Week in Review: Status Quo

The word on the street is that if Sano thinks you are doubting or trying to discipline him, then he takes it personally and goes the other way.

That, the only way to "work with" Sano is to build him up and let him know how much you buy into the Sano narrative of "can't miss superstar".

If true, and if coddling is going on while Sano is setting records for K's and trying to kill every pitch that is low and away -- and they all are at this point, why throw him a strike? -- then Twins' Manager and FO are, in fact, the real problem.

As for Twins, they can get by without Sano.  It's the high OBP of Mauer, the D-fence of Buxton, the pop of Polanco, and just needing a Catcher that is really hurting them.

And where is Brian Dozier, the supposed clubhouse guy, when your team desperately needs leadership?

Even making a Qualifying Offer on him at this point seems like a questionable decision.

My biggest issue now is that the Twins are looking completely helpless against lefties and especially the soft tossing ones.  How long will it be before clubs with decent depth will call up soft tossing lefties for one start against the Twins expecting to win.  

"He's a high-OBP, low-power corner outfielder in the mold of Robbie Grossman"

Who can play defense!  

Grossman is the person I most want replaced due to his woeful one-dimensional contributions (at best). 

I know that the Twins have been hard-pressed to score runs in their losses, but as was mentioned astutely here, the Twins have been abysmal in one-run games. This includes games that they have tied and then given up the winner, and this includes games in which they have taken a tiny lead (usually one run) and proceeded to give it right back. It seems as though the relief pitching performs far better on paper than they do in the actual game. (What I mean by that is the relief pitching tends to be lights out when the Twins are down by a couple or ahead by three or four, but when the game gets tight, they cough up the critical run(s).)

The 4-2 loss to the Angels is a case-in-point, and it was especially aggravating to watch (remember, it's only the second game I've been able to watch this year) because Pressly just kept throwing breaking balls and eventually they started mashing them. Someone should have rattled his cage after Maldonado's double, but he continued to rely on the breaking ball despite having the 97+ mph fastball. After Kinsler's two-run homer, he finally "resorted" to throwing four straight fastballs to Trout, who was clearly over-matched. I was baffled and frustrated by that inning to be quite frank. In any case, it summed up the way the Twins have been playing.

If I thought they were awful (as I did two years ago), it would be much easier to swallow, but as it seems as if there is potential around every corner, it becomes that much more frustrating.

Let's see if we can finally turn the corner...

Go Twins!

Such good news about Joe. Hope he comes back strong. 

This is a young team,.  You expect veteran teams to win one run games. Young teams, uh no. But these guys are learning. 

The Rupp move wasn't an accident. 

I don't believe for a second that Sano is at a cross roads of his career. He is still just a young 25 and coming off an injury. He needs to learn to hit to the opposite field. He is strong enough to hit homers with the push away swing. 

Buxton too. Can you imagine how many triples he could hit in a year if he would learn to hit to right field?

BTW, speaking of catchers, I notice that there isn't much scuttlebutt about Willians Astudillo. I am wondering why his name hasn't been bandied about on Twins Daily as a possible call-up to the bigs. I am sure someone on this list is more clued-in than I am, but it seems like he has hit fairly consistently at all levels. What's the scoop on him?

"On Sunday we learned that Mauer is headed for a rehab assignment. Things are hopefully headed in the right direction for him.

Tougher to feel that way about the Twins in general."

Its kind of one and the same.   Mauer heading in the right direction is directly linked to the Twins heading in the right direction.   Same could be said of Buxton.     And the starting pitching.

Thanks for your comments, very interesting. It hurts to think that this Sano streak won't turn around and it might not this season.  Your comment about Dozier was interesting.  The few  times I have been unable to observe him in the dugout I have thought is has been more reserved and less of a leader than he has been in the past. Are you seeing or hearing the same thing?

The word on the street is that if Sano thinks you are doubting or trying to discipline him, then he takes it personally and goes the other way.

 

That, the only way to "work with" Sano is to build him up and let him know how much you buy into the Sano narrative of "can't miss superstar".

 

If true, and if coddling is going on while Sano is setting records for K's and trying to kill every pitch that is low and away -- and they all are at this point, why throw him a strike? -- then Twins' Manager and FO are, in fact, the real problem.

 

As for Twins, they can get by without Sano.  It's the high OBP of Mauer, the D-fence of Buxton, the pop of Polanco, and just needing a Catcher that is really hurting them.

 

And where is Brian Dozier, the supposed clubhouse guy, when your team desperately needs leadership?

 

Even making a Qualifying Offer on him at this point seems like a questionable decision.

Excellent report, Nick.  Thanks.

Ehire Adrianza should at least be mentioned in the Highlights section, especially since this is a one week review.  I understand mentioning a good week from an MI other than Dozier or Escobar may not fall in line with the broken record whining in the comments sections for Gordon's debut, but Ehire put up an OPS well over 1000 this past week.  If Jake Cave can get attention in other articles after one good game (albeit after a good showing in Rochester), Adrianza at least should be more than an afterthought after a good week.  I don't expect him to stay this hot, but on the season he's now OPSing over 700.  I'll take that from a glove-first, reserve infielder, and it's even passable as a starter for the short term until Polanco returns.

You could add a "comment board theme" section to the weekly review, because that would be status quo too.

1) Rip on Sano

2) Rip on Dozier

3) Cry about Gordon

Those have been the themes all year, and it was certainly a status quo week.

Sano needs to ride buses for a couple of weeks. And learn to wait, and swing naturally. Time for the message two weeks ago.

Someone ought to get out the big razor and shave Sano's head. Maybe that will wake him up!

Opposing teams' management should impose fines on their pitchers: $500 for every pitch they throw Sano in the strikezone. 

Two years ago, the Twins were bad--but not as bad as their final record seemed to say.  They (collectively) managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and went through horrible collective slumps.

This year feels similar in many respects, with the one-run record as the notable symptom.  Last year there was much ado about chemistry and veteran leadership.  This year I sense the same dysfunctionality as before as two years ago--no "chemistry" and the team rarely seems to be firing on all cylinders.

It's almost like the team performs on a macro level as Dozier does on a micro level--season long team wide slumps versus Dozier's half season slumps.

There can be nothing more frustrating than seeing every spark (Romero, Gibson, a huge game from Rosario, etc.) summarily snuffed out.

Sano is not the only problem with the Twins offense, and he is continuously unfairly and maliciously singled out.

 

Only 3 of the current Twins regulars have wRC+ higher than the league average (Rosario, Escobar, and Kepler). As a matter of fact Sano has higher wRC+ than Morrison, Grossman, Garver and whomever happens to play CF for more than 2 games.

 

It is not like Sano is hitting .156/.183/.200, with a -3 wRC+ like his fellow former top prospect does...

Grossman and Garver aren’t supposed to be starters. The starting CF is on the DL. And plenty has been said about his lack of productivity. Plenty has been said about Morrison as well. The fill ins are just that. Fill ins.

Sano is hitting about .150 OPS below his career mark. His HR rate is down 1% of his career avg. his K rate is 5 % higher than career avg and BB rate is 3% lower than career rate. This is a player in his 4th season who is supposed to be the cornerstone of the offense. He should be PROgressing not REgressing at this stage of his development.

If he doesn’t develop into an all star caliber hitter rapidly, this franchise will be back at square one offensively by mid 2019.

Unfairly singled out? No. Sano not hitting is simply THAT big of an impact to this team. That’s the price that comes with the hype that this organization has fed us for the last half decade.

Boston and New York are younger on offense, why are they winning so many games? Do you have any evidence that young teams don't win as many 1 run games? It isn't really that young of a team. There are zero rookies in the projected starting lineup. There are zero second year players in the projected starting lineup. 

It's almost as if that's just a go to excuse that carries no weight when applied to this team.

How about Buxton and his hitting? Or there was no hype surrounding the top overall prospect in baseball according to many? You never hear anyone many questioning his abilities and/or motivation, like they do Sano's.

 

Yes he is singled out.

1) I believe I mentioned that Buxton’s lack of productivity has been discussed plenty. Not recently because he’s on the DL, which I believe I also mentioned.

2) A big part of Buxton’s impact was always going to be and is always going to be defense. The offensive impact was always expected to be less than Sano’s.

3) Sano was never expected to be a plus defender. Indeed, the hope was for at least close to league average. Therefore, his entire value depends on him hitting.

4) Discuss Sano’s “motivation” with someone else. I’ve never mentioned it and could care less about it. I care about results. His are terrible.

5) As I also mentioned, Sano is “singled out” because his not hitting is THAT big of a deal. Buxton not hitting hurts too. Him being on the DL hurts. But his bat was simply never expected to be anywhere close to impactful as Sano’s. The entire offense is built around Sano. If he can’t be the third or fourth place hitter the Twins need him to be, literally nothing else matters. Because the Twins won’t contend for a title with this core if he isn’t in the middle of it.

I think when it comes to "makeup" (not the kind you put on a pig) Sano and Buxton have their own, different issues, but in both cases the effect is the same--lack of production.  In Buxton's case, he overthinks, and Sano might just be the opposite.  Those are very broad generalizations.  I have faith both can become productive players, in time, but I am not counting on either to suddenly start producing--especially because one of them is on the DL currently.  Going out on a speculative limb, and not armed with quotes, it seems like the Twins have emphasized makeup in a lot of their more recent draft picks; and that might be in part a response to what we've seen with the B and S show.

I don't want to be seen as overly disparaging of either guy.  Each has seen formidable hurdles pop up in the last year.  I personally don't underestimate the psychological toll that injuries, off-the-field legal issues, and the weight of high expectations can have.  

I think the thing that I hope for, that could happen right now, is for Dozier and Morrison to go on a tear (along with the cylinders that are already hitting.). 

Lots of frustration which means we still care, but this is one boring lineup to try and sell tickets. Blame can go to everyone who has made an appearance this season as well as coaches. How can we not look at Buxton and Sano as our biggest disappointments as I know for myself I expected huge numbers from them only to get nothing. I thought Buxton may get 50 steals, but he may not get on base 50 times. I thought Sano would give us huge production in HRs and RBIs, but he has only been huge.

Some form of leadership has to step up to put an end to the offensive futility. Dozier has called meetings, but he has to produce on the field to produce results from the clubhouse. Nothing has been mentioned of Morrison's ineptitude. Who would listen to anyone but Rosario and Escobar?

Like every hitter this season, Falvine stepped to the plate before the season and swung for the fences. We thought they had delivered two quality starting and relief pitchers, along with a power threat to hit behind Sano allowing him to see better pitches. As it turns out these moves did not bring the results we anticipated, but Falvine can not get gun shy. Leadership has to come from them and they need to bring up Gordon and Wade and let Pettit and Grossman go. We can't expect any trades yet because anyone we want to trade has no trade value--though Lynn is improving his stock lately. We no longer have the luxury of waiting for status quo to change by itself.