All Things 2022 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread



Not only is Archer ineffective, but his innings take forever. Plays with his cap, tugs on his sleeves, fiddles with his glove after every pitch. Then for some reason, he falls off the mound 5 or 6 times each inning.
 




We play Cleveland and Chicago 17 times starting Sept 10. Got to stay within 3 or 4 games until then.
Problem is used be to Cleveland had the better pitching and we had the better hitting. Now Cleveland is better at both. Makes it tough.
Hope we don't face Rodon, but at this point hard to have much confidence against any starter.
 


We play Cleveland and Chicago 17 times starting Sept 10. Got to stay within 3 or 4 games until then.
Problem is used be to Cleveland had the better pitching and we had the better hitting. Now Cleveland is better at both. Makes it tough.
Hope we don't face Rodon, but at this point hard to have much confidence against any starter.
If you can’t beat good teams and good pitching then what’s the point. The twins were dazzled by two starters from Texas that are both terrible. You could put any lefty starter out there and almost be assured that person goes 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Right now I am not sure the twins offense could compete is the class C or Class B town ball state tournament.
 

If you can’t beat good teams and good pitching then what’s the point. The twins were dazzled by two starters from Texas that are both terrible. You could put any lefty starter out there and almost be assured that person goes 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Right now I am not sure the twins offense could compete is the class C or Class B town ball state tournament.
Stark had a lefty that even the Twins I think could get to, yet they outlasted Maple Lake 9-8 last week to advance. Buckman would give them some trouble.
 



Archer and Pagan should be DFA'd immediately. Kepler to the IL. Call up Varland, one of the veteran reclamation project releivers in St. Paul and Garlick should be ready tonight.
 

If you can’t beat good teams and good pitching then what’s the point. The twins were dazzled by two starters from Texas that are both terrible. You could put any lefty starter out there and almost be assured that person goes 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Right now I am not sure the twins offense could compete is the class C or Class B town ball state tournament.

Yeah, we are 10 games under .500 since mid May. Sample size is large enuf to think that is maybe just who we are. Maybe we are unreasonable to expect more from this group at this point.

Getting to that point in the season where math plays in as well. 40 games left so if Cleveland wins half their games, we have to go 24 -16.
 

We have officially reached the moral victories and Billy Hamilton phase of the the 2022 Disaster -

The blurb on the Twins app duly noted Billy's base stealing prowess (321 lifetime) while conveniently omitting his ineptness at the plate (.239 lifetime); I see the beauty of this logic, since we have only batted .176 (article below) in our six "good things' emerging losses, Billy can only increase the team average.

The headline says it all baby -


'Good things' emerge from sixth straight loss​



HOUSTON -- The Twins left Houston in frustrating fashion after getting swept in a three-game set, but their first game with a new collective mentality yielded some positive results in the 6-3 loss to the Astros.

After Wednesday’s defeat, the Twins were in a five-game skid that left the club a season-high four games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central. In hopes of avoiding a sixth consecutive loss, manager Rocco Baldelli held a team meeting to lay out the new mindset: Minimizing anxiety and focusing on the game itself, or, as was written on the clubhouse whiteboard pregame on Thursday, a "no [expletive]" mentality.

Baldelli preaches calm amid Twins' skid
Baldelli emphasized playing "the freest baseball that we can," and though Minnesota lost Thursday's game (and was swept by Houston in the season series, six games to none), the club didn't lose any ground in the Central as both Cleveland and Chicago lost their games. What's more, there were signs of steps in the right direction.

"There’s not a lot to reconcile, as we saw a lot of good things," Baldelli said of the team's effort in the finale. "There were glimpses of things we would rather see than what we’ve seen lately, but we need to put it all together."

The Twins' recent struggles start with the offense, which has posted a .176 average and scored 12 runs through these six games. The lack of run production comes from the struggles of sluggers like Carlos Correa -- who went 1-for-11 against the Astros -- but also their lack of power, as Jorge Polanco's first-inning blast on Thursday ended a five-game homerless drought -- the team's longest such drought since 2014.
Nick Gordon scores on wild pitch

Aug 25, 2022
·
0:25

Nick Gordon scores on wild pitch​



"Sending a player up there with a clear mind is really the goal every step up to the plate," Baldelli said. "When you do struggle as a collective group sometimes, it's very hard to clear your mind and just go out there and see the ball and hit the ball."
The offense applied that new approach, and the benefits were shown early with Polanco's first-inning homer. The rest of the team continued to be aggressive at the plate, showing progress in the box but still only managing to score three runs and failing to cash in on a few key opportunities.
"In the end, us players have to have each other’s back regardless of results," outfielder Max Kepler said. "Adversity is going to be inevitable in this game, so we just need to stay positive and give it our best shot."
Luis Arraez's sac fly in 5th

Aug 25, 2022
·
0:37

Luis Arraez's sac fly in 5th​



One area that continues to face adversity and needs to turn things around is the starting rotation, which has thrown just 25 1/3 innings in its last seven games and has thrown the fewest innings in the Majors since the All-Star break (141 2/3 IP).
Thursday’s starter, Chris Archer, has had an ongoing issue going deep into games. He has yet to record an out in the sixth inning this season, and the Twins have struggled in his last seven starts, during which he's posted a 6.90 ERA.
Chris Archer's start in Houston

Aug 25, 2022
·
0:35

Chris Archer's start in Houston​


The Astros jumped on Archer right away, scoring a run on a double play off the bat of Yordan Alvarez. Archer had a chance to escape the first inning with the game knotted at 1-1, but a three-run homer by Trey Mancini punctuated the rough start.
Houston forced Archer to throw 31 pitches in that inning, wiping out any chance of Archer going deep and causing him further issues later on, ultimately being tagged for five earned runs on eight hits in four innings.
Despite the Twins' slump, the club should have a chance to control its own destiny in the division, with nine games left against the White Sox and eight more against the Guardians.
Time will tell if the Twins' new approach will pay off, but the series did leave a strong impression on Astros manager Dusty Baker nonetheless.
"Those guys, if they get healthy, Minnesota's going to be tough," Baker said. "They've got like six guys coming out of that bullpen throwing 95-102. They've got some good arms over there. I'm just glad we caught them kind of down offensively."
 

Normally, this is the time of the year when I would be campaigning for the Twins to "bring up the young guys" to see what they could do.

But, with all of the injuries in the system, there really aren't a lot of young guys to bring up.

I hope they let Varland pitch a few innings with the Twins before the end of the season, and I wouldn't mind seeing Wallner get a few at-bats. beyond that? I really don't see anyone worth calling up. The Julien kid at AA has had a good year, but no idea if he could handle major league pitching.

and now with College football starting and the NFL gearing up, I think it will be "friends and family only" at Twins games the rest of the season. On the plus side, if you go to a game, you have a good chance of getting a foul ball or a HR ball.
 



Normally, this is the time of the year when I would be campaigning for the Twins to "bring up the young guys" to see what they could do.

But, with all of the injuries in the system, there really aren't a lot of young guys to bring up.

I hope they let Varland pitch a few innings with the Twins before the end of the season, and I wouldn't mind seeing Wallner get a few at-bats. beyond that? I really don't see anyone worth calling up. The Julien kid at AA has had a good year, but no idea if he could handle major league pitching.

and now with College football starting and the NFL gearing up, I think it will be "friends and family only" at Twins games the rest of the season. On the plus side, if you go to a game, you have a good chance of getting a foul ball or a HR ball.
Keep in mind, rosters only increase to 28 this year not everyone on the 40man as previously was the case.
 

We have officially reached the moral victories and Billy Hamilton phase of the the 2022 Disaster -

The blurb on the Twins app duly noted Billy's base stealing prowess (321 lifetime) while conveniently omitting his ineptness at the plate (.239 lifetime); I see the beauty of this logic, since we have only batted .176 (article below) in our six "good things' emerging losses, Billy can only increase the team average.

The headline says it all baby -


'Good things' emerge from sixth straight loss​



HOUSTON -- The Twins left Houston in frustrating fashion after getting swept in a three-game set, but their first game with a new collective mentality yielded some positive results in the 6-3 loss to the Astros.

After Wednesday’s defeat, the Twins were in a five-game skid that left the club a season-high four games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central. In hopes of avoiding a sixth consecutive loss, manager Rocco Baldelli held a team meeting to lay out the new mindset: Minimizing anxiety and focusing on the game itself, or, as was written on the clubhouse whiteboard pregame on Thursday, a "no [expletive]" mentality.

Baldelli preaches calm amid Twins' skid
Baldelli emphasized playing "the freest baseball that we can," and though Minnesota lost Thursday's game (and was swept by Houston in the season series, six games to none), the club didn't lose any ground in the Central as both Cleveland and Chicago lost their games. What's more, there were signs of steps in the right direction.

"There’s not a lot to reconcile, as we saw a lot of good things," Baldelli said of the team's effort in the finale. "There were glimpses of things we would rather see than what we’ve seen lately, but we need to put it all together."

The Twins' recent struggles start with the offense, which has posted a .176 average and scored 12 runs through these six games. The lack of run production comes from the struggles of sluggers like Carlos Correa -- who went 1-for-11 against the Astros -- but also their lack of power, as Jorge Polanco's first-inning blast on Thursday ended a five-game homerless drought -- the team's longest such drought since 2014.
Nick Gordon scores on wild pitch

Aug 25, 2022
·
0:25

Nick Gordon scores on wild pitch​



"Sending a player up there with a clear mind is really the goal every step up to the plate," Baldelli said. "When you do struggle as a collective group sometimes, it's very hard to clear your mind and just go out there and see the ball and hit the ball."
The offense applied that new approach, and the benefits were shown early with Polanco's first-inning homer. The rest of the team continued to be aggressive at the plate, showing progress in the box but still only managing to score three runs and failing to cash in on a few key opportunities.
"In the end, us players have to have each other’s back regardless of results," outfielder Max Kepler said. "Adversity is going to be inevitable in this game, so we just need to stay positive and give it our best shot."
Luis Arraez's sac fly in 5th 's sac fly in 5th

Aug 25, 2022
·
0:37

Luis Arraez's sac fly in 5th​



One area that continues to face adversity and needs to turn things around is the starting rotation, which has thrown just 25 1/3 innings in its last seven games and has thrown the fewest innings in the Majors since the All-Star break (141 2/3 IP).
Thursday’s starter, Chris Archer, has had an ongoing issue going deep into games. He has yet to record an out in the sixth inning this season, and the Twins have struggled in his last seven starts, during which he's posted a 6.90 ERA.
Chris Archer's start in Houston 's start in Houston

Aug 25, 2022
·
0:35

Chris Archer's start in Houston​


The Astros jumped on Archer right away, scoring a run on a double play off the bat of Yordan Alvarez. Archer had a chance to escape the first inning with the game knotted at 1-1, but a three-run homer by Trey Mancini punctuated the rough start.
Houston forced Archer to throw 31 pitches in that inning, wiping out any chance of Archer going deep and causing him further issues later on, ultimately being tagged for five earned runs on eight hits in four innings.
Despite the Twins' slump, the club should have a chance to control its own destiny in the division, with nine games left against the White Sox and eight more against the Guardians.
Time will tell if the Twins' new approach will pay off, but the series did leave a strong impression on Astros manager Dusty Baker nonetheless.
"Those guys, if they get healthy, Minnesota's going to be tough," Baker said. "They've got like six guys coming out of that bullpen throwing 95-102. They've got some good arms over there. I'm just glad we caught them kind of down offensively."
I love a good moral victory. No one had more than gopher football in the mason years.
 







I noticed that all the giants infielders were playing their traditional positions when this player batted. Can anyone name this twins player?
 

I noticed that all the giants infielders were playing their traditional positions when this player batted. Can anyone name this twins player?

Ok. Will answer my own question. Jose Miranda.

The 2nd baseman was 3 or 4 steps to the right of his traditional position. The other infielders were at their traditional positions. Just struck me as don't see many hitters force the defense to play honestly these days.
 





Some additional info here. I like it.

How do they determine what the strike zone is? I'm absolutely not a baseball expert, but I thought it was a dynamic size where the height reflected the space between the batter's knees and ... something, shoulders?

It must be a fixed space, then, for this to work?
 

according to the official rules, the upper limit of the strike zone is

"the mid-point between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants"

and the bottom of the strike zone is

"the hollow just below the kneecap."

But, in reality, almost no umpire calls the top of the strike zone the way the rule is written. most umps give the pitcher a couple of inches above the belt, but that's it.
 





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