. Would Pressly have re-signed? Could the Twins have afforded him and still made all the other moves they've made? Interesting questions that none of us have the answer to. And any injuries that Pressly has had really shouldn't be brought in to the equation as those are completely unpredictable. Now, if it becomes chronic, we could re-visit that point. Finances are part of the equation. With the moves made, the emergence of some arms, a hopeful re-signing of May, the addition of a pair of young talents, I have a hard time knocking the trade at this point. Alcala has a way to go, but the talent is there. How good could he be in the next year or two? Perhaps good, perhaps really good. Talent, potential, rankings and a strong finish to 2019 have me excited about Celestino as, at worse, a versatile 4th OF and legitimate backup in CF. Right now, there is no winner. By 2022 I think we may able to declare one.

Tremendous read. Thank you. But I want to know more about how the kids are doing, etc. Love my Twins, but also a fan of the minors and really missing that part of baseball right now. But I will take what I can get.

Agree 100%. Absolutely worst guy you could walk. But as much as losing stinks, do you blame Romo for that run? Do you blame Rogers for not being perfect? Do you blame Maeda for one bad pitch? Stinks. But again. 60 or 162, you can't win them all.

First, TREMENDOUS article Matt! Instead of vacant wonder or doom and gloom, you offer up both sides of the situation. Sincere applause. Secondly, offense is down across baseball. It's not just the Twins. While pitchers are clearly not at the top of their game yet, it seems the batters are further behind league wide. It's more obvious than ever how important ST is relevant despite it's length. Third, I think everyone just needs to stop with the borderline panic that "we've already played 20% of the season. Oh my!" So what? Because it's a short season, slumps should be shorter? The ramp up to get in a groove or make adjustments of any sort should automatically be shorter? How in the world does that make any sense??? With all respect and deference to the amazing Cruz, what would you rather have; a deep and talented winning team not firing on all cylinders the first couple of weeks who could explode at any time to finish the year? Or a team with no shot who might be a little hot/lucky early? (See Detroit). We just need to stop this whole % of the season BS. Especially because we are winning. Fourth, and most importantly, this team can EASILY be SO MUCH BETTER and very soon. They've still hit bombas. They've still had some great clutch hitting. They've still chased SP early in almost every game. Garver and Arraez have ALWAYS hit at every level. They will make adjustments, sophomore slump or not. (Yes, Garver is more or less a junior, but you get the point). Buxton and Sano basically had a couple days to get ready. Weird they don't already have their timing down and taking, right? My point is, the positive side of the OP is what I am focusing on and believing in. Not just out of optimism, but based on talent and previous results. Donaldson is the one outlier that concerns me. They say he is OK and they are just being cautious. Fine. I will buy in for now. His defense has been as advertised. His offense has been poor, but he's seen pitches and hasn't exactly embarrassed himself at the plate. And he's been notorious as a bit of a slow starter. What concerns me is running slowly to 1B. He looked great in the field. Has be been slow out of the box to be conservative? Is that just him, devoid of speed, being safe when it seems an obvious out at 30+yrs? Or is there something more going on? Donaldson brings a lot to this team. I think, from an experience perspective and tutorial perspective he brings a lot and already has, much like Cruz. And barring some massive regression due to age and injury, I think he's going to bring a lot to this team over his contract. And the Twins, as they are constructed, can survive and perform well without him right now. How many teams could plug Marwin in at 3B and Adrianza on occasion and barely miss a beat? But this team is so much better, over all, with a healthy Donalson in the field and at the plate. I hope this latest injury is as mild as stated. I hope he is back soon and ready to go. But somewhat like Hill in the rotation, I want him 100% and ready to go for the second 30 games!

Only have the box, this report, and the last 2 innings to watch during lunch. Needless to say, my lunch didn't quite settle right watching the end of this one. THE BAD: Kind of obvious here, right? The one guy Romo shouldn't have walked is the guy he did. And Rogers wasn't perfect. Disappointing as hell. But just being realistic, you aren't going to win them all. Even the worst teams are still MLB teams who will win some games. Stinks to only win 3 out of every 4, right? (Sarcasm alert)! THE GOOD: While Maeda may have grooved one, I take what I've seen already and the report here to be further satisfied we have a really, really nice SP here. We are starting to see real life in Sano and Buxton. And that is very important for the remainder of the season. I was very encouraged by Buxton's deep fly out late in the game. May have been an out, but would have been out in some parks, XB hit a couple feet either direction, and showed with his HR that he might be rounding in to form.

There's 3 categories to consider: 1] Non contending teams: They have some of their top prospects on the 60 man already so they can still continue to work and progress. No doubt a few of them will make their debut at some point. Detroit and Mize is a great example. 2] Contending teams: Other than injury or covid-19 issues, a contending team is not going to want to mess with their 40 man, if at all possible, as it means a mess at the end of the year and potential loss of a player or two they might have to leave off in preparation for 2021 and beyond. Now, if a guy looks ready, then his addition is just following the normal path of addition and subtraction. But part of the problem remains roster size and end of season call ups. As of now, the reduction to 28 and then 26 man rosters is in effect. But with so many injuries and various outbreaks, I believe roster sizes might end of up being changed on the fly and moved back up to 28 or 30. But even then, you still have 40 man issues to potentially deal with. 3] Twins: Everything stated above concerning contending teams applies here. The "negative" of being a contending "going for it" is the large number of AAAA players on the 60 man for depth rather than additional milb prospects getting developmental work. And that's a good problem to endure, of course! But if injury or illness requires those guys to come up, you play a 40 man game with guys you don't regret having to waive later. Bringing up and playing non 40 man guys that are top prospects really messes with the 40 man going forward. So barring disaster, there will be no Lewis, Kirilloff, Larnach, Jeffers, etc. They will continue to work out and gain development time. Though I am still utterly confused and lost why Balazovic isn't in St Paul. Let me state for the umpteenth time, yet again, just how ridiculous and short-sighted the entire September call up situation is! Regardless, this where you could see a couple of Duran, Chalmers, Gordon, Celestino or Blankenhorn get a shot. Perhaps Rooker or Celestino get added over someone "disposable". The long and short is the Twins, and any contending team, will only promote via business as usual to replace a lesser player. Only the lesser teams, BAU again, will be promoting top prospects.

I do think, and hadn't thought about it previously, that working with so many new members of the staff could be having an affect as Garver takes real pride in his play behind the plate. It's at least worth considering. But I think the question does remain, "is there a problem?" He has a good eye and a short, compact and powerful swing. He hit in college. He hit in the minors. He hit decently in his rookie season before exploding in 2019. But he hasn't really done anything so far in 2020 after 11 games. Buxton and Sano are still feeling their way, as has been Donaldson, though for different reasons. I believe Arraez was hitting only .245 before Sunday, and was suddenly up to .270+ after Sunday. Kepler hasn't hit worth a darn, but has a huge slugging percentage and then also has a big day. My whole point is it's a weird and short season. And numbers are going to be stilted for a lot of guys. Littell, for example, could return in a few days and pitch just as well for the rest of the year as he did last season and still never bring his ERA down to a decent number after that one bad 1st game performance. Garver will probably not see as many FB as last year. Wasn't his HR the other day off a change? He has to make adjustments. And I'm sure he will. And he could absolutely rake the rest of 2020 and still never come close to the numbers be put up in 2019 as they were almost historic. So I'm not going to bummed out he has 3/4 of a productive year in an abbreviated short season. I just want him and the rest of the team to just relax, do what they do best, find their comfort levels and run with it.

Just gone with the game thread and a read here of the overview. Just a bunch of thoughts to lay out there. 1] Thorpe is better than this. His milb success says so, and the brief glimpses of him in 2019 at the ML level also says so. I won't say he was pitching "scared" but I will say he looked nervous. Felt like he was aiming instead of throwing. Whatever personal issues he was dealing with in ST...and I'm not making light...an abbreviated summer training hasn't resolved yet. At least on the mound. The Twins clearly believe in his potential and I love that they are sticking with him and working with him. I don't think he's going to be ready, not really, until 2021. But that doesn't mean he can't still gain confidence and refine his game in 2020, but I was disappointed tonight. 2] Remember when Wisler was just like some of the rule V guys we picked up that never turned out and might just sneak on to the roster for an extended look-see? While not "hairy" and not throwing frisbee style, guy reminds me of a young Romo. That slider can be devastating! Mourneau touched on the topic with a story in his younger days, and brought Johnson and the modern Twins philosophy in; if you've got a special pitch, use it. Might have a real find here. 3] No quit in this team, which we also saw last season. And you won't win them all. And patience can be a virtue. And this is true for a team that seems to balance aggressiveness along with patience. (And they obviously are not firing on all cylinders yet offensively, no surprise there). But there is too much talent/ability for "crafty" SP to make this team look so bad some days. 4] You take all the wins you can get. Even the ones you may not "deserve" because there are also games you should win but don't. So never apologize for the ones you sneak out.

Avilla has been a great addition. Honestly, I was worried about letting Castro go. I wasn't worried about Garver, I was just worried about losing a veteran presence on the team that I think meant more than some people realize. But Avilla was the perfect replacement offensively and defensively, and maybe in the clubhouse as well. Mitch has been off to a slow start. Duh! But he will be fine in a day or two. He's smart. He has a good bat, a good eye, a short, compact and powerful swing. But he has to make some adjustments because pitchers won't just throw him FB any longer. But I tell you he WILL make adjustments. Meantime, Avilla is doing great and was a nice addition. Cruz is Cruz and a STUD. Enough said. The "T's"? You said it all. A couple weird or mis-plays, which happen, would take away a couple runs from this group. Strongest performance so far? 1] Cave. And not his offense, which we have seen glimpses of previously. (Still shocked how bad he was early 2019. Pressing?) But I have been impressed by his defense in CF so far. He has the range and glove and arm to be a decent CF option previously. But we've also seen a lack of recognition that has lead to some bad play. SOMETHING has clicked as he has looked solid in CF enough for Rocco to trust him there. 2] Polanco. More than a few of us stated repeatedly to just give him time to settle in, gain experience, and grow in to the position. I have no doubt that Donaldson will assist him and cover for any weakness. Except, I thought his weakness was charging balls and his arm? But even in SSS, so far, all I've seen is a great glove and accurate arm to make plays.

LOVE the defense Marwin played the night before at 1B! Because he's not an offensive force, I think a lot of people undervalue what he brings. (And he's still solid offensively). And I fully appreciate Rocco giving time off when needed, and to preserve the season. And to let guys feel their way. But you also have to let guys play. And Sano is ready and getting dialed in. You can disagree with me, but I'm really liking Sano at 1B. I see good play and potential. He missed a close play tonight where his foot was off the bag on a close call, but a week from now, I bet his foot is on the bag. He's a work in progress, but you have to like what you're seeing, IF you're paying attention. Offensively, just pencil him in because he's settling in. Marwin may have to play 3B for a few days due to a Donaldson hamstring tweak. GREAT to have this kind of depth. Maeda, may not be Carrasco's equal to some. But who pitched better? Cleveland has a great rotation and some live young arms in the pen. But so far, Twins are UP!

They let Dobnak toss 90 pitches last night in his 2nd start. Maeda hit 84 last time out but pretty much cruised through his first 4 innings. One would speculate he's being targeted for 90 today and hopefully 6 IP. Can you imagine how good this team may be when we start hitting just a little bit better?

And BTW, any else impressed by the defense we've seen from Polanco this far?

I was generally impressed by Dobnak, even with some extended AB with numerous fouls. And 90 pitches for 5 innings isn't exactly ideal. But I think it's obvious most pitchers are still ramping up. But really, how can you complain at his results? He did his job for those 5 IP and should only get better. Guy is a grinder and very solid.

Amazing what a lightening rod Rosario has become. I have been a fan since be was brought on board, and remain so. I think he is a tremendous personality, a team leader, and a proven performer. Despite those who argue against his performance, statistics have proven he was a top performer in RBI situations in 2019. Clutch is still clutch. Despite some borderline to silly plays, he has proven himself...when healthy...to usually being not only a quality OF, but one capable of great plays. And I'm willing to forgive a bad play for every 3 good plays. Because those good plays are usually damn good. It's Eddie being Eddie. And if you take a big picture look at everything over the last 2 seasons, you have a choice. You can look at instincts fielding, base running, and quality production, in clutch moments. Even with a shoulder problem in 2018 and a bad leg in 2019. OR, you can say he can't play defense above average and anyone could produce numbers in this lineup. I'm not saying you are wrong if you think Eddie is easily replaceable. In fact, when you look at the potential of Larnach and Kirilloff, it's really hard to argue about future replacement value. But I do think Rosario has been victimized a bit by injury the last couple of seasons to reach his true performance level. I think he is smart enough to realize the limitations on his game due to over-aggressiveness. But can he understand that and make adjustments without losing the right kind of offensivness that makes him so productive? In direct terms, just a 10% adjustment in SO/BB could be huge. Has he, can he, as a young veteran player make that change? I sure hope he can!

I missed bits and pieces, unfortunately, but thought Berrios was just fine except for one really bad pitch that cost the game. Nobody should panic at this point, especially with such a short training period to get ready. Jose seemed to have some nasty stuff 1st game, but was overthrowing. Again, he made one really bad pitch tonight. Would you rather have an injury like those that have plagued so many top hurlers already? Or a talented pitcher who overthrew one game and made that bad throw against a potential Cy Young candidate? Abbreviated season or not, it's still early. We really haven't seen anything to cause concern at this point. Tip of the cap to Bieber for pitching a fantastic game. Like it or not, he appears to be developing in to stud SP. Not sure anyone could have beaten him his first 2 times out. We can, if you want, argue all day long about Sano's defense at 1B after 6 games, a short training schedule, and an even shorter one for him. OR, we can acknowledge he has mostly looked good at 1B, has all the talent in the world to be a good defensive 1B, and is still developing there and feeling his way. (Something we all knew would be true). The lineup is deep and dangerous but in no way, despite some early outbursts, are our hitters performing to expectation. Yet! But nobody should hit any panic button. I don't care it's a short season, 4-2 is good and it's still early. I trust Rocco. I think he's awfully smart. He seems to have a feel for the pulse of the team and his players, and knowing when to play guys and when to rest them. I also think he's smart enough, even after ONLY 6 games to know if someone is pressing. I think Donaldson is pressing. Sano and Buxton had almost zero time to get ready. I want him to do what he does, and has done, and keep the lineup fresh. And you don't get in a groove by sitting. But I do hope he mixes the lineup up a bit tomorrow for giggles sake. Guys often respond by a little shake up.