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The way the Twins are playing right now, it doesn't matter greatly whom they face among the teams above them in the seeding. Maybe we're in for some epic post-season heroics, but right now this offense is putting together a disappointing season, wasting a competitive year from the pitchers.

Just another pathetic offensive performance tonight. Come to expect it from Polanco, Kepler, Gonzalez,Rosario and others, but the slump Cruz is in...3-18 (.167) over his last 5 games with 0 RBI is a major concern. Nice to see Hill recover from a rocky 1st inning to pitch his best game all season. Really getting sick of and hating being in Chicago. Saying that, Im sure Rocco's soft/everybody relax and "trust the process" postgame comments is exactly (NOT) whats needed right now. A very SOFT team mentally that will pull ANOTHER early playoff exit (if we make it in).

Yeah... I dunno folks, I foresee another sweep if we face the Yanks. Last year the Twins had swagger, and they completely fell on their faces. Now half the team is hitting around the Mendoza line, and we've had to rely on our pitching, which is good, but not great. Just looking over the stats, the Yankees hitters are doing a lot better than the Twins...

honestly, I think he needs to get Garver some meaningful ab’s ASAP

OK. To summarize: every Twin not named Buxton last seven days: 2/2x ~.100/.100/.100

This. Way too much attention to who they will play when it won’t matter a damn if they can’t get it together.

I'm baffled by the collapse of the Twins offense this season. Was last year that much of a fluke? Did the change in the ball really torpedo them that much? Is it all the strangeness of the pandemic and the messed up spring training? Is it the injuries? So many guys took a big step back. We finally get some pitching put together and there's so little run support to back them up...

Absolutely never....never. Twins can't beat anyone at the moment but they can't beat the Yankees at all. This is akin to Bruins-Canadiens for so many years....no matter what...Bruins could never beat Montreal in post season...period. Twins aren't good enough to slay the dragon this year. For their own sanity (and ours) play somebody else. If we lose, well so be it. But please, not to the Yankees.

Already done. We're now in 5th. The season will be over in 12 days. This team is going nowhere. Cruz suddenly looks his age. Sano is in strikeout every other at bat mode. Eddie's not hitting. Donaldson never was. And the bullpen has it's own issues.

I almost posted this in a front page thread but decided it needed it's own. I know we are in a playoff push with mixtures of optimism and consternation, but Dobnak has been brought up more than once lately and I thought it was time for some evaluation and honest reflection in the guy. There has been so much "story" and early success surrounding him that I think perspective has been lost. I think what gets lost is he is a ROOKIE MLB SP. He pitched a total of 29.1 innings in 2019 which is about what a late fill-in/September audition might be expected to tnrow. And he has all of 49.2 IP in 2020 to the time I post this. These are his current ML numbers: W/L ERA IP H BB SO AVG WHIP 8-5 3.12 75 77 18 50 .266 1.27 Yes, the ERA is not a be-all stat and is skewed from his 1.59 in SSS from 2019. But his 2020 is still only 4.05 even with a couple recent bad games. Regression was always going to happen. There is nothing in his repetoire/arsenal that suggests he will ever be a big SO pitcher or a dominate front of the rotation SP. I counter with "so what"? He is a sinker/slider control pitcher who induces pop ups and ground balls with the occasional hard hit liner. He seems intelligent seems to have a bulldog mentality and has the frame to throw a lot of pitches and innings...as long as his stuff is working decently...though Rocco has pulled him "early" in a few games. Time will tell how good he can be. It's easy to say his last couple of games are reality and he was just a good story or an aberration. But again, we are talking about a ROOKIE SP with 75 IP under his belt. Simple math shows that to be about 1/2 of a normal season to this point, OR, he has pitched roughly 1/3 of a "normal" season if you only look at his 2020 numbers. I am NOT attempting to build him up to be anything but a back of the rotation #4 or #5 starter. But look at the numbers thus far, or even just his 2020 numbers...still solid and not going to bore everyone with tons of stats...and tell me you wouldn't be at least a little excited the Twins had found themselves a nice back end rotation piece? There is no room in baseball for a sinker/slider guy with control and SOME projectability with experience going forward? Again, I'm not projecting stardom for the Dobber. And the 2021 rotation starts with Maeda, Berrios and Pineda. And we will have the off-season to debate any additions or a re-sign of Odorizzi, but I feel pretty comfortable going forward with Dobnak as my #5 starter with some other really nice arms coming up behind him. For now, he probably fits best in the pen for the post season, with everyone healthy. But I don't think a productive rookie with a couple bad games recently should be dismissed for what be has accomplished thus far and what he could potentially develop in to.

Formal Game Thread. Attire expected. Please have your invitation ready. You will be announced as you enter. Please wait for the previous person's fanfare to finish before making your entrance. (well, walk up music if you will) For everyone's protection, please keep your masks on. And your helmet or glove, or shin guards... arm guards chest protectors... ciurass, gauntlets, greaves... Say, this is a safe game isn't it? Oh yes. Inter action is limited to balls and bats. Please sit down and allow the bar to lower snuggly onto your lap. Please keep your arms and legs inside at all times, and wait for the ride comes to a complete stop. There will be embarassing photos of your facial expressions available at the end. Without further ado... (indeed, i've quite run out) Introducing... The American League Central Up-Running Twins of Minnesota: 0. Michael Pineda (R ) P 1. Byron Buxton (R ) CF 2. Max Kepler ( L) RF 3. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH 4. Eddie Rosario ( L) LF 5. Miguel Sano (R ) 1B 6. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS 7. Marwin Gonzalez ( S ) 2B 8. Ehire Adrianza ( S ) 3B 9. Alex Avila ( L) C The National league Central Division Leading Cubs of Chicago, IL: 0. Alec Mills (R ) P 1. Ian Happ ( S ) CF 2. Kris Bryant (R ) 3B 3. Anthony Rizzo ( L) 1B 4. Willson Contreras (R ) C 5. Kyle Schwarber ( L) LF 6. Javier Baez (R ) SS 7. Jason Heyward ( L) RF 8. David Bote (R ) DH 9. Nico Hoerner (R ) 2B Well... um... I suppose i can only be so formal. Now i just got to get together a playlist for the dance cards... any recommendations?

Holy crap, let's save Wisler for the 8th or 9th in close games from now on!

Five runs and two guys thrown out at second base. Weird inning.

I forgot who was on 1st and just assumed it was Eddie.

Max - needed that break, Hope he sees Trevor Bauer next weekend here,

OK, we’ll take it. Thanks for the call.

I do think it's the right time to go to the bullpen - Pineda's at 92 pitches, and we play 2 games the next 4 days. There will be time for the pen to rest up.

Rocco looks good on the pinch runner move.

Garver has to prove he's ready in my opinion.

Shared lots of chicken dinners with those virtual friends!

Sounds a lot like having internet friends with whom to have virtual conversations about baseball games.

I remember as a kid, I had an imaginary friend. Finally, I came to realize it wasn't good for me to have such a friend, he was kind of mean. Like, for instance, he always teased me that at least he had a real friend.

Hopefully there's no health related reasons for Gardy's sudden retirement.

GROUND HOG DAY - I have been so nervous about this I wrote a blog on this site last week. I want to be wrong, but watching the Twins this past week I have not found anything to pin optimism on, except that we are hitting so bad it can only get better. Here are my wishes for the post season playoffs. We will need runs to beat the Yankees. If our starter is going well we do not have to pull him after 5 Do not put Kepler at lead offLet Buxton runMove Sano down again until he gets hot - his k's kill too many rallies. Let Jeffers be the catcher. He has passed Garver and Avila Do not let Adrianza bat - bring back Blankenhorn Clippard and Romo should be saved for series two - they will be batting practice for that team

The DP that erased Buxton was hard to take. Still, there is the old rule of thumb, "play for the tie at home, play to win on the road." Selecting a strategy to get Buxton to second at all costs cuts against that. Bunting for sure decreases your chances of scoring more than one run. Going instead for the steal doesn't greatly help the goal of scoring twice, and carries some risk. I wish Buxton was more of a sure thing to steal at will, but when calling strategy you have to go with what you've got. It's true that if we don't score one run, the game doesn't keep going. A run would be big. But the aim isn't to keep going, it's to win, and a tie gives the home team their chance to end it with just a run, and so on with extra innings. Moreover the multi-run strategies still have a chance of plating the one run as a consolation prize - I'm not saying one run is worthless. But being down by a run in the top of the ninth is an odds-against situation, and the previous 8 innings are more the cause of this loss than the tactics after Buxton's walk. Hendricks is a good pitcher. Guess what, there will be good pitchers when we play the post-season. The hitters have to figure out some answers.

A healthy Yankees team is better than the White Sox, Rays, or As. I would rather play the worse team, regardless of the history.

no excuse to not run Buxton in the 9th...statistics be damned. He is your fastest runner; the team desperately needed one run and Donaldson was a huge threat to do what he did...GIDP. I can't imagine too many managers that wouldn't have said...Bux...go on the first pitch. It was simply stupid...but they will spin it otherwise I'm sure. The slumps of Sano, Rosario, Cruz, Kepler couldn't come at a worse time in a short season. Twins hitters looked disinterested last night...again. Thats at least 5 straight games where they haven't strung 2 hits together. Time is running out to right the ship....or the playoffs will be 2 and out...no matter who they play.

I just... I can't... Father in Heaven, why would you allow this to happen to the Twins fans of the world? How can anyone predict anything other than a Yankees sweep?

It's going to be like minor leaguers with couple standouts against major league home run derby team. Yankee players are also experienced and smart and their manager is not stubborn and sometimes brainless like Rocco.

Rocco rarely calls for steal. Under his leadership, this team hardly plays small ball.

My daughter loved him-her favorite Twin. My own summation is that we overrated some of our teams/players and were lucky to have Gardenhire at the helm. He was a colorful and fun manager. I hope his health improves and he can manage to enjoy a couple of decades as a fan.

Buxton, please don't injure yourself trying to stretch a single in a 7-1 game. Thanks!

Awaken

I prefer "well seasoned".

pffft...that did not go OVER Waveland. 1st bounce, maybe.

And SANO-ZEE finishes off the 3 run inning with a 2 run DONG to left!!! wait, what?

How about we put up an 8 spot and, and not need Duffey?

92 pitches for Pineda, most under some stress. I don't think it makes much sense to bring him out for the sixth. They hit quite a few balls hard and the bullpen is rested.

Please leave Duffey in for the 7th.

Knock me over with a feather

I am the walrus?

It's looking like it - all three's contracts are up, and I don't think re-signing them should be on the table. Avila is not a bad backup catcher, but it's pretty clear that Jeffers will be ready to back up Garver, if not step ahead of him.

Had opportunities to do it ourselves by winning that White Sox series. Totally blew it.

It's 2020, the year of the absurd. So why shouldn't this be the year the Twins finally slay that beast?

I think that with the way the Yankees (the probable opponent) are hitting right now, our best chance will be with a rotation of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson.

At least they can't lose more than 2 more in a row to them in the first round.

Ouch! That was a tough one. Was ready to look for something to do after Hill walking the first two followed by the single and first run. But he got out of that inning down 1-0, great job. Can't believe the big time pitching performance he put up after those first few hitters. Maybe he can carry that thru to the playoffs? Also can't believe how pathetic nearly every hitter has become. Buxton continues to do well, but after him there is nobody. When will Arraez be returning?

No offense, but... well, I guess that's a complete thought.