chpettit19

I'd like to see them give the kids some chances this week. What do they have to lose? Give Lewis and Castro a day or 2 or 3, and play Martin, Keirsey, and Wallner across the outfield. Play Miranda, Lee, Julien, and Santana across the infield. DH Larnach. What's the worst that happens? They score 2 total runs in 3 games while being shutout twice? That's already happening. I guess they have a lefty going against them tomorrow so put Helman at 2B or RF and DH Wallner or Julien. I know the plan was for Farmer, Castro, and Lewis to be part of the answer to getting you to the playoffs, but that plan is crashing and burning. DFA Farmer and call up Emma or Severino or Eeles or whoever. See if some youth with their careers on the line can provide a spark and get you a couple Ws. The vets aren't doing it. Don't go down with the vet ship just because it was the plan in April. It's September. Give the kids with energy some run. Maybe sitting the Angels series gets Lewis and Castro back on track. What's the worst that can happen?

I agree that the most likely thought process was wanting Jax for the top of the lineup. I don't like that thought process at all. If you're doubting Duran against any part of that lineup (Witt alone shouldn't change things) this bullpen is doomed.

I didn't like the move, but he turned the game over to his 2 shut down arms. Let's keep things in perspective. It's certainly justifiable that many of us wanted to see Ober keep going, but if turning the ball over to Duran and Jax with a 2 run lead in the 8th is "stupidity" I don't know what you, or anyone, think managers should be doing. Again, I didn't like the move, but Duran and Jax are two of the best relievers in baseball. Let's not act like Rocco did something utterly ridiculous.

Come on. MLB is different now. There's no team that's letting a guy go 10 innings in game 7 now. 0. None. Not one. Oh, and Matt Harvey was allowed to pitch the 9th inning of a shutout in game 5 in 2015. The manager was clearly going to take him out, but Harvey talked his way into going out for the 9th. Manager "followed his gut" and Harvey imploded and the Mets lost the game and the series. 1991 was great. Best game 7 in the history of sports. But can we please stop pointing to that game like it's something that should be expected or something any team in baseball would do in 2024? It's not. And they don't always work out so well.

I didn't like the decision when they showed him in the dugout clearly telling Ober he was done, but let's not act like he pulled Ober for Richards or Okert. Rocco did what many have been calling for and showed a sense of urgency. He went to his 2 shutdown arms in a close game. Isn't the decision I'd have made, but Duran and Jax should be able to slam the door there. I didn't like the decision because Ober was cruising and was giving the pen a rest. Not having to use both Duran and Jax tonight would've been huge as they're going to likely keep playing close games since they can't score and being able to save at least one of them from throwing would be huge. If either throws Sunday he's out Monday since he'll have thrown 3 times in 4 days. Letting Ober go another saves you from that situation. When they showed Rocco telling Ober I assumed it was Jax coming in. Bringing in Duran for the 8th is the decision I really can't see a defense for. Those 2 are supposed to be match-up proof guys. Duran is much better in save situations so I don't get why you'd use him in the 8th if you're planning on using both guys. If you don't trust Duran to face the top of that order the pen is in even worse shape than we thought. I am one who believes you don't need to always have a set 9th inning guy, but Duran's numbers are pretty clear that's when he's his best. Why mess with that? Jax is actually proof that some guys can be used in any inning and perform, so why not use him in the 8th and leave Duran in his 9th inning spot? This team's apparent approach of using "big picture," general trends to make decisions instead of using the data of their actual players is so frustrating. Maybe I'm wrong about that being their approach, but there are a lot of decisions they make that certainly make it look like that's their approach. The Duran decision tonight can be tossed in with their platooning for sure in the evidence for "we believe in 'baseball' trends not individual's trends."

Jenkins really looks to be figuring it out now. He wasn't bad by any means earlier, but he's looking like he's putting it all together now. If he's the super star we all hope he is, a debut next year should be possible. I hope they don't go into spring with a predetermined plan on where he starts the year. I hope he's in big league camp and I hope he has the chance to start at AA if he mashes in the spring. But if he does start in A+, hopefully they're willing to promote him within a month if he starts hot. And once he gets to AA I hope they're willing to promote him as his performance dictates. Should have a legit shot at a call up at some point in 2025. Even if it's just a September call up. Emma should have the chance to earn an opening day spot for the 2025 Twins. If he's looking like one of the 11 best bats (not including the 2 catchers) in spring he should start for the MN Twins on opening day. The deciding factor on his debut from here on out should be whether or not they believe he's one of their 11 best hitters. If he is put him in the lineup. Not sure why the article mentions Keaschall as a SS at all when he's never played the position as a pro. He has, however, played quite a bit in CF. Being able to play 2B and the OF makes him pretty similar to Martin, but with a higher offensive ceiling. The question about his timeline will be how much he's throwing early in the year. Position players come back from TJ much quicker, but they may not want him in CF early making those longer throws. But if he keeps doing what he's doing he's got the chance to jump multiple people and make a play for a spot in the bigs in 2025.

And Xander Bogaerts.

It's also not a call that would happen. And playing 2B doesn't change his financial outlook. He, like everyone else who isn't an elite SS or CF or C defender, will get paid for his bat, not where he stands on the field. Boras knows that. Lewis knows that. Lewis being able to play an adequate 3B or 2B actually helps his financial situation because it opens up more teams as options when he hits the market. Scott Boras isn't calling the Twins and threatening them over where Royce Lewis plays unless they have reason to believe it'll lead to another season long knee injury.

Yep, lots of ways to look at injuries. Not all days on the IL are created equal, either. But Atlanta has had it worse than the Twins without question. Every team has injuries. The Royals just lose Vinnie for the year (most likely). Many fans don't follow the league as a whole closely enough (it being so regional is part of MLB's problem, but that's a talk for another time) to know that the Twins aren't some outlier. As it turns out playing professional sports can be bad for your body.

Dang it! I couldn't think of who their left fielder was.

And has played 2B, SS, CF, and RF in the majors. It's actually a pretty typical MLB story. Lots of guys move around. Even super stars. Shoot, the Padres have at least 5 guys in their best lineup that were drafted and came up through the minors as shortstops. Machado (3B), Bogaerts (2B), Tatis (RF), and Merrill (CF) have all moved positions in the majors to best fit their team's needs. Shoot, Jackson Merrill's first official game in CF as a professional baseball player came on opening day as a 20 year old making his MLB debut.

Fair. I don't disagree that they should be skeptical. Not just because the team should be actively giving out as little detail as possible (there's a reason leagues have to force teams and players to talk), but also because injuries are hard to predict sometimes. "We think this should be a 2 to 4 week injury" could be 100% honest the day they put the guy on the IL, and 6 weeks later it could be 100% honest that it's now looking at a 4 month thing.

They just did cut bait with medical and training personnel. They hired Nick Paparesta after the 2022 nightmare. He lead a training staff that was named "Major League Athletic Training Staff of the Year." I never understand this idea that medical and training staffs of professional sports teams don't know what to focus on. I'd also suggest you go look up other teams situations before claiming they "don't use 6 or 7 different players in the outfield." Dodgers: 12 Phillies: 11 Brewers: 9 Orioles: 11 Guardians: 12 Yankees: 10 Padres: 7 Diamondbacks: 7 Braves: 12 Twins: 9 That's how many guys have stepped to the plate as an outfielder for the top 10 teams in baseball. You'll notice the Twins are tied for 3rd fewest outfielders used this season.

Good athlete, "bad" hands. The outfield is still where I'd like to have seen him after it was clear he wasn't a major league SS. But he simply isn't a very good infielder. He doesn't have the hands for it. He's certainly serviceable. But he's not good enough to lock down a position. Unfortunately. (I say "bad" hands because they're still much better than any of ours have ever been, but when talking MLB SS, or plus infielders, his are sub-par)

Honest question, what pro sports teams provide significantly better injury information than the Twins? Different leagues require different information be provided (NFL injury reports for example), but even those reports are as misleading as the teams can make them. Doubtful, questionable, etc. I can't think of any teams that are out there providing exact injury news, and are never, or rarely, wrong about timelines. Do people have examples of this ideal injury information access? Are the Twins really some outlier that are communicating differently than other teams?

My thing about this play is that Lewis has never had soft or quick hands. Could the elite infielders have made a play at 2B? I bet they'd have tried. But Lewis has never been seen in that way. Even his transfer on this play was a little rough. He doesn't have the hands to make that play. Never has and never will. That has nothing to do with his reps at 2B, it's just his physical limitations. I could've taking a billion reps at 2B and not been able to do it either because I just don't have those physical skills. His hands are why he's always been questioned defensively. And they're why he had no shot at that guy at 2B. And he's had plenty of IF reps to work on those hands. He just isn't that good. Very few guys are.

Betts played SS April 20, 2023. He didn't prepare for that during the offseason or spring training other than his usual habit of taking grounders for fun throughout the season. He played 107 games in RF, 70 at 2B and 16 at SS in 2023. Then he spent the offseason working at 2B because they planned to play Lux at SS in 2024. But Lux was terrible there so they moved Mookie to SS halfway through spring cuz Lux couldn't make the throw. Mookie is back in RF now because their outfielders are worse than their infielders and that's where he's needed. Chris Taylor has a wRC+ of 63. Kiermaier is at 53. Outman at 53. Pages 94. Heyward (no longer on the team) 91. Their only outfielder not named Mookie with a wRC+ over 100 is Teoscar Hernandez. Rojas is one of the better defensive shortstops in baseball and has a wRC+ of 107. That's why Mookie is back in RF. It's where his team needed him.

Max has been a solid enough player for the Twins for a long time now. Should've been a 6-9 hole hitter, but has played on so many bad teams he was forced to hit higher than he should've in lineups. That being said, I'm not sure I'm willing to attribute his season long struggles to that foul ball. He went on the IL because of his left knee. That foul ball went off his right knee. He's on the IL from left patellar tendinitis, not right knee bone chip. Even if his struggles were because of that right knee, it isn't why they put him on the IL. The team didn't just realize Thursday that that knee was such a big problem he needed to go on the IL. The other knee became a problem and that's why he was ILed. Kepler is a little lower than his normal offensive performance, but not drastically so. Before his 2nd half outlier last year he was on a pretty steady downward trend. 109 OPS+ in 2020 (I'm find if you ignore that season), 98 OPS+ in 2021, 92 OPS+ in 2022, and he's at a 90 OPS+ this year. His sprint speeds have also been steadily declining. 28 in 2020. 27.4, 27.8, 27.4, 26.8. 79th percentile in 2020 to 61st, 64th, 51st and 36th. 90 ft times have gone 3.91 seconds in 2022, 3.92 in 2023, and 3.95 in 2024. If I'm a team looking at signing Max Kepler this offseason I'm not seeing a guy who had an injury ruin his season, I'm seeing a guy in decline. Who wasn't great offensively to start with. Expecting better than a 90 OPS+ from here on out for Max Kepler would be a pretty big bet. He's likely not fast enough to play CF anymore (not that he's done that lately anyways). It's not hard to see why the Twins, reportedly, had trouble finding teams who valued Max the way they did. Glove first corner out fielders who can't OPS+ above 90 are not exactly high on team's needs lists. The end appears to be speeding rapidly towards Max.

Yeah, just going to have to agree to strongly disagree here. Lewis is 40 feet away from the bag when he catches it on a back hand. These plays aren't similar at all. Lewis throwing the ball would've been quicker than pitching it because he was already on his back hand. And pitching it 40 feet never would've gotten anywhere close to getting that runner. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

He pulls up at 2nd because he's reacting to Lee clearly not getting the throw. Here's the replay. The best infielders in baseball maybe attempt to make that throw, but Lewis is by no means amongst the best infielders in baseball, and that was by no means an obvious out at 2B. Lewis not having very soft or quick hands has nothing to do with him not playing 2B much before. He doesn't have the hands to make that play. It's why he's been questioned as a fielder his whole career. He doesn't have good hands. Chief has called that a "tailor made DP ball" and said that it's "not even a question" he could've gotten him at second. We must be watching different plays because watching that in real time Gimenez in Cleveland may be the only 2B in baseball right now who has the hands to catch that and get a throw off around a runner to a moving SS at 2B. The runner would've been into his slide before Royce released the throw. Obviously thrown balls travel faster than baserunners, but watching that replay you really think even an average major league second baseman is making that play? You think it's "tailor made" and there's "not even a question" he could make the throw over/around a guy who's into his slide before he even throws the ball? I don't.

By the time Royce squares his shoulders to throw to 2nd there that runner is already there. Royce had no shot at him at 2B. Caballero has a 77th percentile sprint speed and is already in a dead sprint. That isn't you or me running to 2B. Here's 3 more screen shots of him standing, being ready to throw, and starting his throw home. Obviously the throwing motion to 2B is going to be a little quicker, but Caballero is at 2B before he even lets go of the ball (while slowing down because Lee clearly isn't getting the throw so he doesn't slide). Not to even mention the fact that he'd be throwing around Caballero. So he has a runner who's going to beat the throw to 2B and is in the line of the throw. He has no shot whatsoever at getting Caballero at 2B. None. Royce made the right play. And if Vazquez catches that throw (or the one from Lee) that guy is toast at the plate.

I assume he isn't starting because he got in late and it's a day game? I guess I can buy into that. If it were a night game I'd be a little more cranky that they're starting Martin in CF instead of an actual CFer. But congrats to Keirsey. With how Kepler's been hitting lately it feels like a pretty realistic chance that he can fill in those shoes pretty decently. Good defense with unknown offense is pretty much who Kepler has been his entire career. Hoping Keirsey gets a good number of PAs over the next 10 days and we can see what he can do. It's his chance to earn a Major League job in 2025, whether it's with the Twins or somewhere else. Excited to see him work.

They do have more info, but they still get it wrong quite frequently. Let's stick to NFL analogies...lots of fans thought drafting Kyle Hamilton would be a smart idea. Kwesi had way more data on the players than we ever would as fans so he picked Lewis Cine instead. How'd that work out? The Eagles took Raegor over some fella named Justin. This idea that "they have more info so they're right and you're wrong" is ignoring the reality that they're wrong all the time. Colorado has more data than us, how's that helping them build a competitive team? The White Sox have more data, how's that going for them? And here's a dirty little secret, the same discussions we have on here are had in front offices. There are people in the Twins front office who think their platooning is extreme. There were some that thought their data saying they should sign Joey Gallo was wrong. Some who thought trading for Margot would be a mistake. Some who thought 6 million for Farmer was way too much and they should let him walk. It's not as simple as "they're the front office with more data so they're right."

Well you used the word "them" not "him" or "Larnach" in response to a comment about Larnach and Wallner so I'm not sure why anyone would assume you just meant Larnach. It's far more likely you hadn't actually looked up Wallner's numbers and just assumed he'd been bad in the minors. No harm, no foul.

Have you actually looked at Wallner's minor league numbers against lefties? 2022 in 185 PAs in the high minors he had a .911 OPS. He was .939 against righties. 2023 in 129 PAs in AAA he had an .848 OPS. He was .921 against righties. Not seeing where he showed he was bad at hitting lefties in the minors. In drastically more plate appearances he saw very little drop off in his numbers.