Doctor Gast

IMO, if the game had gone the full 9, Twins could have won. Hope Twins win today.

Lewis's positive, fiery presence helps to bring out the best from his teammates to win games, even when he's not hitting. We need his old self back as soon as possible on the field. Buxton's health has gotten better; I expect Lewis's health will eventually get back to normal.

The $1.7 billion TB sticker price is negotiable, meaning they could settle for less. TB IMO doesn't have the $425M debt that MN has, even if you count repairs. The $1.7 billion Twins sticker price should also be negotiable. Pohlad's debt shouldn't have to be the buyer's responsibility. Pohlads don't know how to run a MLB team with the lockout imminent. They need to suck it up & do the right thing as soon as possible.

Boston has one of the worst catching unit in the MLB. I wouldn't even think about their rejects. Vazquez is a much better catcher than Wong. The $ saved isn't worth the wild gamble on Wong. The focus should be making the team better not Pohlads saving $. I commend you for addressing this problem. But I'm looking for a much better option, more of the catcher of the future.

Very good point, Matthew. I've been trying to shed light on this problem of lack of MLB catching depth since we traded away both Garver & Rortvedt. How long can Vazquez shoulder the full-time catching duties? Jeffers needs time for his body & hand to recoup & get back to his full potential. W/o obtaining a promising young MLB-ready catcher the Twins has a worse fate waiting for them in this 2nd half & beyond than last year's 2nd half plummet.

Great point. IMO, we have the offense, but it seems we don't have the fire. Get the fire going we have plenty of offense. A big bat can be very expensive, especially at the deadline. IMO, it's not worth it. IMO, our greater need is pitching & how to manage them. I was expecting more innings from our SPs' leader Lopez. W/o him, that'll put a lot of strain on the rest of the pitching. We desperately need long relief (we should have internally) & get another veteran SP immediately, at least an inning-eater (Kyle Gibson would be cheap & great for the clubhouse). Another greater need is a promising young MLB-ready catcher. Twins have been very fortunate these last 2 1/2 years with the health of our catchers which is very valuable. Any injury to either would be disastrous. Jeffers has a contusion on his hand & he needs the rest but there is no one to relieve them. Our secon

Another great game by Buxton. We had enough offense to win the game again but the other aspects of the game failed us. For years, the solution has been getting another bat (bats are usually expensive). That has been our identity. IMO, what wins games is good pitching, good defense, aggressive baserunning, smart baseball, fundamentals & clutch hitting. We won many games on these aspects with less offense than what we have right now. Maybe it's time to change our identity?

I will continue to advocate for long relief (I have for years). Long relief, I don't mean mop-up, or wrecking someone like Alcala by extending him to 2 innings. I mean, having someone regularly pitch 3 or more competitive innings in close games. With our rotation situation right now, it won't be uncommon for them to pitch 5 innings or less. Regularly pitching 4 or more RPs a game will quickly burnout our BP. Therefore, over-extending our rotation that will result in injuries & fewer quality innings. I have heard that Baldelli is in favor of long relief. Then how come I can't remember him using long relief correctly?

I'm not a fan of Baldelli, the biggest problem isn't Baldelli, If they fire him, Falvey will put in someone worse.

Most definitely, it was a very frustrating week after missing Lopez. We got a lot of offense off of Texas, but hapless Texas scored more. After Paddack, we got great pitching from Ryan & Simms but lacked clutch hitting. Yes, the Twins did well with Keirsey on the field & haven't since he was gone. But, I'll say it again (maybe this time it'll be printed) that the Twins are re****ing his hitting development. It's well known that new players entering MLB need a lot of regular ABs there to adapt. Keirsey hasn't gotten any. He was so bad that when he was sent down to AAA (where he previously mashed), he had trouble. Yes, the Twins can use his glove, legs, presence & even sometimes get a clutch hit when allowed 4 ABs in a game. But most of all, they need to develop his bat, which will never happen when he sits on the MLB bench. Leave him down at AAA & at least let him get some rhythm back down there. Miranda is a veteran, give him a vote of confidence by bringing him up, put him in 1B (they brought up Sabato to AAA & playing him there). Maybe that's all he needs.

He feels comfortable at the plate & sees the ball well, that's a recipe for success & explains his eagerness. He's hot so the Twins need to take advantage of that & pair him up with Castro who's also hot (move Lee up the order). He's a MLB hitter, he'll adjust to what comes. A switch hitter who plays 3 valuable INF positions makes him very valuable.

IMO, when we had a 13-game winning streak, we did it with good pitching, good defense, aggressive baserunning & clutch hitting. Now that we have increased our offensive potential, we are slumping. Do we really need more offense?

Why have Jeffers at lead-off? Castro & Lee are hot! Why have a bunch of slumping players in between them? Let's put our hot players on top & together so we can string some more runs together & win more games.

Salute to Buffalo & the Nats who allowed him to retire with class. It'd have been difficult for him to accomplish what he did behind Mauer. No one knew that Mauer would get hurt when he did.

I've been with you since the beginning. I'm all for analytics but analytics with faulty philosophy, biased stats & no feel for the game is a losing recipe. I had a blog about the need for bunts. This is one.

SWR was in his MLB form, perfect game into the 5th, Castro was 3 for 4 but nobody drove him in nor did he drive anyone in. Lee was 3 for 4 one solo HR. Good job by them. Twins out hit HOU 8 to 4 but HOU was still able to win the game. During the Twins' winning streak, the Twins came through with a lot of clutch hits, but lately they don't seem to have the chemistry to get it done. They have to search deep & find out what made that magic & get it back. I don't think they can blame this on Lopez's absence.

You know I've been high on Teel since college & Edgar Quero even longer, when he was with LAA. It's a shame they both ended up at CWS. CWS won't trade with us unless somehow we can hide a 3-way trade (you have to be creative, so that eliminates us). Just for your info, Teel is 22.1, Quero has been doing well, his stock went up to 17.9. Larnach's stock is down to 11.9. Rushing is 43.6, not sure what it'd take to lure him from LAD but it'd sure be nice if we could. Not interested in Kjerstad, I'd rather take a chance on our guys.

IMO, it's interesting that all those years of stressing HRs, Sabato didn't amount to much. Now that they aren't, he's starting to hit. Baldelli likes his 1Bmen to have a lot of experience at 1B, because it's one of the most difficult positions to play (?). 6 yrs. now, Sabato should be pretty darn good. At 26 & just starting AAA, many TD members won't give him much of a chance but I would. IMO, because Miranda has more experience at the MLB & he can hit RHPs, he should have the lion's share of opportunity at 1B. Like any stat, you have some that dominate that stat, some who are bad & some who fluctuates. As far as France is concerned, he has been pretty steady being clutch throughout his career.

As much as I'd like that, IMO, Keirsey should get more regular ABs 1st.

Ryan pitched a great game, so did HOU, Lee had a good game hats off to them but HOU got one more clutch hit.

For examples; I'd like to dream on Eovaldi, Gallen might be too expensive too even as a rental. Both of them, we'd have to wait. IMO, we shouldn't wait. Alcantra would be a bargain for what you'll get. At the very least, we need an inning-eater, Kyle Gibson had a disappointing early season because he had no spring training. He could eat innings, he's great in the clubhouse & cheap. I don't know if the Twins'll do anything but they should. If the Pohlads are around next season, Falvey will be safe.

I have really liked our core. But like always, the Twins look at their WAR & OPS on their spreadsheets & say we need big bats. While we were w/o Wallner & Keaschall & Lewis, Correa & Castro hadn't kicked in yet & Julien was sent down to AAA. We put together a 13-game winning streak by pitching, defense, aggressive baserunning, clutch hitting & chemistry that even when they were behind, we knew we were going to win the game. We have to figure it out & regain that. Even if it means finding another identity. OF from the beginning was strong defensively with Buxton, Bader, Keirsey & Castro plus Wallner & Larnach's bats. INF has been fragile & was terrible when Julien was at 2B, hopefully it can be managed internally. Pitching has been our forte, but pitching is fragile when not properly managed. I was concerned with the amount of innings that Festa (early fatigue arm), Matthews, Simms, & Paddack (arm history) would be able to pitch. I strongly advocated for incorporating long relief even before spring training to save the rotation & BP. The only attempt of long relief was wrongly extending Alcala to 2 innings. I was hoping for more innings from Lopez, but he has become our 1st casualty. Things can & is starting to unravel with Matthews & maybe Ober going on the IL. Plus poor performance from Paddack. We need to incorporate some form of long relief as soon as possible & IMO we need another SP as soon as possible if we want to compete. Vazquez has been a pretty good defensive catcher & he has come through with some key hits. Jeffers is a very good-hitting catcher & can be solid defensively but he doesn't have the stamina to catch as much as the Twins want w/o wearing down. IMO, it's a big concern & what if either one gets hurt? We're cooked. I'd love for Jeffers to sign a reasonable extension but I'm not sure that'll happen & Vazquez, his contract is up next season. Our catching situation is totally up in the air with no MLB-ready catcher cemented on the roster, unless they string Jeffers along another year w/o an extension. I have seen this problem a mile away but the Twins fail to address the problem. (I don't consider getting a bunch of fringe AAA catchers to see if one sticks), I'd prefer for them to seriously address this problem sooner but better late than never. I projected at the beginning of the year that if they don't do anything to solve these problems, they won't be in the postseason. They haven't & it's getting late very quickly.

There are 3 time zones from Brazil to MN. I watched Buxton singled, I got excited & waited for him to steal 2B. That never happened. They have quieted down since Wallner came back & settled in their weird analytics. Jeffers grounded into a DP so I went to bed. We needed this game but the way it was going, I wasn't going to stay up to watch it.

Always hesitant about this rotation with how many innings we could get from Matthews, Festa, Paddack & SWR. When Lopez went down (he was one I was hoping to give us some real innings) and possibly now with Ober, that changes my perspective on the rotation quite a bit, even more so. I've strongly advocated long relief, & now I strongly suggest getting another SP. Alcantra can be a bargain while he's still finding himself. Gallen would be a rental, but still could be too expensive. I could dream on Eovaldi. At the very least pick up Kyle Gibson on a MiLB deal. He had a disappointing spring because he had no time to prepare w/o spring training. He's always been an inning-eater and would fit in great in the clubhouse, who would raise the spirits there.

Danchat took the words out of my mouth. I'm more concerned about our own prospects' playing time. Bride is making MLB money, so good for him. He'll be gone when one of our own guys is ready to come up. Yet I wish him well.