twinssporto

Couple of thoughts why this team could go far this playoff season:
Depth of pinch hitters (as article above explains)
Bullpen more fortified with Stewart and Paddock 
Very good starting pitching
If Lewis and Correa are back even better. Kind of feel fine with Buxton not playing at all....what's that say?

Couple of thoughts why this team could go far this playoff season:
Depth of pinch hitters (as article above explains)
Bullpen more fortified with Stewart and Paddock 
Very good starting pitching
If Lewis and Correa are back even better. Kind of feel fine with Buxton not playing at all....what's that say?

IF you are going to PH, you better feel damn good about your matchup.
I feel Rocco has grown as a manager this year in regard to bullpen usage, and using his roster. But I'm still not convinced in regard to PH. I still think he's been too aggressive early in PH. Why in hell would you take out Julien, or Wallner, just as examples, in the 4th or 5th inning? 
The Twins were one of the absolute worst PH teams in all of MLB the 1st half. They were much better the 2nd half. But you're going to base playoff success because you PH better in the 2nd half? I BELIEVE you approach the post season the same way you do the regular season. It's up to Rocco to calm everyone down and realize it's just another 3 game series. 
Put the best lineup out there. Hit away. Play speed and bunt when it feels right to do so. But don't get too cute and PH for your best hitters in a tied game in the 5th inning. You're just asking to lose without having your best  bats available in the last 3.

Same...I'm an optimist so I'm still happy he's on our team and remain hopeful he can get back on track next year but I think we're better this year without him. I just don't think he's currently an upgrade over any of our other DH options.

Couple of thoughts why this team could go far this playoff season:
Depth of pinch hitters (as article above explains)
Bullpen more fortified with Stewart and Paddock 
Very good starting pitching
If Lewis and Correa are back even better. Kind of feel fine with Buxton not playing at all....what's that say?

Couple of thoughts why this team could go far this playoff season:
Depth of pinch hitters (as article above explains)
Bullpen more fortified with Stewart and Paddock 
Very good starting pitching
If Lewis and Correa are back even better. Kind of feel fine with Buxton not playing at all....what's that say?

Lewis is making baseball history.  
Some may say small sample size, but the playoffs will also be SSS.
With the Twins pitching and defense, if the bats are hot going into the playoffs this could be the year.
 
 
 

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

First off... Great Article. Viewpoints and discussion from the other 29 teams is needed on this website to be able to properly compare and contrast our singular focus on the Twins... So Thank You. Great Article. 
At the time of the trade... I loved the acquisition of Lopez and absolutely hated the loss of Arraez. I understood why the trade was made... I just didn't think we could afford to lose Arraez because it was late January and the offense was concerning to me WITH Arraez on the roster. I simply wasn't as worried about the pitching as I was about the hitting at the time of the trade. 
I had absolutely no faith in Kepler or Gallo at that point and I didn't know who Julien was at the time and even if I did know who he was... He still had options. I'm not afraid of rookies but I know that they are more likely to bounce around than solidify with options available.
In 2022... Arraez was the only player on the team that I felt was consistently a threat every at bat and he was gone.   
Quality starting pitching comes at a big cost and Arraez was big cost.
One part I loved about the article. Jazz Chisholm in place at 2B. Miami needs to improve offense. They trade for a 2B (Arraez) and they sign a 2B (Segura). Just pointing out that here is yet another example of a major league team players around. Segura didn't work out but Arraez and Chisholm in the same lineup has made them better. For those who think that Arraez, Polanco and OK... Julien can exist on the same roster. I state once again... Yes they can. 
In hindsight... would I do the deal again.
I would because I am becoming a big Lopez fan. Pablo has made this deal worthwhile. Welcome to Minnesota Pablo. Stay Healthy. 
 

Thank you for bringing in another voice from the other side, Ted. 

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

Totally agree.
I sometimes think they are trying to solve some weird "Sabermetric" theory. Money Ball 2 in the works????? 

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

Totally agree.
I sometimes think they are trying to solve some weird "Sabermetric" theory. Money Ball 2 in the works????? 

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

Totally agree.
I sometimes think they are trying to solve some weird "Sabermetric" theory. Money Ball 2 in the works????? 

The Vike's might blow it this year but I truly believe this Twins team has a better chance of winning the World Series than the Vike's getting to the NFC Championship game.
I think the Twins are a real sleeper team this year...I might have to blog an article to give more info.
This team is starting to "Gel"...

Totally agree.
I sometimes think they are trying to solve some weird "Sabermetric" theory. Money Ball 2 in the works????? 

And if he gets a hit, Rocco's a genius.  Watching baseball (and managing baseball) is like the stock market.  You can't jump off a cliff at the end a bad day because tomorrow's another day (and another game) and that one might turn out as far to the good as the previous one to the bad.  I'm certain there isn't a manager that any of us would agree with on every call, but he did get them this far and that is a lot more than nothing.  Did I love the call?  Nope, but do we really know what Rocco was trying to find out/do by doing it?  Also no.  It's a marathon.  Not a sprint. 

I've got the smoker going. Watching some baseball and football. I think a drink will be in order soon. What a beautiful day! Let's go Twins!

This kid is for real. Great talent but also has this self-confidence thing going on that is fun to watch. He plays with no fear. Love it!

Currently waivers are player-centric, and each player is handled separately according to which team(s) put in a claim.  That's usually fine when only a player or two at a time is put on waivers.
When there are a lot of players, desirable ones at that, you have to have a draft. 
It need not be a public spectacle like the June draft or the Rule 5 draft in December, when multiple desirable players are routinely available.  Instead, each team just has to manage its current list of waiver claims by priority, at the commissioner's office.  If you want Matt Moore the most, followed by someone else, rank them #1 and #2 respectively.  Every day, one of the commissioner's minions* goes through in priority order (this year Oakland first, then KC, etc) and if they have any waiver claims, they get their top priority.  Then on to the next team in order. If it's your turn and your #1 guy is already gone, then you get your #2, unless he's gone too.  And so on.  Just like any draft, except everyone has made their decisions in advance, because the numbers of players are so much fewer than in June or December and the decision making is manageable.  (Imagine ranking all the amateurs for the June draft, that would not be manageable.)
Most days the process would be trivial, and with exactly the same results as we're used to - players pass unclaimed through waivers all the time and that would continue.  But on a day where a team like the Angels has put a lot of good talent on waivers, the process spreads out the talent to multiple teams.
 
* In truth the minion would be a computer program that runs through the list** as many times as needed, but I don't want to rile up any anti-computer hysteria.
** I was going to say database, but, well, you know.