KipWellsFan

I'm not going to argue that Grandal is having a great season... but what other option do we really have? Collins does seem pretty solid behind the plate. But he has never proven he can hit at the major league level. Are we all of a sudden ready to let him take 400 at bats? And I also have to believe there is something to all the stat-head love for Grandal. I saw one list from like a month ago that ranked Yasmani #31 in ALL OF BASEBALL. And if he can cut out the catcher's interference I still think he is a strong pitch framer. I thought he stole a few strikes for Lucas last night.

This is what I was thinking... Cease hasn't hit 5 innings in 7 starts. That's not really tenable.

Also I hope COVID hasn't in some way materially affected his ability to identify pitch types.

This is very interesting. Thanks Jack! First impression... This is still a very small sample size for 2021. His batting average has actually never been higher against fastballs. That will probably come down a little. Second impression is that he hasn't always struggled against breaking balls and offspeed. In 2019 he was almost as good against offspeed as fastballs. Hopefully things start returning to a more normal rate against breaking and offspeed.

This is a strange thread... Madrigal is on our team. He is our boy! Why are we making fun of his height!? Madrigal doesn't have to be Altuve or Pedroia to have a good major league career. If you think every #4 pick needs to be an MVP contender you are going to be consistently disappointed. If he can get the goofball plays under control, his elite contact level should make him a pretty good player. He's perfectly fine on any team as an 8 or 9 hitter. Especially in our case with batters like Tim Anderson, Luis Robert, and Jose Abreu that follow him. And I just feel like his elite contact levels mean there could be something special about this guy. If he can add a few walks and/or a few more extra base hits to his repertoire he becomes a pretty elite level player pretty quick. I don't think it's crazy to think he could improve his patience and/or power a bit. Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned and behind the time on all the sabre-metrics. But I think Madrigal is very promising. P.S. Someone was making fun of David Eckstein earlier. His two World Series rings and World Series MVP say hello.

Madrigal not throwing it hard enough to first.

I'm glad he's proving me wrong these days!

I always assumed teams have some kind of insurance to account for major injuries and such. Like if you pay a player $20 Million per year, and he is out for the year, maybe a certain % is covered by insurance. Does anyone know?

Do we know the games will be 7 innings?

After getting TA back yesterday, the lineup looks very strong. Just need to get a few guys going. And the pitching looks very solid. I'm not that worried.

The main reason we lost the game tonight is Bieber, period. But boy, it's hard to look at that lineup and say that TLR gave his team the best shot at winning. I can't for the life of me figure out why Williams and Lamb are hitting 5th and 7th tonight. A week from today they could both be without a major league team and no one would be surprised. It's a real headscratcher. I'm not that bothered by Crochet coming in. It's not like Hendriks has been lights out. Also you could move Moncada to the 2 spot, or down in the lineup. But without Moncada hitting, and Eloy out, this team isn't going anywhere. Doesn't matter where TLR puts him in the lineup.

I am concerned.

Try living in eastern time zone...

I'm a little concerned that Luis Robert is actually not that great at hitting.

Moncada please!

Can we stop with all the suggestions that Moncada is soft? In the last three seasons, he has basically played the same number of games as Tim Anderson (actually a few more). And he seemed to have toughed it out last year while dealing with COVID. Moncada appears to have elite level athleticism, but he couldn't even run the bases last year without being totally gassed. From me, he actually gets credit for toughing it out, even when he couldn't put up 2019-type numbers. But that's just me, and doesn't mean Lamb isn't useful depth.

My gut says more credit for this should go to clubhouse leaders like Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. But TLR could be part of that.

Is there anything he can't do?!?!

Sorry for the random response, but Kyyle I just noticed your signature block, and wanted to say that I was at that game. I think it was at the metrodome eh?

I thought the most encouraging thing was seeing Moncada swipe second base. He looked healthy yesterday.

Some of us come here to get updates about Spring Training.

Went back and watched Zodiac on the weekend. Really great.

I think people are more likely to remember the tough innings Colomé had, but don't really remember all the clean, or almost totally clean innings he had. Last year he had 21 (i think) appearances. In 8 of those appearances he faced the minimum number of batters. Additionally, i think he only allowed more than 2 baserunners 3 times. So pretty clean. Obviously, he may come back to earth. But do I think Hendriks is worth 2.1X what the Twins will pay Colomé this season? No.

Good for him. It's a long shot. But he's the type of player that could do it. Love Nicky!

Is it possible to get a "secret" pardon?