Twodogs

The twins announcers talking about how close the Twins clubhouse is. Bell says its the closest one he has ever been a part of. Is that due to change in leadership??

Man 89 would be an uptick.

Do they bring Ober back out? 89 pitches?

Its early

He might consider not throwing anymore fastballs. Sweepers, sliders, curves. He needs to get below hitting speed since he really can't get above it.

Its weird when you look at it. But there are 7 teams with payrolls lower than the Twins. Pittsburgh, Tampa, Chicago White Sox, Miami, Washington, Cleveland, and St. Louis and they all have winning records?? Only one team with a lower payroll has a losing record, the A's. I'm thinking if a team isnt going to sink big money into payroll with free agents they probably have to sink their big money into scouting and player development?? I mean how does Tampa seem to do it year in and year out?? It has been a lot more fun to watch them lately while they've been competing. Hope they can keep it up with this sort of Hodgepodge group!!

I could listen to those guys all day long. Most of the Twins announcers have me napping by the 4th or 5th inning or so. I was cracking up when they were all making fun of Span when he raised his finger when he thought he just hit a walkoff and the ball got caught on the warning track.

6 games is a lot for one player, not saying it couldn't be 6. But im pretty sure we could go through the schedule right now and find 3 games for sure where he makes the difference. But think about that, if we can flip 3 games the Twins would be above .500???

He played high school and college in St. Paul, I dont think he wanted out. In fact I think he was actually a little upset when he got traded. Unlike Jax who I think may have requested a trade.

Twins dropped him for some reason and now they'd have to offer some sort of trade for him. I don't see any reason to bring him back. Also if they got him they would have to try and clear waivers with him and I think someone could snatch him so it's just not worth it.

They aren't going to get anything for Larnach. They should still trade him for a bucket of balls or something so they can make room for a young guy or two. I mean if you are a playoff caliber team and you need an outfielder/bat, who would you rather have Larnach or Moniak?? They should pick a couple of the young dudes and focus on them and trade one or two of the other young guys also, because they might actually get something good for one of them.

I know, but it seems to me that usually they bring in someone else after a long delay??

Definitely, i mean how hard is it to say I got it, when you are running in and the guy running out looks like he is spinning around in circles?

Just a curious question? How often does a team roll back out the same pitcher after a 53 minute rain delay?

I agree with the fact that the Twins should look to move Larnach and Bell. But no one wanted Bell last season so that kinda shows what he is worth. I mean maybe the Twins can get their soda machines filled for next year or something with Bell. Larnach is not really worth much overall either. I dont see anyone seriously knocking down the Twins door for Trevor, even though he is having an impressive season this year. Also, if the Twins do manage to offload those two I don't see anything coming back that will make a difference from taking the twins from a below .500 mediocre team to a 90 - 100 win team. Those guys just dont have a lot of value. Now they might be able to get a decent piece or two for Joe Ryan, but thats not really why im on here right now bringing this up. Im noticing a giant logjam in the OF on the Twins and in AAA. I mean Buxton isn't going anywhere for a few years. It looks like Austin Martin has carved himself a spot for a couple of seasons. Now they have Keaschall running around in the OF. The Twins still have Walner, Fedko, Gonzalez, Rhoden, Rodriguez, Mendez, Jenkins and with Larnach that's 11 OFers that are all already MLB players or are ready to be MLB players. Again don't get me wrong, i think Larnach needs to be shopped, but im also thinking the Twins could really actually get something valuable for the up and coming guys? I mean shop Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez and try to off load Walner and Larnach. If the Twins can get something really good and younger for one or two of those young guys, I mean they still have perceived value, Larnach has known value and with some moves like that the Twins could ready themselves for a breakout 2 or 3 years from now. What the Twins seem really good at doing is allowing talent to stagnate in the minors while picking up guys like Bell and Wagaman in every off-season. Its like they are trying so hard to not get some of these guys clocks started early that once they finally get a shot their time has run out. Like I said, we know Buxton, Martin, and now Keashall will probably be around for at least 2 more years, the Twins need 2 or 3 good OFers to provide depth, but they don't need 11 of them. They don't need to sign any more below average veterans either. I mean if they sign a difference maker thats different, but no more Wagamans etc..... they have too many high and getting old AAA prospects. They probably need to trade some of those guys for younger A or AA prospects that will be ready when someone like Buck is near the end?? I know people are going to start twitching because i said trade the young guys like Jenkins, people will be like he was our #1 draft pick, and I'm saying that's exactly why he has a lot of value attached to his name, or one of the other guys like him, Rodriguez, etc..... I'm hoping the twins could get multiple prospects for guys like that and load up to explode onto the scene in 2 - 3 years. I just feel like only trading a guy like Larnach will accrue another nobody that will clog up the system? I guess we will see. Hopefully the Twins can keep winning series for now.

Zebby looked really good though!

Maybe Lauer made an adjustment? That and the team is a little different than when they played Lauer earlier this season. Plus it sure seemed like the Twins players had no issue with the opener causing him to throw 30+ pitches, they seemed fairly loose against that guy. Im not saying you are wrong though with those said teams, but I think another way to look at it is that the Twins are just not a good baseball team, and haven't been for quite a long time now, so in a situation like that, they will probably lose to the teams that are usually better than them. Even when the team had decent seasons they were flawed in numerous ways. Id say over the last 15 - 20 years or so the Twins have over performed in comparison to what their talent level really indicated where they should be. They have usually done well in the Central division, but even in the playoffs seasons, the Twins were missing key ingredients to being a real good team. In the end it usually gets exposed, especially by the good teams.

Toronto is getting some work out of him in the bullpen. It seems weird to me that the Twins wouldn't have tried that approach also, I mean he was already on the squad and its not like the Twins have some lock down bullpen, im pretty sure they could have gotten some regular BP innings out of him. Im almost wondering if Simeon just wanted out of Minnesota and since its realistically a rebuild season, (even though they say they are in win now mode), maybe thats why they just let him go for potentially some cash? I mean, "if" he didnt want to be in Minnesota, then why force him especially since its basically a start over anyway? These are just my thoughts on why they'd just let a 25 year old pitcher go?

Like maybe they got their soda machines stocked for the season?? 😃

I kinda wish they would have given Simeon a little run in the bullpen? I mean its not like they have a bunch of lock down bullpen arms?

Well hopefully Austin Martin makes the Berrios trade productive. I know Berrios is currently hurt, but he has been 53 - 39 since he was traded. I know over and over again people said Simeon was better than Berrios and I really wished he would have been, but he wasn't. And now the Blue Jays have him back for nothing? I really hope Martin becomes a mainstay for the Twins for the next 5 - 6 seasons.

Zebby looks like he did well after the first couple of innings.

I think it comes down to balancing the pluses and minuses. Obviously the starting pitching has been a big plus so far. The Bullpen has been a big minus. Byron Buxton is on pace to hit like 50 bombs, if he can stay mostly healthy and continue to lead the team in everything that would be another plus. Joyce Lewis and Matt Walner have been a minus, Austin Martin and Trevor Larnach have been mild pluses this season. If the Rotation can hang tough, and a couple of dudes can step up in the bullpen. If Buck can remain mostly healthy, and Lewis and Walner can make their way back and have productive second halfs. If guys like Martin, Lee, Larnach continue to produce sporadically. All of the sudden there is a squad that has a shot to play a few games after the regular season. However, if the Rotation breaks down, the bullpen continues to struggle Martin and Larnach's chariots turn into pumpkins, Buck misses significant time and Lewis and Walner don't quite figure it out this season then we are probably looking at a 100 loss team. I feel like Shelton has infused some new energy into the squad. So im thinking right now that bringing in a new guy was the right thing to do. Hopefully they can keep it up!!!

If the playoffs started tomorrow the Twins would be the #6 seed in the American league. I mean St Louis would be in the playoffs in the National league also. So im pretty sure they were not picked to be there. Again its a small sample size, and the Twins are currently on a hot streak. But interesting none the less

I picked everyday at ss, but I actually think he should play 3 to 4 days out of 5 at ss and give him the occasional day off here and there to make sure he is learning on the job so to speak a little bit rather than just throwing him in there everyday.