Mark G

Win the WS? No. I was thinking more along the lines of competing for a spot in it come October; honestly competing, not getting swept by the first team we face. At least being in the mix of contenders, and I'm just not sure the improvements alone will get us there; guys staying healthy and playing up to their potential just might. And I know I am old school, but BA still means more to me than WAR, because I have been given too many definitions of "replacement" to truly trust that stat. I will take a pure hitter any day (which Judge appears to be as well) over analytically driven stats. And the trade offs we made (again, just the trade offs, not the underlying potential this team has if it stays healthy and plays up to potential) don't appear to tilt the needle in a positive enough direction to get me on the wagon just yet. But I am waiting for that push, and will gladly jump if I am wrong.

While I am not quite on the bandwagon yet, I am trotting along side it so I can catch it if and when my fears subside. I can't get on board yet, because I do not see the changes as an upgrade worthy of title proportions. We upgraded at catcher, and added a good pitcher to a starting rotation that has too many questions for my comfort level. Paddock out, Mahle and Gray seemingly on innings limits to keep them off the IL, and Maeda not having pitched since late '21 gives me pause. We lost our 1 and 3 top hitters (please don't tell me BA doesn't matter) and added two outfielders who can play D, but fall short of the two hitters we lost. And we added a wild card, in my extremely humble opinion, in Farmer, who can play multiple positions and can replace any injured infielder if the need arises. That pretty much leaves young guys stepping up, key players staying healthy, and the BP being able to hold up better than last year with having to pitch way too many innings. Optimistic? Yup. Overly confident? Sorry, nope. But I will gladly be wrong. And, by the way, the one thing I will wonder about until we see it play out, is the balanced schedule this year. Gone are the days of playing Detroit, KC, and Chicago 57 times a year. It will be interesting to see how that affects the record as the year plays out. Good example would be Ryan, who couldn't lose to Detroit if he was trying to throw the game, but struggling against better/more disciplined lineups throughout the league. Time will tell how we do against more of the 2 leagues. I am ready to jump on board; I just need the team to give me the right push. 😎

So did Gardy.........until he didn't. 😉 I'm kidding.......sort of. But Gardy did have a pretty good winning record for a lot of years until he ran into 4 straight losing years, and he was gone. Losing, even for a little while, does make you an easy target, because winning and losing is the only issue. Heck, even Molly had winning records 2 of his 4 years, and the FO was selling out from under him left and right the last two. Managers are paid to do two things (generally speaking). Run the team day in and day out; players, coaches, lineups, pitching decisions, etc. And win. Again, generally speaking, more than you lose. Given the talent level, of course. We hit 307 home runs in '19; we didn't in '21 and '22. Remind me of our records in those 3 years. 😏 Gotta win with out them sometimes. All some of the folks are saying, maybe myself as well, is that the last two of our managers were made the scapegoat, so to speak, as are all managers when the team loses. (on the other hand, Kelly had a lifetime losing record, and he is in the Twins Hall of Fame, so maybe I don't know what I am talking about) I hate being the guy who is looking at the half empty glass instead of the half full one. This team definitely has the potential to do very good things; it just has to do it, which is still a little iffy with all of the potential health issues we have seen recently. I am rooting for your prediction.

"Hell, they were almost a top 10 offense last year" And an offense that scored 3 runs or less in just over 48% of their games. (I know, because of the trotting out of the guys you mentioned, but still a concern) Every one of those guys healthy and producing? Definitely a top 10 offense. Problem is, it hasn't happened yet. I hope it does; I hope the optimism a lot of the folks are showing comes to fruition. But forgive me if I am more than a little cautious.

"The Twins have improved the roster from last season. That’s an objective truth." Now that is not an opinion; it is not even a prediction. It is a declaration. A statement that someone feels in unarguable. Now, I am not saying it is right or wrong, the jury is still out on that, but I am wondering how the roster has improved. I know I will probably miss something here, but my memory tells me we let one catcher go and signed another, who is predicted to be a little better with the bat. We let go or traded our highest and third highest average hitters. We lost two infielders and added two outfielders who have not hit at or near the two guys we lost, and we added a utility guy in Farmer. We added a #2 or #3 pitcher, hoping he will rise above that even. We appear to be standing pat with most of the rest of the pitching staff, and the rest of the position guys as well. As Alex pointed out, there may be another move coming, but the declaration was the roster as it currently stands is improved. Definitively. It surely hasn't regressed, but how much has it truly improved? Again, the jury is still a long ways from giving us a verdict, but I think a lot of people are counting on guys staying healthy more of the time and contributing what they couldn't before. If they all are right, the declaration will probably be true. But, as Beast pointed out, we have an enormous number of guys on the 40 who have yet to prove that will be the case. I hope they do. I hope the jury finds Alex innocent of any charges of over reaching. I hope for a WS. But, then, I do that every year. 😉

Well, I guess it boils down to I expect any entity I give my money to should give me the information I need to feel comfortable with the information I have to feel comfortable with continuing that financial relationship........yeah, that didn't make sense to me either, but you get my drift. 😏 And you disagree. Cool. I guess I will always want more information before I hand over my money to this particular business, and you will be content with whatever they feel they "owe" you. Again, cool. Doesn't make me right and you wrong, or vice versa. We just want different things from what I still call "our" team. May we both be content with what we ultimately get. 😉

Very true, but they are the ones telling us much of the time that the injury status for a player is "day to day". So, logically, someone is going to ask each day, if that is the only info given to them. How many times have we seen "day to day" turn into the IL? Do they truly not know the extent of most injuries? Do the players and trainers not connect with the manager and coaches? (Actually, I do wonder at times about that, because how many times has Rocco told reporters he hasn't talked to the player and does not know the status as of that moment.......but I digress) Day to day is quite often a cop out; a way of answering a question without answering the question.

Bear with me on this one, it is likely to be pretty long. 😬 I agree that none of the major sports teams give the fans the kind of information that makes them feel a part of the team; as I said previously, the "our team" mindset. But, as I see it, sports is just one aspect of life where people in general, fans or not, want to know what they are being told is true and what they are being sold is real, and worth it. We want honesty and forthcoming information throughout all aspects of life. Our civic leaders, our employers, the business' we purchase from, the places we bank.......I could go on for a while. Nowhere else do we tolerate being left in the dark, or just flat out lied to in some instances, and still do business with them. If any other entity were to act like sports franchises the Attorney General, the BBB, the consumer protection agencies, and so on, and so on, would be all over them. So what makes sports so different? I think it is because of our unique relationship with them; again, the "our team" outlook. Any other personalities or celebrities don't have the unique draw athletes do. And other celebrity areas of entertainment seek out the press to give all kinds of behind the scenes info about how things are filmed, who their favorite people are with, etc., etc., etc. Celebrity press people actually go too far sometimes (at least in this extremely humble observer's opinion). But can you name anyone (I can't) that feels like Yellowstone is "our" series? Or an album? Or a movie? We bond to a team almost as much as we bond to our jobs and our churches. I know a lot of people who would put their family first, but their favorite team second, even above job and other interests. I guess that is why we don't want to be shut out of the flow of information that makes waiting for next season worth it; kind of like Twins Daily. This is our flow of information we can't get elsewhere. But is it enough? Was that the point of the article? Maybe, maybe not, I won't speak for Greggory, but it sure helps keep me tuning in. Again, I get that all sports franchises do it to one extent or another, but the unique relationship between team and fan almost screams that is a bad business model. Any information they might give you and me is already known by the other teams anyway. They all pay scouts to watch their opposition; they are experts at seeing the kinds of things we are asking about; they aren't giving away any secrets by answering a reporter's question. Because at the end of the day, it is as much of a business as any other, and I will not purchase something from anyone unless I have all the information I need to make an informed decision. The Twins might take heed of what a lot of their fans are telling them, which is "hey, remember us? We are in this too, you know".

I know what you are saying, but I would respectfully disagree. It is not America's game, it is America's pastime. It has been part of the country's culture for well over a century. It is a great distraction from the rest of the world. It is something kids have dreamt about for lifetimes. We idolize the players (or at least used to). We pay money to see them play a game that we ourselves played and still could, if we slow it down to our level. Why? Because there is something magical about it. And since we are paying to see it, the folks selling it to us should be a bit more considerate to their customers. It becomes "our" team after a while, even if we do not actually own it. They do not see it that way, it appears, so what we see today is the result. It could be so much different. Couldn't it?

That was the longest way of saying cut them some slack I have ever read. 😉 And that is saying something with this team, as the people who talk to us are the best I have ever seen at using more words to say nothing than anyone else in my life. 😏 Seriously, all I ask of them is just be honest with the people who pay their bills........US. If they would tell us everything Greggory just talked about, they might take a whole lot less heat. Because Greggory is right; when there is a gap in knowledge, we will fill it in ourselves - right or wrong. Well, most of us will. I am always right. 😇

Sounds like the conversation they have at Joe Soucheray's Crabby Coffee Shop. 🤭

"Derek Falvey pulled off another master-class trade" I nominate this as an early candidate for "Most hyperbolic statement within a main TD article-2023" I know there is a lot of time left, but I still like this comment's chances. Couldn't agree more!! As for line 4.........get back to me sometime in '24, because we have no way of knowing if it will work in our favor for a while yet.

Me as well.

Seriously? They were sub .500 the last two years with Buxton, too. Would you move him to get pitching? And if we had, would you say Twins fans weren't crushed? As one Twins fan to another, please do not decide for me whether or not I am "crushed" by moving one of my favorite players. And Miami thinks enough of Arraez to give up a pretty good major league pitcher and two pretty interesting young prospects for him. He must have something going for him other than just being fun to watch 500 at bats a year. The jury is still out, and will be for awhile, on whether it was a great move or not. But I do hope you are right, and that it turns out to be.

If it was that simple, we would have 4 aces, with a couple more up our sleeves just in case. 🤭