Five Games, Seven Runs

[Brock Beauchamp]

This is not a term I use often to describe a team but...

 

Pathetic.

 

The team hasn't given up more than five runs in any of those games so not only are the Twins not hitting, they've wasted several good pitching efforts in very winnable games.

 

How is Oswaldo Arcia not on this team? How do they continue to do so little when options are available?

 

It's maddening.

[DaveW]

Two of those runs were off wild pitches and one more was set up because of a wild pitch. I think like 2 or 3 others were off solo home runs.

Pathetic is the right word.

[DaveW]

Also, I don't see it happening because TR inspires as much confidence as a soggy ham sandwich these days, but if I was GM/Owner/Anything I would do the following today around 2pm:

 

1. Send Sano, Mauer, Dozier, Plouffe, Perkins, Gibson, Santana, Hughes out to lunch.

2. Everyone else would be called into a team meeting, where it would be made crystal freaking clear that the next 50 games or whatever are going to decide whether or not everyone sitting in the meeting have a future with the Twins or not. The message should be very simple:

 If guys like Rosario, Hicks, Suzuki, Fien, Escobar, etc want a spot on the 2016 roster or in the cases of Pelf, Hunter a shot to be considered for another contract, they need to start putting up consistent results, if they don't it needs to be put across that the Twins will be aggressive in free agency bringing in permanent  (2+ year) fixes to some of those positions (corner OF, SS, C, 4th OF, RP, SP)

 

Of course, that will never happen since there is zero accountability from the top on down when it comes to the Minnesota Twins.

 

[big dog]

Last 5 games:

155 at-bats, 16 hits, for a .103 BA

 

12 walks, 167 plate appearances, for a .168 OBP

 

To support Dave's point, of those 7 runs

- two scored on WP

- three scored on solo HR (Sano, Dozier, Hunter)

- one scored on a single

- one scored on a sac fly

 

[Squirrel]

 

How do they continue to do so little when options are available?

 

It's maddening.

This. Even if they didn't make huge splashes in trades, there are so many internal options that I think they should have/coud have been trying out the entire last month. I was always in favor of a little patience with some of the players, or seeing if certain performances would last, particularly when I never expected much out of this team. But wow … when you are in contention, I'd expect something. For me, and I imagine the players, too … it says … 'No, I don't care how well you did to get where you are, we're just not doing it.' It's really hard to keep fighting when you don't seem to have backing. While I'm not on the inside of thought or conversations in this organization, and my speculation is likely way off base, it just seems screaming obvious … do something!!!! And not just to do something … do something to help!

[DaveW]

 

This. Even if they didn't make huge splashes in trades, there are so many internal options that I think they should have/coud have been trying out the entire last month. I was always in favor of a little patience with some of the players, or seeing if certain performances would last, particularly when I never expected much out of this team. But wow … when you are in contention, I'd expect something. For me, and I imagine the players, too … it says … 'No, I don't care how well you did to get where you are, we're just not doing it.' It's really hard to keep fighting when you don't seem to have backing. While I'm not on the inside of thought or conversations in this organization, and my speculation is likely way off base, it just seems screaming obvious … do something!!!! And not just to do something … do something to help!

Yeah its really maddening. They currently have 13 pitchers which is just so completely unnecessary for any team, especially one that is actually getting pretty solid pitching from their starters. (I can't remember the last time a SP didn't at least get the team into the 6th inning) it's not like we are asking the RP to pitch 5-7 innings every night.

 

The bench is the most pathetic in baseball and on the typical night includes:

 

1. Nunez- No bat, no field.

2. Fyer- No bat whatsoever.

3. Robinson- No bat whatsoever.

 

When your offense is struggling you need ONE option on the bench at least that you can count on from time to time, I don't give a damn that Vargas and Arcia are struggling call one up, at least to try to do something different/jump start the offense. Call up Kepler! Ortiz! Polanco! Someone!?!?!?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Last 5 games:

155 at-bats, 16 hits, for a .103 BA

Wow.

 

Just checking on one popular suggestion to improve the team cheaply at the deadline, AJ Pierzynski has 11 hits by himself in his last 5 games...

[Mike Sixel]

 

Wow.

 

Just checking on one popular suggestion to improve the team cheaply at the deadline, AJ Pierzynski has 11 hits by himself in his last 5 games...

 

Didn't need him. they won a lot in the first half, ergo, no changes were needed. Or something like that.

[DaveW]

 

Last 5 games:

155 at-bats, 16 hits, for a .103 BA

 

To put that in perspective, there are 59 pitchers (10 at bats or more) that have better batting averages this year then .103

 

Even worse, there are only 40 with worse batting averages.

Which means the Twins as a team the last 5 games are hitting worse then your average starting pitcher. And Price is the only guy they have faced I believe who had an ERA less than 4.25

 

 

 

[savvyspy]

 

Also, I don't see it happening because TR inspires as much confidence as a soggy ham sandwich these days, but if I was GM/Owner/Anything I would do the following today around 2pm:

 

1. Send Sano, Mauer, Dozier, Plouffe, Perkins, Gibson, Santana, Hughes out to lunch.

2. Everyone else would be called into a team meeting, where it would be made crystal freaking clear that the next 50 games or whatever are going to decide whether or not everyone sitting in the meeting have a future with the Twins or not. The message should be very simple:

 If guys like Rosario, Hicks, Suzuki, Fien, Escobar, etc want a spot on the 2016 roster or in the cases of Pelf, Hunter a shot to be considered for another contract, they need to start putting up consistent results, if they don't it needs to be put across that the Twins will be aggressive in free agency bringing in permanent  (2+ year) fixes to some of those positions (corner OF, SS, C, 4th OF, RP, SP)

 

Of course, that will never happen since there is zero accountability from the top on down when it comes to the Minnesota Twins.

The fact that Mauer and Perkins aren't in that team meeting is exactly why we are where we are. You can't have accountability if your top 2 players aren't held accountable.

 

No one is saying cut them but they need to step up as much as anyone else. Mauer has been awful the last 5-6 games. Sitting out the first game of the Toronto series is borderline inexcusable. Only Mauer in Minnesota gets away with that. Then yesterday he somehow forgets he needs to be a cutoff man?? That's just not being focused.

 

Everyone is allowed mistakes and bad games. But this entire team needs to be accountable for it to be successful.

[Mike Sixel]

No one is held accountable here, let's be honest with ourselves.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Last 5 games:

155 at-bats, 16 hits, for a .103 BA

Holy ****, that's actually kinda amazing.

[DaveW]

 

The fact that Mauer and Perkins aren't in that team meeting is exactly why we are where we are. You can't have accountability if your top 2 players aren't held accountable.

 

No one is saying cut them but they need to step up as much as anyone else. Mauer has been awful the last 5-6 games. Sitting out the first game of the Toronto series is borderline inexcusable. Only Mauer in Minnesota gets away with that. Then yesterday he somehow forgets he needs to be a cutoff man?? That's just not being focused.

 

Everyone is allowed mistakes and bad games. But this entire team needs to be accountable for it to be successful.

Those two guys are secured and have jobs next year with the Twins, it's more about the ones that don't. Mauer/Perkins will be fine. It's much more concerning that Rosario and hicks have looked terrible after a real nice few weeks where they looked good.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Those two guys are secured and have jobs next year with the Twins, it's more about the ones that don't. Mauer/Perkins will be fine. It's much more concerning that Rosario and hicks have looked terrible after a real nice few weeks where they looked good.

I'm not terribly concerned with Hicks and Rosario scuffling. That's what young players do and why it's hard to keep a young team in contention through the dog days of the season.

 

But why hasn't the front office gotten out in front of this pretty apparent problem and called up supplemental players to make the 25 man roster better today?

 

I'm not even asking for a trade - though I believe picking up a single reliever at the deadline was akin to putting a band-aid on an amputee - I just want to see the Twins field the best 25 man roster possible.

 

That is not an unreasonable request. Hell, when a team spends two months holding a playoff spot, it's expected.

 

I don't even care if the Twins make the playoffs, I just want to see them give it their all and make it interesting through most of September.

 

I set the bar that low and the front office still fails to come through and meet my expectations? That's ridiculous.

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

 

Also, I don't see it happening because TR inspires as much confidence as a soggy ham sandwich these days, but if I was GM/Owner/Anything I would do the following today around 2pm:

 

1. Send Sano, Mauer, Dozier, Plouffe, Perkins, Gibson, Santana, Hughes out to lunch.

2. Everyone else would be called into a team meeting, where it would be made crystal freaking clear that the next 50 games or whatever are going to decide whether or not everyone sitting in the meeting have a future with the Twins or not. The message should be very simple:

 If guys like Rosario, Hicks, Suzuki, Fien, Escobar, etc want a spot on the 2016 roster or in the cases of Pelf, Hunter a shot to be considered for another contract, they need to start putting up consistent results, if they don't it needs to be put across that the Twins will be aggressive in free agency bringing in permanent  (2+ year) fixes to some of those positions (corner OF, SS, C, 4th OF, RP, SP)

 

Of course, that will never happen since there is zero accountability from the top on down when it comes to the Minnesota Twins.

 

Why does Mauer get to go? I get his contract means he'll be with the Twins through 2018, but am I the only one who thinks he's starting to look like a guy who might block some prospects (Kepler) starting as soon as September? 0.1 WAR per Fangraphs as of this week. NOT GOOD!

[nicksaviking]

It's almost like Pythagorean took into account expected front office inactivity!

[TheLeviathan]

Call up some reinforcements already. Even if you aren't super confident they'll be any better, just appearance of trying is worth something.

[Kwak]

Revenge of Ryan ?  Do nothing, show the players that the owner considers them migrant workers, so the team  completely collapses.  Ticket sales evaporate, the stadium empty, over-priced concessions go unsold, and the season ticket buyers are all-up-in Pohlad's face.  Sounds like an outline for an October horror movie--or is it a political thriller?

[Shane Wahl]

 

This. Even if they didn't make huge splashes in trades, there are so many internal options that I think they should have/coud have been trying out the entire last month. I was always in favor of a little patience with some of the players, or seeing if certain performances would last, particularly when I never expected much out of this team. But wow … when you are in contention, I'd expect something. For me, and I imagine the players, too … it says … 'No, I don't care how well you did to get where you are, we're just not doing it.' It's really hard to keep fighting when you don't seem to have backing. While I'm not on the inside of thought or conversations in this organization, and my speculation is likely way off base, it just seems screaming obvious … do something!!!! And not just to do something … do something to help!

 

And trading Hu (a real prospect) and Tapia (a real potential one) for Jepsen is actually worse than doing nothing. They did something in the wrong direction.

 

I have a hard time believing that there isn't a market for Arcia, and maybe even Vargas. Put Arcia where he belongs on a playoff-contending team or TRADE him for someone who belongs on a playoff-contending team!

[nicksaviking]

 

Call up some reinforcements already. Even if you aren't super confident they'll be any better, just appearance of trying is worth something.

 

And there's the development angle to get the kids ready for 2016 also.

[twinsnorth49]

Just not enough tail battling, plain and simple. I mean, what else could it be?

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

 

Those two guys are secured and have jobs next year with the Twins, it's more about the ones that don't. Mauer/Perkins will be fine. It's much more concerning that Rosario and hicks have looked terrible after a real nice few weeks where they looked good.

 

Really?

Aaron Hicks - 1.5 WAR so far in 2015 (per Fangraphs)

Eddie Rosario - 1.3 WAR

Joe Mauer - (-)0.1 WAR

 

Mauer has to stop getting a pass and the old "he'll be fine" routine. He's not the same player he was. Negative WAR from your typical #3 hitter is ridiculous (yes, part of this is commentary on Molitor continually writing him into the slot).

 

Come September, after the playoff hopes are gone and the big prospects are called up, are you going to want Mauer blocking a Kepler or Sano (with Plouffe at third), or Vargas if he shows some life (or Arcia at first???)?

 

Shortstop and catcher were the positions that got all the attention last week. But what to do at first base, considering the prospects we have coming, I think, will soon become the biggest question for the Twins going forward.

[nicksaviking]

 

 

Mauer has to stop getting a pass and the old "he'll be fine" routine. He's not the same player he was. Negative WAR from your typical #3 hitter is ridiculous (yes, part of this is commentary on Molitor continually writing him into the slot).

 

Come September, after the playoff hopes are gone and the big prospects are called up, are you going to want Mauer blocking a Kepler or Sano (with Plouffe at third), or Vargas if he shows some life (or Arcia at first???)?

 

Shortstop and catcher were the positions that got all the attention last week. But what to do at first base, considering the prospects we have coming, I think, will soon become the biggest question for the Twins going forward.

 

While very few would disagree that Mauer's lack of production isn't a problem, he's still owed $69M after this season.  No team has cut bait on a player and eaten that much conract, you can't expect the small market Twins to be the first.  He's also the local guy that puts casual fans in the seats. 

 

Whether Mauer plays 1B or RF, he's blocking Kepler either way, if that's the guy we are concerned with getting playing time, Mauer's position has little bearing on the situation.  We can throw our hands in the air about the Mauer situation all we want, but there's not much that can be done about it so the front office will have to focus on the areas that can be fixed.

[stringer bell]

If Arcia was hitting at all, it would make sense to recall him. He's been as hopeless against AAA pitching as the team has been against major leaguers. I am in the camp that says he has to (re)prove himself to get another shot and he just isn't doing it. That said, somebody should be benched. No one is hitting, no even the guys that have produced the few runs that kept them from being on an epic shutout streak.

[Mike Sixel]

 

While very few would disagree that Mauer's lack of production isn't a problem, he's still owed $69M after this season.  No team has cut bait on a player and eaten that much conract, you can't expect the small market Twins to be the first.  He's also the local guy that puts casual fans in the seats. 

 

Whether Mauer plays 1B or RF, he's blocking Kepler either way, if that's the guy we are concerned with getting playing time, Mauer's position has little bearing on the situation.  We can throw our hands in the air about the Mauer situation all we want, but there's not much that can be done about it so the front office will have to focus on the areas that can be fixed.

 

I fear you are correct. Three more years of negative value from your 1B........and no C or SS on the horizon. It will be hard for this team to be serious competitors until 2 of those become just "not bad"......

[Headfirst]

My list of demands for the FO

 

1. Bring up Arcia for Robinson.  Although Arcia hasn't shown any consistency at all we need power and he can provide that. 

2. Bye bye Boyer.  No explanation necessary.

3. Lose Duensing.  O'Rourke has shown he can be the lefty specialist (and then some) out of the pen.

4. With our depth of pitching in the minors, look to them to fill voids in the bullpen.  Atcher, Berrios, Duffey potentially.  If anything, those in the MLB haven't seen them before and in the very least that gives them an edge over the options we have now. 

5. Give Pelfrey a big ole handshake and say "thanks for pitching well above what we expected" and try and deal him for best available offers.  

6. May should fill Pelfrey's spot in the starting rotation.  I know he can be a successful reliever but he was and still is one of our top 5 SP options.  Play him as such...

7. With the inactivity and disappointingly producing Jepsen at the deadline, all fans over the age of 21 should be comped a free beer as an apology.

 

Thoughts?  Shall we start a petition?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

If Arcia was hitting at all, it would make sense to recall him. He's been as hopeless against AAA pitching as the team has been against major leaguers. I am in the camp that says he has to (re)prove himself to get another shot and he just isn't doing it. That said, somebody should be benched. No one is hitting, no even the guys that have produced the few runs that kept them from being on an epic shutout streak.

Why should Arcia have to re-prove himself against AAA pitching for the third time?  He never really failed against MLB pitching to begin with either (~100 OPS+ overall, and significantly better against RHP).

 

Given what we've seen of Arcia's personality, he's almost certainly frustrated by his assignment right now.  Continuing to hold him down doesn't seem to be a productive move.

[jimmer]

Our playoff odds are now under 10%

[nicksaviking]

 

 Continuing to hold him down doesn't seem to be a productive move.

 

Agree, I'm not always against spite, but I am if it's hurting the team now or in the future.

[jimmer]

 

Just not enough tail battling, plain and simple. I mean, what else could it be?

Maybe Hunter decided to stop showing the team how to win.  :-)