DocBauer

OK...new ballgame again

<~~~~waving

If there was ever a time for Buck's second hit off the Yankees....

Oak, maybe we're not done yet!

Just got home. Sick in bed yesterday. Super excited and went a bit nuts when I saw what happened tip of the 1st! Then I started to feel a different kind if sick in the bottom of the first. [sigh] I just don't know if I can watch this game.

So many games, so many moments. But the one that keeps sticking with me was the Seattle game when the Twins were up big and Gibson kept pitching poorly. Molitor went to the mound and politely but publicly chewed his butt. Shortly thereafter is when we saw the change in Gibson that lead to a different approach and attitude.

Yes to a ring. And yes to Ryan AND Smith. They had a hand building this team and the players involved.

As an aside which is truly not part of this thread...still don't understand the dislike for Castro as our catcher or even Giminez as the backup. Since Mauer had to move, this the best duo we have had. Imperfect but solid. Throw out the baby and the bathwater because neither was clean enough? I think not.

I also have him on the roster and starting at DH. I probably bat him 5th or 6th or 7th...but I trust the talent and the one big hit potential. He's just too good not to.

Already cast my vote in a very small margin for Dozier over Buxton. And while it doesn't exist, or count, a special "honorable mention" MVP for Escobar for his overall year, but really stepping and stepping up when Sano went down.

He brought fun and excitement to his starts and to the clubhouse. I don't think his presence in the clubhouse should be overlooked. Even other Twins talked about it. Yes Gibson turned it on and around big time, but without the solid contributions of Colon, with Mejia out, would we be at 85 wins and the second WC? Thank you Big Sexy for all you did. I will miss you as I just don't think there is room for you next season.

Great final regular season game post! Not sure what else to add...but I'm a wordy fellow so am compelled to try! Lol 1) Berrios: Still scratching the surface in his first full season. Only going to get better. Like all of these guys, where would we be without him? 2) Polanco: Maybe he's hit over his head as of late, but I think his bat is real. Some budding power is a nice surprise, but nit totally unexpected. Despite a few poor plays here and there, mostly during his slump period, I've been more than pleased by his defense. I'm not so sure he can't thrive as the #3 hitter. He did it a lot in the minors. 3) Sano: Absolute stud and getting better and better defensively. I never bought the move to DH or 1B chatter. 4) Buxton: We could honestly be witnessing him growing in to one of the top 5 players in all of baseball. 5) Rosario: Agree with great instincts, even if he's a bit overly aggressive at times. Scary thing is, he has room to be even better! If we do a list like this next season, I fully expect to see Kepler at the top!

Kudos to him to work hard enough and love the game enough to fight back and be a part of the team one more time, even in a limited role. He was an outstanding player for us, and a quality stand up day who didn't shy away from interviews, responsibility or stating the truth about things. He will be missed and should always be appreciated for his contributions over the years. I hope his post ML career and life is just as successful!

I tend to agree here. I don't mind they did it, not that big a deal at the end of the season and all, in a game pretty much meaningless, but I'm sort of the "seen it before" before mindset. Meh.

I know this sounds trite...sorry for that...but it comes down to mojo. Santana has had an outstanding year, almost beat the Yankees last go, and needs to be in solid form. Personally, I like him over the Yankees youngster based on experience. But my gut reaction is this game comes down to which offensive Twins team shows up. As much as I love this team, and all they have done, and as much as they have produced, they are still a bit Jekyl and Hyde. ON, working counts, XB and HR power, speed and baserunning, they are dangerous as hell. But they have those annoying games when they just can't get the hit, or even sac fly needed, to score a run or blow the game open. My hunch is the game comes down to the Twins offense.

A very interesting twist to say the least. I think it speaks to a couple things; good overall health by the position players, improvement by said position players, and patience by the Twins to stick with the young players...even through some struggles...to let them learn and develop. I can easily see the Twins investing in a good to very good SO for 2018. I can see investing in a quality RP, possibly 2... (But I wouldn't get crazy considering what's available and what's coming up)...and I understand and appreciate the idea of adding one more really nice bat to the lineup. But if an investment is to be made, isn't the pitching staff the first and second priority? I could EASILY see the Twins staying status quo position wise for 2018. The OF is very good, only going to get better, and could be the best 3-some in all the ML next season. Really, show me some reason not to bring back the same 6 man infield next season. Castro is the primary catcher. With all due respect to experience, leadership, OK production, it's probably time to turn to Garver over Giminez. That leaves 2 bench spots to fill. Grossman isn't great, but he's nice. For most of the season, he hit decently, and his OB has been very good. He also has some power and doesn't run badly. His horrible defense in 2016 has upgraded to OK. One could argue he and Mauer should hit 1-2 most days with Dozier sliding down. Granite is better defensively, has speed only exceeded by Buxton, and understands his role. Vargas is still solid, and there still seems to be some potential there. And let us not forget, the DH spot does not have to be filled by just one guy. Despite the likes of Davis or Thome filling the DH role, the Twins did very well in the TK and Gardenhire eras filling the DH spot with a solid bench player, or a starter getting a half day off.

Absolutely love So-long Sano! Big believer in him offensively and defensively and have been banging the drum for some time now. But the timing just stinks! THREE games to get ready and doesn't start Friday's game. No matter how talented, can he shake the rust off to actually help in a little over two games?

Rogers is good. Still young and overused the first half, definitely. Busentiz and Hildenberger are rookies with barely half a season at the ML level and looking like they have quality futures. Is Curtiss ready? I don't know. The milb track record and stuff say he's a guy to watch, for sure. To say he's nothing, as implied in another post, is ridiculous at this point. I'm OK with Belisle back, or Kintzler, for a veteran presence, but not both. There HAS to be a veteran FA out there, under 30 or around 30, that could be an upgrade. FA improvement, one of Belisle or Kintzler, Rogers, Busentiz and Hildenberger gives you 5. At some point in 2018 you have Bard, Reed, Jay, Chargois and even Burdi maybe. I still hold on to Pressly. Except for a couple bad moments...they happen...hes been so much better the past few months and has a real arm. Duffey could be an ideal long/middle/swing man, has options, and is worth keeping. I'm not saying don't make a move or two, but the second half bullpen has been very different than the first half.

Best thing I think you've written John! Outstanding! Continued growth, one more quality SP, and a couple bullpen arms to be added or emerge and we could be a legitimate contender next season. (Not to sound like I'm disparaging this season, just optimistic for what is to come).

I'm going to partially cop-out here and say no to Santana, no matter how valuable, because I sort of look at this as every day players voting. That being said, despite so many good arguments for so many candidates, it comes down to Buxton and Dozier. HUGE turnaround for Buxton and elite defense that bolstered the staff. Dozier put up yet another outstanding season and with quality production across the board including leading the team in R/HR/RBI. Hem and haw....Dozier because the team seemed to take off, and so did he, after his comments at the deadline.

Don't want to mess with guys and get them out of rhythm, but wouldn't mind a Slegers start if it helps set the rotation up, or a few games of Garver, Granite and maybe Goodrum

While I also agree they didn't do a lot personell wise to build this club, I can't fault them for the moves they made at the deadline. They brought in a couple interesting young players for 2 future FA, one replaceable and one who was barely with the club. Further a couple moves such as Gee and Colon really helped out. This is addition to Castro and even Giminez, who gave us an improvement at a starting position, and a solid, experienced backup. Something we haven't had lately. I also agree some of the coaching moves seem to have paid excellent dividends. We talk at times about things like chemistry and leadership, I'm a believer in both. And while it truly comes down to speculation, observation and opinion in place of any true measurable, this team believes in itself, enjoys playing together and has a never die attitude. I think it's fair to give some chemistry building and leadership praise to Castro, Giminez, Belisle and even Castro. The true test comes this off season though. Can they make a couple key additions to keep moving this club forward without trading off the system or handcuffing the team with poor FA choices. Thus far, my impression is they will be aggressive, but within reason, and not mortgaging the future. Really anxious to see what they come up with.

OK...so the milb season is done, sadly. Don't we all miss the daily updates? It's one of my most favorite parts of logging on to Twins Daily. And I know there will be the AFL, which I can't wait for, and various winter reports, which will have us doing impressions of Pavlov's canine companions, but I thought in the interim, we could again revisit a version of milb updates. In this case, a best and worst. Or, more appropriately, in a season of almost unparalleled success on the field in regard to wins and losses and playoff appearances, who and what were your biggest surprises in regard to good as well as disappointment. I know there is this whole ML season thing going on, and a WC spot and playoffs and the such, but don't we all miss the milb results and discussions a bit? My best (some of them anyway): Lewis Thorpe. So glad to see him healthy and strong and pitching well again after two lost season's. His numbers at Ft Myers were excellent and he even got a start at AA to finish the season. He will only be 22 next season where he will probably begin the year at AA. I think his future remains bright. Brent Rooker and Royce Lewis: In a year with so many bright spots, and so many great performances, perhaps it's unfair to pick out a couple of rookies. But despite some controversy surrounding the selection of Lewis as the top pick, he performed outstanding, and said and did all the right things. He looks, initially, like the real deal. And Rooker was absolutely amazing! Sure there were some SO concerns but there were also BB for a quality OB, AVG, power and production. It would be far to easy to say he should have done that being a productive college player. But I'd bet if there was a draft "do over" right now he'd be a top 15 selection. My worst: INJURIES: I know they are part of the game, but it's never easy, especially when it happens to top prospects seemingly on the cusp of helping the parent club. Chargois, Jay and Burdi all seemed poised to make a mark at some point this season for the Twins, and help build a strong bullpen for years to come. And all three missed most of the season and put a real dent in that plan. Tanner English: Call me crazy, but he was a guy I personally picked to click in 2017. An outstanding defensive OF with speed and a good approach at the plate, he is a RH version of Granite, more or less, with maybe a better arm, who I thought would take a big step forward this season. Those are a couple of my best and worst. Let's hear your best and worst for the minors in 2017.

Sorry, I'm just not a good computer guy, even though I've spent a good deal of my adult life working with audio and visual tech. So I'm not sure how to post a link to the article, but there is a really nice article on the Pioneer Press regarding Polanco's resurgence the past couple of months, and the struggles he dealt with mid season after the death of his grandfather, who practically raised him. There are also some interesting quotes from Molitor in regard to Polanco's work ethic, his struggles, even dealing with expectations and pressures regarding playing SS. I think it's a worthwhile read, and perhaps someone can post the link. I don't know what it was, the hype and publicity of the Sano and Kepler signings perhaps, but I've followed Polanco's career since day one as a much less heralded signing as a speedy glove first SS who's bat needed to come around. (Always been a sucker for the underdog I guess). Once his bat began to come around, Polanco would usually begin his milb season's hitting in the 1 or 2 spot, but invariably ended up hitting in the 3 hole as one of his team's best overall hitters. And despite not possessing big power, he seemed to thrive there. So now that he has gained experience, settled in, begun to overcome his grief, I'm really not that surprised by his success hitting 3rd for the Twins the last month and a half or so. Despite a couple quality veterans, the offense of this team is really predicated by the development of so much young talent coming to fruition, including Polanco. And while I'd still rather see Dozier slide down in the lineup to take advantage of his power and production, even if that were to happen, and with a fully healthy Sano back mashing, I'm wondering if Polanco might not just claim the 3 spot for the foreseeable future. I'd invite you all to read the article.