JD-TWINS

Once Lee or Keaschall or Martin hit well enough they will take his spot on the 26 man roster. Castro will play the OF as needed as others that play IF can contribute. Last year I was begging to let Kiersey play in the Show! My real life assumption is that the Team doesn’t think he can hit - if he could he’d be in the line-up. Right? What would be the reasoning to hold a good hitter out of the line-up? Is Rocco trying to get himself fired - is the whole coaching staff trying to get themselves fired? The progression for success in the Show isn’t, put guys in the line-up and let’s hope they can break through - that’s an under .500 team approach in late August/September……can’t be in the mix and experiment at MLB level. I DO AGREE that I’d rather see Kiersey or somebody else “with promise” getting AB’s v. Gasper and a couple other fringe guys like France.

If he could hit he’d be in the line-up! The fans don’t NEED to see a guy perform for the Team to make a sound judgement on his capabilities…….agree with your AAA comments………again, if he were capable the Team would take advantage!

Wallner was hitting .150 or maybe less until 2 games ago - now he’s at .303. It’s not terribly difficult for a bunch of guys to hit their career average or .250 after 20-35 AB’s. If a half dozen guys hit .250-.290 they’ll be OK.

Guys that can hit get playing time. (not Kiersey) (Kiersey) ”…..he was a pinch runner, & he stole a base…..”. Seems the coaches remembered then? I like youth but Kiersey isn’t displacing anyone currently playing…….if he showed he could hit at the MLB level he’d be playing. The coaching staff has been observing his abilities for years. They need offense and IMO, he doesn’t move the needle. Julien is an issue and not really much of a contributor to date either. I see Keaschall or Lewis at 1B going forward and Eddie needs to get his hitting together to carve a niche at DH and occasional 2B……….do not see the organization letting him play 1B on any regular basis.

So, if Team goes 4-6 over the next 10 they would be where they were in ‘24 (7-13 start). Not uplifting by any means! They did play 23 games over .500 though for the next 4 months through August 15. That was with Correa & Lewis & Buxton in and out. Paddack was out (👍). That was with Wallner at AAA for couple months - Margot playing a bunch of innings - Julien’s bat disappearing - etc. They look terrible offensively - they lost a game Sunday that was firmly in their grasp. Paddack, to me, is clearly not a rotation piece, here nor anywhere………continually on the edge or worse. All is not lost until we see how things look in mid-June. 10 -11 weeks in and there should be a pretty clear picture of what’s up for ‘25. Through games played by April 8th is certainly premature…….end of ‘24 has certainly left a bad taste! Keaschall - Lee - Lewis - Matthews - Stewart are all potential positives going forward & if 2-3 of the 5 come through that would be a nice change.

Not completely against your view but Jeffers playing more (Catching & DH in ‘24) just tires him and then there’s no production. To me, Vazquez is a FO issue. He’s the guy the organization has paired with Jeffers and there are ZERO options behind them at AAA.

I realize Buxton’s attempt on the fly ball to the track was a difficult play…………I realize that it was windy & it was affecting fly balls, that said, either Buxton has to make that play or Bader has to catch the fly ball down the LF line. If either play is made, no run in first inning. 2 runs beats no one. To me, Kiersey is not really a viable option to contribute from what’s transpired so far in first 10 games. Gasper is a nice switch hitting, flexible defender on paper, but he’s done nearly nothing. Unless they don’t hit at all this week, Martin & Keaschall need to infuse some actual depth that helps Team (potentially) score some runs by a week from today. Woods Richardson wasn’t perfect but he and Blewett gave Team a chance. No offense………don’t care about exit velocity that results in outs……..weak way to rationalize no runs.

I noticed there seemed to be a meager crowd - thought that was odd this early - maybe cold? (Am in Cincinnati) Anyway, I’m surprised I hadn’t seen any real complaints here in posts other than Baldelli’s managing (happens win or lose) and pitching. DEFENSE was terrible in my opinion. Castro, in one inning at 3B (I think 3 of 4 batters) he misses a sharp ground ball down the line (Morneau criticized the play so it had to have been playable) and it goes for a double - needed to be knocked down at a minimum. Then next guy hits a ball to him and he makes a nice stop but then his throw pulls Gasper off the bag (tough play but a whisker from an out). Finally, pop fly down the line and Bader is coming in and comes to a complete stop 2 steps shy of the ball hitting the ground as Castro circled into foul territory and then back into play, cutting Bader off on the play………any of these 3 plays on their own wouldn’t be a big deal but all 3 happening over 6-7 pitches was a killer. It’s why Paddack got chased in 4th with nobody out. Varland is pitching and he throws a 98MPH fastball on the outside corner black (for strike 2) at the knees and Jeffers stabs at it and drops it - why? It was called a ball. Provus mentioned it right away. Then later in the 10th they know Astros will send guy at 1B and then try to score the other runner from 3B. Play that’s on for Twins is to throw to 2B and have the IF (Julien) catch it in front of the bag for probable return throw to home……..Jeffers throws the ball high (7.5 feet maybe) and on the 1B side of Julien - he then can’t make the return throw to home, accurately, and another run scores. Simple details that turn any chances of winning.

Paddack has to be out of Options - he can’t be sent down. (I get your point though) I have been a proponent of using him so that he can be his best self - 2 innings at a time or less out of the PEN……… unfortunately, Paddack was better today than last time so he probably “earned” another start. SAD, if the guy’s WHIP is over 2.00! Zebby seems to be at the top of the AAA heap at the moment. Doubt he would come up until there is a start for him to execute…..like the day before or that day. From reading other posts here, it seems Duran faced guys in the front end of the Astro line-up yesterday so the thinking (of him missing them today) makes sense to me. He looked great. Jax almost always looks great! ….. to see him throw 2 pitches and give up a base hit & HR is almost unimaginable!! I like there being a rhythm & order in the PEN too but this wasn’t some gross error by Baldelli, it was unfortunate chance contact by the 2 hitters. He struck out the next 3 guys. …. btw, Duran had 9 losses last season - he was far from perfect. Blewett is a solid choice to bring up and give some innings over the KC series - maybe Funderburk? The line-up needs somebody to hit his way on to the Big club from AAA! Hopefully, in the next 2-3 weeks somebody jumps out as a guy they need to promote. To me it’s another 10 games of Keaschall and he’s playing somewhere on the right side of IF.

“Command” is a pretty effective tool on the mound!……..right up there with deception. Sands seems to be getting better & better.

2-14 with one walk isn’t uplifting……so far. I still think Eddie’s problems are things that need to be addressed with some help on what’s going on between his ears. He looks tentative (did in ‘24) and after reading comments here he seems to be conflicted, somewhat, on what will bring him success. I realize all hitters have philosophies and keys that we don’t get exposed to often as fans but he just seems to be “thinking” too much. I hope for the best for him but have serious doubts on his ability to be a contributor.

Lewis being out is an issue for the offense, can’t ignore that. Correa not performing anywhere near an acceptable level is a big issue, agreed. Not acquiring a productive 1B or moving somebody there from within the organization (Lewis/Keaschall) seems to be a problem coming to fruition! Those things said, they have 154 games left (95% of season) and if the entire coaching staff should be fired in Minnesota, then the rest of the Central Division staffs should be fired since the collective record of the other 4 teams is 12-20. It can’t be “early” for the Guardians and complete failure & essentially season over for the Twins - right? 7-13 last year & then 17 games over .500 on August 16………gotta let things evolve. If Ryan & Correa aren’t hurt last year and out most of the 2nd half…………

Some good thoughts here! Lewis at an average level of performance is missed. Wallner leading off is a real mystery!! Can’t have 4 guys hitting “5-6” though. Seems with the number of starts Bader has had, nobody in organization thinks Kiersey can hit. He’s pinch runner - emergency defense. If healthy, Keaschall seems to be a near term replacement to free up Castro for OF duty as needed. Bader - Castro - Larnach - Buxton - Wallner - Correa - Jeffers - France - Miranda Keaschall at 2B or Julien at 2B with Castro at 3B makes near term sense. Castro in LF instead of Bader makes sense as well. Waiting for temps to get above 55F consistently before there’s any panic.

Completely agree they should or should have moved some pitching (Duran with a young starter) for offense! If Team’s lone upgrade is Camargo we’re in big trouble.

My point is they only have so much influence - they don’t control the outcome. It’s not a motivational message everyday…….Francona can manage - right? His team has been shoutout 3 straight days……..first time since 1960. Did he take the last week off?

Obvious here: 3 - 1 - 0 - 2 -2 runs in the 5 losses………where’s the real issue? Not the Pen - not the Starters.

Well said! ………… I don’t necessarily disagree on his inability to be a great (good) game strategist but individuals have to hit the ball. Francona excelled in Boston with some interesting culture guys & he helped that fit together but they had some pretty high performing bats on those clubs. Baldelli hit .290 for 3 years when healthy ……. .330 OBP - averaged 3.0 WAR. He’s not detached on what it takes to be a successful hitter at MLB level. Maybe he doesn’t convey things well? My view is the players get a free pass on TD way too often & Baldelli is the fall guy.

So, I get the frustration!! Twins fan living 3 decades in Cincinnati. Terry Francona, I assume everyone on TD would agree, is more than solid & as certain a HOF Manager as one can be. The Reds have lost 3 straight games 1-0! Players have to perform and the Manager can’t be responsible …… more than roughly 10-20% (IMO) for any guy’s performance. Whether it’s technical skill improvement - strategy - motivation - discipline …………the Manager can only do so much that then translates into the batter’s box. The players aren’t getting it done. The Manager getting them more fired up to hit or perform in general, seems to be some imaginary solution to me. It’s not football - basketball where more physical aggression and nastiness translates into results. My opinion only - I’m sure many think otherwise. Talent - calm mind - intuitive feel - scouting knowledge - thinking on your feet as count evolves ……………these individual traits make up a hitter not some attitude or wisdom from the Manager.

Didn’t see the game but Ryan can’t have zero walks and 6 K’s in 5 innings and then give up 4 runs! 41% Balls with no walks seems he may have been in some deep pitch counts and then gave in - guessing………..Gotta score to win.

And per the prescribed rules of the game, he gave up 2 earned runs with not very good command in the zone. That’s not a bad outing from the mound, but it’s just “average”. He balked and had a throwing error - I get that, but that’s not a reflection of his pitching performance. We disagree.

Coming out of the first start having pitched 5 innings and with an ERA of 3.60……… with not great command…….,I do not consider that a bad start. After 2 games Pablo’s ERA is 2.25……that’s tough to achieve with a bad start comprising 1 of the 2 starts. Nearly 120 games early to make final judgements, IMO.

The schedule fooled me too - Friday is a scheduled off day. He sure did a nice job in the 9th with an error mixed in……

Mr. Upbeat, the comment was directed principally at me. I pretty clearly said I didn’t think he’d hit 3 HR’s for at least 8 weeks - is that not clear? I’m not a big fan of the Bader acquisition but it deserves to be pointed out that he’s had some surprising success. That’s it……….chill.

Buxton got going - Correa got going - Bader is making all detractors eat their words early on this year…….I thought he might have 3 homers by Memorial Day. Entire Central Division is 2-4 and the Twins have a 2 game win streak going while everyone else lost on Wednesday. Big MO! Lopez got his ERA down to 2.25 and his WHIP down around 1.08…………Hope Joe is sharp again Thursday. Astros are in for a treat with highs in the low 40’s for the whole series. Twins need another series win…….back to .500 in a week?

Another very good start for Matthews next week and they’ll be clamoring for him to replace Paddack in Minneapolis! Hope so. Paddack needs to shift to PEN - Monday’s 96-97MPH in first inning down to 91MPH in the third inning paints the picture on how he/his arm/team benefits by him throwing 1-2 inning outings with max effort in relief!!