cHawk

How many arms short are we? Three?

No, it’s just our pen is historically bad at stranding inherited runners

Legit question - How many bullpen arms would we need to add at the deadline to be able to compete in the postseason (if we get there)?

Good play

Umm...I don’t like that. I don’t like changing pitchers when there are runners on...

If they really above .500, they should buy. The big question is, can they acquire all of the pieces they need to not be a total joke in the playoffs again? The only way I see that happening is if they can acquire a lights-out closer, the offense is healthy and clicking, and Maeda and Berrios and Pineda are all pitching well. To me, the odds of all of those happening are slim. They could probably use a starter too.

It goes without saying that this season (thus far) has been a total disaster. And while things may be turning around (Winning 4 of the last 5) the Twins still have a long way to go, and haven't played the likes of the Yankees, Astros, A's, still have 13 games against the Sox, the Red Sox...they'll need to play teams better than the Orioles. I was wondering what y'all think is this team's biggest issue? I'll give my answer: Many of you would say the bullpen is this team's biggest problem and that's reasonable. It's been dreadful pretty much all year, but especially since blowing a 6-0 lead to the ****ING Mariners. Even in some wins, the bullpen has coughed up a late lead and the offense bailed them out. (Last night for example) That is an indictment of Falvey’s errors. He has also been unable to develop at least one good lights-out bullpen arm (despite being a pitching guru). But, if you've watched this team the last 1.5 years, you've probably noticed a problem. This team has made Low IQ plays and has ignored fundamentals on a regular basis. Those two things are a reflection of this team's coaching, and yes, I believe that the coaching is the Twins biggest problem. The Twins were expected to be an elite fielding team this year, after picking up Andrelton Simmons. A defense with Donaldson, Simmons, Buxton, and Kepler seems pretty great. Yet, somehow, I've seen these guys making Low IQ plays, particularly in the big spots. And even the other guys, while not as gifted defensively, are completely botching plays that High School players would make. "Blame the players," one might say. And hey, you might be right. But here's a reality that sadly many of us ignore: We (at least most of us) don't have access to the clubhouse. We don't hear in on Rocco's pep talks and we don't watch the players in practice. We can't say for certain that players don't "give a ****" or "they aren't trying" because you have no logical evidence to back this up. Things like "he looks like he doesn't even care" or "he's not playing with passion" also have no evidence to back them up. Look, it's entirely possible that our players making these mistakes truly don't give a **** about winning and are just collecting checks. But how can we say this when we don't have evidence to back it up? It's like saying to someone who overcooked your dinner "you didn't even try." Let's look at another example of this. In Week 2 of the 2020 NFL Season, the Falcons and Cowboys met in Dallas. The Falcons dominated the 1st Quarter, leading 20-0. Later in the game, in the 4th Quarter, the Falcons led 39-24. Of course the Falcons win, right? Well, no, actually. The Cowboys manage to make it 39-37 with over one minute left. All the Falcons have to do though is recover an onside kick. And, well, this happens: Falcons Give up & Let Cowboys Recover Onside Kick | NFL 2020 - YouTube The Cowboys end up winning the game, with Greg Zuerlein kicking a game winning FG as time expired. All Atlanta had to do was literally fall on the kick, and kneel down. But they didn't, rather, they just watched the kick roll on the ground, and Dallas recovered it just as it had traveled 10 yards. You might blame those players who just watched it roll. You might say, "they didn't even try, they didn't care, they didn't give a ****." Problem is, how do you know? Did you hear in on Dan Quinn telling his players to intentionally **** that up? Ultimately, that was a result of coaching. Quinn said after the game that his players know the onside kick rules. And it's not like that was the only mistake Atlanta made all year. Atlanta would go on to find themselves 0-5 and firing Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff. Now, if that were the Jaguars, they wouldn't have been fired. The Jaguars were an absolute dumpster fire this past year (1-15). But the Jags didn't fire Marrone until after the season, for one specific reason: The were a bad team, with little to no talent. They were truly bad, and expected to be bad. Atlanta on the other hand, actually had talent. Now, that defense was absolute ass in motion. But they had a LOT of talent on offense. It wasn't performing in the other five of the first five games. And the Cowboys defense was almost as bad as the Falcons'. The Falcons were "wasting talent." They had been the past three years. Matt Ryan had a really good year in 2018 and the Falcons still went 7-9. That's unacceptable. The Twins are in a similar spot. Buxton has been an MVP candidate this year (granted he's hurt, but even with him the Twins were freefalling) and the Twins have been REALLY bad. They've been wasting talent. The Twins aren't a team with no talent, and they aren't a team that expected to be bad. They expected to compete for a championship FFS. This is not acceptable. Anyone who thinks it is...I don't know what to tell you. Somebody needs to pay. When a team with Championship aspirations is looking this bad, look no further than the coaches. It's their job to make sure that the players are performing well. If you blame the players, how do you hold them accountable? Cut them? Then you could pretty much cut this whole roster dammit. If you've been living under a rock, pretty much every player has made a Low IQ Play/Ridiculous Blunder thus far. Even Donaldson. Even Nelson Cruz (striking out on 3 pitches in key situations) We've seen Arraez airmail a routine throw that wins the game by FORTY ****ING FEET. I think the Twins, unless an absolute miracle happens this year, will need to shake up their coaching staff. (again) I don't think Rocco is a bad manager. *ducks* But I can't be convinced that he's the right fit for this team. Edgar Varela should definitely be canned, seeing our hitters regress faster than I can finish this sentence. And maybe Wes Johnson too. I give him credit for 2019 and 2020, but in that case, he needs some of the blame for 2021. Every single pitcher on this roster outside of Rogers, Robles, and Pineda have also regressed faster than I can finish this sentence. But hey that's just my opinion.

Since we coughed up a late lead again last night, and it was a guy who belonged in the high-lev spots, I’m starting to wonder if coaching is part of this bullpen’s problem. The regression we’ve seen from pretty much everyone other than Robles or Rogers is astounding. Actually, that can be said about every pitcher on our roster. Might we need a new pitching coach? Or we’ve seen guys like Duffey and Maeda that look about as bad as they’ve ever been. They straight up look hurt. And this team seems to have more injuries than most NFL teams. Starting to question the competence on the training staff.

From surging to free-falling again with one swing by DJ ****ing Stewart.

When Duran is ready — Should this be our starting rotation: - Berrios - Pineda - Maeda - Duran - Dobnak

This FO hasn’t been successful at developing at least one lights-out reliever. Can Alcala be that guy? Or maybe call up Duran later and see if he can pitch in that role?

So the latter.

Was Farrell drafted by the Twins or was he a waiver wire claim?

They may be starting to heat up. But let’s not get too excited. The same happened when they won the series against KC, and then they were back to freefalling, losing a home series to the ****ing Rangers. Now they play Baltimore. Maybe they can start winning again. Unfortunately, even if they do end up making it to the playoffs (which would be a miracle at this point), I can’t imagine them winning any games there with how depleted the pitching staff is.

4th and Goal*

Who should he have put in in the 10th? I guarantee you Caleb Thielbar, Cody Stashak, and Shaun Anderson were not better options. Actually, Astudillo probably would’ve been better, so I guess you do have a point.

“I” I stand corrected

Just when we thought Colome was starting to come around

phew

At least Robles has the stuff, unlike half the pen.

WTF why is Maeda getting pulled

This level of regression for Maeda is ****ing depressing

Well he’s a better player than C.J. Cron, for sure.

That works if you like to have the longest window possible. However, that’s not a good strategy for teams that want to win Championships. There are teams that have gone on fluke-ish playoff runs with this method: 2015 Royals, 2020 Rays, 2018 Brewers, 2016 Indians, etc. That isn’t the rule, though. It’s the exception. If you want to be able to beat the teams who pay for elite players, you need to pay for elite players yourself if you want a realistic shot.

Mhm. Also, Kirilloff isn’t just “as good” as Rosario. He’s been better than Rosario so far (SSS, well duh). Will Kirilloff come back to Earth after injury? Maybe. Bottom line, given how Eddie has done this year, I’m not regretting not paying him $10M for his skill set.