Game Recap: Mariners 4, Twins 3

At least we got a Shaggy sighting.

Tigers beat the Royals, we're alone in last place.

3 runs isn't a great offensive display, but if Byron Buxton is in Center Field we win that game 3-2

1 hour ago, SoDakTwinsFan4 said:

3 runs isn't a great offensive display, but if Byron Buxton is in Center Field we win that game 3-2

Maybe not, because it would be 2-2 because of his homer. Celestino is supposed to be a very good defensive true centerfielder, but he plays too shallow and it continues to cost us runs, as it did again tonight. His routes are terrible, and his throws are worse, as is his judgement. I would rather see Gordon in center, and he never played center until the last couple of games! I keep reading about his Prospect value, but I'm not buying. Try to sell it all you like, sportswriters. I don't see Celestino as a plus in any way.

This bullpen. So painful. I can't imagine what it is like being on this team and having to watch them lose your games late. The hitters must hate them.

And now we get Happ tomorrow, the 1 year gift from the FO. Thanks.

2 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Tigers beat the Royals, we're alone in last place.

With Texas nipping at their heels one game back of the Twins. Thank goodness for Baltimore. In the NL, only Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Arizona have worse winning percentages than the Twins. 

50 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Maybe not, because it would be 2-2 because of his homer. Celestino is supposed to be a very good defensive true centerfielder, but he plays too shallow and it continues to cost us runs, as it did again tonight. His routes are terrible, and his throws are worse, as is his judgement. I would rather see Gordon in center, and he never played center until the last couple of games! I keep reading about his Prospect value, but I'm not buying. Try to sell it all you like, sportswriters. I don't see Celestino as a plus in any way.

This bullpen. So painful. I can't imagine what it is like being on this team and having to watch them lose your games late. The hitters must hate them.

And now we get Happ tomorrow, the 1 year gift from the FO. Thanks.

Celestino is called up early because of injuries. Not a good time to make a long term valuation of him. 

3 hours ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

With Texas nipping at their heels one game back of the Twins. Thank goodness for Baltimore. In the NL, only Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Arizona have worse winning percentages than the Twins. 

Speaking of which: both Texas and Pittsburgh took 2-of-3 from the Twins. In Minneapolis, no less.

3 hours ago, h2oface said:

Maybe not, because it would be 2-2 because of his homer. Celestino is supposed to be a very good defensive true centerfielder, but he plays too shallow and it continues to cost us runs, as it did again tonight. His routes are terrible, and his throws are worse, as is his judgement. I would rather see Gordon in center, and he never played center until the last couple of games! I keep reading about his Prospect value, but I'm not buying. Try to sell it all you like, sportswriters. I don't see Celestino as a plus in any way.

This bullpen. So painful. I can't imagine what it is like being on this team and having to watch them lose your games late. The hitters must hate them.

And now we get Happ tomorrow, the 1 year gift from the FO. Thanks.

Maybe the hitters should be more concerned about making less errors/poor plays in the field and inability to hit in the clutch or situationally, than the bullpen needing to throw 5 shutout innings every night….

Fine line sometimes between being a good team versus a bad team.  It's the ability to learn from mistakes and don't make them again.  Twins are too consistent in making the same mistakes and decisions over and over.  I know a lot of posters will disagree with me on this point, but I'm a believer in designating players in specific field positions, and a batting order with a semblance of consistency.  Our outfielders are constantly challenged just in playing in new ballparks, i.e. left field plays a lot differently than right field and so on.  Soften the anxiety of playing a new position every other day and still needing to provide offense.  Too many times have I seen managers set players up to fail.

Now, with that said, players do need to be flexible and an occasional start here and there is beneficial.

June 15, 2020- season not yet started

June 15, 2021- Twins window for post season contention closed?

Good to see Kiriloff go deep with his wrist issues and Maeda gave us about what was expected. The defense could have saved a run and the relievers were shaky at times but the offense didn't produce enough to win. Solo shots were nice but not enough. We tried and hopefully Happ can give us 6 good innings tonight.

I am sorry to say I stayed up to the end of the game.   Disappointing.  Somehow the idea of a relief pitcher coming into the game gives me no relief.  I cringe and expect what we usually get - the worst.  

No criticism of the rookie OF - all three contributed mightily at bat - more than the old vets and learning the different OFs. all the travails of being a rookie are difficult.  I like all three and Celestino getting up a year or two early is really learning on the fly and getting better each series.

Isn't it time to start moving some more minor leaguers into the pen and rotation?

3 hours ago, spycake said:

Actually Texas took 3 of 4 from us in Minneapolis. Although sadly it doesn’t stand out as particularly memorable among the many disappointing moments of this season so far...

That's okay because they'll probably take 2 of 3 from us this weekend!

2 hours ago, chinmusic said:

June 15, 2020- season not yet started

June 15, 2021- Twins window for post season contention closed?

What a difference a year makes!

Twins can't string together a significant winning streak...so they continue to march in place, falling backward gently every week. The lineup changes every night. Usually when that happens, you are a bottom feeder.

So have the Twins noticed something with Buxton that makes them reluctant to bring him back up? thats their call of course. But eventually, he is going to have to try playing with the big boys again. I don't think there is a person here who honestly believes he won't be back on the IL before too long.

1 hour ago, Dodecahedron said:

Gleeman's pitch framing tweet does not mean much without seeing the called strikes for the other pitchers in the game.  This might that umpire's strike zone on the night.

I agree. The ump’s zone was consistently expanded for both teams. It’s a fallacy to assume that a ball outside the strike zone that gets called a strike is always or only the result of the catcher. Framing metrics assume a causal A —> B relationship, where A = catcher framing and B = called strike. The problem is that one might not actually have to do with the other. This is the problem I’ve always had with framing metrics: they assume a causal relationship that has not been rigorously proven. But it’s now baked into the conventional wisdom that this relationship exists with reliable consistency. No one ever questions it for some reason.