tony&rodney

I believe Sano is now on the IL and Godoy is being sent down. The next conversations by Twins management would revolve around the seriousness of Garlick's injury, the returns of Gray and Ober, and when does Kirilloff look ready to contribute. The ability of teams to call a pitcher up and have them throw innings to save a staff and then send them down less than 24 hours later needs to be changed by rule. Dugger threw 87 pitches and deserves at least a week of MLB time. Sands was clearly nervous his first inning and the Twins will want to keep him up for a week until Gray and/or Ober are settled.

Celestino looks more comfortable and made a nice catch. Larnach is going to get a ton of at bats with Sano on the IL. Urshela and Arraez figure to play regularly as well

No reason at all. The Twins are getting some good command and control all around the strike zone. I may have wanted Rodon, Montas, Ryan, Ober, and Winder two months ago, but the depth with Gray, Bundy, Archer, and Paddack to support the rookies is impressive right now. The Twins have a good chance to continue their strong play in Baltimore as several bats are coming around.

Winder looked really good. His control of his four pitches was impressive, especially how he moved the ball around the zone.

Oops, I added today's line to the stats and they were already updated - 16.1 IP and 9 hits so far. Good start.

Winder with 2nd most IP and only has given up 11 hit. He needs to stay.

Team chemistry is quite different in professional sports than in many other areas, including amateur sports. While it is a definite plus for everyone to mesh their different personalities, talent and some good fortune plays a major role in winning. There are untold ways that positive vibes get reduced, but a good example can be the multiple losses the Twins suffered last April and May due to blown saves. When a team loses a number of games in dramatic fashion the confidence and trust level is diminished. Similarly, winning games late pushes a team together with everyone smiling and laughing. The wins against Detroit and Chicago last week are good examples of that good luck. I'm hesitant to place blame on individual players for dissension unless I personally know specific truths of actions. Baseball is a tough sport because of the great amount of failure inherent in the game. Thus most players are quite good at focusing on the positive with themselves and their teammates. So while chemistry is a good thing, it is talent and performance nudged along with a little bit of luck that is most important towards winning.

Tomorrow could be an important day towards indicating the direction of the Twins in May. Josh Winder gets the start (his first MLB start) against one of the best teams in baseball and he could be an important piece moving forward. Celestino, Garlick, and Godoy have all filled their roles admirably and deserve our respect, but it seems likely that one of them gets sent down pending the conditions of other players. Somehow it feels like Sano will go on the IL and get a rehab stint with St. Paul after his balky leg improves. There are going to be some tough decisions made concerning the pitching staff when Ober, Sands, and maybe Romero return from the IL. Sands may be an easy call but Jax, Winder, and Stashak have all looked pretty solid.

Yes for sure, Kirilloff is not an established player working himself back off of an IL stint. Alex will need to show that he is swinging the bat freely and that his timing is ready before he comes back to the Twins. He may need a few weeks to a month. I hope he makes it back and begins to show his full talents, but am especially concerned about his wrist and swing.

You are correct. The players are pushing to show they belong. Garlick was huge today against a virtually unhittable pitcher. Celestino looks more and more comfortable. Stashak is really tough when his control is sharp. It will come down to whatever happens tomorrow. Sano could be put on the ILor Godoy sent down, Sands could pitch and then get returned to AAA (I hate that practice BTW and would like a return to past rules from years ago). A key is the injury situations as of tomorrow night.

Perhaps another consideration is that baseball is a few teams behind in the number of franchises. Expansion is a fair idea at this time. There are markets that would support baseball. Many, including Manfred, insist that Tampa Bay and Oakland are settled first. I don't agree. Add two teams, set rosters at 25 and pitching staffs at 12 and enforce the rules on getting in the batter's box and pitching in a timely fashion. Reduce balance to the game.

Bauer is a strange, seemingly demented, dude. MLB is not above reproach in any way and this seems pretty convenient for the Dodgers. Bauer was open on his media and MLB was not happy. Bauer should have been aware of this and his ego and moral compass were beyond damaged - so he is now toast; career over and good riddance. There was a player from Oregon State blackballed several years ago and that case was just sad. Reading through the entire case load it sure seemed he received a poor outcome. Did anyone else think of Kobe and his early issues? Bauer is a real piece of work though. He has money and may get more from the courts but he is done.

I agree with his main point. Numerous times on separate occasions I have argued that pitchers gain when the roster size is increased. The other difference, not stated, are the changes to both IL and option rules. If a team had to go with 12 pitchers, there was a 15 day IL, and players sent down or called up had to stay up down or up for a full 15 days before being recalled or sent back down there would be a resultant increase in workload for the pitchers. Pitchers would adjust to the schedule and rely less on power sliders and the back of bullpens would have fewer max effort pitchers because they might need to pitch in the next day or two. It isn't that pitchers cannot throw more innings or risk injury, it is that max effort for as long as possible requires longer recovery time or arms get exposed to stress. I believe Tampa Bay used 41 pitchers last year. This can be seen as smart considering the rules but it does put every pitcher in constant danger of being sent down and (I believe) results in an increase of max effort pitching, which leads to injuries even as these guys are really tough to hit. I am not an advocate for old time complete games but agree with Verducci that a larger pitching staff really limits the hitters and decreases the action in a game. Not too long ago, someone suggested that the modern game needs to see an increase in roster size to 30 players. Another idea was to have 25 active players for each game. These thoughts would further reduce hitting and scores across baseball. A 25 person roster and 12 pitchers on a team would infuse more offense into the game. I also believe there would be a decrease in the number of arm injuries. Another idea that would improve offense is to allow the umpire to enforce the rules on batters getting in the box and pitchers getting the sign and delivering the pitch. This is different than a pitch clock and would require a professional training for all of the umpires, players, coaches, and managers so that everyone was on the same page. This may be naive but it could be done. However, the fact that the rule has been ignored completely for so long and often quite blatantly tells me that everyone except the umpires (and maybe fans) are opposed to enforcement. There isn't a single batter or pitcher or manager today that hasn't come up through a system where delays were permitted below the MLB level. I would like to see a few simple changes made to return some offense and speed up the game without including clocks.

I grew up with Herb Carneal and agree that Cory is good. Herb was masterful on letting fans know about the wind, sun, temperature, where the infield and outfield were playing and calling a straight game. He was not afraid of silence either.

I thought he was out of options. I would keep him in the system if he has options. Thanks.

Stashak and Celestino have looked pretty good today so far. Arraez is a bit silly at first base but he looks ok. Larnach is showing he wants playing time. Even Garlick is looking decent but he just faces a pretty tough numbers game.

Cold weather sore knee or injured sore knee? The Twins need buxton to play 5-6 times every week.

Who gets sent down on Monday depends on health as of Sunday night. I am not seeing Buxton's name in the lineup today. Hmmm? I would send down Garlick and IL Sanchez. That leaves 14 pitchers and 12 batters. The Twins will face further decisions when Gray is ready to return as well as a decision on Kirilloff will be made in a week too. When Sanchez comes back Godoy goes down (DFA) and Kirilloff replaces Celestino. Gray comes back and whatever pitcher had tough luck against Tampa Bay goes down (Stashak). Right now I see both Winder and Jax as solid in the bullpen, filling needed, albeit different, roles. Both have looked ready, and better than some of the more experienced options. I'm going with talent. June is a ways off and by that time management should have a good idea of which pitchers need a rest, which are trending up, and who might be headed elsewhere.

Loved the lineup last night and had thought Gordon in LF and Araez at 1B would be the best usage of the current roster against RH pitching. Also, Larnach fits well as a DH. Buxton, Correa, Polanco, and Urshela didn't hit but they are the best we have defensively and that showed in the game last night and they will hit. Kirilloff needs to show that he can swing with authority before he is recalled. I agree that this next stretch may be Garlick's last opportunity to prove himself because Larnach is doing well and Gordon is far superior defensively.

Kirilloff looked a little awkward in his last at bat today. Lewis looks confident. The Twins have some minor league hitters who are a little challenged defensively (but could certainly improve) but carry really strong lumber to the plate. Martin is getting very comfortable and is athletic, Encarnacion-Strand rakes, and Julien swings it too. Smeltzer sure looked good today and he could help quite a few MLB teams. Does he find success as a relief pitcher? We can hope so because the starting positions look pretty full right now.

This is a sound lineup with decent defense to support Ryan.

If Lesko is the best high school pitching prospect in ten years and has such high marks for three pitches, take him if available. The Twins need to go athletic, which means taking a vacation on drafting plodding corner players who project to hit the crap out of the ball but whose primary position is DH. The only bat first player I'm interested in is Juan Soto and we cannot draft him.

Well stated and true. Baseball is entertainment and entertainers are well paid. The competition for those jobs is much tougher than for executive positions that pay similar wages. Perform or get cut versus a world of glass floors and privilege. Criticism is a right and sometimes warranted but folks should at least have an appreciation for the level of talent and effort at the MLB level. Oh, and I am grateful for my privilege too.

Thing is ... who do you replace him with from the Twins system? Garlick? Larnach? We have already had multiple occasions to see outs turn into doubles with less athletic outfielders and batters hit the ball in the air more often in the launch era. Until the Twins employ someone who can cover the ground in the outfield, run the bases, and provide some offense, Kepler remains the second best option in the outfield. I, too, wish we could see an improved output at the plate on a more consistent basis from Max Kepler but I want him in the lineup every day. I'm not too keen on watching any of the others struggle in right field.

I feel this too ... often. Twins fans are frustrated by Kepler because the expectations based on his athleticism are high. However, Max is still right behind Buxton, Polanco, and Correa as the most valuable Twins. In short - he is a keeper.