AL Central Discussion

[Stakesarehigh]

Matt Manning breaks foot

There's not been a more ridiculous string of injuries than 1st or 2nd round starting pitchers drafted by Detroit in the last 5 years.

Never happened. In Earths history.

 

[catman]

That's all the Tigers need. Their pitching is pretty thin and now this........

 

[Stakesarehigh]

That's all the Tigers need. Their pitching is pretty thin and now this........

It shouldn't be

But my God

Mize
Skubal
Manning
Jobe

Turnbull coming off TJ after starting to turn a corner

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Amazing what happens when Twins trot out a lineup that somewhat maes sense.

Real hitters in the key spots.

 

[jarntt]

And the award for the worst responding security in baseball goes to…

 

[catman]

And the award for the worst responding security in baseball goes to…

Looks like a typical game in Chicago to me.
Seriously, security in the stadium is really poor. The Sox should be proud.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

As fun as it is finally having a Twins team with pitching that has me confident at almost all times.

It comes at a price. Almost every position player belongs on the Oakland A's.

None of these scrubs can hit. Miranda is the worst clean up hitter in the history of baseball. Gordon the worst utility player. Buxton the worst DH(seriously stop DH'ing a guy who bats like .210 when he has 8 other skillsets). Every batter.

Then you look at that bottom of the 8th innning. Jax throwing nasty benders left and right. Red sox get a run because with a guy on 1st 1 out

`1. Vasquez catcher interference
2. Miranda fields the inteferred ball and soft tosses to first
3. Solano comes off the bag to catch the ball. Allowing Hernandez to go 1st to 3rd and Mcquire to be safe at 1st and the Red sox to decline the infraction.
4. Infield in and Gordon cant make a quick good throw home to get the runner
5. Vasquez cant help him out by catching the ball anyways.

World Series pitching. Minor league everything else. WTF.

 

[catman]

Baldelli blows another game with poor pen usage?

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Baldelli blows another game with poor pen usage?

Honestly I am the biggest Rocco hater out there, and no I think he managed this game really well.

At first glance using Lopez so early would be confusing. But it was bottom of Sox order of all righties. Mowed them down. That set up Thielbar for the top of the order and 3/4 leftis. Got through them.

Gave Jax the middle to bottom of order with minimal match up advantages(for Sox). Clown show defense around 3 Ks let them tie it.

Used Duran in the 9th because it was top of Sox order. Duran put them down.

His options up 4-2 were Duran(on 19 pitches not happening) or Alcala, Pagan, Moran. Basically pick your poison. Morans control is a nightmare but the Sox had literally like 5 lefties due up so it made sense. Vasquez has got to block that ball to start the inning. Also FO has a guy with no control on the team so its on them thinking Moran belongs.

As far as hitting. Brutal. Fucking brutal. Kepler with a dong. Other than that no clutch hits. We scored off this

5th inning...walk/Hbp/bunt single. Got 1 run by going K, Sac fly, ground out. It was our 1-3 hitters

10th inning...Free runner/HBP/Walk. We scored by going Sac fly. RBI ground out(only cause we sent the runner woulda been a DP) and fly out. 3-5 hitters.

Miranda is fucking awful right now as a clean up. Dude got bailed out of a crushing DP(per usual) in the 10th cause we sent correa(baldellis decision) and Hernandez had all momentum going to home/1st.

 

[catman]

If Miranda doesn't hit, there is a real possibility that Julien could move over to 3rd for a while.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Was excited to see Marlins on the schedule until I saw Alcantra and Luzardo are on the docket for a 3 game series. Ugh. They better win Friday night against Garrett.

Guardians dealing with some SP issues- no Civale, no McKenzie.....

Hitting needs to start coming through. Rosario, Bell, Naylor, and especially Gonzalez need to do better.

 

[Picklerick 2.0]

Why are the white Sox so bad?

 

[catman]

It appears that their pitching has been very bad thus far. More hits allowed than innings pitched, WHIP of 1.54 and BAA of .262. They allow too many hits, walks, hit batters and homers. When they get Hendriks back, it should help, but they are relying too much on relievers that aren't particularly good at keeping runners off base.
Also, they are not hitting as well as they should be.

 

[navamind]

Why are the white Sox so bad?

Because they've had one of the worst owners in professional sports for decades? Only 6 playoff appearances in the last three decades... 7 under Reinsdorf. 2020-21 was the first time in franchise history that they had consecutive postseason appearances. And that's while playing in the AL Central. They always seem to be behind the curve in analytics and their drafting leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, they are not hitting as well as they should be.

Ehhh idk. They finished 9th in the AL in runs and now they're without Abreu. I'd expect some improvement from Vaughn, but I'm starting to worry about his power numbers. They've been rather pedestrian across his professional career, even as a prospect. Moncada's been all over the place in his seasons in Chicago and he's currently on the IL. Jimenez is struggling and while he's shown flashes of being a very good hitter, he can't stay healthy. Robert has also had health issues. Colas is intriguing, so is Sosa but he doesn't look ready just yet. Anderson's hurt.

I doubt they're this bad and I fully expect them to finish ahead of KC/DET, but I don't think the ceiling is very high with this team. But then again, you may not need to hit a high ceiling to win the AL Central. We'll see.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Hoping warmer weather and continued health(Polanco already making a huge impact) will help the Twins offense improve and dominate the division.

Because the pitching is fucking fun. Lopez, Ryan and Gray is such a good 3. Even with Lopez egg on Saturday.

 

[catman]

Kirilloff is doing well in St Paul. It appears his wrist is OK now. We'll see.

 

[VikingFan2k2]

Kirilloff is doing well in St Paul. It appears his wrist is OK now. We'll see.

He is key. He's honestly the best pure hitter the organization has had since Mauer. The question becomes, is he Mauer or is he Kubel?

 

[catman]

He is key. He's honestly the best pure hitter the organization has had since Mauer. The question becomes, is he Mauer or is he Kubel?

Good question. I saw him in the minors and his swing looked really good.
Mauer was a generational talent. Kubel was a decent, but not great, ballplayer. 108 OPS+ for his career means that he was a better than average hitter.

 

[catman]

Twins won a game that was a lot more "interesting" than it needed to be. I guess the W in the books is what is important.

 

[catman]

Could anyone see the Twins offering Joey Gallo a 3 -4 year contract to play a little bit of 1B, a little bit of outfield and a little bit of DH?