2019 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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per Sid:

Twins draft update

Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey assessed how his 2019 draft picks are faring as they start their pro careers.

“Some of those guys have gotten off to great starts,” he said. “A young guy like [third-round pick, No. 90 overall] Spencer Steer went out to Elizabethton and got off to a great start and has already been promoted up to Cedar Rapids. [First-round pick, No. 13 overall] Keoni Cavaco started out down in the GCL [Gulf Coast League] and has had a little bit of an injury issue early on, nothing major, but we’re slowing him down to make sure he’s in a good place. [First-round pick, No. 39 overall] Matt Wallner, the local kid [from Forest Lake], has played really well out of the gates here.”

Steer, a shortstop, is hitting .328 with seven RBI and 13 runs scored in 15 games since being called up to Class A Cedar Rapids.

Cavaco, also a shortstop, is back in the lineup and hitting .175 through 18 games with the GCL Twins, including 26 strikeouts in 63 at-bats.

Wallner is having better luck in Elizabethon. The outfielder is hitting .289 with three homers, 19 RBI and 22 runs in 37 games.

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-...led-up-by-quarterback-kirk-cousins/513527722/

Win Twins!!
 

per Sid:

Jottings

• On Wednesday, Jose Berrios became only the sixth pitcher in baseball history to strike out 11 batters while completing seven innings or less using 81 pitches or fewer. Berrios allowed only two hits in defeating the Marlins 2-1. The other pitchers to accomplish the feat are: Blake Snell earlier this season for Tampa Bay, Chris Sale last season with Boston, Greg Maddux with Atlanta in 2000 and Matt Perisho with Texas and Kevin Millwood with Atlanta in 1999.

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-...led-up-by-quarterback-kirk-cousins/513527722/

Win Twins!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Sid:

Jottings

• On Wednesday, Jose Berrios became only the sixth pitcher in baseball history to strike out 11 batters while completing seven innings or less using 81 pitches or fewer. Berrios allowed only two hits in defeating the Marlins 2-1. The other pitchers to accomplish the feat are: Blake Snell earlier this season for Tampa Bay, Chris Sale last season with Boston, Greg Maddux with Atlanta in 2000 and Matt Perisho with Texas and Kevin Millwood with Atlanta in 1999.

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-...led-up-by-quarterback-kirk-cousins/513527722/

Win Twins!!
Click to expand...

Rocco pulling Berrios at 81 pitches led directly to yesterday's loss. Aside from worrying he would hurt himself batting/running the bases, I don't get it.
 

howeda7 said:
Rocco pulling Berrios at 81 pitches led directly to yesterday's loss. Aside from worrying he would hurt himself batting/running the bases, I don't get it.
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Pineda pitched yesterday.
 

bigticket1 said:
Pineda pitched yesterday.
Click to expand...

follow along ----
Here's the scenario Howie is referencing:
Let's say Berrios goes 8 or 9 innings in his start on Wednesday. the bullpen is used differently. as a result, Tayor Rogers does not have to pitch on Wednesday.
That means Rogers is fresh on Thursday, and he comes into the game instead of Dyson.
Twins Win - everyone is happy.

I am not one who nitpicks on Baldelli - but putting a guy into that situation who was running on 3 or 4 hours sleep, and had to travel during the day, is just hard to defend. BTW, that is confirmed - Dyson only got about 3 or 4 hours sleep the night before. considering that Baldelli is always talking about the importance of rest, and keeping players rested, his decision Thursday is weird.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
follow along ----
Here's the scenario Howie is referencing:
Let's say Berrios goes 8 or 9 innings in his start on Wednesday. the bullpen is used differently. as a result, Tayor Rogers does not have to pitch on Wednesday.
That means Rogers is fresh on Thursday, and he comes into the game instead of Dyson.
Twins Win - everyone is happy.

I am not one who nitpicks on Baldelli - but putting a guy into that situation who was running on 3 or 4 hours sleep, and had to travel during the day, is just hard to defend. BTW, that is confirmed - Dyson only got about 3 or 4 hours sleep the night before. considering that Baldelli is always talking about the importance of rest, and keeping players rested, his decision Thursday is weird.
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I'm more in favor of saving our ace's arm in a 7-0 game...if we're going to overlook Dyson just plain pitching bad, our offense scoring only 4 runs against a horrible Miami team in 12 innings, and Poppen getting rocked in that previous 7-0 ballgame I guess we can start blaming the manager for pulling Berrios.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
follow along ----
Here's the scenario Howie is referencing:
Let's say Berrios goes 8 or 9 innings in his start on Wednesday. the bullpen is used differently. as a result, Tayor Rogers does not have to pitch on Wednesday.
That means Rogers is fresh on Thursday, and he comes into the game instead of Dyson.
Twins Win - everyone is happy.

I am not one who nitpicks on Baldelli - but putting a guy into that situation who was running on 3 or 4 hours sleep, and had to travel during the day, is just hard to defend. BTW, that is confirmed - Dyson only got about 3 or 4 hours sleep the night before. considering that Baldelli is always talking about the importance of rest, and keeping players rested, his decision Thursday is weird.
Click to expand...

I agree with tmvander, save Berrios's arm. If he had the no no going still then keep him in but he lost that in the 5 (i think ), save his arm. If its a 1-2 run game then let him keep going but not worth it in a blow out. even with a below average bullpen you should be able to close out a 7-0 game.
 

bigticket1 said:
Pineda pitched yesterday.
Click to expand...

Yes. But Rogers should not have been needed in a game that was 7-0 in the 9th. If he let Berrios go, he could have finished or at least went 8. Then Rogers pitches the 9th yesterday from the beginning instead of trying to have Dyson do it fresh off the plane.

FWIW, he also pulled Pineda with a low pitch count, but he was getting hit pretty hard and having good luck, so I can understand that one.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
follow along ----
Here's the scenario Howie is referencing:
Let's say Berrios goes 8 or 9 innings in his start on Wednesday. the bullpen is used differently. as a result, Tayor Rogers does not have to pitch on Wednesday.
That means Rogers is fresh on Thursday, and he comes into the game instead of Dyson.
Twins Win - everyone is happy.

I am not one who nitpicks on Baldelli - but putting a guy into that situation who was running on 3 or 4 hours sleep, and had to travel during the day, is just hard to defend. BTW, that is confirmed - Dyson only got about 3 or 4 hours sleep the night before. considering that Baldelli is always talking about the importance of rest, and keeping players rested, his decision Thursday is weird.
Click to expand...

And even with Rogers having pitched Tuesday he could have used Romo for a second inning or Harper or even May.
 



howeda7 said:
And even with Rogers having pitched Tuesday he could have used Romo for a second inning or Harper or even May.
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Yesterday would have been a great time to use May. They need to find out if they can get anything out of him, or they need to just DFA him and move on.
 

I still wouldn't chalk up our loss yesterday to that decision. Guys have to get the job done is the bottom line. 7-0 you shouldn't need your closer. 4-1 you should be able to get through an inning in 1 game without using him too.
 





Well, the Twins used Trevor May on Friday. He threw one pitch - got an out - and they pulled him.

Bottom line - in a tight situation, the only pitchers who Baldelli trusts right now are Rogers and Romo. After Dyson struggled again Friday, I would argue Rocco has to give him a couple of days off to clear his head and get acclimated to the new team.
 

Post game interview with Romo was interesting. Pretty engaging and endearing dude. Said he’s a little out there, but he also just wants to win. Said it felt good to be wanted. Praised the Twins clubhouse environment heavily. Pretty likable, from what I saw.
 

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Win Twins!!
 

In Saturday's game between Arizona and Washington, the Nationals were getting pounded, so they put Brian Dozier in to pitch. he had to pitch against Eduardo Escobar - one of his best friends - and Escobar hit a HR off him. Apparently, both of them were laughing. And the Nationals catcher was former Twin Kurt Suzuki.
 

Update - Sam Dyson on 10-day IL. Heard Levine on Twins pre-game show. Before trades, teams are required to exchange all medical files on affected players. The Twins knew when they made the deal that Dyson had been having some issues with tendinitis. After evaluating, decided he could not pitch through it and needed to be shut down for up to 2 weeks.

So, one of the big trade acquisitions has two bad outings and goes on IL.

I am not second-guessing the trade per se, but the decision to use the guy - especially on the day he arrived - I will second-guess the bleep out of that.
 

Great work by the Angels to give the Twins some help over the weekend. What a pathetic effort on their part. At least one game would have been nice.

I think it's going to be awfully tough to stay in front of Cleveland but their schedule definitely gets tougher in a week or so. Massive 4-game series coming up between the Twins and Indians, at Target Field. They can't do worse than a split in that one, at least I hope not.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Update - Sam Dyson on 10-day IL. Heard Levine on Twins pre-game show. Before trades, teams are required to exchange all medical files on affected players. The Twins knew when they made the deal that Dyson had been having some issues with tendinitis. After evaluating, decided he could not pitch through it and needed to be shut down for up to 2 weeks.

So, one of the big trade acquisitions has two bad outings and goes on IL.

I am not second-guessing the trade per se, but the decision to use the guy - especially on the day he arrived - I will second-guess the bleep out of that.
Click to expand...

I'll never understand that one. Dyson wasnt the closer for the Giants, why would he close for the Twins, especially since he got there in the 4th inning.

If Rogers is available to pitch, you use it and get the win.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
I'll never understand that one. Dyson wasnt the closer for the Giants, why would he close for the Twins, especially since he got there in the 4th inning.

If Rogers is available to pitch, you use it and get the win.
Click to expand...

Rogers has pitched the two previous days. They didn’t want to use him that day.

Now, they still didn’t have to use Dyson.

They also didn’t have to use Rogers in the game where the kid gave up a grand slam in the 9th a day or two before.

There were many questionable decisions last week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Rogers has pitched the two previous days. They didn’t want to use him that day.

Now, they still didn’t have to use Dyson.

They also didn’t have to use Rogers in the game where the kid gave up a grand slam in the 9th a day or two before.

There were many questionable decisions last week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2019/8/5/20754130/minnesota-twins-cleveland-indians-al-central-trade-deadline-moves

Great article about an overview of the 2019 Twins and also talks about how they should have done more at deadline
 

Huge next 7 days for the Twins.

Also found this interesting.

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GophersInIowa said:
Huge next 7 days for the Twins.

Also found this interesting.

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Thanks for the post GII


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Pretty incredible that every Twin with more than 169 ABs has at least 10 homers. Whodathunkit?!


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AWESOME end


Sky color by Prince...
1f6c3fd167d225676fd7fb75d3248304.jpg


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RandBall: Miguel Sano making the most of yet another second chance

*Long after the blast had settled, after Miguel Sano had been mobbed by teammates at home plate, after a great back-and-forth game had been fully dissected and after the importance of gaining a game on Cleveland had been digested, this thought burrowed in:

If Sano wasn’t capable of hitting a ball 443 feet (conservative estimate, it seems), would he have been in position to do exactly that for the Twins on Monday night?

That is to say: It’s hard to know how many times (if any, really) the Twins have come close to giving up on the 26-year-old slugger who made his MLB debut in 2015. But he’s been designated for assignment or traded in the minds of various Twins fans on multiple occasions. It’s correct to say, at the very least, that Sano has had more than one second chance to prove himself — and that right now he is making the most of it.

Going through his entire career arc in detail would require a significant amount of bandwidth, but the summary:

*2015: Sano burst onto the scene in the second half of the season, carrying a Twins team into wild card contention until the final weekend of the year.

*2016: He became a symbol of the Total System Failure season, starting ice cold and looking uncomfortable in right field as the Twins started 0-9 on the way to 103 losses.

*2017: This was the first second chance, and another great half. Sano was an All-Star, participated in the home run derby and was part of a Twins resurgence. But he hurt his shin during the second half, and questions about his weight started to gain traction. In late December of that year, he was accused of assault by local photographer Betsy Bissen.

*2018: Though MLB did not suspend Sano after investigating Bissen’s accusation, the process served as a more sobering backdrop — along with continued concerns about his health — for questions about Sano’s long-term place in Minnesota. The 2018 season felt like another second chance, and when he hit just .199 while battling injuries public opinion had clearly shifted. It didn’t help when a traffic incident involving a police officer in the Dominican Republic made headlines shortly after the 2018 season ended.

*2019: The make-or-break season started in a walking boot, the result of a bad luck injury suffered while celebrating the Dominican Winter League championship. It delayed Sano’s Twins debut until mid-May — at which point the Twins were already 27-15 and crushing baseballs without their one-time offensive savior. There were rumblings among plenty of fans about whether Sano’s presence would disrupt a hot team with good chemistry. He quieted those with a strong start, but from June 17 to June 27 he went just 3 for 39 with 23 strikeouts. An 0-for-7 day in a loss to Tampa left Sano’s average under .200.

And again, the question: Was this it?

But of course, since then, Sano has been brilliant: an OPS of 1.041, 10 home runs and a more manageable 37 strikeouts in 123 plate appearances — and of course that remarkable home run Monday night.

http://www.startribune.com/miguel-sano-making-the-most-of-yet-another-second-chance/523176292/

Win Twins!!
 

Chip: Don't expect Twins' Byron Buxton to quit crashing into walls, even if the walls keep winning

Byron Buxton plays center field as if he’s a crash test dummy. He slams into walls repeatedly in fearless pursuit of baseballs. At this rate, he will need duct tape to hold his body together.

He has no plans to change.

“Either go [all out],” Buxton said, “or don’t play at all.”

Therein lies the conundrum. Buxton is a marvelous outfielder who makes spectacular catches that often save runs … and endanger his health. His durability has become a problem, but it’s a problem without an obvious solution.

Buxton is on the injured list again after suffering a left shoulder injury, the third time he’s been injured since June. His injury history is extensive, caused largely by his daredevil nature in the field, which has fueled fan angst and public outcry for Buxton to change his approach.

Asking Buxton to show restraint and play less aggressively sounds good in theory, but it’s not practical. That’s like asking a 2-year-old to be less irritable.

“I have to keep it in perspective,” Buxton said. “It’s the way I want to play. As long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters to me. Obviously being on the IL isn’t the happy part. But at the same time, it’s one of those learning things.”

Unless or until he changes — or Major League Baseball turns outfield walls into feather beds — Buxton likely will remain injury-prone because he runs like a cheetah and believes no ball is uncatchable. It’s both his gift and his curse.

Buxton makes catches that others don’t attempt. He suffered concussion-like symptoms in July when he face-planted while catching a line drive. Most outfielders play that ball on a hop.

That outcome — a single versus a trip to the IL — would’ve been a better alternative for both Buxton and the team. But playing it safe isn’t how he’s wired. Instincts and competitive drive cannot be dialed back in a split-second crack of the bat.

“I don’t think it’s as easy as it sounds, to tell him to slow down,” Twins baseball boss Derek Falvey said. “We’re asking him to be himself.”

http://www.startribune.com/don-t-ex...lls-even-if-the-walls-keep-winning/521903762/

Win Twins!!
 

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