Rod Carews Birthday

This article really should give us as fans a little bit of good perspective. I live in (near) Chicago and I can tell you that the Sox would gladly trade places with the Twins both historically and especially currently. They really don't have anything to look forward to in the next couple of years. The culture on that team has hardly ever been really good, even sometimes when the team was pretty good. For now, they just have to hope that they can find some good contributors and claw back to respectability. The Cubs, on the other hand, are probably convinced that they will win the World Series and that several of their players should be Hall of Famers. It's like that here. All the time. Yikes.

I am basically in agreement with several posters in that I want him to get a little time off, but not so much that he loses he newly regained stroke at the plate. Also, as a veteran of plantar fasciitis myself, I also can concur that it's definitely a "you just don't know what it is doing from day to day" type of issue, although, I'm guessing that good physical therapy is probably preferable to the abuse it probably takes playing shortstop in the major leagues. This is probably a conversation that they have already had with him. He is most certainly a high level professional, and regardless of the season he has had offensively, probably has a better idea than anyone else what will make him the most effective for the playoffs. Whatever that is, he (and the team) should do it without hesitation.

I’m really not anti-internet or anti-technology, but I REALLY do miss the Sporting News! I don’t miss trying to survive on about 1 1/2 quality starting pitchers for the season.

No matter what pitchers are on the roster, by that point, probably Willi Castro!

I'm inclined to say it's too early, but with the oversized impact this can/will have on next year's team, it's hard not to think about it. My choice would be number 3. . . bring up Austin Martin and see what happens. Given the successes had this year with rookies, perhaps I am overconfident, but I think he has a good track record (as well as pedigree from being an early 1st round pick) and the hitting ability to make it happen. It won't be smooth or easy (or maybe it will!), but I think in the long run, Martin could be excellent. In the BEST case scenario, Buxton plays CF half of the time next year, so this gives a good pairing partner (I know, they're both right handed. . .) for the days when he either sits or plays DH. In the event Buxton isn't back in CF at all (this also presents other really bad challenges), the backup CF choices could be DeShawn Keirsey and/or Gilberto Celestino. I have less faith that either of them will be highly successful in the majors, but a resigning of Andrew Stevenson to a minor league deal would provide a bit of backup to the backup insurance. How good they need to be really depends on whether Martin takes the job and runs with it, playing 140 games in CF or if half time is all he can handle. Also, Willi Castro provides something quite a bit better than a break glass in case of emergency CFer as well. I wouldn't complain either if the Twins brought back Michael A Taylor for another year, but I like the above choices much better. All of these saves the money for some relief pitching and/or some prospects to get another quality starting pitcher. Too early. Yes. But my paranoid self can't help but think about it and I'm guessing that behind the scenes the Twins are too.

To answer your direct question. . . No, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows baseball and the strategy that goes along with it. However, a guy with his experiences and skills is a pretty good place to start to look for a manager. People like to rail against every decision that doesn’t work out in a game as though it is some sort of definitive proof that Rocco isn’t up to the job. EVERY. SINGLE. TEAM. HAS. PLAYS. THAT. DON’T. WORK. OUT. IN. EVERY. SINGLE. GAME. Does that mean that none of those managers know anything? Should they all be fired? No one will agree with any manager or coach all of the time and Rocco is no different. I personally am neither pro-Baldelli nor anti-Baldelli. I think he is basically OK. There are just too many decisions out there to get them all right and the season is too long to think that they are looking at the situation in exactly the same way as we might. Sometimes people manage in the moment. Sometimes they are managing for later in the season. I lived in one of those jobs that occasionally garnered public criticism. What I found was that the people who really did know how to do my job were the people who had the least criticism of it. It was usually the people who thought they knew who were the loudest, and also the most off base. I can’t name ten guys who I would like to be the next Twins manager, let alone guys who are posters on a blog site. Next time there is an opening, they had better submit their resumes. I hear it’s a good gig.

So. . . you’re saying that managers shouldn’t have “quick hooks” in the playoffs? And. . . if a Ryan or Ober start isn’t going well after 4 or 5 they should be left in? And. . . Gray’s start shouldn’t depend on how much traffic he allows and his strike percentage? If I’m reading this correctly, you seem to be saying that the way these pitchers have been handled is OK with you. With all of these so called faults by Rocco, the Twins manage to be tied for the lead in innings per start. Well OK then. Sign me up for that. I’m pretty certain that each of them will go out there with the attitude of going at least six innings. Some of them may actually get there, and some may not. Regardless, those pitchers are going up there to get people out and will need to do so to stay in the game. This is a pointless argument. The Twins don’t pull their pitchers any sooner than anyone else does. To suggest otherwise is to ignore math.

You don’t get to average 5.6 innings per start (tied for the league lead, and a substantial increase over last year’s injury riddled mess) just because there are no blowups. You have to have pitchers who are pitching deeper into games so that that number increases. Since their innings per start are currently on par with the best pitching staffs in the league, I’m going to give them credit for doing something right rather than nitpick that on a nightly basis.

I like this roster a lot. I would probably carry one less outfielder (Buxton - who is not that likely to be healthy anyway) and add Keuchel to the bullpen. He’s an awfully nice “Break Glass in Case of Emergency” pitcher to have out there just in case something silly happens (injury, sudden wildness, etc.) and you need innings covered in a game without destroying your bullpen. I do think that Bailey Ober is a better pitcher than he is, but I would also leave him off of the roster and in waiting for the second round, where he might be the fourth starter.

Thanks for a wonderful(?) trip down memory lane and making me think about how old I really am! I’m looking forward to Twins fortunes changing this year. Disappointed to not hear from “old man shouting at clouds” or “drunk college sophomore at the U”. We need those kinds of characters more often! I used to be superstitious in that the two Twins World Series triumphs came when I moved to Iowa each time. First, to take my first teaching job in the fall of 1987, and, after I had moved across the border to Minnesota, in 1991 when I moved back to Iowa again for grad school. Unfortunately my third time around didn’t work out as well in 1997, so I have stayed in Illinois ever since. Added benefit, lots of incredibly cheap aftermarket tickets for Twins games at Comisky/US Cellular/Guaranteed Rate field.

Big Luis Arraez fan. Big Pablo Lopez fan. It’s definitely a win/win trade for both teams, which ultimately is what is nice to see. It makes for more willing trade partners now and in the future. I think we all need to notice that the Twins actually traded someone when he was at peak (or certainly nearly peak) value. It’s a bit of a leap of faith to do that. Too often we hang onto players until they no longer have any value and then complain that we can’t find top return for them. Good job. Let’s make more trades like that.

What is it that you think “gut feel” is based on? Observation - numerical and anecdotal. That’s statistics (and analytics). Gardy used them. So did TK. Gene Mauch certainly did. I’m sure Billy Martin and Sam Mele also. Just because Rocco’s gut feel doesn’t line up with ours doesn’t make it instantly wrong. He has a lot more info at his disposal than we do, plus I’m pretty sure he’s forgotten more about baseball than I’ll ever know.

Agree completely with this. Being in the bullpen vs. being a starter is a distinction without a difference at this point. Gray and Lopez (in some order) will start games one and two. One of Maeda or Ryan starts game three and the other is "in the bullpen", which basically means they are ready for the next game or to finish a short start (or earlier if Gray or Lopez struggle) in game three. I think Ober and Keuchel are locks for the roster/bullpen as well. This will say goodbye for now to players like Floro and make the staff potentially really good. Let's hope this all works and then we start this all over again for the next round!

@DocBauer Grow up listening to Herb Carneal on WNAX? I did!

The last quote sounds like they are on the right track. If he can't play in the field, there is really no point in making him the DH. It just clogs up the lineup. Besides that, I think in his current physical state, Buxton is probably the backup to MAT in CF. Take the winter off. Heal.

Sprint mode happens when the playoffs start. Since it doesn't look like there is any way that the Guardians or the Tigers overtake us, right now we are just positioning ourselves for the playoffs. The end of the world isn't coming. In fact, I'm pretty sure there is going to be a lot of subpar baseball played over the course of the rest of the regular season. People are going to be rested. Things are going to be tried. Who knows? Having a veteran bat that is capable of pinch hitting in a situation like that could be useful down the road. My guess is that is what he was after. We can certainly debate whether that pinch hit was going to come from the backup catcher, but YMMV. As for Julien -- terrific player, I really like him -- he's a rookie. He's not that delicate. If he was offended in some way, maybe he uses it as motivation. Again, I probably wouldn't have made the call, but at some point I think I let the manager manage on his own, since he isn't calling me in the near future.

And if he gets a hit, Rocco's a genius. Watching baseball (and managing baseball) is like the stock market. You can't jump off a cliff at the end a bad day because tomorrow's another day (and another game) and that one might turn out as far to the good as the previous one to the bad. I'm certain there isn't a manager that any of us would agree with on every call, but he did get them this far and that is a lot more than nothing. Did I love the call? Nope, but do we really know what Rocco was trying to find out/do by doing it? Also no. It's a marathon. Not a sprint.

While we never know how anyone will react to pressure, it seems likely that the Twins younger players won't be any more affected by the pressure of the playoffs than anyone else. They are all high level professionals and even if they haven't been through this particular set of difficulties before, they have all been through plenty of tense situations. The good news is that they are young enough to not really realize how good they are, how unique this is, and that there is a bit of a pattern of the Twins losing playoff games. I think they'll be fine. Now if we can just get everybody playing well at the same time. . .

Some of the previous posters have correctly pointed out that the starting pitching situation gives the Twins a better shot at victory than in the past, but I think that what the author is trying to say is more elaborate than that. There is something for everybody to like on this team. Like veterans? Check. Like Rookies? Check. Like Sluggers? Check. Like speedy guys? Check. Want lights out starting pitching? Check. Want a 100 mph closer? Check. LIke unsung heroes? Check. There is certainly more. While previous teams had some of these things as well, this year’s version seems to have more boxes checked and thus more things for a variety of fans to embrace. Baseball freaks like me don’t need all of those things because we are just die-hards, but the casual fan needs a reason to embrace the team and this year’s team gives them plenty of choices. It is also likely true that a balanced approach that all of these variables represent is a better way to go into the playoffs than in the past. Maybe we can win some games. At least we hope so!

The thought that Kepler and Pagan would come around this season is mind boggling and yet it happened. The thought that Correa and Buxton wouldn’t really hit this season is also mind boggling and again it happened (although Correa has been a little better and is exceedingly valuable defensively. With all of the potential additions to the pen going into the playoffs, it doesn’t make me unhappy at all that we failed to add relief pitchers at the deadline. This may not work, but these are definitely quality arms so I think it is a reasonable play. Plus we didn’t have to trade away any more young talent.

That is likely true but he still didn’t need to be trashed by the NY media on his way out the door. They’re a particularly brutal group. They’ve trashed everybody from Bobby Mercer to Reggie Jackson to Dave Winfield and beyond.

Unfortunately there would be little hope that he returns as a good to great player (at least this season), since he hasn't hit well at all this season and hasn't been able to be on the field at all. I'm just hoping that the Twins don't decide to carry him in the lineup as the shell of his former self he has been this season. As has been said before by many, as a DH he severely clogs up the lineup and doesn't provide much upside. Shut him down. Get him whatever the best medical procedure he should have is. Recover and come back next year.

Gosh. . . the NY media going out of their way to trash a guy that didn't play well for the Yankees? I'm shocked. Shocked I say!

Given his injury history, I would say the Twins were quite successful this year by getting him mostly all the way through a season injury free. He is certainly a building block for the future. Even thought they obviously could, it is a little weird that they sent him down instead of putting him on the IL, but maybe they wanted to buy a little time with making a decision of whether he could be used in relief in the playoffs, which is easier to do in St. Paul. The service time issue I'm sure doesn't make him happy, but it really only matters if he is on the edge of the cutoff point for arbitration/free agency. I don't know his exact situation, but odds are he will blow by it by 1/2 a season and it won't matter. He is also the type of player that the Twins could sign to a long-term deal before that becomes an issue.

Jose Miranda is a player with enough talent that he shouldn't just be discarded. With a good amount of team control left, he could be dealt to a rebuilding team, possibly for an established 1 or 2 year "rental" CF or other OF. I agree that it might be best to build up a little value in St. Paul, but it really depends if his issues can be blamed entirely on injury or if he is viewed as a flash in the pan by other teams. Hopefully it's the former, as it gets the Twins more in return and allows Miranda to get on with his career.