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mike8791's Blog

A blog by mike8791 in Twins Daily

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About this blog

21 Years is Enough!

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Entries in this blog

Twins

THE FALVEY FILE

Well T-giving has passed and Xmas has come early..  Today, I just received a copy of Derek Falvey's business planner from a disgruntled FO employee wishing to make public DF's plans starting in August 2021 thru opening day 2022.  For brevity sake I have removed all the confusing algorithms, statistics, and doodlings that comprise most of these pages, but the words are his!   Hope you enjoy this rare insight into the brain of Derek Falvey!! Aug.  2021 1. Make up list of all preseason pi
Twins

Just Dreamin'

Woke up in a sweat last nite.  Dreamt that Jim Pohlad called and offered me the Twins GM job the day after the 2021 season ended.  While I was overcome with excitement, before accepting the position, I had 3 demands: 1.  I would be able to fire Rocco and his staff.  Would look for a veteran, old school manager like Buck Showalter or Bruce Boche. Maybe even James Rowson or (gasp!!) Ozzie Guillen?? 2. JP had to agree to resign BB to the 7 year/$80MM contract agreed on plus whatever game-
Twins

The Dust Has Settled - What's Next, Part 2

Before we look into our crystal balls post-deadline, a quick review of what's just transpired might be in order.  First, we lost our best hitter and best pitcher.  For this very reason, chances are this season is going to get even worse.  Three of our new starters will likely be Ober, Jax and Barnes, none of whom figures to be better than a #5 starter.  The bullpen has arguably gotten worse without Rogers and Robles.  And the offense will likely continue to be erratic -  some big run production
Twins

Blueprint for the Future after Cruz

Now that the first shoe has dropped in the Twin's trade season, what should the Twins do next?  The Cruz trade impact clearly affects both the pitching and offense of this team, both now and next year.  The additions of Ryan and to a lesser extent, Strotman, can be expected to bolster the Twin's staff, even as soon as next year.  Their addition improves the odds that ("trumpets blaring"), this team might have doubled their chances to internally develop an ace(prior to this trade, Balozavic seeme
Twins

Going Forward - Retool or Rebuild?

Now that it is clear Twins must be sellers, the most pressing issue to the FO must be: Retool or Rebuild?  With the trade deadline in just 4 weeks, many big decisions must be made this month.  Just to restate the obvious: retooling can be defined as fielding a 2022 squad that can be a legitimate contender at least for a playoff spot.  A rebuild means tearing down the core and hoping to contend by 2024/5 at the earliest. For starters, let's list the key factors that would allow for a retool:

When Is it Time to be Concerned?

Spring training is slightly more than half over. While most of us tend to dismiss results, both from the Twins W/L record and individual performances, I admit to a growing concern about last year's greatest weakness - the offense. Looking at team stats the Twins rank 23rd(out of 30) in BA, 27th in Runs, 29th in OBP, and 25th in Slugging. These figures are even more depressing if we subtract the very robust stats from guys like Lin, Astudillo, Broxton, and Garlick, none of whom are given much

WHAT'S NEXT?

About an hour before Andrelton Simmons signed with the #MNTwins, one source suggested they’d pivot to Simmons after missing out on Marcus Semien. Same person believes club has two more moves ahead before the offseason is out.   As happy as Twin fans are over the Simmons' signing(probably the Twins best FA signing besides Donaldson), the above quote from Passan's tweet announcing the Simmons signing gives even more reason for optimism for the Twins looking at two more transactions.   So lets sta

Nellie or Nick?

Recently, Twins have been reported to have sweetened the price to Nellie, though still sticking to a one year deal. Very hard to argue with FO's desire to bring back a guy who has been the Twins' offensive leader for the past two years, nor is sticking to a one year deal with a 41 year old debatable.   The only FA DH the Twins have been linked to is Ozuna, whose offensive prowess is a close match to Cruz's over past couple years. His signing, however, would most likely result in a big, multiye

What Went wrong?

No, the season isn't over, but in terms of winning the division, it almost certainly is after a disheartening series loss in Chicago. The Twins were overwhelming favorites to win the Division, at least. The FO came thru this offseason by signing Donaldson and greatly strengthening the rotation by trading for Maeda and signing Hill and Bailey. Results in an improved rotation are self-evident to the point where this can now be considered the strength of the team.   But what happened? Sure the

A Winning Strategy

Lots of teeth gnashing on Twins' offseason so far - and for good reason. The strong FA pitching class has been whittled down to almost the vanishing point, or so it seems to many of us. After a record-setting 101 win season, followed by the crushing exit at the hands of the Evil Empire, the FO made noises about adding impact pitching. As most of us on TD realize, this team just doesn't stack up well in a playoff environment. The bats go cold, our starters and bullpen fall on their faces, and

A Tale of Two Organizations

Well, we're down to nail-biting time. This weekend's series can likely determine both Cleveland's and the Twins' fate for the season. A sweep by either team likely spells the end for the losing team. Pretty obvious for Cleveland if they're on the losing end, but almost as obvious for a reeling Twins team headed in the wrong direction. That's just reality. Even if the Twins manage to sneak in to a WC game, their chances against the A's or Rays, both of whom are headed in the right direction

Is the Window Closing?

2019 has been an exhilarating ride. This is easily the best Twins team since 2010(and arguably, since 2006). While success is by no means assured this year, suffice it to say that 2019 has brought us to the cusp of serious playoff contention. While recent erratic play, particularly in the rotation and in the field, has tempered our chances for advancement , most of us still feel pretty comfortable about seeing playoff games in Target Field this year. We have a whole month to go, but as of to

A Suggestion for the FO for The Trade Deadline

Lots of great ideas for what Falvey and company should be doing this month. If you believe,as I do, that this team is for real and with a few significant upgrades, have a realistic chance to go far in October, then half-way measures will be hard to take for us long-suffering fans.   Hard to say if there is a greater need in the rotation or bullpen. Let's just agree both need upgrading for this team to approach quality of Yanks, Astros, or Dodgers. Yes, the bullpen has been somewhat of a surpr

Earth to Falvey: The Window is Wide Open

Most of us gnashed our teeth this past offseason when we heard the new team's philosophy that there is no reason to go all in until "the window is open". I say gnashed out teeth because many of us asked the question: how do you open the window wider without adding significant outside talent?   But Falvine stubbornly held the course by passing on virtually every available free agent reliever, despite a woefully undermanned existing bullpen. Surprising to many the Twins got off to a great start,

Grading the Offseason

Now that Marwin is on board, thought it would be a good idea to review the Twins' grade for the 18/19 offseason. Prior to this latest move, I would have given the FO a solid C for their efforts to date. A very positive step was taken by the Cruz signing, estimably their biggest FA signing of the winter. Finally, the team has a bona fide DH. When is the last time we can say that?   Their signing of 2B Schoop also was a positive one, given his age and previous ML success, at least up until 201

How Do You Spell R-E-L-I-E-F?

So now that the home town nine have apparently filled their glaring lineup holes, our thoughts (and hopefully Flavines') should be turning to the 2019 bullpen. Let's examine the team's options:   1. Stand pat and hope there are enough internal options to build a reasonably effective pen. This is not as far fetched as one might think, given the performance of Rogers in 2018, the re-emergence of May after two injury-plagued years, a healthy Addison Reed, and a well-rested Hildenberger who hopefu

A Tale of Two Cities

Sorry Dickens' fans, this is about the Twins, the Cubs and White Sox. As a lifetime Senators/Twins fan and a longtime resident of Chicago, I've followed all three franchises quite closely - thru thick and thin. Don't worry, we're not going all the way back to 1961 - just wanted to review all three team's recent "rebuilds" and see what lessons we might draw, particularly in regards to the Falvey team going forward.   Might as well start with the one success story, the Cubs under Epstein. Takin

Pretenders or Contenders?

Thought I might add my two cents as to what is needed in the offseason to vault the Twins into playoff contention. It should be clear by now that there are simply too many holes on this current group to seriously believe they would be strong contenders next year without significant additions(we'll leave the Manager position to others for now).   Here are my top three priorities for the FO to consider in the off season:   1. A #1 Starter   -Yes, I know the starting rotation has been one of t

Crushing or Flushing?

The MLB meetings are officially over and many more questions remain than have been answered for most organizations. While the lack of activity, especially among the top player categories, has been surprising, there are some tentative conclusions that can be drawn about Falvine and their impact on the Twins. We recognize the jury is still out until the dust settles, but let's stop for a moment to look at the state of the Twins as of now, at least.   There has been much talk about the opening of

The New Management Team - How are they doing?

The one year anniversary of the new Falvine Team has come and gone. We have a year's activity to judge this duo and like any new management there are some pluses and minuses, as follows:   PLUSES:   1. The Twins improved by 26 wins over 2016. In truth, even F&L's biggest supporters would be hard pressed to attribute this improvement to their actions, as the only FA signing was Juan Castro and while he was a noted improvement defensively, he didn't come close to Suzuki's offensive contribut

A Total System's Failure - Part II

My first blog on TD site. Hope you enjoy!!   As background, while terribly discouraged about the team's 2016 season, I must say there was a major silver lining : recognition by ownership that Ryan and Company had failed miserably in his second attempt at a rebuild. Finding new baseball leadership was a breath of fresh air this dormant franchise has needed for so long now. The good old boy network was finally broken with new, young, forward-thinking leadership with Falvey/Levine, or so we all

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