tony&rodney

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.

9 innings. Woo hoo. I will listen on the radio. I have found myself tuning out 7 inning games and turning off the imaginary runner extra inning affairs. It is my little protest of Manfredball. The Twins will win today.

What this says. I'm willing to take on players like C. J. Abrams ( reference pull the trigger), but give me names that a team will give up. I was willing for the Twins to sit on Santana and I'm willing to sit on Berrios and Jose is not even in the same class of pitcher. The Twins should not be interested in getting hosed by other teams just to get something..

It is pointless to trade these players for anything less than primetime prospects like C. J. Abrams and the sort. The Twins do not need any more AAA players. Players like Simmons, Happ, Shoemaker .... sure send them on. I'm going to keep this short - keep Berrios, Buxton, Rogers, Cruz, Polanco, JD, Arraez, and the rookies.

My take exactly .... many people really underestimate how much passion these athletes have for the game. Individual's play beyond their physical limitations because of love for the sport; I have great respect for this trait. We can be tired of a player but still admire their dedication and desire.

Detroit is a good test for Bailey Ober as the Tigers like to swing early and Ober likes to throw strikes. The quality of those first pitch strikes will matter if Ober is to have another decent outing.

While I'm not ready for a rebuild, these are the types of heavy returns which the Twins would need to have if they choose to start over. I'm also of the mind to push San Diego for C. J. Abrams.

No, that is not my position. MLB is an entertainment industry. The Twins had high hopes this year. Stuff happens. The current state of baseball with the financial losses from last year and the expiring CBA makes for some uncertainty going forward. The Twins have a decent team right now but will not compete for the playoffs in 2021. A total rebuild would be tough for the general fan base. As mentioned, there are players that may and can be jettisoned for whatever wild cards are available. In that group I would include Shoemaker, Happ, Pineda, Colume, and Simmons. I'm not believing that trading Sano or Donaldson returns anything worth their potential production next year much less what they might provide in entertainment in the second half of this year. Trading Berios and Buxton should return major names but otherwise seems foolhardy given their talents. Kepler, Polanco, and Arraez? There may be great interest but again these players still hold more value to the Twins than to other teams. Cruz is a tough one. What would Cruz return? I'm liking Cruz in his current uniform, but if he has a preference to be moved to a contender then I would find a way to make that trade. The Twins will have options in the offseason and can still be an entertaining team in the second half of this season. The first half was filled with bad baseball, but I'm not ready for a rebuild.

Unless there are offers that overwhelm the Twins there should be great reluctance to trade any valuable/useful player. Colume, Happ, Shoemaker, Simmons - ok. Otherwise, play it out. The last thing the Twins need is more utility players or pitchers who might progress to become a decent bottom of the rotation member.

Roger raises some legitimate points about talent, development, and performance which directs questions to management. It is pretty difficult to replace half a team. Pohlad will have a sit down at some point with his crew. Wholesale replacements and firings are troublesome tasks but it is obvious the management team needs to add an experienced person in the dugout. I doubt Mauer will join the team before his children become adults, if even then, but his gifts are what any team seeks.

Rogers should not be traded unless it is an overwhelming offer. The Twins do not need backups. I would like to see Nelson Cruz finish this season in a Twins uniform as well. How likely is it that a team trades a frontline prospect for a DH? Maybe?

I have no quibble with this management team, but they are very inexperienced. One thing which has surprised me on Twins Daily is the negative reactions to Ryan/Gardy/Molitor, all highly respected and very knowledgable baseball lifers. It is important to remember that the AL Central was very weak the last two years. The Twins needed to improve to compete and they did not take the leap. Hopefully the Twins prospects like Duran, Balazovic, Winder, and others will develop as strong rotation pieces in short order. Signing FA can be a crap shoot from year to year. I wanted Kluber, Walker, and Hendriks but accepted money was an issue perhaps. The Twins failures are widespread. Pitching is poor but clutch hitting and real defense is also not good. However, panic is not a good strategy and trading for another team's excess garbage is a wasted process. There are decent players on the team and I am willing to ride with this team and look to make some minor changes and sign a few pitchers in the offseason. What I would like to see is the team grind through the games. Taking good at bats, making the plays, and hitting the strike zone are a few items to watch. I have been watching a ton of Detroit games and they grind much better than the Twins right now. The Twins have some talent and could give us all some solid baseball in the second half of the season.

The Twins should not trade Berrios for less than a haul - that is my point. Whether it is out of reach, which it should be, is another teams decision.

Yes, the Twins are in a great spot. I agree that teams will be careful with their prized youngsters, especially the pitchers. Aside from the players not really expected to return next season who can be traded for low level prospects, the Twins should absolutely demand a ransom if they listen on Berrios/Buxton/Rogers. Keep these guys for 2022. My guess is that there are several teams trying to lift Donaldson away for low level prospects with the Twins paying a substantial portion of his contract. JD is a risky player but the Twins should hold tight. Our team doesn't need any more AAA players. Don't sell just to sell.

The Twins are on the clock. Berrios is going to get paid, a Buxton and Rogers decision is coming and there will be phones buzzing for "deals". The Minnesota Twins are not a small market team by any metrics, but they have had their share of moments where they have desired that tag. Tampa has a poor situation with their stadium and location but even they are a bigger market than Kansas City or Milwaukee and others. The Twins will need to decide whether to attempt to win from at or below $100 million or to play their hand with San Diego and St. Louis and such, near $150 million. The ball is in the hands of management and when Donaldson plays like he has recently and Berrios pitches like last night the choices become even more difficult for anyone who believes money is an issue. Readers on Twins Daily are familiar with a host of prospects and some of us have too much familiarity with every team's prospects along with having seen a number of these young bucks play. A prospect does not equal an actual MLB talent, however, until they make and show those skills in The Show. Trading accomplished players like JD, Berrios, Rogers, Buxton, and Polanco rarely returns individuals to fill their shoes. The Chris Sale trade is a fair example of what the Twins would might need for Berrios. Most of us will still be supportive Twins fans, if not exactly pleased, no matter the decisions made by our current suits but Carlos Rodon is a free agent this winter along with other attractive options and better choices can affect 2022.

Can't see any significant trades being made by the Twins, either sending a name out or bringing in a decent player/prospect.

Personally, I'm not into confrontations but Josh got this one right. It was Giolito who spoke to the press. Baseball is all about confidence and dealing with failure and while I prefer the peaceful path and would let this just go away and let my pitching speak if I was Giolito, we can see for ourselves why JD is a player. He works as hard as anyone in the game and steps forward. This is why the Twins need to keep him.

I'm not going to lie - that was really sweet. Thank you for the post. Happy Birthday Mr. Miranda.

The Padres are selling out every game for the rest of the season with his trade.

Exactly what Reusse said; he speaks truth in his column. Baseball is a mess right now and there is a vacuum of leadership. I thought Peter Ueberoth or Bud Selig were bad but the current situation is dire. The rainouts called in Minneapolis Saturday and today in Chicago are egregious examples.

Keep JD and sign both Berrios and Buxton. No worries.

7 inning games are a joke.

About Jax ... yah ... but it is a relief from seeing Shoemaker, Happ, etc. get beat up even worse; a different face.

I really enjoyed the game tonight ... had great seats behind the Twins dugout. When Kepler comes to the plate Ramirez plays a deep shortstop against him and then with the first strike he moves back on the grass about ten feet to the left of second base. Kepler needs to bunt until he gets the infield to move because 100+ mph at the 2B in short right field isn't a good plan. The entire left side of the infield is open. The situation doesn't matter at this point; Kepler needs to bunt. I thought Jax battled decently.

The management did not make the necessary moves last winter and this continues to deliver poor results. There is an unexpected shadow, seemingly, over the Twins. There have been injuries, but Cleveland is missing their top five starters from the beginning of the year and that is after trading Bauer, Kluber, Clevinger, and Carrasco. Cleveland has a woeful offense. How are the Twins trailing Cleveland by ten games? I have not had an occasion to be slightly impressed by the management since the changes were made but I'm a fan and just hope they can learn enough to have a team that is entertaining and competitive. Right now every move made seems to backfire. So faith in our Twins leadership? Not yet and the AL Central is not likely to ever be as non-competitive as it was a few years ago, so management will need to make sound decisions or we will be watching a ton of losing baseball.