Rod Carews Birthday

On paper, none of those acquisitions were sexy — although my wife might argue that Bader is — but they have been very sound pickups. Offensively, Bader seems to be playing out of his mind right now, but the other two seem to be doing pretty much what we thought and hoped they might. Truthfully, France is the guy I thought likely to overperform the most, but he’s not there yet. Let’s hope it’s sustainable, they stay healthy, and the Twins can keep winning ballgames!

I’m going to resist the urge to get too excited during this winning streak, just like I resisted the urge to get too depressed during their recent cold spell. Just. Keep. Winning. Series. That will get them to the promised land, and we don’t have to care what any other team is doing (except the one we’re playing on the field).

He’s a smart and talented guy. He’s made some adjustments to try to be the best he can be. He definitely seems to be succeeding. Why would we be surprised? Velocity isn’t the only worthwhile measure of a pitcher. I know I wouldn’t want to even try to hit some of the crazy stuff he’s throwing up there.

I think you mis-filed this. It belongs in “Just for Fun”. Seriously. Just no. It’s taken a long time to have a good rotation. Trading a pitcher like Joe Ryan this far away from free agency would be premature to say the least, and these proposals don’t make me want to pick up the phone.

Here's a college guy who is playing ok in the low minors. Let's anoint him with future stardom, or at least put that millstone on him. . . Let the guy play! Amick may (or may not) be a fine player someday, but this is WAY too far out to really be concerned about right now. At the moment France seems to be doing the job pretty well, and is probably resignable (at a raise) for next year. Let's see how he finishes the year and see how others in the system develop.

Interesting analysis, but the question still remains. Why is this happening? Is it a lack of talent on the part of players (maybe a couple who are cooked)? Is it some sort of weird approach? And, most importantly, are these stats very predictive on it's own? My answer for all of these questions is the same. I'm not sure.

Agreed, but I do question whether he can be fixed at AAA. I have a feeling he's going to go there and dominate but not change anything meaningful in his approach. I almost feel like he would be better off if he were traded to a truly terrible team like the White Sox that would just let him play everyday because they had no other options. I think given enough time to sink or swim, he might just swim. He's not a budding all-star, but I think he could be a serviceable big leaguer somewhere.

The questions for Eddie Julien continue. . . 1. Can his swing be fixed in the minors at all? Maybe? Or it might take MLB pitching to make the appropriate adjustments. 2. If so, will he get another shot in the majors? Maybe? Or perhaps too many prospects have passed him by. 3. Will he find himself as a throw-in on a trade at the deadline? This seems like a real possibility, and I fear one that the Twins might regret if he really lights it up somewhere. He’s no Big Papi, but he could still be plenty valuable in the right situation. 4. Could he be a DH only kind of guy if he could refine his power stroke? I honestly think this might be the answer. He is in the top 1% of guys with a batting eye and that’s a really good place to start (resume) from. OR he may never really put it together. 5. Is this the end of his time with the Twins? I also honestly think this is also the answer. The hit tool is enticing, but he may never actually put it together. The list goes on and I’m sure it probably drives him crazy. He seems like a fun, quirky fellow that’s easy to root for. The team (and the league) needs more interesting guys like him. I wish him the best and hope to see him soon again!

If there is that much concern about his defense, sure, he should DH more. Certainly he can take the occasional "half-day off" of DH to recharge his batteries, but not as a position move. If the concern is for injury, that's pretty silly. He's still in his twenties and athletic. He got hurt running down the first base line. Playing third base or not, he might get hurt again. If we aren't going to get maximum value out of him now, then when will we? I get that the perceived value in Lewis is in his bat (we hope!), but I personally don't think that a move is necessary. If the concern is defense, then perhaps a move to first base could be in order, but that's an off-season move, not an in-season move.

I think you missed the opportunity to use the phrase "What in tarnation!?" but you hit on some really good ones. Keep on panning out there.

Wow! My first thought was “a .683 OPS is above league average?!” That’s pretty low, but give him credit where it’s due. I’m glad he seems to be doing better this year. I’d like a little more of a track record to proclaim him to be fixed though. He’s definitely taken a step forward. Let’s keep this going and see how he continues to adjust when the pitchers adjust.

Definitely less than optimal, but also better than this year's results.

What was the BAA on his fastball last year? You might be right, but 10 innings isn't a sample size to hang your hat on. Need a deeper pool of info. Inherently, his arm angle might be more difficult to produce results from, but others have done it. He may also.

Moving in a guy with more defense and at least as much offense for practically no cost. There's no reason not to do this if you are in first place, last place, or anywhere in between. The team's current struggles are making people jump on any move the front office makes. This is just a minor tweak that all teams do from time to time. And, like the Castro pickup a couple of years ago, sometimes you can catch a little lightning in a bottle.

It does seem like “pre-blaming” Rocco and the coaching staff is an easy out for the performance of a player who may or may not be ready. IF he were totally healthy and wouldn’t have had TJ surgery, this would be an expected time table for his appearance in the majors. However, given those things, it seems obvious that he wouldn’t be getting a sniff yet if it weren’t for the current injury situation. I think a realistic expectation is that he comes up and hits a little, but not a ton — enough so that we can see the potential. When the injury situation abates itself on the major league club, he goes back down — wiser for his first taste of MLB but ready for a little more development (and to finish his recovery). At this point in his career he’s not the savior of the season, but he might wind up being very good at a point down the line.

It's important to temper overall offensive expectations for catchers. Not only do they usually not play as many games as other fielders, they are also subject to a great deal more wear and tear on a game by game basis. Between the in and out of the lineup and the physical abuse, getting into a hitting groove is pretty tough. Jeffers is a bit of a tease, making us always hope for that next step. He's had some really good streaks and also some really poor output. Consistency would be nice, but I'm not sure we're going to get it. If we can't get consistency, then I guess I'm willing to ride the wave when everything is clicking. It's not like there are a plethora of available catchers that are better than he is.

Really like this stuff Seth. I don't know that every ten days is enough time for you to update the list, but an occasional "stock up - stock down" article like this is terrific. There are many prospects that are unknown by average fans (especially in the lowest levels) and having an idea of how they are doing over periodic intervals is really fascinating. With regard to the content itself, I sure hope you are right about Schobel and Gonzalez. We could use those guys, whether in the majors or as trade capital. Random thought: You could alternate between doing a hitters version and a pitchers version.

Will #42 be able to both hit and pitch in the same game?!?

Bravo to you Matthew for an excellent article. You have taken history and made it relevant to the present in a way that people can relate to and in which they can take pride. Hopefully it can also lead to a little bit of non-partisan self-reflection. Bravo to Robinson for having the skills to make it happen. Bravo to the Dodgers for having the guts to make it happen. Both endured a lot of pain in the process but stuck to it for the betterment of us all.

It does seem to blast to the extreme right away. If it were that easy to blow up a team, start over, and be successful everyone would do it. Same with managers. You know, all of the ones we don't have are great and the ones we do have are awful and shouldn't be managing. Sheesh.

Festa came up. Performed well. Earned the chance to do it again. Why would you swap them out when he is pitching well? Matthews' time will come. No tragedy here. I'd be willing to bet that he sees it that way also. This isn't college with NIL and transfers. He'll be fine.

Satire dead. Irony already dead. What is left? Can reality be far behind? How will we even know?

Answers are tough to find when there are this many players who are either injured or playing poorly, but there aren't a bunch of guys beating down the door for more playing time. Keirsey? It seems unlikely he's going to be a great hitter and is probably being used to best effect as a pinch runner/late inning fielding replacement. Gasper? Seemed like a cool story, but probably the definition of a AAAA guy. Those two are basically invisible. Probably DFA time. The problem is with Martin injured, there aren't really any guys ready to go at AAA who are beating down the door to fill the spots. Hopefully Lee helps, but he had his own issues last season. Maybe Miranda starts destroying AAA pitching. That would also help a lot. Keaschall, ERod, and McCusker need some time (for various reasons). Overmatching them in the big leagues isn't going to do them or the team any favors. The much maligned Mr. Julien has been playing well the past few games. Has he actually turned a corner? Good question, but I'm willing to ride the wave at the moment to find out. Buxton and Correa aren't hitting. They are here to stay and as the Twins best players, we have to trust that they will figure things out eventually. Both of them certainly are aware of what it takes to play well. It's so easy to complain about the "lack of fire" or the need to practice this or that. Aside from the Miranda brain fart the other day, most of the issues are simply players not executing. These are professionals, not kids. They are well aware of what they did wrong and aren't going to be moved by some good old fashioned yelling. Some players are emotional. Others aren't -- ever -- when things are great or terrible. That's a style issue, not a character flaw. Fake enthusiasm doesn't really impress me. The solution really is that some players need to play better. Period. I'm hoping that we can regress (progress to the mean? Is that a thing?) to the mean and things will improve, but it may not. Time to play the hand we have and see how it shakes out.

Fair enough. My point was that lots of at bats doesn’t necessarily make a player into a big contributor. Right now the Twins need to find some guys who can actually contribute regularly, which is evidently pretty difficult at the moment.

Maybe, but probably not a lot of teams who think they are playoff teams. Rookies usually get a lot of run and make an impact either because they are superstars in the making or because the team has nowhere else to turn. We’re not there on either front yet.