wsnydes

Amateur! It's simple, you work all of the adjusting and such into your signs to your fellow fielders. No one is the wiser!

Yes.

Hosken, always playing the long game!

Underwear analogies! There are definitely some worn-out waistband types on this roster that probably should be swapped out for a fresh pair this offseason.

If I can get good defensive play, "not a liability at the plate" is enough for me. I don't see that as settling either. Too much ineptitude at the plate on this team that "not a liability at the plate" is still an upgrade.

No idea if he's worth anything on the trade market, but he can't remain on this roster for next year. It's time to move on whether they can deal him or not.

This is basically trading for a guy that you already have. Only, the guy that you'd be trading for costs twice what the guy you already have does. I don't really see how a trade like this makes any sense.

I feel much better now! Thanks!

Kirilloff definitely needs to be, which I tried to elude to. Polanco seems to be to fading towards the twilight of his career, which is why I don't want him near SS.

I'm not necessarily opposed to a stopgap, but they have to be something more than serviceable. The problem is that I don't know who that would be. A long term solution would be nice since this team hasn't had a legit, long term solution for too long. I'm still hoping that Martin can figure things out and help out at CF. That's obviously also not without risk. Ideally, right now anyway, I think I'd move Urshela over to SS. Miranda to 3B. Kirilloff to 1B. At least there are more options for 1B than the left side of the infield. Leave Polanco at 2B.

This is how I'd approach it as well. After those four, I have little interest in any of the other options. Not signing someone has it's risks though. We have no idea where Lewis is on his recovery and we don't know what he'll have when he does come back. I know Urshela can play some SS, so I can live with that in the short term more than I can tolerate Polanco there.

The other big thing that struck me about this season is that I was quite concerned about the pitching, particularly the depth. I wasn't worried about the bats at all. Turns out that the bats are really the biggest reason this team ended up where it did. The pitching, by and large, did it's part fairly well.

Before the season, I figured that this team would have a win total in the upper 70s. That's where they ended up. That said, they got there in a much different manner than what I expected. I thought they'd start slow and gradually improve. The exact opposite occurred. They were playing well enough early that I actually raised my prediction about 10 wins. That's also about the time they started their long slide. And even then, it took a pitiful last month to get there.

Throughout the season, there has been a lot of talk about expectations and where everyone thought this team would go. Now that the season is over, I'm curious to know how everyone's expectations panned out.

Sanchez plated his 400th RBI of his career on the HR too.

That'll work, Gary!

Updated Twins lineup: Arraez Urshela Gordon Sanchez Cave Celestino Wallner Palcios C Hamilton at 1B. Miranda scratched after the lineup was posted.

Happy to see you playing out the season, RpR!

Yeah, I'd want it too. That, and I just want to play.

Well ladies and gents, we've made it to the finish line. It hasn't always been pretty. It hasn't always been fun. It hasn't always been entertaining. It hasn't always been winning. But it has been baseball. About a month ago, the local squad was in first place in the division. Fast forward to today and they're closer to the cellar than the attic. That's a bit on the disheartening side. This team has assured themselves of having their second straight losing season. That's not fun either. That's not entertaining. Now to the good news! After today, it's all over! No more suffering (for this season)! No more losing! No more botched grounders! No more strikeouts! No more runners left in scoring position! No more runners left in scoring position! No more runners left in scoring position! No more David Hasselhoff laden Game Thread openers! We can watch the playoffs! We can do something entirely different! We can come to Twins Daily and talk about the offseason and reset and focus on next season. As a baseball fan, I'm always curious how other fans spend their offseason time when there's no baseball to eat up their time and energy. Do you stay invested and watch every playoff game possible? Do you retreat to the abyss, grow a long, thick beard and hide in a hole away from the light until Spring Training starts? Do you fall somewhere in between? Me, I'll usually follow the playoffs a bit. I'll follow my other favorite team, the Cardinals if applicable, but otherwise I shift my focus to enjoying the fall weather as best I can. Fire pits and fall cocktails become my sanctuary. College football becomes more prominent in my schedule until college basketball starts up. Hockey works its way in there eventually as well. By the time ST rolls around, I'm ready to jump back into baseball. Now to today's contest. The visiting Twins will put Louie Varland back on the hill to face off against Davis Martin of the Pale Hose. Varland looks to to finish his first taste of the big leagues on a strong note. Of other interest is Luis Arraez and his mission to stave off Aaron Judge's pursuit of the Triple Crown. Beyond that, I'm just going to try to enjoy Twins baseball one last time this season. Lineups: Twins DH - Arraez 1B - Miranda 2B - Gordon 3B - Urshela LF - Cave C - Sanchez RF - Wallner CF - Celestino SS - Palacios White Sox DH - Andrus 3B - Moncada 1B - Vaughn RF - Sheets 2B - Harrison LF - Payton SS - Gonzalez CF - Engel C - Perez Enjoy the game everyone!

This seems like a pretty good summation for not just the past week, but the bulk of the second half.

We're talking two different things. I'm referring to expectations relative to the start of the season not generally speaking over the long term.

I've maintained all season long that I don't believe that the FO planned to be as competitive as they were. I think they were trying to avoid bottoming out and build for 2023 by getting the prospects big league time and allow the next batch of minor league players to be on the cusp. That's one area where the putridity of the division actually hurt them. It allowed an average team (at best) to lead a division for most of the season and it raised expectations.

Can you tell that I wrote the opening before the lineups were posted? Woof...

Hello Game Threaders and welcome to another double header edition of the game thread! Today, your Twins try to remain above .500 on the season and keep their ever fading hopes of staying alive in the division alive. Before we get too far into this, I'd first like to welcome Matt Wallner to The Show! He'll man right field today as Kepler was put on the IL. At the very least, that gives us something to look forward to today. Good luck in your debut, Mr. Wallner! Of other interest to many, myself included, is that today is the birthday of my favorite cartoon character! Wile E. Coyote debuted on this day in 1949 in "Fast and Furry-ous". How can you not enjoy the endless fails, antics and crazy schemes hatched by this guy. All to be outsmarted by a road runner. Over. And over. And over. And over again. Maybe it's because misery loves company, but as a Twins fan, I have some sympathy for him. He tries and tries and tries to catch that damn bird, but ultimately comes up empty every time. It's akin to the Twins playoff win drought. ACME may as well be a sponsor! Since we've got some time before first pitch, or even for the break between games, I've linked a nearly 32 minute video of all 641 epic fails of Mr. Wile E. Coyote below. Enjoy! Now, on to the contests of the day. In the first game, Louie Varland takes the mound for his second big league start opposite Shane Bieber. This could be a fun and intriguing pitching matchup. In the nightcap, the Twins will send Josh Winder to the bump to take on Konnor Pilkington. Not quite as interesting a matchup as in Game 1, but a relatively even one in my estimation. Lineups for Game 1: Twins DH - Arraez SS - Correa 1B - Miranda 2B - Gordon 3B - Urshela LF - Cave RF - Wallner CF - Contreras C - Leon Indians LF - Kwan SS - Rosario 3B - Ramirez DH - Naylor RF - Gonzalez 2B - Gimenez 1B - Miller C - Hedges CF - Straw Game 2 lineups will be posted when they're, umm, posted... Enjoy the games!