tony&rodney

Oh, I want them to pitch every turn. I wonder if they can manage to maintain their effectiveness. I believe they can but three rookies having full strong Septembers would be something. Right?

Miami has really had a tough time in trades. Whomever is responsible for evaluation of the prospects in other orgs needs a new job.

Festa was terrific. I'm not sure how much longer the Twins can roll with Festa, Woods Richardson, and Matthews but I'm impressed.

There are so many comments here and elsewhere concerning the defensive shortcomings of various players. The comments that name Correa, Buxton, and Lewis as key players may be correct. Yet, they have a poor history of staying in the lineup on a daily basis. Injuries happen. A couple of thoughts that I have had about the organizational roster builds of position players. MLB is tough on hitters and the Twins have gone heavily toward guys who can or they hope will hit. Base-running, fielding, and fundamentals take a secondary role. Yes, the Twins want their players to play good defense but it isn't what they seek or scout out. Thus, we should almost expect the Twins to be a top 3-5 offense in scoring runs because of the near sole emphasis on offense. The Twins are close but that isn't enough unless the starters and bullpen is a shutdown outfit like Seattle. The team is bound to suffer when not scoring in bunches because the defense will consistently give away runs. This is a FO choice. The other thought is that the ownership has likely learned their lesson on offering any contracts beyond three years. Buxton and Correa are dynamic players when they are fully healthy and on the field. The drop off to their replacements is pretty tough though. There is zero chance of any consideration towards giving Lewis any offers. He will be year to year. Yes, he can be tremendous but look at games played, games played in the field, at bats, his defense, and his inability to run. I feel for the guy because he is athletic but the important numbers are all small (G, PA, R, XBH). Can he heal totally and play 150 games per year for 4-7 seasons in a row? I hope so for his sake and as a baseball fan. The odds are long at this time. So the Twins are doing pretty good. They seem to have a record above their talent level and are still expected to win more than the expected range of 82-87, from preseason guesses. The young starters are doing well too. I'm still believing in this team despite its current run of unfortunate games. 29 games to go and the team needs to go 16-13 mol.

Plenty of disappointment with the bullpen but the bats are pretty putrid when it counts. Kansas City has some problems with their outfield, although it is getting better, but their entire infield and catching is better and their outfielders catch everything. Maybe the Twins are outplaying their talent for the season. Oh well, great job by Festa tonight.

These articles on the front office and the comments commending Falvey always surprise me. I don't have any complaints because I don't specifically have any knowledge about who does what in the Twins organization. I just follow the play on the field and the minor leagues. The comments on the games include a ton of complaints. One would think that the type of play on the field is a reflection of the FO.

The Twins have chosen their position players throughout their system primarily for production from the plate. Only Santana (Buck & C4 are out) is average or above. The problem is that the bats are not scoring and the gloves are giving up runs. This is an organizational philosophy.

Almost shocking how dependent the Twins have become on these rookie pitchers. Festa was exceptional tonight.

Almost shocking how dependent the Twins have become on these rookie pitchers. Festa was exceptional tonight.

Festa will need to get a ton of strikeouts and pop ups. The Twins field a pretty weak team defensively. Go bats and Festa.

In a strange and ironical twist of fate, the contributions of Edo Julien could just well play a significant role in bringing the Twins back to the top of the AL Central. While he is not a particular favorite of mine and has had much chronicled issues on both sides of the ball thus far, his patience and potential for big hits could provide a boost at a time when most want him sent back to AAA. The Twins need Julien to copy his July and September production from last season.

This is an excellent suggestion. My age has increasingly diminished my interest in research. More and more I could care less about the Pohlads or Steinbrenners. I have been in a Walmart exactly once in my life and try to support small businesses wherever possible. Still, it seems like the conversations this year mirror the last decade of the Calvin Griffith years. This makes some sense as the reduction this year from the all-time high roster payroll of 2023 roiled many people. Perhaps an in depth article could provide a dose of levity to Twins Daily. Another small detail to remember is that MLB does not simply allow franchise sales. It is a club where the members get to vote no or yes to any potential owner. So if I offered to buy the team for cash for $2 billion, it would not be accepted. I think the Pohlad corporation will own the Twins for a long time though.

Sadly, it will likely take an injury to Wallner or Larnach. Who knows. On another note, Winokur continues to improve.

FWIW, Lee looked really rough tonight in Omaha.

Tons of games still to play but Duran isn't very good right now. Tonkin may be key.

Yikes. Four at bats left in this game, right?

So here we are in the same situation (close) as Atlanta faced - runners on and two outs versus a reliever when starter was lifted. What can Lewis do?

Tonights game is on the bats.

Yup, pretty much that.

Oh, I know Gameday is not really very accurate. Are the Twins just swinging at everything?

Ok. Can't watch, only seeing dots on Gameday. Two innings and Fried has retired the Twins on pitches that show Farmer taking a strike and everything else not worth swinging at? What's going on here?

The Polanco trade was Falvey's worst moment because he panicked. Winokur is developing and it will be incremental but he has real athleticism and could be special. There are so many moving parts because of his size. I have tuned into a ton of his at bats.

Under the new guidelines, leading teams have to be up by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning in order to let a position player pitch while trailing teams can use a position player anytime it's down by eight or more runs. Position players are also allowed to pitch anytime in extra innings. The Twins could use Farmer for 7 innings tomorrow.

Can't hurt for Lewis to play in the field. Right now he is mostly a DH.

The Twins have a better team (IMHO), but the Royals have Junior, Salvy, and Pasquatino above any of our gang. Still picking Twins.