tony&rodney

My agreement with the post is pretty complete; Rocco and this Twins leadership are under the microscope. While I continue to listen to most of the Twins games, I am surprised at how little attention the inexperience of their management team receives and was taken aback last winter at how much fans seemed to fawn over the Twins decision-makers. Like Celestino and the host of other inexperienced Twins, management struggles when tough calls or plays need to be made. The current regime can and will improve with more experience and I would say that their knowledge far exceeds that of the public, but this year does expose how much more experience and knowledge our former leaders possessed. Looking forward, I hope Baldelli and Falvine (yes, two people) learn from their mistakes and apply that knowledge in a humble fashion. The bullpen usage last night was just a microcosm of the season as is the current handling of Buxton.

Didn't pay attention to post game .... "ripped fingernail"? .... send him to St. Paul to buy a clippers or put him on the IL. That's IF there was an actual comment and I am not doubting a previous post but just did not see that.

Perhaps some fans will gain an appreciation for Kelly, Gardenhire, and Molitor as they watch the current team.

The Twins do not need any more AA or AAA career minor league players. While I was steadfastly opposed to adding Simmons last winter because a healthy Polanco is a key for the Twins, the best course of action now is to stay with Simmons unless a useful player is offered in a trade. If a prospect with real talent can be pried loose, go for it, but otherwise the Twins need to stop adding useless players.

Correct, there is no easy way out. Trading players in their walk year for nothing is a waste. If the Twins thought their team was built to win, they need to roll to July 30th to see what the schedule has dealt them this year. Watching this team, listening to the radio for this team is a struggle. Everything is off. To some degree I would parrot what Doc Bauer has written. I too thought the Twins could win 90-92 games. I disagreed with the choices for the bullpen and pitching and wanted some more aggressive off-season moves. However, the team looked competitive and I found myself listening to the game again today and wondering if there might be a run or two in this team in the next 48 games. Nobody is going to gamble a real prospect in early June for any Twins player, but crazy things can happen at the trade deadline. In the meantime sixty years of following the Twins has taught me to keep things in perspective and relax. I'm still hoping they can play some good baseball this summer and am hoping for improved fundamentals in the field, on the bases, contact at the plate when called for, and more competitive pitching. Today seemed like a start, even with the problems that need to be eliminated. I'm hoping for better in a season where comparisons to Ron Davis emerged and that was a really low point in Twins history. Playing better baseball is the only way out.

There has to be a specific reason to trade Jose Berrios or the Twins have him until he is a free agent. Who are those players worth trading for and would any team give up a young player? I would like to hear some names suggested and these might not even be actionable. San Diego wants to win. They have the players they want mostly. I'll trade Berrios, Thorpe, and Sands for C. J. Abrams and Ryan Weathers. SD might not consider (and Twins either) but what are people thinking? I'm not interested in releasing Jose for anything less than top talent.

Seth, good work with your focus on the positive. I hope the Twins can get some solid careers out of a few of the young bucks you write about in the article. My take is that management is doing their best. One thing that I find unnecessary is any comparisons to past management, which many have done on Twins Daily. The current group is still green by comparison and we should remember they are are on a learning curve. Meanwhile, the players need to be responsible for their part and the Twins roster has enough experience to perform at a better level. Those rookies given an opportunity need to play within themselves to succeed. Kirilloff has looked pretty good. Larnach looks a little pull happy. Now, it might be a good time to bring up a rookie to get some experience. The last spot in the bullpen should be available. Just one little drip in the pipeline might help.

The umpires aren't corrupt or incompetent - they are human and make mistakes. Replay and going to electronics has had a negative effect on the game in my opinion. Do we think an electronic strike zone would be flawless and save time? Let us watch appeals to the calls on electronic balls and strikes. That should be fun. I love seeing the umpires huddle with their cute little headsets. There are ways to adjust but Sano isn't adjusting. The Cleveland broadcast called him out for not making any attempt to score Kepler from 3B as he went for another HR and subsequently struck out.

The Twins have 7 relief pitchers who can only pitch one inning and not every day plus they do not have anyone to pitch 2-3 innings and their starters average 5 innings per start. Falvine messed up big time last winter and we will be watching those mistakes all summer unless the Twins actually crush the ball in nearly every game.

The extra innings high school rules lead to high school play. Real tough to be a baseball fan with the current leadership at the top in MLB.

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.