caulfield12

Has to be one of the sloppiest/ugliest games of the season...between Detroit's defense and lack of any interesting offensive threats (outside of Cabrera/Baddoo) and our terrible hitting with RISP.

Indians putting the finishing touches on the Twins...seemingly, 7-4 to the 9th.

Can we arrange a Zoom call between Jay Bruce and Grandal about the benefits of retiring at age 34?

Is Grandal just going to walk away from his contract and retire like Gil Meche...? Jesus, that's brutal.

Uh-oh...at least Lucas can claim a Hall of Famer type baseball person homered off him. Back to acting?

Baddoo's the only player in their line-up that could start for the White Sox...as long as he keeps it up (see Yermin.)

Back up to 95 MPH is a bit encouraging right out of the gate...

If the Twins get buried early, they're really going to be stuck in the middle about trading guys like Cruz, Maeda, Simmons, Donaldson (that would take some money going the other way in subsidy)...and especially maxing out the return for Buxton/Berrios. We're still two months away from those decisions, but they're definitely a team that was set up to be "all in" in 2021/22. Just don't see how they could possibly pull off a "retooling on the fly" approach. For every example like Astros from 2005 (15-30), the Nationals in 2019...one of those Cardinals teams that finished 4 over or even the 87/91 Twins, those are pretty anomalous situations and certainly can't be counted on. Maybe ONE team in the majors every five years pulls that off. Maybe the A's this year, for example, that started 1-6 or 1-7, whatever it was.

When do we start rooting against CLE? Looks like they will be .500, Twins at -8, but still a long ways to go. Btw, we are on turn/rotation to get Cy Civale on Sunday. Has given up 3 tonight.

You might want to send a note to the A’s and Giants...yes, there’s starting pitcher of the day, but there’s also a team-based momentum or trend. Like everything that possibly can go wrong will go wrong with the Twins these last two weeks.

They want to see more pull groundouts from Leury and Grandal...Urena is a classic sinkerball pitcher.

This is the definition of a trap game, even without Robert. Giolito fell apart last time out, we’re coming in with a winning streak and Tigers collapsing.

Well, now they will give the Vaughn/Hamilton/Lamb competition another 2-3 weeks...and into the minor league season.

Swing and miss rates on slider and change? How many balls vs. strikes on those two pitches?

So Taylor Rogers will be the man. The best White Sox closers have been finds like Jenks, Santos and Foulke...because they were so cheap for a team with a middling payroll. Otoh, guys like Koch, Robertson and even Dotel crowded other needed players out because they cost too much. You could add Linebrink as well, although more of a setup guy.

In the end, they’d probably have at least one more title if they could have gotten through LA or Washington but the same basic problem this year with him on the shelf. Probably the resources to keep Darvish in the fold. Starting pitching the biggest issue...just not getting anything from their complementary players outside the core four.

Another interesting comment at MLB Trade Rumors is that Carlos Correa was offered “only” $120 million (similar to Bogaerts deal) from the Astros to extend but envisions himself more as a $240 million guy. Not with that injury history. Astros are eventually going to have some tough decisions to make, just like the Cubs. Both teams with big, bloated payrolls...trying to hold on one more year in suddenly very competitive divisions. Verlander claims he’s returning late this season, but that would be an amazing feat at his age.

It’s also sad to see what has become of Cabrera, quite similar to Pujols. Their best pitcher, Boyd, likely gets traded. Mize started out well but consistently is only at 93-94, touching 95. Reminds me of all the hype over Andruw Miller before they traded him to the Marlins. They’re going through a ton of growing pains, especially on offense. Akil Baddoo has started off well, but he might actually be their most interesting player offensively. Not sure if any of their current lineup members are even still around in 2-3 years. Here’s a look at the Tigers’ top prospects: Spencer Torkelson, 3B/1B (MLB No. 3) Casey Mize, RHP (No. 11) Riley Greene, OF (No. 21) Tarik Skubal, LHP (No. 24) Matt Manning, RHP (No. 25) https://www.mlb.com/prospects/tigers/

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/04/2021-22-mlb-free-agent-power-rankings-2.html Slim pickings. Most of the top possibilities are on contending teams, at least for now. There's the uncertainty surrounding Eloy's return and effectiveness. There's also the difficulty of dealing with the Cubs, and the fact that the Northsiders are going to have some really difficult decisions to make on their three big guys (and Contreras as well.) Scherzer's (0.6 fWAR) the one who really stands out...but God knows what the asking price will/would be. Bryant's going to have a ton of value too if he continues to demonstrate that 2019 was a fluke...especially with his positional flexibility. Gausman (0.7 fWAR) seems as good a bet as any, but the Giants so far are surprising contenders. Unlikely the Mets would deal Syndergaard/Stroman (0.5 fWAR), or the Angels Dylan Bundy, etc. Freddie Freeman still hasn't signed an extension yet with the Braves, he'll be one to keep an eye on as well. Matthew Boyd's (DET) name will come up quite frequently as well. SLIM PICKINGS BELOW... Charlie Morton SP 38 R R ATL $15,000,000 - 0.6 fWAR Yusei Kikuchi SP 31 SEA $14,500,000 - -0.1 fWAR Alex Cobb SP 34 R R LAA $15,000,000 - 0.4 fWAR Danny Duffy SP 33 L L KC $15,500,000 - 0.9 fWAR Tanner Roark SP 35 R R TOR $12,000,000 - -0.2 fWAR Corey Kluber SP 36 R R NYY $11,000,000 - -0.2 fWAR Drew Smyly SP 33 L L ATL $11,000,000 - -0.3 fWAR Carlos Martinez SP 30 STL $17,000,000 - 0.3 fWAR Garrett Richards SP 34 BOS $10,000,000 - -0.1 fWAR Noah Syndergaard SP 29 L R NYM $9,700,000 $29,170,293 Zach Davies SP 29 R R CHC $8,630,000 - -0.1 fWAR Dylan Bundy SP 29 S R LAA $8,325,000 - 0.3 fWAR Eduardo Rodriguez SP 29 L L BOS $8,300,000 - 0.4 fWAR Robbie Ray SP 30 L L TOR $8,000,000 - -0.1 fWAR Jose Quintana SP 33 R L LAA $8,000,000 - 0.2 fWAR Adam Wainwright SP 40 R R STL $8,000,000 - 0.3 fWAR Jordan Lyles SP 31 R R TEX $8,000,000 - 0.0 fWAR Andrew Heaney SP 31 L L LAA $6,750,000 - 0.7 fWAR Chris Archer SP 33 R R TB $6,500,000 - 0.2 fWAR Jake Arrieta SP 36 CHC $10,000,000 - 0.5 fWAR Jon Gray SP 30 R R COL $6,000,000 -***** 0.4 fWAR Anthony DeSclafani SP 32 R R SF $6,000,000 - 0.4 fWAR Steven Matz SP 31 R L TOR $5,200,000 - 0.4 fWAR Yaisel Sierra SP R R LAD $8,500,000 - Martin Perez SP 31 BOS $6,000,000 - 0.1 fWAR Jon Lester SP 38 L L WSH $2,000,000 - Michael Lorenzen SP 30 R R CIN $4,437,500 - Vincent Velasquez SP 30 R R PHI $4,000,000 - -0.1 fWAR Aaron Sanchez SP 29 R R SF $4,000,000 - 0.4 fWAR Michael Fiers SP 37 R R OAK $3,500,000 - Jose Urena SP 30 R R DET $3,250,000 - 0.4 fWAR Julio Teheran SP 31 R R DET $3,000,000 - 0.0 fWAR Alex Wood SP 31 R L SF $3,000,000 - 0.3 fWAR Michael Wacha SP 31 R R TB $3,000,000 - 0.2 fWAR Matt Moore SP 33 L L PHI $3,000,000 - -0.3 fWAR Merrill Kelly SP 33 ARI $5,250,000 - 0.1 fWAR (2022 club option) Tyler Anderson SP 32 L L PIT $2,500,000 - 0.3 fWAR Joe Ross SP 29 R R WSH $1,500,000 - 0.0 fWAR Jerad Eickhoff SP 31 R R NYM $1,250,000 - Jhoulys Chacin SP 34 R R COL $1,000,000 - -0.1 fWAR Tom Milone SP 35 L L TOR $1,000,000 - 0.3 fWAR Matt Harvey SP 33 R R BAL $1,000,000 - 0.4 fWAR Shelby Miller SP 31 R R CHC $875,000 - -0.1 fWAR Kohl Stewart SP 27 R R CHC $700,000

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/angry-subscribers-canceling-netflix-over-203728850.html Over carrying "Hype House" reality show, many members came down with Covid-19, didn't disclose...kept on filming during the lockdown

Colome is not well-suited for any situation where he comes into the game and runners are already in scoring position... Both teams have pretty woeful offenses right now. Twins badly need Buxton back, day to day with patella/r tendonitis.

With the Braves, has a mid 2's ERA, and throwing 95-96.5ish tonight. 2.16 ERA. 8 1/3 IP, 6 K's. Didn't realize his nickname was "Nate's Nation." Not bad for a 35 year old who's gone through all the injuries he has, and constant criticism from SoxTalk about his throwing motion. Fulmer's hitting 94 and 95, even 95.4 with one pitch. Low 3's ERA, retired World Series baseball people Max Muncy (K), Will Smith and Chris Taylor. Never in a million years could/would Carson have held a one run lead on the road against a team like the Dodgers when he was a member of the White Sox. Never would have been given the opportunity...and didn't pitch well enough under Cooper's "tutelage/passive-aggressiveness."

Yeah but we might need to trade him, Sheets, Adolfo, Rutherford, etc., for relief help as the season goes on. Nice insurance to have if he can put his career back together. Nobody would have predicted Yermin Mercedes would be our most important hitter the first month.

Core strengthening...

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=50&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=21,d&page=1_30 Moncada leading all of MLB in FG defense. Eaton Top 30. Robert is lower than expected. TA in same vicinity. (How Avi Garcia, for example, is higher...no idea) Abreu at -0.8 and Madrigal at -1.1, but overall 0.3 fWAR would give him roughly 2-2.5 for a full season. Gallo, who won a Gold Glove last year, at the very bottom. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=50&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=4&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31