GeorgiaBaller

@Mike Sixel Everyone is entitled to their opinion--but success in this game is shaped by statistics and should not be completely dictated by them. I think several of us are stating that baseball is not poker. Statistics are measurements and they work almost definitively with static options---like you have in cards. Baseball is not that way and while historical facts are tremendous guardrails, they can't dictate every decision. Players go thru phases and are sometimes more locked-in than other times, physically perform better or worse through some stretches and situationally, some players do fold in the clutch and some excel. Its their individual makeup. A manager who is with the team can feel and know those things watching players every day---and should make situational calls that sometimes go against the statistics. Like I said before, Billy Bean would have a better WAR than most in the league at his GM position---but wile the Tampa Bays Rays have won WS's with a paltry payroll in a small market---have the A's? Not all bunts or lower impact hits are sacrifices. Sacrifices do have a place in the game and are valuable situationally. A sacrifice to score a run should always be in the gameplan---without exception; another place where knowledge and not just stats come into play. There are so many weak arms in the outfield now in the majors, fly balls to the outfield with RISP are a strong play. And yes, bunts are useful situationally. You will see many more bunts in the playoffs this year---like you have the last few years---- than the regular season. Last---any ballplayer who has ever played or taken batting practice knows you do have different swings as a batter. Some guys choke up on their bat, some guys close their stance, and some slow their swings just a little. Not all guys have good enough hands to do it, but I have seen Arraez, Urshela and Gordon all get hits in just the last few weeks by waiting a little longer, shortening their swing and swinging 3/4 to punch a ball into a short field. Usually with 2 strikes. Gary Sanchez even did it last week on a two strike hit to right field. Baseball is a game of skill. There is some art and finesse involved by the player----AND the manager. Don't make a beautiful sport into a computer game.

@Seth Stohs"To the second paragraph... it takes more than a great, great player. Mike Trout has hardly even been to the playoffs in his career. Jake Cave has the same number of postseason hits as Trout." Not that it matters now, but the player questions in my post was a comparative question. Managers have to add value just like players do. Who do you "peg" Rocco to was poll for comparison of a manager to the player side. What player would you equate Rocco to in rating him as a manager? Guess it wasn't worded well. As I said, Rocco has done about as well as anyone could keeping 70% level of talent team with a ridiculous number of constant injuries in the hunt. I think talent wise the Twins really deserve to be a 2nd or 3rd place team. The relentless injuries with this team are staggering and will probably discount and possibly sideline the careers of some players who could have helped. Its been injury (and related: rest days) management that has plagued this team into a constantly I think Rocco has been great in that sense. My biggest concerns are with in game situational management. Not all teams can be the 2016 Royals--they set the tone for this pitcher plug and play we have today---but they had the staff and bullpen to do it. We do not. Twins cannot run a bullpen game starting the 3rd time thru the lineup. I would like to see the #'s for starting pitchers who get extended to the 3rd time through vs bullpen in the 5th, 6th and 7th inning. I am also a fan of situational small ball, so I love to see situational hitting(sacrifice fly balls to an opposite field single with a shortened swing) bunts, steals. Instead of leaving men on base in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th inning with no outs---do something to try and move them around and manufacture runs. I have seen much more of this out of the Twins in the last few weeks---and it seems to have worked.

Gosh this is a pointless discussion. The Twins deserve to be where they are right now. Can you show me a pennant winning team that has no #1 pitcher, no left fielder, marginal catching talent and a bullpen dominated by minor league prospects? And, an inconsistent lineup because of continuous injuries---to even your best 2 players. Maybe as these prospects develop that we have see this year, in the bullpen and including Miranda, they develop into something more---but they deserve to be a 2nd or 3rd place team right now. Cleveland is a better club. Houston is far better. Tampa Bay is much better when series count. LA, Mets, Atlanta and San Diego---much better. The Rocco discussion boils down to one thing. Like every other position, does he add value? Is he a ++? Does he motivate and challenge the team with the culture he puts in place and risks/challenges he takes them in the course of a game and over the entire season? Winning managers push and take chances---they make a difference. Does Rocco? Jimmy Carter was a nice guy, too, but as POTUS? If everything is built on Analytics, do you need a manager and what purpose is he serving? The Analytics dept could just call down and tell the bench coach what moves to make every inning. Its all laid out on a computer, right? No, that's too extreme. Analytics are valuable and are the base to be built on. I love Billy Bean's story, but how many Pennants has Oakland won lately. Coaches/Managers are in place to take the data and apply it situationally based on personnel, environment and function of the players on the field that night. This is still a people game. For all of you that grew up with a joystick playing computer games with your remote friends--that may be hard to relate to. Its not an old guy thing. A good plant manager can come in and improve efficiency and output at a plant with the same facility and tools, when the guy before him led a floundering crew that didn't get orders out on time. In the real world, differences are made when decisions are enacted situationally --considering soft and hard factors. That goes for Sports, too. Has Rocco done as well as anyone could with this roster and the ridiculously constant level of injuries? Maybe so. Could you plug Rocco into Atlanta or LA's roster and he be just as successful as Dave Roberts or Brian Snitker? I'm not as confident about that...... What Player does Rocco peg to for you? Is he Mike Troutt or Jake Cave? Max Scherzer or Dylan Bundy?

Good for Sonny! Somebody wants to wear some big boy pants---and the Twins can't deal with that? Why don't we just have a computer program to run the pitchers, right? That's what we have right now, we have a system and we can't stray from it. Sonny thinks a starter slowing in later innings can still be as or more effective than a series of relievers. I tend to agree, based on how the starter is throwing that night, he should be given more leash, not pulled at the first hit. What are the bullpen ERA's as a whole for the 6-8 innings? I would roll the dice with a starter having a good start, instead. I admire that in a starter, some fire and "I want the ball", but when the team is too narrow minded to recognize those occasions...... well.....you see what you become on the field today. But that's a feel thing we can't trust, we need a computer program to stick to. C'mon! if Rocco can't figure this out, he is a bench coach and not a Mgr. Sonny Gray is Brad Radke for the Twins. He will not be a #1 starter on anyone's team, but he is much better than most of the alternatives we have, if he can remain healthy.

I’m not a fan of this approach for Buxton because he is so disruptive on the basepaths—which adds excitement to games—and does more often with a line drive approach. I simply do not understand the basis of the argument. For years, I have been critical of Sano (and others) for this very same thing, with a heavy dose of backlash that the homerun is the basis of the game today and I needed to accept more strikeouts as a trade off. And, these other players like Sano that have no +fielding to offset. This article seems to jump that fence. It’s not that I don’t agree—but I just can’t follow the train of thought. To use Buxton and Sano in the same paragraph is laughable—-hopefully I have seen the last Twins PA for MS—- but it seems like the excuse for Sano is the argument against Buck.

This team does not lose games because of bats. This team loses games largely because the bullpen blows leads. You have a league leading bat that you shuffle around in the field and a Kirilloff/Larnach duo that both hit well, but alternate spending time on the IL, along with a 3B that is shuffled consistently for playing time and rest. My point is that daily the Mgr shuffles bats to try and get them on the field---your backups all hit pretty well. The starters on this team will not take you far in the playoffs, but can keep you in first during the regular season. You don't get worthwhile starters at the trade deadline. And, please don't trade with the Rays or A's or other small market teams that make the playoffs on a fairly regular basis. they know what they have, you always get taken. The bullpen needs to be addressed, you need to add relievers---maybe 4th starters from other teams that can shutdown an inning or two. Forget chasing bats and starters.

I have not been overly broken up about this since I saw it last night because the Twins pitching/bullpen is such a mess--but admittedly most of that issue is probably Managerial--Rocco over-manages the pitching changes. But, Sonny Gray did talk to other players who loved Johnson before he signed. 2 things: First, I am sure Johnson is frustrated with Rocco and his constant tinkering in game situations and he gets frustrated having to keep hot messes like Duffey around. Second--the college game is much more rewarding if you are built to really dig in and develop players, You see serious development and short periods and don't have a front office to deal with. And, you are right, the season is MUCH SHORTER! if you have heard, LSU rolls out the wheelbarrows (of cash) for coaches they want. I can easily see why, if you are not hung up about being in the pros, your day to day job, off time and compensation would be a step up package in this scenario.

Our organizational fascination with developing infielders who are not tasked with mastering a defensive position in their minor league development, then asked to learn a new position on the fly at mlb level....truly is mystifying. Jack of a few positions, master of none. Miranda, et al, deserve better organizational commitment and development. Game 7-91--100% agree. It has gotten to be the trendy thing (thank you Joe Madden, mad scientist) to slot players at other than their home position and expect them to perform. For some reason, the Twins have fallen in love with this concept---even moving guys from infield to outfield on a rotating basis. Isn't that the purpose of minor league development. That in itself is crazy---two completely different worlds!! What other sport do you see this in? For example: Arraez has always had a great bat. That he is having his best year at the plate while experiencing more defensive positional security should not be overlooked. Tom Kelley has to be frustrated watching this team with Defense as an afterthought. The more I see of Rocco's lineups each day, the more I scratch my head as to why he is The Mgr instead of a bench coach. He has no philosophy that I can tell. Without a philosophy to share---you have a hard time leading as a Mgr. Oh---yes---pitching is on the defensive side of the equation. The Twins are proving that you cannot win regularly with a team lead by offense. I thought the Texas Rangers proved that to everyone the last few decades. How many games have the twins lost when scoring more than 5 runs? 2-----many. I have not seen enough of Miranda at 3rd to know if he is anything more than a 0 WAR fielder. He doesn't move athletically and looks a little stiff, like Larnach---but I would like to see him play some more to see. if he is as good defensively as Urshella, the organizations would be silly not to play/keep the player with the team friendly contract--so I am inclined not to believe he is as good. But--as we see over and over with lineup decisions--the team doesn't do what seems to follow a lot of reason.

IMO, Berrios's biggest issue was he throws in the same area all the time. Almost all his pitches are lust above the knee to mid thigh and side to side. Batters can settle in and wait for their pitch---his changeup is 5-6 MPH difference. One of the things that has made Verlander great over so many years is not overwhelming velocity, but he uses his changeup well and from one pitch to the next, he is all over the strike zone. Up, down, in, out---and even well inside/high. He never lets the batter get comfortable. Jose spent so much trying to make the perfect pitch every time, a batter never worried about getting hit--and he could draw a small box around pitches. Unpredictability can be a great thing--as long as you have control. Joe Ryan is doing the same thing, but he started missing his spots and so he stopped getting the benefit of close pitches by the umps. If Berrios would work the whole zone unpredictably, he could be keep a batter on his toes and would give up a lot less HR's.

I will pile on. Organizationally, pitchers being taught they are brittle is a problem for the Twins. It runs through every level. You don’t see starters out throwing long ball in the outfield to recover and strengthen their arms. They are not developing mental toughness to still “win with problems”. Bring on the 13. If Rocco gets canned soon, it will be because he overmanages pitching —and is to hands off manufacturing runs with small ball when needed.

I like Correa. A Lot. Great leader, good clubhouse guy, in the field and at the plate. He is a solid player---as long as he is on the field. I will just say that long term contracts are not in the best interest of the club---any club. I know what the trends are, but 7+ year deals just do not work out for the team----that being the Twins and Fans, not the FO. If the FO can work out a great $ amt per year for 5 years---not a problem, overpay. 5 years is long enough for a player to have security and short enough that he can never stop working for his next paycheck/contract and his legacy. Overpay short term instead of stretching the $'s long term. Donaldson contract was a bad deal and took a lot of effort to squeeze out of because there are only a few teams who can pay for big $ contracts on trade. There were even times during the Mauer concussion issues that there was a lot of reservation about his deal (although I don't think Joe ever sandbagged a day!). A good contract should be beneficial for both sides---7-10 year deals are much more player slanted---and its not just the back end years, but early years when there's not a lot of urgency for the player to come back from injury quickly. There should be pressure on both sides

No--I would not trade CC. The Twins have had a problem elevating the expectations in the Clubhouse for years. The last solid clubhouse environment was the year when Torii Hunter closed out his career. Buck is providing spark and on field leadership---and he is complimented by CC who is vocal, confident, and a good on-field coach. How many stories have you heard now about CC giving tips and advice that were valuable and taken to action by another player. Hopefully some younger guys---especially Royce Lewis--will learn that from him while he is here. Additionally, SS's are not big trade targets for a playoff run for anyone. If they don't have a solid SS, they are not making a run, anyway. SS's are off season acquisitions. Twins fan base has to settle on what they feels is important. For years fans have complained the ORG does not sign big free agents. Guess what? We did! We got rid of a self centered clubhouse drag with an albatross contract and signed an upgrade! And now the discussion is entertained to trade him? Geez---exhausting!

I agree that Kepler is a B player (+ fielder and AVG hitter) --and that is what your team is made of---not everyone is an A player. Playoff teams play great Defense---that's pitching and fielding. Kepler does not go anywhere until you can have another player at least the same + fielding and adding a + bat. I am encouraged that I have seen Keppler---a pure and constant pull hitter last year---use the whole field and even go Oppo this season. His BA will improve and he should not slump as much by slowing his swing situationally. Thank goodness he finally took the advice/coaching given to him--it IS a real surprise. Oh----and at any point in time, it is relevant to say SANO is not in the lineup, and the team does not miss him at all. All you Sano apologists out there, listen to the crickets now. I can name 4 players I would rather have in his slot---1B or DH---any lineup, any day.

100% agree with the article. Lots of this is managerial. if you have a low # of runs on the board, you start situational hitting in the 4th inning. Move runners, score runners. You can play 7,8,9th innings swing to pound the ball--but the middle innings---or from the start with an MLB dominant pitcher---1-2 runs per inning works by speed, hustle and slowing the bat speed for contact. Looping singles can be a beautiful thing. I have a feeling that the art of stealing is not taught well within the TWINS org as evwn our speed guys struggle taking bases---but that is part of owning the tempo of the game and playing aggressively, too.

His injuries have NOT been from collision on bases or with a fence---they are from playing regularly. (correction to above)

Bullpen guys need to be the trade targets---not starters once the season begins. Bullpens dominate the playoffs, with the exception of maybe 15 starters that dominate in the MLB. SS prospects should make the best trade bait right now---but I am not opposed to trading Kiriloff. I like his skill set, but the kind of injuries he has had are repetitive motion injuries and those seem to be recurring---and he has had several. Wrist injuries are terrible for a hitter. I can't help but feel he has the injury bug and will be out some decent portion of every season. His injuries have to been from collision on bases or with a fence---they are from playing regularly. It may rub some people the wrong way to harp on injuries, but the reality is if a player cannot be on the field, they cannot help the team---and that has to be weighted as a factor in their overall performance score.

Definitely have to re-tool this bullpen--or should we call it the shaky leg calf pen---before the trade deadline. its really disheartening to a team to hit 5 homers in a game and still lose. Some of these guys are just not reliable enough to bring to the mound. They are reliable to produce runs for the other team, but not to prevent them on the Twins behalf. We need to cut bait on our worst performers (hello Duffy and Pagan), but can't do so without replacements. That may be another team's 4th or 5th starter that is struggling through 2nd and 3rd times trough the lineup but looks great first inning. It will be necessary to give some things up to get what we need, but that is the shape of baseball right now. rosters change at or before the trade deadline.

Prior comment hit it on the head---he just should not be playing based on his current performance. I have compared him to Scott Baker before--but he just can't seem to turn the corner. It seems mental to me looking at this eyes when he comes in. He did better once transferred to the pen when he didn't have to think the game as much. That wore off. Bargain or not---you can't march him out anymore.

The big plus for this stadium is avoiding the heat. Doug Melvin really lobbied for a dome when he was there. He would periodically get questions from media about a "home field advantage" over visiting teams in the heat. Melvin would argue that those guys get to go home---my guys get worn out from playing in it everyday. A whole season really took its toll. As for the rest of the environment and activities, i guess we are in a place as a society where we half to be entertained all the time, Sometimes I just love a little more quiet to hear the pop of the bat or the slap of the glove---but I am 0ld School. I just go to the game to see good ball played!

We may never see another Joe Mauer/Buster Posey---winning batting titles and playing a gold glove level behind the plate---they are generational unicorns. Totally underappreciated. But, Catcher has to be a priority for this team to figure out. Catcher will set the tone fore the infield and the Pitcher if Correa does not stay. Goodness knows the headcases in our bullpen could use someone to convey calm confidence---or tell the Mgr they need to be pulled!

I agree that catcher is much more about D than his bat. it matters who handles the pitchers better and runs the field better. Catcher has to run the ballgame---especially with young pitchers. Who is your better manager and D behind the plate? who are your pitchers comfortable with? Framing is still very important---more important that plate appearances. It won't be for long---but we don't have Auto Ump's calling balls and strikes yet. Nothing against Sanchez, but the BA #'s are not terribly different with about the same HR and RBI's.

Well—pretty consensus everyone was happy to move on from Donaldson. My biggest gripe was he was always hurt. Don’t run your mouth if you can’t play, veteran or not. The albatross of his contract without being on the field was terrible. Once you have the continuous nagging injury like he had, they are recurrent. Time on IL for the Yanks is around the corner. Correa seems to be a good clubhouse fit. Either Sanchez or Urshella gets traded for relief pitching to rebuild the pen this year, so the cycle isn’t over. Thank goodness Sano is not a problem right now! last thought, time to move on from The new Scott Baker—Tyler Duffey. How long are we going to wait for this guy to figure it out? If he has to throw to more than 2 batters, he is a big risk. Medium 90s speed with no movement and questionable control is not a great formula

Finally a problem I like to hear---too many talented players to get on the field right now!!!

Coffey to the Rays was a big loss---part of the reason the team looked as bad as they possibly could be at the plate last 2 yrs. However---if you watch the at bat starting about 2 weeks ago, more players are starting to go the other direction and hit to center left and center right instead of pulling. I have definitely seen a change in Kepler and saw him go with a pitch on the outside part of the plate that he slowed his wing and went to Left Center. I think Popkins is carrying the right message--just takes a while (and several bad at bats) to get big-leaguers to listen. Lingering injuries like Kirilloff's are really hard to come back from. His swing was so fluid and now he is probably unconsciously changing to avoid as much pain----sometimes playing through causes more bad habits. I hope he finds a path!

Larnach looks good at the plate and has proven he can adapt---imperative to a good big league career and unlike MS. I am a fan, but you have to admit he is a stiff in the field---handles himself much more like a 1B that only has to move a few steps. He's not an oaf, but he is not nimble or quick. I agree that LF is still a revolving door and injuries seem to plague this team constantly---so not sure when there will be a settled spot out there. I expect we will see an active trade period before the Allstar break or to rebuild the bullpen for the playoffs---and some of these logjams will get worked out.