How Can the Twins Front Office Regain Twins Fans Favor?

[RJA]

Five things.  First, sign Correa.  Correa is the best player in baseball at one of the most important positions in baseball.  He is a once in a lifetime player.  He is a leader.  He would be of great help in developing guys like Miranda, Lewis, Lee, etc.  He has personality.  He shops at Dior ;).  It would make a statement to the whole baseball world that the Twins are serious about winning.  Quit worrying about how his contract will play out 5 years from now and try to win now.  Second, don't use this as an excuse to do nothing else.  Try to trade for another quality starter--don't be afraid to offer Polanco or Lee or Martin or Wallner or Larnach or even Miranda if it gets us a true top flight guy.  Third, surround Correa with solid players, like Urshela who is underrated IMHO.  Find a great defensive catcher even if he can't hit much.  Find players who know how to get on base--you have Julien and Martin in the minors who have great OBP's.  Look for established corner outfielders who have the same skills and some defensive chops.  They won't cost an arm and a leg.  Replace Kepler.  Dump Sanchez, Sano, and Pagan.  IF Acala and Stashak are healthy, having Duran, Jax, Acala, Moran, Lopez (not as closer), and Sands or Winder as a long man will be a good start on a bullpen.  Fourth, have Miranda, Larnach, Kirilloff, Wallner, and other young players work with coaches who can improve them defensively.  Tom Kelly is the best at teaching first base play.  Remember how much Koskie improved at third?  Someone helped him improve.  This team needs a dose of fundamentals. And, better medical/training folks.  Finally, chuck the smartest guys in the room attitude and develop some humility.  And, one more thing, pray that all the injured guys heal in the off season.

[TwinsAce]

53 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I have a very short list:

1-Stop acquiring players that break down easily or a lot. I’ll revisit this thought if both Mahle and Paddack come back better. Which leads to …

2-Do better evaluating players you are trading for

3-actually spend on acquiring an AWESOME bp that can not only withstand the workload but can shut down the opposition and close out games. And see 2 above

4-Re-sign Correa, whatever it takes

5-Keep Urshela

okay, that last one really isn’t a deal breaker

Agreed with your post.  If for some reason not Correa, I think I need Rodon instead.  But I'd love Correa to be back so we could have a long term left side of the infield of Correa/Lewis and/or Lee.

And for the BP, it would be encouraging if they also struck early in the offseason, getting the top target of their choosing.

 

[jmlease1]

For me the list goes something like this:

• Strike early in the FA market to address at least one problem area. While waiting for the market to come to you can get you good value late, it also creates unease and frustration in the fanbase, and more importantly misses opportunities for landing players that don't have obvious question marks. They don't have to have all or even most of their business done in the first week or so, but at a certain point the strategy of little to no action early is probably hurting the club.
• No veteran reclamation projects for the rotation. Bundy actually exceeded my expectations, but by no means was he a good pitcher this season, merely a pretty healthy one. (in fairness, he also wasn't the Matt Shoemaker disaster I thought he very well could be) Archer was better (but not as much as I had hoped) but also never got to the point where he was more than a 75 pitch player, and even with the restriction wasn't actually very good. We have better options in house already, so if they sign a starter, he needs to be better than Joe Ryan/Sonny Gray, and not a "hope he bounces back!" player
• Set a bullpen with 2 pitchers who are expected to go 2+ innings when they come in and pitch every 3 days or so. They're going to have 13 pitchers and 8 of them are relievers. While I understand that there are loud voices insisting that the starters go 6+ innings much more often, I'm more realistic and would like them to at least plan for those 5 innings starts better. Maybe that's bringing in a guy, maybe that's telling Winder/Dobnak/Sands "this is your role", but expecting the bullpen to pitch 4 guys a night isn't going to work.
• Get a quality RH bat for the OF that can stay healthy. Celestino is a useful player, but doesn't hit enough to punish lefties. Kepler (if he stays), Kirilloff, Larnach, and Wallner are all lefties, and Buxton can't be counted on to play 140 games. They need to have some thump from the right side to keep the lineup balanced and not frag the offense when we face a lefty starter.
• Make some overhauls on the medical and training staff and be public about how they're going to try and upgrade their services. It's medical, so it may be beyond their control, but they need to make the effort after 2 consecutive seasons with major injury issues, and this year's injury problems derailing the season.
• Re-sign Gio Urshela. His arbitration number isn't going to be cheap, but he's a quality player who could have some positional flexibility (even if he was almost exclusively at 3B for us, he could back up at other spots). He's worth bringing back and add in a number of areas without taking anything away.
• Figure out SS for next season. I'd love to have Correa back; I think he's an elite player. I can live with a bridge to Lewis, but that's one that need to get figured out quickly and I don't think palacios is good enough to hold things down for half a season or more.

[Vanimal46]

1. Pitching, pitching, pitching. I don’t want to hear about the 2020 lost covid season anymore. They were hired to develop pitching and we need to see more of it. 

2. Change the make up of the offense. The feast or famine lineup has floundered. Long term core players like Kepler and Polanco are declining, but still have valuable contracts. Add some contact, add some speed, add some fundamentals to the lineup.

3. Strike gold on a reclamation project. Before people throw a hissy fit, every team signs them every year. 

4. Sign one of the top FA SS or a right handed hitting OF who can play CF. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

8 hours ago, TopTwinsFan said:

I anticipate a foreboding future for the Twins. Never in 35 years of being a fan have I seen a darker future. They will always be my team, probably just need to tune out for a few more years until the overmatched, extremely uninspiring leadership of this team is gone. So jealous of the Rays and Guardians. Imagine having smart people run your baseball operation. I know its hard for us.

Still do think there is a chance we win a playoff game in the next 10-15 years though.

I think its important to understand as a Twins fan, our owners do not care much if the team wins. Its just a money making project for the Pohlad boys. Selling bad product year in and year out to people like me who are dumb enough to buy it.

 

I was way more down on the Twins in the late 90s. Puckett…contraction… the next wave looked far off and Pohlad wasn’t going to give Ryan two nickels to rub together.

those were dark days.

today is easy-peasy by comparison 

[Swing Batter-Batter]

11 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

This is a bad baseball team and has been for the past two seasons.  I agree with many people here regarding analytics.  It's ok to use them but we need to be able to deviate from the plan when the plan is obviously not working.  Baldelli has NO in game managing/ adjusting skills at all.  The Twins play listless boring baseball.  They must get away from the swing for the fences on every pitch, and get players who don't strikeout 30% of the time.  Too often we have seen players throw to the wrong base, not know how many outs there are,  botch things up on the bases.  It sure is convenient to blame the whole season on injuries even though most of them were later in the year.  Our pitching continues to be amongst the worst statistically in baseball.  I think many fans are tired of the 100% stick to the plan even if it means losing games.  The FO needs to be honest with the fans in whatever it is they are trying to do.  This a bad baseball team playing very bad baseball for two years.  My guess with the same FO and management philosophies in place we will only see more of the same.

I could not possibly agree more. There were times when I did not think Baldelli was even watching the game. I mean why would he? The "plan" was devised before the team took the field and it's the 5th inning so, pull the starter. He wore out the bullpen before June 15th. They had to go out and replace half the bullpen, just to make it through the season. Baldelli has no game managing skills and ability to deviate from the "plan". They should just set up a laptop in the dugout and have the players refer to it every inning for their instructions. Who needs a manager?

[In My La Z boy]

42 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

I was way more down on the Twins in the late 90s. Puckett…contraction… the next wave looked far off and Pohlad wasn’t going to give Ryan two nickels to rub together.

those were dark days.

today is easy-peasy by comparison 

1972 - 1986 were pretty lean years - but those late 70's teams were fun to watch, and Gene Mauch was terrific. We currently have one of the youngest rosters in baseball, and next year needs to be the year we see some young pitching rise up. I'd like to see a better brand of baseball. More contact, more running. Rocco seemed to make less in game mistakes later in the year, than earlier. I agree on a new bench coach and a new pitching coach. This front office will be fine if we win our division and make the playoffs. Sign Correa - bring back Cruz as a player/bench coach, and sign Rodon after he ops out. 

[Florida Flash]

It seemed to me that with only a few exceptions (Arrez and hmmmm maybe there is another one) everyone was swinging for the fences, because that is where the money is. (ie they still seem to love Sano, 200 K's if healthy, .090 ba, 20 hr's if healthy, slow, but hey, maybe he will hit a home run once in a while)

Standard Twins scenario, bases loaded, nobody out, result: strike out, double play.  Rarely a sac fly. They dont have to win all the time but they do have to be fun to watch. Leaving runners in scoring position so often is not fun to watch.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

For me the list goes something like this:

• Strike early in the FA market to address at least one problem area. While waiting for the market to come to you can get you good value late, it also creates unease and frustration in the fanbase, and more importantly misses opportunities for landing players that don't have obvious question marks. They don't have to have all or even most of their business done in the first week or so, but at a certain point the strategy of little to no action early is probably hurting the club.
• No veteran reclamation projects for the rotation. Bundy actually exceeded my expectations, but by no means was he a good pitcher this season, merely a pretty healthy one. (in fairness, he also wasn't the Matt Shoemaker disaster I thought he very well could be) Archer was better (but not as much as I had hoped) but also never got to the point where he was more than a 75 pitch player, and even with the restriction wasn't actually very good. We have better options in house already, so if they sign a starter, he needs to be better than Joe Ryan/Sonny Gray, and not a "hope he bounces back!" player
• Set a bullpen with 2 pitchers who are expected to go 2+ innings when they come in and pitch every 3 days or so. They're going to have 13 pitchers and 8 of them are relievers. While I understand that there are loud voices insisting that the starters go 6+ innings much more often, I'm more realistic and would like them to at least plan for those 5 innings starts better. Maybe that's bringing in a guy, maybe that's telling Winder/Dobnak/Sands "this is your role", but expecting the bullpen to pitch 4 guys a night isn't going to work.
• Get a quality RH bat for the OF that can stay healthy. Celestino is a useful player, but doesn't hit enough to punish lefties. Kepler (if he stays), Kirilloff, Larnach, and Wallner are all lefties, and Buxton can't be counted on to play 140 games. They need to have some thump from the right side to keep the lineup balanced and not frag the offense when we face a lefty starter.
• Make some overhauls on the medical and training staff and be public about how they're going to try and upgrade their services. It's medical, so it may be beyond their control, but they need to make the effort after 2 consecutive seasons with major injury issues, and this year's injury problems derailing the season.
• Re-sign Gio Urshela. His arbitration number isn't going to be cheap, but he's a quality player who could have some positional flexibility (even if he was almost exclusively at 3B for us, he could back up at other spots). He's worth bringing back and add in a number of areas without taking anything away.
• Figure out SS for next season. I'd love to have Correa back; I think he's an elite player. I can live with a bridge to Lewis, but that's one that need to get figured out quickly and I don't think palacios is good enough to hold things down for half a season or more.

Great list. For me, cut Pagan. He's been awful for three years. His stuff just doesnt work.

Acquire a very good starter. No cheap reclamation starters this year. 

I don't care how they talk,I don't listen to that stuff. But, if they do talk, they need to not be aloof. 

[Mike Sixel]

Addition..... Have a good plan for CF.

[Otaknam]

Injuries were the biggest problem, especially to the starting pitchers. Lack of an ace or number 2 starter means any playoff run will be short. Most of their current SP crop looks like number 3-4 starters but you need a shutdown starter. Fire Rocco and hire a manager who isn’t buried in his computer spreadsheet and afraid to make an actual intuitive decision. Unless the BP is fantastic let starters pitch at least six innings when they are pitching well and  the pitch count is manageable. I do think the nucleus of younger position players is solid but the injuries are a concern. I’m undecided on Correa because of the cost to extend him for 7-10 years. The last several years of that contract will hamstring the team so I doubt the team will go that route. I think Correa will find a contender who will pay him big money anyway. Positives are Ryan, Miranda, Gordon, a couple of BP arms. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

10 hours ago, TopTwinsFan said:

I think its important to understand as a Twins fan, our owners do not care much if the team wins. Its just a money making project for the Pohlad boys. Selling bad product year in and year out to people like me who are dumb enough to buy it.

 

There are very few owners that take the "win at all cost" approach to owning their team.  Every purchase is a financial investment first.  To blame ownership in this fashion is short-sighted.

The FO has been beating the public drum over the last few years that ownership has been willing to spend money.  I also think they have shown it (Correa, Donaldson, Buxton to name a few).  Look where the Twins payroll has been and that will answer this question.

[jmlease1]

38 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Great list. For me, cut Pagan. He's been awful for three years. His stuff just doesnt work.

Acquire a very good starter. No cheap reclamation starters this year. 

I don't care how they talk,I don't listen to that stuff. But, if they do talk, they need to not be aloof. 

I would agree on Pagan. Probably should have included that, but my list was already getting to novel-length! I get the stuff is fantastic, but he not a guy you can trust in late innings, he's not a guy you can trust to go longer than 1 inning either, so I would either trade him or cut him. (I don't expect him to have much value, but YNK; someone might get taken in by the K/9 and convince themselves they can fix him, especially if it doesn't cost you much) We need the roster spot, frankly.

[chpettit19]

The FO/Rocco (I pair them together because I just don't think there's really that much that distinguishes between who is doing what around there) likely can't win me back during the offseason. Outside of extending/re-signing Correa, signing Rodon, and adding 3 big time pen arms I just don't think there's moves they can make that would get me back on board with them. That's because my concern with them is the inability to make in season changes quickly enough to not tank a season. They get their plans and they just don't recalibrate fast enough. That's my number 1 problem with them and there's very little they can do to show me they've learned and grown from the Colome, Pagan, short start disasters before we're well into next season.

But on other topics that have come up...yes, they need to be better at some fundamentals. No, hitting and running, sacrifice bunts, etc. are not fundamentals in and of themselves, they're a different style of baseball that is not really played today for good reasons. In order to steal more bases they need faster (or healthier in Buxton's case) players. You can't just blindly call for more steals when 75% of your lineup is slower than league average. The Twins need to get drastically better at baserunning, though. From coaches to players it was an absolute nightmare to watch this year. Cost them way too many games.

I don't know how they fix the brutal RISP stats this season. They were surprisingly good at scoring guys from 3rd with less than 2 outs (don't shoot the messenger, just go look at the actual stats), but the rest of their "clutch" stats are brutal. I don't know how you fix that since they were 12th in the league in K% so it's not like they were just striking out at astronomical rates. But they need to fix that one way or another.

I think they're setup with a better pitching staff than they have been in years as they hit the offseason. They have young and inexpensive guys ready for major league innings and money to spend to fill the holes. Coming out of the offseason with more Happ, Bundy, Archer types should get them fired. They have those backend roles filled now as the pipeline starts to trickle. The pipeline has produced 0 front end guys, though, and that's the role they need to fill now. Fill it. For all that is good on this earth, fill it. Get another shutdown reliever. Not a Pagan or Colome type, but a true shutdown closer. Leave Duran in his fireman role to get big Ks as needed in innings 6-8, but get a real closer. Maybe that's Lopez, but I'd prefer not to find out after he semi-collapsed after the trade. They have the rest of the pen filled with young, cheap guys so it's time to spend on the big guy.

That's really the key to the offseason to me. Sign the difference makers. The team overall is young and inexpensive. You have the secondary pieces filled in with cheap talent. Go fill the primary spots. #1 starter. Elite SS. Elite closer. Get it done.

[spanman2]

Lower the price of beer...sorry had to do it.  I haven't been to many games since I stopped renewal on my season tickets several years back.  There is plenty to do for certain I just thought this one was kind of funny.  Appreciate everyone's takes on the subject!

[Vanimal46]

33 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

likely can't win me back during the offseason. Outside of extending/re-signing Correa, signing Rodon, and adding 3 big time pen arms I just don't think there's moves they can make that would get me back on board with them.

Basically where I’m at. I’ve seen what I need to see and I’m not intrigued by the FO duo anymore. Frankly I don’t want them to hand out $100+ million contracts to FA SP. That’s not what they were hired to do, and the ROI on those contracts rarely works out in the favor of the signing team. 

I would be on board with trading our redundancies on roster and a top prospect or 2 for one of Miami’s starters under control. Or Zac Gallen if Arizona decides it’s time to tear it down. 

Basically this team needs to win early and often to earn back fans. As well as updating the type of baseball we’ve seen over the last 2 years. Filling the lineup with players who swing for the fences and putz around the bases isn’t cutting it anymore. 

[ashbury]

I'm pretty unimpressed by the outward evidence of analytics, for this supposedly analytics-heavy front office.  It will take a long time to win back my own "favor" as the subject line puts it, not simply one off-season.  Some things that will move the needle positively for me:

• a concerted trend with each roster move to improve the aggregate injury risk rather than incrementally keep worsening it
• less reliance on in-season roster churn for the pitching staff - if guys keep clearing waivers, it's a BAD sign, not a good one
• visibility into their analytics team to convince me it isn't dominated in numbers by a bunch of recent grads who majored in Stats, because the state of the art in MLB seems considerably beyond that now
• moves that strengthen the long term health of the franchise and not simply aid the coming year's financial bottom line
• a little more change in off-field personnel (coaches, trainers, etc) to make an example of perceived failure or mediocrity, even if it looks like change for the sake of change
• no more Tim Beckhams when every armchair analytics type could forecast batting regression for a player who no longer is an asset on defense

[Doctor Gast]

5 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

For me the list goes something like this:

• Strike early in the FA market to address at least one problem area. While waiting for the market to come to you can get you good value late, it also creates unease and frustration in the fanbase, and more importantly misses opportunities for landing players that don't have obvious question marks. They don't have to have all or even most of their business done in the first week or so, but at a certain point the strategy of little to no action early is probably hurting the club.
• No veteran reclamation projects for the rotation. Bundy actually exceeded my expectations, but by no means was he a good pitcher this season, merely a pretty healthy one. (in fairness, he also wasn't the Matt Shoemaker disaster I thought he very well could be) Archer was better (but not as much as I had hoped) but also never got to the point where he was more than a 75 pitch player, and even with the restriction wasn't actually very good. We have better options in house already, so if they sign a starter, he needs to be better than Joe Ryan/Sonny Gray, and not a "hope he bounces back!" player
• Set a bullpen with 2 pitchers who are expected to go 2+ innings when they come in and pitch every 3 days or so. They're going to have 13 pitchers and 8 of them are relievers. While I understand that there are loud voices insisting that the starters go 6+ innings much more often, I'm more realistic and would like them to at least plan for those 5 innings starts better. Maybe that's bringing in a guy, maybe that's telling Winder/Dobnak/Sands "this is your role", but expecting the bullpen to pitch 4 guys a night isn't going to work.
• Get a quality RH bat for the OF that can stay healthy. Celestino is a useful player, but doesn't hit enough to punish lefties. Kepler (if he stays), Kirilloff, Larnach, and Wallner are all lefties, and Buxton can't be counted on to play 140 games. They need to have some thump from the right side to keep the lineup balanced and not frag the offense when we face a lefty starter.
• Make some overhauls on the medical and training staff and be public about how they're going to try and upgrade their services. It's medical, so it may be beyond their control, but they need to make the effort after 2 consecutive seasons with major injury issues, and this year's injury problems derailing the season.
• Re-sign Gio Urshela. His arbitration number isn't going to be cheap, but he's a quality player who could have some positional flexibility (even if he was almost exclusively at 3B for us, he could back up at other spots). He's worth bringing back and add in a number of areas without taking anything away.
• Figure out SS for next season. I'd love to have Correa back; I think he's an elite player. I can live with a bridge to Lewis, but that's one that need to get figured out quickly and I don't think palacios is good enough to hold things down for half a season or more.

I hardly agree with you jmlease on most of your list and I'd like to add 1 from RJA, humility. Humility to check with the medical crew about signing Paddack & Mahle & go with them if they say don't, if they said IDK get a new medical team. Check with your medical team before you put Lewis in CF, if they agree w/ you get a new medical team. Not having Buxton, Polanco and Arraez playing hurt & well below 100%.Humility to change your plan & mindsets when you can see that they're not working.

I'd also want them to change coaching from moonblasts to fundamentals, hitting, bunting, base stealing, throwing out runners etc. The way CLE has done it, that's the way they won. The only way they can change our attitude is winning. Not trying to show us how smart you are.

 

[clone52]

Sign Correa

Trade for Alcontera, Lopez or some young high end pitcher.  Would Lewis, Varland and Sabato get you Lopez?

Sign Archer for the bullpen and SP depth if needed.

Sign a decent catcher to pair with Jeffers.

Maybe add OF depth if you can afford it.  Could probably live with Buxton, Kepler, Kiriloff, Larnach, Wallner and Gordon.  Injuries just make me nervous.

[dex8425]

On 10/5/2022 at 2:45 PM, Brandon said:

I thought the front office did a good job this last offseason minus the Rogers trade.   Clearly Cueto over Archer but that’s pushing it a little.  Archer looked good at the beginning then ran out of gas.  
 

resign Correa.  This one looks easy and should be done.  
 

 

Taylor Rogers was actually worse than Pagan was this year. So neither team won. I would've been ticked if they signed Cueto, turns out he proved me wrong. 

[gman]

Well management could put their foot down and tell all players no getting hurt next year. Fundamentals look much better when you have the same 26 players playing the same roles day after day. It's called a team. But when your team averages 3 new faces every week, kind of hard to get any consistency. 

I wouldn't resign Correa. He's not a bad player, but this team won't afford to give one player a quarter of the payroll and be good long term. The Twins aren't the Dodgers and never will be. Anyone who wants to see a team with a $300mil payroll should just watch the Yankees or Dodgers.

I have been a Twins fan for over 60 years. There have been worst times. I don't watch the games for the management, which I think has done a good job. At least compared to the previous 30 years under Ryan.

I'm optimistic that the next few years could be some of the best baseball we've seen for quite awhile with the accumulated talent on the roster, if HEALTHY.

[dex8425]

26 minutes ago, clone52 said:

 

Trade for Alcontera, Lopez or some young high end pitcher.  Would Lewis, Varland and Sabato get you Lopez?

 

Definitely not. Substitute Ober for Varland and that probably gets it done. 

Cost for Alcantara would be monstrous. It would be a Soto-like trade. Lewis, Brooks Lee, Larnach and Ober gets you close. I don't think either team would do that deal anyway. 

[dex8425]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Basically where I’m at. I’ve seen what I need to see and I’m not intrigued by the FO duo anymore. Frankly I don’t want them to hand out $100+ million contracts to FA SP. That’s not what they were hired to do, and the ROI on those contracts rarely works out in the favor of the signing team. 

I would be on board with trading our redundancies on roster and a top prospect or 2 for one of Miami’s starters under control. Or Zac Gallen if Arizona decides it’s time to tear it down. 

Basically this team needs to win early and often to earn back fans. As well as updating the type of baseball we’ve seen over the last 2 years. Filling the lineup with players who swing for the fences and putz around the bases isn’t cutting it anymore. 

Gallen has the injury UCL tag right? I'd want none of that. I suspect most here would feel the same. 

[Brandon]

1 hour ago, dex8425 said:

Taylor Rogers was actually worse than Pagan was this year. So neither team won. I would've been ticked if they signed Cueto, turns out he proved me wrong. 

Go look at Rogers underlying numbers.  He pitched great this year.  he had the same thing that happened to Theilbar early in the season.  

[Minny505]

11 hours ago, TwinsAce said:

Agreed with your post.  If for some reason not Correa, I think I need Rodon instead.  

I can't believe it took until the 31st post to even mention Rodon. 

I am obviously in the minority, but I would so much tell Correa to start packing and focus on Rodon. We need top end pitching more than we need a top end SS...and there is only one top end FA SP, while there are at least 4 top end FA SSs available.

As Dallas loves to say, "Gimme the lefty!"

[Nine of twelve]

On 10/5/2022 at 11:15 AM, Ted Schwerzler said:

The Twins were dreadful with runners in scoring position this season,

 

The Twins' overall BA was .248. The BA with RISP was very nearly the same at .244. While this is not stellar it's not far from the MLB average in a year in which pitching dominated. Honestly, I think terming this as "dreadful" is poor analysis and lazy reporting. 

[Danchat]

4 hours ago, Brandon said:

Go look at Rogers underlying numbers.  He pitched great this year.  he had the same thing that happened to Theilbar early in the season.  

Rogers was perhaps the best reliever in baseball the first two months (1.64 ERA .454 OPS against), but then was horrific the next two months (8.14 ERA .890 OPS against) and then was plain bad for the Brewers (5.48 ERA, .845 OPS against). Enough for them to remove him from high leverage situations by the end of the year. I count 10 blown saves and 8 losses (there is overlap between those two stats).

As bad as Pagan? No because of the first 2 months, but it was easily the worst season of his career. The Twins may have been right to trade him while his value was high, but of course they had to choose Paddack to be the centerpiece of the trade.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Nine of twelve said:

The Twins' overall BA was .248. The BA with RISP was very nearly the same at .244. While this is not stellar it's not far from the MLB average in a year in which pitching dominated. Honestly, I think terming this as "dreadful" is poor analysis and lazy reporting. 

Before breaking it down with analysis, first look at the big picture.  b-r.com splits numbers for Twins and for MLB as a whole.

PA with RISP: Twins 1484, MLB 44760

R with RISP: Twins 471, MLB 14969

Ratios of these: Twins .3174, MLB .3344

With runners in scoring position the Twins were pushing across significantly fewer runs per opportunity.  Had they held the same ratio as MLB as a whole, 25 more runs might have scored.  That's about 2.5 wins over the course of a season. 

That there is problem seems evident.  It's a matter of semantics whether throwing away 2 or 3 wins is dreadful.  But it needs fixing.  (I hope nobody is engaging in a strawman argument that anyone's saying any particular problem is the ONLY problem.)

What the cause is, may be hard to pinpoint.  You suggest it's not simply the batting average.  I'm not so sure.  Batters usually have better numbers with RISP than with bases loaded, for reasons probably not worth dissecting here.  MLB wide, BA with bases empty versus RISP were .235/.253.   Our Twins notched .236/244.  Is that significant?  Given the rather large numbers for a team or a league over a full season, not really SSS, I'm inclined to believe yes.

Slugging average, likewise.  MLB was .383/.409 (empty vs RISP), Twins were .380/.385.  When they hit, it wasn't with the usual bump in power, with runners were on 2nd or 3rd.  Don't know why.  But it seems significant.

Maybe it's not all on the batters themselves - could be slow baserunners?  This team frustrated us with their running, just by the eye test.  Perhaps the run scoring numbers are confirmation of the eye test.  I don't know quite how to separate that out, with aggregate figures from b-r.com.

 

[TopTwinsFan]

16 hours ago, Squirrel said:

Okay, so, to answer the question asked by the author, there is nothing this FO could do to earn back your favor?

Resign.

[RonCoomersOPS]

They haven't lost me, not even close really. However, one thing I'd really like to see them do is re-evaluate their player strength and conditioning strategy. Part of that is acquiring fewer guys with known injury concerns (Paddack, Archer, Mahle), but the bigger part in my view is figuring out how to stop the players going down with injuries en masse down the stretch.

I guess the only other thing I'd really like to see them do is continue trusting in their minor league player development, and keep calling guys up. I'd love to see Brooks Lee and Austin Martin make the team out of spring training, especially if the alternatives are guys like Cave and Palacios. SWR, Varland, Ober, and Winder are here and deservedly so. Keep them up here, and prioritize figuring out how to get the Festas, Canterinos, Sisks, Enlows, and Balazovics of the system to join them. We finally have guys coming up who don't look completely lost or overmatched, so keep pushing for more of that.