Han Joelo

Ok. Sounds good to me. In those lower levels, I suppose there is a fair amount of communication as far as what is going on. I.e. Gonsalves isn't sitting around moping and wondering. Good to see LeBlanc move. His name means "0 ERA" in French.

Stewart but not Gonsalves. Unless I missed something? Interesting.

A couple of weeks ago there were a few national articles about Arrietta. Sorry, no links, although I know SI Mag had a big one. I know I read, probably on MLBTR, that the Twins were pursuing him. That obviously didn't come to fruition. On the one hand, that is good to know, but on the other, it makes me wonder which trade target of the Orioles was the breaking point in negotiations. Interesting to think that, I don't know, had TR ponied up say Nick Burdi or something, (and Arrietta been 'fixed' by the Twins, which is probably debatable) this whole conversation could be a lot different. One great diamond found - one crappy free agent signed = much better rotation outlook. GMing is like hitting a baseball. Hit one out of four and you suck, but three out of ten ain't bad. I do concur that this rotation, as performing, reflects below Mendoza line 'hitting' for Ryan.

The Mets are shopping apparently. Saw a MLBTR blurb that suggested Park or Plouffe were options. The bummer thing about this season…check that. One of the MANY bummer things is going to come when guys start getting traded and instantly not sucking.

Since this was subjective sarcasm, and Reusse's writing persona is grumpy old man, I am fine with it. When you open a can a Budweiser, you know what you are getting. It is unfair and impossible to blame any one person, player or otherwise, for this enormous debacle, but currently, I am "objectively" the most disappointed with Sano. Whether the cause is attitude, RF, or any other subjective excuse, his underwhelming performance is the single biggest disappointment for me.

Personally, I am a little gun-shy of the "proven winner." All of sports are littered with the remains of winners who couldn't repeat their success. I'd probably tend to go with a smart guy who had observed/been a part of some success, but had already failed on their own. Whomever it is, the Twins could be a plum job--a smart guy would know he is stepping into a situation ripe for success. Several good young players along with a high (very high) draft pick coming up. Additionally, stepping into a job with this ownership group would probably be a plus--the very thing that many believe is the root of the current problem--the insular, good 'ol boy network, would hopefully indicate the team doesn't expect instant results, and would preclude the necessity of any Padres-like overhaul. A patient owner is a rarity in sports, but all too often we see hair-trigger franchises retooling every few years (or more often) as they chase the short-term flavor of the month.

I don't care, really. I am just grasping at straws. I AM implying something, not about their manhood, but about their competitive fire. I just can't relate. I can picture 'team building' get togethers I've had, where we watched extreme whitewater or skiing videos, or the Chappelle show, or classic SNL skits. (Men and women, mind you.) Or movies. The Matrix. Braveheart. The Shawshank Redemption. Anything at all that involves either humor or the idea that the weak can overcome impossible odds would be better than fake, scripted reality television. So I guess, yeah, it does matter to me after all. When Byung Ho-Park strides to the plate with the bases loaded, what would be more inspiring to hear from the dugout: "You're ten feet tall and you've got lightning bolts coming out your arse! Freedom!" "We've been crawling through a river of ****! Salvation lies within!" "Serve them some pancakes!" or, "Give Addison the Rose!"

Grasping at straws, perhaps. It is interesting to start to see behind the curtain, even if it is bush league passive-aggressive. I think spycake sums it up best; just another example of how toxic things have gotten. I'm sure there is some truth to it, and it may just be a lot of finger pointing as the ship sinks. But, where there is the smoke... In retrospect, to use Souhan's words, I remember getting an uneasy feeling when the so-called team leaders were "endearingly" including Park in their little Bachelor viewing parties during spring training. I despise 'reality' tv, even 'manly' crap like Ice Road Truckers. I don't know (talk about grasping at straws, or straw men) but I'm going to go ahead and say it--if you're team leaders' idea of a good time is sitting around watching the "Bachelor," I'm not surprised they are now being accused of being soft. They should have been watching a pirated bootleg of Star Wars 7. Han Solo is dead, the First Order just blew up every planet in the Republic, and Luke Skywalker has gone missing. Time to man up and blow up the Death Star. Instead, these guys are debating who should get the rose.

This might have been the first day all season I didn't open my Christmas present (check the minor league scores) before I went to bed. Nice to wake up and see a Fernando Romero along with a bunch of goose eggs under the tree. I have a growing history of sitting in my armchair and dreaming on the potential of the young guys in the low minors. Jermaine Palacios is working on becoming my next Angel Morales this season. Nonetheless, it is a lot of fun to hear about these guys. I wish the best for Fernando, and everybody else in these reports.

Thanks for posting. I appreciate ALL perspectives on this site. TD is well moderated and full of astute observations and opinions, and I am always learning something new and often changing my own opinions based on the well-reasoned and written comments. Still, having said that, I too am a little weary of the volume of "I told you so's." I mean gosh, mea culpa already. It's like the scene in "Aliens" where Hudson keeps saying "game over man." And then Hicks (too bad we traded/released him...maybe they should call up D.J.) calmly agrees with Ripley, "Let's take off and nuke the whole thing from orbit." Yes, Lt. Gorman is incompetent and that guy from "Mad About You" is a slimy corporate snake, but dwelling on it doesn't help me. Nuke it, I say. But, others may disagree, which is what it is.

I for one hope they don't move anybody else back up until they've isolated and eradicated the virus. I'd rather look at Red Wings box scores. Just wish they'd get Polanco back down. Hell, even Sano. Now that would be fun. At this point, the Twins are like one of those forward observation posts you read about in war stories, where people are just getting traumatized. Going to Rochester, while still in the war zone, at least might seem like they have a chance to be in a fair fight. Seems like getting the call to go back up right now wouldn't be met with elation, but rather trepidation. Or flat out despair. I'm on board with Seth's plan at this point. And I'd probably wait and try and send the guys up en masse. Strength in numbers.

Honestly, whatever ails this team must go way higher than Molitor. Or even Ryan or the Pohlads. We are in serious chicken sacrificing territory here. Maybe even need a turkey, or small ostrich.

Thanks for this thread. I didn't see the game, and I'm not what you would call well-versed in all these unwritten rules, especially the non-sportsmanship ones. As somewhat of a baseball outsider, I'm baffled. This team needs a spark, anything at all to turn the tide. I would imagine Rosario's confidence in just about every aspect of his game is pretty shaky, but I'll bet the one area he felt pretty damn confident about was his ability to steal that base. I actually didn't have much of a problem, way-back-when, with Sano trying for a triple. As stated above, why not--maybe results in a wild throw and a run and a rally. With this team, better odds of that than expecting someone to actually get a hit in that situation. Desperate times…maybe not with Molitor. I guess he'll go down with his head held high.

I bet the Cubs wished they had signed Arrietta to a Hughes like extension when (if?) they had a chance.

I have no idea how this really works, but here is a stab: Well-regarded Scout With Previous Success Identifying Diamonds In the Rough (Maybe even Johan!) Let's call him "Creed": "I really like this Graham kid. If we can get him to stop picking his nose, we'll really have something. He throws 95." Terry Ryan: "I don't know. We'd have to risk losing Gilmartin. What do you say, Gilmartin Guy?" Gilmartin Guy (Slightly less respected, slightly less of a track record for finding diamonds.) Let's call him "Dwight" : "I kind of like Gilmartin. He's crafty." TR: "I'm told a few folks at Twins Daily really like hard-throwing guys and really hate crafty lefty's. Take the nose picker. I trust you, Creed. If he's still picking his nose a year from now, it's your ass." Graham, with the help of a hollowed out pine cone that he wears over his finger, makes some progress in the nose picking department. His side sessions look great, though in-game results don't always match. Still, the Twins finally take the gloves of and he gets traumatized by A-rod on August 18th at 7:42 p.m. CDT. He secretly starts to pick his nose again. Spring rolls around, and he has lost weight and is still lighting up radar guns. In the midst of an apocalyptic start, he gets the call to Minnesota, sucks, and is seen by all brazenly picking his nose. TR immediately cans him and some people with smartphones immediately determine Terry Ryan could have prevented World War II if he'd built a time machine, gone back to Milford, Iowa in 1922, and stopped Biff Haverstrom from saving a butterfly trapped in a puddle of spilt EZ-GLID universal gear lubricant that instead survived to flap its wings and precipitate a series of meteorological events that ultimately resulted in a light breeze knocking over a painting Adolf Hitler was working on, which caused him to give up his art career and take up dictating instead. Meanwhile, nary a mention in these parts of how shrewd offseason acquisition Byung-Ho Park is a rookie of the year contender so far.

I imagine Beltre was reminding Bautista that a broken fist (or worse, broken eye socket) could cost him tens of millions of dollars.

I like the OP, especially the positivity part of it. The long-term, WS winning rotation needs some work, but things are starting to shake out. Wouldn't be surprised to see something happen with Hughes soon, bullpen or DL. A hot streak from Santana, and he could be excellent trade bait for a contender. Nolasco MIGHT pitch himself into a tradable spot, he's shown sparks. I'm sure it is the euphoria of two straight wins talking, but at least when Duffey and Santana pitch, I feel like the Twins have a chance to win based on the possibility of a good pitching performance. Berrios, I'm waiting for longer starts. Nolasco, flip a coin. Hughes, flip a Moebius strip. I think Gibson has it in him to be a dependable mid-rotation starter, if he gets things straightened out.

The crazy thing is that many of these positives were seen as things that would be nice bonuses if they happened before the season started. I.e. "the Twins will be good, but imagine if Park works out and Mauer regains his magic." For the most part, these positives are theoretically all sustainable, so if some other guys start stepping up, the Twins might start to look like a competitive team again. And by competitive, I don't mean competing for a championship, just a win on any given night.

It would be a shame to let this go to waste. Werner Herzog is one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of all time, and the fact that the Twins horrible season was notable enough for him to take the time to attend a game and open an account to pen this essay should not go unnoticed. Baseball is a science yes; but also an art. Let us appreciate both sides of the coin. Poetry is the art of saying as much as possible in as few words as possible. This one post says what a thousand fist-pounding expository diatribes cannot.

30 seconds in, you might get the relevance: https://youtu.be/gWycuaWJFCM

And then TC bear went and ate all the players. "The silver-tipped ûrsus horriblisˆ could contain its primal instincts no longer. Where, in all the epochs of history had prey been so ready? So ripe for the taking? These pink and brown skinned men were like elk in a dew-tipped vale, standing with vacuous expressions, the smell of fear and defeat a palpable essence permeating the crisp spring air. The smell was crisp, like bacon sizzling in a cast iron frying pan, or perhaps more like chicken, juicing and dripping on a spit. The bear doffed its hat and sprung into action. The big, lumbering right fielder was first; it's arm whacked his thick hide at 80 grade strength to no avail. Had the meal been 260 pounds as advertised, the bears appetite may have been sated, but the extra 15 pounds only served to invigorate the beasts passion for flesh. The blind first-basemen was next, he patiently waited for a second chance to run that never came. In a clockwise fashion, the carnage continued, finishing with the center fielder, who, had he chosen a better route, might have escaped the now tiring bear. But alas, he got a poor break and the beast cut him off as he futiley zig-zagged his way through the outfield grass. Satisfied at last, the bear looked toward the mound, at the man standing there, shaking in fear. The man through a white rock at him, but it bounced impotently in the ground several feet away. The bear sniffed at the man, and then sauntered away in disdain."

Something is really off here, and I seriously doubt it is the FO just skipping over him for whatever reason. One of the many options commented on above---agent, psyche, ?? Hope he is alright.

You know, I don't myself remember thinking it was time to move Mauer at that point, but I can certainly see why some would have. Nonetheless, playing the 'safe' position of first base didn't save Morneau. Based on the prospect quantity argument Seth makes (have lots because most won't pan out), Dozier and Plouffe (and Span--and if you want to stretch, Valencia, Hermann, and probably some other's I'm forgetting) panning out isn't horrible. Like many teams, high pick whiffs like Matt Moses, Levi Michael, those two MI's from a few years (Kelly and someone else) don't help. Still, that is somewhat balanced out by strong plays for Sano and Berrios. Both those guys were there for the taking, and it was Twins who went out and got them.

I'm not disagreeing. It has been a while, although it looks like Chris Hermann is working out. Still, looking at bigger cycles, drafting and developing 2 MVP's this century is pretty good. How many teams can say that? So much criticism leveled at the Twin's might be pretty blunted if it weren't for injuries to Mauer and Morneau right when they were in their primes.

Hey, I get the frustration, and it's not like I don't question decisions management makes. I guess it is the farmer in me that is more accepting of the vagaries and unpredictability of the big ol' cycle of life than most people. Bad weather happens, economic forces in other parts of the world happen, diet fads happen. All you can do is keep working. Hopefully at the end of the day, no matter what happens, you can say you tried to do things the right way. Pro sports is littered with teams changing course, attempting to chase the next big thing, be it a coach that espouses the Triangle, The Spread, or The Strikeout, or a GM that seemingly has figured out how to beat Vegas. But it still comes down to a roll of the dice, which is what makes it a game, and for me, what makes it fun. These are my guys; I'm rolling the dice with them. It sucks that things are coming up snake-eyes right now, but hey, I'm getting a lot of stuff done around the house.