Dave Borton

Two mid-size markets. One succeeds with WS where another fails with .475 record. Why and what needs to improve? Payroll? '26 figures places Brewers 19th and Twins 22nd. Doubtful a cause/effect. Attendance. Brewers pulled in 2.7MM. Twins hit 1.7MM. Winning -> butts in seats. Front Office? Ownership? Drafting? Player Development? Trades? Field Leadership? I don't claim insights. Love to hear your comparisons and suggestions for improvements.

I would add my congrats to the winners and another good year at TD. I would add, might want to add a lutefisk award for those of us who post the most drivel and evoke only yawns, I humbly rate strong contention.

Irony, In this offseason for the Twins, amidst talk of Caratini/Rortvedt/Jeffers/Jackson, old friend Gary Sanchez shuffles along for the Brewers, looking at a WS bonus of about $350K minimum for bashing a .207 with the crew this year. That is in addition to his guaranteed $1.5MM contract. https://www.google.com/search?num=10&client=opera&hs=fhQ&sca_esv=5beb0b408f23f4f0&cs=0&sxsrf=APpeQntt5En8lDdFrBbtZIySopAairQ7Dg:1792865500985&q=Gary+Sánchez&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLSz9U3yIhPKrG0eMRoyi3w8sc9YSmdSWtOXmNU4-IKzsgvd80rySypFJLgYoOy-KR4uJC08Sxi5XVPLKpUCD68MC85I7UKAMnyAvJWAAAA

I will never forget the night he took one to the crotch and had to have surgery. Sure he remembers it as well.

Suzuki out as Angels skipper. https://www.ocregister.com/2026/10/21/kurt-suzuki-wont-return-as-angels-manager/

When he came over to the Dodgers, Rick Monday (color, radio) was impressed with Rortvedt's defensive skills and how quickly he adapted to and was accepted by the pitching staff. His stick was another story. My shtick is a 3rd story...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/mariners-interested-in-rocco-baldelli-for-managerial-job.html Mariners looking at the former Twins skipper? What are odds at Kalshi?

Always curious to hear knowledgeable discussion re: how many games a manager produced. Think beyond use of BP. How many games do you award Shelton of the 77 wins. I will give him 4. Work with the youth and a messy, injury plagued starting rotation and a haphazard collection of arms in the BP. A difficulty is assessing the clubhouse. Be it the local reporting or the culture of the Twins, mum seems to be the word.

Too bad Tracey couldn't stick with Sonny after 70 pitches.

Listened to Pat Hughes with the Cubs last night and he was terrible. I know he is in the recipient of the Ford Frick for announcers of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I listen to all games on the radio; no video. I have listened to all the broadcasters of 30 teams; quite a continuum. I focus on about 6-7 sets of announcers as favorites and tune into the booths of the Dodgers, Tigers, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Yanks, WSox, and Athletics. I listen for the game itself, not necessarily the team and Hughes would shake out in the bottom 5. Why such a knock on Hughes PBP? Not one ounce of visuals. "That was a strike," as Ron Coomer quickly tries to pick up the slack. Nothing about location, speed, or type of pitch. Not the batters BA, let alone other batting stats. Nothing about batters coming up about whom the pitcher has to worry during this at bat. No narrative whatsoever. I respect the legend and I could pick out Hughes voice from all 60 to whom I listen. But the past honor doesn't cut it for me. As a retiree well past Hughes in trips around the sun, I might suggest the Cubs honor that past and get onto tomorrow.

Being an armchair coach, it is very difficult to assess Pete Maki's ability to impact this club. From 35,000 feet, my question would be how much or how little talent did he had to work. Are: A. The pitchers the 25th worst in the league? B. Or is Pete Maki the 25th worst pitching coach? What percentage of 100 did (A) contribute and what percentage did (B) contribute. I only hope Shelton had some major influence over the decision.

We have talked about Dobnak's success this year. Have the WSox-Royals game on (rooting for Cleve) and Dobak got hammered for 6 runs (4ER) in 1.1 inn before getting the proverbial hook.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7620640/2026/09/23/derek-falvey-joins-mets-front-office/ Falvey should check the NL East standings.

MLB's article on Falvey ==> New York. Sign baby, sign. https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-derek-falvey-front-office-role

Nice summary/analysis. Didn't realize the Phils were so bad as I don't follow NL that much except for Dodgers who are on a tear after being very cold post AllStar game.