Ryan Atkins

Former Twins farmhand and ex-White Sox Daniel Palka has just signed with the Red Sox. Red Sox Sign Daniel Palka To Minor League Deal - MLB Trade Rumors

And how could I forget (but I did), the great ByungHo Park who will be playing for Korea

If you're looking to find an excuse to watch the World Baseball Classic (WBC), there are some familiar faces to be on the lookout for... Andrew Albers (P) - Canada https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/canada No sign of Justin Morneau. I was thinking he might join Larry Walker on their coaching staff, but it doesn't look like he's part of the team. Vance Worley (P) - Great Britain YES! The Vanimal! https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/great-britain Danny Valencia (IF) - Israel https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/israel Andrelton Simmons (IF) & Jonathan Schoop (IF) - Netherlands https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/kingdom-of the netherlands Bert Blyleven is also back with the Netherlands serving as Pitching Coach! Dereck Rodriguez (P), Emilio Pagan (P), Hector Santiago (P), Jorge Lopez (P), Jose Berrios (P), Jovani Moran (P), Christian Vazquez (C), Jose Miranda (IF) & Eddie Rosario (OF) - Puerto Rico https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/puerto-rico Ryan Pressly (P) - USA https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/united-states Martin Perez (P), Luis Arraez (IF) & Eduardo Escobar (IF) - Venezuela https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/venezuela

I'm so glad we've moved on from the obsessive (Gardy) desire to carry 3 catchers. The worst-case scenario has always been that you end up playing some portion of one game with an emergency catcher (like Farmer) and the next game your fine again with a quick callup.

Living in Dallas, TX, I am fortunate to be able to watch nearly every Twins game live on MLB.TV for a rather modest cost. No need for cable or satellite tv contracts. I only pay my ISP and select streaming services like MLB.TV. But I will say that MLB seems to do a terrible job of making sure their product is readily and easily available to anyone who wants to consume it. All the other leagues seem to have figured this out. And their blackout rules are archaic and geographically "dumb". When I said am able to watch nearly every Twins game, that is true except for blackouts. MIN vs. TEX (ok, I get this one) and MIN vs. HOU are blacked out. The latter is ridiculous because I have no access to local Houston broadcasts, and it would take me 5 hours to drive to a game in Houston.

If we're going start putting guys like Scott Rolen (a fine player) in the Hall of Fame, then no one should question Joe Mauer getting in. And he should be in on the 1st ballot. Either you're a HOFer or you're not. For that matter, Torii Hunter should be in, or at least should be better than 7% vote. Hunter has more hits, more homers, more RBI, more gold gloves, and more silver sluggers than Scott Rolen. The difference, one World Series Championship, is that the benchmark now? If so, Mauer is in trouble.

The lack of an experienced major league 1st baseman continues to hurt this team. They need to get this fixed for 2023. I have no qualms with Arraez not bunting in the 9th. He is league's best hitter and unfortunately just didn't have a productive AB there and then the subsequent double-play grounder ended it. There were plenty of other opportunities earlier in the game.

Yankees to sign Tyler Duffey, will be eligible for postseason. Yankees To Sign Tyler Duffey - MLB Trade Rumors

No. But I might take this year's Martin Perez (7-2, 2.68), an All-Star for Texas, over this year's Lance Lynn.

Might Tony Oliva have had a longer career if he only averaged playing 75 games a year like Buxton? Maybe so. Would he have been a Hall of Famer? Unlikely. And despite playing hurt much of the time, he still logged a 15-year MLB career, on par with most players today.

Former Twins great Taylor Motter is back in the big leagues with the Colorado Rockies. No word on if his hair will be joining him.

I had the exact same thought as I was watching that AB. The Twins have played so poorly, and so consistently poorly, in 2021 that its fan base actively hopes for GIDPs because they know it is the best possible outcome from a 1st & 3rd with no outs situation. RE: Larnach I think Jim Kaat nailed it on the head last week when he explained that Trevor's swing was too long. He needs to tighten that up or the strikeouts will continue. He was making a comparison with Kirilloff whom he characterized as the better hitter--at least right now.

RE: Taylor Rogers Why? Mariano Rivera pitched back-to-back days 16 times in his final season, he was 43 years old. In 2008, just to pick another random year in his career, he pitched back-to-back days 21 times. In fact, it was not uncommon for him to pitch in 3 consecutive games. He also pitched both games of a double header on multiple occasions. He played for 19 seasons.

These games are sure hard (boring) to watch. Even Dick Bremer struggles to come up with something positive to talk about and he is usually very good at that. It's a real shame that just as it seems that Byron Buxton has figured things out and we have productive vets like Donaldson and Cruz, the rest of the team with few exceptions is dragging. Garver is completely lost at the plate. I think Roy Smalley said it best last night when he said "When you are going bad and all you do is go up there and try to hit the ball out of the ballpark, it only gets worse". And it just floors me that Rocco has plugged Garver into the leadoff spot on more than one occasion this season. I loved how Derek Shelton forced one of his slumping players into having an aggressive AB by sending the runner, no one particularly fast, on a hit-and-run early in the game. The player go a base hit. It doesn't always work out that way, but you could clearly see the differences in management styles in this series--play for the home run or get creative and try to make things happen in other ways. I tend to give Jake Cave a pass. He is who he is. A good guy to have as a backup outfielder. Plays hard, good defensively, runs well. He is just not a starter and is struggling in that role. Earlier in the season Dick and Justin would say what a luxury it was to have Cave, a player that would be a starter for many teams. That has never been true. He could be a backup for handful of other teams just as he is with the Twins, that is who he is, but I like him and root for him all the same. The bottom line is that with only 3 games played in the division so far, there is more than enough time to turn it around and take this division. But they need to get away from the 3-outcome approach to hitting (walk, strikeout, homerun), it is not a recipe for long-term (or post-season) success.

I was a bit disappointed in Luis Arraez. in the top of the 3rd inning, his 2nd AB. He hit a weak grounder to the 2nd basemen, who bobbled it, recovered and threw him out because he dogged it down to 1st base. Justin Morneau correctly pointed out that had he hustled out of the box, he likely would have been safe and it could have been a much bigger inning for us as he was the lead off hitter. I recognize that he is a very talented player, but I would not put up with garbage like that if I was the manager. In the bottom of the 3rd, Avisail Garcia reached on an infield single that Arraez muffed. That was tough play, not an error, but much greater chance that Donaldson would have made that play as I've seen him do countless times. That extended the inning and the Brewers scored on the next AB.

"the front office is making deals on its own terms" I like the approach. I have never been a fan of long contracts, especially for pitchers. Although, having watched Yu Darvish for years down here in Texas, I admit I wanted the Twins to sign him. You also missed Michael Pineda in your rundown of this regime's free agent signings. Another deal on their terms. They gave Pineda security in his injury year in exchange for a 2nd year at reasonable cost. Its a low-risk gamble that could really pay dividends this year. And I feel like Pineda will be motivated to reward the Twins for their investment.

Per the report, the Twins "are mentioned by rival officials and agents". Of course agents are going to mention everyone, they want to make it seem like all teams are IN so you best blow us away with your offer. The more interesting part here is "rival officials". I really wonder where/who that came from? Because, you would think that any team official would prefer to make it seem like NO ONE besides my team is interested so you might as well accept our offer. Prefer Harper. I would love to see the crazy numbers Sano could put up if you had Harper hitting behind him.

I fear the Twins may have missed their window with Kyle Gibson. I thought they should have extended him during last year's offseason. He has now put in 1.5 years of solid, consistent SP work. If he continues the path and has another good year in 2019, it is doubtful the Twins will be able to afford him on FA market terms.

I thought Alston and several of the other coaches did a nice job last year for Paul Molitor. But I also think that when you hire a new manager, you should allow that person to pick his own staff. I hope Baldelli is getting a strong say in the on-field staff.

I thought all of the analysts did a good job last year and would like to see them all rotated through again next year. Dick Bremer does an excellent job of meshing with each of the different personalities. I'm sure it would be easier to work with one partner all season, but I really like having a rotation with Bert, Smalley, Hunter, LaTroy "Jesus!" Hawkins, Morneau, and Jack! Marney, Audra, and Gorg have been great and I like the rotation there too. The baseball season is just too long to listen the the same voices each and every game.

I hope for the best with Buxton and as others have said, I would be thrilled with a .250 average and his stellar defense in CF. I don't know what getting him "back on track" means. Has he ever really been on track? He has essentially had 2 nice months during the 2nd half of 2017 where he looked like a serviceable player. That seems more of an anomaly than his actual track record of struggling to make contact. If he learned how to bunt, he should at least be able to hit .200 and maybe that is even good enough considering how valuable he can be on defense. Baseball is hard! Just look at Carlos Correa who was drafted just after Buxton. He struggled mightily this year after three pretty solid years to start his career. I'm sure they are saying in Houston right now--if we can just get Correa back on track...

Joe Mauer will be in the Hall of Fame

I think Grossman is a serviceable big league player. He has value. But... Here is where he was at on August 1st: .249AVG/ .330OB/ .359SLG/ .689OPS Those numbers were boosted in what amounted to "slop" time at the end of the season. Nevertheless, if you need a 4th outfielder, I would have no problem with Grossman filling that role. I think we all want to see Rosario-Buxton-Kepler healthy and productive all year long, but if one of those ends up needing to be replaced with a Cave or Granite, then you will have a greater need for Grossman.

I would love to see Ron Washington get another shot. He was just great here in Texas taking the Rangers to two World Series along with Thad Levine. But his departure from Texas was awkward and Levine knows those details as well as anyone.

That's a pretty solid plan / list of action items. On Buxton, I don't know why he or anyone else at this point should be thinking that you are robbing someone from millions who can't hit major league pitching. Yes, of course he could have an epiphany and become a serviceable as a hitter, let's hope so. Looking back to Opening Day 2017, it seems utterly silly now that Molitor thought he could be a #3 hitter at this level. On Rotation, agree 100%, Twins are in good shape if they can sign one top tier starter. I would also like to see Mejia in the mix for that #5 spot. Extend Berrios, this is a no-brainer. Roster and the corners. I can't be the only one who hopes that Mauer returns on a 2-yr deal. His defense at 1B has been outstanding (no Gold Glove last year was a crime) and is still in the AL Top 25 in hitting and over .400 with RISP. Not as easy to replace as some may think.