Teflon

0-3 comebacks: Dave Roberts doesn't want history to repeat itself "In World Series history, 24 teams prior to 2024 went up three games to none, and 21 of them completed the sweep with a win in Game 4. The last team to force a Game 5 when down 3-0 in the World Series was the Reds in 1970 against the Orioles." So, historically, 88% of teams up three games to none have won game four. Will the Dodgers? Do you want them to?

The Twins will still need extra depth in the infield given the IR time we can count on from Lewis and Correa along with the departure of Farmer. I don't see Miranda as being expendable unless the Twins can manage to offload Vazquez or Paddack for a more serviceable defender.

#1 Biggest Offseason Need: More Money

I would have signed up if there was a Wally the Beerman level.

The Twins should consider options with Driveline-like coaching and analytical skills. I was always impressed with their out-of-the-box thinking when they hired Wes Johnson from the college ranks at Arkansas.

That confused me, too. Lewis isn't eligible for arbitration for another year.

Great article on Tapani! I remember when I saw him in uniform for the first time at the Metrodome I thought he was a ball boy. He was indeed a key contributor to the 1991 championship.

Maybe Minnesotans are just more rational about things.

But awesome for tailgating!

While this season's finish is certainly disappointing, it's hard to surpass the disaster that was the end of the Twins 1984 season when the Twins lost the AL West by dropping their last 6 games including a game they led by 10 runs.

Write the story of the 2024 Twins and you'll say that the team started strong but injuries overtook them, exposing a lack of depth especially on the pitching staff. That is the story I'd write, too, until I looked at the Twins' season splits. The splits reveal the Twins to be near the middle of the pack or a little worse in almost every category except one - their winning percentage against losing teams. The Twins are a MLB-best 41-18 when playing sub .500 teams. No other team - not the Yankees or Phillies or Dodgers or Guardians - has been more dominant against losing teams. Combine that with just an average performance against winning teams and the Twins would be in the postseason. Unfortunately, the Twins have struggled against teams north of .500, going just 40-58. Looking at the results month-by-month, it's clear how this has obscured the results this season. Minnesota had a 29-25 record at the end of May and Twins Territory was feeling encouraged about the season. The Twins were 10-0 at that point against the White Sox and Angels, however, and 19-25 against everyone else. June (15-12) was another winning month for the Twins but... they had the good fortune of playing the Athletics in two series, going 6-1. They had a 9-11 record against everyone else. When July and August rolled around, the prevalent patsies of the prior months were not to be found on the schedule. The Twins only played 12 game against teams with losing records in those two months as opposed to 39 games versus teams at or above .500. They throttled the White Sox again, taking 5 of 6, but went 21-24 against the other 14 teams. In September, the now injury-ravaged Twins have looked much less like the schoolyard bullies they were through the end of August. They are only 6-6 this month against the sub .500 teams and an abysmal 2-8 against winning teams. There is no argument that injuries have impacted the Twins' playoff chances. If they had managed to keep dominating the losing teams in September they would have a spot all but clinched. The story the spilt against losing teams tells us, however, is that the Twins overall record before the injuries was propped up by a domination of one particular sad-sack team - the White Sox (12-1). The Twins simply weren't that good against the stronger teams in the league at any point in the season. (A case could be made for how they handled the Royals early in the season, but when it counted most, they swept us.)

I don't know if you've checked the Tigers lately but they're 12-5 over their last 17 games and the losses were all by one run. They're starting to look really legitimate. I could easily see them finishing over .500.

It's hard to believe how fast Mauer's entire career played out in front of us. That felt like a blink of an eye.

Ah, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Twins Daily...

15) Mariners: Jurrangelo Cijntje, SHP, Mississippi State The switch-pitching might sound like a novelty act, but Cijntje has legitimate ability from both sides. His stuff is more electric as a right-hander, and there’s a chance he might focus on that full-time as a Marcus Stroman type. This snaps a streak of three straight high school hitters taken in the first round by the Mariners.

I remember reading the Twins had traded Gary Ward to the Rangers and getting angry. He along with Hrbek, Gaetti and Brunansky formed a really solid middle of the order. We had seen similar moves in '82 when they got rid of Wynegar and (Roger) Erickson and Smalley for a handful of replacement-level players and the inconsistent Ron Davis - although it should be noted Greg Gagne did emerge from that haul. Luckily Smithson and Butcher both had career years in 1984 so Ward was not a frequent topic. In retrospect, the Ward trade reminds me a lot of when the Twins broke up "The Soul Patrol*" sending All-Star Matt Lawton to the Mets for Rick Reed. Lawton, like Ward, would go on to make another All-Star game. (2004, playing for Cleveland.) * Matt Lawton, Torii Hunter, Jacques Jones

"Signed a minor league deal in 2022 with MN and has worked effortlessly to become an All-Star." Seems like a very zen approach. Somehow, I don't think that's what Twins Talk meant to write.

Rocco Baldelli breaking the news to Willi: https://www.startribune.com/twins-utilityman-willi-castro-american-league-all-star-carlos-correa-injury-replacement/600380048/

I don't care how they do it, but the Twins absolutely have to find a way to draft Jurrangelo Cijnyje, a BHP out of Mississippi State. (That's not a typo... a BHP)

Twins pitchers today: 11 strikeouts, 0 walks. Twins batters today: 5 strikeouts, 6 walks.

The Guardians have the biggest run differential in the American League. They have a winning record in every conceivable split despite playing the fewest home games in the league. They are 23-12 against teams over .500. This is not a plucky little team standing up to a bully. This IS the bully. They're just winning their fights with refined martial arts while everyone else is just trying to throw haymakers.

You won't believe this! My life coach hit Royce's pet Bergamasco multiple times in her Ford Tempo when she was still doing mezcal. She later told me that Royce showed up to check on her at her trailer, bringing a plate of macarons. He then stayed around to help her bondo over the dents. She was incredibly moved by his indefatigable good nature and now proudly sports an image of Royce tattooed adjacent to Lemmy* of Motörhead in her pantheon of body art. *Interesting note on her Lemmy tattoo - it was ingeniously inked so that his muttonchops utilize her actual body hair.

Wille was such a special player. Imagine being a New York City baseball fan in the 1950s with Mays, Mantle and Duke Snider manning CF for the Giants, Yankees and Dodgers. I always think of that as baseball's golden age. Thanks for the memories, Willie!

I didn't see any references to this being the Gopher State. I suppose there might have been some confusion with this also being the Gopher Ball State. Also, since the Twins brought it up, shouldn't it be: "The Purifying Waters of Lake Minnetonka?"

Teflon Nation believes this is clearly a right vs wrong, smart vs not-so-smart issue. The number of providers has greatly increased from the days when cable was the only viewing option, hence pricing among providers is competitive. Providers won't continue to add unreasonable costs in their standard fee for what is essentially niche-demand programming. RSNs price themselves out of more and more viewing platforms leaving them only available to a fraction of their potential customers. Ad revenues fall, etc. etc. If RSNs are to survive they need to do it as a premium add-on available on as many cable providers and streaming platforms as possible. RSNs then make their money through saturation - by being available on every imaginable service in their teams' territories and reaching every potential customer who wants to subscribe. If it turns out the RSN's can't make money doing this, then perhaps it's time they follow Red Lobster* into the history books and MLB.com becomes the singular provider. * Teflon feels remorseful for eating all those shrimp on "All You Can Eat" shrimp night.