Game Recap: Cleveland 5, Twins 3

[Dman]

My mind is with the over-reactors but my heart says this team will come around.  The team has had some bad bounces early but there is no reason to just give up.  They just need to work on getting better.  With the way they have been playing it can't be that hard to play better.

 

Baseball is like this.  A team can have a terrible first half and then a great second half.  You have to stay the course, you have to keep trying.

 

My one concern is the bullpen.  There have not been many clean innings and that doesn't bode well for holding leads.  Wes needs to get those guys ready.  The offense will come around.  Some young blood and more competition should get players more motivated to hit.  They have had games where they have scored lots of runs.  I think May will be different story.  Have to wait and see.

[rdehring]

And my biggest concern was having HULU and not being able to watch the Twins this summer. When we get back from our long delayed trip west, gonna think long and hard about getting the MiLB tv package and forget about switching to AT&T to watch the Twins. 

 

Not seeing any games live, do the players look like they are playing hard, fighting to win? Or have they already checked it in for the season? Yes, it is early, but from reading game reports, box scores and here, it seems like this is a bad baseball team and the season is over. Can all of these players really be this bad?

 

If this is a bad team, can the FO make the moves to begin the rebuild this summer and get it done quickly? Will they admit their mistakes and act? Are there enough good prospects in the high minors to make an impact this year?  

 

And will the FO have the balls to cut bait on this manager? I hated the excessive shifting since he got here, especially when someone like Dobnak is on the mound. But an occasional head scratching decision seems to have become a daily event. Where is Tom Kelly when we need him? 

 

 

[Dodecahedron]

The 2011 and 2016 teams seemed to have "bad luck" early on, or at least we believed it was "bad luck" until reality settled in.

 

With both of those teams, the body language of the players was telling. We also see this body language in the playoffs with the Twins, and we saw it at the end of last year before the playoffs.

 

It is not impossible for teams to snap out of these funks, but history implies it's not easy. This might be a long year, and with the Twins spending more than usual, it could be a dire sign of another "rebuild" on the horizon. Hopefully the owners are not thinking this way and the 2020s will not mirror the 2010s.

[Mike Sixel]

Only fix is to fire Baldelli and bring Rowson in. He has a chance of at least fixing the hitting. Something is off. It usually starts with the manager.

no... It starts with the players and the front office.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

The 2011 and 2016 teams seemed to have "bad luck" early on, or at least we believed it was "bad luck" until reality settled in.

 

With both of those teams, the body language of the players was telling. We also see this body language in the playoffs with the Twins, and we saw it at the end of last year before the playoffs.

 

It is not impossible for teams to snap out of these funks, but history implies it's not easy. This might be a long year, and with the Twins spending more than usual, it could be a dire sign of another "rebuild" on the horizon. Hopefully the owners are not thinking this way and the 2020s will not mirror the 2010s.

On the flip side:

 

- the 2003 Twins were 10-14 on this date, 8 games behind the red-hot Royals

 

- the 2006 Twins were 9-12, 5 games behind the White Sox

 

Those Twins teams had the advantage of Johan, but I feel like the current 2021 roster quality is still closer to those years than to 2011 or 2016.

 

I mean, you'd always rather win than lose, and we definitely need to start winning again soon, but I'm not too pessimistic about 2021 yet.

[lukeduke1980]

The rotation seems pretty solid, so that's a foundation for hope. Of course when the bats turn around watch them hit a wall.

[Westcoast2]

Squirrel said: What do you do when no one seems capable of doing their jobs? This goes much deeper than one player.

 

True, but our closer had three leads and gave up the lead to lose on the final at bat of the opposing team.  Wouldn't the record look a little brighter if we stood at 10 wins and 11 losses rather than 7 and 14.

[SkyBlueWaters]

 

Ron Davis was not this heinous. Is Al Worthington still alive?

 

Al Worthington, I love it!

 

He went on to be the "head coach" at Liberty University for years. Retired now, is 92 and lives in Alabama. Says his life has been great ever since he got saved at the Cow Palace in SF.

 

So maybe he does have some saves left in him ...

[insagt1]

the distinguished panel seems to be mixed on: our biggest problem (bullpen or offense);; and can they turn this thing around.

Extra inning losses: both the pen and the offense equally to blame...if you can't figure out how to bring a runner from 2nd home 4 of 5 times, while allowing runners to score 5 out of 5 times...you share equal responsibility. For the most part.

 

Teams have come back from lousy starts. I suspect though that once a team gets to around 10 under .500, it rarely happens. It does sometimes, but not often enough to feel real confident. Its very difficult to get back to .500 when you are 10 under. And you got to be 10 under, because fundamentally your team had some major problems.

 

So, lets not wait too long to rev up the motor.

[h2oface]

Arraez can get some timely hits, but man, is he a liability in the field. The big loss to Oakland with the throw from 3rd, and this game the horrible pull up on a catchable ball in left field that cost a run. Astudillo is a liability in the field anywhere you put him. Having utility that can't really play the position(s) you put them in that well is not a path to victory.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Arraez can get some timely hits, but man, is he a liability in the field. The big loss to Oakland with the throw from 3rd, and this game the horrible pull up on a catchable ball in left field that cost a run. Astudillo is a liability in the field anywhere you put him. Having utility that can't really play the position(s) you put them in that well is not a path to victory.

 

And yet, Arraez hits, so I don't know what to do with him. 

[USAFChief]

 

 

Seth suggested that Rocco bought time for a few more warmup pitches for Robles.

 

 

I'm not sure who should be more embarrassed...Rocco for not having the awareness of the situation, or Seth for inventing a pretty lame excuse.

[KirbyDome89]

 

On the flip side:

 

- the 2003 Twins were 10-14 on this date, 8 games behind the red-hot Royals

 

- the 2006 Twins were 9-12, 5 games behind the White Sox

 

Those Twins teams had the advantage of Johan, but I feel like the current 2021 roster quality is still closer to those years than to 2011 or 2016.

 

I mean, you'd always rather win than lose, and we definitely need to start winning again soon, but I'm not too pessimistic about 2021 yet.

The 2006 comps came up a lot in '18 when the Twins got off to a lackluster start. That '06 team had 2 pitchers performing at a Cy Young level and they went 37-15 through June and July. There really isn't anything about this 2021 version to suggest either is happening. 

 

I think the more realistic hope is that Chicago and Cleveland stall out around .500 and the Twins can capture the title with a win total in the high 80s/very low 90s a la 2003. That still requires MN to play at a 95ish win pace for the remainder of the season on top of getting some help. 

 

I realize these were some "not all hope is lost," scenarios but the fact that it's late April and the Twins might already need a May like '15 is pretty brutal.

[joefish]

I am finding that if I turn the video off and reduce the audio to zero, I can think happy thoughts.

[Rosterman]

Well, he is already a general manager for a team rebuilding or on-the-rise or with a multi-year plan. The next stop would be president, which he passed on with Philadelphia. Falvey would leave the Twins if a job opened up with a bigger team (New York or Los Angeles, for example). And money is also a factor.