58 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Addressing the original topic of the OP, I'm going to toss out 3 thoughts that can be debated and #3 will probably get a lot of push back, but I think is worthy of consideration. 

1] I do agree that there is a clear separation of analytics vs fundamentals. Extreme example; bunting is a fundamental and not an analytical piece of the game. Is there too little time spent these days on just pure fundamentals? I think an argument could be made for that. But I also have no clue how the Twins handle daily routines in regard to such, nor any team for that matter. Is it even remotely possible...and more on this in point #3...that the early schedule of only day games robbed the Twins of opportunity for just normal work in the field and batting practice?

2] No matter disappointment and disbelief of the pen thus far, we need to just STOP bashing the FO for the pen. Other than letting May walk...God bless him, I'm not sure anyone other than the Mets would have given him $7M+....where did they go wrong? The Hendricks deal by the Dirty Sox was NUTS! We all know that. The Twins were tied to at least another half dozen bullpen FA options that went elsewhere. And it's been reported and examined right here on TD who those arms were, and they have ALL been injured or have just stunk thus far. So where exactly did the FO "blow it" in regards to the pen? 

While hindsight is 20/20, I see blame given but no examples given of who they "missed" on. 

3] And I know I will get rolling eyes and blowback on this, but is it possible the biggest problem the Twins have faced thus far is "mental lock"?

Bear with me here.

You have a well constructed team expected to contend and be amongst the best in MLB , CERTAINLY in the AL. You're coming off 2 great seasons. You get off to a good start and probably should have won their first 6 or 7. Donaldson gets hurt first game. A couple other injuries happen. 

And then the pen blows a game. Then someone makes a key error. Suddenly you lose a few games and your swag and confidence erodes. Suddenly everyone starts pressing. Things begin to Cascade. And then more injuries happen and everyone presses more and more.  Gold Glove infielders drop balls and solid veterans just screw up unexpectedly. And good hitters press.

Call me crazy if I'm wrong. But I think part of the problem is a lot of guys pressing and wanting to get right and overcome. And my "questionable" point 3 goes back to points 1 and 2.

The sum of parts to equal a whole just doesn't always work. And maybe this team just doesn't mesh right. It happens. But I have come to believe that this team has been fighting themselves as much as their opponents. 

Lately, thankfully, despite injuries, and while facing lesser teams, they have been playing better. They either accept this opportunity and recent success and build confidence and run with it...OR...it may be too little too late.

You are looking it the inner game of baseball, and you make a great point. It could be a lack of leadership on the team. Now, I don’t believe that losing Eddie wrecked this team’s chemistry. They still guys like Arraez and Astudillo who play hard, and veteran leaders like JD and Nellie. And I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again — Eddie isn’t worth $10M, or anywhere close to it. But these aren’t robots, after all. They’re humans with emotions.

About the FO, regarding the pen. I see your point that many of the big name relievers either didn’t work out for their respective teams or got hurt. For example, Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates got hurt. If one thinks the Twins should’ve coughed up $20M/year for 3 years of Liam Hendricks, who knows what they’re smoking. I think the problem is: a) They weren’t aggressive enough, going after too few arms; or b) They didn’t bud high enough. That said, I can’t say I know how many bullpen arms they went after.

But in any case, underperformance cannot be tolerated. Looking this bad at fundamental baseball cannot be tolerated. Someone will need to pay. And I don’t see how you make the players pay without completely burning down this roster.

The biggest thing here is the rule change starting in 2020 with a runner on second in extra innings changed the bullpen dynamics.  You now need pitchers in these innings with stuff to strike hitters out.  Outside of Acala the Twins do not have that type of pitcher.  It was known this is the future, and the FO did not make adjustments for it. That is not Rocco's fault, but player management is.  Just remember one thing, you can't fire the players.

Inconsistent pitching

Need a new hitting coach 

Rocco needs to quit making poor decisions; especially where the late inning pitching is concerned. 

Kepler, Donaldson and Simmons are....well...meh

13 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Addressing the original topic of the OP, I'm going to toss out 3 thoughts that can be debated and #3 will probably get a lot of push back, but I think is worthy of consideration. 

1] I do agree that there is a clear separation of analytics vs fundamentals. Extreme example; bunting is a fundamental and not an analytical piece of the game. Is there too little time spent these days on just pure fundamentals? I think an argument could be made for that. But I also have no clue how the Twins handle daily routines in regard to such, nor any team for that matter. Is it even remotely possible...and more on this in point #3...that the early schedule of only day games robbed the Twins of opportunity for just normal work in the field and batting practice?

2] No matter disappointment and disbelief of the pen thus far, we need to just STOP bashing the FO for the pen. Other than letting May walk...God bless him, I'm not sure anyone other than the Mets would have given him $7M+....where did they go wrong? The Hendricks deal by the Dirty Sox was NUTS! We all know that. The Twins were tied to at least another half dozen bullpen FA options that went elsewhere. And it's been reported and examined right here on TD who those arms were, and they have ALL been injured or have just stunk thus far. So where exactly did the FO "blow it" in regards to the pen? 

While hindsight is 20/20, I see blame given but no examples given of who they "missed" on. 

3] And I know I will get rolling eyes and blowback on this, but is it possible the biggest problem the Twins have faced thus far is "mental lock"?

Bear with me here.

You have a well constructed team expected to contend and be amongst the best in MLB , CERTAINLY in the AL. You're coming off 2 great seasons. You get off to a good start and probably should have won their first 6 or 7. Donaldson gets hurt first game. A couple other injuries happen. 

And then the pen blows a game. Then someone makes a key error. Suddenly you lose a few games and your swag and confidence erodes. Suddenly everyone starts pressing. Things begin to Cascade. And then more injuries happen and everyone presses more and more.  Gold Glove infielders drop balls and solid veterans just screw up unexpectedly. And good hitters press.

Call me crazy if I'm wrong. But I think part of the problem is a lot of guys pressing and wanting to get right and overcome. And my "questionable" point 3 goes back to points 1 and 2.

The sum of parts to equal a whole just doesn't always work. And maybe this team just doesn't mesh right. It happens. But I have come to believe that this team has been fighting themselves as much as their opponents. 

Lately, thankfully, despite injuries, and while facing lesser teams, they have been playing better. They either accept this opportunity and recent success and build confidence and run with it...OR...it may be too little too late.

Well, the FO has been here for 5 years....so the bullpen is their responsibility. Their lack of pitchers isn't just because they didn't fix it this off season, It wasn't fixed enough before that either.

One thing i haven't seen discussed, and if it was and if missed it I apologize, but why do we have 2 hitting coaches? Maybe they have somewhat different teaching styles or explanations when working with players and it gets confusing? I went through that in geometry, having 2 teachers was a disaster because despite what they said they both taught differently. And it wasn't little things. Maybe one or more players feels they teach differently? Maybe there are too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak? If it is happening that would be on Rocco to get with Varela and Hernandez to sort it out. And on the player(s) to let Rocco know. 

Also following up from one of the posts earlier in here, Kevin Morgan is the coach that was promoted when Bell died. However I think Evers is the closest they have to a bench coach, as he was the acting manager when Rocco was suspended.

The Twins biggest problem is this team is poorly constructed.  2019 was lightning in a bottle.  It was never going to happen again.  307 HR's fooled me into believing this was the start of a 3-4 year championship window.  Last year, pitching saved their butt's.  If they had to play a full, balanced schedule, I think the issues we see this year would have been more apparent last year as well.   I do not believe this team has ANY of the intangibles that you see in a championship team.   As far as individual players, Sano...he has been around long enough to know what he is.   If I was a real contender, I wouldn't go within a mile of him.  Donaldson..he is halfway between 35-36.  I think we are seeing the beginning of the end of his career.  Same with Cruz.   Bux...ohh what a shame he cannot stay healthy.  If you were the owner/GM, would you invest 150+ million on someone so physically fragile?  Kepler, Polanco & Simmons are decent complimentary pieces, but won't carry you to a championship if the players above don't produce.  I am really torn regarding Berrios, especially considering how bad this organization has been at developing starting pitching.   If they can't get him signed soon, then trade him in the off season, or if a contender is willing to pay enough, trade him near the deadline.  I could go on.   Unless they(MLB) decides to juice the baseball again like it was in 2019, they need to rebuild, or at least a serious retool, cause' this team is not a legit contender as constructed, even when healthy.

 

10 hours ago, SanoMustGo said:

The Twins biggest problem is this team is poorly constructed.  2019 was lightning in a bottle.  It was never going to happen again.  307 HR's fooled me into believing this was the start of a 3-4 year championship window.  Last year, pitching saved their butt's.  If they had to play a full, balanced schedule, I think the issues we see this year would have been more apparent last year as well.   I do not believe this team has ANY of the intangibles that you see in a championship team.   As far as individual players, Sano...he has been around long enough to know what he is.   If I was a real contender, I wouldn't go within a mile of him.  Donaldson..he is halfway between 35-36.  I think we are seeing the beginning of the end of his career.  Same with Cruz.   Bux...ohh what a shame he cannot stay healthy.  If you were the owner/GM, would you invest 150+ million on someone so physically fragile?  Kepler, Polanco & Simmons are decent complimentary pieces, but won't carry you to a championship if the players above don't produce.  I am really torn regarding Berrios, especially considering how bad this organization has been at developing starting pitching.   If they can't get him signed soon, then trade him in the off season, or if a contender is willing to pay enough, trade him near the deadline.  I could go on.   Unless they(MLB) decides to juice the baseball again like it was in 2019, they need to rebuild, or at least a serious retool, cause' this team is not a legit contender as constructed, even when healthy.

 

Yes, the team needs a quick reload. They have several young veterans--Sanó, Buxton, Kepler, Polanco and Berríos--to go with the two rookies--Kirilloff and Larnach--to be decent if they can somehow get league-average pitching. More than half of the pitching staff needs to be rebuilt. I would think that the Twins need to sign a couple of quality arms in the offseason, but the farm needs to produce as well. 

When Buxton is not playing, one element that is sorely lacking is speed. Watching KC take extra bases and demonstrate range in the field really shows the contrast. Twins not only don't steal many bases, they don't go first to third on singles or score from first on doubles or from second on singles for that matter. 

IMHO, Kirilloff and Larnach will be mainstays for a long while. It would be fantastic if Royce Lewis could develop into a player with skills commensurate to his tools, that would be some nucleus. Of course, the pitchers need to be developed, as well. It seems many are doing very well in the minors. I hope we can see some advancement the rest of the year so that there can be help next year.

I'm afraid the Twins won't have Buxton when they are good again. It's a pity, because this season, for the first time, he looks like he has found himself as a hitter to go along with that speed and defense. 

The heart of our batting order is leaving too many guys on base.

It appeared to me that KC pitched around 2 guys by walking them just so they could pitch to San0.

I am enjoying Larnach and Kirilloff swing their bats.  But neither one of them impresses me in the outfield yet. It's the old "eye test" again.  

Watch them. They need coaching.

1 hour ago, joefish said:

I am enjoying Larnach and Kirilloff swing their bats.  But neither one of them impresses me in the outfield yet. It's the old "eye test" again.  

Watch them. They need coaching.

Neither guy looks great in the outfield, but Kirilloff looks good to me at first base. I think Larnach will be fine at either corner outfield spot, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Kirilloff spend a lot more time in his career at first than in the OF.

Frustration. Guys are hanging their heads. Murphy’s law in full effect. I’m not saying anyone has quit, but there sure seem to be guys who accept taking a called third strike far too well. We need some fire, someone to bust up the clubhouse, show some emotion. We need a Corey Koskie type, someone to bust Murphy in the ****ing mouth. We don’t SEEM to have this.

The rotation looked decent on paper and had depth. But Maeda, if he was even average, would make this a plus. Shoemaker was on the bubble and we hoped Dobnak (or Thorpe) would be decent if need be. Happ is okay, but at this stage I would dangle him in the trade market.

When your four outfielders are Larnach, Garlick, Kirilloff, Refsnyder - you are looking at rebuilding. Okay if the rookies are learning on the job, but that doesn't give you contention.

 

Donaldson may be the spark needed, but offset by Sano. The home runs are nice, but is that all he has? Send him to New York or Boston and he will be a King with the Big Bat. At Target Field, he causes cringes when men are on base and we can only hope. I want to see Nick Gordon get some play. Arrarz is great if he works the count and hits .300+. Otherwise, the Twins look weak, and will need a shortstop come 2021.

 

If Garver is going to be Garver, I can wait for Jeffers to come back. Except for less power, catcher is a position that will eat up outs.

 

Cruz needs to stay healthy. At some point, the Twins will dangle his bat if they have no where to go to get the guy into a playoff team. And then we ask if Rooker gets another shot.

 

The bullpen is an utter mess. Even the decent (at times) arms allow runners to score, thus making a bad showing of the pitcher they replaced. Looks like the Twins have two rotating roster spots to run also rans thru the pen. Keep them if they sick (Jackson holding his own). Otherwise throw a few innings, get demoted, and maybe move elsewhere.

 

At some point will we see Griffin Jax this season, or is he so far behind Dobnak, Thorpe, Ober, Duran that there is no need to even take a peak. But, hey, while on he bullpen, let's make Thorpe a situational lefty.

 

The bullpen has definitely lost games for the team. The bats, or whatever you call the lineup (notice Willians hasn't gotten any playing time of late) ARE A MESS!

 

 

The good new is the Twins only have about $45 million in committed salary next year.(Donaldson, Sano, Kepler, Polanco, Maeda, Dobnak) I say do not re-sign any of the 6 free agents signed this season.  Offer Berrios, Bux, Garver, and Rogers arbitration.  Kiriloff, Larnach, Arraez, Austudillo, Thorpe, Alcala, Jeffers, Rordtvet...Let Lewis start the season at SS...start Duran and Balazovic start the season in the bigs.  Offer Big Mike another 2 year deal  Now, that leaves 4 spots..all pitching.  Don't offer Duffey arbitration.   Maybe Nick Gordon gets a chance next season.  Free agency should be focused on the bullpen...and so should any offseason trades.  Maybe we find takers for Sano, maybe Polanco or Kepler.  I'd like to see what Kepler can do when healthy.  Polanco has been decent at 2nd, and is hitting a bit better.  I wouldn't be heart broken if the Twins could get a decent bullpen arm for him.  Then let Gordon start the season at 2nd.  This team won't win the World Series, but my guess it would be more fun to watch than this year's mess.

 

7 hours ago, Rosterman said:

The rotation looked decent on paper and had depth. But Maeda, if he was even average, would make this a plus. Shoemaker was on the bubble and we hoped Dobnak (or Thorpe) would be decent if need be. Happ is okay, but at this stage I would dangle him in the trade market.

When your four outfielders are Larnach, Garlick, Kirilloff, Refsnyder - you are looking at rebuilding. Okay if the rookies are learning on the job, but that doesn't give you contention.

 

Donaldson may be the spark needed, but offset by Sano. The home runs are nice, but is that all he has? Send him to New York or Boston and he will be a King with the Big Bat. At Target Field, he causes cringes when men are on base and we can only hope. I want to see Nick Gordon get some play. Arrarz is great if he works the count and hits .300+. Otherwise, the Twins look weak, and will need a shortstop come 2021.

 

If Garver is going to be Garver, I can wait for Jeffers to come back. Except for less power, catcher is a position that will eat up outs.

 

Cruz needs to stay healthy. At some point, the Twins will dangle his bat if they have no where to go to get the guy into a playoff team. And then we ask if Rooker gets another shot.

 

The bullpen is an utter mess. Even the decent (at times) arms allow runners to score, thus making a bad showing of the pitcher they replaced. Looks like the Twins have two rotating roster spots to run also rans thru the pen. Keep them if they sick (Jackson holding his own). Otherwise throw a few innings, get demoted, and maybe move elsewhere.

 

At some point will we see Griffin Jax this season, or is he so far behind Dobnak, Thorpe, Ober, Duran that there is no need to even take a peak. But, hey, while on he bullpen, let's make Thorpe a situational lefty.

 

The bullpen has definitely lost games for the team. The bats, or whatever you call the lineup (notice Willians hasn't gotten any playing time of late) ARE A MESS!

 

 

The rotation had two number five pitchers. It didn't look decent. No ace. But three number twos. That's not championship caliber. 

It's a bad pitching staff. Pretty simple.

8 hours ago, gunnarthor said:

It's a bad pitching staff. Pretty simple.

Coaching probably has something to do with it being as bad as it is.

8 hours ago, cHawk said:

Coaching probably has something to do with it being as bad as it is.

Maybe, but you're going to have a hard time convincing me any pitching staff that was going to feature Happ and Shoemaker for 40% of the starts was going to be average much less good.

On 5/27/2021 at 9:46 PM, cHawk said:

You are looking it the inner game of baseball, and you make a great point. It could be a lack of leadership on the team. Now, I don’t believe that losing Eddie wrecked this team’s chemistry. They still guys like Arraez and Astudillo who play hard, and veteran leaders like JD and Nellie. And I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again — Eddie isn’t worth $10M, or anywhere close to it. But these aren’t robots, after all. They’re humans with emotions.

About the FO, regarding the pen. I see your point that many of the big name relievers either didn’t work out for their respective teams or got hurt. For example, Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates got hurt. If one thinks the Twins should’ve coughed up $20M/year for 3 years of Liam Hendricks, who knows what they’re smoking. I think the problem is: a) They weren’t aggressive enough, going after too few arms; or b) They didn’t bud high enough. That said, I can’t say I know how many bullpen arms they went after.

But in any case, underperformance cannot be tolerated. Looking this bad at fundamental baseball cannot be tolerated. Someone will need to pay. And I don’t see how you make the players pay without completely burning down this roster.

Appreciate your response, as well as the entire OP. (As well as your 2nd OP addressing Rocco and his staff). But I just wanted to address your A and B points that you stated here.

A] They went after too few arms? Maybe. I guess we'll never know for sure how many they looked and or how many offers were presented. At the time, Robles and Colome seemed like fine additions. I also appreciated the young arms with upside such as Anderson and Hamilton, as well as some mkre experienced arms to work with and re-invent. I think it could be argued the numbers were there, though certainly the results haven't been. If anything, there may have been too much trust in their coaching/development process to come through yet again.

B] Didn't offer enough financially for some arms? Again this is possible, and again we'll never know how the process actually went down. IMO, they never saw the Mets swooping in and offering May the contract that they did. Were they short-sighted there? Perhaps. I would offered him $7M and not signed Colome, even though it would have nudged payroll a bit more.

Your opinions are all well thought out, and we are on the same page in regard to Hendricks and the number of arms the Twins were at least checking on that are either injured or just performing poorly.

While I am as frustrated and discouraged as anyone...and this is not directed at you or anyone specifically, just a general statement...i have yet to see anyone provide a list of FA available arms that are healthy and productive they could/should have signed instead. 

What the FO THOUGHT they were doing made perfect sense initially even it didn't go well at all. I hate that but I get it. Sometimes the moves you make just don't work. Stinks to high heaven! But I would argue the ATTEMPT was sound and just can't bash said attempt and make proclamations they blew it or didn't try. 

Now, where do we go from here is an entirely different topic.

26 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Now, where do we go from here is an entirely different topic.

And most importantly, “How do we make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

2 hours ago, cHawk said:

And most importantly, “How do we make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Twins FO has some tough decisions to make.  I feel like they need to retool.   The real problem is a lack of quality arms in the organization the last decade or so.   That leaves us in the position we are in now.  Not sure this can be fixed in the short run.  Hope the FO can make good decisions(or get lucky) with trades or free agents in the short run.  Otherwise, draft pitching, make some trades to stock the minor's with arms...and rebuild.

21 minutes ago, cHawk said:

And most importantly, “How do we make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Responding to your question with a similar question.

How can we NOT make sure it doesn't happen again?

And I'm not being facetious bro, just trying to make a point. And I'm not being cavalier when I state the Twins of 2021 may just be victims of expectation and the ebbs and flows of sport and life. 

We can use reverse 20/20 vision, all of us, and try to assess blame because it's human nature and what we really want is not blame but answers. Because THEN, we figure we know how to fix things. Sorry crew, it just ain't that easy.

I can tell you things I said months ago. I wanted to keep May and would have done $5-6M and maybe a bit more. Retrospect, I would have gone the $7M, which I have previously stated. I could embarrass myself by re-stating that while he didn't have the velocity and K potential of May, I thought the FO did just fine bringing in Colome as a more consistent and proven arm coming off a 5yr stretch of quality and his very best season in 2020. Boy do I look stupid so far. But I could also remind that I thought Robles was a key and under the radar signing. And despite some hiccups, he's been pretty good and would make a great #4 guy in the pen.

I could also re-state that I love Jeffers and believe in his future, but thought Garver would turn it around and really wanted a veteran LH catcher to provide insurance. 

I could also remind you that I felt great about our last 4 bullpen spots but was worried about middle relief but hooeful for talent on hand. Woof!

My whole rambling point is, despite some question marks, most everyone from me/us/press felt this was a contending team. And just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. There really is no DELTA of what went wrong or who is to blame. 

The very disappointing but abject "fun" of being a fan is "what happens tomorrow"? Now, the reality is this team is too talented to be this bad if we get healthy and just perform better. But in a month, it's going to be too late and we will have to chalk this year up to a season where fate, injury and karma and whatever just decided it wasn't our year. 

Sucks!

This was a team, with a few question marks we just figured would sort themselves out...bullpen mostly...and be in the thick of it. It was also a team in prime position to re-tool on the fly with some very talented players on the cusp ready to make a difference and begin to transition and keep the window open.

This team resembles the 2020/2011 seasons where we ready to rock. But there is a big difference we didn't have then, compared to now and the question of how do we not repeat another lost season.

Kirilloff and Larnach have both arrived. They are young, they will have bad moments, but they are here to stay.

God and baseball gods willing, we have a nice duo in Arraez and Polanco for the infield. They have shown over and over what they can do if we can just find a way to keep them healthy.

Garver, just given time, has been Garver again. Funny how that works.

Unless a trade happens, we still have a solid 1-3 rotation. Dobnak has potential. A lost 2020 season has screwed development for us as well as most teams. But we've already seen growth, despite a lost 2020, from Winder and Duran and maybe even Ober and a few others potentially. We just haven't seen that in more than a few years.

So how do we prevent another 2021 disappointment?

1] Embrace the prospects. Not only AK and Larnach but let Gordon play a little. Keep growing Duran. Let him pitch the second half and let it fly. Give Ober another shot or two. Unless we rebound...and I sure hope we do...dont be afraid to run with a few kids. Dobnak in the rotation and Thorpe in the pen, for example.

2] Be aggressive with milb promotions even though it's a shortened season. TRUST in the development network you've put in place. Virtually every other team is going through a lost season the same way you are. Only a few 2020 non-contending teams filled their reserve roster with prospects. You either have put in place a system and collection of coaches you believe in, or you haven't. 

3] Examine your coaching staff and how you do things. Look, I think Rocco is a fine young manager who has done some great thjngs. And despite some very questionable moves here and there, like a young player he has real potential from what we've seen. But give him a trusted, experienced voice in his ear for a bench coach. And no insult to the batting coaches, and maybe we keep both, but is there a difference in approach we need to re-examine? The milb system has changed to look at each individual as a hitter. Have the ML coaches lost sight of this, or is it just a lost message or a continuation of everyone just being affected by 2020? Despite poor clutch situations, the Twins runs production is still in the upper third of MLB.

4] Don't be cute with your bullpen. Forget how smart you are, from FO to coaches. Keep looking for quality fliers. You do it well. And don't just thrust a potential quality SP in to the pen just because. But don't be afraid of a short term fix/help there. 

5] Don't be afraid to spend. You don't have to go nuts. And there a couple of potential key extensions you could be looking at. And I'm not saying a sudden $180-200M payroll. Nor am I saying sign the next Reed who bottoms out or a CRAZY Hendricks contract. But with the world going normal, don't be utterly afraid of potential extensions or a couple $M for a useful bullpen piece or reserve player. Maybe trust in Maeda and Berrios and keep Pineda. 

Heaven forbid we drop $15M on a quality #2/3 and still keep Pineda as a #4 while letting Dobnak and everyone else push for their spot..

Don't be stupid. But as the Twins FO/ownership,  you can do a $150M+ and lose nothing and augment a quality roster. Just don't be afraid to spend a little.

Problem 1: Get strike one. Problem 2: Don't throw strikes down the middle.

The strike zone should be likened unto a sugar donut. In the hole is a mean old alligator. Outside the donut is a toxic wasteland. 

If you can hit the donut without hitting the alligator, life is sweet and good. If you can't even hit the donut, you won't survive long. If you throw it in the hole, you will be devoured immediately. 

Now, some pitchers are so skillful, they can tease the batter into thinking the pitch is going into the hole, but then it bends to hit the donut, or even better, just misses the donut. It's fun to tease that way, but when things get tense, the pitcher still must be able to hit the donut, but not the hole. 

Twins pitchers this season have been throwing a lot of pitches in the donut hole, or missing the donut by a little too far to get the alligator to snap at it. A happy alligator makes for a fat ERA, and a sad losing season.

7 hours ago, SanoMustGo said:

Twins FO has some tough decisions to make.  I feel like they need to retool.   The real problem is a lack of quality arms in the organization the last decade or so.   That leaves us in the position we are in now.  Not sure this can be fixed in the short run.  Hope the FO can make good decisions(or get lucky) with trades or free agents in the short run.  Otherwise, draft pitching, make some trades to stock the minor's with arms...and rebuild.

Maybe we should build our next team like Atlanta. i.e. Draft the pitching and sign the hitters.

We also need to do better at building an offense. Specifically one without holes. Our lineups the last two years have had holes that have been massively exposed in the big games. 

7 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

The strike zone should be likened unto a sugar donut. In the hole is a mean old alligator. Outside the donut is a toxic wasteland.

You need to shop around for a new bakery, pronto!

3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

You need to shop around for a new bakery, pronto!

Don’t be so sure! With all the botique doughnut shoppes springing up in the Twin Cities, I could probably find a sugar frosted alligator donut somewhere... ? 

23 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Don’t be so sure! With all the botique doughnut shoppes springing up in the Twin Cities, I could probably find a sugar frosted alligator donut somewhere... ? 

Quick, somebody send one to the Twins! I'm not sure they're getting the idea!

On 5/26/2021 at 11:48 AM, Cap'n Piranha said:

Eh, I think the plan is sound, just not foolproof.  It's pretty hard to have a foolproof plan in MLB.  Look at the bullpen ERA ranks below;

2018--22nd

2019--10th

2020--6th

2021--25th

Until this year, Falvey had been able to improve the bullpen every year except 2018, and without handing out big deals in free agency.  I think Falvey is a smart guy, and so I hope he'll adjust, and try to supplement his preferred method of building a bullpen (finding undervalued veterans he can fix) with some other methods as well.

I said before the season started that this year's bullpen looked utterly crazy, but it also looked utterly crazy in 2019 and 2020.  Since it miraculously worked out for them in those two years, I said I would skip judging this year's pen because they seemed to know what they were doing.

But beyond my opinion, the story here is the pitchers in this bullpen are completely different from the last two years.  Falvey (or whoever) neglected to keep player turnover at an acceptable rate.  The pipeline was inadequate and too many people left at once.  To make matters worse, almost all of the current guys are over 30.  The bullpen will still need to be completely rebuilt.

37 minutes ago, Dodecahedron said:

The bullpen will still need to be completely rebuilt.

IDK about completely, maybe keep Duffey and Rogers around. Definitely keep Alcala. But everyone else should go

In a few years we could have Rogers, Duffey, Alcala, Colina, Canterino, Winder, and 2 FAs.

Of course that’s assuming Duffey returns to form and Alcala stops giving up HRs.

1 hour ago, cHawk said:

Of course that’s assuming Duffey returns to form and Alcala stops giving up HRs.

I'm more concerned that Duffey has returned to form.

Three key failures this season...

1. Lack of hitting with runners in scoring position.

2. Inherited runners scoring.

3. Injuries across the board.

I don’t think any of these items are directly related to coaching,