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bighat

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Everything posted by bighat

  1. bighat
    Thanks for the writeup, Nick. I was worried this was going to be one of those "Twins are solidly plugging along with a 3-3 road trip". The Twins held the lead late in most of the games and were at least tied in the 8th or later in all games. The offense made some miraculous recoveries and some incredibly inspiring comebacks, only to have all momentum immediately stuffed into a locker by the bullpen's ineptitude. A team with even a subpar bullpen goes 5-1 last week, an average bullpen probably nets you a 6-0 week. Throw in last Sunday's loss to the Sox and they should be on a 7-game win streak. Instead they're 3-4 over their last 7. Just brutal. This is the worst bullpen I've ever seen in Minnesota, they are absolutely killing this team. Not to mention we've got fringe guys like Bundy, Smelzer, and Archer starting half the games for the Twins, pitching is just a nightmare. And where the hell's Bailey Ober? Did he get whisked off to the gulag in Siberia along with Alcala? Good lord.
  2. bighat
    Yeah - they're bad but I'm telling you, Chicago and Cleveland will catch and pass the Twins if something doesn't change in Minnesota.
  3. bighat
    Who's available in the 'pen tomorrow? Looks like Theilbar, Pagan, Cotton, & Moran. And Bundy's starting, and I'm thinking Buxton's due for his normal day off. A sweep in TX and then a 2-game series against a very good Brewers team, Twins could be on a 6-game losing streak by Wednesday. Does anyone still seriously think the Twins can win this division with the team they have?
  4. bighat
    Yeah, this pretty much echoes my thoughts. Dude's batting .216. Sure the 22 homers are nice - real nice - but hitting .216 is extremely disappointing. Buxton was supposed to be better than Rob Deer last time I checked. He's not stealing any bases, he's striking out a ton, and he's a 3-true outcomes player. Do I still love the guy? You bet. And there are positives: he's walking more, he's a bit more patient at the plate. But he's got to curb the strikeouts and perhaps needs to stop trying to swing for the fences every time up there. He's had some really ugly stat lines and he's been really in a slump for a couple months now.
  5. bighat
    Absolutely. That Ian Hamilton seemed pretty good.
  6. bighat
    Great questions, all. With Buxton on deck it was ridiculous to see Jeffers bat in the 10th. But honestly, if you can't count on a guy to bat in a tight spot, why is he on the team? Dude's hitting is horrific, I know we can cherry pick some xStats if we want but he's been really, really bad. Pagan should be Pa-GONE. Don't let the door hit you. I really don't see the value in hanging on to dead arms. Another game the Twins offense kept trying to win with late heroics, another game blown by the bullpen. The Twins are getting away with so much because the division is horrendous. This is a very average team in a year with some very bad teams in MLB.
  7. bighat
    I think you're just writing this to make Twins Daily readers angry.
  8. bighat
    Take away the most recent 9th & 10th innings, the Twins have scored 4 runs over the past 4 games. That's 1 run per game against Johnny Cueto, Spencer Watkins, Jordan Lyles and Tyler Wells. Is the division awful? Yes. Should the Twins win it? Yes. Do they still have major problems with starting pitching, the bullpen, and their offense? Absolutely. I'm still not convinced they won't collapse. Sorry to be "that guy". Read that Winder has been sent to Chicago in case the Twins need to put an SP on the injured list. That means it's gotta be one of Archer or Ryan who are feeling a tweak, right?
  9. bighat
    Good for Miranda, a win's a win. But am I the only one who's not impressed? The Twins have averaged 1.5 runs per game against one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball for 99% of this series. Jorge Lopez is in the midst of a rough patch and the Twins are just taking advantage of his collapse. Seriously, where's the hitting? Not scoring any runs with men on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out? Buxton and Correa failing to just hit a ground ball to the right side or a lazy sac fly? Strikeouts, weak contact, and bat ABs all day long. And it's not like the Twins were scoring double-digits the whole time in Cleveland, either. It's great to see these 9th inning wins, but the vast majority of this series has been borderline unwatchable. This team's offense is just so inconsistent as evidence by leading the league in being shut out.
  10. bighat
    Orioles fans feeling the pain this morning, same pain Twins fans have been feeling all week. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory after a great effort from your SP. We'll take it. Buxton becoming more and more of an all-or-nothing guy. Can be frustrating to watch but when he comes through boy it's worth the wait.
  11. bighat
    Mentally, I've shelved the guy for the year and did so a long time ago. His progress updates have all sounded awful, they should have probably let him undergo some kind of surgery back in April. Instead they've waited and done nothing, and now he'll probably have that surgery in August and miss all of 2023 also. In short, I don't think he's coming back and we'll be lucky to see him in Spring Training.
  12. bighat
    Yep, I fixed it. Sorry!~
  13. bighat
    Totally agree. What's he supposed to do? He can't run Ryan out there every day followed by Jax for 2 innings and Duran for 2 innings. MLB teams have to use all of the arms in their bullpen. Those arms have to be capable of getting MLB players out! You don't pay Pagan 2 million dollars to warm the bench out there, he's supposed to be able to get the job done, and if he can't the guy has to be cut from the team. Rocco can't cut guys from the team, nor can he switch out the tools from his tool box. Rocco has put the ball in the FO's court. I'm not saying he's playing 5-D chess or anything like that, but he is taking a very direct approach. Let's hope last night was the last we saw of Pagan, the guy's nothing but toxic for this team.
  14. bighat
    Went to bed after the Kepler HR, but I had this crazy dream that the bullpen once again blew the game after an encouraging comeback from the offense. Thank goodness it was just a dream.
  15. bighat
    I'm with you. Does Wes have the right to pursue employment elsewhere? Sure! Was it a crappy thing to do with the team right in the middle of the season going into the biggest series of the year so far? Yes! I'll be watching to see what the reasons might be. If it's money, I get it. And if it's the fact that Johnson prefers to work with college athletes in a smaller setting, I get it. And if it's a combo of the two, I get it. Or if Wes is having personal issues and wants to step down from the spotlight, I get it. Right now I'm wondering if there's some friction with the Twins organization and/or Rocco that we've not seen.
  16. bighat
    Never liked him as a Twin, I'm glad he's having success elsewhere but personally Gibson is a hard pass for me.
  17. bighat

    Wiffle Ball

    bighat commented on Jeff D.'s blog entry in Jeff D. - Twins Geezer

    Very true! I also had many a wiffle ball game as a youngster. We played in parking lots, alleys, and front stoops - during break from school during the summer it was an all day activity!
  18. bighat
    Lot of meat left on the bone last night, but winning 6-0 certainly takes some of the sting off the nagging issue. Surprised we didn't see Duffey at the end there. Twins have lost two straight series and are staring at a 3rd if they lose today. They've been shut out a league worst 10 times and are 13-19 over their past 32 games. Does that make today a must-win? No. But it seems pretty important to right the ship nonetheless. Time for Ryan to deliver that gem we've been waiting for since he came off the IL.
  19. bighat
    Disagree with your take on Rocco - but I do agree that this team is among the most puzzling teams in years. Frankly I think they've been extremely lucky, there are probably 10 games that could have easily gone the other way. The reality is that this team should be treading water around or just below the .500 mark, but everyone's frustrated because they've been lead to believe this is a playoff-caliber team. Everything makes more sense when you start thinking of them as a mediocre ballclub, building for 2023.
  20. bighat
    Twins are about to lose their 3rd straight series. Two of them coming to some of the worst teams in baseball (AZ and CO), with the other coming to a division rival who wrestled 1st place away from them. The Twins have now been shut out 10 times, worst in MLB. I am puzzled by the "trade for Marquez" chatter in this article. What we should be talking about is Bundy's performance, and whether or not the Twins can salvage something for him at the deadline. Looking more and more like MN will be sellers, folks.
  21. bighat
    Yep, for all the pitching woes and the amount of time devoted to the discussion, I think the offense (or lackthereof) is what's going to sink the season for the Twins. Clutch hitting doesn't exist, and they seem to have a terrible time with RISP with less than 2 outs.
  22. bighat
    Worst loss since the one in Oakland last year when Arraez threw the ball over Sano's head. If you recall, that loss sent the Twins into a very dark place they could never come back from. Last night's game has a similar feel: doom. I can't believe anyone is still blaming Rocco. It's not like he has a choice between a putting in Mariano Rivera and a bus driver and keeps making the wrong moves. These are grown men, major league baseball players. If the manager doesn't trust Duffey enough to put him into a 2-run game in the 9th inning, what the hell is he even doing on this team? If Kirilloff and Celestino and Larnach can't make major league plays in the OF, why are they all on the roster? Second night in a row where super inspiring offensive moments were immediately squashed by horrendous pitching. Good teams don't do that, especially two nights in a row when they are FIGHTING FOR FIRST PLACE AGAINST THEIR DIVISION RIVAL! With a Boston win last night, the Twins are now outside the playoff picture looking in. We're watching the death of the season in real time right now. Don't forget the Twins have 5 games AT Cleveland next week. Team could be under .500 before that series is over.
  23. bighat
    The big question is, how many more games will Duffey, Thielbar and Smith cost the Twins before they cut bait? These three guys could easily lose the Twins between 3-5 games before the trade deadline. Those losses will loom large in what's currently a very tight race, the Twins simply aren't good enough to have that kind of room for error.
  24. bighat
    Twins strike out 15 times, continue to struggle with clutch hitting. Pagan isn't good and we've all known it for a while now. No way this team has a chance against Bieber tomorrow, and McKenzie has been great as well and he's throwing tonight. Statement series for Cleveland, should be an easy sweep for them. Chicago's right back in it as well. Next week's 5-gamer in Cleveland should be the nail in the coffin for the season.
  25. bighat
    Great report, love how you show your work and I read the entire thing and was nodding my head. My only disagreement comes from this quote regarding Trevor Larnach: "I'm going to ignore his huge slump over the last month, and especially last couple of weeks and hope it's luck related rather than a repeat of last season." -- Since his debut, there has always been a huge group of fans lining up to make up excuses for his poor play. A guy like Miranda goes 0-for-5 and Twins fans are ready to jettison him to the Mighty Mussels, meanwhile Larnach goes 2-for-40 over a 3 week stretch and it's "just bad luck". But hey, it's your article and you can ignore and/or include anything you want! I just happen to disagree on Larnach. But like I said, great work dude and thanks for the post. Very impressed with your thoroughness and even more impressed with how you were able to get it down in writing for the masses. Well done.
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