Offense Being Led Down Path Of Historic Ineptitude

Changes I would make.

Santana leading off - he is the only one who has multiple weapons to spark the offense.  Yes, he could take more walks - but we don't have anyone who takes walks, besides Joe.

Joe at number 2.  While he is not hitting, he can draw walks.  I also think he needs to start changing his role to understand that he needs to be able get runners over, hit and run, etc.  He is the only player who is capable of executing small ball.

Nunez at 3.  Only consistent hitter right now.   He is our lone All Star at this point.

Sano at 4. He needs to own this slot in the order and learn to be the run producer that he is.

Grossman at 5.  - He looks to be the only other major league battle tested hitter, besides Joe, in this lineup.  He needs a chance to drive in runs.   

Park at 6.  Still needs to keep learning.  Dropping him down takes pressure off.

Plouffe at 7.  He is not able to deliver consistent at bats.  He needs to earn his way to the top of the order.

Suzuki at 8.  He is what he is.  

Dozier/Polanco at 9.   I actually think Polanco needs to be the starter.  He can turn over the lineup and use his speed to make things happen.  Until Dozier comes to terms with the fact that he is not the second coming of Jeff Kent, he needs to be on the bench or hitting here. 

It is hard for me to put effort into individual changes I would make anymore.

If you keep Terry, what makes anyone think he will start making the right decisions?

I don't understand how the players is even an option.

These players didn't assemble, coach, and evaluate themselves.

Blaming the players is like blaming the McDonalds drive through guy because you don't like the taste of their burgers.

I'm not ready to go there yet, and feel bad for Molitor. I don't think you can place much of the blame on him for this, at least not given how young the season is. That being said, I do sort of agree that they need someone to lighten up the mood, and Paul Molitor isn't that person.

And I think we have also concluded that he isn't a real good candidate to break in young players....... So......

I'm not ready to go there yet, and feel bad for Molitor.  I don't think you can place much of the blame on him for this, at least not given how young the season is.  That being said, I do sort of agree that they need someone to lighten up the mood, and Paul Molitor isn't that person.

Here are the two most recent headlines regarding the Twins on MLB trade rumors. "Twins “100 Percent Committed” To Terry Ryan" & "Terry Ryan Offers Support For Paul Molitor." Cute.

Don't forget the doozy today by Charlie Walters "Terry Ryan losing sleep over Twins record".

Of course not a critical word by Charlie. We are so lucky to have the hard hitting Walters and Hartman.

Monday’s are as good a day as any for a rant so while I’m in the mood - Joe Mauer. Overpaid, that’s not his fault. But you’d think the guy would feel some sort of accountability to at least pretend he’s a leader. He’s rarely seen (on camera anyway) coaching, encouraging, or even socializing with the young talent, always smiling and joking around with the opponents however at 1B regardless of how many runs they’re down by, generally seen at the back hi-five lines the rare times that they do pull out W’s, and appears to be incapable of all human emotions whether it be joy, frustration, pomp, or anger. I’m a long time Mauer fan but he seems to be a terrible leader.

Meh, you can't be someone you aren't.

Some guys are natural leaders, some guys are not.

It's not something you can learn.

I have worked for people who were not natural leaders and it was laughably transparent when they tried to be.

You're right but if I were paying them $23 million I would certainly appreciate the effort.

Effort at what?

Trying to pretend being someone you aren't isn't going to have the effect you are seeking.

It only takes watching one interview with Joe to see he's not a leader.

Again, that's not something you can learn, at least not as an adult.

This FO is a joke. The players clearly aren't listening to anything the coaches are saying. The GM refuses to acknowledge this is largely his fault and is so damn delusional that he thinks this team can still turn it around. The manager is hurting, not helping, our supposed prospects of the future. Our locker room culture appears to be terrible. Players barely seem to give a **** about their awful performance. Everyone in the organization is just shuffling the blame around but no one is doing a thing about it. 

I can't imagine any other professional sports team would continue to give a free pass to Terry Ryan and the FO he has assembled. I love baseball and I love the Twins but we're starting to get to the point where if Terry Ryan and the current FO aren't entirely gone in the very near future, it's going to be very difficult to even support this team in the least. I can't support a bunch of confused old men ruining my favorite team and mismanaging every single prospect we have. 

Watch, the next move will be to send Polanco down when Escobar is ready to come back.

Terry Ryan says:

http://66.media.tumblr.com/3b50910a6c6468c528611b49fd91e03c/tumblr_inline_nykpe7JbeL1t507a3_500.gif

Speaking of leadership, Dozier was quoted as on the subject. Once he said he was the team leader, and once he referred to himself as one of the team leaders. He likely has a point, as it's obvious the whole team is following his shining example. Snark meter is currently set at full operating capacity!

This FO is a joke. The players clearly aren't listening to anything the coaches are saying. The GM refuses to acknowledge this is largely his fault and is so damn delusional that he thinks this team can still turn it around. The manager is hurting, not helping, our supposed prospects of the future. Our locker room culture appears to be terrible. Players barely seem to give a **** about their awful performance. Everyone in the organization is just shuffling the blame around but no one is doing a thing about it. 

 

I can't imagine any other professional sports team would continue to give a free pass to Terry Ryan and the FO he has assembled. I love baseball and I love the Twins but we're starting to get to the point where if Terry Ryan and the current FO aren't entirely gone in the very near future, it's going to be very difficult to even support this team in the least. I can't support a bunch of confused old men ruining my favorite team and mismanaging every single prospect we have. 

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.   Dozier, Pouffe, Perkins are trying to act like leaders in the clubhouse (Mauer is not trying and we all know that) and the younger guys are literally laughing at them and mocking them.  

Why would you respect those supposed wise veterans when they are producing next to nothing.  And in the case of Perkins, a guy who has acted like a spoiled brat in the past and thrown young callups under the bus in front of the media. (Pinto).

I look at the worst record in the MLB, and get excited about next year's draft. How nice would the #1 overall pick be for this "future" that keeps getting postponed? It's a nice consolation. I'd rather have the #1 pick to go along with all the young talent, than try and salvage 10 extra wins with some AAAA players, at best.

Then I remember that TR would be forced to draft based on signability (aka cheap-out), and probably watch a generational player slip, while taking a "high-floor/low-ceiling" college catcher, or something similar.

Then, I also remember that if they did draft that player that would be generational in another organization, they wouldn't be able to develop him, and it would go down in Twins history as another bust.

Then, I return to wondering how many more weeks until Vikings training camp.

The offense was pretty bad last year too.  Sequencing made it look better to some than it actually was.

Unfortunately, there are only singular choices.  Need an "all of the above" (as in Total System Failure...)

There is only one choice.  Blaming the players, manager, etc., means that, ultimately, Terry Ryan isn't doing his job.  He's responsible for putting the team together.  TR is the only choice.

If there's an off year here or there, OK, blame a player or a manager.  But, when you've won one playoff series in a quarter decade, and have a record in that time period that doesn't even sniff .500, its clearly an issue at the top.

FWIW, Mauer was awful while we were winning in May 2015 too, 63 wRC+.  His overall line this year (101 wRC+) is pretty much identical to his 2014-2015 production (99 wRC+), so whoever expected him to produce like a core player in 2016 is probably more to blame than Mauer himself.

 

Likewise, Dozier is at 66 wRC+ so far for 2016, which isn't far from his 73 wRC+ mark from the second half of last year.  Again, the problem might be the expectations than the player himself.

Disagree.  Way off, here.

Expectation for Mauer were at rock bottom.  It was the front office, the coaching staff, the media, and Mauer himself who came out and said "the recent struggles were all because of my eye issues caused by concussion symptoms.  That's in the past, and Mauer is feeling better than ever.  Great year coming."  They set the expectation.

As for Dozer, he's had about 6 months total in his career in which he was good player.  You're right in the sense that some people had expectations for him that were too high.  But, what in God's name is this guy doing in the top third of the lineup?  He shouldn't even be starting at this point, let alone batting leadoff for a major league club, with which comes inherent expectations.  Again, caused by the FO/Manager.

You can't really blame fans for being sold a bill of goods, for the sake of making the Pohlad's richer than a Saudi prince, then getting pissed when they don't deliver.  The bottom line here, is that changes aren't made.  Nobody is pissed at player X for not performing....its that they keep getting run out there for years after its apparent that they aren't a very good player because the FO hands out awful contracts.

I guess we do agree on something:  The player isn't the one to blame.