Article: It's OK To Get Excited Again, Twins Fans!

[Darius]

I agree. I thought it was over, but if some things continue to happen they have a shot:

 

1). Obviously, Dozier mashing HRs every night is nice. When he's on, it makes the whole lineup better (they have to pitch him differently, along with Sano, rippling down to guys like Kepler, Mauer, Rosario getting better pitches).

 

2). Eddie Rosario is turning into a monster. It's something like .313/.365/.520 in his last 60 games. Swing rate on pitches out of the zone down 10% over that span (roughly 45% career average to 35%). He may be figuring something out.

 

3). Big Sexy chewing up innings is huuuuuge.

 

4). Polanco hitting well from the bottom of the order, basically in front of a scorching Dozier.

 

Mejia's injury is a blow, he's been good. It would be nice to get Garver up here. But, those said, this team can win a whole lot of games in a short time if 1-4 continue.

[Thrylos]

It's always ok to be excited about your team.  After all, if you are not excited when your team playing, then you are not much of a fan

 

Both of those trades were good for the Twins: 

 

Effectively they replaced Garcia with Colon in the rotation and got 2 MLB-ready minor leaguers (one of them who will pitch tonight) for Ynoa.  This trade made the Twins better in 2017.

 

Kintzler was not a regression that was about to happen, he was a regression that was happening.  He was losing games for the Twins.  Hopefully he will be replaced by a hot arm internally. (Curtiss, Bard, Melotakis, Turley, etc.)  

Busenitz for Breslow is a plus as well.

 

Got to be excited for them to win and they will win some (that's the definition of a .500 team.  Got 4 win streaks and 4 Loss streaks.)    Just they are not built to win in a postseason and that cannot change right now...

 

[pbrezeasap]

 

To get to 85 wins (which is worse than any wildcard team since the most recent format changes), the Twins need to go 29-21 over their last 50 games. That works out to a 94-win pace for an entire season, and is two wins better than any 50-game stretch they've had this year.

 

But 85 wins has been enough to win a division a few times in the last decade. The Indians play teams with a 0.500 record or better the rest of the month while the Twins get a bunch of games against the White Sox, Tigers, and Blue Jays, so I would hope they can pick up at least a few games and make September really fun. To heck with the second wild card, go take the division!

[rghrbek]

It's been great to watch the bounce back, especially against a good Brewers team (albeit the worst RISP team in MLB).

 

To me it's been a perfect case scenario, we sold some stuff, got value back and are again competing.  All year we have been competing because of our young kids (and Erv).  There is no better way to prepare for next year.  If we end up staying in it, how great will that experience be for our young guys?

 

Yes I am excited.

 

That being said.  Mauer is not having that much better of year than last year.  We need to think about platooning him with Garver or a waiver wire trade as has been suggested.

 

It's nice Dozier is heating up, as we know what that could mean, but for the vet calling out the FO, then striking out 5 times in a game and not hustling out a grounder to first..I am holding off on my praise for him.  Lead by example, not words.

 

Love that Polonco is restoring our faith as a hitter.  Him not panning out would be a huge blow to this team and our future 2nd base options.

 

Rosario is having a defining offensive year, as he may have fought through his awful bad habits at the plate.  However, he literally almost makes one mistake a game in the field or on base, which is still concerning.

 

Finally I say we let the bullpen go, sink or swim, and hopefully our Manager stops riding guys with 4 run leads.  Need to trust the young kids.  It's great experience.

 

Win Twins!

[ND-Fan]

This has surprised me in that instead of folding up the tent they have bonded together are going to show everyone they are good club. Stats people can show you all sorts of stats why they should not win but they can't show you personal side of team. This group is learning how to win and they are putting more games together where they have figured how to win than when they loose which has been a lot of time very big. It also reflects on pitching staff that front couple of pitchers have pitched very well for starters and same was happening with relief staff they have had couple that have excelled at times this year. I also have to give credit to Paul Molitor he done good job of keeping this team together and playing. I have been critic of his but he's shown this year he can win if given few good player perfomances.

 

I have stated all long when you have a team that is winning you do all you can as FO to keep it winning. The future is now because things may never click with group of players again because of thousand different circumstances. Also I believe  every so often you have years like this when group of teams are all about the same and all have flaws that prevent them from taking command of playoff spot. I am thinking this years wild card teams in American league could get in with a low of 85 to 87 wins. I just look at the remaining schedule and you see how so many of the teams are playing each other and nobody has the look of dominating others so I got feeling this is how whole season plays out. Also I look at American league central this is by no means settled either. Cleveland is up 4 on the Twins in the loss column but  the Twins  should stay hot and gain a game or two and next week Twins sweep Cleveland  you could see Minnesota tied with Cleveland with 40+ games to go. I know this may not happen but if this happens the Twins sure could have used their closer and another pitcher to add depth only saving factor will be that September is just two weeks away to get some call up to bolster the ranks. Also this may be another reason the Twins can make run for playoffs because this will bolster the bottom end of the rotation because they will have pitchers to piece games together to win a few more games.

 

Baseball has changed which a number of the media and experts have not fully come to realize in that having the best team with best overall record means nothing today. Because if you win 100+ games or you squeak in with 86 wins to make the playoffs. Everyone is starting even and it comes down to winning on very short sample size so if team gets hot it could propel you all way to world series champs. Look how many wild card teams have been to world series in last 10 years and they have won it just as many times as teams with best record in baseball. To win World series even for wild card teams it takes 13 wins out of possible maximum of 22 games. Relative short  season where who ever is hot and playing good baseball can become world series champ. In the past baseball was set up for teams who won most in regular season to make it the World Series. That has changed and  has extended the interest of fans in many cities because of these chances to make the playoffs. 

[Ryan Atkins]

Great article. I'm excited and hoping the Twins can win 5 in-a-row for the first time all season. One big reason CLE and KC are ahead is that they both had an 8-0 run while Twins were getting beaten up by a very good Dodgers team. If the Twins can string together their own run now, it should be an interesting September.

 

Pitching continues to be a concern so it would be great if either Falvey picked up a good rent-a-pitcher or we luck out and Gonsalves comes up and goes 5-1.

[ThejacKmp]

Question is will this front office allow this team to play out the season to try and get a wild card or trade off for another "future" team. As a fan who just watched 6 years of lousy baseball that was a slap in the face to the team and fans for a return of marginal potential. Too bad these new Execs didn't have to watch the last six years.

Are you asking if the Twins are going to trade Dozier/Santana? I would think that would be highly unlikely - those aren't the kind of guys who get through waivers and once a team claims them the Twins have little to no leverage. No one else is going to be traded. This team will be the team until the end - if anything, you may see them add a reliever if the price is right?

 

They traded Kintzler, it wasn't a slap in the face. He was a reliever pitching over his head. He's not even closing for the Nationals. The Twins will not make or not make the playoffs based on Kintzler. Garcia was barely on the team and the Twins are not turning to a guy who may be a part of the future (Enns) over a guy who would not be.

[ThejacKmp]

Jaime Garcia over his last 8 starts: 6.65 ERA. He's not been very good for the past two months. He wasn't going to be a difference maker.

They flipped him and made a tidy profit and are now turning to young arms that are much more interesting. Well played Twins.

 

[bluechipper]

 

Cleveland and Arizona next week. Not as bad as Houston/Dodgers but not like facing the White Sox for a week.  A week of angst followed by a week of hope.

At least it looks like the Twins will miss Kluber in that series. They've seemed to catch some breaks in missing team's aces this year. And the Dbacks are struggling a bit too lately, so hopefully this is a good time to play them.

[ThejacKmp]

 

I agree with your last sentence. That absolutely should be the focus... But they're there, and they're close now. 

 

I don't know if I agree with you on Gee and Enns being better for this year. That very well may be true, and logically, I think it's accurate...But we don't know how good Gee can or will be, and we don't know how Enns will handle tonight (or subsequent starts). Likewise, we don't know how Gonsalves or Romero would handle the big leagues, much less a playoff race either. Could be great. Could be good. Could be bad. No way to know either way. But I think I agree with the logic of the decisions on Gee and Enns. And the front office will adjust the roster accordingly pending results.

 

So what you're saying is that baseball is a game and we don't know what happens beforehand. Hrm, I think I agree.

 

I know I'd like to see Gonsalves make at least three or four AAA starts before they throw him into a pennant race. If they're hanging around Sept 1 and have a real need in the rotation and he's been killing it in AAA, I can see bringing him up. But let's not rush his development - this has been a phenomenal year for him and he's setting himself up nicely for 2018. Let's trust the FO to know when it's okay to disrupt his progression.

 

Not interested in Romero coming up. He's on an innings limit in AA - no reason to rush him to the majors. His name gets thrown around way too much on TD right now. Not an option for the MLB club. Not likely to even hit AAA this year.

 

It's time to see what Gee and Enns can do.

[DocBauer]

You bet I'm excited. And not necessarily due to the playoffs themselves. My team is playing fun, competitive ball, they've been doing so most of the year and still are in August. They are coming together as a team, learning to play and win together and the future looks bright to me.

 

Win the WC spot or miss by a game, I'll still be happy, overall, with the journey to get there.

 

But win or rebuild? Why not both? Keep playing the kids, get more up here in September, but try to find another useful bat. Not sure if it's Vargas, Garver or whoever, but it would help. Otherwise, is ride with what we have, make internal adjustments as necessary.

[twinssporto]

 

Yes, it is ok to be excited. Also, it is wise to have realistic expectations.

I'm excited!  At least we should have some fun baseball to watch through September...I'm keeping my expectations high.  It's just baseball anyway.  After the lousy 5 years of baseball here I'm enjoying the sunshine!

[caninatl04]

I'm watching again! And yes, if there is a Jay Bruce deal to be made, let's make it. Its kind of ironic that perhaps the easiest piece to fill, a DH, seems to be the hardest piece to fill for the Twins.

 

And I think the Twins' farm system has enough mediocre relievers that trading one wouldn't be the end of the world.

[nytwinsfan]

Directly related to being EXCITED . . . folks, believe it or not but I'm going to my first Twins game at Target Field ever next Friday the 18th against the Diamondbacks (I've lived in NY for the last 10 years and rarely go home to MN except in the winter for the holidays).  Very excited, especially since it looks like Berrios might be lined up to pitch.  Any specific recs of things to do/check out or food/beer to consumer while I'm there?  Anyone else going to be at the game?

Cheers, NYTwinsFan.

[brvama]

Yes fans should be excited because the Twins are playing good ball.

 

More importantly the players seem excited, more so than I've seen in many years. It was so much fun watching Sano and Rosario with the others in the dugout as Colon batted last nite. The game should be fun. And what can I say about the pitcher,a perfect physical clone of myself, staring down the batters and saying, "Here, see if you get hit this one, sucker." These are attitudes that have been missing on the Twins and to me show a growing confidence needed for success.

 

I don't think the FO will do anything substantial unless it works for the future as well. Regardless I'm on for the ride.

[dgwills]

Clearly the the Twin's should buy some players and then sell them. It pisses off the players which makes them play better and you seem to gain assets. All it costs is some Pohlad money. This isn't rocket science.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

You bet I'm excited. And not necessarily due to the playoffs themselves. My team is playing fun, competitive ball, they've been doing so most of the year and still are in August. They are coming together as a team, learning to play and win together and the future looks bright to me.

Win the WC spot or miss by a game, I'll still be happy, overall, with the journey to get there.

But win or rebuild? Why not both? Keep playing the kids, get more up here in September, but try to find another useful bat. Not sure if it's Vargas, Garver or whoever, but it would help. Otherwise, is ride with what we have, make internal adjustments as necessary.

Yes, all of this. I do not expect the Twins to make the postseason. But unless they tank the final 50 games, it should be fun to watch.

[Rosterman]

I'm excited.

 

I don't think we really lsot anything in Garcia compared to what we gained.

 

Kintzler was not your ultimate closer. As we see, Belisle is perfectly able to do the same, and sure the Twins could patch together someone else in Hildenberger/Rogers/Pressly if push-came-to-trade.

 

I'll say this, it will help to sell tickets going into September, which is what the Twins have to do.

 

Will it save Molitor's job? Will Paul figure out the lineup? Will Buxton get above .250? Will Dozier hit more home runs than Sano?

 

How do you market this stuff?

 

And, seriously, what prospects do you bring up? The ones the Twins truly have to bring up are back-of-the-pen/bench types like Palka and Vielma to see if they should stay, and folks like Melville, Slegers, Hurlbut even Melotakis to see if you should consider keeping them in the organization in some way. Besides Reed, everyone else is still considered "sometime in 2018" or beyond.

 

What is still amazing is that the Twins have two 40-man roster spots open, that Colon is still a Twin, that Santiago may be coming back, and that Glen Perkins may re-emerge before September 1.

 

The bigger backup is happening in the minors where Gonsalves and Bard pushed Yohan Pino and Baxendale backwards. Go figure on that.

 

I'm not sure who they could truly add, unless they want to grab some big discarded contract when a guy goes thru a second time. But the more the win, the lesser chance they have of doing a decent waiver claim anyways.

 

Talk about a pleasant surprise and some overachieving. Now we have to figure out why the team is so horribly bad at times and what can be done to prevent that from happening. Where is Gibson?

[kydoty]

I think we know what's really going on here.

 

There are two cardboard cutouts of a naked Thad Levine and Derek Falvey with "You guys stink" captions in the Twins clubhouse right now.

[kydoty]

BTW, as of tonight, only 2.5 games separate six teams for the second AL wild card spot.

 

Yeah, you can say that none of them would stand a chance in a five game series against the Astros, and you'd probably be right. But like it or not, this is why MLB created the play in game. We are paying attention, as are fans of the other teams who might've just packed it in and forgot about baseball until next spring.

Edited August 11, 2017 by kydoty

[howeda7]

How much could we get the Tigers to eat of  Verlander's contract? Or Zimmerman's? I see Zimmerman as a good buy low option if they would eat like half of it. Unlikely I know. 

[King]

Half of a game back!

 

http://i.imgur.com/pfQuqln.png

Edited August 11, 2017 by King

[TonyInOmaha]

Looking at the AL Central schedules, the Twins definitely have the easiest road the rest of August, especially the last 2 weeks.

[drjim]

This schedule situation was the same at the deadline. Perhaps it should have been considered when decisions were being made.

 

Overreacting to a sweep by the Dodgers was not a good process.

[Squirrel]

This schedule situation was the same at the deadline. Perhaps it should have been considered when decisions were being made.

 

Overreacting to a sweep by the Dodgers was not a good process.

I don't think it was overreacting at all. The Twins played very poorly against the best teams in baseball at that point, teams they will have to beat in the playoffs and the WS, should they make it that far. While still not impossible, the probability was nudged in not getting there. Then they played poorly against the A's, a NOT good team. While maybe some of us hoped they'd stay the course of small buying to help, I don't think it was as egregious as overreacting. I am a firm believer in 'it ain't over til it's over' and have a lot of back and forth on their quick unloading of Garcia, but I can't exactly fault them either. And who knows, maybe it's that move that lit the fire of 'We'll show them!'

[drjim]

I don't think it was overreacting at all. The Twins played very poorly against the best teams in baseball at that point, teams they will have to beat in the playoffs and the WS, should they make it that far. While still not impossible, the probability was nudged in not getting there. Then they played poorly against the A's, a NOT good team. While maybe some of us hoped they'd stay the course of small buying to help, I don't think it was as egregious as overreacting. I am a firm believer in 'it ain't over til it's over' and have a lot of back and forth on their quick unloading of Garcia, but I can't exactly fault them either. And who knows, maybe it's that move that lit the fire of 'We'll show them!'

They played poorly against the As after the decision to sell was made. I don't think that was a coincidence.

 

After an inevitable mini slump the Twins have actually rebounded much stronger than I thought they would, so credit to them.

 

I also think it is a mistake to overvalue performance against specific teams you may face in the playoffs as a driver for decisions. Lots can change between now and then, such as, for example, making your own team better.

[Doomtints]

I see no reason to get any more excited than we probably were 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, etc. We knew the team was in a funk, but not a collapse. We also knew that neither KC nor Cle were truly running away with it.  

 

There are a lot of games left to be played. Hopefully no one truly lost hope based on a small stretch of unexciting games.

Edited August 11, 2017 by Doomtints

[Squirrel]

 

They played poorly against the As after the decision to sell was made. I don't think that was a coincidence.

After an inevitable mini slump the Twins have actually rebounded much stronger than I thought they would, so credit to them.

I also think it is a mistake to overvalue performance against specific teams you may face in the playoffs as a driver for decisions. Lots can change between now and then, such as, for example, making your own team better.

And I don't think playing well since then is a coincidence, either. It can go either way. And yes, credit to them. Something lit a fire and I am merely suggesting that if certain things can be called 'coincidental' to dampen spirits, I think they can be fire lighters, too. And I'm not over valuing ... I think I was very clear in being a believer in 'It ain't over 'til it's over ... but I think looking at those teams and looking at possibilities ... I just don't think it's the year to put all our eggs into one basket or another ... I don't think taking all factors into account, and that being but one, is over valuing that one tidbit when there is more that goes into such decisions.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I see no reason to get any more excited than we probably were 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, etc. We knew the team was in a funk, but not a collapse. We also knew that neither KC nor Cle were truly running away with it.

I think it's entirely reasonable to be more excited now. Entering this past series, the Brewers had a better record than the Twins. It was reasonable to expect nothing better than a split, maybe a 3-1 series if things bounce the Twins' way.

 

But now they enter a reasonably easy stretch of play with a five game winning streak and poised to snatch one of the Wild Card spots. That's reason to be excited... I expected the Twins to tread water and finish in the 78-83 win range but now they have a legit shot at being a game or two better than that, which puts them in Wild Card territory.

 

Which means that the games will actually matter and we won't only be watching young player development for the rest of the season. That's reason to be a little excited.

[Mr. Brooks]

Whether we should have been buyers instead.

Whether we make the playoffs or not.

Whether we can hang with the Sox, Steps, and Dodgers if we do make it.

Im just happy we'll be playing meaningful games into September. Baby steps.