Game Thread: Twins vs. Indians 4-20-17 @ 12:10pm CST

[spinowner]

 

Not sure why we have to be so worried about how long the games take. I'd rather be watching a baseball game instead of the other junk on tv.

There's other stuff on TV?

[bighat]

 

Is there any way the Manager will move Mauer down to say 6th or 7th in the order?

Because right now all Mauer is really at the plate is a 7th to 8th in the order type of hitter. Would be nice if Joe would bat further down. Sano's starting to get really impatient at the plate and starting to chase bad pitches. I suspect some of Sano's struggles are that he has nobody around him other than Keplar right now that is swinging a good bat. Castro is what we all thought he was an 8 to 9 hitter, at best. During this losing streak a lot of the same ugly stuff that reared it's head besides starting pitching is starting to creap up. This team cannot hit a lick right now.

 

You're right, Mauer's not doing so great.  But we've got Buxton in the lineup and he's an automatic out. Rosario's not looking good.  Castro's in free-fall here.  You can't really justify Mauer batting lower than 5th at this point.   What's your lineup with Mauer batting 8th? 

 

I disagree on Sano.  Think he's had a solid year, lots of walks and 4 dingers, not bad. 

 

 

[David HK]

 

Bullpen is turning into the TP group they were last year. A lot of the same faces, a return to form from last year.

... and that's WITH most of the starters contributing meaningful innings.   I shudder to think, if we still had last years April for starting pitching.  

 

It's the guys' own fault for not making their pitches, but I gotta go back to Molly misusing guys, too.

[David HK]

 

Is there any way the Manager will move Mauer down to say 6th or 7th in the order?

Because right now all Mauer is really at the plate is a 7th to 8th in the order type of hitter. Would be nice if Joe would bat further down. Sano's starting to get really impatient at the plate and starting to chase bad pitches. I suspect some of Sano's struggles are that he has nobody around him other than Keplar right now that is swinging a good bat. Castro is what we all thought he was an 8 to 9 hitter, at best. During this losing streak a lot of the same ugly stuff that reared it's head besides starting pitching is starting to creap up. This team cannot hit a lick right now.

Oops, here I go, ripping on poor Molly again--  but it's the same old thing; lineups based on reputation, and not on who's seeing the ball and tagging it.  Remember last year, when Dozey was stinking up the joint early, and he was kept in a pivotal spot?  What's the problem, especially if the guy has a good career track record, with the 7 or 8 spot til he gets back on track?  Why keep giving up outs in key spots because you have a hunch the guy is "due?"

 

To Molly's credit, right now there seems to be a lot of 7-8-9 hitters throughout the lineup; not many guys are helping their own cause or the team's.  But my God, Bruce B shuffles his lines around when things get stale- drop Joe down to 7 or 8, and get somebody like Polanco in a more advantageous spot.  Get somebody up from Roch, get going somehow, some way, because I agree with the above, that Sano is the one and only thing the Twinks have going right now, and he's starting to feel like he has to carry the whole offense right now.  It's no wonder he's getting impatient, and soon he may ditch the improvements we've seen so far, and go back to chasing his tail and outside breaking stuff all day long.

[Aggies7]

Twins offense is equally as bad as last April and actually is worse because they don't have Trevor Plouffe in the lineup (no big loss) but nobody who has shown signs of replacing his production. Buxton is an embarrassment to ML baseball and Rosario has the same number of XBH as Joe Mauer. ONE! Sano is the same player we have come to know. He can hit a baseball a country mile, but he strikes out continually chasing that low outside curveball.

 

None of the Twins present roster will be around when this team finally become relevant again. It could be another decade for this organization.

 

I'm going to be "that fan" for a minute, and yes I know I often am whining. But today I counted maybe 5-6 guys that wouod probably make the roster of a majority of MLB clubs. Santana (erv not Danny LOL), dozier, Santiago, Mauer (despite being terrible at the moment he would make any club's roster), grossman perhaps, jury is still out on Kepler and sano I think. Is that it? Did I miss anyone? The rest of the guys are AAAA or average AAA quality, at best.

 

This entire roster needs to be blown up. How that occurs, yes, I HAVE NO IDEA, but most of these guys are flat out duds. They are completely outclassed by almost the entire division. I feel like, at this point, we are so far away from realistically competing and the entire organization, players and on field staff, needs to be turned on its head. The cubs finally had enough of 5 straight seasons losing 87 or more games and they went nuclear (of course their prospects have actually panned out, which helps).

 

Most have become apathetic towards this club. Would love to see the true attendance numbers for this homestand. I've seen the pics. UGLY. No one is excited about this bunch and lord help me it's going to be very tough watching some of these guys dry hump their way all over the field for another year.

[yarnivek1972]

I'm going to be "that fan" for a minute, and yes I know I often am whining. But today I counted maybe 5-6 guys that wouod probably make the roster of a majority of MLB clubs. Santana (erv not Danny LOL), dozier, Santiago, Mauer (despite being terrible at the moment he would make any club's roster), grossman perhaps, jury is still out on Kepler and sano I think. Is that it? Did I miss anyone? The rest of the guys are AAAA or average AAA quality, at best.

This entire roster needs to be blown up. How that occurs, yes, I HAVE NO IDEA, but most of these guys are flat out duds. They are completely outclassed by almost the entire division. I feel like, at this point, we are so far away from realistically competing and the entire organization, players and on field staff, needs to be turned on its head. The cubs finally had enough of 5 straight seasons losing 87 or more games and they went nuclear (of course their prospects have actually panned out, which helps).

Most have become apathetic towards this club. Would love to see the true attendance numbers for this homestand. I've seen the pics. UGLY. No one is excited about this bunch and lord help me it's going to be very tough watching some of these guys dry hump their way all over the field for another year.

Pretty sure Jorge Polanco would be welcomed on pretty much any mlb team. Frankly, so would Escobar. He's a quality role player.

[Aggies7]

Pretty sure Jorge Polanco would be welcomed on pretty much any mlb team. Frankly, so would Escobar. He's a quality role player.

True! But how about Kepler and grossman? I think sano would be because of his potential

[Mike Sixel]

Sano is currently 20th in fWAR, and you think only on potential? Uhhhh. Hmmm.