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rv78

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Everything posted by rv78

  1. Miranda, Kirilloff, Martin are young. They need playing time at 1 position to settle in and get comfortable there. Bouncing them around between different positions isn't helping. Corey Koskie had a brick for a glove when he started playing 3rd for the Twins but was given the chance to get better with "regular" playing time at that position. He didn't have to play another position while doing so and got very respectable with his glove. Put the players where they belong, play them everyday so they get comfortable and quit the musical chairs positioning of players in the field. Margot was a long-shot to be worth anything and was brought in to be a backup. Utility players like Castro are what they are for a reason. They don't belong in the lineup almost daily just because they can bat left-handed or right-handed against an opposite throwing pitcher. Why is it these young players are good at every level as they progress through the minors but when they get into Rocco's system of platoon and play somewhere else different today from last time you played 3 days ago that they struggle? It's not hard to see why.
  2. Only way things will change for the better is for fans to stop attending games and send ownership the message that this is NOT ok. I agree that the organization has been remade but I'd beg to differ that it is in a good place. Falvine should have moved on before the crap they have assembled blew up in their face. Name 1 player currently on this team, that consistantly plays good baseball all year, every year. There isn't one. Their highest paid player and supposed team leader left the team for greener pastures sending a message that he could care less about the Twins and that backfired in his face only to be saved by the fools in the FO. A known cheater who didn't want to stay here is your leader? Sure... great move. All of the starting pitchers are inconsistant including your Ace who isn't really an Ace. The bullpen is worse, including the go to guys of Jax and Duran. Most of the hitters can't hit, especially when there are runners on base. Their defense is average at best and that's a stretch. Most of the main guys you want in the lineup can't stay healthy. The Manager is totally inept at managing a lineup and a bullpen. The FO continues to bring in washed up veterans or injured pitchers thinking that somehow that is actually improving the team. I've been tellin you guys this team is a joke but most all of you keep drinking the kool-aid. Chug Chug.
  3. Not sure what to do? How about a complete reboot starting with the FO. This is their team. Their highest paid hitter is an average hitter who plays great defense, getting superstar money. Their 2nd highest paid hitter has a career .239 average, also plays great defense but can't stay on the field. They've brought in a catcher that can't hit anymore but plays great defense. Went and got an aging veteran to play 1st base who's past his prime, can't hit his weight but still plays decent defense, so he gets the majority of time at his position. Is there a trend here? A utility player leads the team in AB's. Why? Are the players, who are suppose to have a regular position, not good enough to play everyday? But a Utility guy can play more? Want to solve most of the hitting problems? Want to start scoring more runs? Play your regulars everyday. Stop platooning them to death so they can get AND stay in a rhythm. Put some faith in your young hitters and show them some confidence instead of yanking them from the lineup every time a matchup doesn't look like it is in their favor. Want to ruin a hitter? Show doubt in their ability and replace them when a number on a piece of paper tells you to do so. If analytics are so good, then why does this team struggle to hit and score consistantly? If this team is better because of it then I'd hate to see how they'd be without it. IMO... I think it makes them worse for the very reasons I pointed out. I've watched baseball for over 50 years and the way Rocco manages a lineup on a daily basis is one of the biggest detriments to hitting and scoring runs consistantly. It's good to play consistantly. It's good to bat in the same spot in the lineup everyday. If a hitter struggles against a certain handedness pitcher will he ever get better by not being able to face that type of pitcher? Maybe the FO should identify players that can hit against both and target those players instead of those that can't. Why did everyone think they needed to add a right-handed bat this off-season? How about just adding a good bat that can hit both lefty and righty pitchers? Then it wouldn't matter. It's not complicated. But they are so enamored with analytics and launch angles and matchups that they have lost sight of just playing the game.
  4. Unfortunately looking ahead to a "friendly" stretch in the schedule doesn't make you a better team. It just makes you "look" like a better team. My guess is, the Yankees, Orioles and Guardians look at the Twins as part of their "friendly" schedule.
  5. Poor pitching, poor hitting, poor managing. Let's blame the umps. Ober laid an egg followed by Funderburk and why is he on the team Jackson. Rocco, note to self, if you use your better pitchers, the game may not get out of hand giving you a slight chance to come back and win a game. When your worst bullpen pitchers have pitched the most in the last week you are doing a poor job of managing your bullpen. Note to this FO, when you have a worthless player, waiting to DFA him makes you look worse at doing your job than signing him in the first place. Who stole the sausage? It belongs to the better team on the field on that particular day. Competition wise, this team can't keep up with the good teams.
  6. Every win is important, but it’s even more important to be healthy entering the playoffs. Not if it takes every win to GET to the playoffs and/or it improves your seed in the playoffs. I've already seen Rocco throw enough games away by resting his best players to last a lifetime. Take a player like Buxton, the only way he doesn't get hurt is if he doesn't play at all. How many injuries has he had that would have been prevented with more rest? Probably Zero. Pulling up lame with a sprained knee or busting your hand from a HBP have nothing to do with rest. Take almost any injury for that matter. How about Royce Lewis, would rest have prevented his injuries? Surely he wasn't "TIRED" from the long grind of the season when he strained his right quad on opening day? If you need rest... to prevent injuries then you are a fool. What you need... is to be in better shape and play within yourself. Trying to do too much, or more than your body is accustomed to.... has more to do with injuries than not enough rest.
  7. All of the comments about not covering bases and having options doesn't explain nor have anything to do with the multiple innings usage. As analytical as the FO and Rocco are, it doesn't take special glasses to see Alcala is a really good pitcher, probably another 7th or 8th inning guy when he is used as a 1 inning guy. Add in the fact that Rocco is known for "protecting" his players by not over-using them. One thing I will never understand, is the over-use of analytics for some things and the complete ignorance of it for others.
  8. To me, the "pipeline" is what is there, being developed in the minors, regardless of how they got there, (drafted or traded for). Any "MLB ready" pitchers regardless of how they got here are not coming from your pipeline. They are covering up for the deficit in your pipeline. PLopez, JRyan, CPaddack are not Twins pipeline pitchers. They were acquired to make up for the lack of pitchers in the pipeline, either quality or quantity wise or both by this FO. Without those 3 pitchers how good would we be able to say this FO has done building a pitching pipeline? I would say it has been a complete failure, Without Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda and Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan in 2023 how good would the team have been due to the "pipeline"? No need to go back any farther because there is no one that came from the pipeline. I also don't like to include relievers in the "pipeline" discussion because they are more often than not, starters that failed to become legit MLB starters. Why should pitchers drafted to be starters and failed, be considered part of a good pipeline? They just aren't. They had to take on another role that wasn't expected or desired of them. So we have 3 "pipeline" pitchers in Ober, Varland and SWR in 2024 starting games. Ober has been reasonably successful and has his spot secured in the rotation. Varland looks like he's destined for the bullpen which means he failed, and we have SWR who has thrown a total of 4 games which hardly leads to any solid evidence that he is going to be successful longterm. IMO, the pitching "pipeline" has consisted of a couple of drops and the end of the drought is no where to be seen.
  9. Sure, it worked for Rocco in this game, but if it hadn't would you still be happy with the move? Maybe Rocco made a mistake, (possibly and very likely). Why use Jax in the 7th? Were Alcala, Okert, and Sands still exhausted from their 2 combined innings pitched on Saturday that 1 of them couldn't pitch the 7th? Maybe that would have been the smarter move thus saving Jax for the 8th and Duran for the 9th. My point of view is, Rocco used Duran in the 8th to cover for the mistake he made by using Jax in the 7th.
  10. " The Marlins’ side of the deal will take time to develop, but the Twins must be happy with how the initial trade played out. If nothing else, it's a good sign that they're not already considering another one. " Who's not already considering another one? How do you know? If it's the Twins, anyone could be moved at the trade deadline outside of Buck and Correa who have no trade clauses. Not having a batting champion to trade only means the return won't be as good but I'd bet if the right offer came along it will be considered if it hasn't already.
  11. Wasn't going to comment other than my short LOL on page 1 but I just can't get past the lunacy of signing players like Gallo, Santana and Margot and the trading for injured pitchers that happens WAY to often. Add in the acquisition of 1 year wonders like JLopez, and the crop of bullpen arms they went after this off-season and IMO they take too many chances on players that have no consistant track record. Last but not least is the spreadsheet culture and platoon to death or pinch-hit at all costs avenue they have committed to that doesn't really equate into anything but inconsistancy on the field. Do you know how to have players never learn how to hit against an opposite handed pitcher? ....... By never giving them enough opportunities to do so.
  12. Margot has a $12 million team option for next year that the Twins won’t pick up. For now, he needs to find a way to provide some value, or there is no reason for him to be on the roster. Is there a reason why Buxton is on the roster? Other than his contract that will last for another 5 seasons, there is NO reason.
  13. Byron Buxton, Hurt, Again This season the Twins have benefitted by having their star center fielder play in 28 of their first 30 games. He has routinely been available in the outfield, and while his process has been a bit amiss at the plate, he has found a way to make a significant contribution in the form of an early 0.6 fWAR. The reason why this news is only worth 2 sentences is because it has become an expected occurance every season. It's not really news at all when it happens every season.
  14. It's great to beat up on the two worst teams in the AL, but that only means you could still be the 3rd worst team in the AL. I'll start believing when they start beating good teams.
  15. Your enthusiasm is good to see, however in the 8 years this FO has been in charge they've developed 1 pitcher that has been good enough to crack the rotation and stay there, Ober. We can name numerous players that were in the pipeline a few years ago, just like you are naming the ones there now and none of them made it like we were told they would. Where's Duran?.. now a reliever, how about Balazovic? Or Hendrick or Canterino or Winder just to name a few. Maybe they aren't as good at drafting as you think they are or they'd have more players making an impact verses acquiring injured pitchers (which is a whole nother story) to cover for their mistakes.
  16. Like a blind squirrel finding an acorn once in a while, the Falvine approach of "all or nothing" worked this time. Larnach's and Buck's HR's saved them.
  17. If Varland is so good in the bullpen then use him that way. If Sands is good in the bullpen then use him that way. Let SWR start the game, go 3 innings and turn it over to the bullpen and those 2 good long relief guys just named. In theory you can say it is a bullpen game. Sounds like an automatic win since the Twins have the "best bullpen" in the majors. LOL! Now if they can only play the WSox everyday, their hitting problem is solved.
  18. I wonder why they think they have to bring in players that can hit lefties or players that can hit righties...? Why not go after players that can hit both? I wonder why they think they can add veterans like Gallo and Santana who are clearly at the end of their careers and expect one more good season from them...? There really was only 1 Nellie Cruz. Quit trying to duplicate him with other players. I understand the need for depth. I know they got burned by NOT having it when they had to play guys like Jake Cave and Giberto Celestino, but if you don't see the difference of talent you have in depth at AAA now verses what you did in 2021 then you aren't very good at evaluating talent. All you have to do is look back to the last half of 2023 to see who really carried this team to the playoffs and it wasn't your veteran depth but the young players. Not trusting the players you drafted to become the depth pieces you need shows no confidence in them and gives yourself no credibility that you are drafting good players. Then finally, and probably the most disturbing issue of all, is the redundant acquisition of injured pitchers. Have the guts to say no if a pitcher isn't healthy.
  19. Partly right, and partly wrong. The FO spent money on the likes of an injured DeSclafani, a washed up Santana, a no name hitter called Margot. Decided to go with another year of Max Kepler who has never shown any consistancy as a hitter. $10M for a backup catcher, (Vazquez), was foolish to say the least, not to mention the 1 year wonder relief pitchers they splurged on. Easily could have used that money more wisely. Varland looks to be a AAA pitcher for life. Paddack is being counted on to give 'em a full season coming off TJ surgey, which usually takes that first full season to recover from. Add Duarte to the injured pitchers acquired list, which only grows longer every flippin year. Thielbar looks like age has finally caught up with him. Correa and Buxton, their two highest paid hitters can't stay on the field and if they do, can't hit more than their weight the majority of the time. Yes, they did cut payroll, but where they have spent the money was an even bigger waste and mistake. Now they must live with it. As a fan you can choose NOT to go to Target Field or watch the disaster on the field they so proudly constructed since they are the "smartest guys in the room".
  20. Disagree with you Doc. This team is exactly what it is... bad. Who's to blame? The FO, the Manager and the Coaches. Why? Their approach to everything they do. You aren't going to win when you acquire injured pitchers, 1 year wonders, and washed up veterans. Then throw in the all or nothing swing at the plate and they are getting exactly what they want. Right now that is nothing. Add a Manager that plays the lefty/righty matchups to death, which only shows, no confidence in your players to be good except in a situation that was determined by their past and not the present gives any hitter little to no incentive to try. I could just see Kirby, Herbie and G-Man getting pulled in the middle of a game. The boo-birds would have been flying. Only way things will change is when they clean house starting at the top.
  21. The Minnesota Twins sought to snap a five-game skid on Saturday, and Bailey Ober did everything he could to position them well for it. The offense remained in a sputter, and while opportunities were missed all day, Rocco Baldelli's club did just enough to get the job done. Despite Rocco doing this: Baldelli went with Carlos Santana off the bench. A weak fly out dropped him to 0-for-14 on the year with runners in scoring position, and he has just three hits in his last 40 at bats (.075). Manuel Margot grounded out on the first pitch of his pinch hit at-bat, and both runners were left on the bases. Why play the pinch-hitting game, especially with 2 hitters that aren't hitting? There's no sense in his head.
  22. Most of those situatuions are based on career numbers. Not based on current performance, which is needed on a daily basis. Example: Julien has good numbers verses RHP but this year is hitting lefties better. So what does Rocco do? He puts him in the leadoff spot against righties and bats him 9th against lefties. That is NOT Managing based on how the player is doing. It's based on what he has done in the past. They aren't playing games from the past. Sorry, that's NOT good managing no matter how you try to twist it.
  23. Unfortunately, they can play poorly and still beat the WhiteSox, so nothing will change.
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