darwin22

Nash: Wondering if you---or anyone else------knows the pitching lineup for the Kernels homestand against Peoria this weekend? Planning a road trip from Kansas City to Cedar Rapids to catch their Sunday afternoon game. Hoping to see Povich or Festa start.

Doc- Nice analysis in your post. Assuming---a big one, I know--Twins can get Lee signed in the next month, is it realistic he gets assigned/playing time with Fort Myers or Cedar Rapids before the end of the season? Both FM and CR have their regular season extend into mid September--------last game on Sept. 16th.

No kidding. I'm glad I had a mid afternoon tee time so I was able to miss the carnage. Just a train wreck in our last 4 losses to CHW---38 runs allowed. No reason to waste my time imploring Falvey to improve this team. Its not going to happen. Its just not the "Twins Way," I get it. Saying that, it makes me sick to see this season slowly going down the drain when it doesn't have to go that route.

By no means opposed to this pick, but considering the dearth of organizational talent at catcher, I would've like to see Twins pick Kevin Parada from Georgia Tech.

I tend to agree with you, but if its just "now" Rocco is figuring this out----then his acumen for managing his bullpen is even more under scrutiny.

Thats one of the ONLY scenarios that I'd support trading for Snell. Getting rid of Sano is worth the risk, albeit I'd have to look at the financials.

Having seen Miranda in 4 games last year when he was with Wichita------before his promotion to AAA, it sure is satisfying to see him make some adjustments from his rough early star to the season. My "eye test" seems to indicate he's becoming more relaxed/confident at the plate. Defensively, he's not there yet, but he seems much more comfortable at 3B.

Must've paced at least 1000 steps in my basement with Duffey pitching in 9th. I'll take the win.

Well.........where do I start after this team gagged away game that should've gone in the win column. I'll start with the positive: CLE lost again to DET.......way to go Tigers. Appreciate the help. Now ....for the not so positive.....where do I begin? I guess I'll go the flow of the game. Joe Ryan: I guess I need to remember he's a rookie and will have starts like this, but, saying that, Ryan needs to be better than he was today. Only 4 completed IP which took him 85 pitches. Not good. Pagan: Was a little surprised to see him enter in the 5th inning with a 2-run lead after Polanco's blast. Well, Pagan proved he can't handle a lead now in the MIDDLE part of the game as that 2-run lead was short lived. After getting ahead of Vaughn 0-2, Pagan couldn't put him away surrendering an infield single. After getting ahead of Robert 1-2, the Pagan Sacrifice served up his 84 mph "cutter of death," which was launched. Having now proved he can't be trusted to protect a late inning lead (multiple blows saves vs. CLE in less than a week) nor a lead in the mid innings------I honestly ask, moving forward-----where can he be used other than mop up duty/ deficit of 3+ runs?? For those still believing Pagan serves a vital role in this bullpen, I have to ask---What makes you believe that? His season ERA is now up to 5.34. Pagan's regression----10.03 ERA since June 1st (11.2 IP/ 13 ER) -----signals to me his tenure as a Twin has to be coming to an end. Moving forward/ later in the game.... T. Megill: Pitching in bottom of 8th with ANOTHER 2-run lead after Urshela's HR, I was actually hopeful that Megill could protect the lead. Not the case, as well all know. Ryan Jeffers: Throwing Jeffers into the fray here, but I do have to question his pitch call to Sox catcher Zavala. With an 0-2 count after two 4-seam 97-98 fastballs---Jeffers called for a curve, which Megill left up, that was lined to RF for a single. After Kepler's great catch for the second out, a similar situation arose in the Vaughn at-bat. With Vaughn battling, but still with a 1-2 count, why would Jeffers call for another curveball....the 5th curveball....in Vaughn's at-bat? Yes, I know Megill made the pitch, but when you throw 98.....I just hate getting beat on my 2nd best pitch. Oh...1 more thing on Jeffers: His waffle iron of a mitt....PB in bottom of 10th was critical in loss. Our offense: Hard to find fault here after scoring 8 runs, but going 2-11 with RISP didn't help. and finally........ Baldelli: 2 things, I find fault with: #1 Why wouldn't you let Duran come out for the 10th after he breezed through Abreu, Sheets and Jimenez in the 9th? Duran threw a total of 9.....9 pitches. #2 Why was Jeffers allowed to hit in the 10th with runners on 1st and 2nd and only 1 out when BOTH Sanchez and Correa were available to pinch hit?? As soon as I saw Jeffers come to hit, I immediately knew the inning was over. Proved right when Jeffers GIDP. oops.....I knew I was forgetting 1 more person: Derrick Falvey: Where are you Derrick? How many MORE late inning losses---due to our gas can of a bullpen---are you going to allow without taking action? After today's debacle, which I think is at least our 10th loss after leading after the 7th inning----honestly, I've lost count---makes myself and countless other fans question your commitment. Just asking you to simply do your J-O-B!!

Add the White Sox to your list. At least he's consistent. He's now proven he can blow a lead (2 runs today) in non high leverage situations. IMO he's moved behind EVERYONE in the bullpen.

Doubtful that MIA will make Lopez available, but if he is and the player/prospect haul isn't too outlandish----he is my #1 by a large margin. He's the youngest in the group and is under team control for 2 more seasons.

Agree with your comment. Even moreso, I'm liking what Kirilloff adds defensively. His stretch on that close play in the 10th to get Garcia out was pivotal. As much as I like Arraez there, he's better suited at 2B. If Kirilloff can stay healthy, I fully believe the production & power will continue to come.

And just because I feel like kicking myself for being a lifelong Minnesota Twins and Vikings fan---lets not forget the following: 1. 1984 late season collapse against CLE blowing a 10-1 (close to that lead) to lose on a Jamie Quirk homerun. Yes, that was the infamous doing of RD. 2. 18 consecutive playoff losses by Twins. 3. The Herschel Walker trade 4. Gary Anderson's missed 38 yd chip shot FG in the NFC Championship in 1998 that would've given the Vikes a 10 pt lead with just over 2 minutes to play. 5. Favre's--omg horrible INT late in the Saints playoff game that was lost in OT. Many others I've not mentioned, but yes, being a Minnesota fan is nothing more than the inevitable crushing of your soul.

Today.....I won't disagree with your comments as Hamilton, Cano and Minaya are short term options--until Falvey can make trades to acquire better arms. None of those 3 should be considered a long term fix.

Really nothing new to add after my lengthy post late last night, but will make the following inquiry to Falvey: What are you doing NOW/TONIGHT in your capacity to correct the problem YOU created? Any hope of being a playoff team is predicated on YOU upgrading the bullpen with a minimum of acquiring 2 RPs. Alcala is not going to be back to contribute. Coulombe is not the answer either. After today's implosion-----your team has 83 games remaining. For argument sake---lets say Twins SPs go 6 IP in 30 of those games. That still requires the bullpen to cover 90 innings (7th-8th and 9th x 30 games) Continuing in that vein......Twins SPs go at least 5IP in the other 53 games. That will require the bullpen to cover 212 IP (4 innings x 53 games), That total is 302 IP over the final 83 games, Duran, Jax and Theilbar-------your only 3 effective RPs MIGHT....MIGHT...be able to cover 100 of those innings, which is probably an exaggeration. That leaves 200 IP for Twins bullpen to cover. The "other 5" currently in these roles--------Pagan, Duffey, Thornburg, Cotton & Moran------all are candidates to be demoted or DFA'ed. If Smith can return healthy and resemble anything close to what he did early in the season, he's your #4 RP behind the top 3. His return would allow a DFA or demotion of Thornburg. If Coulombe can return healthy he gives you another needed LH option. That spot is up for grabs. I would prefer to see Moran, but he has to earn it. That's your #5 RP RP #6, imo, is a battle between Cotton and Duffey, which can be decided in games between tomorrow and the upcoming All Star break. The "loser" gets DFA'ed. Unnamed RP #7 and RP #8 must be acquired via trade! NOW is that time. I'd prefer 1 RH as well as 1 LH. Worthy candidates from multiple losing teams (TX-OAK-PIT-AZ-MIA) that could be added without sacrificing significant prospects. Who did I leave out? Oh....yeah.....the Pagan Sacrifice. Didn't think I'd see the reincarnation of Alex Colome so soon on this team. Plain and simple he needs to be released asap.

Although the hour is late---------A few things to mention after the latest edition of "Groundhog Day" from our bullpen. Go ahead and bring the criticism but the BLAME for these recent losses, imo, falls 95% at the hands of our front office......Falvey & Levine. They are the ones that built this bullpen--------NOT........ Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli continues to be hamstrung by a GM/front office that ignored and continues to ignore the glaring need for bullpen improvements. Saying that, the only "blame" that I could hand out to Baldelli tonight would be his choice to start Pagan in the 10th inning instead of Cotton. That is a fair argument. Pagan has been nothing more a complete train wreck this month----ERA over 9-------with before tonight---------3 horrible outings against CLE within the past week. Reverting back to my original point--------Falvey/Levine are RESPONSIBLE for this mess. This bullpen has only 3 reliable/consistent pitchers: Duran, Jax and to a lesser extent Thielbar. That's it. The other 5"not ready for prime team" RPs that Falvey has given us are: 1. Tyler Duffey: Not much to say here. Basically unusable in late game/high leverage situations. 2. Jovanni Moran: Rookie. Pitched most of 2021 at AA. Has been average in time at AAA. 3. Tyler Thornburg: Career journeyman. Signed on June 12 as free agent. Your #8 RP 4. The aforementioned Pagan: No further info needed 5. Jharel Cotton: Super rough ending for him tonight due to Pagan's issues, but lets not forget his short history with Twins: Signed to minor league FA deal in offseason. No other team wanted him. DFA'ed by Twins on April 13th. Cleared waivers and (I think) was assigned to AAA-SP DFA'ed a second time on May 17th. Cleared waivers and assigned to SP on May 19th Called up to Twins on June 3 Optioned back to AAA/SP on June 6 Called back to active roster on June 7th * Also: Don't want to forget Falvey's only bullpen add in off season: 38-year old Joe Smith. Was outstanding in April, but as outings/usage increased into May and June his effectiveness waned. Currently on IL. and finally--------as many have noted-------Our best RP---Taylor Rogers was traded away by Falvey for Paddack (out for season/doubtful readiness by start of 2023 season) and....u know who....the Pagan Sacrifice. So, I will end my rant with what I've called for in multiple other posts: Falvey/Levine: What are you doing TONIGHT to upgrade this bullpen??? NOW is the time!! Not next week. Not 2 weeks from now. Not waiting till the trade deadline. You constructed this bullpen---not your manager. Do you want to be playing meaningful games in September? Do you want big crowds and excited fans in the stands at Target Field the next 3 months? Do you want to convince Correa that what you're building here is enough reason to convince him to stay for 2023? Do you want to have the opportunity to break an 18 game losing streak in the playoffs? Do you want to be the GM that see's the Twins win their 1st playoff series in 20 years? Assuming your answer is "YES" to every question posed above-----------the LEAST you can do is to DO YOUR J-O-B! Don't want to hear excuses. Get this corrected NOW!!!!!

Kept tabs on the game throughout but needed a "mental break" after the 'Pagan Sacrifice' spoiled my afternoon. Excellent work by Winder tonight! Great to see him healthy. I'm guessing its a foregone conclusion that he'll return to SP as mgmt will want to see him start? One could make the argument that Winder could/should stay up with Thornburg being demoted, but that is likely not the case. Good to see Moran close game out with 2 shutout IP. It's absolutely TIME for Moran to take the next step as another quality LH arm is needed in this bullpen. Finally, what is the latest on Ober's return from the IL? Is he close? If so, is he looking at a couple of rehab starts before being activated. Should that happen------is Rocco/ Falvey planning on returning to a 6-man rotation? If so, is a 7 man bullpen enough?

It better start tonight. As many have noted-----Pagan's regression combined with Duffey being unusable in late innings have hamstrung Rocco to the point of having only 6 RPs---with Duran and Jax as his--ONLY 2 late game reliable options. They cannot pitch every day----especially Duran. Hence, time for Falvey (as I just posted) to do his J-O-B and get Rocco some desperately needed help. This needs to happen NOW---not 5 weeks from now. FYI regarding Jax vs. Pagan through games in June Pagan Games: 9 IP: 9.33: ER allowed: 9...yes 9! ERA: 8.68 WHIP: 1.18 Jax----June Stats Games: 11 IP: 12.0 ER allowed: 2.....1 of which was last week when he took loss/BS after Pagan left him that mess-runners on 2nd and 3rd-none out. ERA: 1.50 WHIP: 0.42 K to BB in June: 17-1 Absolute justification with above stats that Jax needs promotion to 8th inning set up role.

Today marks the 7th game that the Twins have lost when they held a lead after 7 innings. Duffey was responsible for 2 of those games (4-29 at home vs. SEA and May 26th vs. KC). The remaining 5 have all been on Pagan. 4 of those coming over the last 26 days-----1 against DET and as we all know too well the last 3 against CLE. Considering Falvey/ Baldelli (seemingly) have turned the corner to allow Duran to close, I have to ask why Jax is not being used in the 8th inning to set Duran up? Other than a small number of hiccups, his late game performance, imo, has earned him that role! Pagan (the human sacrifice) has dissipated in the pecking order behind Thielbar (gulp), Smith and Cotton. He should not be used in ANY game with a lead after the 6th inning. Saying that------AGAIN, I have to call on Falvey/Levine to DO THEIR JOB and find some quality help for Baldelli NOW! I mean NOW....not waiting another 5 weeks till the trade deadline is upon us. I've posted numerous times in various threads that there are multiple quality LH and RH RPs from LOSING TEAMS that have zero chance at making the playoffs that have to have GMs willing to pick up the phone. As much as I blame Baldeilli for his bullpen decisions-------the bigger share of the blame falls on our front office that did squat in the offseason to upgrade this bullpen. Time to DO YOUR JOB Falvey!

A few observations and questions following a much needed W: 1. Will Buxton be in CF tomorrow or will be in the DH slot? Just hope he's in the lineup as his presence definitely adds a spark. 2. How serious is Larnach's core muscle injury? Hopefully a report I read suggesting the possibility of surgery is not accurate. Although his bat has slumped recently, imo, his bat is offers much more upside than Gordon. 3. Hopefully Ryan will be "on" tomorrow. I would hope if he is Rocco allows him to go as deep into game as possible as we're going to need EVERY bullpen arm for our 5 games in CLE.

Well.......the BEST thing about tonight is both CLE and the White Sox lost. As BAD as this Twins offense is-------the White Sox had 1 hit the entire game! Moreover 4 Orioles pitchers retired the final 19 batters...0 hits...0 walks allowed. As much as many have been (rightfully) calling for the FO to make at least a couple of moves to acquire solid bullpen arms (there are many out there from LOSING clubs), it is getting to be time for Falvey & Levine to look to upgrade this offense. For those keeping count----this is the 9th time this team has been shutout this season. Moreover, this team has little if any chance of making the playoff field if they continue to score 2 runs or less. Tonight marked the 28th game this team has tallied only 2 runs. With 62 games done, that's 45.1% of total games played. Luckily, our pitching staff has done well enough to win 7 of those games---1 of which was yesterday. You cannot and will not make the playoff field if this trend continues. Plain and simple. Wish I had a great answer of how to improve this offense. With Buxton's continued sporadic play (due to injury) and Polanco still on the IL----this team has far too many hitters that flounder. Other than POSSIBLY Steer and/or Palacios, there's nobody at Saint Paul that could help. What are Falvey & Levine prepared to do to address this problem? Considering the history of this franchise acquiring a solid hitter before or at the trade deadline----the last I remember is Shannon Stewart back in 2003------I find it very doubtful anything is done.

Agree absolutely with both of your comments. With MLB mandating a 13 pitcher max combined with the fact that our SPs (along with Baldelli's reluctance) seldomly navigate more than 6 innings----there is NO WAY Duffey can continue on this roster much longer. Got to think Thornburg can serve as long relief option if a SP gets lit up early. Time to DFA Duffey and fill his slot via a trade for a LH RP. Okert (MIA), Puk (OAK) or Mantiply (AZ) would all be an upgrade over Thielbar as a 2nd LH option is needed as Moran hasnt (to this point) shown he can fill that role.

I would tend to agree with you, but not tonight as Jax---who threw 27 pitches last night was the only viable option. Duran was not available after his 2 IP last night. So------I'm asking would you have preferred Thornburg or Duffey in that situation? Those were the only 2 left as options to replace Pagan.

Well........I stated last nights loss was a gut punch. It absolutely was. This final result was the equivalent to a Sean Michael's "sweet chin music" kick delivered to the groin. Easy to place blame on the main culprits....Cotton & Pagan, but I instead will focus my thoughts on 2 others: #1 Sonny Gray: Coming out for the 5th inning with a 5-1 lead facing the BOTTOM of the order, you'd think Gray would be able to execute his pitches--even with a climbing pitch count---to save the bullpen. That was soon lost as Gray served up a HR to Hedges (hitting in .160s) which was followed by 3 straight singles. Gray has GOT TO BE BETTER. Plain and simple. #2 Falvey/Levine: Know this is about baseball, but have to invoke the Bill Parcells line from years ago: "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they should let you shop for some of the groceries" As much as I've placed A LOT of BLAME (deservedly so) on Baldelli for his questionable bullpen decisions this year, I can't fault him tonight for bringing Pagan back for the 9th as he struck out the side in the 8th. Who else was available? Not Duran after throwing 2 innings last night and 27 pitches. Not Thornburg, And for sure---NOT Duffey. So Thad and Derrick----what are you WAITING for??? This team,,,,,your coaches and your manager are BEGGING for help. This bullpen---especially earlier in the season------did quite well when (a long time ago) they were fresh. They are running on fumes now. Don't you see that? Other than the addition of Joe Smith in the offseason you did NOTHING do improve this pen. Now is the TIME ---not waiting till August 2nd----to upgrade this bullpen!!! A minimum of 2 RPs---1 LH...1 RH are needed now! Yes, the price might some prospects, but this team has demonstrated the aptitude and guts to be play meaningful games in September, Its time for you two to STEP UP and show Rocco, your coaches, and your players that you have their back. There are RPs throughout the league on BAD teams (PIT-TX-AZ-OAK and others) that can help this team immediately. Its your responsibility to everyone listed above as well as your loyal fans to get this done NOW!! Failing to act is nothing more than a complete dereliction of your duties.

Understating the obvious----this loss------was a gut punch. Only 1 loss, but it feels like more as our bullpen options tomorrow night seem to be centered on Thielbar and Smith as our main 3 were used tonight. As frustrating as Pagan's performance was, I got to question the pitch selection to Reyes in that situation. If I'm correct, I don't believe Pagan challenged him 1x with a fastball. Pagan demonstrated he can locate his fastball and bring it with good velocity (95+). Moreover, Reyes had whiffed in his 3 previous ABs. 3-1 slider-----center cut launched to tie game. What makes this loss even worse is the complete FAILURE by our 3-4-5 hitters in the 10th to move Arraez over to 3B. Not only did Correa & Kepler fail to do that------they couldn't even make contact. Sanchez's whiff to end the inning was a foregone conclusion. Sure would be nice if CLE traded us a couple of THEIR effective bullpen arms.