Twins 4, White Sox 0: Ober Dominates as Wallner Slugs First Target Field Home Run

Ober looks so intimidating but he is a pitcher, keeping batters off stride and commanding his pitches.Injuries have held him back but he sure looks like he could throw 120 pitches with such an easy delivery. Impressive outing.

Away from TD site for awhile as Twins play has been more than depressing.  Can't say I watched tonight, but after seeing the impressive performance by Ober my mind wandered off into"what could have been mode.  So many problems with this team to fix before next year, but at least for tonight---a good feeling, especially beating the Sox.  Sure would be nice to see Winder complement Ober's performance with a strong outing tomorrow night.

Wow! Wow!

It was a great outing in a meaningless exhibition game where both sides were just playing it out.  

Obviously, we need to see this sustained during real in-year competition to get the hype train rolling again...

BUT it is still a lot better to seem him do this than to get knocked around!     

Roy Smalley said it - Bailey Ober's performance was important because it gives the young pitcher a huge boost of confidence going into off season workouts. He knows now that his stuff is good enough to get multiple whiffs and swinging K's. Now he can shore up his strengths and work on eliminating his weak points. 

It would be nice to see a bit more velo on the heater, so he can use that as a K weapon, not just as a decoy. Otherwise, if his command remains good and his health is good, Ober looks like a very successful mlb pitcher.

5 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Away from TD site for awhile as Twins play has been more than depressing.  Can't say I watched tonight, but after seeing the impressive performance by Ober my mind wandered off into"what could have been mode.  So many problems with this team to fix before next year, but at least for tonight---a good feeling, especially beating the Sox.  Sure would be nice to see Winder complement Ober's performance with a strong outing tomorrow night.

Then, Louie Varland on Thursday could throw a gem. 

With two teams playing out the season, this had a nice feeling.  Ober and Wallner, so nice to see them both prosper.  Looking at the Sox you have to ask how our team could allow them to have a better record than us.  

Keep the young guys in the lineup!

With Ober going 7+ innings was Rocco in the dugout? I guess the idea of Ober to the pen next year has changed. 

Couldn't be happier for this young man.  What a great outing and the Sox did have most of their big hitters in their lineup.

Gray, Mahle, Ryan, Maeda and Ober could be a very good starting 5 next spring.  Add Paddack for a late summer replacement along with Winder and Varland, SWR and maybe Balazovic and I don't see the Twins needing to bring in any big names this winter.  

20 minutes ago, David Maro said:

With Ober going 7+ innings was Rocco in the dugout?

I wondered the same thing. I guess since the season is lost the "Plan" doesn't have to be used anymore. 

8 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Roy Smalley said it - Bailey Ober's performance was important because it gives the young pitcher a huge boost of confidence going into off season workouts. He knows now that his stuff is good enough to get multiple whiffs and swinging K's. Now he can shore up his strengths and work on eliminating his weak points. 

It would be nice to see a bit more velo on the heater, so he can use that as a K weapon, not just as a decoy. Otherwise, if his command remains good and his health is good, Ober looks like a very successful mlb pitcher.

I have always thought that Ober has had solid stuff. Not Ace or extremely dominating stuff, but good enough to go toe-to-toe against some of the games best. 

I agree that if he can add 2-3 mph on his heater and maintain control, he could be ruthless with the FB. Especially paired with this good slider and change. When he uses his height and wingspan to his advantage he shows that he is unbeatable. Look at his last strikeout against Abreu. That ball hit the ground 8 ft in front of homeplate and split the left-handed batters box. That just nasty.

8 minutes ago, roger said:

Couldn't be happier for this young man.  What a great outing and the Sox did have most of their big hitters in their lineup.

Gray, Mahle, Ryan, Maeda and Ober could be a very good starting 5 next spring.  Add Paddack for a late summer replacement along with Winder and Varland, SWR and maybe Balazovic and I don't see the Twins needing to bring in any big names this winter.  

Not to put a downer on your wishes, but I think that was the idea this year, but then a few of those pitchers were derailed by injuries and poor performances. But I do agree with you that the 5 should be a strong starting core with Varland or Winder as our long-relief guy. Paddack I think will take that spot later next year, but its tough to say how his rehab might go. 

Didn't we have a writer here wanting to kick Ober to the pen? 

30 minutes ago, mac098 said:

Not to put a downer on your wishes, but I think that was the idea this year, but then a few of those pitchers were derailed by injuries and poor performances. But I do agree with you that the 5 should be a strong starting core with Varland or Winder as our long-relief guy. Paddack I think will take that spot later next year, but its tough to say how his rehab might go. 

There was a quote from Paddack in today's Strib.  He said this rehab was going a bit slower than his last TJ.  Was targeting a return in August.

1 hour ago, mac098 said:

I agree that if he can add 2-3 mph on his heater and maintain control, he could be ruthless with the FB. 

What if the added velocity leads to arm problems and more time on the IL? The solution could be more of the problem.

4 hours ago, David Maro said:

With Ober going 7+ innings was Rocco in the dugout? I guess the idea of Ober to the pen next year has changed. 

This was an amazing outing by Ober, but in reality the end result wasn't much different than most games by Twins starters. He had a low pitch count, faced 24 and only allowed 3 base runners and one wiped out by a DP (and the Twins extended the lead to 4 in the 6th). He was perfect in the 5th and the 6th (which was required to continue pitching). In the 7th he walked the first guy and the next two were right handed and the runner was removed by a DP, If Sheets can to bat he would have been removed. .  In the 8th he was removed when a runner got on and 91 pitches.

To pitch that deep into a game the starter has to basically be perfect after the 5th and have a low pitch count and the opposite handed batter can't come up with guys on.

I not complaining just or criticizing the Rocco, just pointing out how things usually work.

4 hours ago, roger said:

Gray, Mahle, Ryan, Maeda and Ober could be a very good starting 5 next spring.  Add Paddack for a late summer replacement along with Winder and Varland, SWR and maybe Balazovic and I don't see the Twins needing to bring in any big names this winter.  

I would still bring in another starting pitcher through free agency.

You see Gray, Mahle, Ryan, Maeda, Ober, Paddack, Winder, Varland, SWR and Balazovic

I see good, injured, decent, old & injured, injured and inexperienced, injured, injured and inexperienced, rookie, rookie and ineffective.

Almost everyone is either past their prime, coming into their prime or coming off an injury. They had nearly the same mix of pitchers this season and still gave 300 innings to Bundy, Archer and Smeltzer. It would be great to add someone like Kyle Gibson, Jameson Taillon or Noah Syndergaard to that group. They can move Maeda and/or Winder to the bullpen if needed to fit everyone on the roster.

Ober looked terrific and it was really fun to watch him pitch. It's too bad that he's missed so much time this season, because he's been very good when he's pitched. He could be a strong part of the rotation next year if they can keep him healthy.

Wallner is doing fine for his first taste of MLB, but the Ks still make me nervous. He whiffs a LOT. But he's also got the power to hit a ball that for most batters would be a towering fly ball to shallow right and send it out. I have no problem with seeing him compete for spot next season.