Game Thread: Twins vs. Blue Jays 4:40 PM PT (6:40 PM CT) 4/15/2019

[PseudoSABR]

 

You gotta give Mejia a break here. Hard to be sharp when you haven't pitched in a week. If they're in the pen you have to use them or it's not sustainable anyway.

He's miscast. They should shop him around and see if they can get actual relief help.

[twinsnorth49]

What if you have swords?

 

Made of round wood?

 

Not just talkin' about rattlin' a scabard or wavin' a stick...

What about a pointed stick?

[twinsnorth49]

If only someone could have seen these bullpen performances coming.....

[howeda7]

Either put Meija in the rotation for Odorizzi or send him down. He's not meant for this role. Two games in a week kicked away by bullpen mismanagement/inadequacy. I know Rodgers/Parker were probably not available, but Harper was locked in, why not give him the 8th?

[PseudoSABR]

 

Either put Meija in the rotation for Odorizzi or send him down. He's not meant for this role. Two games in a week kicked away by bullpen mismanagement/inadequacy. I know Rodgers/Parker were probably not available, but Harper was locked in, why not give him the 8th?

Although I agree with the premise. Mejia dosen't have options; thus we lose him if we put him on waivers.

[David HK]

 

What a waste of a good outing by Perez. Very winnable game thrown away by poor bullpen management

I wish you were not "not really Boof Bonser." 

I wish you were really Boof Bonser, and you could get in there and pitch.  

 

You couldn't have been more meaty than Mejia. 

 

Heck, I'm willing to bet "not really Boof Bonser" could have thrown better than that.

 

Cripe, second totally winnable, -nearly take it to the bank kind of winnable- game in a week that got p*ssed away by a bad BP and bad BP management.

[h2oface]

 

who was he supposed to pitch?

This is on the pen, and Falvine.

 

May. Or better yet, if he was going to use Harper and Mejia.... how about letting Perez go out for the 7th with a short leash and only 86 pitches. Harper could also have gone two innings - gone out in the 8th with the same short leash. If Mejia had shut them down (or Harper if he went two and did).... was he going to bring someone - May, Hildenberger, Rodgers, Parker - in for the 9th, right? Probably? It was so obvious to me that Mejia was going to blow the game after that pitch 2 feet outside to Grichuk (and that is not hindsight... I said it and called it in real time right after the pitch earlier in the thread). We only needed 6 outs! With a two run lead. Mejia is for eating innings in mop up until he shows different. I can't cry about GMs at game time. The man in the dugout is responsible for making the choices with who he has. This was a game to win, and put in the pocket because they all count. What would you have done? Make better choices to win with what you have, or go with a hope and a lesser option and do what Baldelli did? One can't complain about the lack of talent on the team in the pen during the game from the dugout. I would hope a manager would to try to win the games that are clearly winnable by using his best options.....especially with as few as 6 outs needed. There will be plenty of throw aways to give the go-to's days off. Hell, it's only a couple weeks into April! 

[AlwaysinModeration]

I know that the line - 6IP, 1ER, 5Ks - looks good, and it’s plenty good for a fifth starter. And I like that Perez gained a few ticks on his fastball.

 

But watching him pitch, I’m not sold. He gave up a lot of hard hit balls, including at least 2-3 that should have been hits, and a gift out on the bases, too. His fastball doesn’t have much movement, and hitters seemed to tee off on it. And he didn’t seem to have a pitch to put hitters away with.

 

That start made me nervous for future Perez starts.

[USAFChief]

 

May. Or better yet, if he was going to use Harper and Mejia.... how about letting Perez go out for the 7th with a short leash and only 86 pitches. Harper could also have gone two innings - gone out in the 8th with the same short leash. If Mejia had shut them down (or Harper if he went two and did).... was he going to bring someone - May, Hildenberger, Rodgers, Parker - in for the 9th, right? Probably? It was so obvious to me that Mejia was going to blow the game after that pitch 2 feet outside to Grichuk (and that is not hindsight... I said it and called it in real time right after the pitch earlier in the thread). We only needed 6 outs! With a two run lead. Mejia is for eating innings in mop up until he shows different. I can't cry about GMs at game time. The man in the dugout is responsible for making the choices with who he has. This was a game to win, and put in the pocket because they all count. What would you have done? Make better choices to win with what you have, or go with a hope and a lesser option and do what Baldelli did? One can't complain about the lack of talent on the team in the pen during the game from the dugout. I would hope a manager would to try to win the games that are clearly winnable by using his best options.....especially with as few as 6 outs needed. There will be plenty of throw aways to give the go-to's days off. Hell, it's only a couple weeks into April! 

I guess I can see using May, although he pitched the day before (and had to be removed for ineffectiveness). 

 

 

 

The rest is unreasonable criticism. It was time to take Perez out, and Mejia has to pitch if he's part of the pen.

 

There was nothing wrong with Baldelli's pen usage last night. The fault is on the lack of good options, rather than the choice of which he used.

[MMMordabito]

 

Someday, I hope to see a manager that understands that there is no guarantee that the team will be in a position to win tomorrow.  Quit worrying about a guy being unavailable out of the 'pen TOMORROW until that need presents itself.  If Mejia had to pitch the 8th tomorrow out of necessity, I could understand.  We weren't there yet.  

 

The splits in the 8th were essentially neutral.  May should have pitched the 8th (there was a strong case for Harper to pitch a second inning given how well the ball was coming out of his hand) and Hildy the 9th.  For all we know, 2-3 innings of mop up work will be available tomorrow.  

 

Also, I don't know what trash prep program we're running if we can't give Perez the ball in the 7th with something like 1,200 games in a row upcoming.  Being on a pitch count when we've known this is the game he'd start for the last 30 years is insane. 

 

The managing (both general and game) errors are mounting.

 

Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking must be fun for you.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

What about a pointed stick?

You got a point there...

 

I am not sure. Probably okay as long as there's no ink.

[Miggy's Little Helper]

 

Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking must be fun for you.

 

Call it whatever you want.  It was patently obvious that Harper, May, and Hildy were all superior options to Mejia at that point in the game.  Last time I checked, the general strategy in the eighth inning with a two-run lead does not involve running out your fourth best available relief option. 

 

If we play the optimal strategy and get beat, I can live with it.  Play sub-optimal strategy and get beat, I think we all have the right to be frustrated.