Trov

I like the approach of using soft toss, real balls, and real bat to hit fielding practice. As a coach that hit grounders to fielders I agree it is not like a real hitter. Will this make a huge difference, no, but it will make a small one I believe. I really fear how bad Sano will be at first. I have long advocated that first base is an underrated important defensive spot. Many think first is just there to catch the ball, which for most part is true in most plays, but they can save so many errors and make outs that many not have been one. In a perfect world the throw will hit the first baseman in the chest every time without a need to stretch. However, all too often even in a routine play the throw may sail some or hit the dirt. A bad first baseman will not catch it, and yes the error goes to the thrower, but a good first baseman will make the play and save the error from happening. In plays were the other infielder makes a good stop but needs to make off balanced rushed throw this increases the chance the throw will be off target. This again will be affected by the guy at first ability to get the out. As much as I love to see Sano hit, I cringe to watch him field, and now he should be involved in most of the ground ball plays and that scares me.

One thing I want to point out, speed does not equal good base runner, and good base runner does not equal speed. That being said, it can help, but good base runners will do little things to help out with any lack of speed. Some speed guys will make mistakes that their speed makes up for. Paul Molitor was always a great base runner, but never known to be a speed guy. Good base runners will read hits quickly to know if they should take off or stay put. Good base runners will know when to steal or when to run on certain out fielders, how to slide. They also know when not to take chances. Buxton for example is not a great base runner, just fast, but he makes mistakes on when he tries to advance bases. Also good base runners know how to approach bases best to cut down distance, some guys will take too big of a round when going through bases and they increase the distance to the next base. Of course, if you are slow, you are slow and you can only do so much to run bases well. However, if you are average speed the little things can make a huge difference. I would not say the Twins lack that much speed overall, but agree they lack much burners. However, in the few games that would go to extra innings I doubt in the grand scheme of things that will make a huge difference. Yes, each game matters and not having a speed guy on 2nd may lead to a loss, but hopefully that will not make the difference between playoffs and not.

If I recall correctly, Cleveland normally starts of slow, and does well later in season. If they start off slow this time it will be an issue for them, but maybe they start off slow because of weather, so that will not be an issue, not sure. I believe Cleveland will go as far as Ramirez will go. He is the main person in their line up that when he is hot, they do well, when not they fall. Their lineup can have no slumps from anyone because they have no offensive depth.

Really, the question is if hitters adjust, will Randy? Only time will tell. That is the true sign of a good player, will they adjust to what others are doing to stop them, or keep going to the well when it is dry?

There defense is terrible, and until a player does it back to back years I am never convinced they will do it each year. They will be better generally I believe, but I believe their defense will hurt them more than people expect.

I am not going to argue where Twins should be on the list, but I agree they should be in top 10. We will play the games and see where it all shakes out. No list will determine the season, the play on the field will. So pumped.

A few comments I have. First, to simply look at WAR and say we won or lost a trade is a pretty simple way of looking at things. It is one way, but it takes out the dynamics of the team at the time of the trade and what they were thinking, or needed. Also, your list does not include the small trades that get done over the years. You bring up Ortiz, and confused on why Kelly is responsible for his departure, but Ortiz came to Twins in a trade for Dave Hollins. Johan came to Twins in a trade, technically. Did we win those trades? What about Brian Buchanan, of the Knoblcoch trade, that got Jason Bartlett, did we win that trade? How about the Eric Milton for Carlos Silva and Nick Punto trade? How about the Lirinano for Escobar trade? These were all younger players that could have had longer careers or did, but you fail to mention them. I would put most if not all into wins for the Twins. Bert was traded back in 86, not sure for who and he went on to pitch a few more years after. Every team will have Trades they win and trades they lose. In hopes both teams get what they wanted out of it. To point to some failed trades, by past GM's to suggest not trading in future is something to do is crazy. Bill Smith made terrible trades in his history, not sure he "won" a single one, part of why he is no longer around. What your trades also do not point out is what may have led to them. Knobloch was forcing the trade. Sure, Twins could have kept him, but they knew they were going to be terrible for a few years so bring in young talent for aging 2nd baseman is not a bad deal. Some of that talent got moved for more talent. The Matt Capps trade was terrible all the way around, but at the time, the belief was Mauer would catch for several more years, blocking Ramos. It did not work out that way, and we most likely could have got more for Ramos, but that was Bill Smith for ya. Johan, was going to walk so get something, we got Gomez, which at the time were criticized for because another OF was ranked higher, who never did much. Yeah, Bill sent him for JJ hardy, which was a fine trade until he compounded for the terrible follow up trade. Again Bill Smith here. Carew said he was not playing again anyways, so again why not get something for him, but when your hands are tied value may not be there in trades. You bring up the recent relief pitcher trades of Presley and Anderson. Anderson was 29 and yet to make the majors, never a top prospect and may fizzle out as quick as he rose up. Presley did well for Houston and maybe he could have helped a tiny bit last year, but we may get more out of the players we brought over, you never know. Hendricks left in 2013, he did not rise to his level until 2019 where was top level closer, so it is not like the second he left he blew up, that is a lot of years replacement level relief pitching. You bring up the CF trades. The Hicks trade was terrible, but he was not doing much with Twins at time of trade. Possible the sand box that is Yankee stadium helped him and new coaching who knows, but yeah it was a loss. Span and Revere may not have worked out as planned but they were traded to make room for Hicks. Only so man positions on the field and sometimes players get traded because no room for them. Some times players get traded because you will not resign them and something better than nothing. Sometimes your team is terrible and you give up a good player now in hopes the prospects work out later. Sometimes you give up a prospect for a short term fix vet. To really evaluate the trades in history you need the full context of them. Sometimes it was just a blunder, sometimes it was a huge find, or sometimes you get what you wanted at the time but regret it later on. It does not mean trades should fully stop, or they should happen more often. They are what they are.

They may steal some games with their offense, but their pitching will let them down more often than not. They were the first super bullpen of the area, now they do not have much. For whatever reason they seem to play us tight though over the years. Normally fun games to watch.

What makes the lineup interesting is how balanced they are. From top to bottom each can hit for some level of power, save a couple. We do not know how the ball will be different this year, but the hard hit rates are still high for many players. Runners should be on base a lot and hitters should get pitches to hit. Previous articles suggest that even with a less juiced ball the Twins hitters should still fare well overall because of hard hit rates.

I am not saying the Dodgers did not use the contract Maeda signed to their advantage, but would not call it "Bush League" to do so. Maeda signed the deal, he did not have to, and he knew the possibility of how it could play out. Same thing with the CBA. Sure the owners have worked the deal to their advantage, and the players are not happy about it, but the deal was made and the teams are working within it. Now collusion is another thing, but collusion requires that teams actually worked together to keep pay down, not that they separately decided that the player was not worth the price they wanted. Just because the player feels they are worth a certain value does not mean the teams agree. Teams have changed their valuation process since the last CBA, that is why there will be a work stoppage because players signed a bad deal that is working against them. They did not have the foresight of how it could be manipulated against them. Maybe their union leader should have thought of those things. It is not like the players were conned or anything, they just did not expect the change in thoughts by teams and evaluating players. The fact that they are opposed to a cap and floor means they want the largest part of the revenue pie, while owners are trying to the same. Both sides trying to get more, instead of sharing in the wealth means the other side will get less. It is like sales generally. Stores will charge varying prices and some people will shop around for cheapest price, or price match, but the store is hoping customers will pay more for same product you can get else where.

It will depend on what the trade was for. It was for cash, then no case, in my opinion, if it was for a portion of his actual pay then they may. Some deals as I understand it call for a part of the actual pay, meaning if the player gets suspended and the player does not get paid that portion, then the trading team saves as well. For example, if the deal was for 50% of the actual pay, then the trading team will save. However, if the deal was for just cash, say 5 mil, and the assumption was to pay for a portion of the contract, the deal for 5 mil would still stand.

I did not watch it, but looking at the lineups I cannot help but thinking either one could have a chance this season, but when you take the best of both the lineup has depth. Defense may be a little bit of a question, but if Buck can get back 100% that will help a ton.

In a short season any team can be a thorn for anyone. A single hot streak for hitters in short series or run of hot pitching may swing this whole season for anyone. I would not take any team light. Detroit will be a terrible team still, but they started out hot last year, it is possible they do it again.

It depends on how many games Joe West umpires. There is not a single series that I can think of where Joe West umpired that Gardy was not ejected at least 1 time, sometimes more than that. Joe West goes out of his way to eject people. I get he is crew chief but I have seen him waddle across the whole field to do it.

I have always been huge on character and chemistry when it comes to baseball. It plays some in other sports, but feel baseball is much larger. You basically spend just about every day with the same people from end of February, to hopefully end of October. No work place are you expected to do that. In other sports the season length may be as long, but there are more off days. I also feel the character of teaching the younger players is always important. Some older guys will not do it, in fear it will cost them jobs down the line, or they just do not like doing it. Some guys just cannot teach very well. However, when you can get a guy that can and does it is great. Coaches can only see so much, and sometimes they may not connect to the player like another player can. I believe the Twins staff do a good job of connecting to players because they do not seem them as a one size fits all and fit our plan or leave kind of approach. They see each player as an individual and understands what works for player A may not work for player B.

The men in the industry that put down her passion or warn her to stay away are more afraid of her success than warning of her failure. They fear that her success will lead to more women coming into the area and taking jobs from the men that feel entitled to it. I am glad she managed to get connected to Bauer, a guy that many think is eccentric in his views, but that may be what led to his decision. He is one that bucks the trends and in this case hopefully it leads to great success for her and paves a path for other women that may have been deterred from the warnings of the fearful men that women will take their jobs. Gender has nothing to be with ones ability to perform her job. The only reason she will be stopped is if the men in the industry block her out of it. Keep knocking down those walls Ms. Luba.

I have to commend her for writing the "I can't afford to play this game" piece. She took a huge risk to do this. She is already a small set of women in baseball, and to write about how bad the minor leagues get exploited. She took a huge risk, and now it looks like she is getting huge rewards for it. She could have been blackballed by MLB for bringing to light about minor league players disrupting the MLB minor league system. She helped break the gender wall, and she took a risk that many before her never were willing to do. Good for her, and I hope great things for her in the future.

I would not say Odo is an "ace" because of his lack of dominance and lack of pitching deep into games. He can have good games and good stretches, but his approach to pitching and lack of dominate out pitch holds him back to be an "ace" in my opinion. He will not give into hitters but also lacks the "out" pitch that aces have. He is a good pitcher and glad to have him, but not sold on him leading a rotation. When I think of aces I think of guys that will dominate for 7 plus innings. Odo goes 5 innings most starts maybe 6 if you are lucky. I bet if we get electronic strike zone he may improve because he loves to nibble the corners and if he is not getting calls his strike to ball ratio goes up, even if he is actually hitting zone. I would be interested to see how often he was throwing strikes not called, and balls that were called strikes. I could be wrong but it seems like he had a lot not called that should have been.

Interesting read. You would never think of pitchers or teams talk about these things even about 5 years ago. I like that the team worked with him and hopefully the pitch will work well for him. Many teams years ago would say his slider is terrible just scrap it and go with the other pitches. Twins now are saying you have great spin, lets find a grip and arm slot that works for you. Makes sense to me to develop pitches that will help, instead of just saying lets stick with what ya got. This may be why Falve and company have managed in past to identify pitchers that others have not. Hope this continues for years to come.

I have been a big fan of Eddie for awhile now. He has always hit well at all levels. He is not the typical guy hitting, with his huge chase rate, but good contact on chases. He is a leader in the club house and loves to come through in big situations. You can point out to several times he stepped up in big situations, but you need to accept the bad with the good. For years, people have stated his defense is below average and his decision making on defense is questionable. He thinks he can make every throw, but sometimes he makes poor choices and runners advance. When hot, the man can carry any team and will be feared by all pitchers, because other than behind him, there is no where you can throw a pitch he may not hit a HR on. I once saw him hit a HR on a ball at his eyes. When cold, he will leave you shaking your head wondering what he was thinking. He is who he is and will never change at this point in his career, no matter how much you ask him too. That being said, the question the Twins need to answer is if they feel they have someone as good, or better, in the system. That includes the impact in the clubhouse, something that I feel goes underrated for both positive or negative impacts. I do not see any long term deal in his future at this point. If he has good season this year the Twins will be up for big choice, tender contract or not. My guess, they will not because he is replaceable on the field, and teams may be looking to save money next year because of unknowns of COVID and fans in seats.

It is interesting, this was talked about awhile ago before the summer camp started as a possibility. They cannot do this long term when rosters get down all the way to 26, but may be worth doing for a week or two. I would hope it is not set in stone though and will be adjusted based on game situation. For example, if the starter goes 5 solid innings, but pitch count is where it is time to go, but teams has a couple run lead. I would hope the regular bullpen would get the nod to secure the win. If however, the starter struggles and hits whatever pitch count at say 3 innings I could see a second starter coming in to hopefully get 3 to 5 innings and save the pen. Then as rosters reduce and the starters go longer the plan would be to do normal games. This could also be a plan of say 1-5 and back up 1-5 based on COVID or injury. Of course it would make sense to move guys up to matchup better, but if they are already set up with days of rest that may not be able to happen. Who knows, I cannot read Rocco's mind.

Mitch Garver against Tigers makes most sense. If Gardy and Anderson have same plan as they did when they were leading the Twins pitchers. They told pitchers not to nibble and make hitters put ball in play to get on. Well Mitch has approach to swing at pitches in middle of plate and not swing at borderline pitches. So the approach for Mitch lines up with Gardy plan. They will throw it right down middle to get ahead, or if they fall behind they will then throw down the middle to not walk someone. You may not be able to defend a walk, but you also cannot defend a ball 10 rows back in stands either.

This kid cannot catch a break. Catches a cleat in the turf. Not making some crazy catch in a scrimmage but a normal catch and hurts himself. I hate to call him injury prone, but pretty sure he has injured every body part at this point in his career. It is not that he has a nagging issue that just does not heal, but something new each time it seems like. This could not have been prevented from telling him to not go all out, from how it was described that he caught a cleat. I hope he comes back quickly for his own sake, not just the Twins.

I agree health will be huge, but so will depth. In normal season, you can live with a a star being out for two to four weeks, sure you may lose a few games because of it, but you have a long season to bounce back. This year, no time to bounce back, the playoff race starts now. Think about, by the time the season starts, we would normally be talking about who is in or out on the trade deadline and which teams are going to try to make a push. I believe that this year the deeper franchises will have the best edge. Also, the front offices and managers that will make the quick changes needed. If someone is in a slump you may need to act much quicker on benching them. In most seasons you can give a guy a month to start hitting, not this time, that is half the season. What will be most interesting is to see how surprise teams that get out to hot starts what they do come September. Do they make changes to improve team for playoffs, or ride it out and see what happens? Teams that expected to be good that struggle do they try to make bold moves? My guess is most teams are going to have a plan this year and not deviate from it much. Teams that expect to be a building year will do that, even if they get out to hot start. They will not change out the players that got them there and let them build. Teams that expect to compete will make quick changes to roster and lineups to avoid getting into deep hole if things go badly to start. Teams that expect to compete will pull starters much faster and treat so many games like must win games, because they pretty much are. In a normal season some games become just throw away games. You can tell you are going to lose so you throw out the bullpen guy that needs to work on something to get beat up. You rest the regulars for the next game. It will be hard for any team that wants to compete to just be willing to accept a loss this year. It will be a fun season to watch I think. I just will try to not get too invested.

First, I find some flaws in the article. Cron and Smoak play same position so no way could have signed both. Also, it would have been at expense of Donaldson, he is better than both at a better defensive position. Cron held his own, but was not amazing defense at first, in my opinion. Keuchel is far from his cy young season, other than that season he has never performed all that great. He was good after that season, but it was his age 27 peak season. He is now 32, coming off of 8-8 with a FIP of 4.72. Sox are not know to be great fielding team. Anderson led league in errors at SS.