The Moments that Sank the 2022 Minnesota Twins

[Teflon]

Aside form the freakish number of injuries, the biggest failing was that the bullpen couldn't hold leads. Twins relief pitchers entered games with the lead 250 times this season. This is the second highest number in the AL behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Unfortunately, Twins pitchers converted the fewest saves in the AL (27 ) at the lowest save-rate. (49%)  

[gman]

No team has their starting pitchers as a group average 6 innings per game. So the Twins are pretty much pitching to the standard in baseball this year. As they were last year. Their team era is down over a run per game from last year. The total runs allowed is also down over a run per game. People may not like it but from a year over year look back they have been successful in handling the pitching staff this year. Considering how many pitchers have gone down with injuries, I would say chopping off a run per game allowed is pretty remarkable.

Hitting is only down slightly. Last year they were 14th in scoring and this year they are 16th. Again considering all the injuries, this is pretty remarkable

Do all the conditioning you want, but knee, elbow and shoulder injuries along with broken bones are more a sympton of doing too much rather than too little.

I would have liked to have seen what this team could have accomplished with everyone healthy and am hoping to see what this team can accomplish next year with hopefully everyone healthy. But this site has been too negative instead of focusing on what has actually been done.

[ashbury]

17 minutes ago, gman said:

No team has their starting pitchers as a group average 6 innings per game. So the Twins are pretty much pitching to the standard in baseball this year. As they were last year.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2022-starter-pitching.shtml

This season they are fourth or fifth from the bottom in the majors, with 4.8 innings per start versus 5.2 league average.  The Astros lead with 5.9.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2021-starter-pitching.shtml

Last year by contrast there were just a shade below MLB average, well within what I'd guess to be "noise" rather than useful information.

So, yes and no.  The trend has been down all across the majors (with some kind of uptick this year), but the Twins have been accelerating that trend this season.  Choosing to run with Archer and Bundy could have a lot to do with that - but it is a choice that the FO made and which Rocco then was tasked to implement with short duty for these two arms in particular.

[gman]

3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2022-starter-pitching.shtml

This season they are fourth or fifth from the bottom in the majors, with 4.8 innings per start versus 5.2 league average.  The Astros lead with 5.9.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2021-starter-pitching.shtml

Last year by contrast there were just a shade below MLB average, well within what I'd guess to be "noise" rather than useful information.

That's a difference of about 1 out per game. I would trade that for the 1 run per game they cut out.

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, gman said:

That's a difference of about 1 out per game. I would trade that for the 1 run per game they cut out.

There are only 27 outs per game, and we're nowhere near an era where starters achieve anything close to that.  So an out or two, out of about 15 or 16 is looking meaningful to me, over the course of what's almost now a complete season.