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insagt1

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Everything posted by insagt1

  1. insagt1
    A win is always nice. Period. However there should be some concern when you give up 9 runs (and the game was not played at Coors!) Thielbar is a guy you just love to cheer for, but reality is setting in, even by his own admission. I don't think he will be OK. Perhaps a stint in St Paul...but I think it may be pretty much over for him. Lopez has to be a concern as well. He is not pitching the way he did last season and he just doesn't look like he is in command out there this year. Still half season left to correct, so not giving up on him. But he may be a cautionary tale. We need him to be better. Sooner the better. On the bright side, teams don't often get 24 hits in a game, no matter who the opponent so it was great to see the bats flex. Hope this re-energizes a lot of the guys
  2. insagt1
    Twins offense is broken right now. And the pen is having issues. Maybe 3rd place and a possible WC is the best this crew can accomplish. Last 5 games pretty ugly for sure. Still time to right the ship but some real change needs to happen in their plate approach...collectively
  3. insagt1
    Nice that we have topics like this. Before we had these forums the only way you could communicate your thoughts would be in person over coffee, a beer, or while watching. Occasionally AM radio had post game call-in shows. For me, I think its fair game to be 'critical' of the team; or the players performance; or how disappointed or upset you are when they lose. What I don't like is when posters get personal and nasty with their comments about what the poster says or feels. And that seems to always be present here. Belittling another's observations or thoughts is childish, even arrogant. I know thats hard to reign in other than to ask everyone to 'play nice'. Having said that I like the forums. I enjoyed when Rochester was the farm of the Twins and because of that I still follow them and cheer for them, unlike the Nationals, a team that has no footprint in our town, our hearts or minds. Its also nice to share what we see on a day to day basis in AAA as to some of the new rules being tested. For example the ABS, which we all love down here. Anyway I watched the 1965 WS between LA and Minnesota and was delighted that finally somebody other than the Yankees were in it. Ironic huh!!! The Twins. Thats why we cheer and boo!!
  4. insagt1
    ITs embarrassing watching the Twins hitters striking out with runners on so darned much. So many wasted opportunities are the result of lack of contact...a problem the Twins hitters have had for more than just this season. Ryan was good enough to earn a win, but Twins hitters are a hot mess right now. Its sad seeing Kepler become Kepler again...the hot streak was too good to be true, and so far this month he has 1 hit. Jeffers has lost his way too. Kirilloff...gone. And too many more to mention. While the Yankee series was a complete bust (hey, they actually lost tonite to the Dodgers in 11 innings!) this Pirate game was a total waste of time.
  5. insagt1
    About the ABS system. As a long time follower of AAA ball in Rochester, I am convinced that the system is working. Just like the pitch clock that was experimented with first in the minors, it has enhanced the enjoyment of the game. The weekend 'challenges' have been fine. I can't imagine, outside of 'politics' why MLB can't or won't implement. Each team gets 3 challenges. Pitcher, batter or catcher can tap his hat or helmet to call for the challenge. If you lose, you lose that challenge. Lose 3 and you can't challenge anymore. It takes seconds to do. They put the 'challenge box' on the scoreboard for all to see. What it effectively does is eliminate the egregious 'Angel Hernandez' missed calls. Its needs to be a part of MLB ASAP, in my opinion (didnt want 3 sets of initials back to back to back!) It also shows the league which umps are consistently getting the bulk of the calls correct, or not. Its working very well down here and I hope its expanded to more than just 3 weekend games. The only new thing that I don't like at AAA: they have kept the 6 game series, initially to save travel after COVID. They also decided to split the season into 2 75 game seasons. The playoffs are a joke. You have to win the season, beating out 19 other teams to qualify. The two split season winners play a best of 3 to face the winner of the other AAA league in a ONE game playoff to determine the champion. Meanwhile because weather is foul in April-May many games are canceled because you don't get to play an opponent again in many cases during the 75 game split. The season has an exhibition feel to it now, which MLB feels is OK. that stinks. Anyway, count me in on the advantages of ABS. It works.
  6. insagt1
    Everything about this series was bad, starting with the starting pitching that put Twins behind by a ton early. Hitters were flailing away or watching strike 3 with men on. The usual curious moves by Rocco. But a complete systems failure this year against the hated yankees should put all Twins fans in a foul mood. How one team can so dominate another for 22 years is mind boggling. Reminds me of the old days when Yankees treated the KC Athletics like their personal farm team. Anyone here old enough to remember those days? Twins can probably eke out a 3rd WC, but their inability to compete even a little against the teams they will have to face if they make it is troublesome. Maybe one consolation is that Yankees are beating up on everybody this season. They are now pulling away from a decent Orioles team. By 4th of July the AL East race may well be over. Since Twins also seem to be impotent against the Guardians, I don't see much chance of catching them. Possibly a run at KC but not much after that.
  7. insagt1
    I think it's safe to say that Pablo is having a very lousy season. Certainly not what Twins expected from him. Tonite he was awful from the get-go. No control and his ERA 2nd time thru a lineup ballooned to over 9.00. Excuse after Excuse can be made and will be made but I wanted an ace or close to it and we are getting a 4th or 5th starter at best. Tonite he was nibbling and not going after hitters and result was disastrous. Having said that did anyone expect a different outcome? Maybe the rain delay will mercifully put this awful series to sleep. And why does anyone think Cleveland will fold? Wishful thinking? They are playing good ball. Not thinking it will be a cakewalk for Twins to even come close to catching them. Especially the way they have completely failed against good AL teams. Just frustrated watching them crumble again against NYY. Hard to feel good. I need 4 more with Chisox!
  8. insagt1
    Twins don't measure up to Yankees at all in any way. This season maybe nobody measures up. O's Kimbrel blew one in the 9th against Toronto so they fell back another notch. The 5 games vs NY have been non competitive...like spring exhibition tryouts. Glad to be done with them after today. However Twins can't compete with the best teams at all this year. Not a good sign.
  9. insagt1
    He will always be one heartbeat away from another long stint on the IL. His fragility now coupled with his age has robbed him of some tools at the plate...ability to bunt or beat out infield hits or steal bases. That leaves him striking out a lot and relying on the long ball. Yes he has always been streaky but I don't think his arc is upward anymore. His 'd' is still great but that superstar we all dreamed about has disappeared.
  10. insagt1
    Rocco will need some brand new dance steps to convince any longtime Twins fan that they have any chance at all of winning any games against the Yanks right now. And Twins are by no means the only whipping boys..Yanks are destroying everything in their path. While we sing the praises of their hitters, take a look at that pitching staff pretty much leading the world in everything too. On the homefront side though, Twins have not been at all competitive against the 3 top teams in the AL. Some here feel Cleveland will be unable to keep this up but I think they can and they will. Twins real post season hope is to catch KC for 2nd and cop a WC. But what we have seen so far this season is men against boys when it comes to playing the really good teams. Gotta say, so far it has been amazing that Buxton has been able to play CF as long as he has. The bad news though is that he is having a pretty poor season offensively. I wonder if we will ever again see the Buck we all had hoped for.
  11. insagt1
    Loved his return. Didn't love that the Yanks are other-worldly right now. Last nights game was simply non-competitive. All i can say is 'damn Yankees' (I've been saying that since 1960)
  12. insagt1
    i'm looking forward to seeing the Lewis we have all enjoyed so far (when healthy) and not the Lewis I just witnessed this past week in Rochester. I also think that we need to break out Al Michaels 'do you believe in miracles' for this series with the suddenly unstoppable Yankees. Yikes they are dangerous...and they weren't that dangerous when they recently dominated the Twins. Pitchers can't seem to get Judge, Soto and Stanton out anymore. The O's are playing at a near 105 win clip and they can barely keep up these days. I'll be surprised (and very happy) if Twins can steal one game in this series; then get back to trying to catch KC.
  13. insagt1
    Correct move I think. Julien does need a reset and looking at strike 3 is not a good look. I had the opportunity to watch Lewis all last week. AAA pitching (and Rochester pitching is abysmal at best) handled him well. He did not have an impressive week at all. So maybe being called up will benefit him now. He wasn't going to get a lot better down here. Actually most impressive bat during this 7 game series was Wallner. He hit a few a real long way. Saints lost the series 4-3 but scored a ton of runs. Last 2 games they scored 16 but only won one of them. Lewis didn't play every game. I'm sure Twins will find a home for him. Let's hope he doesn't get hurt again. Unfortunately they have to play red hot Yankees. Judge, Soto and Stanton can't make an out these days.
  14. insagt1
    Actually I was listening to the game. I'm amazed at how many unfriendly commenters there are on this site this year. My concern was driven by his allowing 3 HR's in 3 consecutive outings May 17th-22nd. And then for whatever reason had some difficulties putting guys away cleanly (like we have been used to) I get that sometimes pitchers have some bad luck with good pitches. Anyway, would be nice to not jump to conclusions about what I do or don't do. But this has become pretty commonplace around here. Used to be a lot more friendly to discuss baseball here.
  15. insagt1
    Just an observation guys. Don't shoot me I'm just the messenger who has been watching the Saints and Red Wings this week. Royce Lewis has really been struggling. 3-19 so far with 7 k's (3 tonite) Not the guy I watched with the Twins last season. Im confident he will find his stride, but this week, not yet. 2 more games to go and he'll probably play at least one of them.
  16. insagt1
    OK--expected snarky comment. That seems to happen a lot here. Simply an observation. I liked the guy. Clearly you didn't or that comment would not have been made. I have always thought its nice to have a guy on your team that rarely strikes out. Its interesting that as of now, Lopez is not having a stellar season, which is disappointing. Arraez was traded again. He's doing OK. Twins did what they felt they needed to do. I'm just a fan.
  17. insagt1
    for the record, I will be getting a real close look at St.Paul this week. Rochester has a 7 game series with them. (a rainout DH tonite followed by 5 single games)
  18. insagt1
  19. insagt1
    Need to win this series to gain a little ground on KC. I am now officially concerned (bigtime) with Duran. He is starting to connect too many dots that indicate he can't get the job done when called upon. Is it his velocity? Location? Confidence? He just can't come in late in close games and give up runs every time.
  20. insagt1
    I know there has been a lot of non-love here for Luis Arraez...particularly his very modest defense. I still find it hard to believe a team like the Twins, who have so many hitting deficiencies...especially their inability to put bat on ball with runners on base, couldn't find SOMEPLACE for a guy hitting near .350 with an OBP of .450 and who strikes out once every leap year. Its not like the Twins infield is loaded with all-stars. Having a guy in the lineup who gets on base regularly is such an asset. Still not convinced the trade has benefited them as much as they had hoped. Hitters like Arraez are a rarity, yet it just seemed to me that Twins (and many here) chose to focus not on his strengths but on a weakness that won't cost the team as many games as people may think. Outside of Correa where exactly is the Twins 'stellar' infield taking them? I know that ship has sailed but I'm not sure it should have. Twins offense is not in good shape this season. They won 12 straight against bottom feeders. They have yet to win a game against a good team..12 losses ironically.Its all hindsight, but I wish they had a hitter or two you could count on to make contact, or lay one down, instead of swinging and missing with RISP. And while I'm ranting (because I know there will be the inevitable pushback on this) yes, I'm concerned about Duran. If he can't get the job done with games on the line, who is???
  21. insagt1
    many here remember watching Greg Maddux weave his magic on the mound. And it sure wasn't with a blazing fastball. He had 'location' down to an art form much the same as Ted Williams having hitting a baseball down to an art form. Maddux was able to keep hitters off balance and he was so good at throwing strikes around the edges, umpires frequently gave him the close calls. Command begets respect. But there aren't many like Maddux. Still he proved you don't have to throw the ball a zillion MPH to get good hitters out. Not sure the kids coming up today are being taught that.
  22. insagt1
    Twins fashioned a 12 game win streak, which is hard to do no matter who the opposition is. Winning begets winning. yes 7 of the wins were against the White Sox who clearly are not very good. But you are supposed to win those games, and the Twins did. Score one for the schedule when Twins needed to dig out. Problem is now they are facing excellent teams and they have learned that they can't keep up. They are 0-12 against Yanks, Guards and Os...all 3 major contenders for the WS. And for the most part the losses have been ugly and non-competitive. No hitting, not much pitching and not much of anything else. We were hoping for a refresh against a struggling Gnats team. Instead we got thrashed. So what to do? Apparently the budget is not looking to be in our favor. There are several players not pulling their weight...at all. Could they make a bold move and ship 3 or 4 out..somehow, someway? Are AAA reinforcements the answer? (looks like no so far) Are the manager and coaches to blame for some of this? Honestly, who really knows. 7 game losing streak is tough especially when the 2 teams ahead are playing real good ball this season. Fall too far behind and it will be difficult to catch up, especially when you can't beat them head to head. All is not lost, but conversely, all doesn't look real good. Houston got off to a miserable start, but they are a talented bunch and have really righted the ship. Twins can't match that talent. They won;t sink below the Sox, but they also might be irrelevant by July 4th if some changes aren't made. Will they? Can they? thankfully its a long season!
  23. insagt1
    Twins have to start hitting again or they will continue to waste what decent pitching they may get. When an entire roster slumps, one has to wonder what is really going on. Twins inability to look even a little dangerous at the plate all week is concerning. And of course the k's never help. Is this now turning into a mental issue rather than just a hitting slump? The old story...they go up hoping to not make an out, rather than trying to get a hit. There is a pretty significant difference, when you have lost 6 straight to the two best teams in the AL.
  24. insagt1
    Rocco makes it sound like they are just one or two AB's away from being good again???Last week the Twins failed in every capacity. Hitting was non-existent against the Yanks. Pitching was not good from the early innings. Against Cleveland, hitting was non-existent (you really can't count the 4 9th inning runs when the score was 11-0 as anything remotely significant. Relief pitching has gone out the window. Twins are 0-12 against NY, Balt, and Cleve...the 3 top teams in the AL and in most those games they weren't particularly competitive. Yesterday Guardians tried to give the game away in the 9th; then they muscled up against a suddenly ineffective Duran and said what the hell, lets finish them off. Yeah, they are a hot mess right now. And if you aren't remotely competitive against the league's best, you can't be included. Washington..my 2nd most hated team in MLB behind the Evil Empire. They are playing decent ball this season (for them) so these games won't be easy considering the Twins are currently lost at sea. Joey Gallo had spent a week or so in Rochester on rehab. Same old Joey...3 long HR's and the rest pretty much strikeouts. Doesn't matter what league he plays in now. He just can't make contact. It was hard to cheer for him. BTW, Red Wings will start a long series with St Paul soon (7 games weather permitting) Wings have a pretty potent lineup and miserable pitching. St Paul seems to be struggling this season. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. Anyway hard to believe that a week ago Twins were 1/2 game out of first and riding high. How quickly things can go south....really bad. Nobody looks good.
  25. insagt1
    Are the Twins looking to add prospects this year or are they looking to add major league ready players for 2024? Do they want to try and win it all this year, or are they leaning towards a 'modest' re-build? This is simply a question, not a value judgement.
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