cHawk

I know the Twins traded Arraez but who is the second player you’re referring to?

They will win 95. The young guys are developing and winning will become contagious. Health over the long haul will have a positive impact because of the depth in st paul. 

I think after trading for Gray, Mahle and Lopez and signing Correa anything less than a division championship or a Wild Card would be considered a failure in my mind. If that happens I want the FO and manager sent packing. If they make the playoffs but don't win a game the FO gets one more year but the manager doesn't.
My prediction is high 80's.

87-75, 1st place. And win 2 playoff games!

If I look at the original list at the top of the article, the Twins play 29 games, not 28. Only 3 of the 4 games against the first series with the Yankees were counted. So it could be 17-12 or 16-13. Both positive records for our team. 

Absolutely incredible blog.  Thank you for clearly articulating why I have nearly given up on my beloved team after similarly rooting for them for nearly 40 years.  in addition to all of your stellar assessments, I believe the hyper focus on analytics is actually eroding our Twins ability to win in big moments.  Let me explain. 
In an ironic twist, I own a data analytics firm of my own (specializing in private higher education enrollment).  Analytics are designed to allow the decision makers the ability to make decisions without emotion clouding their judgement.  Great.  Wonderful concept.  But, if all that was needed to run or manage a team was analytics, we wouldn't need a front office or even a manager.  We would just need a data analyst to text an operations director in the dugout what they should do.  When every single decision is made without emotion, eventually, the players who are generating that analytical data will similarly become conditioned to play with less emotion...and that's the rub. 
Baseball, nay, sports in general, are designed to be emotional!  That's the attraction - both as a player and especially as a fan.  I don't want to always see 'the right thing'....I want to see 'the thing that moves me'.  I yearn to see the underdog surpass expectations.  I hunger to see a manager assess the player at the moment - does he have it right now?  Do I leave him in to face the order again?  Do I allow a rookie to try to throw a no-hitter?!?!?!?  
Analytics creates a plan....but no plan is perfect.  As I have learned in my business, courageous leadership is about learning how and when to deviate from the plan and how and when to stick to it.  Look at Tito Francona, Dave Roberts, Tony LaRussa, Brian Snitker.  These guys understand how to manage the emotional side of the game...and their teams have been winners in the clutch.  I'm not knocking Rocco.  I just think he needs to learn there is an art to leading a team that far beyond what analytics tell you to do in every, stinking, moment.

I like your confidence.

86-76. Finish 2 ahead of Cleveland and 3 ahead of the Sox.
Win at least one playoff game.
 

Oops…I meant 4-2. I apologize. I fixed it.

I like your confidence.

Twins will win it all.

Awesome article about Duran! It gives insight to his incredible arm talent and his separation from the Twins’s relievers and the rest of the MLB relievers. His dominant arm has made him a unique talent for all Twins’ fans to watch.

Twins need a new pair of Sox
No need to go out and buy a new pair, they can borrow from me. I have plenty

If Mahle is on our team, at least his wildness can't break Buxton's hand again.
https://www.ballysports.com/news/buxton-s-bad-luck-twins-star-shelved-again-has-broken-hand
https://www.mlb.com/news/byron-buxton-left-hand-injury-twins
 

Looks like you are selling the farm for a 1 year chance. Not usually a good move for any organization. I'd much rather see the Twins be sellers of some veterans and take on a full fledged youth movement. If that means punting the 2022 season then so be it. The roster right now can't compete with the Yankees or Astros and to get them there shows you would mortgage the future. Move Kepler, Sano, Urshela, Sanchez, Correa for more young talent and in 2023 let the young guys take over. c-Jeffers, 1b-Kirilloff/Arraez, 2b-Polanco/Arraez, 3b-Miranda/Arraez, ss-Lewis/Gordon, of-Larnach, Buxton, Celestino, Kirilloff, Gordon, Garlick, Contreras. Bring up Steer, Palacios, Wallner. Get a backup catcher and pitching for the veterans in trade to add to the likes of Gray, Ryan, Ober, Winder, Duran, Jax. Maeda and hopefully Alcala will be back and maybe Paddock will amount to something in 2023. Last and not least, get a manager that is willing to let his best players play every day.
 

It doesn’t seem like Baldelli has a boatload of options.  He has a boatload of refugees. Most of the pitchers mentioned in this article will be “shipped off” next year.  Obviously the rotation has been thin and other than a couple of relievers who have been consistently good, this team is very week with regards to pitching.
 
Personally,, I think Baldelli has done very good with what he has to work with.  I don’t really want to see Duffey Minaya, Sands, or Cano anymore, but it is what he has to work with.   To put low leverage pitchers in high leverage situations would have me more concerned than what he mentions in the article.  Preserving leads, right now, should be a priority.  Putting higher leverage type arms out when we don’t have a lead simply leads to unavailable quality when  needed the most.  Until Rocco actually has some more chicken salad to spread on the sandwich, it’s hard to complain about the …….

GREAT post!

Nice ranking. I’ve been to every yard except Tropicana, and my rankings would likely have the parks falling in to the same spot as yours, juxtaposed a spot or two either way. 
 
To be personally hypercritical, though (cuz, let’s face it, “lists” are fodder for the “how dare you?” comments), I’ve gotta say that nothing screams ORANGE COUNTY more than the staid, perfectly adequate, colloquially dubbed, BIG A; felt a bit too pure & squeaky clean, minus the pure. Except, let’s face it, any ballpark that hosts Mike Trout 81 days a year will rank 5-10 spots higher because of him. 
 
More than a worthy effort. Good stuff, and the tops of the top is where it should be; Fenway Pahk. Because baseball pairs well with a dozen shades of green. 

Great first post and welcome to Twins Daily!

I'd be very interested in an update at the 40 game mark.  Especially if the starters continue their trend and offense continues to warm up.
The quarter mark of the season is also a reasonable place to look at reasonable trends and what direction this team is really headed in.

"If there’s a team that could go up or down more than almost any other in baseball it could be Minnesota."
Agree wholeheartedly with this. The Twins could be pretty good or pretty bad.
I'm feeling that the other teams in the AL Central will be better than they have been in the past. Chicago will be healthier and have a strong bullpen. Detroit picked up some solid experience to go with their youth and their young pitchers are getting ready to win. Kansas City has youth and a few vets. Greinke in 2022 profiles as better than any Twin starting pitcher and his choice and enthusiasm to return to KC brings excitement and experience to the team. Finally, the Guardians have a top 10 farm system of players who have plenty of minor league experience and will now get their chance. The Guardians with their pitching and Terry Francona could really surprise a bunch of people. It is a sorry situation where the owner won't spend just $20-30 million more to buttress this young team. The Twins need to click in order to win enough to make the playoffs and this AL Central has zero resemblance to those weak teams from 2019-2021. I believe the division will be much better.