Yankees 6, Twins 3: Bartolopalooza Ends in Defeat

This Colon "experiment' needs to end, and soon. It's insulting to real fans.

I am sorry to say Pressly should be sent down for the rest of the season.

Pressly, Breslow and Duffey are all terrible. Bosher is inconsistent.

Rant-On

As I've posted before:  I've lived through the days with the Twins when guys like Willie Banks were considered to be hot prospects.  Then I learned the true meaning of 'hot prospects':  hot in relation to the Twins, not the entire MLB.  Willie had his moments and pitched until he was 33.  In the end, pretty underwhelming.

I say this because I think the new FO's questioning how good the Twins MiLB pitchers really are.  It's the only reason I can think of when the Twins are rotating guy like Tepesch, Turley, Wilk, Santiago and Colon in and out of the rotation.  

With a whole season to evaluate the system from top to bottom, I would expect Falvey and Levine to make significant changes to Twins MiLB rosters.  Well, wish, is probably a lot closer.

Rant-Off

I'm not complaining about Colon after seeing what the Yankees have run out there the last two games.  The Twins failed epically with chances to take advantage.  It almost seemed like Girardi knew the Twins wouldn't come through, and he was able to milk Cessa longer than he might have after that first inning.

I know its more random variance than anything, but it seemed like Granite kept coming up in key spots, particularly at the end.  I like the idea of him leading off, but I would guess he'll be down order today.  And, not to bash Granite, but just speaking as a baseball fan, it is a bummer to me that the game has gone the way it has--when he came up with the bases loaded, what a perfectly dramatic time to send in a pinch-hitter.  Actually, as I write this, I think Molly should have hit Esco their and moved him into the outfield.  Oh well.

Comes down to hitting with runners in scoring position.

Not sure of the exact number but something like 4 for 30 over two games, then there was the Houston series as well.

When Sano and Mauer aren't hitting with runners on base, this team has no chance.

Not that anyone else is producing.

I choose to see the positive. Even though Kepler fails early he had 2 hits later, Sano with 2 hard hits, Dozier nearly had a homer. Our core hitters are not afraid of the Yankees like back in the day. I think it would be a very entertaining series if somehow we could meet them in the postseason, even though I doubt either team will make it.

From what I saw last night, it seems like Colon could at least be a serviceable long man out of the bullpen and occasional spot starter going forward.  Sure, start him against the Dodgers then put him in the pen.  That being said, it's time to start looking for a starter via trade.  

I love Granite and glad to see him getting playing time. But not sure that he should be dumped in the #2 spot out-of-the-chute and you best hitter regulated to the bottom of the order. You let a guy get some bumps (and only 4 at-bats) at the end of the order to start. If Granite CAN bat second, than Buxton should be batting second upon his return.

Let's be brutally honest here. The only plausible reason that the Twins are marching Colon out there is to sell tickets, and this gimmick can only work more than a week or two if he can win games and it does not look like winning games is going to happen.

If the Twins are smart, this "experiment" is over by the end of the month.

I love Granite and glad to see him getting playing time. But not sure that he should be dumped in the #2 spot out-of-the-chute and you best hitter regulated to the bottom of the order. You let a guy get some bumps (and only 4 at-bats) at the end of the order to start. If Granite CAN bat second, than Buxton should be batting second upon his return.

Exactly. Why the heck is he batting second?

Every time it seems like Molitor is figuring things out a bit, he does some nonsense like this!

I have no problem with giving Colon another start. The first four innings were good. Obviously he's got to be perfect and get good defense to have any success. Frankly, I'd rather Colon take his lumps against the Yankees and the Dodgers than Gonsalves or Romero. 

 

I'm good with Granite hitting #2. Frankly, he should be #1, but obviously Dozier is going to be there. While he hasn't shown it through the first 4-6 games in numbers, I love the approach. He needs a few to fall in. I'm fine moving him down in the order at this point, but I have no problem with Molitor putting him there. 

I have to disagree, what has Granite done to be hitting lead off in the majors? Hit AAA pitching?

Plus having Polanco, Castro and Granite hitting in a row, is almost a guarantee of three outs in a row.

This Colon "experiment' needs to end, and soon. It's insulting to real fans.

We have one thread where Gibson has been so awful for so long that he has to be removed from the rotation.

Colon says 'Hold my BEER!'

Both of these are terrible options but the Twins can't go forward with a 3 man rotation. I would say make a trade but the board has mostly been against trading any prospects since they aren't a competitive playoff team if they make it. Something has to give since the Twins have gotten complete garbage out of two rotation spots and are still in the playoff hunt.