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joemama

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Everything posted by joemama

  1. joemama
    Totally agree on the mental toll it takes out of the team. That series (or was it two?) in late June against Cleveland was really when the season turned. Before that, we had confidence we could weather some bad fortune. After that, we felt like most of the bullpen was operating with smoke & mirrors. There were stretches when we still had hope, but the confidence was gone.
  2. joemama
    He seems like a great candidate for long relief on an MLB team, allowing a team to stretch out higher upside starters at AAA. If I recall, the Twins last year opened the season with Winder in long relief. In hindsight, maybe it would have been better for him to stretch out at AAA and let Smeltzer be the MLB long relief option. Wish him the best!
  3. joemama
    I hope someone signs him to a cheap minor league contract and lets him see if he can make it back. I'm fine if that's MN, but it would be better for him if it isn't. Maybe Miami? I've also always thought he would benefit from adopting more knee bend in his batting stance and a shorter, more compact swing; Lord knows he has enough strength to make that work. But what do I know?!
  4. joemama
    Is it a little odd that the Marlins, a team with offense in short supply and tradng Lopez specifically to add it, would include a fringy top 100 IF prospect who per Fangraphs is only a year away? Maybe he's more like 2-3 years out.
  5. joemama
    Good idea; O'dell certainly has upside and a potential "been there" mentor in Buxton. It's all about the asking price. Like Dman, I wouldn't give much in the way of pitching prospects. And I assume Falvey & Levine are inquiring with most teams about potential trades involving RH-hitting OFs.
  6. joemama
    8/15 Update: Kepler is 3-3 so far tonight. I guess he's ready now!
  7. joemama
    I'm losing (maybe have lost) faith in Baldelli to manage this team. I wonder if the players have. His quick hook and overuse of the bullpen (which includes ANY use of The Pagan Sacrifice) has to frustrate everyone. Bundy got pulled after 5 innings, 65 pitches, 2 hits, 1 walk. WTF?! And why wasn't Kepler forced to prove he was able to hit in a rehab assignment? He clearly isn't ready. But Rocco still pinch-hit him. Stupid. Just stupid. (w/ credit for "The Pagan Sacrifice" moniker to another fan who posted it several weeks ago.)
  8. joemama
    Starters going 4-5 only works if they're followed by guys who can go 2-3. The standard in the regular season should be to get 7 innings from the SP+1st reliever, then two high-leverage 1-inning guys. That changes in the playoffs because there are more days off. With this rotation, and Baldelli's quick hook, outings like Sands' effort on Sunday need to be much more common. More Sands/Smeltzer/A.Sanchez and minimal to no Pagan.
  9. joemama
    I remember Duffey for his comments about the vile Yankee fans following the 1-game off in NY a few years ago. He won a place in heart for that, and I hope he can re-establish something somewhere. As for Pagan, it seems the only times he misses bats are when hitters chase breaking balls out of the zone. His fastball has little to no movement. Crushable.
  10. joemama
    Yep, it did indeed need to happen. I will always hold Duffey in high regard for his comments about the vile Yankee fans. That won him a place in my heart. But his velo and stuff just aren't there any more. Wishing him all best
  11. joemama
    While it isn't good to leave in the middle of the season, you have to take a desired opportunity when that opportunity arises. The college baseball season is shorter and their schedule far less demanding. Even with recruiting travel demands of college coaches, I'd guess that MLB coaches spend a lot more time on the road. What's shocking for me to learn here is that LSU can out-pay an MLB team. I know the SEC is loaded financially, but still.
  12. joemama
    As others have stated, the most obvious is Celestino - needs to go play - and Godoy goes if Sanchez is ready. If Sanchez isn't ready, he can go on the 10-day IL retroactive to 4/21 if necessary...but it sounds like he's close. Larnach goes when Kirilloff comes back. BUT I hope Kirilloff stays in AAA until he's mentally over the hump of not thinking about that wrist, which I'm guessing will take anywhere from a several days to a few weeks. If Larnach is raking at that point, they could consider sending out Garlick and trying to find a way to get everyone in the lineup regularly (more regularly than Garlick and Celestino currently get in). A healthy team creating a roster crunch is a great problem.
  13. joemama
    Hey - we finished a series with the Reds and Buxton didn't get plunked! The Reds' two plunkings of Lord Byron had a serious impact on the fortunes of our Twins.
  14. joemama
    Interesting read, but with the way Baldelli likes to rest players and the depth options in Arraez, Cave, and Jeffers, this lineup is going to have as many combinations as a Rubik's cube.
  15. joemama
    Dobber's stuff always seems to play, it just doesn't play deep into games. It seems to me that at least part of the reason the Twins didn't pursue Odo or Rich Hill again, and the reason Dobnak wasn't viewed as a great option for the 5th starter, is that none consistently pitch deep into games. Consider how frequently these guys pitched at least 6 innings over the past two years: Berrios 27 times in 44 starts = 61% ... 23 of 32 = 72% in 2019. Pineda 16 in 31 = 52% Maeda 18 in 37 = 49% (2019 w/ LAD) ... but 8 of 11 = 73% last year Rich Hill 7 in 21 = 33% (2019 w/ LAD) Odorizzi 11 in 34 = 32% ... if you use 2018 & 19 it's 20 in 62 = 32%! Dobnak 2 in 15 = 13% There are a couple reasons guys struggle to go deep in games ... they struggle the 3rd time thru the lineup and/or their pitch count gets high. For Dobnak to be a quality starter, he needs to figure out which of these is his bigger problem and solve it. The slider may be his ticket!
  16. joemama
    It's likely a combination of the right pitching coach and the right player mindset that flipped the switch in his career. Sometimes we need setbacks in life to re-set our frame of mind and willingness to truly give a different approach a try.
  17. joemama
    Bauer's 2020 numbers were assisted by the generally weak-hitting teams of the NL Central. Plus I'm not sure he's a good clubhouse presence. Most of the guys on the "target" list (maybe all except Fiers & Chatwood, but including Odo) are interesting to me and have shown they can be very good when healthy. I'd rather have two of them for $15-25MM combined than Bauer for $25-30MM.
  18. joemama
    The pitching was good, but it was also reflective of generally weak hitting across both the AL and NL Central divisions. That lack of hitting showed up in the playoffs: Minnesota 0-2, 2 runs scored; Cleveland 0-2, 12 runs scored...against the Yankees, who are out; Chi Sox 1-2, 11 runs scored...against the A's, who are out; Chi Cubs 0-2, 1 run scored; St. Louis 1-2, 16 runs scored...against the Padres, who are out. Cincinnati 0-2, 0 runs scored; and Milwaukee 0-2, 2 runs scored. TOTAL 2-14 and 44 runs (2.75 per game). Against teams still playing, the Twins, Reds, and Brewers went 0-6 combined and scored 4 runs. Brutal. I think we (our Twins) can be better - several guys were struggling down the stretch - but there's clearly a need for some changes.
  19. joemama
    How excited were you when we signed Matt Wisler? I think our guys know what they're doing. We have four clear starters for the post-season in Maeda, Berrios, Pineda, and Hill. If Odo is ready, we're at 5. That's a big if. Likely need to someone else ready in case Odo isn't. That's probably Dobnak, unless his struggles haven't been worked out. If they haven't, maybe it's Bailey. If he's no good tonight, it's Plan C.
  20. joemama
    You don't start testing unproven prospects in the middle of a pennant race when you have a proven producer who's healthy. Yes, Eddie makes stupid outs on the basepaths - though from what I saw and heard about the one today, it helped secure the run by drawing the throw to third instead of home. He also delivered with the bat. Is his OBP worse this year, despite the improved walk rate? Yes. Kepler, Garver, and Polanco are also down - you want to dump them too? No, you don't. And Eddie IS heating up. After the season, if you're convinced Kiriloff or Larnach will step up - maybe. But don't forget how long it took Buxton to figure out hitting at the MLB-level. Be careful what you wish for.
  21. joemama
    As far as comparing to Berrios & Odorizzi, the jury is still out on Maeda. AL vs. NL matters. Facing a pitcher (not named Baumgarner) at least twice per 9 IP has to be worth 1.5 or so K's/9, plus improve your ERA.
  22. joemama
    Jack played for the Blues; Dan played for the Reds: https://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/lloyd-bentsens-mic-drop-moment-1988-vp-debate-58255800 The Blues won this moment, but the Reds won the season.
  23. joemama
    Agree on your comment on the Pressley trade, but Nick Anderson is far from being Falvey's David Ortiz. Anderson has had one good year. That's like comparing Dan Quayle to Jack Kennedy.
  24. joemama
    8; missed Polanco and the Bonus. And YOU, dear author, got our corner outfielders positions wrong! And if you'd started with the DH, then the numbers would have corresponded to their numbered positions in the scorebook. ;-) It's amazing how similar some of the stat lines are. Thanks for doing this.
  25. joemama
    So...you think this is final? Me thinks this never ends! :-0 (<< that's my face, turned sideways.)
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