FNG wrote:Jester1534 wrote:FNG wrote:Matt Shoemaker has been lights out in St. Paul, and has made some curious comments which didn't sit well with Rocco. He said the Twins were trying to make him pitch in a way that didn't make him successful, and since he was sent down, he has reverted to his old style and found success. If this is true, this is a serous indictment of Wes Johnson...a guy many thought was a genius a couple years ago. I've pointed out how "unlucky" the Twins have been this season because all four of their offseason acquisitions are performing far worse than their career numbers, but Shoemaker's comments make me wonder if something else is going on here. Two questions.
1) What are the changes the Twins forced on Shoemaker?
2) Should Johnson be fired if he had a hand in all four pitcher performing so poorly this year?
They had him throw his splitter 20 percent more because statistically it's his best pitch
It could be because
Happ turned 38
Colome FIP last year was awfully we even talked about how he was luckiest pitcher in league last year. But his FIP was always high in his career.
Shoemaker was depth signing nothing more. I didn't know Wes Johnson was the one throwing the ball right down the middle.
I wouldn't say he's rolling in the minors. He made it past 5 innings once and has 16/8 BB/K ratio. Also I was at one of the games where he went 5 innings. He walked 4 and gave up 2 hits to Cleveland terrible triple a team he was lucky to not be out by the 4th.
If anything I think the organization put to much trust in Wes Johnson after the emergence of Duffey and Rogers etc.
Thx for the info on the splitter. Odd that the Twins would be insisting on that since many pitching coaches I talk with think overuse of the splitter is more likely to lead to injury. Take a look at Shoe's stats in St. Paul. They use a lot of pitchers down there so it's difficult to get in more than 5 innings, but his stats are great in 5 games: 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and .182 BAA.
Just spend a moment looking at the stats of our four pickup pitchers last year compared to this...it's stunning. I get that Wes can't throw the ball for them, but the pitching coach has to be given some credit for good performances and blame for bad performances, doesn't he? Otherwise what is he there for? If I hired and supervised 4 people and they all ending up performing much, and I mean MUCH, worse than how they performed in their previous job, I wouldn't be feeling too good about my job security. Maybe it was just bad luck that all four of the guys stunk this year after being comparatively effective much of their careers, but Shoemaker's comments make me wonder. I a good ol' boys club, you protect your pitching coach...god knows Kelly and Gardenhire did it for years. But good ol' boys clubs don't always make the best decisions, and I'm concerned that's what's going on here. I wouldn't be opposed to Rocco making a pitching coach change this offseason.
I hate this line of thinking. What have you done for me lately thinking. Here are the pitchers Wes Johnson has improved since he's been here.
2020 Maeda almost won the cy young
2019 Pineda literal talks about him starting game 1 in the playoffs before he got popped for a weight loss pill.
Duffey 2019-2020 could argue was one best relievers in baseball. After changing his mechanics and ditching everything but his curve and fastball
Rogers 2020 all star
Odo 2019 all star till the injury bug but him
Berrios 2020 does he get no credit for His best year in his whole career
Does he get credit for them pitching well then or does he only get the credit when they shit the bed like Colome, happ and shoemaker?
Maybe shoemaker just had a good month in triple A? Why do you think he decided to go down to St Paul which no veteran ever does. It's because no one offered him a contract when they put him through waivers.
I would put money on Shoemaker not pitching in the mlb after this year.