FargoFanMan

Exactly! Also, as a professional sports organization especially in baseball you weren’t expecting any injuries or regressions at the end of a 6 month season? Falvey and Levine are smarter than that. This is billionaire ownership worried about money and that’s sad.

Great article! While everyone from the players, Falvey and Baldelli all said the politically correct thing after the deadline you don’t think they were upset at all? I get that the mentality has to be “Ok, we didn’t get anybody and we have to keep fighting.” And “The front office believes in who we got here.” But now that the thing they were trying to avoid is happening it’s gotta be super frustrating. Also to happen 2 years in a row is crazy. As a player or manager does it start creeping in what could have been? What happens if you got a guy last year to shut down Alvarez and Tucker? Or got a guy at this years deadline that could have come in and secured a few of those blown losses? We know they’ll always say the right thing but they’re human. There’s gotta be doubts lurking in everyone’s minds at this point.

Fair or not they operate under the same model. Maybe not as extreme as Tampa Bay but we witnessed it this last offseason. They traded Corbin Burns for prospects. A few years ago they unloaded Hader at the deadline while they were still in the race. The team was pissed but either you get something for these guys or you lose them for a draft pick. That’s the model. Yes they went big back in the day with Sabathia and Grienke but I think that was a different regime. Tampa Bay unloaded at this deadline while they were still in the race based solely on the price that teams were paying for guys. As an owner do you really want to tell your fan base that you want to run your team like that? If that’s the model then maybe they’re thinking of unloading guys like Lewis, Duran, Castro, Miranda, Jax. Not because they want to but because you’re not willing to sign them and you want value for them now before they become too expensive.Maybe you find a taker for Correa or Pablo? Not because it’s a steal but maybe it offers you salary relief. Is that the message? Cause that’s how those teams operate.

Ehhhh, Aaron Gleeman brought up a very striking stat about this bullpen last week. I don’t recall the exact numbers but I believe it was how many inherited runners this bullpen has let score. The Twins have let something like 45% of inherited runners score which amounted to 20 something runs. The next worst team was like 34%. He stated that that’s the worst rate in like 25 years. That’s unsustainable. Especially in the playoffs where you have to continually protect 1 and 2 run leads night after night against the best lineups in baseball. I’d love nothing more than to be proven wrong and watch this team win a WS. That just seems so far out of the realm of possibility with how they’re playing right now.

Maybe this is all true. Maybe Falvey isn’t the best PBO. Maybe Rocco isn’t the best manager. Maybe. But when the current situation so strongly mirrors 40 years worth of Pohlad ownership over multiple competitive windows only to have the same thing happen I don’t care who the manager is. Or the PBO or the GM. This is a family that continually chooses long term profitability over championships. If Joe Pohlad wants to run the team like Tampa Bay or Milwaukee then that’s what we’ll get. A revolving door of players with no championships. We’ll make the playoffs now and again but never go all in when a strong team comes along. The rebuilds will come and go and so will the so called prospects. Good and bad. But you’ll never have that long run in the playoffs and after the season everyone will say awww shucks and try to make the playoffs again next year with a he same 2-3 stars and a bunch of former prospects. Never go all in. Never make the big trade. Never make the big deal. Sound familiar?

Exactly!!!!

I agree. They were in contention most games. The fact that the overworked bullpen couldn’t lock down a couple of those shows how vulnerable the bullpen is. Those are the kinds of games they’ll be expected to close out in the postseason. If everyone is gassed out now how in the world can they be expected to close out a series worth of those games let alone 4 series’ worth of games? Even if they limp into the playoffs without a major change in how this team is playing they’re DOA come the wild card series.

They are probably pondering that for sure but don’t expect them to use all that savings for anything as far as talent. Think Terry Ryan days and the dumpster diving he would do as far as free agent spending.

Great point! Also, why would a guy like Correa want to stay here? Also, expect some turnover in the front office with one of Falvey or Levine being in a different organization come spring.

Exactly! Look what the royals and guardians did. There was definitely value out there if you explored it! We didn’t need a Juan Soto type blockbuster. Just 2-3 competent moves that help. It’s obvious the front office had their hands more than tied by ownership because there was no wiggle room at all considering they didn’t even make moves on the waiver wire in august when there was value there for a couple million. When I say their hands were tied I’m being very generous. Seems to me it looked like a hostage situation more than a silly Chinese finger trap game. That is truly how sad this whole situation has become for a billion+ dollar franchise.

I hope you’re right. But at this moment these teams are moving in opposite trajectories. Baltimore holds a big part of the future here but let’s be honest. The twins really just need to win these last 3 series. I don’t think they need to sweep the 3 although that would surely secure their spot they at least need to go 6-3 to hold their own fate. Anything below that and they leave their fate to the baseball gods and they’ve never been fair to the Twins.

Paddack won’t be with the twins next year either. He will be traded for anything that relieves them of his salary.

I would agree. Problem is this is 99.9999% going to happen. The rotation right now is what you will see to start next year plus Joe Ryan. As for the bats….think youth in your mind. Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner are your Anthony Santander and David Festa is your Flaherty. The free agents we can look forward to will be minor league signings we hope for big upside on. That’s what we’re looking at for 2025.

Player changes are going to happen in the sense that anyone who is owed a moderate salary is on the block. Paddock, Farmer, Margot, Santana, and Kepler will be gone. Don’t be surprised if they shop guys like Duran and anyone who can bring in youth. The free agent wire will be ice cold. Remember that we have to “Right size” this franchise. There will be a lot of sink or swim experiments next year in the rotation, bullpen and lineup. I predict nothing will change with the coaching staff and either one of Falvey or Levine will be the PBO of a different franchise next year. That’s my crystal ball prediction.

Yes Correa and Buck are back but 2 players can’t carry this team if the rest aren’t playing up to their potential. Plus they’ve been out for how long. The fact that they can’t even bring in a guy like Hector Neris to help the bullpen for a couple million dollars or make a trade to bring in anybody better than Trevor Richards shows that ownership not being able to take on ANY money shows that Falvey and Levine have been hamstrung by ownership. This dark cloud of payroll has hung over this team since last October/November. As soon as the playoffs ended last year there has been this seed growing in the pit of everyone’s stomach. From the mishandled TV fiasco. Barely acting in the off-season. Joe Pohlads “Right Sizing” interview. The in season TV fiasco with comcast. Then, not helping the team at all at the deadline. The front office has shown in the past they’re willing to make moves. The fact that for a billion dollar franchise you’re not willing to take on 5-10 million to help make a push shows that ownership doesn’t care about this team and is out of touch. They took something great in last years run and turned it into a bucket of rotten fruit. Well, it’s come to a head in September of 2024. Also, they didn’t make any moves last year at the deadline. As Twins fans I guess we’re stupid for not seeing the writing on the wall at last years deadline. I think I remember this same thing happening when a different GM was in control in the late 2000’s. A team or maybe just an ownership group unwilling to push a team over the hump with a big move. If history repeats itself we all know how this story plays out. Get ready for a full rebuild in 3-5 years with no WS contender in sight. Remember that playoff contention was always the goal. Not World Series contention.

Kids, don’t make me pull this car over!

The asking prices were going pretty high for average guys. Yet how many prospects do you need when you have a team that’s only a guy or two from being a real threat? Also, it is absolutely disgusting the company line that’s toed with all the talking heads. I understand it’s a business but come on. You’re directly gaslighting people and us “in tune” fans see through the veil. Seems to be the corporate go to nowadays.

Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if it was floated this off-season. Especially if he comes back and keeps up his pace. That would definitely “right size” this franchise!

Would’ve been better used by Bill Pohlad to fund Into the wild 2.

This whole “right size” is a kick in the pants. The payroll limitations after winning your first playoff game and playoff series in 20 years is a kick in the pants. Getting out of a bad TV deal only to again sellout and take the money is a kick in the pants. The whole comcast/diamond sports/TV fiasco is a kick in the pants. Twins front office/ownership looking around with blank looks on their faces and hands in the air wondering why people aren’t coming to games is a kick in the pants. At some point a guy becomes sterile after all those kicks in the pants. If this team doesn’t win it all this year the box office/ season ticket sales may look bleak come 2025. If you’re Falvey do you sign another contract with the Twins?

Are we sure that this isn’t the twilight zone? Or we got trapped in some weird time continuum? Where it’s 2006 and Carl Pohlad still runs the team? Terry Ryan and Bill Smith are still hoarding prospects instead of trying to go all in? The Twins still play in the Metrodome and have self imposed money constraints? Where we have a team that’s on the verge with a few star players in their prime? Let me finish this story for all the twins fans. The players get old and leave in free agency. We trade away one for a bunch of promising young players that don’t live up to expectations. The final nail is the prospects that get hoarded for the next “wave”. They either flame out and never produce a single star player and 5 years later the franchise goes into the dumps only to start again 5 years later. Same story. Different Regime. Same family of owners. The End.

Yep! You hit that one out of the park.

Yep! Time for guys to get healthy and step up! It’s gonna come down to the wire!

Not the same system. Twins system is much better. Apples and oranges. Same 50 grade as gabby Gonzalez. Would’ve liked kikuchi more than the richards.

I don’t believe falveys job is in jeopardy at all. To fans yes. To the pohlads I doubt it. You’re talking about the same family that kept terry ryan around way too long and probably would have kept his job if not for fan and talking head fury. Whether he signs an extension or not is the question. Not whether he gets one or not.