stringer bell

Nice play by Cave. Good strategy to bring him in on defense.

BTW, Dick and LaTroy talked about Sano and Berrios being teammates. I know for sure that Buxton and Berrios were on the same team in Cedar Rapids.

Bad head cold, according to Dick and LaTroy.

Rooker has played quite a bit of right field, while Gordon logged a couple of innings.

Gordon had another good game. I do think his speed is welcome on a club that, besides Buxton, is full of plodders on the bases and in the field. Garver’s numbers, if projected to a full season, are among the best amongst catchers. Still not a fan of his defense.

I am becoming convinced that Nick Gordon has earned at least a utility role for the 2022 Twins. If the choice would be between Arraez and Gordon, I like Gordon’s skill set better.

As Tom said, the Twins bullpen has gone through a lot of players this year and most likely will again in 2022. They would be well advised to have fewer out of options guys than they have in years past so that they can be moved back and forth to AAA. Of the guys in that category this year, I believe Juan Minaya and Caleb Thielbar performed well enough to be brought back for sure. Duffey and Rogers will be in their last arb year. Alcala looks like he has turned the corner and might even be a closer candidate. The rest of the guys should be interchangeable.

Sean Poppen got his first MLB victory pitching in middle relief for the D-Backs. Arizona rallied for five runs in seventh to give Poppen a W.

After watching the Twins get nine runners on base with only six outs and score only two runs tonight, I would like to submit offensive inefficiency as something that went wrong. Considering the team OPS, they should have scored more runs, part of that is a lack of team speed and part of that might be lack of execution. My thought was that the team was snakebit—they made crucial mistakes at the worst possible times and were dreadful in game situations, extra innings and shortened doubleheaders. Some of those things have regressed to the mean, but the damage was done.

Not a good team this year with RISP.

I think it is important to get calls right and replay helps more than it hurts. I do agree that with some others that perhaps replay challenges could and should be tweaked, but I think video replay is here to stay.

Ho-hum, another Columé save.

In the end, another game where the Twins really weren’t efficient scoring runs. I did like to see the good gambles base running.

C ‘mon Dick, he’s not a pinch-hitter.

Keep Buxton in the game and move Gordon to second.

Four hours, with a Columé inning upcoming.

Three hour and 45 minutes for eight innings.

Anyway, I've been watching but away from the site. Kepler with a couple of soft hits, he probably deserves a bunch more of them given his low BABIP . Buxton limited to a single on a sure double and then doesn't advance to third on a single up the middle. No harm there, but rather comical. Coulombe gets checked for "sticky stuff" when he hasn't thrown a pitch to the plate. Weird! Now he gets to hit and fans. Really long ball game between two non-contenders.

Bear claw needs to throw more strikes. Free passes with a lead gotta upset the crew in the dugout.

I will say that Maggi is still on the 40-man roster and that there are still three series remaining. Any of Arraez, Donaldson, Simmons, or Sano could be shut down for that last week. It wouldn't surprise me if Maggi got another chance in the the final two series. Baldelli played to win against someone contending for a playoff spot, as he should have.

Strike four to Garver.

Miserable year for Kep, for sure. Question, did Buxton running cost Polanco an at-bat? Some guys are more distracted than others by base runners moving.

At least Moonlight Graham got to play in the field. Former Twin Ryne Harper was in a similar situation until he made his debut with the Twins. He had been recalled by the Mariners but didn't pitch and was optioned back to the minors without having played in a game.

Grossman is an interesting player. He's added parts to his game in his late 20s and early 30s. When he broke in, including with the Twins, his strength was getting on base. In Oakland, he showed himself a capable corner outfielder and now he has added power (home runs) and base stealing to his resume. Either he or Jonathan Schoop might be Detroit's MVP.

Brandon Waddell is back in the majors, recalled by the Cardinals. He's also pitched for three teams this year.