bighat

Nice to see Kepler with those 2 HR and Sano with a 2-for-4 day. It wasn't long ago that we expected those guys to be the core of this lineup, the fact that our expectations are so low for those two is unfortunate. Maybe they can turn it around in this otherwise lost season. Wish we could see Gordon every day. He didn't get an AB in the last Sox-Twins series, what a crime. Can't go down the rabbit hole that is the Twins bullpen, but let's just say I don't think any Twins fan felt that a 6-1 lead was safe and we were all correct. A win's a win. Go get 'em tonight.

Overall I think I agree with you. But for the sake of argument, allow this counterpoint: Rooker has made it to the MLB level and - at least last year - showed some flashes that he could play at the big league level. There's a good chance that some guys on this list may never make it to The Show at all....

Agreed. And yeah, signing Donaldson and then immediately getting hit in the face with an extremely abbreviated 2020 "season" was about the worst thing that could have happened to the Twins. The Covid 19 pandemic screwed most teams, but the Twins may have got bit worst of all with the Donaldson deal. Couldn't have gone worse, frankly. Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers could shrug it off, but not a team with fewer resources. 2020 was the year that Donaldson was supposed to provide the most value, followed by 2021. And now poof, they're gone and the Twins got zero zip nada. As for Donaldson, I do like him as a player. I think his fire and attitude is needed - and by the way, isn't that what everyone wanted when the Donaldson rumors started? Everyone on this board wanted the Twins to sign JD in the winter of 2019 for that very reason! I find it odd to see people now commenting to complain about his demeanor. We all knew this going in and nobody had a problem with it. He is what we thought he is. And frankly, on a good team, having a guy like that is a plus. I like the fact that he smashed two 1st inning HRs against the Sox in Chicago last week, and trash talked all the way around the bases. Yelled at Giolitto in the parking lot. The Twins were playing better and on a bit of a streak - what more could you ask for to start the games in CHI? Hell yeah Josh, go get 'em! The fact that the Twins folded in those games isn't a reflection on Donaldson.

I have a full, thick head of hair (not counting my bald spot) and I'm married to a supermodel (if you don't count her missing teeth and wooden leg). Ober's looked okay. I don't mind seeing more - same with Jax. There's nothing to lose. But those bad starts count. And those bad innings from Jax, they also count. If guys like Duran, Widner, and Balazovic pitch like Ober and Jax, would you feel hopeful? I think fans are giving Ober and Jax a longer leash because we never really expected them to contribute anything to this team. So far, if I'm being honest, I haven't seen anything that makes me think they'll be difference makers in 2022. But I do want to see more. Here's hoping some seasoning and experience helps, looking forward to watching them! Maybe something will click.

Might want to fix that first paragraph, still says "6-0" because you assumed Robles would throw a perfect 9th. Tsk, tsk, tsk! Robles doesn't look like he'll fetch much at all at this point, if anything. He's as bad as Colome if you ask me, has just been a bit luckier so far. Rogers should be the closer, that move should have been set in stone months ago. He's had success in the past, why change? Donaldson....I think we all need an update to see if he's still trade-bait. I'm guessing he's out until the All-Star break at least? Interesting that nobody has speculated about the Twins trading Maeda. Is that because, like most Twins, he's having a historically bad year and thus we wouldn't get much for a player of his value? Or because he's got such a great contract and it would be foolish for us to give that up? Both?

How in tarnation can a team with Arraez, Cruz, Polanco, Kepler, Sano, and Josh Donaldson all getting regular ABs this season be this bad? They've all been healthy more than hurt by a long shot and I am sure several MLB teams would be thrilled to have that lineup. Yes: Twins pitching is terrible....but even so, the offense should be able to light up opposing pitchers regularly. The Twins should be winning ballgames 8-6, 10-7, 9-5 on the regular. They're not going up against DeGrom, Scherzer, or Trever Bauer - they're going up against Matthew Boyd, Dallas Keuchel and Danny Duffey. This goes beyond the front office. It's a leadership problem and a clubhouse problem. Rocco should get another crack at managing next season, but this year he's completely failed to motivate the troops. There have been several hot button moments this season and Rocco has been absent for all of them. Whether it was Simmons and the Covid-19 stuff, Buxton's freak injury, Colome's meltdowns, Donaldson's trash talking, that crazy A's game where Arraez threw the ball over Sano's head....those are opportunities for leaders to LEAD. Inspire. Preach. Call guys out. Coach guys up. To light a fire. Do something. Anything. Rocco's approach, on the other hand, has been to quietly keep plodding along, sticking to a broken formula. And when you look at this team listlessly getting smacked around day-in and day-out, it's clear he hasn't done enough. Rocco Baldelli's lost the team, and now he's in charge of a ghost ship and he should shoulder much of the blame.

Don't forget Kirby "jump on my back, boys" Puckett! Yeah. Say what you will about Gardy, the guy was a firebrand and lots of players gravitated to him. Rocco seems much the opposite - that can be okay, as evidenced by our own Tom Kelly, who sat stonefaced in the dugout as the team clinched a game 7 victory in the World Series. Rocco's very much a low-energy guy, which might work well for teams that are winning but for underachieving teams he doesn't seem to be a good fit. Then again, underachieving teams are probably the toughest to manage. Losing teams are one thing - but underachieving teams are a different animal. Bad situation all around.

Any doubts they Twins get swept in KC? White Sox had lost 8-of-9, played the Twins and swept 'em. Royals had lost 9 straight, played the Twins....bingo. This team is every bit as bad as their record shows. On paper they're better, but watch them play a series and it's obvious they're terrible. If you can't blame the manager when a team has no fire, grit, and plays lackluster ballgames, who can you blame? Sure the FO didn't give the Twins a chance with pitching, but it's the manager's job to pick up a team when they're deflated. Rocco has utterly failed in coaching his team up this year. Glad to see Donaldson trade talks are heating up. Cruz should get the Twins a couple lottery tickets. Here's hoping this team starts auditioning young starting pitchers sooner rather than later. Season's been over for a month, time to see what we've got in AAA and AA.

Royce Lewis slipped on some ice this winter and is out for the entire year. He's good but injured, just like the Twins' best pitching prospect. This organization has real trouble keeping their players healthy, it's an embarrassment.

And when the Twins trade Buxton or let him walk (whichever comes first) you can be sure he'll play 160 games per year for the next 5 years as soon as he leaves. It's gonna happen.

Kepler's been as bad as Sano this year. Maybe even worse, as he's hitting .199 this season with just 6 homers. Kepler's disappearance would be the top concern of the year for Twins fans if this were a normal season. Heck, maybe it should be the top story. Dude's been really, really bad. Kepler and Sano are staying put. Nobody's going to give up anything for either of 'em, Twins are committed.

Yeah I think he's the #1 arm available right now. He's also the best Twins pitcher developed in recent memory, I can't think of another guy to come out of their farm system in the past 20 years that's been any good. Berrios is All Star material. He could net quite a bit for the Twins. That said, subtracting Berrios doesn't make me too excited about 2022 and 2023. The Twins are the worst pitching team in baseball, and subtracting Berrios' numbers from the staff would make them historically terrible. I just don't see the Twins bouncing back with literally nothing to build around, pitching wise. I think it's a full rebuild from the ground up if you trade La Makina.

No mention of Larnach and the Golden Sombrero? Dude struck out 4 straight times and left 5 men on base. Twins struck out 9 times in 5 innings against Rodon (well over half of their outs) - you just can't compete if you're going to strike out so frequently. I stopped watching a few weeks ago, don't need the emotional torture. I do follow on the MLB GameTracker and even that's too much. Baldelli look like he'd be fine just hiding under his desk until the season is over. I always liked managers with a little bit of a hot temper and some fire. Nick Gordon has been playing well and didn't get to start one game this series, barely saw the field. Eddie Rosario should be feeling pretty happy and smug and I don't blame him one bit. Undisciplined, untalented, unlikeable and unwatchable. Unbearable.

Ober will be lucky if he can have a career like Aaron Slegers. That's his ceiling, mind you. Nobody in their right mind sees Ober as a long-term solution. He's just the only guy the Twins have to eat innings at this point - at least that must be the case, because there's no other reason he's pitching for an MLB team right now.

Typically you do see offense start to pick up this time of year, but these stats you shared are pretty eye-opening. Glad to see run scoring is up, frankly. Even with Spider Tack, the Twins staff was getting lit up in April and May. Time to start placing some "over" bets on Twins games, gamblers!

Another fine example of what we've had to put up with watching all year on both sides of the ball. Pitching gets lit up, no relief in sight, bloodbath ensues. Twins hit 3 HR, all solo, and only get 5 hits total. Right out of central casting. Obviously Shoemaker should have been DFA'ed a month ago, but at this point even the most cautious of GMs would release this guy. I really can't think of any reason he's still on the team, aside from maybe the FO is trying to show him a bit of respect or something? It's not like he's a long-time Twin or anything, it's just bizarre at this point. Rocco's managing continues to puzzle. With the score 4-1, he brings in....the worst pitcher in the league? That basically is waving the white flag. Why not bring in Duffey? Rocco is always trying to win tomorrow, never today. At some point a manager has to gamble and say "I think we can get back in this one, I'm going to send in my best guys". Rocco says "No way we come back from 4-1, I'm going to put in my WORST guy so we can save our best guys for tomorrow". He's blatantly forfeiting the series with the Twins down by 3 runs, in the 5th inning. It's irritating. If your best players can play, put them in the damn game and go for the win. Worry about tomorrow when tomorrow gets here.

What you saw last night was a team that's used to winning, and a team that's used to losing. The Twins had absolute best start possible: Arraez singles, Donaldson HR. Guys are pumped, Donaldson is talking smack and high fiving everyone in the dugout! Good teams don't look back from a start like that. The Twins starter, unfortunately, let the air out of the balloon with a disastrously long first inning and the Twins now feel like they're hanging on by a thread. It's only a matter of time until the Sox catch up. Giolitto got it together, the Sox took their momentum and ran with it, and the rest is history.

I don't mind Cruz getting thrown out, or Polanco getting caught stealing. It's far too late for aggressive baserunning to make a difference this year - but it's a good habit and perhaps some of the younger players will catch on. Likely sweep incoming. The narrative that the Twins were somehow "back in the race" after winning a couple games against Cleveland's AAA team was head-scratching. I mean, yeah if the Pirates, Orioles and Rockies won 15 straight games, they'd be "back in the race" too...but we can look at those teams with a non-biased eye and we know that's ridiculous. This team has the worst pitching in baseball and it hasn't improved. The season's been over since Memorial Day.

Yeah man. It's not fun but I'd say there's about an 80% chance the Twins lose at least 3-of-4 here. Probably a coin flip whether or not they get swept. I'd absolutely be thrilled if they went into Chicago and split the series, but I just can't see that happening. When you look at the pitching matchups and look at Chicago's offense, it just doesn't seem realistic to hope for anything more than limping out of Chicago with 1 victory in this series.

We'd all like that to happen. But hey, either way we can always use more positivity here! Have a great week, go Twins!

It's been a decent couple of weeks. Fun to watch the team win more than they lose for a change. Alas, I fear that Baily Ober and "Undecided" are not going to match up well against Rodon and Lynn. For those who think they see a light at the end of the tunnel.....think again. That light belongs to a big fat locomotive coming straight for us. This is shaping up to be a very rough week and I think reality is going to hit like a ton of bricks. PS: More Sox news.....word on the street is that the Sox are going to add Eduardo Escobar to their team in a trade with the D-Backs. Seems like a great move, Eddie's career will come full circle. Good for him.

As a Twins fan who regularly checks in from Guatemala, it's great to see someone else in Latin America following the team. I missed out on visiting Rio a few years ago due to visa problems but I am sure I will make it down there someday!

I initially agreed and now I'm thinking: Good lord, we're so browbeaten and traumatized by Twins pitching that we say it's "decent" when a guy gives up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in just 4.1 innings. That's like an ERA of 7.50 or something. If a Yankee pitcher did that he'd be booed off the field, yet here in Minneapolis we're giving the kid medals for throwing batting practice. We've got to raise our standards. As for Jax, I guess it's noble of him to go out there and get crushed night after night, but at some point we should expect a bit more or give someone else a try. He's been disappointing and at this point isn't up to facing MLB talent.

Twins were sloppy but Cleveland was sloppier. Kirilloff with an HR and Gordon yet again making it hard to sit him down. Arraez is the guy on this team we should be thinking about extending... Lots of disappointing efforts. Kepler is just a shell of what he was two years ago. Sano isn't even a regular anymore. Robles, yikes. But hey, Twins win and we can all sleep well. Thanks for this great write up Theires!

Yep. The fact that they needed the wild pitch in the first place (and that was the only way they could score) is pretty sad - the fact that they threw away an extra run there was just another facepalm moment. Even when things go right and the Twins get lucky, they still manage somehow to screw it up.