KC 11, MIN 8: We Can’t Have Nice Things

I like how the Twins bats woke up and made things interesting, albeit against some "untested" Major League pitching. (I'm trying to be nice, here)

The Twins went 1-5 on a road trip that they needed, bare minimum, 3 wins. They now welcome in the Indians who have finally started to heat up, especially the bats.

The Twins are in a deep hole right now. 7 games below the .500 mark is difficult to come out from at any point in the season. No more excuses. The Twins have simply underperformed this season to this point. The hole they are in is not yet insurmountable, but with each passing day, the likelihood of the Twins contending shrinks gradually as the losses pile up and the Indians start winning.

I'm not writing off the season quite yet, but I am closer than I expected to be at this point. A series loss to the Indians this weekend would bury the Twins even further. They can't afford that. These next 4 games have to be treated as playoff games. 

I agree about this next series.  Losing the series would put us a minimum of 7.5 games out and would for me bring out the FOR SALE sign (open for business).  Best news is that our pitching is decent and that may well be the commondity most in demand this selling season.  

My guess is that position players in contract years will not yield much in return.  Return may be better if done early, but hard to see this team doing that.

With several really good teams in each of the other two divisions, its looking like the Twins only chance of making the playoffs is to win the Central.  Fortunately, Cleveland hasn't been a super team.

This series will be important, but we won't know anything for certain until they get some of these injured players back.  Unfortunately, got a feeling it is going to be awhile before we see either Santana or May.  Maybe getting #7 back for the weekend will help them score some runs.  And its what, another month before Polanco will be eligible.  Hopefully, he will be the spark that ignites the team for a second half drive.

Had to do a double-take: Twins are now behind Detroit and sitting in 3rd. The Twins avoid Corey Kluber this next series somehow, which gives us a small glimmer of hope.

Sano is the real deal. Chatter about sending him down or trading him for dog chow should cease. Nice to see Dozier hitting. More of this, please.

A comeback victory would have been a real shot in the arm for the Twins. Too bad it didn't happen, another shoulda-coulda-woulda. Hard to be hopeful about much right now.

Romero's first pitch, according to Gameday at least, was a perfectly placed fastball on the corner; a strike that was called a ball.  From there, things unraveled.

This team needs some naked batting practice or something, but maybe 8 runs in a loss will suffice.

 Best news is that our pitching is decent and that may well be the commondity most in demand this selling season. 

It looks like the Twins could get a boatload for Gibson right about now. If they decide they could part ways with Odorizzi, he'd also get a nice return. Lynn has a few more serviceable outings and they could flip him too, albeit for less than the two aforementioned guys.

Here's hoping it doesn't come to that. But yes, it's a theme we need to be prepared to explore if things continue.

I am also wondering if firing Molitor is becoming a realistic probability again? I have seen a few interviews with managers like Kevin Cash in Tampa - young managers that aren't afraid to rock the boat and get unconventional. Gabe Kapler is a weirdo but he has the Phillies 7 games above .500 right now. Cash in particular seems like the type of guy I'd want leading my clubhouse as opposed to our hometown boy.

The Twins just lost 2 of 3 to the Royals and that is what they deserved. It is hard to be optimistic in this moment. Sweeping the Cleveland baseball is a must, winning 3 of 4 required.

Seems like the Twins "player development" has a real knack for failure to develop young players and even having them regress when they get to the big time. Romero got the benefit of a lot of close calls in his first start and if the poster is saying that he couldn't overcome 1 call against him on the first pitch that is a bigger stretch than Randy Johnson's. I said after Romero's first start that time would tell; not his natural ability. As soon as the 7 games by mid June are over (Twins maybe 2-5 in those games) send Molitor packing. Baseball technicians do not make good managers. He seems to have the personality of a rock. Probably a good guy and a great player himself but not a manager. Being out managed by Gardenhire speaks for itself.

I'll echo what others have said, the series against Cleveland is a big one.   Need to almost get 3 out of 4.    A split would be ok and a sweep is too much to ask for.    

My glimmer of optimism is that the 2006 team was 25-33 on June 7th, 11.5 GB, and went on to win 96 games.   Unfortunately, it seems that the hitting and bullpen were obviously better then.   But the starting pitching seems better as a whole.   Albeit without a ace.   So, probably not going to win 96 games.   But it's what I'm clinging to.

Had to do a double-take: Twins are now behind Detroit and sitting in 3rd. The Twins avoid Corey Kluber this next series somehow, which gives us a small glimmer of hope.

Yeah, that's an "ouch" realization. Seeing that a rebuilding Detroit team is ahead of us in the standings (and managed by Gardenhire!) really, really hurts. I didn't think that things would go this wrong so quickly. But hey, that's the nature of baseball.

Where is a Mark Grace slump buster when you need it or a Mike Redmond running through the clubhouse?  Twins at a minimum need to win 3 of 4 against Cleveland. As far as 'must win' series in early June I think for the psychology of this club it is a must win series!  Just one rubes opinion.  WIN TWINS! 

Maybe they need a rainout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLMxmZr3S5s

A boatload, for 1.5 years of Gibson? A guy who is pushing 31 years old, with a career 90 ERA+? I think you might be overrating the trade value of his last 11 starts of 118 ERA+. Maybe we could get a Palacios type for him now.

Likewise, I don't think the trade value needle has moved too much on Odorizzi since we got him for Palacios. I guess he may be answering questions about any lingering back issues, but he still has a 5.05 FIP this year, and a few months less team control than he did before. Return comparable to Palacios again?

We could get solid returns for both Lynn and Odorizzi at the deadline. 

Seems like the Twins "player development" has a real knack for failure to develop young players and even having them regress when they get to the big time. Romero got the benefit of a lot of close calls in his first start and if the poster is saying that he couldn't overcome 1 call against him on the first pitch that is a bigger stretch than Randy Johnson's. I said after Romero's first start that time would tell; not his natural ability. As soon as the 7 games by mid June are over (Twins maybe 2-5 in those games) send Molitor packing. Baseball technicians do not make good managers. He seems to have the personality of a rock. Probably a good guy and a great player himself but not a manager. Being out managed by Gardenhire speaks for itself.

Any way you could share specific examples with the board? If a rookie starting pitcher has a bad game, I don't see any need to overgeneralize.

"Solid" is obviously subjective (did Tampa feel Palacios was a "solid" return?), but keep in mind, interest in both Lynn and Odorizzi was pretty tepid this past winter. If they are healthy and pitching well, maybe in the ballpark of the Jaime Garcia trades?

In that ballpark.

The worst part about what's going on so far is that the front office and Molitor are going to blame the massive underperformance on injuries, which is just not acceptable. I can see the year in review now: "Well, we had some injuries and they were tough to overcome", etc. No...the players didn't play well and were either poorly evaluated or poorly coached.

Guess I'm just bitter. Will be pulling for the Twins as always, rain or shine, vs. Cleveland.

Lynn, Gibson, Ordrizzi should all bring a decent return. Many of the top clubs need extra starters, twins seem to have better than most. Position players will be Penny's on the dollar. A lot of those to be had.

As expected, Slegers has been sent back to Rochester with Tyler Duffey joining the Twins. Smart move in the grand scheme of things, but you can't help but feel bad for Slegers.

 

Duffey struggled in a cameo with the Twins earlier this year, but he's been great for the Red Wings, pitching to a 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 over 24.0 IP. He's pitched two or more innings in 10 of his 13 appearances this season.

Meh. He’ll be back for the double header and likely will only throw bullpen sessions in between. In fact, I doubt the Twins even actually have him report to Rochester.