Game Score: Twins 8, Cleveland 7

Day game. I watched, gave up, ran errand, came back, we’re up, blown save, figures I thought, but this time Polanco came through again. Nice. Even nicer if the take Yankees down.

It would have been an easy game without Thorpe and Colome.

Well, needed to keep Thorpe in St. Paul for his start today and pitch, say, Gant instead. 

Now will Thorpe go on the IL and really screw up evaluation of him? 

I would also just cut Colome. You battle back, ake the lead, and the guy throws potential wild pitches with the tying run on third...and....

Just throw Colome and Simmons out there and be done. Bring up Miranda to play third. Put Polanco back at shortstop. We lose games with SImmons there, will we lose more have Arraez at second and Polanco at short? 

Two open roster spots. Bring in three new pitchers for the road trip. Let Strotman take some lumps if need be. We just better have Ryan, Balazovic when we can expand rosters.

Let Pineda go, maybe get picked up by a contender. Save the money you can get by not paying free-agents to be who gave you little or none in trade va,lue before the deadline.

I wonder if that will be the last we see of Lewis Thorpe?  He doesn't look like 40 man material to me.  I remember when they first got him and he was throwing 93-95 as a teenager I believe.  He was dominant striking guys out and he looked like a can't miss pitcher and lefty to boot.  He was never quite the same after the TJ surgery IMO.  He still had some good moments don't get me wrong but he just didn't seem to have quite the same stuff.  He worked hard to come back and maybe he can be a pen arm for some team in the future but I just don't see it happening with the Twins.  I certainly could be wrong but even after all that time off he didn't look that good today.  Honestly I think Smeltzer has better stuff and I don't love his stuff either because he is so homer prone.  Maybe Thorpe isn't hurt that bad and he gets another game or two but with the low velocity and lack of control it looks like the end to me.

Just now, Dman said:

I wonder if that will be the last we see of Lewis Thorpe?  He doesn't look like 40 man material to me.  I remember when they first got him and he was throwing 93-95 as a teenager I believe.  He was dominant striking guys out and he looked like a can't miss pitcher and lefty to boot.  He was never quite the same after the TJ surgery IMO.  He still had some good moments don't get me wrong but he just didn't seem to have quite the same stuff.  He worked hard to come back and maybe he can be a pen arm for some team in the future but I just don't see it happening with the Twins.  I certainly could be wrong but even after all that time off he didn't look that good today.  Honestly I think Smeltzer has better stuff and I don't love his stuff either because he is so homer prone.  Maybe Thorpe isn't hurt that bad and he gets another game or two but with the low velocity and lack of control it looks like the end to me.

Agreed, Thorpe's stuff isn't what it used to be, and he does not possess the durability to last in a MLB pitching staff. He should not be retained on the 40 man over the winter.

what have we learned From this fun ball game?  

Polanco is our MVP.  

Thorpe is not going to be able to be a SP for a good team. 

Colome really is not the closer we need. 

The Twins should have a much better record and should be in contention. 

21 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Agreed, Thorpe's stuff isn't what it used to be, and he does not possess the durability to last in a MLB pitching staff. He should not be retained on the 40 man over the winter.

I am no medical expert, but a young guy that was thrwing 93-95 2 years ago, and now can't get 90? I think that shoulder might be in pretty bad shape.

Thorpe can play ball in Australia. He will be home, and near parents and family. Past history shows that is what he needs. I never saw the "stuff" that others keep talking about, and certainly never in a MLB game. They have held roster spots for him while letting guys not Baddoo, Ynoa, Anderson, Littell, and others go. Time is up. He can't even throw in the 90s now. Time is up. 

Colome, Simmons, and Pineda? Time to move on. This team does not need rental place holders. All will be free agents. Best of luck to them. Time to move on. 

2 hours ago, Rosterman said:

Well, needed to keep Thorpe in St. Paul for his start today and pitch, say, Gant instead. 

 

Now will Thorpe go on the IL and really screw up evaluation of him? 

 

I would also just cut Colome. You battle back, ake the lead, and the guy throws potential wild pitches with the tying run on third...and....

 

Just throw Colome and Simmons out there and be done. Bring up Miranda to play third. Put Polanco back at shortstop. We lose games with SImmons there, will we lose more have Arraez at second and Polanco at short? 

 

Two open roster spots. Bring in three new pitchers for the road trip. Let Strotman take some lumps if need be. We just better have Ryan, Balazovic when we can expand rosters.

 

Let Pineda go, maybe get picked up by a contender. Save the money you can get by not paying free-agents to be who gave you little or none in trade va,lue before the deadline.

 

This might all be fine on paper, but the Twins will have a tough time finding vets to fill spots when needed, if they're treated in this fashion. I do think Simmons' playing time should be reduced though. 

Too bad about Colome - I thought he had turned a corner. Good to see them keep winning.

I was most impressed today with the Twins' resilience.  The 9th inning could easily have led to a letdown, but they fought through it.  9-and-4 in the last two weeks shows plenty of fight left in them -- and maybe with nothing at stake they go to the Bronx and Fenway without intimidation.

I saw Thorpe several times in spring training when he was young.  Hit 95 pretty regularly and touched 97.  He is not that guy anymore.

Too bad about Thorpe - he looked poised for greatness in the early days, power lefty.

11 hours ago, Dman said:

I wonder if that will be the last we see of Lewis Thorpe?  He doesn't look like 40 man material to me.  I remember when they first got him and he was throwing 93-95 as a teenager I believe.  He was dominant striking guys out and he looked like a can't miss pitcher and lefty to boot.  He was never quite the same after the TJ surgery IMO.  He still had some good moments don't get me wrong but he just didn't seem to have quite the same stuff.  He worked hard to come back and maybe he can be a pen arm for some team in the future but I just don't see it happening with the Twins.  I certainly could be wrong but even after all that time off he didn't look that good today.  Honestly I think Smeltzer has better stuff and I don't love his stuff either because he is so homer prone.  Maybe Thorpe isn't hurt that bad and he gets another game or two but with the low velocity and lack of control it looks like the end to me.

Agreed, I think we've seen the last of Lewis in a Twins uniform. Too bad for him and the team both.

9 hours ago, Otwins said:

I saw Thorpe several times in spring training when he was young.  Hit 95 pretty regularly and touched 97.  He is not that guy anymore.

 

9 hours ago, Monkeypaws said:

Too bad about Thorpe - he looked poised for greatness in the early days, power lefty.

 

The Legend of Lewis Thorpe and his early days continues to grow. It's not that I don't believe these tales of greatness, they just are so different than what he flashes today. It makes me even more nervous to give up Berrios for prospects. 

10 hours ago, h2oface said:

Thorpe can play ball in Australia. He will be home, and near parents and family. Past history shows that is what he needs. I never saw the "stuff" that others keep talking about, and certainly never in a MLB game. They have held roster spots for him while letting guys not Baddoo, Ynoa, Anderson, Littell, and others go. Time is up. He can't even throw in the 90s now. Time is up. 

Colome, Simmons, and Pineda? Time to move on. This team does not need rental place holders. All will be free agents. Best of luck to them. Time to move on. 

You can't run an actual team like a fantasy/video game. There are actually people involved and the human element impacts your actions in both the short and long term.

Yes, Colome is not coming back next year but he's been pitching well over his last 9 appearances until yesterday. A reliever is pitching well, has a bad outing and gets cut? Good luck signing anyone good to a 1-year deal next season.

We don't have a young SS ready to play in the majors so, who do we replace Simmons with, exactly? One of the retreads from AAA who also won't be part of the future?

Pineda is a contender to get re-signed next season and with his current relationship might be gotten for a reasonable price. They're going to need some veterans for the rotation, because betting on all rookies next season is a recipe for disaster. When healthy, he's a good pitcher. Cut him and he'll never wear a Twins uniform again.

Sorry to see that Thorpe looks like he's never going to put it together. Sounds like the shoulder is trash, and that's a shame. I had hopes for him, but he's never been able to put it together. Maybe he'll get healthy for one more go this year, but I expect he'll fall off the 40 man now. Too bad: he had talent. 

13 hours ago, ashbury said:

This major league roster needs 25 more guys like Jorge Polanco.

Hopefully some of them can play catcher, and pitch a little bit, otherwise we've got a logjam at second base.

Catcher is the least of our concerns.  All about pitching depth for this team

Looks like Thorpe is done.  He's had plenty of chances.  Twins have been very patient with him.  Too bad Colome' blew it in the 9 th.  I thought he was turning it around.  Yes one bad outing in last 9 isn't the end but his first half of season was horrible and this adds to it.  Poor defense still plagues the team.  Thankfully Polanco has been there to bail us out!!  It would be great if we could beat those Yankees.  They are playing great ball 

10 hours ago, MMMordabito said:

This might all be fine on paper, but the Twins will have a tough time finding vets to fill spots when needed, if they're treated in this fashion. I do think Simmons' playing time should be reduced though. 

older vets are looking for one year pay me deals and not worried about the following years.  They will chase the money.  Not worried about finding vets to fill spots, the right dollar figure brings them in

The good news for Lewis Thorpe is that he will now go on the major league IL and get paid the major league minimum, probably for the rest of the year.  Was his earlier stint on the IL this year the minor league variety?  Doubt Thorpe will ever be in a Twins uniform again, hopefully $150k for the rest of the summer will help tide him over until he signs on with another team...usually Oakland gobbles up former Twins Aussie pitchers (Balfour and Hendriks, although Liam had some other teams before arriving with the A's).

Sounds like Dobber is about ready for a rehab stint, expect he will be back in the Twins rotation by around Labor Day.  Expect he will be fine and in the hunt for the #4/#5 spot next spring, along with Ober, Jax, Barnes and others.

12 hours ago, h2oface said:

Thorpe can play ball in Australia. He will be home, and near parents and family. Past history shows that is what he needs. I never saw the "stuff" that others keep talking about, and certainly never in a MLB game. They have held roster spots for him while letting guys not Baddoo, Ynoa, Anderson, Littell, and others go. Time is up. He can't even throw in the 90s now. Time is up. 

Colome, Simmons, and Pineda? Time to move on. This team does not need rental place holders. All will be free agents. Best of luck to them. Time to move on. 

How many runners has Simba thrown out at home, third, first, etc just on relay plays? He's not a good hitter but appears to be a good team leader and well-liked. Twins don't have an heir apparent at shortstop (that would be Lewis, but he can't play) so whoever else you throw out there isn't a long term viable starter either. Pineda is also well-liked and the Twins would like him back next year. I sure would. 

Sure Colome didn't have his best outing, but Jeffers absolutely has to make a better effort to block that pitch that allowed the tying run to score. It was not a good pitch whatsoever and that's on Colome. However, Jeffers absolutely has to get in front of that ball. All he did was kind of move his body and throw his glove in front of it. You can't let a ball by you like that when there are two outs in the 9th and the tying run is on third.

7 minutes ago, Tibs said:

Sure Colome didn't have his best outing, but Jeffers absolutely has to make a better effort to block that pitch that allowed the tying run to score. It was not a good pitch whatsoever and that's on Colome. However, Jeffers absolutely has to get in front of that ball. All he did was kind of move his body and throw his glove in front of it. You can't let a ball by you like that when there are two outs in the 9th and the tying run is on third.

Cardinals and Brewers had a similar wild pitch in the top of the 10th.  The Cardinals pitcher bounced it, but Molina wasn't able to stop it.  Not quite the same since Colome bounced it sooner and the Cardinals pitcher bounced it closer to the plate but farther in.  But in some ways, it shows that even the veterans or best catchers can't stop all wild pitches, even ones that are close to the plate.

1 hour ago, umterp23 said:

older vets are looking for one year pay me deals and not worried about the following years.  They will chase the money.  Not worried about finding vets to fill spots, the right dollar figure brings them in

Older vets also want to play. vets also take 1 year deals to rebuild their value in FA, and they don't get that if they get dumped (regardless of performance)...so many of them ARE worrying about the following years.

yes, you'll still be able to sign guys...but it's already hard enough for the Twins in FA. Do we really want to have to offer an additional 20% premium on a guy to get him to sign because we've built a rep as a crap organization with no loyalty and respect? (The whining about "overpaying" guys will be really fun to endure too. And by "fun", I mean the other thing.)

the human element happens, pride gets in the way. A guy will get dropped rather than be offered "too much" in arbitration. Time after time you'll see that player head to a different organization, at equal or less money because pride won't let them take that deal from their current club. All of this stuff comes into play, and ignoring it for marginal moves can cause more damage than whatever small benefit you might get on development time.

16 hours ago, ashbury said:

This major league roster needs 25 more guys like Jorge Polanco.

Hopefully some of them can play catcher, and pitch a little bit, otherwise we've got a logjam at second base.

I wonder how that would play out. Take the best player on the team and duplicate them across every position. How would that team do?