Jacksson

Goodbye = Romo, Avila, Gonzalez, Hill, Come on Back = Clippard, Cruz If Price is Right = Adrianza, May, Odorizzi

Hang this loss on: MANAGER BENCH COACH PITCHING COACH BULLPEN COACH Wrong guy (Mejia) at the wrong time. Got stale waiting to be used. What's Vasquez doing? Knitting a sweater?

Another example how Lady Luck can overcome players that choke in the clutch and a manager who hasn't a clue. Inning #1 - Kepler on @B ZERO out. No sacrifice to move Kepler to 3B to score on a sac fly Polanco looks slow and strikes out looking on a Fastball that was inches away from the previous curve ball. Missed opportunity. Bailed out by Cruz and Rosario. Same inning Rosario on 2B, Two out. Gonzalez bounces a low and away Curve to 1B for the final out Inning #2 - Garver on 2B, ZERO Out. No sacrifice by Schoop. He pops out to 1B. Wasted at bat. Buxton picks up the slack and plates Garver With one out, both Kepler and Polanco choke and fly out. ATTN: MANAGER, BENCH COACH, HITTING COACH = 5 players saw a total of 9 pitches. What's up with that - in the second inning????? INNING #3 - ONE out, Gonzalez on 2B, Garver on 1B. Schoop chokes and grounds a low and away curve ball into an inning ending double play. Missed scoring opportunity. ATTN: MANAGER, BENCH COACH, HITTING COACH = 5 players saw a total of 10 pitches. Not including Garver who saw 5 pitches himself - and walked. What's up with that - in the third inning????? INNING #4 - Buxton on 1B ZERO out. NO sacrifice, no attempt to steal 2B Kepler chokes and grounds into a double play. The DP is followed by 2 singles, before Rosario pops out to SS n a low and away Fast ball. INNING #5 Garver on 2B, TWO OUT. A hit means a run and Schoop grounds out to 3B on the first pitch he sees, a slider inside. INNING #6 - Polanco on 2B via single and wild pitch. Two Out. Cruz whiffs on a low inside slider on his 9th pitch of the at bat. INNING #7 - Cron on 1B ZERO out. No sacrifice, runner is not advanced. Gonzalez flys to LF, Garver hits a DP to 2B. MISSED OPPORTUNITY. ATTN MANAGER, BENCH COACH, PITCHING COACH, BULLPEN COACH: Poor decision on bringing May in to face 1 batter in the 7th and then haul him out again to begin the 8th. Poor decision on bringing in Parker to start the 9th, since he worked on Saturday. FLAVINE => Get some arms Baldelli can trust, otherwise this is a repeat of Molitor's bullpen use.

Harper has at least shown SOMETHING. Vasquez has earned a ticket back to Rochester. Bring on Stewart or Romero.

GREAT MOVE Pohlad FAMILY. Well, cheap asses, you got your stadium off the backs of the ever stupid Minnesota State Legislators (and us taxpayers).` Didn't all you clowns grow up in Minnesota? Or did your bucks permit you to only actually live here 5 months a year? Everybody else (except the ignorant legislators) knew that building an open air stadium for baseball in Minnesota was pure folly. With the weather here, baseball here in April and October without a retractable roof is lunacy. And September can be no bargain either. Not withstanding the showers and thunderstorms that take place during our "glorious" tepid, humid summers can make games uncomfortable for both fans and players. Too bad Eloise didn't insist on a retractable roof. DUMMIES !!

Austin is just going to park himself in a lawn chair in the outfield and leave the defense up to Dugger and Pillar.

Looks like there is some managerial light in the tunnel. Should have had Cave sacrifice Astudillo to 2B in the 2nd. With RISP in the 3rd, Rosario choked and whiffed. With 2 outs and the bases loaded and a new pitcher brought in to face him, Kepler sees only 3 pitches before swinging at an up and in slider and predictably popping out to SS to end the inning. WHERE WAS THE HITTING COACH BEFORE THIS AT BAT??? With 1 out in the 7th and 2 "gift" base runners on, Astudillo hits into a DP RUNNERS WERE NOT ON THE MOVE. Inning #8. Imagine using a pinch hitter! Who would have thunk that up? Both Austin and Kepler came through big in the clutch. Especially Kepler who took a low and away sinker to LF to drive in 2 runs. FOUR defensive changes and a pitching change. WHAT HAPPENED, did Baldelli leave the dugout to take a leak and leave managing up to someone else?? 9th inning = Pinch Runner ?? Stolen Base to get into scoring position?? What is Baldelli trying to do, become a Manager??

Yes, we're only 4 games in but: Kepler, Rosario, Schoop, Gonzalez, and Castro all stink. Time to make playing time for: Cave, Astudillo, Adrianza and even Austin to get some looks while the non-performers cool their heels.

Lucky Win. Covered a number of missteps by the rookie manager. I realize he is a first time manager, but didn't he ever WATCH a game and see how other Managers manage? Wasted single to lead off the 1st. No bunt. No steal. And what's with the first 3 batters of the game together only seeing 4 pitches? Gonzalez and Schoop fail to deliver in the clutch in the 4th. Polanco and Rosario fail to deliver with a runner on 2B in the 5th. 6th inning = runner on 2B, ZERO outs, score is 3-2 Twins. No sacrifice to advance the runner to 3B to set up the sacrifice fly. Gonzalez, Schoop and Buxton all choke. 7th inning = runners at 1B & 2B, ZERO outs, Tie score 3-3. Cruz walks to load the bases... Fly ball = 1 run, Single = 2runs. Rosario, Cron and Gonzalez proceed to choke. 8th inning = Schoop on 1B, ZERO outs. Tie score 3-3. No sacrifice. No attempt to steal. PH Astudillo, looks at one pitch before flying out to CF with the second. Buxton Whiffs looking. Kepler fouls out to SS on the second pitch he sees. 9th inning = Polanco on 2B. Zero Outs. Twins down 4-3. No sacrifice. No attempt to steal. Cruz hits a fastball to RF for a flyball out. Cron whiffs on a ball in the dirt on a Full Count. Schoop, with runners on the corners, hits the first pitch he sees into a force out on a nasty pitch down and away. 10th inning = Astudillo on 1B, ZERO outs, Score tied 4-4 No sacrifice. No successful attempt to steal. Cave hits the 1st pitch he sees, (a change-up) on the fly to LF ??? With the count 1-2, Kepler whiffs on a change-up in the dirt. Cruz comes through... This Time. With runners on the corners, 2 outs and a 1 run lead, Rosario flys to CF. Team needs some remedial hitting. Batting coach needs to be concerned with batters, not watching the game. Manager needs to learn to manage. Anybody can win a game when it is left up to luck.

Even Baldelli's inexperience couldn't screw up Sunday's result. Now, if we could have a bit more hitting in the clutch by some players and if Rosario could buy a hit, the Twins might have something.

TIME FOR SOME EDUCATION: Extra batting practice for all Twin's Batters. Extra bullpen sessions on control for Parker. Extra bullpen sessions for Garver on blocking pitches. Extra course for Baldelli on the use of the sacrifice. Extra course for Baldelli on the use of the stolen base. Extra course for Baldelli on when to yank a pitcher. Extra course for Baldelli on the use of pinch hitters off of the bench. Extra course for Baldelli on playing small ball for a single run. Extra course for Derek Shelton on speaking up when the Manager is WRONG. Extra course on Instructions to hitters for Rowson and Hernandez. Extra course on the selection and use of relievers for BOTH Baldelli and Bullpen Coach

I see some qwful poor decision making by the new manager in both game #1 and game #2. Luckily, Twins won game #1 despite the manager. Game #2 was lost due to the manager with assists from: Parker, Cron, Kepler, Rosario and Polanco.

This loss is on Baldelli. Time to enroll in manager's school. Cluster F*** of bad or no decisions in the bottom of both the 7th and 9th by the rookie manager. Should have had a quicker hook on Parker in the top of the 9th. My 96 YO father could have done a better job and he's only half there mentally.

A year later, a different manager, and yet, poor execution. Ahead 2-0, bottom of the 8th, runner (Polanco)on !B with one out. (Hit By Pitch) To this point, the team has accumulated only 4 hits. Nelson Cruz is in the Batters Box and Eddie Rosario is on deck. Cruz is 1 for 3. Led off the bottom of the 7th with a single to Left. Rosario is 0 for 3. Struck out on 3 pitches in the bottom of the 7th = Change-up, Change-up, and Cutter. In the bottom of the 8th, Rosario doesn't attempt a steal. One throw over to 1B with Cruz batting with a 1-2 count. One throw over to 1B with Rosario batting with a 1-0 count. Polanco S?H?B standing on 2B via stolen base with Cruz and Rosario coming up to bat. He wasn't. He didn't try. Failure in game execution and strategy by Rocco Baldelli. POOR at bats in the bottom of the 8th by both Cruz and Rosario.

I believe the San Francisco Giants would entertain a deal involving Mark Melancon

Addison Reed has shown NOTHING this Spring. Either DL him and send him to the Mayo Clinic or release him and let him count his 8 Million. Meanwhile, try to trade Austin, Reed, and/or Cave for whatever you can get; Out of options pitching or minor league talent.

Willing to bet we don't see him with the MLB Twins until AFTER the All Star Break.

Eliminate the Sacrifice Fly. Why is it that a runner can advance and/or score on an out on a fly ball that is hit a long way?

It’s hard to believe that NL fans would prefer to see pitchers hopelessly flailing at pitches or forever engaged in the sacrifice bunt as opposed to seeing a conventional offensive player at bat. I would also think they would prefer NOT to see a pitcher pulled during a tight game ONLY because a pinch hitter is employed. It is also a consideration that having the DH , doesn’t necessarily mean that an older or one dimensional player is utilized exclusively for that role. Many AL teams utilize the DH to rest star players from the rigors of performing a defensive position, enabling the team the opportunity to still treat the fans to that player’s offensive production. Remember also that just because the DH would be in effect, would not preclude pitchers such as MadBum from batting for themselves. Not only does the roster need to be increased, but considering the cumulative aches and pains as well as occasional illnesses that affect players during the course of the season, increasing the roster to 28 would be more practical.. Quality of play could increase as players that are nicked up could sit out a few games. Use of the disabled list could decrease. the Minor League shuttle of players to MLB could be minimized. An increase from 25 is long overdue. Also out of date is the 40 man roster and all the game playing with player’s lives as they are claimed on waivers and then DFA by the new team to enable them to be stashed. An increase to 45, at least for teams that lack the revenue streams to chase free agents and instead rely on the draft and their organization to provide a flow of talent to their team. 1

Both the 25 man roster and the 40 man roster are antiquated and totally out of date given the current conditions of the game. The 25 man roster should be increased to at least 28. The 40 man roster should be increased to at least 45. Perhaps not 45 across the board, as the big spenders could be kept at 40. In that way their spending puts in play one of their top 40 to a lower revenue team.

More interesting would be to see dollar values on what it costs the organization each year to have a player at each of the minor league levels within their system. I'm talking, not only the cost of the player contract itself, but also the manager, coaches, trainers for that level as well as an allocated portion of the cost of other system wide personnel within the organization. That said, what is the cost to DRAFT a player. Not just the bonus paid out but also an allocated portion of all scouts compensation along with an allocated portion of the cost of other system wide personnel within the organization. Only when calculating this cost out can the observer gain an understanding of the TRUE financial cost of: "MISSING" on a draft choice, losing a player on waivers, losing a 6 year minor league free agent, trading a prospect, and releasing a player with multiple years within the minor league system.

Speaking of Excellence: Below is a recap of all the players the Twins LOST in the Rule 5 Draft: Below is a recap of all the players the Twins SELECTED in the Rule 5 Draft: RHP Dusten Knight (AAA Phase - Round #01, Selection #10) FYI: the San Francisco Giants have one of the lowest ranked Minor League Systems in MLB. So much for EXCELLENCE....

Shouldn't the Twins ATTAIN Excellence - BEFORE they try to SUSTAIN it?

Ok, let me get this straight. The Twins who have one of the top ranked Minor League systems in MLB lost NO PLAYERS in either the Major League or Minor League portion of the 12/13/18 Rule 5 Draft? The San Francisco Giants, ranked as one of the WORST Minor League systems in MLB LOST 3 PLAYERS. Explain.

Having missed out on Patrick Corbin, The Twins are reaching out to Contact former Twin pitcher, Ray Corbin and get him signed for 2019.