insagt1

I really dislike that Twins-Orioles will finish things up for 2024. Both teams will be fighting for seeding in all likelihood and I don't want either team to lose! I hope the O's can take care of the Yanks first, so maybe it won't be so dire for them. The final 3 weeks should produce some real interesting baseball. I think we'll finally see Buck this weekend, but Im not at all confident that Correa will be ready to play at all--unless Twins aren't telling us something more relevant about his setbacks. If he plays it will be a bonus.

The good Duran shows up and shuts 'em down in the 9th. Big win for Twins. Still 3.5 behind Cleveland but thats OK. they move ahead of KC. Did just enough to get the W tonite. And a mini-win streak!!

To the 9th with the one run lead. BP med time for Twins fans. Gotta bring this one home.

Yep--only way Lewis got that hanger-mistake was by not whiffing on a few of the closers good 'out' pitches. And Royce has done a fair share of whiffing in those spots recently. It was a great AB...a great analysis pitch by pitch...made me totally re-live the AB, waiting for the big moment. Twins need Lewis to be that guy down the stretch. Every team needs that go-to guy who can change a game with one swing. (O's have one in Santander, and before injury lately it was Urias..an unlikely one) Perhaps that HR will restore some of Royce's swagger. (clearly he doesn't seem to be real excited about playing 2nd base!!) No one succeeds all the time. But there are a few who just seem to rise to the occasion more than others. I know the stat-boys will insist there is no such thing as a 'clutch hitter' and they will pour out all the stats to 'prove it'. And I won't refute what they show us....except that after watching baseball for 70 years, I know there have been certain guys I want up there in game situations and others who I never want to see. Thats why the game is played on the field, not on paper. Its why Judge is so dangerous. Its why they once walked Bonds intentionally with the bases loaded. Its why Musial and Williams were such feared hitters with the game on the line. Twins will need Royce to do that again and again in the final 3 weeks. Is it too much to ask? Maybe. But we'll be watching!!

brought back a memory. Many years ago when my girls were young we went to the Renaissance Fair in Sterling, NY. Got there early but the girls needed a restroom real bad. So we asked the folks at the gate if we could please go in just to use the bathroom and come right back out. They said OK. So while my wife was in with the girls, some cast members were also in the bathroom and didnt expect anyone else to be in there. They were bantering back and forth and then one of them said, 'well this is Labor Day. Thankfully only one more day of this $hit.' Then they looked up at saw 3 sets of eyes. Suffice to say, they were mortified. My girls shrugged it off and soon it was onward to get a big turkey leg to munch on and watch the wench get dunked in the pond. No we never mentioned the incident but we laugh about it to this day. Last night we watched 'Stripes' on one of the movie channels. Never can see that flick enough times. but one of our favorite lines is when Hulka (the big toe) looks at 'Psycho' and says, 'Lighten up Francis'. Sometimes in the heat of a pennant race, we all need to do a little of that...for our own sanity! Meantime...go Twins (and for me its also Go O's and go Red Wings) An unholy trinity of teams that drive me nuts for 6 months!!🙃 Have a great day guys!

If Twins can win these next 3 games then for sure KC over Cleveland to make it a fun 3 team sprint to the finish. If not, then I would be happy to secure the 2nd WC (in most cases) so KC needs to lose. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter does it? Just get in. You will always have to beat a good team no matter who it is, to advance. I think the intriguing series is O's-Chisox. O's are playing so poorly (relative to being a contender) and they are so banged up, it wouldn't surprise me if the Sox stole a game or two, which would be the ultimate embarrassment for Baltimore. You just can't lose to a team that has already lost 107 games. So even the 1st WC isn't a slam dunk for anyone yet. Should be a fun 3 weeks. Wonder what the chances are of seeing Buck or Carlos the rest of the season? We've all heard the speculation but what is the reality for both?

Twins continue to keep things interesting. Like to see them get back into 2nd this week,

REALLY need a shutdown inning from Duran. This is a big game to win.

Lewis finally comes thru with a BIG one. Let's hope it gets him untracked. We need him a lot.

Jax picked a bad day to have one of his worst days. He has no command; not getting calls on the close ones and puts the Twins in a deep hole. Darn.

It's actually easier to accept and forget ugly games like this one than close late inning losses that should have been wins.

Agree Buxton and Correa have been put too long to come back now and be effective. Thought maybe this year Buck would finally escape the long injury but with him it's just not possible. It has to be a month at least every time. Twins may as well just come clean with Correa. 'Setback' is code for see you in 2025 hopefully. Big concern about Lewis..he is contributing just about nothing. Kepler as well. Pressure on the others to really step up.

I have a bigger concern right now for Lewis. His play has deteriorated rather substantially. His power stroke has been replaced by more k's and weaker AB's when he does connect. So--is he hurt? Or something else?

Whew...got the W. Pablo was sharp. Twins finally get a win.

why not Jax to at least start the 9th? Is this yet another 'by the book' decision by Rocco? Hope it doesn't backfire as Duran has not gone well lately. And yeah, Lewis is a mess right now. Funny, both he and Henderson of the O's were on fire early...lots of power and energy. Now both of them are nowhere to be found anymore. Are we worried about this game now? Can Duran throw strikes...in the right places?

Jeffers is in that camp I don't like much...that is HR or strikeout. The K's are very damaging. Vazquez is probably better defensively and he can hit a bit. My guess like many here says Rocco platoons them. Twins are no lock to make post season...unless they wake up pretty soon

Another bullpen disaster as well as the usual k-parade. Can we just agree that Thielbar's days are over. He has company for sure but he just doesn't have it anymore. Somethings are very wrong with Twins right now..top to bottom. They need their key guys back but that isn't happening. Team looks tired. The AB"S are weak. The k's beyond aggravating. There is no imagination in their plate approach. But most everything is broken at the moment so I guess that's all I've got.

It's innings like the last one that is why this team isn't ready for the final push. You just can't not score with 2 runners in scoring position and no outs with key hitters up and come up empty. The strikeouts are so aggravating with this team.

This thread was designed to bring out and consolidate everyone's feelings about Rocco...instead of the scattershot 'he sucks' ' hs the worst' comments we get everyday. To that end I think it has been useful. Everybody gets to legitimately vent. For me i dislike any manager who overuses analytics and computer pages instead of watching and trusting instincts. Why for example pull a pitcher who has thrown say 9 or 10 pitches and getting guys out because the 'book' says he only gets 1 inning? Why so much lefty- righty switching if it isn't totally warranted for a particular situation? I have the same disdain for Hyde of the Orioles. His in-game decisions are so maddening so often. So is Rocco the best ever? Hardly. Is he the worst? Maybe not. In recent years the absolute worst job of managing hands down was Tom Nieto..who guided the Twins-based Red Wings to 2 of the worst seasons in franchise history. He couldn't manage; he couldn't communicate; he never engaged in the community..he was a total failure on every level.

It was an aggravating loss on many levels. We don't have anyone close to a shutdown closer. Duran just isn't that guy at all. (Maybe rime to try Jax again?) Our 'd' is crumbling. Martin a d Julien did us no favors. Twins not playing like contenders. Guess we'll probably have to deal with the annual long time on the IL for Buxton. When he goes down he might as well take a vacation. And Correa..sigh...is he done? Hard to like this team at the moment. ( fans in Cleveland may be s8nging the same song. It's on the Playlist in Baltimore too. Crazy season. But last night's loss was a real foul ball. Contenders can't be losing like that with only a few games left.

Had they gotten an even modest outing from Duran Twins might have pulled it off. Pitching will sink this team for sure. Bad loss.

My kingdom for a bullpen that can shut down the opposition after Twins fought back so well. Duran was simply terrible when it mattered tonite. We've seen too much of Twins giving games away late.

Lewis with another pathetic AB. He is in a pretty bad way these days. The magic is gone. Then Kepler looking worse followed by Santana waving at 3 that weren't strikes. What a horrible way to kill the rally that should have tied the game. Lewis is fast becoming a big disappointment. He isn't the same guy that started the season for us.

It just stinks having 2 key players out with no real 'hope' in sight...just speculation it seems. As for who you want to play post season...a fools paradise. Right now I can't picture 'wanting' to face Houston or NY. O'S can't get out of their own way. It all could change on a dime. We need our key players to play. Color it anyway you like sports fans. On an unrelated note.. Chisox are 31-101 with 30 left. Will they break the Mets 40-120 mark of sucktitude? (They had 2 games cancelled in 1962)

I have always felt without exception that the most useless marker for a starter is the Quality Start. On what planet has allowing 3 over 6 innings ( an ERA of an unacceptable 4.50) ever been a standard of excellence. How many games are won when you allow 4.5 runs? Used to be for years when starters pitched far deeper into games that any ERA over 3.00 was not good enough. That clearly has changed. I wish they would ashcanthe stat completely or modify it to allowing just 2 runs over 6 innings. Feel completely free to disagree keeping in mind dinosaurs have been extinct for a long time!!