Old Twins Hat

Lewis' defense at 3B has been adequate, and so has Lee. The infielder who is inadequate is Bell. Thus, one of Lee or Lewis needs to get a mitt and learn how to play 1B for the good of the team. And yes, it is time to bring up Culpepper at short. Exactly what are they waiting for?

I think MLB players really need to think this through. A cap and floor system would help salaries for a lot of players, not just the superstars. I've seen this before where salary negotiations are pegged on the highest flyers and the others get scraps. Not every player is going to be a mega-millionaire, but if they have a high salary while they are in the league, that is worth something to them and their people. I, for one, am sick of seeing the Yankees and Dodgers loaded with all-stars, all making bank, while the other teams are full of has beens, never weres, and young inexperienced players who just can't get it done. And then, when a player breaks through and becomes a star, they get kicked upstairs to the Dodgers, robbing out of the way teams of a truly great player.

Question: If Ryan is "under control" through 2027, why do the Twins need to make the move at the deadline in 2026?

Gotta wonder about Matthews game plan. Threw a ton of fastballs early, even when it seemed he didn't have good command of it. And, predictably, gives up two dingers on inside fastballs. Then realizes that the fastballs aren't playing and switches to off-speed, settles in and pitches an efficient six innings. Was that the catcher's idea to try to dominate early with the heat? Either way, a little different pitch selection and it could have been a different game. Of course, Twins still got to hit the ball.

Play him!

Kind of a side topic, but that war paint he puts on his face, what is that about? I know that some eye black helps deflect the sun but, Royce has taken that in a direction I've never seen, with decorative streaking that makes him look like a warrior. Has he ever said anything about it? Is it actually functional somehow or why do it like that?

Yes, Kreidler's numbers in MLB have been terrible, abysmal, unplayable. And I did say MLB -- how many years exactly has he been in the Major Leagues with terrible, abysmal, unplayable numbers? Longer than Wallner? Longer than Royce? Here's to you Mr. Kriedler, swing for the fences, run with the wind, and goddamit you show us how and why you got this far.

Who leaves a player like Lewis exposed like that for such a length of time? It's embarrassing. And sad. For the entire team.

I may be the only one, but do not go to sleep on Kreidler. He is hitting for average and power right now, albeit mainly in AAA. What if he shows up as a capable MLB hitter? What then? Personally, I would go with an infield of Kreidler, Lee, Culpepper and Arcia. Sort the positions out how you will, but those are the ones playing the best baseball right now and the Twins wanted to figure out how to be competitive.

Ober is really fun to watch from the CF camera. If no CF camera, it would be very hard to understand what is happening. It's hard to understand anyway. Not only just needing 89 pitches to complete a game, but throwing only a few of them above 90 mph? C'mon, in modern MLB, this a form of apostasy: the rule of velocity is actually being exposed as a fraud, with all its arm-injuries, surgeries, and career-ending debilitations. Every aspect of pitcher development is premised around achieving higher velocity, greater spin, more max-effort arm action. How can one pitcher defy all of MLB with a series of change-ups, cutters, curves and a handful of mediocre, if well-located, sinkers and fastballs? How? Radke had the same kind of deception/magic. It took him an inning or so to get it to work, but after an initial trial or proof of concept, Radke would lock-in and have batters eating out of his hand, 91 or 92 mph max. It must have something to do with Ober's height, the angle the pitch comes in at, and the extension he achieves as he releases the ball. Whatever, I guarantee, this will be studied. All of MLB, every team, and their many staff, technology, and budgets will be all over trying to understand how this can possibly work as a theory of pitching. Because the upside of not enduring the costs of max-effort throwing is too-high not to go all-in on learning if Bailey Ober is a one-off freak of nature, or actually on to something that can, once again, change the way the sport is played.

I would give anything to have an exciting, extra-base type lead-off hitter named Spain. It certainly runs circles around having France, Germany or England hitting first.

Went to bed after the top of Eight thinking to myself: Twins are going to go hitless in the ninth, meaning, with Buxton's leadoff homer, they made 27 outs without a hit. I was watching what amounted to a no-hitter of a losing team, without a bullpen and in last place in the division. Pathetic. But, turns out it may have been one of their better games this season. Somehow. Baseball. Kind of crazy game.

Lee is the kind of fundamentally sound player that ends up on the Yankees later in his career.

The Buxton homer on a high cement-mixer curve ball was at 41% launch angle. He wind-milled it high and deep into the night, impossibly far, one of those homers that you dream about, wondering if it will ever come down. Buck was just crossing second base when it landed.

In theory, bullpens are the easiest/least expensive part of MLB to rebuild, and yet, oddly, the most difficult to maintain year-to-year as pitchers move in and out of having good seasons, workable contracts, injuries, etc. That means a high quality, low cost, injury-free, controllable reliever is the gold standard. But, as the Twins 2026 shows us, the hard part of putting a bullpen together is showing up with high quality relievers -- pitchers who can miss bats and shut-down potent offenses. In other words, a bullpen that is as elite and a good team's offense. Even a weak dribbler of a hit in the 9th inning can be a team's undoing, as the Twins figured out yesterday. Twins will probably do okay against average teams in terms of relief pitching, but average teams don't win divisions, don't make the playoffs and certainly do not make playoff runs. Varland is the type of arm that can be a solid part of a very good baseball team that can beat other good teams. Twins do not have that kind of arm right now and, in fact, have the fewest bullpen K's of any team in the league. They gave up what they most need for a couple of solid prospects. Hope it works out but whatever Falvey was drinking that day, it must have been strong stuff when you figure in Varland's hometown status and years of control.