Platoon

Only the front office has a feel for whether they can actually re-sign Berrios, Rogers, and Buxton. As for what JP said about the topic, that and $8 gets you a Big Mac meal deal. What else was he going to say? I don’t think this is about whether the team should keep them, it’s about whether it can. If they will return, and JP will cough up the cash for them, sure keep them. If not, then it’s a no brainer to move them for something worthwhile while they are at their most valuable. And remember, this isn’t as simple as one of them. If for example Berrios and Buxton aren’t going to re-up, then Rogers value you to us is limited.

So the real question may be HOW can an organization miss out on this staple of baseball importance for basically the entire franchises history? It seems that they have always been heavy on bat first players, especially corner guys. There seems, over the years, to be a dearth of two things. High level pitching, and shortstops that this outfit has developed. Dare I use the M word? Money. High level pitching costs a lot. An awful lot. I won’t get into the woulda shoulda, but all pitchers aren’t home grown on the velocity lists. And the acquired ones likely were out of our price range. Add the fact that some won’t play in a town where the bright lights don’t shine. Lastly, in the past it seeems to be when given a choice between drafting a high velocity pitcher and a hitter of relative potential, the team has opted for the bat. But maybe that’s just my perception?

Another 4 games after the AS break and the Twins should be able to pass the pesky Tigers and take over sole possession of the always competitive Central Division. Watching the two bullpens reminded me of a quote from the venerable sage Denny Green which could have been uttered by either manager. To paraphrase: "They are what we thought they were, and we let them off the hook"

"Strangely, Rocco Baldelli pulled him after five innings, with his pitch count at 84. He concluded his shutout with seven" In this context, wouldn’t the words "strangely" and Rocco Baldelli" be considered redundant?

I used to golf a little but gave it up for the good of the game. We never counted more than 10 strokes on any hole. What if MLB adopted that idea? You can never fall more than 10 games behind the first place team. I know there a a few kinks to be worked out, like the math and other stuff. But I am sure any business that can put out a product like MLB does, AND still get people to watch it should be able to come up with a solution.

I am not disagreeing that BA/RISP is not a useful stat, it definitely is a way to define a players ability in those situations. Nor do I believe that some players hit "better" with a RISP. Normally the best ones simply stay to their normal level. Not try to overdue the opportunity. As an aside I think lost in the discussion is the fact that advanced stats may be good for the organizations running the teams, but detrimental to the normal fans discussion of the game. For example, one can argue that RBI’s are passé, and BA/RISP is the real deal. It’s a good argument. But the next refinement is BA/RISP when? When behind? When ahead by 6? And of course, late and great. I am sure there are stats that quantify everyone of those instances. But by the time you get to the bottom of them, most fans have fallen asleep, or worse than that for MLB, tuned into the. NBA finals, or reruns of Real Housewife’s of almost any city in America!

Aren’t RBI’s and BA/RISP related. RBI’s are a counting stat, while BA/RISP is a percentage stat. Having a higher RBI total is definitely indicative of being able to produce with men on base over the course of a lengthy season. In a normal baseball lineup, the manager would ascertain who would be most likely to get on base, and follow them with those who seem most comfortable and productive driving them in. Yes, it can be argued that a 8,9, or 1 hitter doesn’t get as many opportunities to add to his total. But as a rule there is a reason the guy is batting in those positions. Or at least there used to be!

I have my TiVo set for 4 hours! I don’t think it rained? And the "tape" ran out before the game was over……. Sheesh

Aggravating!

I agree with this, but as usual there is a but! Yes try and sign him if you can, but if it’s apparent you cannot, then move him this year for the best deal offered. Reusse likely has sources we don’t. And if he doesn’t want to play here money won’t do it, he can get that anywhere. I agree, he is one of the best players in the league when healthy. But those days are so few and far between. That does mitigate his overall value, to both us, and others.

You forgot the Mayo Clinic All Stars!

I for one hope the Twins weren’t cheating. Because it the results we have seen so far are "cheat" assisted then I shudder to think what it will be like when we don’t? That said, if the rest of the league is using sticky stuff, what makes one think the Twins won’t? Just cuz Donaldson says not to? I doubt a pitcher who’s paycheck doesn’t come from Donaldson really cares what he thinks. If the baseline is sticky stuff, I can’t believe Twins pitchers aren’t on it. Despite the results so far! ???

A local told us Joe’s was the place to go on a trip through KC to see our daughter in AR. He didn’t tell us it was in a gas station. We got to know the area well while driving back and forth. But the food was worth the U turns!

"A lot of fans were hoping that 13 games against the Orioles and Royals would ignite this team into the playoff contender they were projected to be. Unfortunately, the Twins end up going 6-7 over that stretch and now face Yankees and Astros for six games at home after an off-day on Monday. I’d imagine these last two weeks were the figurative “nail in the coffin” for even the most optimistic fans." I just looked at the standings. This morning we are 6 games behind the Royals, meaning we were 6 games back when we pulled into KC. I would think that would be an indication to the fans that the Royals weren’t going to be as cooperative as some had hoped. But baseball is a strange game. The Twins could just possibly have better results this week in the face of impending doom.

8 hits, 3 walks in 6 innings, 2-8 RISP = 2 runs. 2=11 RISP for the game. Yet I keep hearing that RBI’s are an outdated and meaningless stat?

Strikeouts aside I was also a great hitter! Well maybe not great, but if it weren’t for them and the fielders I would have been a lot better! ?

Why is La Tortuga not on the relief pitching usage chat? And, if you take the S out of RISP, is it still a pertinent Twins stat?

RBI’s and BA don’t mean anything. There are all kinds of ways to get on base besides hits. Like walks, HBP, or when the catcher misses that 2 strike slider outside the other batters box you swung at trying to hit a 5 run HR. As for RBI’s the runners should be able to figure out how to score without someone else’s help.

Maybe he’s grading on a curve?

Thanks. I guess I misspoke. I actually meant how many actual games have his stone cold hands cost this year. All I know is 3 runs given up vs one solo HR, leave you short two runs!

Therein lies the problem with Mitch Garver. A solo bomb, and three runs given up because he can’t catch a one hop bunny. Since I see all of Dobnaks runs are earned, baseballs aversion to handing out errors ends up costing him 3 earned runs, and Simmons a nice assist. Is there a stat on how many games Garvers stone hands have cost the Twins this year?

I noticed the Twins W-L record, hitting, and pitching have improved since we have gotten rid of the pesky Sox, and A’s. Coincidence? Hard to say. Brocks comments on hitters being too homogeneous is pretty spot on. Correctly or not current emphasis is on launch angles, back spin, and frankly distance. This is fine for maybe 2/3 of the players. The other third see where the money is and try to replicate something that they can’t achieve. IF you don’t have the power to drive the ball, then your attempts at launch angle become what we always called a "can of corn". Brocks other comment on pitching back to back may be too universal. Rogers history doesn’t seem to indicate that that’s a good plan for him personally.

As long as this team seems to expend its energies and assets on hitting vs pitching, this will continue to be the trend. This HR happy team just won a game with IIRC all runs scored via the long ball. This seems their identity since 2019. But someone took some of the bounce outa the ball and it’s not as easy to do this year. Throw in the fact that in any sport offense is the least predictable portion of the game and you have the win big, lose small Twins. Yes you may be able to bully enough mediocre pitchers during a season to be competitive, but once you get into the playoffs, those guys are watching on ESPN with the rest of us. The ones you could run all over are in the other dugout! The Twins have been unlucky health wise no doubt. They maybe aren’t really as bad as their record, but the difference is not enough to make them a contender. But there just doesn’t seem to be anything in the works to turn this around soon. If there were magic Uber talented players down in milb waiting to come up, they are well hidden from us. Especially on the pitching front. The Twins window was based on Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Berrios, Garver, Polanco, Duffy, etc. So far the only one of this group that has been close to that level of play has been Buxton, and his contributions continue to be muted by his injuries. Right now what you see is a big, slow bumbling baseball team which will win if it runs into some helpful pitching.

All this talk about, "if you want to win the WS you won’t be using a position player", or "if you don’t want to get a HR hit off your position player, play better" have absolutely nothing to do with the UR. The adherence to the UR has for years controlled the parts of the game that aren’t covered in the book. ALL sports have acceptable standards for behavior towards other players or teams that are on the short end of a blowout. And that’s what the UR are about. Treating your opponent with some respect, and I imagine sympathy when it’s not his day. Because in the future, some day won’t be yours. Piling on in any sport is frowned on by any respectable coach, manager, or player. The operative word in that sentence is "respectable". To those who say, "well if you don’t want to be embarrassed play better", I counter with: If you don’t want to get called out by your own coach, or hit in the ass the next day with a message FB, then don’t swing at a 3-0 bunny, don’t steal a base, or for that matter if you do square up a 3-2 floater and it goes out, don’t act like you just hit the winner in game 7! Kudos to the Sox LaRussa for trying to yell "take" before the pitch, and later calling out his hitter and letting the Twins know he wasn’t on board with that behavior. And the same for Duffy taking a stance properly, below the belt. As for those who think that it’s fine to kick a dog when it’s down, there really isn’t anything I can say that wouldn’t get me warning points! ?

OP heading. "No end in sight" Ahhhh, actually I think it should have read, "the end is near"?