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james2334

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Everything posted by james2334

  1. james2334
    Great job by Smeltzer. I liked that Rocco took him out when he did and didn't let the big bats for the Royals get a another look at him. I did not like how Rosario came out of the box on the ball off the wall. I don't care if guys admire their home runs, but it better leave the ballpark if they stand and look at it. It would have probably still been a close play at second, but run hard out of the box! I also didn't like when Polanco argued strike 3 the other day on a check swing when the ball got past the catcher. You have a better chance of getting to first running than you do arguing a check swing. That stuff needs to get cleaned up.
  2. james2334
    I would like to see the Twins add Duran to the bullpen. I know he hasn't pitched above A ball and he's not on the 40, but he has a live arm, he hits upper 90's on his fastball and he has to be added to the 40 after the season anyway. We need something in the bullpen that's better than what's there now.
  3. james2334
    You do realize that the Twins are first in Home runs, first in RBI's, tied for first in Batting Average, tied for first in runs scored, first in slugging percentage, first in OPS, second in total hits, second in doubles, and have the fifth fewest strikeouts in all of baseball. But hey, there's always room for improvement right?
  4. james2334
    I'm pretty sure Trevor Bauer is the starting pitcher for the Indians tomorrow and not Jake Bauers. Although that would be very entertaining.
  5. james2334
    I knew as soon as I complained, they would activate Buxton within the hour. It was strategic.
  6. james2334
    I'm starting to wonder if we will see Buxton again before the All-Star break.
  7. james2334
    Great win, but if Buxton is going to continue to be out and Kepler is going to miss time they have to call up another outfielder, right? I mean they can't just run Cave, Austudillo, and Rosario out their with no back up on the bench? Am I the only one that sees a problem?
  8. james2334
    I don't know if I prefer watching one style over the other, but I do enjoy watching two teams with different styles of play squaring off. With analytics taking over the game a lot of teams are taking similar offensive approaches and it can be boring watching everyone strike out, walk, or hit a home run. I can appreciate the fact that KC has given the middle finger to the analytic approach to hitting and instead is committed to playing small ball. It hasn't worked out too well for them and in the era of the juiced ball I'm not sure what the ceiling is for that style of play, but sometimes if you zig when everyone else zags who knows?
  9. james2334
    For some reason KC is a tough match up for the Twins. It seems odd because the Twins are 23 games ahead of them in the standings, but all 9 games with them have been tough. The Twins have won 6 of the 9, however, KC has actually outscored them 42 to 40. I think the most telling stat is the errors, 12 errors for the Twins and only 3 for the Royals. I think this may have something to do with the difference in style between the two teams. The Twins emphasize power and extra base hits on offense, while on defense they are willing to live with weaker defenders on the infield while the Royals emphasize putting the ball in play, stealing bases, and pressuring the defense to make plays. I think over the long haul the Twins strategy is better, but I think the Royals can give teams with weaker defenders a lot of problems. Also the fact that Buxton only really played one full game out of the 9 can't be ignored.
  10. james2334
    I know that it doesn't really make sense for Rooker to come up for 3 days, assuming of course that Buxton is healthy enough to play by Tuesday, however it's just painful watching Cave hit right now. Almost as painful as watching Astudillo play right field.
  11. james2334
    Am I the only one who thinks that maybe Cave should go back down and Rooker take his place? Rooker seems to have earned a shot and Cave just doesn't look good right now.
  12. james2334
    I would agree that the offense can score plenty of runs without Buxton and at this point they could probably go the rest of the season without him and still win a weak Central Division. However, if they get to the playoffs and Jake Cave is in Center field I would expect it to be a short playoff run. I think this team with Buxton can play with anyone (assuming of course that they upgrade the bullpen at the trade deadline), I think if he's out it's a different story.
  13. james2334
    Byron Buxton is the most important everyday player on the team. There I said it. He is the best defensive player, the best base runner, and one of the few guys that can manufacture a run when the offense is struggling. The drop off from Buxton to Cave is huge, on both offense and defense, a bigger drop off than any other position. Add to that the fact that when he makes a great catch or turns a single into a double it seems to fire up the whole team. He's the one player we can't afford to lose for significant time.
  14. james2334
    If we look at this game rationally we would realize that Buxton, Garver, and Polanco are 3 of our best hitters against left handed pitching and none of them played. Their replacements went a combined 1 for 10 with 2 walks and a single. In normal circumstances Cave and Castro don't start against left handed pitching, but that's the situation the Twins were in. Ultimately, the game hinged on the starters and Gibson just didn't have the control. You can't walk that many guys and think you are going to hold that line-up down. Boston also had the advantage of an off day today which allowed them to not have to rest as many players.
  15. james2334
    I don't know that it's fair to dump on Cave after one game in which a lot of guys struggled to hit. Also, I agree on La Tortuga, he is some type of mythical creature that brings joy and winning with him wherever he goes.
  16. james2334
    I'll be the crazy fan that defends Sano. And my defense is this: It's a a long season, all hitters go through peaks and valleys. Hot streaks and cold streaks. Remember when Kepler was 0 for 21? Remember when Marwin couldn't hit anything for the entire month of April? Peaks and valleys. Also when you consider that Sano is an all or nothing hitter his valleys will look worse and are filled with strike outs. On the other side his peaks are filled with home runs and doubles. Right now he is in a valley, but I believe a peak is on the horizon. I'll also defend Garver on the pick off, even though it was a bone headed play. He was trying to get a good lead so that if the ball was put in play on the ground he would be able to beat a throw home. He wandered farther than he should have and he should have slide back into third. It was a good lesson for him to learn in a regular season game. Now he knows not to do that again.
  17. james2334
    I would guess they call up Smeltzer. They need someone who can give them innings if Gibby has a short start. What I love about Kepler is he seems to have his biggest games when everyone else is struggling. He's not one of those guys who compiles hits and home runs in 12-2 wins and then goes ofer in the one run nailbiters.
  18. james2334
    Somebody please tell Polanco that he is one of the best hitters in the American League and to stop sacrificing his at bats in key situations at the end of the game. He has a much better chance of getting a hit than anyone else on the team. Paul Molitor is not the coach anymore, swing away!
  19. james2334
    I made the comment because I feel like Sano has been the target of a lot of criticism for striking out a lot, when the reality is that every player strikes out. I don't really feel bad about the Cruz at bat, that stuff just happens. I found it interesting that after the game the Royal's catcher said that they threw Cruz the same cutter three times because they thought he wasn't seeing the pitch very well. I guess I thought the check swing was actually a swing, but it would have been nice for him to get another shot. As for Sano I do have some concern about his defense. He's committed 3 errors in the homestand and they have been factors in both losses. He makes some of the tough plays, but seems to lose focus sometimes on the more routine plays. He needs to pull it together over there, because the Twins are better with his bat in the line-up.
  20. james2334
    This was a strange game. Normally when you outhit the other team and out homer the other team, and your starting pitcher out pitches the other starter you win. But, since its baseball, sometimes you don't. Perez pitched really well, but had a tough luck inning where everything KC hit found a hole. He probably would have completed the 7th without giving up a run if the ball doesn't bounce off Rosie's glove. It was a tough play, but the outfield prides itself on making those types of plays. I was wondering if it had been Sano that struck out on 3 pitches to end the game, with a check swing, instead of Nelson Cruz, would the torches and pitchforks have come out?
  21. james2334
    While you can complain about the speed of the Twins players, I think it is a result of putting more emphasis on other areas such as power. By contrast the Royals put a ton of emphasis on having players with speed and the ability to steal bases. While the Twins were signing Nelson Cruz, the Royals were signing Billy Hamilton. So far the Twins have scored 411 runs to the Royals 288. I''ll take power over speed every day of the week.
  22. james2334
    Fielders at all positions make errors, it happens no matter how good they are. Gonzo's drop was brutal, but his catch in the 9th was outstanding and I'm not sure very many others make that catch including Kepler. That catch changed the whole 9th inning. As for Schoop getting thrown out, I would take that chance with two outs every time the fielder just made a good play. On another note the Twins should have guests in the booth more often. The broadcast was much more entertaining, especially Johnny Bench.
  23. james2334
    The Twins have 94 games left. If they play no better than .500 ball the rest of the way that would be 47 more wins, which would give us a 93 win season. Prior to the season I would have been very happy if they finished with 93 wins, however 100 wins seems more and more plausible every day.
  24. james2334
    I would disagree with this assessment. Currently, all but 10 teams are within 5 games of the second wild card spot. Most of those teams still think they are contending. So right now most teams are going to take a wait and see approach to trading to see what happens the next month and as the market developes more players will become available. Because of the huge separation at the top this year most fringe teams will find themselves either chasing a long shot bid at the second wild card or selling and the smart teams will become sellers. I could even see a scenario in the AL this year where all 5 playoff spots are pretty much decided by trade deadline. That would leave 2/3 of the American league as sellers. Patience will pay off in the end. The Twins have an excellent farm system and the prospects to make deals happen. Falvey and Levine have shown themselves to be aggressive traders at the deadline in the past and I believe this year will be no different. They can make a good deal without emptying the farm system. I don't want them to overpay and there are certain prospects they should hang on to especially elite pitchers. Looking at this organization now, this year shouldn't be a one year run at a world series, this year should be the first year of a multi-year run at several world series titles. Let's do this!
  25. james2334
    This scenario could never happen, the health insurance cost for the pitchers would be too astronomical.
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