insagt1

That 1st inning sure was fun!! I'm sure both teams probably wish they had a mercy rule so they could just go home. Hey break up the Orioles...3 straight wins after beating Cleveland tonite 3-1. Pretty soon they may overtake the Twins!

Just a quick off topic to say RIP to one of my favorite, and quirky Montreal Expos...Mike Marshall, who passed this week. He was also an ex-Twin for a few seasons. A total workhorse who could pitch every single game, he was also a 'scientist' who analyzed the art of pitching like none other. Expos traded him for Willie Davis...and Marshall won a Cy Young with the Dodgers. He was fun to watch.

Baseball can be a very cruel exercise. The new kid looked so incredibly forlorn after his two game killing errors. And then our hitting hero of the night Josh Donaldson ends the game by hitting into a DP. Twins are inventing ways to lose. It clearly is going to be a long season. Some losses are expected. Some are infuriating. Some are undeserved. This one was simply very sad.

And the rookie clown show rears its ugly head as the Royals get a gift-wrapped run on a pair of silly errors. Wow. {even the Turtle wouldn't have botched it that badly)

Donaldson finally earning his paycheck tonite. Where has all of that been for the first 2 months? Too bad Happ is pitching like a word that rhymes.

When Gordon played for the Red Wings, his 'd' at short was not good. Saw a lot of games. Funny, it was the routine play he couldn't make. But I'd rather see him get his shot than watch Simmons. His AB's are dreadful. Not 'Sano-ian' but pretty close. Twins are stuck....they paid a ton of money to get Donaldson and Simmons. they have to play even though they are having sub-par seasons.

Unfortunately, the Twins roster is more AAA than major league right now. The injury situation is awful. Hard to expect this team to win many games with so many key players injured, and the ones who aren't, not playing to expectations. Polanco seems to be battling. Donaldson has lost both power and consistency. Cruz is no longer driving the ball and his k count is increasing. Simmons and Sano are worthless at the plate. Kirilloff hasn't been the same since returning which makes one wonder if he may end up being shut down due to the wrist...which is affecting his swing. Garver was just coming around and poof....Arraez and Kepler are out. Buxton is always out. Our starting rotation is hurt. Our bullpen is ineffective. The team is being held together with bubblegum and duct tape. I don't see how we can expect much more from these guys until they get healthy....which may never happen. The O's lineup last 2 days was actually much better than ours, even with all their problems.

appreciate the research....but too many numbers for me. The eye test says we 'k' far too many times....when it counts most. We fail to get runners home...when it counts most. We have a couple hitters who strike out like their life depended on it. Thats not fun to watch. And our bullpen is still terrible.,

Twins fall down and go boom tonite! I'm sure there is great relief in the O's clubhouse. No team really deserves to lose 14 in a row. Twins are simply cobbling together 9 guys who can still walk upright. Meanwhile Sano is nearly under .150. Used to do a BA watch like this for Chris Davis....another slugger turned k-king, who this year is mercifully out for the season with an injury (I hear) Donaldson's HR power is gone. Might also be the same for Cruz. Just a lousy night for the Twins...but someone had to lose to the O's eventually. We'll get 'em tomorrow.

Good news....a win. Actually, thats always the best news. Good news...Donaldson finally had a decent day...way overdue. Good news...Berrios and Rogers were great. Sorta good news....Robles came thru after giving up that quick run. Bad news...Sano is back in the tank again. Can't hit the broad side of a barn. Looking real April=ish at the plate. I don't know if we can absorb all these 30-40 AB's with more than half of them k's and nearly none of the others hits. Bad news....14 more k's for the Twins against a team that has lost its way completely. Bad news--Cruz is not lookin good anymore. In fact he is lookin real bad. I wonder if he makes it to the trade deadline. He lost his stroke at the end of last season....seemed to get it back in April...but has looked every bit of his 40 years in May.

Donaldson needs to snap out of it and soon. Same with Cruz, and of course how long do we wait for another batch of Sano HR's following the 30 k's or so we have to endure. O's are either: 1) desperate or 2) completely deflated. I'm starting to think about the season opening 21 gamer they endured that got Cal Sr. fired. Twins can't take this series for granted.

This was a certifiable terrible game. Reminded me of all those games just like this in April. Twins hitters were AWOL The k's were back in bloom. I no longer think that Cruz is the guy I want up in 'game' situations. His bat has become dangerously weak. Don't know what has happened to him....other than age! But its kinda sad to watch his AB's these days. Anyway, an awful game and a frustrating one. Now they have to deal with a team that has lost 13 straight and you know they are ready to bust out soon.

Ah, the Twins of April....sacks loaded no outs....GIDP and a called 3rd strike right across the heart of the plate. Sometimes bad habits are just very hard to break.

Just thinking....Buxton is probably the best CFer in all of baseball....when he's healthy. No one gets to more balls than he does. However, his body does not want him to play regularly in the manner that he is used to. I'm wondering, to keep him in the lineup in some capacity whether the Twins would consider making him more or less a DH, to at least take advantage of his bat? I know this sounds like wild talk....but honestly he just can't stay in the lineup with the way he plays the field. He is of no use to us spending more than half of a season nursing any one of an accounting spread of injuries. Taking away his defensive talent would be really rough, but OTOH, would be nice to see him contribute more than just a week or two of games before getting hurt. Plus, Cruz may be heading for the last roundup. His month of May was not up to his standards at all. Twins could be moving him at the deadline. Then there is Donaldson....who has contributed virtually nothing offensively in a month. And even his 'd' has not sparkled. Maybe he is not motivated to play for a team not going anywhere (at least for now). But whatever the case, I am not ready to give him a pass just because he draws a few walks. Thats just not good enough.

Refsnyder keeps coming up with clutch hits for us. He may make it very hard for the Twins to send him down.. However since Buxton appears to be nowhere near coming back, that isn't an immediate problem and I would take Ref over Cave any day of the week.

Rogers gave us a few moments, didn't he, but winning is always fun. And finally Twins are scoring runs the old fashioned way as well as by the bomb. Is anyone even remotely concerned about Donaldson? Yeah he gets walks, but he has completely stopped hitting. His splits over the last 7, 15 and 30 games are brutal. His AB today in the 8th with sacks juiced was butt-ugly. If this is what the Twins wanted, they vastly overpaid for this guy. Hopefully soon, he will snap out of it like Garver, Polanco and Sano seemed to have done. But for now, he is an out machine, with the BA getting close to the Mendoza Line. Its a darned good thing he does get the occasional walks because thats the sum of his 'offense' this month.

Lets for a moment put all the analytics aside and pretend its the 1970's and 1980's again...when baseball itself was fun to watch without all the distractions. What we all know is no matter who you play, winning begets winning. And they all count as one 'W' each time. These recent games have given the Twins the opportunity to see how it feels again to win games. And while Sano has definitely heated up (thankfully), a lot of this awakening has happened when the 'B' team arrived. Kirilloff, larmach, Garlick and Refsnyder have added a lot of zip to the lineup. All have contributed. I don't believe, as many of you do also, that we will get much out of Buxton. If he gets back by the All-Star game, the Twins will have moved along without him. And he would be just one more injury away from another month off. I love the guy...but he just can't play at the level he needs to play without getting hurt. And Twins may be well to get along without him. He's a luxury. And its all a darned shame. Can Twins crawl back to respectability? Perhaps. The talent is there. And now, the sweet smell of victory has returned, so who knows? They need to keep the train rolling against KC.

OK--is everyone happy with Donaldson's contributions so far? Is he doing what everyone expected him to do when they opened the vaults to sign him? If we signed him to get walks and make end of game killer errors, I guess happiness rules the 100 Acre Woods. So far, for me, I think he is underperforming. Just my opinion based on what I am seeing on the field, not on the computer screen.

last nights game was a 'yay-boo' game for me since my 2 favorite teams are the O's and Twins. I have zero interest in the NL ever since Montreal got the boot and I barely even glance at the standings. Thus went the yo-yo last night. I really like Means...he is the ONLY pitcher on the O's even close to being able to get outs and he's good at that. Most all his non decisions this year have been games he has led late only to have the pen blow it (like last night) Or the O's getting him no run support. When Larnach hit that monster..well yay. When Means settled in after that...yay. Until Garlick homered...well, sort of boo. When the O's got the tying run thrown out at the plate...yay for Twins 'd' , but boo that the game didn't get tied. When the rains came, boo because that meant Means would not return. But then yay when Stewart hit the bomb to give Means a shot at a 'w'. When Scott opened up the bottom of the 8th with a walk to a weak hitter...boo. Why did Hyde put in a pitcher who hasn't been able to throw strikes all season? When Cruz fanned...boo. I like him and want him to succeed every AB. When Donaldson hit the game tying sac fly...boo. But at that point since Means couldn't win, it was yay when Garver stepped out of Twins character and hit a two out two run double. Then all the other hits followed. Yay. Was this really the Twins, scoring runs WITHOUT a homerun? Good to see Twins offense actually doing something other than striking out with the game on the line. However the O's bullpen is a pathetic mess. I cringe whenever Valdez comes out to 'close'.He is the O's version of Colome. I have zero confidence in him. I listened to the O's broadcast team...with Jim Palmer. They felt the O's undoing was the leadoff walk in the 8th to a hitter that rarely walks. And then the wild pitch to Cruz. Walks kill. Twins finally took advantage. Palmer was also discussing the high 'k' rates. Apparently at one time they did an experiment with a notorious pitcher who used some foreign substance, either on hands, glove or uni. They measured the spin on the pitches. then threw with no added substances. The results were dramatic to the point where it could be said there is no way today's ptichers can get the kind of spin on the ball they are getting without doctoring the baseball. Period. The umpires strike zone was as big as Montana last night. If the ball was high and outside, you better be swinging. It was brutal, but at least consistent with both teams. When Buxton comes back, I wonder who may go down? They are getting great results from Larnach, Garlick, Kirilloff and now Refsnyder. (who knew?) Have to think Cave is definitely all done. Might be a nice problem to have if they can fix their pitching. This may also be hastening the departure of Cruz? Donaldson's batting slump is getting serious. So--bring on game two!!!

Winning is always fun. The warts are still there though. A leadoff walk in the 9th of a one run game is not what you want your closer to do. And it came back to bite him, predictably. And the win was produced by....yep, a homerun. Twins still have to figure out how to score runs doing the things that many teams do. A surprise bunt for example, which got the Indians to extra innings is something the Twins will never do. Its not in their DNA to do anything but swing from the heels. But thats a skill that can change games from L to W. I follow the Orioles as close as the Twins. Fact is my two favorite ex Red Wing parents have identical last place records. Not happy about that. The O's are really in a major slump. Since Mean's no-hitter they are 2-13. They find ways to lose every night and their pitching is terrible. While the Twins are slightly trending up, the O's are definitely trending down....should be an interesting 3 games. Anyone think Donaldson's .241 BA is a cause for concern? He gets walks, but is this what they want from the 2nd place hitter who is making a zillion dollars per season?

step right up. place your bets....how will the Twins screw this one up????

Tribe ties game by doing something that the stubborn HR, exit velocity mad Twins will NEVER do. Try something different. Our guys would rather wave at strike 3. Which they are very good at.

Buxton will not be easy to sign because he probably doesn't want to stay. Even teams that are already all set in the outfield would drool to get a talent like Buxton. The big issue of course is how many games would he be able to play? I'm sure his agent will downplay this to the max, in getting Buck a huge payday. A lot will depend on how many games he can play this season. If he does spend most of the season on the IL, his asking price may diminish. Seems like most Twins followers are ready to bid Cruz adieu this year. It probably won't matter much if he does move at the deadline because Twins will be out of it and this may well be Cruz' last year anyway. Its hard to say he hasn't been an impact player this season because no one has. bigger disappointment has been Donaldson, who just isn't Mr Excitement like he was advertised to be.

Twins may as well just run up the white flag in extra innings. And Colome....after all those great outings...they finally put him in with the game on the line and he throws 2 pitches....poof. They had a chance to win but.....well. This is Twins baseball in 2021.

back to Buxton...he probably has a shrewd agent who knows that some team out there (Yanks, Dodgers, RedSox) would be happy to overpay to get this guy, even if he only plays half the season. The agent will quickly say, 'the Twins aren't that team', so Buck will follow the $$$. So do Twins try and make a 'baseball trade' and get quality ready to play now replacement, or do they settle for draft suspects? Or do they let him walk and get mostly nothing? If he ends up injured most of this season, maybe the sting of losing his potential won't be so bad. Its too bad the thrill of a pennant race isn't going be his incentive to stay anymore. If he does get traded, please do it with an NL team. (or send him to the Orioles!)