Derojo

The reality is this. Unless there are new owners, forget the ALCS or World Series.

I don't understand how the writer suggests free agency after the debacle Correa was. Second, the Pohlad's aren't spending big money on a SS. Third, the Twins aren't ready for a move till 2027 at the earliest. Young talent needs development. Lee can play SS next year. It's a rebuilding year anyway. Fourth, unless the Pohlad's sell the team, figure on nothing great happening, like the ALCS. I'll still follow baseball because it's a great sport.

This is a big miss by Baldelli. The Twins had speed since spring training; too little too late. The owners need to go, really need to go, like yesterday. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Then the Pohlad's came and really stayed...

The greatest issue is the owners. Will a different manager make the Twins better? Probably not likely that will happen.

Did I read Austin Martin similar to Outman? I couldn't have read that.

Agreed on Taj Bradley. Cole Sands has had a rough time after All-Star break. Really, Austin Martin is a baller. He has great at bats. He has good speed for Left field, and he makes plays. I don't care if he doesn't have home run power. Buxton has home run power and he's been chasing that outside pitch since the break. Austin rarely does what Buxton has been doing; getting himself out by swinging at crap. That's not his game. If he can hit the gap as he did last night, that's all the Twins need. We need more players that consistently make the opposing pitcher, and Austin is that. (If Buxton had the plate discipline Martin has he would be top five, maybe top three in the American League.) That's the truth of it. I admire players who make the most of what they have, rather than lacking discipline. Did Mauer ever give outs away? Did Puckett ever give outs away? Ok, more than Mauer, but Puckett didn't get himself out much. Keaschall is good too at not giving away at bats. I like watching Martin because you're watching the best of what he's got to give. Whatever happened to excellence?

Luis Arraez is 5' 10", Keaschall is six feet, and has some power. I would choose Keaschall as he will likely improve his batting with more reps. Arraez has been getting significantly worse the last two years.

Luis Arraez has never reminded me of Rod Carew. BTW - Carew hit below .300 his first two years and then always above. Essentially, achieving and sustaining excellence. 1st base is a position that needs power, such as Hrbek brought to it. Hrbek was a great fielder as well and had height and length.

Quote: Ok, the Ship of Theseus Twins roll on, this time hosting the Padres in a battle between an energetic playoff contender and the rotting husk of what used to be a competitive collection of men. :Unquote. This drivel about the current team gets old. The only time the former team showed the competitiveness to possibly make the playoffs was the thirteen game win streak. The before and after the streak was not impressive. Unfortunately, that streak was the highlight of competitiveness. Correa was the fourth or fifth best batter, and he was supposed to be up there with Buxton. If it weren't for Buxton this team would have disastrously underperformed. These young players play hard, and they'll learn. We have more young players in the wing. The only possibility of a World Series is to have five, probably six players that are home grown. Such as Puckett, Gaetti, Hrbek, and Brunansky were. We need five more players to step up to that level with Buxton. The remaining three cannot be fillers. Oh, and the team needs to be sold.

Quote: "That reality has often played to the Twins’ benefit." :Unquote. Having a soft A.L. Central has not been a benefit. Quite the reverse since the Pohlads have been consistently content on merely winning the division occasionally, or a wild card slot. There is zero benefit to being in a weak division if the ownership doesn't take advantage of it; they haven't. Did Mauer even sniff a World Series? Even then, great (higher) standard of play makes for a better team. This is far more likely in a strong division than playing in a soft division. Third, the decreased number of division games; how does that change in realignment? We would go back to more division games; less; or the same? I smell money. Bottom line: a weak division weakens a team's chances of going to the ALCS or World Series. This is America. We don't give trophies for fifth or worse best teams. Division winner means nothing on its own.

I am hoping Lee will be a good hitting 2nd baseman, and back up to Culpepper at SS. He's not fast enough to start at short. Lewis has improved, but he's not good enough. Wallner and Larnach are second string. It's a great article on Lee, as it could go either way; up, or down and eventually out. As for Julien, I can't remember another player who doesn't swing at obvious third strikes. Totally in his head weird stuff going on.

I don't understand trading Ryan and Lopez, other than financial constraints. The most difficult positions to fill are starting #1 and #2; closer RP, and #1 catcher who makes the entire pitching staff more effective. Ryan, Lopez, and Jeffers better stay, and the top two or three relievers, as too many have been traded. As for Buxton, sorry, but you are only fifth most critical player on this team, especially with your injury history. Logically, Buxton would be the trade IF he stays healthy through the rest of the season. No one wants to write that.

That's total crap to call a player up, and not get them into a game. Especially marginal players, who may not get called up again. It's incredibly disrespectful. Fortunately, two players in all the Twins years isn't an excessive amount.

I laugh at: "One of the Twins darkest moments." I reject the drivel that comes out of the emotional destabilization of "fans" who don't understand (don't care?) what it takes to win a World Series. The Twins future is much brighter. Twins gained tier one and tier two prospects (Keaschall is tier two) while tearing apart an offense that consistently underperformed for over five years. Remember Joe Mauer, who never even sniffed a chance at the World Series? It's despicable that a player of his caliber never had a chance to play in the World Series. I would far more watch a team with young players, and new prospects that learn how to play, than the offensive non-competitiveness we've had for over half a decade, and longer. The Twins were going nowhere near a World Series with this pre-trade team. Clutch players win, and we need more of them. If you can't beat the Yankees, you're not going to the World Series. Now, we have several to many significant prospects that will come up starting in less than a year. Puckett, Gaetti, Hrbek, Brunansky, were all very young. We added: Gladden (thirty years old in 87), Baylor, and so on in 87. The 87 team had a very good young core, with Puckett being exceptional. We have Buxton, though he still gets injured. And we need a young core of four to five players that can compete. We don't have that yet. We might in one to two, possibly three years. You can go out in free agency like the Yankees and the Dodgers and buy your players. That's not going to work for the Twins. BTW - The MLB landscape is far more competitive now than it was in 87 and 91, so its going to be more difficult in this age of MLB to bring home a World Series title. If you're not focused on that, you're not a fan of baseball. Which describes our current owners.

Good news! Perhaps he'll get comfortable with his defense. Next year he can regain his batting form.