All Activity

Managers are irrelevant. Baldelli seems fine at his meaningless job. That said....the bullpen has been elite under this coaching staff (note the usual complainers not eating crow yet)...but I am worried we are burning them out early and could pay for it in August. Not Rocco's fault per se....but a concern.

Great comments, and seems we all agree he deserves to stay with the Twins. The only reason to send him down, IMO, would be if you sit down with him and say, "we want you to be comfortable playing, third, left and center." Then send him down for a couple weeks to play those positions. When he comes back he rotates between third and left, while also filling in at center or short when the Big Two need a break.

We think a like. I was hoping Medina but since he has control problems figured they start him in the GCL. I also like your MacLeod pick and maybe he is injury free now? Just have to believe they think someone is ready down there if they were willing to let Festa move up. I like both of your picks just not sure if either one is ready.. I guess they could stretch the five guys they have out more or do a bullpen game. The draft is a ways a way though so have to think they need one more arm. I hope it is Medina as I would like to see where he is at. Not much info out there on him so if he plays would know more.

It's fun to speculate on the different scenarios, but the reality is they all change as injuries happen, etc. Urshela hasn't actually played 1B this year. Only three games in the majors, two in 2017 and one in 2019. But the reality is that with Miranda's struggles, 1B is the position that has by far the least flexibility right now in terms of demonstrated ML games. Best I can tell, Arraez is the team leader (11) in career games played at 1B in the majors, followed by Miranda's 8, with a .348 OPS. No one has played significant games in the minors either, unless you count Miranda. So, my .02 worth. They play today and tomorrow, followed by an off day and then a stretch of 18 games in 17 days. That will require particular flexibility on the pitching side, so they may be hard-pressed to keep just 13 pitchers. Right now, there are 12 hitters active. Rocco was quoted as saying Correa won't be back today, but "I think we could see him out there this series." Gee, that leaves Wednesday. Miranda is the obvious send-down in performance, but that leaves only Arraez at 1B, with others as the emergency backup. If you don't like that, you have to keep Miranda, so your options are to send down Lewis or Garlick. Doing the latter means that you only have Buxton, Kepler, Gordon and Celestino in the OF, and you're committed to giving Buxton days off. Or you could send down a pitcher and play a few days with 13 pitchers. But in the upcoming stretch, even in full health, my hunch is that Correa would have gotten at least two days off in the 18 games in 17 day stretch. Coming back from injury, perhaps more. If activated, he'll play Thursday, but perhaps two out of three over the weekend, in which case you want Lewis around. Oh, and how close is Larnach? In my mind, a lot of it comes down to 1B and the comfort level of having only Arraez and an emergency back-up 1B there. I personally take my chances and send Miranda down. In the four days after today, I plan on four days of Arraez at 1B, three days of Correa and one of Lewis at SS. Lewis gets that day at SS, two as DH and a day off. By that time, another IL move will happen -- it just does. If so, Miranda's likely back up, even with the hitting struggles. In the meantime, Urshela's getting ground balls at 1B. I don't see them using Lewis there. Long-term, there's no chance he spends significant time at 1B, so if you're going to get him in the lineup at another defensive spot, make it be one he could conceivably play with regularity if Correa stays around another year. To me, that's only 3B. We mention LF, but we've got other options there and it's next on the defensive scale of easyness, so you don't waste his talent there. Lewis's only real experience is at 3b was in Arizona, but by all accounts, that went well. If he's even close to Urshela defensively and you have to play someone out of position as the backup at 1B, make it be the rental. Oh, and hope Miranda or Kirilloff regroups enough to be able to play 1B. But assuming no one gets hurt today, we'll know soon and then can resume bashing Rocco on how he handles the pitching staff. (Sarcasm alert on the prior phrase.)

Great to see that small ball executed, I miss that. Lewis was great again. Miranda needs some more time in AAA. Pitchers from that HOU series tried to find that extra gear and got beat up pretty bad. Glad to see the're bouncing back. Archer gave us a chance to win. Archer said he liked the way that Sanchez called the game, I did not. Archer had his change up working, he got some SOs with it. But many times where a change up was a perfect set up for a SO but was never called and had negative results. If change up was called more often in those situations IMO Archer could have gone 5 innings. Ideally I wanted Archer to start off in the BP as long relief but he hasn't fared as well there previously because of his mindset. In his last interview he stated he'd do anything for the team maybe he'd be open to try long relief until he's 100%. I'd be fine with this if Baldelli would change his mindset of practically totally ignoring long relief. The BP has also bounced back from that HOU series, so I'm hopeful.

The belief that an ace is needed to win in post season is such a myth. Yes, there are times that an ace does make a difference, but that is rare. We have gone to post season with an ace before and did nothing. Many teams have won the whole ship without an ace by most definitions. Remember when Oakland had 3 top pitchers and we had Brad Radke and a bunch of mid rotation guys? Radke was not an ace by most standards, and most likely would have been ranked 4th best pitcher in the series, the other three being all on Oakland rotation. Or remember how many series we won with Santana, who was an ace. Technically he was on staff in 2002, but was not in the playoff rotation. Now, I would agree if Lewis is showing that he can fully step in be the defender Correa is with the same level or better bat, and a team offers a long terms option top tier pitcher we should listen, because I still no believe Correa will be back next year. The problem you will have is that no team looking to take Correa in on a rental would be trading away an ace as they will want to keep them for their own playoff push. Only selling teams will trade pitching away, unless you are Cleveland that feels you can trade your top pitchers away because your pipeline is that strong.

He also hasn't pitched more than 123.2 innings in his professional career. and that was 4 years ago. and we had a late spring training to prep for 30 starts. They will get to a point where he will be let go and eat more innings.

Interesting?

Good summary!!!!! \m/

Super Utility. Think Chris Taylor with the Dodgers.

Nice Blog post! \m/

That's interesting. I don't have season tickets and those same tickets show as $12-$15 before fees for me. Were you logged into your season ticket holder account?

With playoff expansion I would not be surprised to see MLB drop to a 150 or even 144 game schedule in the future. Once they sell the expensive seats they don't care anymore. They know they have to keep the price of the "cheap seats" high in order to justify the prices of the expensive seats. They don't care about selling out the stadium as long as they're selling out the luxury boxes.

I’d say TK was more like Schopenhauer.

#3, plus any other position that helps him get everyday reps.

If I want to buy discounted tickets I believe the only way to do that is online. I don't think I can enter a coupon code at walk-up. Of course the walk-up is probably still cheaper than buying online after the fees that are higher than the original discount. I agree that walk-up ticket sales for single game seats is the way to go. I might even find someone outside who offers me a discount on the tickets they're "unable to use".

I'm excited to see if he can continue the dominance. Being able to sit in the upper 90s as a starter would certainly suggest that he can. He seems to be the leading candidate to be this year's version of Ober/Winder/Varland; a 13th round pick adding velocity and rocketing up the prospect lists. For replacement moves, it would be a bit of a surprise but possible that the PTBNL Brayan Medina could fill the spot. We also haven't seen 5th rounder Christian MacLeod yet but I think that is because he is injured. I think we could also see guys pushed up the ladder ahead of him. Gipson-Long or Headrick seem like candidates to head up to Wichita soon. Also, as long as they manage to keep Canterino healthy I think it would be a good idea to push him as quickly as his results will dictate.

The dobnak and odorizzi was a statement of sending a rookie out there in front of the worst hecklers of a visiting team , Experience still would have been my choice with odorizzi but they claimed odorizzi had a winning record at target field and he did pitch fairly well .... but we went 3 and out . 1 bunt , hurray ,, How about stealing bases , hit and run , situational hitting with runners on base ,,, or 2 strikes and batters making adjustments ,,,, see arreaz for adjustments , bats like gwynn and hits like carew , love that major leaguer Catchers aren't as good as they once were at throwing out base stealers , when we have trouble scoring runs , steal bases and get runners in scoring position I love the homerun that is a game changer but not the solo homers that almost never won the game ... A complete 180 degree change in the way baseball is played sucks , but I'm still a follower of the twins and of all baseball teams .. i live for opening day and the world series and everything in between ... You don't have to be a follower to be successful and stop executing the way baseball was intended to be played ,,, Watch other teams manager's manage in game decisions and strategy ,,, this was a discussion of our manager

Also went and looked up CES' bio from OK State since B Ref only listed his 2021 college year. The guy has been crushing it for a while now and looks like the part of a serious baseball "Dude". Time (and better and better competition) will tell just how far he goes, but the building blocks are there... this kid can play ball. From his Bio at OK State: JUNIOR COLLEGE: An All-American performer at Yavapai College … hit .410 with 31 doubles, 33 home runs and 103 RBIs in 81 career games … sophomore season was cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic but prior to that he hit 11 homers and drove in 33 runs to go along with a .430 batting average … as a freshman in 2019, was named the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was a First-Team All-American and First-Team NJCAA All-Region I honoree … was also a national Gold Glove Award winner … led the ACCAC with 22 homers and 70 RBIs and was second with a .402 batting average … drafted in the 34th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by Seattle.

He is more ready to help the team than Miranda. He can help by serving in a utility role until Larnach is ready to return. Does he help more than Garlick or Celestino? He does if Correa is needing more rest to manage any return of swelling in his hand.

This is a fantastic article. Baldelli has posted an absurd 231-189 record during his tenure as a Twins manager, and has had to navigate several challenges: the growing pains of the Falvey/Levine era (i.e. like Nick says, the signings of Happ and Shoemaker), injuries to star players, and a franchise that is decidedly mid-market. While I think it's valid to critique some of his in-game decisions, it's reductive to limit one's evaluation of a manager to these decisions alone. In addition to some of his solid, in-game strategic calls, Baldelli's intangible qualities are what stand out to me the most. The Twins seem to have a remarkably healthy clubhouse culture, and in a game like baseball, which is premised on alertness, instinctual reaction, and communication, I think team chemistry and a healthy mindset are especially important for player success. The fact that Buxton WANTED to stay in Minnesota (and was willing to reduce the magnitude of his contract to get it done!) cannot be overstated. That's a franchise-altering decision, and I can't imagine it getting done if Buxton didn't enjoy playing for Rocco. And the fact that Carlos Correa - within just a few weeks of being here!! - expressed openness to a longer-term contract is testament to the player-friendly and supportive clubhouse culture that has been nurtured. Rocco is special, and I'm so grateful he's our guy!!

The only one I ever "hated" was Gardenhire. I didn't like the fact that he kept a picture of Steinbrenner in his office, and that with several excellent teams - he never won spit. And, he seemed thick. TK wasn't Immanuel Kant, either, but he was a very canny baseball manager, and got his teams ready for the playoffs. Wouldve preferred they had retained Molitor.

Nice work getting that really necessary cheap shot at skor north in there. Legitimately no reason to hate on someone else's well formed article and startup sports media platform because their opinion doesn't align with yours. Im saying this while also acknowledging you too have a nice write up. There is no right or wrong answer to what side you are on when it comes to this topic.

Thanks for the heads up Seth, looked pretty cool. Very interesting to see the takes on another organization. Although, if I'm being honest... felt a bit naughty going to another site (OMG, I'm such a horrible person!) just kidding... it's a pretty good site

Reality is sometimes painful. Lewis is such a competitor and fun guy to cheer for. He's determined and has the personality and confidence of a star. He's smooth in the field but doesn't have either the softest hands or perfect timing in the field. He also doesn't have a bat that plays in a corner yet. Martin is our 1 or 2 prospect. Noah Miller might be a fast riser. Paddock is hurt and we have no ace.... Would we get more for Correa, Royce, or Martin? Correa's the best player of them and trading him makes us worse, but if we can get the pitcher we need, he needs to be dealt.