bighat

Man, I remember feeling really upset about losing Randy Rosario...oh well. Twins really struck gold with Adrianza, would be great if they could use their high slot this summer to grab another winner. Ian Hamilton looked great in Spring Training, and with a terrible bullpen you'd think his shot has to be coming. What does this guy have to do to get called up?

At first I didn't like the pick - 6'0", 185? A high school player from Wisconsin? At shortstop? None of it made a whole lot of sense until...."his brother recently made his MLB debut with Cleveland". Ah okay, so there's some pedigree. This article's worth a read. Also, MLB.com had him listed as the #62 prospect, so it wasn't tooooo much of a stretch. So a bit of a gamble here from the Twins, and why not? Good luck Noah!

Heck yeah man. He's getting calls from Mike Trout and going out to dinner with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado tonight! Looks like he's got a great arm too. Loving this kid!

Let me preface my response by saying this whole conversation is meant to be jovial, and in good fun. The Twins are on a break, I'm just shooting the breeze here and having a good time debating a player. You: "Let's not overreact! He's a rookie, those strikeout stats don't matter" Also you: "His OPS is .755" So...stats do matter, but only the good ones? We're not supposed to talk about those bad stats over there in the corner? Anyway man, I totally understand the points a lot of you are making. I guess I just have some seeds of doubt and I'm wondering if anyone else feels the same. Anyone remember Bobby Kielty? That's all I'm sayin.

I think you missed the part about Larnach striking out 4 times in back to back games. He struck out 4 times in a game last week, too. This is a problem and it looks like a big one. Seven homers isn't good enough to make up for what has become an alarming inability to make contact.

How on earth did he "earn" his spot? In two of his last 3 starts, he hasn't made it out of the 4th inning and has given up 4 or more ER. Another example of how we're so traumatized by watching Twins pitching that we think a guy with a 5.45 ERA is earning a spot. It just shows how low our standards have fallen. I think we should keep running Ober out there, just to see if anything changes, but keep your expectations reasonable. This guy doesn't look like he's got anything that's going to keep him in the majors.

A sweep would be nice, but at this point you just pray for 1 more win before the break.

I don't think it's worth too much. Over his last 7 starts he's got a 6.75 ERA and is averaging 5.1 innings and 8 hits per start. And that includes last night's gem of a start, so do the math on the rest. There's toast, and there's burnt toast. Happ should fit the bill as a long-man or innings eater in the 2nd half. The Twins need to start giving more young guys a shot. JA is an easy choice for a starter who should be pushed aside in favor of youth, another old timer tossed into the canyon that is Father Time's bottomless gaping maw.

Saw it on the MLB.TV highlight package - incredible diving stop by Polanco, glove flip to Simmons and then a nice stretch by Sano. That should definitely make an ESPN or MLB Network Top 10 or whatever, absolutely fantastic. That saved the Twins at least 2 runs, effectively was a game-saving play.

Shannon Stewart for Bobby Kielty, if I recall correctly? Great to hear his name again. Stewart was just a monster during his time with the Twins, I believe he was 3rd in the MVP vote that year or the next.

This one got me too - I just about did a spit take with my morning coffee when I read your response here. Good stuff.

Just getting around to watching some of these interviews - great job Seth, these are gold. Thanks so much for doing the work and giving us something different to enjoy away from the big league field.

We are having a discussion about trading Buxton and Berrios for top prospects.

You think nobody at least asked about Royce Lewis at the trade deadline in 2019-2020? You think the Twins wouldn't have considered trading him if Scherzer or DeGrom would have been on offer?

I'm not talking about current stars - but rather prospects who are still in AAA or AA - an example would have been Tatis Jr. in 2019 or whatever.

100%. If you trade a Berrios, a Buxton - you need to receive a blue chip, sure thing prospect. Remember how we'd all heard of Fernando Tatis Jr before he got to the bigs? The Twins need to get THAT if we trade these guys. You don't just trade gold glove winners and All-Star pitchers for a bunch of lottery tickets. Twins should be asking for an organization's #1 overall prospect - and MORE - for both Buxton and/or Berrios. If the Twins have Royce Lewis and a couple other big MiLB names coming to the big leagues in 2022, Minnesota baseball might be fun again.

I love how the Twins score 1 run and the first comment here is complaining about Berrios. Twins fans, we're an ungrateful bunch when it comes to the few guys that can play. From Buxton, Berrios, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, the list goes on..... Anyhoo, I watched one inning only, where the Twins had runners on 2nd and 3rd, and just 1 out. With the Sox defense back and essentially GIVING UP THE RUN, Sano grounded out weakly to the pitcher, and Celestino flew out to right. Instead of answering and cutting the lead to 2-1, the lead stayed 2-0 and it was downhill from there. The Twins fail to capitalize, fail again later in the game, end up with 1 run and lose the game....stop me if you've seen this movie before. The FO and coaching staff have stopped teaching fundamentals. They've done the math. With a man on 3rd base and less than two outs, the computers say it's better for a batter hit a HR (or at least try) as opposed to hitting a groundout or sac fly to score a run. It's ruined many players on this team. Unwatchable baseball. Sad for Berrios, and sad for Twins fans who likely won't get to watch this guy pitch much longer. No way he stays here, he's leaving on his own next year or via trade this year. The Twins will be lucky to ever have a guy like that come through their own system again, it may be 20 years before the next La Makina shows up.

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.