FritzDahmus

If you have to now cope....because you thought this was going to happen...........you have a serious problem as a Twins sports writer. We need objective stories from this web site....not mind numbing cheer leading. No, I did not read this article. So if this was a parody....I apologize. But I doubt it was.

Resign. But if that's not possible....By not doing what he did to Ober last night. You're Twins fans....you know what he did. Tired of detailing why Rocco is terrible, gutless, unemotional, uninspiring, and a manager with clearly a lack-of-the-moment sense...

I have watched almost every game. My observations: Early in the year they pitched reasonably well and they hit. Towards the end they still pitched reasonably well, but the hitting was noticeably different. They could not add on, they failed to bring in runs from third with less than 2 outs, and other "solid hitting situations" where they seemed to fail more than fail at pitching. Rocco was "very inventive" in keeping the mediocre pitching talent relevant...............not so much with the hitters in-game strategies to score......a run. Nary a bunt or a timely steal.....go the opposite way......no money in that. Gotta go for the fences. Rocco just stared at his notebook, making entries as the hitters tried to hit a 3-run homer with only a man on third and one out. I blame it on injuries [you have to....no Buck, no Kepler, no Sano, no Polanco, and who knows how the injured kids would have played]..........and the hitting. The hitting got worse with the injuries. We now have Nick Gordon batting 3rd and/or 4th.......I'm happy for him..................he is a great bench player and an all-round versatile guy. Not a middle of the order guy. Injuries and hitting. Rocco can go anytime as well.

Too much talk about pitching. It is the hitting that put us in this hole. The Twins have not hit in RISP situations, and sometimes not in any situations. The pitching has been something a good hitting team could easily live with. This team is not a good hitting team. Too many injuries.

Sure they should participate in the playoffs. In today's game you go to the playoffs, because you deserve it. Right now 9 of the 15 teams in the AL are fighting to get into the playoffs. They all deserve it. I'm being a little sarcastic. I don't think any of you actually answered the question. The Twins are not good enough to do anything in the playoffs if they can't at least split with the Yankees. They will get swept.....so therefore I don't think they will do a damn thing [as always] in the playoffs. It takes more than one year and a few bad trades to change that!! The playoffs in major league baseball is not needed. They play each other enough in the regular season to decide who DESERVES to go to the World Series. I hope the Twins go to the playoffs. I love watching them. I would love to see how some of the guys would play. So yes, no matter if the Yankees sweep the Twins [which they will]......I still am wishing they make the playoffs.

Loved reading this. Smiled all the way through it. Thanks........

I also like Option #1. Keep him and get 3 more relief pitchers. I don't think we need any starting pitching [ok...maybe to get to the playoffs] to maneuver you're way through the playoffs. Our starters are very good at going 4 or 5 innings using 80-100 pitches...and here is the key.....while allowing very few runs. We do not have a bullpen to win the next 4 or 5 innings. Think about it.....that's playoff baseball.

I think we are blaming Rocco for something Duffy did....and has a propensity for.....at least lately. The other relievers [Minaya and Cano] have also looked terrible...but survived and handed Duffey a one run deficit. He freaked out. We all could see him unravel. Why?? Then he flops in another lazy curveball.... Fix the man. I think it's obvious now. It's Rocco's fault the next time. But now, we all should blame Duffey. The Yankees get what the Yankees want. Yankees 110-38 and counting.

If memory serves me....when he developed that "competitive" curveball is when he became very effective. Maybe a stint on the IL to get that back will be the fix he needs.

Using Pohlad logic --- he isn't good enough yet to be over-priced..............so keep him. Let's wait until he is really good, then trade him for more prospects. Hmm....prospects good, veterans bad.

As a broadcaster, he is worth sorting through the muddle to get at what he is saying. He is very smart and has an interesting take on baseball situations. Needs to work on a shorter and more concise conversation to get there. Have no idea on the HOF. Isn't that just for Red Sox and Yankees. ?

If it wasn't for the July 31st trade deadline and its timing, most of these trades would not have happened. In the "hot stove league" these trades of desperation -- i.e. for an immediate need to win a championship....are not made. In the off season, teams are more deliberate and thoughtful, cautious even, in making trades. Therefore, teams like the Twins don't see offers of high level prospects for plug-in major league rental talent. I'm probably wrong, cheap owners will always find creative ways to dump high salaries.

Let him go. They will use Buxton's salary as the unspoken reason that can't pay anybody else. Remember the Joe Mauer contract? Plus they can't have Donaldson's contract and Buxton's contract on their payroll. Find another activity to immerse yourselves into....I see a pattern here. Not worth it. Hey....looks like Eddie has found a playoff spot. Who needs him........we have prospects!!!!!!!

Why should Buxton be any different than any other Twin looking to get rich off Pohlad?? Trade him, we need to rebuild our Minor League system. Prospects win championships ya know. Just ask a Pohlad..... Plus, then you can write about the need for pitching...........and a centerfielder.

If the Twins catching "has an uncertain future" [as the article's title suggests], why would you expect to get a decent return in a trade? We are stuck with it. Garver looks like he is rebounding. Even as a defensive liability, he proved to be valuable with the bat in 2019. I don't have a list, but I'm sure there are some very good and very expensive FA pitchers available this winter......or do what they always do - take a shot at a lower talent-level pitcher. Target field can be hard on left-handed hitters.........making it a right-handed pitcher park. Lots of them out there. Someone wrote - getting rid of Berrios meant they are rebuilding. Whether that's true or not...........they are rebuilding a pitching staff. So, maybe Garver is gone. Jeffers [rt hand bat] and Rortvedt [left-hand bat] may be the catching duo of 2022.

You can say the same thing about Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City. What do they have in common with the Twins?? They all think building a minor league system is more important than winning today's ball game. Which is just an excuse for acting poor and cheap. The Twins have 2 good years in a row...followed by two bad months..........and they unload players. Panic selloff -- That'll win a championship.

Ryan already has intimated that he should have been prepared for a comebacker...on every pitch. Something he and and is dad always worked on.....on he "feared" they will work on again. Jim Kaat would say the same....but then realize it's mostly a preventable accident and injury.....but it should be worked on [defensive position after releasing the pitch]. Just like Buxton needs to play smart in the outfield and be careful of inside pitches......to play another day in these 162 game seasons.

That's a good play, even though you'll have to bet $170 just to win $100 [on a typical Twins/Yankee game] Not exactly betting on the long shot. So what is the front office doing to overcome this glaring roadblock to any playoff success?? Trade away players for trash......who will be traded away if they do not become trash. So either way....trash. But hey....are all the Twins vaccinated?? That's the important question for this site.

No they're not...in this bit of satire, or in the real world. No they are not.

Someone cheaper.....come on, get on board. Pohlad needs to feel like a hero....but he needs to do it cheaply. Trade Berrios, trade Cruz, trade Eddie Rosario, trade Polanco, trade Buxton......let the young guys play. That's the Twins way. I still can't believe they signed a guy like Donaldson [and his $$ of course]. Did the FO catch Pohlad on drugs???

It should be someone who will bring a lot of high end prospects at the trade deadline in July of 2030. Go Yankees.

You're right. Everyone on this site fancies themselves MLB managers more than fans. They are like fantasy football players. Fans of the process.....not the game. They "want" a Berrios trade...to see if they called it correctly. Go Yankees...........?

The Twins have 4 bad months of baseball following 2 Division Championships and 3 playoff appearances in the last 55 months.................and they see the need to sell off important pieces. I don't want these guys handling my investment portfolio. It's not just our guys of course. Baseball is broken in so many ways. But what this sell off does.......it now gives them a chance to play front office managers of a MLB team. Good for them. Have fun fellas. No expectations of winning right away [they are building a winner.....ya, right]. There farm hand managers and coaches get top develop exciting talent -- to the point where they are so good, they are too expensive to keep. Go Yankees......

The Twins are like a bad girlfriend always looking for an excuse to bolt [in this case the Twins looking for any excuse to go cheap]. Offer Buxton 100 million that include incentives [7 years??] and give Berrios Yankee top of the rotation money [because they will]. If the Twins don't...they need to go away and we can turn Target Field into a downtown jail for street thugs. Had enough of MLB. Fix the damn salary cap and quit giving these small-market owners excuses to go cheap. Between the All Star game escaping "voter suppression" in Atlanta to the Yankees and Red Sox getting their way on everything....had it.

Nothing confusing about it.....and they know the frustration will go away the following Spring. What you just wrote....is what the Twins management knows [and hopes] all Twins fans will say.....in perpetuity!! They blamed the Dome for not affording Tori Hunter and Johann Santana. Signing Mauer was more about marketing than anything. Baseball needs a salary cap to keep these team owners from using "small market" as an excuse to not put the best team on the field. taxpayers paid for half the billion dollar stadium, 40,000 fans will show up every game for the right team, TV covers fans in a 5 state area. We have a guy who hates sports and loves to make movies as an owner. I love Morneau......you people may think he drones on and doesn't know when to shut up. But he said [in so many words]...the Twins are having a year that is an aberration and is a tweak or two away from contending for the AL Central [admittedly, not a lofty goal...but hey]. Bert would have never said that and instead circled someone, wished someone a happy birthday, and then gone back to sleep [until the next opportunity came around to embarrass Dick Bremer on the air]. Morneau is smart and interesting......and in this case....I believe correct. he suggested concentrating on starting pitching [hardest to come by]. Bullpen help is inconsistent and seemingly is always available...next attack this......and keep the everyday players. This article is correct as well. It is not the dynamic duo that is to blame. They agree with Moreau. The Pohlads are caring on the legacy of cheapness that Calvin Griffith started. That is who is to blame....as always.