chopper0080

My issue is that regardless of what side of the argument you fall on, Dozier has consistency issues. This roster highlights those issues because it is comprised of several boom or bust type players. If I am looking at this roster from an outside perspective, Sano, Park, Arcia, Dozier, Rosario, and Buxton all have consistency issues which is a problem. If you are looking to improve on the overall consistency of the roster as a whole, the natural player you should part with is Dozier. It isn't that he isn't a good player, it is more that his issues are the same issues which you will get from the younger players who you are planning to build this team around long term. That redundancy is a roster issue.

You could probably get some bullpen help...

If there was any player who I would consider trading at the deadline, it would probably be Dozier. He offers enough pop that you could probably get something useful for him. From a roster standpoint, I believe his power is not as useful on the Twins because they need more players who can get on base.

Buxton is far from being the biggest problem on our roster. He is struggling, but that is what many young players do. I would be more concerned with the veteran players who aren't producing, or the bullpen which looks like a mess to me.

It is nice to see a hitter in the Twins lineup who is punishing opposing pitchers when they make mistakes. It has been a frustration of mine watching Twins hitters just miss on mistake pitches over the years. Hopefully this becomes contagious up and down the order.

The Twins need to stick to their plan regardless if I personally like it. Moving Sano from the outfield to 3B would be a kneejerk reaction IMO. The plan was the outfield. He needs to stay in the outfield. This kid is dealing with enough already.

Changing a culture takes time. Winning games is the start of changing that culture. The next step is doing it consistently, and expecting to do it. Showing calm in the face of the storm. It takes time to get yourself into those situations so that you can practice managing and overcoming them. I will always root for the Twins to win. Just because I believe they have sabotaged themselves in some ways does not change that.

Develop into a better third baseman than PLouffe in addition to proving he can consistently be a better hitter.

Hopefully this is to illustrate the importance of winning prior to contending.

Agreed. There is value to having players like Plouffe on a roster who young players like Sano have to work to push out of positions. I think holding onto Plouffe was a very smart move in the short term.

If you want to examine the lack of fundamentals in major league baseball, look at the impact of defensive shifts. Some teams work on bunting, hitting behind the runner, hitting sac flys, and hitting to places on the field. Others do not. Most MLB baseballs teams expect their players to have this knowledge and do not commit valuable time to working on those aspects of the game, but some do. The Twins used to be one of those teams because that is what they needed to do to win. They have gotten away from that, and IMO, gotten away from any sort or identity at all. Are they a power hitting team? A contact hitting team? Do they work counts? Attack pitchers early? Pull hitters? Hitters who try to drive the ball the opposite way? This team has no consistent approach or strategy day in and day out other than "winning" which they haven't done in years. My point bringing up the past Twins isn't that their approach is the correct approach, it was that they had an approach. The Twins knew how they wanted to win games. They had an identity. They taught that to players at every level. They acquired players who fit and were able to execute that plan. I don't see any sort of identity with this team, and it is highlighted by the Twins inability execute in pressure situations with runners in scoring position or pitching with a lead late.

But is adding unnecessary pressure any way to help a player adjust and develop? Are you basing a plan on what players should be able to do, or what they have shown they are able to do? I would argue that the latter leads to a higher success rate, and success is the goal.

Struggled initially was my intent. Sorry it came across differently. My point was that Buxton, like most players, has struggled initially after almost every promotion he has had. To expect him to hit the ground running this year was unrealistic, and the Twins should have known better. The key with players like this is to let them work it out on the biggest stage. Demoting him will only stunt his growth further. You state he is not being asked to carry the team, and I question how you can say that. Yes, he isn't being asked to hit in the 3 spot, but who is this team marketing? Who have they said they are counting on to be the future of the franchise? The Twins have marketed Sano and Buxton as the saviors of the franchise. They are what is going to take us from a bad team to a good team. How is that setting these kids up for success? I would challenge you argue that there are more than 2 other players whose names are more recognizable than Sano and Buxton to the average fan. Mauer and Dozier. You could probably argue Perkins, but that is pretty much it.

So, first off regarding the plan. My issue is that we have players looking uncertain in situations, a manager who is discussing "new things" and "figuring things out", and a front office signing vet AAAA players 9 games into the season. If there is a plan, and there very well could be, it is not a plan that is understood over all areas of the organization. Secondly, I really don't have an issue with the Sano move other than the timing. There is a way to allow Sano to move into an OF position that allows him to maintain his confidence. There was no reason the Twins could not have DH'd him early in the season until both parties were comfortable with his play in the field. That would have alleviated pressure off of him to both produce in the #4 spot in the lineup and be a average player in the outfield. Instead they dumped him out there with zero game experience, and are now seeing it affect his hitting. Lastly on Plouffe, I loved that they didn't trade him. He is a quality player on a roster that needs quality players, and as you said, probably would not have netted any sort of significant piece back. Thank you for your thoughts on my post. I appreciate the feedback.

No, the problem is losing. I wouldn't do anything to help that. This team needs to win. They need to win as many games as they can. They need to win in as many different ways as possible. You can't just go from 90 losses to a contender. You have to understand what it takes to win. How to win when ahead big. Howto win close games. How to come from behind and win. This is what young teams need to learn how to contend. This helps vets get that feeling back. This instills confidence in a team that it can. Sometimes you have to let it ride despite things not going well out the gate. 2016 may not be a title year, but trading away good players for the future only continues the habit and culture of losing. This team needs to win, and i would be buyers if anything to find a way to do so. We aren't going to acquire anyone more talented than Buxton and Sano, so now is the time to bet on them. Surround them with talent. Let them grow in their roles. Let them experience winning. That is what the season should be played for.

I remember a day when the Twins did it their way. In a time in baseball where home runs were king, the Twins knew that in order to compete, they were going to have to do things a different way. They developed a plan where they would keep games close, and they would execute fundamentals late in games to gain a victory. It was contrarian, it didn't always work, but it was the plan, and the Twins were going to stick to the plan. This consistent voice lent confidence to players in those high pressure situations. Players knew what they were going to be asked to do, and it was going to be something that they had practiced since they entered the Twins farm system. It was their culture. Keep it close, and execute practiced fundamentals in high pressure situations. They had a plan and they worked the plan. Zero uncertainty. Fast forward to today. The Twins are now 0-9. It seems shocking, but is it really shocking? The problem with a rebuild is that focuses on losing, losing erodes confidence, and confidence is king in baseball. Like no other sport, in the daily grind of professional baseball, confidence matters. Confidence in your plan. Confidence in your preparation. Confidence in the face of failure. I tell my son that baseball is a sport that you can do everything correctly and still fail. You have to have the confidence in your process despite an unfavorable result. This is where the Twins have developed a culture of losing. Now that the expectations have changed, the confidence in the approach and plan over the past four years has waned. Now the Twins are trying to do things differently, and it shows in their uncertainty in their execution, and it comes from the top down. For Miguel Sano, the plan was to play 3B. This is the position he has worked to improve at over his entire career with the Twins. In 2015, when the Twins called him up to see what they had in him, the Twins protected their asset by planting him in the DH spot with spot starts at 3rd so he could adjust to the difference that is Major League pitching. After a successful first stint, Sano now headed into the off season with a plan to continue to work at #B, and learn to prep for the adjustments teams would make against him come the following season. Sano had confidence, because he knew what was expected. However, instead of continuing to put their young future in a position to be successful, the Twins switched things up. They were now expected to contend, and Plouffe was a good player who could help the team. But, to compound that the Twins spent money on a DH, and a player would have to adjust to the major league game as well. So, instead of protecting their future, the Twins moved him into a position he had never played, and still expected him to carry their offense. Instead of feeding their top prospect consistency and sticking to a plan years in the making, the Twins served Sano uncertainty and the unknown. Hard to be successful doing something you have never done against the toughest competition in the world in that field. It isn't just this however. The Twins took contact hitting catcher Joe Mauer, and due to health reasons moved him to 1B, and then they told him to be a power hitter. They took Danny Santana after a productive year in the outfield, moved him to SS, and then watched him fail. Byron Buxton has struggled at every level he has played at, including his first stint in the majors, and now they ask him to help carry their offense. Trevor May, successful as a SP, moved him to the bullpen. Brian Dozier, struggles with consistency, yet put at the top of the lineup. A culture of losing isn't that guys are unhappy or inept, it is a culture that has no clear vision, no clear plan, and so players have little chance for success. People are asked or trying to do things that they aren't prepared to do. People are put in positions to fail rather than succeed. Molitor talks about searching for answers, and trying new things. That is inherently the problem. There is no plan. When young players are called up, the Twins have no answers for them nor plan for them to fall into. Instead they are looked towards to solve problems when they are just trying to figure things out. This leads them to try to do too much rather than just doing their job. It is tough to be confident in your ability to drive in a run when you aren't sure if you are going to need to hit behind the runner, put one over the fence, nor having any recent history of either working according to plan. This is now The Twins Way.

After looking as awful as they have, looking like an average MLB team is a nice change. The SP has been as advertised despite the injuries. I still believe it is a bit silly to expect Buxton to come up, and set the world on fire. That being said, if he brings defense, that is a great place to start. It will be an awesome problem to have if Sano is pushing his way up, and Plouffe is still raking (hopefully end of this year or next year). Arcia seems destined to the DH spot, especially if Vargas keeps playing like this, but that is ok. Hopefully the bullpen can get worked out by the end of the season as well.

They suck. They were going to suck when they were brought together. They are sucking now. They will continue to suck moving forward.

Ok, so am the only one done with pitchers who can't throw strikes, and hitters who can't figure out the strike zone?

I agree that SP has been good, which most would have guessed heading into the season. I'm not too worried about hitting because hitting is down around the entire league, and most of our guys have never been great hitters. My issues were and continue to be about the team's defense and relief pitching. IMO, those are fixable offseason issues and were left unaddressed for the most part.

I would rather see Vargas sent down and Hunter get more DH days than bring up someone to DH. I would bring Hicks up to play OF and if he is not better than Robinson or Shafer, that tells you all you need to know about him. I would leave Santana alone other than moving him down in the batting order. Let him learn to be a SS unless you don't believe he has the chops to do so. If that is the case, put him in the outfield and commit to him there. In the end, I will settle for the Twins to at least act like they have a developmental plan and stick with it.

I agree with Doc that Arcia to LF is this year's Santana to CF. Another seemingly short-sighted plan that undermines the idea that this team has and is executing a detailed, long term plan.

Man, if Hicks is not a better option defensively, that was a huge miss as a draft pick.

If it becomes routine, then you bench him, if not, there is no reason to. You are trying to build these young players up, not have them worried that if they make an error, they are going to be benched.

Very true. I expect this team will lack consistency in wins, but hopefully we can at least develop consistency in keeping games close.