Doctor Gast

Just tuned in. Always a great game with us leading the Yanks! Ryan fantastic debut & Wallner is a monster!

That's always the problem with opponents broadcasting

Why don't you read my text, I didn't say hitting HRs. I said raise his OPS, which was at .848 at AAA & .936 at AFL. Focusing on his hitting doesn't mean hitting HRs. But you are a type of fan that believes a player is worthless unless he hits a ton of HRs, you are terribly wrong.

Correa has so many more intangibles that WAR doesn't figure in that make Correa so valuable to the Twins, so when he is missing there's a big hole. Correa also knows how important his body is to where he takes special care in conditioning. He has figured out his plantar fascilitisis, where he uses special cushions & treatment so I expect he'll be playing more this season. I'm thankful for Lee's glove but I'm concerned with his hitting & chronic back problems. I'm glad we have Castro, but I hope he doesn't have to play there too much & Martin? IDK if any of our SS prospects will stick at SS or make it to MLB. I hope Culpepper can be a Correa type SS. We lack true SS prospects. But IMO SS will be a dominating force this season as it needs to be. Whenever Correa needs to move off SS then we'll have a problem.

That's why they brought him back for potentially the same money. The saddest thing about the Polanco saga is that they kept playing him at SS for years after his ankles said he couldn't & after injuring his knee (it was obvious by his performance, that he shouldn't be playing) they kept sending him out there until he could no longer take the field. That physical abuse has kept Polanco from sustaining any MLB success since. Polanco had the potential to be a MVP when he started his MLB career.

“I mean, he’s a gamer,” said Lopez after the game. “He can do that at any position. He goes out there and he’s so athletic that he just makes those plays. I do appreciate that as a pitcher.” In my baseball days, 2B was my natural position. But I played very little there because I was needed to play elsewhere. I played all over the field, I was 1st groomed to be a pitcher, I enjoyed playing catcher the most, being able to control the game. I played all over the OF, I wasn't bad in the OF in HS, I was much better than the other options we had. Because I played some OF doesn't mean it was easy for me & I didn't make mistakes, neither did it qualify me to play OF in college or independent ball. Martin can get by in the OF but should he play there? Martin played too much CF last season because he was our best 2nd option as Twins Keirsey was stuck in AAA. We have too many better options, which OF is their natural position to waste Martin's time there, just to have an occasional RH platoon bat for Baldelli. IMO Martin is a more natural 2Bman & he can naturally excel there where he can focus on his hitting & raise his OPS to levels he's capable of, where he can get Martin haters off his back. So he can do what he does best which is getting on base, raze havoc on the bases, score runs & starts rallies with his spunkyness. All qualities Twins desperately need. Julien & Lee should be sent down to AAA. We need Martin more at 2B than the OF.

Just saw Jacob Bosiokovic on YouTube, Twins signing him on a BP session.

Topa is day to day, sounds familiar?

"Top prospect Luke Keaschall is returning from Tommy John surgery last August, but many believe he can be a long-term third base option. The Twins will be careful with him in the season’s early months, but he could be an option for the big-league squad in the second half." Why not throw Keaschal right in at 3B. 3B isn't any different than 1B or DH? Is it?

Got bad news, Canterino is down with shoulder problems already, Doesn't sound good.

In my opinion, Tonkin shouldn't be considered to be on the active roster. We have a lot of candidates with options that can slot in the active roster throughout the season. Hopefully Castellano can make the roster, I have faith in Alcala. In my opinion, Varland is one of the top candidates to make the roster. We have so many good BP arms that I don't want them to waste their bullets in AAA.

I'd considered Lewis for 1B this season only to cover for Miranda & help to protect him from some soft-tissue injury which he could still be susceptible to. But since we got France & Baldelli hasn't considered him IMO it's out the question. IMO this season Lewis is healthier, will have more stamina & hopefully they can get the INF coach to help him with his throwing. Lewis will be a very good 3Bman. 3B should be one of our deepest positions, so keep Miranda off there.

I pretty much gave up on Cartaya in '23. If LAD, who have produced a few top catchers in recent history, gave up on him, what makes the Twins think that they can miraculously transform Cartaya into a very good defensive MLB catcher, to replace Vazquez? Since Tanner Swanson I haven't seen any noticeable development our catchers. I had great hope in Olivar, a very good hitting catcher who had the tools to be a very good defensive catcher. Now he's not even expected to stick at catcher. When Vazquez was settled in BOS, he was a good hitter. Understandably, Vazquez had a bad year in his 1st year focusing on getting to know the pitchers & adapting to a new team, his 2nd year he improved & now his 3rd year I'm expecting a better hitter & that should be a better bench mark to compare. Cartaya is a catcher, he's not converted from another position or moonlight another position. I am hopeful from his recent improvement in his defensive skills & hope he can maintain what he learned in LAD & pick up on some stuff from Vazquez. LAD knows Cartaya better than anybody, & I'm sure they have been working on his hitting especially the last couple of years. I don't think that the Twins will find that magical key to unlock his hitting problems over night or even before Vazquez leaves. How Cartaya has progressed in the upper MiLB tells me he'll also have some difficulty adjusting to MLB. We need to look at the whole picture. I have my doubts if Cartaya will be ready to viabally replace Vazquez defensively, offensively & especially stamina. Jeffers lacks the stamina to maintain his production at equal tandem duties so Cartaya has to really step it up. So I say the Twins need to look for a promising MLB-ready catcher to be groomed to takeover for Vazquez. Plus it won't be a slam dunk that the Twins can afford a Jeffers extension. So they may need a Jeffers replacement. Will Cartaya become a MLB catcher? I say yes but it's hard to say when or how far. IMO Camargo could be MLB-ready before Cartaya.

Castro's greatest value to the Twins is his flexibility. Castro was stretched too far last season which affected his production. This season I'd be very surprised with the way this team has been constructed, that Castro will play any CF maybe even LF if everybody stays healthy & effective. It seems that they are trying to squeeze Castro out. IMO it's a waste to fix Castro at 2B, We still need him at SS & 3B. Correa & Lee's health is not dependable. Lewis & Lee's health is not dependable at 3B, IMO Miranda should stay off 3B. At 2B Lee & Julien should be sent down to AAA to get their hitting back & Julien to figure out 1B. With Castro able to add quality depth at valuable 5 positions, which helps conserve valuable roster spots. IMO Castro will be less needed at more stressful positions & be able to maintain his production.

FO has more invested in Paddack than money. Whether he breezes or limps through ST, he'll be in the rotation when camp breaks.

Donak might gets some look from other teams that really pitching.

Good game for basically 2nd team.

Great to see Miranda at 1B!

Sandy Leon is having a pretty good ST. Remember him?

ATL is a good team & having a good ST

Just tuned in. Dobnak toe to toe with Sales in 0-0 tie. Who would have thunk it!

Frankly, I'm very concerned defensively on the right side. Baldelli is determined to have France at 1B, normally I'm not concerned at 1B defensively if he can provide average-ish defense & you have a decent 2Bman with plenty of range. But France is an established hack at 1B & Baldelli is determined to play Julien at 2B. When I watched, too many GB got through the right side of the INF while Julien was playing there even with Santana & Correa playing beside him. With France it'll be a nightmare. Julien & Lee both had very good OBP at the MiLB level, which is a very good quality for a leadoff hitter. But last season they had trouble hitting & neither have shown to be a terror on the bases, which is another valuable leadoff trait. Unlike Julien, Lee has a solid glove, yet besides not hitting I'm concerned about his chronic back problem. I would not depend too much on him to anchor any position & would limit the amount of games played. Julien is stretched at 2B, both Julien & Lee should be sent down to AAA to work on their hitting & Julien, his learning 1B. Martin has been moved all around the field & stretched at SS & CF. Now they want to groom him in CF. IMO this is super redundant. They have (RH) Buxton & Bader, (LH) Keirsey (MLB) Emma (AAA) on the 40 man with (BH) Cerda (MLB) on a MiLB contract all accomplished CFers plus others. Martin isn't needed in CF. Martin is better served at 2B, his natural position. Settled at 2B, he can focus on his hitting & getting on base. Martin is also a better candidate for the leadoff hitter position. In MiLB he also had a very good OBP & he was a terror on the base path. IMO Martin is our solution at 2B & as the leadoff hitter.

Over spending for brought in, washed-up veterans, in place of capable inhouse players? Where have I seen that before? Sounds familiar? I don't fault the Pohlads for not spending the money that many wanted on big-name FAs, the Pohlads have spent more than the rest of our competitors in the Central (I doubt the next owners would do much better if any). But I do fault the Pohlads for not caring for the Twins. They have created a friendship with Falvey that allowed him to completely take over the Twins (& promoted his yes-men) in areas that he's totally incapable of managing, therefore this mismanagement has held the Twins back, not lack of spending. In the case of the Twins, stability isn't a positive point. I hope that maintaining Falvey in control of everything, wasn't a stipulation in the sale contract.

I'm a Twins fan, I'm not familiar with how the NBA works. IMO in MLB the FO is the driving force. The Twins need be shaken up. Falvey can stay where he is & be responsible for the pitching, but all the other duties need to be transferred to a more baseball smart & better trade negotiating FO. Hopefully the new owners would have enough interest in the team to do that. I agree that spending money doesn't ensure success, you have to be smart in what you do.

Both rotations were very good but the BP & rotation ran out of gas in '19 & the Bomba Squad didn't show up either for the playoff. '23 the rotation & BP were more rested for the playoffs, López was great, but the deciding factor was Correa & his ability to motivate Lewis.