bobs

I suspect that if there's a pitcher that can age well, it's Maeda. He isn't a flamethrower and depends on movement and location. That said, extending any pitcher beyond age 35 is a risk. With the emphasis Falvey's previous employer placed on developing pitchers from within, I'd guess Maeda gets maybe one more year extended on his contract. Two tops.

I'm 53 and a life-long Twins fan. I don't remember many players who present as much of an enigma for a FO like Buxton. Bets will have to be hedged when looking to extend him. We know he's injury prone. The FO knows he's injury prone. If Buxton realized he's injury prone a reasonable extension might be possible. If not, it could get messy.

I like Big Mike. Not sure how much of a commitment beyond 2021 is feasible though. I'd think if they can get him to agree to a reasonable dollar amount, the FO will jump. With reduced revenue, I'm not sure what "reasonable" looks like. Fortunately, guys like Falvey and Levine are FAR smarter about this than I am. At some point, club is going to have to figure out what it has in guys like Duran, Balezovic, Chalmers, etc..

St.Paul as a AAA affiliate would be awesome. Personally, I'd rather see it be their AA affiliate since that's where they typically store their top prospects. No doubt having St.Paul as the alternative site pointed out how too convenient it'd be to have one of their top minor league teams there.

Seeing Wes Johnson rebuild Paxton would be a good way to stick it to the Yankees...LOL.

My "guy" as a kid. Listened to Herb Carneal call his first home run at Yankee Stadium. Loved the down to earth nature of the man...he is 100% Minnesotan. Anyone who knows the game knows he should've won multiple Gold Gloves. Shame his career had to end with a strike in '94. Was thrilled/sad to be in attendance at the Dome when his number was retired by the Twins in '95. Still a great ambassador for the organization.

I think a reasonable 2-yr deal with Odo to be your #4 starter makes some sense. After watching this FO last three years, I'd guess May, Cruz, Clippard (possibly in that order) stay. Adrianza is a cheap Utility and plays pretty good defense could be kept. The rest I think are gone.

In a word, yes. The relatively team-friendly deal may help them get more for him. James Rowson seemed to be the only hitting coach who could get Sano to produce consistently in 2019....and he isn't coming back. I'm afraid a deal now wouldn't bring back value b/c of his 2020 struggles though. Could you move him for a top bullpen arm? A solid starter that can slot in as your #4 starter? Is that hoping for too much? A trade for prospects would free up the roughly $20 million they would have had to pay to keep Rosario and Sano. Another $15 million could net Trevor Bauer?

YEEEESSSSSSS!!!!! But why would he want to come here and get lifted after 75 pitches??...lol

Would not surpise me to see the FO sign Cruz and find a way to jettison Sano. Opens up 1B for Rooker/Kiriloff and not bringing back Rosario opens up LF for Kiriloff. Rosario projects to about $10 million in arbitration and Sano makes the same. That $20 million would be a nice start to getting Trevor Bauer at the front of the rotation.

...with the decrease in fastball % and the increase in spin rates and spin pitch %, the organization needs to respond. Shorter swings and more contact please. And maybe a little more "small ball" when the bats are struggling.

The swing-for-the-fences approach works fine during the regular season when you see teams' 4th and 5th starters. It works when teams are trying to manage bullpens and use all of their arms. The last two years, the Twins did nothing in the playoffs....when they only saw the best pitchers the Yankees and Astros had. There needs to be a tweak in offensive approach. And maybe see what it'd take to bring James Rowson back!

Rosario is gone. Romo is gone. I think it's time to start opening up at bats, innings and playing time for some of the top young prospects. Maybe Miami and James Rowson would give the Twins something for Sano. Rowson is the only person on the planet who seemed to be able to get Sano to be anything close to consistent. Would love to see Rooker and Kiriloff be given a chance coming out of ST next year.

Is it possible to find a promotion for James Rowson that would bring him back??

The Avila injury might have been the best thing to happen in 2020 for the club's future. Jeffers was quite simply a revelation. At the very least he should be the 1b to Garver's 1a, if not the other way around.

One thing I do know about sports is this....teams are a direct reflection of their coach/manager. Rocco has a perfect mentality for a regular-season....not too high, not too low, tomorrow's another day, all that. What Rocco hasn't show is the ability to manage with a sense of urgency and the Twins over the last two days didn't play with any sense of urgency. You canNOT play the same way in the playoffs as you do during a regular season.

First of all, the sky isn't falling. This is a good baseball team that had a couple tough days. They will continue to be a very good baseball team next year. Second, the coaching staff. I was worried from day 1 when James Rowson left to be the bench coach/offensive coordinator in Miami. Big question...why did Rocco/Falvine not just give him the same position here? Shelten was headed to Pittsburgh. Third, Rocco. I love the guy. I do. He is smart and even-keeled, which works great over a 162-game schedule. I thought he was too wishy-washy when Donaldson got tossed late in the season....Rocco should have stood there and defended his player until he got ejected. I felt the same today. Say what you want about Eddie....Rocco should have had his back. I was clueless as to why on Earth Jeffers was hit for earlyish in game 1 by Garver. It's not 2019 and Garver hasn't been that guy since day one (James Rowson where are you?!). Last, lifting Berrios. I'm an admitted Twins apologist. The players are far better than I could dream of. FO, coaches and manager are far smarter than me. I'm 53 years old and that was the single most frustrating/maddening decisions I've seen a Twins manager make. You want the man to be your top pitcher. He was throwing great. He's thrown 75 pitches. Unbelievable. Analytics and their stats have made the game almost impossible to watch anymore.

Analytics aside, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how well stocked this organization is for any injury/codid-related issues. There is pitching depth, with guys like Dobnak, Thorpe, Smeltzer able to make spot starts. Cave has proven he can play. The young hitters, like Rooker, Kiriiloff, etc., look ready to fill in if needed.

Sitting here with fingers crossed, repeating "please, please...." just hoping we get to see baseball in 2020.

A more interesting take would be "Best Twins Teams to Not Make the Playoffs". I know most would come from before the Wild Card Era, but it would start a conversation about how good the 1992 team was.

It's cloudy, rainy and gloomy today in west central Minnesota.Devastated by the loss of the promise of baseball.I.MISS.BASEBALL! About ready to dig out the VHS tapes of the 1991 WS!

It's cloudy, rainy and gloomy today in west central Minnesota. Devastated by the loss of the promise of baseball. I. MISS. BASEBALL!

...on the positive side, its fewer games until Rich Hill returns

Effing Covid-19.....

I'm old enough to remember the uproar when Kirby became baseball's first $3 million per year player. Musta been '89ish?