Reider

Fun fact of the day: Former Twins 3rd baseman Danny Valencia has the highest batting average on today's Oakland A's line-up (.328) and is batting clean up.

Agreed. I've always believed that once you master one level, then you can move up to the next level. There's always a big question mark when players jump levels (e.g. AA to MLB), but if a player has mastered AAA, then I have no problem with him moving up to the next challenge (MLB). It's okay if young players fail a few times at the MLB level before they make it (e.g. Ben Revere). They are still young and developing. I don't expect a 19-22 year old player to be an all-star at the MLB level.

I recall a player by the name of Ben Revere who got sent back down to AAA a few times, then one day he was recalled by the Twins and he never looked back. Patience.

A couple of years ago fans were predicting that the Twins would hit their stride somewhere around 2016-2018. Now fans want to blow the team up and trade everyone. I have read a lot of complaints about minor league players being blocked. Sano is still with the Twins, but many of the minor league players mentioned in this thread have had opportunities at the MLB level and got sent back down because they weren't playing MLB caliber baseball. Buxton was even given the starting CF job out of spring training when it was clear to myself and other fans that he was not ready to be a starter at the MLB level yet. I also find it interesting when I read about fans wanting the starting pitchers moved to the bull pen. Yes, lets just move all of the starting pitchers to the bull pen, then who is going to start for the Twins? It's obvious that the Twins need to improve both the starting pitchers and the bull pen. As for team chemistry, I read one comment, where a fan suggested that the dressing room is "toxic." I really don't have any reason to believe that the dressing room is toxic. If anything, I think the Twins are just lacking something. I believe they are missing some team chemistry, character and personality. There are some veterans like Dozier and Plouffe with some personality, but there's also a bunch of guys like Mauer, Suzuki, and Park (who can't even speak English). And then you have Molitor managing these guys. I believe personalities like Torii Hunter are invaluable. Guys like him are a super glue that not only hold the team together, but they bring the team together. My guess is that the team needs more players like that in the dressing room. Losing in itself can take a toll on Moral, but I don't think there are really any toxic people in the dressing room. It's more about what's missing than what's there. I recently read about Dozier trying to get some advice from Torii Hunter on how to become a better leader. Either you have it or you don't. I can see Dozier being a good character in the dressing room, but the team needs more of those guys. As for trades, obviously some changes have to be made. I'm open to trading players away, but what I"m not in favor of is a knee jerk fire sale just for the sake of it. I think Terry Ryan needs to take a cerebral approach to improving the team moving forward.

One of the grounds keepers for sure. If not, then probably Abad.

This Souhan guy is out of touch with reality. When I think of the word urgency and how it's applied to everyday life, I think of a hockey team that's down by a goal or two with less than 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd period. That team needs to play with a sense of urgency. With Glenn Perkins, we are talking about an injury. Urgency has no place in the realm of injuries. I'm not sure what Souhan is expecting from Perkins, but it doesn't matter what Perkins says in an interview, his injury will have to heal on it's own time. It's quite clear from Perkins' interview that he has a plan moving forward and has every intent on executing that plan, regardless of how long it takes his shoulder to heal. And that's only the tip of the iceberg... he talks about Perkins inspiring pessimism throughout the organization... Inspiring Pessimism? No urgency? We are talking about an injured 3 time All-Star here. Please.

If it wasn't for the Target Field logo on the limestone behind home plate, one would think this game was played in Kansas City.

What's with the silver chalk lines? Did they run out of white chalk?

Feeling great isn't the same as playing great. Dozier has never had a high batting average at the MLB level. It was always overlooked because he was hitting home runs, getting on base etc.. Basically all of his numbers this year are just as low, if not lower than in 2012. His numbers are definitely unacceptable at the MLB level. Dozer absolutely has to change something as I can't see pitchers changing their approach for no reason now that they have him figured out. The good news for Dozier is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with going with the pitch. If pitchers want to throw fastballs over the outside of the plate, no problem, drive the ball to right center or down the first base line. Joe Mauer has no problem driving the ball to the opposite field. I think Dozier would have enough power to hit for extra bases, including HR's, if he dedicated himself to going with the pitch. I could easily see him having enough power to drive the ball into the wall in right center for doubles.

My thought process on Brian Dozier over the last few years... 2012: Not a fan / not convinced about this Brian Dozier guy... 2013: Okay, I'll admit, I've seen some improvement from this Dozier guy... 2014: Whoa, Brian Dozier is really good, all of his hard work is paying off.. 2015: Brian Dozier is great, this is his second or third good year in a row.. 2016: .... What happened to Brian Dozier? .... And the rest of the team?....

Most of those players you mentioned are still quite young and developing in the minor league system. Some of them have stayed with the Twins for extended periods (Sano, Arcia, Rosario, May, and even Buxton), but they are still young and developing. Some will make it, some won't. It could be devastating to the Twins organization if most of these guys don't develop into MLB players. All that work for nothing would be awful. However, I think the Twins organization and fans alike need to be patient. Anyone remember a former Twin by the name of David Ortiz? He never did a whole lot with the Twins, but eventually went on to have a hall of fame career. Carlos Gomez didn't impress me as a Twin, but he went on to become an All-Star. Liriano's career took a nose dive, but the Pirates revived his career. I think people see players around the league like Harper, Trumbo etc.. and expect all of the Twins' prospects to magically become a young crop of all-stars and win Championships. Unfortunately life doesn't work that way. Not all players are going to burst onto the scene like Miguel Sano. It's going to take time and development to turn these young players into good MLB players. Everyone wants to rush all of the young guys to the MLB before they have even played a game in AAA. There might be the odd player around the league that can jump leagues, but most players are going to need time to develop at their own rate. Unrealistic expectations are simply scheduled disappointments.

Pitching and defense did okay. Hitters didn't produce enough runs.

I like the batting order today. I'm not surprised by the over / under (9.5) on runs scored today. With Hughes and Pelfrey pitching, I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher either.

Jack Morris 1991 Game 7 World Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwslgROrMRE * Not sure if this was the last time a Twins pitcher did it, but it's certainly the most memorable.

The Braves are 8-24 and the Twins are 8-25, officially making the Twins the worst team in baseball. The Twins have officially hit rock bottom. On the positive, the Twins are only 7 wins behind the Tigers and 8 wins behind the Royals and Indians. If the Twins get hot, it's still possible to finish in second place in the ALCD. As bad as the Twins have been so far this season, I don't think panicking is going to do any good. And for those of you who want to hold a fire sale, there's plenty of season left for players to build their trade value. I don't think it's a good idea to sell low.

Fairly accurate grades. Not a whole lot to argue with there. However, it bothers me that "fans" keep saying that the Twins were "lucky" to win 83 games last year. That's an insult to the players, coaches, and organization as a whole. The Twins earned those wins by playing as a team last year.

You're welcome to believe what you want. I believe that good athletes and teams create their own luck. Players and teams go on hot streaks and go into slumps. A good "baseball man" should know that. The Twins just happened to have a hotter month than normal. Nothing wrong with that. I wouldn't call it fluke. When you're on, you're on. When you're not, you're not.

Correct, but the Twins were very close to making the playoffs last year and this year they haven't been able to get going. What has changed?. Of course Terry Ryan didn't do much in the off season besides getting Park (which has been viewed as a positive signing) and trading Hicks away for Murphy, so you must also ask yourself what other constants there from last year. Most players and coaches are constants from last year. At some point the players and coaches need to be held accountable as well. It's not like all of the players from last year are playing the same as they did last year and then you can point to Terry Ryan and say "Look Terry, the guys from last year are playing every bit as good as they were last year and it's still not enough." That's simply not the case, therefor Ryan can't shoulder all of the blame. Had the players production been the same from last year, one could make a strong argument that Ryan didn't do enough in the off season.

Plouffe with a 2-run HR. Anyone hungry? I have a lot of eggs to clean up off of my face. Murphy's law is kicking my butt today. Keep it up Twins, let's get that W!

Of course, the day I rip the Twins for having Plouffe ahead of Sano, Park and Arcia in the line up, he hits a double and they all fail to drive him in.

Not a fan of today's batting order. Plouffe is hurt/injured and batting ahead of players who have out performed him this year. I'd like to see Plouffe and Dozier moved down in the line up behind Sano and Park. If not both of them, Plouffe for sure. Nunez, Mauer, Park, Sano, and even Arcia (based on stats), should be ahead of Plouffe in the line up.

Great work DaveW! The team just hasn't gotten going yet because there's too many players under-performing. Until that changes, the Twins will continue to lose a lot of ball games.

I agree that spending more $ is not necessarily the solution. It's important to have the right people in place regardless of how much money is spent. The Dodgers and Yankees have the highest payrolls in baseball (last I checked anyways) and they don't win the World Series every year. I also wanted to see the Twins take another step forward and make the playoffs this year. I was hoping the Twins felt the same way, but their actions or lack thereof says otherwise. The Twins lost Hunter to retirement and Hicks to a trade (for a catcher). This left Rosario as the only "proven" outfielder. In the off season I felt it was really important for the Twins to sign or trade for an established outfielder (e.g. Span, who could have also been a lead off hitter, which is a spot in the line up, that has not been properly filled since he was traded away). Instead, the Twins signed Park, who doesn't play outfield, moved an infielder to the outfield (Sano) and put Buxton in center field even though it was pretty clear by the end of last season that he hadn't yet established his ability to hit consistently at the MLB level. Not to mention the fact that the Twins refused to improve their pitching staff. I understand that it's probably not an easy thing manage a baseball team. However, I find it absolutely irresponsible for an MLB organization to put their bind faith in players based on a hope and a prayer instead of putting established talent on the field (based on the premise that the goal, as per the owner, was to take another step forward as an organization and make the playoffs.) And what I mean by that is basically what I already mentioned above: - Moving an infielder to the outfield after such experiments have failed miserably in the past - Put a player in center field who clearly wasn't ready to take the job - Refusing to sign an outfielder or improve the pitching staff and believe that the young guys will just automatically move into those roles and perform adequately or better than adequate. - I will give the Twins the benefit of the doubt on the catcher situation as there is only one Joe Mauer and he's already on the team and was moved to 1st base for a reason.

This has nothing to do with me or my 15 year old self. I was just trying to make a point based on my personal life experiences. I'm not just making my opinion up out of thin air, this is just how I feel based on being a pitcher myself from that distance. My point is that he's had over a decade pitching from that distance to the plate. If he can't hit the plate now, I don't know when he ever will. As to your assertion that maybe his thought process is on another level than even a minor league pitcher, well perhaps he's over thinking things and making things more complicated than he has to. It's not helping. I watched his relief appearance before his start and he was all over the place. I knew he wouldn't make it through the 3rd inning in his start, but I was only half joking when I made that prediction to someone I was watching the game with because as a Twins fan I was rooting for him and was really hoping he would pitch a great game. He went into that start with an 18.00 ERA. It makes me wonder if he's just over thinking things right now or if he's been a wild fire baller his entire career. I actually think he has really good pitches when he hits his spots. I like his 97MPH fastball and his breaking ball / slider / curve, whatever you want to call it. I just think he needs to have better pitch selection (perhaps the catcher plays a big role in that) and secondly, he needs to have much better control. If he can't hit his spots, it's going to be tough to find success at the MLB level. There's stats and stats only tell part of the story. Then there's the eye ball test and that fills in part of the rest of the story that the numbers to not tell. The eye ball test is what is concerning me.

- Nice 3 run HR by Dozier - Joe Mauer is Joe Mauer, had a couple of nice hits, likewise with Nunez - Meyer lasted longer in Tuesday's game than Hughes did in this one. Take that how you want to. - Pitching all around just isn't good enough. - Hitting just isn't good enough, with the exception of a couple of / few players - Manager with some questionable decisions this year, but I'm not sure if that even matters or changes anything right now - Nunez being Nunez on defense. Not sure how he didn't catch that ball. Also, I still wonder why he refuses to wear a helmet that fits properly. - Tough game to watch, but I'm sure there will be some exciting games to watch in the future with the bats the Twins have. - I wonder how large of a role Torii Hunter played with the team chemistry last year. Something just seems off this year. They just can't get going.