Twins Game Recap (9/29): Twins Lose Finale, Win Home Run Race

Glad they got the HR record. What's the latest on Arreaz?

It would have been nice to tie the Twins record for most wins, but I'll take the team home run record, especially because we beat those guys on the east coast. Now, let's see if we can do it our series. I'm surprisingly optimistic.

I don’t know if I would call Stewart’s inning “excellent”. It was efficient. But he gave up 3 rockets that found gloves.

Is Graterol of the pitch to contact school, only at higher speeds?

No matter how long it lasts..... and it will last about, at minimum, at least almost a year for sure, and maybe much longer, depending on what becomes of the "ball"..... for the Minnesota Twins, our Minnesota Twins, to be the MLB all time record holder in Home Runs for a season is truly something, and not a throw away, and not connected to what may or may not happen in the Play-offs this year, at all. So whether one discounts it and doesn't care, it stands on its own, and it is a great achievement that no other team in the history of MLB has ever done, including the Yankees!

Grade 1 ankle sprain, Twins have til Friday to set their roster. I’m going with Arraez being good to go. Keep hitting more homers than the Yankees and more importantly scoring more runs per game. Go Twins!!

Best possible outcome for Arraez and the Twins.  A 'grade one ankle sprain' ranges from 5 to 14 days to recover.  There will be slight instability, pain, swelling, joint stiffness and trouble walking... *fingers crossed for a FAST and FULL recovery!

Is Graterol of the pitch to contact school, only at higher speeds?

 

No matter how long it lasts..... and it will last about, at minimum, at least almost a year for sure, and maybe much longer, depending on what becomes of the "ball"..... for the Minnesota Twins, our Minnesota Twins, to be the MLB all time record holder in Home Runs for a season is truly something, and not a throw away, and not connected to what may or may not happen in the Play-offs this year, at all. So whether one discounts it and doesn't care, it stands on its own, and it is a great achievement that no other team in the history of MLB has ever done, including the Yankees!

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

Luis, get well soon. We got time.

Glad we got the home run record. I don't know why. I'm just glad. This team kind of deserves it.

If they loosen the strings on the ball next year, who knows, the record may stick for a couple years.I am hoping it is a good omen for beating the Yanks in round 1

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

Gerrit Cole had low K numbers until he was 27. 

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

Although I guess it is related, I am not srprised at the low Ks, I am surprised about how much solid contact, and contact in general batters are making. And bottom orders, too. I know how old he is. It still surprises me. Lots of contact.

Best possible outcome for Arraez and the Twins. There will be slight instability, pain, swelling, joint stiffness and trouble walking...

That sounds like a good description of a normal day in my life.

I'm so happy the Twins got the HR record. Screw the Yankees.

Of course, since the Yankees didn't get it, no one is talking about it but that's just another reason to hate ESPN(Y).

It would have been nice to tie the '65 squad, but I have no regrets about this team. They've been tremendously fun to watch all year. It's a really easy team to like, and you never feel completely out of any game.

On to the playoffs!

Based on what we saw from the pitching staff this final week: I think Gib has earned a spot; Perez by default will earn a spot; I don't think Graterol should be on the roster. He needs to be a k-man with that blinding speed, but he's not and the Yanks hitters will eat him up. He's young, he'll learn, but he's not ready. Stewart and Romero...no. Thorpe...barely. Stashak, Smeltzer and Dobnak...yes because all 3 can go more than 1 inning...in fact those 3 could combine easily for an entire game. Rogers, LIttell and Romo for sure.

I'd like to see the Twins carry 12 pitchers and 13 position players...mainly because of the tenuous condition of several of our position players. Certainly 12 pitchers should be enough.

I think we can play with the Yankees. We just don't want to get into a shooting match with them as far as scoring runs. The 14-12 and 10-7 type games won't go well for us IMO. But I think we can beat them. Heavens knows, we are way overdue!!!

Looking over the roster again, if they take 12, I can see both Thorpe and Stewart out. Harper also. Thorpe and Stewart have pretty identical numbers except in the k category where Thorpe has a lot more. Does that give him an advantage? And will Twins elect to keep Perez, despite his awful numbers lately? If they go with 13 (please no), then one of these guys makes the cut.

Just curious as to whether Baldelli has said or given any hints as to the postseason pitching plans. Injuries, more than pretty much anything else, are going to determine which position players are active.

I don't trust Graterol at all at Yankee Stadium, I wouldn't have him on the roster. 

If Perez gets in, it will be because of tenure, not because he has pitched in any protectable way the last few months. All I saw yesterday was a guy who gave up line drive after line drive and couldn’t find a way to close out batters in a very weak lineup. Sure, he was ok in the middle innings of his start but Rocco has no way of predicting what version of Perez he will get. Same thing with Gibson; any choice in his direction will be tenure-based, given how often he has found himself in the middle of 30 pitch, glacier slow innings. Neither of these guys give any confidence that they can handle the Yankees hitters.

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to Graterol yesterday. It was like he didn’t trust his heater. Smalley was nearly begging him to throw high fastballs to (I think) Mejia, because he hadn’t been able to catch up to high and tight all series and Brusdar kept pumping in low sliders one after another. Was he told to work on the slider and forget about the results?? Seemed really odd that a guy known for triple-digit heat was throwing so few fastballs.

Finishing 40 games above .500 is quite an accomplishment for our team!

Let's hope Luiz recovers quickly and the bats heat up.

Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to Graterol yesterday. It was like he didn’t trust his heater. Smalley was nearly begging him to throw high fastballs to (I think) Mejia, because he hadn’t been able to catch up to high and tight all series and Brusdar kept pumping in low sliders one after another. Was he told to work on the slider and forget about the results?? Seemed really odd that a guy known for triple-digit heat was throwing so few fastballs.

I think thats correct. Nobody wanted extra innings. So he was probably told to work on the slider...no matter what the outcome. but he isn't ready for a post season spot. Clearly hitters have had no problem hitting his heater. Time will help him