bighat

This team just gives away runs like Halloween candy on October 31st. And they squander runs on the offensive side. Men on 2nd and 3rd, nobody out? For the Twins, they're lucky to score 1 run in that scenario. They can't score runs in bunches because they can't hit with runners on base. This team simply cannot make contact. Most last place teams are likeable, if not loveable. Almost all last place teams are rebuilding and doing their best - at least you give them respect....not these guys. This is the worst team in baseball, they deserve to be, and it's pretty hard to feel sorry for them the way they are playing.

Except in Yankee Stadium, that's 15 rows up in the upper deck.

Like the author and the other commenters....I'm happy about the win but overall it didn't change my feelings about this team. It was nice to see Sano get fired up, dude sure as heck needed a big moment. Speaking of that big moment, it was the Twins' first lead in 33 INNINGS: This team needs to win tomorrow, or today's win will be forgotten quickly. Here's hoping someone in the locker room (maybe, I dunno, former league MVP, established veteran and highest paid guy on the team Josh Donaldson cough-cough) is ready to step up into a leadership role and tell these guys to pull their heads out already. Bullpen with 2 scoreless innings, that's something I guess?

Yep. Cruz, Buxton, Berrios, Donaldson, and Arraez are all very passionate players. Well known for being gritty, gutty, and sometimes downright fiery. For a team composed of players like that to look so lifeless is baffling. Rocco's putting Nyquil in the Gatorade. This team is miserable. Watching them play is painful.

I dunno - how about they talk to Pohlad and ask if Rocco's on the hot seat? Start at least asking that question. If the Yankees, Dodgers, White Sox, or any other team that was predicted to be a playoff finalist were 12-23, we wouldn't just be hearing whispers, we'd be reading detailed articles about firing the manager daily. I think readers and fans are ready for some drastic moves. Someone should start the conversation.

100% Absolutely agree. There seems to be a lot of reporters saying things like "Gee whiz, another bad game for the Twins" and not much else. This is a train wreck and the media is just mailing it in, like the coaching staff. LaVelle did tweet last night that this could be a 100 loss team but he's not really the Twins beat reporter right now. No pressure at all from media or ownership or front office... Now you also mentioned fight. Here's the crazy part: Josh Donaldson: known as a competitor, can be a red-assed hothead. Wants to WIN. Period. Luis Arraez: Battles every plate appearance. Gritty. Gutty. Fun. Contagious attitude. Nelson Cruz: Ageless talent and the one of the biggest cheerleaders in the game. Yells and celebrates and has tons of fun with teammates in the dugout. La Tortuga: If not a competitor, at least he's a fun addition to a clubhouse. Buxton: A huge "LETS GO!" guy who gets fired up when he makes big plays and gets fired up when his teammates do as well. Berrios: Works hard, has the respect of his teammates and is not shy about pumping his fist. Clearly wants to WIN. How on earth can a team with the players listed above be so listless? What on earth is going on? It's like Rocco's putting sleeping pills in the gatorade or something. Not only are the Twins playing way under their abilities, but they are also sleepwalking through the whole thing. It's insane and even crazier is that all we hear is "gee whiz these Twins aren't playing well" from the local media and from Rocco. This is a dumpster fire and I for one want answers.

Seth Rogan just did some hilarious interviews with Howard Stern - including some really funny stories about meeting Tom Cruise and George Lucas. If you're looking for a day brightener, head over to YouTube and look them up. Back to the Twins - we could have all turned off the game when the White Sox took a 2-1 lead in the 1st inning. There is no fight in this team offensively. And, every time the offense shows life, the starting pitcher or bullpen immediate gives up the lead. I'm talking right away, they don't even let the Twins build on a lead for an inning or two. Any lead is just POOF gone. I'm getting antsy for some kind of big move. Maybe it's a firing of someone in management. Or maybe it's a demotion of a big name. But something's gotta happen. Because sitting around and doing nothing is just so pathetically lethargic that it's embarrassing.

Dylan Cease was simply awful - he was wild, ineffective, and throwing up meatballs. If you watched the game, his performance was much worse than his line shows. Yet the Twins' bats are so futile, that Cease actually set a personal record for getting 20 swings-and-misses. That's right: on a mediocre pitcher's worst night, he still marked a personal best against Minnesota Twins bats. I'm not even touching the bullpen, as I have nothing to add that hasn't been said. Rortvedt should be shown the door, he makes Jeffers look like Hank Aaron. Cruz is swinging and missing at 89MPH fastballs down the middle. Simmons' baserunning mistake in the 2nd inning is unforgiveable, just a complete meltdown. La Tortuga is our best option at first right now, I can't even imagine how bad this lineup would be with Sano in it. I'm with most who say the season appears to be over. It's mind-boggling that we are already to this point but the record and performance speak for themselves.

Twins got Jhoan Duran in the Eduardo Escobar trade a couple years back. Hasn't done anything for the Twins yet, but he's predicted to start contributing shortly.

Twins got Jhoan Duran in the Eduardo Escobar trade a couple years back. Hasn't done anything for the Twins yet, but he's predicted to start contributing shortly.

Twins got Jhoan Duran in the Eduardo Escobar trade a couple years back. Hasn't done anything for the Twins yet, but he's predicted to start contributing shortly.

Twins got Jhoan Duran in the Eduardo Escobar trade a couple years back. Hasn't done anything for the Twins yet, but he's predicted to start contributing shortly.

Thanks all - Really enjoy the new look, it was certainly time to upgrade and you all did a fantastic job. Looking forward to continuing to read and post here!

If Sano gets sent down and doesn't improve....who's going to want to trade for him? Nobody wants to buy a 1991 Mitsubishi Mirage on Craigslist if the transmission needs to be replaced, even if the owner thinks it's a good vehicle and has fond memories of his road trip to Cedar Rapids. Nobody wants to trade for a .150 hitter who strikes out 50% of the time. Twins have to fix him first, and even then his value is almost as low as its ever been.

Terrible lead-in for this article made it sound like Jose Berrios was at fault. This isn't fantasy baseball, it's real MLB baseball. Berrios gave up 2 runs and got his team to the start of the 7th inning.mJose did his job, period. I don't care if he didn't strike out anyone and his K/IP ratio dipped. He kept opponents from crossing home plate. Should have been good enough to get this team the win. The blame rests on the offense and, as always, the bullpen. Our starters have been doing their job.

He should get the start today (Saturday) with the right hander Urena on the mound.

To see the Twins catch their breath with the rain delay and come out and add more insurance was nice. Detroit is awful, might be the only team worse than the Twins in the AL right now. At this point, if the Twins really are a .500 ballclub or better, they should have no problems with the Tigers and should sweep them. Desperate for wins and on the ropes with terrible injuries, now isn't the time to rest anyone or put on the brakes. Garlick, Cave, and Kepler is the outfield from now on? Yeesh. Time for Donaldson and/or Cruz to start carrying this team. This is what they are here for. I think when Stashak blew the 4-0 lead and it became 4-3, many of us didn't know if we could take any more. The bullpen continues to disappoint, today it was Stashak's turn but it's always someone. The guy's been pretty bad this year, time for a change. Call St. Paul.

On this date in 2018 the Miami Marlins were 13-21 with the worst bullpen in baseball. They went on to lose 98 games and had the worst record in the league.

Regarding Rocco's handling of starters: In today's MLB, if a guy goes 6 innings and throws 90 pitches - that's the end. He might get one or two more batters, but it's totally normal for any manager to pull their pitcher as they get close to that 100 pitch mark. There are many reasons to blame Rocco - pulling his guys when they hit 100 pitches isn't one of them. That's become an MLB standard.

The strikeouts are a huge problem. I saw Yang Heong-jong get pulled the other day after 3.1 innings (Twins had bases loaded at the time) they showed his numbers on screen. The guy pitched 3.1 innings against the Twins....and had EIGHT strikeouts. That means out of 10 total outs, 8 of them were by strikeout. Awful. The whole Bomba Squad thing is nothing more than a math/probabilities project. Basically, the theory is that if you close your eyes and swing as hard as you can for 27 outs, you should beat your opponent six out of 10 times. It's terrible to watch, hard to cheer for, and at some point the moving pieces in this project (the players) are going to get sick of participating. We're watching the death of new age strategy in real time.

When I saw Yang Heong-jong get pulled the other day after 3.1 innings (Twins had bases loaded at the time) they showed his numbers on screen. The guy pitched 3.1 innings against the Twins....and had EIGHT strikeouts. That means out of 10 total outs, just 2 of them weren't strikeouts. Awful. The whole Bomba Squad thing is nothing more than a math/probabilities project. Basically, the theory is that if you close your eyes and swing as hard as you can for 27 outs, you should beat your opponent six out of 10 times. It's terrible to watch, hard to cheer for, and at some point the moving pieces in this project (the players) are going to get sick of participating. We're watching the death of new age strategy in real time.

Absolutely. While many here panicked about the team's bullpen and run production early on, they were shouted down by the spreadsheet geeks: "Stop worrying. The BABIP is incredibly low, barrel % rate is high, and the avg. MPH exit velocity is in the top 10% of the league". Who the heck cares if they don't get hits with men on base? You can't create a team based on advanced stats alone. Meanwhile, Eddie Rosario is delivering clutch hits for Cleveland. He won them a ballgame a couple nights ago in extras. I don't care what his OPBS+ is, I know the guy got clutch hits when needed. No, I'm not pining to get Eddie back, I'm not going down that dark hallway. What I am saying is that we have zero clutch performers now that he's gone, and it doesn't matter what their stats are because they are not hitting when they need to. None of 'em. Twins have now lost home series to Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Texas. They are getting absolutely smoked by just about everyone and are absolutely the laughing stock of MLB right now. This is worse than the worst case scenario anyone could have imagined going into the year.

I think every team in the league could say the same thing.

Since Week 2 of the season, we've kept asking ourselves: "is this rock bottom?" Seriously, could it get any worse? I think at this point, a season-ending injury to Buxton would be about the only thing that could make this fan base more depressed. Only the Rockies and Tigers - two teams predicted to be historically terrible - are worse than the Twins so far. The Twins haven't been able to win home series against the Pirates, Mariners, Rangers. What the in the ever-loving name of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is going to happen when we go to Chicago next week? New York? Houston? It's going to be a blood bath.

Looking forward to it, thanks!