DocBauer

I missed the game. But from game reports, he was as you stated he was. All reports also indicate he has the stuff. And while I expect hiccups here and there, I sure hope the Twins will stick with him and keep giving him opportunities, even if it ends up meaning a shuttle back to Rochester before a ride back up again. Ditto for Gonsalves who will get his shot at some time as well.

Nice article and an interesting perspective considering what the season has brought thus far Not going to comment on final record or playoff chances, mostly because some things are simply unpredictable and out of the Twins hands. BUT...to comment on the primary points: ROTATION: No Johan. But a return of the current Santana, approximating who he has been the past few seasons, is a big boost. Berrios is talented I just don't worry about a few hiccups in the long term. Odorizzi is solid. Bang him if you will, but NOTHING in Lynn's resume says he's this bad. And let's be honest, going back to about mid season '17, this is the best Gibson has ever pitched. We may be beyond SSS at this point. The depth here is better than 2006. TOP ROOKIE PERFORMER: Maybe. Maybe Romero. Maybe Gonsalves. Maybe both to carrying degrees as each begins to establish themselves in 2018 to help and build for the future. HIGH-OCTANE BULLPEN: Reed is good! Pressly has shown flashes, and may have finally found himself. Rodney? Ugh! But at the same time, he did this last year in April too, as you mentioned, but his past 4 seasons may be the best of his career. The wheels will come off one day, doesn't mean now. Duke has been awful, but also nasty. He's looked much better as of late. Hildenberger, IMO, is a key. Better the past couple of appearances. Rogers in a rut, but he's shown before. And established or not, there are arms bouncing between the Twins and Rochester that have life. MVP-OFFENSE-DEFENSE IN GENERAL: Guys out, bad weather, weird start to the season, some tough luck and weird bounces. Fine. But no more excuses defensively! Just get your sh** together and play the defense you showd las year! Sano has all the makings of a stud hitter, whether at 3B, 1B, DH, etc. He's still young, no matter what arguement you want to make. Don't tell me his scandal and rehab haven't had an effect. To give up on him at this point is a fools errand. As to the rest of the offense, there is just so much damn talent here in Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Dozier, Escobar, Mauer and even Morrison you can't just fold tents due to frustration. FINAL THOUGHTS: Come on people! I'm frustrated beyond belief with the rest of you! I'm pretty much P.O. at what I've been seeing the past 2 weeks. But it's 2018, not 2016. From top to bottom, this roster is better than '16 and even better than '17, taken as a whole. Rotation and bullpen wise, there are some really interesting arms to audition as well, even if they aren't lights out in first appearance. (I do object somewhat to 2 games played and shipped out again on the shuttle). The Indians sucked for a time on '17 before cranking it up. Remember when the '17 Dodgers couldn't buy a win with their millions for a time? Hate to sound like the proverbial roses and sunshine guy when I've seen and smelled a lot of urine the past couple of weeks, but really look at the roster, overall, and some of the weird crap that has marked the first 1/5 of the season.

One of my favorite players and easy to root for. Laughed when people talked about trading him or letting walk after last season. Disappointed we didn't sign him to at least a 2 year deal this past off season. Forget 2016...wish we all could...hr was productive and solid in a smaller role in '14 and '15 as well. He's not a stud, but he's a really, really nice, productive and versatile player. The kind you should be thinking about keeping.

LOVE IT! Now give him additional opportunities, even if he struggles some. What's he going to do, pitch worse than we've seen from Hughes and others?? Don't want to put the cart before the horse, but if he and Gonsalves could both make some sort of mark on this season...WOW!

Very nice to see Rooker heating up!

Where is Redmond these days, I forget. Can we hire him as a coach or advisor who can B.S. with the team and walk through the clubhouse naked? If he's unavailable, I'd volunteer.

1] Despite being confused and generally unhappy with the decisions on Burdi, Chargois and Bard as a collective, they were not lost because the FO was sitting around hoping for Kinley. I think that's a fair statement. Right or wrong, each was lost for certain reasons, whatever they may truly be. I really think we need to let that arguement go. 2] Kinley IS an issue, but not the reason we have been struggling. Drafting and even trying to stash an upside, power arm is not a bad idea. Now, that being said, IMO, despite liking most all moves the FO has made to this point, I questioned his selection. 3] There is absolutely nothing wrong with the FO just saying the gambled and lost. Period! Offer him back, or work out a cheap trade if you want him at Rochester because you still like him. But do SOMETHING, because you just keep hiding him. NO FO will always hit 100% of the time. They just won't. But move on when you have to.

No worries. And I agree the number of AAA starts shouldn't be the determining factor either. I really like Romero and Gonsalves both! But they being so young, and the season being so young, I'm not sure if shuffling them up and in...at this point...really does anything more than guys like Odorizzi and Lynn just pitching more like they are capable of. Now, I thinking could be a different story 3-4 weeks from now, and beyond, of course. Of course, Santana and May might be ready by then as well, but I think you get my point. I want the Twins to play better and to win, of course. But right before the season began, from so many new players and so many young players, I felt they would scuffle a bit around .500 before "taking off". Going to hold that position for now, not there is much choice after the past 6 games, lol. I still think there is a lot to like here, and the team is better than last season. But damnit, there seems to be a lot of underperforming right now.

Problem with a roster shuffle is the only place you can really do so is the bullpen. Even then, Reed is hurt now, eliminating an option there. Granite is hurt. Santana and May are still not ready. Romero, a future potential stud starter to be promoted after only 3 AAA starts? Success still rests with the guys we have now performing like they are capable of.

Nice write up. Thank you! Absolutely love that one of the moves the Twins made in the milb side of things was adding a second pitching coach to each level. (Believe it was each level). As was stated in an article I read, between the manager and other coaches you almost always have other "hitting coach" options available to you, not including roving instructors. But as important as pitching is, you'd of thought they would have out a second pair of eyes and voice at each level a long time ago. But hiring a catching co-ordinator for the first time really blows me away. Unless I'm just missing something, have we really never had someone to oversee this part of player development before? Wow!

Much like the Twins themselves, I just want the milb season to be played on a regular, daily basis. I know you will have occasional PPD games, but the start to the season has been ridiculous! Despite hoping for the best for all these kids, and with due respect to all of them, the ones I'm really interested in watching this season are Javier, Graterol, Leach, De La Torre and Benninghoff. Next to Lewis, honestly, there may not be a more talented position player in the system than Javier. Graterol reads like Romero Pt 2. If rumors are correct, part of the reason Leach was drafted so high was because other teams saw him as a fast riser. So let's see what he can do! Really surprised De La Torre slipped so far. And Benninghoff, if I'm not mistaken, has a great breaking ball, (curveball?), and was projected as early as the second round before his arm broke down.

It's simply time, early in the year and SSS or not, to cut Kinley, (who may or not be taken back by Miami), or work out a deal to keep him. But he needs to be off the roster at this point. I like Hilgenberger a lot and think he's for real, despite poor early season results. I agree Moya and Busentiz each show promise. But to be "Doc Obvious" and agree with you, they simply haven't pitched up to snuff yet. Rogers has proven himself in the past, so I'm not going to give up on him. Reed and Curtiss also have being arms, but, see above. All damn frustrating! But there is some potential there. And I still feel like the weather has done the Twins no favors with missed games, days off, such a weird start to the milb season, etc. I'm not going to panic or get worked up at this point. Now, in another week, two at most, if we're still seeing what we are seeing, then I will become very concerned. Remember too, this time last year Pressly and Belisle looked like toast.

Not sure Moya has even seen a single game at AAA level at this point. Sure wouldn't give up on him too quickly.

Man, I'd Kepler could only learn to be decent against lefties

Just....WOW!

Not going to blast Grossman so early in the season and a couple mediocre plays...(the double would be hard for most guys to have reached)...but even SSS he just hasn't looked good. Time to think about both Granite and LaMarre And move on?

OK...now this game smells.

I didn't mind sending Lynn out there. I object to not pulling him out after the walk.

SWEET double play!

Lynn arrived at camp late. The Twins have had, what, 5 games post poned thus far? I believe the PR games and this one are the only games played above 40 degrees with the others in the 30's and missed with rain and snow. Batting practice has been almost non-existent. And they have a winning record to this point. I am remaining calm.

Thanks Huddy! Probably the only channel I didn't try.

Game is not televised????

OK...it makes sense now. Not enough werewolves on the team. Mid-season trade for a couple?

Personally, I've always felt being a HOF inductee comes down to more than just numbers. I mean, decade by decade there have been different tendencies in ALL sports. Football used to be fewer games, much more rigid rules concerning things like pass defense, and the game evolved in to a passing first sport. So comparing pkayers from different eras becomes problematic. For example, all the records Manning and Favre broke were set by Tarkenton in a different style and ERA of play. Are they truly better QBs? Baseball has also had different eras of small ball, dead ball, steroids, HR ball, etc. So numbers are great to compare in any sport and any ERA. And they are important. But to me, one primary criteria has always been: "for the time a player played, was he one of the best in the league, and at his position, for an extended period of time?" If you examine the "numbers" posted above in comparison to those other great players and catchers, Mauer's numbers are even more impressive than just my memory recall. Then there are All Star games, 6 to be exact. The three batting titles, which is pretty amazing by itself, all the more so being a catcher. Then there is the MVP, 3 Gold Gloves and 5 Silver Slugger awards. Pretty impressive stuff. The injury factor is what holds Joe's case back, somewhat, unfortunately. I often think of fellow Twins great Tony Oliva when I think of Mauer. For years the argument has been made that Oliva might just be the best ballplayer not elected to the HOF, and everyone knows jts due to injuries that curtailed his career. Despite all his impressive accomplishments, does Mauer get "credit" for "what might have been" due to his concussions? It's a topic that 10 years ago wouldn't have even been discussed. But now? Further, and I hate to even touch on this, but post-steroids ERA, does he get a little more credit for being such a good guy and clean player? I know it's sports politics, but we've witnessed the reverse trend in regard to other players listed as tainted. For 9 season's the argument could be made he was the best overall catcher in baseball. That, his awards, the numbers listed above, would tell me he is deserving. Now, his 2017 re-surgance and over all re-invention as a top fielding 1B, and a repeat performance this season, (And he's off to a he'll of a start in 2018), plus another year or two similar season's, maybe with a Gold Glove thrown in, (I think he deserved it last year), and his case is only strengthened. I don't know if he will make it, but 9 years as probably, arguably, the best overall player at his position is HOF worthy. At least, he should be seriously considered.