Mill1634

Donaldson best be hitting for Rortvedt

Good outing Caleb

Baseball managers are the least important coach in all of sports, imo. However, you only notice them when they're bad.

Oh yeah, I'm sure others have noticed, but I haven't seen anything from writers or people on twitter. Seems like everything he's hitting hard is foul, and isn't squaring up anything in play.

Was Kepler walking to first?

Haven't really seen this mentioned anywhere...but Arraez has been horrible for the past month. Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB BAbip 2021 Totals 33 32 136 117 17 32 2 1 1 14 0 0 15 14 .274 .360 .333 .694 39 .298 Last 7 days 7 6 28 27 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 .222 .250 .222 .472 6 .231 Last 14 days 8 7 33 31 2 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 3 .226 .242 .226 .468 7 .241 Last 28 days 18 17 76 67 10 17 1 1 0 6 0 0 6 7 .254 .329 .299 .627 20 .279 Last 365 days 65 63 257 229 33 68 11 1 1 27 0 0 23 25 .297 .362 .367 .729 84 .325

That was the worst pitched 2 run, 6 inning outing I've ever seen. Smoke and mirrors to the max. That start probably buys him another start (or 2 or 3), but it really shouldn't

And that is the risk with putting him out there. Still think it was the right call. Gotta pull him now, though

Normally I think you pull Shoemaker. Under these circumstances, I think you send him out for the 6th until (if) there is a baserunner.

Said it yesterday, will say it again. I've seen enough of Kyle Garlick against RHP

Safe, but hell of a play

NELLY BOMB

Roster Moves: Alex Kiriloff has been sent on a rehab assignment today, and will be DH'ing for STP. If everything goes well, Kiriloff will play in the field for the Saints tomorrow, and could be activated by the weekend, which would clearly be a huge boost to the lineup, and for his development. Lewis Thorpe will also get the start for the first game of tomorrow's double header, as the 27th man. Michael Pineda, who was scratched last night, is going to be pushed back a few days, and may possibly go on the IL, as the Twins are in a position where they can't hold a starter for a few more days, with the DH approaching tomorrow, and no off day until the 27th. The Pitchers RHP Matt Shoemaker (2-4, 6.62 ERA, 34 IP, 23 K's, -0.7 WAR) vs RHP Lucas Giolito (2-4, 4.97 ERA, 41.2 IP, 50 K's, -0.2 WAR) Another game thread introduction for me, and another Matt Shoemaker start. Seems never ending at this point. Some on this site have argued that Shoemaker has met expectations, but I strongly disagree that fans, or the front office, expected Shoemaker to be below replacement level after 8 starts, and if they did, they probably shouldn't have signed him. Shoemaker threw okay against the A's, but gave up 3 home runs which turned from a quality start to a bad start. It wouldn't shock me if Shoemaker is pitching for his Twins life today, as he's been bad when not facing the Pirates or Tigers. Giolito has had his struggles after a fantastic 2020 campaign, including a rough stretch over the past 24 innings where he's given up 18 ERs. He's issuing nearly 4 walks per 9 innings, and giving up the long ball frequently, at 8 in just 41.2 IPs. Giolito throws his 4-seam nearly half the time, which sits in the mid 90's, and works a fantastic changeup off the four seamer. Opponents are hitting just .197 against the uncle charlie. His third pitch is a slider, which he throws almost exclusively to right handed hitters, but is getting hit, and hit hard with 8 hits in 20 balls in play, including 5 XBH. Giolito will likely turn it around sometime, but let us hope it's after today's game. The Lineups Twins 2B Luis Arraez (L) SS Jorge Polanco (S) DH Nelson Cruz CF Max Kepler (L) 1B Miguel Sano LF Trevor Larnach (L) 3B Willians Astudillo RF Kyle Garlick C Ben Rortvedt (L) White Sox SS Tim Anderson RF Adam Eaton (L) 3B Yoan Moancada (S) DH Yermin Mercedes LF Jake Lamb (L) 1B Andrew Vaughn C Zack Collins (L) CF Leury Garcia (S) 2B Danny Mendick The Twins give Josh Donaldson and Andrelton Simmons the day off with the double header looming tomorrow, which slides Polanco over to shortstop and up to the two spot. Nelson Cruz is back in the lineup after a day off, and Miguel Sano finds himself in the 5 hole again after a huge day yesterday. Larnach gets another start against a right handed pitcher, and has been crushing the baseball as of late. The Twins will have a decision to make when AK is healthy, and I suspect Refsnyder will be sent down, and we see a lot of Kiriloff/Kepler/Larnach outfields. La Tortuga is at the hot corner, and Ben Rortvedt is behind the dish for the 2nd time in as many days, which tells me that Mitch Garver is still a little bit banged up. This isn't the best lineup the Twins can put on the field with the current available players, but neither was yesterday, and anything can happen in baseball. Vegas Odds: White Sox -125, Twins +105, O/U 9 runs This Day In History: 1979 - After a bitter strike, MLB umpires return to work after the MLUA and the MLB agree on in-season vacations, 401(K) plans, increased salaries, pensions, and per diems, as well as merit-based postseason assignments. The strike lasted six weeks, where amateur umpires replaced the MLUA umps. Pick to Click: Max Kepler has a 3 hit day Prediction: White Sox 8, Twins 4

In retrospect, the trade hurts after seeing Ynoa come up and have success with the Braves. However, at the time I don't think it was an outrageous move, as Ynoa was a teenager lottery ticket arm who fail a whole lot more than they hit. This one just happened to hit (or throw?). As far as Littell, he had some good outings with the Twins and looked like he could possibly be a consistent middle reliever, but turns out it was all smoke and mirrors. Really liking this series!

Agree on your hitter fronts. There will be some other names I have in the blog that are bigger "reaches" like Hacimer or Mason. Those guys all depend on how much of a firesale there is in July, as without a drastic one, I don't think they have much of a shot. 100% agree on Gordon especially..he's going to get a ton of ABs in August and September and either prove he can hit and likely be a long term utility man, or be off the 40 man roster this offseason.

Agreed on this point. A few of those guys will be features in other sections of this piece. I think Chalmers is probably a reliever with his control issues, and he's probably up as a reliever at some point this season. Duran may be up this year, but I'm not 100% confident in that. Balazovic I would be somewhat shocked to see unless they think he plays a major role in the rotation for 2022. As for your Dobnak point, I do agree that sometimes the sinker does seem to have too much movement on it, where it would be on the edge of the zone if it broke just like a normal sinker, but instead has extra movements and comes back into a hitters bat path. Either way, I expect to see a ton of Dobnak in the second half of the season (and maybe sooner) as you don't extend a guy with no clear plan. If this season continues to go off the rails, figuring out what you have in Dobnak should be fairly up the priority list.

HIP HIP!!!! Season hasn't been what we hoped, but man, it's fun to see these guys win, especially against the Sox. Sano with an absolute monster game that could be the start of one of his hot streaks. The bullpen that we expected to be good showed up in a huge way tonight. Ober was fine in his first start, and probably showed enough to be deserving of another look sometime this year. What a win. Enjoy this one!!

HIP HIP!!!! Season hasn't been what we hoped, but man, it's fun to see these guys win, especially against the Sox. Sano with an absolute monster game that could be the start of one of his hot streaks. The bullpen that we expected to be good showed up in a huge way tonight. Ober was fine in his first start, and probably showed enough to be deserving of another look sometime this year. What a win. Enjoy this one!!

Not trusting your 54M dollar reliever to get a guy with a sub .700 OPS out is kind of weird.

MIGUEL SANO

Being mad at the Yermin homer is stupid, but being mad for throwing behind a guy is also stupid. It's been apart of the game forever, and will continue to do so. I have zero issue with standing up for a teammate if you feel the situation calls for it. The twins apparently felt like it did, so I'm fine with it. Note: Throwing at the ribs is completely different than throwing at the dome. One is okay, one is not.

At least the team is showing some fight? Fwiw, I have zero issues with the homer, and I also have zero issues with throwing at a guy. Flame me.

I've seen enough Garlick vs RHP. not starting Refsnyder after 4 hits is odd

MIGGY

Nick Gordon was removed from the game after going 2-2...call up? Not sure who it would be for..Willians maybe?