John Bonnes

Aaron and John react in real time to the news of Michael Pineda's season-ending suspension, and also talk about potential playoff roster scenarios and the first game of the Cleveland series. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

At the end of a tremendous game was a tremendous play which gave the Twins a tremendous win and if you think we’re not going to find each and every replay/reaction/mashup of it, then you don’t know us very well. Let’s start with the play, as called by Dick Bremer, who sounds as surprised as I was: Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins announce they are promoting AAA relievers Trevor Hildenberger, Ryne Harper and Fernando Romero to their active major league roster. All three have spent time with the team this season. The press release reads:Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have recalled right-handed pitchers Ryne Harper, Trevor Hildenberger and Fernando Romero from Triple-A Rochester. Harper, who spent the majority of the season with the Twins, appeared in 56 games out of the bullpen including making his major league debut on March 31. He went 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA (49.1 IP, 20 ER) while recording one save and 11 holds. Harper made three appearances (3.0 IP) while with the Red Wings. Hildenberger split the season between the Twins and Triple-A Rochester, along with a brief rehab stint with the GCL Twins, making a combined 36 relief appearances overall. He started the season with the Twins and made 19 appearances before being optioned on May 15. Hildenberger, who missed over two months with a right elbow strain, finished the Triple-A season with 8.1 scoreless innings after being activated from the Injured List on August 20. Romero, who will be making his fourth stint with the Twins this year, made 35 appearances (1 start) for the Red Wings this season, in addition to his eight appearances with the Twins. The 24-year old made his major league debut last season appearing in 11 games. The Twins now have 36 active players on their roster. Harper is the least surprising addition. He was sent down on August 24th and since players need to spend 10 days in the minor league before being recalled, was only just eligible to return. He actually still leads the Twins pitching staff in appearances this year, and opponents hit just .228 against him through July. But he posted a 7.36 ERA in August, which led to his demotion. Hildenberger’s role on the team in September will be worth watching. Hildenberger was one of the most effective Twins relievers early in the season; he didn’t give up a single run in his first 11 appearances. But in May he had a series of disastrous outings and he was demoted to AAA. He similarly struggled in Rochester until he was shut down in mid-June with a right flexor mass strain. He returned in mid-August and has been nearly unhittable since: opponents are 2-27 against him in his five AAA appearances. Fernando Romero at least gets to finish a disappointing season in the majors, but unless a major turnaround happens, he likely won't contribute much to the pennant race. Projected to be a high-leverage contributor to the Twins bullpen this year after being converted from a starting pitcher, the 24-year-old struggled with his control in spring training. He spent most of the season at AAA and was also shut down in June with an injury (lower back strain) in June. But unlike Hildenberger, the time on the injured list does not seem to have solved his struggles. Specifically, he has walked 19 batters in 28.2 innings, about double the rate of an average pitcher, since his return. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins increasing their AL Central lead and shattering home run records, Brusdar Graterol's triple-digit debut, Byron Buxton's unexpected return, getting to know the September call-ups, and problems throughout the rotation. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Want more Twins talk? Subscribe to our midweek "Off The Record" podcasts via Patreon.com/Gleeman. Click here to view the article

So much to respond to here: 1) Graterol! 2) I'm only slightly less psyched to see how the Twins use Ian Miller. This team could've used a really good pinch runner a lot this year. 3) Bummed for Hildenberger. 0.545 WHIP in the 7 games since he returned. That seems like someone this team could use. 4) Poppen was "recalled to not report" which I assume means he get a MLB salary and service time, which is a class move by the team. (And very opposite of how we felt this time last year with the Buxton shenanigans.) 5) Gibson news is a surprise, but it also isn't. We all were wondering just what was wrong. For his sake, I hope this isn't too serious and he recovers quickly. For the team's sake, him being healthy and back on his game for the postseason could be a real plus.

Aaron and John talk about Jose Berrios' struggles, Byron Buxton's impending return, Brusdar Graterol's estimated time of arrival, Ryne Harper's demotion, another major injury for the Indians, what can be done to fix the Twins' defense, and tidbits from Thad Levine and Daniel Adler. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

;-) Tough crowd.

Fixed throughout. Twins Daily deeply regrets our mistake.

After a ridiculous hot start for the Twins, they’ve been struggling to maintain their division lead over Clevelend. Something has been missing. An ace starter? A dominant closer? Byron Buxton? Nope. The team apparently needed a #RallySquirrel. Tuesday night the Twins again fell into an early deficit to the White Sox. They came back to tie it 3-3 and were threatening in the bottom of the fifth when this happened: Take comfort, Minnesota. When needed, she’ll be there. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' impressive road trip, Sam Dyson's return and Brusdar Graterol's possible arrival, Jose Berrios' worrisome struggles, Marwin Gonzalez catching fire at the best time, Jorge Polanco's throwing errors, and the Phillie Phanatic lawsuit. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Click here to view the article

In his last appearance as a AA-Pensacola Blue Wahoo, Twins #3 prospect Brusdar Graterol hit 103.8 MPH on a pitch and then was promoted to AAA-Rochester along with fellow fireballer Jorge Alcala. The move aligns with recent news that Graterol could be promotedto the Twins bullpen for their postseason run.The 20-year-old Graterol started the year as a starting pitcher and posted a 1.89 ERA with 46K in 47.2 IP, but suffered from a shoulder impingement condition in early June, and was shut down until late-July. Since his return to Pensacola, he’s been used as a reliever, throwing five innings, holding opponents to a 0.71 ERA, though he’s only struck out four batters. His outing yesterday versus Chattanooga was when he threw the 103.8 MPH pitch. Click here to view the article

Last night’s 12-7 win over the Rangers featured six runs before the Rangers got an at-bat, home runs by C.J.Cron and Miguel Sano, another solid relief outing by Trevor May and even two home runs from #OldFriend Danny Santana. But the inadvertent highlight of the game happened during the seventh inning stretch, and #MNTwins twitter was THERE for it.The Rangers started the seventh inning stretch last night with a rousing rendition of “God Bless America.” This guy went for it, really belting it out, but got a little carried away at the end when he made the bold choice to go for the high A on the last note. And choked. Literally. Poor guy turns into Tarzan on that last note. Cut to commercial. NO, FASTER! Click here to view the article

I almost clarified something in the story, but was rushed for time so I'll add on to what jorgenswest and stringer bell are saying. There are two situations (at least) where it is the scorer's discretion: 1) The starting pitcher leaves the game with the lead, but hasn't thrown five full innings, and the team never relinquishes that lead. In this case, the scorer is not allowed to give the starting pitcher the win, so she can choose whichever reliever she feels is most deserving. This one does not apply here because Odorizzi did go five innings and also left without the lead. 2) A reliever is on the mound when the lead changes, but is brief and ineffective. That's the situation as described above, but (as noted above) it should not apply either. If there is a different situation that should apply, nobody seems to be able to point to it, including the Twins Official Scorer, Stew Thornley.

There was a scoring decision last night that was at least odd and probably just plain incorrect. In the Twins 4-3 win over the Rangers, Sam Dyson was ruled the winning pitcher, despite taking the mound after the Twins took the lead. There are reasons to do that in baseball, but none seem to apply here. First, let’s go through what happened.The Twins entered the bottom of the sixth leading 2-1 with Jake Odorizzi on the mound. Odorizzi tired, and after getting two outs, gave up a two-run double that gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead. He was replaced by Tyler Duffey who struck out a batter to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, Twins second baseman Jonathon Schoop hit a two-run home run to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Dyson pitched, and wriggled out of some trouble to maintain the lead. In the eighth and ninth inning, Taylor Rogers and Sergei Romo did the same and the Twins won 4-3. The reliever “on the mound” when the Twins took the lead was Duffey, so why was he not given the win? I asked Twins Official Scorer Stew Thornley (who was not involved, because the game was in Texas) and the only exception he could point to is rule 9.17©, which gives the scorer discretion to give the win to a subsequent reliever if the reliever on the mound is “brief and ineffective.” But Duffey was not ineffective. He may have vultured a win, but he struck out the only batter he faced. He could not have been more effective. In fact, Thornley points out there is guidance on what “ineffective” means in this regard. The guideline states that if the reliever pitches less than an inning and gives up two or more runs, they can be deemed ineffective. In fact, Thornley wrestled with this guidance just last weekend in a Twins game. On Sunday, Brad Hand blew a save, giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Cleveland won the game in the tenth. Hand wasn’t particularly effective, but Thornley awarded him the win because he did pitch a full inning as the guideline suggests. The win statistic has come under a lot of fire over the last 25 years for being overrated. It has been and probably still is. But it's also in basbeall's rulebook. Whether you believe it to be important or not, it should at least be awarded to whom it is supposed to be awarded. Hopefully we’ll hear soon that a change has been made and Duffey gets his “W.” Click here to view the article