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Doctor Gast

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Everything posted by Doctor Gast

  1. Doctor Gast
    I've always said that Popkins was a very good hitting coach for the Twins. In '24, Falvey came out & falsely claimed that his all-or-nothing hitting philosophy was the factor in the Twins '23 success. They were stressing this approach in '24. The Twins fell quickly on their face. I credit Baldelli & Popkins for quickly backstepping from their original approach & working extensively with the hitters to make the Twins competitive again. Falvey needed a scapegoat again for the inability to develop in-house players, seeing needs, initiating & closing trades to fill those needs, while acquiring worthless players like DeSclavani & Margot. Due to this, the rotation, catching INF & OF all wore down, resulting in injuries & poor performance & humiliating end to a promising season. Falvey couldn't be blamed; Popkins was an easy target, so he took the fall. Because the problem wasn't fixed (firing Falvey & Co., yet was extended & promoted) the result remained the same, a promising season down the tubes again while blaming the players. Popkins rightfully proved that he wasn't the problem.
  2. Doctor Gast
    How can you say yeah, Falvey & Co are terrible but Martin still isn't a legit MLB starter. IMO. It's irresponsible to evaluate Martin by the way he's been managed. Twins plans to get rid Castro & the hole that it'd create, They invented Martin to be their utility player. The problem is that he's not an utility player but he is a legit starting 2Bman once given a legit chance. Many thought that Rooker wasn't a legit MLB starter. Yet he was more suitable to play the OF & a better fit for the Falvey's hitting philosophies than Martin. Remove Falvey & Co. from the equation, give Martin adequate time to readjust to stick at 2B & his old swing. Then I predict that he'll be that OB machine, terror on the bases & slick fielding 2Bman that the Twins desperately need. If he doesn't change in that time then yeah, add him to the heap of players that this regime have broken.
  3. Doctor Gast
    I quit watching the Twins, even before the deadline fiasco. Not because of the players but I couldn't stand watching what Falvey & Co. was doing to our team. But I discovered that the CWS series was streaming free, & I wanted to watch both Kyle Teel & Edgar Quero catch. I have followed Quero since his early years with LAA & Teel during his college days. I was not disappointed; they both hit very well & their catching was pretty good. Both of them have been on top of my wish list. IMO, they are both very close. Teel has a slight edge in slugging but I'd pick Quero over him because I like how he moved behind the plate & his presence. I also wanted to watch Buck again, Bradley & Able's debut & a couple of hitters that were frustrated with Baldelli's micro-managing of their hitting approach, & wanting to go back to their old swing. IMO, there is nobody who wants to win more than Royce Lewis. & I hate how social media likes to bend out of shape what he says. Lewis is frustrated over his performance & him not helping this team to win. It has nothing to do with his concern about his stats over winning! I can't believe fans are still falling for that crap! I like Lewis's ABs much better at CWS. I will state again & keep on stating that our problem isn't our players like Lewis, It's Falvey & Co. who are more concerned about how their analytics & acquisitions look than the team winning!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are running out of excuses so the only excuse left is the players they put together & developed. Years of placing players in positions where they don't belong. Recently, Julien was never a 2Bman & Martin was never MLB OFer, SS or utility player. Keaschall is a wonderful hitter but he's not a 2Bman. Further protect him at 1B/ DH & have him play LF next season. We need our best INF on the field. Martin's natural position is 2B, settle him there. We have to have a player cemented at 2B so there can be continuity between our best SS & 2Bman. Instead of a steady musical chairs, Baldelli loves to play. Stop PHing Martin, let him have steady regular ABs & let him hit his own way. He seems just as frustrated over how he's been coached. Nothing will change as long as Falvey & Co. are at the helm. The team they mismanage is not worth watching although I'll still cheer our players.
  4. Doctor Gast
    Thank you, Ace for going more in-depth on my statement. IMO, many didn't realize how much Correa, in his expertise, was able to help position the other INFers to maximize the defense. Julien was bad at 2B, he would have been much worse w/o Correa.
  5. Doctor Gast
    We started the game by Martin preventing a sure double & holding Tausman to a single. Bradley is a GB pitcher, which is beneficial if you have a strong infield. But singles bled through our INF, especially on the right side.
  6. Doctor Gast
    What's rotten to the core is the core of Falvey & Co.'s hitting philosophy, bad fundamentals & positional placement. The last 2 seasons of blanket hitting approach, bad fundamentals & poor positional placement has greatly handicapped this team in every aspect of the game. I considered Gray, Duran, Castro, Jax, with Varland establishing himself as part of the core & Correa as the team captain; all gone. So to say that the core wasn't shaken up is grossly understating the situation. I never considered Julien, Miranda & Larnach as part of the core, although Miranda could have been if managed correctly. Now he's broken like Sano. Who's left from the core? Buxton, Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Lewis & I consider Wallner as core but expendable in rebranding the team.
  7. Doctor Gast
    I don't see a make-or-break on any of these players. SWR is a smart SP & is gaining experience, he'll figure out what he needs to do to stay at least at the bottom of the rotation. Rodon is on Falvey's acquisitions list, he's guaranteed continous opportunities. Lewis has gone back to his old swing so there's no problem there. Julien should have been gone last year, he's broken like Miranda. After this season Gasper is gone or at least should be. Larnach is probably traded although we won't get much for him Falvey & Co.'s make or break was '23/'24 offseason. Failure to see needs & trade to fill them. Failure to develop & in player evaluations. Faulty philosophies & etc. They should be gone but they have been extended & promoted. It's very difficult to truly evaluate our players through the faulty mismanagement filter. Once Falvey & Co. is gone then we can.
  8. Doctor Gast
    I further state since Gray left, our rotation is fragile. I further advocate for all our viable SPs to be brought up & have all SP have a short leash to protect all our SP & at the same time have as many viable SPs have a good look at, in a more piggy-back/ long relief role.
  9. Doctor Gast
    Yesterday, I posted that I heard 2 Twins abandoning the Twins' hitting approach & returned to their old swing. Lewis is one of them. & I posted that I expected good things from them. I saw that both Teel & Quero were playing & that the streaming was free, so I tuned in. When the base became loaded for Lewis, I felt in my bones that he was hitting a grand slam. I also watched Keaschall when he 1st got on. I expected him to steal 2B. He looked confused & uncharacteristically apprehensive. He stayed put.
  10. Doctor Gast
    Twins had a very competitive core but did nothing real to complement it over these years. After gutting it why should they try now? The real problem is management, so just as well strip it down to the studs. IMO, Ryan would want out & he'll get a big bump. Just as well get rid of Lopez. I'd love to sign Jeffers to a reasonable extension because we have nobody! But as a Boras client, he won't want to sign an extension. Normally, under these conditions, Falvey would trade him. But with players that he really wants, he'll overpay, so I expect him to pay Jeffers an exorbitant extension no matter what. Making the excuse that he had no other option, Wrong! Although it makes perfect sense to tear it down completely, under these circumstances, they created. If they trade Ryan, Lopez & or Jeffers, they'll bloat the system with good prospects they can't develop properly & those they can't fit on the roster, they lose to other teams via Rule 5 draft, who can develop them. So they can keep Ryan, Lopez & Jeffers & be bad or they can trade them away, save more money, lose prospects that we traded for, via Rule 5 draft which is very inefficient & be horridly bad. They didn't think this through very well. They are damned if they do & damned if they don't, w/o any path that leads to success until they are long gone.
  11. Doctor Gast
    That's exactly what they want you to think. What are the odds of so many hitters that had looked so good that turned out so bad over years with most of them slumping at the same time & going through so many hitting coaches? Heaven forbid that they're wrong.
  12. Doctor Gast
    We were disappointing before the deadline. After the deadline, the Twins might have the worst record in that time. There are some the Twins have given a long leash, maybe it's time to bring in new blood to see what they can do. Especially pitching. Some hitters are frustrated & said they'll go back to their old swing & abandon the approach the Twins want. Maybe we'll see some change for the better, Supposing our hitting problems were because of Popkins. Toronto was terrible last year & they quickly picked him up & now they turned it around. Rooker seems to be doing very well with the A's. Could it be possible that Twins don't have an idea what they are doing?
  13. Doctor Gast
    It was a hard-fought game. MN has passed BAL for one of the worst teams & is breathing down the necks of ATL & OAK. Other teams CWS, Nats, PIT & CO will be more difficult to pass. CWS is getting better. Go Twins!
  14. Doctor Gast
    IMO, Rocco & Watkins have no idea what they're doing. For them, it's a guessing game. Unfortunately, they are guessing wrong too many times with many of our players.
  15. Doctor Gast
    I like the idea of eliminating West Coast regular games in the future. I'd like more games in the south in early spring but that's not happening where they stand now. So a change won't make that much difference.
  16. Doctor Gast
    IMO. Miranda's bat-to-ball contact is not a problem. It's his injuries & present frustrations. So I'm not concerned with Lee's approach at all. I'm much more concerned with Julien's approach.
  17. Doctor Gast
    Many voice concerns about some of our players, like Jenkins & Keaschall, not having enough power. My main concern is that there are no defensive standouts. There might be some that may stick at a premium position but be average at best & others probably won't stick, then their value goes way down. I like Jenkins & Keaschall even if they don't hit with massive power (IMO, Jenkins will get there) or end up at cOF, because they can hit & have speed.
  18. Doctor Gast
    Thank you! I'll for you.
  19. Doctor Gast
    IMO, what adds to culture is keeping a winning core together, bringing up in-house players & give them a chance rather than giving that opportunity to a privileged outsider. During our 13-game winning streak, Keirsey got some walk-offs & his teammates were more excited than he was. Nick, you mentioned accountability. How does that figure into team culture? Of course, players have to be accountable to each other, that everybody is doing their best before & during the game, players are accountable to the manager (trust the process), the manager is accountable to the FO, the FO is accountable to ownership & the owners are accountable to the fans. If there isn't accountability with the manager, FO, or owners, they become delusional & start making excuses (it's never their fault). It's never their bad philosophies, poor player evaluation, development, management or not able to initiate a viable trade. How I miss a FO being accountable, they take an honest evaluation of themselves & step down, saying I did my best, but my way didn't work. Not being delusional & say, the problem is I didn't have enough control. I dislike the occultness of this regime, where you have no idea who is responsible for what or what is going on. It's tough to really know what Lopez really meant. IMO, Correa took his role of being the team leader very seriously; he wanted this team to be very competitive, he put in his work. His going to the Twins & suggested to be moved off SS during his foot problems is him being accountable. I also think he held Falvey accountable for his ability to field a competitive team, which probably caused friction between them. Correa's frustration was obvious that he probably took it out on less experienced players. You look at many of the players that were traded away, and they're dominating. Because of the fire & chemistry of the team they ended up at. Duran was interviewed after one of his saves. The stadium was packed & wild, he stated, "I haven't felt like this since the '23 playoffs. Why aren't our stadium packed? Maybe because we aren't winning. Why aren't we winning? Is it because of Correa? He seems to be doing pretty well at HOU. IMO, it's because of the Pohlads, Falvey, Baldelli & Co. not being accountable (they get promoted & extended no matter what they do), which affects the team.
  20. Doctor Gast
    Yeah, let's go for it! In '26, it'll be even worse, which further improve our chances. Falvey will take credit for it & will shoot for the worst record in '27. How diabolical! There should be a rule against that! Oops! There is! That'll shoot '27 down, sorry Falvey. You've always had trouble planning ahead.
  21. Doctor Gast
    I'm sorry Doc, I've been impacted by the C word, also. It's an ugly word that I hate. I have edited that post & will refrain from using it in the future.
  22. Doctor Gast
    Gasper & Pereda can hit in AAA but not in the MLB. Gasper isn't a catcher & yet they picked Gasper over Pereda? That's not saying much. IMO. Cardenas is our best bet. We got him as a good defensive catcher, but maybe he needs more seasoning at AAA. I've been waiting for 4 years for them to develop Olivar as a good defensive catcher; he's got the tools. Our catching may look better on paper, but picking up other organizations' rejects & lower-level prospects in hopes we can develop them is a pipe dream. Thinking that Tanner Swanson helped Garver & Jeffers & his ghost can miraculously develop them is futile. They haven't developed anyone since he left. Our only hope now is to get an already developed catcher & fire Conger & get someone who can do the job.
  23. Doctor Gast
    IMO, this disease started back at the end of '19. Due to the "juiced ball", the "bomba squad" organically came to be among the hitters under Rowson. They won as a team, accolades of HRs & wins but crashed in the postseason. Falvey was lauded as a genius, it all went to his head & started to take full control. Instead of promoting key coaches, he let them walk. Because with his new analytical philosophies, he figured he didn't need them (which began this cancer). Instead of developing a player in defense, baserunning, fundamentals (like bunting) & individually working with hitters to develop their own swing, they focused on tweaking every hitter to hit more HR. A few good players fell into Falvey's lap, which helped form the '23 core. I listened to a very interesting interview with Thad Levine. He stated that much like players, FOs have a scouting report on other FOs. So, IMO, other FOs have a scouting report on Falvey. That you can wait him out & get a better deal; that he's an easy mark to dump salary & flip players you don't want by spinning stats. Getting smart on Falvey means no more players falling in our laps & ending up with unfavorable players. I agree with you, Gregg, that the lack of trying to improve this team probably added to the lack of enthusiasm by the players. But IMO, it wasn't the lack of money, because they did add unnecessary salaries & many needed improvements could have come by the way of trading away redundant players for needed ones, which wouldn't add salary. IMO, you need to treat the cause (Falvey), not the symptom (players). Otherwise, the problem continues.
  24. Doctor Gast
    With a bunch of players that fell into our laps, we found success in '23. In '24, instead of building off that core (by at least picking up a veteran innings-eater), they chipped away at it. Making the rotation & INF fragile (with Julien mainstay at 2B & being injury plagued) without making any attempt to bolster them (I don't count injured DeSclavani, Margot or deadline Richards). In '25, they still did nothing to address our rotation & INF problems. I get that we had the Twins' salary problem. Fine, stay away from FA (which they couldn't) & trade away some redundant players to bolster our weak points (which they didn't). Players, when they see their FO isn't doing anything to help them win while weakening them, no wonder they play uninspired & not hungry. We had great veteran success experiences, who were there to guide the next group, where we could start a winning tradition. That hope wasn't only restricted but was ripped out of us. OK, the Twins were disappointing, then sell off the expiring contracts & with some slickness get something back. Even try to take advantage of the deadline & trade Jax to shore up our fragile areas adequately & still try to compete this year & in the future. If you are dead set on trading Correa, don't do it when his value is rock bottom, do it during the offseason. At least leave us hometown grabbler Varland, to anchor the BP. It takes a lot of time, talent & luck to get to where we were at. I foresee us floundering for years after being gutted, So regretfully, why hang on to Ryan, Lopez & Jeffers? We'll see players like Lee & Keaschall, trying to put stuff together. It'll take a long time for prospects like Jenkins & Rodriguez to get established. I'll hope again after Falvey is gone & after that my expectancy can see anything in the distant future.
  25. Doctor Gast
    The Twins know Paddack very well & everyone who got the privilege to face him were greatly rewarded. I'd like to thank the Tigers for not bypassing him & letting our hitters unload on him for the win. Now I'm not saying that Paddack is a bad SP, but he was greatly put to a disadvantage. I wish him well. With all this momentum going our way, it was hard for DET to get anything going against our weak pitching.
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