Louie Varland
vs
Davis Martin
The season mercifully comes to an end. The postseason starts this Friday with four games each day through Sunday.
The 2022 Twins were projected for about 82-80 and will finish at either 77-85 or 78-84. The 2021 Twins were projected at 88-74 but finished 73-89. They played at a 69-win pace from June onward. They are 9-9 versus the White Sox. A win today keeps them above .500 in the division while a loss puts them at exactly .500.
Game 161, the season is mercifully coming to an end. Except for a 6 week period or so in April-May, this season has been pretty disappointing. Here's some of my notable disappointments.
1. The inability to develop a bullpen.
2. Rocco being super concerned about pitchers going through the line up a 3rd time but replacing the starter with a reliever who can't get through the line up the first time.
3. Carlos Correa having a meh season when the Twins were competing and going lights out when they were out of it.
4. Lots of young good hitters who don't seem to have a natural place in the field
5. Trading for pitchers who are hurt
6. Poor execution on the basepaths
7. Poor execution with men on base
First Pitch at 7:10 from the Southside.
So we're in that "with a whimper" territory for the 2022 season. Ah well. We're gonna need to sweep the Sox to have a better record than them. If we can do that, I'll have a larger measure of peace for this season.
Johnny Cueto
vs
Josh Winder
The final week of games. Most of them against Chicago. Plenty of time to end the season on a high note by beating up on them and finishing second.
Finally, we've circled this week since the schedule came out over the winter. Six of the last nine games against the White Sox to determine who would be the AL Central Division champs. These two teams have been eying each other all year long and finally it's put up or shut up time with the winner off to the playoffs. There is nothing more thrilling that play-off like baseball in September.
Bailey Ober for the Twins and old friend Lance Lynn for the Whities.
First pitch at 6:40 but buckle in, these next games are going to be epic.
Bailey Ober
vs
Daniel Lynch
Let's take a look at the Twins traded away in the offseason, or deadline for Mahle, and how they performed compared to the players acquired.
Twins traded away this year:
| Name | PAs/IP | wRC+/ERA- | rWAR | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch Garver | 215 | 100 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 490 | 86 | 2.7 | 1.1 |
| Josh Donaldson | 495 | 101 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Spencer Steer | 64 | 84 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Brent Rooker | 36 | 15 | -0.5 | -0.4 |
| Taylor Rogers | 60.1 | 127 | -0.9 | 0.9 |
DRS likes Kiner-Falefa's fielding but UZR and OAA rate him as average. Similar with Donaldson but OAA agrees with DRS.
Rogers has replicated his 2020 season where he has a below average ERA but above average/good FIP. Although his FIP since the trade to Milwaukee has also been bad but it was very good with San Diego.
Acquired Twins this year:
| Name | PAs/IP | wRC+/ERA- | rWAR | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Sánchez | 425 | 87 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Gio Urshela | 495 | 112 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Chris Paddack | 22.1 | 105 | 0.2 | 0.9 |
| Emilio Pagán | 58.0 | 126 | -0.8 | -0.3 |
| Tyler Mahle | 16.1 | 115 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
We still doing these? Well I am. Twins look to lick their wounds against the Royals once again. Dylan Bundy v. Zach Grienke (who I think has pitched every game for the Royals against the Twins).
Twins Tragic Number: 9
First Pitch: 7:10p
4 games back. If they're gonna do it, they gotta do it now. And also pass the White Sox. And maybe if the AL East beats up on themselves they could somehow eek out a wild card spot and then lose right away?
I'm skeptical anything good will happen. But it's been a fun enough season, they took a step forward even with devastating injuries, I'm excited about several of their young players, and they're playing meaningful ball in September. I know that's a trite cliche, but I think it works for this team.
I'm too Minnesota to be truly optimistic, so maybe I'll just settle for "it's not winter yet."
Carlos Correa remains scorching hot at the plate
Zack Greinke
vs
Sonny Gray
This is Greinke's fourth start against the Twins this year. He's 0-3 so far, although one was a 0-1 loss. He's otherwise having a perfectly average season.
Just like the Twins exactly average 70-70 season. At this point, I'm simply hoping to finish with at least 82 wins. There are 11 games remaining against teams below .500 with the other 11 against Cleveland or Chicago.
