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.

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???

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I liked Polo. Was not a fan of the trade, but like any trade gotta let it play out. I don't agree 'it made the Twins better'. But again, we have to see who replaces him and what major league value, if any, comes out of it. As a comical aside, most here know I'm from Rochester and we are stuck with the Nationals as our parent club. I see the Nats signed Gallo. BWWWWAAAAHAHAHAHA.

interesting thread indeed. All good thoughts. Who knows where one will land. The Kirilloff situation I fear is more serious than maybe anyone is letting on. He is slipping into the 'chronically injured' category. All kinds of injuries and they all impede him from being what the Twins want. Buxton is already there. If Twins can get 80 games out of him it will be amazing. And will he get his bat back? He has gone from 'can't miss' to 'boo hiss'. Some athletes just can't overcome injuries especially guys like Buck who must play full out all the time. Blessing and a curse. If I had to guess, it would be that it is 50-50 at BEST that either one will ever reach the potential expected of them and their own expectations. Sure would love to be wrong on this.

It was a total team 'effort'. Can't pin it on any one or two players. They averaged over 12 k's every game. The overall hitting was very bad. Match that with a team that goes to the ALCS every year, and its kind of a mismatch. EVen when they are not cheating, Houston is a very good team, that knows how to pivot, to adapt, and to take advantage when presented with enough opportunities. It was no disgrace losing to them, What it WAS however, was just plain disappointing, because losing sucks!

sadly Kirilloff is heading down Buxton Blvd with persistent injuries. One after another it seems is preventing him from being what the Twins were hoping for. Anyone old enough to remember Nick Johnson? Potential Yankee superstar in waiting. He had it all. But then injuries struck, and struck and struck and suddenly he was all done. He was supposed to be the real deal. These sort of things happen.

Ah, the what-ifs! Both teams hit 2 HR's yesterday.Unfortunately one of Houston's came with a man on; while one of Twins might have had one with a man on, had it not been for an opportunistic DP. I would have pinch hit Buxton for Solano, who was having a bad game. Ironically, Buck was the only guy in the final 2 innings that didn't strike out...and he hit a weak pop out to the 1st baseman. Thielbar didn't do his job. All the rest did. Strikeouts this post season were the MAJOR culprit. Twins fanned a ton during the season but they elevated it to an art form in the playoffs. While Astro hitters hung tough with 2 strikes, Twins hitters just flat out failed. They never adjusted. So, we can all applaud the progress the team made and I would agree. But we can also fine tune the critique where its needed. The strikeouts have to be cut down.

For perspective I was a teenager when the original Washington Senators relocated to Minnesota! And just a bit younger when we got the startling news that 2 NY teams were moving to California. How could that possibly be, we said.

the savvy pitchers paint the edges and get the calls when they know hitters are looking for walks and are swinging and missing. Pressly was very good at hitting just enough corner to get the calls and Twins hitters looked helpless and hopeless to do anything about it. No fight in the final 2 innings. Expected more.

average just over 12 per game. Thats criminal.

So fitting that all 3 Twins strike out in the 9th. And 3 ball counts on all of them. Only Buck put the ball in play (barely) over the last 6 outs. 5 k's and and another 14 k night for the overmatched Twins hitters. The stage was too big for them. Just about all of them couldn't put the bat on the ball. A tough game to lose because after Abreu's HR in the 4th, Twins pitchers totally shut Astros down. Unfortunately after Julien's HR, nobody reached base for the Twins and most of them were busy swinging at air or watching. Houston knows how to win. Be it blowout or close one, they've been there. Pressure? None for them. Plenty for the Twins who over the last 18 innings were schooled, and sent home. right now, nothing makes me feel good about much. Props to the bullpen, but one huge turd sandwich to the hitters. I can still feel the breeze all the way over here in Rochester.

Jeffers and Solano 0-6 with 5 k's. There are no words.

well I called the pinch hitter correctly. I'd kinda love getting the 2nd part right.

6 more outs left. I at least want contact for most if not all of them. Twins getting the pitching. Please don't waste it. OK Hollywood...Buck comes in to bat for Taylor. Swats an 0-2 Kirk Gibson pitch over the wall to tie the game as the crowd goes nuts. In my imagination, I am seeing this. Hey, why not?

If Twins can't pull this one out, this season has to be remembered for all the strikeouts. Its so discouraging to see so many whiffs. Wasted outs. and I know many here don't like Vazquez but wow has Jeffers ever stunk out the joint this post season.

come on Jeffers...make like Mitch Garver

cannot start inning with a walk Jax. Cannot.....fouling off a lot of good pitches....and a k!!! Nice

kepler with a terrible AB. Blew the momentum. That pitch was too close to take. Especially in crucial spot.

Come ON Twins...don't waste this great effort by Paddack (after Theilbar crapped the bed bigtime)