Bieber is a good pitcher and definitely not mediocre. He's arguably Cleveland's best pitcher. Just gotta tip your cap to them and say they pitched better than we did.
Eh I gotta disagree that it's a "must win series" for us. If we win the series we pick up at least a game on Cleveland and if we lose the series they pick up at most 3 games on us (we still would be 8.5 games ahead). Twins clearly are the better team and if we lose the series its not a big deal. For Cleveland on the other hand it is definitely a must win series. I almost think it would be better if Cleveland went through the year not being sellers and being in the hunt for a wildcard. This means that their rebuilding window would be pushed back further and give us a better shot at maintaining AL central dominance for years to come.
I don't get people's dislike for Astudillo here. 3 catchers is working for the Twins so why change it? He's batting better than most backup catchers in the league AND he adds flexibility for the Twins behind the plate and in the infield. You also gotta look at what this guy brings to the clubhouse. He's a very likeable guy, looks like he is a great cheerleader for the team and brings good energy. Don't underestimate what Tortuga brings to this club. The guy has been with the team all year. Don't disrupt the chemistry.
Sano has had 50 ABs this season and a couple weeks off an injury rehab. I guarantee you all players will have many "bad" at bats just coming off of rehab. This is no reason to make anyone think he won't improve. If he has terrible at bats consistently with 150 ABs under his belt yeah I can see some red flags, but give this guy a break. He's had 50 ABs.
My dream: Sign Kimbrel. Trade for Bumgarner and Will Smith. Have a rotation of Odor, Bumgarner, Berrios, Perez, Gibson. Have a bullpen of Kimbrel, Smith, Rodgers, Parker, Harper, May, and Duffey.
If Kimbrel gets a contract its gonna be for a large amount of money. He shouldn't care if he's pitching the 9th inning or the 5th inning. I doubt he values having sole possession of the 9th over 15-20 million dollars.
Also sounds like Cruz had a good couple of rehab games and is ready to rejoin the club. Looks like we might be greeting Cleveland with our (finally) all healthy lineup and Smeltzer on the mound. Gonna be a fun series.
I also feel like people have some personal issues or something against Sano. The hostility people have towards him here even just after a couple weeks on the big league club is very surprising.
The reason people have been piling on is the exact reason you stated. "Be wary of jumping to any conclusions when the sample size is so small". I'm just going to keep revisiting this thread and updating for people to see that Sano isn't a bust and "should be traded" or "should be demoted".