All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
speaking of bunting - in a recent game, Willi Castro tried to bunt and popped it up for an out. it has been confirmed that Rocco called for that one from the bench. was supposed to be a squeeze play but Castro didn't execute the bunt.

could also get into a wrangle over whether you should bunt the Manfred Man to 3rd base in extra innings. If I was the home team, and the visitors did not score in the top of the 10th, I would absolutely bunt the Manfred Man to 3rd. then you can win the game with a Sac Fly from the next batter, or a hit from either of the next two batters.
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You especially want to be careful in the late afternoon games, as the batters might be Blinded By The Light 😎
 

I know it looks hindsight now but why not just walk Lopez there. You were ahead 2-0 and couldn’t put him away while allowing a wild pitch. Why not just put him on first and start fresh with the next guy. There is two outs and the only guy that really matters is on 3rd.
 


Great 2 strike hitting by Lee.
 






Baldelli going with Funderburk instead of Duran? Two run lead must have given him lots of confidence in Kody.. It worked.
 





coolhandgopher said:
You especially want to be careful in the late afternoon games, as the batters might be Blinded By The Light 😎
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One of my favorite jams ever and got to see them perform it live at The Barn (yes it was a bar built to look like a barn - including the silo) 🤠in Alex off 1-94 by the Holiday Inn.

Unfortunately, I don’t recall partying with any live animals🤷.

 

Randolph High School graduate Caleb Thielbar finally gave up his first run in his 18th major league appearance on this date in 2013.

He finished his rookie season 3-2 with a 1.76 ERA and 0.826 WHIP over 48 appearances (46 innings pitched).
 



TRF Guy said:
Randolph High School graduate Caleb Thielbar finally gave up his first run in his 18th major league appearance on this date in 2013.

He finished his rookie season 3-2 with a 1.76 ERA and 0.826 WHIP over 48 appearances (46 innings pitched).
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Thielbar and Jake Petricka are both Major League Pitchers that debuted in 2013 who were Born in Northfield, MN.

Northfield Townies can not really claim either of them though, just a matter of the hospital location. Petricka was a Faribault Falcon.
 

Ope3 said:
Nice win, coming back from 3 down.

Marney was solidly adequate calling the game as well, IMO.
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Aronson less so on the radio side. It's understandable as he has no "feel" for working with Dazzle, but he was stepping all over him when I was listening yesterday. I was really disappointed when Atteberry got the nod, but he's been better since he's gotten the permanent gig. Atteberry and Aronson had a lot of the same issues - trying to do too much. They probably feel the need to keep talking to either "fill air" or prove they know what they're talking about. Aronson kept on interjecting when Dazzle was doing PBP, at times between almost every pitch. If he would settle down it would make it a lot better.

There were a number of instances yesterday where Aronson was making ascertains that were a bit out there and hilariously Dazzle just left him hanging. "Nah, man, I'm not going out on that limb with you".
 

forever a gopher said:
Aronson less so on the radio side. It's understandable as he has no "feel" for working with Dazzle, but he was stepping all over him when I was listening yesterday. I was really disappointed when Atteberry got the nod, but he's been better since he's gotten the permanent gig. Atteberry and Aronson had a lot of the same issues - trying to do too much. They probably feel the need to keep talking to either "fill air" or prove they know what they're talking about. Aronson kept on interjecting when Dazzle was doing PBP, at times between almost every pitch. If he would settle down it would make it a lot better.

There were a number of instances yesterday where Aronson was making ascertains that were a bit out there and hilariously Dazzle just left him hanging. "Nah, man, I'm not going out on that limb with you".
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A lot of that comes from the minor league days when it usually is a one-person booth.

I think by Wednesday they should be more in sync.
 

forever a gopher said:
Aronson less so on the radio side. It's understandable as he has no "feel" for working with Dazzle, but he was stepping all over him when I was listening yesterday. I was really disappointed when Atteberry got the nod, but he's been better since he's gotten the permanent gig. Atteberry and Aronson had a lot of the same issues - trying to do too much. They probably feel the need to keep talking to either "fill air" or prove they know what they're talking about. Aronson kept on interjecting when Dazzle was doing PBP, at times between almost every pitch. If he would settle down it would make it a lot better.

There were a number of instances yesterday where Aronson was making ascertains that were a bit out there and hilariously Dazzle just left him hanging. "Nah, man, I'm not going out on that limb with you".
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I only heard a couple of innings of Aronson, but tend to agree with your assessment. Hopefully he can grow into being adequate on a short term basis.

Speaking of Atteberry, driving home from Chicago I heard the first half of the Sunday/Astros game on the radio and it was not his best effort. Altuve had returned after missing a game from being HBP on Friday. Atteberry said that was fortunate because he missed several weeks of the season THIS spring after a similar injury to his hand in the World Baseball Classic.

He repeated it during Altuve's 2nd At Bat a few innings later. Problem was, the WBC was in 2023.
 

Excellent article by Park, the MLB beat writer, on Wallner and the adjustments he made when sent down to St. Paul​

​

Wallner joins elite company with another crushed hit​


www.mlb.com

Wallner joins elite company with another crushed hit

CHICAGO -- Here’s a really darn good list to be on when gauging one’s ability to absolutely demolish a baseball into the next dimension: Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Oneil Cruz … and now, Matt Wallner. That’s the full list of MLB players to hit multiple balls at
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

CHICAGO -- Here’s a really darn good list to be on when gauging one’s ability to absolutely demolish a baseball into the next dimension:
Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Oneil Cruz … and now, Matt Wallner.

That’s the full list of MLB players to hit multiple balls at 116 mph or harder this season -- and Wallner has hit his two in the last two days since he returned from a stint with Triple-A St. Paul. The second of those was a game-tying 116.7 mph homer in the Twins’ four-run seventh on Monday, which loomed large in their 8-6 win over the White Sox in 11 innings.

“When he barrels the ball up, it's like those big guys in the league that are on those lists when they're hitting the ball 118 mph,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That's not normal stuff, even for us here.”

Another bombastic Wallner performance combined with the continued steadfast hitting of rookie sensation Brooks Lee, the No. 13prospect in baseball, who knocked two RBI singles, including the go-ahead knock in the top of the 11th, to extend his career-opening hitting streak to six games, with RBIs in five of those games.

This has been a totally different Wallner than the seemingly lost version of the slugger who began the season 2-for-25 with 17 strikeouts before that demotion to the Minors to reset his approach and swing. This version is hitting the ball harder than anyone else on the team -- and, more importantly, hitting the ball, period.

The latter is more important, because when Wallner is making contact, the baseball will typically become a hazard for whatever is in its path. Case in point: The first three balls hit by Wallner in this return trip to the Majors were clocked at 116.8 mph (single), 111.2 mph (double) and 116.7 mph (homer), already accounting for the two hardest-hit balls by any Twin this year.

After initially struggling following his demotion to Triple-A, Wallner finally found the adjustments that worked for him, and he looks physically different in his swing. His hands are a little higher and he’s striding towards the ball more “in-line,” he said, combining to give him a little bit more time to recognize and react to pitches as they travel to the plate.


“It was a journey that I don’t know if I’ve ever been on,” Wallner said. “I knew I was going to struggle down there to start and just trying to work out some swing things. I knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight thing and just being patient with it and just believing that it would come back. Just being rewarded for the hard work is the best, honestly.”

This looks far more like the version of Wallner who hit 14 homers with an .877 OPS in 76 games last season to help a late-blooming Minnesota offense consolidate into one of the league’s more effective groups. This year, he might be the cherry on top for an increasingly productive lineup that already looked to be finding elite form without him.

Why does it matter that Wallner can hit the ball so hard, you might ask? Consider that batted balls at 116 mph or harder have accounted for an .803 batting average and 1.881 slugging percentage since Statcast began tracking, which is an evidence-based way to show the simple truth that hitting the ball really, really hard leads to really, really good outcomes.

And very few people in this league can hit balls really, really hard in the way that Wallner can when he’s feeling good.

“He’s a large man with a good swing,” Baldelli said.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Only 5 games back. Lots of baseball left.
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The Twins haven’t been this close to the lead in the American League Central since May 18, when they trailed the Guardians by 4 1/2 games.

Watch them Guards and their “five AS 🤣” fold in the summer heat😃
 

Alls well, remain calm -

Baldelli suggested Byron Buxton, who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Lee and Ryan Jeffers all may be given Tuesday’s game off. Jeffers’ foot appeared to be bothering him as he limped off the field in the seventh inning. Lee has played in seven straight games, including a July 2 contest at St. Paul. …
 

in other seemingly unearthly news - according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic:

since June 4, Christian Vazquez is hitting .291/.322/.546 (.868 OPS) with 5-2B, 3-HR & 9-RBI in 61 plate appearances. he has reportedly changed the lower half of his stance and is positioning his hands higher.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Alls well, remain calm -

Baldelli suggested Byron Buxton, who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Lee and Ryan Jeffers all may be given Tuesday’s game off. Jeffers’ foot appeared to be bothering him as he limped off the field in the seventh inning. Lee has played in seven straight games, including a July 2 contest at St. Paul. …
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Jeffers was limping on Saturday too.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
in other seemingly unearthly news - according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic:

since June 4, Christian Vazquez is hitting .291/.322/.546 (.868 OPS) with 5-2B, 3-HR & 9-RBI in 61 plate appearances. he has reportedly changed the lower half of his stance and is positioning his hands higher.
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50/50 split with Jeffers is working just fine to to the dismay of howeda7.
 

Also haven't heard howeda7's take on Jeffers' boneheaded error that cost the team a run last night.
 

Ope3 said:
50/50 split with Jeffers is working just fine to to the dismay of howeda7.
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Gophers1992 said:
Also haven't heard howeda7's take on Jeffers' boneheaded error that cost the team a run last night.
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Quite the Vazquez fan club. Is it your opinion there is no difference between the two of them overall? Right now Jeffers is in a slump and possibly hurt, so fine. Go 50/50.

Doing it as an absolute default for the entire season is a different issue. Can you imagine if Rocco had sat Joe Mauer 80 games just because while he was being paid $23 million? When Jeffers approaches extension talk time, how can they justify paying him what he will be worth if he will only catch half the time? It's not really about Jeffers or Vazquez. But if the Twins believe this is the way to use the catcher spot, they should trade Jeffers this off-season, sign a 2nd cheap vet and rotate them with Vazquez.
 
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howeda7 said:
Quite the Vazquez fan club. Is it your opinion there is no difference between the two of them overall? Right now Jeffers is in a slump and possibly hurt, so fine. Go 50/50.

Doing it as an absolute default for the entire season is a different issue. Can you imagine if Rocco had sat Joe Mauer 80 games just because while he was being paid $23 million? When Jeffers approaches extension talk time, how can they justify paying him what he will be worth if he will only catch half the time? It's not really about Jeffers or Vazquez. But if the Twins believe this is the way to use the catcher spot, they should trade Jeffers this off-season, sign a 2nd cheap vet and rotate them with Vazquez.
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I'm mostly just messing with you. I'm not crazy about Vazquez either, but I think there is something to be said for managing Jeffers' workload, so to speak.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:

Excellent article by Park, the MLB beat writer, on Wallner and the adjustments he made when sent down to St. Paul​

​

Wallner joins elite company with another crushed hit​


www.mlb.com

Wallner joins elite company with another crushed hit

CHICAGO -- Here’s a really darn good list to be on when gauging one’s ability to absolutely demolish a baseball into the next dimension: Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Oneil Cruz … and now, Matt Wallner. That’s the full list of MLB players to hit multiple balls at
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

CHICAGO -- Here’s a really darn good list to be on when gauging one’s ability to absolutely demolish a baseball into the next dimension:
Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Oneil Cruz … and now, Matt Wallner.

That’s the full list of MLB players to hit multiple balls at 116 mph or harder this season -- and Wallner has hit his two in the last two days since he returned from a stint with Triple-A St. Paul. The second of those was a game-tying 116.7 mph homer in the Twins’ four-run seventh on Monday, which loomed large in their 8-6 win over the White Sox in 11 innings.

“When he barrels the ball up, it's like those big guys in the league that are on those lists when they're hitting the ball 118 mph,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That's not normal stuff, even for us here.”

Another bombastic Wallner performance combined with the continued steadfast hitting of rookie sensation Brooks Lee, the No. 13prospect in baseball, who knocked two RBI singles, including the go-ahead knock in the top of the 11th, to extend his career-opening hitting streak to six games, with RBIs in five of those games.

This has been a totally different Wallner than the seemingly lost version of the slugger who began the season 2-for-25 with 17 strikeouts before that demotion to the Minors to reset his approach and swing. This version is hitting the ball harder than anyone else on the team -- and, more importantly, hitting the ball, period.

The latter is more important, because when Wallner is making contact, the baseball will typically become a hazard for whatever is in its path. Case in point: The first three balls hit by Wallner in this return trip to the Majors were clocked at 116.8 mph (single), 111.2 mph (double) and 116.7 mph (homer), already accounting for the two hardest-hit balls by any Twin this year.

After initially struggling following his demotion to Triple-A, Wallner finally found the adjustments that worked for him, and he looks physically different in his swing. His hands are a little higher and he’s striding towards the ball more “in-line,” he said, combining to give him a little bit more time to recognize and react to pitches as they travel to the plate.


“It was a journey that I don’t know if I’ve ever been on,” Wallner said. “I knew I was going to struggle down there to start and just trying to work out some swing things. I knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight thing and just being patient with it and just believing that it would come back. Just being rewarded for the hard work is the best, honestly.”

This looks far more like the version of Wallner who hit 14 homers with an .877 OPS in 76 games last season to help a late-blooming Minnesota offense consolidate into one of the league’s more effective groups. This year, he might be the cherry on top for an increasingly productive lineup that already looked to be finding elite form without him.

Why does it matter that Wallner can hit the ball so hard, you might ask? Consider that batted balls at 116 mph or harder have accounted for an .803 batting average and 1.881 slugging percentage since Statcast began tracking, which is an evidence-based way to show the simple truth that hitting the ball really, really hard leads to really, really good outcomes.

And very few people in this league can hit balls really, really hard in the way that Wallner can when he’s feeling good.

“He’s a large man with a good swing,” Baldelli said.
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Good article. It's really fun to watch Wallner hit the ball when he's on.
 

howeda7 said:
Quite the Vazquez fan club. Is it your opinion there is no difference between the two of them overall? Right now Jeffers is in a slump and possibly hurt, so fine. Go 50/50.

Doing it as an absolute default for the entire season is a different issue. Can you imagine if Rocco had sat Joe Mauer 80 games just because while he was being paid $23 million? When Jeffers approaches extension talk time, how can they justify paying him what he will be worth if he will only catch half the time?
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Nowhere did I say I was in the Vasquez fan club.

My stance is that the difference between them is negligible and that playing them 50/50 is perhaps the best way to get the most productivity combined out of them. It also improves the odds they are productive in September and hopefully in October.

If it were up to me, I would probably go with more of a 55-45 split, or even just a little less than that. If Jeffers caught and then there was a subsequent Off Day, then sure go ahead and play Jeffers again. However, resting him a 2nd day is also just fine by me.

My disagreement was when you called what the Twins were doing "stupid". It's working out, for now. If there is a significant change in either Jeffers or Vasquez' production it can certainly be re-evaluated. Jeffers for more than a month now, has not been hitting at a clip that screams he deserves more playing time.

No, I can't imagine sitting Mauer 80 games. Your reference with #7 is just plain silly. He's a Hall of Famer. Jeffers no matter how much he catches will need to buy his own ticket to get into the Cooperstown Museum.

There was a much more pronounced drop off between Joe's back ups (offense & defense) and the current catchers. Also in this case, it's Vasquez that has the much higher salary, $10M compared to Jeffers $2.4M.
 

howeda7 said:
Quite the Vazquez fan club. Is it your opinion there is no difference between the two of them overall? Right now Jeffers is in a slump and possibly hurt, so fine. Go 50/50.

Doing it as an absolute default for the entire season is a different issue. Can you imagine if Rocco had sat Joe Mauer 80 games just because while he was being paid $23 million? When Jeffers approaches extension talk time, how can they justify paying him what he will be worth if he will only catch half the time? It's not really about Jeffers or Vazquez. But if the Twins believe this is the way to use the catcher spot, they should trade Jeffers this off-season, sign a 2nd cheap vet and rotate them with Vazquez.
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Jeffers did start 44 of 57 (77%) games through the end of May. I know not all were at catcher but I bet it wouldn't be 50/50 now if Jeffers were still hitting like he did in April and early May.
 

howeda7 said:
Quite the Vazquez fan club. Is it your opinion there is no difference between the two of them overall? Right now Jeffers is in a slump and possibly hurt, so fine. Go 50/50.

Doing it as an absolute default for the entire season is a different issue. Can you imagine if Rocco had sat Joe Mauer 80 games just because while he was being paid $23 million? When Jeffers approaches extension talk time, how can they justify paying him what he will be worth if he will only catch half the time? It's not really about Jeffers or Vazquez. But if the Twins believe this is the way to use the catcher spot, they should trade Jeffers this off-season, sign a 2nd cheap vet and rotate them with Vazquez.
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You just have absolutely no sense of humor and can never admit anything, can you?

This isn’t the OT board. Lighten up.
 

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