tony&rodney

I watch a ton of Rays baseball, but still manage to keep my focus solely on the Twins. That said, I thought the scoring change was bogus. The ruling should have been a triple and an error. The sun was brutal and there was nothing remotely "ordinary" about that catch for an MLB outfielder. We have seen many far easier plays ruled as hits. The Boston scorer was grumpy.

Good to see a Twins win. 15 of 25 remaining games are against AL Central teams and despite the Twins limping along with their "new" starting rotation, these games may tell us where the team stands in relationship to their division foes. Ober looks decent and it may be the correct plan to monitor his pitch count so carefully. He could have easily gone at least another inning seemingly. These games do show who can focus and take solid at bats and this is a way to gage who stays and who goes.

The games of the last few weeks are such a good argument that there is talent on the Twins roster that only needs to be supplemented with one or two field players and a couple of three starting pitchers and a maybe only two relievers. It can happen, yes it can.

One thing to admire right now is that the Twins are beginning to fight through at bats and innings better than earlier this summer. There are players fighting to be noticed and I appreciate the effort.

This is not really pertinent to the future unless the Twins management really are so stubborn as to to feel that the 2020 offseason decisions were aimed to help them go deep into the playoffs, but just ran into bad luck. Stuff happens and people make mistakes, but now this offseason will be the definitive test of our current management's commitment to relevance. We should enjoy this journey in the coming months.

To the post, yes it is way too early.

Cavaco mentioned in an interview when he signed that he hoped to be playing at Target Field within three years. I liked the confidence because baseball is a really tough game to play and failure is a constant companion. Let's hope this kid can put it together. I, too, thought Cavaco at 13 was unusual. But, I had never seen him play in high school.

Excellent post of the current state of the Twins young pitchers. It sure is fun to watch Ober, but right now he has elevated himself to a solid backend starter. Hopefully he can continue to pitch well and stay healthy. Winder does look like the best hope to step forward next season.

The list of good MLB players losing their jobs to superior talent is long. Willy Adames, a really good shortstop, was traded for a couple of decent relief pitchers because Wander Franco was kicking down the door. If Jose Miranda and/or Josh Winder is good enough they will have a uniform and play. .500 baseball is not close to contending but it is competitive and a start. Detroit is pushing to make it there and Cleveland is a .500 team and they suffered many more losses of personnel than the Twins. Seattle is a good example of a team that battles every day and is beating the odds to win. Start at .500 as a base and push forward. I'm optimistic that this offseason can provide an opportunity for the Twins to get well for 2022.

The post sets forth ideas and presents them in a reasoned manner, however, I must respectfully disagree. The Twins have some talent on their roster and a few positions are doubled up, which allows for trades to strengthen weaknesses. Byron Buxton may be the player with the most potential for stardom and I hope he can be with the team for a number of years. Still, every player, even Buxton, on the squad can be traded if a need can be filled. There are many pathways for the Twins to reconstruct a competitive team. Throwing the young prospects forth will not work, if we want to watch something approaching .500 baseball. The past few games have shown us what happens with young and/or inexperienced pitchers. You need to sift through more than twenty milb pitching prospects to get to a Twin, Jordan Balazovic, currently at AA, as the top pitching prospect for the Twins. The Twins are behind in an arms race in the AL Central at both the MLB level and at the milb level. It is clear the team needs some help. The Twins have a pile of decent prospects and I am excited to see how they develop. Asking three prospects to fill rotation spots is a surrender to 100+ losses. The Twins do not have three arms ready to pitch in the major leagues as starters. If a full rebuild must occur then people should wonder why and how the current core fell so far, so fast. A full rebuild would ruin season ticket holder sales among other financial issues. The Saints have begun to see a decline in interest as their team fades. Will those of you who want to see prospects pay to go watch a 120 loss team or even watch/listen to every game? My opinion is that a few trades and a few free agent signings can work with the young prospects to make the Twins competitive in 2022.

Confidence and persistence are very important as baseball is a difficult sport. Most players need at least four years to hone their craft and then need to make constant adjustments when they finally get to the highest level.

Yah, a little problem. Right? So maybe the Twins are in it too far to totally rebuild right now. This might be the best argument yet for a $160 million budget. Tear it down? Donaldson and Sano may have a market, but it is not certain. Kepler and Polanco can return prospects and Buxton could bring a haul, maybe. There is plenty of angst and there are holes to fill. What is the cost of a five year rebuilding process? I'm having a hard time seeing where the Twins can afford to rebuild with their current prospects plus a few added in a tear down. That leaves rebuilding on the fly, through trades and free agency. Get to .500 and sprinkle in the prospects who show talent. Management will follow their own ideas but a shortage of money is not one of the constraints the Twins will face this offseason. They will, however, face stiff competition for players from any number of teams, all of whom look to be better in 2022.

The sad 2021 Twins record has Twins Daily in full offseason mode, a practice most all of us have indulged in too frequently in an attempt to maintain an interest in our Twins. August was a pretty good month and we still have a month to go in this season. The offense was a dud versus the Cubs and I hope Baldelli and braintrust get some solid advice from Brad Radke for this weekend's tests in St. Petersburg. But, yah, so much thinking about possibilities for 2022 and mine are solely focused on an immediate return to relevance. My guesses and wild tosses are just that, but they represent a hope that the Twins win at least 85 games in 2022 and that may be very difficult as other teams in our division are vastly improved since 2020. The pitching needs attention and my plan is to make a couple of trades and at least a couple of free agent additions to the mound. I am not privy to what any free agent will cost but am budgeting $50 million for two arms. My targets are Thor Syndergaard on a one or two year deal and Carlos Rodon for four or five years. These are both gambles and substitutions of Stroman, Gausman, or Ray would also work. A trade I suggested last winter aimed to bring in Sandy Alcantara and now I want Max Meyer too. I am offering Miami a choice of one of our catchers, Trevor Larnach, Brent Rooker, and a minor league pitcher like Matt Canterino. No idea if the Marlins are interested ... or the Twins. Next, I target a reliever, either free agent or trade. Here, I am stumped to a degree. Does Milwaukee have an interest in Miguel Sano. Maybe a Sano, Arraez, Duffey, and lower level ml pitcher for Josh Hader and Eric Lauer. Don't hold me to fast to this idea - I'm just trying to build a pitching staff without waiting three years. Finally, I turn to offense and throw money at Starling Marte - $18 million per for 4 years and try to coax Ehire Adrianza back for $2 million. My team still needs a shortstop too and the budget is near $155 million. This plan may not be feasible. I absolutely believe that a $150-160 million payroll for the roster is practical. A bigger challenge is making the contacts and having conversations with agents, players, and other teams about their needs, wants, and the possibilities to close on a few important trades and free agent signings. A player like Marte may be risky but his defense, speed, and contact skills change the dynamic of our lineup. Concerns about injuries in the future are not conducive to building a winning team. Competition will improve in the AL Central next season and a quick ambush early in the offseason may be the path back to relevance. I can not see spending more money on players like Simmons, Happ, and the sort. I like Big Mike but it is time to move on from him unless he signs really cheap. Perhaps if the Twins management cannot identify teams to trade with or free agents to sign, it may be time to clear the deck. A rebuild at this time would really cost the team financially. A good team at $160 million will bring in a profit but a bad team at $90 million will lose money. Last word - so many thoughts and ideas and hopes out there and I want the Twins to return to competitive baseball (85 at least) in 2022.

Twins.

Of course the Twins will have a rotation for 2022. I expect two pitchers currently within the system to fill the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation. Trades and.or free agent signings will complete the rotation. Good to go for 2022.

I'm not sure how Tampa Bay accomplishes all that they do right now, but they might have the best team in baseball and are also sitting on some good prospects as well. Reusse knows baseball, as previously mentioned, but he can over-react when irritated.

Stuff Happens.

Woof, a chance for four pinch hitters in the 7th inning. Nope. Not happening.

Never impeded the Twins - it was how Pohlad chose to run team. Mauer has a no trade clause in his contract. Joe Mauer is still Joe Mauer. Read J. Jaffe on fangraphs if you have any doubts. Easily a top ten catcher in baseball history. Jaffe rates him at #7. Those who constructed a false narrative about Mauer will hold their views but it is unlikely that any Twins fan alive sees his equal in their lifetime. That's all I have to say about that.

I don't think you have to worry about Ober as the #1 for the Twins unless they unload Rogers, Buxton, Sano, Kepler, and Donaldson. Keep the faith. A trade and two FA signings will help the club.

Mauer was worth every penny of his contract and his salary NEVER impeded the Twins budget. Buxton is a MUST sign for all the reasons others have stated. Maeda is a decent #3 if he can pitch, which looks doubtful. The Twins can fill two spots in their rotation from their internal options. This leaves the team needing to add three pitchers this offseason via trade or free agency to be competitive. The current roster does not have the options to be a .500 team. There is money available and the Twins will choose to tear it down or rebuild quickly. Keeping the roster as is would be a disagreeable option in my opinion.

We are fans and management/owners are the directors. All I can add is that whatever the plan was last offseason has proven to be unfortunate and there is an opportunity to correct those decisions this offseason. Tear it down? Stay conservative? Rebuild with vigor? Stay tuned.

Why, if he can be effective? I lobbied excessively last winter for Liam Hendriks because I wanted a power closer, I still want a power closer. I really want an effective bullpen. Colome's troubles, Alcala's home run issues, and Duffey's poor location have been very frustrating and if all can be replaced with superior options I'm all in for that. i do think those three are better options than the Edgar Garcia type. It becomes a question of what/who is available. I guess you may have lost all trust in Colome.

To the post more specifically - I am hoping to see Ryan as a SP, Hamilton and Moran as RP, and a few weeks of Miranda.

Colome has had his bad stretches, for sure. I don't think he is done as an effective relief pitcher though, just maybe no longer a closer. Because he is not a strikeout pitcher the 10th inning this year with a runner on 2B is a terrible place for him. Does everyone else think Colome is toast?