Doctor Gast

The stats that you are quoting mainly comes from times he is trying to be a SP. Therefore this includes the secondary pitches that he is using that isn't working for him, I never said I supported him coming back to be part of the rotation. I definitely stated I didn't want him pitch 3Xs through the order & back only as long relief/ spot starting. Spot starting is exactly how he has been used at the MLB level since he was sent down this season. Which hasn't been bad and at times very good while giving the rotation a well-deserved breather. I believe he could be better when he secured in that role using primarily pitches that work for him. I'm not against him pitching in shorter stints (actually the stress would be on long relief that would go 1X through the order) but is more needed in the role I mention to maximize the relieving the stress from both the BP & rotation.

Varland has had problems fitting in the rotation. Varland is Varland. He has the stuff to get you through the order 2Xs easily. He needs to work on his change-up to get you beyond that. Who Varland is, is still very valuable to the Twins. Someone that the Twins should have been utilized from the beginning in a long relief/ spot start. If Varland was used earlier to take the pressure off the rotation & BP. IMO we have many more quality innings from both & Ryan would be still with us. His change-up still needs work so depending on him to fit into the rotation is foolish so stop wasting Varland down in AAA, take advantage of who he is. Depending on the team & how efficient he is, he could give you 5 innings maybe more when used with an opener as a spot starter. Long relief can save you a lot of BP arms to be used when absolutely needed. Until the Twins embrace the long relief/ spot starter role we'll continue to fight nonquality innings, injuries & worn-out arms for the postseason. That's not saying Varland can't work on his secondary pitches while in this role & during the offseason to become a legitimate SP. My problem is I hate to see Varland down in AAA wasting his bullets when he is so needed up in MLB. While watching Richards, & Okert pitching up in MLB & Alcala pitching in multiple innings & consecutive outings.

With little struggle, it looked like Sims was going to cruise through 5 innings with a 2 hit shutout. 4th inning, 2 outs, 0-2 count getting through the middle the order. Then he hit a wall & fought the rest of the way. Sims is a fighter. He got through with only one more hit but that hit was a PH HR. I don't know why they PH #2 in the order SHH Profar. There was nobody on, Solano is a RHH, The only reason I can think of is Solano said I can hit this guy. The HR was meaningless. The turning point for the Twins was the 4th inning. Bottom of the order who many think are automatic outs. But Julien singled, then Vazquez singled but Twins have no trouble of putting runners on base & even putting them in scoring position, Twins' problem is clutch hitting with RISP especially in close games, Martin provided that spark to start our big rally with a 2 run double. By the time Waldron got to Wallner he was well cooked in the game. In a critical game Waldron would have been taken out of the oven a long ago. Fortunately for Wallner, he wasn't & Wallner got the chance of sticking a fork in him when he served up a big juicy meatball. Wallner's HR was awesome but not clutch. We are fortunate to face STL & ATL at this time. Both are spiraling down. CLE & KC have a tough rest of Aug. We should take the lead in the division before that, Go Twins!

SD could be his biggest test so far, the way they are playing & how short-handed we are.

It seems like Baldelli is purposely sitting Richards out. In this case, it seems it was a double mistake on Baldelli's part because Alcala who has had surgery & been on the IL for about a year should be monitored & limit his outings to non-consecutive & 1 inning IMO.

Stats don't tell the whole story. 4th string Castro does a valiant job at SS trying to fill-in for Correa, while he does ok there on a short-term basis but he's over-stretched long-term. Martin is a natural 2Bman who has the potential & athleticism to be a valuable CFer. The problem it has taken the Twins 3 yrs. to discover this & that he's not a SS. Margot was signed to take over Taylor's CF spot but it was quickly discovered that Martin (with all his warts learning MLB CF on the fly) is better than Margot. Thank God for Martin but better yet bring up Keirsey & release Margot if we need to. Thank God we have Castro to fill in wherever we need at a quality level. Thank God for Vazquez & his ability to stay healthy otherwise we'd be sunk a long time ago. We have an abundance of defense where we don't need it but we are being stretched at the positions where it's very vital. Hurry up Correa, Buxton & Lee.

It's good to know that Thielbar's problem isn't his curveball. Thielbar has adapted his FB so hopefully he can return to his dominance. The NL hitters are very familiar with Okert & love to face him. We didn't do anything at the deadline except adding Richards to the valuable 40 man. Hurry up & bring Varland up to better our BP already!

MIA was happy to unload Okert, who greatly disappointed them last season, As was said Okert should not be depended upon, especially in the NL. Like Gordon should have been released, kept Varland on the active list & put Keirsey on the 40-man & brought up to bolster the OF with a LH bat. SD & AZ have been 2 of the hottest teams since the deadline, Due to their acquisitions of 2 MIA LHRPs (MN desperate need). Tanner Scott was well sought after so MIA was holding out for the best deal (SD isn't afraid to use prospects). But AJ Puk was flying under the radar. His poor #s from his SP experiment really brought down his demand even though RP #s were great. This FO's strategy is wait & pick over what's left. If the Twin could have seen Puk's worth early & offered Gonzales early in a trade. Early because MIA was motivated, Puk's stock was low & Gonzales's stock was high. Puk's ERA with AZ is 0.96, IMO it could be better with MN.

Julien has always been Julien, the difference is the league discovered his weakness & exploited it. He had to adjust & become a better hitter & not strike out so much. Just like Jeffers, Larnach & Wallner had to do. He had a good game last night & I wish him well but can he maintain that against pitchers more familiar with him? IMO we had more of a need at CF due to Buxton's absence, & would have preferred Keirsey to finally have a chance after producing all season at AAA.

While top dog at BA fantasy prospects is quite an honor. There's quite a bit difference between fantasy & real life. There's no doubt that Emma has the potential & the 5 tools. It seems that Wallner after years in the pros is just started developing his defense & hitting to go along with his power. Hope Emma can develop them quicker. I'd love to keep Emma in the organization but if there came an opportunity to highly upgrade a need, I'd consider a trade if the other side was highly motivated.

SD is one of the hottest teams right now, so we really miss Correa & Buxton. Still was a good game. We score runs while Martin is on the bases. Either he scores himself through heads-up base running or like last night his heads-up base running move, allowed Julien to score. Just because he doesn't hit a ton of HRs doesn't mean he is still not a valuable asset to the Twins even as a rookie. King is a very good pitcher, too bad Matthews was matched up against him. If another player other than Santana had missed that grounder, fans would be all over him. It was a treat to see our old friend Arraez play again & we'll face another old friend Perez tonite. I wish them both well but not while playing the Twins.

OK, thank you for that info. We all know Twins love to PH. What is the Twins' PH BA? How successful are they at PHing? Seems to me they aren't very good at it. To be frank, I know PHing is very difficult, I'm not trying to criticize Baldelli & I certainly don't have the answer as much as I'm looking for answers & like the Twins to be better at it. And if they aren't successful at it should they change their philosophy or approach? Should they PH less? I'm asking for your opinion,

Just a suggestion, if Baldelli wants to utilize the PH role. IMO he should better prepare them.

It's easy for some people to put others in a box. Sands has steadily proved others wrong. Cole keep doing it, we need you.

Thanks Nick for putting Captain Griffin Jax in the spotlight which he justly deserves for his command of the Relief Corp. MVP considerations are in order.

I was concerned over Correa's absence, more yet when Buxton got time off together with the loss of Ryan & Stewart. But the team put together come-from-behind rallies, winning close games, hitting in the clutch, and steady pitching w/o them. We have been closing the gap on a very good team in CLE. But CLE has heavily leaned on their BP & IMO that will turn around & bite them. And I'm very concerned that we are heading down that same road. Alcala, returning from having surgery & being on the IL for most of '23 & started late in '24. IMO, should not pitch for more than 2 innings at a time & not on consecutive days. Alcala was pitched on consecutive days which I account for his poor outing, Duran has pitched 4 out of the last 5 days. So far we have lost Ryan & Stewart, we have to take the pressure off the BP & rotation. I liked that they brought in Varland to spot start to give the rotation a breather. But they need a steady incorporation of long relief, spot-starting & everything pertaining to that (BP game. opener, etc.) A large variation of pitchers could be used, I advocated Varland to be used in that capacity since the beginning of the season & who knows if Paddack was used in that capacity he'd still be around as Ryan could have used that relief earlier. SD is hot so we have to keep the pressure on to keep pace with CLE.

You are accusing me of fabricating a false narrative or lying for some reason. We live in a free country as far as I am aware. In a free country the burden of proof lies on the accuser not the accused (the person is innocent until proven guilty). Maybe some people don't care if they are liars, come up with false narratives to fit their agenda or to be called one. Be assured I am not one of them. I take it very seriously not to lie. I have no alternative motive to create a false narrative. I certainly don't look to TD as my source of recognition. On the other hand, social media is full of false narratives, a conduit to spread lies, spin stats to benefit themselves & their cause. Here is where people get their info, & believe everything they read as gospel which in many cases are not. Just because so many people believe social media as gospel doesn't mean it's true. People who come up with these false narratives don't want to encourage you to think they want you to irrationally accept everything they say. You only think what I say is ridiculous because it doesn't fit into your nice little social media box. I don't understand why so many people want to attack my credibility. That's why I use past confrontations to confirm my credibility & my confronters' amnesia not to pat myself on the back (I'm sorry if it may appear that way). My motive is solely to open people's eyes, get people to observe, think on their own, make assumptions on their own, come to conclusions on their own & not accept everything blindly. If that is to buck the system then so be it. I always say to consider the source, I have nothing to gain by what I write. I don't want people to blindly accept my observations but my hope is that they'd be open & start their own process. My appeal is to open-minded people who can see my sincerity & honesty & be not distracted by the noise.

This Alcala's return season from an extended IL & surgery last season. I'd take it easier on Alcala by not letting him go multiple innings & not go consecutive days. If Jax was available I'd have gone with him. I wouldn't also not have Duran pitch 4 out of 5Xs. CLE is really working their BP, IMO it'll turn around & bite them. I don't want that to happen to the Twins but we have Stewart already gone we can't afford any more injuries or ineffective innings. We should have swept the Rangers.

One thing they aren't false narratives if you really are concerned that they are false then prove me wrong check past threads about these topics at TD like people like to preach to me. If you want I can send old Kiriloff's trade transactions from BTV. I only bring them up to put things into context & because I'm constantly accused of being wrong then I'm proven right then those accusants suddenly have amnesia & disappear. I don't need to pat myself on the back. If I did, wouldn't expect to find recognition here. I really don't need the grief.

That's absolutely ridiculous! Kiriloff is a far superior hitter that vastly outproduced Santana while he was healthy & wasn't given the opportunity to stay healthy. I can't help that you can't see that the Miranda/ Kiriloff platoon is far better option than only Santana. You can disagree with what I write but let's not be ridiculous.

That least valuable player is a great disservice to Vazquez & shows an inability to judge value. Catching is probably the most important defensive position on the field. & Vazquez tangible & intangible defensive talents were evident & very valuable before he started to hit. Like all those talents were invalid until he showed some ability to hit. That is the wrong precedence, those talents are relevant whether he hits or not. The Value Beyond the Numbers What’s made Vázquez worth every penny of his $10 million annual salary isn't just his improved stats, though those are certainly part of the story. His influence on the Twins' pitching staff has been immeasurable. The Twins’ young arms, including Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, have consistently praised Vázquez for his game-calling and ability to guide them through ,challenging situations. His ability to work with pitchers, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and adjust on the fly has been critical in helping the team navigate the ups and downs of the season. This kind of leadership is invaluable and is precisely why the Twins were willing to commit to him in free agency.

Back a few years ago many were for trading away Lewis & keeping Kiriloff. I saw the overall worth of Lewis & was dead-set on keeping Lewis even before AFL. Many loved Kiriloff bat & overlooked his glove. On Baseball Trade Values all my trades for big-time SP (Castillo) included Kiriloff. I wished we had traded Kiriloff back then. IMO this whole team plus others that are gone, are marred from poor communication, injuries & questions of what could have been. IMO it's unfair to make Kiriloff pay when others are just as guilty. Others who have had injury problems were put & kept on DH to protect them. Kiriloff was put on 1B/ DH duty until Larnach hurt his toe & Kiriloff, who was one of if not the best hitter on the Twins & his bat was needed in the line-up. So Kiriloff was taken off DH/1B duty & put in the OF where he hurt himself & all this mess started, IMO all this could have been avoided if they hadn't signed FA Santana. Yes Santana is contributing now but when Kiriloff was healthy & raking, Santana was tanking. If we didn't have Santana, Kiriloff would been kept at 1B, he'd have felt more secure in his status with the Twins thus less likely playing hurt & less likely getting hurt & more likely he'd maintain his early success (& increase his trade value). At that point nobody would be talking about trading Kiriloff. Then we could correctly evaluation our needs at 1B. Instead of Kiriloff fighting for his life now. IMO Santana has impaired us from making efficient & economical decisions present & future, & I'd most certainly wouldn't make that same mistake by resigning Santana. For the same reason that I'd have traded Kiriloff in the past (high trade value), I would not trade Kiriloff now because of his low trade value. For the same reason MIA will not trade Alcantra this offseason is the same reason I would not trade Kiriloff, because you'll no way get his true value & every team in the league know his potential & will wait in line to get him for nothing. IMO his structural injuries have past, his vulnerable soft-tissue will pass, all his inefficiency is based on injuries with a little patience & proper care Kiriloff will break out soon. Then you can think about trading him. These are my opinions that normally don't line up with social media but I believe they are valid.

Agreed, but I don't consider the Cruz trade as an unload (flipping). Cruz was a valuable asset for the Twins the entire time he was with the Twins well worth the price. Unfortunately for TB he was not. If MN was still in the hunt Cruz would not have been moved. LAD seems to have that knack for unloading players.

No I didn't, That trade decimated our catching depth from one of the best to much worse. & 3B became worse. Did you forget?

Great job Sherry. Texas has pitched well but the Twins w/o Correa & Buxton plus Lewis & Miranda not excelling lately, have come through by out (small) balling them by underrated Twins players by getting clutch hits at the right time, reliable pitching & executing. Castro came through the biggest. Congratulations to Henriquez on his 1st win. Against his former team, that had to be extra sweet. Correa has been our best player & I didn't think we had a chance w/o him & then later w/o Buxton & Ryan. But the Twins have come through by winning close games, hitting key hits towards the end of the game showing great team effort, our SPs keeping us in the game and our RPs holding the games. I have defended the Twins' line-up when many have given up on them & they have proven to be better than I thought.