PopRiveter

As a streamer who hasn't been able to watch many games the last few seasons, I would have assumed Wallner was slow and lumbering. This is really enlightening and changes my notion of what kind of player he really is. Thanks for sharing!

I mean, he was almost overdue.

At midseason, I was convinced Max Kepler's chances for a MN legacy had passed him by. Here we are and he is positioned to lead this young offense into battle as the most reliable veteran bat at this juncture. My how quickly things can change.

But Wallner can't

What a well-written article, John! Really captures the emotion of a special ballgame and a special moment for Twins fans! Let's all hope for more of that. I sure loved watching the pitching and defense rise to the occasion. And Royce is a revelation!

I am 100% convinced it was a core strategy, mandated from above that this offense and all the hitters in it would swing for the fences. I think one would have to ignore all ration and evidence to draw a different conclusion after every single hitter in the lineup started the year with the statistical divergence we saw in the first half. Even established veterans diverged dramatically from their career norms. Literally, every single hitter was striking out more and making contact less often. That is approach, not coincidence. Pair that with the player quotes (especially from Royce Lewis) around the time of the players-only meeting and the offensive turnaround. Shortly after midseason both Falvey and Levine themselves made comments on Inside Twins interviews where they acknowledged they had to adjust hitting teamwide strategy to emphasize getting on base. They admitted as much. The plan entering 2023 with was totally contrary to Arraez's skillset. It is no leap to conclude they didn't want him or any high-contact, low-power hitter succeeding in this lineup. He was a tremendous asset that they didn't want, because he didn't fit their plan for the 2023 lineup. But their plan was pure dumb and it failed-just as the past 180 years of baseball history suggested it would. We watched an ugly series of strikeouts, pop-outs and ever-so-exciting solo home runs for the first 80-90 games before the FO had to throw their hands up in the air and allow the hitters return to a reasonable approach. That is simply what happened. Thank God it ended. Sadly, that first half pushed me away and I'm now out of the habit of watching Twins games. I know it is a different offense now, but I'm finding it hard to care. Your comment got a lot of thumbs up. Clearly, you're not alone in your perspective, but I don't see how any observer can reasonably see this another way. Where we do agree, is that Pablo Lopez is a valuable asset that they were right to want. Hopefully, it works out for the team.

I enjoyed the insight of seeing this Miami perspective. Thanks for the article. I don't think we'd have seen the offensive total system failure of the 1/2 half of the season if the FO had kept Arraez and let his successful approach influence the rest of the lineup. Clearly, the organizations offensive gameplan was for 1-9 to swing for the fences without regard for anything else, so they didn't want an Arraez influence. Thankfully, the hitters (especially the young reinforcements) seem to have taken it upon themselves to reject plan A and start approaching hitting in a more sensible way. Also thankfully, Lopez is an asset. Heckuva pitcher. From all accounts, a good clubhouse presence. Might work out well for the club. Still hurts the fan in me that the FO took away my chance to root for a perennial batting champ. Might honestly make the Twins a more winning team, but that trade made me much less a Twins fan.

Just impressions from a distance, but... Josh Donaldson always felt like a Yankee to me. He and Chuck Knoblauch should start a podcast. I sure am happy to see Max Kepler having a surge of productivity. He's always seemed like a positive spirit. Not sure how to measure the impact in a clubhouse, but I certainly get a lot more enjoyment when I'm rooting for guys who at least seem to be good guys.

The Taylor Swift theory had me struggling not to laugh audibly and wake up my wife. I failed. She’s up. Thanks Stu.

My favorite TD write up in some time. You hit the most important nail right on the head. I hope the coaches and FO learn from this year. I hate the style of offense we’ve seen so far this year.

Pretty hard to try and counter any of this. If I was assigned the opposing viewpoint in a debate and you led with this, I'd feign illness and go home.

As a fan who enjoys watching exciting baseball, I hate this offensive approach aesthetically. It pretty much eliminates extended rallies-which are my favorite part of baseball. I understand the logic of strategy. I’ve not embraced it because I dislike the baseball it produces, but the numbers seem to make a case that teams can produce runs with this approach. I’m actually kind of pleasantly surprised to see it backfire so convincingly. Maybe this will lead the Twins decision makers to build on talent with on-base skills and foster an offensive approach that I care to watch. I don’t have the interest or stomach for all these strikeouts so I’m not watching until things change.

Excellent article. Truly ugly situation. Sadly, I suspect the decision-makers in the front office chose this destiny for the team this year. Their actions made it clear they valued a Gallo approach more than an Arraez approach. They must be coaching a whole lineup toward the theory that contact rate is unimportant and strikeouts are tolerable. Just hit it very hard if and when you ever hit it. My eyes say that approach doesn’t win.

I wish I could enjoy the rare treat of watching an excellent Twins pitching staff, but this offense isn’t just ineffective. The homerun-or-bust strategy takes away all my aesthetic enjoyment of baseball offense. I was disappointed in how this lineup was built, because it’s not my preferred style- but even so, I would never have imagined how unproductive it would be. The best things this team has going are a wonderful rotation, a few great relievers, and an unimaginably dreadful division. Amazing that the stink of this offense is “outshining” all that.

The Twins OPS at DH ranks 8th of 15 teams in the AL. Exactly middle of the pack. The Twins OPS at CF ranks 14th of 15 teams. Thank God for KC. If Buxton is hobbled, this might be the best compromise, but if it is a strategy, it is failing. When he’s limited to DH, he’s a moderately valuable asset-similar to a Joey Gallo. What a shame it will be if that’s his career going forward.