Platoon

There are so few plain to see, easy to discuss looks inside a managers mindset. The bunting is one. I am not against sac bunting. But there are a lot of caveats, most of them related to the inning, who's AB, who's next, score, location, and opponent of that day's contest. I cannot fathom one that would include a sac bunt in the first 7 innings, let alone early on, or by my 3 hitter. This indicates someone who plays for one run, while owning a pretty poor pitching staff. Odd! Pulling the IF in early seems to give the same impression. Lastly, IF Molitor had say, 3 stellar RP? What's to make anyone think he won't turn them into toast before the trade deadline? Sometimes in a 162 game season, you have to walk away from a game, and let pitchers have that day off. He talks about it, but his game time actions dispute his talk. The team had a nice year, but bringing him back because of the W/L record ignores the fact that this was a weak division, and that when we stuck our heads above the .500 level opponents, we didn't exactly strike fear in anyone's heart.

So many memories! And all bad..... You are so right about the Blair Walsh miss. I turned to my wife, and told her he would miss it. It was like it was pre-ordained!

This. This. And, this!

If that's why Perk goes out, to be with family instead of hangin around for a couple more poor years, good for him. And good for Radke. Neither will ever live long enough to spend all the money they made, but they will now get to enjoy their family. While the money is great, the lifestyle of a MLB player has to be that of a well paid long haul trucker! Good for Perk. As for the Tigers Romine pitching to Sano? I really doubt that Detroit, even if they had considered it, viewed their visit to Mpls as a chance to prepare the Monnesota Twins for the playoffs.

He definitely had the arm and the psyche to be a high leverage situation RP. He was one of the few Twins pitchers in years who had the ability to get a SO in a tough spot late in a game.

Another blogger who I read regularly and is a metrics disciple says that you now place your best hitter in the two hole. That the temporary theory of him in the one spot and hitting the pitcher 8th in the NL has fallen out of vogue. I would imagine that Mauer is the Twins best hitter this year. Someone else may do more damage with one swing of the bat, but that bat will be easier to miss than Mauers. The offense does not surprise me. The precious regime put offense over defense almost exclusively. EE is still here because he could hit a little better than a lot of other utility guys. He certainly is not a defensive whiz. Dozier and Polanco are bat first players. As was Rosario through MiLB. This teams hitting will only improve. It will eventually be an awesome offense. But the real reason it has surged since Aug 19th? It's most likely the tour made through the dregs of the AL.

Let's ask these questions. If the Twins had not made this deadline trades, or giveaways to some, would they have finished higher? Caught NY? Caught Cleveland? We ended up further than anyone thought. We will play NY in NY. And while it's going to be very difficult not to have Garcia pitch for us, the main issue will be if we get ahead and don't have Kintzler to close. Or Perkins? Or Joe Nathan? Garcia was almost a reclamation project traded to a team more desperate and well heeled than us. Kintzler was a ground ball pitch to contact closer. The truth is while he had a nice run, and seemed to have the psyche to close, if Brandon Kintzler is the best your bullpen has to offer, you have pitching issues. I don't want us to just hang around every year hoping for the ducks to line up for a second WC chance. I want us to be at the top, looking down at the peons hoping for someone else to lose 6 games in a row so they can call themselves a playoff team. I hope that's what Falvine are looking for. Otherwise, even if they keep adding "playoff" spots, crappy baseball is still crappy baseball.

I had no problem with trading Garcia or Kintztler. Garcia has been barely serviceable. And as stated Kintzler was never at a higher value. But he did have a trade value. He was a seventh inning guy in a closers role. Sooner or later that was going to catch up with him. Add that to the free agency, and the teams status at the time of the trade, and I cannot see the angst over the trade. The chance for the return was too good to pass up. For years this team refused to move marginal players during a career year. Sell high was not in their lexicon. I for one welcome the change in philosophy.

I won't try and look it up, but I will admit I did not know you could completely rebuild your roster between the WC game and the next series. If so, this is quite the idea. I do like the Vargas Duffey switch for this reason. While you may get into a spot where a long ball is your only hope, you will never get into a spot where Duffey is your only hope. I loved your outside the box thinking.

Not sure about the kerfuffle over this article. He issued an early note that this could be about other teams, not just the Twins. He raised both sides of the issue, and asked for an opinion. And he made some interesting, although I am sure previously litigated arguments. Btw, what topic hasn't been previously litigated? Starting with playoff formats. We like math here. And simple math tells us that the more teams allowed in the playoffs, the lower the bar to get there. Regular seasons sort out the best teams, that's also math. The playoffs sort out the "hot" team. If you go back to the old MLB format, you likely get one of the best teams actually winning the WS. But in this day and age of the fickle fan, stadiums would empty in August. The second WC is to sell tickets, nothing more. While I can understand Sullivan's question about a WC winning the WS causing paralysis amongst FO types, I doubt it will happen. These are competitive people, prone to action, driven to succeed, and hoping to keep interest in the product. Stagnation does not sooth them. Basically his article was just an article, something to fill his quota. But, if he wanted to ask what's good for baseball, maybe these questions could have been asked? All the homeruns? Strikeouts? Endless pitching changes? Length of games? Effect of shifts on stats? And how the proliferation of stats amongst us common folk (fans) has altered our perception of the game and our favorite teams. Do these unlimited and endless discussions of stats alter how we feel about a team or a player. A fan and a MLB scout or FO type would seem have two different personnas. One is based on fanaticism and a certain disconnect from reality. The other should be a cold blooded analytical deal maker. It seems to me that the blurring of those lines makes it that much harder for some to accept that the Twins will indeed be a playoff team. The underlying numbers don't support that fact. So instead of looking at your favorite players and knowing they have as good a chance as anyone, you look at all the numbers that say they don't. And nothing ruins a good buzz like reality!

What I don't like about Molitors bunting is the situations he often bunts in. I am not dead set against bunting, but he doesn't seem to have a filter for it. He bunts anyone, anytime,against any team, in any inning. There are a lot of variables to consider, but he seems to do it by simple reflex. And as I have mentioned before, he does the same with pulling the IF in. Late in a game I would consider a bunt with someone on second and no outs, depending on which two hitters are coming up next. But I wouldn't make that move in the second inning. He might, and has. While the percentages would be the same, the game result will not be.

That would depend a lot on your bullpen?

Doomtints brought up an interesting observation I have also contemplated. Molitor is continually saying "I" decided..........., blah blah blah. While to me it seems it's his ego talking., one of two things have to be true. Either Falvine are abdicating their roster responsibilities and Molitor is actually in charge of all personnel issues, or Molitor is full of himself. He could solve that by simply using the word "we" on occasion. I would like to see him gone. Regardless of metrics, if you sac bunt you are playing for one run. And anyone who has this pitching staff and plays for one run, often as early as he does, has no feel for the game, or his roster. Lastly, I also have never seen anyone bring the IF in as early in a game as he does. While it hasn't been as big a disaster as it could have been, raising batting averages by about 100 points with a drawn in IF will sooner or later bite you on the same place he likes to see Vargas play!

After Santana there seems to be convincing arguments for any one of 4 other starters. Not many teams can boast having four #2 level SP on the same roster. . Meaning, anyone you pick is a crapshoot. My roll of the dice would be Gibson then Berrios. Gibsons mental approach seems better, but will the new mentality stand up to the bright lights? If he can get off to a good start he has a better chance than Berrios to get into the 6th inning. The fact that Colon is even considered an outside option, sets the level of the staff at a fairly low point.

It's going to be an interesting situation. MOY or not. While I imagine the Pohlad Protection Policy no longer is in total effect, the remnants of it linger over Falvines head. I would love to see Molitor gone, and since there has not been an iota of leaked speculation about a contract extension of him, it would seem Falvine does also. They have let him dangle in the breeze as a lame duck all year. I wonder if they feel a little like Mark Coyle and the U of M president when the Gophers won their bowl game, and they had already decided to fire the coach? The looks on their faces after the game was priceless.

You are correct. Rosario and Sano games in 2015 helped get them to where they are now. That extra experience helped. (Sanos injury noted). Even Mauer sits against some really tough lefties. But Kepler is currently more or less a straight platoon. Lastly there is this thought. Andrianoza (sp) is a supposed defensive whiz, who can't hit enough to play SS, the supreme defensive position in baseball. But he can hit enough to play LF, the position where the Twins hide outfielders they think can hit, but not field. Those two thoughts do not equate.

Some look at this season as a playoff run. And some take the longer view. Could the FO have done more to make THIS years team a little better? You betcha! But it would have come at the expense of next year, and the years that follow. For reference see the 20 win May of 2015. It caused a faux playoff which certainly cost playing time for some rookies and likely set this group back close to a year with missed playing time for guys who are now expected to be the leading core. At this time with this team the future should still be the focus. If we stumble backwards into a WC game, yippee. But it's the guys like Kepler who will get us past that level in the future, not a utility IF playing LF.

If you make the playoffs you are a playoff team. Some seasons are different than others. The increased pressure on the players during this "run" is good experience. And even if they back in, as seems likely, a one game shot is a better chance to advance than a 5 gamer. Are they a "good" team. Not really. But, this will end up defining the change in management. The old regime would have celebrated being again a playoff team, cranked up the ad campaign and raised ticket prices. Rumors of pitching acquisitions would have fueled the hot stove. But in the end, nothing of significance to move to the next level would have occurred. Just the facts that they tried to move Dozier for pitching last year, and whether some like it or not decided that the quality wasn't there to buy in July makes me think that Falvine knows this group still needs a lot of help. Now we see if they can complete the roster, or not. What happens this winter will far more impact this team than anything else has in years.

I was not in the group who thought they were that bad. And I had lots of issues with Gardy, a few less with TK. Baseball is really in the eyes of the beholder, maybe more than most sports. But I always thought these guys had two things. A formula for pen usage, and the desire and fortitude to not abuse their best arms. They looked long term, Molitor has looked short term for all three years. Even last year, he was trying to win single games at the end of the year, when in actuality his template with those players and that record should have been as a MiLB manager developing talent.

I didn't have the ambition to read the article. Did it mention whether Stiel or Falvine made the call? I will check back when we hit pg. 13. . Moderators please note: I do not know how to post a "tongue firmly in cheek" gif! .

I have saw nothing to make me think that Molitor would be any better a manger with a good pen than this one. If he had a couple dominant relief pitchers he would likely fry them to a crisp by August. Good managers know that somedays you just take a loss and live for another day. It's a long season. He can't seem to do that. As for the bunting? It's getting so obsessive, some fans should consider turning it into a drinking game.

CC didn't like bunting against him when he was young and, er, not svelte. He always was slow afoot and a lousy fielder. Also short tempered. Eventually you would get one in the ribs if you kept it up. Is that ok? It may not be, but your ribs won't care.

Passed balls are as someone said are often the result of a crossed sign. My problem with Giminez, and somewhat with Castro is blocking pitches. There were at least two in the last half of the game last night that Giminez didn't "sit on". He just tried to short hop them, with men on base. Really bad mechanics. And in that stretch he cost Pressley? a strike out when he fumbled the low FB. You have to do an awful lot of hitting to make up for an evening like that.

Thanks. I don't have the time right now to peruse the whole thing, but I would like to say this: I don't expect any manager to be able to delve completely into all the stats involving all the scenarios between every pitch or batter. But I would expect a manager to show some semblance of recognition of score, pitcher, situation, game location, BP, etc. Not just simply bunt endlessly. Given a late opportunity however slight against a dominant pen, to get ahead, you better go for the kill. The future in the 8th and 9th innings (Chapman) ain't bright! Add your own pens likely inability to hold the other team in check, and it's actually dismal.

Let's say Garcia threw around 90 pitches. I see two called strikes off the corner, and one that clipped the corner. I see one strike called a ball. During the GT there were a few comments about the very large strike zone employed last night? Not as large as advertised? The difference in the game was Chapman. His stuff is ridiculous. A question on the "win probability"? Does that drop in percentage soley relate to the chance to win? Or the chance to tie? Or both. There's an old baseball axiom, play to win on the road and tie at home. We played to tie.