Dman

I just think the injury's to this team along with the un-timely pen implosions has been and will be too much to overcome. With injuries to Buxton, Kirilloff, Jeffers, Larnach, Lewis, and others it is surprising how well this team has performed. It just kind of feels like this is a team on the down swing right now. There is time to wake up but given all the trends I wouldn't be surprised to see this team 5 games back before long. In the mean time Cleveland is on a roll and finding its groove. They split with Houston and their pitching seems to be back to elite status and they actually have a team that can hit now so I think they take the division not that that means much this year but they remind me of the piranha Twins of years past where they just wear you down and find ways to win. I don't know what the deal is with Chicago. They have the most talent in the division and a decent pitching staff but they haven't made a run all year. They can still do it but I like Cleveland the best out of all three right now and unless the Guardian's face injuries to their pitching staff I think they are the team to beat.

I get your point about guys just starting pretty much getting screwed monetary value wise. It stinks and I wish there were better ways than arbitration to get younger players the money they deserve but this is the system the players and owners agreed on so here we are. Depending on how you view WAR, Correa will probably technically earn or equal his value for money paid. So depending on ones perspective he is worth the money right now. I think I agree that this Twins season would have been worse without him and his ability to help create a band of brothers type club house should not be understated. That said I was expecting more from the bat and quite honestly in clutch situations. I expected him to step up not fall back. I expected a player with better plate discipline not swinging at balls 2 feet off the plate with two strikes. I expected more HR power. I expected him to lead the offense by example like Cruz did. Maybe it is just that my expectations were too high although as I pointed out lot's of players on this team have a higher OPS than Correa. Even players that wouldn't be considered at Correa's level. I can come with tons of reasons for why his performance is off this year. No spring training. A really cold spring. Hit in the hand by a pitch. COVID. He has faced a lot of adversity but he was healthy in June and looked like he was back and now the July Numbers show him back to his spring numbers. A team can do a lot with 35M. While I appreciate what the Twins did in bringing him in I am not sure an eggs in one basket (a guy taking up about 25% of payroll) is a great approach unless they can perform at an elite level for the entire contract. There are still two months for me to be more impressed but right here, right now I have to say I am disappointed in his season so far. Whether those are fair expectations or not it seems several of us disagree and this is just my opinion it doesn't mean I am right about anything it is just honestly how I feel.

That is a really good question. I think they saw Schobel as a utility guy so not sure that is a huge issue for him\them but I thought Ross and Schuffield were "true Shortstops" The High schoolers they took down the line I assume can play in the FCL for a while until ready. Still that leaves two more shortstops they will need to find room for at some point. Gotta believe Miller will some extra rest at the end of the year here.

I'll go out on a limb and assume this is directed at me. My argument wasn't about what players were making in 1972 compared to 2022. It was about valuing what a team can do with 35M and or what value 35M should have. Rod Carew really doesn't even belong in this discussion about Correa;s value. I just tried to point out based on another posters reply that the Money Correa earns versus what he contributes to the team matters. Not trying to create some odd argument about what players from 1950 might earn today that has nothing to do with this OP. So "FYI" my not well thought out argument has nothing to do with yesterday's dollars versus todays dollars. It has to do with the value a players performance has for the team based on how much money he makes and expanded to include what else could be done to improve the team with the 35M Correa makes. Just to be clear nothing to do with Billionaire owners, high ticket prices, inflation through the years etc. etc.

I don't disagree as that has been their MO to date. They don't trust pitching arms to last long and don't want to be stuck with a player that cannot contribute making big money (limiting payroll). Still they seem pretty stocked for position players right now so it looks to me like they have a window to take chances on pitching. If they they aren't going to spend that 35M then I would much rather have Correa.

Wander had a pretty good June and July OPSing in the 800's. Off to a tough start in August but I agree they should move him to AA and see what he has. They don't have much at short there anyway. I think the eye is there he just needs to make more contact and I still think he has a chance to make it. Not as an All Star but MLB player most likely utility.

Technically Lewis doesn't have to come real close to Correa's numbers because by removing Correa you have 35M to spend to add more WAR. Rodon might be a possible get or some other stud pitcher that is willing go short term high AAV. Pitching is what the team needs, if Royce can just be better than average it would\could still be a win IMO.

I don't think most people are saying Correa is a flop just that he isn't creating the value his 35 million dollar salary reflects. Would you pay Nick Gordon 35M per year his OPS is almost the same as Correa's right now and Miranda's is higher. If you are making that kind of money you need to perform to be worth it. He hasn't performed to close to an All Star level and his salary says that is how he should be performing. That is the issue, not that he is a poor player he just isn't living up to contract he signed at least IMO.

All the numbers look real good for Rooker at AAA but San Diego didn't give him many chances. I guess I can see maybe not playing him in the outfield but still with the 1.000 at AAA. a good walk rate. average and Slugging you would think he should be a cinch to make it a the MLB level. I guess we will see.

I have no idea why Rod Carew was given as an example as it isn't really related to Correa at all but that was example given. Still if Rod Carew was putting up a .725 OPS as the poster stated no one in MLB would be wanting to pay him 35M per year. I mean Nick Gordon has a better OPS than that. If that was your standard you would need to pay nearly every player on your team 35M. The point I was trying to make is "value". I think given what Correa has given so far (and I stated he has time to correct the numbers) the Twins can get greater value with the 35M than what they are getting right now paying Correa 35M per year.

Nice to see them getting some of the drafted bats started. Would be nice if they would get the catchers going as Cardenes could stand to be moved up to high A as well. Will be interesting to see if anyone starts out hot. Most players struggle to adjust in their draft year but there are always a few that show well right out of the gate.

Happy to see they moved Lee aggressively up to high A. Being one of the best college bats and solid defender it makes sense to challenge him right away. He likely just needs to get used to the more refined pro pitching he is going to see moving forward. Finally they moved Louie up to AAA. He has been very consistent. Would still be nice to see fewer hits and a few more K's. Hopefully a little more refinement and he can be an answer at the MLB level. I am a bit surprised he has been able to stick as a starter as I had him pegged for the pen. I really like the Minnesota kid and am Happy he is doing so well.

Yep they had their chance in the 9th and ultimately the 10th and decided not to take it. Still the play that won the game shouldn't have won the game so there's that.

The problem for me is he wants to be paid for providing elite production so when he doesn't give you that then maybe it is better to spread that money around to improve WAR in other areas. Maybe he will be elite again next year hard to say but if Lewis can come in and get even close to those numbers and the 35 MIL can buy you 4 more WAR somewhere else I think you do that instead. If he wants to be paid like an All-Star he needs to produce like one. Right now Bogarts has more than double Correa;s WAR. If it stays that way he looks like the more consistent player and more likely to get the big payday. Correa is asking to be treated like an elite player so he needs to produce like one year in and year out or settle for a smaller AAV contract.

Yeah he really needs to up his game at the plate or he will never get what he wants on the market. He will need another prove it year. He still has time to turn this around but he better get it together soon if he wants that big contract. His defense is down from last year, offense down from last year. If things stay the same I think there is a good chance he is a Twin again next year.

Rod Carew wasn't costing\asking for 35M per year.

I don't think anyone is saying he is bad or a poor player but this is a guy running around looking to be paid like an elite player and right now his replacement in Houston has more WAR than he does. If Lewis can do something similar I would love to put that 35 million to better use.

To be honest unless that throw was going to make about a 3-5 second difference I think the call would have been the same. As best I can tell MLB's issue is that Sanchez setup in foul territory early in. That is the only way I can see how they could call it blocking because as the throw comes in he moves more out of foul territory and they still called blocking and ruled the runner safe even after he caught the ball ahead of the runner sliding in. He was blocking the plate without the ball if you look early on in the clip. So even if the throw was one double clutch away the runner still would have been ruled safe otherwise this whole charade falls apart because he was out of foul territory when he caught the ball and they still called him safe. The blocking action happened long before the ball got there at least IMO. If that is the rule I sure hope they apply it to everyone now because it is goofy to me that positioning long before the play at the plate should make a difference even if the runner was going to be out no matter what. At least then other teams can feel our pain. Then again New York would never have the guts to call that against the Yankee's. Chicken **** is right Rocco.

I really do love Correa's leadership and supportive presence but I am down on his bat so far this year. For all the playoff clutch stats he hasn't looked that clutch to me this season. Seems like he is K'ing in the clutch more than getting on base. I much prefer Arraez and Miranda and possibly even Gordon being up as opposed to Correa right now. Honestly if this is his level of production I would prefer Lewis in that spot. I don't think Lewis's production would be much worse and he is much, much cheaper. Correa has a couple more months to impress but time is running out. If he wants that mega contract he needs to prove he still has "it". Right now I don't see "it".

MLB's quibble seems to be that Sanchez didn't get over (out of foul territory) soon enough and I assume even in that clip they view him not giving enough room to the runner. I guess I don't understand how soon you have to be in possession of the ball before they consider it just blocking and not catching it and blocking which is legal to do, but they get a lot of leeway to interpret something in the rules only they know. "•The catcher may not block the pathway of a runner attempting to score unless he has possession of the ball. If the catcher blocks the runner before he has the ball, the umpire may call the runner safe." In this scenario though Merrifield is out regardless of where Sanchez's feet are exactly because the ball beats the runner so blocking or no blocking it shouldn't really matter he was going to be out no matter what which is why this rule makes no sense. Instead of an obvious out he gets called safe based on some early subjective positioning of the catcher before the play is even over? Doesn't make sense. To add insult to injury to New York's decision the player freely admits he was trying to run into Sanchez and didn't even attempt to slide to an open side of the plate (real nice guy hoping to hurt another player, we need more of these Ty Cobb type spikes up players or wait wasn't this rule supposed to get rid of those guys?) as he knew he was out and hoped for a reversal. This goes completely against the spirit of the rule and its ability to protect both players. New York should have taken that into consideration in this case as well. The runner made no attempt to slide to the open side of the plate, None. While I guess this could be considered blocking according to the league there are tons of these plays that could be blocking and never get called so unless there is some consistency on this issue there are going to upset teams and fans over obvious outs.

Ill intent or not New York umpires always find a way to screw the Twins. It is just in their nature. I have looked at the replay a lot and it seems to me that Sanchez does everything he can to not block the plate until he has the ball and he has the ball before the runner is at the plate so New York please explain the the absolute certainty that this met the rules of overturning with incontrovertible evidence. It can't be done. They totally effed this one up. Someone is going to have some explaining to do. I mean how do the umps on the field get it right and New York gets it wrong? I don't understand how they make that call? I am with Rocco on this one it is just plain embarrassing. Replay was supposed to fix stuff like this not not make it worse. Bad day for baseball today IMO.

Yeah I was a huge, huge doubter. I had already predicted he would be off the roster by the end of this year. So I guess I get to eat crow for a while. Congrats to Gordon for proving so many of us wrong. I think Doc had mentioned this before that if Gordon could ever get healthy for a long stretch he would look different. I guess he was right.,

Yeah sorry, I don't always love the MLB.com one as they seem slow to update or see how players have improved.

Unless the wheels really fall off I can't see the Twins moving on from Pagan. He is getting swinging strikes and they have to see that Colume came back to normal this year so with another year left I think they want to hang onto him even if they need to use him in lower leverage situations right now. I am guessing releasing Duffey was hard but I think several people noticed he just didn't seem to have that magic anymore. Even though he had a successful stretch a lot of those balls were hit hard just at someone. Like many have said I think he can have a resurgence but this team just can't wait on him any longer and they weren't going to resign him in the offseason anyway so not much to lose other than two months of a reliever you were trying to hide in the back of the pen. I think it is best for this year and next as well. Even if they don't get much better results from Sands or Moran they are getting valuable experience and should get better as time goes on. They also have a chance to be better than Duffey as well.

Nice summary! Wish I could write like you. I always appreciate what you have to say.