jimbo92107

I would rather bring Smeltzer into the rotation, have him pitch 6 or 7 innings, then bring in Archer to cut loose for 2 innings. Archer has been good for two innings so far, but not much further. Maybe he could amp up his heater a couple clicks if he's not trying to pace himself. Maybe then he'd avoid those long at-bats with ten foul balls.

Archer is a tough competitor, but his stuff's just not that great. Anybody in the minors wanna cuppa? Canterino..?

Yennier Cano needs to work with Sergio Romo to get himself a nicer whip action. Cocking his wrist halfway through the motion looks like it's prone to cause misfires. Get a smoother loop, like Romo or Walter Johnson. Those guys could hit a gnat in the butt with almost no effort.

To be frank, to me Devin Smeltzer looks more effective than Bailey Ober. Smeltzer's heater is a couple ticks slower, but his command Thursday was very good, where Ober today seems to be scattering pitches all over the place.

Devin Smeltzer is a genuine MLB pitcher. No big fastball, but otherwise all the skills he needs to survive. Helps to have some great defense behind him, and of course it helps when his team scores a few runs. Glad to see he's starting to strike out some guys. He's not just a pitch to contact guy at all. He can gather in the K's.

Cavaco who? Man, I was wondering what the FO was thinking on that draft day... do another Royce? A lot of experts thought it was a serious reach. I'm still wondering that they saw in the kid, but maybe he's just starting to show it. Good luck to him, no expectations here...

Bundy got another lease on life today, pitching smart, the way he did his first couple starts. Trevor Megill may have lost the game, but I still like him, because he is... tALlllll...

Astros bullied the Twins, and the Yankees have a better record. Otherwise, Twins are about 3rd, by my figuring. Plus, the Twins could get better as the season goes on, depending on the breaks.

Let me tell you something about bears. First, on average, bears don't like us, and we don't cotton much to them, either. Bears are grouchy, prone to sudden violence, and have massive teeth and claws. A bear can literally tear you head off with one swipe of a huge paw. Luckily, they don't often do that, or the rangers would have a final say. Safe to say Richard Nixon never had a bad encounter with a bear, and neither has Tyler Duffey. That's about all the two men have in common. Like most Americans, Duffey probably has seen the Nixon tattoo on Roger Stone's back, and he may casually have wondered if its eyes move. They do. Duffey's curveball has always been his bread and butter, his on-field pass to watch pro baseball for free. On the other hand, his four-seam fastball attracts baseball bats the way a full picnic basket could reel in Yogi and Boo Boo from miles away. From a safe distance and with the blessings of anonymity I have sometimes clamored for Duffey to modify his straight heater to duck and swerve and such. Sometimes he'd come up with something that would work for a while. This appears to be happening again. At this point, I should wind it up by pulling together some comment that combines an observation about bears, Nixon and Duffey. Nope, I got nothing.

Nick Gordon, Gilberto Celestino and Luis Arraez are key parts of this multifaceted experiment. All three "subs" have been performing at a level that on most teams would rate a starting position. But they are subbing for guys that have even more of a factor the team needs. Gordon can sub for any IF or OF position. Even pitched an inning. Celestino is the team's fastest outfielder not named Buxton. Arraez is a bit small at 5'10", but he's actually a good first baseman, and a great hitter. The other key parts of the experiment are multi-inning relievers in the pen. Duran can go several innings, but he's too valuable as a closer now that Taylor Rogers is gone. Jax is holding his own, possibly getting better. Pagan is terrifying, but clearly talented. Winder was doing well before he went on the IL. Smith is a one-inning wonder. Duffey and Thielbar are pitching well, but how long can they last? The FO clearly wants each reliever to be able to go a minimum of two innings. To make that happen they may promote one or two starters from AAA around mid-season. Looks like a good experiment so far...

Once again, Sanchez is the worst in the league at fielding bounced pitches. Lucky to get that out call. Not sure why they didn't overturn.

Steer could be like Brian Dozier, but with home run power now, not a few years later...

Absolutely. They've gradually been building up this franchise towards perennial relevance. I like that, and I'd like to see more of it.

Hey all you rebuilding mlb teams, does your organization need a hard-hitting, talented infielder that can play 3B, 2B, 1B or SS? Got any good veteran starting pitchers?

Great defense and pitching in this one, punctuated by the last out, a grounder off Duran, right at the best infielder in the league. Correa grabbed the ball, stomped on second base and delivered a thunderbolt throw to end the game. Boom, done! Let's go eat!