First half of the season done and the Twins are um... on a 70-92 pace. Ugh. This first half has stunk, the Twins stink, injuries, suspensions, poor base running, bullpen disasters, walk off losses, disappointing performances by key players.... You name it, The Twins built this.
Jake Odorizzi against Junior Guerra today. Odorizzi righted his ship last start as he went 6 strong innings after a bunch of disastrous starts. Guerra is one of those decent guys that the Brewers typically toss out there.
3:10p game and its only broadcast on something called Facebook Live. Seems like a good place to have the game as only the olds are on Facebook these days. Also, Willians Astudillo playing second base today, so that's something. Wasn't he a catcher? At this rate he may take a 9th inning pitching spot before he sees time behind the plate.
Go Twins.
This first half has stunk, the Twins stink, injuries, suspensions, poor base running, bullpen disasters, walk off losses, disappointing performances by key players.... You name it,
This is how we baseball!
TWINS [redacted] BASEBALL!!
A-Stud in the lineup at second base today!
Super-utility player now!
At this rate he may take a 9th inning pitching spot before he sees time behind the plate.
He almost did already. Molitor said the Twins were considering using him Sunday if the Twins hadn't come back to make a game of it.
Bases loaded, one out. What's the Twins run expectancy?
Well, at least it wasn't a negative number.
Good try, A-Stud.
The Twins entered today giving up the fifth-most walks in the league. It seems like we should be closer to the top (bottom?) than that.
For almost a decade the Twins were the gold standard.
Maybe they need to go back to pitching to contact?
I remember as a kid how hard it can be to stop "aiming" the ball when you need to throw a strike. Even so, I was floored when Littell threw four balls with the bases loaded, and none of them were even close.
Honestly, starting at 2-0, start throwing BP. If he hits a grand slam, it's honestly no worse than throwing four pitches nowhere near the zone.
A slam is worse for his ERA, but solid point.
I do not understand why Bobby Wilson is even on the team, much less catching so much. We're going nowhere, and we know Wilson is not going to help in the long run (even if you think he helps in the short run, which I don't). Get Garver more experience--he's not going to get better sitting on the bench. Or give A-Stud a shot. This love affair with Bobby Wilson makes no sense whatsoever.
This is a good take. I approve.
It would be nice to know whether or not Garver can make a gigantic quantum leap into a merely bad defensive catcher.
I've said it before, but the FO failure to adequately address the catcher situation indicates they've written off this season.
But even if you've written off the season, wouldn't you try to see what you have for the future? I guess if they've already concluded that neither Garver nor A-Stud will ever be a big league catcher, then they play Wilson simply because they don't think it makes any difference anyway.
But even at that , they DFA'd Felix Jorge so they could keep Wilson around. I'm not saying Jorge is the second coming of Sandy Koufax, but he at least has a chance to be a useful big league player. Wilson has no chance to do that. Again, it just makes no sense whatsoever.
You're not wrong. Guys like Wilson are a dime a dozen.
I think that 1 hit was a flare to left for a go-ahead RBI single late in a game.
Castro was signed mainly for his pitch framing, so this might explain it from the FO point of view as well as anything.
Before today, Wilson was dead last among Twins position players with -0.4 rWAR. That's a whole lot of suck for a guy that's only played in 1/3 of their games. Garver is at 0.4 in twice as many games.
Nearly got him out twice, and got him out nonce. Story of the Twins season right there.
Kepler lollygagged on that route.
Odorizzi needs some quick innings. 20+ pitches every time out doesn't get you very deep.
I can't believe how similar my game log for today was to Jeff's from yesterday. The funny thing is, I didn't even see yesterday's game log. Right down to the image.
Great minds think alike!
It would be nice to take advantage of that error.
Well, it would've been.
Wilson is 0-for-12 on the road trip. Sadly, that probably doesn't mean that he's due.
Can't say I'm a fan of the Facebook Live. Feels like a bunch of college kids are running the show.
I'm out for a while. If the game lasts long enough, I may be back for the end. Let's win this one!
Remember a couple of years ago when a 2-run lead felt insurmountable? I'm having that feeling again.
Remember a few years ago when we wished we had a pitching staff that could hold opponents to just a couple runs?
I have that bad feeling no matter what now. This team just looks for new ways to lose. I think they really need a new voice in the dugout. I think Jake Mauer really deserves a chance to show what he can do. I know there will be plenty of excuses for Molitor of injuries and underperformance by players, but I don't think he consistently puts the players that he has in the best position to win consistently and when things go bad for his teams, it seems like he is unable to get the team going in the right direction.
Sausage Race!!!
And it's Chorizo wire to wire.
Good mow 'em down inning for Pressly.
Sounds like Blue needs to get in the game. Not that it's the reason they're going to lose, but come on.
So when we hit well, we can't pitch, and when we pitch well, we can't hit. Which is, as Harry Caray once observed, what bad teams always say.
Yuck.
On the post-game show, Atteberry mentioned that his was the first time since 1974 a first baseman played the entire game and did not get a putout or an assist, which is what happened to Joe Mauer today.
How long since the 1B also didn't get a hit?
One of my pet peeves is when, after a game like this, the announcer says, "The pitcher only made one mistake." He made several mistakes. It's just that only one of them was hit over the fence.
With an 0-for-3 today, Bobby Wilson's average dropped to .120. If he gets down to double digits, will Molitor continue to play him? Sadly, the answer appears to be yes.
Makes one long for Henry Blanco
Good thing we had Astudillo playing second base so that we could keep Wilson in the lineup.
Farm report:
Rochester leads Pawtucket 2-0 in the eighth. Byron Buxton is 1-for-4 with a double and is batting .220. Fernando Romero struck out eight in 5.2 shutout innings, giving up three hits and five walks. Too bad the Twins have so many good pitchers that there's no room for him on the big club.
Chattanooga and Tennessee are tied 3-3 in the sixth. Brent Rooker is 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles.
Fort Myers and Charlotte are in a scoreless tie in the fifth. Miguel Sano is 0-for-2 but is batting .343. Clark Beeker has thrown four shutout innings.
Cedar Rapids leads Wisconsin 3-0 in the fifth. Randy Dobnak has thrown four shutout innings.
Elizabethton lost the first game of a doubleheader to Princeton 5-4. Trevor Casanova was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk. Princeton leads the second game 5-2 in the third.
The GCL Twins defeated the Orioles 4-0. Andriu Marin struck out five in five shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks. Yeltsin Encarnacion was 3-for-4 with a home run.
The DSL Twins lost to the DSL Nationals 8-7. It was 8-1 through seven, but the Twins came back to have the tying run on third with one out. Victor Heredia was 4-for-5 with a triple and a double.
Yeah, but are there any catchers on the farm batting over a buck-twenty?