insagt1

bittersweet season for me now that Rochester is no longer the AAA affiliate after 18 years. We are now with the Nationals, a team I am 'obligated' to dislike because they should still be the Expos, the team I lived and died with (mostly died) since their birth in 1969. Our media has done nothing to acquaint us with the organization. So I am still interested in the Twins, but at a different level I guess. The 'connection' is no longer there, but its hard to just let go after all those years. I still cheer on the Orioles too, as we were affiliated with them for over 40 years of my life. So, here's to the Twins finally winning a playoff game in 2021! And I will be cheering on the prospects that did pass thru Rochester in recent years. As for the Nats...meh, at least for now.

you hate to see a talented player go to one of your biggest rivals but such is life. will the Twins have erred in giving up on Eddie, a fan favorite? Will 2 fan favorites be gone? (Cruz) Guess we'll find out. I think any chance the Twins have this year in competing will depend on who stays healthy. If Donaldson and Buxton spend more time in the trainers room than on the field, Twins will be in real trouble...for starters.

Lots of differing opinions on this one. On one hand, if Cruz REALLY wanted to come back (and money wasn't the sticking point) this probably would have been done by now. How much tread does he still have? Is his value to the Twins more than just what he does in the lineup? Can the Twins compete for a post season spot in 2021? Cruz, interestingly was the only offensive weapon the Twins had in their sorry series loss to Houston. He is immensely popular with the fans. That probably doesn't matter in the negotiations. Would he sign with the Twins for less money than perhaps an NL offers because he wants to return? I believe Twins will respect his contributions, and make him a fair offer. If he's not happy with the offer, he will go elsewhere.

I concur---please not the AL Central. hate it when someone who is disgarded with tread on the tires comes back to haunt. Any news on Cruz? We don't get any news in Rochester....and naturally now we will get less than no news!

Being from Rochester, I will miss the Twins affiliation. While they didn;t deliver us a championship in 17 seasons, we had more winning seasons than losing. And the only reason our overall record was under .500 was two horrific seasons back to back with a terrible, unengaged, zero of a manager. I leave it to you to figure out who. The two seasons were the worst in the modern era for the Wings. Rochester has been the model of stability having only 3 parent teams....St Louis, Baltimore and Minnesota. And they have been assured that they will remain in AAA. Don't know who yet, but we have been told the I.L. will have the same cities if there is a 2021 season. We leave the Twins with no malice. It was a good 17 years and we wish you all well.

Bring him back for at least next year. If he starts to fade badly, I think the guy has enough integity to know when ts time to step aside. Mentioned many times...he was the only run producer in that 2 game mess with Houston. Incidentally not to get sidetracked but have we noticed that the old 'you can't win playoff games with HR's hasn't applied much this year. Several teams are blasting them out with great regularity. Our guys however, not only stopped hitting the long ball, they stopped making contact altogether. A sorry sight I'm still unhappy about. As for Donaldson/Buxton alternating as DH's...if Buxton can't play CF, we lose a ton of his value to the team. 2021 I believe is his last chance with the Twins. If we play a full season and he only gets in under 100 games, its time to cut bait. If Cruz wants back, we should welcome him with open arms. He is good playing and he is great with the players. I also think 2021 is Sano's last shot as well...if he isn't gone by then...which I think is a good possibility.

What is particularly annoying is that the Yankees are pretty good at both long ball and small ball, while also getting decent pitching. They don't win the WS every year, but they do win a few series along the way. They scored 22 runs in 2 games against maybe the best pitching staff in the playoffs. Yanks are fun to watch when you don't care who wins (of course I always hope they lose!)

Funny...but I was saying the same thing basically this afternoon...I'm already ready for the new season and I wish it were starting tomorrow. my colleague said to me...well, you can't win them all. To which I said softly...but I can't I win just one!!!

spycake---how true indeed on the Beatles tune. All I focused on was the title..but Lennon's loser was not the Twins loser! Should we now go to Jackson Browne's The Pretender!!

From my baseball-less perch in Rochester, NY, I wish you all a safe off-season and look forward to more Twins baseball, hopefully, in 2021. And we hope to be able to resume play in AAA, to help develop the next crop of Twins going forward. It was a tough season for sure. I enjoyed reading everyone's feelings and opinions as well as being able to vent a bit about yet another failed post season. i appreciate that for the most part, the folks here respected each others thoughts, agree or disagree, without making the poster feel like they didn't belong. I'll make a comment about one thing I felt about game one: Romo has to not walk in the go-ahead run...no matter what transpired before. His job was to throw strikes and let his teammates back him up. In that capacity, Romo failed badly. Other than that, you all have made good observations about what caused us to crash and burn. From the way the Yankees took apart the Indians pitching staff, including the almost sure thing Cy Young winner,we probably wouldn't have had a chance against them anyway. As to who I'd like to see represent the AL in World Series....anyone but the Yankees! So again everyone....stay well. Already looking forward to 2021.

salt in the wound: was dwiving in my cawr...turned on the wadio...to the Beatles Channel and what was playing? I'm a Loser. Geez.

Old adage in baseball...not how many you get, but when. That applied to our bullpen. when it mattered most, they failed to do their job. In a close game your job is 1) throw strikes and 2) don't give up runs. their guys did that, ours didn't. We lost. Pitchers have part of the blame. Our hitters...made the bullpen look real bad by not providing them with anything. Buxton...an enigma to me. Could be the most exciting player in baseball. But he's not. And his hitting tailed way off during the final week to 10 days. he started swinging at all those pitches out of the zone like he did in past years. Donaldson...minimal contributions this year. Love his 'd'...not his bat or his childish temper, which cost us at least one game. (I know thats subjective....but you gotta be a team player when the games count the most) And he's chronically hurt and that may not ever get better. Sano--disappeared. Polanco...have no clue what happened to him. Ditto Garver. Both were terrible. Gonzo and Cave...expendable. Rosario...not going to change him. He may be gone. Kepler...can be hot in stretches and then he also disappears. Rogers and Romo...both failed. Rogers, most the season. Romo when it counted most. Too many k's. Way too many. Too much reliance on the HR...and everyone here at one time or another has said, you can't rely on those in the playoffs. The team that was supposed to hit a lot of them hit none, but Houston won one game with a HR late in game two. Well, we are getting all of this out of our system today...a day of real disappointment. But it's not easy just forgetting 18 straight playoff losses. Nobody has ever done that before. Like the Buffalo Bills 'wide right' in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants, Twins will have to live with this ignominy until they finally win a game and series.(or Super Bowl) thats just the way it is.

Two of the most unsatisfying, unwatchable, disappointing post season games yet. What did the Twins do right? Pretty much nothing. Nellie drove in both runs. The starters pitched well but not long enough...thank you Rocco. Past that, they were collectively awful. I don't understand removing Cruz for Buxton and then yet again, not having Buxton move....until he gets picked off with 2 outs. Why didn't he run, first pitch? If he couldn't run, why put him in. Byron did not have a good final week...the beaning didn't help, but he didn't help much. the bullpen was...lets be kind....not good. And Romo and Rogers did what they did a lot during the season....come in and give up untimely runs. Romo Was out of the strike zone but all he had to do with a 2-2 count on a hitter doing nothing was let him hit. Instead he threw on practically in the dirt and then high out of the zone to walk in the go ahead run. Rogers job was to keep the deficit at 1...within 3 batters the deficit was 2. When you watched the dejected team leave the dugout Sunday, even after learning they won the Division (by default) you could almost sense they weren't well. 3 straight home losses...all ugly....all poorly played....all very winnable. Twins deserved to lose this series, by the way they played. But there was no reasonable way to think they couldn't beat a Houston team that wasn't very good. turns out, it was the Twins who were not very good....a pretty much team and manager effort. There are no excuses, even with Donaldson and Buxton not healthy. It was a brutally sad way to end the season. Why are we always the first team eliminated?

'overworked bullpen' is definitely subjective...but I believe that having these guys constantly up and warming seemingly every game puts extra wear on the arms. then they come in and give up a couple hits, walks and a run or two in key spots. Since Twins starters aren't going deep into games, the pen is always on the alert. Look, anyone can disagree with this, or not. It doesn't matter. The proof is in the execution. Are they getting it done? Is the manager using them properly? thats what he gets paid to do. I'm just a fan, so as an armchair manager I would say....please don't use Romo anymore. No more. OK back to business. Jose had a very good 1st inning. thats a good sign.

Twins give up a ton of 'd' without Buxton...even tho he isn't hitting right now.Hope this decision doesn't come back to haunt.

...meant to type 'we need his 'd'...stupid keyboard...

Buck on the bench might be concussion related...clearly his AB's yesterday were awful. The hit he got was being lucky connecting with a pitch way out of the strike zone. We did his 'd' though, so I suspect not playing him in the most important game of the season has to be health related.

Disagree about Jake...our pen IS overworked. I'm sure you are watching the games like all of us. I doubt Jake would have been any worse than the guys who have failed lately...assuming his finger is OK. But we'll never know. What is likely today is that the Twins are not going to be loosy-goosy. No matter how much music was played in the lockerroom...no matter what the manager and/or players are saying publicly...these guys are feeling extreme pressure to win a playoff game. It is weighing on them and it can't be denied..and it may affect their play. What they need to do is get an early big lead and then not take feet off the gas. Too many more bases loaded, or men in scoring position with no runs will sink them.

Interesting array of comments. Thats why we are fans. At the end of the day...everyone here agrees on one thing....we ALL want the Twins to win. When you now hold the all pro sports record for most consecutive post season losses...something is wrong. How can you look so bad at what you do in the most important game of the year. The game was there for the taking and the Twins just didn't show up. Polanco's error aside as a killer....when your go-to reliever can't throw strikes to a very struggling hitter with the game on the line...you have to wonder why the manager keeps trotting him out there in those situations.

Today we will see what the Twins are made of. Forget the regular season. Forget everything that has come before. Our team should be better than their opponents but our team has this awful propensity to beat themselves. Yesterday's game was one of the worst played, worst executed games of the year...maybe THE worst. Our hitters didn't hit; our bullpen didn't shut the door..our 'd' let us down at the very worst time of the game. A routine toss to 2nd in the 9th would have gotten us to the bottom of the 9th still tied. Byron Buxton, mired in a batting slump that has seen him swing at most pitches outside the zone did not utilize his speed to bunt over runners at 1st and 2nd and instead stuck out looking bad doing it. Garver, pinch hits for Jeffers and never takes the bat off his shoulders....Garver's season has been one complete epic fail. Houston removes their ace after 4 and replaces him with another lefty ace...and he pitches the rest of the game. One wonders if Jake O should have come in after Maeda...to give our gassed bullpen a bit of a break. While Polanco's error was death dealing (he isn't hitting and now he also blows a game deciding play) Romo couldn't throw strikes to an equally struggling Altuve. You just don't walk in the go ahead run in the 9th, no matter what. Romo has become useless. Can the Twins win today? Yeah, they could but the way they are playing doesn't recommend it at all...does it honestly? If this team wants to advance against a team that they should be eating for breakfast,m they will need to wake up fast and start playing fundamentally sound baseball. With hands tightly gripping around their necks, Berrios will have a ton of pressure on him today....possibly to be mostly perfect to give our crumbling offense a chance to steal the game. Disappointed? You bet. I did not expect what I saw yesterday. It was just totally unacceptable at every level. The fat lady is standing and warming up her vocal chords Twins.....please make her sit down!!!

I really like Hill as well. He is savvy and lately he seems to be in total control of his pitches. Not flashy....not blazing speed but great location and mix of his pitches. He probably won't get a start in this series, but surely if the Twins advance (they are going to) he may get a start and he certainly deserves one. The FO has done a decent job obtaining the right mix of talent. And they seem to jell well in the dugout too. Despite the poor showing yesterday they clinched a division title...but you probably noticed they all exited the field and dugout looking pretty miserable. They weren't happy with their performance and hopefully the fire will ignite tomorrow when it really counts. There is nothing scientific about momentum in sports. However one thing does seem to happen a lot....winning begets winning and losing also does the same thing. when you are 'on a roll' you just seem to win games you probably shouldn't win...and when you are in the dumpster, you find ways to lose games that you should be winning. That does happen a lot in every sport. Trying to figure out the anatomy of winning streaks and losing streaks is an interesting endeavor.Same with batting streaks and slumps. The beauty of sports and one of the things I have loved about baseball since the late '50's...you play everyday so you can quickly forget about a bad game or you just can't wait to get back out there and play again. No other sport is like baseball. for a myriad of reasons. Bring on the Cheaters! And send them home.

Yeah I get it. Look, some don't like any kind of pessimism or negativity no matter what so any kind of talk like that will engender what you are reading. OTOH, some don't mind it as long as it can be tempered with 'the good stuff'. Thats what makes a fan a fan. Different viewpoints. this isn't a sermon from the pulpit. Its just sports conversation. Sano strikes out a lot. so does Garver. Cruz isn't hitting at all. So lets not talk about it right? Afterall the Twins won 36 games. Kepler and Arraez are hot. Acknowledged. And appreciated. Maeda and Hill are very good. Romo is very bad. Rogers isn't the same pitcher he was. Don't talk about it. Polanco suddenly can't hit. But Eddie can still get those clutch hits sometimes. Buxton needs to play. Please. Donaldson to me hasn't impressed that much, but it is small sample size. Gotta love Duffey and sometimes May and Wisler. Pineda and Berrios could do well..or maybe not. Hopefully the former. There...some good some bad. Bottom line....BEAT THE CHEATERS. Break the losing streak. Move ahead and get to the WS. THAT would be.....(fill in any superlative that floats your boat) BTW...anyone know if we can get Wade back on the roster?

one might have been tempted to laugh at that supposition...except the scope of their cheating was bigger than most of us ever imagined. We need to beat them..2-0. Period

Dear fwins friends, I expected these kind of responses. Thats fine. I have watched baseball for over 6 decades. I like you have probably watched all their games. I stand by every word I posted...not to be 'negative' for negatives sake but to be realistic. Can anyone honestly say that the Twins are playing at their best right now? Until they can prove or earn gold stars they must finally be able to win a game or two in post season. this 'slump' hasn't lasted a just a couple of series against the hated Yankees...it has gone on for many years. Comments like 'wow may as well not watch the series ' are self serving and foolish. Can;t take a bit of reality? I could just as well say something equally as silly...like if you can't take a bit of negativity, why watch sports at all, because nobody wins all the time. We want to beat Houston in the worst way. I agree that most the baseball world is pulling for us to eliminate Houston, for obvious reasons. But it goes deeper than that for us. WE have to finally learn how to win a post season game. The stakes are high and several of the Twins players are not performing at their best when we need them most. Thats not 'negativity'..thats just the way it is and there is litttle time to fix it. Can they? Of course they can and we all want them to. But the highs and lows of the players have been expressed all across these boards and thats OK.If you don't like a discouraging word, you can pretty easily ignore my posts and I won't be offended. When they win you can bet the house I'll be the trumpet in the cheering section. I am pretty heavily invested in the Twins successes, as they have been the parent of my Red Wings for several years and I have watched with pride as many have graduated from the Wings to the Twins successfully. While I cheer for them, I can also be objective. When I said we were entering the playoffs at low tide, it was an observation of recent games...win and lose. The team doesn't have the swagger I want to see and too many players are struggling. But the thing about tides (I am an 8 year veteran of the navy) is that they rise and fall daily. So the tide may turn and we hope it does. I hate losing...unrealistic as it is, I want to win them all. Thats why we are called fans (for 'fanatics') What I won't do however if boo their failures. I know they are trying their best and sometimes it isn't good enough. I want to win as bad as all of you...I will express things differently sometimes but the goal is still the same.

Lately Cruz's contributions have been with the players, on the bench, not in the field. His body of work cannot be denied, but darn this is a terrible time to completely lose his stroke at the plate. And it isn't just a game or 3...it has been a few weeks. Romo...a ''former' proven winner. He sure isn't one now. I wouldn't trust him with a 10 run lead. He has 'earned' his spot way down the line...maybe not even in the line. Hill--It wouldn't be that far-fetched to give him a start in the playoffs. He is one veteran who is currently earning his keep. Clippard--on and off. Its hard, right now, to hand out bouquets after several less than stellar performances by the team. they have the talent to get to the WS, when everyone is on board. Right now, maybe half are there..while so many others just look like they have played 162 games. This season has been a grind for sure. So I tip my cap to all who have given it their best. The team that wants it the most will prevail. And that team may not be one of the high seeds.