The Great Hambino

Duran Shoots Self, Others in the Foot

Sounds like he should be the Pacific time zone specialist Did you know he's from California? They never talk about it

Come on now. I'ts a tie game in the 9th and they're at home. There is no possibility of a save situation. Are you suggesting they don't use him at all? This is where the Rocco hate goes too far.

I assume you're referring to Duran's grip on the curve

Hur-ray Lee!

That was a Lewis-fresh-off-the-IL swing from Correa. Woof

Perfect recipe for a rally

I would like Jax to pitch the 8th

Yes Plouffe, let's all vote Jax into the all star game

I dunno, that was pretty shallow

Halfway there Now, livin' on a prayer

Whoa, what happened here? I didn't think they'd score five the rest of the week

not often you see the catcher in more pain on an hbp than the batter

Nice backup by Kody, does that count as good fundamentals?

Is there a RHP/catcher combo that Buck shouldn't be running on?

Depends. Twins for the game or Mariners first time through the order?

That's a mighty high bar to set for your manager

Gross. Conventional wisdom would suggest speed and power are trade-offs. But since the Bomba Squad had the #2 SLG in MLB, they've ranked between 7 and 14 (11 if you exclude COVID) since. That is until this season, where they've fallen to #16. Not even in the top half of power with the slowest team. The worst of both worlds

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