rv78

Everyone is raving about his defense and this article is no different. If defense was the only thing it took to make a winning team this 2023 version of the Twins will be tough to beat. Unfortunately if you want to win you also have to score runs, not just prevent them. Outside of Vazquez taking some at bats away from Jeffers I don't see where the Twins improved their offense much. Especially if guys like Gallo and Kepler, who can't hit, take the majority of at bats away from Gordon, Larnach and even Farmer. Maybe Kirilloff will be all that he is hyped up to be. Maybe Polanco will have a bounce-back season. Maybe Buxton will remain healthy and produce like he is capable of. Maybe Correa will put together a full season of producing runs instead of his 1/3 season we saw last year. Let's hope that maybe Miranda can be as good as last year. IF all of the "maybes" pan out they'll score enough runs to win, but I am not counting on Gallo to be a significant offensive contributor and IMO, I don't think the FO expects him too either. They got Gallo for 2 things only, defense and to hit an occasional HR. Anything else will be gravy.

Everyone is raving about his defense and this article is no different. If defense was the only thing it took to make a winning team this 2023 version of the Twins will be tough to beat. Unfortunately if you want to win you also have to score runs, not just prevent them. Outside of Vazquez taking some at bats away from Jeffers I don't see where the Twins improved their offense much. Especially if guys like Gallo and Kepler, who can't hit, take the majority of at bats away from Gordon, Larnach and even Farmer. Maybe Kirilloff will be all that he is hyped up to be. Maybe Polanco will have a bounce-back season. Maybe Buxton will remain healthy and produce like he is capable of. Maybe Correa will put together a full season of producing runs instead of his 1/3 season we saw last year. Let's hope that maybe Miranda can be as good as last year. IF all of the "maybes" pan out they'll score enough runs to win, but I am not counting on Gallo to be a significant offensive contributor and IMO, I don't think the FO expects him too either. They got Gallo for 2 things only, defense and to hit an occasional HR. Anything else will be gravy.

Everyone is raving about his defense and this article is no different. If defense was the only thing it took to make a winning team this 2023 version of the Twins will be tough to beat. Unfortunately if you want to win you also have to score runs, not just prevent them. Outside of Vazquez taking some at bats away from Jeffers I don't see where the Twins improved their offense much. Especially if guys like Gallo and Kepler, who can't hit, take the majority of at bats away from Gordon, Larnach and even Farmer. Maybe Kirilloff will be all that he is hyped up to be. Maybe Polanco will have a bounce-back season. Maybe Buxton will remain healthy and produce like he is capable of. Maybe Correa will put together a full season of producing runs instead of his 1/3 season we saw last year. Let's hope that maybe Miranda can be as good as last year. IF all of the "maybes" pan out they'll score enough runs to win, but I am not counting on Gallo to be a significant offensive contributor and IMO, I don't think the FO expects him too either. They got Gallo for 2 things only, defense and to hit an occasional HR. Anything else will be gravy.

Everyone is raving about his defense and this article is no different. If defense was the only thing it took to make a winning team this 2023 version of the Twins will be tough to beat. Unfortunately if you want to win you also have to score runs, not just prevent them. Outside of Vazquez taking some at bats away from Jeffers I don't see where the Twins improved their offense much. Especially if guys like Gallo and Kepler, who can't hit, take the majority of at bats away from Gordon, Larnach and even Farmer. Maybe Kirilloff will be all that he is hyped up to be. Maybe Polanco will have a bounce-back season. Maybe Buxton will remain healthy and produce like he is capable of. Maybe Correa will put together a full season of producing runs instead of his 1/3 season we saw last year. Let's hope that maybe Miranda can be as good as last year. IF all of the "maybes" pan out they'll score enough runs to win, but I am not counting on Gallo to be a significant offensive contributor and IMO, I don't think the FO expects him too either. They got Gallo for 2 things only, defense and to hit an occasional HR. Anything else will be gravy.

Everyone is raving about his defense and this article is no different. If defense was the only thing it took to make a winning team this 2023 version of the Twins will be tough to beat. Unfortunately if you want to win you also have to score runs, not just prevent them. Outside of Vazquez taking some at bats away from Jeffers I don't see where the Twins improved their offense much. Especially if guys like Gallo and Kepler, who can't hit, take the majority of at bats away from Gordon, Larnach and even Farmer. Maybe Kirilloff will be all that he is hyped up to be. Maybe Polanco will have a bounce-back season. Maybe Buxton will remain healthy and produce like he is capable of. Maybe Correa will put together a full season of producing runs instead of his 1/3 season we saw last year. Let's hope that maybe Miranda can be as good as last year. IF all of the "maybes" pan out they'll score enough runs to win, but I am not counting on Gallo to be a significant offensive contributor and IMO, I don't think the FO expects him too either. They got Gallo for 2 things only, defense and to hit an occasional HR. Anything else will be gravy.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Someone has been smoking that whacky tobacky! If you think you can put Rocco and the word great in the same sentence you are delusional!! Yes, they use the numbers to make decisions but you still need to have a feel for the game and know when to over-ride those numbers. Rocco can't do that. Ask Dave St. Peter if he thinks Rocco is great as St. Peter sees ticket sales continue to slide into the dumpster. Great Managers inspire their fan bases. Rocco does the opposite!
"Great"? How amusing,!

"Rocco is very good at supportive messages. He's kind, and he sees the best in his players. Sadly, I think that's maybe part of the problem. I don't think he understands how to instill a sense of urgency and hunger in his players. "
Yes, We have seen poor fundamentals in the field by players and poor management such as, the lack of trying to manufacture runs. Rocco accepts not scoring if they can't do it the way they've done it in the past. (Bomba Squad) The acceptance of normalcy or less has become okay and that makes winning when it matters difficult to almost impossible. 

Absolutely a great article. There are a lot of things wrong with this organization that you enveloped. The two that I'd like to emphazise are,... winning when it matters and not having a problem with losing. I think those 2 are key to the culture that the Twins have fallen into. When you can't beat a team like the Yankees and then walk away thinking, well yeah, we lost, they're the Yankees, we weren't suppose to be able to beat them anyway, you have a major problem. Even before the injuries decimated this team, they could not beat a good team. Injuries are not an excuse for poor play, poor management decisions and just going out onto the field with an uninspired approach to playing. Sure, they go through the motions and play the game but playing with conviction and the desire to win every game just doesn't seem to be there, but rest assured that the FO and ownership will use the injury excuse to blame away another season instead of the real problem which you explained so perfectly.

I'm thinking you missed the general point of the article (winning playoff games should be an absolute imperative for this club), but I'll run with what you might think is a knock on me. Yes, all I care about is the Twins winning the World Series. I wish more Twins fans, players and personnel felt the same. If you don't set ambitious goals, you'll never meet them.

In 3rd place. Team got off to a hot start but has settled into mediocrity. Both June and July were losing months and August has not changed that yet. Too bad a different picture couldn't have been used for this article since Sano is gone, Larnach is IL for probably the rest of the season and Buxton should be IL as well.. The only one in the picture doing anything anymore is Arraez. The picture should have Gordon, Miranda and the bat boy with Arraez.

Sano Who?

Looks like you are selling the farm for a 1 year chance. Not usually a good move for any organization. I'd much rather see the Twins be sellers of some veterans and take on a full fledged youth movement. If that means punting the 2022 season then so be it. The roster right now can't compete with the Yankees or Astros and to get them there shows you would mortgage the future. Move Kepler, Sano, Urshela, Sanchez, Correa for more young talent and in 2023 let the young guys take over. c-Jeffers, 1b-Kirilloff/Arraez, 2b-Polanco/Arraez, 3b-Miranda/Arraez, ss-Lewis/Gordon, of-Larnach, Buxton, Celestino, Kirilloff, Gordon, Garlick, Contreras. Bring up Steer, Palacios, Wallner. Get a backup catcher and pitching for the veterans in trade to add to the likes of Gray, Ryan, Ober, Winder, Duran, Jax. Maeda and hopefully Alcala will be back and maybe Paddock will amount to something in 2023. Last and not least, get a manager that is willing to let his best players play every day.
 

Looks like you are selling the farm for a 1 year chance. Not usually a good move for any organization. I'd much rather see the Twins be sellers of some veterans and take on a full fledged youth movement. If that means punting the 2022 season then so be it. The roster right now can't compete with the Yankees or Astros and to get them there shows you would mortgage the future. Move Kepler, Sano, Urshela, Sanchez, Correa for more young talent and in 2023 let the young guys take over. c-Jeffers, 1b-Kirilloff/Arraez, 2b-Polanco/Arraez, 3b-Miranda/Arraez, ss-Lewis/Gordon, of-Larnach, Buxton, Celestino, Kirilloff, Gordon, Garlick, Contreras. Bring up Steer, Palacios, Wallner. Get a backup catcher and pitching for the veterans in trade to add to the likes of Gray, Ryan, Ober, Winder, Duran, Jax. Maeda and hopefully Alcala will be back and maybe Paddock will amount to something in 2023. Last and not least, get a manager that is willing to let his best players play every day.
 

Looks like you are selling the farm for a 1 year chance. Not usually a good move for any organization. I'd much rather see the Twins be sellers of some veterans and take on a full fledged youth movement. If that means punting the 2022 season then so be it. The roster right now can't compete with the Yankees or Astros and to get them there shows you would mortgage the future. Move Kepler, Sano, Urshela, Sanchez, Correa for more young talent and in 2023 let the young guys take over. c-Jeffers, 1b-Kirilloff/Arraez, 2b-Polanco/Arraez, 3b-Miranda/Arraez, ss-Lewis/Gordon, of-Larnach, Buxton, Celestino, Kirilloff, Gordon, Garlick, Contreras. Bring up Steer, Palacios, Wallner. Get a backup catcher and pitching for the veterans in trade to add to the likes of Gray, Ryan, Ober, Winder, Duran, Jax. Maeda and hopefully Alcala will be back and maybe Paddock will amount to something in 2023. Last and not least, get a manager that is willing to let his best players play every day.
 

Looks like you are selling the farm for a 1 year chance. Not usually a good move for any organization. I'd much rather see the Twins be sellers of some veterans and take on a full fledged youth movement. If that means punting the 2022 season then so be it. The roster right now can't compete with the Yankees or Astros and to get them there shows you would mortgage the future. Move Kepler, Sano, Urshela, Sanchez, Correa for more young talent and in 2023 let the young guys take over. c-Jeffers, 1b-Kirilloff/Arraez, 2b-Polanco/Arraez, 3b-Miranda/Arraez, ss-Lewis/Gordon, of-Larnach, Buxton, Celestino, Kirilloff, Gordon, Garlick, Contreras. Bring up Steer, Palacios, Wallner. Get a backup catcher and pitching for the veterans in trade to add to the likes of Gray, Ryan, Ober, Winder, Duran, Jax. Maeda and hopefully Alcala will be back and maybe Paddock will amount to something in 2023. Last and not least, get a manager that is willing to let his best players play every day.
 

Unless the offer is too good to refuse I keep him. First to go should be Sano and Kepler. Both are over-rated HR pull happy hitters that just don't produce often enough or consistant enough runs.