IndianaTwin

Nah, just better at avoiding work on a Friday afternoon.

Mr. Moist actually mentioned two years when he had a combined ERA+ of 194. So add in 2021 when he was also pretty good. He also played a key late-season role in starting 10 games as a rookie in 2015, both years with an ERA+ above 130. In just 10 games, he had a 1.6 WAR and was realistically the team's top starter in August and September as they made a push for the playoffs. He just had a weird career where only one of his eight years had an ERA+ between 80 and 130. Four years above that and three years below.

Did you forget about A.J. Peerzyn... Pierzin... That catcher they used to have?

(Any excuse to use this is good enough for me, but it does seem a bit early for the discussion.)

28th, at 4.8. The MLB average is 5.2. Over 162 games, that means that the Twins would need to cover about 65 more innings from its bullpen compared to the average team. You can look at that at least three different ways. Given that 65 innings is about average for a good reliever, the Twins need to come up with one more quality reliever than the average team. In a seven-game week, the Twins bullpen will need to cover about 2.8 innings more than their opponents. I haven't come up with a third, but I'm sure folks on TD that are smarter than me (and there are many) will come up with a couple more! That's a helpful number, but I'm not sure it's a tell-all stat. Three starters going eight innings each time and two openers going an inning also works to the league average 5.2, but puts a different type of strain on the bullpen than five guys going 5.2. And for what it's worth, the standard deviation on this would be pretty small, meaning that Rocco isn't handling things much differently than other teams. Out of 30, 26 are averaging from 4.8 to 5.5. One of the teams outside that (Tampa Bay) has used openers regularly in the past. I don't know whether that's the case this year. Archer is a factor in this. Take out his 4.1 innings per start, and the team average is 5.1, almost the mean. Among guys who've started at least 13 times across the majors, only he and Yusei Kikuchi* are averaging less than 4.5 innings per start. *With Kikuchi killing my fantasy team in the process.** **Kikuchi is not alone in doing so.

Not necessarily. A pitcher can get a blown save and have the team come back and win. There can even be two or more blown saves in a game that a team wins, if the team takes back the lead after the first blown save. I didn't go through everyone to see where all the blown saves are, but the Twins are 2-2 in Duffey's and Smith's blown saves, for example. (This isn't disputing that the bullpen has cost them -- just clarifying how blown saves work/don't work as a stat. As further note on the limitation of "blown save" as a stat, Smith's "blown saves" came in the sixth and seventh, games in which it was very unlikely he would actually get the save.)

Who would you have gone with? Would you have preferred Duffey or Smith with a lead?

Missing Sandy Leon, obviously.

I work with a Mitch who sang in choirs and musicals throughout high school and college. He's reminded of his namesake from time to time.

Not since Friday.

When I was a kid, my folks bought one of those monstrosities, and the deal included being able to stop in each week to pick out a record or 8-track. I still have every song memorized on Donna Fargo's "Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" and Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" albums.

Not mentioned in the OP or comments is that Fulmer has some experience as a closer, stepping in pretty impressively last year when the Detroit pen got hit by injury.

Be sure to stop by the 8-track rack as well, so you've got something to listen to after the game.

Especially when I get to the 4th through 6th innings. Time to switch to the Detroit broadcast so I can understand what's happening.

Fair enough. Don't know if you're on TV or radio, but on the latter, I heard him as someone still pretty hopped up on Red Bull. I'm guessing he'll sleep well tonight. And in framing it as a "We," I also hear it as being proud of the team that put the deals together. I think you have to have a strong ego to be in a position like his, but he seems to share credit pretty well and work toward a team concept.

Was that back-to-back plays where Arraez avoided a tag? It's hard to see on the radio.

Or are you suggesting that Falvey ate too many bean burritos?

I don't know -- would you prefer he say, "We did some things, but I still think we suck"? What do you expect him to say?

Norm Cash? Dave? I didn't know either was still in the majors.

Wow -- I read through all the comments and nobody's started the "But he's not an ace" chant! /s

Concur.

Call me greedy, but I'd make this an "AND" rather than an "OR." I like that Robertson does have significant closing experience and should be even cheaper, given that it's two months of control.

Call me old-school, but I'm big on using the fax machine to save on postage. I hear you can also scan to e-mail these days.

I'm generally with you, Mike. I look at it this way... 1. The playoffs have tiers. The Yankees and Astros are pretty much locked into the first-round byes. Then there's the Twins and 5-7 other teams who will fight for the remaining spots, one of which will be the Central champ. Realistically, I think the Twins will be the 3 seed (by winning the division) or the 6th seed (last wild card) if they make it. The difference in that seeding isn't worth going whole hog about, and at this point, the difference in team quality from the 3-6 seeds isn't such that one acquisition is going to make any of those teams a clear standout. 2. I still generally like the lineup. Either injuries will keep it from making the playoffs (and trades won't redeem that) or it will be a solid lineup. The one exception is catcher, with Jeffers' injury. I'd consider pursuing a Danny Jansen from Toronto, which also has Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Morales, neither of whom they'll likely trade. (And if they would trade the latter, I'm definitely in.) 3. Realistically, it's hard to think of any starting pitcher who instantly improves the team to the level of being a clear division favorite or being competitive with NYY/Hou. With starters, the language is "controllable," which translates as "expensive." The language is also "sustainable," which translates as "now and in the future." Unlike previous years, the team does have a good start for next year's rotation -- Gray, Maeda and Ryan to begin with, plus Paddack, Smeltzer, Ober, Winder and Dobnak. In theory, add Bundy and/or Archer, thanks to options. Adding Montas is another arrow in the quiver, but I think adding a starter of that nature in the offseason is more feasible, both in availability and cost. 4. Which leaves the bullpen. Right now, the guys above 100 in ERA+ are Duran, Jax, Cotton, Moran, and Magill, with Thielbar hopefully back soon. I'm not fully out on Pagan, Duffey and Smith, and anything from Maeda/Alcala is bonus. It's just that right now, the rotation not going deep in games means lots of bullpen usage, and there aren't enough arms available to use the St. Paul Shuttle effectively. So do the minor stuff -- trade for guys that can primarily be had with lottery tickets. My first choice is David Robertson, a guy who can be slotted in as Closer Option 1 (including on back-to-back days), shifting Duran to Closer Option 1a, and shifting everyone else to "situational high/low level, according to how they're rolling, but with no sniffing of the ninth." I'd be glad to have a second reliever as well, though if there's a sense of Maeda being back soon, that softens the need. I actually like Fulmer and Givens, but to me they are guys like Pagan/Duffey/Smith -- guys with some past success but not enough to be consistently relied on.

The answer, obviously, is "yes."