Nashvilletwin

Let’s pray he is ok and this not some serious medical issue. He’s got a beautiful young family.

Dumpster diving. Zzzzzzzzz…

What did the old lady say at the restaurant in When Harry Met Sally? “I’ll have what she’s having”. Lol. Rec this!

To be honest, the miracle for which I’m praying is that the Nephew wakes up and sacks Falvey and Levine before they completely decimate the future of the franchise with their wild-eyed commitment to not wasting the one season of having (through their - in the own mind - ingenious FO machinations) Gray, Mahle, and Maeda together. Yep, I’m just waiting for this brain trust who has generated zero playoff wins in their tenure and are still living off a magical season based on the juiced ball to trade our last fan favorite (and All Star) and several more top prospects to try to kick save a season based on three pitchers, none of whom will likely exceed 100-120 innings and all of whom will not be back next year, let alone be here after the trade deadline. For some reason this past week I can’t get the theme song from the original Poseidon Adventure, There’s Got to be a Morning After out of my head. As a “Super Fan” I’m having nightmares that I’m going to wake up on Opening Day to the Twins facing a left handed starter and our batting order includes Gallo, Farmer, Garlick, Celestino, Kepler and Polanco. I then spend hours on the phone with a customer service rep from DirectTv trying to get my money back for the MLB package. The nightmare ends when my wife and I take our dog on a two hour walk on a beautiful evening instead of watching the Twins throw it around the diamond and Rocco make another bonehead decision based on the “analytics”. I wonder why I would ever have thought to waste so much time and money on these Twins and I thank God that I was able to wake up to realise that.

1. No chance they trade one of Maeda, Gray or Mahle before the season starts. If that is the FO’s thinking, why the earth shattering Gallo signing? In all seriousness, two of the three have injury concerns so better to bet on proving those concerns wrong and increasing value anyway. 2. The FO will attempt to extend one or two of them no later than the trade deadline based on first half performance and mutual interest from the pitcher (don’t take that for granted - all three may want a change in scenery and/or want to bet on themselves). 3. Unless we are competing (which includes deluding ourselves into think we are) and assuming no extensions, at least two and maybe all three are moved at the deadline. So yes, in all likelihood it will make sense to trade some or all of them at some time, but not now.

I said the “exchange” of Urshela for Farmer. It was not a trade, rather replacing one infielder with a similar one who could provide a more direct hedge at SS if we were unsuccessful in the SS sweepstakes. At the moment Farmer is our everyday SS and in that role he’s a marginal upgrade over Urshela. Having said that, I personally would much rather have Urshela still on the team than Gallo. To me, maybe not for others, that’s a no brainer.

You are correct - there should be no expectation that any player can really single handedly lead a team to the playoffs. Having said that, is there truly any realistic expectation that Gallo with move the dial in that direction in any meaningful way? The FO is nibbling at the edges - Vasquez is strong move, Farmer is a good exchange for Urshela, and Gallo may or may not be an upgrade from Kepler/Larnach/Wallner. Maybe more is to come, but in total do these three moves make the Twins look like a pennant contender in ‘23? Re Gallo, what are the opportunity costs of $11MM and the ABs for someone who almost certainly won’t be here in ‘24, let alone by the trade deadline.

Perfectly stated ??

100% - he is our most reliably producing outfielder at the moment and very fun to watch. After I posted my comment, I thought to myself that Gordon is specifically one of the young guys I’ll tune in for. Sorry Nick - I left you off my list.

Exactly - well said. To add to this, if this is the style of baseball the Twins continue to play, then they will never be competitive. As a small/mid-market team, they need to be exceptional in those areas - not mediocre to below average. Usually I’m a “watch every game” type of guy regardless of if they are contending. 150 games last season. There are specific reasons I tune in besides just loving baseball and the Twins: Ryan pitching, Buxton, Arraez, and Correa ABs, and/or a young player getting innings. Could be basically down to Ryan and fewer prospects on that list soon. I most certainly will not be tuning in to specifically watch Joey Gallo. I would much prefer to watch Julien, Martin, Lee and now likely Larnach and/or Wallner at St. Paul this year.

This is a desperate attempt by the FO to kick save their Gray, Maeda, and Mahle trades before they all are gone next year - thinking of the long-run be damned. Don’t worry though - either we are contending or we start truly thinking of the long-term at the deadline (and ideally with a new FO and manager who has proven the ability to develop young players to their potential).

The goal is to build a roster that can compete for a Pennant year in and year out. This FO is desperate to take one more crack at making their Gray, Maeda and Mahle trades work before they all leave next season. Sorry, we just disagree. IMHO, there is absolutely no reason to mortgage our future - whether it’s moving more young talent or taking away badly needed innings - to try to save Falvey, Levine and Rocco’s jobs. The good news is that we will run this strategy up the flagpole. If (or when) it doesn’t work, the firesale before the deadline will commence and the true rebuild will begin. Boy, I can just imagine the analytics team all sitting around the room talking themselves into how Gallo is this or that (TF ave, no shift, good years before, etc.).

Please let this be the case…but I don’t think Nephew Joey has the intestinal fortitude for that.

Second best, behind Gordon? At the moment Gordon is our overall most reliable OF. Sorry to have to say that, but BB on the bench is not our best OF.

Makes sense for what purpose? Is Gallo going to lead us to the playoffs, let alone a playoff win? Are fans going to show up to see Gallo k twice a game? Or buy his jersey? Is this the move a club makes to position itself for a true run? Listen, who knows in the mediocre AL Central. But this is not a move by any stretch of anyone’s imagination that moves the dial for this club in ‘23 and most certainly not in ‘24. The only redeeming possibility is that he plays well enough that we move him by the deadline for a decent prospect. Vasquez was a good signing. Farmer made more sense than Urshela in our lineup. We shall see how Gallo for Kepler plus whatever Kepler brings in a trade looks soon I’m sure. But regardless, this is a FO nipping at the edges to try to fill the big gaping hole left by Correa.

Btw, love the photo of Gallo at the top of the post - looks like he just K’d waving at strike three out of zone. We will see a lot of that in ‘23.

Nah, it’s worse than that….

You’re kidding right? Seriously - so we sit Larnach, Kiriloff, Gordon, and Wallner to let Gallo and Kepler eat up at bats? And then throw in Garlick when needed vs. a lefty? Sorry, I won’t be watching that clown show (Kepler is as good as gone btw). Nephew Joey is off to a rough start and is going to have a lot of wood to chop. I’ve got the under on 1.5MM fans this season. Maybe they can make up the lost revenue selling those hideous M hats or fans buying new jerseys with Gallo’s name and number on the back. Lol.

?

Hoping to see a lot of new faces this year: Lee, Lewis, Julien, Wallner, Martin, SWR, Winder, Varland, Henriquez, Sales, and maybe Balazovic. Hope to see a lot of some somewhat new faces too: Kiriloff, Larnach, Miranda, Alcala, and Ober. Yep, looking forward to see who emerges as the new young core out of that group of 16 to augment Buxton, Arraez, Gordon, Jeffers, Vasquez, Ryan, Duran, and Jax.

Couldn’t agree more. I was thinking about what is going to get me to watch another 150 games this upcoming season, and I was dreading the prospect of not only the names you mentioned, but also Kepler, Garlick, and, yes, even Polanco. I’ve seen all those guys and to be honest I’m not all that interested in seeing them a lot more. Don’t get me wrong - they are excellent ball players and worthy of tremendous respect. Max and Jorge are two of my favorites. It’s just that I don’t see much excitement in tuning in to see them when the team is a non-contender and they probably won’t be around when the new core arrives. I mean, watching Max hit 0.225 is just not interesting anymore. Now, give me Lee, Lewis, Martin and Julien and I’ll be tuning in every day - even if they have their struggles. By August, they should be on the field pretty regularly.

Nothing like a little Everett Dirksen reference in the morning…

Exactly. Either pony up or embrace who we really are. Since we won’t do the former, we’d better do the later. Unfortunately, this FO will do neither. I can live with a rebuild. I like a lot of our young talent. But what is hard to stomach is trading that talent and/or not developing it. This FO and manager are not right for the strategy we must embrace if we want to have a true chance to compete.

Haha, maybe he throws us a consolation bone?

1. Sign Swanson. 2. Move Kiriloff to the OF; Celestino goes to St. Paul. 3. Trade Kepler for a solid relief pitcher, add Wallner, trade/drop Pagan 4a. Add an additional solid FA relief pitcher, drop Megill or Moran; or 4b. Insert Rodon in the Rotation; Ober or Maeda goes to the pen; or 4c. Sign a better RH OF bat (not sure who); Garlick goes to St. Paul; or 5. Do none of the above, sell big time at the deadline, draw 1.5MM at best, and let the young guys (Lee, Lewis, Julien, Martin, Wallner, Winder, Varland, SWR, Sands, and Henriquez) play in August and September. Oh, and look for a new FO and Manager.