VivaBomboRivera!

Luis Arraez - Super(utility)man!

The relative dearth of reader comments already indicated that the proposition was somewhat far-fetched. However, after viewing Arraez' 1st inning catch that arguably prevented the Spiders from winning the game, not to mention his 3-for-4, 2R, 3 RBI 8 TB (now .295/.365/.751) performance in today's (25 June) 7-8 win, a question must be put to the author: Where are you sourcing your ganja? This is really trippy stuff! There is no other player on the roster who comes close to the offensive performance Arraez consistently delivers [Correction: Buck, when available]. The Twins would never want him playing against them, and the list of players the club could bring in from outside (risky!) to replace his value is frighteningly short. That "2" on Arraez' back is really a backwards "S." Unless someone stashes a load of kryptonite in his locker, he is the Twins Super(utility)man.

Here that hissing sound? It's the very last of the oxygen escaping from the airlock of the 2021 Twins starship.

Part of the answer to this problem is the club's near- to mid-term strategy: rebuild or reload for the 2022 season? Rogers will be 33 at the end of a three-year contract. If he's a piece of a smarter, faster, harder and stronger lineup for next year the answer is, "yes." In a rebuild, is he the right guy to form the core of a maturing stable of arms by 2025? Probably.

Good, because he's been totally clutch of late. Fair to say it was not his best AB.

It did take an exceptionally long time for him to turn it around. It is possible that his illness took far more out of him than he or anyone else really understood. Watching his performance in 2019 and 2020, there were numerous appearances when he would start strong, but after an inning or two his control would begin to fall off. The colitis was likely robbing him of strength and endurance. Impossible to say whether a more extended rehabilitation period would have made a difference, but it is clear that this season he is in far better shape.

This is a lingering malaise that needs to be cured.

We should be happy for Gibby. Looks like he has finally recovered from that stomach bug. It is possible that Twins management gave up on him too soon when what he really needed was an extended period of treatment and rehabilitation.

Borderline. Even sickeningly cheerful, sunny optimists like yours truly understand that from this point forward the Twins need to play better than they did in 2019 (.623) and hope that Chicago falls apart. Every loss is like a strike right now. Ten more games (4 vs ChiSox) to the halfway point. If the Twins drop more than three and can't get to within spitting distance of .500, they are indeed sunk for the 2021 season.

Please, just let me wear my rose-tinted glasses a little longer!

Let me guess, your parents never let you have a dog when you were a kid? No surprise birthday parties? ?

White Sox have cooled to 11-9 (.550) in their last 20 games. If the Twins can figure out a way to get better than four runs out of 14 hits and bring around more baserunners the Central Division might not be such a bad place to be. The last two games the chips fell their way, but if they want any kind of a chance they're going to have to grab it.

Which is precisely why the Twins need to be careful in the trade and free agent market. The odds are going to favor teams with cash. It's always harder to win playing to an opponent's strength. It's easy to say, "this player should be traded" or, "that free agent should be signed," but the Twins will never be that kind of ball club unless busloads of people living on the left and right coasts decide that life is better in the Upper Midwest.

Both streaks extend to four. 12.5 GB.

Doh! Carry the 1, Bombo, carry the 1.

Hold the trade phones just a few more days. Second City's South Side club has just dropped three in a row. 102 games left and there's just the teensiest crack of daylight peeking through.

The lede from Field Level Media's game report:

Several points: The Twins are not Tampa, Boston or Chicago We agree that overpayment is to be avoided; always know when to walk away There are always going to be trades that work well for one or both parties (the Twins appear to have gotten the better of the Graterol - Maeda deal, for example, at least in the short term), but they are inherently riskier than re-signing an asset already in the organization simply because of greater number of unknowns In terms of WHIP, H9 and BB9 this is Berrios' best season ever, why should the ball club walk away from that? Shopping himself is a calculated risk for Berrios, as well; he might get the money he wants, but money is not everything Most important, when trading away an asset, regardless of what is received, have an understudy ready to grow into the role; the hard fact is that the Twins do not have another pitcher that could do as much for the club's performance as Berrios has done since 2017, were there currently someone with the organization already at his 2017 - 2018 level then it might make sense to deal him, but there is not Bottom line: Make him a generous offer that acknowledges his performance and his upside, and build around him; if he pushes it back across the desk then know it wasn't meant to be - deal him for prospects and let him be another club's problem

See Pierre Mendes-France, "To govern is to choose." There is no safe road. After all risks are understood, make a decision, be prepared to accept the consequences and learn from them. If your decision results in success, party down, but don't get cocky.

This is exactly why the "trade Berrios now" talk makes no sense. Trade for whom? And how do you fill the hole he leaves? Unless the ball club has decided to rebuild from the ground up, or if Berrios and his agent will settle for nothing less than the greatest amount they can obtain on the market, this is the correct approach. Smart management doesn't deal away personnel without knowing whom they will plug in as a replacement. Even if he is only ever a number 2 or 3 arm, having Berrios spend his most productive (or even all) years with the Twins is likely to benefit the club. Everyone they have on the farm is at least a season away from being as good as he is now, and dealing for someone as good or better is always fraught with peril. Dance with them that brung ya - and pay 'em, too.

Somebody's gotta say it: GAME OBER

Children! You disappoint Mother Elektra! Stop Posing as Major Leaguers and start playing up to her standards! Removing tongue from cheek, Mother Elektra notes that our 2021 Twins are on the verge of a woefully historic performance. At 26 - 41, they now own a .388 win percentage, exactly a tenth of a point below the season result in 2011, the beginning of their seven-year bout with awfulness that bottomed with the club's all-time worst (.364) 2016 effort. [Personal note: Having directly witnessed the futility of '81 (.376) and '82 (.370), until today it had not dawned on me that the Twin' absolute nadir was of much more recent vintage] We've noted that this is the 30th anniversary of the 1991 World Series winners, but few have remarked that 2021 marks the 60th year of Major League Baseball in Minnesota. Let's hope this club can find some way to salvage a bit of pride and commemorate these landmarks by at least exceeding the 1961 squad's 70 - 90 (.438) record.

My head is with G & G. My heart will follow if they lose more than 5 of their next 16 games. Excellent look at the different approaches the club could take for the rest of the season and what they could mean for the lineup next year. These questions will provide reasons to continue to watch games this summer.

So, tomorrow the Twins take the rubber game and begin their drive for a wildcard berth, right? ⚾

Good evening. Kept my powder dry until we could see the result of the second game of the series. To be clear, it did not have to work out the way I called it, so this post is not a bat flip. However, it does appear that there was a better chance for a W with the three arms in combination today than there was when the Twins were a run down yesterday. The main reason why yesterday was not a win-at-all-costs situation is because there were still 99 games left, and it is still possible (not probable) for the Twins to play .600 ball through the rest of the season and end up with 85 or more wins. Had that been a 2019 or a 2020 playoff game I would have been on your side of the argument. See you for the rubber game - takeoff point for our wildcard drive! ???