Mahoning

It figures. The starter gives up one run and doesn't get out of the fourth inning. The Twins TRAIN their young pitchers to go short. Look at their young pitchers, Festa and Matthews -- both disasters this season. Meanwhile, Cleveland's rookies (like Logan Allen today) go long (8 innings today, no runs.) No young pitcher with ambition should sign with the Twins.

I grew up a Cleveland Indians fan in the 1960s, and I can remember a TV announcer once saying, "If only Max Alvis has the season he is capable of . . . ." The problem was that that's exactly what he did, every year. He wasn't capable of being a star, and so he wasn't a star. And that's the problem with this article. You can't win without stars, and who on that list is capable of being a star? Maybe Keaschall. Above average is helpful, and darn good, but that's where it gets you as a team -- above average. At best, a quickly-dispatched wild car team.

You can where all this is headed. For the -- ahem -- cost-conscious Twins management, Clemens will be planned as the regular 1B next year. Martin the regular LF. Could be worse! Clemens's power numbers this year look consistent with some of his minor league seasons. Playing regularly he might be a 25 homerun player. And, most important, cheap.

Jonah Bride played 2B for the Saints last night! (They lost again.)

When the Twins fired Billy Gardner and replaced him with Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller, the idea was, "Bring in the pitching genius and our pitching will get better." It didn't work. When they brought in Falvey from Cleveland it was the same impulse. Didn't work; Cleveland has continued to produce good pitchers and the Twins not. Hiring successful people from other organizations seems completely rational, but it often fails.

Baseball is a cruel game. It must be very hard on the ego to shine and then fail. Miranda needs a change of scenery.

When you have had two ignominious collapses in a row, doesn't somebody have to get fired? OK, last year it was Popkins. This year I think we pin it all on Ramon Borrego. But the message from Ownership is: Trust us. And the Yankees are coming to town.

So many commenters seem to have forgotten that Derek Falvey promised that the selloff was the beginning of "the next big push." I can't remember the last big push, but maybe that's just me.

We know that the Twins management has no idea -- or, evidently, interest in -- in cultivating the fan base. Butiif it should decide to try to do that, some candor about its plans would be a good start. So, if they trade Pablo Lopez, is it a rebuild or just a salary dump? Just tell us the truth. The truth coming from a Twins executive would be a lightning bolt. Credibility comes only with honesty.

The farm system produced Buxton a decade ago. One star per decade is not an enviable record. You can't win that way. A generation ago Calvin Griffith's farm system produced Gary Gaetti (better than anyone on today's roster), Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Greg Gagne, Tom Brunansky, and Frank Viola. Now THAT's a farm system.

Why do writers keep saying the Twins have a good farm system? You can’t win without stars. When did the system last produce a genuine star? Maybe Duran. A hitting star?

You have to have stars to win. Right now the Twins have a star-and-a-half, Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton. Whoever in the minor leagues who has star potential must be fostered. But, this management group has now presided over two straight collapses. Why would anyone believe them capable of fostering young stars?

Do the Twins show any evidence of having a plan?

One thing we know we WON’T get from the Twins is candor.

Teams that win win with stars. When did the Twins' system last produce a star? Especially a hitting star? Torii Hunter? David Ortiz?

Would you rather buy a team that has alienated its fans, and is losing, or one that is winning and has fans filling the ballpark? And which one would you rather try to sell? It seems to me that what the Pohlads are doing is driving down the value of the team while not budging on the price. With the $1.5 billion price plus the $400 million in debt, the actual asking price is nearly $2 billion. Maybe that's why all we hear is rumors of a potential buyer, but no actual buyer appears. We may be stuck with the Pohlads for a w hile yet, and go the Pittsburgh way: Low payroll, collect the TV money, and do as little as possible.

The meassage from Leadership was, "Our last plan was a failure. Trust us with a new plan!" The additions of Taj Bradley and Mick Abel suggest that both Ryan and Lopez will be traded over the winter. Both should hope for exactly that. And Byron should be reconsidering his loyalty, unless he is content never to play in the post-season again.

Twins Video TRANSACTIONS UT Mickey Gasper activated from injured list (St. Paul) C Ricardo Peña transferred to 60-day injured list (Fort Myers) RHP Carlos Gutierrez was released by the Twins (FCL Twins) SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1 Worcester Red Sox 4, St. Paul Saints 0 SP: Darren McCaughan: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None In the first seven-inning game of the doubleheader, it was a lackluster offensive performance for the Saints, who only mustered two hits—one each from Austin Martin and Jonah Bride. The rest of the lineup was held completely in check. Carson McCusker had a particularly tough game, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. On the mound, Darren McCaughan gave up four earned runs in four innings, including a first-inning homer to Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell. His ERA rose to 5.40 on the season. You're the Twins President of Baseball Ops. Are you buying or selling at the deadline? See All Twins Polls > Game 2 Worcester Red Sox 5, St. Paul Saints 2 SP: Pierson Ohl: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K That line there tells you the Twins' approach to minor league pitching. The lad is pitching a one-hitter and comes out after four innings. The Twins DON"T WANT their pitchers to have stamina. They train them to go short. I guarantee these guys threw more innings in high school. Nobody gets stronger by resting. The Saints got a gem from Pierson Ohl in Game 2. He threw four innings of one-hit, zero-earned run baseball while striking out five.

They're in a tough spot. They need stars (you can't win without stars), and stars are hard to come by. Evidently the internal bet was that Lewis and Wallner would become stars. Instead, the both regressed catastrophically. What do they have to trade to get stars? No one, except Joe Ryan and possibly Duran. They have no one to replace Ryan. So they are pretty much stuck and should probably do nothing. Wait till next year. Because they have no minor league catchers worth a darn, they should try to re-sign Vazquez at a much lower salary (they won't have much competition.) Jeffers and Vazquez at C is perfectly acceptable.

To be a really good team you have to have stars. Right now the only Twins that can be called stars are Buxton, Ryan, and Lopez. They need more stars. You can only get them three ways: Develop them, sign them, or trade for them. The Twins won't sign any. The only players they could trade for stars are the stars they have. So they have to develop them. That means making no deals now, and playing Lewis, Zebby, and Keaschall, and hoping for the best. They have 66 games left. They probably need to win at least 40 of them to get into the playoffs, and if they do they will be dispatched pretty quickly. Can they go 40-26 from here on out? Unlikely. Wait till next year.

I don't understand why everyone is so eager to get rid of France, Bader, Paddack, and Coulombe; they have been among the team's best players. Whom do they have to replace them? (Answer: Nobody.) This reminds me of when the stat-heads said Eddie Rosario would be easy to replace as an every-day LF. And then for years they had no every-day LF. Keaschall and Matthews should play (though Matthews will probably be babied), and Julien deserves another chance. Wallner is hopeless and Keirsey can't hit. They have no one to replace Vazquez and he is a good receiver, so they should keep him at a much lower salary. Wait till next year.

For all those hoping for the Pohlads to sell, look around and see how many major league sports owners care about anything other than money. They want fan loyalty, but it's a one-way street. You don't get to be a billionaire by being a good or civic-minded person. You get there by greed.

How can anyone write "keep playing good baseball" about the Twins? They have won two series since May. After the winning streak they were 7 games over. Now they are 4 games under; put another way, they have given almost all of the winning streak back. Carlos Correa is on a pace to drive in maybe 60. Matt Wallner is on a pace to drive in 25. Lately they've been kept afloat by Harrison Bader (they should keep him.) Four games under .500 is pretty much who they are. Can you imagine them in the playoffs against the Yankees or the Tigers or the Jays? Not a fair fight.

We learned today that the Twins have two players, Castro and Lee, who can put down a bunt. Who knew? And I appreciate today's write-up: the Sumerians are almost entirely neglected in baseball commentary.

If they trade him for a pitcher I predict the pitcher will soon need arm surgery, and/or will be parked at AAA and limited to five innings a start.