Bodie

Fair enough. This whole tread (if this was about a competently run team) is basically about arranging nos. 22, 23 and 24 guys on your team. Nobody is going to do much more than "hold the fort", and that'd better be for the very short term. But it is the 2020's Twins, so everyone will play regularly so no one gets butthurt. Hmmm, I might be getting a little too salty about this...

I'll invite you over for a beer this evening. I have the twins.tv deal, so you can actually see Julien play. "Actively bad" is what I've seen out of him since he was first called up. He has no positive defensive traits whatsoever. And waiting for him to prove himself as a DH is a luxury this team cannot afford. I'll take Gasper 100 % of the time over Julien. Not a pretty choice, but bordering on a no-brainer if you see any future for Julien. He is lost, and even worse, has shown no sign he gives a fiddler's fuc...

Why on God's green earth would you keep Paddack???? Only "good" thing about him now is his injury history... at least he won't be a disaster on the mound for too long!

WTF is Paddack getting into ANY game that is within 10 runs??? And after yesterday's game, I'd amend that to games where the Twins are down 10. Wouldn't trust him to come in for the 9th up 10-0. Put him out with this week's trash. 3 years later, but... that's where he belongs.

Felt pretty confident going into the commercial break with the 7-1 lead. The we come back 2 minutes later, and I remember whose pitching and my first thought was "7 to 1 ain't safe with Paddack and 5 innings plus of bullpen". Swear on my life.

Mom always told me "everybody does it" is not an excuse. Only laziness.

The problem with this Twins team is shockingly simple. The solution less so. The vast majority of current Twins are, by execution, simply one-dimenional players. Not by skills or abilities, but in what they actually do on the field. Swing from the heels no matter what. High launch angel, no matter the player and his strengths and weaknesses especially. "Go full Dave Kingman, so when you hit it it goes far". Buxton would have a similar average if he bunted every AB. His actual speed would beat out nearly a hit a game if he literally did nothing else. That doesn't count the times he gets on due to his potential speed - defenders botching makable plays trying to be perfect to get speedy Byron. You can count the number of bunt attempts from last season on one hand. For the team. Buxton ought to drop a bunt once a series, minimum. Move the IFs in half a step, and the angles move in the hitters favor. Twins opponents know that the Twins won't ever bunt, sacrifice or apply consistent pressure on the bases. And that when they try, they will look like little leaguers in the execution. Ask Terry Fracona which iteration of the Twins is easier- the Kingman-esque slugging Twins of last year (as a specific example) or an earlier version where any player might be called on to drop down a bunt. Or run the bases both aggressively and intelligently. Instead we take a Roy Smalley type player (good/plus contact, "good gap power" and acceptable (but consistent) defense) and focus on power to the exclusion of anything else. Instead of a .270 13 80 line, we are treated to a .240ish 18 65 line and little to no effort on defense or baserunning. "We maximized his power." will be the rallying cry, while ignoring the fact that if that player doesn't hit a homer in that game he has almost zero chance of providing any positive at all. Why? Because it has never been emphasized in their pro career that there is more than one way to skin that proverbial cat. The Twins approach to said cat has been very simple - sledgehammer to the head. Very effective when done right. Very messy and unappealing when botched! This isn't going to be fixed with a new hitting coach hyping a new and improved cat skinning method. The guys coming up (not to mention those already here) have been immersed in the "max effort swing = good results" ethos their entire career. It got 'em to the Bigs. Why change now, especially if a .170 average with a homer every 10 games will get you regular playing time. (see Joey whose name we shall not mention)

Don't think The Wrench was ever that swole (as the kids say)...

A depressing performance against an historically (literally!) awful team. Wondering when last the Pale Hos last won a 9+ run shutout, but any answer will only leave me feeling worse... #FireRoccHead

No need to praise them though... and if he can't figure out how to get this particular team going, there are two options- 1) get a new team (ain't happening now), or 2) find a new manager.

"Hipster Twins Fan Torn" is what showed up in my Google feed. Imagine my disappointment when the full headline did not include any of the following words: "pack", "feral" or "dogs". Thought we'd have an article to unite us to a man, but alas....

Hmmm, sounds like Brian Harper but with some defensive chops.... Acceptable.

This is a Twins page, so the answer to your second question is obvious... Matthew LaCeoix! (now with extra fat!!!)

The Dodgers didn't sign Stewart to his latest contract. Same with Paddack and the Pads. And the M's gave away d'Scalfini. Somehow this "everybody does the same" argument looks like a lot a small wins for everybody who does business with the Twins, while the Twins just keep signing people others won't. And don't act like I listed every injury. That is being purposefully obtuse (or being a Minnesotan, maybe not purposefully...). The "core" of today's (Correa, Buxton) stars are unmovable from the Twins roster. Few teams would clear a roster spot for either if we gave 'em away. Tomorrow's stars (Lewis - who'd be a star if he wasn't injured- and Jenkins) look to be following the same career path as Buxton's. Worse, actually as Buxton didn't have that BIG of red flag entering the majors as either of these to do/will. For thier sake, I hope they get his contract before anyone wises up! The only team that can compare to the Twins' catastrophic injuries, AND injury history is the Angels. And that is 95% missing Micky Mantle. I mean Mike Trout.

Lets be honest. Those are the same people whose sterling track record includes keeping Buxton on the field. And Kirilloff. And Brock Stewart. And the stellar rehabs of the above mentioned. And Paddack. Or keeping injury prone players healthier than expected. I'm sure that has happened, but for the life of me I can't think of a single one! Maybe they are better at diagnostic/scouting side? Doing a good job on reviewing medical records and shared reports on prospective Twins? Correa, d'Scalfini, Paddack or Toppa looking better by the day, medically speaking? Not saying the entire medical staff is incompetent, but the track record needs to be considered as least as much as the "Dr." preceding his name. You don't take diabetes information to use from your one-footed diabetic friends!

It takes a lot of... personality to cause Twins fans to go full-on Philly, but little Chucky did it! People forget just how popular he was before he piddled it down his leg. If he wasn't your favorite Twin at the time, you still saw a huge career ahead of him. And as a Twin. His career ended with much of the state of Minnesota quietly chuckling to themselves as they heard the latest on him. And to have him stinking up Yankee Stadium? A lot of us laughed out loud, and talked of karma or some such.

And in the end, this fancyassed new metrics will remind us that Luis Arrias actually stinks! Three straight batting titles be dmned! A fourth in a row will prove just how bad he is! Curious as to what these stats would say about Wade Boggs and his 2000 hits (approximately) through what was known as the Boggs hole. FYI, the Boggs hole had nothing to do with chicken or beer. It was literally the gap between SS and 3B where he gathered a ridiculously high percentage of his hits. And often not hit with great authority. Too bad he never learned how to REALLY hit...

You had me at "free beer", though I am a bit baffled by the modifier "a" preceding it...

There might have been 83 players better than him last year, though I really doubt it. Even considering his playing time. Saying he is barely average as a shortstop just proves the old adage of "there are three kinds of dishonesty- lies, damnable lies, and statistics." Or, to make it easy for my northern neighbors, I'll quote Homer Simpson: "you can use statistics to prove anything. 90% of all people know that."

Not much fun to watch your team finish with one run, or none. 3 or 4 hits. And 10+ Ks. And then hearing, once again, about being satisfied because... well they are following a process. And that K/BB/HR true outcome bullshi... MAY NOT BE QUESTIONED because of advanced metrics. (Preferably those stats that "prove" that Joey whom we shall not name, is above average!!!) Keep playing unwatchable baseball, and pretty soon you'll have the inevitable: no one watching baseball.

Anyone (nearly) can make the routine plays. A litteral garbage can (sans lid of course) would collect most of Correa's throws. Unfortunately not everyone else (anyone else?) makes life as easy as Correa. We have a 2B (projected, at least part-time) who would give the Jolly Green Giant fits even if he had a butterfly net! (Usable due to a certain IF's "sterling" arm strength, again this projected regular). Good 1B display thier utility on the tough 1-2% of plays that separate them from the pack. Mark Grace didn't make his name as.an elite defensive 1B taking routine throws from Ryne Sandberg, he made it coralling Shawon Dunston's "routine" throws.

Barring changes to the expected roster, the answer to headlines question is pretty easy... For the Twins to have good OF defense as a team, two of three of Bader, Buxton and Kiersay need 140 starts apiece in regular OF positions. That isn't hyperbole, it is the only possible way. And that isn't a guarantee (never forget that just one year ago we were all told of Margot's gold glover caliber defense, and before that Joey, whose name we shall never mention, and his versatility and gold glove d...). Buxton ain't getting any younger and his injury history hasn't gotten any shorter. He can only be replaced defensively, at a comparable level, by Kiersey, and that is far from a sure thing for a MLB virgin. Bader probably needs a vast majority of those 140 starts in RF, and he needs to learn the idiosyncracies. Needs to be a big home field advantage as it was in Kepler's stretch. Wallner can get away with a "Manny being Manny" level of defense (not bad, but occasionally forehead slappingly bone headed play - think Eddie Rosario in his poorer years for a Twins reference). And that is his ceiling. No matter how strong his arm, he takes forever to get it where it goes. Fixable, and probably easier than "fixing" any other fundamental baseball skill. Yet it is seldom done. And that is pretty much his sole asset on D. He is fast, but not quick. And he takes bad first steps regularly. Manny Ramirez defense starts to sound tempting, even if he's in his 50s (I assume). I can already hear the fries of "no one plays 140 games at one position anymore". To that I say that the Twins simply cannot play good team defense without 2 of those 3 doing it. The talent to do it simply doesn't exist on this roster. And "great" defense???? You need all 3 of the above mentioned vital ingredients starting 120 plus games. Each. With this roster, it is the only feasible way. With a <1% of it happening (it is possible, if certain persons di.. , get lost, or are institutionalized in time - Rocco I hear there are several very nice, calm and quiet "health spas" in the New England area....) I won't hold my breath. I've seen good Twins defense all over the diamond from countless individuals. I've seen several great defenders (CF for much of my life). Have seen several very good to great Twins defensive teams. It has been quite a few years, though... and this team is nowhere near good defensively. Buxton and Correa up the middle gives a nice framework to build around. The case can be made that no one else is significantly above average at C 1B 2B 3B RF or LF, and that they are all below average if not significantly so. It's like buying the Christmas tree expected to be displayed at the White House and taking it to the monkey house and letting them decorate it. You've still got that great framework for a memorable Christmas. But will people remember the majestic fir tree, or the fact it's covered in monkey... feces?

My eyeball test says he looked lost at 3B when he came up (his supposed natural position) and seemed to let every muscle in the field affect whatever confidence he had in his defense. Unfortunately, he never regained even the level of play that he arrived from StP. On a team FULL of "offense first" types (including those with no proof of thier MLB potential being met in the slightest), he has no place. Well, no substantial place on a winning Twins team anyway. On a team leading the majors in Ks and bottom of the barrel in D? He might be the star...

Nope. He has minor league options, so his paycheck is secure. Still wondering who you confused with Miranda, as his defense was only "solid" if grading against high school players. And not Legion ball players, just "regular" H.S.ers...

He's has a weapon all right! And it is constantly and constantly used against the Twins. Hope he can have a Rosario and go from near worst to near best at a corner (but not do a Rosario again and flip it back again to bottom of the barrel). As a fan I root for it. As a grown adult, I don't expect it.