tony&rodney

I'm wondering (close to intrigue) if Martin can be a player that hits 40 doubles every season and walks more than he strikes out. In time players develop some power (10-15 HRs per year), but the Twins need players on base and hitters to have high RISP averages. Can Austin Martin be like Alex Bregman? In some ways it does seem like he has a similar line as Luis Arraez right now, so there may be some duplication in a few years or whenever Martin is ready. I think the allure of Royce Lewis is his speed, arm, and ability to play good defense while being a star at the plate too.

Signing pitchers is key. I would add Carlos Rodon to Noah Syndergaard and hope for two relievers as well. The offseason is tricky. Last winter started poorly when every team passed on Brad Hand. Some tough calls are made. Colome and Simmons or Liam Hendriks (your choice) and other examples, like Atlanta signing Ozuna, show how difficult building a winning team can be in the offseason.

Cleveland has had more difficult circumstances in 2021 than our Twins. The Twins just haven't played well for any stretch this season, yet. I do believe that players like Sano, Kepler, Polanco, and Buxton can mature into healthy and productive parts of of a good team. The Twins can compete next year if they pursue a few pitchers via trades and free agency. The additions would need to be significant if the Twins seek to mirror their disappointment of 1964. On another note mentioned by someone previously, it would be a good idea for competitive purposes to get back to a more balanced schedule. This allows teams to have a more realistic idea of their team in relationship to others.

The Twins didn't make substantial moves after 2019 and they are still dealing with the fallout of that winter. Last winter Simmons was brought aboard to help with defense. The miss on pitching was big though and this season has just tumbled from one problem to another. The Cleveland team stands at .500 baseball while suffering far greater injuries and losses from last year. So, this July was a time to make attempts at improving the team for next year. We get prospects for Jose Berrios but now need to sign two free agent pitchers. Austin Martin can hit but his defense is faulty at this stage in his development and he doubles up on players like Polanco and Arraez. I'm ok with the recent moves because it seemed so inevitable. Berrios will be hard to replace. I was hoping for a blockbuster deal with San Diego to bring in a potential star (Abrams) and two pitchers who might be useful soon (from among Weathers, Gore, Paddock, Cleavinger) and thought taking Myers or Hosmer back might bring this about. However, it is easily understandable from both sides why this trade did not evolve, although San Diego may regret missing the boat at the deadline. If the Twins are open to a payroll of $150 million there may be opportunities to bring in arms like Rodon and Syndergaard, but signing free agents can be tough and hoping for prospects to fill the top two spots in the rotation rarely works successfully. Thus, the trades are just even until the offseason strategies unfold. Will the Twins continue to overlook the huge deficiencies of Garver behind the plate because he can crush pitches; does Sano ever return to a more balanced approach at the plate; where does Arraez play; do the Twins believe that either Larnach or Rooker can learn to play passable defense or crush at a rate to make defense irrelevant? This team has a bevy of issues and the pitching is most concerning of all right now. Kirilloff, Polanco, Donaldson, Kepler, and Buxton are not my biggest concerns and I am open to all trades if they actually improve the team. Buxton would require more than Berrios in my book, but I am hopeful. The trades did bring in some talent and that may be quite positive as soon as next year; at least we all are waiting for the prospects and new guys to succeed.

The Byron Buxton negotiations are difficult on every level. The injuries have been very frustrating for fans and especially to Byron and the variety of nuisance setbacks do not exactly indicate long term physical problems. I disagree that Buxton will soon lose his speed and everyone seems pretty united with their descriptions of Buxton's athleticism. The improvements we saw from Byron in April were indicative of a player who has gained experience and feel/ knowledge of how to progress against pitchers. So the missed games are tough. Where and how can the Twins replace Byron Buxton? Does the future include a healthy player (150 games)? Discussions and opinions vary but I'm with those who want the Twins to seriously entice Buxton to sign. We have no real idea of the details of the offered contract but 5/$100 million sounds pretty good for both Buxton and the Twins; very large but manageable and secure as opposed to the 7/$80 million we have heard from various sources. There is still plenty of time to complete the negotiations.

Bowden's package is simply crap. This is as offensive as I can be online. If San Diego wants to go all in and discuss major Twins, aka Berrios, Rogers, Buxton, they need to be real about what comes back to Minnesota. Hopefully, Falvine understand this and i think they absolutely do. No bull**** trades.

The Padres have been careful to keep each of their top prospects, but if they do not cede them, do not trade with them. The Twins do NOT need any more AAA players.

Right now, with what information has been put forth, we don't really know what the Twins offer to Byron Buxton was or what their counter offer entailed. It is likely we will never know either. It just seems such a shame that a foundational franchise cornerstone, even though flawed and unpredictable, as BB currently is cannot come to terms with the Twins. Money cannot be the issue here. The Twins seem to have doubts as to the expected production from Buxton due to his past history of residing on the IL. In theory this makes sense, but the variety of injuries do not point to long term disabilities and speculations about Buxton's decline in speed or skill are baseless. Fears of a lost investment in Byron Buxton hold some weight, perhaps considerable, but the potential for huge production on a consistent basis is still there and the gamble to win rests on management. They make huge pocket money to make these calls. The wrong call may cost them their positions. In any event, Byron Buxton is a combustible player, for sure.

Sad there cannot be some agreement.

We are not privy to exact details but these negotiations are not looking positive. Unless the Twins can get a really good player for Byron, the Twins should let him heal and see what Buxton can do next season to raise his value or contribute to a good season.

Ok. My point was simply to laud Jose Berrios and hope that he continues on as a Twin and if he is traded that the Twins collect a haul. The San Diego example was merely obvious speculation. I'm am a supporter of the Twins and their management. The Santana trade was just an example and one would have to acknowledge that that was a difficult situation. Another time, different management but Falvine are relatively new and I'm hoping they do not feel pushed into a tough position. One notable is that the Santana trade was under different ownership (Carl then, sons now). Either way, let's hope Jose Berrios is a lifelong Twin.

This assumes that the current players are not giving their best efforts. Kent Hrbek had a great quote many years ago about how many players are waiting to take your job and how hard every player worked to hold their position. Talent and results vary but most of the time the players are giving a strong effort. My all-time favorite was how fans complained that Rod Carew never hustled as hard as Pete Rose. Carew would glide and get to a bag much quicker than Rose but he never looked sweaty or strained. Nobody ever outworked Rod Carew, nobody. I appreciate baseball played skillfully at every level but we should remember that those at the MLB level have worked really hard to get and stay there, wins and losses aside.

Berrios has been really good as a Twin, There was only one Santana and we all know how that trade worked. I'm understanding if the Twins feel that a push package of C.J. Abrams, Ryan Weathers or M. Gore, and Robert Hassell from San Diego make the Twins better able to compete in the future. The Twins do not need to accumulate a team of utility players and backend pitchers. I am ready to enjoy Berrios for the duration of his time with the team and take a pick if he leaves. Hopefully Jose signs here.

The next week could be interesting. I know that Terry Ryan was not a popular man with most of the people on Twins Daily, but I am still waiting to be impressed by anything from the current management team. I'm hoping Nelson Cruz was asked his thoughts on joining a pennant chase and that the trade today was a result of such conversations. Unless I hear differently, I will assume the best of intentions from Falvine and watch a few more Tampa games.

I cannot be convinced that trading Cruz was worthwhile, but I am a hopeless Twins fan and am willing to be wrong. The only move that the Twins completed last winter which I supported was re-signing Nelson Cruz and now he is gone.

Cruz? I loved watching him play baseball, whether the odd stolen base or a sacrifice fly when that was what was needed. Of course, Nelson was a real good hitter for the Twins too and I hope the Twins consider signing him as a free agent this winter. Hopefully, the two players coming to the Twins can be effective pitchers. Losing Cruz hurts the entertainment angle and the competitiveness of the Twins; its been a real downer of a year to be a fan.

I preferred Nelson Cruz in the Twins lineup .... wish him well.

This is the difficulty of being a Twins fan. You are 100% correct that both Mauer and Donaldson were solid decisions and paid off financially. The Twins inability to go to the next step in their roster additions has been both confusing and frustrating. There is always next year.

On another note - Dylan Cease is the CWS #5 SP. Maybe the Twins can get a young guy like Balazovic, Winder, or Ober to take the ball every time out like Cease does.

The Twins have struggled to get their pitchers to establish careers and have brought forth a number of capable hitters as previously mentioned. Maybe Ober, Winder, Balazovic, and others can soon change that, and maybe not. For now, Twins need to make every effort to sign Berrios and I am hoping he remains a Twin.

I found myself hoping Larnach would ground into a DP in the top of the 5th inning to score Celestino, but he struck out and Celestino never scored. The pitching is bad as is hitting with RISP. Ober looks to be a fair enough # 5 SP. He throws strikes. I'm wondering how top teams view the talent on the Twins roster. This season hasn't made much sense. He

Right now, the Twins are among the bottom 3-6 teams in baseball. There is a real dearth of good baseball being played by our team right now. I don't know what the problem is with this team but they cannot hit right now which makes any victories tough to come by at the moment.

Frustrating year thus far for both of these players.

MLB is a tough business. If the Twins score 8 runs, Happ is a tenacious winner, but the Bomba Squad is missing and Happ just keeps finding the barrel. Right now, the Twins are messy. Now, it is on to Chicago. At least Rodon will not be a factor as he pitched today.

In some ways I admire the support on Twins Daily for our Falvine/Baldelli leadership, but I do not understand it. Ryan, Smith, Gardenhire, and Molitor were all much more experienced and the Twins won against some tough Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago teams. The Twins had lower payrolls and competed for a decade before a confluence of difficult injuries and failed prospects cost them. When a change was made it was natural and I was happy to see the Twins win the AL Central in 2019 and 2020 but it was against very poor teams in their division. The Twins had some clear opportunities to make favorable deals after 2019 and made a decision to stand pat with players who struggle with their gloves and now are fighting contact with the bats too. Nevertheless, I do agree that the current management needs another year to make their case as capable in their jobs. 2021 has been a tough year with so many problems. It does feel to some extent like the 1964 team, which was a considerable letdown from the previous season. I'm hopeful for a bounce back in 2022. Moving Buxton, Berrios, and Rogers would create significant holes, yet any superior offer does need to be mulled over by the braintrust. I would argue that the Twins have enough minor league depth and we can accept risks for Simmons and others, but not for our top players.