knothole61

I haven't checked very far back, but part of our April malaise may be the fact that we most always open with two series on the road, and losing early may create a funk that takes a while to shake off. What I have seen is that for the past ten Twins' seasons (not counting the regrettable 2020) Minnesota has started seven of them with back-to-back road series, usually of six total games, and are winning those games at about a .440 clip. I'm sure that MLB is trying to avoid blizzard-related postponements, but it does create a bit of a disadvantage, I think.

Payroll, in and of itself, is not the major item on my "wish list." Spending more, at the right time and for the right pieces is beneficial of course, but throwing good money after bad will only end in failure and frustration. Look, the deplorable White Sox spent more than the Twins in 2024 while KC, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Detroit (all playoff teams) spent less. Indeed, America's Team, the Tigers, spent some $32,000,000 less! At the top of my wish list: I want the Twins to be owned by a legitimate, dyed-in-the-wool baseball guy. Carl Pohlad served in WW II and was awarded Bronze Star and a Purple Heart and went on to make a fortune in banking and other endeavors, but he, and his sons and grandsons, could not be considered either athletes (as far as I can tell) or baseball guys. I want the new owner to live and breathe baseball and to understand the romance and magic of a complex and frankly quite antediluvian game. I am not limiting my wish to former MLB players alone--I'll take anyone who genuinely knowns and loves the game. I want someone who knows firsthand what good movement on a fastball means and how hard it is to square up; someone who knows how best to deal with a two-strike count, or who can time a pitcher's movements well enough to get a good jump on a steal. I mean, Calvin Griffith was not a gifted athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but he was absolutely a baseball guy. And sure, you might point out that his teams were never world champions, but many of them were excellent squads replete with superior and even a few Hall of Fame players. Did you know that be was the bat boy for the 1924 World Series champion Washington Senators? So give me someone who loves the game as much as most of the TD contributions and I can foresee much better days ahead.

Hambino, I love the tone of this...it's both cynical and insightful. Well done!

Well said LastOne...I think those who tend to downplay the significance of the MLB manager are too wedded to stats and the kinds of things that, as you say, "AI could map out" but not with the invaluable human, and largely spiritual aspects of a managers job.

Dang, I was prepared to lick my baseball wounds in solitude while becoming happily beguiled by the surprising Vikings...and then I happened upon this acrimonious and fascinating postseason thread concerning Himself and his fitness to manage our favorite MLB team. Full discloser: Rocco, judging from the admittedly small window I have into his soul. is not my cup of tea. Billy Martin, the passionate, visceral, in your face kind of guy who took on all comers, including his team's owner was more to my liking, although I must admit that he probably would have benefitted from some psychological counseling. Rocco Baldelli, however, with his analytics and empathy and the sort of "doo dah man" essence of his postgame pressers is, I believe, the antithesis of Billy. Don't get me wrong, I have friends who remain "Dead Heads" to this day...I'm just not so sure it's a good thing for an MLB manager to embrace. And, of course, as always I may be entirely misguided in these thoughts. So, this is my long-winded way of admitting that some of my negativity toward Rocco may be based on things not directly related to baseball and that I will try to fight against that herein. Determining Baldelli's value to the team, and his fitness to continue as manager, is a very complicated thing. In mid-August he deserved only praise for guiding a team wracked with some serious and long term injuries and crippled by a miserly owner, to within reach of the Division lead and a near certainty of making the playoffs. But the six-week collapse thereafter was so colossal, so horrible, that questions must be asked about his leadership abilities in a crisis. Pitchers failed, hitters failed to an amazing degree, base runners (and base coaches!) failed, fielders failed...and the manager, as far as I can tell, kept strumming the same tune throughout. Leadership, rising in spite of the obstacles one has to overcome, is why he's paid the big bucks. And I do believe that a manager as a spiritual leader has a great deal to do with the success or failure of a team--often in ways that will not chart out statistically. After two or three weeks of the slump it had to be obvious that something needed to be done to shake things up, while there was still time to pull the the season out of the fire. What? you ask...oh, I don't know, maybe send the third base coach packing, refuse to let Margot pinch hit, become more aggressive on the bases or play some small ball to squeeze out a few more runs and win some of those 17 (?) games in the last 39 where the Twins scored two runs or less! How about this: send the guy who went from a 1.000 OPS, grand slam hero to the Mendoza Line almost overnight back to AAA for a couple of weeks to help get his head straight and as a message to others that no one is protected from poor production. Two weeks back in a minor league locker room without big league buffets, etc. can I believe, prove chastening. Baldelli seems to be a decent man and I know that he was a great ball player, but I believe that when he faced a crisis this season he proved unable to meet it resolutely and creatively. I am not saying that I fault him for failing to quickly and completely solve what was a deep and tangled situation--I fault him for not recognizing that something entirely new and dramatic was needed. For those of you who reached this point, thanks for listening...Win Twins!

Is that right? What an amazing stat! So...in 46% of the last 37 games the Twins scored 2 runs or less. I mean, I remember many games when we made mediocre starters look amazing through 6 or 7 innings but I had no idea it was that bad. And through it all the manager incomprehensibly stuck with his inscrutable system. Take care VBR and enjoy the offseason...

I don't suppose that the G & G boys necessarily read our comments but in the event that they do: good luck Aaron on your pending (?) back surgery. I appreciate your insights and engaging personality (and John's too of course) and I wish you all the best.

In the words of John Masefield: And many a broken heart is here and many a broken head; But tomorrow, By the living God, we'll try the game again! That “tomorrow” is now months away,* so stay healthy and safe until we can dip ourselves in magic waters again. It’s been real TD! *137 days until pitchers and catchers report.

Yes, because the Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen which burns upward while the Twins season was a pure gasoline fire...or so it seems. I love the reference..."Oh the humanity!"

How is it possible for so many players on a single team to look so clueless at the plate, for several weeks running? Shouldn't someone have kicked some serious ass at some point, or even tossed some bats into the shower? What manner of man could oversee such a colossal failure day after bloody day with only the slightest ripple of emotional reaction? I've had enough of The Automaton! Give me someone for whom winning is flesh and blood..."the gun breech hot to the touch."

Soccer Fan?

I don't think that word means what you think it means...

HK, It's been tough...see you next year. 138 days and 15 minutes until the start of spring training 2025.

Well...yeah, Perkins is my favorite. I must admit though that after listening to Denard not too long ago, I was excited to hear Morneau back in the booth. Look, he was truly a great player and is a real student of the game. I actually think that he gives the best analysis of incoming pitchers, although, like everything else, he gives too much analysis at times. Also, he bleeds for the Twins, which might be the reason he makes so many excuses for them, and I can understand, although not appreciate that. The bottom line on Morneau for me is that he never met a soliloquy he didn't like! If the Twins continue with a color guy (or gal) rotation I'd keep him in it, but will hope that he can begin to make his point with the sharpness and precision common to the best in the business. Sad loss tonight..."there is no joy in Mudville."

Ouch!!

Wow! I was 90% sure that they would sweep the mediocre (at best) Marlins to save their season--such as it remains. But...they lazed their way through another offensive no show, even though the stakes were very high. I'm surprised (is that surprising?) and completely baffled. I think someone on TD said that the Twins looked tight tonight due to the weight of "must win" pressure, but I don't see that. Instead, they seem resigned to defeat due to the weight of weeks of abject failure. Miranda shares an all-time MLB consecutive hits record (all-time MLB, you know, something the likes of DiMaggio, Williams, Musial, etc., etc. have never accomplished) and now he looks completely lost at the plate. He's swinging as if the goal was to hit the bottom of the ball and pop it up resolutely--at that he has become very good! And Jeffers, a god at the beginning of the season, has struggled mightily since then--I cringe when he is up in a clutch situation. I mention those two, but most of the team has fallen flat offensively since that fateful, final game loss in Texas...so strange. Praise, however. must go to Correa, a true professional who continues to field his position with aplomb and to hit for average despite the lingering pain he must be enduring from his chronic injuries. Hats off to Carlos! With KC's win tonight and our latest miserable loss, Minnesota needs to pick up two games in five days just to tie KC, and depending on what Seattle can manage to do, thereby slouch into the last playoff spot. Sadly the odds of the Twins making the postseason are low. Therefore, reflective of the last few weeks of slow but certain death, I offer a 2024 season epitaph in the slightly-altered words for T.S. Eliot: This is the way the season ends/Not with a bang but a whimper. Sorry Peter, I love your passion man but for me it's time to say "Go Vikings!"

Preach MrAV! The Sawx must have been licking their chops when Irvin took the mound. Hey Rocco, the fact that Boston has seen Irvin a ton and absolutely light him up in Fenway might have been the most important factor to consider when contemplating using him in that situation.

JD, I can agree to some extent that the position of hitting coach is overrated. Most MLB players have been hitting a pitched baseball very well since they were 7 years old or so. A pitching coach, especially at the MLB level, can tweak things at times, but any thought that they truly revamp the approach of skilled hitters seems shortsighted. A manager, however can, and should, improve the hitting of his players but putting them in the most favorable position to succeed. When a manager selects a line up that is cohesive and complimentary; when he has an intimate knowledge of which players perform best (or worst) against which pitchers; when he knows when to bench a struggling player and even get in their face a bit (this is frowned on by the modern world, but Sparky Anderson, Earl Weaver, and many other great managers of the past were experts in that lost art); when he emphasizes the fundamentals including bunting for hits--when an MLB manager does this and more he becomes the most important factor in improving the hitting and performance in general of his players. At least that's how it seems to me.

"Any given team on any given day..."

Madness!

Right, my bad...I remember that he was drafted in 2018 or 2019 and I'm aware that he will turn 27 before next season starts, so I assumed that he must have accrued a good deal of service time. But, of course, now that I think about it, he has spent most of his seasons in the minors. All the better then...thanks for setting me straight.

And just like that the Twins are one game from the #2 wild card spot...one game! Granted, they have messed up mightily for a few weeks now but there's no denying that this endgame will be very exciting. Another night of offensive offense but a ton of credit must go out to the bullpen-they were magnificent! Some thoughts regarding the roster going forward: Lewis is an eager and undisciplined kid but I think he will mature and figure things out soon to become a productive middle of the order guy for several years to come. As for Lee, I have no clue what he might or might not become. Clearly he deserves a long look but he might end up in AAA hell with the likes of Julien and (sadly) Kirilloff. That brings me to Wallner: lock him up. Sign him for 6 lucrative years as soon as possible and do not try to save every penny you can on of his future contracts. He is one of the few Twins who take what I consider to be professional at bats most of the time. He looks good in the box and his swing is a thing of beauty, and what power! Dare I say, he even looks good striking out, as opposed to Lewis who does a solid impression of a town ball player when waving at distant third strikes! Hey Thad, grapple Wallner and his 900+ OPS to the roster with hoops of steel, and do it now.

And an in-game injury to Jim Kaat that likely cost us the pennant...1967, ouch! Boston 92-70; Twins and Tigers 91-71; White Sox 89-73--and of course it was winner take all in the A.L. back then!

Although resorting to second guessing may be seen as "the last refuge of a scoundrel" I do believe that it has seldom been more justified than in connection with tonight's 10th inning meltdown. That kid never should have been sent out there in that crucial situation...never! Bring in Sands or, god forbid, allow Duran to throw more than 11 pitches--do so, and the Twins would likely have notched a very important win tonight. In the books we lost by one run, but against the dynamic duo that Rocco saw fit to employ in the 10th there's no telling how many runs the Guardians could have managed if so needed. In my admittedly humble opinion that decision was just plain wrong. Rocco has led a successful baseball life, and the numbers will tell you that he is an above average manager. Still, I'm moved, once again, to say that at times he demonstrates a genuine lack of something that is essential for a manager, something that can't easily be quantified but that must be put to use: namely, common sense.

Hey 5, I have my sights set on the #2 wild card spot and as of now we are exactly one loss behind KC for that more coveted spot. So, I'm glad that the Tigers won tonight but I'm happy to let them lose tomorrow now that we're essentially just a game back of KC. They say that Detroit has a pretty easy remaining schedule, but they do have one more in KC and 3 in Baltimore and I can see at least 2 and maybe 3 losses in there. We win the tie in the pairing with Detroit and I think that we can stay ahead of them the rest of the way. It all means nothing of course if we can't take care of business going forward. This would be a great time to get hot.