IndianaTwin

Could you please write yourself a reminder to post your first two sentences every week or so? It could save us from a lot of your third paragraph.

Particularly if you are shopping at Dior. 😃

Agree. The Twins seem to have placed an emphasis on character, in their trades, their signings and their drafting. Whether or not there was anything to this, this wasn't the first time Bauer was in the news for a poor choice.

I didn’t have strong feelings either way on Gallo. As you note, he was clearly not performing well. I’ll also note that many on the “dump Gallo” train were also on the “dump Kepler” train and the FO was right on that one. (Many of these folks were also on the “dump Pagan” train, but that’s a different discussion. That discussion really only applies to this one in that the FO got two out of three right when it comes to the players who were consistently the biggest lightning rods for criticism. I tend to assume the FO is smarter than folks on TD (or at least me, anyway).) My primary point was to refute the false narrative of Gallo playing a ton, even after he was underperforming. Last year’s false narrative was the Rocco pulls pitchers too early, and we had to deal with that all off-season.

(I’m responding to this one, but there are several posts that reference Gallo’s playing time, particularly later in the year. It’s also a common theme elsewhere that Gallo played a lot throughout the year. I realize that “a lot” is a relative term, but I don’t think it’s accurate.) Wallner came up for good July 17. He DHed his first two games and then gave Kepler a day off in right. From July 21 on, Gallo started two games in left. After Wallner came up, it was Luplow and Castro (and to a lesser extent, Larnach) who started in left when it wasn’t Wallner. Post all-star break, it was not Gallo that kept Wallner from getting at bats. Gallo got 171 plate appearances after the first of June. He started 38 of their 106 games after the first of June, which is just over one game out of three. Nine of those starts were at 1b in a two-week stretch when Kirilloff first went on the IL. A primary reason Gallo got the number of starts he did was because of his defensive flexibility. He was the only player on the team to start at least six games at four different defensive positions. (Castro started at five different positions, but only twice at short and once in right. Unless I missed someone, no one else started at more than three.) He came in for defensive purposes quite a lot, but the perception that Gallo was anywhere close to a regular starter the last two-thirds of the season is not accurate. You referenced Farmer as a placeholder. I think that’s what Gallo was — it’s just that because of his defensive versatility, he was holding the place for different people at different times. They rode him while he was hot, but they played him a lot less than people suggest over the final two-thirds.

Plenty of big ones and lots of fun ones on the list. I want to pick the Aug. 28 Lewis shot against Cleveland, since I was at the game, but on Sept. 4… on the heels of a walk-off loss in Texas, traveling to Cleveland for a three-game series, up five, but with the possibility of leaving town only up two, and last year’s late-season collapse in our memory, Royce took on Giolito with the bases loaded and said, “Season over.”

I think there are enough internal options, but the obvious advantage of pursuing Bellinger is that you also have your CF insurance for Buxton.

I don't like discussions about what is an "ace," so I don't want to start one on what is a "workhorse," but here's the leaders in innings pitched over the past five years. You have to pay for the totals beyond 25, so I don't know the numbers. Counting 2020 as the .37 season it was, he's averaged 28.4 starts over that time.

The thing is, there doesn't have to be many teams offering 4 years guaranteed. Just one. Out of 30 teams, I think there will be at least one. It won't (and I'm with others in saying it shouldn't) be the Twins.

I read the article as well. Put me in the camp that was saying, "This means nothing," when he was supposedly complaining earlier and talking of retirement. If anything, I registered his "complaints" as a net positive. It told me he was a competitive player who is confident in his ability and wants to take on the challenge. I want a guy on my team who wants the ball when the game's on the line. I'd be more concerned if he was saying, "I was hoping Rocco would come out and pull me." Like others, I think length will be the bigger obstacle than AAV and think it's relatively likely that at least one team out of 30 will be willing to go four years. I don't think the Twins will be one of those, however. RB used the Buxton example as another where folks read more into a situation than was there. Like RB, I think these are both examples of the intangible "culture" the Twins have developed. Ultimately, dollars are going to speak pretty loud, but I think the FO has reached the point where players and agents are going to pick up the phone* when they see Falvey's name on caller ID. *Pick up the phone"? How old is IT? Probably still has rotary dial.

Thanks, folks. A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog inviting feedback for some paint schemes for the wall in a room that has transitioned from our youngest son's bedroom to our office. Alas, he got married and moved to North Carolina -- we like the married part, just wish he didn't live so far from northern Indiana. That post is here: https://twinsdaily.com/blogs/entry/23701-help-design-my-man-cave/ The goal was to combine a Fathead with some shelving to create a space to display the set of Tony Oliva baseball cards I've gathered, along with some others. I invited feedback to the following ideas: And the one I chose was... No. 6. So, next up was using a friend's table saw to rip some MDF board into 5/8" x 5/8" strips, followed by cutting a quarter-inch angled groove to hold the cards. Then Mrs. IT took over, handling the priming and painting. Finally, my brother-in-law, much more adept at such projects than me, helped me stick the Fathead and place and mount the strips. Here's what I got: I'm pretty pleased. Mrs. IT needs to do a little touch-up painting, touching up the screw holes and a few more spots. What you see here are a complete set of Topps, Kelloggs and Hostess Oliva cards on the left, plus a couple extra odds and ends. On the upper right are my Killebrew cards, with Carews underneath. Neither of those are complete. Eventually, I'll tighten them up so I can add some other favorites from over the years -- Hrbek, Puckett, Gaetti, etc. Probably need to get a Wynegar and some others. It may not take long for Lewis to make an appearance on the IT Wall of Fame. And depending on how full I want to make the space, I may also include a few non-Twin favorites and/or legends from over the years, namely Brock, Aaron, Clemente, etc. I don't have any that are particular valuable (and none graded), but on the wall will at least bring more enjoyment than in boxes under the bed. The total space is about 84 inches by 40 inches. Thanks to @Cornholio, @Rod Carews Birthday, @Wyotwinsfan, @davidborton, @DocBauer, @gil4, @nclahammer, @Original_JB, @dcswede, @Khaddie and @Puckett34 for great insights and suggestions. I was originally thinking I'd go with No. 8, but after coming up with a number of mockups, I was starting to lean toward No. 6 by the time I posted. So to get a couple early affirmations of that option helped firm up that decision. Some other comments: There were some good suggestions that would have given it a much more professional feel (and would have been beyond my capability or cost more than I was prepared to spend. A couple folks cautioned about covering up too much of the Fathead. With that encouragement, I did move the strips out a bit. They end up overlapping by about three inches, rather than the six inches I originally planned. I think that was an improvement, so thanks for those suggestions. If I was to do anything different with the layout, I'd give each row another quarter to half inch of space (starting at the bottom) to push the top row up to have even less overlap with the letters. A few people had ideas for some additions, suggesting some autographed photos, Homer Hankies, etc. (And speaking of, I need to track down one of this year's.) I do plan some of those things with the next steps. The exterior wall of the room has about 43 inches on each side of a window, so I'm thinking of putting in a relatively high shelf for the four Wheaties/Kelloggs boxes (still full) from 1987 and 1991. I may do a second shelf with some autographed balls, but I really don't have any significant ones. I do have some other things, however, such as a Rod Carew RC Cola can and an Oliva-signed cap, etc. I'm only a few years from retirement, so I'll need to consider where to go with two jerseys. I'm perhaps the only person on TD with a game-used Travis Miller jersey. I never thought I'd buy a gamer of anyone, but when you're in the team store and see one with your last name on it, it's tough to resist. My congregation gifted me another jersey when transitioned from pastoring there to another ministry opportunity. In total, I have another 10 or so linear feet of wall space on this half the room to use for such things. Mrs. IT gets the other side of the room. So again, thanks. If anyone heads through northern Indiana on the toll road and wants to stop off for a visit, I'd be glad to show it in person! 😃 And while I'm at it, I do have another spot in the house that folks might find interesting. I've been fortunate enough to have been able to combine some work-related travel with vacations and have been to all 30 current stadiums (plus a dozen or so that have been closed)*. I spent some time to create some collages from photos I've taken along the way (plus a handful from the Web of stadiums that I went to before I started taking pictures). Here's what we have in our entry hallway. Each frame is a division, with the teams in alphabetical order from top to bottom. *Lest you think that's impressive, what's more impressive is the amazing Mrs. IT. She's been to 24, even though she's not a baseball fan. When someone asked her about it, her response, "I don't like baseball, but I like some people who like baseball."

Why do we need to jump to finding blame? They won a few. They lost a few. Baseball happens.

One more, and then I'm GONNA pay bills and do some neglected desk work. Regretfully, I do see Farmer as the question mark. I say regretfully, because I like him a lot. I see him as bringing more to the table next year than Urshela would have this year, and isn't this projection a little lower than where Urshela was projected (and ended up). I actually wonder about Gordon as a non-tender. It's easy to assume keeping him because of how cheap he'll be, but I wonder if they might see the roster spot as more valuable. It stinks for him, but with his injury and the amount of progress other guys made, I'm guessing he's pretty far down the depth chart.

Also, it's going to be a long offseason. When they lost last night, I said, "At least I won't spend as much time on Twins Daily the next few months." And now I've just spent an hour on Twins Daily. I'm excited to see how the offseason plays out.

@cjm0926, the one thing I think you're missing in the summary of what you think will happen is the picking up of options. I think the only two decisions to be made there are Polanco and Kepler. You seem to be implying they will be picked up, and I would agree.

@Brock Beauchamp, I'll put in a plug for the calendar portion to be linked at the top of the Forum page.

The price. Not necessarily the AAV, but the number of years. A consistency in this FO's approach is not to box themselves into the corner on contracts. Buxton's contract is long, but very incentive-based. Correa's is six years, but considerably shorter than what was expected to be needed. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Lopez's 4 year extension the longest they've gone for a pitcher? And he's 27, whereas Gray is 33. I think they'll definitely offer the Qualifying Offer and he will definitely reject it. I'm on board with their strategy of not going long, and particularly not with pitchers. I honestly don't think they will go over three years and potentially not more than two. Some team will go at least four and perhaps even five. (Specifically, I'll go on record as predicting, "Gray to the Reds." Prior experience there. Nashville native (and Vanderbilt grad) and known to be a homebody. Tons of roster flexibility and reason to spend with the kind of success they had this year and the number of young position players they have. The Cardinals check many of those boxes as well, but the Reds seem closer to winning. With young guys like Greene, Abbott and others, I could see Gray viewing himself as the grizzled veteran for Cincy like he was for the Twins.)

I think it was the one in the bottom of the fifth, Twins down 5-0. Runners on 1st and 2nd, and Polanco checked his swing on 1-2. Astros claimed it hit his bat and was caught, which would have retired him. Instead, it was called a ball and Polanco worked the count for a walk, loading the bases. It's a call which isn't reviewable (which has its own questions -- why isn't it reviewable?), so Houston couldn't challenge. It was almost imperceptible, but there appeared to be a slight change in direction, and I think (and Hosken and Woof seem to agree) it would have been reversed if Houston could have challenged. Alas, Kepler and Lewis each struck out, but had either of them gone deep and the Twins come back to win, Astros Daily would have had multiple posts about the topic.

Blessings to you in this path, and I'm glad you were able to spend significant time with your dad. I'm coming up on three years since Dad died (Oct. 31), and we plan to move Mom from assisted living to the memory care unit in the next week or so. Mrs. IT has been on a similar journey with her folks. I'm with you -- baseball has been a good distraction from that kind of stuff. Bummed after yesterday's loss? Sure. But there's plenty of other injustices in the world to direct my anger at. I don't need another thing to get mad at, particularly something that I come to for enjoyment.

I think I like this in that Varland can go multiple innings tomorrow if needed.. Jax can more likely give them an inning tomorrow after going 0.2 tonight than Varland can go multiple innings after doing so.

A.J.: Find me a better trade than Josh Fields for Yordan Alvarez. Me: I have one in mind. 🤣

Concur.

The wrong one.

To be as successful as he is at 5’6” and 165, I’m guessing Altuve is one of those guys whose muscles have muscles.