HarmonK03

It's usually the second inning he pitches. I don't think he should be a multi inning guy.

It was the right call, he hesitated, looked at the dugout then tapped his helmet.

Someone tell Gray it is not against the rules to take a pitch.

Great job by our All Star SS.

How are Lee, Lewis and Keaschall any different from the beginning of the season? If they were good enough to start the season at their positions and haven't regressed defensively, then why make the change now. Especially with no real upgrades at their positions. It was change for change sake. These changes should have been made at the beginning of the season or next off-season bring in better performing players to replace them. There is no plan and tonight's lineup further illustrates this.

This is just roster mismanagement and they want us to believe they are a contender. If you don't want to play Fedko, call up someone you will use. We are basically playing with a one man bench tonight.

Why are Fedko and Martin on the roster, start one of them in CF and keep Kreidler at SS. I thought they valued defense but then put Gray at SS, could've just kept Lee there if he is the answer.

A career .150 hitter is the talent he should be working with.

I am still baffled by this move. If feels like they are giving up on him to a certain extent. He has had a years worth of games at 2B. He has had some good games and to me it looks like he is thinking and not reacting. The best way to solve that is reps. For those who say he should be sent down to work on his defense, what can they do in AAA that our major league staff can't. I think they need to show more patience especially when there is not a clear replacement. Clemens should be in a utility role moving around to get his bat in the lineup while he is producing. Is there any kind of plan for this team, they have completely remade the infield barely halfway into the season. Defensively no one regressed at their position, they didn't improve but I don't feel there was regression. So then why weren't these moves made at the beginning of the season or better yet wait until of this season. Not to mention as others have we have at least 6 corner outfielders that are going to pushing up for at least a look between now and the end of 2027. So you add another player to that mix, where again is the plan. Not every player is a finished product and he did look better playing next to Kreidler, you can't totally dismiss the instability at SS and the impact on Keaschall. He has the athleticism and his arm probably plays best at second. It would be nice if we could develop more than one or two players to be productive starters in the majors. But part of that is showing patience, something that has been in short supply with many of the younger players under the Falvey regime. And even though Falvey is gone, all the supporting cast is still there and they are not operating much differently than in the past.

What exactly is the plan for Rojas. I get letting him only throw 2 innings and 50 pitches on Tuesday as it was only his second outing back from the IL. But then today he only threw 33 pitches, if they are ramping him up to be a starter why not let him go another 1 or 2 innings. Like everything with this team, do they have any kind of plan, or do they just sit and wing it day by day.

This is a learning curve for Paredes like any young pitcher and I hope and think he can figure it out. I just saw the Rockies play two games against Boston and they are a free swinging team, they are up there to take their hacks. So it was a good team for Paredes to face.

I like Kreidler's defense and he has had a good streak at the plate in the last week. At the end of May, he played a seven game stretch that he started every game and was 4 for 18. Does he get exposed playing more, who knows but can he really turn from .150 hitter into even a .200 hitter. I am not sure I want to hold back one of our top two prospects to see if he can sustain it. Even the Twins aren't buying into him, he didn't make the team out of camp and they started Gray two of the three games this weekend. I prefer him over Gray but we will see what they do in Houston facing all right handed pitching. There is no perfect moment to bring up a prospect but when you have two journeymen ahead of him, if he proves he is healthy he should be up here. Don't hold him back because of a one week stretch of good games from Kreidler. Keep Kreidler as the utility and send Gray packing.

There's your problem, make Gomez the closer until he shows he can't do it.

Gomez is your best option to close out the 9th inning or do you want to wait until Banda gives another home run to tie it up. This was overthinking it at its finest, there was no way Banda should have been out there to face RH hitters. And the only reason Banda came out was because of injury.

Apples and oranges, Bell is a DH only and a very streaky hitter, who wants to take that on. There was a limited market for him this offseason, only Falvey bit. You will be lucky to get a Rookie league or Low A player for him.

At least until Culpepper is ready, hopefully after the All-Star break.

Just ask the Nationals how easy is it trade Bell at the trade deadline, they couldn't do it last year. The only hope would be that Falvey gets a job between now and the trade deadline and we could probably convince him to take him. We are stuck with him unless he is DFA'd.

So do you want Banda facing RH hitters or Gomez facing LH hitters. Banda has historically struggled with RH hitters, even though he has had more success this year. Morneau is turning into another Bremer where he will rubber stamp whatever the Twins strategy is, so I am not sure that is a good reference point for validation.

First you say Tom P. was self appointed, that is not true. The Twins are a family run organization and they made the decision to make Tom the executive owner. How the family dynamics in this played out, none of us will truly know the answer. You ask the question of will the deadline define him. In what way, does he need to green light Zoll to add $50m or $100m for the payroll. Zoll should be leading the direction of the deadline moves and convince Tom P of why it is the correct direction short or long term for the Twins. Tom P. is not out there scouting players or I would venture is he capable of truly assessing the abilities of the current in an objective manner. What Tom P. needs to do is get a true experienced baseball person that understands both the scouting and evaluating side and how to mix analytics as support to guide this organization until he hires a permanent head of baseball. I do not believe Zoll is up for it and I think this deadline will define him more than Tom P. I don't want to see any major moves from this team at the deadline, they are not a true contender and they need an overhaul on the baseball side of the operation.

Per Gleeman Derek Shelton said he stuck with left-hander Anthony Banda to begin the ninth inning because he wanted to keep lefty bats Jake McCarthy and Mickey Moniak on Colorado's bench. If Shelton and Zoll are going to continue to be obsessed with the side batters hit or the arms they throw with, we will never win consistently. In some situations it makes sense to match up, but not every situation. There are times you go with your best option, didn't Gomez get one of those two hitters out that he was trying to avoid. I do believe this is an organizational direction and Shelton may or may not believe it but he follows it. It feels like he did less earlier in the season but is now following the company line.

And Gomez just showed why Shelton's decision was foolish to start Banda in the 9th, not because he was hurt but because he was not the best option.

Why was Banda even out there to start the 9th. This is Shelty overthinking it again. Right now Gomez is your best option, you win or lose with your best option.

I have heard this about Minneapolis multiple times over 40 years, I don't agree with your narrative that it is current politics. It also depends upon your background and where you live, outstate vs. suburban can be part of it as well.

Let me clarify when I say city leadership I meant city hall and business leaders both working together. It is in the best interests of the businesses to have people want to come downtown. I do not agree that perception is political, people have to want to go someplace and if they don't feel it is safe they won't. I am not saying I totally agree with that because in my opinion Minneapolis is no different than any other big city, there are parts you stay away from and most of the other parts if you mind your own business you will be just fine. But just telling people it is safe isn't working and I have seen this playbook for over 40 years. When they have shown concrete actions that make people feel safe they come downtown.

I didn't bring politics into this thread and I don't think this is the place for it. I talked about city leadership, not political party.