Twins 2023 Thread

We will all see soon enough. I will take Division winner in a soft Division vs. a losing season. They were competitive with most teams except TB and Atlanta.

Twins add Paddock send Winder down.

Nice, I’m excited to see him pitch. Hopefully he can come back and be a nice addition for next year.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Nice, I’m excited to see him pitch. Hopefully he can come back and be a nice addition for next year.

They’re reporting Paddock hit 98 on the gun with the Saints. I don’t think he got past 93 in his first stint with the Twins… We’ll see ~

I take all these pitching speeds with a grain of salt. I think they are using hot guns pumping the numbers.

FryDog62 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
Nice, I’m excited to see him pitch. Hopefully he can come back and be a nice addition for next year.

They’re reporting Paddock hit 98 on the gun with the Saints. I don’t think he got past 93 in his first stint with the Twins… We’ll see ~

I’m guessing he’s coming out of the pen in case they want to use him in the bullpen for the playoffs. That would explain the increased velocity.

Dutchboy wrote:

I take all these pitching speeds with a grain of salt. I think they are using hot guns pumping the numbers.

I agree, I dont ever remember so many pitchers throwing in the upper 90s. 20 years ago there were barely any hitting mid 90s and Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan were the real flame throwers of their era.

Dutchboy wrote:

I take all these pitching speeds with a grain of salt. I think they are using hot guns pumping the numbers.

I remember a few years back, I was at Hammond Stadium for a Spring Training game. Outside before the game they had a big tent you could throw and a radar gun would give your velocity. Let’s just say there was no evidence of a “hot gun” when I threw… lol

Wallner heating up before the playoffs would be huge! Its also been reported that Carlos and Royce rehabs are ahead of schedule… great news!

Getting more power arms back from injury for the bullpen is great!

#MNTwins activated Brock Stewart from the injured list and designated for assignment Dylan Floro.

Stewart and Chris Paddack are both expected to pitch in relief tonight.

As bad as this season seemed from time to time this team could easily have gotten to 100 wins. They will probably end up with 88 or so and Rocco alone could easily account for giving away at least a dozen or more with boneheaded pitching moves.

Jeremy you are exactly right, we should not be worrying who we are playing in the wild card round, we should have a bye. Rocco is the issue, and it is going ot be interesting to see how long he will let our starting pitchers go in the playoffs. This team has a chance as we can pitch, unlike our last few futile playoff attempts.

JEREMY wrote:

As bad as this season seemed from time to time this team could easily have gotten to 100 wins. They will probably end up with 88 or so and Rocco alone could easily account for giving away at least a dozen or more with boneheaded pitching moves.

What proof do you have that shows they were bad moves? I’m not a Rocco lover by any means, but there is no way to prove what he did would turn out better/worse/same had he not made the decision, it’s all speculation.

They all look like bad moves when it doesn’t turn out the way it was planned.

I guess when he pulls out a guy thats given up no runs through 6 or 7 innings on 75 or less pitches and the same bullpen guys come in and give up the lead without getting an out I would call that bad decisions.

JEREMY wrote:

I guess when he pulls out a guy thats given up no runs through 6 or 7 innings on 75 or less pitches and the same bullpen guys come in and give up the lead without getting an out I would call that bad decisions.

Ok, who’s to say the starting pitcher doesn’t fall apart that same inning? I’ve seen every one of the starting pitchers go through multiple innings with barely a fault, then boom 4-5 runs on the board. Lopez did it just the other game against the Sox. It’s happened to Ryan multiple times.

All I am saying, is you’re basing your thoughts on only your speculation. There is no evidence that the outcome would have been any better hand he stuck with Pitcher A over B. And trust me I cringe every time I see Pagan on the mound.

JEREMY wrote:

I guess when he pulls out a guy thats given up no runs through 6 or 7 innings on 75 or less pitches and the same bullpen guys come in and give up the lead without getting an out I would call that bad decisions.

Yeah in hindsight that makes perfect sense, but there is no way of knowing it would have worked keeping him in.

Twins win 6-4.

From Gleeman:

Royce Lewis (hamstring), Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis), and Byron Buxton (knee) each hit off live pitching in a simulated game today at Target Field. Of note: Lewis hit a home run, presumably with ghost runners on all three bases for a simulated grand slam.

Dutchboy wrote:

I take all these pitching speeds with a grain of salt. I think they are using hot guns pumping the numbers.

do they change the guns out when different pitchers come in?

Ryan was in the low 90’s
Thielbar was in the low 90’s
Stewart was pumping 98

So good to see Stewart back. this BP needs him back to have any chance in the post season.

At the cabin so caught the end of the game when the HR derby broke out.

How in the world can you put Buxton in your lineup for the playoffs…

Well, here we go…vs. Toronto Tues-Weds-(if)Thurs. Unfortunately it looks like all 3 games start at 3:30 but I suppose I’ll be able to catch the later innings.

Jays are playing well. The pitching will need to step up big time to give the Twinks a chance. I wouldn’t bet on them but I wouldn’t bet against them either.

Of the three teams that came down to the wire, Blue jays are the team I feared playing the most. My prediction is we finally break our playoff streak, but lose the series due to quiet bats.

I think the Twins are going to surprise alot of people this playoff season…maybe getting to the World series is a stretch, but I can absolutely see them getting to the ALCS…

I think the starting pitching and bullpen will be fine, the key will be if the 3 rookies get overwhelmed by the pressure…Wallner in particular…

If the Twins can’t hit the good pitching, they’re done.
In the attached pic, I’m 3rd in line but will be back on if they beat Toronto.

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Greenhorn wrote:

Of the three teams that came down to the wire, Blue jays are the team I feared playing the most. My prediction is we finally break our playoff streak, but lose the series due to quiet bats.

IDK, the Rays seem to dominate us so definitely didn’t want them IMO. Houston is the defending champs and have some very experienced winners so probably not them. Texas maybe would have been a little better but ok with Toronto. Nothing will be easy this time of year.

I’m glad we got the Jays. The only other team I would’ve rather played more was the Mariners when they were still in it. Houston ALWAYS beats us, and TB is a damn good team. We can handle TOR if our offense gets going and our bullpen doesn’t go off the rails (which I’m not confident about). Should be a good series.

As for Buxton, if he had gotten into some games at the end of the season and showed some offensive capability, I’d feel okay with him on the roster. I wouldn’t put him on it at this point though. I’m sure we will see him on it however.

Just heard Derek Falvey on with PA, and learned a lot of surprising things about this years squad. Apparently Lopez and Gray are both Cy Young contenders, and he wouldn’t be surprised if either one, won it. Almost everything I’ve read had Cole as the front runner, and that was the first I’d heard their names in that convo. ESPN Cy Young predictor doesn’t have either in the top 10….And also what a great manager Rocco is, basically Tito Francona 2.0. I realize he’s got promote his own squad, and I haven’t been paying attention, but those both were news to me!

Lopez and Gray are among the best in AL ERA and strikeouts, that at least gets them in the conversation…I don’t think either is Cy Young worthy though…

I’ll give Rocco credit in that his 2nd half of the season decision making was ALOT better than his first half..maybe he finally learned from his own mistakes…

I just have a bad feeling Royce and or Carlos are going to have a Wild’s Joel Erickson Ek moment in the first inning of game one…god I hope not!

Twins opened as slim Vegas favorites to knock Toronto out.

I’m in agreement. I think the Twins advance in the short 3 game series and then get knocked out by Houston. They have enough pitching, and it SHOULD be all hands on deck in any scenario on the mound to survive the series with Toronto. I’m not sure they have the bats to go any further than that, but time will tell.