Twins

[LPS]

Was fun while it lasted. Still not going to watch soccer though. lol

[Steve-o]

I was hoping against hope that they would do rally well this year and Correa would want to opt in next year.

I'm not seein' it at all.   

So you think pitching coach Wes Johnson took the LSU job and bailed now before the wheels fell off? 

[dutchboy]

I think Johnson found out pro baseball is a grind. When the money became so good going back to college was a easy choice. I don't blame him nor will I miss him.

[KEN W]

I think his family lives in Arkansas. Went to LSU in order to be closer to them and not be on the road all the time. Minn is on the road for him. Can't blame him for feeling that.

[Gunner55]

He mentioned it was going to be better for his family at least 2-3 times in the interview I seen. Heard he'll be getting paid well but even college baseball is pretty much year-round these days with all the recruiting required & that has gotten much worse with the new transfer portal thing.

[Steve-o]

Maybe we do have to take him at his word.  Maybe his wife said it is MLB or me.  High pressure jobs can eat people up, and I there aren't too many jobs that carry the kind of pressure a MLB pitching coach has.

[Gunner55]

Big win last night!! It would've been a shame to see Ryan pitch that well & lose. Gray goes today, 1:10 1st pitch.

[Gunner55]

Couldn't get the sticks goin yday as their starter had his best game of the year. They start a series against the Chi Sox tonight @ 7:10, Al's brother  Dylan gets the ball.

[Gunner55]

Game 1 = W. Same time today with Archer getting the ball.

[dutchboy]

Twinks dodged a Bullitt by getting the triple play yesterday. I've never really thought much of the White Sux team. They are good enough to win the division but thats about it. Much the same as the Twins I guess.

[Steve-o]

I like this Twins team.  The offense and defense are fun to watch.  But pitching is like Forrest Gump's "box of chocolates." 

Arráez into Buxton into Correa really protects Buxton's at bats.  And Correa turns would be infield hits to short into outs.  Arráez's hitting is a national story.

Holding my breath that Sano's return will give the team a lift instead of him reverting back to being a .189 strikeout machine.

[dutchboy]

I never want to see the fat kid in the line-up again.....ever. I don't care if he goes elsewhere and hits 2,000 homeruns.

[LPS]

We don't need Sano back.

[Steve-o]

The triple play in last night's game was the first ever 8-5 triple play in baseball history.

Byron Buxton’s great catch at the wall set up a historic triple play

This team IS fun to watch, even if the pitching drives you bat-$#!T.

[LPS]

That is cool as heck!!!

[Gunner55]

 

We don't need Sano back.

boys, too much time & $ invested already there. If................when he gets healthy, he'll play IMO. 

[Steve-o]

Trying to keep an open mind about Sano.

But it isn't what I think.  It'll be how his presence and production (or lack of, but I hope not) affect the chemistry in the club house.

The last thing they need in the lineup is an easy out.  And given the way Correa and Polanco get to so many tough balls and make incredible attempts to throw out runners at first, the Twins really need an athletic first baseman to turn those infield hit opportunities into outs.

[Gunner55]

  I think they'll bring him back slowly, a few swings here & there along with an inning or 2 at 1B. Just to see how that goes & then decide what's next.

[Gunner55]

Only 1 hit from the #3-6 hitters & the pitching had a rough day, but they still had a real good chance to win. Day off today & start a series with Texas tomorrow night.

[Bobberineyes]

I can't say I've watched an inning this year, used to pay pretty close attention tho. What's going on either they get creamed are they are doing the creaming.  A little Randy Moss going on...

[dutchboy]

Twins doing what Twins do.

[KEN W]

Up and down. Poor pitching. Both starters and bullpen.

Hitters seem to take the day off to much.....


Both today.....11-0

They are basically a .500 team since mid-june. 5 days off now.

Only positive note.....Buxton will replace Trout in the starting lineup for the Allstar game.

[Bobberineyes]

So coaching the issue?? 

[glenn57]

So coaching the issue??

cheap ass owners!!!

[KEN W]

So coaching the issue??

cheap ass owners!!!

That is exactly the problem.

What ticks me off is that the Pohlads told the taxpayers here that....." Build a new stadium and we will have the money to pay for good free agents."

Nothing has changed. Still just signing what the Yankees, Dodgers and the rest don't want. Could just as well have stayed in the Metro Dome and saved us the money.

[Steve-o]

Cheap ass owners is part of the problem.  Overpaying for #1 "ace" starters is like drafting NFL quarterbacks in the 1st round.  About half of them don't make it.

But good starting pitchers cost what they cost in the MLB marketplace.  I think Falvey and Lavin would prefer to develop (and hopefully pay) their own aces.  (When is the last time the Twins organization developed a legit, shutdown ace?  )  That way you know what you are getting for your money in terms of health history.  But that approach takes scouts that find top talent, coaches to develop it, and time - which fans in MN are all to willing to give this team.  And it didn't help that the pitching coach quit in the middle of the season. 

Been listening to Jim Kaat a lot this past week on the broadcasts he's been sitting in on.  He really rips the "new age" thinking where starters are out in the 4th or 5th inning so they don't have to go thru the lineup a 3rd time.  Kaat's approach was basically this...

If you want to go 9 innings, you need to train for 13.  You aren't throwing hard when you are pitching those extra training innings, but you are still driving with your legs and body the whole time.  It isn't arms that fatigue, its the legs.  So if guys aren't expected to go 9 any more, no wonder they start to run out of gas after 4 or 5 and batters get to them the third time thru the lineup.

[Gunner55]

The new brand of MLB was created in TB. They pretty much invented "bullpen games" & all the shifts to make the game what it is today. They still do it better, except for those that have $250-300 mil payrolls, than just about everyone else too.

[KEN W]

Smeltzer and Winder sent down to AAA.Smeltzer not happy. To bad.....maybe pitching better would help. Going with 4 starters for right now.

[Steve-o]

Fox news says the move was made to make room for pitcher Chris Archer's return and that they won't need 5 starters again until the first week of August, when he could be recalled.

Smeltzer has an overall, first-half ERA of 4.02, but in his last 3 starts it has been 8.67.   

[Steve-o]

In his last outing, Smeltzer was pulled after 3 inning - right before the dreaded "3rd time thru the lineup."  By this time Smeltzer had only thrown 67 pitches, but Baldelli wasn't going to give him an opportunity to fail.  (Which was probably a wise decision.)

Jim Kaat also had something to say about the "3rd time thru the lineup."  Basically batters have all the advanced metrics available real-time on their iPads right after their at bats and this helps them make adjustments in their 3rd plate appearance.  They know what they guy has been throwing, where he has been hitting and missing, spin rates, etc. etc. etc.  Data gives batters the upper hand.

But again, listening to old timey pitchers, this isn't anything new.  Good ones would get guys out the first two times thru the lineup using two pitches, and not throw their third or fourth pitch until... wait for it... the third time thru the lineup.

Yeah, I know that sounds over simplified, but there are still some pitchers who are effective going late into ballgames.  There could be/should be more, if teams would coach 'em up to perform at that level.