mikelink45

My take away is that we are playing another really good team and we do not do well against really good teams. This is a real problem if we really think we are ready to compete in the post season. Berrios has no consistency and that is a worry. According to Gladden three of the balls he through in the first inning walk were really strikes. Has anyone plotted his performance when he has an umpire who squeezes the zone? And why aren't we using technology to get the strikes right? We want to get the home runs correct, we want to have replays, why not strikes - the most fundamental of all calls? I suspect we have over worked Pressly already. Molitor goes with the hot hand like he did Hildenberger last year, but the pitching coach needs to prevent him from over use. Kepler is certainly starting out like our break out star for this year, but Buxton and his batting is a problem. How many balls does he have to catch that no one else can to offset his miserable at bats. I do give the team credit for fighting back to tie the game.

As I read this and the comments all I can think about is that at this stage we should not be playing for a WC. We should be thinking championship. I think we have a Berrios, Romero, Gibson start to a good rotation and a Gonsalves to call up. We hope to have Buxton come back and its time to move to talent like Wade for the 4th outfield spot and not Grossman/LaMarre. Garver is our number one catcher and we have talent all around, except on the bench where Wade and Gordon would be a better pair with more upside. ​The BP is the challenge and hopefully we can sort it out, but we have talent throughout regardless of who is on the DL and Cleveland is just another team that we can and should pass to make this season a success. I read this quote from Boone on the Yankees and I think this sums up how the Twins should be thinking, “They expect to be really good. They expect to be a really good team. And they come to work,” Boone said. “It was just that we were going to approach every single day, every single pitch, every single inning in a very workmanlike way, and they’ve continued to do that, all the while having fun playing the game of baseball, which always comes out, which I love.”

Nice story. It is great to learn that the lay off did not affect his ability. I am anxious for his rise and the conflict over who should start in the OF!

I am really excited to see him in the rotation and now I am anxious for Gonsalves.

That is true, but I hope that does not remove one of the young pitchers. Pineda has had a very mixed career and I am not sure what to expect from him.

I agree with the previous posting - 10 hits in 6 innings is not a quality start. The whole concept of a quality start is so perverted that I find it a waste of time. The fact that he got through six innings is good, but I am not seeing this game as a plus in any way. Stewart has a long way to go before he meets draft expectations.

I really appreciated this update - I hope you do it monthly. Right now my only question is about Gonsalves - what else does he have to do to get called up. I would have Gordon on the roster while Polanco is out and Wade as our fourth outfielder so we have a real outfielder when Buxton is out. It is an exciting group to watch develop.

I can see Romero and Berrios challenging each other, motivating one another - and that would be great. Now to get Gonsalves up. I want the young pitchers. I am not excited by May even though his name keeps popping up. How long has he been out? I think he needs the minors again when he gets ready and he is no longer young - age 28. I wonder if we are already getting ready for Santana to leave with Lynn at the end of the year? 2019 - Berrios, Romero, Gonsalves, Gibson, Odorizzi looks like the rotation to me, but then the FO seldom moves in the direction I hope for and there will be the dream of the Free Agent (take note of Darvish with the Cubs and you will know why I do not want one).

Baseball is full of players who learned how to master their "stuff" later in their career - look at Sandy Koufax and his initial struggles, Randy Johnson took time to become a good then great pitcher. The issue for the Twins is his age, how much do they invest in Gibson beyond this year. Downward trends can happen as quick as upsurges. I love having the homegrown Berrios, Romero, Gibson going well, but I will not be satisfied until Gonsalves joins them.

Lynn is that one year great deal like Kendrys Morales was a one year great deal. Nothing better than FA to fix your team. Keep bringing up the young guys.

Romero should be the first of many call ups. I still think Gonsalves should be here, but more than ever, the summary shows Escobar at 3B and we have a real need for a SS that can hit - why is Gordon not here? I fear the Sano ship is full of holes and may never sail the way we all dreamed. For some reason, his diminishing stats (except for weight) and his refusal to address his Ks, plus his time on the DL have me thinking that the Twins should be serious about finding a 3B unless they plan to resign Escobar and play him there. Right now LaMarre and Grossman do not represent the kind of bench we need. Adrianza is fine as a fill in, but not as a regular.

I am not certain if I give this win to the Twins or the loss to the Sox. I cannot begin to use this as a measure of the Twins surge to the top. The Sox look awful and we won despite having to struggle against Shields who has a collective - 1.3 WAR the last three years. I am happy to celebrate the win, but not excited about projecting much from it.

I posted the following comment in the discussion of Lynn’s White Sox game: When I look at the lineup I see such a gap at 4.The guys filling in the 3 - 4 - 5 spots are doing great, but with Morrison still trying to find the Mendoza line we really need Sano to give us a big bat.Of course we need a Sano who learns to strikeout a lot less.When I look at the Yankees big boppers you can see how it really changes the game, but they also have a better approach. Sano with 506 Ks in 1220 ABs wastes so many opportunities. Judge has 294 ks in 748 ABs. If Ks were hits Sano would have a 414 average and Judge 393. But Judge has an OPS of 989 career and Sano 837.Miquel has the potential, but so far he is most effective at getting on the DL rather than the bases. This seems to be the new baseball – at least for now – Relief pitchers, Ks, and HRs. It is not the baseball I enjoy. Then I went to ESPN and found an essay by Buster Olney that I found a perfect compliment to what I am trying to convey: “Fact: A starting pitcher facing a lineup for a third time or fourth time will experience a decline in performance, generally. As a result, starters are getting pulled from games earlier than ever. Fact: Relief pitchers are throwing at a higher velocity than ever, diminishing hitters' chances to put the ball in play. Fact: As it has become more difficult to generate hits against higher velocity and defensive shifts, hitters are taking more aggressive swings, at higher launch angles, in an effort to lift the ball. This approach is generating more homers and, apparently, rocket-fueling the pace of strikeouts. Some executives who have followed the numbers and helped design the dramatic changes to the sport are OK with the big swings, big flies and big whiffs. “I’ve got no problem with it,” one club official said the other day. “We’re just trying to adapt and win ballgames.” But a lot of executives abhor the Frankenstein monster that the numbers and science have helped create, with the dueling parades of relief pitchers and increasingly overpowered hitters. “I hate it,” one high-ranking evaluator said. “It’s just not that fun to watch.” http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post/_/id/18486/olney-have-big-swings-big-flies-and-big-whiffs-broken-baseball I chose Judge and Sano to compare because they represent the new approach, but one has been much better at it than the other. Sano has both the K and the DL as issues – the most games he has appeared in during his Twins career is 71% of the season. He has collected 5.5 WAR in 4 seasons, Judge has 9.3 in three seasons. My problem is, that I think Sano has as much potential as Judge. How do we get him to realize it? In an era where the big K and big HR totals are everywhere the player that succeeds is the one with fewer Ks and more HRs or else establishes his ability in other stats. Sano has 76 HRs in 330 games, Judge has 64 in 215 games. Judge beats Sano in OPS, but more important as a Twin fan – Sano set his OPS bar in year one and has come no where close to it since. Baseball is worried about length of game, but it should be worried about the action that keeps fans attention from inning to inning. Waiting for a K or HR is boring - Last year “117 batters hitting 20 or more homers -- far more than in 2001, in the height of the steroid era, when 88 hitters clubbed 20 or more homers, and far more than in 2011, when 68 hitters got to the 20-homer mark.” At the same time starting pitchers are pitching less – an Ace is still only a 5 or 6 inning arm. Do we really enjoy a parade of relief pitchers? I would love to see the manager limited to three per game. I am also out of touch with many in that I love the 300+ hitter more than the 20 HR hitters. And I liked the SB and all the moves that involved both bat control and speed. I would like Sano back, but I would also like an improved approach.

We found the perfect game for using Hughes and his HR pitch. Now I cannot complain about Hughes and Magill using up bullpen roster spots! At least for a few days. Lynn got through with a good line, but the gap between his good performance and typical Lynn was that bases loaded DP - thank for helping your old team Mr Palka. When I look at the lineup I see such a gap at 4. The guys filling in the 3 - 4 - 5 spots are doing great, but with Morrison still trying to find the Mendoza line we really need Sano to give us a big bat. Of course we need a Sano who learns to strikeout a lot less. When I look at the Yankees big boppers you can see how it really changes the game. ​But Sano with 506 Ks in 1220 ABs wastes so many opportunities. Judge has 294 ks in 748 ABs. If Ks were hits Sano would have a 414 average and Judge 393. But Judge has an OPS of 989 career and Sano 837. Miquel has the potential, but so far he is most effective at getting on the DL rather than the bases.

I agree with the writeup and comments on the pitchers. I still hope Gonsalves is up this year and early. But I am still puzzled with the reluctance to give Gordon a try while Polanco is out. I would also like LaMonte Wade to get some 4th OF time with the Twins, what we currently have is not good.

When I look at the bullpen chart I keep seeing Magill and Hughes and then see the large usage at the top. Can we afford to have two mop up only relievers? I like bunts, I just wish they could work at perfecting them in practice. Now we just need a little streak and the Chisox could be the catapult - lets hope - for a turn around.

Can Seth Stohs give the team some advice on the minor leaguers who can catch, run, and throw? I do not care about the bat right now. The OF defense is terrible. Is Dozier thinking about his next contract? He should be lighting things up for a big pay day. Since they do not want my advice and bring up Gordon - then bring up Lewis. I do not care how young he is. Get some enthusiasm on this team.

This is the baseball is done now. It why free agency is so poor an option. Team sign players for what they have done without regard to age and potential. Extending young players make sense, with older players it very seldom works out well. But it should make people think again about Mauer. The Twins gave him a contract most think was too high, but he has stayed on the field and performed.

Seeing a rookie come through is so much more fun than cheering for a FA. Now Gonsalves!

I really think Gonsalves has done enough to earn a chance in the bigs.

He is off to a poor start, but compared to Morrison and Grossman he looks like an all-star. But I did not mean to imply that he would be up soon - I am just anxious.

So glad Romero is coming up, would have liked Curtiss to stay and continue to develop - its not like he is blocking some good bullpen arms. Gibson has regularly blown up if left in too much - credit Molitor for observing this.. Okay lets call out Garvin and Guardardo. Bert Blyleven and Morris are consultants, LaTroy is a special assistant, and I do not know who else in the office and minor leagues. If, as one comment states, we are not developing our arms, we have to ask why not and who is to blame? Gonsalves, Littell need to follow Romero. Lets get the lumps out of the way and really develop a rotation.

I have been trying to figure out how this will work out and your lineup was like a hit in the head. Much worse when I actually see it. This team really hesitates to give its players with potential the opportunity fo try out in the major leagues. I am redundant from other posts, but Gordon is either our future or trade bait. Get him in there. How about LaMonte Wade instead of Grossman? He can field and he can get walks! More important at this point is the history of injuries and DL time for Buxton and Sano is starting to develop a very bad pattern. Sano has to move to DH and we need to build our bench around the potential absence of each of them during the year. Last awful thought - Morrison, Ehire, and Petit - 1/3 of our lineup is almost an automatic out. Without Dozier or Sano and with Morrison still in hibernation we are lacking in power threats. Can't wait for Rooker to get going and start pressing for the majors.

I see a number of important issues and many of the comments cover them. This is on Falvine combo - this is there team. The TR team gave us a winning season the year they were hired. Now the FA, the Rule 5, the waiver wire pick ups and the DFAs are on the current FO. So far the grade is not good.Sano and Buxton are going to be on the DL every year. No longer an excuse when they are gone because we have seen this over and over. The solution - someone who can play CF with good defense on our bench and a good shortstop - Gordon? - who can allow Escobar to be at third or an excellent 3B player on the bench. Defense is more important that Morrisons historic 38 HR season last year or Grossman's walks.Signing FA pitchers is more than a gamble, it seldom works out. Pitchers have to be comfortable to pitch well and new team dynamics seem to make their signing questionable. But when you have near MLB ready pitchers in your system I want them to have a chance - hurray for Romero, where is Gonsalves?The bullpen for all its problems was better last year. What happened? Over use? New guys in and one is good, but DFA of Chagois was a big mistake. Glad to see Curtiss up.Molitor is the same guy he has always been. Where is his analytic advisor coach. Where is the big pitching coaching system that was put in place. We have as many pitching gurus as we do pitchers. Is it helping? Dozier always has weeks of ineffectiveness so if he is now in one of those periods it is not an excuse because it happens every year.Polanco was a non-factor for the first half last year so his absence in the first half this year is not an excuse. If Rosario has an attitude where are all those great ex Twins signed to foster a positive team feeling? Shouldn't they be showing up all over the field during this down period?Losing to the Yankees is a Twins expectation, but it should not have set us up to lose to Cincinnati. There is a lot to be rectified, but defense and pitching are the two most important elements to change things.

I am a big believer that attitude has a very large impact on a team and Rosario may be the window into team feelings. Right now Escobar and Kepler are the two who really look competitive. Mauer would not be one of the bad attitude guys, but he never shows fire, he is just Joe. However, the FO was going to take charge of attitude with Hunter, Cuddyer, Morneau...and I do not remember how many ex-Twins who could infuse the team with positive energy. Has anyone seen them around the team the last two weeks? Are they simply telling stories and entertaining the FO? I said that the team turn around was still Terry Ryan's team. The team on the field right belongs to this FO - and I was not a TR fan, but I have not become a Falvine fan either.