Battle ur tail off

"I don't believe what I just saw". Sometimes studs do stud things in big moments.

I would have sprung for the highest priced very best arm out there. But I am not the one with the money for it. 😂 I get what you are saying about bullpen guys. They are hard to predict and flaky from year to year. All I know is that our bullpen for most of the last 2 years has been pretty bad and neither year did they try to do much about it before the season started.

And this here perfectly illustrates Rocco and the Twins approach on a game by game basis. Even if he gets a hit here, my spreadsheet says he shouldn't have, so that is what we are gonna roll with. If they had a good option there to hit for Julien, I am all for it. However they didn't. They had one of the very worst hitters across the major leagues this season to replace him with. This is why the move is being criticized.

I think at this point the Twins would want to see him starting in CF if he were to be brought back. It's not likely to happen. My guess is that MAT comes back, starts every inning of the playoffs in CF and Buck's job will be to chew sunflower seeds and cheer his guys on. However, if he were available to start in CF, I think you have to chance it. Put him in there, if he comes out hot, he could be a huge asset. If after 4-5 at bats he looks lost, just shut him down for the year.

For me right now arms I would trust this postseason coming out of the pen: Maeda, Varland, Theilbar, Pagan, Duran, Jax(meh) After them it would have to come from the list of guys you are looking at there, Stewart, Funderburk(he will because he's a lefty)etc. Those 6 I named off though 100% need to be on the playoff roster and sitting in the bullpen.

I have been done with him mid-way through last year. He rarely uses gut feel, it is always what the spreadsheet says. My eyes tell me that Vasquez is the worst hitter on the team. Worse than Gallo or anyone. I NEVER use this guy to pinch hit. Ever. Rocco does this same thing with pitching. I have stated before that I am not 100% if his way works better or worse over the long haul, but I am convinced that on a "game by game" basis, he will generally be outmanaged by the other dugout. About Jax. He has actually been decent lately I thought he had it back until the Mets game and this one. That pitch hit out of the yard yesterday though, was ON THE CATCHER or bench. Pitch right before that was a breaking ball, sat and spun came out of his hand bad. The ding dongs go right back to it and he threw one that hung and bang. Throw the damn fastball there guys out of the zone.

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The money is already guaranteed to Correa and Buxton, so they will be here. Polanco and Kepler's backups, cost next to nothing. You don't have to increase payroll very much at all to keep them around for another year. Unless you want to use their money to go after hammer bullpen guys or right handed bats, then I don't think you are stealing anything away from the young guys by bringing these 2 back, with injuries, slumps, etc, there will be plenty of ABs to go around.

This is a no brainer if he is healthy and a steal for a 1-year deal. Here is what happens way too much around here IMO, people pencil these rookies into phenomenal years/careers because of 2 month hot streaks. Julien is a good hitter no doubt, but there will come a time he will struggle(he kind of is right now even). Polanco if healthy is a known quantity at the plate and the best 2B we have on the roster. Worse case is he gets hurt, and we have depth to cover for him. If the Twins don't pick up the (affordable) option on a healthy Polanco, I would argue it is a fireable offense. PS Even with an up and down a career as he has had, this line of thinking should be the same with Kepler. Bring them back if healthy, it's a no brainer.

If there wasn't a hammer available I was fine with it. Before the season started was the time to add guys and they failed at it the last 2 years now.

I gotta go with neither as starters for that first series. Put Maeda in the pen for sure, but I would leave Ober completely off the playoff roster until the 2nd round.

I wouldn't even put Ober on the playoff roster. Like not at all unless there is an injury. He is way to likely to give up big innings, literally sometimes has 5-6 at bats in a row where guys hit the ball over 100 mph. He did a nice job this year. But he has hit his wall. Don't temp fate at this point. Same with Kuechel, if you want to give him a spot just to sit there and advise these younger guys, that's fine, but I don't want him throwing very much unless the game is out of hand. Too likely to give up loads of barreled balls against playoff lineups.

They won't use him for anything. IMO, it would be really foolish to count on him to give you anything that is playoff worthy, or honestly, even worthy enough to get ML innnings.

Hits for oodles of power still. Also when he is HOT, he can carry a team for a stretch. That said, he is so streaky that you're right, it's hard to pencil him in every day if he isn't playing in the field. At least it is hard when you are getting production from the rest of your lineup like we are right now. Expect though, a regression for alot of these young guys next year. The tape, the book, the plan, etc will be out on all of them and they will have to re-adjust.

Why? Who is going to pick him up? Gone would only mean gone from baseball period, or the Twins say we don't even want you on our AAA club. If I am Gallo, I accept the assignment if no one else comes calling because I know that if I don't prove anything at all the last part of this season, my career is 100% over other than possibly minor league filler for an organization that wants a LH bat with some ML experience.

Will he ever be healthy? No, not in his eyes. I watch him play and he runs just fine. Then the next day you hear he is out: tweaked something, felt soreness, etc. It's the same every year, never an injury that anyone else can see, just that he can feel. At this point he has to make a decision. Realize you will never "feel" totally healthy and tough it and out to get the most out of yourself that you can. or Give up playing a full season or retire altogether. I wouldn't be opposed to resting him until next July then unleashing him for the back half of the season.

Even I can agree with this. It took a large part of the game to unravel until Rocco made a mistake. Keeping Gray for 7 and using pretty much all of the guys you consider your best arms in the BP to lock it down was right on the money. It was just the Funderbunk for Pagan move that sealed it. And this kind of thing happens quite a darn bit with Rocco. Enough that you are going to get people that are frustrated with him to make some comments after something goes wrong. Just the way it is.

Yep, he did. Right until the end when he thought he'd pull his best reliever this season out for the one that just got off the bus from St. Paul. That's a tough spot for that kid right there. I can't believe there is really any arguing that????

The division is not "wide open". I think the Twins chances of winning it at this point is right around 90%. Cleveland has to play really well and get really lucky to pass us. That said, it IS frustrating losing game like this to the team chasing us.

Correct. But do you think things like this won't happen in the playoffs? Do you think you might be in a close game or extra innings ever? I get it, this one is on some bad play just as much, but it just seems to me this kind of thing happens more often than not with Rocco. Not a hard decision to let your best reliever this season get your last out rather than a guy you just brought up a day ago.

For sure but at least we didn't have to reboot the IPAD, it was right on schedule with lefty/lefty.

Just has no idea how to manage a pitching staff. If it's not one thing, it's the other with him. That said score more than 2 and let's throw some strikes as a relief staff.

Rocco's overthinking this one bringing in the new guy. He looked awesome the other night but Pagan(how can I even say this), has been our best reliever lately.

We are the Vikings of MLB. We win games by the skin of our teeth we shouldn't. Just hold onto your shorts. That said, the Cleveland manager will small ball a run here.

Pull, Pull, Pull, Max effort swing after max effort swing. I just don't get Carlos approach at the plate right now. When they batted him leadoff, he just put barrels on balls and took walks. He needs to get back to that.