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LastOnePicked

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Everything posted by LastOnePicked

  1. LastOnePicked
    Fair point. Though perhaps the quality was thought (or is thought) to be better than what we've seen.
  2. LastOnePicked
    Odd that a FO that is otherwise fairly conservative is so willing to gamble on players with questionable track records and unclear health. None of these have panned out - might be wiser to avoid these trades and signings. An untested healthy prospect probably has more value to the team than another veteran performance question mark.
  3. LastOnePicked
    Here's the potential problem, though - these things are very likely related. One of the goofy things I learned in college was that "rhetoric is epistemic." Basically, the words you use can often reveal your underlying mindset or meaning-making system. Or, simply, how you talk reveals how you think. There's very much a mushy weakness in how Rocco talks in postgames, and a distant corporate robotic-ness in how Falvey and Levine talk in press events. I think the ongoing concern is that these ways of speaking reveal some of the flaws in the manner of managing, developing and coaching for this club. But what do I know? I'm not there, and there's much I'm not privy to. Oh well. We can only guess as fans. But we can also make our displeasure clear, too.
  4. LastOnePicked
    Yeah, it may yet be a bit early, but I haven't seen much from Lopez to indicate that he'll be anything other than a #4-#5 starter with a 4.50 ERA. That kind of arm should have been very easy to develop, and shouldn't have cost you the best hitter in MLB or a large extended contract. That seems foolish now, and might look downright idiotic soon. What does this team need to win? A great contact bat (Arraez), a lockdown bullpen arm (Cano), a solid corner outfielder (Steer) and a top prospect starter knocking on the door (Povich). In other words, all of the things this FO gave away because they were sure about Solano/Julien, Lopez, Larnach/Wallner and Balazovic. An error of judgement at every spot. Let's put it this way: you wouldn't walk into a casino with Falvey or Levine. Their instincts - or their luck - are absolutely terrible and seemingly contagious.
  5. LastOnePicked
    Absolutely. Rocco has had more opportunities and more leeway than perhaps he's deserved. We're at the end, now. Or we should be. But, the same is true of this FO. Once again, their signings have fallen flat and their trades have backfired. They've had their shot at a rebuild, and they're no closer to being a winner than they were when this FO started.
  6. LastOnePicked
    For the record, I don't find your posts annoying at all. Well reasoned, thoughtful counterbalances to the surges of pessimism that are such a huge part of being a Twins fan in this era. The rest of us have the harsh skepticism angle already covered. And if you're losing patience in the FO, that's saying something.
  7. LastOnePicked
    Shouldn't this title have "So Far" added to it? I mean, he's still a Twin. Probably will be for a few years yet.
  8. LastOnePicked
    Yeah, there's just something about the reality of this team that tends to keeps the optimism in check. They've given away how many games at this point? Cleveland has some of the best talent waiting in the wings. They are also led by a seasoned manager who can steady the ship and bring out the best in young players. The Twins? No and no. Like bighat, happy to be wrong, but doubt I will be.
  9. LastOnePicked
    I don't like Rocco as a manager, but he should never have to deal with Pagan as a bullpen option anyway. That one is squarely on the FO. That said, if I were Rocco, I would have made it clear last offseason that either Pagan stays on the roster or I stay in the organization. I wouldn't subject my team again to what he put the team through last year. He has weapons-grade-level yips. That's both demoralizing and contagious.
  10. LastOnePicked
    I like this framework, and your post, a lot. My only concern is that the games from each 1/3rd of the season count equally in the standings. If you're letting games slip away in the first 3rd, you're putting a lot of pressure on your ability to plug gaps in the second 3rd, AND you're putting a lot on the shoulders of your best players in the last 3rd. I don't trust this FO's ability to asses our own organization's players (big leagues and minors), much less players from other teams, so the "plugging gaps" is iffy. Also, Buxton, Polanco, Gallo, Correa may be the "best players," but they don't seem likely to hold up come September. As a result, I lean skeptical on any division championships. If they were up 7.5 on Cleveland, okay, there's some buffer. Up 1.5? That's not going to hold.
  11. LastOnePicked
    I wanted the Twins to run away with the division. This week made it clear that's not going to happen. Then I wanted them to crash and burn and rebuild. This weekend also made it clear that's unlikely. So what do we have? A goofy loser's division midsummer bar-room brawl, one where the Twins punch themselves in the face at least as often as they get hit by their rivals. We'll see how it all plays out.
  12. LastOnePicked
    Listened on the radio up until the disputed Kiriloff strikeout. I knew they were going to lose after that. As in, I would have bet my house on it, if I were a betting man. It's just an odd game of tone, momentum and vibe with this team. It's luck, sure, but it just also seems about bringing in negative energy with roster decisions. Heck, maybe it's the cosmic ripple of thousands of understandably-pessimistic fans, all imagining worst-case scenarios at the same time. I have no idea. Going to be a memorable year, one way or the other, Oof. But I'm past mad at this point. No reason to be mad anymore. I just marvel at the goofiness of it all.
  13. LastOnePicked
    He's not particularly forthright about his health (if the comments we got from him were reflective of what he was saying to Twins staff), he's not particularly dominant, and he's not particularly young. I think we can do better elsewhere.
  14. LastOnePicked
    Good win. Very good. Look, here's all I'm asking this year: If the Twins are going to be good, let them be good. Let's pile on, crush the division and build a little swagger for Fall. But if they're going to be bad, just be bad. Bring on change. Let's get out of this hazy middle ground, please. I know, I know, it doesn't always work that way.
  15. LastOnePicked
    Here's what I think about the resurgent White Sox: Good. The Twins need more fierce competition, not less. If the Twins can't hang in this division, go rebuild. If they can, they should prove it against major league caliber competition. Who wants to win a joke division? Better competition will make the Twins better over time. It seems to have had that effect on the AL East.
  16. LastOnePicked
    Now that's satire with a little teeth. I like it. And having the Rays return the tee for payroll flexibility? Brilliance. Twins aren't in top form right now, but the writers on TD are.
  17. LastOnePicked
    I don't think they have a snowball's chance in a very hot place of winning the division. Cleveland will figure it out, just like last year. Chicago might even right the ship for 2nd place. The Twins have nothing in the tank.
  18. LastOnePicked
    "I choose to believe that the tides will turn, and the veterans on this team will awaken to some degree, enabling the Twins to pull away and avert all-out disaster. I choose that because the alternative is too depressing to contemplate." Good article, but being clear-eyed isn't depressing - it's liberating. We've just come off three games against a great team. Great teams are fun to watch. Draft. Scout. Buy low. Sell high. Develop. This is NOT the Twins. The Twins are not great. So, become great. Rebuild. Start now. Follow Baltimore or Tampa as an example. Let the youngsters play, Take your lumps with a new staff. Yup, it's 3-6 years of losing records. If we had started in 2021, we'd only be a few years from coming out the other end. I don't find what's happening depressing. When you have a FO that prioritizes injury-prone players and a poor manager who can't inspire, you get a middling team at best. We're just seeing the natural result. It just represents a chance for large-scale change. That's the only way forward.
  19. LastOnePicked
    I don't think this can be overstated, or said loudly enough. Spot on. Twins should make plenty of trades this summer, but not as buyers. Addition by subtraction will do.
  20. LastOnePicked
    We don't need him. 😃 Correa's postgame comments are alarming. This is becoming a mental issue for this team, and they are losing faith, fire and drive. Rocco is again completely incapable of providing a distraction, a spark or a redirection. Should have been fired in 2021, but certainly after 2022. Changes need to be made now. Like right now. Yes, this team has bigger issues. They need a new FO and new organizational philosophy. But this season can perhaps be salvaged with a new voice in the dugout.
  21. LastOnePicked
    I'm usually quick to fault the FO, but I actually applauded this trade. I guess I had assumed (perhaps wrongly) that Arraez was injury-prone (he had some bad knee issues here) and that Lopez was on the cusp of becoming a #1 starter. I should have remembered that these Twins can't develop or sustain a top starter, and that the injury bug seems to hit harder here than elsewhere. Maybe it's a team's energy or mojo or collective spark or who knows what. It's depressing (though I am happy for Luis). We'll see where all this goes. If it ends like this - with Arraez reaching the fabled .400 and Lopez regressing to an iffy #4 starter - this will go down as yet another great FO blunder. Perhaps their last one here?
  22. LastOnePicked
    I think the main problem is this - there's no one to get behind on this team. There's no "big dog" with a big bite. This FO has built around a perennially-injured former centerfielder, and then supplemented him with a former superstar SS who couldn't pass an offseason signing physical for other ballclubs. I don't like saying this about players I like, but you can't build around players who can't take the field or lead the charge. And with a milquetoast manager, there's no one for younger players to get inspired by or to at least have their yips diverted or distracted.
  23. LastOnePicked
    That's because they're not a serious ballclub, and they haven't been for awhile. I know it's still a bit early. I know I'm too negative. But this is not a team I can see winning a division. Not even this division.
  24. LastOnePicked
    He's playing solid defensively in LF and CF for the surprising Detroit Tigers. And he has a higher BA and OBP than Byron Buxton. Not a superstar yet, sure, but not sure he makes your point here. He was certainly a tradable asset.
  25. LastOnePicked
    It's not that trades are made that's the problem - it's HOW trades are made. When you give up massive value and get negative value in return, that's likely the result of haste and panic. If 40 man roster space is an issue, DFA veterans with no real upside or future (Kepler, Pagan) and let top talent develop for high-end return. Mahle had a history of injury, and Lopez had no history of success. These trades absolutely should be regretted.
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