May 26, 20188 yr Author So much for Robbie "On base machine" grossman. Swung at two ball 4's so far. http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/tmimn.gif
May 26, 20188 yr Yeah, my off-season doubts about Kepler not being able to hit lefties is approaching my take after the Liriano trade that Eduardo Escobar was a terrible return because he was instantly the worst player on the entire 40-man roster, but at least Pedro Hernandez looked like a nice long term lefty.I suspect there's a fair amount of smoke and mirrors going with Kepler against LHP right now. Lefties struggle against lefties, even the best LHB. It's likely the book will change and Kepler's numbers against LHP will decline. But that's no reason to be concerned... the fact that he's hitting LHP this hard likely means that he'll feast on lefty mistakes in the future and maybe he'll be a .750 OPS guy against LHP going forward. And lefties that can be average or better than average against same-side pitching are usually very good hitters.
May 26, 20188 yr If you think the Twins bullpen is bad... Stat line from Cleveland's bullpen tonight: 2.2 IP 5 pitchers used 11 ER
May 26, 20188 yr You are close The Twins wanted him to hit lefties but the Twins wouldn't let him face lefties. It's thinking like that, that keeps one from winning MOY. .
May 26, 20188 yr Author So, with Sano at first.... How long until we see Gordon? Maybe he should be playing third in NY? If Gordon was coming up... they would probably move him to Rochester as a precursor to a major league call up. So until they move him to Rochester... I'd put these crazy dreams on hold. What was that? New York? Nevermind
May 26, 20188 yr Hope this doesn't sound negative but it seems Buxton is having a hard time hitting the baseball.
May 26, 20188 yr Buxton hasn't even come close to putting a ball in play. He really looks like he needs 3-4 weeks at AAA to get some sort of rhythm/confidence.
May 26, 20188 yr Author I think the confusion over framing stems from "stealing strikes" when in fact it's mostly "getting your pitcher the strike they threw".An errant, fast-moving glove with a lot of body movement distracts from the moment. The pitch should be a strike but the catcher moved violently and the umpire saw the ball drift out of the zone because exactly *where* did the ball hit the mitt? Whereas a steady, smooth hand with good visibility allows the umpire to see where the pitch was actually thrown. And it was a strike. Framing (mostly) isn't about 'stealing", it's about "being good at your job and letting your pitcher's ability shine". Nothing a little technology can't cure.
May 26, 20188 yr Don't want to use hyperbole on Kepler, but everything he does is just so "natural" that I can't wait until he really figures stuff out.
May 26, 20188 yr Buxton with another K. Not being critical, because lots of them tonight for the whole team. What impressed me was when I replayed his at bat, his eyes were open every time he swung the bat. He is actually trying to see the ball.
May 26, 20188 yr Buxton hasn't even come close to putting a ball in play. He really looks like he needs 3-4 weeks at AAA to get some sort of rhythm/confidence.That last pitch was nasty, as high fastballs are extremely hard to lay off even for the best hitters, especially behind in the count. Not sure why, it just is. Keep watching baseball and you will see those high fastballs work their magic. For example, when I was playing back in t-ball and my dad would pull the tee up way to eye level, and set the ball way up there, I could barely reach it!
May 26, 20188 yr If Gordon was coming up... they would probably move him to Rochester as a precursor to a major league call up. So until they move him to Rochester... I'd put these crazy dreams on hold. What was that? New York? NevermindIsn't he playing for Roch now?
May 26, 20188 yr Sorry Vanimal, love me some good wine, but this is a night for Twins, pizza and BEER. Enjoying all 3.
May 26, 20188 yr Author If the Twins want to have any chance at keeping pace with Cleveland they need to improve the roster. Having multiple Grossman, Adrianza, Wilson, Petit, and LaMarre caliber players in the lineup every night is just killing the offense. Yep... Especially with the Indians stacking their roster with Erik Gonzalez, Greg Allen, Rajai Davis, Jason Kipnis and Roberto Perez.
May 26, 20188 yr Thank you and Brian both. Texting on phone and watch on Galaxy Tab. Not seeing the option on my Android phone. May just have to play around.I usually avoid crippled operating systems for anything but simple web browsing. On my phone at least, when I am in an editing pane, locating the "Full Version" red button near the bottom of the page takes me to the interface where I can see "Attach Files" etc. I don't know how to get out of Full Version after I do this, though.
May 26, 20188 yr Paxton really fooling Twins hitters tonight. Of his 11 strikeouts, 8 have been on swings at pitches out of the strike zone.
May 26, 20188 yr Sorry Vanimal, love me some good wine, but this is a night for Twins, pizza and BEER. Enjoying all 3.These are all great things!! What kind of pizza?
May 26, 20188 yr Author Holy lord, what German for "arm"? LOL... I looked it up... I ain't joking... It's "Poor".
May 26, 20188 yr No such thing as a good at bat that results in an out, unless you're scoring a run. Disagree. If a batter fouls off 15 pitches before making an out, that's definitely a good at-bat.
May 26, 20188 yr No such thing as a good at bat that results in an out, unless you're scoring a run. Flatly untrue. Rosario is a free swinger and the process of that at-bat matters... a lot. He laid off some tough pitches and hit some rather unhittable pitches. He worked the pitcher to a 7-8 pitch plate appearance. I'll take that from him once every night.
May 26, 20188 yr These are all great things!! What kind of pizza?Believe it or not, 2 for 1 from Kum & Go. Italian and a Hawaiian.
Create an account or sign in to comment