Bodie

I thought of this idea awhile ago and love it. Maeda hasn't look especially dominant as a starter and at his age and with his injury history, how will he hold up as the season goes on? As a reliever he could both pitch multiple innings while also potentially being very good. If a starter gets knocked out of a game early, potentially due to injury (Like Maeda's last start) it wouldn't have to be an automatic loss for us if Maeda could come in and pitch 3 innings.

I liked the acquisition of MAT as a good backup CF.  And I'm happy with his start to the season, as detailed here.  But if he winds up being the team's MVP of 2023, something will have gone very, very wrong.

OH MY GOODNESS!  Maeda was a VERY solid SP for a DEEP Dogers staff. They put him in the pen because they COULD, and needed pen help. It had NOTHING to due with a team that matches the Yankees for $ for $!
He went to the Twins, made a few adjustments, and was runner up for the CY Young. Yeah, just some bum who should be dismissed or thrown in to the pen. (Extreme satire).
Maeda DESERVES a chance to prove he has the ability to be a SP. Even at 35yo, coming off surgery, he's looked OK initially. So his previous numbers and production should be ignored?
If you've actually watched the caeer of Ober, you would see a guy who put up video game numbers. But injuries were an issue until the Twins found some delivery changes not only for his stuff, but to maintain HEALTH with his delivery. He was pretty damn good in 2021 and got better, as the Twins nursed him through his MLB debut, mostly due to career IP as well as his development. 
Unfortunately, he had a groin injury in 2022. But his numbers last year early, and late, were great. And his ST numbers this year were outstanding.
But how do you just dismiss a pitcher like Maeda and his career? Because you want to for some inexplicable reason??
Ober and Varland BOTH should be at the ML level right now. And MANY YEARS PAST, they would already be there. But somehow we're disappointed we could have a really good SP just rounding in to form who was previously a Cy Young candidate just a couple of years ago as a potential block?
Imagine the horror of the Twins being so deep in the rotation they don't want to jettison anyone in April for the future. 
 

I see we're still doing this Ober v Maeda thing. Ober will get plenty of starts for the Twins this year. Guys will get hurt and actually go on the IL. He'll be the guy called up for them. I don't get the desire to relegate any of these guys to a long relief role. You really want Maeda or Ober sitting around for weeks on end not pitching instead of someone like Sands? I don't understand that at all. The Twins are going to need, at a minimum, 8-10 starters this year. It's April 19th, why are we acting like it's some travesty that a guy who's cracked 100 innings once in his professional career is in AAA and is doomed to stay there all season?

I’m admittedly pretty out-of-touch so far this season, but every bit of coverage I see seems to match the record. It has all been positive.
The twins are 11th (of 15 AL teams) in both ops and runs-per-game.
I am choking on this lousy offense. My kingdom for someone who can make contact. 

Been a lurker on the forums for years. I played basketball with Brent in high-school, and my cousin caught for him on the baseball team. He was about 50 pounds lighter back then and yes; he was dunking on people. I was raised as a Twins fan in the Chicago suburbs. (father from Northern Minnesota) You never expect to see your high-school teammate pitching for your favorite baseball team one day. It was so surreal seeing him out there today with some of the guys that got drafted when I was still in high school. Now for some stuff Twins fans might want to know:
-kid was a class act on and off the court/field, very dedicated to his craft
-he has absolutely gigantic hands; I would be willing to bet he has some of the biggest hands in all of baseball; this is why his fastball and slider have so much movement and how he was able to baffle some of those Red Sox hitters today
-his fastball has been clocked as high as 96
So excited to see how he continues to develop. I hope we get a chance to see him again soon with the way Moran is pitching.

I personally have always felt that 4 years should be the max on any SP.  The risk is just too high past that.

This is a solid contract for a 1-2 type pitcher.  Factor in you are getting his "prime" years and the other factors mentioned in the article, the signing looks extremely strong right now.

Best moment from being at the game tonight?  Bottom of 4th, Yankees last out is fly ball to Garlick in right. He turns to toss it to the bleacher bums, and then says “nope” and heads back to the dugout with it 😂
They booed him so hard…not Correa hard, but close.
Then, just a few innings later, he goes yard.  Then Correa wins it…
That place went from ecstatic to rage to pin drop over the course of the night. 
 
And it was glorious.

Varland recovered well. He could have done a Brito impersonation. But he didn't. And a game the Twins would lose more often than not, especially at Yankee Stadium, they battled back to win. Big kudos to all of them. Watching the game, it just had that feeling they would come back. All wins count, but I think that was their best win of the year so far. 

Sergio signed w/ San Fran, pitched to 3 batters in the final ST game (in SF) and was pulled - to a standing ovation - by Buster Posey.  All done to allow him to retire as a Giant.
Nice send off for quite a fun and unique dude!  Wish him well!

Sergio signed w/ San Fran, pitched to 3 batters in the final ST game (in SF) and was pulled - to a standing ovation - by Buster Posey.  All done to allow him to retire as a Giant.
Nice send off for quite a fun and unique dude!  Wish him well!

Polanco was 1 for 3 today. 

He's reportedly starting a rehab stint today with low-A Ft Meyers, playing 2nd base. Targeting a possible return here next week, if all goes well. Let's hope it does. 

Next up - pitching machines in lieu of humans.  But teams will get 3 "challenges" allowing them to use humans against a specific batter...
It's bad enough having  HAL as a manager, I have no interest in having it call balls and strikes.  Baseball is a game played by humans, officiated by humans, for the enjoyment of humans (and the occasional super-intelligent dog).
We'll never see a 27 pitch perfect game.  We'll never see someone hit 1.000 for the season (even Kirby could only do that for a couple of consecutive games).  No team will ever go 162-0.
Would baseball be better if Earl Weaver never completely lost his mind arguing balls and strikes?  I think not!
Accept that perfection is unattainable and enjoy the best in the business striving for perfection, and failing every time.

Next up - pitching machines in lieu of humans.  But teams will get 3 "challenges" allowing them to use humans against a specific batter...
It's bad enough having  HAL as a manager, I have no interest in having it call balls and strikes.  Baseball is a game played by humans, officiated by humans, for the enjoyment of humans (and the occasional super-intelligent dog).
We'll never see a 27 pitch perfect game.  We'll never see someone hit 1.000 for the season (even Kirby could only do that for a couple of consecutive games).  No team will ever go 162-0.
Would baseball be better if Earl Weaver never completely lost his mind arguing balls and strikes?  I think not!
Accept that perfection is unattainable and enjoy the best in the business striving for perfection, and failing every time.

Love to see the bats coming alive.  Nice outing by Mahle today as well.  Pretty good all around effort today.

Even mentioning Gallo as a possible leadoff hitter is a sacrilege!
Actually doing so should be grounds for firing.  From a cannon, al a the First False Dimitry!
True, the Twins lack anything approaching a leadoff hitter (Buxton is probably closest- he of the career .245 batting average- based of his skill set - but having multiple bad choices doesn't mean you need to make the dumbest f####### choice available!
 

Even mentioning Gallo as a possible leadoff hitter is a sacrilege!
Actually doing so should be grounds for firing.  From a cannon, al a the First False Dimitry!
True, the Twins lack anything approaching a leadoff hitter (Buxton is probably closest- he of the career .245 batting average- based of his skill set - but having multiple bad choices doesn't mean you need to make the dumbest f####### choice available!
 

An absolute butcher who seems to be in terminal decline?  All for $11M?  Skeptical?  No.  Torqued?  Yep.
Worse than the combined signings of Archer and Bundy the previous off-season. 
If Rocco ever hands the umps a lineup card with him at leadoff, he should be fired on the spot - not after the game!

Even mentioning Gallo as a possible leadoff hitter is a sacrilege!
Actually doing so should be grounds for firing.  From a cannon, al a the First False Dimitry!
True, the Twins lack anything approaching a leadoff hitter (Buxton is probably closest- he of the career .245 batting average- based of his skill set - but having multiple bad choices doesn't mean you need to make the dumbest f####### choice available!
 

I miss Arraez so much that I’ve not watched any baseball yet this year. He’d made me love baseball again but here we are.
The idea of Gallo potentially batting leadoff is astonishing to me as a baseball fan. It’s not how the game I loved was played. If that actually happens, I may just check out on the Twins entirely until a new F.O. takes over.
On the current roster, Buxton makes the most sense from my vantage point. He can actually get on base and once there, he disrupts.
Just. Not. Gallo.

Next up - pitching machines in lieu of humans.  But teams will get 3 "challenges" allowing them to use humans against a specific batter...
It's bad enough having  HAL as a manager, I have no interest in having it call balls and strikes.  Baseball is a game played by humans, officiated by humans, for the enjoyment of humans (and the occasional super-intelligent dog).
We'll never see a 27 pitch perfect game.  We'll never see someone hit 1.000 for the season (even Kirby could only do that for a couple of consecutive games).  No team will ever go 162-0.
Would baseball be better if Earl Weaver never completely lost his mind arguing balls and strikes?  I think not!
Accept that perfection is unattainable and enjoy the best in the business striving for perfection, and failing every time.

I think you might rethink "the defensive emphasis" especially up the middle now that the infield shift rules are modified. SS and 2B with subpar range will be exposed as 3B (hopefully with 3B's arms for their sake).
Defense travels and almost never slumps.  

Next up - pitching machines in lieu of humans.  But teams will get 3 "challenges" allowing them to use humans against a specific batter...
It's bad enough having  HAL as a manager, I have no interest in having it call balls and strikes.  Baseball is a game played by humans, officiated by humans, for the enjoyment of humans (and the occasional super-intelligent dog).
We'll never see a 27 pitch perfect game.  We'll never see someone hit 1.000 for the season (even Kirby could only do that for a couple of consecutive games).  No team will ever go 162-0.
Would baseball be better if Earl Weaver never completely lost his mind arguing balls and strikes?  I think not!
Accept that perfection is unattainable and enjoy the best in the business striving for perfection, and failing every time.

I won't miss 4-plus hour 9 onning games.  I have never once thought "I wish I could see another 7 minute Jeter at bat".  ESPN's Yankee-Red Sox games were just plain brutal to watch, regularly going almost 4 hours ( one I watched was just shy of 5 hrs. for 9 innings of constant batting glove adjustments and pitchers getting their steps in...  Complaints of a baseball junkie)
I have no doubt that the next WBC will be just as good with the new rules enforced.