stringer bell

Attaboy José!!!

Abreu is a tough out right now. That he only got a single wasn’t too bad, but now they’ve tied the score. I thought if they could hold the lead there, Duran could close it out.

I think this is the ballgame right here.

I’ve enjoyed Perkins’ commentary, but much like all the analysts, I will probably get a little tired of him after a while.

Polanco must like being 29.

If I’m going to compare Pagán to someone, I think Hansel Robles would be a good comp. Good fastball, but not enough command. Robles was just DFAed by the Red Sox.

Just enough!!!!!

Arraez hasn’t hit the ball hard yet this game, but he’s 3-3.

Pagán alert!!

Odd home run for Jimenez. Must have hit the barrel and really high in the air.

Gordon hit a hard grounder that the first baseman couldn’t handle. I thought it would be called a hit, but the ball rolled into short right. Gordon thought he might make second, slipped and was thrown out trying to retreat to first.

One more good inning of hitting could get Lynn out of there. I’ve seen him settle down after rough starts before.

Too bad they couldn’t add another run or more with Polanco and Buxton up, but 3-1 is better than 1-1.

3-1. Keep it up offense!!

For one at-bat at least!!!

Gave the run back. Technically it is unearned, but it is all on Ryan.

I don’t know what Kepler was thinking. Definitely should have stopped and then the worst that could happen would be a force out. Maybe he thought he could get past Anderson.

Can they charge Kepler for running out of the baseline?

Sure looks like a green Angie Harmon.

I’m going to predict a good game for Jeffers. Hopefully his thumb is feeling better now.

I really disagree with this. The Twins rotation isn’t top tier because it is both fragile and brittle. Sure, if they have have a big lead, give them a third or even fourth turn through the order, but if the game is close, the only two I trust to be facing the top of the order are Gray and (most of the time) Ryan. The rotation has substantial injury histories plus small margins for error. This necessitates a lot of use for the bullpen. In reality, no one in the ‘pen has been overworked. In avoiding using their top relievers too much, a lot of innings have been given to guys who aren’t great options. I’ve said since May that the Twins need to add probably two high-leverage arms. What I’ve seen since May only makes me more sure that this is the course they should take.

Agreed, I think there might be something not right with Kopech. I think his highest velocity was 95 and many were in the 92-94 range, now just average fastballs. Actually, the bottom six hit five homers that accounted for all eight runs. Almost 2000 feet in the five long balls, none of them were cheap. At the beginning of the season, I said I thought Kirilloff's floor was Will Clark defense and Mark Grace offense while his ceiling was Will Clark offense and Mark Grace defense. I still believe that to be the case. Adding AK and Miranda to the lineup makes a pretty good lineup much better and deeper.

Nick Gordon probably has proven himself to be a major league player in his time with the Twins. That is, if he were DFAed, he would definitely be picked up by someone. He's a good player to have on the team because he has some speed and can play multiple positions. HIs hitting has progressed to league average at this point. I don't know if he played every day or even in a strict platoon if he would sustain his offense, but he has done well in the role he has with the 2022 Twins. The problem, or perhaps more accurately the limiting factor, is that Gordon isn't a major league quality shortstop. He'd have the chance to be a regular somewhere if he could be trusted to line up at short for 130-150 games, but the evidence is there that he can't. When Correa first went down (fingers), the Twins brought up Royce Lewis and plugged him in at shortstop. When Correa went down again (COVID), the Twins brought up Jermaine Palacios and plugged him in at short. That says volumes about Gordon's ability to man shortstop on more than an occasional basis. It is a closer call in center field, but Gilberto Celestino is the preferred backup when Buxton isn't in the lineup. To summarize, Gordon's improved hitting and ability to be a serviceable defender in the outfield has cemented himself a a major leaguer, his inability to defend well enough at two key defensive positions will most likely preclude him for ever being a regular in the majors. He's certainly not a failure, but he most likely won't ever hold a regular position.

Too many walks and home runs. He has to have command of two pitches and I don't think he does at this point. I do agree that we've seen the extreme in the past couple of weeks, but he seemed to get extraordinarily lucky in some earlier outings. He wouldn't be bad pitching in the 6th-7th, but I want no part of him being the primary closer.

I had thought that Cruz might fall off a cliff in his hitting, but it seems he is slowly diminishing. He is putting up near league average numbers, but the slumps seem a bit more frequent and a bit deeper and the hot streaks are a bit less caliente. In terms of production, the Twins can get that out of Miranda, Kirilloff and Arraez.