Platoon

I don't have any specific data to argue yours on the "scoops". But I wondered what a "scoop" is? Any ball in the dirt? And it just does not seem possible that the Twins IF only throw one ball every 4 games into the dirt? I am not saying the data is wrong, but that number seems extraordinary low.

I echo Rosterman in that it makes a difference who you have in the IF in how good a first base glove you should have. Yes, it's a bat first position without a doubt. But in the existing possibility that someone in Twins management still thinks Polanco is a MLB SS, the glove part of the postion does grow somewhat. Hopefully everyone remembers Vargas' play at that corner, and how accepting everyone was of his leather shortcomings. And while his bat never did carry his glove, the comments on his defensive play will likely sound familiar come this summer. I am still trying to get the idea of Robbie Grossman at 1B out of my head. It's doubtful I will be able to sleep tonight, the thought is that disturbing!

Below are Manny Machado's numbers, in an inconvenient format. These seem the numbers you could suffer subpar defense for. While I have always liked Polanco as a hitter, I have never liked him as a defensive player. It's not just th lack of range, and the insufficient arm for the position, it's a generally inability to handle the ball on throws and tags. Sadly I must admit that will follow him to second base. The Twins IF has the potential to be a mess next year. If you would put in place the current pieces you would end up with Sano, Polanco, Forstyhe and Austin. Every one a subpar defender. Toss in (fill in the blank) behind the plate and it will look like an A ball IF. I agree with the above poster: I don't want to see the game filled with 8 guys dragging their bat out to their field in position! If that's the case, I might as well head to the local park to watch slow pitch! SUMMARY 2018 Career WAR 5.7 33.8 AB 632 3720 R 84 522 H 188 1050 BA .297 .282 HR 37 175 RBI 107 513 SB 14 53 OBP .367 .335 SLG .538 .487 OPS .905 .822 OPS+ 146 121

I used to think behind every good man was a woman. Now I find out it's a cop on a motorcycle!

I used to go to work often at 3 am. Talk about colossally stupid. But, it was a good time to see the kids when they came wondering home.

As I write this, Sanos future is clouded by his late night driving escapades. But to address the original piece by Tom.? A backup plan to replace Sano and Buxton. That's in theory a sound idea, and in practice seemingly possible. But what exactly will we be replacing? You can replace last years Sano and Buxton easily, frankly the Twins did with Astudillo, Cave, LaMarre, Kepler, Grossman, Adrainza, et al. You can even upgrade that group a notch or two if you want. What you cannot do is replace what Sano and Buxton were to be. Generational power at third, and a Mike a Trout clone in CF, with better defense. There is no plan for that. Great teams are built on great young talents maturing and fulfilling their promise. Then you fill in around them. Someone to fill in FOR them is not available. If Jake Cave and EE replace Buxton and Sano, you will have competent MLB players standing at those positions. You will also have yet another, at best .500 baseball team. That's sadly an inescapable reality.

The comment about "one look at Sano in spring" was spot on. A Sano at an actual 260 is a different player, whether at first or third. As will be a healthy Buxton in the OF. The team needs a defensive SS so it can move Polanco to second. You cannot win consistently with the middle IF defense they put out there last year. Without kicking Molitor when he is down, anyone interested in the long term health of the team would have stuck Polanco at second base for the last month, to see if he could play the postion better than he does SS. There is an old baseball axiom, if you can hit they will find you a place to play. The guy who came up with that likely never envisioned it would be SS. The Twins don't need as much as some think, they need the players they have to play to their potential. Assuming that Mauer leaves they need a third baseman, a SS, and a backup plan at catcher. Castro is coming off knee surgery, and Garver is simply another player who is playing a defensive position because he can hit. Baseball has changed a lot, but no matter how hard it tries, if you can't catch a baseball when you are in the middle of the diamond, you are not going to win.

The handwriting for this was on the wall from the beginning of the Falvine era. It's highly likely that without Pohlads edict Molitor would have been part of the Falvine regime, ever. That said, I am not unhappy to see him gone. I realize the general consensus is that managers don't win games. But I do believe they lose them. His "it's always the 7th game of the WS" style of managing is not compatible with a 162 game schedule, not is his reliance on approximately half of a bullpen. I know the bottom half of the pen isn't always top flight MLB pitchers, but the managers job is to use those in low leverage, and lost cause situations. His bunting, early in games with a mediocre pitching staff that won't hold up to one run was infuriating. There can be some argument made that he mellowed and modified as to analytics and shifts, so in the eyes of the FO he should have gotten some cred there. But I think the bottom line is he wasn't their guy, he was forced on them, and the MOY award simply extended his tenure a year, and his bank account by two more. Falvine can and will now sink or swim with their own guy. I hope they swim, I am sorely tired of sinking!

Thanks for a well done piece clarifying some long held misconceptions. While I have mentioned this before, I feel it bears repeating. He suffered from Rod Carew disease. I feel one of the reasons so many people fail to appreciate what a rare talent he was, was Mauers rare talent. Playing baseball for him, or for that matter virtually any sport, was so easy that the effects of his abilities were hidden in plain sight. Things other players struggled to do, he simply did. You seldom saw him stumble around under foul pop ups, he simply caught them. Blocking balls, throwing to bases, fielding bunts, picking low throws at 1B were all second nature. There never seemed to be a "Mitch Garver" day behind the plate in his career. I could go on, but I think the best examples of his ease of athleticism was some of the odd plays. The catch behind the screen, the easy way he would backhand ricochets off the limestone, seemingly without looking. All while giving that "Aw Shucks" look. I would think that watching the Twins attempt to replace him for the last 5 years would have cemented his spot on the list of all time catching greats. But maybe the rarity of his talent will take a little longer to sink in. Better late than never.

Thanks Tom for the daily recap. While the Twins made it somewhat difficult to enjoy local baseball for the year, I and many others I am sure, never missed the recaps. Thanks for the season, it was much appreciated. And, if this was the last game for Mauer, well done Joe. There are those who would say that your career was understated. While I am not sure if that is entirely true, there is no doubt that if this was indeed his last game, the retirement celebration was the epitome of understatement. A great fit for a great player. Thanks Joe!

I would like to add one thing. If one thinks that the Twins IF defense has some question marks now, see Polanco, Jorge, think what it will look like next year if MOY persists in his belief that Polanco is an MLB SS, and Mauer isn't their to retrieve 99% of those half hops he tosses over to first?

I hope he retires and enjoys life. It's doubtful he needs the money, and he certainly doesn't need to land hard diving for a ball and end up with more concussion symptoms. Whether he announces it now or later is, I am sure, a deeply personal matter. As for his contract? He earned every penny of it. The Twins competitive issues were never related to Joe Mauers contract. They were the result of an ownership, and a FO, that was more interested in bottom line success than with the teams position in the standings.

I could see the possibility of having Cave as a starting outfielder and Grossman on the roster next year. To see it all I need to do is look at this year. Ugh! Regardless whether Buxton is considered in the equation, Cave needs to be a 4th OF, and RG needs to be playing somewhere else. Or we will remain what we are, indefinitely.

MOY, square pegs in round holes. Hildy is not a closer, Polanco is not a SS.

There must be more. Any defensive metric that leave Robbie The Glove and Buxton only 3 of anything apart needs some explanation. :).

You cannot just go out and get a new team. Therefore I only see one avenue to turn this roster into a competitive team next year. It starts with the players who were supposed to carry us. Sano, Buxton, and Berrios. Assuming Castro is back and healthy, him and Garver are going to have to do. I would hang on to Astudillo this year for insurance, since both Garver and Castro are not a sure thing. I find a defensive SS and move Polanco to second. (He should be there already) if I can field an OF of Rosario, Buxton, and Kepler with Cave the fourth man, I would live with that. Plus Austin plays some OF. I am not a fan of Sano's or Austin's gloves, but I think I would start there if Sano shows up IN SHAPE. A good SS and Polanco playing closer to first will mitigated Austins lack of leather. Robbie leaves and we find another decent corner IF to rotate at DH with Sano and Austin. As usual the bull pen will be a crapshoot, and I still don't like Hildy as a closer. I still would prefer May to close in this current group. Finally they will have to,spend some money on SP. I don't know how else to acquire it. I do look for Romero to be in the rotation. I know this looks a lot like a current roster, but we still need Buxton and Sano to produce. If they don't, this whole team basically implodes, yet again. And finally, for goodness sakes, get a new manager. I cannot stress this enough. Anyone who sees Jorge Polanco as a MLB SS, has no business managing a team in this league!

When Mauer was healthy he was simply one of, if not the best catcher that ever played. I realize that's a subjective view, but simply the fact that it is a legitimate argument says wonders. While his quiet demeanor probably cost him notice, it should not diminish how he excelled at the toughest defensive position in the game, not to speak of an unheard of three batting titles at that position.

Thanks for the recaps, I read them every day. It's hard enough to watch the Twins now, it must be almost impossible to think and post about them. Btw, my birthday is in March, I will be forwarding a pic for you to use on that recap.

This will be a make or break off season for the FO. For better or worse they have chosen a direction, the future is now in their hands. The question really isn't if they can put a contending product on the field next year, the question is can they put an improved product on the field next year? Can they clear the 40 man of some chaff? Can they somehow field a team capable of fundamental baseball. Can they solve the Sano and Buxton dilemma? And can they keep moving legitimate prospects up the chain. Something tells me this is going to be an unsettling year for players currently on the 40 and 25 man rosters. So unsettling that I would not be extremely surprised to see Sano traded.

You do realize that if Molitor stays, and Rogers excels, his left arm will likely fly into the visitors dugout around the Memorial Day weekend! . But taken care of, he does seem the real deal. As for Hildy, Molitor has despite his original statements of a closer audition, settled on Hildenberger. Maybe it will work, but I am not a fan of gimmicky pitchers.

Chief may be 2 or he may be 7? But only if you reverse the numbers, put them next to each other, and then add the 2 and the 7 to that number! .

When you look at Rochester, who would you want on the 40 right now. No one is in danger of being lost, as it can be recalibrated this winter. As to Dozier not being offered an extension or a new contract? Maybe that simply tells us, and BD exactly what it sounds like. Add to that the view that he couldn't wait to get outa here, and it is what it is. As far as for EE, he is just as attainable this winter in this situation,as he was this summer. Pay him, he comes back, don't he doesn't.

I don't see the angst over the trading deadline "sale". We weren't going anywhere, and as we may have noticed there is nothing in Rochester that indicates we are going anywhere next year either. Any talent, if it exists is south of there. There are things that can't be controlled. Injuries, sadly suspensions, and unexpected slumps. These happen to everyone. The issue is what do you do when they happen, and the season is lost. In some aspects they did fine, get what you could for expiring contracted players. But after that you need to use the time to find out what you have, and what you don't. Polanco to me is an example of how not to do this. Once Dozier was gone it was time to move Polanco to second base and let anyone, even Giminez, , play SS. You already know Polanco can't, so you have to find out if he can play second. Garver is another example. WAY to many wasted innings with Wilson and Giminez. These things seem obvious, at least to me. What isn't obvious is who is responsible? Molitor? Or the FO? Something just seems amiss in the coordination of the roster, and the on field playing time. One last thing. Teaching "launch angle" style hitting to players who don't have the natural power to hit the ball consistently into the seats is senseless. I would guarantee it ruins as many hitters as it improves. I think Kepler may be a good example.

I re read your post, and really didn't comprehend the power your lineup envisioned. It's other worldly. But I stand by my belief that overall defense wins over a season. Hitting is simply volatile. Offense is all sports comes and goes, defense is far more consistent.

Forced to make a decision. Hmmmmm In a short series, the sticks. In a season the gloves. Since the pitching is the same. Hitting is volatile and cyclical. Plus hitting stats pile up in big margin wins. Defense is far more consistent.