ashbury

Two HRs, two baserunning challenges - I am so disappointed the last one wasn't overturned too.

#fireshelton

I attended a game at Dodger Stadium when they were going through that. You're not wrong about the vibe among the concession stands. Dunno why they cut corners that way, but apparently they do.

He sure doesn't score runs. Not like some sort of all-time great. Has he ever scored 90? Nor does he drive them in.

If we are talking about protecting John Klein then shouldn't we also be talking about protecting Mike Paredes who was better and pitched more innings at Wichita? No? Then no.

I don't want to see any of their pizazzes.

"What’s that? Ah – The World Series?! Don’t talk about – The World Series?! You kiddin’ me?! The World Series?! I just hope we can win 90 games! Another 90 games!"

Nice jinx there.

No comment from the broadcast crew about Freeman's uber-cazh backhand tag of Bichette? Not sure I ever saw that before.

Pasta-Diving Betts!

I just alluded to two examples of the going rate for acquisition.

Why would they do that? That's what they had. Including one bullpen arm that was still under control for league minimum salary. Replacing Duran will require either high dollar investment or high trade capital, for instance. Replacing Varland might require a good corner outfield prospect and a good starting pitcher prospect. 😄

And they could decide that a 75-win ceiling isn't worth diddly (or squat) and turn some additional present WAR into future WAR via trades, and the floor goes lower instead of higher. Their post-deadline record is small sample and doesn't guarantee anything - nevertheless they played at a 105-loss pace the rest of the way, and that's my starting point for this kind of discussion.

So did the Dodgers and that's why they kept the 17-year old and offered only OutMan.

Opportunity plays a role. No one on the team had even 600 PA (68 major leaguers reached that lofty threshold in 2025), but Larnach led the Twins with 567. Being third in RBIs seems like a black mark, not a gold star, for a guy whose only value is with the bat. In fairness, he did bat leadoff 14% of the time and in the 2-hole another 32%. But even in the 231 PA he batted 3rd or 4th, he racked up only 24 RBIs - at that rate he'd need nearly 1000 tries to accumulate 100 RBI. Teammate Byron Buxton achieved 83 RBIs in fewer PA; that's a bat that would be hard to replace. Jo Adell of the lowly Angels (hardly a run-producing powerhouse franchise) managed 98 RBI in his 573 plate appearances - maybe hitting 37 HR instead of Larnach's 17 had something to do with the discrepancy. There were plenty of players who produced RBIs for the Twins at a similar rate to Larnach. If he were gone, the plate appearances would be spread around and you'd never notice the difference, even as the roster stands now. Cody Freaking Klemens (a player I could hardly be accused of woofing for) would help fill the gap, for instance - Ty France did better too, and he didn't cost what Larnach is about to command in salary. Don't use RBIs as any kind of defense of Larnach's value in 2025. And if as you suggest he's not easy to replace, to say nothing of improving on? That would be a black mark on the FO.

About what? "So, Brent, what's it like hitting from the other side of the plate?"

We are watching an entertaining game.

Entertaining game though. I just didn't check the internet until now.

Could have been worse. It could have been 60 miles.

I prefer to use an analogy to Public Relations, seeking to place your product in the best possible light each time, accepting that the buying public will judge.

I've rebuilt franchises in one off-season playing OOTP. (Easy mode)

Which means he has the highest value to the Twins themselves right now. If they were going for it. Which trading all their good bullpen arms under 2025-26 control denies they will be doing. Which is what makes me sick.

It's the situational splits, if you want to use OPS as a guide. For his career, his OPS when the game is within 1 run has been .708. Once the game margin is more than 4 runs, his OPS swells to 1.090. His 2025 was like this but even a little more extreme. Once the game is pretty much decided, Wallner's your man. I think that's where the "disconnect between perception and reality" comes from - because totals aren't necessarily "reality" and sometimes perception is a clue to look deeper. By contrast, this year Byron Buxton was good in those >4 Run situations, .841 OPS - but he was even better when the game was within 1 run, .971. Most of us enjoyed Buxton's season, and he defies the MLB-wide trend, which in 2025 was .746/.713 - almost everybody hits a little better when the game gets out of hand. Wallner's just been an extreme case.

2. Then 3. ???? 4. Profit! 🙃

1985 and especially 1986 looked like regression. The magical 1987 post-season happened only because they were in the weak Western Division, nosing out KC and Oakland - 4 East teams were ahead of them in wins. Taken literally, your template is risky in terms of milestones along the way. and the patience a repeat of 1985/6 would require now. Nine years into Falvey's regime, I'd be more inclined to insist on progress each year, rather than implicitly give a 5-year blank check to try giving us a winner again. Now, if Falvey were replaced by someone good from outside, I'd have no choice but to sit tight for this 5-year plan.