Doctor Gast

Good job Ted! Concur with AZTwin Minnesota fans tend to be too negative, to the extent sometimes border on toxic. I'm happy with Arraez's new found power. Not because of the extra base hits but because it makes the fielders more honest. A soft hitting Arraez, the OFers play in; a nonfast Arraez, INFers play back. A low velo contact combined with a good dense Arraez doesn't get a hit.

I think he's using that slider far too much. They are laying off of it and they aren't going for strikes. I agree that he should go back to his old routine and slide in that slider only in opportune times.

Thanks Cody for a great article! By help support the fact that Dobnak is a starter and not a reliever. As I stated before a starter focus is to win games and a reliever is to save games (preserve wins), from very high leverage to mop up. Dobnak pitched in both relieving extremes in his 1st 2 games which IMO has been detrimental to his starter psyche, rythym and confidence . When he's placed in games, he needs to be given the opportunity to win the game not save it. It's too bad that he was used this way especially when we lost opportunities to win games we lost especially while he was still hot from ST. I believe right now he needs to pitch only in games where he can win, maybe only for a couple of innings to regain his rythym, confidence and sharpness. Again I'm advocating the need for an extra long reliever (rotating AAA starters)to bridge the gap to short relief. Dobnak is a valuable weapon that we need to utilize properly to advance.

I definitely wouldn't go to a BP game, we have enough problems with them. In 2019 they over used some of their key relievers that they heavily dependent on. It went well until they folded and fell apart. That put a lot of pressure on the rotation, especially Gibson and Perez, to extend beyond what they were capable of. Gibson was battling colitis and Perez was transitioning from the BP, although they were terrific before this BP melt down, they tanked afterwards. I see this happening already this year. This year they need transition from the short season. Starters need to be limited, especially Happ and Shoemaker in which they have extended them too long too soon. Solution is what I'd advocated from the beginning. Bridge this gap with long relievers like Dobnak and Thorpe (at least until the minors start). IMO this is very important so the rotation and short relievers are not over taxed and falter. I think Thorpe can be used as such to get extra MLB innings in and rotate AAA with others MLB ready prospects and still get stretched out in the minors. Dobnak should have been used in this compacity from the beginning not the way they did. Dobnak was coming off a hot ST if used as suggested he'd continue to be hot. Instead he was thrown under the bus in situations where he should not have pitched, thus destroying his rythym and confidence. It was sad to see him finally pitch in a situation where he could thrive but didn't. My hope is they don't lose confidence in Dobnak and he'll quickly snap out of it and use a second long relief schedule as long as needed.

Polanco will come out of his slump and still get his share of walks but I agree with you that he should hit at the bottom of the line up until he does. Sano' is more of a concern and should sit more often and bat 9th when he doesn't until he comes around. I think he needs to be shaken up a bit.

I understand your reasoning but hope Donaldson will pick us up in Cruz absence.

Dobnak has lost his groove and confidence. Sad to see

We can't put a lot of stock in the innings that Dobnak has pitched. None of those situations fits Dobnak's strengths. That mop up game had no meaning other than to be treated as a ST game, to tinker with his pitches.

I don't trust any of the Twins rotation at this point to go beyond 5 except Berrios. We need to go to our long relief sooner. Because of this situation, we need to bring in Dobnak sooner and have Thorpe also up to help out because of this situation. Even if they want Thorpe to focus on starting, they could have used him until the minors begin.

I'm a big Royce Lewis fan but I'm all in for locking an all star SS. Royce Lewis also would be valuable as a true super utility player. A true super utility player is someone who could sub almost anywhere especially SS and CF is super valuable and should be more valued because they are so hard to find.

To clarify, I'd put Dobnak in to relieve any starter in a game where he'd have a chance to win the game, for however long it takes even it takes extra innings. I'd hate to put anyone in extra innings, the way it sits now, especially Dobnak.

This new extra innings rule I'd believed favored home field but it didn't help us. I think too many players put too much pressure on themselves in these situations. I think when we come to bat in these situations, we need to look at a runner at 2B as an instant rally and our mind set should is to sustain this given rally and don't let pressure build up. Cruz and Pineda were steady as expected. I really like Baldelli but I have one beef with him. He looks at Dobnak as a reliever when he's not, the mindset and function is totally different. A reliever is to minimize damage, save a game in a low or high leverage conditions and mop up. A starter's mindset is go out and win games. Although they placed him on the roster as a reliever they need to put him in situations where he can go out and be able to win the game. That means using him as a spot starter or all 3 games which we've lost. I don't know if he would've won all 3 games but I like my odds better with a warmed up Dobnak on his game than any basically cold reliever if it goes to the 10th. A reliever is out there basically cold, trying not to lose the game where as Dobnak would be out there already on his game trying to win the game. Let's say we would have won all 3 games with Dobnak, Dobnak would be in his groove and Twins would be flying high. I repeat I'm not guaranteeing that Dobnak would've won all 3 games but I like my odds better. You'd think I'm a Dobnak fanatic by how much I've posted about him lately but really I'm not. I just see him as a weapon that the Twins need to win, especially looking at his skill set and what he's shown this ST. I know many will look at his present stats and say Dobnak is a dog, forget him. I see those stats not as who he is but how he's been used. If he's used properly his stats will reflect who he is, a starter

I'm really impressed by his offensive #s. I was looking at seasonal WAR stats. Buck had .7 and Simmons had .6 while leader Jon Gray had .9. I understand the essence of WAR but really don't understand how it's calculated. IMO defense WAR is way too under rated. If WAR were fairer he would have a better chance at MVP. Average BA is .250 his career BA is well ,above that, just he's not normally a slugger.

While I read this article, I kinda saw Sano' as a big ship. Like a big ship, it takes longer to turn around but once it turned around nothing can stop him. We have players who can carry him until that happens. I think Cruz sees a little of himself in Sano'. He just needs to mature and be a bit more disciplined like Cruz. Sano' has the tools to be an impact player. We need to see the big picture.

Your reasoning, I think also backs up my reasoning of an extra long reliever to help take off the burdens from the starters and short relievers this year. Through extra innings they eat up.

Although the defense isn't perfect, it's far cry from where it was. Love the offense output. Buck's and Simmons's WAR must be phenomenal. Thought Berrios did well under the conditions, most pitchers would come back from a delay and blow up if they do return.

Buck had some things to work out, like his health and swing. It seems like he has worked most of them out. He found his swing and beefed up to add durability and strength. He's confident and ready to go. Expect great things from him. Go Buck!

I don't think that the FO ever gave up on Baddo or Wells. They just didn't make room on the 40 man. Should've they? IMO definitely yes, both Baddo and Wells are players I'd like to protect and develop. My suggestion is to periodically trade players that we have developed that are redundant or don't fit in our organization but is a need in another, for an upgrade in an area of need. This would give us flexibility we need so we don't lose players for basically nothing. I only see this problem getting worse. We don't have enough real CFers and we don't have any LH hitters at that position. Buxton, Celestino and Broxton are all RH. Baddo is LH

Was impressed by the defense, key hitting and Colume'. Happy that we won

I wasn't impressed with Happ but some how DET wasn't able to do any damage against him. I don't know if Happ was deceptionly good or DET was that bad. This new extra innings rule really favors the home team so I don't fault Robles. I was at the start of season in favor of Dobnak to be in the rotation. Then I figured that long relief isn't so bad, in the beginning many starters shouldn't be able to go much beyond 4 innings. He could come in and pitch 2 or 3 innings and make a considerable contribution. But so far he's been used as a highest leverage closer and to mop up a game. Neither situation could contribute to confidence or establish his groove. Last year Dobnak was used as a starter when they needed a pitcher when someone went down (on short notice) or to pitch on short rest. In another words they don't want Dobnak as a legit starter but as someone they can throw under the bus. This IMO is a waste of Dobnak's potential. The 2 games they lost would've been the best situations to have pitched Dobnak, to take advantage of his talents and I believe with better results.

Both are very important to the proficiency of the team and both need to be highly pursued for extentions. Who's more important? I'd say Buxton, only because of his potential amount of time on the field and the different levels he impacts the team.

Many were down on Puckett when he 1st came up. They didn't like his high leg kick, being short and stocky etc. But he proved them all wrong and went to the HOF. I never take so called pundits serious. Astudillo has heart and a great contact hitter with power. He has a lot of determination to hit , which he swings at everything. Pitchers have capitalized on that. Last year because he contracted covid he never got prepared for 2020 or had the chance to work on his discipline. He was thrown into action cold which gave his critics plenty to criticize him on. This year he's ready and has shown plate discipline. It's something he needs to work on continueously because that's not who he is. He covers the positions he plays adequately. I won't say he's the next Puckett be he is a valuable asset

I remember when I was a young man, I worked for a bricklayer. At around 63, he could work circles around me and I wasn't a slouch. But that was nothing, my boss said he knew a 70+yrs old stone cutter who was stronger than him. I forget how heavy that sledgehammer was but it was very heavy. The point I want to make is that there are people who are extraordinary, people who amazes us. Cruz is one of those people and he'll reach 500

This only magnifies the importance of the Simmons acquisition, with his ability to cover the inadequacy of other positions. I hate to see where we'd be without him. Especially with his new found hitting proficiency.

Back in 2019, during the Twins' bid to get in the post season and beyond. A squirrel ran between Kepler's legs and ran around the field, the Twins responded w/ a rally and won that game. I had hoped that the Twins would've capitalized on that occurrance. They could find a domesticated squirrel to run across the field in rally situations to get the team and crowd in the game. I believed that could've gone a long ways, if there'd be any animal rights problems at least create a mascot (Rocky the Rally Squirrel) to run around the field. But alas that wasn't done, they instead dusted off the old Homer Hankies. So I was excited when I saw they acquired Twiggy, the water skiiing squirrel https://www.twinkietown.com/2021/4/2/22311694/mlb-minnesota-twins-news-roster-twiggy-the-waterskiing-squirrel-one-year-deal-nuts-satire You might call me nuts but I think Twiggy's acquisition could give Simmon's a run for the money.