Darius

They should trade everyone they can except Buxton, Sano, Kepler, Rosario, Berrios, Romero, and Gibson just like they should've done last year at the deadline. Look how well hanging into Santana and Dozier is working out.

Gordon just keeps hitting. With the Twins now effectively out of it (6.5 back of the Indians, who are pulling away fast....and more games back of the Wildcard), what good does it do them to keep a guy like Dozier (now long overrated, anyway) around all year to walk in the offseason? What good does it do to let Escobar play out the string if you repeatedly show he's not in the long-term plans? Why reward Polanco with an open door back to the starting SS? If you're talking about economics, I would think getting prospects up would generate excitement, this generate more revenue. After discounting a one year service-time opportunity cost down the road (which isn't a guarantee anyway, btw, chances are better the kid will wash out by then), you're probably my losing money by clinging to service time. Sometimes, things that FOs do just don't make any sense. I continue to contend it's an ego thing in the front office. Everyone has convinced themselves that it's such a delicate process, getting a guy to the majors. That these guys are so sensitive that early exposure to a higher level will cause severe regression, maybe even instant death. Frankly, I find it all ridiculous and fraudulent.

I feel for the guy. He had a Hall of Fame career derailed by a nagging, mysterious injury. Tough break. However, $150 million dollars is a pretty nice consolation. Hard to feel sorry for a guy who made that much money over a decade of doing something I pay league fees to play every year. I feel sorry for construction workers that get terminal mesothelioma and get screwed by health insurance companies, while making 40k per year over 30 year career. I feel sorry for a private in the Marine Corps that gets half of his body blown to bits fighting for a bunch of ungrateful Liberal millennials, while making peanuts. A guy riding into the sunset in his mid-30s, with enough asset-wise to support the next 5 generations of Mauers doesn't do much to my heartstrings. Especially when we know he's got a cushy Twins FO job waiting for him. Tough break, but I don't think it's necessary to shed a tear and play flowers of the forest on the bagpipes.

It would be nice to see Wade. While they're at it, I'd like to watch guys like Gonsalves and Gordon as well. If the team is going to stink I'd like something to keep it interesting. Summer has barely started and they're already basically playing meaningless games. It really puts a damper on my evening dock-sitting and beer drinking.

Buxton was in the lineup to try and salvage the season. The writing is now on the wall, so shut him down for a while. If the Twins were a game up on the Indians, he'd still be in the lineup. As for Santana, he wouldn't make a difference anyway (unless he can hit). Our starters, with the exception of the last two nights, have been great. Odorizzi, Romero, Berrios, Gibson all sitting with ERAs in the mid 3s with big K numbers. Lynn has also been coming around a little. To be frank, it would've been ideal to dump Santana for prospects last year.

We should start selling before this game is over.

I think the opportunity here is undeniable. There are a number of guys that could realistically be dealt for a decent return: Reed and Duke could be dealt out of the pen, maybe even Rodney. Odorizzi may be an interesting option, and Lynn should definitely be explored. Offensively, Morrison is an obvious option. Dozier as well. I really like the Escobar suggestion as well. It'll be interesting to see if the down market for free agents in the offseason will continue at the trade deadline, or if the "market" will rebound and people will be willing to give up prospects for guys like Morrison and Lynn that they were unwilling to give cash to.

Buxton no doubt could be great. He's already good based on defense alone. The knee-jerk reactions to this guy are out of control. First half last year people wanted him dumped for peanuts so Granite could take the job. Then, he broke out and people were clamoring for a long-term deal before he reaches free agency and demands Bill Gates-money. Now, many are swinging back violently to the "he's a bust" camp. As mentioned above, he's 24. Everyone needs to relax. He's going to get it figured out and be a star in this league. Hall of Famer is a little lofty and should be the expectation for nobody, But he certainly could still achieve that. Speaking of CF alternative to Buxton, I saw an interesting stat somewhere on Hicks today: Everyone loves to talk about Judge in NY. But, you know who is really making that team tick? Hicks. The Yankees this year are a .500 ball club without Hicks in the lineup (7-7). With Hicks, they're something like 24-8. He makes highlight outfield assists, has fairly good range in CF, and is turning in to one of the best offensive CFs in baseball. We didn't need him. Id rather not make a similar mistake with Buxton.

I'd do one more full game at 1B with Sano, give him a day off, and get him to Seattle. The lineup needs some kind of spark, and it's a pretty significant series if we want to leave the door open to potentially creep back into the Wildcard neighborhood.

If he was the same guy who hit 40+ HRs in 2016, he'd be in a major league squad somewhere. He's in the minors for a reason. Nobody cares the mention the 8 HR and Mendoza line BA last year, while playing in that joke of a slow-pitch softball diamond in the Bronx? Or his career .217 BA and 2.5 WAR? I'm sorry, but if this guy makes the Twins better....the Twins suck.

Stagnant offense? Chris Carter is on the way to fix that. Because that's what this team is missing. Another guy that can't get on base and Ks three times per night while sprinkling in the occasional meaningless solo homer. Luckily, we're still only 1.5 back of Cleveland despite them only trailing the Yanks, Sox, and Astros in run differential in the AL (and a healthy +45 over the Twins). It's a matter of days now until this season is in the books if they can't figure out how to string a few good games together. Cleveland's run is inevitable.

Looks like Rodney may finally be finding a bit of a groove.

That hit from Morrison was so desperately needed.

Short of the inclusion of the pitching spot on the NL, there's isn't another major league team that could possibly throw out a worse collection of three consecutive hitters when down one in the ninth. Grossman, Cave, Adrianza. Yuck.

Eh, I think Cleveland is going to pull away from us like we're tied to a post any day now. Just my opinion. Been saying that all year, also, not just a frustration spur-of-the-moment thing.

We're a bad baseball team.

Is this team really that poorly coached, or what's the deal? So many stupid mistakes....every single night.

I agree with the comments on the format. I really like it. I'll be honest, I'm not really one who cares much about the outcome of games. But I'm very interested in how the prospects are doing individually, so the top prospect stat-line is great. For example, I don't care much about the outcome of the Kernals game. But, it's good to know that Lewis went 0-4 with a K. This isn't really of note in terms of the game summary, so it may not show up, meaning I would've had to do my own cursory research. We all know time is money. So, you're basically paying me to read these now.

I have a really hard time saying it's totally bunk. Just because it hasn't been conclusively proven, does not by any stretch mean it's been debunked. A guy following an incremental innings program blowing his arm isn't proof that it's never been an effective strategy for anyone. I find it hard to accept that it's not true to some extent. Especially for guys throwing as hard as Romero. It's like running, or anything else. You have to condition your body over a long period of time. Sure, maybe the act of throwing extra innings in a vacuum isn't a precursor to injury. But, if your body isn't conditioned for that load, you compensate, which opens you up for injury elsewhere. For example, if you're not feeling 100%, and may not get the explosion off the mound you normally would, you may try and horse you're way through the delivery with your back/shoulder/arm a little more. There's just no way of knowing "it's bunk." People point to past, and to the higher number of blowouts now, but it wasn't the same back in those days. Pitchers didn't throw as hard, didn't throw as much in the offseason in a lot of cases, weren't as muscular and were more flexible, etc. It's nearly apples to oranges. I'm not a proponent of of shutting him down at say, 150 innings. However, considering his upside and potential long-term value, I wouldn't be comfortable ramping him up to 200+ innings this year.

The rotation considering optimal health, IMO, should be: Santana, Berrios, Romero, Gibson, Odorizzi. May should be eased back in the bullpen this year. Lynn should be thrown out into the pen as well, but I have the feeling they'll give him 1 or 2 more starts then DL him if he can't pull it together. Phil Hughes is cooked, and shouldn't be on the team. It's ridiculous to think that he's returning any value in that 12 million by losing games. Cut bait. If Santana struggles mightily, which I expect, you have Lynn there with Gonsalves ready for the call as well. I would also use those guys to skip Romero occasionally to keep his innings down. I would rather allocate more of those limited innings to the second half. I'd love to have that card up my sleeve for a 163, Game 1 of a playoff series, wildcard play-in, etc, even if that would be his final start of the year. Thats the best rotation this team has had in a long, long time.

If Romero continues to pitch like this, and they send him down to burn innings in AAA, I'll be convinced that I'm living in some long-con, Truman Show-like "punk'd" prank that the whole world is in on. I look around me, and I'm nearly certain that's the case. But, that would really be the coffin nail.

Put the ball in play, Escobar. Very frustrating.

They've been throwing out terrible starters without justification for decades. Why start justifying it now?

So, we're just going to punt this game and let Rogers throw multiple innings?

The problem aren't going to be fixed by bringing up more young guys, or acquiring whatever dumpster fodder is out there right now. The issue lies with the current "veteran" players. 1). Sano is supposed to be the anchor of the lineup. He's supposed to provide run production by way of power, but he also sees a lot of pitches...which can have a ripple effect throughout the lineup as you get into bullpens earlier, etc. His presence can also provide that proverbial "protection" factor. Hes arguably the most important component of the lineup, and it's not there. 2). Morrison has been awful, and he's been sucking up a lot of ABs with runners on. He was hitting the heart of the order for a significant stretch. He's not necessarily a key cog (see second half last year without him), but he certainly could be making up for Sano's absence, but the production hasn't been there. 3). Dozier was great for a few weeks, but has kind of tapered off. We've seen it in the past, the lineup goes as Dozier goes. The consistency isn't there. He'll go on a torrid stretch and hit 6 homers in a week. Then, the other three weeks of the month he'll strike out a ton and meekly pop everything up to the left side of the infield. The production at the end of the year looks nice, but he's actually not helping you win all that many games (how beneficial is a 3 homer game and a 10-1 win one day of the week, followed by five 3-2 type losses?). Those, IMO, are the main issues. Getting some consistency out of Dozier, getting Sano healthy, and getting some semblance of production from Morrison....along with the contributions from Mauer, Escobar, Rosario, Kepler....could really light the powder keg. Also, the struggling pitching has to have an impact. When you repeatedly score runs to get a lead in the 5th-6th-7th inning, and it's repeatedly given right back by the pitching staff in the subsequent half inning, it probably takes a little wind out of your sail.