Doctor Gast

ABS is long overdue. It should have been implemented during COVID to create distance between catcher/ batter & older plate ump, when they were going crazy defining rules. We need to keep umpires calling the game; to keep the human element in the game is a bunch of bunk, invented by teams like the NYY to maintain their advantage. Baseball is a game of fractions of an inch, so we need technology to keep fairness in the game. If we want a human element in the game? Limit analytics.

I don't know the data; I never said I did. I only commented on the data that Jordonwest gave. My concern & observation is based on the Twins' ability to draft & develop these players. If you want to call out Jordonwest on his statement go ahead but leave me out of it. BTW, thanks for the data.

I have much more faith in Lewis & Lee to figure things out than Wallner, Because they are more natural hitters. Sano, Wallner, Larnach, Julien & to some extent Jeffers have come up in the MiLB learning the same hitting approach. Iniatally had a lot of power success, but MLB pitchers adjusted, which minimized clutch HRs & maximized SOs, leaving them useless. Sano & Julien couldn't readjust. Larnach & Jeffers adjusted so they wouldn't SO so much but greatly affected their HR counts. Wallner? Like Larnach & Jeffers, IMO, will adjust, but how many clutch HRs will he hit? Not many. IMO, his hitting will not justify is lack of defense, which justifies his keep. It pains me to see players like Wallner not develop correctly & although I'd love to see hometown Wallner do well, I've added him to my long past list of players that we need to trade before they become worthless (that Falvey ignores).

Thank you for sharing Jordonswest. My observation of how fewer Latinos are making it into MLB was mainly about the Twins. But I wouldn't doubt that it's a national problem. I wouldn't doubt it because analytics are widely accepted all over the league. I'd like to reiterate that IMO, Latinos are falling through the analytical cracks. In drafting, teams are looking at stats & are missing the point of how well they are able to acclimate to pro ball & a new culture. Plus, in development, they may have difficulty in assimilating the analytical data they are fed & maybe they are not getting the personal attention they need. IMO, this analytical craze, that favors non-athletic, defense-inept big bats has gone too far. All human element is abandoned. It's difficult for anybody to make it to the MLB IMO this has affected Latinos much more than anybody. It has hurt the Twins. They look only at the computer spreadsheet & miss the reality around them. IMO, baseball has greatly fallen in the USA from the national pastime; very few get excited anymore. But in Central America & the Orient, baseball is still big, people get very excited about the sport & their best athletes pursue baseball. In Central America, for many, baseball is their only way to survive. So they are very motivated. I was very disappointed that Roki Saki didn't choose MN. But why would he? MN has nothing to draw him here. We can't compete with the West for Japanese players, so we need to focus on the Latino' culture. We have baseball schools in the DR, which have served us well in the past. LAD has hired our Nelson Cruz to be their diplomat to these Central American countries; they aren't depending only on analytics & mass drafting to get lucky in the International draft. IMO, we should do the same

Suppose Falvey had really taken full responsibility of the team, instead of finding every excuse in the book to redeem himself. In that case, he'd step aside as FO & let someone who was able to initiate essential trades, good at player evaluations & development, & get back to real baseball. Twins could have built off the '23 team that beat TOR, we'd be where TOR is right now. Are we supposed to have hope in the one who failed to do that, completely gave away 40% of well-proven players for unproven, undeveloped, AAAA & redundant players/prospects? With all that, be responsible for the rebuild? Our hope begins when Falvey is out of the equation. HOU & BAL knew how to draft & develop players & things are different now, drafting isn't a given even if you knew what you are doing. Twins are probably waiting out the '27 lockout. But by that time, Falvey would have dug a pretty deep hole to climb out of. I want to be optimistic but it's hard for me, with the way things are.

IMO, Falvey assessed that Shelton & Rowson were the easiest to hire so from the beginning their names were out there. So, when they hire one of them, he'd say they were their top & best choice for the position from the beginning. None of these made my top 8 & their 4 is a big drop off from my 8, IMO. I'd be OK with Rowson if they have a terrific bench coach (Ron Washington would be a good choice if he'd be open). Someone who'd be focused on baseball smarts like fundamentals & gut feelings, not the MN way of 100% Falvey's analytics. IMO, I don't see any of these guys will bring in some valuable coaching with them. I'm not excited about the managerial selection because Falvey will be running the show.

After the train wreck from the deadline sell-off, gutting the team from competing for years. It only makes sense to trade Ryan. But the one responsible for trading away those well-proven MLB players for unproven, undeveloped, AAAA, redundant players/prospects, while not filling any essential pre-trade need. Will be responsible for trading away Ryan. So, I say no thank you! I'd rather keep Ryan & have some respectability than further bloating the farm & 40-man with these same players that Falvey loves to hoard. Many fans point to many teams that could really use Ryan; very well, you do need trading partners (that wouldn't be hard to do). But they totally miss what the Twins need? The top of the priority list is 2 young, promising MLB-ready catchers (they needed 1 for years). Up to now, they have failed. They talk about being creative. I doubt they know what that means.

Our best draftee was Steer & traded him away for Mahle

SS is one of the most important positions defensively. I'd rank them by their intangibles & where they brought us. #1 Gagne brought us 2 World Series Championships #2 Versalles took us to the dance 1st. The rest is up for grabs. To compete, you have to have a very good SS, Correa did that for us. Trading away Correa is saying; "We can't put together a competitive team even with Correa, so we need to dump his salary & use him as a scapegoat. It's the player's fault."

I believe his biggest injuries is behind him. His soft tissue injuries will get better. Giving up on Lewis is being very short-sighted.

Lewis put in too many short seasons prior to '24. So, putting in a career PA season, he simply ran out of gas. Confidence is one of Lewis's strong points; being weak in body & spirit, Lewis was vulnerable. Media & fans jumped all over Lewis's statement that, "he doesn't do slumps". Them making a big deal of this, plus Baldelli wanted him to move across the field, got into his head, screwed this young man up & destroyed his confidence. Desperate, he listened to everything that they told him. He was lost & pitchers took advantage of it. After the deadline, he rightfully decided to return to his natural swing. He got positive results right away but isn't 100%. I'm positive he'll get back to his potential if handled properly.

Santana overshifted a lot to compensate for Julien & sooooo many INF hits got through between him & 1B. I imagine that Correa did the same.

Twins loves to play Russian Roulette at 1B. We lose everytime because we never get better in the long-term.

Thank you for your opinion, MinnInPA. But I disagree, baseball is an international sport & I, for one, enjoy the diversity & excitement that Latinos & Orientals give to the sport. The World Games are a marvel to watch & are becoming more & more serious competition.

Again, I'm not saying we are shying away from Latino players, like you said, we have a high number of them in our system. 10 yrs ago, we had a lot of very promising young Latino players coming through our system, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco, Sano & Berrios, but IMO could have been handled differently. Later, we had Duran, who was a failure until they finally put him in the BP. Miranda came up, looked good & sputtered. We have Emmanuel Rodriguez now in our farm system, who was supposed to really impact the Twins this year. He has sputtered & lost some shine. Granted, injuries have something to do with it. We aren't drafting & developing impact Latino players like we used to. We have fallen in player development, but it seems it hit the Latino prospects more because of their analytic approach. I applaud them for having a Latino manager, but I don't think Ramon Borrego (now MLB 1B coach) has helped that much. There has been a lot of hype over some of our Latino acquisitions. Gabriel Gonzalez is a liability defensively & I doubt he can hit MLB pitching. We got a few promising catching prospects; Tait led that pack. But the Twins have done nothing to develop catchers since Swanson left. If they make it to MLB, it won't be at catching, which greatly deflates their value. I appreciate your opinion & optimism, Strumdatjag. But I see it as a long-term problem.

Defense isn't on Falvey's spreadsheet because you really can't gauge it very well. But defense has a huge impact on the game, especially for pitchers like Matthews. Julien was a huge liability at 2B, but Baldelli kept playing him there hoping Correa & Santana could cover for him. Correa had a great instinct for positioning himself & other INFers he quarterbacked. After Correa was gone, they stopped playing Julien at 2B. Lee might be a solid SS, but he lacks range & experience to position himself & the other INFers. The starting INFers might be solid bu they are slightly below average. We have to do better up the middle. If we had focused on defense, especially up the middle, Matthews would be much better, maybe outstanding.

Thank you, Harldson, for this blog. I can see the same problem, where I created a blog I, too, believe that Falvey isn't racist but he is biased towards his analytics & he ignores the human elements of the game. Diversity isn't very important to him as a manager. Because of it he doesn't communicate well with players or fans & destroying the team & fan culture. IMO, the most important quality for a manager is being able to relate, be patient, encourage & rally all players no matter race, age, religion or abilities; to be able to see the importance in each player & be able to bring that out (IMO, that's why college coaches make good MLB managers). Also bilingual is important to bring continuity to the team. They say that Baldelli is a player's manager because he was laid back, but IMO he lacked some of these qualities. 3 of my top 4 manager candidates aren't white & each has their own attributes. IMO, restoring club & fan culture & relational as I stated before is most important. Therefore, Tori Hunter is my top candidate. Charlie Greene is my 2nd choice because he checks off most of the boxes & I'd like him as my Bench coach, because he's very supportive. Ron Washington, is my 3rd. He's great at fundamentals; he might not be open to managing but he might be open to be INF & 3B coach, to help out his buddy Hunter. 4th is Nelson Cruz he's bilingual, a great hitting mentor, so I'd like him as MLB hitting & 1B coach. All have baseball smarts, a grasp of practical analytics, great people skills & all would make great managers in their own right. Only Wash has MLB managerial experience.

I agree with you, Coach. One of the greatest qualities of a manager is being able to relate to all players, & brings continuity & unity to the team. Also IMO, bilingual should be a qualification for a manager. IMO, these, along with baseball smarts are very important & all other qualities that are lacking can be supported by the bench coach & assistant coaches.

Thank you, my mistake

TOR & Twins are similar teams, MN beat out TOR in the '23 playoffs. But since MN went downhill & hit rock bottom thanks to Falvey. IMO, it started back when MN traded Berrios to TOR. Berrios has always given his team around or up to 200 innings/ season until this season, when his arm finally gave out at 166 innings with a respectable 9-5 record. In '23, TOR quickly turned MN reject Hoffman into a respected high-leverage RP. In '25, Falvey was more concerned about having a sacrificial lamb in Popkins than solving the real problem. TOR quickly took advantage of the situation & hired Pokins. It was understandable to trade France to TOR but trading Varland was idiotic, maddening, incomprehensible & unforgivable. These players, especially fireman Varland, were big reasons why TOR made it to the WS and why MN is in the crapper for many years to come.

If Twins are betting on their defense & development? They'll lose, until they get away from their 100% analytic approach, which downplays the importance of both defense & responsible hitting development. I like Houston, but will he get the right INF & hitting instruction? Over the last several years, the Twins have killed many potential MLB players' development by screwing up players' swings to fit their offensive mold, instead of allowing them to develop their own swing & customize it. Some pure hitters have somewhat come back after abandoning this approach, several are struggling & many are gone. Twins have bet on this philosophy & lost. To give Twins credit, I'll praise them for the way they have brought along Jenkins' hitting development by allowing him to find his own swing & not try to maximize HRs to make him look good on paper. In the long run, the Twins will benefit. I hope the Twins can help Houston blossom with his defense, but more so help him find his natural swing. If Houston can develop into a MLB GG at SS, that is enough; but if he can find his swing, he can be a future MLB All-Star.

I've been advocating Kepler or Larnach to CO for years.

I was figuratively speaking, to show their low cumulative value for the Twins' needs. Although they all do have some value (LHH cOFers are in demand), there could be some interested in one or maybe 2 by a single team, but of course not all of them. We could trade Wallner or even Rodon to fill some needs. All others are now only basically thrown in. With all these redundant players, Why does Falvey keep acquiring these mediocre, redundant players? I'll state again that Falvey loves to hoard these players, so trading isn't even an option.

Makes for a lot of LHH cOfers Wallner, Larnach, Kersey, Rodon, Outman, & Mendez. I'd trade the whole bunch for an exceptional one & a promising young MLB-ready catcher, to go along with Emma & Jenkins. But Falvey likes to hoard those players so we are stuck with them.

Up the middle is priority. There, the priority of up the middle is defense. Any offense is icing. We can lose more runs than you gain by having a less-than-desirable premium middle. IF you want dependable offense, look to the other position, especially DH, 1B & RF. The problem is that we think it's OK with less offense at these positions & expect more offense from the premium positions. Once you receive the offense that's required at these inferior positions, we don't have to be so concerned with it at the premium positions. CF is our only acceptable premium position defensively. We have Buxton to anchor it with good present & future depth. SS is below average but solid, with questionable present depth but hopeful future depth. 2B is below average but solid with questionable present & future depth (I'm not even including Julien as an option). Lee, Culpepper & Houston if not playing SS, profiles much better at 3B than able to help us out at 2B. Catcher is our worst position. Jeffers is an above-average offensively but he's our worst defensive starting player at where I consider our most prime position. But the worse part is our present & future depth is horrible. You want the best defensive player at each of those premium positions. If you don't have them, go get them.