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bighat

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Everything posted by bighat

  1. bighat
    THANK YOU for being the voice of reason. I'm guessing the author of this post along with anyone in agreement didn't watch Perez during his time with the Twins. By the All-Star break he'll be getting lit up by the 3rd inning like Dylan Bundy. And he'll take 3 hours to pitch those two innings, the guy's gotta be the slowest worker in the majors. We've got the aforementioned Bundy and Archer already doing this, the Twins can't afford another 30+ pitcher who's facing the end of his career. I'd rather the Twins go with Sands all season, as bad as the results may be. I hope the Twins don't entertain this idea at all, the downside is horrific.
  2. bighat
    Great post, in the end spending time together is the most important thing and I'm glad you guys enjoyed the game. The Cubs have so much to offer their fans, I don't blame your daughter one bit! I lived in Chicago for 10 years and saw a lot of friends from the Midwest get converted into Cubs fans. This was from about 2002-2012, a very interesting time with some good Cubs teams and some infamous games - including the Steve Bartman incident. I myself went to a Cubs playoff game thanks to a friend of mine who worked for the team. A handful of buddies split season tix so they were at the ballpark almost every week, and we all lived within walking distance - if you live on the North Side the Cubs become part of your life, whether you like it or not. My apartment was on Belmont & Broadway and during summer nights I'd open the window to hear the roar of the crowd when the Cubbies were rallying. There's really no better atmosphere than being around Wrigley Field before, during, and after a ballgame. It's intoxicating - whether you're a die-hard sports fan or not. Anyway, great post and thanks for sharing your Iowa experience!
  3. bighat
    Putting Buxton on the IL so that the Twins can give Alex Kirilloff more playing time is one of the most ridiculous suggestions I've heard all season. Alex had his chance, he played terribly. He didn't just struggle, he was beyond awful and beyond overmatched. And now he's in the back of the line where he belongs. I'm glad he's mashing Omaha Storm Chasers pitching, but at this point he's going to have to wait until a real injury occurs in order to get another chance. 50% of Byron Buxton is light years better than 100% of Alex Kirilloff. Enough of this nonsense.
  4. bighat
    Arraez now leading the league in hitting at .358. The gap between Sanchez and Jeffers has become more and more evident after every series. With an off day tomorrow, I'd hope that Gary's back behind the plate Tuesday against his old team. Really like what Smeltzer and Cotton have done for this team filling in emergency roles. Where would this team be without these guys? Nice to see Larnach run into one. That was a BOMB. Duffey, good grief. Remember his big league debut in Toronto all those years ago? This wasn't much different. Yikes.
  5. bighat
    Over the past month we've seen more and more games where this team looks more like the 2021 squad. Close your eyes, swing hard, and miss 90% of the time. Berrios had 5 strikeouts through two innings, basically every out was a K. How's that even watchable? Speaking of strikeouts, watching Berrios dispatch Larnach in that 1st inning was embarrassing. Why would anyone bother throwing Trev a fastball if he's going to swing and miss at every off-speed pitch? I also think it's time to start talking about Ryan Jeffers and whether or not it's time for a reset. It's perfectly reasonable for the Twins to consider sending him to St. Paul, IMO. Handing Sanchez the full-time duties and giving Godoy an opportunity to grab the reigns as a regular backup seems like something to consider. This team needs Correa, the bad luck injuries for him have been such a drag.
  6. bighat
    Dylan Bundy in April: 3-1, 2.85 ERA. Dylan Bundy in May: 0-1, 6.87 ERA. Dylan Bundy in June: 0-1, 19.29 ERA. If you look at his numbers last year with the Angels, they similarly got progressively worse as the season wore on. The Twins waited until July 1 to DFA Matt Shoemaker last year, and he was released by August 3rd. He's now happily playing out his days in Japan, living the good life overseas, as MLB teams no longer have interest. I think Bundy's headed to a similar trajectory. If the way they handled Shoe is any indication, we'll have another month at minimum of Bundy. Maybe more.
  7. bighat
    Again - who's injured? Celestino? Correa's got Covid which isn't an injury, but otherwise the gang's all here. Polanco, Kepler, Buxton, Arraez, Larnach, Urshela, Sanchez....that's the Twins normal lineup. And the Tigers are holding them to 3 hits per game and shutting them out! These guys can't hit, man. And aside from a few landslide innings this year, they haven't hit all season. This is a bad offensive ballclub, and the fault is on the guys standing in the batter's box. Just my opinion.
  8. bighat
    I don't see how the Twins hitters being unable to score a run off Detroit for 2 straight days is Rocco Baldelli's fault. If you don't like him, fine. But there's very little blame on his shoulders for the recent stumbles of this team. They can't hit the baseball, guys. It's as simple as that.
  9. bighat
    "Need to get healthy"? Huh? The Twins are really only missing Correa - the rest of the team they've assembled over the winter is right there on the field, gang. Who else is missing? Celestino? Lewis? Alcala? Are those core players on the team that we're supposed to be relying on here in 2022? I think this may be the beginning of the end. This team has two pitchers, Gray and Ryan, that might give them a chance every night. Bundy and Archer are doing their best "Happ & Shoe" impersonations while Ober is looking more and more like the next Aaron Sledgers. The bullpen is coming back to earth (looking at you Joe Smith) and guys like Duffey and Theilbar are looking more and more like they'll be playing indy ball by this time next year. The main problem is the offense, and really the keystone here is Buxton. He's straight up stopped hitting. 2 for his last 42 or something, with a bloop double and an infield single. I do think that we can say that playing only the Tigers and Royals for like 3 weeks straight is probably not helping. Some variety and change of scenery might spark something. But I really do think it's on Buxton. I don't see any other way this team turns it around.
  10. bighat
    Buxton and Polanco are really hurting this team. Aside from the hot April from Buxton, we really haven't seen much contribution from either player. Correa's been injured or sick for 50% of the campaign and he's getting "rest days" 2x per week. In short, the Twins' key players aren't playing much and when they are, they're not playing well. I really don't see how this team wins more than 2 games against Toronto, NYY, Tampa and Seattle on the upcoming menu. Twins should be back to .500 by June 15th. And that's OK. We just have to really adjust our expectations now, because it's going to be a very bumpy ride and it might help one to prepare for it.
  11. bighat
    Polanco batting .231 and Buxton down to .202. Archer and Bundy coming back to earth rapidly. 2nd year guys Ober, Kirilloff, Gordon and Larnach all experiencing challenges, injuries, setbacks. The fact that this team is sitting in 1st place at 28-19 is unbelievable. But when you remember all the lucky/gift wins they've received, plus the fact they've spent the entire season playing KC, DET, Baltimore and Oakland....it starts to make sense. I think it would be best to lower our expectations immediately as to not be shocked when these guys drop 8-of-9 to the Jays, Yanks, and Rays (the lone win being a 2-1 nail-biter) before heading on a long flight to get swept by the Mariners in Seattle. If something doesn't change this team is under .500 by mid-June and "What happened to the Twins?" is the trending topic of the week in MLB before the rest of the league forgets about 'em.
  12. bighat
    Well, some of us were whining about the lack of offense and we got what we asked for. Pitching looks very rough right now, time for Archer to go 5 innings at least, c'mon man. How about 6? It'll be nice to get Gray on the mound tomorrow and see if he can go 7 again. Correa and Polanco going yard, we needed to see that and let's hope there's more where that came from. Yankee fans have to be missing Sanchez by now. They might not say it, but look at the numbers coming out of New York from the catching position....yowza.
  13. bighat
    Disagree. It's not Rocco's fault this team can't hit a baseball with a man in scoring position. It's not Rocco's fault they're averaging 2 runs in 80% of their games this year. It's not Rocco's fault that Buxton went 0-for-30 (!!!!). The problem isn't the pitching (yet) or the manager. It's anemic hitting on a historic level.
  14. bighat
    Possible overreaction incoming, but...... Yeah, this team straight up can't hit. The past 2 weeks they've been the lowest scoring team in all of baseball and they've been playing the Tigers and Royals and their no-name pitching staff the whole time. And we know what happens when they face good pitching: Kershaw and Verlander both almost no-hit this team. Yes, the Twins bullpen is all smoke and mirrors but Duffey, Pagan and company would have a much harder time blowing a game if the score was 7-0 for a change. The majority of this team's wins this year are 2-1 victories against Detroit, KC, Baltimore and Oakland. There are at least 6 teams in the AL that are much better than Minnesota. I think this fast start might be a mirage and the playoffs might be a pipe dream - a .500 finish would be a miracle and I think we should probably start to adjust our expectations. Oh and Buxton's feel-good story has taken a pretty dark turn while we're at it. Yikes. I'm starting to feel sorry for the guy out there.
  15. bighat
    This was an awesome read - thanks for posting. Hilarious! I think all of us who tuned out and then tuned back in that day have a story to share. Yours was awesome.
  16. bighat
    Yep, he's one of "those guys" LOL. Great effort by Gray, this is the guy we traded for. Spectacular effort. Unlucky stat line for Arraez, should have had a HR in there, that line drive off the limestone overhang would have been gone in many parks. Way too many ducks left on the pond tonight. Kepler and Jeffers both had the bases loaded with less than 2 outs and couldn't get a run home. Very uninspiring effort from the offense yet again, averaging 3.5 runs per game against a very shaky Detroit team at home. Where's the beef? Buxton down to .211. Count me in as officially worried. The good news is that Correa is looking more and more like a guy who can carry this team all by himself.
  17. bighat
    A lot of comments about Bux on this thread and rightfully so. Some think he's playing hurt, he should rest more, etc. I wonder if the opposite is true? It's pretty hard to get into a groove if you are sitting every other day. It's also hard to make adjustments if you're not in the lineup every night. It's taken Bux a bit longer than normal to recognize the new approach from pitchers simply because he's not able to get in there and adjust. Then again, a slump is a slump and it happens to everyone. Buxton took a 93 MPH fastball last night, it was left up and right down Broadway. Three weeks ago he crushes that into the upper deck. He just doesn't seem to be seeing the ball well right now. More food for thought: this slump seems to be coming out on the heels of a really great in-depth feature on MLB Network and an article in the New York Times praising Buxton with the title 'Best Player in the World'. Buxton is notoriously low-key and isn't a fan of too much attention. Is it possible he's started feeling some anxiety and/or pressure as the hype machine has gone into overdrive? Honestly I just think the guy just needs to play 3-4 straight games for goddsakes. Let him swing his way out of the doldrums.
  18. bighat
    I disagree, as I think they'll have Maeda on a very strict pitch count when he first comes back. Like you though, I am excited for him to possibly make a comeback this year.
  19. bighat
    With so many players contributing, it's been easy to overlook Max Kepler, who's been a very steady force and worthy of recognition. This past week Max has gone 6-for-16 (.375) with 5 walks, 5 runs, and 3 RBI. His season average is up to .260 and he's looking more and more like the Max Kepler we all know and love. His re-emergence as a solid hitter in the middle of this lineup is key, and he's been virtually injury-free and is one of just a couple guys out there playing every day.
  20. bighat
    For the Twins in 2010 Carl was 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA and led all of MLB with 7 complete games. It was definitely a short-lived period of dominance but I think he certainly had an historic season for a Twins pitcher.
  21. bighat
    Radke, J. Santana, Liriano, Pavano, E. Santana, Berrios....is Joe Ryan the next great Twins ace? For all those still sore about the Taylor Rogers trade, please remember that a few months earlier the Twins got Joe Ryan for a 41 year-old Nelson Cruz. Correa is looking like every bit of the player we hoped he'd be upon signing. If the bases are loaded in the 2022 MLB playoffs, I'm taking Carlos 10 time out of 10 over Royce Lewis, and I think we all would if we are being honest with ourselves. Huge difference maker in many ways on this team. Buxton's average down to .228, ahead of only Jeffers (.211) and Polanco (.223) among Twins regulars. I know batting average doesn't matter to most people any more, but it would be good to see Buxton bust out of his mini-slump sometime soon, and same goes for Polanco. After winning the first 2 games of the series, Rocco's definitely going to have the B Team in today, despite that I think they have a good chance to sweep. Yesterday's bench was Garlick, Gordon and Jeffers - if all three of those guys play today that's not exactly chopped liver.
  22. bighat
    Pagan is constantly one pitch away from complete disaster. Twins have to be already eyeing up closers to target come the trade deadline. Bullpen help appears to be the number one need. Nice to see Miranda come through, things have been tough for him lately. One has to wonder if the Royals had left the speedy rookie in CF if he'd have got to that ball. Isbel made a nice effort though. Twins seem to be getting lots of lucky bounces this year - last year it was the opposite. Smeltzer sent to St. Paul after the game, it'll be nice to see Baily Ober back on the mound on Sunday.
  23. bighat
    Just tried it out, two thumbs up! Thanks!
  24. bighat
    Remember at the start of the year when all the experts were predicting a huge leap forward for Detroit and they were also touting KC as a "sleeper" team to watch?
  25. bighat
    As always thanks for this fantastic minor league report!
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