jimbo92107

So...Twins lost the game... BUT WE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heal up quick, Joe Ryan. You got some more pitching to do.

Ryan's look of pure disgust would indicate that he knows he's got a broken bone. Poop, I say. Miles and miles of poop.

Count me as pleasantly shocked. I was certain Thielbar was done a couple years ago. Now here he is again, pitching better than ever.

John Gant has very good form. Good balance, and he finishes ready to pounce on anything in front of him. Only thing I'd change is his glove hand. Point the palm forward, fingers up, then pull down into the ribs, like Koufax. That puts the glove out front to distract the hitter.

In Bailey Ober we are seeing the emergence of an excellent mlb pitcher. Deceptive fastball, good change-up, sharp curves... As he matures and gets better command of his curves and sliders, I think hitters will find it even harder to solve his riddle. Good to see Big Mike out there again, dealing as usual with no respect from his aching joints while he mows down hitters. I hope the Twins bring him back for 2022. He's fun to watch. Polanco had another great game at the plate, and now it looks like Buxton is rounding into form...just in time for the season to end. Ghaaaaaa..! The last couple things I want to see this season: Jordan Belazovic start a game for the club, and Jose Miranda start a few games at 3rd base, getting his first few hits out of the way. If we all click our heels at the same time...make it so!

Griffin Jax continues to improve in small increments. Looks like his ceiling will be a steady #3 or #4, able to keep his team in games through about 5 innings, 6 on a good day. This is why it is going to be sooooo important for the Twins to get a look at some of their position players of the future. Call up Jose Miranda, puh-leeeze! He's the guy that takes Donaldson's place at 3rd, right? Fabulous, now let's find out how wobbly his glove is. Gots to know. Meanwhile, keep moving Gordon around the field. He may not be a shining star, but the guy's a serious competitor beginning to show signs of clutch hitting.

The Twins will sport a very different starting rotation in 2022, one thing we can all agree on. Personally I think they can get by (but not get to the playoffs) with the following team owned starters: Joe Ryan - the John McEnroe of baseball. Are you serious?? Bailey Ober - the stingy one with the mystery fastball. Griffen Jax - our military bulldog. Sic 'em, Griff! Michael Pineda - more tics than a bird dawg, but the man throws strikes. Randy Dobnak - want ground beef? Go to store. Want ground ball? Go to Dobs. Alternatives: John Gant, Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran, Devin Smeltzer,

Baily Ober for sure. He's not going to suddenly forget how he was getting hitters out this season. Joe Ryan for sure. You get him with a professional pitching coach, teach him the right grips, he'll be flicking curves, sliders, cutters, change-ups, etc. This kid's talent and demeanor are screaming future ace. The few heaters he threw up and away to lefties were nothing more than rushing the delivery a bit. When he does his deliberate follow-through, he commands the zone. Seriously, if Ryan spent an afternoon goofing around with Zach Greinke, he'd finish the day with a new 50 mph curve ball. This kid could learn a new pitch in one day. Randy Dobnak. He's a ground ball machine with enough whiffability to get out of jams a couple different ways. Big Mike. Pineda still has the stuff to keep his side in games, if he can stay relatively healthy. If not... Griffen Jax. Why not? He looks a little better each start, but for one hiccup, and every starter has a bad game now and then. He's a grinder. Looks like a #5 guy for several years. Blaze. Twins need to start cashing in on their minor league top prospects. Balazovic has the talent to get guys out right now. Can he learn to fill the zone with strikes? Whoops, did I forget to mention giving multi-million dollar contracts to yet another handful of mediocre journeymen pitchers? Silly me.

I think it's poor training. Why train a young pitcher to an 80 pitch limit when that barely gets you out of the 5th inning? These young pitchers are SOFT. They don't throw baseballs nearly often enough nor far enough. Plus, their bodies aren't tough enough, either. Make them do rock climbing, water polo, mountain biking - stuff that makes the body hard as nails. I'm not saying that every young pitcher should be a cross-fit champion or win American Ninja. I'm just saying that if I hand one a raw potato, he should be able to crush it in his bare hand. Like my buddy, Wolf Larson.

If you have ever attempted to play water polo, you will understand why the Twins are not too worried about Joe Ryan getting tired from throwing a hundred pitches. Water polo is incredibly enervating, not to mention occasionally brutal when an opponent "inadvertently" shoves your head underwater as he swims past. If you can get through a serious game of water polo, you have the stamina to pitch a major league baseball game. Ryan's debut was about what I imagined. MLB hitters will start to zone in on any single pitch, even a funky, well commanded fastball. Ryan better keep working on his off-speed stuff if he doesn't want to see a lot of scoring his second time through lineups.

I know exactly what John Gant can do to improve his consistency, synchronize his shoulders with his lower half, hide the baseball, and distract the batter. Do what Sandy Koufax did with his glove hand. It was a kind of magic trick. Koufax would push off his drive leg, then SLOWLY extend his glove hand forward and above the plate, heel of hand pushed forward, fingers up. This aligns the shoulders properly sideways and provides some of the back arch that made Koufax's pitches "explode" from his hand. It also hides the ball, as your hand is wide open inside the glove. At the apex of the extended glove hand, You close the glove and do a pretty little pirouette with the glove hand, then yank the glove hand wrist down and back towards the rib cage. Trick is, this is where you accelerate the shoulder turn, drawing the glove hand in tight to increase rotation speed. This is stage two of Koufax's "triple catapult" action. I do not necessarily recommend the arched back, tho back problems were not what finally ended Koufax's career. What would Gant gain? First, his heater would pick up a couple mph. Second, his command of his heater would get much better. Third, hitters would not pick up the ball until much later. Right now, Gant simply drops his glove hand, tho he does finish in position to field. So did Koufax, but with a much hotter fastball. Of course, I could be wrong about this. On the other hand, I tried it several years ago when I was analyzing Koufax's motion. Damned if it didn't make the ball explode out of my mid-50's hand. Also made my elbow hurt like hell. Don't try to throw like Koufax if you're over 30. You know whose motion is easy on the arm? Maddox's.

Staff ace. I'm making the call right now. Joe Ryan is going to dominate on a regular basis. Kid's a winner, a warrior with swag, like Berrios, but I think Ryan will be more consistent because his heater is a refined weapon already.

Joe Ryan looks to me like a future ace. Belazovic may have ace potential, but needs more consistency. Both should be called up to get a look at the mlb environment. A month of familiarization will help them see what they need to work on. Same goes for other hopefuls like Miranda. Give the boys a taste, both to motivate and to educate.

Jordan Belazovic definitely uses his lower half to power his pitches, but one thing does worry me. His drive leg/hip does carry through in the recommended "hop on a bicycle" fashion, but Belazovic's leg and hip follow through as if he's hopping on a bike that then makes a left turn towards first base. Reminds me a bit of Liriano, but not quite so wild a spin. My fear is that a smoked line drive would either tattoo him in the right butt cheek or somewhere else along his unguarded right flank. What if some young ball smasher hits a blur at his head? In his current form, "Blaze" would have no positive options. I suspect that the lad gets wonderful movement on his slider, as did Liriano. But the tradeoff is a dangerous position on follow through. I just don't see how modern pitchers get through little league without learning to follow through in position to field a line drive right at their face.

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Hell yes. Come hither to the garden, Jose. There, you can rake, and rake. Then play third with decent competence. Mike Schmitt level would be nice.