Twins

[KEN W]

Good game last night. Time to move Correa and Polanco down in the batting order. Both hitting barely over .100. Can't afford to keep giving your number 3 and 4 hitters extra at bats late in the game. Move up the guys who are hitting a lot better.

[dutchboy]

I'm pretty sure Correa hit 6th for Houston last year. Of course it can be argued that Houston has better players top to bottom. He is a .260ish type guy. Polanco will be fine once he gets going.

[KEN W]

Until they get going, they need better hitters in the 3 and 4 spots to get more at bats in the 8th and 9th inning.

[Steve-o]

I watched the game until Ryan came out.  Nice to see them finish the game and shut out Detroit.

Yes Ryan is fun to watch.  And it was fun watching Detroit's Pinada pitch as well... especially since he was the one getting lit up for dingers.

[Gunner55]

  I don't remember when I seen 2 bunts in a row last.   That pressured their D into 2 errors & Correa's following double to LC broke the game open. He went 3 for 5 & had 3 RBI's. A lot of damage done by the bottom of the order, they went 4/7, & Urshela went 3/4 batting clean up too. Someone different leading the way almost everyday!!

[LPS]

Another fun game.  Cooper and I took a nap and woke up a little later and we had scored 4 more runs.  Great way to spend an afternoon. 

[Gunner55]

On to TB today, Bundy takes the mound for a 6:10 start. TB has some of the best pitching in the AL every year so I hope the Twins can keep it going. Would love to see 'em win 2 of the 3.

[dutchboy]

I respect what the TB front office does and how they win with a skinny budget every year. However, I couldn't watch them every game. All the pitching changes would drive me insane.

Whats the feeling about all these players moving around every year. Most here are older and remember in the days we were young following our favorite teams. We knew every player and a lot of their stats. We knew those players would be there year to year unless they were traded or retire. With all the player movement do you think it plays a part why there isn't the interest in baseball any more? How invested can we get in Correa for instance when we know he is one & done?

[Steve-o]

The Twins have a 3 game lead in the AL Central!?!   

Seems like a week ago they were in last place.

Hope I didn't jinx 'em.

[KEN W]

Not that the Twins are good......the rest of the Central are really playing bad. All a couple games under 500

[Steve-o]

Analytics are what they are, but the fundamentals of fielding and hitting and baserunning seem to be sorely lacking in many of today's players.

And if that is generally true league-wide, it doesn't explain why there are so many bad records...  I mean when two bad teams play, someone has to win.

Still, I think when players rely on raw talent and athleticism instead of fundamentals, they are going to have streakier performance with more bad games.

[Gunner55]

 
  He has already said he likes it here, except for the Spring weather & wouldn't mind staying. Realistically though, I don't believe they will be able to give him the type of long term deal he said he wanted. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredwyllys/2022/04/26/is-carlos-correa-already-thinking-extension-with-the-minnesota-twins/?sh=2ff24e9 

[LPS]

He is pretty fun to watch.  Damn good!  Hopefully he really likes a lot of lakes and snow.   

[KEN W]

Sano not in the lineup for 3 games in a row. Averages look a lot better now than last week. Knee issue.

[dutchboy]

I can't find them on TV. I have Midco cable up here.

I see they are down 5-0, bad Bundy showed up.   

[LPS]

Not on here neither.  Usually on 626 Bally Sports.  Says they are on the other Bally channel but it is Wild Hockey.  They are ahead 2-1.

[KEN W]

I just recorded it on Bally sports. They lost 6-1 to Cory Clubber.

[Gunner55]

Two doubles, a single, & a HR in the 1st 4 for TB, down 4-0. Kluber only gave up 1 hit & 1 run in 6 innings to get his 1st W of the year. Correa had the only RBI & 2 of our 3 hits. No TV here either. A 3:00 game today, Archer gets the start.

[dutchboy]

Tampa will be tough for them. They will be lucky to win 1 of the last 2 games. Archer will get jumped early and then it's back into the pen. Not good.

[Gunner55]

Bundy went 6 & threw 94 pitches. Coulombe got cleanup duty going 2 innings & only 1 hit. There should be plenty of arms, if needed, ready to go in the bullpen.

[Gunner55]

They win 2 of 3 from TB & move on to Baltimore today. Archer struggled some in game 2 but the bullpen was flawless. Winder looked really good in his 1st career MLB start of game 3 but the bullpen struggled a bit in that 1. They were 12 of 27 with RISP for the last 2 games & that'll win a lot of games. A 6:00 game today & Paddack gets the ball.

[dutchboy]

They did much better than I thought they would. Some bats are coming around so thats helping for sure.

Best news is they got rid of Sano finally. Hopefully it's a 4 month rehab. The game is soooo much easier when you can put the bat on the ball.

[Steve-o]

It is tough to know how much is injury, how much is subterfuge, and how much is the Twins needing to get the roster down to 26 players.

I hope they make Sano earn his way back into the lineup.  If everyone else in the lineup is hitting well, MAYBE you can afford to put a guy like Sano in the game.  But until then, they seem to be winning without him.

It is a small sample size, but I don't think they've played a stretch of baseball this well since Paul Monitor's "No Retreat,  No Surrender" season.

[LPS]

Arriez? is doing good at first base and he is a hitter.  So what is wrong with Sano?

[Gunner55]

Arraez has been playing some good D at 1st base too, especially since he hasn't ever played there very much. I know Morneau has been pretty impressed as he comments on it every game he's over there.

[Steve-o]

Arriez? is doing good at first base and he is a hitter.  So what is wrong with Sano?

They say Sano hurt his knee in that base running gaff the other night.

Take the Twins at their word, but the timing is good for sitting down a player who wasn't performing BEFORE the injury and you need to trim two players off the active roster.

[LPS]

Gotcha. 

[Gunner55]

He 1st hurt it in that last game against the WSox but he tweaked it again in the 1st game with TB too.

[dutchboy]

Just be thankful he is gone.

[Steve-o]

Just so long as the Twins don't trade Sano to the Red Socks and he develops into a Hall of Fame player.