The Twins Stuck To Their Plan and Stuck It To Their Doubters

[Nick Nelson]

Redemption was the story of the season for the Minnesota Twins front office, whose signature stubborn streak helped facilitate the end of an infamous (and equally stubborn) postseason losing streak.

Image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck and Bruce Kluckhohn, USA Today Sports

Stubbornness is often framed as a bad thing: having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.

That's a pretty apt characterization of the Twins front office's general vibe over the past year or so, isn't it? They've been sticking to their guns, even when the heat is on and the criticism feels valid. It felt quite fair to wonder, at times, if these guys suffered from a problematic inability to admit when they were wrong.

On the contrary: they have continually been redeemed for their resolve.

There were good arguments to move on from Max Kepler and Emilio Pagán after last year, and even in the early part of this year. There were good arguments to add bullpen help at the trade deadline rather than standing still. There were good arguments for the Twins to move on from hitting coach David Popkins, or at least to significantly alter their offensive approach after the first half. 

In each of these cases, and more, the front office's dogged determination paid off.

Kepler and Pagán both had excellent seasons, playing key roles in winning a division championship. They were exceptional in the second half as Minnesota separated from Cleveland and locked down a postseason berth.

But what about once they got there?

Following their fruitless deadline, it was difficult to envision a scenario where the Twins would yield a deep and trustworthy bullpen for the playoffs. But their plan of keeping space open for internal reinforcements worked perfectly: You couldn't have asked for better additions than Louie Varland, Brock Stewart and Chris Paddack via trades. These are high-octane arms who helped shut down Toronto and are now ready to play key roles in the ALDS.

Around midseason, the constantly misfiring offense looked like an even bigger concern than the bullpen. The Twins lineup was repeatedly shooting blanks, threatening to negate the rotation's historic greatness. Fans and analysts everywhere were begging for some kind of shakeup from the ineffectual status quo – maybe making a change in hitting coach, like the Yankees did in early July.

Ultimately, New York's gambit proved out as the epitome of a useless desperation move: they were even worse in the second half (.688 OPS) than the first (.710 OPS) after firing Dillon Lawson at the All-Star break. Meanwhile, the Twins remained committed to their inexperienced yet widely acclaimed young hitting instructor Popkins, who oversaw a massive turnaround from the first half (.709 OPS) to the second half (.808 OPS) for Minnesota's offense.

These weren't just good decisions from the Twins front office. They were season-defining decisions made under challenging circumstances – much like the offseason trade for Game 1 winner Pablo López. 

The stubborn mentality seems to extend across every facet of this team: Rocco Baldelli sticking with Griffin Jax as his top setup man in the playoffs; the lineup's unrelenting willingness to push to two-strike counts; Jhoan Duran unleashing endless curveballs while everyone clamors for more heaters. 

And to be clear, this inclination is not ALWAYS a good thing. (Paging Joey Gallo.) 

But by and large, the Twins have been rewarded for holding strong and believing in their plan, their players. "The group in that room," as rallied by Falvey following his quiet deadline. 

Conviction has led the Twins to this point, and it's bringing them into the divisional round of the playoffs with an apparent sense of confidence and swagger.

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[TwinkieFan4life]

I generally agree.  I was critical of sticking with an ailing Buxton and bad Joey Gallo over players like Wallner and Julien.  However, I was also critical of not trading veterans like Polanco, Kepler, Maeda, and Gray at the deadline.  

The front office ultimately pivoted where needed while mostly sticking with the roster.  This was clearly the right thing and I am so glad that I'm not in charge 😂!

[Possumlad]

I've been very critical in the past, particularly about Popkins as hitting coach. I was wrong. 

Not just because the last 6 weeks have been so fun, and we just won our first playoff series in 20 years. 

But because the combo of this roster & farm system looks poised for a very strong 5+ year run. This FO has earned some very meaningful runway - we have a very appealing combo of vets, controllable young talent, and farm support backing both. Given the strong position we seem to be in, it can't be dumb luck - seems to be the result of the FO's long-term (and as you say, stubborn) plan finally paying off. Bravo. 

[adjacent]

I have to say this also. The turnaround was done while still keeping a very decent farm system. That Cedar Rapids team it will star to bear fruit in 1 or 2 years, and there are players that will come sooner.

[JD-TWINS]

Sticking with Kepler seemed like nothing but a financial move - similar to Gallo, started down a path and weren’t going to waste money changing course. Max turned it around (not the FO) but the organization’s commitment is to be applauded. Gallo was kept around for depth & clubhouse continuity & I got that about August 15th. I even said he’d be on the IL in September just to keep him around. It all worked out.

The better move, outside of the Pagan crystal ball decision, was to not go get anybody at the deadline for the Pen. I understood that move around September 1st. It became obvious that the Guardians punted at the deadline so why should we knee jerk? Because we needed help - maybe? Then it became apparent that Varland was being considered an option as Maeda had always been. Then Funderburk showed up & was all we could ask for in small bits down the stretch! Who really believed Stewart was coming back or that Paddack was for real? Add these guys to the “core four” and we’re golden in October.

I saw a stat the other day that had our current 9 bullpen guys with a 2.84 ERA for this season. Couple that with Gray - Lopez - Ober - Ryan and I like where we are at for the postseason!

[Schmoeman5]

Still think your giving them stubborn FO too much credit. Sticking with Kepler. OK but sticking with a hurt and struggling Buxton at dh way too long. No one says it. But the offense didn't really take off until he went down. Kepler got hot. Julien and Wallner performed better than was expected. Remember they were sent down earlier in the season. And once they got rid of 2 automatic outs the offense improved. And as far as Paddack and Stewart.  It was HOPED they'd be ready. Stewart had a setback so there was no guarantee. As things turned out. So far so good. So in a sense you could say the fact they added depth was a good thing. But Gallo and Buxton did nothing in May June July or August and then got shut down. They fell behind Cleveland for a while and hovered around 4 or 5 games over .500. The division win was no guarantee.  Thumbs  down or not. That's what I remember seeing all year. I was wrong about the bullpen. If the FO could foresee the bullpen they have now. Then I give them credit.

[Jocko87]

45 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Still think your giving them stubborn FO too much credit. Sticking with Kepler. OK but sticking with a hurt and struggling Buxton at dh way too long. No one says it. But the offense didn't really take off until he went down. Kepler got hot. Julien and Wallner performed better than was expected. Remember they were sent down earlier in the season. And once they got rid of 2 automatic outs the offense improved. And as far as Paddack and Stewart.  It was HOPED they'd be ready. Stewart had a setback so there was no guarantee. As things turned out. So far so good. So in a sense you could say the fact they added depth was a good thing. But Gallo and Buxton did nothing in May June July or August and then got shut down. They fell behind Cleveland for a while and hovered around 4 or 5 games over .500. The division win was no guarantee.  Thumbs  down or not. That's what I remember seeing all year. I was wrong about the bullpen. If the FO could foresee the bullpen they have now. Then I give them credit.

My man, if you think they’ve been stubborn on Buxton you ain’t seen nothin yet. 

[Muppet]

I'd like to add Tommy Watkins to this list. 

Last year I saw him singlehandedly lose at least 6 games, often sending guys home who ended up thrown out by 10+ feet. This year he has been solid. If you'd just tuned in this year, you'd likely not even know his name (which is a good thing). 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

The trade talk around Sonny Gray and MaeKen at mid-season was madness. Now that everyone has seen Gray start a combined shutout of the Jays, hopefully those misguided folks understand the error of their ways. 😎

[stringer bell]

4 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Still think your giving them stubborn FO too much credit. Sticking with Kepler. OK but sticking with a hurt and struggling Buxton at dh way too long. No one says it. But the offense didn't really take off until he went down. Kepler got hot. Julien and Wallner performed better than was expected. Remember they were sent down earlier in the season. And once they got rid of 2 automatic outs the offense improved. And as far as Paddack and Stewart.  It was HOPED they'd be ready. Stewart had a setback so there was no guarantee. As things turned out. So far so good. So in a sense you could say the fact they added depth was a good thing. But Gallo and Buxton did nothing in May June July or August and then got shut down. They fell behind Cleveland for a while and hovered around 4 or 5 games over .500. The division win was no guarantee.  Thumbs  down or not. That's what I remember seeing all year. I was wrong about the bullpen. If the FO could foresee the bullpen they have now. Then I give them credit.

The Twins were behind Cleveland for one day. They were close for much of the time, but the Twins had the upper hand except for the last day before the All-Star game.

[Fatbat]

So we are about 7 years in to this FO but not even 1year into the generational change of the ownership in charge. CEO if you will.  I believe that the decisions of the FO in the past year have changed with the priorities of ownership and their decision making. I’m not teal smart but I love to look at the big picture, but I am a details guy in real life.  Years ago, someone made a choice to draft Cavaco over Carrol. One might say it was $$$ related, one might say, we are all human and prone to mistakes.  One might say 14 months ago the FO sold out the farm to buy a shot at the playoffs and maybe to save their jobs. Im just saying that the decision making has been a bit better lately….. and someone should roster Buxton and tell him to relax, have some fun and hit the damn ball. 

[SoDakTwinsFan4]

Louie Varland found 3 barrels belonging to the Toronto Bluejays resulting in 2 baserunners and 1 out that nearly killed the Twins. 

[IndianaTwin]

You can call it stubborn, but I think the word “conviction” from the last paragraph is more accurate. It’s clear that they have a long-term plan, and they stick to it, even when we think they should do something different.

Another word I would use is, “SmarterThanAnyoneOnTwinsDaily.”

Seriously, there are a bunch of smart people here. But none of us has the experience and pedigree of those in the Front Office. We’re even further behind those in the Front Office when it comes to having access to the information that they do. We can yell and scream all we want about what they oughta/coulda/shoulda do, but they are going to be right way more often than we are. 

[HerbieFan]

Ask my dad.  Told him in early August I agreed with not making a trade to add anything.  However, I'll admit I didn't see Varland and Paddock as legit bullpen additions.  Felt like there were players in place that could help the offense....thanks Matt and Eddie for making me right.

[Wedman13]

2 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

The trade talk around Sonny Gray and MaeKen at mid-season was madness. Now that everyone has seen Gray start a combined shutout of the Jays, hopefully those misguided folks understand the error of their ways. 😎

Sadly it was much of this TD staff and author of this article.  The talk of the failed deadline went on for days/weeks here, and when Cleveland picked up Giolito, etc the vitriol escalated. 
 

I love this site but have never seen the main writers so negative and misguided.

[DocBauer]

Nick, for the most part, I agree with everything you've said here.

What's always most important is who you are in the second half, and how you finish, not who you are in the first half, or how you begin. 

I was very wrong about both Kepler and Pagan. The Twins believed Kepler could STILL develop, even hitting 30, and they were right. They thought some changes made with Pagan would play up this year, and they were right. They believed they had the bullpen arms on hand, with some recovery, and a couple temp moves the pen, to have a playoff worthy pen. And they didn't trade away any additional future talent. 

The second half Twins would have had the team on something like a 96 win pace. I give them credit where credit is due for standing pat, believing in what they had, as well as some great additions around the edges of the roster that added so much to the season overall. Finishing strong and being where they are right now is a win, pun intended.

But conviction/stubbornness goes both ways. As much as I applaud most of what our FO does, and has done, I have to also call them out for some mistakes made. Sorry, but it cuts both ways. 

They made some great moves to put this team together. And revisionist thinking is generally akin to the old proverb about wishing for something in one hand and having a crap pile in the other hand. 

The pen didn't exactly stink the 1st half, but might it have been better making room for guys like Coulombe and Hoffman and letting Alcala and Moran sit in AAA? Could the offense have been better, sooner, recognizing Miranda just wasn't right from day one? Couldn't they have just admitted Gallo was a failed flier earlier and just bit the bullet and moved on? With all due love and respect to Buxton, and appreciation for what he DID produce the 1st half, could they have made the very hard choice to shut him down earlier and work on extended rest and rehab to MAYBE have a better version later in the season?

I'm not saying Julien, Lewis, and Wallner were ready from day one. That's a bit idiotic. Hell, Lewis, Kirilloff, and Polanco simply weren't ready to begin the season. I get that. And you HAVE to put a lineup together with what you have. And our frustration with the 1st half of the year WAS injury related to a degree we don't want to admit. 

I think the FO put together a good team. And guys not being ready due to injury or readiness hampered the 1st half. But I DO BELIEVE that the FO is a little too stubborn once in a while when they hold on too long to someone, Gallo being the obvious mark, or ignore someone doing well to make room for, reference a couple early pen options. 

A few more wins in the 1st half might or might not have had the Twins get a 1st round bye. In the long run, what matters is the 2nd half, improvement, a playoff win, and a chance to do more. And I'm not being a bummer as I love how the team has become the team I saw them potentially being coming out of ST. It just took a little longer than I expected to become that team. I'm only saying that despite being WAY smarter than I am in baseball matters, I do think their stubbornness/conviction can be a little too strong at times, and maybe they need to relent a little earlier at times, or just take a shot at a younger player once in a while a little earlier than what feels comfortable. 

 

[old nurse]

5 hours ago, Wedman13 said:

Sadly it was much of this TD staff and author of this article.  The talk of the failed deadline went on for days/weeks here, and when Cleveland picked up Giolito, etc the vitriol escalated. 
 

I love this site but have never seen the main writers so negative and misguided.

They have many bloggers now versus the few that were here at the start. There was a difference in how they looked at things. The site appears to be devolving from a baseball site to a ranting fan site. One ranger tries to outdo the other. 

[Doctor Wu]

14 hours ago, adjacent said:

I have to say this also. The turnaround was done while still keeping a very decent farm system. That Cedar Rapids team it will star to bear fruit in 1 or 2 years, and there are players that will come sooner.

And keeping that quality in the farm system was/is important. That's one reason I wasn't so gung-ho for the teams to trade for anyone at the trade deadline. After we got hosed in the Orioles and Reds trades last year, I really wanted to hold on to the prospects we have in the minors. Glad we stayed patient this year in that regard. 

[Karbo]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

They have many bloggers now versus the few that were here at the start. There was a difference in how they looked at things. The site appears to be devolving from a baseball site to a ranting fan site. One ranger tries to outdo the other. 

I think passionate fans need a venting, or ranting site. Lets face it, things didn't look so good earlier in the season. True, the FO deserves kudos for what they have built so far. But they are human and thus prone to mistakes (Gallo). Now like most people do I hope they learned from those mistakes. This team very well could become a force to be reckoned with for the next few years, and maybe longer, thanks to the FO getting it right more often than not.

[Trov]

I need to point out a few things.  First, I do like the FO and what they have done, but the article says Varland, Stewart, and Paddock helped in first round.  Paddock did not throw a pitch.  Varland got 2 outs but 1 was a jumping catch, most likely not needed to jump, at the wall and the other was a long battle strike out. Stewart was dominate in his 1 inning, but the other two did not do a ton to help.  Varland was more lucky than good.  Hopefully, he will do better against Houston. 

In addition, the offense turn around in second half for a few reasons, and it was not because the team stuck with the plan.  It was we benched Gallo, for most part, until his injury.  Buck was put in IL, Lewis was back and healthy, Wallner and Julien got consistent starts.  Kepler, CC, and Salano started to hit.  Those were the main things that went right second half, was that 2 of our normal starters out of line up, and three rookies were given chance to prove what they could do.  Kepler started hitting like he never has. 

So they did stick with players in the organization they had, and did not fire anyone, but they did not stick with the team they had at the beginning of the year, or even the highest paid players. They made plenty of changes, just nothing major. 

[gunnarthor]

Meh. They made good decisions that I liked (Lopez/Arraez trade), good moves that I was not as high on (Gray/Petty trade), they made a lot of bad decisions and the Twins were rewarded by playing in the worst division. We should be thrilled we beat Toronto and we have a puncher's chance against Houston but if you had misgivings about this FO being able to create a consistent winning team coming into the season, I'm not sure how much this season would change your mind.

[IndianaTwin]

43 minutes ago, Trov said:

I need to point out a few things.  First, I do like the FO and what they have done, but the article says Varland, Stewart, and Paddock helped in first round.  Paddock did not throw a pitch.  Varland got 2 outs but 1 was a jumping catch, most likely not needed to jump, at the wall and the other was a long battle strike out. Stewart was dominate in his 1 inning, but the other two did not do a ton to help.  Varland was more lucky than good.  Hopefully, he will do better against Houston. 

In addition, the offense turn around in second half for a few reasons, and it was not because the team stuck with the plan.  It was we benched Gallo, for most part, until his injury.  Buck was put in IL, Lewis was back and healthy, Wallner and Julien got consistent starts.  Kepler, CC, and Salano started to hit.  Those were the main things that went right second half, was that 2 of our normal starters out of line up, and three rookies were given chance to prove what they could do.  Kepler started hitting like he never has. 

So they did stick with players in the organization they had, and did not fire anyone, but they did not stick with the team they had at the beginning of the year, or even the highest paid players. They made plenty of changes, just nothing major. 

These things are often perception, right?

I agree with most of your second paragraph. Where I differ is that I think their approach was part of the plan. In general, I think part of their plan has always been to work young players in slowly, focusing on putting them in position to succeed. I think they entered the season with a mindset of having plenty of veteran parts, enough to keep them going until the young pieces sort themselves out. 

Gallo is actually an interesting case in point. He became the favorite target of dissenters here, even though he ended the season with an OPS+ almost exactly at the league average. Folks will point to him doing most of his damage in April, which is true, but I think they got exactly from him what they were wanting. They used him to buy time as they sorted out which of Wallner, Larnach and, to a lesser extent, Kirilloff was going to be productive. The sense among many posts about Gallo is that he was starting every day until they benched him late, but the reality is that as early as June, he was only starting half the games and coming in regularly for defense. 

Wallner was the guy who came through, and he was excellent. It's easy for folks (and many have) to say, "See, Wallner's OPS+ is 139. They should have brought him up much sooner." How about considering that potentially (I would say, likely) one of the reasons he played so well is that they didn't bring him up sooner? With the extra seasoning he got in AAA and the ability to use a guy like Gallo to absorb at bats while gradually working Wallner into the mix, he was able to taste success and thrive.

I could post a separate post describing how I thing your last sentence is one of the key tenets of the FO's approach. They are not going to make a lot of major moves. They are also not going to box themselves in by trying a lot of moves that are attempts to massively move the needle, but become millstones when they don't.

Rather, they are going to make a lot of moves that nudge the needle, and they are going to recognize the interconnectedness of those moves. Gallo was a needle-nudger, buying time for rookies, as I described. Solano was a needle-nudger, buying time and flexibility for Julien to develop and to cover injuries (in this case, Polanco). Farmer -- needle-nudger, Castro -- needle-nudger, both buying flexibility. It just so happens that several of those needle-nudgers not only bought time and flexibility, they continued to perform well. At some level, even Correa was a needle-nudger, in the sense that they didn't buy in until it came on their terms (only six years).   

[Otaknam]

Of course all Twins fans are elated now. But this was a frustrating team over the first half of the season and it deserved some criticism. The offense stunk, the RISP was horrible, especially with the bases loaded. Correa was batting in the low .200’s, Buxton was always hurt or recovering from injury, Kepler was inept, and Gallo’s strikeouts made us long for Miguel Sano. On top of that Lewis was hurt again, removing his potent right handed bat from the lineup. It was two steps forward two steps back week after week. The only reason they stayed afloat was starting pitching and the back half of the bullpen. And then the rookies and Kepler started to hit and the season turned around. But give some credit to the FO for staying the course.

[Whitey333]

It's great we made the playoffs.  It's even greater we won a playoff series.  I'm hoping we can somehow beat Houston.  I think we can.  But let's not go overboard here.  The two great games against Toronto not withstanding, the Twins season was just so so. They had the easiest schedule in MLB the last two months.  And while we improved, let's not forget that most of the time we were beating up on the dregs of baseball.  To their credit that's what we should do.  That's great.  But this manager and FO is not without deserving criticism.  Most of the year the team played boring, uninspired, and undisciplined baseball in a joke of a division.  Some of their moves have worked.  Many have not.  All of a sudden because of two wins people are ranting and raving about how great this FO is.  The talk has been about a great farm system.  What about the prospects we traded to the Reds to get Mahle.  He's done for the Twins tet we gave up two players for their starting lineup.  What about the prospects we traded to Orioles to get Lopez?  The one relief pitcher is an all star the other probably plays for Orioles next season.  What have the great prospects done that the Twins received in the Berrios trade?  Yes they have made some moves that worked out and some that were bad.  Sonny Gray?  Good move but now since he is likely to go to free agency the Twiill lose him and get nothing in return.  Anyway, I'm glad they won.  I hope they win it all. But let's not jump to conclusions and paint this FO and organization great just yet.  No matter how far they go they have a lot of important roster decisions this off season.  Go Twins.

[MN_ExPat]

12 hours ago, SoDakTwinsFan4 said:

Louie Varland found 3 barrels belonging to the Toronto Bluejays resulting in 2 baserunners and 1 out that nearly killed the Twins. 

[Major League Ready]

12 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

You can call it stubborn, but I think the word “conviction” from the last paragraph is more accurate. It’s clear that they have a long-term plan, and they stick to it, even when we think they should do something different.

Another word I would use is, “SmarterThanAnyoneOnTwinsDaily.”

Seriously, there are a bunch of smart people here. But none of us has the experience and pedigree of those in the Front Office. We’re even further behind those in the Front Office when it comes to having access to the information that they do. We can yell and scream all we want about what they oughta/coulda/shoulda do, but they are going to right way more often than we are. 

We also don't have nearly as much information as the FO.   They have a lot of information we do not regarding the specific plans for players and how they are progressing.  Pagan is a good example.  The general sentiment here was how on earth could they decide to hold onto Pagan.  They obviously found reasons to believe he could be productive. 

There is also a tendency for fans to not believe too much in players improving.  Jeffers and Kepler are good examples.  Most said Jeffers was not good enough to be a primary catcher and Kepler did not belong on a playoff team.     

Where I see people here differing widely is relying on youth.  Some are aggressive and some fans are not willing to rely on young guys coming in at all.   IMO, the front office has done a good job the last few years of working young players into the equation in a way where they are not reliant upon them but are able to capitalize when they produce.

As for the trade deadline, there were quite a few people here who pointed out we had a lot of players expected to work their way back before the end of the season.  I think a lot of fans are just so eager to resolve a perceived problem that they discount those players expected to return.  Again, the FO has a better information.  They have both medical reports and performance reports helping them to determine expectations of the players on the IL.

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

We also don't have nearly as much information as the FO.   They have a lot of information we do not regarding the specific plans for players and how they are progressing.  Pagan is a good example.  The general sentiment here was how on earth could they decide to hold onto Pagan.  They obviously found reasons to believe he could be productive. 

There is also a tendency for fans to not believe too much in players improving.  Jeffers and Kepler are good examples.  Most said Jeffers was not good enough to be a primary catcher and Kepler did not belong on a playoff team.     

Where I see people here differing widely is relying on youth.  Some are aggressive and some fans are not willing to rely on young guys coming in at all.   IMO, the front office has done a good job the last few years of working young players into the equation in a way where they are not reliant upon them but are able to capitalize when they produce.

As for the trade deadline, there were quite a few people here who pointed out we had a lot of players expected to work their way back before the end of the season.  I think a lot of fans are just so eager to resolve a perceived problem that they discount those players expected to return.  Again, the FO has a better information.  They have both medical reports and performance reports helping them to determine expectations of the players on the IL.

To summarize my response to your four paragraphs: 

Yes.*  

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

I think you nailed things precisely. It's a fan's tendency to over-react, but from my perspective, organizations (and individuals) (and not just sports teams) make their biggest mistakes when they overcorrect to address a perceived problem. All in all, this FO doesn't do that. 

Said another way, in almost any area of life, if you've got a good plan that you believe in, I think it's better to under-correct than it is to overcorrect. 

*And I'm going to claim an "I told y'all so" on this one. I kept the faith, and two debacle games notwithstanding, I thought they did an outstanding job of using him in the spots where he could be most effective and turned him into an effective role player. 

[old nurse]

21 hours ago, Karbo said:

I think passionate fans need a venting, or ranting site. Let’s face it, things didn't look so good earlier in the season. True, the FO deserves kudos for what they have built so far. But they are human and thus prone to mistakes (Gallo). Now like most people do I hope they learned from those mistakes. This team very well could become a force to be reckoned with for the next few years, and maybe longer, thanks to the FO getting it right more often than not.

Yup passionate fans need a place to rant. Too bad that it came at the expense of something else. Interesting how ranting must draw more clicks than information 

[Major League Ready]

10 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I think Falvey's quote regarding the deadline was something like... we have the guys in this clubhouse to get the job done.  You have to give them credit for seeing something that none of us, including the TD writers, saw.

That said, they are somewhat stubborn and I was very frustrated about giving Gallo all those at bats.  Bottom line... they are NOT going to get every decision correct and are human.  I do believe that they are doing a good job and have earned some goodwill this year.

I agree they have done a good job but they have made their share of mistakes.  The one that stings is Cavaco.  That was just too high a pick to risk on him when Carroll and Stot were sitting there.  They made a major mistake investing so heavily in the 22 club.  They might have been in first place but that team was not a contender.  Not only was it a bad idea but they completely whiffed on the two guys with two years of control.  Sawyer gibson-Long looked good in his initial stint with the Tigers so they may have over-paid for Fulmer too.  The Berrios trade made sense but the return does not look great at the moment.  Tyler Wells was another one.  I don't remember the response here but he should had shown enough to be protected.

Where this year's deadline is concerned.  The majority of people posted something along the lines of how could they possibly do nothing.  However, there were several people that posted the critics were not considering that Stewart and Paddack had a good chance of being back and Maeda could be used in the pen.   Not to mention Kuechel might be able to contribute as well.   While I don't recall, I thought one of the writers took this stance.  Regardless, there were a few people here who had the same take as the FO.  

[Linus]

I try to give the FO credit where deserved. They have made plenty of good moves but make an equal number of bad moves. I’m glad Max had a great second half and they deserve some credit for believing in him. But let’s not forget Max was pretty bad from 2020 to 2023 mid season. So what was the right call?  They have a rigid plan for bullpen construction that doesn’t work yet we do the same thing each year. Same thing with lineup construction. They go for the three true outcomes and wonder why their offensive output is feast or famine. Thankfully Lewis and Julien injected some obp to the lineup. I do think the best days are ahead of us. They have the framework of a good rotation moving forward and some good young players that will provide a diverse set of skills for offensive production. And while their farm system is a little tapped out they have a couple of really good players ready soon for the big leagues and this team doesn’t need much help in the short term. The bullpen remains a problem. They are more important than ever and this FO just won’t budge off of a strategy that mostly hasn’t worked.