tony&rodney

Individuals may say that a team will not part with a true top prospect for Buxton or Berrios, but until the GMs talk we will never know. The Rays are gutsy and maybe foolish. They traded the voice of their team for relief pitching. The Rays have middle infielders in spades. Three deep at SS and adding pitchers. ... could be a magic move for Tampa Bay. I'm hoping to see both Berrios and Buxton with the Twins for a half dozen more years, but if they must trade look for players like C. J. Abrams, Austin Martin, and other real prospects.

Not even remotely a soccer fan, however, the game at the top level (think Europe or World Cup)) is super athletic and tough. I would say it has some resemblance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Duffey? If he wanted to make a point, he should have hit him in the ankle. The Twins should have let someone else pitch too. Thielbar was available I think. Colome too. Not a bright moment for the Twins either way.

The Twins hit homeruns in bunches in 2019 and did enough last year to win the division. However, the AL Central was putrid in 2019 and not so good last year. When a team puts their players in positions to fail (Sano, Garver, Astudillo, Arraez), there will predictably be some problems. Nobody expected the current result but poor defense and a weak bullpen will not work if the starting staff go four innings and don't strike out people. I am surprised at the complete breakdown that is currently in progress and felt three weeks ago like a turn toward even baseball would happen with this team. Sadly, that did not occur. The owners and management need to sit down pretty soon to develop a better plan because hoping that 2021 is an outlier with their current players won't work. Personally, I defer to managements final decisions unless they crash and burn. This is to remain optimistic, not because I'm a fair-weather fan. I have followed every Twins team from April of 1961. The current team has serious deficiencies, most notably fundamental play, the bullpen and defense. When Sano played RF a few years ago, I cringed on every ball hit his way. Poor Arraez has let the embarassment of his LF maneuverings affect his hitting. Decisions will need to be made and no player is off the table. The Yankees haven't been in a World Series since 2009. San Diego has put a ton of chips forward in the last year. Toronto has a pretty exciting team. Perhaps it is the Twins opportunity to harvest those systems young prospects. While it doesn't feel like any Twins player's value is particularly high at the moment, another GM may see the chance to land Berrios, Buxton, Arraez, Kepler, or others as beneficial. Right now, the games don't seem like an outlier.

The curse of worshipping analytics. The Twins bet on thumping with multiple DHs at the expense of an all around sound defense and a bullpen.

Look, the rookie should have run it back to 3B. I was too protective to deflect/ask for team communication, although that is not a bad thing. Rortvedt made a mistake, but so did the umpire and ultimately the out call should have been made when Donaldson casually tagged Andrus. The best college teams are at a rookie level and the best MLB players are not above making some bad mistakes. But, nobody really has any authority to make the little league comparison unless they have played a good amount of time at the highest level. In that situation, Andrus would find it easy to fool any player below the MLB level, but he might not get the same call from every umpire. I hope Garver hits 35 homeruns, but he should not be catching. The pitchers throw differently to the rookie and Jeffers. So, the Twins need Rortvedt and he will remember that play. There is another game tomorrow.

I believe the umpire did assume but we don't know. Umpires are human and mistakes happen but unless the umpire believed Andrus was pushed and the umpire did not assume there should have been a review on the basis of not seeing the play. There were so many mistakes and Rortveldt made a fundamental error in throwing the ball at all. Still, right now he is our only catcher. We can see that the pitchers will not throw the ball low in the zone often enough to Garver won't be caught. I'm not a fan of obvious flops.

The Twins have plenty of problems, it is true. MLB has more problems, many more. The umpires are struggling more than I can recall in my lifetime and the number of errors from NYC umpires have piled up even with totally conclusive evidence. Additionally, from high school rules in doubleheaders to Covid 19 rules in extra innings to a lack of clarity on what is or is not reason to go to the headset, MLB is deeply flawed. This follows a winter where DH "discussions", among other problems, were fumbled. The real error on the rundown was a failure of a teammate to VERY loudly yell for Rortveldt to just hold the ball and run Andrus to 3B where another runner created an automatic out. The Twins did not communicate at all on that play. Lastly, you can see Andrus laughing and demonstrating how he acted his way to a poor call. There was no interference, only incidental contact on the grass. It was a poor call and the Oakland announcers felt that too and just called it smart baseball and poor umpiring. None of this excuses the Twins poor play. Garver is not a catcher for starters. Terry Francona would never put him behind the plate. If Kirilloff cannot come back and Buxton is out for a long spell games like the recent debacles will continue to occur. Outside of some changes the Twins will need to crush every game to have a chance with their current defense.

Polanco, Arraez, Kepler, and Rogers have the greatest value not counting rookies/prospects. Berrios and Buxton are behind that trio and Robles might interest a couple of teams. Cruz might help a few teams but Donaldson has too much money coming in the next few years. Simmons might bring a low prospect but the Angels let him go for reason. Garver and Sano are only useful at DH if they find their bats. Perhaps if the NL adds the DH, they might have value. The Twins built their team to mash and they are not hitting.

Thought the Twins might look to speed, defense, and a possibly improved hitting by Whitefield when Cave went down. I hope he keeps improving and have to believe he was a better choice for a 4th OF than Refsnyder.

If Polanco has his wheels beneath him, he will be a good player. Bad ankles led to some habits which changed his swing and lately we have seen him return to a healthy base in his at bats. Jorge is the least of the Twins problems; he looks to be back to form.

Yes, Polanco has always been a better hitter from the left side and he is a really good player. No disrespect intended but this post is misinformed and off. It is true that Polanco played through significant injuries in the last two years because the Twins were short-handed and needed his position in play even with his diminished skills. It does seem like he developed some unfortunate side habits related to compensating for his injuries and he is now working through these inefficiencies. Polanco is a gamer though and while we are not exactly sure how he will look by this summer we do know that his past sacrifice for the team is worthy of a full look and the respect that acknowledges his efforts for the Twins. I expect Jorge will manage to correct his footwork and timing to return to a his prior performance before serious ankle injuries reduced his effectiveness at the plate and in the field. In my mind, Polanco has earned the right to work through these struggles and when he does the team will benefit from the patience.

The Tigers and Twins trail the field, but not by much. Every other team has at least eight losses or has won at least eight games. 93 wins always seemed like a big number for the Twins this year and 86 wins might gain a playoff spot. Teams are much more competitive in general than in 2019. Detroit could turn around and be a 75-80 win team. By July the Twins will have a good idea of their weaknesses and how, or if, they can adjust their personnel. Unless a team implodes with a losing streak of 15 games or runs off a 35-5 start like the Tigers did one year, we can find comfort in the notion that teams do start slowly some years. Yes, the Twins are struggling now but their 40 man roster does not seem likely to finish below .500 for the year.

Take a sip, but don't jump - it is still April. Bad baseball often happens in April. This year it was our turn. I'm still optimistic but there are some real concerns.

Of course, this is obvious. I meant the Twins can still turn it around. I am not real enamored with this team, the manager, or the management. Still, the Twins should rebound. Against the odds, I wanted to trade both Sano and Garver after 2019. I thought the team could get something important for them. Sano is my favorite Twin to watch because he hits the ball so hard and looks so ferocious at the plate, squeezing the bat. But the strikeouts and defense hurt. I really wanted the Twins to sign Realmuto and Hendriks this past offseason, but religiously watch or listen (more often recently) to my favorite nine most games. The catching position was a concern before the season and continues to be. Arraez should rotate through the infield and DH spots. His defense in LF is pretty bad. The announcers from the other teams keep commenting on this when Luis takes up a stance in LF. Buxton needs to be healthy and Kepler and Kirilloff need to hit. Put Larnach in RF and move Kepler to LF. Max is an athlete and could cover the ground out there and Larnach may be more suitable for RF. I like AK at first for now, although clearly Sano goes back to 1B when he returns. Hopefully something clicks soon. The predictable losses are not good to watch.

It's cold and rainy in Minnesota right now, but in a month the Earth will turn a bit and sunshine will bring 70 degrees and more. The Twins should be able to rebound as well. While one or two players may not ever return to near their 2019 seasons, it is hard to believe that all of the Twins core will continue to fail. Alex Kirilloff has a sweet swing and should be able to have a decent season despite his abysmal start. Trevor Larnach is also an option should Kepler or Sano not rebound from their April blues. I'm thinking that we can maintain some patience as April closes and May unfolds. The talent to win 90 games is there and summer will be a better barometer of this team. It is going to be difficult to make changes now because the minor leagues have not started yet and thus those players are all a few weeks behind in their development. However, at some point (drop 10-12 games below .500) critical evaluations could effect some roster moves beyond the current shuttling moves. Six or eight games below even is not a time to panic.

This will be a fun read for a fan who followed these teams very closely. The pitching and hitting from these teams was terrific and those battles with Baltimore so frustrating. Blair, Belanger, and Brooks Robinson seemed to steal a few runs with their gloves every game. It was a very turbulent period in U. S. history, but the Twins were excellent.

Rocco is fine, a decent manager and makes mistakes like everyone. People should relax a little. Perhaps Twins fans have become too used to the likes of Tom Kelly, Ron Gardenhire, and Paul Molitor, but in time Rocco will make a name for himself as well. There are two division banners already and this squad still has time to correct its early struggles. Marwin and Ehire were very special players and we miss them, but it is time to move forward because they are gone; those decisions are past. If the Twins can evade too many injuries their season will turn out fine and Rocco will keep us guessing.

While I'm not going to worry about the record in April because everything usually balances over 162 games, I am concerned by the number of swings that miss. The Boston team put hard level swings on the ball that left line drives distributed throughout the field. Too many Twins have serious pull tendencies with pretty drastic upper cuts. The talent should be there but putting the ball in play is still important.

Ehire Adrianza was underrated. Defense anywhere was good and bat played as a sub. He was inexpensive and worked everywhere for a low salary. I did not understand that decision at all. I guess Astudillo takes that spot but I'm pretty sure Adrianza would be a better catcher too.

Excellent article and appreciate the idea of an interview in a player's original language.

Thank you for the good work. i always loved following the minor leagues. Drove to Orlando once with my oldest daughter to watch Bo Jackson. What a treat. Bo stood outside the bus visiting and signing until the last kid left, thanking everyone one for coming. The capsules and minor league updates are my favorite part of this site. Thanks again.

Everyone needs to just enjoy the one or two good things that they are watching. We certainly hope that warmer weather will bring our favorite nine to improve in many areas. Might I suggest something to watch or consider concerning the catchers? I only umpired about 100 games where few threw much harder than mid to high 80s, but I did pitch a few hundred games and caught about 100 games. The catcher stealing strikes, as a concept, always confused me. The umpire pays zero attention to the mitt, except on foul tips which (as we saw the last two days) are difficult to see. When the catcher struggles to catch the ball and moves all over the place an umpire can be distracted in a negative fashion just as when a catcher rises up in front of an umpire, which rarely happens in mlb. When Jeffers is quiet he is a great target but I cannot understand the snatches and exaggerated glove movement. It makes no difference to an umpire, except his downward jerk with his glove cost a caught foul tip today. I would be interested in how umpires (likely by necessity off the record) view this trend. I watch way too much baseball but this is one current trend that does not make any sense to me. Good catchers have always received the ball in a quiet position and left umpires in a their favored position to call balls and strikes. The movement of the glove by many catchers in today's game is more for TV than the umpire. I don't bring this up as a discussion point unless someone has very specific information from an umpire, but thought it might be worth it for people to watch. A prime example is when a catcher sets up a target 3-6 inches off the plate with the umpire set over the catcher's left shoulder on the corner. The pitch hits the glove perfectly which the catcher holds and the umpire call a ball. The pitch was outside.

Lineups? Arraez Donaldson Buxton Cruz Polanco Sano Kepler Jeffers Left fielder/ Simmons when he returns I would like to slip Kirilloff between JD and Buck, but the Twins don't see AK as ready. Flipping JD and Buck is another alternative.

The Twins look pretty rough right now. Temperatures below 55 degrees are rugged but 30s is woof. We can relax until it is June 1. Stuff happens. If the team is 10-15 games below .500 ball after they play on Memorial Day, then it will be time to make some drastic changes. The Twins should be able to find their identity in the next six weeks. There is enough talent to put together a few strong positive streaks. Buxton and Cruz are the only consistent hitters right now, but that will change soon. It doesn't seem possible that all of Garver, Jeffers, Sano, Polanco, Kepler, and Cave have reached the end of their careers as productive hitters at the mlb level. I'm of the belief that this team has the talent to bounce back.

Relax folks - the ground is still frozen in some places. Wait until at least Memorial Day before such frantic cries for help. There are bound to be some really ugly games played and remember that we are back to playing 162. I think everyone has won at least three games and lost three (Dodgers lost 2). There is a ton of baseball in our future; try not to burn out before the ice all melts.