All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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Rookie Kent Hrbek hit a fifth-inning grand slam on this date in 1982, driving in Gary Gaetti, Tim Laudner, and Tom Brunansky. Talk about a core!

The Twins needed every one of those runs, too, as Pete Redfern and Ron Davis combined to give up four runs in the ninth before securing an 8-7 home win over the Royals.

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I don't hate the City connect jerseys. it's just for a couple of games.

TRF - that '82 team is one that I reflect upon often. finished 60-102 - one of the worst won-loss seasons in Twins history. and yet they brought up young players who formed the core of a future World Series winner. You mentioned Laudner, Hrbek, Gaetti and Brunansky. Randy Bush and Sal Butera were also on that team and Roy Smalley for a few games. on the pitching side, Frank Viola got his feet wet - but he was the only pitcher on that team who was still around in '87.

but my point - with social media and 24/7 coverage, I think there is less patience today for building a team. look at all of the complaining about this year's team - and they're above .500. imagine if they were winning at a .370 clip, which would be a 24-40 record to date.
 




I'd hope a Kiriloff for Wallner swap is coming today .
 




howeda7 said:
I'd hope a Kiriloff for Wallner swap is coming today .
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Reading Bobby Nightengale on Twitter, the next move is probably getting someone else to make a spot start to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Reading Bobby Nightengale on Twitter, the next move is probably getting someone else to make a spot start to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest.
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Varland has not been very good at AAA. ERA of 5.31 and more importantly, a WHIP of 1.451. More hits allowed than IP.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Varland has not been very good at AAA. ERA of 5.31 and more importantly, a WHIP of 1.451. More hits allowed than IP.
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Nope, he certainly hasn't earned the chance to come back, there's plenty of clamoring for Festa to get a shot, but he's not on the 40-man and would be on short rest.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Varland has not been very good at AAA. ERA of 5.31 and more importantly, a WHIP of 1.451. More hits allowed than IP.
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from what I've read, when they sent Varland down, they told him to work on throwing his changeup more often and in different situations. they also have been trying to adjust the way he throws his cutter to get more movement on it.

if you're out on the mound experimenting with different pitches, different grips or releases, you're going to be inconsistent. Reusse mentioned that in one of Varland's recent starts, he struck out the side in the 1st inning on 10 pitches, and then he got lit up in the 2nd inning.

so it sounds as if they still view him as a starter. of course, if his performance as a starter does not improve at some point, I think he can still be a plus in the bullpen.

Zebby Matthews has been really good at AA, but I don't see the Twins jumping him up to the majors. I wouldn't mind seeing Festa get a spot start, just to see what he looks like.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
from what I've read, when they sent Varland down, they told him to work on throwing his changeup more often and in different situations. they also have been trying to adjust the way he throws his cutter to get more movement on it.

if you're out on the mound experimenting with different pitches, different grips or releases, you're going to be inconsistent. Reusse mentioned that in one of Varland's recent starts, he struck out the side in the 1st inning on 10 pitches, and then he got lit up in the 2nd inning.

so it sounds as if they still view him as a starter. of course, if his performance as a starter does not improve at some point, I think he can still be a plus in the bullpen.

Zebby Matthews has been really good at AA, but I don't see the Twins jumping him up to the majors. I wouldn't mind seeing Festa get a spot start, just to see what he looks like.
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That's a good point. Although it doesn't appear he's mastered either of those things. Was just rocked with 6 runs in 3 IP while walking 4.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Nope, he certainly hasn't earned the chance to come back, there's plenty of clamoring for Festa to get a shot, but he's not on the 40-man and would be on short rest.
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Was just looking to see if there was someone they could move to the 60 day IL and the only guy is Brock Stewart. I hope that doesn't happen with him.
 

TRF Guy said:
Rookie Kent Hrbek hit a fifth-inning grand slam on this date in 1982, driving in Gary Gaetti, Tim Laudner, and Tom Brunansky. Talk about a core!

The Twins needed every one of those runs, too, as Pete Redfern and Ron Davis combined to give up four runs in the ninth before securing an 8-7 home win over the Royals.

View attachment 31772
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That 82 Twins team had the 7th most HR in the league that year. But they ended with scoring the 7th least amount of runs.
 


TRF Guy said:
Bunch of solo shots apparently
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So I looked into this a lot more than necessary. Their percentage of HR being solo was 59%, identical to the 2023 Twins. Their numbers in 82 with runners on base were actually a bit better than when there was no one on base. Statistically, they weren't a great hitting team but they were better than 19th in just about every important stat except runs scored. (26 teams so 7th least meant they were ranked 19th in runs scored). OPS was middle of the pack, SLG was above average, BA and OBP were a little below average but still better than 7th worst.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
Reading Bobby Nightengale on Twitter, the next move is probably getting someone else to make a spot start to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest.
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Kiriloff is in the line-up tonight. Along with Swingin' Vazquez. Thank God. I was worried Rocco might be tempted to use his All-Star catcher more than 50% of the time.
 

howeda7 said:
Kiriloff is in the line-up tonight. Along with Swingin' Vazquez. Thank God. I was worried Rocco might be tempted to use his All-Star catcher more than 50% of the time.
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I'm skeptical Jeffers is still All Star worthy. He was hitless in June until yesterday.
 

Ope3 said:
I'm skeptical Jeffers is still All Star worthy. He was hitless in June until yesterday.
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He probably isn't, but don't they still have the rule that every team gets one?
 



howeda7 said:
He probably isn't, but don't they still have the rule that every team gets one?
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Yes. My guess would be Joe Ryan over Jeffers, but I admit I have zero clue how Jeffers stacks up against other Catchers.

Jeffers by the way has played in 58 games so far with 194 ABs. Only trails Santana (59/203) & Castro (65/216), both categories.
 

If Rob Manfred called me and asked "how do we improve the All-Star Game?" - one of my first suggestions would be to eliminate the rule that every team needs to be represented.

that rule was fine when there were only 8 or 10 teams in each league and even the really bad teams generally had at least one really good player. but with 30 MLB teams, it results in people being chosen who are not all-star caliber players because they had to have a player from each team.

The All-Star game should showcase the best of the game. If a team is just bad and doesn't have any great players, they should not be represented just to meet a quota system.

Oh - my other suggestions: once you eliminate the "1 from every team" rule, then you can cut down on the size of the All-Star rosters. also - starting position players must play at least 5 innings. Starting pitchers must work at least 2 innings. (I would prefer 3) tell the managers not to worry about making sure every player appears in the game.

above all, make it a real game. play it like a real game in terms of substitutions and lineup changes.

the All-Star game should look and feel special - not like some glorified exhibition with players shuffling in and out every inning.

also - dump the Home Run Derby - it's gotten stale. Replace it with a Skills Challenge - contests to see who can run the bases the fastest - who has the most accurate outfield arm - who can turn a DB the quickest - which catcher can throw down to 2nd and hit a target the quickest - and so forth. If you have to have HR's, then do a hitting for distance contest with fewer people competing.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
If Rob Manfred called me and asked "how do we improve the All-Star Game?" - one of my first suggestions would be to eliminate the rule that every team needs to be represented.

that rule was fine when there were only 8 or 10 teams in each league and even the really bad teams generally had at least one really good player. but with 30 MLB teams, it results in people being chosen who are not all-star caliber players because they had to have a player from each team.

The All-Star game should showcase the best of the game. If a team is just bad and doesn't have any great players, they should not be represented just to meet a quota system.

Oh - my other suggestions: once you eliminate the "1 from every team" rule, then you can cut down on the size of the All-Star rosters. also - starting position players must play at least 5 innings. Starting pitchers must work at least 2 innings. (I would prefer 3) tell the managers not to worry about making sure every player appears in the game.

above all, make it a real game. play it like a real game in terms of substitutions and lineup changes.

the All-Star game should look and feel special - not like some glorified exhibition with players shuffling in and out every inning.

also - dump the Home Run Derby - it's gotten stale. Replace it with a Skills Challenge - contests to see who can run the bases the fastest - who has the most accurate outfield arm - who can turn a DB the quickest - which catcher can throw down to 2nd and hit a target the quickest - and so forth. If you have to have HR's, then do a hitting for distance contest with fewer people competing.
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I remember FAR too many years of terrible Twins baseball where the only reason I watched the ASG was to see our courtesy selection get an AB or pitch an inning.

This rule is all about TV ratings IMO.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I watched the Dobber on Saturday night. Oof. If it's him, I'll buy one of those hideous new hats and eat it.
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Dobnek’s not on the 40 man roster; Varland or Winder (whose spot started before and is currently on a rehab assignment in St. Paul) seemingly make the most sense. Winder’s numbers are bad as well, but I’m not sure what % were from before he went on the IL and now- I’m not going to look it up.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
If Rob Manfred called me and asked "how do we improve the All-Star Game?" - one of my first suggestions would be to eliminate the rule that every team needs to be represented.

that rule was fine when there were only 8 or 10 teams in each league and even the really bad teams generally had at least one really good player. but with 30 MLB teams, it results in people being chosen who are not all-star caliber players because they had to have a player from each team.

The All-Star game should showcase the best of the game. If a team is just bad and doesn't have any great players, they should not be represented just to meet a quota system.

Oh - my other suggestions: once you eliminate the "1 from every team" rule, then you can cut down on the size of the All-Star rosters. also - starting position players must play at least 5 innings. Starting pitchers must work at least 2 innings. (I would prefer 3) tell the managers not to worry about making sure every player appears in the game.

above all, make it a real game. play it like a real game in terms of substitutions and lineup changes.

the All-Star game should look and feel special - not like some glorified exhibition with players shuffling in and out every inning.

also - dump the Home Run Derby - it's gotten stale. Replace it with a Skills Challenge - contests to see who can run the bases the fastest - who has the most accurate outfield arm - who can turn a DB the quickest - which catcher can throw down to 2nd and hit a target the quickest - and so forth. If you have to have HR's, then do a hitting for distance contest with fewer people competing.
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The All Star game is a glorified exhibition though. And MLB's is the only one that's even remotely still worth playing.

As for the every team gets a player rule, I'm indifferent. Most teams do still have at least one worthy player so I don't see that rule changing more than 2-3 roster spots anyway. Also, if you reduce the # of spots and start mandating how long starters have to participate, more players will simply opt out.
 


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