Week in Review: Another Backslide

Ugly past week to say the least🤮💩👎😡🤬1-5 definitely need to get things together and fast as it will get ugly. Need to win both series this coming week for sure. Who stays who goes at deadline? Gallo has to be gone-17 home runs ok but only 32 rbis👎sonny I think so too. Started off great but no decisions in 15 starts. Ryan needs to go to bullpen as teams figured him out and bring up kuechel. He can’t do any worse. Need to get Hernandez from Seattle or someone close to him with power/low strike out. And yes why not get padres closer. Something has to change. But we can’t sell need to be buyers. 

After the Twins' sweep of the White Sox, which included a 3-run 9th inning comeback, I said I was back on the bandwagon. I still am, as this team had one of the lowest ERA in the majors at the All-Star break despite having played 29 games against the AL East. The second-half schedule on paper is considerably easier.

But this week is a good reminder that this team's fragility is as bad as last year's, and that a collapse is always possible. It's also a reminder that the only Minnesota team worth watching this autumn is...

...Gopher volleyball.

Seems like only a few weeks ago that fans were griping that all the Twins did was beat teams like the Royals.  Problem solved and STILL the same griping.  sheesh

I agree something needs to change but it has to start with the FO and include the Manager and coaches. The direction we have seen since they have taken over isn't going in the right direction. Weren't they suppose to build this team into a perrienial contender. So far all we've gotten is a perrenial pretender.

The FO only has themselves to blame for this mess. Extended part-timer Buxton for $15M. Signed an over-rated Correa for $33+M. Signed a worthless hitter in Gallo for $11M and kept another crappy hitter in Kepler for $8.5M. Let's see they are hitting a combined .213 for $68 MILLION. Gee, I wonder why this team can't win games when they need to. DUH!

for a short while we had that 4 game lead over cleveland and looked like finally we were going to pull away. Then in a flash, it was gone.

2 minutes ago, insagt1 said:

for a short while we had that 4 game lead over cleveland and looked like finally we were going to pull away. Then in a flash, it was gone.

Tired pitchers? Too many strikeouts? No consistency in hitting? On the one hand I am glad we did not trade away future prospects as we have done in the past to try and upgrade this team. The Twins have way too many holes for a one or two player fix. Even if we do win the weak Central, we are going nowhere. So "why"? The question is what to do for next year. I think we need to bring up a lot of the prospects this year to evaluate whether or not they will be an asset to the team moving forward. We need bullpen help. We need a better hitting philosophy. Do we need a front office change? Very possibly. Manager change? Also possible. Their evaluation of talent leaves something to be desired. While we do have a much improved pitching staff, they traded away any hope of a reliable offense. Sadly, it is not a quick fix. Our only saving grace is that we are in the Central.

Very disappointing to say the least.

What in tarnation.  The occasional flicker of light goes out mighty fast.  This team is the most inconsistent I have ever seen.

Julian needs to be in the line up  Every. Single. Day. 

He is young and he has been an offensive spark plug.

If they want to give him a break at 2B... Fine... He goes to DH and Buck grabs some bench. 

So Wallner is showing that HE CAN replace Gallo, in both the home run and strikeout department.

Is Gallo safe, though, becuase we need a first baseman?

What do you do if the pitcehrs wear out., Do you send Ober, Duran, even Ryan to the minors to just pitch some less stressful short outings? But who do you bring up in return and also where do you find the 40-man roster spot for the "Return of Dobnak."

3 hours ago, rv78 said:

I agree something needs to change but it has to start with the FO and include the Manager and coaches. The direction we have seen since they have taken over isn't going in the right direction. Weren't they suppose to build this team into a perrienial contender. So far all we've gotten is a perrenial pretender.

The FO only has themselves to blame for this mess. Extended part-timer Buxton for $15M. Signed an over-rated Correa for $33+M. Signed a worthless hitter in Gallo for $11M and kept another crappy hitter in Kepler for $8.5M. Let's see they are hitting a combined .213 for $68 MILLION. Gee, I wonder why this team can't win games when they need to. DUH!

 

Perhaps YOU should be the GM & manager.

3 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

How bad is the AL Central this year? 

Every other team in the American League--except for Oakland--every other team in the American League has a better record than the Twins. The Twins would be in 5th place in the AL West, and in 6th place in the AL East. 

so?

Don't waste time looking back.

Bring on the Red Birds!

Good article. Short, to the point, gives good and low stats about this team. This Geezer has been a fan since the team began playing in Minnesota, so, whether my opinion matters or not, here and there, I chime in. 

This is an incredibly consistently inconsistent team. They are NOT a good team. They do NOT have a good manager. They do NOT have plate discipline. They will NOT win the division this year. I could go on, but I will stop.

They have some fun players. They have speed, they have defense, they have pretty decent versatility in moving players around. They have loyal and forgiving fans. They have a good minor league system.

I love the Twins. It pains me to think this way. I'll see if I can be more consistent than the Twins.

Go Twins!

Twins Geezer, out!

Remember when people were saying nothing to see here, the Twins have the easiest second half schedule?

11 hours ago, insagt1 said:

for a short while we had that 4 game lead over cleveland and looked like finally we were going to pull away. Then in a flash, it was gone.

With 9 weeks(!) left in the regular season, there should be many more "flashes" for the Twins. Look what just happened in only one week! (sigh). I'm going to sit back and enjoy it. Plus all the jockeying for position in the wild card races. Makes most games on the daily MLB schedule compelling. Players make in season adjustments; sometimes, so do fans.

10 hours ago, Kummel said:

What in tarnation.  The occasional flicker of light goes out mighty fast.  This team is the most inconsistent I have ever seen.

Well said. It's been a very, very inconsistent season. The team goes on a run, starts scoring some runs, or we shutout another team, and suddlenly we are looking like world beaters. And then comes the next week and just as suddenly we fall apart and can't even win a single game against one of the worst teams in the league. Hard to work up any enthusiasm for the team at this point. 

9 hours ago, Rosterman said:

So Wallner is showing that HE CAN replace Gallo, in both the home run and strikeout department.

Is Gallo safe, though, becuase we need a first baseman?

What do you do if the pitcehrs wear out., Do you send Ober, Duran, even Ryan to the minors to just pitch some less stressful short outings? But who do you bring up in return and also where do you find the 40-man roster spot for the "Return of Dobnak."

 

"Return of Dobnak."

If nothing else, that would be a fantastic title for a new horror movie!

13 hours ago, Patzky said:

I don't have much confidence that many new faces will show up via trade-- I hope I'm wrong-- but the FO historically doesn't like to admit it has miscalculated. And of course Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless stint for the Fish today and got the W.. a W we are in desperate need of.

 

Gallo out maybe Larnach back.. is it worth pilfering the Cards via trade before the upcoming series or is that a breach of baseball etiquette lol..

Lopez will have good numbers as he is with his family.   I appreciate the Twins making this move for him.   Gallo out and Larnach up is an upgrade on offense.    Would like to see Larnach, Martin, Gordon, Maeda/Gray, Miranda, SWR used in some trade deal

Correa is 4 for 22 with 1 run scored,  0 RBI in the 5 game skid.  He had seemed to be providing a spark at the top of the order but obviously has cooled down.  

7 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Losing Gray and Madea would be an admission of the year being a lost cause wouldn't it? I guess you could go with Pablo-Ryan-Ober-Keuchel- Dobnak.. (pray for rain)

I would not trade both, but one of them could be flipped

I know people don't like to hear it, but nothing is going to change until they make a switch at manager. The tone-setter for the entire team is the manager/coach. The inconsistency, not maximizing the substantial talent on the team, and just general "bleh" nature of the team's performance and vibes/energy is 100% on the manager. It's a shame because Rocco is a great guy, but 3 years of underachieving baseball despite very clearly trying to "go for it" by the front office is simply unacceptable. It is what it is.