Between Mourning and Looking Ahead, Appreciate 2023

[ashbury]

I want a World Series victory.  So the players have to learn from this year and get better.  Those who can't get better need to be replaced.  I'm nowhere to the point yet of trying to play armchair GM for the coming off-season.

But I'll never forget the two playoff wins I witnessed in person alongside my two sons.  So I thank the Twins with profoundest gratitude for 2023.

[mnfireman]

1 hour ago, Beast said:

I find it hard to be excited about an 87 win season, in which we may not have even made the playoffs had the division housed another competent baseball team.

I find hard to be content with merely ending the the most incompetent run of playoff losses in the history of sports.  If they had put up a fight against the Astros, there may be a moral victory I could glean.  But, collectively grabbing their throats and collecting 6 hits, 30 Ks, and 3 runs in 18 innings in front of a home crowd…..making  Javier and Urquidy look like perennial Cy Young contenders…..that’s absolutely pathetic and embarrassing.  I’ve never been more disgusted watching baseball.  I’ve never seen professional athletes fold that readily.  Completely spineless.  The series was over before it started.  Couldn’t muster even the weakest contact in big situation.  Flailing strikeout after flailing strikeout.  And we were offended that nobody in Houston or nationally took this team seriously.

The playoffs put a lot of things into perspective for me:

This lineup is putrid.  I don’t care what they did in the regular season.  We have 3 guys I care to watch swing a bat ever again:  Lewis, Correa, Julien.  Ship everyone else out of here.

This was an overrated pitching staff.  Lopez, Jax, and Duran were great.  Houston basically had their way with everybody else, including Gray.

It’s depressing that our baseline as Twins fans is so rock bottom, that we’re celebrating this.  If this was an acceptable season to you as a fan, more power to you.  I demand more.  We’re almost a decade into this regime.  Figure something out or fire these guys.  If we ever want to and  get somewhere, we have to quit accepting mediocrity, let alone being excited about it and making lists of the moral victories.

How did winning 100 games turn out for Los Angeles and Baltimore (and maybe Atlanta)? 

Other than Abreu and Alvarez (7 HR, 14 RBI), Twins pitching basically shut down the rest Houston offense (3 HR, 6 RBI).

The offense was bad, but maybe the team builds on experience and a successful playoff run can be sustained for many years going forward.

 

[Hubie29]

16 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

How did winning 100 games turn out for Los Angeles and Baltimore (and maybe Atlanta)? 

Other than Abreu and Alvarez (7 HR, 14 RBI), Twins pitching basically shut down the rest Houston offense (3 HR, 6 RBI).

The offense was bad, but maybe the team builds on experience and a successful playoff run can be sustained for many years going forward.

 

Maybe, maybe, maybe. Hope springs eternal!

[Squirrel]

15 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

Hey, maybe we can just accept that people are going to react differently to this loss, and this season, And completely reasonably so. I love that some fans here are just beaming about what they felt was a kinda magical season. I also love that some are mad as hell and expect - or demand - that this team finally get over the hump and back into the WS again.

Both perspectives are perfectly good here by me. No adjustments, rebukes or excommunications needed.

Who's beaming? It's not beaming to try and find something good out of something bad. It's called coping. I'm not happy we lost. I'm disappointed. It's a big let down. I felt, and still do, that the team had potential. But I also think there are good things to find in the season and I hope the team can build from that. I’m hopeful for the future. Any and all opinions are welcome here ... but so is rebuttal. As long as both sides stick to civility, and shy away from posting hyperbole as truth, we can have fair discussions in disagreement.

[Einheri]

It was a fun year and I'm sorry that--effectively--baseball has ended for me this post season.  I do, however, look forward to seeing where the team goes next, who stays, who goes, who comes in.  I started looking at the Twins' 40-man roster almost immediately after the game and started wondering.

But now, I'm actually looking instead at the St. Paul Saint's roster.  Which of them gets added to the 40-man, which of them gets called up, which of them gets bundled for a piece missing on the Twins?

[nokomismod]

8 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

My only concern going in to next year - at this time - is Kiriloff and his too frequent injuries.  We need to figure it out and make sure we do not have Gallo as his replacement.  

Otherwise the off season as it usually is will be filled with surprises, frustrations and expectations. 

Is it wrong to hope they upgrade 1b to Paul Goldschmidt?

[Schmoeman5]

7 hours ago, mnfireman said:

How did winning 100 games turn out for Los Angeles and Baltimore (and maybe Atlanta)? 

Other than Abreu and Alvarez (7 HR, 14 RBI), Twins pitching basically shut down the rest Houston offense (3 HR, 6 RBI).

The offense was bad, but maybe the team builds on experience and a successful playoff run can be sustained for many years going forward.

 

Other than Abreu and Alvarez (7 HR, 14 RBI) Twins pitch basically shut down the rest. Well unfortunately those 2 performances alone were more than all of the Twins offense combined. For both series Toronto and Houston 

[Robert Gauthier]

I think the playoff series and how it ended give hope for the next year. The pieces I see for the infield next year, including Miranda and Lewis at third. Correa, Farmer at SS,, Julien/ Lee at second and Kiriloff/Miranda at first, OF is Waller/Larnach, Buxton/Lee in CF, R TBD, but likely Kepler/Kiriloff with Castro as utility.  Jeffers and TBD at catcher.  Lee at CF as a backup and to get into game, Martin maybe in OF.  Gone are Polanco ( not happy for that), Gallo, Vasquez, Taylor.  Maybe Taylor in reduced role.

[Doctor Wu]

Overall, it was a satisfying season. We made playoffs, and not only did we win an actual game, we won the first series! How many years has that been? And even though Houston beat us, we took one game in that series and were competitive. I remain hopeful. Lots of positives to draw from this season. The big concern is the health of the players next year. Can Buxton play center field again, and play it like he used to do? Can Correa play a full season and stay healthy? Can Royce Lewis do the same? Will we see Nick Gordon again? I'd love to bring back guys like Taylor, Solano, Castro, and Farmer, but with so many prospects knocking at the door, who will be on the team once April rolls around? We may likely lose Sonny Gray and/or Maeda to free agency, but I think Paddack will be a solid addition to the rotation next year, and maybe the front office can swing another trade and/or signing. To sum it up, we are looking MUCH better as a team than we did a year ago. I'm encouraged 

[Nivaboy]

21 hours ago, Puckett34 said:

My man, most of the post I see of yours are of this tone.  If you feel so negative about this team/organization, why are you here?  And why yuck on someone else's yum when they found some success in the postseason.  Only one team wins the final game of the season.

I'm not trying to come after you, but damn man.

Surely you can find joy somewhere. Maybe meat smoking or world war two trivia?

Unfortunately, there are those who refuse to take responsibility for their happiness and end up dragging others into their pit of misery. I say keep the faith!

[Randy Griffith]

Okay, I'll bite.  What on earth did TC Bear do to cause such angst?

 

[Greggory Masterson]

2 hours ago, Randy Griffith said:

Okay, I'll bite.  What on earth did TC Bear do to cause such angst?

 

He doesn't compete in softball derbies anymore!

[mikelink45]

On 10/12/2023 at 6:21 PM, nokomismod said:

Is it wrong to hope they upgrade 1b to Paul Goldschmidt?

Hope is one of the things that gets us through the off season.