tony&rodney

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.

".... He was entitled as he rose ... " Wow! not a personal attack but that is rather egregious. Miguel Sano signed a rich contract that took him from abject poverty to wealth when he was 16. Entitled is not the case, not close. The maneuvers made on him and his family by professionals and the blatant racism he faced as a young kid under the eye of MLB was atrocious. Sano had to prove his age by agreeing to various tests that proved his age. It is amazing he managed himself through those experiences and years in my thinking. Certainly, I hoped Sano could hit .275 - .300 with 30-40 homeruns and a .900 OPS and so on, but he is still at least average. I loved K. Vargas and his style but there is a demonstrable difference between them as others have pointed out quite effectively. Lastly, I mentioned last year in a comment that Miguel Sano is one of the only hitters in baseball that strikes fear as he stands in the batter's box. As a former pitcher myself, Sano is the only Twin I would say that about. Sometimes I think umpires feel the same way because in a very non-scientific judgment I cannot ever recall seeing a hitter have more balls called strikes against him than we see when Sano is at the plate. Miguel has quite a way to go before he regains the fans and his long streaks of flailing are difficult for even the most faithful Twins fanatic. Still, we can relax and wait out his early season issues. Can't we?

Brandon is correct - let us all take a look after 200 at bats.

We need to check this on May 1; it is early. The big man is having some long at bats and a few quick ones.

Overall the Twins have looked pretty good. When you remember that 70 losses is a really good year you understand what a battle 162 games can be and the tactic of winning a series is always huge. Plenty of long at bats this series and players grinding through even when it results in outs. Polanco came up big. Nobody should worry about him if he can stay healthy.

To clarify my post above, I have no disagreement but am wondering if people think Berrios and/or Buxton would sign for the figured suggested.

My question in response is what it takes right now. Will either or both take a 6/$120 million offer? I think yes.

Feels like they are both playing it out, but offer 6/$120 to both. If you have to choose just one, Buxton is the better bet because he can morph into a gold glove corner outfielder with 40 hr pop. He hit for average coming up and seems to be progressing. We shall see. It's a long season and there isn't likely to be a quick, value signing with either of these two players. They and their agents are aware of the value each player possesses in the current game.

Slow pace to game with some credit to hitters for being tough outs. Kepler looked bad all day and had to get the ball in the air for a SF at least once. When Buxton hit his dribbler I thought Polanco should have held because the only play was at home. Detroit should be credited with two flawless plays at home though (poor JP). It's a long season and playing .600 baseball is a good thing. An unusual outing for Stashek, which will happen from time to time, but he is a cool customer; I like him in our bullpen. He throws darts most of the time. Eventually, leftfield will need to sort itself out as either a platoon or someone stepping forward. Rooker and Garlick look out of sorts right now, although it is really early in the year. I listened to the Tigers' feed on MLB.com. Kirk Gibson cracks me up.

Corbin Burnes and Jose Berrios were outstanding and the pitch sequences combined with their ability to execute were splendid viewing. Period. In early April there is zero chance at allowing a pitcher to throw over 100 pitches. It was obvious that both pitchers would be pulled, even if perfect, once those counts reached 80 by the end of the 6th inning. Both pitchers knew this walking into the dugouts after closing out the 6th inning. Hitters look to be working hard to make contact, while still attacking the ball. This accounts for some deep counts. When facing cutters at 98 though it is tough. A key improvement in the last 10-20 years is the number of pitchers who effectively tunnel their pitchers. While this practice goes back forever, the number of pitchers who successfully manage to disguise their arsenals and the velocity has improved. This makes hitting tougher. Still, the strategies and matchups are fun to watch. It's baseball and the number of people who love the game persists. Advertising and the fan experience in the park bring in a fair amount of people and winning teams get the bandwagon effect. There are 160 games left and the first two games have already provided plenty of action and created thoughts for a host of fans. Happy Easter.

April - win a few games and relax. My only big concern coming into this season was whether the Twins could manage their strikeouts and poor swings. I'm not worried in April even if 17 strikeouts is not a good sign. Hopefully JD is back soon because that was a sweet swing.

Both teams get a chance but this is a bull**** rule that does not belong in MLB. Yes, it shortens the extra inning games and reduce the time of game and number of pitches thrown by pitchers but it is an unnecessary rule. I do agree that managers have not adjusted. Bottom of 10th calls for an intentional walk to open a DP opportunity as suggested by a previous post. The rule was due to Covid control and this is not needed this season. MLB has a ton of problems with rules and decisions. The leadership by MLB is easily the worst of major professional sports, almost akin to the wasted work by the NCAA executives. As far as the game goes, it is just one game. Buxton and Sano looked good.

The games begin Thursday and we shall see what transpires for this team. Spring Training stats and even sometimes the at bats can be thrown out, but in the next couple of weeks we will be watching to see if a few of our players can get tuned in at the plate. Kepler, Cave, Rooker and Garlick have looked bad and Garver and Sano don't look too confident. Simmons is exactly as advertised, solid glove and hoping to hit a mistake. The Twins will really need their stars to step up and hope the smooth Kiriloff swings return. We are ready to see who brings it every day once the grind of 162 games begins.

Agree wholeheartedly. The projections are far away, so not really meant to spend too much time ruminating on right now, but such a solid move. If the bottom three slide away, Dobnak, Thorpe, and a Duran/Balazovic plus $20 million to spend fill in neatly. This is a good deal for Dobnak and the Twins, both now and going forward.

A huge win for all - congratulations to Dobnak.

An additional thought to the fine article by Mr. Nelson .... the last section nails it. "... positioned themselves nicely for a trade as the deadline approaches ...." -N.N. I too am excited to see if one of the young pitchers contributes this summer, but agree that there really is a chance at adding a significant player via trade.