tony&rodney

Maybe Manfred will make two balls a walk so pitchers have to throw the ball down the middle of the plate too. .... or maybe someone (multiples of people) will realize that Manfred has caused enough harm and send him off into retirement.

Development takes time and players get better, sometimes much better, as they learn how to play baseball. So I have some hope that Gonzalez might eventually be able to use his strong arm as an outfielder. Through hard work and thousands of repetition and study, Gonzalez should improve as an outfielder and then his arm could be a benefit. It isn't useful right now because his fielding skills are absolutely rock bottom. Like I said though, i remain hopeful for development.

Same.

Power tool based on watching these guys goes: 1. EmRod 2. McCusker

Maybe the Twins could have swung a trade for A. J. Puk or Erceg from Oakland but we have no idea if either was an interest for Falvey or what those teams wanted from the Twins. Nothing of significance that was reasonable was exchanged. The Twins have the team that Falvey wanted all along and I would suggest that this team is in a good spot right now and better than the 2023 team. Five weeks will fly by and then comes the playoffs. I'm pretty pumped for this team.

The Twins are on their way to far outplaying the expectations from March; it's a good season for the local nine. One thing that will clearly make a difference is whether Correa and Buxton return healthy and effective. Additionally, the decisions made on who gets sent down will be crucial. Julien and Martin have a real chance to be the difference in games with their skills. I'm hoping the Twins opt for two position players starting September 1. It's time for the bats to go on an extended run.

Actually, the criticism of Baldelli is simply opinion which is any commenters' right and a major part of blogs and the comment sections. Just how many people who question Rocco do you think have much baseball experience much less have managed at a competitive level? People have opinions, which is ok, but don't ever confuse that with anything factual.

Winokur has been fun to watch as he makes consistent improvement. There are a ton of parts to align but the data mirrors the eye test- he is getting progressively better at controlling his at bats. Hard not to love his athleticism in the field, at the plate, and on the bases.

That's the way the world goes round.

I think Matthew was addressing this not swinging/indecision as the yips. That term is most commonly used for players who have an issue throwing the ball but it is actually a real thing for hitters too. There isn't fear related to the yips. We shall see how this plays out but what a difficult season thus far for Julien.

It's all about the health. No surprise for me if Emmanuel is on the roster on or before May next season. I have watched a ton (200+) of his plate appearances via milb.com in the last couple of years. My biggest complaint going into this year was that Emmanuel gave away a ton of at bats in blow outs. He literally toyed with AA this year. The concern is an inability to stay on the field due to injuries. Once full health returns and the rust is off, EmRod is ready. If you have not watched him you cannot understand how impactful this player is at baseball. Jenkins is going to be given a higher rating through this year and then, starting in mid season next year, he will go up or down based more on results than his initial status in the minors as a high draft choice in a talented draft. So far he looks decent. There wasn't coverage of his games last year on milb.com. I will wait until I have seen several dozen games and a 100 plate appearances next year before I get effusive or critical of Jenkins. I'm hopeful for sure.

Perez sometimes benefits from opposing players over swinging because he is hittable. Since being traded to San Diego, Perez has been much tougher to hit. I'm going to suggest the Twins use patience and drive the ball through the middle tonight in an attempt to see Perez revert to his June and July outings.

Total mystery. The Twins and all of the writers with access are crickets on their best prospect. It sure is unusual.

I always agree that any player is tradable if there is a clear path which upgrades the roster. This is why I mentioned Royce Lewis a couple of times in the past year. Right now I cannot think of any possible trades that would involve EmRod, which doesn't mean he cannot be traded. Like I commented above, he needs to be available or those skills are worthless. A centerfielder with a big arm that can run down most anything is a need and Rodriguez would be gold in a corner outfield position. The guy hits a ton of extra bases, hits for a high average, has an absurd OBP and OPS, and hits most everything hard. Oh, EmRod also is daring on the bases. He does strike out a ton. The biggest need the Twins have is a player just like a healthy thumping Emmanuel Rodriguez. If I could find a similar talent that would be an upgrade, yes, I then trade Rodriguez. Who is that player?

Read the article thinking some information on his injured hand would be included because that is the only weakness I have seen thus far. Until his injury, I tried to watch nearly every plate appearance and since there were pitchers also worth watching it was possible to watch him track down balls in centerfield as well. Nothing in Emmanuel's game is less than stellar, except for games played. EmRod totally dominated AA. I'm not sure where the concerns about defense come from. The feed via milb.com is limited, which decidedly means it is a less than accurate way to assess Rodriguez's skills as an outfielder, but he sure looked outstanding on the grass. Read what Fangraphs has to say for another viewpoint on EmRod. Nothing works unless he is in the lineup though. Other than that major hurdle, yes, Emmanuel Rodriguez is as a good of a prospect as there can be.

Really? Between SWR, DF, ZM, PL, BO, and LV the Twins are getting good starting pitcher.

The owner who died.

Julien has cratered to say the least. It is worth remembering that he did start the rally the night before. The guy created a significant store of confidence last year, yet he has been chipping it all away this season. It sure seems like Julien is reaching a crisis point. He takes strike three on pitches 2-3 inches out of the zone on a regular basis, which is an odd event due to its frequency. If every umpire is wringing up the dude on those pitches he needs to adapt or his career is over. Maybe on two strikes Julien can use the Luis Arraez gentle tennis racket swing to lob one into left field or foul off the pitch. Last year I defended those takes as part of his game, but the shift this year is overwhelming. There have been several dozen calls similar to yesterday's take and waiting for the umpires has become pointless. Julien is on the clock with his positive attributes fading if he doesn't get it together. Baseball is tough.

My disappointment with Kirilloff is related to his physical condition. I have been one to believe strongly in AK due to his sweet bat displays for the Saints. I don't know what his goals or plans were for this season nor do I know how he prepared from November to March for the 2024 season. I do know he looked bigger/thicker, was noticeably slower, and seemed to struggle at first base and in the outfield. While the Twins have focused solely on hitting among their position players, they do expect preparation and improvement in other areas (fielding, running, throwing). Whether the bat plays in the future or not it is tough to roster a guy who cannot run the bases or put a glove on his hand. Alex is still young enough to turn around his career. I doubt this occurs in a Twins uniform.

The Twins have been playing hard, winning games with players out of position, missing, and riding rookie pitchers. Correa and Buxton are critical to the defense because it allows Castro to slide over to 2B or LF. The team is a near certainty to blow past all pre-season expectations despite missing Correa, Buxton, Lewis, and Ryan for chunks of the year and dismal showings from Julien, Kirilloff, and Paddack. Baseball is such a long season that it is common to have surprises, some of which will be unwelcome. I would suggest the Twins are showing more positives. For those who cringe when Louie Varland takes the mound, remember that he went 6 innings of 3 run ball recently. Yes, there were some hard outs but as we saw yesterday with Lopez, that's baseball. Varland will get a couple of more starts and I'm confident in him. When the 7th inning rolled around yesterday, I told my nephew that the Twins needed two more runs because it felt like three games and 6 innings of bad luck for the Rangers might turn in a flash. That's baseball too. While I expected Thielbar in the 7th because four of the next six due up were left-handed bats and then Richards because he was the most rested, I do not second guess the call for Alcala because he has been lights out for opponents. The pent up frustrated outs from Rangers bats found the openings. After all of the long outs and line drives in four games it is fitting that the Rangers win on soft contact .... because that's baseball. San Diego is a big test because the Padres have been rolling until the just completed series. They hit, field, run, and pitch at a solid level and come into the game with a near mirror record to the Twins. Let's hope the bats were packed and that our two rookies can pitch well and that Ober throws another quality start.

.... if Tony Oliva never was injured, if Kirby never aged, if Dean Chance was still throwing no hitters, .... "if I had a million dollars, I'ld be rich" .... well, old song so not rich today but if. If Joe Mauer played his entire career at first base, he would have won 20 Gold Gloves by now to go along with his 17 batting championships and have well over 3,000 hits. If he had played third base, shortstop, etc. ..... yes, Joe Mauer would be in the Hall of Fame.

Baseball is a numbers game and Kirilloff has been mediocre in MLB action. This was the year for the Twins to find out what they had in their 2016 first pick. Hard to see AK on the roster next season; he gone.

Not disagreeing ... simply suggesting that these issues are not very relevant now because we shall see the 2025 roster put together starting in November. As far as Paddack goes, he was a darling of numerous teams and the Twins thought they would get something out of him. The 2025 contract is not a killer for the Pohlads. The payroll concern is overstated. Fans shouldn't worry about these numbers. There will be players dropped and added, same as it ever was. The numbers are a guessing game and I'm content to know the details later.

First off, this is a future Falvey problem. Secondly, it seems you may be a bit high on a few arb deals, maybe like $5-8M too generous. Thirdly, I believe the payroll will settle around $135-140M next season. Most importantly, no reason to worry about these details until November.

Great game and Festa was terrific. Pablo is up tomorrow and well rested. Broom time.