wsnydes

I've mentioned this before, but my pre-season take was that the youth of the organization would determine how far this team goes. That's still true. I don't think that they intended to be leading the division for most of the year to this point. I think they tried to keep the valley as shallow as possible and worked to set up a good run next year, but I don't think they planned on being as competitive as they have this season. The Correa signing was a win/win in any situation. They needed a SS, potentially for just one season. They signed him to a deal that I don't think anyone seriously sees playing out to completion. The Lewis injury complicates that considerably. But the way the staff was built does not scream WS title contender at all. Injuries have decimated that plan in my view, but it wasn't set up to do a lot of damage in the first place. Partly due to injury, partly due to ineffectiveness, I don't think the pitching evolved they way that had hoped. With all of that, you have this strange dichotomy of an absolutely brutal division that leads to a pretty average team leading the division for 4 months to this point. So they've put themselves in a situation where they find themselves on the doorstep of a divisional title, an IL full of trade chips and guys that they'd hoped to contribute now, and in serious need of pitching help. I'm not sure that they completely failed, I just don't think the season has played out in a way that they saw it unfolding. The injuries this team has suffered the last couple of seasons is astounding and has impacted organizational depth, but they haven't really had many, if any, minor league players jump up and fill a void when needed either.

This team, somehow, is sitting in first place of a division. It should do what it needs to do to at the very least stay there. I don't think I'm mortgaging the future unless something really blows me away, but I'm fighting for this year anyway. I didn't expect them to be in this position, and I didn't expect to be typing anything like this at this point, but I am. Gotta go for it even though I don't believe they'll go anywhere in the postseason. But you gotta get there even to do that, so...

At this point, DFA makes the most sense if a taker can't be found. Even with Kirilloff out, there are more productive pieces that shouldn't be taken out of the lineup for him. And he's not in the long term plans, so the time has probably come to go separate ways.

Oh, but the inexperience factor. I don't know...

It's been at least a fortnight since I've had one.

Also a plus.

A plus.

Ah, the joy of music festivals!

Too bad that paper cuts are far more rare in a digital format.

By the powers vested in me by nobody, I dub thee Confucius of the Game Thread!

In fairness, I'm guilty of that too. It's usually when I don't have time or only have my phone to find the answer. Not always ideal.

Fair clarification, but he has done it before.

Who's on stage at the moment?

Other than the 18 other times he's done it, never.

I haven't seen anything official, but I have to imagine that is the case. Edit: @Mike Sixel had the actual answer!

The trade rumors or Legs?

Welcome Game Thread fans, it's me, your host for this evening's matchup between the home town Padres of San Diego and your traveling Twins of Minnesota. Our Twins come into the series as a team that wins 'em all or loses 'em all since coming out of the break. The Padres meanwhile, came out of the break to take 2 of 3 from the 1st place Mets and then went ahead and decided to drop 2 of 3 to the not so 1st place Tigers. Which teams will we see for this series? Before I get into more of this game, I think it worth mentioning that today is a National Holiday. It's not all that well known, but a day of celebration it is indeed! Forget about Thanksgiving, or 4 of the July or President's Day...it's National Lemon Juice Day! Now, this seems very fitting for today. Especially for us Twins fans. You see lemon juice is sour. And Twins fans lately, are well, sour...So, at least now we have the nation on our side, wallowing in what is sour. Lemon juice is a very versatile and useful juice. It can be used in all sorts of foods from soups to desserts! I can be used in cocktails from your favorite umbrella drinks to your whiskey sours. I can be used to tackle tough stains on clothes or to remove tarnish on chinaware! Accordingly, the sour of Twins fans can be used for many purposes too! It can used to give an inordinate amount of misplaced blame on the front office or the manager! It can be used to lash out at our favorite players! It can make us call for a fire sale of everything that's not nailed down despite being a first place team in a division that is filled with teams that can't get out of their own way (this one included)! It can even make us...gasp...lash out at the umpires! And perhaps worst of, it can cause us to lash out at other TD posters! As the great Bob Casey once yelled over the Metrodome PA system, "STOP IT!" Now, go find yourself some lemon juice and make yourself your favorite Meringue or umbrella drink and relax! Let's have some fun! For the home town Padres, Blake Snell is on the bump. Opposite him will be Joe Ryan of the Twins. If a good Blake Snell shows up, this could be a really good pitching matchup. And now to the lineups. Padres: LF - Profar 3B - Machado 2B - Cronenworth DH - Voit 1B - Hosmer C - Alfaro RF - Mazara SS - Kim CF - Grisham Twins: LF - Garlick SS - Correa CF - Buxton 2B - Polanco 3B - Miranda 1B - Arraez C - Sanchez DH - Sano RF - Celestino The game is in San Diego, so I won't even bother to look up the weather and I'll just assume that it's a perfect 75 and sunny! If I'm wrong, I don't want to hear about it!

Anyone hear any trade rumors that have any Legs?

Is there value? There's clearly absolutely none if you don't. So yes, there is value in winning.

It's in the freezer though... Better win Monday!

At least we have that to look forward to.

If it was anything illegal, he wouldn't still be in the game.

The good news is that Duran is in. The bad news is that Duran is in.