chpettit19

He has made those statements. I mean, in the 2 minute clip in this post he calls out both the hitting, and pitching. "Not everything is all up to chance, it's up to us, is what it is. We have our work cut out for us. We're gonna have to, WE have to figure it out, is what we have to do because we aren't playing real well." He's then asked if he's trying to find something to spark the team. Explains that they've tried things, and are still working to find the right thing. I don't know what else fans want. He's used the word "unacceptable" in the past. I just don't understand why any of this would make fans feel better. Some fans want/need big emotional outbursts, players being thrown under the bus, whatever. I don't, and I seriously don't understand what it'd help. If that would make the players play better (I don't know cuz I don't know the players) then that's what he should do, but would anyone be less upset with the Twins play if Rocco was in the media blasting Correa and Buxton everyday? I wouldn't be, but maybe some people would. I just don't get that need.

Yeah, I don't expect the Twins to do anything I'm suggesting. But when your team has played like this one has for 2.5 years now I think it's time to quit doing things the way you're doing them. As for that Toronto series, you kind of proved my point about them being able to pitch back to back days. They pitched back to back days that series, and weren't available for the 3rd game. That's different than not being allowed to pitch back to back days. Pitching back to back days doesn't mean they're throwing 2 games in a row all the time, just that they're allowed to do it when the moment calls for it. And, unless you have 6 high leverage arms, you better get them used to throwing back to back games during the regular season, because they're going to need to do it in the playoffs. It's why I never thought Rogers was an elite arm. He was terrible in back to back situations. In the playoffs you have to be able to use your closer in both game 1 and game 2. If you can't he's not good enough. Being willing to use your best relievers in back to back games during the regular season doesn't have to equal taxing them. I don't understand how having an "abundance of stretch relievers" over-taxes both your starters and your short relievers. If you have 4 guys who can all go multiple innings, and a rotation with at least 3 guys who can go 6 or 7 innings pretty regularly, you shouldn't be over-taxing anyone. If you're getting 6 innings out of Lopez, Ryan, and Ober most of the time you should be able to get 5 out of Gray, and 4 out of Maeda without over-taxing anyone, as long as you have multiple guys who can go multiple innings. It takes a change in mindset, though. You don't need 1 inning guys to throw the 7th, 8th, and 9th. You can use a multi-inning arm to pitch any combination of those innings. The Twins not trusting anyone outside of Duran, Jax, and Stewart is a self-made problem that should've been addressed in the offseason, but wasn't. Only trusting 3 guys to get high leverage outs puts you in a tough spot no matter how the rest of your staff looks. Switching out Moran and Pagan types who aren't trusted for high leverage spots for Headrick and Balazovic types who aren't trusted in high leverage spots just reduces the number of relievers you have to use in a game which allows you to save your Duran, Jax, and Stewart types from having to pitch in the 9th inning of a 9-3 game. Having just a 3 man bullpen is a disaster no matter what.

I get the want of fans to feel like the players, coaches, front office personnel, and owners have the same emotional responses as they do, but, honestly, no, it wouldn't be nice to me if Rocco, or anyone, did that every once in a while. Just not something I need, or think is useful. Unless that's what would motivate certain players on the team. And I don't know whether or not it would. I'd get nothing out of it, but it's Rocco's job to know his players, and what they respond to best. I don't think it's bad that other fans want it, but I don't need it, or particularly understand what it'd do for other fans. But we're all fans in our own way. He "called out" Kepler the other week. By Rocco standards at least. I'm sure some fans enjoyed it. It did nothing for me, and clearly nothing for Kepler's play. I'm just of the belief that if you need to blast your players in the media to get them to throw to the right base, take better ABs, or just play better in general, they're probably not the right players. I don't think championship players need that stuff. I don't think they need to be forced to take BP, or fielding practice, when they need it. That's all minor league stuff to me. If you're graduating players to the bigs who don't know what base to throw to, can't take competitive ABs, or just play sound baseball, to me, it's your minor leagues that are failing. I don't generally like to speak to the amount of "heart" guys play with. I will speak on hustle, bad base running, missed cutoffs, Gallo throwing to home instead of keeping the double play intact, terrible approaches at the plate, etc., but I don't think any of us have nearly enough info to know what kind of "heart" guys have. I don't automatically correlate emotional outbursts to heart. That's certainly how some people show their heart, but it's also entirely possible for people to be enraged, and emotional about their play, without having to show it externally. That's all Rocco's, and the FO's, job. Is a guy just a naturally calm person, but putting in tons of "extra" work, busting his butt every play, and putting his all into things? Is a guy emotionally explosive and verbal about his feelings, but not putting in any "extra" work, busting his butt, or putting his all into things? That's what Rocco is paid to know, and inform the FO about. And, as a fan, I'm not going to assume I know the work guys are putting in based on their displays of emotion I happen to get shown on TV here and there. Ober was very calm about being sent down. Gray is not always calm about getting pulled earlier than he likes. Are we sure Gray cares more, or has more "heart" than Ober? I'm not. That's why I just don't care what any of these guys say, and try not to speak too much about their "heart."

Is that not what he has been saying for weeks? Does anything he really says actually matter? Does it make any of us feel better about this team if Rocco says the exact perfect thing in his pressers? It sure doesn't make me feel any different. He can say literally anything he wants about this team, and what they're doing, but all I care about is what actually happens on the field. My point is that what Rocco says doesn't mean a single, gosh darn thing. Who cares? They've said all the things you're asking for at one time or another this season. Popkins went on the record and said he needs to give the hitters better game plans. Do you feel better since he said it? I just don't get why anyone cares what they say. It doesn't change what happened on the field.

That wasn't what I was talking about. I asked what the other poster wanted the manager to say to the media. They complained that he wasn't saying the right thing. I asked what exactly they thought the manager should say in this situation. Didn't say anything about what they're actually doing. I wasn't suggesting anything contrary to your rant. We know we disagree with having to force major league players to take BP or fielding work. Whether or not the players are doing what's needed to improve tells me a lot about whether I want them on the team or not. I shouldn't have to babysit these guys. But I don't disagree that results matter. I'm fine with them firing everyone today. That wasn't what my post was about, though.

I don't disagree with that at all. Not that any of us would ever expect such a thing. The difference in expectations for owners is a huge part of organizations. The Pohlads and Steinbrenners have very different goals with their teams (or so it seems from the outside at least).

I think this is actually part of why they won't fire Rocco. If you've replaced everyone between you and the problem, and the problem doesn't get better, it's hard to say you're not the one causing the problem. Whether they admit it, even to themselves, or not, I think Rocco is the FO's buffer right now. Replace him midseason, and nothing gets better? Pohlads start looking at you side eyed, and you're the last head left on the chopping block. I'd be less surprised by an offseason change where the FO buys themselves at least 1 more year.

What would you like him to say? He's been saying they're playing terribly for weeks. He's been saying the strikeouts are a problem, and if you're going to K a lot you need to hit the ball hard to counterbalance it for weeks. What else is there to say? I couldn't care less if they fire Rocco today, but what exactly is it you think a manager should be saying in pressers besides "we're not playing well, but we're trying to find ways to get better. Everyone in here knows this isn't good enough, and we're all working to improve?"

To be fair, the above tweet shows they're the 3rd worst team in the American league over the past 1.5 months.

I disagree with the premise that they would, or should, be unavailable the next day. If you can't use your best relievers in back to back games they're not good enough to be the best relievers on a team. Do you want to use them back to back days super frequently? No. But it can, and should, be done from time to time. If you want to win in the playoffs you better have some guys who can throw back to back days. Especially your closer, and fireman. I also don't know why you can't use a multi-inning capable pitcher for 1 inning if needed, or, heaven forbid, to pitch both the 8th and the 9th inning after Ober leaves your hypothetical game. Why not use Headrick to finish off that Ober game and not have to throw either Moran or Pagan? If Headrick is better why can't you use him for 2 innings? Would the Twins actually do it? I don't think so at all. But there's no rule that says you have to throw worse pitchers for 1 inning each instead of using a bulk guy for multiple innings, and still have bulk guys left for the next day.

Oh, I don't expect it to happen at all. My pen right now would be Duran, Jax, and Stewart as 1 inning guys. De Leon and Moran as 1 or 2 inning guys. Headrick, Balazovic, and Maeda as 3/4/5 inning "bulk arms."

League and park adjustments. A .693 OPS in Colorado is different than a .693 OPS in Oakland.

I want more multi-inning arms. Fewer arms who can throw more innings. I'd rather get through 7 or 8 innings with 2 arms instead of 3 or 4.

Do they have 5 guys in high leverage roles now? Why would having more long relievers mean there's more high leverage roles? Who outside of Duran, Jax, and Stewart are really getting high leverage innings now? I wouldn't be replacing anyone above Moran and Pagan in the pecking order so I'm not sure why they'd be moving up. I'd be replacing the guys at the bottom of the pecking order. The current pen is Duran, Stewart, Jax, De Leon, Moran, Pagan, Headrick, Balazovic. I'd replace Pagan with Maeda. That doesn't move anyone up the ladder into higher leverage roles. Just adds a guy who can go more, hopefully better, innings.

I'm not all that excited with either of them in the rotation. Don't trust either to make it through more than 4 innings smoothly. And think they're both way too likely to put way too much on the pen. But I think they do need to see what Maeda has between now and the break. I think 3 starts for him is relatively reasonable to see if he has anything left.

Do I think they'd do that? No. But I wasn't saying what I think they'd do, I was saying what I'd do.

They've been building him up as a starter, and the rumors are that he'd likely start on Friday in Detroit, which, I believe, would be Varland's day. So entirely possible Maeda takes Varland's spot in the rotation.

That's why I was advocating for multiple long men to go into the pen. I'm good with 5 short relievers if you have 4 guys who can go 3/4/5 innings, and your other 4 starters who you expect to go 6/7. I'm only suggesting this for 19 games before the break. If you have to burn one of your long guys send them down and replace them with SWR until the break. I don't expect them to follow this plan, but I think it can be done for 19 games while providing Maeda a chance to show what he can do/build up a little more stamina, and also resting some arms a tiny bit as they get into the break, and will need to lean on the starters even more going into the 2nd half. Lopez wore down last year, and we've already covered the other starters. If you're going to rely on the rotation to carry you you better make sure they're as strong as they can be.

Why would piggybacking starters lead to anything different with the bullpen usage outside of 1 fewer low leverage arm? Why can't Pagan be the one to go away when Maeda comes back? The Twins try to only use Duran, Jax, and Stewart in high leverage spots already, I don't see how that changes with their worst reliever turning into a bulk arm. I don't see how that moves anyone up a rung in the hierarchy. You'd, hopefully, be switching out the bottom rung, not a middle one. Gray, Ryan, Lopez, Ober- True starters allowed to go as deep as they can in a game based on performance that day Maeda, Varland, Headrick, Balazovic- "Bulk" arms that can't be trusted to go more than 4 on a regular basis at this point Moran, De Leon- Mid leverage guys who can go 2 innings if needed Duran, Stewart, Jax- high leverage arms used to finish off games The only change from the bullpen today that I made was switching out Pagan for Maeda. I took a 1 or 2 inning, low leverage arm, and turned it into a 3 or 4 inning, bulk arm. I'd argue switching out Varland for Maeda is the situation that would lead to worse bullpen scenarios involving Pagan and Moran since Maeda likely can't make it through 5 innings with consistency right now. That's putting Archer back in the rotation. I don't think you need to plan a piggyback with Gray, but you better have a bulk guy on hand for every one of his starts. And I'd plan it for Maeda. Unless the idea is to put Headrick into the rotation you're already pretty much advocating for 2 piggyback situations if you want Gray and Maeda in the same rotation. Also, I just said until the all star break. That's 19 games. And Maeda likely won't be up until Friday. So 15 games.

There's still more of this year, though. And they can put a QO on him which would then lead to them getting something in return for him, or him being here next year. Your statement was just to get the best you can for him before the deadline, and I was curious if the other options were intriguing to you as well, or if you were advocating for them to just dump him no matter what.

Why? And what if there's nothing offered that's better than having Gray for the rest of the season, and a #30-35 pick next year?

Like the article said, conflict is healthy. When you have 26 players, and a dozen coaches, all working, and traveling, together from February through September (at a minimum) you're going to have conflict. Even some big conflicts. I don't understand why fans think there shouldn't be, or isn't, conflict in clubhouses. The question is just how the conflict is handled. None of us know what the relationship between Rocco and Gray, or anyone else in the clubhouse, is like. I'd be much more concerned if Gray just put his head down and went to the clubhouse after Rocco took him out. Being willing to speak his mind is a sign that the relationship is healthy, and neither of them were worried about breaking it by being honest. When people stop pushing back it's typically because they've just given up. And that's a far worse situation than a public disagreement like we saw between Rocco and Sonny.

The Twins are 3rd in baseball for innings per start (at least they were as of Friday when I last checked). Sonny Gray has been terrible at going deep into games since 2015. I would've put Sonny out there for the 5th, but I'd also tell Sonny if he wants to stay in and fight deeper into games he needs to quit throwing 20 pitches an inning. Be better and you get to stay in longer. Not too complicated.

I'd argue team building is about process overall, but in season decisions are about results. I think you need sound, and repeatable, processes to build a sustained winner. You're not always going to get the results you want, but, if your processes are good, you get the desired results more often than not. I believe in breaking the season into 3rds (54 games each), and after the 1st third of a season the process for decision making should be about results from that year. 54 games is enough sample size to know what people are that year. Sometimes that sample size tells you a guy needs a tweak, and sometimes it tells you Max Kepler is toast, and no longer MLB worthy. My problem is with their in season process. It seems to be that their in season process is to believe in their offseason process even when in season results don't match. And that's a problem to me. I want a FO to rely on good processes over short-term results, because that's how you build a sustainable winner. Houston, Atlanta, LA, Tampa, etc. are process over results in the macro view as well. It's how good organizations are run. But they're willing to make adjustments off their process in the micro view when the results for certain players just aren't there. That's part of their process. It sure doesn't seem to be part of the Twins process. My best hope for a defense of the FO is that it's money driven, and the Pohlads won't let them eat contracts of a certain size. If that's the case I give a little more leeway to the FO. But I don't think it's the case when you're talking about replacing a guy with a league minimum player. But it's the best answer I can come up with for an explanation.

I don't know that I'd call it hubris like some around here do, but their refusal to accept what's actually happening in a given year vs what they planned for/hoped to happen is mind blowing. Buxton in the 3 hole today. Why? For what reason? Drop him down! If that's going to shatter him mentally to hit 6th instead of 3rd you invested in the wrong guy and you need to ask him to waive his no trade clause.