tony&rodney

There isn't much help on the horizon, east in St. Paul. Carson McCusker generally has good at bats. Do the Twins exchange Larnach for McCusker? The players need to figure it out. If someone can give us names of players readily available via trade or promotion I'm all ears, but I don't see anyone out there right now. The Twins will not be facing any tough pitchers in the next week but it is imperative for the team to have solid plate appearances up and down the lineup. Swinging at the first pitch should result in a base hit more times than we are seeing because the batter should be focused on one pitch in one location. Big week for the team ahead. What is in the past is done.

The Twins get an opportunity in the next two series. More will follow but 6 games at home should give the team a little boost. Quite a few batters are looking futile. Something has to give. Can the Twins be at 13-15 heading to Cleveland?

So many chances to score runs and the Twins have zero hits when it is called for. This could easily be a 5-6 game or better. My biggest concerns cominto the season were defense and base running. The bats are so cold. Guessing or whatever is just not working.

The Atlanta Braves won the World Series a few years ago but were mid-way into August until they reached a .500 record. Baseball has a long season. A win today puts the Twins above the Braves. While the comments that criticize the Twins (owners, management, coaches, players) reflect how people see the team, the team still has 140 games to play. The football fan should panic when their team loses 13 (Twins) games and 7 losses (Dodgers), but baseball teams need to put the losses behind them. Failure and dealing with failure is perhaps the single most important skill in baseball. The Twins roster was constructed to hit. Both Falvey and Baldelli have stated this repeatedly. The pitchers cannot be expected to keep scores below 3 runs. Yes, the pitchers can do more but it will need to be the bats who must step up. The Twins were expected to win around 85 games this year. I picked 83 wins. I'm holding my ground that the Twins will still reach 83 wins. For those wanting change, expect it if/ when the team is sold. If the Twin totally implode and lose 100+ games a few people could be fired. That, however, seems as far fetched as 93-98 wins which a few people predicted. Hold on folks.

Atlanta was due for some good luck. Whether it was pitch mix, bad location, or good swings the Braves hit the ball hard. Michael Harris II hit that ball that Julien deflected over 112 mph. By comparison Larnach's missile into the seats was at 111 mph. Keaschall first hit was at 55 mph. Sometimes you just tip your hat even when it is a crushing defeat. Twins need to have better plate appearances and swings up and down the lineup. Sale (today) is not an easy foe. With the exception of the two slightly bad throws and missed catches in inning 2 which Paddack erased and France getting too aggressive fielding Albies ground ball, which we can hardly fault him for, the Twins were fine in the field and played hard. Sun is up.

Game tomorrow. Woods Richardson will need to outpitch Sale and the Twins RH bats will need to show up.

Unfortunate. Things happen fast. Sometimes i think the catchers need to make a call if a guy isn't throwing well.

Time for the bats to add on.

Fun to watch the speed and athleticism.

Paddack works through it. Yikes - two bad throws and two misses by France at first base, both catchable. France gets his feet tangled and can't reach much less jump. He sure had a beautiful at bat in the first inning though. No harm, no foul.

Nice start for Chric P. too.

A little charm. Sweet.

No comment here. Accidently hit quote and couldn't erase.

This is completely 100% true. Decades and decades ago when morphed from The Sporting News to the brand spanking new upstart, Baseball America, I became interested in the minor leagues. I had previously gone to a number of minor league games when I lived in Florida so it was a natural detour. When I worked crazy hours and was raising a family I squeezed my baseball time in with family or did my "research" from 1-2am. Four hours of sleep per night has forced me to catch up now in my eighth decade of life. Retired people do have time to watch and read about minor league players but I don't expect many people do that. It is a kind of lunacy if I'm honest. It's my crack. Fans are happy to get behind a new player, especially if that guy has a little charm. Luis Arraez was an example. Keaschall could be too. If I was still young, playing and working I would know who Keaschall was but I would not have had the time to watch him play the number of times I have the last few years.

Keeping strictly to the question, we can expect that Keaschall will be aggressive at the plate while mostly having a good amount of discipline with the strike zone. Luke has a quick bat and a solid approach. The last few weeks at AAA with the Saints he has faced some of the top pitchers in the minor leagues. There have been some out of tune swings and sometimes a little bit overboard on the upper cut, but Keaschall is a tough out for any pitcher. Put him at DH 4-5 days a week and let him hold down 2B twice week. The Twins made the move to call him up. LK isn't some soft kid that needs to be handled carefully. Put him in the lineup and let him play, every day. If June comes and Keaschall is hitting .150 he may need to go down, but give him a regular spot. What will the Twins do? That is for another article.

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall ..... ...... What is this beautiful life .....

Guess I already more or less said same thing .... there are issues within the Twins organization. The payroll figures are pretty much estimates. You use B-R at $134, Fangraphs is at $147, BaseballProspectus is at $142, and I also saw a $149 and $151. Reality suggests numbers in the $110-160M range. Others may see things differently and I won't complain if the payroll is above $200M. We remember that the Pohlads were actually visible and involved in both the Buxton and Correa signings. Ok. Mostly though, ownership is not involved in players acquisitions and roster builds. It seems difficult to understand that the front office doesn't have any idea about budgets, trends, and swings. There are always circumstances beyond our knowledge, such as media, BAM money, etc. Using BaseballProspectus the swing from 2021-now was up $10, up $19, down $25, up $15. There were probably reasons and/or justifications each time and it would be unusual if this was sprung on the front office. I have no idea but management in corporations usually doesn't operate day to day and have no idea of larger picture, but I don't know or care. The Twins have had the largest financial resources in their division in the Falvey era. Whether the swings in payroll created problems could be noteworthy. When I look over the team it seems to have the firm stamp of this front office though. My main point is that the Twins have not been very active in the trade market, which relates to the original idea that the Twins follow Tampa Bay and Cleveland in building their team. There have been opportunities. Finally, I'm not sure what free agents the Twins could or would have signed even with a larger budget. Rhys Hoskins and Jordan Montgomery were the big names two off-seasons ago. Looking at next year, there are two players worth signing - Alonso and Tucker. I wouldn't bet a penny that either has an interest in the Twins and the money would almost certainly be prohibitive for this market even at a larger payroll. Tommy Pham? Possible, like Bader. Who else? In sum, yes, a fresh start seems favorable and I would appreciate a dynamic change. However, this seems totally out of my realm and the Twins will still be a mid market team no matter what happens and the payrolls are likely to remain within the range of other mid-market teams.

No expectations. It just sounded good. Morris is a full year or two away from an opportunity. If everything goes well for him, the chance could be because of injury or due to a trade to another team.

Easy enough to agree with your statement. The Twins though are not currently in the lower reaches. Note - you didn't say they were. The lower reaches are below $120 million. The upper tier is near or above $200 million.

Severino is a DH. The team is already loaded with DH names and Severino doesn't make much contact against the better pitchers. Yunior seems like a fun guy but he is pretty much a AAA player. My guess.

I am totally in favor of ownership supporting good baseball moves. My confusion with this idea relates to who or what players one suggests as possibilities. Looking at two offseason back the main names on Twins Daily were Rhys Hoskins and Jordan Montgomery. These two did not interest me then and they are not a target for me now. This past offseason it seemed like there wasn't any consensus. I actually suggested Christian Walker at 3 years for $70M or something close to that or a trade with TB for Yandy Diaz. Initially I only wanted to sign Inglesias and made a number of trades. These were generally panned or ignored which seemed fair. Ok, the past is past. Looking at the FA crop for next offseason I just don't see players the Twins will sign, mostly because I believe the players have other destinations in mind (Alonso and Tucker). Yes, guys will sign for the most money, but who. So I'm all ears and curious to hear what players the Twins could have signed or might be a value next time around. It doesn't seem like a money thing.

Good luck to Luke Keaschall. He brings energy. While the young pup has been fighting it at AAA thus far from game to game, he does look for his pitch and makes himself a tough out. Find it hard to believe Correa needs to go on IL. Castro must be hurting worse than we thought or perhaps Larnach has a more significant injury than suspected as we have seen him hobbling. I guess we should hope the day off today and then the time in warmer Atlanta mean everyone is good to go. Someone needs to sent somewhere, nurse's office or AAA.

Wondered the same and see the announcement now, but was a little surprised. Keaschall has not had the type of at bats we might expect for a guy being called up. I haven't seen who goes down and wonder how he will be used.

Pretty sure Alcala would be claimed quickly. He has a good arm.

Correct. This was noted in March I believe. It is a service time issue more correctly. So Alcala is going to figure it out as a Twin or pitch elsewhere. He is a little bit maddening because his stuff is nearly unhittable at times but then he loses it at other times. Alcala gives managers joy or ulcers.