Week in Review: Persevering Through Pain

[Nick Nelson]

The Minnesota Twins navigated a wave of bad injury news and managed to fight their way to a 3-4 week, despite some tough competition and an offense that is once again short-circuiting.

While they missed out on a key opportunity to gain more ground, the Twins did shave a game off Cleveland's division lead, moving within four games as the clock ticks down and the race heats up.

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/5 through Sun, 8/11
***
Record Last Week: 3-4 (Overall: 65-52)
Run Differential Last Week: -5 (Overall: +54)
Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (3.5 GB) 

Game 111 | MIN 3, CHC 0: Festa Leads Way in Shutout for Pitching Staff
Game 112 | CHC 7, MIN 3: Cubs Get to Pablo, Lineup Can't Answer
Game 113 | CHC 8, MIN 2: Ryan Exits with Arm Injury, Twins Drop Series
Game 114 | MIN 4, CLE 2: Ober Leads the Way in Series-Opening Win
Game 115 | MIN 6, CLE 3: Wallner's Home Run Turns Tables on Cleveland
Game 116 | CLE 2, MIN 1: Offense Stymied, SWR's Strong Start Spoiled
Game 117 | CLE 5, MIN 3: Late Rallies Fall Short, Twins Settle for Split

IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN NOW FIND IT IN PODCAST FORM. GET THE LATEST EPISODE HERE. ALSO AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY.

NEWS & NOTES

Just in time for the start of their most important series of the season up to this point, the Twins shared an avalanche of crushing injury updates on Friday that will have a significant impact on the team's outlook for the rest of the way. Let's run through them and get up to speed.

• Joe Ryan was diagnosed with a grade-2 teres major strain, which will likely sideline him for the remainder of the campaign. Ryan pulled himself from Wednesday's start against the Cubs in the third inning, waving for a trainer to the mound immediately after unleashing a pitch and quickly exiting. In the big picture, this muscle strain is not a worst-case scenario in the same realm as a rotator cuff or UCL tear, but for 2024 it's a devastating blow to the Twins and their rotation. Ryan had been one of the best starters in the American League. The Twins haven't officially ruled him out for the year but given the recovery timeline, it'll be nearly impossible for him to make it back as a starter, if at all.
• We learned more definitively on Friday that Brock Stewart is done for the season, set to undergo surgery on his shoulder with a 5-6 month expected recovery. It was probably wishful thinking to expect any meaningful impact from Stewart, especially after what we saw during his brief return attempt in July, but still the finality of this news hits hard. Minnesota will now have to make do without one of their best starters and best relievers. 
• Stewart was placed back on the 60-day IL to make room for reliever Scott Blewett, who joined the 40-man and active rosters. Those spots might've gone to Justin Topa, but unfortunately the veteran hit an unspecified "setback" in his rehab and his status is now in limbo once again.
• While unfortunate, the IL moves for Ryan and Stewart were not unexpected. It was a bit more surprising to see Brooks Lee join them on the injured list, with the team hoping some down time will help relieve his sore shoulder. You wonder how much that issue was impeding his performance at the plate, where Lee put up a .197 average and .492 OPS in his past 18 games. Kyle Farmer's readiness to return from his own shoulder injury enabled Minnesota to swap in another infielder and give Lee's ailing shoulder a break. Hopefully a couple of weeks off can get him feeling right because the rookie still has a role to play.
• Carlos Correa set his sights on being back on the field for the Cleveland series, but was unable to do so as his recovery from plantar fasciitis lags and frustrates the star infielder. Correa ran sprints on Thursday but reported afterward that the foot injury is "not quite where we want it to be yet." With a rehab assignment in the cards ahead of his activation, next weekend appears to be the soonest Correa could return to the Twins, and even that might be a stretch. He's rightfully taking a long view as the team continues to hold its own in his absence.

 

Rounding out the roster news for the week: Steven Okert went on the bereavement list on Monday, with Josh Winder recalled to take his place. Right-handed reliever Giovanny Gallegos signed a minor-league deal and joined the Saints, which wouldn't normally be too noteworthy but might be in light of his considerable MLB experience and Minnesota's growing need for bullpen depth.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ever since he returned to the big leagues following a lengthy stay in Triple-A, Matt Wallner has been a one-man wrecking crew, obliterating baseballs to an unparalleled degree. He delivered perhaps the biggest Twins highlight of the season on Friday night: a go-ahead three-run homer that turned the tides in the game and helped lift Minnesota to a doubleheader sweep over Cleveland. 

Wallner was facing Alex Cobb in the bottom of the fifth with two runners on. In the top half of the inning, Louie Varland had given up a three-run homer that put the Guardians on top for the first time all day, sucking the wind out of Minnesota's sails. Not for long. Cobb fell behind Wallner 3-0 and made the ill-advised decision to come right into the middle of the zone against one of MLB's foremost mistake crushers. Unfortunately for Cobb, Wallner had the green light.

 

It was a very strong week overall for the slugging outfielder, who went 6-for-18 with three doubles, the homer and five RBIs to power the offense. He was supported by quality contributions from Christian Vázquez (5-for-9 with two doubles and a homer) and Byron Buxton, who missed the Cubs series but then chipped in two homers and a double against Cleveland.

In the rotation, the loss of Ryan means heightened pressure for rookie David Festa to assume a prominent role, through the end of the season and likely into the playoffs. So it's a good thing that Festa looked up to the task on Monday night in Chicago, tossing five innings of shutout ball with nine strikeouts. He didn't look quite as good in his second start of the week on Sunday, failing to make it out of the fourth against Cleveland as his command started to elude him, but still only gave up one run.

If Festa can keep pitching well, he has the capability to accompany Pablo López and Bailey Ober in a formidable playoff rotation even with Ryan unavailable. López was off his game in Chicago on Tuesday but still has a 3.31 ERA in his past six turns. Ober was phenomenal once again on Friday, holding Cleveland scoreless through six innings in a series-opening victory. He has rattled off nine consecutive quality starts.

 

On Saturday, Simeon Woods Richardson bounced back in a big way, holding the Guardians to two runs in seven innings to wash away the sour aftertaste of back-to-back ugly outings. Woods Richardson is now vying for a potential role in the postseason rotation himself, and performances like that one will help make the case. His ERA stands at 3.78 through 20 starts.

Minnesota's bullpen keeps getting the job done when they're handed leads, even in the absence of Stewart. The nightmare outing from Trevor Richards, who came in cold following the Ryan injury on Wednesday and proceeded to struggle immensely (0.2 IP, 5 BB, 3 ER), skews the unit's overall results, but the relief corps played a key part in winning some tight ballgames. Twins relievers gave up only two runs in 11 ⅓ innings across the three victories. 

Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax naturally led the way, combining for four shutout frames, but there were also some promising performances elsewhere. That included Richards rebounding from the Wednesday clunker with a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up a save on Friday, Caleb Thielbar flashing some strikeout ability (8 K in 4.2 IP) and Winder delivering five innings of shutout, one-hit ball in long relief.

LOWLIGHTS

The Twins have been suffering major losses across all parts of the roster. In the rotation and bullpen, we've seen people step up. In the lineup, we need to see more of it.

There weren't many outstanding offensive performances to accompany Wallner's mashing in a week where Minnesota batted .222 and averaged just 3.1 runs per game. Willi Castro went 5-for-27 (.185) with one double and one walk. Ryan Jeffers was 2-for-14 (.143) with no walks, and didn't drive in or score a run outside of his solo homer on Friday. José Miranda was 2-for-20 (.100), and is batting .205 with zero homers or RBIs since being activated from the injured list on July 27th.

Austin Martin has been particularly unimpressive. He continues to produce almost nothing offensively (two singles in 15 plate appearances last week) and his defense has been shoddy whether viewed by the eye test or fielding metrics. The ostensible value of Martin's versatility loses its luster when he can't make plays at the positions he plugs into. Tuesday's adventurous route and ill-fated dive in center field at Wrigley on a Dansby Swanson "triple" served as one of the low points in the week.

 

One way or another, Varland is going to be counted on by the Twins given the attrition on their pitching staff. Ideally he can eventually pick up where he left off in the bullpen, as a dominating arm in the late innings capable of offsetting the loss of Stewart. But for now, the Twins need him as part of their starting depth, and in that capacity, they called him up for the nightcap of Friday's doubleheader against Cleveland.

Unfortunately, it was a pretty typical Varland start. He looked fine the first two times through the order and then unraveled the third time, putting a pair of runners aboard before serving up a 1-2 meatball to cleanup hitter Josh Naylor, who went yard for a three-run blast that (briefly) gave Cleveland the lead. For a fourth time in his eight MLB starts this year, Varland failed to complete five innings. 

 

It's par for the course for Varland, whose tendency to lapse into back-breaking mistake pitches at inopportune times has railroaded his progress as a starting pitcher. Finding a way to get the right-hander into a place where he can actually provide some value, whatever the role, is beginning to feel pivotal for Minnesota's outlook.

TRENDING STORYLINE

With Chris Paddack still down for the foreseeable future and Ryan likely out for the season, the Twins will see their starting pitching depth tested. They've already got a pair of rookies in the rotation in Festa and Woods Richardson. Varland is in play. Who else might factor in as the Twins push through the remainder of their schedule? 

Notably, Derek Falvey did not rule out Zebby Matthews when asked about the ascendant pitching prospect, who's currently at Triple-A. Matthews has a 5.68 ERA in four starts since being promoted to the Saints, but it comes along with a stellar 23-to-1 K/BB ratio in 19 innings. He last started on Thursday and could be in line to make his MLB debut during the upcoming Royals series.

 

Meanwhile, the Twins have reportedly shown interest in old friend Rich Hill, who is gearing up to help a contender at age 44. He's not someone you would want to count on in any crucial spot at this stage, but if Hill were able come aboard and eat some innings in a Dallas Keuchel/Bartolo Colon capacity, that would be potentially useful and a fun little storyline.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

Another huge week is on tap for the Twins, who will welcome their other top divisional foe to Target Field for a three-game series. The third-place Royals trail Minnesota by just a half a game in the standings, and will be looking to leapfrog them in their home park. Get ready to be annoyed by Bobby Witt Jr. 

Minnesota's pitching plans for that series are up in the air, though as mentioned above, Matthews could be in line to make a start. From there, it's off to Texas for four games against the defending champs. Check out that probable starter for the Rangers on Sunday!

MONDAY, AUG 12: ROYALS @ TWINS – RHP Brady Singer v. RHP Pablo Lopez
TUESDAY, AUG 13: ROYALS @ TWINS – RHP Seth Lugo v. TBD
WEDNESDAY, AUG 14:  ROYALS @ TWINS – LHP Cole Ragans v. Bailey Ober
THURSDAY, AUG 15: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. LHP Cody Bradford
FRIDAY, AUG 16: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP David Festa v. RHP Nathan Eovaldi
SATURDAY AUG 17: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Pablo Lopez v. LHP Andrew Heaney
SUNDAY, AUG 18: TWINS @ RANGERS – TBD v. RHP Tyler Mahle

 

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[mikelink45]

I am concerned that the BP is getting quite shallow.  Who do we count on?  Not Theilbar. We have a limited number of quality arms out their now and with rookies in the rotation we will be calling on them earlier meaning a lot of innings.  

[thelanges5]

What’s the move for Tuesdays starter? Who will it be, Varland or Zebby?

[USAFChief]

1 minute ago, thelanges5 said:

What’s the move for Tuesdays starter? Who will it be, Varland or Zebby?

It can't be Varland. He won't go on 3 days rest.

It almost has to be Mathews. 

[SD happy]

This team really needs a healthy  Correa. Since he’s been out, there have been at least 2-4 games that the Twins coulda/shoulda won if he was in the lineup and on defense. Was really hoping he was going to be back for the Cleveland/KC series. Big KC series with their three top starters.

[USAFChief]

The OP seems to think Festa would be ahead of SWR were the postseason starting tomorrow. 

Nonconcur.

In any case, Pretty dismal week, IMO. 

And this coming week seems like a tough row to hoe. We're getting KC's top 3 starters. Texas can hit.

 

[DocBauer]

So much to unpack here!

1] Losing Ryan is a punch to the gut, AND the chin.

2] SWR is ascending, has a couple bad games, then has one of his best performances. The offense lost his game against Cleveland, not him. I don't think he's done yet.

3] I love what I've seen from Festa from day 1. He was OK, then terrible, then good to pretty great since. He's got the stuff and potential. Like it or not, we're going to ride him the rest if this year. He's got the moxie and stuff, can he settle in quick enough to help the rest of the season?

4] Varland hasn't looked bad. Just not great. He and Festa might tax the pen. We might be seeing the St Paul shuttle a lot the next few weeks.

5] Speaking of the pen, losing Stewart is almost the same as losing Ryan. Suddenly, Varland isn't a pen option until October. Winder SURPRISED me against Cleveland. But I'm not betting on him. Can the return of Okert actually help? Thielbar isn't good but 1 inning at a time, IMO. Where's Henriquez? His stuff would seem to indicate he's better than Winder, right? Can Paddack come back to help the pen? Don't blame Rocco, he's using what healthy arms he's got available.

6] The offense lost game 3 against Cleveland, any way you slice it. They let the SP off the hook by swinging at first pitches when we had a chance to do damage. 2-2 isn't horrible, but 3-1 makes a real difference. 

In case everything I said is too negative:

7] No matter how you look at, Cleveland is a good team. But the losing streak they brought in to this series, and the 2 games they lost, is still an indication they aren't world beaters. MLB is fickle. My goodness, the horrible Dirty Sox have almost owned the Guardians this year. Cleveland has a tougher schedule foe the remainder of the season.

8] Some teams just don't match up well against other teams. Witness what I just said about Chicago vs Cleveland. The Twins " broke through" winning 2. And we still have another series against them.

9] I'd still take the Twins offense, and their record since May 1st, over Cleveland the rest of the season.

10] The Twins are hurting with injuries. So is Cleveland. A month and a half still to go...who will win the ALC? The Twins aren't out of it.

11] Next man up. Correa will be back. Hopefully he'll be 85-90% like last year. The rest of the offense is intact.

**NOTE: I've had plan fasciitis. It's HORRIBLE. There is no predictive factor for it. The fact that it's hit Correa TWICE would tell me it's not only FREAKY, but MAYBE due to the physical construction of his arches. He needs to talk to his shoe company next offseason...if not immediately...about better arch supports going forward. 

12] The Twins are the best AL team for months now. Let's not panic. We're a virtual lock for the playoffs. The offense is good and trending. It's actually exciting to watch SWR and Festa. We CAN overtake Cleveland still. A month ago we were 6 or 7 games behind. Even with the unfortunate split, we're still only 3 1/2 games behind. We've been trending upward the past month and right now they've been trending downward. 

I'm not giving up on the ACL, and neither should you. It's not going to be easy without Ryan and Stewart. But Cleveland is starting to suffer the chinks in their armor as well.

 

[thelanges5]

51 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

It can't be Varland. He won't go on 3 days rest.

It almost has to be Mathews. 

Good call. I should’ve done the math on that. 

[thelanges5]

Twins with the bases loaded, 2024: .204/.274/.344 (.618 OPS is 6th-worst in the league).
 

We have to work on this Poppers!

[Nick Nelson]

59 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

The OP seems to think Festa would be ahead of SWR were the postseason starting tomorrow. 

Nonconcur.

In any case, Pretty dismal week, IMO. 

And this coming week seems like a tough row to hoe. We're getting KC's top 3 starters. Texas can hit.

 

Mmm I wouldn't say that. I think in their optimal scenario, come October, they'll view Festa clearly as one of their top three. It's still a ways away. He has the stuff to dominate a good lineup. 

[tony&rodney]

Worth a mention that Varland had his defense give up four outs. That is plenty of pitches and changes things. I do think Varland let his emotions get him after he grooved one but hard to blame him.

[tampatwins]

this next series with the royals is the litmus test for if this team can hang despite all the injuries in the past few weeks. it almost feels like a playoff preview. If the Twins come in and bury the royals top 3 SPs, despite all thats gone on and their limited BP and lineup, then they truly can make some noise. But if they crumble, i have a feeling the bottom is about to fall out and it's all gonna catch up to them. 

They NEED Correa back, and they need a spark. It almost felt like they swept the doubleheader Friday and thought 'oh well, we got 2, so we can't lose ground, cool." Where's the killer instinct?

[mark sills]

2 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

What’s the move for Tuesdays starter? Who will it be, Varland or Zebby?

zebby hopefully pitches good and can be number five

[Maybebaby]

A big no  to Rich Hill....seen that movie w-a-a-a-a-y too many times.  Rinse and repeat?

[Peter]

Glad series with Cleveland is over. Still think twins will win division-now it’s all about winning series rest of season starting today!!! Go Twins!

[JD-TWINS]

12 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I am concerned that the BP is getting quite shallow.  Who do we count on?  Not Theilbar. We have a limited number of quality arms out their now and with rookies in the rotation we will be calling on them earlier meaning a lot of innings.  

Winder - 5 innings with no runs for the week……Sands has been very good 80-90% of the time - yesterday he gave up a broken bat single & a slow roller through the left side before a routine single in the gap ruled a double without much of a challenging effort by our LF……..Alcala - Jax - Duran. Filling those bottom 3 spots has been/is challenging, to your point!

Okert will be back…….somebody has got to displace Dobnak fairly soon.

Who saw Richards - Blewett - Dobnak as 3/8 of the Pen at any point in the season? Wow!!

Paddack - Okert - Varland filling those spots by October or sooner would be a big help. Ronny Henriquez soon - sometime?

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, DocBauer said:

So much to unpack here!

1] Losing Ryan is a punch to the gut, AND the chin.

2] SWR is ascending, has a couple bad games, then has one of his best performances. The offense lost his game against Cleveland, not him. I don't think he's done yet.

3] I love what I've seen from Festa from day 1. He was OK, then terrible, then good to pretty great since. He's got the stuff and potential. Like it or not, we're going to ride him the rest if this year. He's got the moxie and stuff, can he settle in quick enough to help the rest of the season?

4] Varland hasn't looked bad. Just not great. He and Festa might tax the pen. We might be seeing the St Paul shuttle a lot the next few weeks.

5] Speaking of the pen, losing Stewart is almost the same as losing Ryan. Suddenly, Varland isn't a pen option until October. Winder SURPRISED me against Cleveland. But I'm not betting on him. Can the return of Okert actually help? Thielbar isn't good but 1 inning at a time, IMO. Where's Henriquez? His stuff would seem to indicate he's better than Winder, right? Can Paddack come back to help the pen? Don't blame Rocco, he's using what healthy arms he's got available.

6] The offense lost game 3 against Cleveland, any way you slice it. They let the SP off the hook by swinging at first pitches when we had a chance to do damage. 2-2 isn't horrible, but 3-1 makes a real difference. 

In case everything I said is too negative:

7] No matter how you look at, Cleveland is a good team. But the losing streak they brought in to this series, and the 2 games they lost, is still an indication they aren't world beaters. MLB is fickle. My goodness, the horrible Dirty Sox have almost owned the Guardians this year. Cleveland has a tougher schedule foe the remainder of the season.

8] Some teams just don't match up well against other teams. Witness what I just said about Chicago vs Cleveland. The Twins " broke through" winning 2. And we still have another series against them.

9] I'd still take the Twins offense, and their record since May 1st, over Cleveland the rest of the season.

10] The Twins are hurting with injuries. So is Cleveland. A month and a half still to go...who will win the ALC? The Twins aren't out of it.

11] Next man up. Correa will be back. Hopefully he'll be 85-90% like last year. The rest of the offense is intact.

**NOTE: I've had plan fasciitis. It's HORRIBLE. There is no predictive factor for it. The fact that it's hit Correa TWICE would tell me it's not only FREAKY, but MAYBE due to the physical construction of his arches. He needs to talk to his shoe company next offseason...if not immediately...about better arch supports going forward. 

12] The Twins are the best AL team for months now. Let's not panic. We're a virtual lock for the playoffs. The offense is good and trending. It's actually exciting to watch SWR and Festa. We CAN overtake Cleveland still. A month ago we were 6 or 7 games behind. Even with the unfortunate split, we're still only 3 1/2 games behind. We've been trending upward the past month and right now they've been trending downward. 

I'm not giving up on the ACL, and neither should you. It's not going to be easy without Ryan and Stewart. But Cleveland is starting to suffer the chinks in their armor as well.

 

I too think that the Twins have a good shot, probably can get things done to “make the playoffs”. Problem is health!!!! Pitching in rotation is thin, we all get that. How does the Team do well with Dobnak - Blewett - Richards as guys that need to perform in our Pen - that’s the really scary piece.

Okert - Henriquez seem to be needed back in the 26 man very soon!

[Doctor Gast]

11 hours ago, DocBauer said:

So much to unpack here!

1] Losing Ryan is a punch to the gut, AND the chin.

2] SWR is ascending, has a couple bad games, then has one of his best performances. The offense lost his game against Cleveland, not him. I don't think he's done yet.

3] I love what I've seen from Festa from day 1. He was OK, then terrible, then good to pretty great since. He's got the stuff and potential. Like it or not, we're going to ride him the rest if this year. He's got the moxie and stuff, can he settle in quick enough to help the rest of the season?

4] Varland hasn't looked bad. Just not great. He and Festa might tax the pen. We might be seeing the St Paul shuttle a lot the next few weeks.

5] Speaking of the pen, losing Stewart is almost the same as losing Ryan. Suddenly, Varland isn't a pen option until October. Winder SURPRISED me against Cleveland. But I'm not betting on him. Can the return of Okert actually help? Thielbar isn't good but 1 inning at a time, IMO. Where's Henriquez? His stuff would seem to indicate he's better than Winder, right? Can Paddack come back to help the pen? Don't blame Rocco, he's using what healthy arms he's got available.

6] The offense lost game 3 against Cleveland, any way you slice it. They let the SP off the hook by swinging at first pitches when we had a chance to do damage. 2-2 isn't horrible, but 3-1 makes a real difference. 

In case everything I said is too negative:

7] No matter how you look at, Cleveland is a good team. But the losing streak they brought in to this series, and the 2 games they lost, is still an indication they aren't world beaters. MLB is fickle. My goodness, the horrible Dirty Sox have almost owned the Guardians this year. Cleveland has a tougher schedule foe the remainder of the season.

8] Some teams just don't match up well against other teams. Witness what I just said about Chicago vs Cleveland. The Twins " broke through" winning 2. And we still have another series against them.

9] I'd still take the Twins offense, and their record since May 1st, over Cleveland the rest of the season.

10] The Twins are hurting with injuries. So is Cleveland. A month and a half still to go...who will win the ALC? The Twins aren't out of it.

11] Next man up. Correa will be back. Hopefully he'll be 85-90% like last year. The rest of the offense is intact.

**NOTE: I've had plan fasciitis. It's HORRIBLE. There is no predictive factor for it. The fact that it's hit Correa TWICE would tell me it's not only FREAKY, but MAYBE due to the physical construction of his arches. He needs to talk to his shoe company next offseason...if not immediately...about better arch supports going forward. 

12] The Twins are the best AL team for months now. Let's not panic. We're a virtual lock for the playoffs. The offense is good and trending. It's actually exciting to watch SWR and Festa. We CAN overtake Cleveland still. A month ago we were 6 or 7 games behind. Even with the unfortunate split, we're still only 3 1/2 games behind. We've been trending upward the past month and right now they've been trending downward. 

I'm not giving up on the ACL, and neither should you. It's not going to be easy without Ryan and Stewart. But Cleveland is starting to suffer the chinks in their armor as well.

 

In "The Athletic" it stated that Correa was fine until he laced up his cleats. I mentioned before that his footwear could be the problem. And the solution could be much better insoles. There should be technology out there that could give him the support & cushion that his feet need.  Castro is great but he's being over-stretched at SS on a steady basis. We absolutely need Correa back as soon as possible offensively, defensively & emotionally.

[LambchoP]

With Miranda struggling so badly I'm watching for the article stating he's on the IL again. Been hurt since his activation, hence the poor results. Same could be said for Austin Martin. Hopefully that doesn't happen, we can't afford to lose anyone else. We need Correa back. Was supposed to be a two week absence and now we're over a month later. Missed two important series with CLE and KC....I gotta believe he could've helped us win at least one of those CLE games .

[LambchoP]

And our patchwork rotation and especially our bullpen, which is held together with spit and glue, is most likely going to cost us some games late. Theilbar has an ERA over 6 and would've been DFA'd by just about any other contending team months ago. But, since he's a lefty with a contract, he's safe on the Twins:(. Hopefully Okert can figure something out and take the number one lefty spot. Winder and Sands have surprised me. We just need to somehow keep Duran, Jax and Alcala healthy the rest of the way, because we are going to be relying on them big time.

[Pat]

It just gets tiresome to see the the same thing:  A parade of relievers comes in, one has a blow up inning and walks a couple of guys and gives up a bomb and it's a loss, Another game, everybody is great and it's a win.  So the only way to win is to expect perfection for all of the pitchers every game.  That is unrealistic.  The more pitchers that are used the more likely it is that one of them is going to fail.  Multiple inning relievers??? Nope! One inning and you are done with only five pitches thrown.  Amazing.

[Doctor Gast]

We are at the stage of being worn down & places of lack that needed to be shored up at the off-season & deadline, competent SP depth & LHRP, wasn't. Plus not enough long relief to keep the rotation & BP fresh & healthy. We added where we didn't need to add & the additions didn't produce or produced less than what our in house players would have out produced. Oh! Margot has been good. Margot has been handled with kid's gloves & yet he hasn't been that good. Margot has taken the role that should have been given to Martin. (Nick you have been hard on Martin. Martin as a rookie has been asked to do a job that many season MLB veterans can't do, that to bat against tough MLB RHSPs while Margot basically faces only easy LHSPs. While having comparable batting stats & Martin being superior in the field besides just learning the OF). Martin is also a sparkplug on the basepaths, magically producing needed runs & starting rallies. W/O Margot, Martin would have taken Margot's role & really ran with it, and (LHH) Keirsey would take the natural batting advantage against RHPs that (RHH) Martin was forced to do.

Wallner brings much needed offense from the left-side, we need more. We really need the hot (LHH) bat of Kiriloff that was one of our best if not best hitter in the beginning of the season when he was healthy. Granted that Santana has been producing but has he been producing as well as a Miranda/ Kiriloff (healthy) tandem at 1B? Not even close. IMO if Kiriloff was restricted to DH/ 1B duties any injury suffered would have been much shorter & less severe. Only time (RHH) Miranda plays 1B is against RHPs because (SHH) Santana has trouble against them. IMO investing time & money in Margot & Santana who'll be gone next year is a waste. Time should have been invested in our own players who are our future. We had plenty of depth in the OF & 1B where we did not need either of them. And money could have been spent else where.

Vazquez has been getting better the more he plays, which is very welcomed. Varland has been pitching great inside the parameter of his profile (basically 2Xs through the order). Varland should have been called up & kept up  along time ago in the spot start/ long relief role which could have avoided some our recent problems. A spot start/ long relief core should be  established as soon as possible to relieve the pressure off the rotation & BP especially the young SPs that aren't used to that many innings & pressure of MLB. Topa has hardly pitched this season & now he has a "fatigue" arm? Topa has confessed that he was having knee & arm problems prior. 

(LHP) Hill is a smart SP that can eat innings while putting us in situations to win games. At the same time sharing his vast knowledge of the game to our young SPs would be priceless. IMO depending too much on green rookies is too much pressure to put on them at this point. Hill knows what he can accomplish in a short season.