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  • BOS 9, MIN 2: There Go Those Shiny Pitching Stats


    Tom Froemming

    Entering this game, the Twins hadn’t given up more than six runs all month and the pitching staff had a 3.17 ERA, good for sixth best in the league. The bullpen had been particularly strong in June, ranking fourth in all of baseball with a 2.60 ERA.

    Kyle Gibson did his part, delivering another quality start, but all those pretty numbers listed above look a lot more bloated after the bullpen had a bad day against Boston.

    Oh, and all the Eds are broken.

    Image courtesy of © Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

    Twins Video

    Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

    Kyle Gibson: 49 Game Score, 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, 61.9% strikes

    Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 4 K, 1 BB

    Lineup: 0-for-2 w/RISP, 3 LOB

    Bottom three per WPA: Pressly -.143, Mauer -.085, Grossman -.072

    chart.png

    This game didn’t end well, but you can’t be too sore about the Twins taking two out of three from Boston. Speaking of sore, the bigger concern at the moment is some ailing Twins. Just think, what’s the worst thing that could happen to this offense right now? Being Ed-less, right?

    Well, Eddie Rosario was scratched from this game due to shoulder soreness and Eduardo Escobar was forced to leave after he was hit by a pitch. The good news is it sounds like Paul Molitor expects Rosie to be available tomorrow and Escobar only suffered a bruised elbow and is considered day-to-day.

    Down their two hottest hitters, there was little the Twins could muster against Rick Porcello. He pitched seven one-hit innings. Altogether, the Twins got only four hits and scored both of their runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

    It was too bad, because Gibby pitched well once again. He got into some trouble, giving up seven hits while walking three batters and hitting another, but limited the damage to two runs over six innings. He’s now given up two or fewer runs in 10 of his 15 starts on the season. He also accomplished that feat 10 times in 2017, but that was in 29 starts.

    Entering this game, the Twins hadn’t given up more than six runs all month and the pitching staff had a 3.17 ERA, good for sixth best in the league. The bullpen had been particularly strong in June, ranking fourth in all of baseball with a 2.60 ERA.

    Ryan Pressly was charged with three earned runs while recording only one out and Matt Belisle also gave up three runs in his inning of work. Matt Magill even gave up a run.

    Molitor has already demoted Addison Reed from setup duties, at least temporarily, so Pressly’s continued struggles are especially worrisome. He hit a snag earlier this month and gave up two earned runs in three consecutive appearances. But since that bump, Pressly had strung together three scoreless innings in a row. Just when you thought he might be out of the woods, another rough outing pops up.

    Pressly closed out May with a 2.22 ERA on the season, but so far this month he’s surrendered nine earned runs in just 6 1/3 innings. On the other hand, Magill hadn’t surrendered a run in more than nine innings. He gave up a run on three hits in the ninth inning.

    It was a disappointing end to what had been a great series for the Twins. Next up, Texas comes to town. The Rangers are off to a poor start, but carry a five-game winning streak into Target Field.

    AL Central Standings

    CLE 40-33

    DET 36-39 (-5)

    MIN 33-38 (-6)

    CHW (24-49 (-16)

    KC 22-52 (-18.5)

    Next Three Games

    Fri vs. TEX, 7:10 pm CT: Mike Minor vs. Fernando Romero

    Sat vs. TEX, 1:10 pm CT: Yovani Gallardo vs. Jake Odorizzi

    Sun vs. TEX, 2:10 pm CT: Bartolo Colon vs. Jose Berrios

    Last Three Games

    MIN 4, BOS 1: For Grossman and Kepler, The Price Was Right

    MIN 6, BOS 2: Bats Get to Boston Bullpen

    CLE 4, MIN 1: Lots of Traffic, Just One Run

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    I have no idea but if I had to guess... This has Molitor's fingerprints all over it... not the front office.

     

    Of course the front office has to execute the acquisition but my guess would be at Molitor's behest. But again... I have no idea.

     

    Belisle was named the closer after the Kintzler trade, my assumption is that Molitor was the hand that hand picked him for that role and that would indicate a level of trust.

     

     

    Pressly and Reed usage has dropped considerably since the arrival of Belisle and I would imagine that Pressly, Reed usage would be a topic of discussion between the front office and the manager.

     

    Hence, Paul trusts him and will actually use him which would slow down the use of Pressly and Reed.

     

    Bottom Line: He's the hand picked solution to the Pressly, Reed overuse problem.

     

    Just a theory. :)

    If the reason the Twins aren’t calling up Busenitz, etc is because Molitor has told Falvine he won’t use them in anything but low leverage, then that responsibility needs to be taken from him.

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    If the reason the Twins aren’t calling up Busenitz, etc is because Molitor has told Falvine he won’t use them in anything but low leverage, then that responsibility needs to be taken from him.

     

    Just a theory but it kind of adds up. 

     

    Belisle has a uniform. 

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    If the reason the Twins aren’t calling up Busenitz, etc is because Molitor has told Falvine he won’t use them in anything but low leverage, then that responsibility needs to be taken from him.

    If that is true, what is he doing on the 40 man?

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    A sweep would have been fun but 2 of 3 ain't bad. Just win the Rangers series and all is well (with this home stand anyway).

     

    As far as Molitor and overall team ownership/management are concerned, there is probably a motto on the wall in all of their offices; "Go with the flow". They all have great jobs running a team with no expectations. Why worry?

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    As far as Molitor and overall team ownership/management are concerned, there is probably a motto on the wall in all of their offices; "Go with the flow". They all have great jobs running a team with no expectations. Why worry?

    You're saying these gentlemen are of deficient character?

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    That'll teach 'em.

     

    Way to get in their faces, Molly! 

     

    Do you really think this is over?

     

    What else should he have done? Besides publicly call them out in ominous fashion? Put out a hit on Mookie? :shoot:

    Edited by jokin
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    Wow ... Lot's of overreaction (except the Belisle parts) after a loss to a top team after winning two and being down the two hottest players in the lineup for most of the game.

     

    For those wanting to dump the catchers, be careful what you wish for.  I know they aren't hitting, but that isn't a bat first position.  They've been handling a staff that has been doing well and putting the team in a position to win games.  I wouldn't be surprised if Astudillo came up and hit more than either Garver or Wilson, but I would venture to guess there is a reason he is being moved around the field at Rochester. My guess would be that he doesn't play any position particularly well, but his bat is desirable.  The Twins don't need to mess up a good thing by throwing a catcher in there that can't handle the staff. 

     

    Does anyone have some actual info on the defense, framing, blocking and game-calling abilities of Sawyer or Astudillo?  I think that would be much more useful for forming an opinion on whether they should be given a shot than forming that opinion off batting average.

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    Does anyone have some actual info on the defense, framing, blocking and game-calling abilities of Sawyer or Astudillo?  I think that would be much more useful for forming an opinion on whether they should be given a shot than forming that opinion off batting average.

    How is Wilson.s blocking, defense, framing and pitch calling?  Is it so good that we need to keep him even though he has proven he cannot hit at the major league level?  He's also 35 years old.  YOu do realize this, don't you?

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    "Bat first". Positions that aren't bat first?

     

    People like to say that about catcher, short stop, center field.... but I call foul. It is always important to be able to hit, and there are always those that play those positions that hit, and hit well, and settling for someone that doesn't is just lazy, even it there isn't an abundance of good hitters, period.

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    Wow ... Lot's of overreaction (except the Belisle parts) after a loss to a top team after winning two and being down the two hottest players in the lineup for most of the game.

     

    For those wanting to dump the catchers, be careful what you wish for.  I know they aren't hitting, but that isn't a bat first position.  They've been handling a staff that has been doing well and putting the team in a position to win games.  I wouldn't be surprised if Astudillo came up and hit more than either Garver or Wilson, but I would venture to guess there is a reason he is being moved around the field at Rochester. My guess would be that he doesn't play any position particularly well, but his bat is desirable.  The Twins don't need to mess up a good thing by throwing a catcher in there that can't handle the staff. 

     

    Does anyone have some actual info on the defense, framing, blocking and game-calling abilities of Sawyer or Astudillo?  I think that would be much more useful for forming an opinion on whether they should be given a shot than forming that opinion off batting average.

    Rupp is there, there are 3 catchers in AAA, they need to let the other two play the game. Astudillo can play lots of positions and they need his bat in the lineup, that's why he is all over the place. They might want him to be versatile enough so that when he's called up, he can also help out elsewhere as well if needed.

    Edited by jun
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    Rupp is there, there are 3 catchers in AAA, they need to let the other two play the game. Astudillo can play lots of positions and they need his bat in the lineup, that's why he is all over the place. They might want him to be versatile enough so that when he's called up, he can also help out elsewhere as well if needed.

     

    Maybe. It is nice to have someone that can play lots of positions in the field. But not everyone has to. Maybe just one player has to have this versatility. These days, it seems that players can be versatile, but are negatives at every position they play in the field! It might behoove a team to just cultivate a player at the one position, and then play him at the position when called up. Then you have a good fielding (hopefully) player at every position, instead of a bunch of players that are a liability at every position they play, even though the manager thinks they can be plugged in anywhere. I hate it when I watch a game, and just about every player is playing out of position, or not their best position, just to accommodate the lack of the right player for the position.

     

    And who the hell is Rupp, anyway? Just another cast off that nobody else wanted. Not the catcher we want, right?

    Edited by h2oface
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    Rupp is there, there are 3 catchers in AAA, they need to let the other two play the game. Astudillo can play lots of positions and they need his bat in the lineup, that's why he is all over the place. They might want him to be versatile enough so that when he's called up, he can also help out elsewhere as well if needed.

    Rupp is striking out about 50% of the time in AAA. That's worse than Sano who is now in A.

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    Rupp is striking out about 50% of the time in AAA. That's worse than Sano who is now in A.

    Yep, he needs to be released so that it all returns to normal.

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