Rosterman

Yes, he can mature and possibly be a David Ortiz. The natural power IS there. But he also needs to get his head on straight. Depends on how much money he wants to make and how hard he wants to work for the payday...which could be long (like Ortiz) or short (see Delmon Young). He's not sticking at third. Who do teh Twins have to play first? Is Rooker the DH of the future. If so, then Sano could be expendable...but his worth is all over the place. Other teams see what we feel. If he has a breakout season this year or next, I would consider dangling him for multiples. But then, he might become too expensive and the Twins will end up losing him in free agency anyways. So trde him.

For someone who was seeking a $50 million contract in the off-season, he can't use the excuse that he wasn't in shape to start the season. No explanation for all the walks. There is still a chance that ALL he guys who will be hungry free-agents come season's end will produce BIG: Mauer, Dozier, Santana, Lynn, Gibson, Escobar, Rodney and a few more bullpen arms. Otherwise, finding a decent payday in 2019 will be slim...or none. Especially if the team you play for is a .500 team (or worse).

Maybe Kansas City wants to part with Drew Butera. Even up?

Thank goodness Lynn IS a one-year contract. Something will have to give when May and Santana return. It better not be Romero or Berrios. Lynn starts vs. equal starts by, say, Slegers or Mejia. Wonder if the Twins would be better off. Of course, wo won't ever know. $14 million disappointment, combined with the $26 million taking up space in the bullpen. Sure, fine to have that 8th pitcher and a short bench, I guess. We can't complain that the Twins don't spend money on free agents. It can be hit and miss. But they sure seem unlucky, in some ways...and shades of Joe Mays and Nick Blackburn on long-term contracts after one generous season.

The Twins are going to be looking at finding homes for pitchers, especially if they can advance Gonsalves and/or Littell. Gibson will be a free agent. Santana will be a free agent. Lynn will be a free agent. Can any of them pitch well enough to move on? Remember, we also have May coming back, Pineada maybe coming back in September, and maybe Phil Hughes finds his fastball. The Twins do have pitching depth. They have to make some hard decisions in the off-season. Can they keep 25 pitchers on the 40-man? Do they keep Dozier and/or Escobar and trade Gordon? What to do with Mauer? Do they let Mauer do whatever and go with Morrison at first, Sano at DH. But first, yes, we have to get to the mid-point and evaluate. I don't see the Twins getting any rentals. Right now, the hitting has to improve. The rotation nees to be consistent. The bullpen needs to stop walking guys.

The only plus with this injury is that it puts him in the pipeline behind Royce Lewis. The downside, it adds a year to his baseball life and the Twins will have to protect him when he is still in A+ ball.

Yes. Work the foot. Get the swing back. Face competitve picthing. 3-5 games.

The Twins could have a rotation of riches. The Twins have people who will be free agents and NOT coming abck to Minnesota. Hopefully they play well enopugh to generate off-season interest. Hopefully some generate in-season interest. The Twins do have replacement parts. Be nice if they get some exposure, but if you are competitive, can you afford to play? Right now, yes...they are showing that a 5th starter can shine. Too bad they haven';t elevated a temporary shortstop of the future to play 80% of the games for a short spell. Same with the outfield. Give the playing time to a LaMonte Wade, if nothing else. Quit having lovefests with people who MAY NOT be ehre next year, especially for short spurts. The bullpen is a mess and could be musical chairs all season. The Twins need to get some control of the K's and moving runners and getting clutch hits et al. I thought the offense would be much more consistent, better than it has been. But we still have a lot of games to play. But please, front office, take advantage of giving rookies time to shine. Garver should be catching anyone who will be in the rotation of the future, not Bobby. Please.

Yep. Why Bobby WIlson catching insted of Garver, Romero's catcher of the future? Grossman in right field? Okay. LaMarre needed to pinch-hit, I guess. Magill got two innings. Saving bullpen for tomorrow, before an off day. But...hey,. the Twins Won!

Not to bash Sano, as he could have continued value as the designated hitter of the future, but with the way Escobar is batting and handling third, CAN HE BE the guy until someone materializes in the minors. Who would've thunk that he had the power to be a force for the Twins. And speaking of power, we look at Eddie Rosario and shake out heads. Out of the three outfielders, Eddie is probably #3 in terms of offering a longterm lucrative contract, behind Buxton (who needs to break out) and Kepler (one of the ahrdest workers in baseballa). For any number of players, it is always "how much" is the contract, and "how many" years the team is willing to gamble. Be interesting to see if we think Escobar can be a third bsaeman for another season or two...or allow him to walk. Dozier is entering HIS free agent season and needs to shine. But if he's not handling leadoff, and just knocking himself in with home runs...do we need to give him five at bats to hit .240. The lovefest on Grossman continues. I wonder what we would be doing if Granite wasn't disabled down in Rochester....missed opportunity for Zack. LaMarre on the bench? Of course, the second coming of Jason Tyner is wondering what will happen when Buxton returns. I am curious to see the battle between Adrianza and Petit heat up. Mitch Garver....c'mon down and make the most of your opportunity! Just don't get hurt!

It is easier to pull guys from Ft. Myers (and replace those guys with extended spring training guys). Especially if you are just looking at bodies. It's because Stassi is on some sort of temporary list. They needed a body and didn't want to move someone from Chattanooga, which would mean someone to Chattanooga, etc. etc.

I'm not sure if Molly knows how to construct a lineup. The whole fact that Dozier keeps batting leadoff because....... It would help if Buxton was playing, and could also run, and hit above the Mendoza line. We lack his speed (when he gets on base). But, please, STOP batting Dozier leadoff. Mauer is fine in the number 2 spot, and Kepler has adjusted to the #3 spot. Now the question is...Morrison or Escobar at cleanup. It would seem idea to have Morison, but Escobar, given the chance., is proving to be a powerful weapon. And then we keep pushing Eddie further down the lineup. The bench. Garver is out playing Castro right now and should be catching Berrios and Romero ALL THE TIME, since both are the future of the Twins, as well as Castro. LaMarre and Petit may be flash in the pans, but you run with them. Im sorry, dragging out Robbie Grossman, having him bat leadoff (five at bats a game) isn't working. LaMarre is hungry. He may be the second-coming of a Jason Tyner for hitting singles, but he is hitting. But the lineup is a shambles, partly obvious because runners aren't being advanced (except by passed balls) or coming home. Not sure the philosophy here. Almost the same with the bullpen. You can't keep trotting out the same relief pitchers. You have to be able to use all your guns in close games. If they can't give you the pitching you need, then jettison them for someone else. Of face the reality...you are one of the non-competing teams this year. And then ask the questions why and how did we get here. The answer? Bad front office moves, poor field management, wrong mix of players.

I agree that he is working hard to fulfill his contract. But the stuff is just not there. If the Twins keep playing the way they are playing, maybe they can afford to keep him in the backend of the bullpen, use him for that occasional double-header start, and see if there really is potential use in key situations. But when you can't afford to carry a guy that you can't trust in a pressure situation on the mound (and the game matters), it hurts the team. Sure, it would be nice to stash him at AAA and let him pitch to his hearts content, he still gets paid. But (remember Mike Lamb) the Twins surely don't want to pay for him to be backend in someone else's organization and have him suddenly develop into a fine pitcher again. It seems to be a front office ego thing, although the current front office was not responsible for this signing.

I was surprised to hear that he ahs only had one 100-pitch outing in his career. He reached 150 innings last year, so hopefully can stretch that total a bit this season, if push comes to shove. Would we like to see him work out of the bullpen if the rotation gets too crowded and an opening happens, or does he go back to AAA and continue to be a work-in-progress. Only time will tell. Considering Santana and Lynn will be free agents, as well Gibson. If Romero produces, I would rather go forth with him as much as possible.

Well, when Eduardo is the spare guy on the bench, he is just okay. But when called upon to fill in, he's dynamite. Not sure how that computes into a longterm contract. But when called upon to play fulltime, he has not disappointed. So.......

There must be something in the power water in the bullpen. Target Field run-off water is not the key ingredient.

At some point, not calling it rebuild, but DO you play for the future and cut the guys who won't be a aprt of the team in anyway come 2019. Of course, there is no market for the likes of Rodney or Lynn or Hughes right now. And even Morrison. You aren't going to walk away from them and their salaries, sadly. Which means they play...until you give up. And too early to give up. The good news is that they are all money, and you MAY be able to filter in some new faces in the meantime. The Twins do have decisions. What to do with Mauer and Dozier. Should Sano be in the long range plans (and may we forever be a year too late in making a decision on the big guy). We have Santana coming back, in a free agent walk year...will he be lights out? What role can Trevor May play...long relief and spot starting with hopes of a return to the rotation? Michael Pineada is also in the wings. But suddenly you are hampered by free agents NOT producing. They can't sit. The big salaries can't be jettisoned easily (but, yes, they can be jettisoned if push comes to shove). The hope is everyone will get to work again, and figure things out. No way can ALL these guys be this ...putrid.

I think the team is better. But, also, the play of baseball is better. In any contest, one team wins, one team loses. There is no sure pathway to a victory. Otherwise, you would be able to predict winners over losers easily. But you can't. Were the Twins cheap? Supposedly, no. But they did BUY to be competitive as a Wild Card team, NOT to take the division today or tomorrow. Still too many factors there. The resurgence of rookies and sophs. A new bullpen. A better middle-of-the-road rotation. But still, unless you truly think Detroit and Kansas City and Chicago are worse teams, which they very well may be, the Twins still have to say "Are we better than every other team in baseball? You would think coaching and managing would've figured some things out, from arm usage to line-up construction. SO much of the game is going over stats and film and players just can't throw the ball hard and be tricky anymore, just like batters can't wait for the perfect pitch. It is work, on and off the field. The talent is there, but the talent is there on so many other teams, too. The weather was bad, but the Twins weren't the only team suffering from cancelled games and bad weather. Target Field is a gem, but how many of the guys on the current team really played the game at Target Field (of course, are biglosses were in Tampa Bay, land of great weather, and Yankee Stadium, which everyone dreams to play). I want to have patience. But I also know the front office is sweating the sell of the team, coming out badly in the gate. Cheap tickets this month, still, folks!

Is it the coaching staff. Has the manager lost control? Is there any leadership in the clubhouse? Does anyone read reports or look at tape? Hey, let's give Glen Perkins a call! better yet, BRING BACK BARTOLO COLON! Don't Panic. Don't Panic. A $120 million+ payroll can't be this bad!

The good news, Duffey on needed 13 pitches in this game in facing six batters. Unfortunately five of them scored runs. Pressly gives up his first run. Humm, maybe the Twins needed to drag Rodney out again. Wait, Hale the new guy is long relief. Well, he ate up some innings and faced more threw as many pitches as Hughes, well almost. Duffey made me long for Kinley. Well, the Twins showed their bats can bang Reds pitching, but.....

Hughes was ALMOST the best guy pitching tonight!

Right now, who would they bring up that is better suited for whatever his role is in the bullpen. By the way, what is his role...to come in, worth men on base, and end the inning. Not working. Pitch mix/match? Is the film on him working for the other team? Is his velocity down? Better to work on it in the minors, in many ways. But if you choose between him or, say, Busenitz or Curtiss, who do you pick? The Twins are actually one plus in the relief corps now...but only if they felt the need for a stronger bench. Buxton coming back will show movement of a bullpen arm, perhaps.

The Twins signed Castro to better the pitching staff. He still has one more season on his contract. The Twins knew he wouldn't hit a ton (and someone HAS to make outs in every game). So, as long as he remains healthy, he will get the starts. Garver seems to be Berrios catcher, for now, and that's pretty much it. He will be the limited use reserve this season (surprised he isn't worked into any extra inning games) and may see 50-60 starts next season. But yes, come 2020, the Twins will probably need to pick up a veteran backstop (Drew Butera should still be available) to split games with Garver. Of course, the catching situation is a mess beyond that. If Castro would go dowm, Garver WOULD get a chance to play most everyday, and he can't be any worse with the bat than Castro. But who comes up to sit on the bench and why? Are any of the catching prospects a fulltime catcher come 2021, say. We can hope. Also look for the Twins to use one of their higher draft picks this season for the catching position. We all complained about the old "pitch to contact" of the Twins of the past. Now we get a game of catch between the pitcher and the catcher while the guys in the field stand around watching pitch speed and pitch counts. Go figure. Castro IS producing as requested. Let him sit in the 8th or 9th spot and get his four at bats a game. The choice was made and he's here to stay, as no one will be tying to pry him away from us at the trade deadline. Hummmmm...suddenly starting to wonder about the Twins 40-man roster again. Who actually NEEDS to be on it, has a future, why are they being carried.

Buxton back? Take a pick between LaMarre and Grossman. I know who I would pick. But, we still have an extra arm in the bullpen. Hildenberger will need more seasoning. Yes, it would be interesting to see Romero get his cup-of-coffee sooner rather than later. You can always send him down to work on some things. But then you still have to put Hughes somewhere. I picture management trolling out Hughes 2-3-4 more times until Santana pushes a decision. Bullpen usage. Need of Rodney as closer. Role of Suke. Can Duffy be the longman? Line-up construction. When Buxton comes back, move Dozier out of leadoff? Who bats third. Who is the clean-up hitter. Why are guys not doing anything getting potentially five at bats a game and Kepler or Escobar not? Should we be seeing a tad more of Garver behind-the-plate, or is that a "wait until next year" when they start phasing out Castro moment? What do players do during "cold outs?" Swim, interior batting cages, workout, play cards?

Well, I think coaching should talk to him before each at bat. Tell him NOT to chase things inside or down low, if at all possible, and if it seems like the pitcher is working in that arena. Force him to take pitches. Of course, you can't do that for the entire game, so have an at bat plan. Work on it, especially in the batting cage. Get his eye/ball coordination to focus on a few particular areas of ball flight. And come down hard, discipline him. Get rid of the free swinging. It will come back and keep happening, yes. But you have to lean on him hard. He may take a few more called third strikes, than swinging strikes. But he has to learn to swing at those balls that ARE in the strike zone, and totally zone out the others that look "tempting".