The Great Hambino

It was reported in 2023 that Falvey turned down an interview request from the Red Sox to replace Chaim Bloom. I don't know all the details, perhaps it would've been for less control or something (maybe the fact that Levine ended up getting interviewed for the position means it was for less control), but at least one other org has shown some interest in him

Another thought on Buxton's struggles to gain traction in the voting: because of his cold start and concussion, his overall stats at the time voting opened were pretty pedestrian and he was easy to pass over on the ballot. Since voting opened, his OPS has increased almost 100 points and he's playing like a deserving all star. But those low vote totals from the early part of voting are still on his ledger. It's not like a weekly power ranking or something like that where you scrap the previous ranking to build a new one; those early voting results carry the same weight as the ones reflecting his current form. He could've borrowed Aaron Judge's God Mode cheat code over the last three weeks and it still would have been too much to overcome that early deficit. If they were interested in making sure the best-performing players are represented in the All-Star Game (they're not), they would make the voting window much shorter or give more weight to voting results later in the process.

They butcher every other announcement they make, why would this one be any different? Also, this may have been more of a leak than an intentional announcement, which isn't much better

1) Sam Howell, because it means Darnold wasn't brought back on a market-rate deal (kidding, kind of) For real, I'm not going to pretend to know enough about the individual players acquired, but I really like that they identified the interior of both lines as needing immediate upgrades and got aggressive in making those upgrades. We'll see how it pans out, but I like the process. 2) I think off-ball linebacker is a sneaky area of concern. I like Cashman and Pace, but it gets pretty thin pretty quickly after that. I can't believe Asamoah hasn't figured it out - I liked the pick and thought he could've been a sort of LB/safety hybrid that is valuable in a versatile defense. It's him, a 6th round rookie, and 30 year old Eric Wilson making up the depth of that unit. And Cashman and Pace aren't exactly indestructible.

The way I see it, there are two possibilities for what is driving this double-down on the manager 1. The extension came from ownership, regardless of Falvey's feelings on the matter. They want costs controlled as the sales process drags on, and they don't see a path to a meaningful increase to short-term revenues with a manager change. Falvey is now tasked with putting verbal lipstick on this pig, which may have become his primary job if the cost-control mandate has extended to player acquisition. So why doesn't he quit? These primary decision maker positions are hard to come by, and there's no guarantee he'd find another one. It would be like a player opting out of a contract after the worst season of their career. It just doesn't happen 2. Falvey initiated the extension himself. Ownership didn't demand it, but they're not demanding change either. Falvey knows that one of the most effective ways to buy some job security in pro sports (other than winning, but who has time for that?) is to offer up the person beneath you as the sacrificial lamb/scapegoat/actual-root-of-the-problem (whichever you prefer). While there's no pressure now, there may be in the future. By keeping Baldelli around, Falvey keeps a card in his back pocket to play if/when ownership attitude (or ownership itself) changes. And since no one wants a lame duck manager, here comes the extension. Is it cynical? Yes. Does it boost Falvey's job security from his point of view? Also yes. In either scenario, Falvey is acting in self-interest according to ownership wishes. I find it very hard to believe that the Pohlads want Baldelli gone but Falvey is putting his career on the line for him by pushing back against them. In conclusion, this is ultimately an ownership directive, and this won't change until they do. As for why this got announced now? I don't know. I guess it fits this organization's MO of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time all the time

UPDATE: Buxton's recent hot streak has rocketed him up the ASG voting OF standings ... all the way to 10th Willi holds steady at 7th among 2Bs No other Twin cracks the top 10 at their position (and no other outfielder in the top 20) I'm starting to think the Twins might not have a starter in this year's game Also, if the vote ended today, there would be a Dodger in the final round of voting at every position

On the bright side, they're no longer performing below their run differential. Progress!

Has SWR ever had back-to-back single digit pitch innings? Did he have two in his entire career before today?

Puts him at 60. He is destined to go 20 pitches per inning one way or another

Honest question: how many innings do you have to pitch to get two-way player status?

See, they're down such an absurd amount that I think it becomes appropriate again, gallows humor. Sorta like if you go east far enough you become west

Getting fans to call for Bride when Duran is sent to the mound is a modern art masterpiece

Making him wear it on the way out of town, as is tradition

It worked!

I think it's Polish for misery This guy's gonna be a problem, assuming his UCL doesn't explode

I'm willing to give him a pass on the comebacker, looked like the bat messed with his transfer. But, yeah

Ballgame

This looks like an intrasquad scrimmage with these unis

Does the ballot have you vote for outfielders LF/CF/RF separately, or does it have you vote for any three outfielders?

My first thought on Castro was no, but after looking at the 2B field in the AL ... woof. He has about as good a case as anyone. For fun, here's the Twins on the ballot with their current positional AL rank on the ballot in OPS 1B: France - 11th 2B: Castro - 1st(!) 3B: Royce - 14th SS: Correa - 11th C: Jeffers - 4th OF: Buck - 2nd (now within 300 points of Judge!), Bader - 17th, Wallner - 22nd DH: Larnach - 7th Besides Willi, I was surprised by how high Jeffers and Royce ranked at their positions

Nice Lonnie Smith impression by Castro on the bases ... lucky the throw was high

I'm not ready to address the emotional trauma Elly has wrought upon me these past 18 hours

Are we sure this isn't just a replay of yesterday's game? Buck leadoff homer, give up two in the bottom half, defeated looking Twins pitcher with long hair, Reds pitcher named Nick

Unfortunately I don't think it even matters at this point. What team out there would have the desire to assume his contract straight up, let alone give up value for him? His contract alone eliminates all but like 6-8 teams from consideration. And he isn't performing anywhere close to the level that would help the remaining teams in any meaningful way. Short of a rich contender ending up with a long-term emergency (as in, the cupboard looks bare for multiple years) at shortstop (or maybe 3B if they're really desperate), I just don't see any sort of trade market for him unless he figures out how to hit again for a sustained amount of time. The other option would be for the Twins to eat an enormous chunk of his remaining contract, which kinda defeats the purpose of the trade. I don't think he's going anywhere any time soon

You can't spell Lodolo without LOL