tony&rodney

Really? Cleveland has some talent on their roster. I really like Kansas City but feel that Cleveland has the edge in pitching and in the field. It should be interesting. I am still expecting the Twins to win the division by a game.

Love Royce Lewis and the enthusiasm he brings to the team along with the loud contact. Some people will look at contracts as a comparison for best or other designation. If we are picking a team for right now and I don't need to worry about a budget, I'll take Carlos Correa as my first pick among Twins players. He plays a good shortstop and has a decent bat as well. There is a pretty significant drop off if anyone else plays at SS.

Seems odd to assume the team would be better if they had signed players who made more money. Did people want Joey Gallo back? The 2024 Twins are a better team, via their record, than the 2023 Twins team. I cannot imagine anyone is satisfied with how the Twins have fared versus the Yankees, Cleveland, and Baltimore. Still the team is heading to the half way point of the season above expectations and there is a possibility that some players will be more solid contributors in the second half. If you do not like the roster, that is on Falvey. The amount of money budgeted for players is sufficient. I agree that the TV debacle is an embarassment for the franchise. I will point out that MLB under Manfred has stumbled in more than a few areas.

Let's just hope Lewis stays healthy and can play through the entire season this year.

Royce has been hot and we all hope he is the MVP of the World Series, etc. Maybe it makes sense to wait until he has played a full year or two before we weigh him down with a crown.

Varland got lit up today to continue his minor league struggles after a recent decent start for the Twins. Maybe it is time to shift Varland back to the bullpen to get him some confidence (if he can find the groove he had last year in the pen).

I have no idea how Jax might react to a role change. Langin (Driveline) seems to suggest that Jax is nowhere near the guy he was previously because of changes to his pitching technique not because of being a relief pitcher. We have seen many guys pick up velocity with a change to the bullpen and if Jax lost speed it would likely affect all of his pitches. I just found it a plausible argument.

Personally, I am a big fan of both Festa and Matthews. They still have some tuning to do before getting their MLB opportunity, but the talent is already present. Currently, my feeling is that the Twins have a solid set of starters in Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Woods Richardson, and Paddack with Varland, Festa, and Matthews waiting their turn. The post posits that Jax with his much improved and wider assortment may be fit for a move to a rotation. That sure seems plausible but also unlikely to occur in a Twins uniform. Maybe there is a team (Baltimore?) that is willing to match up talents in an exchange that results in Jax becoming a starting pitcher next season. The discussion of Duran as a starter have been in Twins Daily posts in the past. Duran depends more on velocity and does not have the array of offerings of Jax, although I believe he is a better reliever. My thought is that Duran could not make the exchange from closer to starting pitcher. Others disagree, which is an interesting part of these comment boards. The Twins have received some decent bullpen work from Jax and Duran thus far. We should expect they will both will be critical to the team in September and October.

We may not want to see our most consistent reliever moved out of the bullpen, but the argument by Langin is very well constructed with enough specific evidence to believe that the move would be quite successful. Despite my decades of coaching and playing, I find it easy to defer to the expertise of individuals such as Langin. It seems unlikely that the Twins would make this move without an arm or two to fill in for Jax in the bullpen. Perhaps Jax becomes a starting pitcher once he has moved on to another team. Jax is under team control for 3.5 more years, which means the opportunity would need to come with the Twins or via a trade. One can wonder what value another team places on Jax because of the possibilities. Jax is a totally different pitcher than when he was a starter with his mix, stuff, and experience. I believe he would be a very good starting pitcher. Will he get the opportunity? Who would replace him in the bullpen? Jax is not going to switch this season in any event. Relief pitchers are fairly fungible. Guys like Sands, Winder, Varland, others, and even Balazovic can develop as effective one inning relievers similar to Jax. Not all pitchers can develop more than two pitches. Paddack seems like a good bullpen guy but the Twins may be reticent to put his $7.5 million contract for next season in the pen, although it may be the best use for the team. Moving Jax into the rotation is an interesting idea and one to watch.

Sports are entertainment. A position that requires winning will inevitably ruin anyone's fan experience. The Twins have played some good games and baseball inherently will be frustrating because of the length of the season. Oakland's team is what one gets when all of the prospects are called up and play. They have some exciting moments but cannot sustain for any length of time until the youngsters wade through the ups and downs that most baseball players do in their first few years of MLB. Most baseball fans have allegiance to the team of their youth unless they adopt the local squad when they move as adults to a city with a team. One, almost by necessity, must divorce a love of the game from the machinations of owners and front office folks. I'm a Twins fan and baseball fan, but cannot relate to those who hate or love owners or the office people. I'm interested in the action on the field.

The Twins are still playing ahead of their expected 83-87 wins projection. The current stretch of games to the All Star Game could be telling. It is looking like Funderburk does not pitch with confidence at times. Does the team need a reliable lefty in the bullpen and can Thielbar return to his former effective self? Right now the bullpen looks tired. A string of seven inning starts or an offense scoring more runs would help.

Hey, anything can happen but it will surprise me if the Twins do anything before meeting up with the Brewers in late July. I also think Falvey has his guys already, which may mean that any additions are already in the organization.

Lee looks much better since his return from the IL than he did at any point last season or the season before. The confidence in his current plate appearances is strong. Hopefully Lee can be a big addition to the Twins in time. Right now the sample is still small but who knows. I'm keeping an open mind to the possibilities. Brooks isn't an athlete in the same sense as a Buxton, Lewis, Siemen, or other quick twitch fast guy. He does have solid fundamentals and plays a smooth shortstop. Right now it isn't clear at all that he will be as good at second base. The move is not a simple transfer, although it has been done often. If Lee is to be at 2B, then he will likely put in the time and effort to become a decent defender at the position.

My only judgment of Julien as a player is based on my own personal observations. By September of last season I was suggesting that Julien had made major positive gains defensively as a second baseman. The vast bulk of TD disagreed and there were a fair number of thumbs down that followed my comments. The disagreements are fine. In the offseason I suggested that the Twins might benefit from making a somewhat risky and potentially damaging decision about where the team was headed and which players they saw as fit to hold and where a trade was possible. The only untouchables (for me) were Jenkins, EmRod, and Festa. Among those who may have been seen as having decent value were Jeffers, Kirilloff, Julien, Lee, Lewis, Wallner, Raya, Varland, and Paddack. Others had suppressed value (Miranda, Kepler, Buxton, Larnach, Martin, SWR, Vazquez) and were unlikely to bring back anything fair. Still others were too important to let go given their value and any possible return that seemed fair (Correa, Duran, Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Castro). The Twins sat on their stash and are still trying to figure out who is going to play in October, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The players may be uncertain of their status and futures, which could bring about healthy competition or may cause uncertainty which does not help performance. We shall see. In any event, if Julien can OPS .850 or better he is the guy to play second base. Then again, .... is Brooks Lee going to OPS .900? We are watching for the outcome and hope it leads to a better team.

FWIW, even if Kepler goes on the IL, Brooks Lee may get a call before Wallner. Wallner is crushing his pitches but still looks lost with those pitchers who know where the holes are for the big guy. MLB pitchers don't miss their spots nearly as often. Lee, meanwhile, is working over pitchers wherever the ball is thrown. It will be interesting to see who is the next position player suiting up for the Twins.

I'm puzzled why you believe that Julien is best used at 2B. Julien was sent down specifically because he had lost control of his at bats. Pitchers were exploiting his weaknesses and Julien saw both his OBP and BA plummet as a result. Meanwhile his defense continued to improve, particularly lateral movement. I understand that the impression (and results) Julien etched in many minds from his opening debut as a second baseman caused many to dismiss him at 2B, but the reality now is far from those memories. Julien is also not a decent fit at first base. Kirilloff looked decent when he first arrived but he regressed defensively and is pretty much a player without a home in the field. AK needs to dominate or his at bats and roster spot are at peril I will grant anyone that both are trending in the wrong direction and may be used in trades. However, a fully functioning Julien, with power and high on base results combined with a good average which results in a .900 OPS, is the Twins second baseman. If Julien cannot return because he fails to make all of the adjustments needed it is likely his career path is with a different organization. Currently, Brooks Lee is pushing hard for a MLB uniform and this makes it even more difficult for Julien to reclaim his starting position. Opportunities are tough to get and more difficult to hold in baseball. Santana and Miranda would have to crater badly before Julien gets a look at first base for the Twins. Kirilloff can get another shot if he mashes enough for the Saints and then finally proves reliable for Minnesota.

A healthy Alex Kirillof crushing like he did for St. Paul eliminates doubts and he is welcomed back and appreciated. If AK continues to lurch and be just a decent batsman he will not be back next year. I wonder if Kirilloff is in top physical condition. He looks bigger, more muscled than the last few years. However, I don't have any idea whether this is true. A little injury can make a player slower at the plate and more serious ones can block success. We already saw this with the wrist injury, which was fixed. There is such a fine line for MLB success.

Babe Ruth will always be remembered as larger than life and synonymous with baseball. His exploits, real or otherwise, are simply legendary beyond comparison. Barry Bonds controlled the game of baseball in our era with his ability to crush strikes and take bases on balls. There have been a number of other fantastic athletes who accomplished amazing feats playing baseball in short spurts or over long careers. I have always believed Willie Mays to be the greatest baseball player of all time based on his ability to excel at all elements of the game in addition to having more charisma than any player in the past 75 years. In 1979 I bought a Willie Mays SF jersey. Mays' #24 is the only MLB jersey I have ever purchased or worn. You can easily see who my two favorite players were all time, both Twins.

Not replaying the garbage can, but several times in the last couple of years I have been present when people were booing Correa and heard individuals say, "Why are we booing him?" Not many people actually are knowledgable. Ask someone next time.

Perceptions are realities for many people and these are often shaped by media. Correa may be seen as a villain by fans around the country. He is booed often even if roughly 90% of those vociferous followers have zero idea why they are vocalizing feelings they cannot explain. Both Correa and Arraez are excellent baseball players but should never be compared because of their vast differences. Similarly, Arraez cannot be compared to either Gwynn or Carew. An analogy for the wider public not really TD ... Chicago draws widespread scorn for violent crime and does have more problems than a person would want anyone ever to have within a city. However, depending on what resource one uses, Chicago comes in at 20th (or better) statistically for violent crime among larger cities in the United States and even better if one includes all cities. Still, Chicago is quite frequently cited as an example for this and that. Why? Well, one has to at least wonder about the agenda of those parroting false ideas. Thus Correa gets nailed by strained vocal cords heaping abuse by throngs of angry people who don't actually have any idea why they are hating C4. Perception. Arraez is lovable and we (most of us) enjoyed his at bats. I get the idea to support Correa and agree with the general principal that Arraez has a more limited value than many other players, but I'm not sure that it is necessary to identify one as overrated. FWIW, I'm not from Chicago, have never lived or worked there, and prefer the silence of isolation in the woods. I have been to Chicago though, walked and biked miles through the city, and gone to games at Wrigley and to Comiskey (and its subsequent namesakes).

Not long ago, Margot and Santana were struggling but they are playing well at this time and sweeping away the talk of their demise. I'm still thinking the roster stays pretty much the same until an evaluation that follows the series versus Philadelphia.

Perhaps the questions will be largely answered by how individual players respond. Kirilloff, Santana, and Miranda can figure out first base. Eventually either Julien or Lee will be the second baseman. Larnach, Castro, and Margot are taking care of LF. Buxton could still get better and keep going in CF and Max is fine in RF. The players will need to earn their playing time and make the Twins management make the tough decisions. The bullpen should be pretty good. Duran, Jax, Stewart, Alcala, Staumont, Varland, Paddack, Okert, and Funderburk are good and can cover for Thielbar and Sands if necessary. Maybe the Twins swing something for Jesus Luzardo while keeping Jenkins, EmRod, and Festa. The Twins could use a player like Bobby Witt Jr. but those guys are just not available, which means the players within the organization need to step forward and put their skills on display.

When people are discussing Wallner, his successes and struggles, I'm wondering whether they have watched at least 25 of his at bats or merely looking at statistics?

No. Not for Festa, not for Keaschall, and ok .... one for one, Kirilloff for Alonso.

I have always liked Kopech but he has not been able to turn the corner yet. Kopech would slot in behind Duran, Jax, Stewart (hopefully he returns in August or September), Alcala, and Staumont. By September both Paddack and Varland may bolster the bullpen as well. That (potentially) makes seven right-handed relief pitchers ahead of Kopech. I like your idea of adding him for a nominal price but it seems like a reach between the Sox and Twins.