tman

I agree with those who have asked why Correa couldn't pinch hit in the 10th and then stayed in as a defensive replacement after that. The inability of this manager to deviate from his schedule befuddles me. These 'etched in stone' rest days are perplexing. How much effort can it take for a guy to play an inning or two. The FO had better get something done quickly on the bullpen front, as Jax, who has been solid all year, has shown some cracks in his last two outings. I've seen articles on this site re: starting pitchers that the Twins might target in a trade. What good is it to go out and get a good starting pitcher when you're only going to let him go 4 or 5 innings. Last week, I heard Rocco say in an interview that the Twins want their starting pitchers to go longer. Then in the same week, he pulls Bundy early and Ryan early. He always said that he intended to use Pagan in lower leverage situations until he had made some adjustments. So then the next two outings after he said that, he uses Pagan in high leverage situations. (Today was not a high leverage situation and Pagan still gave up the 2-run lead.) The fact of the matter is this. 1) Rocco definitely doesn't know how to handle pitching and 2) the front office has done a lousy job of supplying him with any pitching. When Falvey was named GM, the thought was that he would be a guy who knows pitching. Certainly hasn't shown that so far in his tenure. I'm going to show my age here, but among the bullpen guys the Twins need are a guy like Mike Marshall, Juan Berenger...someone who is available every day for more than 1 inning. Enough of my ranting. Still love the Twins.

Count me among those who thinks Rocco is one of the worst managers in baseball. Not only does he not know how to manage a pitching staff, he doesn't know how to manage his daily lineups. Buck hits 4 homers in the last two games so let's sit him down and give him a rest.. Correa gets 3 hits including a homer last night, so let's give him a chance to cool down. And let's have both guys sit on the same day. Rocco is one of those guys who doesn't know the difference between all the tools in his toolbox. He thinks they're all the same and can be used interchangably. The Twins have this "magic" plan to manage Buxton's health "proactively". The problem is, with tendonitis, a person can't be sure until they wake up in the morning whether their tendonitis is going to be bad or not. Yet the Twins have a calendar in which they've already determined Buck's day's off. And then with pitching, Rocco and Wes will pencil in how many innings their starting pitcher 'should' pitch, with no regard to how that pitcher is throwing or what the pitch count is.

I see that Giles, one of the relievers I thought the Twins might target, just went on the IL with an inflamed elbow. That's not a good sign. I'm sure the Twins are making inquiries now for relievers who could help the bullpen, but that may be slow until we get closer to the trade deadline and more teams are willing to concede that they are sellers. What's going to make it difficult it that so many teams need bullpen help and in almost all instances those sellers will deal players to the teams who offer the best prospects. I don't think money will be an issue in picking up any existing contracts, as these Twins team will have a shot if they can get a top-line starter and a couple of decent relievers. Is Parker healthy? If, he is, that's a problem for the Twins. I think Trevor May has potential to be a closer, but not until he can prove he can locate his pitches. He reminds me a bit like Pressley, for whom the Twins got tired of waiting for him to reach his potential, and then when they finally traded him, he became the pitcher they hoped he would be. Also getting tired of talking about potential with McGill and Duffy. Those guys have the velo and "swing and miss" stuff, but they continue to struggle to be consistent.

The Twins are likely to have the luxury of acquiring help just with the playoffs in mind, as it's looking like they will win the division crown handily. IMO, they'll need two bullpen guys and a top-line starter. If they are not able to get the top-line starter (i.e.--Bumgarner), the bullpen guys won't matter as much, as the Twins won't have much chance to get to the World Series without an experienced #1 starter. At least one of the bullpen guys needs to be a right-hander. I like both Giles and Holland. Although Giles has not done well previously under playoff pressure, maybe he could redeem himself. I also like left-hander Hand as a target. It's interesting to note that the writer is leery of a trade within the division for fear that whoever the Twins trade will come back to haunt the Twins in future years. I am thinking that division teams such as Detroit, KC, or Cleveland may be thinking that whoever they trade to the Twins will come back to haunt them in the future. Other random thoughts: Ryan Pressley would really look good back in a Twins uniform now. If and when the Twins make the playoffs, I would think that one or a couple of the current starters would be possible bullpen pitchers. (Pineda, Perez, even Gibson if the Twins are able to acquire a front-line starter.