Jacksson

Develop the outfield defensive skills of: Keaschall, Martin, Larnach. Work them EVERY DAY IN PRACTICE. In the offseason give them drills to perform. In Spring Training, EXTRA work on outfield defense EVERY SINGLE DAY. If defensive ability proves to just not be there, you have no choice but to trade one or all of them. There is no room on a low spending team for a litany of players who are unable to contribute both on offense and defense. A complete review of the organization's minor leagues needs to be undertaken to identify players with defensive/positional shortcomings. If extra/intensive work fails to develop those skills, the players need to be jettisoned from the organization. There are only so many organizational resources, time and money that can be invested in players WITHOUT a path to a viable, MLB performance level defensive position. Further, the scouting and drafting arms of the organization need to be put on notice that players WITHOUT the natural instincts and physical skills to perform, at the very least adequately at a defensive position are to be discouraged from being brought into the organization in the first place.

The team got snookered on acquiring Hoffman. His best days are behind him; gives up walks and hits when he enters a game. Wore out his welcome, lost his job in Toronto and was only available because the Twins traded his replacement to Toronto last year.

What are the hitting coaches doing to earn their pay and to justify having a job? What are the advance scouts doing to earn their pay and to justify having a job? FOURTEEN STRIKEOUTS out of a possible 27 outs to be made. TWO strikeouts each from: Martin, Buxton, Lewis, Lee and 3 from Kreidler = 11 of the 14. Embarrassing and shameful team performance.

"At one point Martin was a terrible OF." He still is. Check out the highlights where in successive innings, he misplayed a hit in the first inning into a (favorable hometown scorer) a triple and the very next inning played (favorable hometown scorer) a hit into a double. Played both like he belonged back in Class A ball. Where was the Sizemore coaching influence on those two comical plays? Perhaps his hair was in his eyes - this is the Major Leagues = get a haircut.

BOTH Larnach and Martin should have been dealt at the trade deadline but they are still here because Zoll didn't have the guts to dump them and TP, in his hallucinatory, optimistic stupor thinks that his team of misfits can actually contend and has managed to get a fair number of Twins' fans to drink that Kool-Aid.

No reason to start Jenkins' clock started this early especially when Rodriguez will be out of options next year. BTW: How long do we put up with all the K's from Culpepper before we send him packing back down to AAA?

Remember too; the Phillies changed defensive positions of 3 players to accommodate Luis being able to remain at his preferred 2B position. Since Keaschall bombed out at 2B and is now patrolling CF until Buxton returns, Luis could have filled the 2B vacancy with Clemens moving to RF. IF/when Buxton returns send Keaschall to St Paul to learn how to play CF.

So put Ryan on the IL already. Get a replacement from the Saints. Clearly Ryan is not himself since the All Star Break. Enough with the hope and prayers; when a player isn't right put him on the IL = that's what it is for.

Typical posturing by a Pohlad organization to make middling player moves while addling a minimal amount of payroll expense and characterizing that as "going big". While NAME starters who were established difference makers ended up elsewhere, we got Dean Kremer. We added two Middle Of the Road relievers, who should have been added this past off season to help the team jump out of the gate as opposed to watching as leads became losses due to a failed assortment of DFA level relievers. We now have an established closer, who was once our property before we let him slip through our fingers, who spent the early part of the season igniting fires rather than being a fireman. Meanwhile, Jeffers is still a Twin, Larnach is still a Twin, Ryan is still a Twin, Buxton is still a Twin (and on the injured list once again), Bell is still a Twin, Wallner is still a Twin, Travis Adams is still on the 26 man roster, Tristen Gray is still on the 26 man roster and rotating into the line-up playing SS, the team is still carrying 3 Catchers on the 26 man roster, despite the freefall of his batting average, Martin is still on the 26 man roster, and so is Roden. Since the beginning of the season: our 1B is now the DH, our other 1B is now 2B & RF, our 2B is now CF & RF, our SS in now 3B, our back up SS & CF is now at SS, our 3B is now 1B, our RF is buried in the minors and seems to be on a path out of the organization, our CF is on the injured list for the THIRD TIME this season (so far) and as for pitchers we have 6 on the 60 day IL. Seems like the s****y stewardship of ownership requires the use of TP!

Keaschall will gain CF experience over the remainder of the season after it is announced that Buxton will under go season ending hip surgery

Really appreciate the specific and detailed analysis. Should we not be surprised if we don't see Buxton in the line-up again this season?

Dobnak the castoff outclasses the supposed ace Ryan. That's laughable.

The long term approach with his career and the organization is to leave him off the 40 man roster until he has to be added and let him finish the year at AAA while gaining more experience and confidence. He won't see the field in Minneapolis, only in St. Paul.

Nice to see the Twins' players, respond with play up to and beyond their abilities after their lengthy struggle to reach the vaunted season highlighted mark of having won as many games as they have lost. The team manager and coaches can certainly stand tall after their work on: fielding fundamentals, pitch calling, pitching execution, recognition of the opposing pitcher's pitch patterns, pitch recognition, and hitting with RISP, have produced in the last 3 games a clear indication of the level of play that can be expected from the maximum effort put forth by the players as they streak towards the season ending Promised Land that ownership has promised and fans have hoped for. SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO: Larnach, Buxton, Bell and Lee, who with 2 hits a piece accounted for 8 of the team's total of 10 hits. Buxton, having returned from the IL, actually played in the field rather than gumming up the team's lineup by having to be utilized at DH. Larnach and Clemens, who with 2 strikeouts a piece almost accounted for half of the team's 9 on the day. Martin, who given an opportunity to play CF in relief of Buxton (removed for rest following his return from the IL, once the game having become hopelessly out of reach) entered the game as a PH in the 7th with 1 run in, (cutting Cleveland's lead to a mere 7 runs - 10 to 3), 1 out and a runner on 1st, promptly ended any thought of a comeback with an inning ending double play that further cemented Martin's team status as LAST MAN off the bench and on the roster. Clemens, Roden and Kreidler, who with the Twins in dire need of baserunners and hits, combined to deliver a timely 0 for 11, diminished to that level only by Roden, who was able to coax a walk and deliver a SF. Alex Jackson, who in being called in to pitch the bottom of the 8th with the Twins only trailing 13 - 4, and delivering a one hit, no run performance, has seemingly cleared up a 26 man roster conundrum, that of how does the team function with 3 catchers on the 26 man roster = you convert one of them into a relief pitcher! However, don't become disillusioned by Jackson's success off the mound because, as any batter will tell you, it's tough to put a decent swing on a pitched ball when you are holding onto your sides LAUGHING!!