raindog

I feel like he's stepped up to a new level of bad this Spring, but maybe I've blocked out too much of last year.

So far he's pitched 1.1 innings this spring and given up 9 earned runs. I'm just impressed at this point. I didn't know that was possible.

Looks like it still shows up on the front page. Just not when viewing the forum page. I'm dumb.

I thought that was a good feature. Now you have to go to each forum directly. Unless I'm doing something wrong.

KC's top three starters are RHP so that's probably accurate. I'm guessing Kirilloff won't be 100% by opening day so that might alter the lineup.

Something interesting I discovered on Fielding Bible and Statcast...despite playing 1B last year for the first time in his career, he was phenomenal at it. In only 215 innings, he had 5 runs saved according to DRS which ranked 5th among first basemen. Statcast had him at 4 Outs Above Average and 3 runs prevented. Both tied for 2nd among all first basemen. Analytical teams like the Astros have put a surprising emphasis on 1B defense in recent years. Looks like the Twins are taking it seriously, as well. EDIT: Oh and his UZR/150 was 13.9. Easily the highest at 1B. Another thought...with the shift limitations, a 1B that has more range might be a big bonus as well.

Having a Jeopardy contestant on your trivia team is basically cheating, John. Btw, I think you should post these Tik Toks on Instagram too.

I like the idea of starting him at CF and letting Buxton DH when facing LHP. Taylor isn’t great against lefties or anything but has a career .722 OPS against them. Not bad when considering his elite defense.

He’s a great CF, unlike Kepler who doesn’t play there anymore. And yes, insurance for Buxton is a very good idea.

Acquire McCutchen or someone similar and they’ll have an awesome lineup against LHP. C Vázquez 1B Miranda 2B Polanco SS Correa 3B Farmer LF McCutchen/Garlick/random vet CF Buxton RF Gallo DH, I’m not sure. Could put Celestino in LF and McCutchen at DH. Or one of the lefties. Or Arraez but I like giving his knees a rest against LHP.

Bring him home Twins.

I’d take the chance if I was the Twins. But I imagine the Mets will renegotiate something.

Right on the money. Their 285 million offer shows that they weren’t serious.

I can’t believe people think Arraez would get it done for Lopez. I’m even more surprised people think that would be a bad deal for the Twins.

Ted reported it as fact in the tweet this article is based on. That’s what I’m referring to. I’m not saying it wasn’t worthy of being posted here or that you’re calling it fact.

Has Ted broken any kind of news before? I’m very skeptical.

People talking about his career numbers prior to this year are ignoring the fact that this is his first year in the bullpen. He has the stuff to break dominant out of the pen and was for the majority of this year. Hopefully he can get back on track with us.

I think him being 23 years old had a lot to do with it. Just see what he can do in AA at this point. But he sure looks like a bust.

I can't wait to buy a Keirsey shirsey.

Attempting to rehab an elbow issue works splendidly once again. They should keep trying that.

I mean, it would hurt, but the Twins would still be getting a deal here. I think the Twins would definitely do this. I doubt it's enough for the Reds.

If Balozovic's struggles have anything to do with his knee, this is bordering on negligent treatment of him.

Man, you can't underestimate what a good 7 inning start does for the bullpen. Pretty much fully rested with Gray on the bump to start. I like the Twins chances to sweep this series.

It continues to baffle me that they're letting Balazovic pitch through his knee issues. It can't be good for his confidence, and I'm always skeptical that playing through something like that isn't making the injury worse.

Can we get the bullpen usage spreadsheet added to the Twins Resources page? That's such a cool thing you guys do, but you have to find the previous day's game recap to see it. I also think it would be worth including in the game threads, more so than the recaps.