mikelink45

Too much Cy Young celebration. At this point it is as much mental as physical - where is the pitching coach?

What a nice time for a man who has put in time and effort. No matter what happens from here on this stretch will always be part of his story and memory.

I am fine with all your reasoning - I would argue with Narrow minded since that is a judgment you are making because I am not 100% in agreement with you. As I stated earlier - is there any difference between keeping Berrios until he walks or signing another FA for the same length of time and letting him walk? Which has more value?

The Twins make it difficult to celebrate a victory. Berrios struggled against this lineup! And Sano 4 Ks against Kremer, Plutko and Akin!! And Colome is really making his comeback to high pressure roles - Stewart hitting 212, 697 OPS home run and then a couple more hits that Rogers had to erase!! And we decided to emphasize D, but Donaldson and Simmons each lead the club in errors (and errors understate their issues) what is going on? Imagine if Colome had been what the team expected, if Sano had played consistently good ball, and Maeda had not fallen into the dumpster - sorry got carried away there - I will get another cup of coffee. I love the Refsnyder run and keep referencing Bob Hazle with the Milwaukee Braves, but also Dusty Rhodes was another of those out of no where heroes. Then there was Kevin Maas. Enjoy the season Mr Refsnyder.

I would not argue with your reasoning, but I still look at the void if he is gone - he has started the most games, he has pitched enough innings to be able to secure 5 wins, only Pineda has a better SP era and Berrios has 56 innings compared to Pineda's 38. He has 63 Ks and Maeda and Pineda have 39. His 1.15 Whip is second only to Pineda and blows away all the others. So trade, maybe, but I still want to know who fills in? So Berrios will walk after next year, we have a history of just signing players for one year for the rotation so lets enjoy this year and next with a pitcher who is better than all the fill ins that the team keeps getting. Even with our current struggles I want to win now and not get into a full rebuild.

His streaks are great, but we have gone through 1/3 of a season waiting for the streak. The last four games - 10Ks, 2 H. Is the streak over? Sano is all or nothing and there are so many games with nothing. There is a play - Waiting for Godot - that makes me think of Sano. Game after game we are waiting for Sano. But in the Sano play he suddenly gets really hot, we get really excited, his stats are aglow and on the flip side of his streak we can say he has an wRC, a Slugging pct...but when he is bad we have only those memories and LOB. I see some changes in his approach, but then I see a day like yesterday and I have to admit his new approach was my wishful thinking. He had four Ks against Kremer, Pluko and Akin!!!

I keep asking the question - who replaces Berrios. If a team is trading for him they will not give a SP of equal value. He is not an Ace, but he is the best we have and we should lock him up instead. Next year he and Maeda should be the only SP coming back. What is the rest of the rotation? Dobnak #3? Thorpe, Duran? Balazovic has lost this year so far and Canterino is still AA. Hopefully they push Thorpe and Dobnak, but what else can we do besides sign some old vets and hope for the best like we did this year. The market for pitchers is too rich for this clubs pocket book so we better continue to build from within.

I love the new format and the season overview for the prospects. Wallner versus Sabato stats really jump out. Our number one pick has to get going. Jeffers is really disappointing. Any clue what the reasons might be? Rooker is another disappointment. Both seemed so close. Are they in a funk from disappointment? Depression?

Bandaids are nice to have, but eventually you have to have the real major leaguers on the roster. Good luck to all of them - they have really done well with the opportunities that they have gotten.

Nice article Nick - we all need to see the big picture each week. I love your take on the HR off Astudillo. When you pitch batting practice the batters should be able to do anything they want. If they embarrass the Twins then we can turn to someone who can throw the ball at a semi-major league level. Sano was a great story, lets hope his candle did not burn out - his recent 4 K game was a real wet blanket. Dobnak - thank you. Now what. Yes bring in Duran. Look forward.

Wins were a useful stat when pitchers attempted to complete the games they started. I give my favorite pitcher - Warren Spahn as an example. He was in 675 games and completed 382 to win 363. His complete games to games played diminishes his last two years when he was 43 - 44. Winning 20 games a year for 13 years was a great feat. Today the starting pitchers only go half a game so maybe they should be give half a win instead of a full one. To compare - our number one pitcher Jose Berrios has started 124 games and completed 3. So of course the records do not match and if wins are a question it is one that must lean on complete games. I agree that RP wins is silly, although the year that Elroy Face won 18 - 1 for Pittsburgh was an amazing feat. So give me innings, complete games, and make wins matter. By the way Steve Carlton was done when he took our mound, but when it comes to wins his season he won 27 games for a team that won only 59. And he had 30 complete games! "He made 41 starts, threw 30 complete games, and logged 346 innings, more than anyone since. He also struck out 310 batters, becoming only the second left hander in National League history to record 300 strikeouts (Sandy Koufax was first) and posted an ERA of 1.97." https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2020/07/27/remembering_carltons_stellar_72_cy_young_season_500287.html#!#:~:text=On July 23%2C 1972%2C the Phillies were playing,the worst record in baseball%3A an abysmal 30-57. Sorry Seth, but Wins do have value. I am not enjoying many of the new baseball as much as I did the old days of small ball, tough pitchers, fielding, stealing, and Home Runs that actually meant something.

Gibault is another of the large number of trash can pickups this year and proves, again, that you need to sign some quality. Jermaine Palacios is a shock - I love it and hope he continues.

Lets not make any excuses - Happ was not good, but we won. Robles was not good, but we won. Hurray we won, but it is not a cure, just good news.

Reflecting on our 0 - 8 extra innings loss. Kepler and Sano struck out with a runner on third. Of course we cannot score in the extras if we are continually swinging wildly and striking out. With Arraez on third even a ground out has a chance of bringing in the runner, or a fly ball, but no - our boys want to be on MLB.com or ESPN with a grand exit velocity and long HR. I enjoyed this quote in the tribune today - Josh Donaldson did his best Lou Brown impression ahead of Saturday’s game. He quoted a not-so-motivating speech from the fictional Cleveland manager in “Major League II”: “Winning two in a row helps. If we win one more, that’s called a winning streak.”

I love the Duran update and the fact he came back with a little rust, but mostly just raw talent. I see Polanco hobbled now and wonder, again, why they don't bring up Gordon? Kerrigan has been doing great. Is he the next CF fill in on the Twins or is it Whitehead?

Nice article. I still wonder which ones have the talent to make it in MLB. The distance between AAA and MLB is really great and a lot of good prospects get lost there. If you were to rate them - who are the top five MLB prospects - the ones you really expect to be in the rotation and do well?

You are right, if we are going to try Waddell, Law, and the list of retreads that the FO keeps signing then they can give Thorpe some more options, but I do not see him as part of any future rotation.

Thorpe is not and will not be the answer. Time to move on. He has disappointed too much and I have no faith in him. Lets get to Duran and Balazovic, Dobnak is more reliable. Thorpe is the guy you have to fill innings when you have no hope but still have to get in nine innings.

Colome is the biggest disappointment. In non crucial innings against the bottom of the order he has looked great but a relief pitcher has to face the best in the most crucial innings and he cannot do it. Sano has looked great - today 4 Ks. It is so hard to think or be positive. Some commented on the two game winning streak - two games is not a streak.

I keep looking for Sabato to show some life. After a listless ST, I hoped he might justify the FO love for the draftee, but so far I am not seeing it. Wallner on the other hand seems to be doing great.

How nice - love the Dobnak win, but think about Ober starting against a hitting team and Dobnak starting against a pitching team. Luck of the draw.

Thanks for the update - is Wallner passing Rooker and Sabato in rankings? He sure seems better. I do hope Kirilloff is up soon and Jeffers too. I hope Dobnak comes back strong and if he does I hope they keep him in the rotation. One more request - once a week can we see the season stats for our minor leaguers - especially the prospects? I like to see their game results, but I need a season perspective.

It is amazing that a split in a double header seems like a great feat. Keep going Sano - whatever you and Cruz did is working. Duffey is toast. Some RP seem to be rebounding and Berrios turns in another okay outing which for this team is outstanding. Let's hope Kiriloff and Larnach can give us the energy of youth and lift this team back to 500.

I take exception - getting a good pitcher is one of the most expensive and difficult challenges for any team. Without Berrios we are without a pitcher that ranks higher than a number 3. Who do we get for him? I know it is going to cost - that is how the market works, but for now Berrios is the best we have and the best we can project.

Is Canterino ready? Does he have to go to AAA first?