Twins

[Gunner55]

Yeah, you can see he's a fiery competitor as he never wants to come out of the game. Which I think is great. Personally, I think they'll make him a very good offer & he re-signs with the Twins. St Peter, Falvey, & Levine have been trying to build up the rotation since Falvey came to the team. This is the best starting pitching the Twins have had in a long time IMO, so I don't believe they'll be in any hurry to break it up.

[Steve-o]

I hope you are right.  Perhaps it will on hinge on whether ownership is willing to pay the going rate for top-flight free agent starting pitching.  If not, I hope they cash in on the asset they have for pitching prospects to keep their pipeline going - or - bats or relievers who can help them this year and next.

[KEN W]

So much for the bullpen. 7 runs given up in the 8th and 9th innings. 


Should have been a win last night.

[Steve-o]

I didn't see the game, but looked up the recap...

Jovani Moran relieved Pablo López in the 8th and immediately walked two, and then gave up an RBI double to Cal Raleigh, making it a 6-3 game.

Emilio Pagán came in and gave up an RBI groundout, then a game-tying 2-run bomb to Julio Rodríguez, 6-6.

Oliver Ortega was tasked with the 9th and walked the lead-off man Cade Marlowe. A bunt single and a hit-by-pitch later, the bases were loaded with 0 outs. Then Eugenio Suárez doubled down the 3rd base line, scoring 2 runs. Teoscar Hernández followed that with a sac fly RBI to make it a 9-6 game.

No other way to explain it except to say bullpen melt down.  I know Moran and Pagan pitched the night before (and I don't remember the night before that), but I don't recall either of them working that hard.

Despite scoring early, the offense went cold after the 3rd inning and the Twins (again) struck out 18 times in the game.  The bullpen has to take responsibility for their performance, but it can't be good for their confidence and psyche to know the team doesn't have any offensive punch left.  There is no margin for error in tight games, and I think that messes with some of our relievers.  I've been hard on Pagan, but I hate him in high pressure spots.

[Gunner55]

Pagan has been pretty good the last 2-3 weeks & they've need him with Thielbar & Stewart still out. There's a lot of the season left & they don't need to blow out Jax's & Duran's arms. Even those 2 have had a bad day, now & then.

[Steve-o]

You're right and it's my knee-jerk reaction every time Pagan comes in the game.  And surely it doesn't help a guy's confidence if he reads the crap jokers like me post on social media.

I've watched Duran serve up a couple of walk-off losses and I'm not so hard on him.

Mine is just unfiltered, biased fan reaction.  When Duran goes in the game, I'm thinking, "Go get 'em, tiger."  With Pagan I'm thinking, "Don't muck this up."

[Gunner55]

Rodriquez has been struggling at the plate lately, so he was due. In fact, yday they moved him out of the cleanup spot to take a little pressure off him & look what he does. He hits 2 HR & has 3 RBIs.

[glenn57]

meh.......its the twins.........until the Griffins sell the team it wont matter.......they'll get bounced in the first round anyway!!!!!even if they make the playoffs!!!!!!!

[Gunner55]

  Griffins????? Don't you mean Griffiths??? Oh, wait they've only been in the picture since the Carl Pohlad bought the team in 1984!!!!!!!!1     I think you should stay in the house the rest of the day because you've obviously been out in the sun TOO MUCH today.   

[Steve-o]

 

[Gunner55]

meh.......its the twins.........until the Griffins sell the team it wont matter.......they'll get bounced in the first round anyway!!!!!even if they make the playoffs!!!!!!!

Guess that means you don't remember much of 1987 & 1991 then either.    That's 2 more than that other Mpls team. 

[glenn57]

Yea well.... What have they done lately.  and those you flukes, they were never expected to go there!!

[Steve-o]

meh.......its the twins.........until the Griffins sell the team it wont matter.......they'll get bounced in the first round anyway!!!!!even if they make the playoffs!!!!!!!

Guess that means you don't remember much of 1987 & 1991 then either.    That's 2 more than that other Mpls team. 

As I recall, the first thing the Twins did after winning the '87 Series was to trade Tom Brunansky.  I don't want to mis-remember history, but wasn't it because the Twins were too cheap to re-sign Brunansky?  (I don't remember if his contract was coming up or not.)

Just months after playing each other in the World Series, the Twins shocked both their fans and Brunansky by trading him on April 22, 1988, to the St. Louis Cardinals for second baseman Tom Herr. Although the move was meant to strengthen the top of the order, Herr spent one lackluster season with the Twins, during which he complained about being in Minnesota, while Brunansky continued his home run hitting ways for six more seasons.

[Gunner55]

Yea well.... What have they done lately.  and those you flukes, they were never expected to go there!!

Just like you catching a walleye? 

[glenn57]

  walleyes are rough fish.

I want a fish with flavor.

[dutchboy]

The beauty of baseball is it takes a bit of knowledge of the sport to truly enjoy it. Those who complain the most are casual fans vs hardcore fans. I could argue that hitting a baseball is the single hardest thing to do in the big 4 sports. But the haters will never get the sport until it turns into football where offense rules the day. Purists seem to enjoy a well played 4-3 game over a sloppy 14-13 affair.

[glenn57]

  I know dutchy, just ruffling Gunners feathers 

[LPS]

When it is a tie after 9 and they put a guy on second it pisses my purist buddy off.  I told him I love it cuz by then I am ready to get the game over.   

[dutchboy]

Me also, but thats what you get when the commish is trying to copy football with offense. I think that the NFL should take a defensive player off the field during overtime.

[KEN W]

Twins trade Jorge Lopez to Miami for reliever Dylon Floro.

[Gunner55]

I know dutchy, just ruffling Gunners feathers 

                         

[Gunner55]

When it is a tie after 9 and they put a guy on second it pisses my purist buddy off.  I told him I love it cuz by then I am ready to get the game over.   

I wasn't a fan early on.................kind of like it now.

[LPS]

Me also, but thats what you get when the commish is trying to copy football with offense. I think that the NFL should take a defensive player off the field during overtime.

 

[Gunner55]

Thielbar will make his final rehab appearance in St Paul this weekend & rejoin the Twins in St Louis, most likely on Tuesday. Polanco will be with the team in KC this weekend & Stewart threw a 15 pitch bullpen session yday.

[glenn57]

I know dutchy, just ruffling Gunners feathers 

                         

[Steve-o]

Twins trade Jorge Lopez to Miami for reliever Dylon Floro.

Ball guys... help me out with this one.

Is this just two teams trading similar pitchers in the hopes that a change of scenery will be better for both of them?   

[KEN W]

Probably.

[dutchboy]

Twins trade Jorge Lopez to Miami for reliever Dylon Floro.

Ball guys... help me out with this one.

Is this just two teams trading similar pitchers in the hopes that a change of scenery will be better for both of them?   

It's a case of trading a guy who doesn't want to be here (Lopez) for a guy with a expiring contract at years end. Addition through subtraction. It happens often.....the Brunansky for Tommy Herr trade has been mentioned here. Herr hated it here and became a clubhouse cancer leaving the Twins no choice but to get rid of him. 

[Steve-o]

Twins stand pat while the rest of the American League Central sells.

Obviously those teams are building for the future and the Twins did not feel compelled to mortgage theirs to invest in a team that isn't primed to make a deep playoff run this year.

Perhaps they did listen to offers for pending free agents Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda, but obviously the returns coming back weren't good enough.

The cavalry is not coming.  Good luck to the lads the rest of the way.

[KEN W]

With Cleveland and Chicago selling starting pitchers, the Twins are now 3 to 1 favorites to win the Central. I would guess they had offers for their young players and said NO. Good for them. They are really stocked with left handed hitters. Not so much from the right side as they continue to struggle against left handed pitching.