Doctor Gast

.348 was a long ways from his next competitor. To me, Arraez has been playing hurt & tired for almost 2 months which has promoted his steady downward spiral. I've advocated in that time for him to have more time to rest that would help keep him healthier & stronger to hinder that fall. As well as Polanco & Buxton

Duran is by far our greatest triump. He was able to transition to BP (no minor task) yet even excel to be one of the game's lights out reliever. Above all this he came from an injury last season to a great season w/o any time on the IL. WOW! Going years w/o an adequate sub to Buxton (an absent Buxton usually meant a loss) but this season with Celestino & Gordon in CF we always had a chance to win the game. CF is one of the prime positions where defense means a lot. Correa has given us a good season, Buxton carried the team when he was 100%, Arraez could have easily won the batting title & still could. Lewis set the world on fire while he was around. W/O going into negatives, I really liked our expanded rotation. We had some prospects that shown a lot of promise with some graduating. We had some problems but I really like our Twins.

Yes agreed Mark. JP doesn't have any idea what he's doing or how to correct what's wrong, so he blindly trusts Flavine 100%. But he is the owner so he can't fire himself (I don't think). I believe Truman said "The buck stops here" meaning like what you said Mark that he takes full responsibility plus he accepts any consequeces and he's confident in what he's doing & able to right any wrong or he'll step down & let some else do it. JP isn't in this boat. Maybe JP could hand the reins over to someone like Andy MacPhail to help find a different FO. But again will he?

1st I'd like to say that this FO has done some things right this year like signing Correa but like almost everything that they have done right has fallen into their laps. What they have done wrong. Player evaluation, after demolishing catching & the BP, they did nothing to bolster them, maybe because they thought Jeffers & Gary Sanchez could handle the catching and Pagan & Duffy could handle the closing. Poor evaluation. It's hard to place blame on anyone for mismanagement because they aren't transparent on who's responsible for the decisions made. We started the season with a weak rotation & BP. The FO made the right assessment before the spring training to fill in the gap with a strong long relief core (piggy-backing). It doesn't matter if we have a weak rotation or BP if you have solid long relief core candidates which we had. So what happened? Long relief was never implemented, which naturally over extends 1st a terrible BP and then a weak rotation. To me there's no doubt that Baldelli's preference is solely depending on short relief and long relief is something probably very foreign of was our downfall again. But the final blame is on the FO because they have the final say. Although some of the injuries could not be helped, majority of them IMO could have. Placing a recently recovered Lewis in CF is asking for trouble. For an organization that prides itself on resting their players (Cruz, Garver & Rogers are good example), But they played 3 of their core (Buxton, Polanco & Arraez) ragged. Playing hurt & tired lead to being far less than 100% and or more serious injury. Again as you say the buck stops with the FO. The swing for the fences game plan lead to more SOs, FOs and poor prepation of playing small ball which translated into more losses. You can blame all the coaches for this but again the buck should stop with the FO. But the buck won't stop at the FO or Baldelli if it does stop it'll stop with coaches.

I was wondering if he could have the opportunity pitch 1 game of MLB yet this season?

Injuries were the biggest problem. Buxton was made to play at far less than 100% for far too long. He should have been placed on IL more often or had the surgury done before All-Star break to be ready to impact the team Aug-Oct. Polanco was worn ragged which induced his injury at the same time playing hurt for too long before he was totally shut down. Early detection and normal rest scheduling would have prevented any time on the IL, and he'd be around to impact the team. Much like Correa, Polanco is a very good player which pours it on in Aug.-Oct.. Arraez, with his poor knees was asked to play beyond his limits. They even had him play 2B & bat against LHPs when they didn't need to. He too seems to be playing hurt & tired thru out Aug & Sept. If they were better managed this could have been a different story. Arraez could still have a commanding lead for the batting title & the team locked as division champions. About a change? I'd say yes. Kepler for sure. He still has good trade value (his defense, rule change, remaining good contract) and we have Kiriloff, Larnach, Wallner, Celestino, Gordon with Garlic & Cave available to replace him now. Kepler is superior defensively but at RF that's less important where the other options bats could be better. I never saw Jeffers as our starting catcher, lacking in his arm & bat, besides our catching situation is very weak now. I'd definitely like the Twins to pursue 2 excellent catchers Contreras (superior bat) & Narvaez (superior glove). Jeffers trade value is still good so injunction w/ other good value players, I'd be in favor for a trade for a front-line SP & pick up Garver as back up. Polanco & Arraez would be greatly missed, yet with high quality of INF players coming up ready for MLB it could cause a dilema which makes both dispensible especially since their low flexibility defensive.

Royce Lewis also went to the AFL with a lot people down on him. Even after he showed that he could also excel at CF & 3B & be the AFL MVP, people were still down on him. I'm expecting Martin to follow the same road as Lewis & Wallner. Martin's upward trend will continue at AFL. I doubt Martin will start at SS so I expect to see him play CF, 3B or even 2B & do very well there.

What keeps Lewis going is his faith. Therefore it's very hard not to have faith in him when he keeps coming back stronger than ever. Lewis will be a very valuable asset for the Twins if Baldelli repents of his decision of putting Lewis in CF & statement that we'll see Lewis back in CF. Lewis is MVP & HOF material. I see him overcoming all obstacles & visualize all his goals

Yes, it's an inevitable future dilema, with Lewis, Lee, Miranda, Kiriloff & Arraez. That'll be compounded if they sign Correa. The temporary fix is having Arraez at DH.

I had a lot hope for Kepler to figure things out this season. Just when you think he's ready to hit the other way, he reverts back into his old ways. I really like Kepler, he's a fantastic defender at RF. But RF is not even close to be as valuable as CF & I've given up on him . My suggestion is to trade him injuction with some else for someone like Lopez (MIA). I'm sure Buxton would miss him but I think we are at that point. I really like our options of Celestino & Gordon at CF with Martin could also soon fill in there plus they can play the whole OF. Wallner, Larnach & Kiriloff will be ready on the corners with Garlic & Cave available. We are so much better situated in the OF as long as I can remember, so I believe Kepler is dispensible. Kepler still has good trade value because of the remainder of his contract, his defense & the change of the shift ruling will make Kepler much more appealing.

Thank you Vanimal46, I noted that they kept them to 80 pitch limit. But a steady 80 pitch limit might have been too liberal especially in the beginning, taking into consideration that spring training was short, that they were rookies (with extra adrenalin pumping, unable to pace themselves like veterans and unseasoned arms) plus Winder had some injury problems the year before. So especially in the beginning of the year, I'd say they were both better suited in long relief and regularly used there. Not saying they couldn't be used in spot starts.

Good article Seth. Happy that Sanchez had a good day & the Twins won. I know Ryan is driven to pitch as far into the game as possible but whenever he extends himself in one game, it seems the next game he doesn't bounce back as well & can't go 5 innings. We still won the game besides the game doesn't matter.

IMO their plan was a failure, that Buxton played hurt & was well below 100% too much of the time. If he plays well below 100% he doesn't impact the team. It'd have been better for the team & Buxton if he was put on the IL more often & have him closer to 100% when he did play. If I didn't want to begrudge Buxton & his family of their All-Star experience, I'd consider having him have the surgery sooner. Because recovery time is said to have take 6-8 weeks. He will have missed 6 wks to the end of the season + the All star break + the days off & well below par days when he was really hurting. We'd be better off if they did it much earlier.

Looking at 2023 rotation. 1st Mahle, we need to discover where his shoulder is at. If all he needs is rest, then all we need to do is dial him back from where he pitched fron CIN & hopefully he'll resemble a work horse. 2nd Gray, although Gray is a very good pitcher & was a work horse in his early days in his early OAK days, His yearly quality innings totals have steadily dropped since then. 3rd Ryan, a year after his rookie season I expect an up tick on his quality innings. 4th Maeda, he has never resembled a work horse & has been on the IL for a while so I expect Archer type innings from him & a lot of blow back from some fans. Where things sit right now Ober is #5 I really think we could really use a frontline SP (Lopez-MIA or Marquez-CO) if they could be had. I've recommended that Ober could be used as long relief along with Winder, Varland, Sands or SWR. But if that happens, they'll disappear in the "Twilight Zone" & won't be hear of again until they really need a starter which will definitely happen as they'll continue to lose their SPs to injuries & ineffectiveness. And as you notice I didn't mention Paddack because he's a lost cause.

I'd love a manager like Francona that focuses on fundamentals, whose game plan isn't swing for the fences or spin analytics to fit his agenda to make decisions. I credit Sheldon for Baidelli's success in '19, Sheldon works his butt off & he's great with players. I've voiced that I'd preferred to have kept Sheldon as manager & Rowson as bench coach. You can say look at their stats they are terrible. But you have to take into consideration that Sheldon belongs to PIT, who had horrific coaches under him, w/ a FO phylosophy of tanking and selling off any successful player that had been developed is doomed no matter what he does. But no matter what I think, because Falvey has rendered his support behind Baldelli and Pohlad gave Falvine an grade A, last season (he'll probabally give him an AA+ this season). So get used to having Baldelli around for a very long time.

These games are basically meaningless except seeing what our young guys have. IMO bringing in Correa to pinch hit, serves very little purpose. It has been painful to watch Arraez slowly slide in BA, I'd have really liked to see him win that batting title & get the national attention he deserves. Again he'd have fare much better if he'd have had some sceduled time off. But alas that might be beyond his grasp now.

I know that I think outside the box, and you have difficulty understanding & agreeing with what I post. What I mean Chief by "over extending" has nothing to do with total # of innings pitched during the season. It has to do with having them pitch too many innings in each game too soon over a period of time. I suggest that if they were kept at a 5 inning limit in the beginning, depending on how many pitches pitched, they would not have gotten injured (at least not seriously) and they could have pitched over 120 innings each.

I don't think any of these 3 have anything to prove to us Twins. They have been around long enough, to know who they really are. I disagree with Chief that Celestino is a bad prospect. He has always shown us that he can play CF & has kept us in games where Buxton was absent. He has shown us that he can hit for the most part this year (young players have to readjust to pitchers). His over zealous base running isn't necessarily a bad thing, he just needs to mature into it. Jeffers is who he is. I have never seen Jeffers as a primary catcher and don't think he can change my mind coming off the IL. My suggestion is going after Omar Narvaez in free agency. By most peoples' minds Sanchez is the worst starting catcher in MLB. Yes maybe his defense dimensions has improved but his hitting took a dive. Arraez has nothing to prove to us. To us he's the best contact player in the game. On the national level he still needs to prove this but unfortunately he has petered out. There isn't much more that I'd rather see than him doing this but under these circumstances, I don't think that'll happen. The one that has the most to prove is Palacios. He has to prove to us that he can hit MLB pitching now so that he can sub Correa next year & be the INF utility player or even be the place holder for Lewis. Otherwise we need to go outside the organization. Ober, Winder, Varland and Sands each proved that they can pitch here and in spring training is where they find their pecking order. I think that FO will have to decide how to use Pagan next year. How they use him now & his performance will dictate his destiny

I define this season as a disappointment. We still have a great core but the outcome is once again short. Sano & Kepler not adjusting to a nonjuiced ball & shift, management not implementing long relief that was promised and hitters not hitting w/ RISP. When Buxton was not 100% and after Wes Johnson left there seemed like there was no fire. Reading some of the posts, some blamed injuries & other blamed management for not playing some players enough. Those who blame injuries believe that they're all accidents which cannot be helped. While some are accidents or genetics, I believe most are from extending players beyond their limits. I believe the Buxton management experiment was a failure. Playing Buxton at much less than 100%, believing that by giving him a couple of days off here & there, refraining from putting him on the IL will maximize his output, it has not. Players like Polanco will never tell you when he's hurting until it's too late. Giving players calulated time off is very productive & keeps them healthy as long we have capable players to sub which we have. Arraez have looked to be playing hurt, which makes him less effective. To me it was obvious that Polanco had been playing hurt, Baldelli said Polanco had been playing hurt for awhile. Either they knew Polanco was hurt & didn't do anything about it (which is terribly wrong) or they weren't able to see he was hurt (which is worse). This means they can't evaluate a player wether he's hurt & needs help or not. Most of our injuries are pitching injuries & none were accidents (like hit by a line drive), IMO they were by being over extended. Bundy was doing great in the beginning of the season and he was begging for more innings. He got more innings, although he never got seriously injured, it greatly effected his effectiveness. Management's over reliance on a poor short relief corp quickly depleted them which translated into extra innings from the rotation. It's common knowledge that you can't overextend rookies. Rookies, Winder & Ober were over extended and had long IL stints. Ryan were at times over extended and it resulted in short term injuries & some ineffectiveness. I believe one day Ryan could be a work horse but for the time being he's still a rookie. IMO Gray didn't join the Twins in strong condition for some reason. Although Gray was a work house in his early days at OAK but his innings have been dwindling ever since. Gray's a competitor so it's only natural for him to want to pitch longer but is it productive? Because he still gets injured & run into ineffectiveness. The idea of squeezing an extra inning from the rotation to save the BP is not a factor. Saving one inning will spare you one low leverage short RP while you still need at least 3 higher leverage short RPs to complete the game. This will still compromise the rotation and does nothing to relief the over burdened high leverage RP. The only real solutions are #1 a strong long relief corp to fill the gap from SP to closer or even completing the game. This will save you at least all but one high leverage RP. #2 an offense that keeps the game from being close. While I was disappointed with our depleted catching & BP starting the season. Though our rotation was short of something to be desired, it was adequate. Complemented with a great supply of long relief, we could have been very successful. The mismanagement of the balance of SP/ long relief/ short relief was our main downfall of not winning the Central Division & advancing to the post season.

Love your pun Otto! It made me smile.

Rethinking my position & ambition on Palacios, I'll agree w/ both you & Twins DR 2021. He needs to really turn it on offensively until the end of season to be considered as a possible place holder for Lewis. I believe he will sooner or later but we need to look at the now.

Palacios started with the Twins organization as a very good SS prospect. Mysteriously when traded to TB for Ordorizzi, he couldn't hit even while remaining in the same league. When returned to the Twins his hitting started to come back. The years in TB were wasted, I don't count that against him. Palacios isn't a 26 yr. old loser. While I don't envision him to set the world on fire,I do recognize that he's good enough to hold down SS for a month until Lewis is ready.

My gut tells me that Correa would still want to test the waters for a longer contract come off season. With less impressive stats and the cheating scandal still lingers over him, he'll have a more difficult time to get what he wants. Leaving the door open for the Twins to maybe sign Correa for a more reasonable short term contract. As a fall back plan my gut still believes that Lewis will come back strong again to be our near future SS. Palacios has shown he can handle MLB SS position take away a few rookie errors. In AAA Palacios has shown he can hit, with time it can translate it to MLB much like Gordon has done. I don't think that Lee will be able to cover for Lewis yet. I don't want to trust Gordon there either, maybe a back up to Palacios until Lewis is ready if we are desperate.

Of course any Kepler/ high end SP trade won't be 1 for 1.

Wallner's draw back is his defense & SOs. He's well suited for RF with his cannon of an arm and where his defense matters less. I don't think it's a good idea to keep Kepler as a 4th OF, I'd rather use use him as trade bait for a high end SP. Hopefully Wallner can cut down on his SOs. I'd still not place him above Larnach or Kiriloff.