DocBauer

Sorry...nice thoughts, but lost me on Romero. There are some guys in the lower minors that are tantalizing. But in the upper levels, there is Gonsalvez and Romero who offer real hope for the rotation in the near future. If you are worried about Romero's IP, then he can finish his season in a milb pen. This team is still in rebuild mode, though the end is coming near. But that doesn't mean you have to give up on this season. Honestly, Busentiz and Hilgenberger deserve a look over Wimmers. The Rosario move is very aggressive, but I applaud it. He's very talented, on a roll, and is on the 40 man. Clear the chaffe! Fill the 40 man with the prospects. Roll them through the 25 man, much as has been done lately, and hold auditions. In another month, Chargois, Reed and Jay may all be ready for their auditions. Can't disagree on Hughes, but healthy, might he not be a better option than Gibson? Right now, I like Duffey and Kintzler where they are. It works and makes sense. For now.

Agree on Gordon. Need his potential and infield depth/options as we're uncertain as to Dozier's long term fit with the team. But then who? I'd almost say Chargois and Jay? Then Wade maybe as another piece if the OF puzzle?

Outstanding post! As someone who has not lived your life from a geographical point of view, to be sure, I can still relate whole heartedly! As I have stated previously, I've been a Twins fan since I was 5yo. (I'm 51 now). I have lived my entire life in South Dakota and Nebraska. I have listened to static filled late night airwaves from 57.0 WNAX from Yankton, SD my entire life before internet games. (Still do, however). And in my youth I poured over the Star Tribune when I could get hold of copies, Basball Digest, The Sporting News, Baseball America, a short lived Twins paper in the late 80's, and drank in every paper report my eyes could consume until the internet became such a part of my world. My father is 73, a frequent reader of TD and my posts as well as everyone else's. He taught me the game I love, but never played, and has joined me in regard to the consuming of paper rags and radio broadcasts. A running joke in the family was always to simply leave the room and just let us be when we got to talking about the Twins. Lol And to this day we spend hours a week discussing our beloved Twins, listen and watch games together whenever possible. Much like the speech given from James Earl Jones near the end of Field Of Dreams, through the various rise and fall of our own lives, there has always been baseball. And with no details...(there but the grace of God go I after all)...2016 was the absolute, most difficult year of my life. The echoes of 2016 still carry over to 2017 with the hopes of a better tomorrow. And it's not merely symbolism or hyperbole to compare the Twins, despite it being an entertainment venue, and their 2016 and 2017 to my own experiences. Despite my own trials of last season, and that of the Twins, there was always baseball. Always conversations my father. Always debate and discussion and wonder at today and tomorrow, and always baseball. As silly as it may sound, TD is like a beautiful rest stop, or weigh station, in my own life as I journey forth...just as the Twins do. There is always tomorrow, and another game. At TD I am roused to intellectual stimulus, befuddlement and humor. Sometimes within the same thread! It is a disjointed, somewhat obscure and extended community that borders on family with a love and passion that binds all together. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring to us in our daily lives. But tomorrow will always come, with its tireless ebbs and flows. But it will come. And there will always be baseball.

I am not dismissing the lack of moves made by the FO before the season began, but the truth is injuries have played a part in the bullpens construction. If you had told me before the season began that Chargois would have a poor ST and then get hurt, that Reed would be hurt before the season began, that Jay would be hurt before the season began, that Burdi would get off to a great start and then be lost for the season, I just wouldn't have believed it could all happen at once. It's is my fondest hope that Pressly will find himself quickly, that the pen will be cobbled well enough through auditions and the such to survive June, and that by July Chargois, Reed and Jay will all be healthy, and that Melotakis, Rosario and Curtiss will all be up to AAA. With that, we could see a very interesting and different dynamic for the pen in the second half.

Just thinking about 2018 and beyond, if you were to look at the top Twins minor leaguers, and you had to make a list of the most important guys to have good season's, and move up, not necessarily directly to the Twins, but move up....how would that list look? I would almost say Romero and Gonsalves would be your top two. Would this be a good thread idea?

Like most of us, I am so far short of being an expert that even having an opinion is almost silly. But from all the various reports, I still lean toward Wright. Great arm, some top of the rotation potential (even if never an ACE, but how do ever accurately predict that?) He comes from a highly successful program, has a solid track record, and it doesn't hurt that he fills a glaring need and may be close. That being said, drafting top athletes who have played SS is never a bad thing. As Seth mentioned, those kinds of guys can end up at 2B or 3B as well. Maybe Lewis becomes an outstanding 3B with wheels and legitimate 20HR power who allows Sano to move to 1B in 3-5 years as he begins to approach 30?

Dave Van Horn is definitely someone to take seriously. He did an outstanding job here at Nebraska and has continued to excel at Arkansas.

Could you offer up just sort of an overview of his stuff, mechanics, what he's working hardest on, etc. I confess, I haven't picked up this year's handbook yet. Embarrassed to admit so, but there it is. I know this kid has to be at least 3 if not 4 or 5 years away, but I am sure curious about the various reports we hear from time to time.

At least with Winners, he re-invented himself last season as a reliever, showed some flashes late in the year, and was one of the last guys this spring. I still think I'd go Hilgenberger and either Rosario or Melotakis.

Jorge is a guy that interests me. He seems to throw pretty hard and have at least solid secondary stuff. He seems to have good control and has been a model of consistency the past couple of years. I've even read reports from teammates and the such that he's got solid/good stuff. So why aren't his SO numbers better?

Who? Why? NOT saying you have to crazy aggressive, but we need pen arms. There's no room for Melotakis, Curtiss or Rosario at Rochester at this point?

Agree with JLease, the injuries are just so disappointing! Not saying they would immediately fix things, but Burdi, Chargois, Reed and Jay all hurt to begin the season or mow out. What a difference just a couple of these could make the second half with Melotakis, Rosario and Hilgenberger potentially.

I'm with Brian. And yes, I'm a homer to be sure. But radio or TV, I really like them all because all being something different.

Wish I knew more about Graterol. Crazy to be so intrigued by someone this young who hasn't even really played yet! But with that kind of FB, and Bob talking about his slider, it's hard not to be excited even though his years away.

Possibly. But I can't help but wonder I'd the weather and wet grass didn't have some effect as well. No excuses, just wondering.

My opinion? It was less moving pieces. Unless you remove Grossman from DH, you shift Kepler to CF, move Rosario to RF, and you are just moving too many pieces all at once.

In '15 they made ONE important move and it wasn't enough. And they waited too long to make it. They also blew it with May to the len vs Pelfrey. Not sure what I want or expect this new FO to do. I'm still in the "promote and audition from within and wait until the injured guys get healthy to see what they can do" frame of mind. Am I wrong?

If I'm not mistaken, this is Rogers' second season and the start of Duffey's third, but at this point, he has something approximating less than 2 full season's. So yeah, still young. And personally, I don't think of second year guys at 26 as being old. Just saying.

Absolutely can not and will not disagree with this post. In fact, in the off season, one of my top arguments was for a top bounce back closer option to build the pen, and to help this team close out wins to help build a wining culture. (With the possibility of a flip in place as well). But I have also argued for some time now that the Twins are still finishing their re-build and not a finished product yet. The new FO has been in place for only about 7 months now, and I believe this first season has been about building a culture, a new way of doing things, changes to the scouting and metric departments, and a complete review of all personnel from managers and coaches and players from the ML level on down. And I haven't changed my stance. So while I would have made a move or two they did not, I still see the plan in place. Injuries and a couple poor performances have skewed the "initial" plan, but those things do, unfortunately, take place.

Absolutely. Kintzler has exceeded all expectations dating back to last season's. The games I've watched, with some of his new grips and deliveries, I'm not so sure he hasn't improved even. We can debate forever about the value of a closer and saves in baseball...and maybe he'd be better in set up or middle relief, but he is not the problem with the pen.

I really, really want to "like" your post but I'm in a sort of "half like" frame of mind. Absolutely agree on Breslow, Belisle and Pressly. Can't agree on Bard over Hilgenberger or Curtiss. (Or both?). Not sure about Turley. Maybe Buentiz? Molitor will not be fired at this point. Not sure he's entirely the problem. Actually like some of the things and his new staff have done. LOVE Mientkiewicz but I'm not so sure Mauer isn't the best guy in the system. Also not sure Allen is the problem. Still have to have guys who can throw and have some kind of stuff. Not saying you are wrong, just not sure he's to blame.

Gotta be honest...as a duck thrown objects in my direction...im not that down on Molitor at this point even though I have disagreed with various moves made today and before today. Why? He was the manager for the surprising 2015 season. I really like some of the moves and various lineups he's used this season. If managers, coaches, QB in football and all sports get all the blame when you lose, you also have to give praise when the team performs well. And this season is still a he'll of a turn around from 2016. To be fair, the coaching changes and advisors and new analytics, plus player development have all lead to the turn around. I'm not saying Molitor is THE GUY moving forward, but this team/roster is not yet a finished product. And less than a year even on the job, I'm not going to bash the FO either, even though there have been a couple moves and non moves made I disagree with.

Barely beat me to it Dave! First, I think we need a tiny bit of perspective. Despite this being a horrific day in the annals of Twins history, TODAY is one game. The sky is not falling and the season is not over. In fact, over the past several games, and for most of the season, the pen has been pretty solid, if treading on thin ice. Second, to be real, part of the problem is injury. Chargois, for whatever reason(s) had a disappointing ST, and has thus far been hurt and missed the season to this point. Burdi is done. Jay and Reed have also, liked Chargois, been hurt and out of action. These are not insignificant factors, and hopefully, all will be healthy soon and play some part later in the season. (With the obvious exclusion of Burdi). So what do we do now? Well, while it would be easy to do after today, I'm not going to blast the FO for Wheeler and Rucinski. They had their reasons, and it's frankly too easy and knee jerk to do so. This team really needs Pressly to get it together but he's not. I believe he has an option left. And unfair or not after throwing quite a few pitches Sunday, he's looked lost. He needs to go down and get straightened out. Belisle has, frankly, been a disappointment. His calling card was control and consistency and we've seen neither. Breslow has been OK, has experience and savvy, but not much else. Despite such a fun and good season thus far, I have maintained this is still a season of moving the rebuild along with 2018 and beyond real contention time. I send down Pressly and let Belisle and Breslow go. Good guys, solid careers, thanks, but it's time to continue and further the rebuild. I'm a little torn about the RH options. Busentiz has looked good in AAA, but Hilgenberger has posted back to back outstanding season's and has been solid for Rochester thus far. He also offers a very different look. So I bring him up. The other RHRP is between Busentiz and Curtiss straight from AA. I'm not sure I know the answer, but I pick one and give him a shot. Hey...we're talking auditions here for this exciting young club finishing their re-build so you can continue up and down trips until you find the right combination. I am equally torn about Melotakis vs Rosario from the left side. Both are doing well at AA. Both have good stuff and potential. I'd lean to Melotakis due to age and more AA experience...but...see above in regard to the RH options. Pick THREE and move on. Let them ride the shuttle, if necessary, for the rest of the season. For the most part, the player roster is set for the next few years, with a couple nice guys getting close. And the rotation has a couple nice youngsters in Berrios and Mejia in place, with a couple nice guys getting close and FA options next off season. But it is TIME to audition the young RP! And guess what? They might not only shine...(some would argue they couldn't do worse)...but a month from now, or so, you may have Chargois, Reed and Jay all ready for their shot!

Guessing Rucinski won't have to unpack much

Hey...13 runs given up by the bullpen. A new Twins record! Congratulations Twins bullpen!