Kevin Urdahl

Thank you RandBalls Stu!

RandBalls Stu should be the only one allowed to write satire on the site. The rest are poor imitations!

This makes perfect sense! Hope Rocco makes it happen!

Great article. I remember when he came up as a rookie and Ron Gardenhire said of his stuff, "I'm glad he's on our team." Enjoy time with your family, Kyle. Thanks for all your contributions to the Twins.

Thank you, RandBalls, Stu! Hilarious, as usual!

I would also put Jose Miranda on this list. I think Willi Castro and Griffin Jax are not that surprising. Preseason projections for them were pessimistic.

Question answered. The good one.

I would like to see Buxton on the roster in the next series (after we win this one!) as a bench bat - pinch hitter. I do think its possible he'll rise to the occasion. I think it is more likely he would contribute to a win as a pinch-hitter than it is that Stevenson would contribute to a win as a defensive substitute. Castro is an adequate defensive substitute in CF if Taylor needs to come out for a PH. I think hitting is contagious and seeing what Royce is doing on bum wheels could provide inspiration. Buxton is itching to contribute.

I would start Ober in Game 1, and bump Ryan to game 4, if needed. Keep Maeda in the pen. He will be valuable there. I think Paddock is the other option that Ober could replace. Funderburk has pitched so well and I love having a second lefty in the pen. As much as I'd love to see Buxton. I don't think he's ready. Maybe the World Series?!

To me this leaves six: Buxton, Lewis, Lee, Polanco, Ryan, and Julien . . . .how can one of these not be in the top 20? I'm guessing Julien isn't making it, but I would put him no lower than #11.

As a Twins fan living in Seattle, I would do this deal. I've seen Flexen pitch on a number of occasions and he does have upside. If you could get him and a good pitching prospect for Kep that would be a win.

I'd go for Contreras and Rodon this off season. Skip the expensive mega-year contract at SS, go for internal or cheap short-term option at SS and wait for Lewis/Martin/Lee. Don't block their paths. Money better spend elsewhere, where we don't have promising prospects.

I'd rather give the job temporarily to Nick Gordon, and wait for either Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, or Brooks Lee. Let Correa walk and spend the money on top line pitching instead.

Two of the worst examples of giving the pitcher too early hook from critical Sept. games: 1) Louis Varland's debut in NY. Was absolutely dominating the Yankees, but Rocco pulled him with a 3-1 lead with one out in the 5th with a runner on first. At the time he had 80 pitches and had allowed 3 hits, 1 BB, and 1 ER. I as listening to the Yankees radio broadcast at the time, and their broadcaster's were incredulous. One asked, "Is their manager even watching the game? Does he see what's going on out there?" The other said, "It's hard to watch the game when your head is buried in your laptop." Then Jax allowed a two run homer, the game went 12 innings, and they burned 6 pitchers, lost the game and had another doubleheader that night. 2) First game of critical 5 game series in Cleveland. Had a doubleheader the following day. Ober was absolutely cruising through 5. 1 hit, 1 BB, and no runs. Only 70 pitches. Ober's first game back, but before the game Baldelli said no restrictions on Ober's pitch count. Baldelli pulled him after 5. Lost the game. Burned their best 4 relievers and were unavailable for doubleheader the following day. Crazy. I think analytics can be good if used with enough sophistication, but I argue they are applying analytics too simplistically. I understand that on average it is better to bring in a reliever than let your starter go through the order a third time, but is that really true if your starter is dominating and has pitched a shutout through five? I doubt it. Also, what are the analytics for how to manage your pitchers for an entire series and not just a single game? Sometimes it makes sense to ride pitchers longer, and if they applied more complexity to their analytics, I bet they'd see the same.

Agree!

Sounds like the second-coming of Glenn Borgmann!

I'd also rather see the Rays than the Yankees. But I'd also rather see the White Sox than the Indians now that Ramirez is on fire to provide something to go with that pitching. But truth be told, I'd take the Twins over all of them. They are peaking at the right time. I'm feeling the magic!!!

I would go with Gagne and his defense over Pat Meares. According to Baseball Reference, Gagne had a cumulative WAR of 7.1 in his three years at SS in the 90s (90-92), whereas Meares had a WAR of 5.8 in six years (93-98).

Love that Tom Campbell was 17-5 in 1976, pitching 167 2/3 innings with 0 starts! Amazing! I remember that year well!

Great list. Spot on, in my opinion. Love the discussion and hearing these names again.

I would also vote for Disco Danny over Tovar for the 70s (Tovar's performance in the 60's don't count). I really liked Steve Braun, but as a 3rd baseman he only played in 73, 74, and 102 games at 3B in 71-73. After that he played mainly in the OF. At 3B I would give the edge to Eric Soderholm. He played more games at 3rd, had pretty comparable offensive numbers (OPS+ of 133, 110, and 119 compared to OPS+ of 95, 110, and 135) and was a better fielder at 3B than Braun. It was the emergence of Soderholm that led to Braun being moved to the OF.

Twins don't win the 87 World Series, or even make it into the playoffs, without trading for Reardon. Gotta be in the top 3.