MackMan

Now I don't think that this would be a good trade. Personally, I think that Martin or Lewis would be the better trade. Of course, there would be a package deal. Maybe a package of Martin/Lewis, Duran, Gordon/Arraez, and Rooker. The A's would more than likely take Martin over Lewis because he hasn't lost back-to-back seasons.

At the same time, yesterday was one of his worst starts of his career. I'm not denying that he didn't use stuff in the past, but yesterday was downright awful. Even he would/was embarrassed by the way he was pitching.

Hey I'm not saying JD has a legitimate gripe here, but we will have to see what happens the rest of the way with Giolito's spin rate. Also, on a side note, Gerritt Cole has looked pretty down Earth since they started the checking of equipment. As shown below when he went to Houston, his numbers significantly changed. Now, maybe HOU had a better pitching coach that worked with his mechanics a little bit more or the game finally clicked for him and he started to see success. But at the same time, it is interesting to see the sharp drop-off in BAA and SO%. Will be interesting to see what he looks like for the rest of the season.

Trading Cruz does hurt the team chemistry. But from an organizational stand point, it makes total sense. Clear up some cap space, allow some rookies to get more AB's, and when Garver comes back, he can be our DH. I know some of you might be wondering why Garver and not Sano, Rooker, or Jeffers. Well to be frank, Garver is a better offensive player than what he brings on defense. We all know that Garver isn't the best catcher in the world. Prior to his injury he was hitting very well, considering the season we're having. He was drawing walks, striking out less, getting good contacts, and finally hitting HR's. Sano is not what we need at DH. He strikes out too much, doesn't put the ball into play, and just looks lost at the plate. He is a player that just swings and prays to make solid contact. If it weren't for his past, he more than likely wouldn't have a spot in the starting lineup. He had 1 good season where he hammered the ball and everyone is waiting for that Sano to show up. I highly doubt he is going to show us that again. Yes, exit velo and xBPA are cool stats to look at and see if you're barreling the ball, but they don't mean much if you aren't getting hits and RBI's in timely situations. Rooker is in limbo right now. He has above average power, but like Sano, is having issues putting the bat to the ball. Yes, he has been hitting and drawing walks down at St. Paul, but that just isn't enough to warrant a full time DH spot for him. He is also less marketable because he is a liability in the field. Noodle arm, trailer hooked up to the semi, and 2 gears of granny gear and 1st gear don't help him break the lineup. At this point in his career is looking like a journeyman that will constantly be used when someone goes down on injury. A typical AAAA guy. Jeffers is going to be our future catcher, unless he absolutely loses the ability to hit the ball. He is a better catcher than Garver. Plain and simple. I'm not knocking that Garver can't catch, but he has constantly been touted as being below average, but he has been improving for the past few years. We know that Jeffers is more than likely going to be splitting time with Rortvedt in the future. He has some pop in the bat but again, he has struggled this year at the plate, much like the rest of the team. Although, he has been turning it around since being recalled after Garver went down with his injury. Maybe there is something going on in St. Paul with their staff that could brought over to the big league club.

This season will hurt the Twins just based upon the fact that there is no roster expansion to 40 when September rolls around. That is usually a decent time to give some of these prospects their "cup of coffee". Especially if we are going to have a season like the current one that we have.

Even the MLB app is ripping on Sano. Can we please not use him in situational hitting? I personally believe that letting Celestino should have stayed in the game. Gotta let the young guy do something. You can't protect young players forever.

This was a nail-biter throughout. Neither team hit particularly well, as both teams combined for 9-58 ( .155 avg). Instead today was all about opportunity and timely hitting. And the Twins just happened to get their big hit when it mattered the most. Now I'm not saying either pitcher was dominant, but Pineda's experience showed as compared to Lopez, as he was able to work out of the 3rd inning with back to back walks while facing the run producers of the O's. Of course, after the 3rd inning Pineda settled in and was firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately the first 3 innings really ate up his pitch count, so he wasn't able to go a little deeper in the ball game (then again, Rocco really doesn't allow too many starters to go past the 6th). When the 6th inning came around and we had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 down, I was afraid we were going to squander that opportunity and lose the game. Luckily, Sano (and his streakiness) came through when we needed it the most. He has single-handedly won us 4 games as of late (of course, it was all behind the long ball and pitching keeping it close). If Sano can continue to play this well during the "soft" portion of our schedule, 10-3 or 11-2 is very realistic. Heck, if we can get starting pitching like today, we have a chance to even go 12-1, so long as we can keep our bats alive and going. Now the 9th was a bit of scare. Unfortunately, you never know which Robles you are going to get. There is one thing that is guaranteed when he comes in: The game will slow down. Whether it slows down because of walks, hits or him just taking his time between pitches. Today was obviously due to hits. He showed us that he definitely has closer material in that he allowed runners on, but was able to work out of the jam and get the win. I do commend Rocco and Wes, in that they need to give the player some confidence out there. If they would have pulled him after his 3rd batter, who knows that that could have done to his confidence as well as the game.

I saw the play. They clocked it at about 82 mph. Which isn't bad, he just isn't enough to throw from deep in the hole. Is he quick enough and have good instincts to play SS? Yes. The only thing that will hinder him there is his arm. But I believe when Lewis gets back and able to fully recover, Gordon and Lewis might make a troublesome middle infield for a lot of teams.

Garlick has been dealing with a groin injury for the past week or so. He is choosing to be a team player and play through it until we start getting some bodies back from the IL. Now that Kiriloff is back, I think you'll see him play just a bit less (due to injury). Maybe more PH situations. Now with Arraez out, we need another utility player outside of Austidillo, (as he is now our official back-up catcher) because Gordon just doesn't have the arm to play anywhere outside of 2nd. Maybe a spot defense switch in LF but IDK if he has any playing time there in the minors.

As a person who has grown up playing the game within the last 20 years, I would say that what Yermin did was definitely not okay. But at the same time I look at it as this: If you don't want a position player pitching in the game, don't fall behind by so much. Now do I agree with Duffey throwing behind him. Not necessarily. Do I think it was the fire the Twins and Baldelli needed to show the fans that the players and still care? Absolutely. Sometimes things like this do light a fire underneath teams and create a good rivalry for years. Look at the D-backs and the Dodgers. For the win. This team looked like a team that didn't look defeated going into the 8th down by 2. They looked like a team that wanted to win. This game showed us that the Twins looked hungry. Sano looked on top of his game. The defense looked solid (for the most part), the bullpen looked fired up and ready to go on all cylinders, and the hitters never once looked like they were out of the game. Ober pitched as well as he could on such short notice and given he is very young and inexperienced. I'm assuming he was nervous as hell (I mean who wouldn't be at that point in their career.) facing a very competitive and play-off bound ChiSox team that has absolutely demolished Twins pitching this year.

One of the leaders on this team needs to have a closed door meeting. They need let the whole team know that this is not acceptable. Something needs to change. We all know what needs to be changed, it just takes a whole team to make that change. Will we see a turnaround soon? Who knows. But it definitely needs to happen shortly or our season is pretty much toast.