jimbo92107

On Baily Ober: To me he now looks like a good middle rotation starter. Not a potential shutout guy (yet), but good now and potential to get significantly better, given his good poise on the mound. On Griffin Jax: This guy might have a higher ceiling than Ober. His slider is better than Ryan's, but his fastball needs more precision if he can't add movement, like a cutter. If Jax can pick the corners with his heater, he could be a good closer, a-la Joe Nathan. Nail the corners at 94 +, then slice 'em up with a power slider. It's like having 5 different pitches to worry about. On the other hand, if Jax continues to be a good multi-inning reliever, maybe he transitions to starter. On Josh Winder: On some teams he's already your #4 or 5 starter. Not quite as precise or consistent as Ober, but lots of potential. Definitely belongs in the pen for now, another long reliever. This is a good development plan for him. On Jhoan Duran: OMG, what to do... Hondo heat, splinker at 96, and a hard slider. It screams "closer" or rally stopper, but he's got serious starter potential, too. Keep him in the pen for now, but USE HIM a lot. Get him used to high-leverage situations for later in his career. Especially, teach him to get guys out with his secondary pitches, by which I mean sliders, curves and changes. Mentor: Dylan Bundy.

Here's a question for an equipment expert: If a guy like Correa is hitting the ball on the ground too much, can't they adjust the pitching machine in the cage to make the ball dive even more, so he has to get down to the ball a bit more, thus elevating his average barreled ball? That way, even if he's topping his hits in the cage, it will straighten out his hits in a game. So simplistic!

Seeing three Twins that were struggling at the plate finally light it up was just as fun as watching Joe Ryan pitch another gem. When different guys in the lineup start "taking turns" dominating games, that's a very, very good sign. Today Larnach, Jeffers and Kepler did some much-needed bashing. Hugs and high fives from the superstars. What a nice day!

Problem is, the Twins can't afford to have a rally-killing hole in their lineup for two months, even if Sano gets red hot later. Sano's notorious early cold spell was one of the reasons that the team fell profoundly out of contention before the halfway point of last season. For that reason I would get rid of Sano, replacing him with a high-average hitter like Kirilloff or Miranda. Late in a tied game with two outs and a runner on second, I'd rather have untested rookie Miranda at the plate than Sano. Kirilloff for sure, if his hand is okay.

Bring up Smeltzer. Never enough lefties, and never enough multi-inning relievers. Plus, the guy throws strikes.

Something very odd is happening with this team, and maybe it's time we started adjusting our expectations. Usually, fans like us talk about multiple "If's" needing to go well in order for the Twins to be any good at all. Usually we conclude that it's just too many if's (wishes) to come true, and that the team will once again be mediocre. Maybe it's time we start seeing that this team has enormous potential. How good are these guys? How good can they be? It begins with the starting rotation. When the Twins acquired Sonny Gray, we celebrated. Finally, something like an "ace" to go with Ryan and Ober and whoever else they could scrounge up. Multiple rookie prospects were considered, but then Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer and Chris Paddack were added, leaving room for just one prospect, Josh Winder. Now, we were looking at one "ace," two unproven semi-rookies, and three veterans with histories of arm trouble. Plus one more rookie, Winder. Besides Gray, were any of them going to pan out? A ton of nervous "If's" at the most important position, and that's just for starters...heh-heh... It continues with the position players. Could Buck stay healthy? Would he perform? Could they get anything out of Larnach? Would Jeffers learn to hit? Was Arraez going to be hobbled by that knee? Would Sano start to hit? Would Kirilloff recover? Would Gordon continue to improve? Would Urshella be any good? Would Correa become a leader? Would Polanco keep hitting and playing top 2B? Could Sanchez ever field a bounced pitch? Another ton of "If's." Results so far for the starting pitchers has been little short of astounding. They're all pitching well, even the rookies and the retread veterans. Especially good has been Dylan Bundy, the big power hurler that lost his upper 90's fastball, now learning to be an artist on the mound. Using a new mix of off-speed stuff and pinpoint control, Bundy has been a revelation with a sub-1.00 ERA. Results for position players has been puzzling. First couple weeks featured an awful lot of whiffs and bad luck. But now, sparked by a mature superstar Byron Buxton and bat-wizard Louis Arraez, the offense is coming alive. As a squad, they're starting to believe in themselves. That can make a team very dangerous. How good can these guys be? It's beginning to look like this 2022 Twins team can be extremely good.

A few threads ago somebody asked if Duffy was done with baseball. I said something about making adjustments. Last night, Duffy showed us what adjustments he needed to survive with sub-94 mph stuff. You have to hit spots with your heater, and you need to bring a very good curve ball. Other pitchers have survived with exactly that combination, and Duffy can, too. As long as he can hit spots with that heater... Pagan showed us what that means, too. Last pitch of the game, bases loaded, full count - fastball, nailed the low-inside corner. Under pressure, that's throwing a bullseye.

This is the kind of nail-biting win that tells a team.... ...They better battle all nine innings, or they're going to have the worst record in baseball.

Pretty nice situation with the starters, assuming Gray comes back healthy. Each of the six has delivered at least one solid performance, where they kept their team in the game for at least 5 innings. In this game, Baldi then used his best three short relievers, not a bad plan to win a 1-run shutout. The question this early season remains, what the heck, Twins hitters? I sure hope we're not facing every team's ace every game. In fact, I'd say it's high time the Twins greeted an opponent's starter with some rudeness. All strictly legal, of course. How about ten runs in the first couple innings? That would be nice for the home town fans.

I have little doubt Ryan's stuff would play all nine innings. We are watching the rise of an ace pitcher.

This offense should be averaging 5 to 6 runs per game, even without Buxton. The starting rotation appears pretty solid. Even my initial horror at Paddack's first start was gratefully wrong. He's not a recently converted short stop. He's a good, not great mlb pitcher. That appears to be how we could describe most of the starters, except Ryan, who looks great, Ober, who looks efficient, and Bundy, who looks like a mature professional pitcher.

I don't see a problem. Larnach has been a hitter his whole career. He'll learn the ropes at this level, too. The man is built to belt. I agree that Kirilloff should play 1B instead of Sano. Play the hitters!

Actually, this game was pretty encouraging. Josh Winder stepped in for his first long relief appearance, and he didn't unravel or look particularly overwhelmed. He did give up a homer to Boston's hottest hitter, but I expect that's going to happen to a lot of pitchers. Let's remember, this is his rookie year. He's not pitching like a rookie. Trevor Larnach had a good day at the plate. Also good to see.

Joe Ryan is even better than I thought. He was toying with Red Sox hitters, getting them to swing at pitches outside the zone, Then, a guy came up that looked like he was ready to be patient. Ryan drilled a strike, right down the middle. This kid can put his fastball anywhere he wants, and his slider is getting there. If his change gets more consistent, that could become another out pitch, too. If he can avoid that notorious middle-in zone on power hitters, he'll have a very small ERA. Hey, now I'm wondering if Emilio Pagan was the best part of the Taylor Rogers trade! Looks like a pretty good closer to me!

Trade him to the Red Sox. Worked really well for them last time. Demand a sack of baseballs. A case of beer if he becomes Big Papi 2.0. Then call up whoever is playing first base for the Saints. I don't even care who it is, they're bound to be a better hitter and as good a fielder. This 2020 squad is quickly devolving into fool's gold, and nobody exemplifies that like Sano. The Poof came early this season. Sano's a hole in the lineup until July. High-average, power hitting Kirilloff is gone. Paddack looked like he just converted from shortstop for his first game. Is he un-coachable, or is he too hiding arm problems? Okay, I'm projecting misery because I just had a Pfizer booster yesterday. Chills, sore joints, headache, nausea, Kinda entertaining, in a way.... Back under the covers...

Sass. I like my players a little sassy, and Luis Arraez has that in spades. He's sassy. Shows up in his busy-bee plate appearances. Follows every pitch right back to the catcher. Shakes his head impatiently if it's out of the zone. Come on man, don't waste my time! He smells the ribbies, he sees the field. Slap! See how far this one goes! In the field, he's a little shaky. Not enough playing time? Might be part of it. Tips and tricks from superstar Correa might help a bit. Perfect form and balance helps, too. Knees are the problem. They don't tend to get better with more pounding on the field. That's why Baldy's plan right now is probably about right. Sub him in, DH him, move him around the infield, and pinch hit him. DH doesn't need to be a home run monster, if he fits in a certain lineup.

First, let me get this out of the way: Dylan Bundy was boring. All he did was toss the ball in there, lower half, bending left and right, and a fastball spotted pretty well down low. No drama, and the players behind him kept it boring for Seattle the whole game, except a couple exciting goofs by Arraez and Kirilloff. Come on guys! Keep it boring! Second, I hate to see Jhoan Duran get pigeon-holed into the closer position. I know, he threw a bunch of pitches over 100 mph, and he literally blew away three Seattle hitters. I'd still rather see him pitch more than one inning. I respect his desire to eventually graduate from the bullpen to the starting rotation. On the other hand... woof! That was a lot of hondos! This guy is definitely better than Graterol. Duran throws his heater with a more efficient motion, and much better command. Third, if you're looking for excitement, nothing this season will match watching Gary Sanchez try to field Tyler Duffey's bouncing curve balls. I have literally seen little league catchers do a better job trapping balls in the dirt. Dick Bremmer wins the unintentional comedy award for saying, "Nice stop by Sanchez," after a Duffey curve bounced off his pads, hit the batter in the leg, then bounced back to Sanchez. One sign of a good team is that they can win efficiently. That's exactly what we saw today.

As I mentioned in the game thread, Tyler Duffey is easy to predict. If I were the bullpen coach and Duffey's warming up, I say to him, "Show me 94 high and tight, then low and outside." If he can't hump it up and hit those two corners, I don't send him out there to get murdered. Duffey cannot survive with 92 mph heat and so-so command. That is exactly what we saw today when he tried to close. He absolutely requires those extra two ticks and the corners of the zone. Otherwise, Alcala.

Not ready for season predictions, but for today's game... Twins score 6, Ryan K's 7, gives up 1 HR, then a variety of arms give up a few runs, but all's well because Taylor Rogers comes in to slam the... Oh wait...

First time I saw Chris Paddack, I was in San Diego, cheering the Pads as my second favorite team. I thought Paddack looked like a right-handed version of Clayton Kershaw. Big, easy motion, looked like he could pump heaters and curves all day long. A couple nasty years later, Paddack's future is a mystery. Does he have recurring elbow issues? Can the Twins famed pitcher whisperer get his mechanics straightened out? If so, Paddack could be huge for the Twins. Losing Rogers hurts, but not as much as some might think. Rogers was close to a sure thing for a long time, but he tended to fade late season. Now the team will need to try out several guys, some of whom have real heat. As mentioned before, if Joe Smith has any gas left, use him for 2 outings, then bring in Alcala. If Alcala looks great, then shift the load his way. Keep Rooker, or Larnach? Good call on that one. Larnach will be a good ballplayer for a long time. Rooker looks to me to be a passable fielder, power bat with strikeout issues. Nick Gordon is on his way to being a super-sub. His bat will play, not for dingers, but for gap hits and clutch. That, his good baserunning and his good glove will keep him employed - somewhere - for a long time in the mlb. Why not here? Celestino over Garlick - another savvy move. These choices happen in a very intense context - every guy in the minors appreciates promotions from within the organization. This shows the FO is looking for reasons to use home-grown talent at least as much as they're looking for deals elsewhere. Even if it doesn't work out, I'd rather see competition between Celestino and Larnach than either of them vs. an outsider.

Secret to a good bull pen is a good starting rotation. If you have a bunch of 5-inning guys, your pen will wear out and starting coughing up a lot of runs. Meanwhile, assuming the starters are okay, I'd platoon Alcala, Duran and Rogers at closer. Rogers looked most comfortable as a setup man. That leaves the two big fastball guys to blow away the opposition in the ninth. Split the emotional load.

The hardest thing to get about Simeon Wood-Richardson is his name. The easiest thing is to see a guy with stuff like Jordan Balazovic, but with a big, friendly smile for the world. Another easy thing is watching his slow curve bend about a foot, just catching the zone at the end of a pretty little trip through the air. You could just about see the catcher and the ump both smiling at how pretty it was. Then he comes back with that snapping fastball, low in the zone. This guy is a keeper. I want him on my team. Not sure how much more polish he needs after dominating the Red Sox for a couple late innings Monday. One challenge the team will face is figuring out a good nickname. Sim? Woo? Rich? SWR? Not sure what fits, it might not even be part of his name. He seems like the kind of relaxed, friendly guy you wish was your neighbor. I feel like calling him Frank, or Chuck. Anyway, his talent looks very real to me, and it doesn't look like just a couple snuff-out innings. This dude can really pitch.

Imagine these Twins (with Lennon's Imagine in the background) Imagine a healthy, confident Byron Buxton batting leadoff, all five tools intact and working. Imagine Carlos Correa batting right after Buxton, driving balls into the gaps, over the fences.... Imagine Jorge Polanco batting third, causing more havoc with two fast men ahead of him. Imagine sweet Luis Arraez, bat magician, knocking in the first three. Then steps up a towering doom of a man, grinning. Unleash the Sano! Then the shotgun bat of Kirilloff, spraying baseballs all over the outfield. Then Ryan Jeffers, seeking to prove he can hit it as hard as Sano. Then Kepler, trying to regain the old magic, from two years ago. Finally, that pesky little guy, Nick Gordon, doing whatever needs to be done. If he gets on base before Buxton, watch out. Imagine you're a starting pitcher, having to deal with that buzz saw of a lineup. You better not make a mistake... heh-heh... I think this Twins team is going to tear some pitching staffs to pieces. If their pitching staff is reasonably stingy, they could win a lot of games.

Heck, if Archer pitches just okay for half a season (4.3 ERA?), that might be the bridge to one of the young prospects to emerge as another good starter. Suppose Balazovic blows away the competition in St Paul, like a 2.00 ERA for half a season. Then if Archer's arm fails, Twins call up Blaze to fill the gap. Almost every season is a cobble job for this team. Just so happens that this year, they've got some pretty good stones for cobbling.

Premature judgement. Celestino is quite young, still emerging from the minor leagues. Cave is a veteran, so we know what to expect from him. The book is not yet written on Celestino's bat. Remember Tori Hunter? He was an easy out until he learned to lay off the outside curve. Twins sent him down at least three times to learn that lesson. Lots of people were ready to give up on him, because we all know if they don't explode right out of the gate, you might as well give up early. For some unknown reason, the Twins stuck with him. He was pretty good on defense... ?