mtutiger

That's really the first shutout this year???

Alright, now go break up the shutout.

I'm trying to decide whether tonight is more frustrating than last night lol

Haase getting pulled for Harold.... yeesh

They are basically a more talented version of last year's team. The Mazaras and Ramos and Joneses are gone, but the results are still ugly

I mean, this is what Pineda is... he's useful as a lower end starter but can give up some runs. Problem is that that you have no room for any of that with this kind of offense.

Game definitely over now lol

Well, at least Faedo and Meadows are doing well in their debuts. Better than the product the big club is putting out lol

2-0, with the black hole on death due to bat

Goodness, Kepler is hot...

Why losing last night hurts... Pineda is gonna have to pitch perfect for them to have a chance against Ryan. At least with the approach they have at the plate right now

Good Lord Candy

Alex Faedo's first start for Toledo tonight!

As a general rule, throwing more balls than strikes should generally be considered a bad thing. And the thing is that Fulmer would probably admit it...

Again, I think he is a very good pitcher and has done a good job this season. But I watched his outing last night an he gave up a lot of hard contact and lacked the control that one normally expects from him. It doesn't mean he lost them the game, it doesn't mean that he's not a good pitcher, he just didn't have his good stuff last night. Which happens to even the best of pitchers. Looking at the run column and making a judgment on a pitcher's outing doesn't necessarily tell the story. We've all survived Todd Jones, Fernando Rodney, Jose Valverde and (now) Gregory Soto, so we should know this by now.

I would prefer that a pitcher throw strikes while locating their pitches. If they are walking guys and/or grooving fastballs, they aren't doing a good job. Which, on both counts, was what Fulmer did in at times in his outing last night. I'm happy that he walked away unscathed, but just because a pitcher doesn't give up any runs in an outing doesn't mean he had his good stuff.

Doubling down on Haase tonight

He threw more balls than strikes. And he served up a cookie to Buxton that was lucky to not have been hit out. How Soto pitched has absolutely no bearing or relevance on the job that Fulmer did... he wasn't good and he got lucky that he didn't give up any runs. I have a lot of confidence in him, but just because I do doesn't mean I'm gonna pull punches when I see him have a subpar outing. Sorry.

The Mets broadcast just played a clip of Chris Bassitt absolutely trashing the balls that MLB has been supplying this year.

Alternatively, he didn't have a good outing. I like Fulmer, but I'm just calling it like I saw it. He wasn't good, and he was lucky that it wasn't worse.

Yeah, I do agree with this. And ultimately could be an example of how the relative strength of the bullpen with the expanded bullpen size may have worked to his disadvantage. In retrospect, the Angel De Jesus game would have been a good one for him to work in, or perhaps the following game that night.

I wish Hinch would be open to a more "by committee" approach, but even by that measure, I'm fine with how he ultimately staged the relievers yesterday (ie. Fulmer for the top of the Twins order, Soto for after). Fulmer got the better part of the lineup, which would have made sense in any event for me. I do wonder over the course of this year whether Lange may catch up to / pass Soto and/or Fulmer.... he's got great stuff, and if he finds more consistency, I think his ceiling is higher.

The flip side is that they weren't too predictive of Fulmer last night.

I suppose Soto has an option, so there's that. Anyone advocating for sending him down to AAA?