chopper0080

All that would do is encourage the organization to stay in house rather than looking for a different voice, viewpoint, or someone who would hold people accountable. If Glynn was a difference maker as a manager, he would be a manager already. More than likely, Glynn like Molitor like Gardenhire, is just a guy. No audition needed.

Yes, the roster lacks leadership from veteran players and so young players are now filling that role. I haven't seen anything to determine if that is a good thing or bad thing, but it is what occurs when you construct a roster like the Twins have.

It is a silly concept. Our struggles are due to organization issues more than anything. My point is that if you lack leadership in a locker room, your young players will naturally fill that role for better or worse.

I see no benefit to firing Molitor and Ryan during the season. I see no benefit to keeping Molitor and Ryan around next season. This organization just seems like it operating in the past, and has a complete lack of urgency. Everyone comfortable, and no one wants to hurt anyone in the "families" feelings. This will be a huge reason why the Twins will be hesitant to look outside the organization for a GM or manager, and why an outside candidate will be hesitant to take the job. I just can't understand an organization which chooses to hold onto the past rather than evolve with the game.

That is what the leaders on the team are supposed to do. The problem is that when you lack veteran leadership, and have young talent, your young talent can dictate what type of behavior is appropriate and inappropriate. It is a roster construction issue.

More moves that increase the perception of a organization lacking in both self awareness and a singular focus. Let's Hicks for Murphy just because we have Buxton who has not demonstrated an ability to produce in the pros. Now we are demoting Murphy, have demoted Buxton, and are looking for OF depth. Lets move a promising May from starting to the bullpen in favor of Milone. Milone is now outrighted. Let's keep 29 year old Plouffe at 3B and move 22 Sano to the OF. Which player do you believe will be on the roster longer? Let's give contract extensions to older players coming off career years (Suzuki, Hughes, Perkins). Shocking that they have never replicated the production that got them the contract. It has become a pattern.

I'm pretty sure this is an inappropriate comment.

Someone just explain why Meyer should start and Mays should be out of the bullpen because, to me, it seems that is backwards.

Man, I'm not going to say that the Twins could have gotten a haul for either Glen Perkins or Philip Hughes, but they definitely missed out on a chance to sell high. I will never understand the Twins giving up on young talent but then retaining older players coming off career years.

Can we just change the title to Minnesota's Misuse of Young Players? That should sum it up.

I like watching baseball that is played at a high level...and that is not the type baseball that the Twins are playing right now. I follow the Twins because I am a fan, but I am not going out of my to consume a poor product. I tune in periodically, or to watch certain players, but nothing more until I see more. Better use of my time is outside playing baseball with my kid vs watching poorly played baseball inside with him.

My issue with Dozier is that he is not a top of the order player, and his inconsistency is highlighted by an inconsistent lineup. and I like Sano at 3B...

My issue is that regardless of what side of the argument you fall on, Dozier has consistency issues. This roster highlights those issues because it is comprised of several boom or bust type players. If I am looking at this roster from an outside perspective, Sano, Park, Arcia, Dozier, Rosario, and Buxton all have consistency issues which is a problem. If you are looking to improve on the overall consistency of the roster as a whole, the natural player you should part with is Dozier. It isn't that he isn't a good player, it is more that his issues are the same issues which you will get from the younger players who you are planning to build this team around long term. That redundancy is a roster issue.

You could probably get some bullpen help...

If there was any player who I would consider trading at the deadline, it would probably be Dozier. He offers enough pop that you could probably get something useful for him. From a roster standpoint, I believe his power is not as useful on the Twins because they need more players who can get on base.

Buxton is far from being the biggest problem on our roster. He is struggling, but that is what many young players do. I would be more concerned with the veteran players who aren't producing, or the bullpen which looks like a mess to me.

It is nice to see a hitter in the Twins lineup who is punishing opposing pitchers when they make mistakes. It has been a frustration of mine watching Twins hitters just miss on mistake pitches over the years. Hopefully this becomes contagious up and down the order.

The Twins need to stick to their plan regardless if I personally like it. Moving Sano from the outfield to 3B would be a kneejerk reaction IMO. The plan was the outfield. He needs to stay in the outfield. This kid is dealing with enough already.

Changing a culture takes time. Winning games is the start of changing that culture. The next step is doing it consistently, and expecting to do it. Showing calm in the face of the storm. It takes time to get yourself into those situations so that you can practice managing and overcoming them. I will always root for the Twins to win. Just because I believe they have sabotaged themselves in some ways does not change that.

Develop into a better third baseman than PLouffe in addition to proving he can consistently be a better hitter.

Hopefully this is to illustrate the importance of winning prior to contending.

Agreed. There is value to having players like Plouffe on a roster who young players like Sano have to work to push out of positions. I think holding onto Plouffe was a very smart move in the short term.

If you want to examine the lack of fundamentals in major league baseball, look at the impact of defensive shifts. Some teams work on bunting, hitting behind the runner, hitting sac flys, and hitting to places on the field. Others do not. Most MLB baseballs teams expect their players to have this knowledge and do not commit valuable time to working on those aspects of the game, but some do. The Twins used to be one of those teams because that is what they needed to do to win. They have gotten away from that, and IMO, gotten away from any sort or identity at all. Are they a power hitting team? A contact hitting team? Do they work counts? Attack pitchers early? Pull hitters? Hitters who try to drive the ball the opposite way? This team has no consistent approach or strategy day in and day out other than "winning" which they haven't done in years. My point bringing up the past Twins isn't that their approach is the correct approach, it was that they had an approach. The Twins knew how they wanted to win games. They had an identity. They taught that to players at every level. They acquired players who fit and were able to execute that plan. I don't see any sort of identity with this team, and it is highlighted by the Twins inability execute in pressure situations with runners in scoring position or pitching with a lead late.

But is adding unnecessary pressure any way to help a player adjust and develop? Are you basing a plan on what players should be able to do, or what they have shown they are able to do? I would argue that the latter leads to a higher success rate, and success is the goal.

Struggled initially was my intent. Sorry it came across differently. My point was that Buxton, like most players, has struggled initially after almost every promotion he has had. To expect him to hit the ground running this year was unrealistic, and the Twins should have known better. The key with players like this is to let them work it out on the biggest stage. Demoting him will only stunt his growth further. You state he is not being asked to carry the team, and I question how you can say that. Yes, he isn't being asked to hit in the 3 spot, but who is this team marketing? Who have they said they are counting on to be the future of the franchise? The Twins have marketed Sano and Buxton as the saviors of the franchise. They are what is going to take us from a bad team to a good team. How is that setting these kids up for success? I would challenge you argue that there are more than 2 other players whose names are more recognizable than Sano and Buxton to the average fan. Mauer and Dozier. You could probably argue Perkins, but that is pretty much it.