tlkriens

Ober was great tonight. Jorge Lopez needed 10 pitches to get through the 8th. This is a situation where I'd give Lopez then 9th and save Duran. I would use guys less often, but they might go longer when they get in.

Similar to last year, I feel like there will be a time when the bullpen will be overworked. Everything team will have that issue. That's why I like to try and get an extra inning from a starter when possible and to use your best guys more. It is interesting that Duran was a starter and throwing over 100 innings a year in the minor is now reduced to the usual 65-67 innings as a closer. It seems like there needs to be a middle ground between a SP that throws 150 innings and most RP at 65 innings. Why can't a RP get to that 80-95 innings mark? Seems like that would be a better way to go. When you have a quality reliever out there, I'd prefer him go a couple of innings because it may be five days before he pitches again. There just has to be a better way to get more from your best RP.

The process of how Stewart got through the inning wasn't great with three walks with one intentional. Doesn't give me great hope for his future. It's early and we'll see. In Boston, I would have thrown Duran for a second inning. He got through the 9th on 19 pitches and he was the best option. Sometimes I wish Rocco showed more urgency to win the game instead of just going by the book. Jax pitched his one inning, so he's done for the night. Same with Duran. After the Boston loss, Duran didn't pitch until five days later. It should be ok to throw a RP more than one inning or 30 pitches sometimes. It's also ok to pull a guy mid inning if it looks like he doesn't have it. Those are two of my biggest complaints about Rocco. The first huge Rocco bullpen moment for me was Game 1 against the Yankees in the ALDS. Berrois goes four innings and 88 pitches. Pull him. That's fine. But then Rocco goes to Zack Littell? 3-3 game in the 5th in New York that's that's what he goes with? That was the best shot of win a game that series and you to go Zack Littell? Twins would never get closer to winning a game. They were down 8-0 after three innings in game two and down 2-0 after three innings of game three. Twins were never tied the rest of the series after game one. It's just these little things that add up in my evaluation of Rocco. Twins maybe still lose on Tuesday to the White Sox, but I believe they beat Boston two weeks ago if Duran is back out there instead of Moran. The Boston loss was in the middle of 6 losses in 7 games and this White Sox stretch seems like the might be the start of another losing skid going into Cleveland. You never know how important a win or loss might be and what it might lead too.

White Sox reliever Keynan Middleton made headlines on Wednesday night to his reaction to striking out Carlos Correa to end Chicago’s 6-4 win. “I knew I was going to face Correa, and I don’t like him. So it was kind of cool,” Middleton said. “I like that. I enjoyed that a lot. … I mean, he’s a cheater.” If You Cheat, You Better Not Be Great The lesson here is that you can cheat. Many have in the past and many more will in the future. Just don’t be too good at it. https://kornradio.com/news/if-you-cheat-you-better-not-be-great/

Using Lopez in the 7th inning is completely ok. It just wasn't his night. The biggest head scratcher of the night was Brock Stewart in the 9th of a tied game. Where did that come from? Just a stunner to me and the reason I wrote the article. Same thing with Moran coming in during the 10th inning at Boston two weeks ago. Just seems like there were better options and two winnable games that were lost.

From what I saw and watched, nobody asked if Duran was available last night or why Brock Stewart was put in for the 9th inning.

My biggest complaint about Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli in his five years in Minneapolis is his use of the bullpen and it reared its ugly head again Tuesday night in Chicago. https://kornradio.com/news/twins-will-go-as-far-as-rocco-wont-let-them/?fbclid=IwAR0nxoFOO2XZc5xZ1OFt-e6btXUCoPlcXQt-H1dBGp6swujVKJzS3lfNBT0

So what does a full Buxton season look like? Where would it rank among the great seasons in Twins history. Well, lets speculate and calculate what that might look like.

Every mention you see of Byron Buxton's transformation at the plate is inevitably followed by, "If he can just stay healthy." After years of struggles with the bat, it appears that Buxton has finally figured it out offensively, bringing the talent he showed in the minors now to the majors and what made him the top prospect in baseball. He was on pace for a historic 2021 season before a variety of injuries limited Buxton to just 61 games. Still, his .306/.358/.647 slash line from last year with a 171 OPS+ leaves fans hopefully that this is the year that Buxton can play 150 games+. If he can, Buxton will no doubt be in the MVP discussion and the Twins should be in the thick of a playoff spot. So what does a full Buxton season look like? Where would it rank among the great seasons in Twins history. Well, lets speculate and calculate what that might look like. Single-Season Twins Records WAR - Rod Carew, 1977 - 9.7 Based on Baseball Reference WAR, this seems like the most likely team record to fall if Buxton stays healthy. He put up 4.5 WAR last season in just a third of a season (61 games). Over a full season, with the defense and base running, it seems possible that Buxton could have a 10 WAR season. How rare is that? Only 3 players have had a 10 WAR season over the past 20 years; Mookie Betts (2018), Mike Trout (2012 and 2016) and Barry Bonds (2002 and 2004). Going back further, there have only been 24 individual 10 WAR seasons since 1960 among 13 different players. 150 games of Bryon Buxton in 2022 would be awfully close. Slugging Percentage - Nelson Cruz, 2019 - .639 Buxton had a .647 SLG last season in 235 at-bats compared to Nelson Cruz, who put up a franchise record .639 SLG in 2019 in 454 at-bats over 120 games at DH. Cruz obliterated the previous SLG record of Harmon Killebrew of .606 from 1961. Can Buxton sustain that power over a full season. His home run power has finally developed, hitting HR's in three straight at-bats this past weekend vs. Seattle. Given his speed, singles are stretched into doubles and triples??? may not be there. Why? I have heard it said that Buxton already has enough speed to score from second base on essentially any ball hit to the outfield, so why gamble for a triple? Buxton had 19 HR's and 22 doubles last year, but not a single triple. On-Base Plus Slugging - Nelson Cruz, 2019 - .1.031 The SLG% record and OPS will be close and tied together. Cruz's 2019 was one of the greatest offensive season in Twins history and may have gone under the radar somehow. Buxton's OPS last year was 1.067, so he is certainly capable of putting together similar numbers over at least a 60 game stretch. Defensive WAR - Kirby Puckett, 1984 - 3.3 Buxton had a 1.2 dWAR season last year and put up a career-high of 2.6 dWAR in his 140 game, 2017 season. Runs Scored - Chuck Knoblauch, 140 - 1996 This one may be tough, but second place (Rod Carew, 128 runs in 1977) may be in play. If Buxton can reach base at around a 35 percent clip and have 550 plate appearances, that equates to 192 times on base. With All-Stars Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa hitting behind Buxton, this one may be close. In 1996, Knoblauch reached base 197 times via hits, 98 times with walks and 19 times after being hit by a pitch. That totals 314 times, which is incredible. Total Bases - Tony Oliva, 374 - 1964 Buxton had 152 total bases last season in 61 games. Over 150 games, that comes out to 373 total bases. Buxton already has 16 total bases in just four games this season to lead MLB. Home Runs - Harmon Killebrew, 49 - 1964/1969 Only three players in Twins history have had a 40 home run season; Harmon Killebrew (7X), Brian Dozier (42 in 2016) and Nelson Cruz (41 in 2019). Buxton's career high in HR's was last year with 19. At the rate Buxton has hit HR's the past few seasons, a 30 HR season should be attainable and 40 isn't out of the question. OPS+ - Rod Carew, 178 - 1977 Buxton OPS+ last season was 171. In 1977, Carew's OPS was 1.019. When factoring in the era, Buxton will likely need an OPS near 1.100 to achieve the same. Regardless of what records Buxton sets or doesn't set this season, it was been a fun start to the season for the Twins center fielder. We may finally get what every Twins and baseball fan has been wanting. A full season of health for Byron Buxton.

And de Leon has had an injury riddled career.

Here's another question. What free agents have you wanted the Twins to sign through the years, if you even remember? How have those players done? Just because you give someone a big money contract, it doesn't mean the player is automatically going to deliver.

Pineda was initially tagged with an 80-game ban—standard procedure for first-time offenders—but an appeal brought that number down to 60 after providing evidence that the substance in Pineda’s system was not used as a masking agent for PEDs. He will miss the first 39 games next season. He probably would have started four more games this season.

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1170400739769901057 At the rate Pineda was going, he should have been the Game 1 starter in the playoffs. Now, not so much.

Twins are 44-16 vs. sub .500 teams. The best record in baseball. I think that's important. 26 games of the final 44 fall into that category., not counting four vs. Texas. Indians have 19 of those games.

Roenis Elías was traded from Seattle to Washington last week and was also just put on the IL. It has happen before and it happen last week.

Did the Twins get the best RP at the deadline? https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/twins-get-best-reliever-traded-at-deadline/

In this scenario, Thorpe is coming in before Romo, Dyson and Rogers? OK. He did give up one run in 2 2/3 inning last week to the Yankees. There are worse options.

Rogers Romo Harper Thorpe I feel confident in those guys. I feel ok about Duffey. Not a fan of May, but hopefully he can turn it around. They still have two spots on the 40 man roster to fill.

Three games, but who's counting?

If Washington was willing to trade Scherzer, would/should the Twins give up Royce Lewis and Alex Kiriloff as the centerpieces of the trade? I would.

Mike Minor from Texas might be the best starter out there at the deadline.

Plenty of good, elite RP to sign if they want to spend. Andrew Miller Adam Ottovino Joe Kelly Kelvin Herrera Zach Britton David Robertson Joakim Soria Cody Allen Brad Brach Justin Wilson Jesse Chavez So who is the odd man out if they go OF? It won't be Rosario. Make or break year for Kepler. Who knows with Buxton. Brent Rooker will be up no later than 2020 to fill a 1B/DH/OF spot. Alex Kirilloff will be up in 2020 too, so I think they have OF covered for the future.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2019.html Some interesting guesses here. Three big ones for the Twins Marwin Gonzalez – Twins. Four years, $36MM Jeurys Familia – Twins. Three years, $33MM Nelson Cruz – Twins. Two years, $30MM Would be an impressive haul for sure, for a not too bad $100 million.

Would you rather have Littell and Enns or 10 starts of Garcia?

I think Gonsalves should be up now. Realistically, I see no reason why we shouldn't see him next year. He will be over 500 minor league innings at the end of this season. I feel like that's plenty.