rv78

I'd unload Duffey, Buxton, Rosario and Rogers. Time for a youth movement as the present core of players have proven they can't get it done in the playoffs when it counts. I'd also try to trade K-Sano, Kepler and Cave. Don't resign the highly over-rated Marwin or Romo either. This team needs to look a lot different next year if they ever want to get to the next level.

Question is... how many chances do you give him? At some point you have to determine he is what he is and, if it isn't what you want or need then it's time to move on. I think it's that time. If anything he regressed this year. Everyone is saying how a lot of players had a tough season due to the circumstances of covid. But there were a lot of players that didn't too. I'm tired of the excuses. When you're getting paid millions you need to perform at your best no matter what. If we have seen his best, we won't miss it if he's traded.

Sure, maybe the Twins can’t shed the idea that they can’t develop starting pitching. But they don’t really need to. They’ve decided instead to focus on making safe bets on veteran starters and improving internally only when the situation calls for it. They have made other teams expend the energy needed to weed out successful pitchers and then they plunder who they want. It’s a proven system of success and the team has no reason to abandon this plan for the immediate future. This last paragraph says a lot. Yes the Twins have had success doing this. The most notable is Jack Morris taking the bull by the horns and winning Game 7 in 1991. Since then the success has fallen short, so is it really THAT successful? The biggest problem I see is that the Twins won't go the extra mile to sign the ACE they need to win a playoff game. Course, when you have to throw a shutout to win because your offense disappears like Harry Houdini maybe it's a moot point.

I'm tired of the mistake calls. It use to be that Umps stood directly behind the plate thus giving them a better perspective of the entire plate. Now they stand over the inside corner and can't see the outside part of the plate, so they guess. I would venture to bet that 90% of the wrong calls are on the outside part of the plate. Too bad they can't move back over 1 foot so they are centered behind the plate like they use to be. As for being biased we only have to look back to the playoffs this year where the 1st base ump called 2 consecutive Astros runners safe at 1st base only to have both calls reversed on replay. Take your "human factor" and shove it you know where. If the umps aren't going to be held accountable then it's way past time to go with computer technology. When the announcers and the fans can tell within an instant after the pitch crosses the plate if it was a strike or ball then there is no excuse NOT to use it. Something as simple as a red and green light on the scoreboard, red for ball, green for strike, that lights up after each pitch could be used by an Ump sitting behind a monitor screen/TV making the call. The homeplate Ump would only have to work the plate like the other base Umps work the bases. Problem solved.

Yelich is a career .296 hitter. So, yes his .205 season this year is an anomaly and he will probably spring back next season due to a full 162 game schedule. Kepler is a career .237 hitter so his .228 season this year is right on par with his usual. To suggest it is a down season is false. Instead it is what can be expected. I would love to see him traded for an upgrade at any position. Package him with K-Sano and take what you can get. Rooker and Kirilloff can perform as well or BETTER than a .237 hitter and the strikeout King.

Kind of stings a bit when Maeda wasn't left in the game long enough to make a difference in his only playoff game this year and Graterol is in there at the time when it does make a difference. Managing 101?

You ABSOLUTELY bring him back. The lineup was pathetic without him. He would have been even better if he would have had someone who could hit batting behind him in the lineup. Easy out swing at anything Rosario and the Big K Sano don't offer much protection. Why give Boomstick anything to hit?

The bench players, Marwin, Cave, Adrianza, Avila can go away. All of them are easily replacable. I'd be open to trading Sano, Buxton and Kepler for prospects, another top starting pitcher or bullpen help. Sano can't hit with any kind of consistancy, Buxton can't stay on the field with any kind of consistancy and Kepler probably had a career year in 2019 hitting .252 following that up with a .228 season this year. He's a career .237 hitter with an OBP of .319, Really??? from your leadoff guy? Nothing special going on there! If this season proved anything, we need some guys that can hit for average and get on base. Getting 5 or 6 homers each game isn't going to happen often enough to win when you need to. (Playoffs) Rosario for $10M is too much. With Kirilloff, Rooker and Larnach ready to go, He's expendable. Throw in Lewis who can play in the outfield too and you definitely don't need to spend $10M for a guy who swings at anything and throws to the wrong base time after time, again and again. Don't any of these guys learn anything when they make mistakes? Spend the money and bring back Cruz. He was the only guy in the lineup that could hit most of the 2020 season. You definitely bring Polanco, Arraez and Donaldson back. Hopefully all healthy and able to play a full season. I'm comfortable with half a lineup of new young talent. Cruz, Donaldson, Polanco, Arraez, Garver joined with Kirilloff, Rooker, Larnach, Jeffers, Lewis. Teach Astudillo some plate discipline, let Wade Jr have a bench spot, add Blankenhorn and the hitters are set for 2021.

I agree with you on the above post Darius. Baldelli isn't all that he has been bragged up to be. His constant influx of scrub players to give the main guys rest is BS, pure, plain and simple. Maybe these so-called super athletes should try working a 10 or 12 hour shift at a blue-collar job to find out what it's really like to put in a full day of work. Half the time these guys are sitting in the dugout waiting for their turn to bat and the other 45% of the time their standing around on the field. Outside of the pitcher or catcher, in a 3-4 hour game they're actually doing something for maybe 15 or 20 minutes. I'm tired of hearing how they need rest. They have off days for that. Play your best players every day and use them to their fullest.

Unfortunately hitting was the teams demise this year. Who would have thought! I'm ready to move on from the Bomba Squad in favor of some hitters that can hit line drive singles and doubles. Maybe even bunt for a hit on occasion. The lineup has become too one dimensional with what looks like everyone, with the exception of Arraez, swinging for the fences. I'm tired of Sano looking like a lost puppy at the plate, Buxton being a porcelain doll, Rosario swinging at anything, throwing to the wrong base and running with wreckless abandon on the bases. Can anyone hit a linedrive to the opposite field anymore? Maybe bunt down the line for a base hit when the shift is on? Sometimes you have to MAKE the other team react to you, instead of playing into their hands. (Poor Managing)! I really don't care how they do it but I want a whole new outfield, shortstop and 1st baseman. I'm willing to let Arraez, Donaldson, and a platoon of Garver/Jeffers hold down 2B, 3B, and C, and Cruz DH for another year, of course! We can do better at the other positions. Want to keep Polanco, fine but he plays behind a new shortstop and Arraez as a utility guy up the middle. Give the outfield to Kirilloff, Larnach and a new centerfielder, aka FA or trade. Give Lewis the utility role Marwin had. He can't hit any worse and I'll bet he can play all of the same positions just as well for a whole lot less money. So, you trade Sano, Buxton, Kepler. Let Rosario, Cave, Adrianza, Avila walk. Bench spots go to Lewis as your main utility guy, add Blankenhorn, Rooker and Wade Jr. Pitching was the bright spot this year. Too bad this team can't get both sides of the team to work together in the same year. I'd bring back the big 3, Maeda, Berrios and Pineda. Give Odorizzi a chance at a 1 year deal. Look at bringing in another FA or promoting Duran or Balazovic. I've seen enough of Dobnak and Hill isn't going to be good enough much longer. The bullpen is a bigger problem. They definitely need to say bye bye to Romo. I'd like to see Clippard, Rogers, Wisler come back. Not sure about Duffey. He can be lights out but when they really need him to be a shutdown guy, (like in the playoffs) he lays an egg. I'm not sold on Stashak, Thorpe or anyone else they've tried.

Twins 2021: Hitters C-Jeffers/Garver 1B-someone who can hit 2B-Arraez 3B-Donaldson SS-Lewis LF-Larnach CF-someone who can stay healthy RF-Kirilloff DH-Cruz Bench-Polanco, Rooker, Wade, Blankenhorn GoodBye- Avila, Astudillo, Sano, Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Adrianza, Cave, Marwin. Pitchers SP-Maeda, Berrios, Pineda, Balazovic, add 1 RP-Clippard, Wisler, Alcala, add 3 Hill possible resign for a long relief role. I've seen enough of May, Stashak, Duffey, Rogers and Romo. Not impressed with Dobnak. Let's move forward, not sideways.

Very good article. The one thing that wasn't mentioned when Jeffers was lifted for Garver that shows Baldelli's brain freeze is that Garver hits fastballs not curveballs. Valdez throws curveballs. Why then put Garver into that situation in the first place? He would be one of your worst options. Also would have liked to see Buxton bunt when they had guys on 1st and 2nd no outs. The announcers said later that you don't ask a player to do something they can't do. Buxton used to bunt. Don't think he tried it at all this year. Don't understand why they don't make that part of his game and why he doesn't WANT it to be part of his game. I've never understood why major league hitters can't bunt. High schoolers know how to bunt. With the shifts being deployed on almost every hitter nowadays there are base hit bunts available on almost every at bat. Evidently 2 hits in the first 8 innings, swinging for the fences, is acceptable. To me it's poor baseball.

These are all interesting thoughts. To put it bluntly, the guy should have been on the roster all season. He's shown he can hit at every level and deserved the chance from the get go. If he only hits .250 that's more than Sano, Cave, Wade, Kepler, and the greatly over-rated Marwin.

His biggest problem is he tries to hit 500 foot home runs every time he swings. I'd like to see a different approach especially when he has 2 strikes. How come the hitting Coach and Manager can't get him to try to make contact when he gets to 2 strikes instead of swinging for the fences. His cold streaks last way to long to be an effective part of a lineup and are really a huge liability. I wouldn't care if he was traded. I believe he was the fastest player ever in the history of baseball to reach 1000 strikeouts. Is he too blind to see how hitting doubles and singles, like Arraez did last night can be MORE productive than 3 or 4 strikeouts? We all know he is strong. We've heard it over and over, again and again. We've seen some massive Home Runs. Will he ever grow up, quit trying to show off how far he can hit a baseball, and just become a good HITTER to actually help his team? If he would cut down on his swing make better contact get some singles and doubles, the Home runs will still be there. He doesn't HAVE to swing hard to hit it over the fences.

I'm still a doubter. He's the most over-rated player on the team only because he can play multiple positions. So he produced 2 games in a row. What about the 15 in a row when he doesn't? 5 players that need to go bye bye to make this team better: Marwin, Cave, Adrianza, Wade, and Rosario.

I'm tired of Baldelli's decision making. So in the 2nd game of a doubleheader we need to rest Arraez, Buxton and Polonco and play the 3 duds of Marwin, Wade and Adrianza? Don't get me wrong, in a long 162 game season you want to keep your guys fresh and well rested, I get it. But this is far from a 162 game schedule and with 2 off days in front of you there is NO REASON NOT to put your best lineup on the field every game. Has Buxton played so many games already that he needed to rest? Is Polonco not going into the games on Tuesday as one of your hottest hitters? Is Arraez so exhausted he cannot play 14 innings in 1 day? Yes Dobnak layed an egg, but Baldelli's decision to constantly give at bats to guys that are not performing and producing runs very well cost us the game as well. With those 3 in the lineup maybe we score another 3 or 4 runs and win instead of lose.

If Eddie was a youngster I'd give him a pass but given the fact he's a veteran on a team trying to win a championship, his bone-head plays should have ended years ago. You may like his aggressiveness at the plate and on the bases but when it costs your team outs it's going to cost you games as well. Will everyone be so forgiving when he plays like that in the playoffs and it costs them a game or series? I'd like to see what Kirilloff or Larnach can give us in his place.

I guess it's tough to find anything good to write about when the team is playing so poorly. 5 hits means the bats are awake? Really? Cave shines cause he got 1 hit and made a good catch? Yeah, I guess him getting a hit is a big deal deal. I'm ready to see Kirillof, Larnach and Lewis. If Jeffers is capable of playing at the bigs then so are those 3. Time to cut Cave, Wade and Adrianza, 3 non-productive bats that will never be missed.

Pitchers will always have a bad game. It happens. Dobnak, May, Duffey have all been great so far this year. Since all 3 had it happen on the same day doesn't make it look good. I'll give em a pass for now. What I won't give a pass to is the lineup. I don't care if Buxton and Donaldson are out with injuries. Where are the rest of the guys? Why aren't they hitting? What's wrong with Polanco, Arraez, Kepler? Garver before he got hurt? When half your lineup isn't performing it's hard to score runs, then throw in a missing Donaldson and Buxton and you're left with a Sano who will never hit more than .250, and a Rosario who never met a high fastball he didn't like. Cruz has been the only guy who's been worth a dime. 1 guy can't carry the load every game. When you are expecting Marwin, Cave, Vargas, Adrianza, Avila to win games for you, well, it ain't gonna happen. If Larnach, Kirilloff and Lewis aren't better than any of these 5 misfits than we are in trouble long-term.

My 2 cents worth. I would like it if they would keep politics OUT of sports. I watch it for entertainment, nothing more nothing less. It should be an escape for the fans not a platform for political groups and their agendas. I get enough of that on the News, I don't need it in sports. We made the professional athlete rich by going to games or watching them on TV. We can make them poor by doing the opposite.

Great performance by Maeda. Period. What's wrong with Rogers? It looks like his pitches have lost movement. Pretty flat and straight. Not good when a guy that's been out of baseball (Thielbar) makes you look bad. Time for Duff to start closing games? WOW, never thought I'd say that! As for a hitter getting to run to first base after striking out, think of it as an error, either as a wild pitch or passed ball. Usually on an error the hitter is safe. How many times do other fieiders commit errors and still get a chance to throw the runner out?

I like to compare Mauer to another great hitting catcher, Mike Piazza. He's probably the best hitting catcher to play before Mauer and is in the HOF. Seasons: Mauer - 15, Piazza - 16 Hits: Mauer - 2123, Piazza - 2127 HR: Mauer - 143, Piazza - 427 RBI: Mauer - 923, Piazza - 1335 Seasons with 200 or more Hits: Mauer - 0, Piazza - 1 Seasons with 100 or more runs: Mauer - 0, Piazza - 2 Seasons with 100 or more RBI: Mauer - 0, Piazza - 6 Seasons with .400 OBP or more: Mauer - 6, Piazza - 4 MVP: Mauer - 1, Piazza - 0. Considered for MVP vote: Mauer - 5, Piazza - 9 All-Star: Mauer - 6, Piazza - 12 ROY: Mauer - no, Piazza - yes Silver Slugger: Mauer - 5, Piazza - 10 Errors: Mauer - 30, Piazza - 124 Passed Balls; Mauer - 40, Piazza - 102 Caught Stealing PCT: Mauer - 33%, Piazza - 23% IMO, Offensively Piazza was superior to Mauer. Defensively Mauer was superior. Both played about the same number of seasons and had the same number of hits. Obviously Piazza made the HOF due to his bat and run producing skill. While Mauer was never the run producing machine that Piazza was, if Mauer makes it, it will be because of his defense and ability to get on base.

One of the best, least talked about players, in Twins history.

Disagree. His range in the infield isn't as good as Adrianza's. Cave has better speed than him in the outfield and with Astudillo able to play catcher that makes him more valuable than Marwin especially since Donaldson and Sano all but have the corner infield spots locked up. in 2019 he hit .264, Adrianza hit .272, Astudillo hit .268 and Cave hit .258. All 3 are very capable of filling his expensive shoes.

Never liked the signing and still don't, He's an average hitter at best and his versatility in the field can easily be replaced by the other bench players. (Cave, Adrianza, Astudillo. Wade). Pile on the sign stealing scandal and I like him even less. My opinion, every Astros player involved should have to serve an 80 game suspension. Cheating is cheating in any form, doesn't matter if it's PED's or sign stealing or corked bats, pine tar, vaseline, scuffing the baseball, whatever.