roger

Love the Choo-Choo city, will be stopping one night late next month. Sure is beautiful around there. Do you get there often?

Where does your son play his college ball?

Don't know who I am happier for, Seth, Varland or Lunch who is going to see one of his young recruits getting his first start in Yankee stadium. Could the Twins be soooo fortunate to have him overcome his nerves and pitch a very solid 5+ innings? Can't remember, will he be going up against Cole? Or is Cole pitching tonight? Damn, the Twins really need to win one or two of these remaining three games. Come on Louie, be the man to get it done!!!!!!

Not disagreeing with anything you say. However, all this talk about age drives me nuts. Every kid is different with a different development timeline. Most never make it. Some make it sooner than others. Blanket statements that because Player Z is older than 25 and isn't in the big leagues means he has a minimal future just don't make sense. His future is up to him and granted only a few will become top notch big league players. Also, none of those previous pitchers prior to the current group missed an entire year of development for COVID, and then had the following year also affected by missing that year. Minor League baseball is changing as there are 40 some less teams than previously. With the draft down to what is it, 20 rounds?, there are going to be less high school kids starting their professional careers with more of them going to college. The result, more kids beginning their careers out of college at an older age, ie, they get to 25 awfully fast when breaking in as a 21-22 year old.

I don’t understand why all this concern over age. Not a pitcher, but wasn’t Nelson Cruz old before he was great? As for Dobber, I believe he is under contract for several years. And he actually was quite good before the injuries started. And this latest injury is strange, so maybe he won’t ever be right again.

Winder, Dobnak and Sands all pitched for the Saints yesterday. Add Varland and Balazovic and you have five great young arms who should be part of the Twins staff next year and many more. Must be fun being a Saints fan. And that doesn’t include Smeltzer who will likely see some time with the Twins next year. Question remains whether any of these guys will be a front of the rotation starter?

Interesting, Seth, that two of the three previous winners are no longer with the Twins. Of the four catchers, are any really good defensively? Or are they all a bat first project behind the plate? How does a player who hit .408 average with a 1.083 OPS not make it into the top 5 if not #1? Was it because he is in the DSL? Or had less at bats than the rest?

Highlight of the day for me is Balazovic. This young man COULD be special. Every small step towards becoming that is so important.

Thanks, Seth. Hard to believe the season, and summer, are almost over. Three of the full season teams have had great years. Hopefully these young arms will lead them to championship’s.

Disappointing end to a hopeful season. Fortunately, football is back to watch on the weekends.

Palacios, great D and hitting much better than a glove guy only. Helman, hitting well with excellent speed and playing several defensive positions. Julien, playing mostly second but hitting very well and fast. Then there is Brooks Lee, Miller and maybe Cavaco, although they are a bit further away. And that doesn't include Royce Lewis. Yes, the Twins are very strong up the middle going forward. Will Correa be back? Will they move Polanco after a so-so year? Should they do either or both, help isn't far away and they won't be dependent on one guy making it...lot's of options.

Great nights for Wallner, et. al. And Miller had another typical night for that young man, 1-2 with 3 walks. Has me just shaking my head. When do we stop writing about Julien? When he joins the Twins? Or after he has become a solid part of the Twins lineup? Also smiled when I saw that Martin had 3 hits. He has been hitting much better since returning from the IL, hasn't he? Don't care about the results, great seeing Dobber and Ober pitching in real games.

I have noticed that a lot of the lazy fly balls to left field were off pitches several inches above the top of the zone. Is he swinging at pitches he didn't swing at before? If so, why? Also, not certain if that is any different than previously, just something I have noticed of late.

What I don't understand is why anyone even mentions what so many do. Why talk about him being a reliever, until he is. Why talk about him being a middle of the rotation guy, or back of the rotation guy, until he is. Every pitcher the Twins have in the organization has the potential of becoming a true ACE. Yes, most or all will not. But they all could wake up tomorrow and become that rare pitcher. What I was most interested in knowing from Ted's writing was about his comment about being a "lunch-pail" type pitcher. He referenced Mark McKenzie, was his play on words related to McKenzie's nickname being "Lunch?"

Interesting. He can't replace Moran as Moran cannot be optioned due to the 5 option rule now in effect. With Mahle ready to return, who does he replace in the bullpen? Or do the Twins risk losing Moran?

Want to second, or third, the above comments about Miller. I know he has gotten a lot of walks all year, but FIVE? Also want to do a shout out about Palacios. Kid continues hitting around .280 with an OPS near .800. For a young man known as a defensive first shortstop, his bat is getting my attention. Is it also getting the Twins' attention? And who is this Rucker guy down in Iowa? Didn't grab a lot of attention when drafted last year in the 7th round. Yet, is having a very nice year. Also continue to believe that the best hitting prospect down at Wichita is Julien, not his more well known teammate, Aston Martin.

Of the three, my hope is that Canterino will return from TJ and become the pitcher we hoped for. Question, Cody. He has been injured since joining the Twins. Are his previous injuries related to the elbow and surgery should fix all the problems he has been dealing with? Or were his previous injuries unrelated to the elbow and we could expect more problems going forward? Very disappointed in Balazovic, who looked so good last summer when in that 25-30 inning stretch of dominance. Don't know what to expect from Martin. Hopefully, he works hard this off-season and develops into a productive player in 2023.

I have a hard time liking almost anything he does. Lineup construction, batting order, bullpen use, and on and on. Don't like what appears to be using analytics to the point that baseball sense is forgotten. Loved TK, enjoyed Gardy and thought Molitor was a smart baseball man. With that said, I will be surprised, pleasantly, should there be a change at year's end. Expect there will be no chance should the Twins make the playoffs, nor should there be. If they fall flat, maybe, but still a long shot.

Read in today's Strib that it is unlikely Maeda will be back. Maybe in the playoffs, but unlikely. Moran has been optioned four times this year, as has Smeltzer. So Moran is up for the duration or at risk of being lost if they option him again. Expect they were thinking he would be one of the two extras brought up on Sept. 1 and did so a couple days early.

Seth, the box score links for the Saints and Mussels go to August 25. Think they all went there yesterday. Any word on when we will see Prielipp pitch?

I really don’t care if he is called up next month, next spring or early summer. I do hope like heck that he is good, real good when he gets here and stays HEALTHY.

A couple surprises, at least to me, when reading the stolen bases totals. Did not realize Helman had 30+ steal speed. Miller with 19 tells me he is quicker than I thought. Mercedes hasn’t played as much as most of the others, has he? With 30 steals, he must have elite speed, right? A bit surprised Julien isn’t on the list, assume he is close?

I guess we will disagree on this one, Mike. And part of what I was saying is that the coaches go with him. I don’t know what goes on in the clubhouse, spring training, meetings, etc. But for me, the team is failing. Yes, injuries are part of the reason, but the guys who aren’t hurt are also struggling. So yes, for me it starts with the top guy. And I would also take a hard look at the front office, but that wasn’t the question for this thread.

Polonco is having a terrible year at the plate. Kepler was good in ‘19, not so much since at least with the bat. Wasn’t Sanchez a decent hitter with the Yankees? Not here. Correa is more than disappointing with the bat. Don’t know what to say about how Buxton has been managed. Jeffers was kept over Garver and Rortvedt because of his bat. Well that didn’t work out. Who is hitting up to or beyond expectations? Arraez and Miranda. None of the big vets, none of the leaders. I don’t know who is the blame, but the Manager has to carry some if not most of the blame. So if it is my club, Rocco is gone along with most of his coaches…I would keep Watkins as I don’t think he has any involvement with hitting or pitching.

So often the Twins top draft picks struggle as they deal with all the changes and stress of professional ball. Some overcome their problems, many never do. So it is amazing to me to see Brooks Lee step onto the diamond and play like a star. And he’s doing it at Hi-A. Will this continue? Is he so good he could be a special player? Will third the above comments about Julien. Seems he can just flat out hit, and get on base. Add his speed and he could be an exciting player for the Twins. Will the big club make massive changes this winter? Should they? Could Julien be part of the solution? Looking to the future there is Royce Lewis, Julien and Lee. How does this trio fit on the same team?