COtwin

Hughes needs to be done. He needed one pitch and instead threw meat. He can't be trusted at all. Game wasn't lost until he put the finishing touches on. Cut him and be done.

Gimenez? Does Paul just want to go home?

They should expect more of the same. Listen. People have been shifting Joe for a while now and that chart proves that they are smart for doing so. Robby and anyone else who thinks like he does needs to read his own words. " if they don't shift or don't catch it". ???? Isn't that the point of defense? To put your people in position to make plays? Joe is probably unable to change his approach, because anyone in their right mind would have changed their approach by this point. It is actually pretty embarrassing that such an expensive and formerly highly thought of player has to face such aggressive and, in my opinion, disrespectful shifts. They are daring him to beat them and he hasn't been able to. If he is actually capable of changing, that is another story. Then, why is he taking so long to do it? We are watching guys like Sano, Buxton, and Rosario change their approaches and where they try to go to with certain pitches. Why can't the $23,000,000 man? And his BABIP isn't going to go up until he starts hitting with more power. I never expect his hits to be anything other than bloopers or dribblers any more. To listen to Dick and Bert refer to some of his balls in play, as line drives, is ridiculous. Even his homer was weakly hit. I have watched many of our players put time into their bodies, training and lifting, trying to get stronger, and you see the physical results. Joe's body hasn't changed much in a decade, and right now he could use some bulk behind his swings, because he doesn't have the eye to square up as much anymore.

I'm thinking Nick Gordon for an overrated NL reliever we could make our closer.

I hate the idea of Joe "GIDP" Mauer batting cleanup. With the weak hitting he is always going to be in the upper echelon of gidp and that is not good for run production. He should be at the top or the bottom of the lineup, not the middle.

Duffy is an example of how the twins have screwed things up in the past. Nearly everyone struggles at some point even in their sophomore year. Guys need the long leash to be able to play without the hook over their shoulder. The Twins have had a tendency to not commit to a rebuild and give kids the quick ride down after a few rough games. This season is shot because several veterans played well below replacement level for a couple months and were allowed to keep their spots. The rest of this season should be for the kids. We say this every year, but we need to see what we have. The mlb coaching staff needs to show they are worth their paychecks and help the struggling youngsters turn it around.

I agree with what was written, and I don't think we make a snap decision and hope firing the GM and/or Manager gets us to the playoffs. But I am not hoping for the playoffs anymore. I am hoping to see young guys grow and make strides. I want Rosario to get consistent time at the plate to start making better decisions on when to swing. I want Sano to play 3rd, as he will eventually have to be paid some serious cash and playing there will mean another solid hitter can play right, probably with better defense. Berrios, Duffy, and Meyer all need to be starting by mid-season, with long leashes. 2-3 of the young Bull pen arms we hear so much about need to be up. Arcia needs to play more regularly to see if he can be part of the future. Mauer and Park need to learn a secondary position. This list could go on and on. What scares me is how differently the Twins are treating this influx of youth and hope, than the Wolves are treating theirs. It is crazy how similar all of this is. The Wolves just a dumped hometown hero who just did a great job developing guys. They did this, because they wanted the best possible Coach and they wanted more experience in the GM spot. Taylor is obviously serious about making the best possible run in the next few years, and he didn't let sentimentality get in the way. Look at the Cubs in the last few years. They brought in a real GM and a real manager and said rebuild us into WS contenders. And they are. The Wolves made hard decisions, but I think they were right, time will tell. The Twins on the other hand, didn't make any decisions. There seems to be no plan. And in reality the influx of talent that may be coming and is here for the Twins, should be even greater than what the Wolves have. My 2 cents.

As long as he is never around the guys when we play the Yankees.

Here's my two cents. I think May is a good reliever, but I think his ceiling as a starter is higher than guys like Nolasco and Milone. I am OK with him in the pen, but if the FO is making a judgement on him from the small sample sizes he has had as a starter, that is frustrating. He still has not had a whole year to be in the rotation and learn how to work through his "issues" as they come up. A lot of guys take a year or two, and we haven't given him any sort of long term chance. I think Milone is a solide 4, probably 5. My issue with all of this is if Nolasco stays up without absolutely earning his spot. It sets a very bad precedent to send a kid to the pen, who might be part of the future rotation if he can learn his craft, for a guy who is not a team player and is holding a gun to the FO's collective heads. We are still in a rebuild. May needs to work through his kinks now, because he will never get the chance if we are in a playoff race. If Nolasco ends up throwing a fit and refusing assignments, then I would let that go very public. He will only be burning any chances he has to earn and be part of a quality club in the future.

What happened to Ricky N??? I know we all dream he will be gone, but did I miss something?

Super bummed that we might have just given Hicks away to the freakin Yankees. I really really don't want this to come back and bite us. Chances are that Hicks crumbles under the pressure there. Or he buckles down being surrounded by a professional organization, and turns into what I always hoped he would be. Murphy. I am going to be cautiously optimistic. But if it turns out he is a miss and we just traded away yet another starting CF for nothing, then Ryan needs to go. Murphy needs to pan out, so the "scout" Terry Ryan, can keep up appearances as a talent evaluator.

Could we have pinch hit for Robinson here? Santana could have played left

I am watching on DVR. In the 5th inning. Suzuki is a crappy receiver, he lost Duffey at least 2 strikes.

I think some of our guys mght be too worried about hitting someone and they don't go inside enough (either in frequency or distance). Shoot, if you can't totally control how far you throw inside and still show a willingness to do so, that is a great deterrent to diving a cross. Encarnacion should have gotten plunked for the D-Bag act. Not up high or anything, just a stinging reminder. Loved Sano' s response to his dinger.

We have our new "Ramos for Capps". I honestly thought that TR had to be able to make better trades than Smith. This was exactly the kind of thing I didn't want us to do.

I would love to try to start creating space for some of the corner outfield types we having coming up, but I don't think trading Hicks is the way to do it. We are just now getting a solid CF again, trading that away would be asinine. Buxton needs to come up and have prolonged success before I would be ok with the trading Hicks. Who knows if Buxton is ever going to stick/stay healthy? I hope he does, but what Hicks is doing is sustainable. He isn't getting lucky on BABIP and pitchers have seen him before. He is adapting and growing, even his Walk rate was improving until the AllStar break broke it up. I don't think Hicks is even close to his ceiling yet and what he is doing is legitimately sustainable. Mauer is really the one who is going to be blocking a lot of people.

I live in Colorado and am a Rockies fan. Tulo has let us down with his inability to stay on the field. That fact alone is enough to say no go. The fact that he would play half his games in TF also scares me. If people have been frustrated by joes inability to stay healthy a few years back , then they will go insane with Tulo. The cost is much to high for a guy with a ton of question marks and a massive prce tag.

I am all for getting some bullpen help, but not at the expense of any future pieces. I am not a fan of trading away people like Vargas or arcia, or anyone else with more value. This team is not a World Series contender and I can't help but think "Ramos" if we trade some of the future for something out farm system is supposedly loaded with. What is happening with Jay? I know he is being groomed for starting , but can he help us for the stretch run?

I know this is already passed, but I am hearing Bert talk about May throwing the ball away on the throw to second. But it looked like the second base umpire was standing in Mays throwing lane to second and that threw May off. Did anyone else see that?

Buxton should wear wrist guards at all times on the base paths. That is a no brainer. All this talent will be wasted if they don't sit down and discuss his style of play. He will never complete a season. I think he can be almost as explosive and effective even if he tones it done and plays a bit more under control. Even that stolen base play. He was thrown out by a mile and he came in at 100 percent effort and speed. Things like timing and technique are just as important as physical tools.

If there is going to be an extension. It needs to be a lower figure and with no guarantee for playing time. We are going to have a logjam at Corner OF and DH. I have been pleasantly surprised by his production, but it feels like he has come back to normal. Definitely not worth the money and slowing development of the future.

I am doing homework for a PLTW teaching course. Nice little deadspace on MLB.TV instead of commercials. Nice ratio of game watching to homework.

Hicks probably does. But I am chalking that up to not being used the game yet:) Jeez Mauer, like it's not bad enough you are a negative on the offensive side, but you keep needing to reaffirm that you aren't great on defense. Those plays are mental too.

I get your point about taking charge. I think I can recall a few times with Escobar making a play that maybe Hicks should have owned. I like how he took charge last night one the catch and throw to home. I actually thought Hicks and Rosario looked like a very seasoned and fluid pair on that play. Would definitely like to see Buxton cut back some on the Ks and start driving the ball a bit again. Only a few extra base hits in the last 3 weeks

Sweet! Last night didn't make me feel a lot better watching Vargas and his pitch recognition. Of course everyone looked foolish with a bat in their hands last night. Do you really think Hicks is only good with the glove? Honest question. I feel like his routes are solid except for that line drive single that he appeared to step sideways on before charging. He has even added a second hand to most of his flyball catches. I actually think that Hicks would be an awesome 4th OF, and on the Rosario point, he has always been a much better hitting prospect.