Identifying the Twins’ Top 3 Weaknesses

Left on base. It seems  like every time I look at a box score there is an inordinate amount of runners left on base. A better performance would cure most any ill

  On 8/9/2022 at 10:16 PM, stringer bell said:

I think base running is a big weakness. Most of the problem is having too many slow players, but part of the problem is just poor base running. 
 

The too consistent short starts have revealed the lack of talent and lack of flexibility in the ‘pen. 
 

I bet followers of every team thinks they don’t advance runners and score them from third base with less than two out. I do think the Twins are below average mostly because their top players haven’t performed like elite players. In

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Should. Have read page 2. Before i commented.  Here you go for your amusement. To everyone’s here surprise, the number is under 5. https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/runners-left-in-scoring-position-per-game

One area of weakness not mentioned was field manager Robocop Baldelli.  Probably one of the poorest managers in all of baseball IMO.  You recently had the game against the blue jays where he sat out both Buxton and Correa on the same day.  Today, Tuesday against the Dodgers because they are pitching a lefty Arreaz is not in starting lineup.  He just went 6 for 10 in his past two games and you sit him?  Get serious.  The lefty/lefty thing is strange in that you have one of the best hitters in all of baseball but you are telling him he is not good enough to play against lefties?  Rocco always plays Kepler against lefties yet Arraez has a career 50 points higher lefty/lefty average than Kepler.  Very strange.  Rocco has not much feel for the game and is terrible at in game management and sticking to the game plan even when it's not working.  In the end Rocco will cost the team a playoff spot.  He's already lost a number of games this year.  I vote lack of veteran performance and field manager as the biggest weaknesses.

  On 8/9/2022 at 3:23 PM, LA VIkes Fan said:

I agree with the premise of the article but disagree with the comments that this is somehow the manager's fault or that the FO hasn't tried to deal with these issues. The reality is that the Twins have about 80-85% of the players necessary for a championship contender. We are short at least (1) a true workhorse starter who can consistently give us 7+ innings a game, (2) another middle of the order bat that can be a consistent run producer (that's more due to injury than anything else), and (3) sufficient bullpen depth, including a shut down left-handed relief pitcher.  If you look at the statistics, you can understand why Rocco is not letting our starters have that 3rd trip through the order; all of them, repeat all of them, have consistently poor results that 3rd trip through. Even Ryan. Gray has always been that way. You could try to develop younger pitchers like Ryan by giving him that 3rd trip through but that may be at the expense of a few wins over the course of the season. I think the front office made the right move picking up Tyler Mahle to try to give us that 7+ inning pitcher. Time will tell if he can actually do that.

The lack of a middle of the order band is I think the bigger problem because it puts too much pressure on the 4 or 5 solid offensive guys we have and over time their performance suffers as a result. To me, this was the one thing we didn't get at the trade deadline that we should have. Thank goodness for the development of José Miranda and the emergence or career year of Nick Gordon because without them we would really be in trouble offensively. I do think the FO did a good job strengthening the bullpen at the deadline and made the right call with Tyler Duffey. I would frankly like to see them make the same call with Pagan but I understand the irresistible lure of his talent. He at least has the basic talent to be a successful pitcher, something Duffey unfortunately no longer has. There are at least attacking this weakness and the return of Maeda in the bullpen could really help if that happens.

I think our record is very reflective of our talent level and I think Rocco has done a good job of maximizing the production of the players he has. I think the bottom line is that were just short a little bit on the talent side so it requires us to have guys do more than there really capable of to be successful. I frankly think the injuries to Larnach and Kirilloff in particular really hurt us by depriving us of that guy that could hit in the number 5 or 6 hole and really lengthen in the lineup. Guys like Kepler, Sanchez, Urshela, Celestino, and now Cave are nice players to have if they hit 7 through 9 order where occasional offensive contributions can be enjoyed. The problem is we don't have enough hitters so all of a sudden Gordon has to hit 5, Buxton has to play when he really should be on the IL, Polanco doesn't get the chance to heal his back, and the team winds up counting on guys like the 4 mentioned above to be run producers. They aren't and probably never will be(although you never know with the guys in a Celestino).

The real issue is were just a little short of the players we need. That's not Rocco's fault. I don't know if he or the Front Office are average, good, or great. The one thing I do know since they got here the team is better, more competitive, more enjoyable to watch, and gives one hope that they could actually win the division and even potentially compete in the playoffs. That is a huge step up from where we were before they got here. 

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Good post.What did we go through before the front office change, 6 out of 7 years with 90 plus loses. They have had many injuries, and I think you could point at the FO for bringing in injury prone players. They have also been much quicker to adapt, much less risk adverse, and we are set up well next year in many areas. Maeda, Mahle, Gray, Ryan, Winder, Ober and Paddack in the second half. That's not your Terry Ryan rotation. 

  On 8/9/2022 at 5:37 PM, python85 said:

Pitchers that consistently give 7+ innings are a thing of the past. If my quick search is correct there is currently only one MLB pitcher (Sandy Alcantara) averaging more than 7 innings per start. Yes our starters need to go deeper into games, but the player that you are saying we are "short" just doesn't exist anymore.

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I wasn't very clear; I was trying to say pitchers that go into the 7th. That should have been 6+ innings, not 7+. I do think those pitchers exist. In fact, I think Mahle may be one of them, particularly against weaker opponents. 

Would it be wrong to say top 3 weaknesses are Pitching, Pitching, and Pitching?

  On 8/9/2022 at 11:46 PM, darin617 said:

Would it be wrong to say top 3 weaknesses are Pitching, Pitching, and Pitching?

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Yes.

  On 8/9/2022 at 5:37 PM, python85 said:

Pitchers that consistently give 7+ innings are a thing of the past. If my quick search is correct there is currently only one MLB pitcher (Sandy Alcantara) averaging more than 7 innings per start. Yes our starters need to go deeper into games, but the player that you are saying we are "short" just doesn't exist anymore.

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Completely agree.  The days of Bert Blyleven are over and not relevant to today's game.  Stats show the third time thru the order - pitchers do worse.  Why would you intentionally give the other team better odds?  

Twins' top 3 weaknesses:

1) Baldelli,

2) Baldelli,

3) Baldelli

I've narrowed it down to hitting, pitching & defense.

You forgot baserunning, but I guess we only get to identify 3 weaknesses.