Minnesota Sports Forum

monsterpile wrote:That Santana guy is pretty good. 105 pitch complete game.

I watched the entire game, Monster...truly enjoyable. Baltimore's pitcher was almost as good...incredible overhead curve ball...but Santana was better. In fact he has been the best pitcher in baseball since last June. I've talked about how amazing his slider is, but last night was all about changing speeds and locating his fast ball. The Orioles just weren't able to catch up to the high fastball that he occasionally got up to 94.

Big night tonight with Berrios trying to continue his hot pace. I like Santana, Berrios and Santiago, but it gets dicey after that. Probably have to put the rookie Mejia 4th and hope they don't have to use Gibby much in the 5th spot...just not much help at AAA. Good news though with my two favorite lefties in the minors, Gonsalves and Thorpe. Both have been injured (Thorpe hasn't pitched since he was 18, and he just turned 21), but both are back again...I'm watching them closely hoping to see them in the rotation by summer 2018.

As for the lineup, they are producing even though the batting averages (other than Sano) are not good. I like your guy Grossman, Monster...gotta like a .405 OBP in the 2 hole. Mauer in the 3 hole though is a complete joke...if we really are competing for the pennant Mollie can't have a guy with a .705 OPS in the most important spot in the lineup. Another 0-4 with 2 K's last night for Joe. There are so many options at 3-4-5, and Mollie needs to pick and choose from Sano, Kepler, Dozier, and Vargas and drop Joe down to a position better suited to a low .700s OPS hitter...perhaps 7th or 8th.

The defense has been terrific. I hate Joe at the plate, but his defense at 1b is better than ever. The left side of the infield has been outstanding, Buxton is a stud, and opponents still haven't learned you can't run on Rosario...and everyone else is steady. This team is fun to watch in the field!

longstrangetrip wrote:

monsterpile wrote:That Santana guy is pretty good. 105 pitch complete game.

I watched the entire game, Monster...truly enjoyable. Baltimore's pitcher was almost as good...incredible overhead curve ball...but Santana was better. In fact he has been the best pitcher in baseball since last June. I've talked about how amazing his slider is, but last night was all about changing speeds and locating his fast ball. The Orioles just weren't able to catch up to the high fastball that he occasionally got up to 94.

Big night tonight with Berrios trying to continue his hot pace. I like Santana, Berrios and Santiago, but it gets dicey after that. Probably have to put the rookie Mejia 4th and hope they don't have to use Gibby much in the 5th spot...just not much help at AAA. Good news though with my two favorite lefties in the minors, Gonsalves and Thorpe. Both have been injured (Thorpe hasn't pitched since he was 18, and he just turned 21), but both are back again...I'm watching them closely hoping to see them in the rotation by summer 2018.

As for the lineup, they are producing even though the batting averages (other than Sano) are not good. I like your guy Grossman, Monster...gotta like a .405 OBP in the 2 hole. Mauer in the 3 hole though is a complete joke...if we really are competing for the pennant Mollie can't have a guy with a .705 OPS in the most important spot in the lineup. Another 0-4 with 2 K's last night for Joe. There are so many options at 3-4-5, and Mollie needs to pick and choose from Sano, Kepler, Dozier, and Vargas and drop Joe down to a position better suited to a low .700s OPS hitter...perhaps 7th or 8th.

The defense has been terrific. I hate Joe at the plate, but his defense at 1b is better than ever. The left side of the infield has been outstanding, Buxton is a stud, and opponents still haven't learned you can't run on Rosario...and everyone else is steady. This team is fun to watch in the field!

You are coming around on Robbie. I was listening to the Wetmore Mackey Touch em All podcast yesterday (listened to a couple of them) and they said since 2016 season there are like 3 guys with a better OBP than Grossman. Pretty amazing.

I thought Mauer was coming around but I just looked at some splits and he is hitting .322 with .420 OBP in May which was much better than I would have expected.

Geez, in the last three days, the Twins just put a stop to whatever momentum and good feelings Baltimore had going. Getting swept at home and now they have the pleasure to go into Houston for a series!

Love it!

so this is a mirage right? I haven't really watched so far this year I was under the assumption we were going to be terrible

Their run diff has finally gone green. It was impressive how long they stayed at or near the top of their division while deep in the red.

BloopOracle wrote:so this is a mirage right? I haven't really watched so far this year I was under the assumption we were going to be terrible

Only time will tell. I will say this though Sano looks legit. Teams don't pitch to him. That's a big deal for a lineup to have a player like that.

monsterpile wrote:

BloopOracle wrote:so this is a mirage right? I haven't really watched so far this year I was under the assumption we were going to be terrible

Only time will tell. I will say this though Sano looks legit. Teams don't pitch to him. That's a big deal for a lineup to have a player like that.

Yeah, I'm enjoying the ride, but not ready to buy my playoff tickets yet :). It sure is fun being in first place when it's almost June.

Sano does look legit. He had a tough day today, striking out three times and missing some pitches that looked pretty hittable. Bremer had an interesting theory which he is going to research. He thinks Sano has bad games at the plate when he DHs (like today). If that's true, Mollie needs to put him out there at third every day,

One aspect of the Twins offense that is really fun to watch these days...Vargas and Kepler learning to go the other way rather than always trying to pull the ball. Defenses are going to less inclined to shift on them if they keep hitting to the opposite field.

TheSP wrote:Their run diff has finally gone green. It was impressive how long they stayed at or near the top of their division while deep in the red.

They are the anti-Wolves in that they win lots of close games and don't choke away leads.

(er, at least for now).

Q12543 wrote:

TheSP wrote:Their run diff has finally gone green. It was impressive how long they stayed at or near the top of their division while deep in the red.

They are the anti-Wolves in that they win lots of close games and don't choke away leads.

(er, at least for now).

This seems like the perfect time to add in a Magic Mentoring joke but idk who to credit. Breslow?

Q12543 wrote:Geez, in the last three days, the Twins just put a stop to whatever momentum and good feelings Baltimore had going. Getting swept at home and now they have the pleasure to go into Houston for a series!

Love it!

We're actually heading to Tampa Bay...an easier assignment than Houston. I see this series as a true test of whether this team can continue to be competitive, because our starters will likely be Santiago, Mejia and Gibson. If we can win 2 out of three with that trio, my pulse will likely rise a little.