insagt1

nice pitching in 8th and 9th from Jax and Duran. Wasn't real pretty tonite but its a win and thats all that matters when you're trying to right the ship. Twins do seem to be playing with a bit of passion and purpose since the ASG. Wonder what the roster will look like on Aug 1?

and the leadoff error begins the drama we didn't want. Tough play for Correa but he usually makes those.

back to no hits tonite for Buxton...but he did contribute. walk, steal and a run scored, However the 2 k's including that last one where he stood watching a pitch right down Broadway for strike 3 was pretty ugly.

Jax with a clutch performance in the 8th getting out of a real jam. Nice!!

Missed the Vazquez fun. Was it a HR? Only saw the narrative on gameday. Might be costly that Twins couldn't get more. Sox lead off the 8th with a double.

funny I discussed that yesterday when Bautista came on in a tie game; O's took the lead and Bautista came back and saved his own win. Seems like a 'closer' should be able to get the win (which is mostly irrelevant to a closer) and a save (which is what they get paid to do)

purely anecdotal but Twins offense went back in the toilet when they inserted the automatic out (Buxton) back in the lineup. He is now pushing Chris Davis as the least productive hitter of a season. One thing to go 0-26..another is when 16 of those AB's are k's. Time to shut him down. Whatever he is doing to try and get it all back, nothing is changing. all of his AB's are weak. And yeah, having him and Gallo in the same lineup is simply giving away 2 outs every time (mostly).

I don't think Buxton is in a 'slump'. A slump would indicate that he was hitting well and then really cooled off. He has had a miserable season pretty much from the get-go. He has hit a few HR's, yes, but overall he has been one huge liability in the lineup. Not surprised that he isn't admitting it has anything to do with him physically..he may even be told not to discuss that..but given his history and the way he looks at the plate, and the fact that he is not playing CF, AT ALL, certainly seems to indicate he is not right physically. His body continues to betray him. Would shutting him down now, and giving him perhaps one more shot at getting healthy help? Since he is not contributing anything of value being in the lineup as a non hitting DH only, could it really hurt? Or will he somehow do a 'Kepler' and perk up for awhile? He's a gamer so you can only wish the best for him. But Twins might seem to be a better team without him these days.

Gallo and Kepler. Favorite topic apparently. Gallo is Sano at the plate and is better than him defensively. He might still hit 30 dingers. He will also strike out more than anyone else on the roster (not named buxton) He's probably untradeable and he won't be back. Kepler is a .232 career hitter. He has only achieved that number once since 2017 so its unlikely he will be much better than that. Offensively he has only had one real good season (2019) where he had power and BA. Right now, he has heated up and has been a significant reason why the Twins offense has perked up. Historically this blip has not been sustainable but he is who he is. They might trade him? Wallner and Larnach to replace those two? I don't think either of them, as regulars, would be much of an upgrade. We really don't know much about Wallner and Larnach hasn't been all that impressive in his time with the Twins. Julian has really been a pleasant surprise. If Polanco and Lewis come back healthy Twins don't really need infielders do they? Both can hit are adequate defensively. Buxton can't play the outfield. And he can't hit. So having him in the lineup right now is of no value at all. Most here feel he is injured and if that is so, he needs to be shut down. He isn't providing anything useful by striking out every other AB (or worse) and looking hopeless doing it. This is a very sad situation because of what he 'could' be, but his body continues to betray him, and finally it seems to be overtaking his ability to perform. Perhaps he should simply not play the rest of 2023 and see if he can somehow really get healthy again. Pagan...well he's doing a 'Kepler' right now. His last several outings, even in pressure spots, have been decent. but sustainable? Do we trust him? this certainly has been a strange season.

Good to see Kirilloff going the opposite way with his power. I'd keep Buxton on the bench for the rest of this series. Hopefully some serious conversations have to ensue with him as to what has gone wrong with him this season. If his injuries are the cause of his awful AB's, then he needs to sit it out. Problem is he is chronically injured and that is unlikely to change barring a miracle of sorts. The Buck we yearn to see again, has been missing all season. Wish it weren't so.

Buck didn't play last night. Unfortunately his replacement looked just as bad. Of course he is a rookie so I suppose we need to give him some time, If thats what the Twins want. It was nice to see Twins actually score runs with men on base. Kirilloff has really found his stroke. He looks darned dangerous at the plate now. Kepler is still frustrating but he has delivered some hits lately. Correa has perked up a little. Time will tell if he is actually 'back'. Gallo is still Gallo just like Sano was. Vazquez is having a poor season overall. I'd like to see Twins give Jeffers a legitimate shot to be the #1. Julien is making it very difficult for Twins to even consider sending him down when Polanco returns, Guy is playing hard. Buxton is not slumping. He has been off all season long. Right now, he is totally lost. His AB;s are vacant. He stares at strikes he could bash. He misses pitches he should be able to hit. Other than his little outburst with the bases loaded walk, his passion is missing. I am on the team that feels he is injured and needs to be shut down until he can be a complete player again....and honestly that may never happen with him. Putting Wallner in at DH is a tough assignment for the kid but TWins have to roll the dice on him if they feel he deserves to be up.

Kepler redeemed himself slightly. His weak ground out with sacks loaded has been typical of the streaky hitter. The 3 run HR in the 9th was sort of cruel. Resulted in a 1 run loss instead of a 4 run loss. Twins were striking out with reckless abandon last night so the final out being a 'k' was predictable. Buxton is simply having a miserable season. His AB's are weaker than ever and he just isn't making contact at all anymore. Is he hurt more than we know? Its hard to picture him this bad. He needs to sit. Twins lead trimmed to 1.5 games as Guards romped over Bucs.

after getting swept badly by Baltimore, following up with a 3 game sweep against anybody is very nice. Twins didn't overly impress against a team destined to lose 110-115 games this year, but as one said, bank any win you can get. And opportunity struck to gain 3 games against Cleveland. Twins have led a charmed life this season. So who knows how this will go? Buxton..another horrible day at the plate. Now hitting under .200. Has only 1 hit in his last 26 AB's and 13 k's in those 26 official AB's. His k ratio is one every 2.8 AB's. That would be somewhat acceptable IF--he wasn't the regular DH and he was more productive with his non-k AB's. Fact is, he is having a terrible season. Wonder how much longer Twins will stick with him as an everyday DH? Kepler--streaky as usual. Last 7 games he is 3-26 (.115) with 8 k's and no RBI. Having these 2 guys in the lineup everyday is not helping.

I lived in the Bay Area in the 70's. Actually walked up to the ticket window the day of a world series there and bought a ticket. Not even over-priced! Hated the stadium. We called it the Oakland-Alameda Masoleum. Cold, and without character. (unlike those 'fightin' A's of the 70's!) Oakland just not a very good sports town. Maybe the Raiders...but they are gone now too.

over the last several years, it becomes more and more clear that organizations keep medical stuff close to the vest. Notice that in hockey when a guy is hurt it is only reported as 'upper body' or 'lower body'...and not one thing more. They don't want the opponents to know anything that might give them an edge if/when the player comes back. Frustrating for us, the fans to not know more, but we aren't going to get more. I dont think we fault the Twins or any organization for not giving away too much unless its completely obvious to everyone. (ie, a broken leg is a broken leg if the guy can't walk off the field..and even there, there are different levels of 'broken'.) Buxton used to be a 5 tool Mr Excitement. Unfortunately his body is betraying him at every turn. His desire hasn't dimmed and he still works his behind off but he just can't be who he used to be anymore and it doesn't appear that this will change.

If that is what you meant, it wasn't real obvious. But, I agree with you, Arraez wont be the NL MVP unless perhaps he did hit .400, which he won't do. theres a reason why it hasn't been done in over 80 years. Just like there won't be any 56 game hitting steaks anymore either,; but there might be a 100 stolen base season now that the Reds have that exciting new kid running wild. The bigger bases, fewer tosses to first allowed may help some, but he does add something that has been missing lately to the mix. Its refreshing to see players like Acuna this season. He's a throwback to the day when a guy was not single-dimensional. He combines power speed and the ability to get on base. Vlad Guerrero was that guy too. He missed a 40-40 season by one HR. He had monster power, but he also got on base a lot, had blinding speed and didn't strike out a ton. It broke my heart that he chose to go into the HOF as an Angel, because he would have been the very last Expo to make it in. To this day though many still think of him as an Expo (and in full disclosure, I am completely biased as I lived in Mtl when the Expos were born, and felt the inconsolable pain when they were moved..its hard to get over stuff like that)

I'm pretty sure the main purpose of the original post wasn;t as much about k's as it was about the value of a power hitter over a singles hitter...with k's being the expected consequence of having a power bat in the lineup. So if one argues along that line, then of course they will also argue that k's aren't so bad cuz you have to accept them from free swingers trying to hit the ball from Minnesota to Utah. If Gallo's infrequent HR's singularly win the Twins 10 or 11 games, the argument could be made he is worth the money. But if not, he is clearly a liability because he is definitely a rally killer more often than not, I guess if we are all sitting at the ballpark and the game goes to the final inning with Twins trailing, men on base...would the discussion be, who do we want up right now? Thats what makes baseball so much fun day in and day out. Toward the end of the Expos, if one asked me that question I wouldn't blink. It would be Vlad Guerrero everyday all day. A free swinger, but with modest k numbers and an ability to turn a game around in a blink. Some players just ooze excitement; others not so much.

thanks guys, I knew SOMEBODY fired their hitting coach! Twins should probably follow suit though. Something has to be shook up.

did I hear the hitting coach was let go? Twins unfortunately caught the O's at the wrong time this past weekend. Taking advantage of the Rays first slump, they pared 4 games off their deficit with some very inspired play against a very uninspired team and are now even in the lost column with TB. O's came off their 5 game losing streak with a 5 game win streak. Thats how its done! Gibson has 'won' 9 games despite some pretty ugly pitching this year. Helps to have some bats bail you out. As for Hicks...he isn't a bad ballplayer. He was pretty abused in NY over the past couple of seasons and he has been re-born in Baltimore. Making major contributions and the clubhouse loves him. Change of scenery was perfect. Returned to NY last week. Yanks gave him a video tribute and the fans booed. Classless response. I have always maintained that every time the Yankees lose a game, an angel gets its wings. Twins definitely need to make major adjustments 2nd half. While their pitching couldn't contain the Orioles, the bigger issue is the dead lineup. They looked OK against KC...but everybody looks good against them. They have a few days off now to try and figure things out.

I really hate MLB jumping all around so many streaming channels you have to pay extra for. One night its Apple+. Another is Peacock. And so it goes. Wish they would stay with one and leave it there. And I will never go for the '7 day or 1 month "free trial". You still have to sign up, give them your credit card and then hope you remember to cancel..and also hope that when you do they haven't already taken a payment that could be hard to get back right away.

Ober was great again...was not rewarded. Mullins with a highlight reel catch against Buck. O's really wanted to win this one and didn't trust anyone to close it out but Bautista, who pitched 2 full innings. O's now just 1 back of TB in the loss column. TB really slumping at the moment. Neither team did much hitting tonite. The pitching was pretty good. (Arraez was 1-4 dropping him to .384..thought he might get to the ASG at .390, but guess not)

We don't have to get into 'the trade' every time he pitches do we? Pablo was magnificent tonite and he was also excellent in his last start. Yeah it was KC, but still complete game shutouts are a thing of the past in MLB...so this one was special. If he can pitch like that 2nd half, Twins will be in business. And suddenly Kepler has rejoined the ballclub! His 'd' and his streaky bat have returned. For now! Twins and O's series will be very interesting. O's finally beat the Evil Empire tonite 6-3. They and Twins are two teams who really need wins right now. Twins to try and stay ahead of Cleveland and O's to try and not waste a great first half and stay in the wildcard race.I wish these teams didn't have to play each other (I'm probably the only one here who has allegiance to both teams since they represented collectively around 60 years of affiliation with Rochester)

Kepler has always been a very streaky hitter. Right now for the last 15 games, he has been one of our best hitters. Wish he could maintain most of that. Buxton is hitting the ball hard. He even stole a base. Sure hope he can keep this up. OTOH, Miranda is not squaring up the ball. Hasn;t had a hit since his return, but his outs have been weakly hit balls, which was his problem earlier in the season. Wonder how long his leash is? There are other options in St. Paul.

k's 'generally not productive?? Try never productive. Ever. Its a wasted out. Yes cue the GIDP argument. But putting the ball in play always gives you a chance for something to happen. If players hit into same number of DP's as k's...there would be a legit argument. Comparing Gallo to Killebrew is just plain not reasonable. How many of Gallo's HR have made a difference? A few maybe but who do you want at the plate with the game on the line, trailing by one run with two outs and a runner on 2nd or 3rd? We said the same thing about Sano. The odd chance he might hit one out is negated by the more likely event he will strikeout. While you realistically would want a power hitter up in that spot, not one who strikes out more than 40% of the time. having said that, Gallo is a hard worker and he tries hard. Can't question his effort at all. And I don't just view his low BA as a huge negative. But he just doesn't make enough contact to see him in the lineup everyday. Still, there is half a season to go and if his bat wins a fair number of games we will applaud of course. The Twins have a roster of players who don't make contact enough. Will that sink them? Maybe. Maybe not. You just don't cavalierly ignore this many k's game in and game out. It's an out that produces nothing. It doesn't move runners. Doesn't score a guy from 3rd with less than 2 outs. It greatly helps the pitcher wiggle out of jams, especially in extra innings where they have to deal with the ghost runner. But all of this is still why we all watch, right? Its baseball. Played everyday. You lose one day 14-3 and win the next 1-0. We cheer and boo. We ride the crest when we win and lament the trough when we lose. Its still a great game and we love to discuss, debate and analyze everything about it. All good!

I have to really wonder if Miranda is going to make it this season. He isn't at all the same guy we watched 2nd half last year. So far since his recall (small sample size I know) he hasn't looked good. It sure would be nice if he could get it back together though. He could add a lot.