tony&rodney

Perhaps the most appropriate response is, who is Derek Falvey?

Grip and rip only works if the pitcher throws the ball in your swing path. A batting practice pitcher or the machines deliver predictable locations ideal for high quality contact. Unfortunately for the Twins, MLB pitchers are not providing enough "grooved" pitches to accommodate the team philosophy on hitting. The Twins will begin to win series when they put the ball in play more often. Until that time, the pitching staff is all that keeps the team from plummeting in the standings. Baseball provides multiple avenues to win games and limiting the options just reduces the odds of gaining wins. The apparent narrow focus on analytics only results in positive expected win totals as opposed to actual victories. In the meantime perhaps the Twins organization might be concerned about attendance in August and September, but then again maybe not. It looks like the team is chasing a .500 record.

The Twins need to score runs to win. The pitching and defense may let the team dow from time to time but expecting to hold teams scoreless or close is a plan that won't work. I see the defensive blunders, the fails by the pitchers, and mistakes. The Twins will not rise above a .500 record if they just continue to leave runners on base, score few runs in so many games, and strike out at a record pace. So yes, the bullpen has blown a few games, Julien and others are less than stellar in the field, and Pablo Lopez is not throwing shutouts. However, offense is the main culprit. It was the problem last night and has been all season to date.

Home runs are a good way to score runs. Signing Gallo was doubling down on that strategy. Unfortunately, hitting two solo shots every game still means the scores will mostly favor the opposition. The Twins have become a parody with their inability to advance runners or plate teammates. The swing from the heals approach is fine until a batter reaches two strikes. At that point a player needs to cut their swing down and just flip the ball somewhere. Gallo is the poster child of three massive swings. If he cannot adjust, rostering him is pointless. Like many I was very surprised that Gallo was signed by the Twins. The fit was unclear to me but I'm just a twins fan who follows the games and tries not to look back because Falvey will do whatever he wants anyways. Gallo is who he is and 2022 was not bad luck for Joey. Nobody can say that he wasn't given a full opportunity if he was released today.

Clark at #5 and either Carigg or Sykora at #34. But for sure, let's not get cute with the first choice.

The Guardians released Zunino and the Reds would release Myers. Sometimes a team just needs to understand that players do reach a point where they are no longer capable of filling a roster spot. The Twins are struggling with what to do with Kepler and Gallo right now. Myers is done. He has nothing left to offer. So, no.

All of the articles and comments re Arraez remind me that I should have bought Microsoft in the summer of 1986. I'm not aware of anyone who hated Arraez, but he is a Marlin now. It's in the past (Jim Kaat, Rod Carew, etc.).

The baseball season is very long, which I like. Last year the Twins were looking pretty decent in late July and were swallowed alive by August and September. This year the team is playing poor baseball and treading water at a .500 mark. The negatives are glaringly apparent as Nick Nelson so adroitly pointed out, and the Twins are frustrating right now to their fans and to themselves. The positives are strong starting pitching and the hope that the talent on the team can get it together and make a sustained run. A decent winning streak could be the tonic needed for the players to shelve their doubts and move forward with confidence. The Twins are trying to hold the middle ground of keeping all of their experienced players and thinking that a return to some past successes is possible. It may be possible. More likely, the front office may need to swallow a contract or two and let the fortunes of 2023 play out with a few younger guys.

Sadly. Joey Gallo is a 2022 Dodger/Yankee player. He seems to really be working but it ain't happening for him. Buxton? A few oddities by any stretch were pinch hitting for Kirilloff, although he is also struggling, and the inexplicable pinch hit appearance by Buxton for the weak hitting Vasquez, a player who would likely at least flip the ball to right field. So many odd occurrences though, such as Solan not going to second base (made no difference) and then not scoring on a ground ball to centerfield (again, just makes it 5-6 so no difference?) when he had to run when the ball hit the ground right off the bat. Baseball is a long season but the players often seem disconnected and unfocused. How many outs are there? Where do I go on every play? Poor routes, transfers, and sailing the ball home from short left field. Lately there have been too many misplays to count and it may be fair to say that 85 wins is too ambitious for the Twins in 2023. Luckily (maybe), there is another game tomorrow.

Mauer was severely diminished due to the concussions yet still played a good first base and could hit. Mauer no longer was the catcher or extra base threat yet he never fell to automatic out DH only status. I feel real bad for whatever Buck is going through right now. I haven't lost all hope that his career is over but I also have no idea what is going on with him. It seems like an IL to regain some strength is needed, but without any first hand knowledge it is only a guess that Byron is even injured or unhealthy in any way, shape, or form.

Polanco has been fine, although he has been pretty crippled the last few years. Kepler and Buxton have each had one good year and a host of glimpses of their talent. Sano? Too bad.

I'm not concerned at all about Ober's physical condition or injury. While it is true that he has had an assortment of injuries in the past, Bailey is a very big strong man. His pitch counts have been very conservative and he has not been stretched in any game thus far this year. Ober should get another 15 plus starts this year and if he maintains a solid routine between starts he would end the season with around 150 innings. Throwing strikes and avoiding stressful long innings is the key and he has done that quite well this season to date. Ober is not a guy just growing into his body like Marco Raya, David Festa, or even Louie Varland. Right now, Ober's routines and outings are going smoothly. Let's hope the ride continues.

Solano has returned to hunting base hits recently after hitting some long fly ball outs earlier in the season. He is a consistently good bat who belongs at DH most of the time.

It was an ugly game.

Emmanuel Rodriguez finally has the average over .200. He has cut the strike outs down a little bit but he has a long way to go and much work to accomplish with the bat.

Who are you confident in? Is Royce Lewis an adequate defender? Solano? Gallo? Castro? The Twins have three really good defensive players: Farmer, Kepler, and Correa. The others are all adequate to varying degrees. Vasquez has 5 errors, Miranda 4, and Correa, Farmer, Solano, and Lewis have 3 errors each. The Twins are just average defensively, which is not a bad thing. When I watch the games I see the other teams defense as similar in almost every series. I'm more concerned about the consistency of the bats.

Ober and Varland should be locked into the rotation with how they have pitched this year. Positives for the bats is starting to happen, which is really good news.

Julien has a good eye at the plate to get on base, makes the pitchers work hard, can hit for some power, can run a bit, and could hit for average. All eyes and comments stress that he doesn't look good (awkward) defensively and even the routine plays aren't smooth. This is true as an observation. Yet, the plays are generally made and the idea he has hurt the team with his defense just hasn't happened yet. He makes an odd flip to Correa, who throws the ball away and Kirilloff fails to dig out the throw. Folks, including Morneau, put the blame on Julien. Julien forced Correa to throw the ball away when he had time to adjust with a slow runner? Farmer makes a clean relay, Correa makes a strong throw to first and the batter is safe. The play gets highlighted by Morneau but it wasn't effective. Julien will not win a Gold Glove any time soon, but he makes plays and gets to batted balls in respectful numbers. I'm not a fan of defensive metrics. I trust my eyes much more than some data points even though they mostly agree with what I see. Miranda was brutal at first base and Arraez wasn't much better. Arraez was decent at second base but panned the last few years. The optics where Julien looks hesitant and mechanical are not important if he can get the ball and the out. Nevertheless, it is what Julien does at the plate that will determine his career. If he can get on base at a .400 or better clip and hit for some power, I'm thinking that is good for runs and victories. I will immediately comment when I see Julien hurting the team with his glove but it hasn't happened yet, which may or may not be a coincidence.

Polanco has been the Twins best player, but the injuries have begun to take a toll. When healthy he is still a very good hitter and plays a decent second base. The performances when Jorge plays with the injuries are not good. His swing changes and the defensive range is diminished when he plays through the limiting hurts. Thus, Polanco is a bit of an enigma for planning purposes. When healthy, there is no one better to play second base. It is difficult to watch both Polanco and Buxton when they are clearly hurting and playing in a reduced physical capacity. He stays until someone totally forces their way into the lineup. The Twins way be wondering how other teams value Polanco and it seems unknown to me.

Miranda still has a bright future. He got into a rut this year swinging for extra bases and biting on every high fastball. If he returns to just hitting line drives the potential for 40 doubles and 12-15 home runs is there. The walks need to exceed the strike outs for guys who are not true sluggers. The whiffs on pitches well out of the zone and pop ups don't help. Miranda could also be a decent front talent paired with another (or two) in a trade, although I don't have any fresh ideas myself on who to target.

Runs follow Julien. The guy looks a little awkward but gets on base and hits. Is he the leadoff batter the Twins need?

Julien catches so much heat. Apparently on base is no longer very important. I agree with those who suggest he made a poor feed to Correa because he did. Correa made the bad throw though and Kirilloff failed to dig it out. Then Vasquez called off speed when Chapman couldn't touch the fastball and Varland grooved a pitch with zero movement. It takes a village. Julien makes pitchers work and offense (runs) follow him around. Kirilloff and Lewis have been fun to watch. I'm not ready to see Larnach back in St. Paul. If these four produce runs, let them play. Make the others wait their turn.

The bulk of the picks for win totals for the year were between 82-88 victories. I thought 83-79 would win the AL Central. The Twins remain quite frustrating but also on course. They are also showing some signs of putting things together. If the team can slowly improve their hitting, the record improves. A rough series of missed chances/plays cost the Twins a sweep of the Blue Jays in front of packed houses in Toronto, so the team is working hard to compete. It sure seems like the lineup has more life with all of Julien, Kirilloff, Larnach, and Lewis playing. Let them play. I'm not ready to see the return of these guys to AAA or to the bench. The next run of games should help. I'm concerned about a revival of the zero offense redux with a couple of players returning and getting put back in pen on the lineup card. I guess we shall see.

Sure. Three years for three million; worth the gamble.

Have followed him this year and wondered whether he might get moved to Cedar Rapids in July. Good start. Nice article.