Minnesota Twins Talk

DISCLAIMER: I am not taking any shots against the intelligence, character, or competence of either Derek Falvey or Thad Levine I’ve heard some talk about how this team needs a change in FO. Is this talk for real? If it’s not then I apologize. TBH I don’t really have an opinion on this. They’ve done good things and bad things, and I can’t really see if there’s a major difference.

Looks like the Twins Training Complex and A-ball team headquarters will be in the path of what is promising to be a thunderous water-filled surge of a hurricane. Anyone know if the Twins are currently holding a Fall Instructional League at the complex? The players (and staff) are usually housed in a hotel-like building at the complex. Not sure what it is like for weathering a hurricane. And it isn't just sitting thru a hurricane, but the mess that comes after it...supply line delays, loss of power, etc. etc. Again, the Twins usually have up to a fourth of their minor league prospects workout in an after-the-season instructional camp, with an occasional pick-up g…

Arraez batting title

It looks like it!

The Twins have announced that Derek Falvey will return in 2023, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/twins-to-retain-derek-falvey-as-president-of-baseball-operations.html

All that has to happen is the following. 1. Twins win their final 9 games. 2. Mariners lose their final 10 games. 3. Orioles lose 6 of their final 9 games. 4. White Sox lose 4 of their final 9 games.

...you may appreciate this remix of Prince's "Go Crazy" that I created as an homage to a select few Minnesota sports highlights from my lifetime. Two out of three of them are Twins-based (you can probably guess which games they're from). It's called "The Puckett Formerly Known as Kirby" I'm also including a flac version if you'd like to download it, but clicking on the above link or the below album cover should take you to a streamable version on my Bandcamp page. (Now that we've been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race, I figured this post would be more appropriate, and perhaps even ever-so-slightly uplifting.) 367178346_the…

Can’t stand Sox….. and it’s all about for one reason….. it’s Harrelson for years and years

I don't do Twitter and I haven't found a place on the internet that provides timely updates on injured players. There was a posting in "Twins Roster Moves" asking for information on Bailey Ober. There are several others I haven't heard about in weeks--Alcala, Coulombe and Dobnak. Also Jhon Romero (remember him?). Alcala, for example was shut down "temporarily" after making one rehab appearance on June 1 and we haven't heard anything concrete since. The Twins mlb website does provide updates, but they don't update every day. I will pin this as a place to update Twins' injuries. Contributors who are plugged in more than me are welcome! Thanks.

Thad Levine here. My 2022 Brutal Self-Assessment (BSA) includes the key areas that I think are important to Twins front office and coaching staff success. Twins Daily readers should offer solutions or point out things I have missed. Space limits stop me from listing all areas that need to be addressed. #1. We arrived in 2016 touting our ability to identify, draft and develop players, especially pitching. How have we done in six drafts? My quick BSA shows that in 2022, three pitchers we drafted and developed (Winder, Sands, and Varland) will have pitched about 120 of the nearly 1,500 innings pitched. Five position players we drafted and developed will make roughl…

After the Twins abysmal 2021 season ended, Twins GM Thad Levine summed it up by spewing this line of business-speak (BS). Honest to God, the Star-Tribune really quoted him. With enough clicks on https://www.atrixnet.com/bs-generator.html, I suspect one could generate a similar BS statement. “We try to be as responsible as we can in forecasting the scope of possible outcomes, and the performance our team had on that spectrum,” Levine said the other day. “I can guarantee you it wasn’t an outcome that we spent a lot of time scrutinizing and preparing for because we were expecting the much better end of the spectrum of outcomes. It certainly was not on our radar screen …

Per Phil Miller of the StarTribune: https://www.startribune.com/twin-new-uniforms-target-field-dave-stpeter-rebranding-cranes-behind-left-field/600210558/

Between watching the Twins and Brewers mirror each other at nearly every step of the season, I keep coming back to this scene from the Buffy movie. It pretty much nails my viewing experience of this baseball season.

Not a surprise. Falvey announced it yesterday. Can't say I'm thrilled. Of course Falvey and Levine aren't going anywhere either. I'd guess that some of the coaches won't be as lucky, along with possibly the training/medical staff too. Someone has to take the fall. OH BOY! Get ready for more Rocco-Ball next season....I can hardly wait.

The 2022 Twins are currently in 3rd place with a 73-74 and are freefalling, as well as horribly injured. They are 1-4 in their last 5 games and 6-12 in their last 18 games. With each passing day, this team’s playoff chances are decreasing. While I hate to be a naysayer, I think it’s unlikely this team makes the postseason. Let’s look ahead at 2023 for a moment. The starting rotation is always a question for the Twins. What will the Twins’ rotation look like in 2023? Well, obviously we will see some of this year’s rotation remain in the rotation next year. There’s no doubt 2021-2022 offseason acquisition Sonny Gray and 2022 July trade deadline acquisition Tyler M…

Buxton is going in and having arthroscopic knee surgery next Tues to "clean up" whatever is wrong. Hopefully, they don't find anything more serious than just a clean up procedure. If all goes well, he'll be fine in plenty of time for spring training next year.

Since retirement from his long, MLB career, Denny Hocking has been very involved in the game. He has been a minor-league coach and manager. He has done some analyst work for Angels TV as well as some college baseball for ESPN. He has helped raise three incredible athletes. He has twin daughters who were both elite, national team-level soccer players. His son committed recently to UCLA on a baseball scholarship. Jeepers, his #7 was retired by the Twins organization just a few years ago. Earlier this year, he was named the manager of Team USA's 18U team, and they have now won a Gold Medal.

I think it's fair to say that the Minnesota Twins 2022 season was a philosophical failure. That would be putting it nicely. There were some bright spots to he sure...Duran, the emergence of Nick Gordon, Joe Ryan, but to be honest (and I have gone on record as saying this) This front office has to go...and go away far. I will reference a podcast on the Athletic hosted by Jason Stark and Doug Glamcille where for 60 minutes they ask Joe Maddon what is wrong with baseball today. The jist of the listening experience includes the usage of analytics in major league baseball. I think we can all agree it has a useful inclusion of the sport. Maddon expands on how the Angels, this…

This is all about feelings, and feelings aren't right or wrong so no judgement please. The events of the second half of this Twins season have drained me of enthusiasm and interest. Beyond my ambivalent feelings overall toward my Twins, I have a deep and abiding hatred for the Yankees. That never wanes. MLB is no fun to watch when the teams who pay 2-3x the payroll of their competitors are just beating up on the rest of the league. I especially root against Aaron Judge. It is not fair to him and I'll admit that, but he is exactly what I picture when I read accounts of the Nephilim or Goliath. His success brings nothing but pain. I would have already moved …

For those thinking that I am going to jump on the free agent or trade train for SP.....I am NOT. Everyone on the board was clamoring for new 'proven' pitchers (by trade or free agency). In fact, Frankie Montas was on the top of many's list for a trade. Take a look at his performance since the trade, and the MRI now being run on his shoulder; sounds like Mahle, or a lesser outcome than Paddack is possible. While Luis Castillo has panned out, clearly Motas has not (nor has Mahle BTW). Moreover, when many on the board were screaming for Stroman (and others) in FA over the past two offseasons, the outcomes on each of these 'high value' targets has been mixed (to poor) a…

For a guy who suddenly can't pitch, he sure chirps at the ump and gets into it with the opposing team a lot. That kind of mouth running is better left to players who can back it up with good pitching...ironically, the best pitchers don't feel the need to act like that. By the way, did anyone laugh out loud like I did when Celestino stole 2nd base today??? I mean the guy or any of our players, havn't tried to steal a base all year when it mattered, but now that we are out of contention, he steals?? wtf? I know a lot about the game, but the back office stuff I'm not as clear on...is there any possible way they will fire Rocco? Or will he survive because …

I just saw on MLB.com that Aaron Judge is leading the AL batting title race at .316. Arreaz is at .314. Arreaz has enough plate appearances for the title. He just needs to beat Judge for the title so he can keep the Yankees from having a triple crown winner. Boegarts is at .315 so its a 3 person race at the moment with 4th best average at .308 Abreau Whitesox.

Just a reminder that not all injuries only happen to Twins players. The Yankees acquired Montas at the trade deadline and gave up some good prospects too and he now has a 6.35 ERA for the Yankees and went on the DL with an injury. Mahle at least had a good ERA in his few innings after we got him but is also hurt. so far in the evaluation process, who got the worse deal of the 2?

Some people spend time, energy and money buying up probable domain names, hoping to cash in. The Minnesota Twins pretty much abandoned the need for Twins.com, but the domain holders have now released the name (for a rumored sizable fee). https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/twins-com-sold-to-mlb.html?fbclid=IwAR3vcD78L-B_0_Py3SoGKUVNuXmF-Hn_47A9KPQho6ZxSccfQCoa7ekYfXg Guardians.com, Rays.com and Giants.com are still on the market!

20 games left, 4 games back, next 5 games against the first place team. Its still there for the taking but all of the mulligans have been used up. No more house money left. They have to go out and take it. Absolute minimum is win 3 of the 5. The playoffs are now on for the Twins.

According to Darren Wolfson and others, RANDY DOBNAK has been waived off the 40-man roster. His rehad had ended and if they were forced to make a decision on his immeditae worth to the team, or remove someone from the roster. By doing so now, if he is unclaimed, he will be assigned to the minors. If they waited until the off-season, he could've declared himself a free agent. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/twins-place-randy-dobnak-on-outright-waivers.html Don't fret, he's not going anywhere with the contract he signed with the Twins, that carries thru 2025 with three more option years. Granted, someone might take a flyer. But if no one does, Randy st…

Here we go!

It's a bad sign when the prospects you traded for a pitcher at the trade deadline are already outperforming that pitcher a month later. That being said, I'm more concerned about the Twins' medical staff than I am about "Falvine" per se. Point 1: Everyone is taking too much time to recover from injuries. That has been the case the entire year. Point 2: The whole Byron Buxton 2 games out of 3 ratio ended up with Buck hurt during the most crucial part of the schedule, leaving the team vulnerable to complete derailment, which is what we're seeing unfold in front of our eyes. It's unclear how to deploy Buxton properly, but I don't think this was the best…

With Louie Varland getting added to the 40-man in a couple of days, someone has to go. There don't seem to be any candidates for transfer to the 60-day injured list, so someone will be designated for assignment and presumably put on waivers. I picked some names from the roster listed at MLB.com, for the poll. The idea is to predict who will, not who you think deserves it, though that's interesting to discuss too. Anyone want to weigh in on your reasoning?