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Scathing! Pretty much spelled it out and "here we are".

There's not many weeks when we have 2 days off.

As far as Molly's managing...you can't polish a turd. It won't matter what lineup he throws out there, we are worse than our opponents at well over half of the positions on the field when you combine the defensive and offensive skills of these players. You can't win with that just like you can't polish a turd.

Good news - Twins tickets will be cheap. Bad news - If I take my kids, they might learn how to play bad baseball. What a a dilemna!

As they introduce the players, the music sounded like the theme to Starsky and Hutch or some other 70's TV series.

Why would they walk Arcia with 2 outs? Dude will go up and wave at anything thrown. Wouldn't have surprised me to see him swing at an intentional ball.

Not really a prototypical 3rd baseman. Normally, you'd want some pop there. Not necessarily buying the Sox vastly improved team. Maybe some better, but not a contender as I see it.

OK, I'm trying to stay positive here so how about this? If the Twins play .500 ball the rest of the year, we would finish with 78 wins. 78-84....doesn't sound that bad compared to the previous 4 years does it? Yeah....keep those positive thoughts and puppy pictures coming.

I normally watch most of the Twins games, but after those 3 in Detroit, I'm more excited to watch video highlights of Sano, Hicks, Buxton, whoever than watching the Twins. I just see very few players that seem like they want to be there. Escobar looks like he wants to play...Schaefer not so much. I like Tori getting fired up at Joe West. Give me a guy that takes a bat to the Gatorade container over the guy that just sits there spitting seeds.

What confuses me about the roster is that it was assumed that Tori Hunter would mentor Hicks, Rosario, or whoever was in CF. No chance for that with the current roster. So, why pay 10 mil for a guy to play subpar defense and mentor no one?

"I think he's pressing a bit". That one always drove me nuts. They should be pressing. They should be putting pressure on themselves. You should be putting pressure on them. Push them to get better, or go home. Apparently, being a player friendly coach was more important than winning.

It wouldn't make sense to have Hunter around to mentor Hicks if Hicks is in AAA, so I think he is a given as well. I also am not a fan of Nunez, but I also don't see a better option at this point. A young guy with lots of speed and limited upside would fit the role. Any suggestions...or do you keep Chris Herrmann as a super duper utility role?

I don't have very much confidence in our starting pitching because the numbers show that very few starting pitchers are successful after age 32. Santana and Nolasco are both 32, so my expectations are low.

Am I the only one watching that swing of Hicks from the left side and seeing sooo many flaws? His weight is shifted early, his bottom half is bailing toward first like a left handed curve ball was thrown and his top half is desperately reaching to the third base slide. He'd be lucky get a foul ball on that swing. Granted, it is only one really bad swing, but if my 11 year old swung like that, I'd stop and correct him.

Mr. St. Peter, I would like to hear your assessment of the AL Central team by team. Here is mine: KC - young, hungry, on a roll, using the tools they have to the max (base running, defense, etc.) Detroit - Scherzer a FA, Verlander on the downward slide, not a strong defense. Downward spiral coming with a dried up farm system.. Cleveland - not good, not bad. Just flatlined and I don't see that changing unless they grab a high end pitcher and improve their defense which was not good. Chicago - previous GM sold the farm with the "All In" year that didn't pan out. It will take them a while to restock the shelves. They did catch lightning in a bottle with Abreu and they do have a high end pitcher with Sale. After that....yech! Minnesota - no high end starter to compete with the Scherzers/Sales. Offense is where it needs to be to compete, although Mauer at first is not ideal. Outfield defense needs to improve along with offensive productivity.

I think we can all agree that this team is much better than the team we started the year with!

Lots of good observations/comments. I think us long time Twins fans still recognize good baseball, so I don't think we have become complacent and accepting of the product on the field. I watch, but I haven't been to a game in 2 years because of the product on the field. I see a couple of problems outside of pitching that are tough fixes. Generally, your winning teams are solid on the corners defensively and/or get great offensive production from those spots. Mauer and Plouffe aren't those guys. Mauers offensive production as a catcher was well above average, but is well below average for a 1st baseman/DH. For the last couple of years, we've needed a shortstop that is good defensively and hits above .250. We now have 2 (or at least we think we do). IF Sano is major league ready, the Twins have the question of what to do with Plouffe. If he can play outfield, he could play a role as a superutility guy playing some 3rd and some left/right field. If he can't, what do you do with him? I don't see a future for him with the Twins. Schafer would be a good 4th outfielder, I agree. However, that assumes that Hicks is ready to play left and produce at the plate and that assumes that Buxton is ready for center field. While I would love to agree that we are only a couple of positions away, I can't yet because of all the questions regarding 3rd, CF, and even 1B/DH....and I haven't even gotten to the pitching yet. I will say that I am hopeful for a brighter future...just not convinced that I'll want to buy a ticket next year yet.

OK, specifics....here we go. I don't like an Ozzie hiring. I always thought he was the one guy that Gardy could out manage during a game. Ozzie was a loose cannon with a loose tounge. He threw players under the bus via the press. The only thing he brings is that he speaks Spanish...and that isn't enough for me. Front office: Keep Terry Ryan. I like the moves he's making and the overall direction of the team and organization as a whole. The minors are getting restocked and the team should be better down the road. Managers: Gardy - replace with Molitor Anderson - replace with Cuellar I like the idea of bringing up Jake Mauer to fill in for Molitor in the dugout and/or if Molitor gets tossed (which I can't see happening). I'm also hoping that Jake can give a swift kick whenever Joe needs it....we all need it sometimes. The team: Dozier - solid building block and plays hard. Keeper. Mauer - like it or not, we are stuck with a contract that he cannot live up to at first base or DH. Keep because we have no other choice. No other team will take that contract. Suzuki - I consider him the key to the Twins future. If the young guys are smart, they will take notes from him and his approach to the game. Vargas, Santana, Escobar - keep, keep, keep, learn, learn, learn Esco is our utility without a dropoff. Santana at SS and Vargas/Mauer rotating first/DH Plouffe - on the fence simply because I see no spot for him with Sano coming up and Esco as a utility. I think he should have been traded. Arcia - he's the one weak defensive player that I would keep for his stick which I think will continue to improve. Hicks - I'm willing to give him another chance simply because he is a rare athlete. Buxton - please arrive and be what everyone thinks you can be Schafer - possible 4th OF, but if Plouffe can play a decent OF, he might be out due to Plouffe being a superutility guy. Parm, Nunez,Herrman - No future with the team. Pinto - Hmmm. Needs to catch, but I think it has to be in the bigs and he has to learn from Suzuki. The question is whether he can improve more at AAA or in the bigs playing part time. I say keep him up in the bigs. Pitching: Let's see what spring training brings.