A Chance Worth Taking: The Twins Are Still in This, Somehow

[Greglw3]

1 hour ago, friedbrycenbeans said:

 

I think Shelton is doing a fine job overall, but I don't think we really know anything about how he is "reshaping" this team. It's still incredibly early in his tenure and it's hard to draw much from a sample size this small. They are on pace to win 74 games, which is right where Vegas had them in the preseason. There are a ton of very talented teams underperforming now. The Twins are an undermanned team that is playing to their projections. Which is really all you can ask of a first-year manager. 

And to be clear, if the wheels fall off, that wouldn't be Shelton's fault either. 

I definitely agree you don't have to squint hard to see not just a competitive team, but a really good one potentially. It will take some players actually developing and a little more injury luck. But I think next year is the true start to a potential contention window in terms of the division. 

The reshaping was referring to hiring Grady Sizemore and Latroy, the better in-game, on field managing, letting your starters go until they tire or have untenable pitch counts, being willing to bunt for a key run and majorly accelerating the running game. Plus his communication style. And actually, though the bullpen lacks the talent of other teams, all things considered, I think he’s done a good job of managing it! I really feel like Shelty and Zoll have this ship headed in the right direction and I’m happy about it!

[thelanges5]

They’ve been more fun to watch then I thought they’d be. Shelton appears to be pulling the right levers and the front office is starting to make some moves to try to make the team better.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Making any move with an eye toward "contention" is just going to push back the inevitable rebuild longer.  This is an old, bad team that is going nowhere.  Play the kids, even if it means some of them struggle.  

Just so I understand:

When the Twins lose, we complain that they aren't making moves and trying to win. When they play better than expected and win (including replacing underperforming players), we complain that that they aren't looking towards the future by playing to win today.

I get the feeling that if the Twins eek their way into the playoffs this year (which is somewhat realistic as they are only 1.5 games out of the WC), we will be complaining that it is smoke and mirrors and they have no chance of winning in the playoffs.

Are we unable to find any joy in a team that is playing much better than expected, especially factoring in injuries? 

I always tell my kids be glad that you don't wake up in the morning with that type of view on the world.

[Greglw3]

3 hours ago, Over The Hill Again said:

Like others I’m moderately surprised that the Twins are (mathematically) relevant at Memorial Day. So far, I’m enjoying this season more than I would have thought. My perception is that Shelton mostly pulls the right levers (given what the FO gives him to work with) and the team may have a tendency to more aggressive on the base paths. Overall more entertaining than I would have guessed. FWIW I expect things to normalize and other Central teams to pick it up. Count me in the minority I guess of people not wanting to see Ryan get traded. 

I'm in the minority with you. We made a rare brilliant trade to get him and should extend him ASAP. It would be much worse than letting Sonny Gray go.

[RpR]

9 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Just so I understand:

When the Twins lose, we complain that they aren't making moves and trying to win. When they play better than expected and win (including replacing underperforming players), we complain that that they aren't looking towards the future by playing to win today.

I get the feeling that if the Twins eek their way into the playoffs this year (which is somewhat realistic as they are only 1.5 games out of the WC), we will be complaining that it is smoke and mirrors and they have no chance of winning in the playoffs.

Are we unable to find any joy in a team that is playing much better than expected, especially factoring in injuries? 

I always tell my kids be glad that you don't wake up in the morning with that type of view on the world.

BRAVO!

[RpR]

5 minutes ago, Greglw3 said:

I'm in the minority with you. We made a rare brilliant trade to get him and should extend him ASAP. It would be much worse than letting Sonny Gray go.

So many here  called baseball fans, are like a baseball versions of fishmongers, they buy sell and toss they around in their heads, because it gives them an absurd feeling of authority.

[LastOnePicked]

On one hand, I admire a homer and an optimist. On the other, delusion usually doesn't lead to good places.

This is a 70-win team, period. Over the next sixty games, the differences between the Twins and teams like Cleveland will become more and more stark.

No checkbox has been checked. They aren't contending now, and they certainly won't be contending come August. Right now, they just aren't sinking quite as fast as we thought.

 

[LastOnePicked]

17 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Just so I understand:

When the Twins lose, we complain that they aren't making moves and trying to win. When they play better than expected and win (including replacing underperforming players), we complain that that they aren't looking towards the future by playing to win today.

These are not mutually exclusive. The Twins don't have a plan, they don't have a world-class development staff and they absolutely cannot compete with the big boys of MLB.

They didn't make enough moves in the offseason. True. They aren't looking enough towards the future. That's also true, And there nothing wrong with seeing things clearly. In fact, they can't move forward if they don't.

I always want this team to win. But I want the organization to build a real competitor. That's still not happening. I hope it does.

[Linus]

They are on a 75 win pace which is what many people expected. I don’t view that as terrible but I don’t see any real difference that would suggest we are “in it”. Run differential is a crude stat. The Twins are streaky in that they will score 11 one game and then 1 and 2 the next two games. Total looks fine but you lost two of three. 

[Greglw3]

1 minute ago, LastOnePicked said:

These are not mutually exclusive. The Twins don't have a plan, they don't have a world-class development staff and they absolutely cannot compete with the big boys of MLB.

They didn't make enough moves in the offseason. True. They aren't looking enough towards the future. That's also true, And there nothing wrong with seeing things clearly. In fact, they can't move forward if they don't.

I always want this team to win. But I want the organization to build a real competitor. That's still not happening. I hope it does.

I see your sincerity and love of the Twins. I’d just respectfully point out, in terms of plan that the presence of and partial reliance on the group of Abel, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, Andrew Morris, Austin Martin, Luke Keaschall, Kaelen Culpepper, Hendry Mendez, Emmanuel Rodriguez, the resurgent Gabriel Gonzalez, Walker Jenkins, Kendry Rojas, Allen Roden shows that they are looking to the future and do have a plan and soon enough, they’ll have a #3 overall draft pick to go along with the rest.

[Hunter4848]

2 hours ago, Farmer Stafford said:

I will reject the negativity in this comment section. There is all sorts of reason to be optimistic at least a little, not the least bit because the fun of being competitive ought to inspire some childlike wonder in our cold, cold hearts. If you don't accept the possibility of being hurt by your team (as all fans should, even though we should all be familiar with said pain already and respect it) then you will only feel relief when greatness or victory arrives, not happiness and joy. The starting rotation is pulling through even as it falls apart. Buck has been hitting homers left and right and Bell is seemingly through a slump. Let's have some fun.

But I'm an eternal optimist.

Some fans actually want to see a World Series instead of accepting perpetual mediocrity so they hold the team to a higher standard...

[Hunter4848]

36 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Just so I understand:

When the Twins lose, we complain that they aren't making moves and trying to win. When they play better than expected and win (including replacing underperforming players), we complain that that they aren't looking towards the future by playing to win today.

I get the feeling that if the Twins eek their way into the playoffs this year (which is somewhat realistic as they are only 1.5 games out of the WC), we will be complaining that it is smoke and mirrors and they have no chance of winning in the playoffs.

Are we unable to find any joy in a team that is playing much better than expected, especially factoring in injuries? 

I always tell my kids be glad that you don't wake up in the morning with that type of view on the world.

I am certainly glad I don't wake up in the morning accepting mediocrity, but I guess if you enjoy that then the Pohlads are the perfect owners for you. Must be nice having a huge swath of fans that never hold your feet to the fire, and are just happy to be semi competitive in baseball's worst division.