rv78

Grandal will be too expensive for a part-time player. Garver should get 120 games behind the plate if Delli plays him correctly, barring injury. Astudillo can easily cover the other 42 games. If an injury occurs both AAA catchers Telis and Sawyer who are 28 years old should be able to be backups. That being said the Twins will likely go out and sign a Drew Butera type to be their 3rd string catcher.

Sorry to bust anyones bubble but this is old school Terry Ryan dumpster diving at its best. Career 5.20 ERA. I see no point in adding someone like this to the 40 man roster.

Poor fielding free swinging outfielders can be had pretty easily on the Free Agent market or via trade. So we got 1 in Eddie. If anyone has been watching the World Series you'll notice that there isn't anyone on either lineup that is like Eddie. Good teams eliminate the weaknesses on their teams or they just end up NOT being good enough. Eddie is currently one of them whether you want to admit it or not. Buxton is the best fielder on the team, problem is he's not on the field enough. Kepler is solid at CF or RF. Sano is a liability at 3B. Polanco has limited range at SS. Arraez will be average at best at 2B. Who knows who'll play 1B. Sounds like the Twins got their work cut out for them. Might want to work on fielding over the winter.

If he can play 1st base, the bigger question is why wasn't he used there more this year? Especially when Cron didn't play. Seems like that would have been the perfect time to get him some reps there. 1 thing was for sure. He spent too many games on the bench for as productive as he was.

I'd have no problem with Buxton getting any amount he earned. So far, he hasn't earned what he's been paid. Been with the big league club starting in June 2015 and has played in 393 games. That's barely over half the games in those 5 years. If the Twins ever get a full season out of him they'll be lucky. Defense is important but when it's only available half the time you're better off with full-time offense.

Archer is exactly the type of pitcher the Twins would go after. Whether they should or not, only time will tell. I seriously doubt they will have even a remote chance at Cole or Strasburg. They are just dogs in MLB, (only get the scraps that no one else wants). Building Target Field was a farce to the fans. The extra revenue has lined the Pohlads pockets and hasn't produced a Championship since it was built. So much for being able to use that revenue for top end Free Agents. The fans were lied to. The rotation will be Berrios, Odorizzi, one 2nd or 3rd tier Free Agent, or either Pineda or Gibby or both and one of the 9 guys I listed above. FYI, the bullpen needs upgrading as well.

If the Dodgers can't win it all with Kershaw why does anyone think the Twins could? AND, Why does anyone think it would be wise to go after someone who has failed and then in the same breath say it would give the team you are trading with the opportunity to add 1 of 2 pitchers who might be better? So in theory you are saying the Dodgers would get the Twins 2 best prospects plus a Cole or Strasburg for Kershaw. Wouldn't it make more sense for the Twins to bypass Kershaw and go after Cole or Strasburg themselves? A trade like you suggest would help the Dodgers, not the Twins. Paddock would be an interesting addition. Gray will be too expensive. Archer would be right up the Twins alley. Good pitcher coming off a down season could be had for much cheaper pieces. #1.I wouldn't trade Lewis, Kirilloff or Graterol for anyone at this point. #2.Buxton can't play a full season so he'd be the most available as far as top talent, (and I'm saying that lightly), as far as I'm concerned. #3.You have to keep Kepler. Best outfielder the Twins have. #4.Rosario is expendable as well but you can't trade him and Buxton both without getting someone decent to fill their spots. Wade, Cave, Arraez, Astudillo won't cut the mustard in the outfield on a daily basis. Kirilloff and Larnach are probably a year away. #5.Twins have a butt load of young pitchers that we've all seen that could be moved. Gonsalves, Stewart, Dejong, Romero, Dobnak, Smeltzer, Thorpe, Littell, Stashak, ..... Which one isn't replacable? Maybe someone would take all 9 for an Ace?

August, September and October

The real question here is how many HR's did he hit outside the zone compared to how many did he hit IN the zone? Then compare that to how many times did he strikeout or make weak outs swinging at pitches outside the zone compared to how many times he struck out or made weak outs on pitches IN the zone. Do that and then you'll differentiate whether he should be swinging at everything or only pitches IN the zone. I liken Eddie to Joe Mauer only they were direct opposites. Joe would take pitches right down the middle until he had 2 strikes and then start swinging. Imagine how many good pitches he didn't swing at over the length of his career. If Joe would have had a different approach at the plate, like looking for the first good pitch to hit and swinging at it he could have been even better than he was. I often wondered why you watch 2 pitches go by over the middle of the plate and then decide you have to swing at anything close to try to get a hit. Eddie is just the opposite of Joe. He won't wait for a good pitch to hit so he is likely never going to get one. Imagine how much better he could be if he did!

We have had the "analitics" shoved down our throats all year. Tell me that Baldelli DIDN'T know that Duffey was a ragdoll in back to back games. Inexperienced or not the information was there for him to know NOT to use Duffey in game 2.

Anything less than the best available is settling for 2nd best which will get you no-where in the playoffs. If this season didn't teach them that then they have rocks for brains and they are selling Hope for another year. Are you a buyer again?

Hope springs eternal. The Twins motto for years to their fans, only to be disappointed for another year. It is time for Hope to die and victory to become reality. Will Ownership deliver a real chance or just sell Hope once again? We have played 9 years at Target Field with the reasoning for the new Stadium to provide added revenue so the team could be competitive in the free agent market. Will they acquire the best? or settle for 2nd best? Time to put their money where their mouth is.

Who on this team has good range? Sano doesn't, Polanco doesn't, Arraez doesn't. Cron isn't bad but I don't think he falls into the great catagory. Rosario doesn't. Buxton sure as h*ll doesn't when he is on the IL. Kepler is decent. Garver and Castro had more passed balls than I like to see. But hey, they set the record for HomeRuns and went quietly on their way to the off-season because of #1.Their Pitching, #2.They can't manufacture runs. #3.Inexperienced management. #1. Berrios is a #3 or #4 starter, not an ACE. Get the best available or get out of the way. Cole should be priority #1 this off-season or you're already throwing in the towel for 2020. #2.HomeRuns are great but it has been said a thousand times, solo Homeruns will never beat you. Got to get some guys that can hit and get on base in front of the boppers. Then if they are shut down you have to be able to manufacture runs. #3.Hopefully Baldelli learned his lesson. You don't save anyone for another game and you play your best from the start. I'll be the first to agree, he had limited choices to work with in the playoffs, and you can blame the GM's and ownership for that. 2020 will define this team and the true intentions of the Front Office and the Pohlads. Go Big or Go Home. Be a Champion or be a Laughing stock in the Bronx again. The choice is theirs.

Until MLB puts a stop to the big market teams outspending and gobbling up all the top talent available nothing will change. They need to acquire a true ACE pitcher and a true #2 pitcher either thru Free Agency or trade or both. Will they be able to compete for them due to what I just posted above? I doubt it. I'd like to see an ACE and a #2 starter plus Berrios, Odorizzi and Pineda in the rotation next year. If it is anything different than that it'll be another short playoff run in 2020.

We can all talk about how Rocco should have used Rogers instead of Duffey. And in retrospect that might be true, we'll never know, but Duffey has been lights out the second half of the season. Do you use your pitchers the same way in the playoffs as you did in the regular season....no, but when your starter can't make it past the 3rd inning the bullpen isn't the problem. If they don't acquire at least 2 very good STARTING pitchers for next season nothing will change.

Everyone knows the Twins pitching is suspect. Even with the improved bullpen down the stretch the playoffs will expose the weaknesses. The only way the Twins are going to win this year in the playoffs is if they out-slug the other teams. They won't out-pitch them. Berrios would be a #4 or #5 starter in Houston or on the Dodgers. The rest of the starters wouldn't even make their rosters. With a rusty Kepler and Cron and a free-swinging only give me 1 good at bat per game Rosario, the rest of the lineup has their work cut out for them.

Unfortunately the pressure is on. Win game 2 or continue to be the laughing stock in the bronx.

If Gibson's health is his problem then he should not pitch in another game the rest of this year, starting or in relief. His last 7 starts, not counting the start against the Royals which would only make these stats worse, over 32 innings, 48 hits, 15 walks, 27 runs, a 1.97 WHIP, and his ERA is 7.59. I realize he wants to help the Twins and be part of the success but he is only hurting the team at this point. It's WAAAY past time for the Manager to step forward and give the ball to someone else.

Mike Trout verses Kyle Gibson will never be a wash in any way, shape, or form. One is far and away superior over the other. Take a guess who it is.

Then we can count out Garver, probably Cruz, and Sano along with Buxton. None of which got a full season of playing time. That pretty much leaves Kepler the logical choice, with Polanco a close 2nd.

White Sox have an ACE pitcher in Giolito. Twins are still looking for one. Which means the White Sox will probably win a WS ring again before the Twins will. Sorry all you hopefuls but it takes pitching to win in the playoffs.

My biggest gripe with Baldelli is his use of the bullpen, followed by his batting order lineup. With all of the data that is at his disposal nowadays he should know NOT to use Rogers in back-to-back games, especially when he uses him for more than 1 inning the first game. He's been Matt Craps-tacular in those 2nd games. As for his lineup why does he have two of his best HR hitters batting leadoff? Kepler and Garver should be batting 3rd, 4th or 5th behind guys like Polanco, Arraez, Gonzalez. Especially with Cruz out of the lineup. Arraez and Polanco should be hitting 1st or 2nd followed by either Garver/Kepler then fill in with Cruz, Sano, Cron, and so on... Yes, Polanco looks to be wearing down and Adrianza should be getting more reps in his spot to keep him fresh. Might also be time to give Berrios some rest as well, as he has looked awful his last 3 starts.

Headline should read "Bullpen Implodes Again". Even Rogers has been getting lit up albeit being overused by Baldelli. Wonder what the Twins record would be if they had a legitimate closer?

Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, Polanco. All came up to the big league roster about the same time. Sano and Buxton were the two that were suppose to be the "Stars" of the bunch. As it turns out they have been the worst of the bunch with Sano leading the way. I keep comparing him to David Ortiz and wonder if the Twins trade him will he become just that, another David Ortiz? How long do you keep a player that just can't figure out you don't have to try to hit every ball 500 feet. Maybe they should have him practice bunting so he learns that putting the bat on the ball is more productive.

I disagree. He's way over-rated. His BA is .244 and OBP is .321. Very much average to possibly below average. One could argue that he has taken AB's away from Adrianza, Astudillo and Cave. All 3 can cover any position that Marwin has played and they are just as good offensively and defensively as he is. I also think Baldelli is using him too much and not playing his regulars enough. With scheduled off-days the only guys that need added rest are catchers and those who get banged up running into walls or with a nagging injury. Tell me that Adrianza, Astudillo, Cave, Tyler Austin or even Luis Arraez wouldn't be playing as well or better than Marwin if they'd been given the chance to play almost everyday like he has? Sorry, I don't understand the infatuation with an average player just because he can play multiple positions. He reminds me of Denny Hocking, a super utility player that was never good enough to own a position.