TwinsCD

At this point, I'll be happy with 20 wins TOTAL for the season.

Not sure what some of these guys are using as their approach when they go to the plate but it's pretty f-ing terrible. Bruno needs to sit a few of these guys down (Bux, Sano especially) and drill into them what a strike looks like and to swing at it and what a strike doesn't look like and to not swing at it. Yeah, easy to say when you're sitting on a leather couch but these first 4 games have been a comical, pathetic effort.

Welp, that was a colossal fail with 2 outs and nobody on. But just in time for the national title game. Get em Wednesday.

Hmmmm, I remember advocating May to be the 7th/8th inning guy a la what the Royals were doing with their staff. /vindicated (at least in game 1)

Not a very patient at-bat by Eddie in a big spot there.

I'm surprised that Buck didn't come out and at least question that foul out. The ball hit the fan's hand before it was caught and he could make a case for interference and send Park back to 3rd base. I'd have to get my rulebook out for that one but I think he'd have a case. Glad he didn't think of it.

Sano still swinging for the fences on just about every pitch. Yep, these seem to be roughly the same Twins I left back in September. =)

Hopefully he pitches A-good.

I hardly paid much attention to these guys in spring training because of my work with golf and watching college basketball, etc. But it's nice to see Fien still sucks.

That was a good read, thanks for sharing. Plenty of memories came flooding back as I read it. I grew up in Pennsylvania and somehow got hooked on the Twins in 85-86 as a 10-year-old after seeing them play on TV against the Orioles or the Yankees, can't remember which (we were in a part of Central PA that could get both teams' home games) and just really enjoying the way Puck and the rest of those guys played. Back then, it was a bit more difficult to get Twins merchandise in Pennsylvania but I had a shirt during the 87 Championship run. 1st Twins game I attended was a 1990 game at Baltimore and Puck hit a pair of dingers in that game. In 91, I threw a huge temper tantrum after they got blown out in Game 5 by the Braves and thought all was lost and that they had screwed up a great opportunity. As a Penn State football season ticket holder at the time, I went to that game on the day of Game 6 (it was a 3:30 start) and listened to the game on the radio, urging my dad to drive home faster and got inside just in time for the beginning of the top of the 11th. In 1996, there was so much excitement because of the signing of Molitor and that this was going to be the year that they at least get the WC and get back into the playoffs. Then Puck gets the glaucoma. He had his eye treatments at St. Joe's outside Baltimore which was right across the street from where I was going to college at Towson. Yes, I considered paying a visit...never did. Later in '96, Puck was being honored in Williamsport at the Little League World Series. I wore my Puckett jersey and hoped to get him to autograph it. Instead, I got to shake his hand and he thanked me. Crap, I'm the one that should have been thanking him...for all of those great moments and excitement he brought me and the fans on the baseball field. The day I heard the announcement of his passing, I was eating dinner and just dropped my fork and stared off into space for I don't remember how long. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years. It's hard to believe it's been 20+ since he was dazzling us on the diamond. I had forgotten that today was the day so I guess it was either a higher power or just plain dumb luck that I wore a Twins golf shirt to work today. RIP Puck, we'll never forget ya.

When I caught wind of this trade yesterday afternoon, I was pretty surprised. While Hicks's season (minus July) was mediocre at best, I felt like he used that July tear to finally show us glimpses of what he could really do. His at-bats seemed to get better as the season went along and I didn't feel like he was the consistent disappointment at the plate that he had been up until July happened. I also agree with those who say this weakens the Twins Opening Day outfield strength. I'm not sure Bux is ready quite yet. And I definitely don't want to see him become Hicks 2.0. Rosario is now the best we got and I prefer him in a corner spot rather than in center. So Rosario in left, Bux in right (for lack of a better alternative), and Sano in right? That could be theatrical and comical. Do we even have anything to go on with Sano in the outfield? As for the catcher situation, the only thing I know about Murphy is the HR he hit off of Perkins on A-Fraud Hat Trick Night. My brother is a Yankees fan and we were talking last night and he liked Murphy's game and that he would be adequate and dependable. OK, great, the Twins didn't get a lemon. But for those of you that have a Wieters or a Lucroy or a Pierzynski (why?) on your wish list, is it possible that a) the price is too high, b ) Ryan has already floated those guys and couldn't get an agreement, and/or c) those players just don't want to come to Minnesota? I'd love to pretend to be a fantasy GM and cherry pick a top-line starter and a top-10 catcher and a power-hitting middle infielder during this offseason but this is real life and unless you're tapping Ryan's phones, you really have no idea what he's been trying to negotiate or deals he's trying to swing.

Not gonna try to speculate on trades or FA signings. That will just make my head hurt and frankly, I don't know who's available. Also, I don't know the contract status of any of our players so I may be listing guys who are upcoming free agents. C -- Suzuki 1B -- Mauer 2B -- Dozier SS -- Escobar 3B -- Plouffe LF -- Rosario CF -- Buxton RF -- Hicks DH -- Sano Off bench -- Nunez, Kepler, Vargas, catcher to be named later (bye bye Hermann and Fryer) Pitchers: Starters -- Hughes, Gibson, Berrios, Duffey, Santana Relievers -- Perkins, Jepsen, May, Meyer, Milone, Tonkin, Fien Hopeful offseason moves: --A #1 catcher. That would push Suzuki to #2 status and that would be a lot more palatable than some of the #2 options we've had since Ramos was traded away --Don't care if it takes a trade for a bucket of wet baseballs and a pile of broken bats, GET RID OF NOLASCO. His 2-game trial here in the last weekend was just a microcosm of his career with the Twins. How in the heck did he win 5 games this season? --I wonder what we could land in the pitching department if we dangled Perkins and/or Gibson and/or Milone on the trade market. While I like the idea of a May/Perkins/Jepsen 7th-8th-9th rotation, I'm not all that confident that those 5 starters I have listed would be any better than what we trotted out this year. --As far as minor league development, I would like to see Polanco taking that next step that Buxton and Sano did so that he is on the cusp of being brought to the big club. And if Arcia shows no signs of getting his act together, get something for him.

If you had told me on April 1 that I'd have meaningful baseball to watch in October, I'd have summoned the whitecoats to haul you away. From the emergence of Sano and Rosario to the continued consistency of Dozier and the hopeful promise of Buxton and Escobar and Hicks, there's a lot to look forward to for the 2016 season as far as the offensive side. The field staff took a lot of questionable puzzle pieces and was able to put together a winning season, something that a large minority of people even dreamed they'd do. And I know that he became an occasional whipping boy this year but Torii Hunter was a key cog in what these guys were able to do. They were 1-6 and barely able to score and he brought them together, told them to go out there and have some fun and play loose, and then things began to get better. For his reduced ability in right field, you still can't argue with a 22 HR season from a 40-year-old. Great signing by TR to bring that type of leadership back for this season. I think he's a part-time player next year if he stays on the team but he brought the kind of voice these guys needed that Mauer doesn't have in his personality to provide.

I said it when the inning started -- appropriate that the season ends with the worst reliever on the roster as the culprit. And that was the right call on the Cain play. Cain has to be in fair territory to touch the bag somehow. If that's 20 feet closer to home plate, then yes, that's interference. And that's all she wrote. Great season guys. Hope it's a foundation for a lot of fun the next couple of years.

MLB Network just flashed a stat on their bottom line saying Perkins has a 7+ ERA since the All-Star Game. You think of the game he blew against the A's, allowing the 3rd HR to A-Fraud at home in July, and his other meltdowns, instead of being the fire extinguisher, he became the gasoline. Closers can't have that kind of ERA and he lost his job as a result of it.

For a first-year manager to come in to a stale environment where losing was becoming the norm and to work with this mix of players to cobble together a winning record, I'd give Molitor at least a B. Hell, if it wasn't for Hinch's job in Houston, Mollie could very well be the AL Manager of the Year. This team exceeded just about every expectation (most had them as the 3rd worst team in all of baseball back in March). Yes, he had some interesting decisions with bullpen personnel or who he had to pinch hit but given the groceries in the cabinet, I think he did pretty well with what he had...for a first-year manager. If you want to tell me that Stengel or Sparky or LaRussa were Hall-of-Fame perfect in their first seasons, have at it. Those of you who want to nitpick every blessed move, I don't think you'll ever be satisfied. This year's team set the foundation much like the 2001 team did for the rest of the decade. Management now has to bolster what is there on the field to get them over the top. As we've seen this year, they are a lot closer than we think to being back to a regular playoff team.

Not dead yet but the priest has been summoned. Weren't we 2 down with 3 to go against the Tigers a couple of years ago and they pulled it out? Dumber things have happened but now they still have to win 3 games to get to the playoffs. Nice pitching performance out of Young and when they took Santana out, I went to the kitchen figuring it was May that was going to come in. Was a little surprised to see Perk and then he crapped the bed again.

Haven't been this worked up for a non-Yankees game since 2010. If only I could see this on my TV instead of hoping for no lag on the computer.

Howz aboot we just sweep the Royals and head to New York on Monday? I don't see the Rangers losing all 3 this weekend at home. So that will give them the division. What we need to have happen is the Rangers win all 3 of their games and kick the Angels out completely. Twins can AT WORST get 2 out of 3 against the Royals which would mean the DBacks need to beat the 'Stros 2 out of 3 in AZ. Houston has been bad on the road all year and AZ isn't the tomato can they've been the last couple of years. Given the 1-1 1/2 game glass ceiling we've been tapping on for the last month, it's nice to be in this spot right now. But of course, if the Twins don't win games, none of this will make any difference.

The PERFECT ending to the whole Ramirez thing -- he goes 0-fer at the plate and commits the error that starts the game-winning rally. Nice throw, candy arm. Why don't you flip your glove?? AWESOME comeback win. Now let's sweep the Royals this weekend and let the chips fall where they may.

This was probably the response I most agreed with on here (and nice avatar btw). But reading through this, I wonder how many on here have played a sport and/or have been competitive about it. You don't do what Ramirez did last night. Whether it's your 1st home run, 6th (in his case) home run or your 500th home run. You can watch it as you go down the line, that was fine. But to watch it, slowly jog, and then flip the bat like he's a stinkin' majorette at a football game? No, no chance. The Twins are already ticked that they're losing a near must-win game and then to see that, I totally understand their anger. And what Rosario did as he ran by him after he hit his home run may be enough vigilante justice. I imagine Ramirez probably got a stern talking to in the clubhouse afterwards given how old-school Francona is. If you want to be PC and are part of the participation award crew, then go ahead and be mad at the Twins for getting all uptight about it. But as a competitor and someone who wants to win, that kind of showmanship deserves a pitch between the numbers (preferably when the Twins are up 8-1 and delivered by a pitcher we don't need this weekend).

Other than the missed strike with Gibson earlier, I think he's fine. Carrasco is hitting those corners pretty nicely. He's also leaving a lot of balls in the zone and we're KILLING him now.

Not sure how you call yourself a major league umpire and have that ball go right under your mask (which should be on the inside edge of the plate) and not call that a strike. Us high school umpires ring that stuff up all the time!!

Perhaps they have hotels in South America. It's gonna be summer there soon. (continuing with the nerd alert from earlier in the thread)

Great...now my employer will use this to make me work longer at the office.