Jacksson

Outcome was determined just as soon as it was established that the Yankees had home field advantage. When the Twins see pinstripes, they fold like napkins. Hitters need to be able to hit in the clutch off "pitchers pitches", rather than just hitting pitchers mistakes.

I would WAIT until the current contract has expired. I doubt there would be many interested in his services for 2019 and I doubt that Mauer would be interested in any teams other than the Twins or Tampa UNLESS he places a premium on getting to a World Series.

WHEN will Molitor and Guardado learn that you DO NOT bring Pressley with runners on base; he will cough up runs almost every time. He should ONLY be used to start an inning with the bases empty. I don't know his exact stats in this area or if they are even accumulated for the season, but his Inherited Runners Scored has got to be UGLY

NO, Garver can't pitch, but his ability to play C, LF, 1B, DO mean that Gimenez can move to the bullpen full time!

Should have waited until the rosters expand in September. Based on first MLB appearance of 2017, clearly not ready.

Also to consider = Chris Parmalee and Adam Brett Walker are now available

This time next year Dozier will be on the move but probably won't be going anywhere this year.

Recker is just there as minor league catching insurance and can fill in when Garver is called up. taking him is just additional financial incentive to the Braves to entice them to make the deal, Doesn't seem like the Braves got much, Were the other teams looking for the Braves to subsidize salary??Perhaps Gimenez and Recker are bound for a revamped bullpen?

Pressly is ok to start a fresh inning with the bases empty but his usual pattern is to give up a hit to the first batter he faces (you can look it up) and then give up at least one more hit or walk in each appearance. Not the track record you want for a guy you bring in with runners on base. Also check out his stat line on inherited runners scored. Perhaps his pitches have speed, but they must be straight as an arrow and easy to hit in the early parts of the game. The misuse of Pressly is on Molitor and Everyday Eddy - Pressly is what he is.

Shouldn't a doctor somewhere come up with a test or with an evaluation protocol based upon MRI or Xray to Identify players with a potential to experience TOS???

I'm comforted to know that we now have in the fold a replacement for either Buxton or Gordon that we can count on in 6 years rather than a pitcher that will be ready in 2.

Based upon his current contract, any realistic contract offer from the team would be deemed by player and agent to be an insult. I would not offer him a contract as a player. I would offer him a contract as a team "goodwill" ambassador and/or system wide catching coach. Depending on how he does at that and what interest he has in coaching, he can then be considered as a viable option to be added to Jake Mauer's staff when he ascends to the majors

Since he has a family with whom he enjoys spending time, the travel necessary in MLB may be getting a bit old. Also, he has in the past not been open to management with regard to his physical condition; so who REALLY knows how he feels physically? Since he is unwilling/unable to: adapt his hitting approach to the way he is being pitched & defensed, cannot take a leadership/mentor role on the team, seemingly is doing a job and not playing a game and is being supplanted as the GOTO guy on the team; perhaps he will come to the realization that his days as a productive player are at an end and that retiring isn't such a bad thing as compared to the tarnish placed on his sterling performance history each time he trots out to play. With that in mind, what is it worth to the Twins, if he just walks away? The team paid like 3M just to get Park under a contract. So offer Joe a gracious way to walk away from his 23 M for 2018 by paying him to have a role with the team for like 10 years. Suggest: 5M a year for 3 years PLUS 2.5M for 4 years PLUS 1M for 3 more years. Joe gets 28M over 10 years, holds his head high and the team breathes a sigh of relief.

Drop him in the batting order down to #6. Have a serious discussion with him on altering his approach at the plate to deal with the way in which he is defensed. Keep him on the bench against LH starters. Order a complete physical exam. Determine if day games/night games (I forget which) are still giving him trouble with his vision and adapt his use on the team accordingly. Quietly begin internal discussions with regard to a buyout of his contract after the 2017 season if he retires from being an active player and accepts another role in the organization.

Buxton = One more day closer to being BUST-on.

A short bench puts pressure on the manager to make the right moves at the right time, because errors in judgement cannot be covered up by the fact that there are another warm body or two available to lean on to correct what was a bad move by the manager. That is what happened on Tuesday. Wrong move at the wrong time by Molitor in the 9th. Unfortunately, poor decisions by Molitor have been all too prevalent by Molitor so far this season. He's got to blame something, so rather than blame himself, he can blame the short bench. Seems to me each and every major league manager should be lobbying their team management and their team's Player's Association representative to increase the major league roster to 26 or 27. That said, a return to the days when training camp broke with a roster of 28 players for a limited period of time would seem to also be a positive move for all those in baseball.

Not Impressed. Too many moves that were not made, wrong moves made, moves that worked out but were the wrong moves that will come back to bite the team in the butt down the road.

I recognize and accept the contributions of both Grossman and Kepler in successfully executing sacrifice bunts when called upon to do so as being above the call of duty and both were game changers. Also the defensive contribution of Buxton is not to be taken lightly. I can back off a bit in creferring to the 3 as goats. That said, their lack of offensive contribution in other portions of the game made their 7th inning bunts important. Had they delivered hits when called upon on other occasions, those bunts would may not have been necessary. Take another look at the cumulative game statistics of the first 4 in the Twin's lineup.

Buxton went 0 for 5 with 3K's and 6 runners LOB. Kepler did execute a sacrifice - but he is supposed to. Otherwise he was 1 for 4 with 2 K's and 5 runners LOB. When his team needed him to deliver in the 2nd, 4th, and second at bat in the 7th, he failed. Grossman did execute a sacrifice - but he is supposed to. In the 3rd and 8th, each time with a runner on 1st, he struck out. Santana, castro and Sano WON the game for the Twins; the Royals' bullpen LOST the game for them.

2017 Twins Season Game #1 Hero #1 E Santana Hero #2 J Castro Hero #3 M Sano Goat #1 B Buxton Goat #2 M Kepler Goat #3 R Grossman

Because of minimal exposure to LHP, BA is up, K's are down. Leads the team in hitting into double plays. Continues to hit too many ground balls. Extra base hits are about the same. Power is minimal and the opposition plays him to hit the other way - which he does. His 2 trips to the DL for vague ailments result in a call up of Vargas and increased time at DH by both Vargas and Grossman. After the season is over, Joe seriously considers retirement as he can no longer perform at the level he was accustomed to in his earlier/younger years. Quietly, the Twins hope he calls it a career.

Before the season begins there will be out of options players from other organizations who will have to be designated for assignment. Although they performed well, the construction of their team's 25 man roster just could not include them. The Twins just need to position themselves to have identified the players in other organizations who are likely to fall into that category YET would have value to the Twins. There may well be a: fifth starter, bullpen arm, back-up catcher, utility infielder, fourth outfielder there for the taking if the Twins have an open 40 man roster spot. MLB Trade Rumors recently published a list that can be accessed on their site by searching for "out of option players 2017".

SF has stabilized their SS position with Brandon Crawford which is why Matt Duffy was playing 3B instead of SS before he was traded and why Adrianza was made available this off season by being DFA. SF has better SS prospects in their system behind Adrianza and just signed Crawford to an extension. The Adrianza acquisition is a prime example of the type of vision that is necessary to have in an organization's top baseball decision makers. Find players in other organizations that are performing well at their positions but who are blocked from advancing within that organization either due to established players with contracts or free agent signees and who also have other talented players advancing through that organization on their heels. (I'd like to know that Grossman did work in the off season to become a better defensive outfielder.) (I'd like to know that Rosario did work in the off season to become a more disciplined hitter.) (I'd like to know that Kepler did work in the off season to become a better defensive outfielder.) (I'd like to know that Sano will continue all year on a weight management program.) (I'd like to know that Escobar did work in the off season to become a better hitter.) (I'd like to know that Mauer did work in the off season to: get into better physical shape, improve hand-eye coordination, pulling the ball and hitting fewer ground balls/more line drives.) (I'd like to know that Danny Santana did work in the off season to better use his physical gifts to become a better defensive player at multiple positions and become an improved hitter.)

Perhaps because he could get to more balls in play

Nothing wrong with Sano's weight, he plays Tight End, right?