insagt1

They may regret blowing last nights game because they look dead so far. Ryan serving up gopher meat and our hitters just don't look comfortable up there today.

i know its just after 2 innings, but the Twins are just hacking away at terrible pitches and already 4 very ugly k's. Some of the worst AB's imaginable. They looked clueless. Gotta stop this

noticing that Arraez is finally leveling off to the hitter that most felt he always was...a solid .300-.330 hitter who could always be in the race for the batting title. Over the last 30 games he is still a .300 hitter but not the upper stratosphere .400 hitter that some felt he might sustain. Still in the .370's but that will probably continue to fall. Lopez---his first year in Minnesota has been up and down. But a solid finish down the stretch will help the Twins perhaps be a competitor in post season. So that will be good.

Bullpen management aside...when you come in with a nice lead your job is to throw strikes. In both the 8th and 9th, a lot of those runs may not have happened had the pitchers not put 4 men on base, unintentionally. Moran was nowhere near the strike zone, except when he grooved one. Blowing the 4 run lead was a direct function of gifting Mariners baserunners. Back long ago, bullpen aces pitched a lot more. Can begin the debate as to why they are now listed 'unavailable' after appearing in two straight games. (last night O's fans left scratching when Bautista didn't come out in the 9th, after sitting out the previous game, to protect a hard fought 2-1 lead. Instead Hyde called on a shaky of late Cano to close and he couldn't do it.) 18 more k's is completely unacceptable at every turn. If Twins are to seriously compete the rest of the way, they just have to make more contact. We can forget last nights meltdown; only 1 loss, right...but still it shouldn't have happened. Can't give games away by YOU not making contact and YOUR pitchers can't throw strikes when it counts most. Win today, win the series and move on will be fine.

O's aren't in need of making many, if any, changes. Their current team is, uh, pretty good. Best record in the AL; best record in one run games; best road record in the AL (and 2nd only to Atlanta overall) Hays and Santander are having great seasons. Bautista is money in the bank. While they, like any team, have flaws, overall they are a very solid group. Twins aren't that bad either if they continue to produce like that have since the ASG. Thing is, they are winning the close games. They also seem to be willing to do other things besides swing from their heels every AB. Flaws? Yep. But how many moves should they make? I don't think many, especially if the 'moves' to improve will be coming off the IL. Only hitter I'd move is Gallo. Kep has wormed his way back in and finally appears to be engaged again. And public enemy #1 in the pen, Pagan, has pitched well enough to earn a stay of execution. Overall...winning sure is fun isn't it. Especially those nice comeback wins where it becomes a total team effort.

Doesn't happen very much that a team that has been shut out for 8 innings and trailing by more than 1 run, scores enough in the 9th to tie it up. I'm thinking the pre-ASG Twins probably would have hung their heads and accepted defeat. Winning begets winning. Also Sox probably had to feel good getting that sacks loaded no outs DP, so Jeffers GWH was even sweeter. Most of us here have screamed for Pagan to get unloaded this season. But he has really pitched well lately. Almost effectively. In tough situations. Wow. The planets have re-aligned

O's aren't going to move Mountcastle. They are clicking on all cylinders and probably won't upset the locker room. Plus he is young and can only get better. Orioles have become a legit world series contender this season (I have watched most all their games, along with the Twins this season) they have resurrected Aaron Hick's career from the Yankee scrapheap. doubt they will be messing with their lineup.

Well from my perch in rochester, though miles apart in the W-L...my two favorite teams are in 1st place! (Al East and AL Central) Can't complain. Both teams with a nail biting finish to win their games. (winning is always soooo much fun!) Bautista and Duran are money in the bank.

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.