insagt1

maybe they started winning 'again'. In the 70's they were one of the best teams in MLB and they didn't like each other. I lived in the Bay Area for 2 of their 3 WS wins. It was a circus. And their mascot, a mule was named Charlie....absolutely because they hated their owner.

Probably more fun coming to the park when everyone is 'happy' or gets along. That doesn't always translate to success...as some of us can remember those 'battling A's of the 70's. Nobody liked anybody in that clubhouse and they all hated Charlie Finley, the eccentric owner. They won 3 world series. OTOH, the Orioles of a couple years ago had great clubhouse chemisty. Then that disastrous play-in game loss to Toronto where Buck had his unfortunate brain-cramp. The next season, the O's fell apart and several players commented openly that the atmosphere right in spring training was toxic.Ever since, the O's are now merely a beer league team. I think Twins had great chemistry this past season. They looked like a happy bunch. They won 101 games.

I'm in 209, first row right over the ramp between home and 1st. Trading Davis was a dagger to the heart of Red Wings fans. I so remember the game where we needed to get a runner in scoring position and the struggling Davis was up. All of us were screaming...bunt...don't strike out. He then hit his 1st HR. We all just stared at each other! Rest as they say is history. I doubt Twins will ever get value from that trade. After Mike Quade, Skinner was a cardboard cutout. Even our venerable Bob Matthews said he was 'boring'. That was being kind.

GArver to 1B is probably inevitable...just like it was with Mauer. somehow the Twins will survive....but probably not necessary in 2020. Defensively...Telis was 'OK'; Rosario would be a liability behind the plate; Astudillo is 'OK" for a backup; Castro can start but not play more than 90 or 100 games. Sawyer is another possibility. Twins are not exactly bankrupt behind the plate...but Garver is still a bit young to move away from his primary position. But if his bat continues to be potent in 2020, his days behind the plate will most certainly be numbered at some point.

what section are you in Dave? I don't think his position is SS. It's 2nd base. He probably wasn't a 'leader' but he did make a few very nice plays...along with some nerve wracking errors on routine grounders I know. Based on the way he was coming on in July I was looking for a solid August. Was not to be. Wings had far too many k's in 2019 and Gordon was starting to cut down on his. A good sign. I think he remains valuable 'currency' as they say, in the organization. PS--I don't know how you felt about Skinner, but I am not sad to see him go.

I watched him in rochester every game in 2019. After a disastrous AAA season in 2018 where his BA dropped consistently from June thru August....hitting a low of .205...he bounced back nicely in 2019. He hit .348 in July, with an OBP of .402 and OPS of .937. That is hardly falling apart. In fact he was gaining steam when he hit a foul off his ankle and that finished his season. His final BA was .298. He led the team in steals with 14 and he cut down on his k's. His 'd' was all over the place. From the spectacular plays that earned him standing 'O's' to booting routine grounders. A work in progress. He was on the fast track until Arraez showed up. Twins may very well use him to get pitching, because at the moment his way is blocked. But if they hang on to him, he may eventually earn a spot. If he stays, I see him starting in rochester in 2020. We all figured he was going to be a bust after 2018, but not the case.

Astudillo's OBP is lower than most because he doesn't walk. But he also doesn't 'k' and that is something this team really needs. He's not a #1...but it would be hard to find someone as a utility that would be better, for the price. Castro tailed off badly the last month. He didn't hit at all, which kinda skews his offensive numbers. He fanned a ton. Given all the 'choices', I would like to see him as the backup catcher. Give Garver a few more starts, if he is healthy. Use Turtle as the 3rd catcher, but also as a spare IF/OF if necessary. Telis was Rochester's best hitter overall (not for power but for average and reaching base in tight spots) Twins should give him a look. I thought Twins should try and get Hicks back instead of Cave...but Hicks is undergoing TJ surgery...so he;s done probably for the season. So scratch that.

SAno is still in a work in progress. His power numbers speak for themselves, and many of his HR's were very timely. But so were his frequent k's. And some defensive deficiencies. He fell apart in post season. Again, a work in progress. Does he fit into the Twins future? Perhaps.Guess we'll have to see. If you projected his HR's and k's over an entire season, he would probably have led the league in both. But projecting is unrealistic.

A agree Castro was OK in 2019. I find it amusing though when comparing the Turtle to Castro offensively..that they feel Castro was the better hitter? Really? Defensively, Castro is better but its not like Turtle cost the Twins games when he caught. There is a decided anti Turtle bias on this site. I think they should retain Astudillo as an all around backup to play many positions. Utility players are hard to find like that. Telis had an excellent season at AAA. Better than expected. He is not a defensive liability and should be give a shot. He can also hit...even in the so called AAA offensive environment. (He is not a HR hitter and it was HR's that ballooned in AAA this year) Sawyer is also serviceable. Twins would not suffer if they brought Castro back. Give Garver a bit more playing time and spot Castro...and occasionally Astudillo. That should work fine.

I don't think this is even debatable. He will be a starter in 2020 barring some complete meltdown in ST. He's fun to watch and he's very young so he can only improve. Both he and the Turtle compensate for some of the free swingers who whiff a lot. Need guys who can put bat on ball regularly. Have to admit I was shocked to see Castro in that low swing and miss category. He was a veritable strikeout machine over the last month. His offense totally disappeared.

I think that like Buxton and Kepler, Rosario will remain a Twin. He is somewhat of a head case but he's very valuable and this isn't the time to cut him. But they do need a spare or two to play if/when the likely injuries happen. I wouldn't re-sign Cave. He had one little spurt but overall Twins can do better. I think DeAza would have been a better choice on Sept 1.

anyone think Sano could be traded? Could Twins parlay him into some top line pitching? Just a thought. We found out in post season that hitting an occasional HR often doesn't compensate for fanning 8 times in 12 AB's. I am in the Escobar camp. Never should have let him go. Lots of guys who have cycled thru here fit that descriptor. I wonder if we would be better off with his 20-25 HR's and near .300 BA in the long run. Just thinking about all the alternatives.

meanwhile, back on the ranch, Twins cleaned house in Rochester, giving the pink slips to manager Skinner, and coaches Cliburn and Valentin. Skinner was invisible in Rochester, although it was kinda unspoken that Twins called all the shots, even in game...so Skinner was nothing more than a puppet. would like that not to be true but it probably was. Only Tom Nieto was more unmemorable as a Wings manager during the Twins Era here. Well, Nieto actually was memorable...being arguably the worst manager in Red Wings history,....by a country mile.

I'd like to see Graterol be a starter. Romero just totally lost location this year. He was bad nearly every time out. A complete regression. Re-sign Odorizzi. I guess you keep Pineda. They 'forgave' Polanco and he rewarded them with a great season. But make no mistake, Pineda cost the Twins dearly in postseason. Twins swung and missed on Dyson. Can't change that now. (I'd love to somehow get Davis back!) They will need to get at least one FA starter or trade for one. Should be an interesting spring for Smeltzer, Stashak, Thorpe, Stewart, Dobnak..and any other of the Red Wings who were up and down in 2019.

The buzz around the sports world is the days of the fiery managers and coaches is OVER. Yelling and screaming at the poor overpaid babies just doesn't work anymore. I'm not buying it. I don't want a total jerk behind the bench or in the dugout, I want some passion and when needed a bit of brimstone. Whenever they say a manager or coach is a 'player's manager or coach....look out. I don't think thats a compliment, or that it is good. The manager always has to keep a legitimate distance from his players to have their respect. They have to skilled in a lot of communication skills, but the one that for me never works, is being too soft. Maybe this is a generational thing...may very well be...but when a manager just gets his hat handed to him the way Rocco did this past series, the very LAST thing fans want to hear, at that moment, is how happy he is with them. You also don't call them a bunch of slugs to the media either....but there has to be some accountability for such a complete failure...when none of the other teams sunk that low.

What is so frustrating is just when we all say (including the TV guys) that his hitting has improved a lot, he regresses back to all the swings at pitches way out of the zone and just plain misses. For all his raw power, I think if a one run game is on the line with men on base, I'd rather see Arraez at the plate. I don't think Sano is going to change that much. If he plays a full season, he'll crack the 200 k barrier for sure.

Well written and thought out! I haven't decided if I'm a Sano fan or not. I don't think he single-handedly cost us the series for sure. But I am a bit wary of his way too high number of k's. 8 out of 12 AB's with a 'k' in the most important games of the year still make me wonder if that will ever change with him. But, while his series was butt-ugly...he had a lot of company. It was indeed a total team effort in blowing those games....and the manager is right up there too.

Well I too thought the article was a bit smug as well. I;ve said this before. From a fan standpoint there are usually two opposing views: one view says how can anyone complain about 101 wins. The other is, playoff failure is unacceptable when it reaches the depths the Twins have sunk to. The second season has little to do with the first, in reality. You play all season long to get to the playoffs. Then you want to win them. All the other series went the distance. Our guys just didn't show up. Tampa probably had no business winning two games from a much better Houston team...but they did, to their credit...and they gave their fans some hope....which we never get. No, you aren't expected to win them all, all the time...but heck, at least win a game or two to let the opponent know you're there. Thats the disappointment the fan feels after being swept out of postseason. So for fans that fall into my second category....let us be disappointed, let the wounds heal and then we all move on! don't blow up the team. Don't diminish the 101 wins...but also don't use them as a reason to be satisfied with post season failures year after year. I really didn't care for Rocco's post season interview where he gushed about how 'happy; he was....at that moment, that was not the right thing to say, with frustrated fans still smarting over 3 horrible games. You can feel pride etc etc absolutely...but there is a time to say it when it makes sense. 'happy' was not the term to let the fans hear., (my opinion) I think the Twins have a very good team. It could be argued that they played in a very weak division and that they didn't do well against teams over .500. Its legit. Yankees also played the Orioles and Jays...two very poor teams. I have heard less criticism about their number of wins, than the Twins are getting. Fair or foul? One day, Twins will win a playoff game...and then maybe even a series again. Perhaps the core group will learn from this. I think we can win the division again. But I also hope they build to win in the second season. We'll see how that goes.

retaining Astudillo means you can 'have' 3 catchers, without wasting a roster spot. Turtle can play so many positions he wouldn't have to be a 3rd catcher per se. He gives the team extra utility.

Buxton and Sano are interesting ones. I believe Buxton is just one more injury away from being traded. He is a great talent but if he can only play a half season or less, I think Twins would be best to move him. Sano--if they could parlay him into a trade for a top line starter, I would make that trade. Sano for me is one of the most frustrating hitters on the team. No question he has mammoth power, but as we saw in the post season, he still has those stretches where he can't hit sand on the beach.

enjoyed the comments. These are from fans who really care about the team. I was leaning on wanting Berrios to pitch one more inning. Some of you sort of convinced me that may have not been wise. We just didn;t know our pen would stink the entire series (when it counted) I also agree that if they wanted to put Kepler on the roster, he needed to play the final week, at least a little. His was a totally wasted roster spot. Wade or Astudillo should have taken his place. He wasn't ready to play. Turtle should have been on the roster instead of Adrianza (or Kepler) Twins hitters struck out with reckless abandon. There were spots when they needed someone to put bat on ball. Turtle had the best chance of doing that. For me leaving him off was the biggest mistake of postseason. (i know some, maybe many here are now laughing their behinds off...but it wasn't at all funny watching pathetic AB's from Kepler, Garver and Sano, when it mattered. Arraez earned his playing time. I don't think Schoop could have done any better. Arraez didn't cost us game one. Our pitching did. And our managers decisions on who to use in a game we might have been able to win. Twins did nothing to change the direction of their horrible offense. No one tried to lay one down to get in a run. I know thats anathama to a 307 HR hitting team...but the HR's weren't coming...the k's were. Also no one tried to beat the god forsaken shift (which I wish they would somehow outlaw next year) finally, I absolutely was disgusted with Rocco's post series interview. That wasn't the time to be 'happy' about anything. It was insulting. Best he said very little beyond, 'you saw the games, we were beaten all 3 games, the Yankees played well, we'll try again next year.' NOBODY cared to hear about the wonderful 101 regular season...at that time. It didn;t matter. It was bad enough watching us be the only team that couldn't win a game...but to listen to our manager making light of it....nope. Not a fan of that.

I mostly agree with the assessments. Gibson probably time to move on. Don't hate him. Just think we have seen the best of him. Romo...great insurance in the pen. Dyson...remember him? Looks like he might not even pitch next year. What a lousy deal that turned out to be. Still think Twins got hosed for damaged goods. I know it has been debated. Cron--here's the thing. Would Twins trade Sano for the right deal? Pitching. If so, Cron should stay. Castro...he's gone. Twins are pretty deep in catchers. Hopefully Garver recovers from his crappy post season...both offense and defense. Odorizzi...bring him back. Perez...no Schoop had an OK year, but definitely Arraez made him expendable and Adrianza is a good backup. Turtle should stay. Valuable fill in player. Clap clap....Cruz is returning. Excellent. Pineda...I really hated what he did to the team. I guess you bring him back and hope he remembers that he owes us bigtime.

The gloom is warranted...if you are a fan, and winning is important. If not, different story. Why SHOULDN'T fans be very disappointed at what we just saw, if winning in post season is important. Post season finishes off the regular season. Its what they all play for. Its harder to win in October than April for many reasons. Some organizations just do it a lot better than others. Its good that you can't point a finger at just one player for this failure. Almost all of them contributed. Their bats turned to sawdust with runners on. The strikeouts mounted so fast you could barely keep track of them. The bullpen that was so terrific second half, all went to hell in a handbasket. Rogers, Romo, May, Duffey...they all failed when asked to hold the line. The stage was too big for Dobnak. The manager lifted Berrios way too soon. Littell's inexperience got the better of him. Kepler played hurt and looked awful...hitless. Garver suddenly stopped hitting. Sano fanned 8 of 12 times and hit a weak pop up in a spot that could have broken the game open early. He looked like Sano 2018. Even Cruz did not have the series we hoped he would have. They put Adrianza on the roster and kept Turtle off....and then never played Adrianza? Castro probably would have whiffed as many times as Garver. No 100 win team should ever be embarrassed the way the Twins were. Some will argue this really isn't a 100 win team. Well it was, making the playoff failure feel even worse. But the time to 'feel happy', proud...etc about the regular season is not right now. Maybe in a few weeks. But not now. How our manager can say he's happy, right now, just doesn't make any sense.

Tampa shocked Houston today...totally unexpected. And they really cleaned their clocks too...so maybe we can do it too. Do we really want to be the only team to get swept?

The Yanks ARE better and we HAVE compounded it by playing a lot worse that we have played in a long time, at the worst time. We can make a few amends tonite.